My name is Layla Stark, the author of The Hogwarts Eagle.

It's been quite a busy week but I wanted to get this up before the weekend. I'm very close to the end of my school life. Actually, I'll be graduating high school in fourteen days and I'm very much looking forward to it. With that being said, I haven't been able to put in as much effort to this chapter as I would have liked. I can't promise when this will be updated next (though I'll try my best not to keep you all waiting too long). Chances are, it won't be updated by next weekend since I'll be meeting Eoin Macken, Tom Hopper and Rupert Young from Merlin.

All that out of the way, thank you so much to the people who read, reviewed, followed, favourited and so on forth-ed the first chapter of my story. I am extremely grateful for the support and it's because of you that I'm encouraged to keep on writing this. Words can't even begin to describe how grateful I am.

Spread Love,

LS
x.

THE HOGWARTS EAGLE

- Chapter Two: Unresolved Tension -

It was with quite the unsurprisingly morose moods that the fifth years had delved into their studies for the approaching months. The clouds outside were a dull grey that served simply to add to the melancholic atmosphere. Although she had doubtlessly expected that the work they were presented with this year would be a powerful challenge to overcome, Cho was far more unimpressed to have discovered it to be indescribably complex as well. On her first day of classes, every teacher had insisted on presenting the Ravenclaws and students from the other houses with an enormous mountain of homework. According to Professor Flitwick, the Head of her own House, it was a necessary precaution to provide them with copious amounts of work lest they were to be too distracted by the Triwizard Tournament.

'This is absolutely ridiculous,' Marietta groaned as she stormed down the staircase, knocking aside innocent students who dared to cross her pathway. 'It's not like we're going to completely abandon our work just for the Triwizard Tournament or anything. Personally, I'm not a big fan of petty games that can potentially result in loss of limbs. And so help us all, we have Potions next. If we're not dead by the end of the week, I'll be surprised.'

'You'll be fine, Marietta,' Cho promised, but in retrospect her tone was not quite as convincing as she had intended upon. Although she had not taken the receiving of intense homework quite as hard as her friend, even Cho had admitted that she was worried at the prospect of possible failure. 'I'm sure that the teachers just want the best for all of us. And if you don't manage to pull out a handful of Outstandings, then the whole year level will be in danger.'

'Yeah? You might think that now, but unlike you I don't have Cedric Oh-So-Pretty Diggory tutoring me day after day,' Marietta snapped but out of the corner of her eye, Cho could have sworn she saw her friend struggle to fight off a potentially devious smile.

'That's not true,' Cho replied. 'I've haven't had the chance to talk to Cedric since Sunday. He's busy with his own work too, remember. At this rate, there'll be no time for him to tutor me.'

'Yeah, but your darling little chivalrous Cedric's going to go out of his way to spend time with you, anyway,' Marietta mumbled.

They spent the remainder of their journey to the Dungeons in utter silence, both of them noticeably concerned about what awaited them in Professor Snape's class. As they plunged down to the lowest level of the school, the memorable drop in temperature urged a shiver to travel down Cho's spine. There was no point in denying her admiration for Hogwarts, but she like plenty of other students had come to loathe the prospect of so much as having Potions on her timetable. If anything, she longed for the year to speed by for she knew that after this, she would never have to endure the humiliation of having countless points deducted from Ravenclaw on her behalf ever again. Her unfriendly thoughts about Potions did not last long, however. As soon as she stepped inside the classroom, where Snape stood threateningly in the dark at the front, she forced any ill will for the teacher out of her mind.

The fear that had intensified amongst the fifth year Ravenclaws whenever they were in the presence of Professor Snape was not entirely uncalled for. It was Luna who had warned them of Limpkins, which were small creatures that could read the minds of young witches and wizards. Allegedly, if one was to think anything nasty about another person, the creatures the rushed to inform the subject of their cruel thoughts instantly, resulting in a reign of pure terror. When Lucinda had apparently been plotting in her head a list of the possible ways to have Snape sacked, minutes later the Professor had coldheartedly presented her with a detention.

'You must each take out your books and turn to page two hundred and thirty-five immediately,' the drawling voice of Snape instructed from the start of the room as he whipped out his wand. Instructions for the lessons appeared on the board as he waved it mindlessly. 'We will be beginning with one of the simpler potions that I can guarantee you will appear in your examinations next year. Anything less than exceeding expectations today will result in extra homework for each and every one of you throughout the year.'

Cho, despite her struggle to remain silent, emitted a sharp gasp the moment that she had delicately turned to the page. If she had longed to pass her Potions examination before, any hope of doing so subsided instantly. The method on how to concoct the Draught of Peace occupied more than a page. Warnings were presented at various points, informing the reader that any mistake in making the potion would result in nothing less than severely dangerous outcomes. Uncaring if he caught her, Cho looked upwards and eyed Snape with a mixture of disdain and suspicion.

'Do you think he's going to make us test out our potions?' Isabella asked beside her, clearly sharing similar thoughts. There was a distinct sound of fret in her tone.

'Like I said,' Marietta cut in before she could respond. 'I'll be surprised if we're not dead by the end of the week. But if we're going to die, you are going to tell us how things are going with your boyfriend aren't you, Cho?'

'I've told you before,' Cho started firmly, careful to measure the precise amount of the syrup of hellebore, 'Harry isn't my boyfriend.'

'Harry?' Marietta nearly shrieked with what could have been joy and horror, but stuffed a hand over her mouth. 'Harry Potter? You're thinking about Harry Potter? But I was talking about Cedric. Is there something going on between you and Harry now?'

'No, there isn't. He just came into my mind because… well, because…' but Cho trailed off, both in desire to concentrate on crushing the moonstone into a fine powder and because she was at a loss for any excuse. Why Harry, who she had barely spoken to in her life, had popped into her mind was a mystery to her.

'She was thinking about Harry because Snape mentioned how terrible he is at Potions, remember?' Isabella supplied thoughtfully and Cho instantly offered her friend an overly appreciative smile.

'Yeah, that's right,' Marietta agreed as realisation apparently dawned on her face. 'He told us that in way back in our second year, just to let us all know how even famous people can fail his subjects. You'll need a better excuse than that.'

Any chance to defend herself, or indeed to continue the conversation at all, was lost when the figure of Snape loomed over them. Cho let out an involuntary shudder at his presence and one that she regretted instantly at that.

'Miss Edgecombe, twenty points from Ravenclaw for the addition of bat spleens into your cauldron. Nowhere does it state that they are a necessary ingredient. The result of adding them will be fatal to whoever has the misfortune to drink this. Miss Chang and Miss Thompson, a further ten points each have been deducted for showing disrespect by talking in my class.' With a wave of his wand, the contents of Marietta's cauldron disappeared. Cho wanted to comfort her friend, but knew better than to do so in front of the unfeeling Potions master.

That class had, all in all, been quite as terrible as the Ravenclaws had anticipated. Once the time had passed by in which they had to create the Draught of Peace, sixty points had been cruelly taken from their house. To make matters worse yet, they had been presented with an impossibly long essay that needed to be completed by their next lesson which took place on Friday. The majority of the students in the room glared at Marietta, seemingly under the impression that she was to blame. Cho wanted nothing more than to reassure her friend that Snape was, just as always, being unfair but when she turned to do so, she noticed that she had disappeared from sight.

'Poor Marietta,' Cho breathed, glancing around helplessly for her friend.

'To be honest, I don't know why you put up with her,' Isabella said sternly, but Cho ignored this.

There was no point in denying Marietta's bitter personality, but somehow her state of resentment seemed far worse than ever before.

September 7th, 1994

My first week back at school isn't over yet, but now I really understand what they meant when they said the workload would be colossal. I really have no idea how I'm going to complete all of this work that's been set, least of all Potions; once again, Snape has taken to taking off points from every house with the only exception of Slytherin. It's all so unfair, if you ask me. Slytherin should be banned from winning points from their house because of him, if you ask me.

Surprisingly though, school work is the least of my worries. Marietta's been acting rather differently these past few days, and I'm worried about her. If anything, she's been gossiping far less than normal and she seems either angry or sad whenever I'm around her. I hope she'll let me know what's bothering her soon, because I really can't seem to recall whether or not I've done anything wrong.

There was nothing Cho wanted more than to be outside in the afternoon sun, whizzing at a relaxing speed on her Comet 260. If she closed her eyes for just a moment, she imagined that an intense Quidditch match was unfurling and that she, much to the delight of everyone, was the first to catch the golden snitch and win the game. No part of her longed to linger in the Ravenclaw common room in a secluded corner, desperately trying to complete at least half of her school work before dinnertime. Her friends, too, had scattered themselves around the room so as not to be distracted by idle chatter with one another. Frustrated though they were at the work load, all of them were eager to pass their O.W.L.s if they had the opportunity.

'Excuse me?'

The dreamy voice took Cho by surprise. In an instant, the bottle of ink slipped from her grasp and parchment scattered onto the floor. She exhaled in frustration, waving her wand in an attempt to clean up the mess but much to her humiliation, she only managed to make matters worse. The ink on the rug spread and she gave up on her endeavour to clean it up for the time being.

'Luna,' Cho greeted shakily. 'You scared me.'

'I know,' Luna said with a smile. 'I apologise. That wasn't at all my objective, but at least now I have your attention.'

'I suppose you do,' she conceded, 'but I can't imagine why you'd want my attention in the first place to be honest.'

'Is it true that you're that Cho Chang girl?'

'Yes,' Cho answered. 'But I'd prefer it if you could just call me Cho.'

'You're quite popular amongst the Ravenclaws, you know,' she pointed out in a sing-song voice. 'I was just wondering if you could do a little favour for me. You might be able to help me a little more than I can help myself at any rate.'

Cho's brows furrowed in response. 'What sort of favour are you asking of me, exactly?'

'Oh, it's nothing too out of your comfort zone,' Luna assured. 'I only presumed that since you seem to be quite good friends with a lot of people that you wouldn't mind perhaps recommending that the other Ravenclaws should help me find my possessions when they miraculously disappear off the face of the planet.'

Her stomach lurched at those words as her mind wandered to a pair of Luna's brightly coloured shoes. She had been there when Marietta considered that it would be worth any consequences to steal some of Luna's belongings. Cho swallowed and wished that she'd advised against it.

'And while you're at it, perhaps you could assist me in selling some Quibblers,' Luna suggested gleefully, waving a magazine in front of Cho's face as she did. 'There's going to be a few special Triwizard editions and father would be delighted if more people were interested in buying it.'

For a moment, Cho considered the idea of the younger Ravenclaw. It would be a wise and undoubtedly polite decision to help Luna. She thought it through, knowing that the favour was admittedly a small and harmless one. Yet when she parted her lips to answer, Cho hesitated for a moment. If she helped Luna, then the people in her house who had taken to hiding the girl's possessions would be disappointed and possibly even outraged at her. She pictured the bitter faces of her friends as they yelled at her, telling her that it was reckless that they had ever trusted her. The thought of losing the most important people in her life worried her beyond what she could describe.

'Listen, Luna. I would really love to help you out, but would you mind if you didn't let anybody know that it was me doing it?' she asked, checking hastily over her shoulder in case anybody had listened in.

'Don't worry,' Luna said, positively beaming. 'I promise I won't tell a soul. Daddy's going to be so proud when he finds out. I'd really appreciate it if you could start helping me by the end of the day.'

There was no time for Cho to object, for the girl had waved quite merrily at her and skipped away. Her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch at the mere prospect of somebody else finding out. It wasn't as though she was concerned about her popularity. For the most part, it was something that Cho had maintained that she despised. Yet the thought of the disappointment her friends would surely feel if they discovered that she was helping none other than Loony Lovegood made her uncomfortable. With a nervous glance at her friends, Cho poured her books into her bag and made a beeline out of the Ravenclaw common room, away from the quizzical glances that her friends sent in her direction. She would clean up the mess that her ink had made whenever she returned.

When night time crept closer, Cho was quite relieved that there was an excuse for her to emerge from her hideout. She had taken refuge between two bookshelves in the Library and with the exception of Madam Pince hovering over her like a hawk, it proved to be quite a peaceful way to power through her school work. It was peculiar how suddenly her life had changed from the moment that she'd stepped into Hogwarts this year. Other years, she had been accompanied by her usual group of giggling friends as they slowly but surely completed work but for the sake of the O.W.L.s, they had taken to studying independently. That worried her and though she couldn't place a finger on why, it felt as though life would never be the same again.

Cho hugged her school books closer to her chest as she walked on, determined to make her way to the Great Hall before the majority of the students in case Marietta was there. The afternoon had passed by slowly and regardless of who she asked, no one seemed to have seen her friend at all.

'Long time no see,' somebody whispered into her ear and she looked up in pleasant surprise to find Cedric Diggory towering over her.

'Hello Cedric,' she greeted with a smile. 'Shouldn't you be studying?'

'You're worse than my mother,' he laughed. 'Aren't I allowed to eat?'

'Oh, no, of course you are. I've just been a little carried away,' she professed, somewhat guilty and embarrassed. She sincerely hoped he wasn't under the impression that she didn't want to spend time with him.

'What's going on?' he asked with a concerned frown. 'Are you alright?'

'I'm fine,' she assured. 'It's Marietta. She was upset after Potions this morning and I haven't seen her since.'

'Marietta?' Cedric asked, bemused. 'Is she your friend? The girl with the reddish hair?'

'Of course she's my friend. Why wouldn't she be?'

Cedric waved his hand, indicating that the matter was unimportant. 'Well, if it makes you feel any better, I saw her not that long ago and she seemed fine to me.'

'Were you talking to her?' she inquired with a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes.

'No, she was talking to someone else,' Cedric explained. 'But anyway, I was meaning to ask you something, actually.'

'Oh? Is it about the tutoring?' Cho smiled, the subject of Marietta forgotten. 'I understand if you're too busy for it. Really, I can't imagine how stressful the last year of school's going to be.'

'Actually, I could really do with a break from my own work,' he said. 'So I was wondering if perhaps on Saturday morning, you might be interested in me helping you out with your work? Not that you need it, of course.'

'Believe me, Cedric, I definitely need it,' Cho affirmed.

'Well then, I guess I'll see you on Saturday, right?' With that, Cedric smiled and waved goodbye, before he swiftly walked off to join a group of his friends-she wished he was a little less busy.

Cho almost considered rushing to tell her friends the news, but when the thought of their teasing words occurred to her, she thought better of the act. Rather than telling her friends where she intended to go on Saturday morning, she instead opted to keep it to herself. It was a relief that perhaps the lessons that Cedric was going to offer her would help her with her O.W.L.s. Any inhibition she had about her fifth year was gone and replaced entirely by a soothing confidence.

Soon, she would have the chance to spend time with Cedric without anybody incessantly gossiping about her. The simple thought made her smile.

It seemed that time was quite unwilling to pass. From the moment that Cedric had approached her with the news that he would tutor her on Saturday morning, the remainder of the week crept slowly by. Her excitement at the prospect of spending time with him diminished somewhat at the thought of Marietta, for every opportunity she may have had to talk to her was lost. For reasons entirely beyond her, the girl avoided talking to any of her usual friends. She sat far away from the Ravenclaws in class, returned to her dormitory late at night and woke up far too early in the morning. Isabella and Lucinda had warned her not to care, yet Cho could not help but feel worried about her friend.

'I don't understand why you're so concerned about her,' Isabella admitted as she flicked through the Daily Prophet without looking up to acknowledge her.

'She's my friend,' Cho defended. 'Not to mention, she's your friend as well. Haven't you considered that there might be something wrong with Marietta?'

'Cho, the only thing that could possibly be wrong with Marietta is that she's run out of things to gossip about,' Lucinda added in and lowered her voice to a whisper, though Marietta was sitting some fifteen people away from them. 'We've told you, Cho, she's horrible. Why don't you just let her be? It'll be better for all of us.'

'You guys don't know her like I do,' Cho said.

'Did I mention that she's jealous? Isabella asked.

'Jealous?' her eyebrows shot up. 'About what?'

'You and Cedric, of course,' Lucinda stated matter-of-factly.

'What's there to be jealous about me and Cedric?'

'I don't know…' Isabella trailed off thoughtfully. 'How about Saturday morning? Your little date.'

'Date?' Horror fell on Cho's face. 'How did she even hear about that? And it's not a date. He's just tutoring me.'

'Which is as good as a date in Marietta's eyes,' Isabella pointed out.

'I'm going to go and talk to her.'

Cho looked up just in time to see Marietta leaving the Great Hall unaccompanied. She didn't bother picking up her school bag and she certainly didn't care about finishing her half eaten breakfast. Rather, she bolted after her the girl in spite of the objections that her friends called out after her. A mixture of frustration and sadness engulfed Cho. She had always thought that across the years, Marietta trusted her. She had known, of course, that her friend loved to gossip but never had she avoided her for any rumour she ever heard. It was unbelievable that only now, Marietta would attempt to abandon her simply for being tutored by Cedric Diggory.

It took her a while to catch up with the girl but when she came into sight, Cho picked up her speed. Marietta must have noticed, for she too set out at a run. Cho couldn't help but recognise how childish this all seemed, yet at the same time no part of her wanted to believe the words of her friends.

We've told you, Cho, she's horrible. Why don't you just let her be? It'll be better for all of us.

'Marietta, hold on!' somebody called out and Cho realised that the words had escaped her own lips. She was even more surprised to find that the other Ravenclaw girl came to a sudden halt. 'Why are you avoiding me?' she asked, half outraged and half relieved, as she finally caught up to her friend.

'Avoiding you?' Marietta's eyes widened in dismay. 'I don't know what you're talking about. We were never friends in the first place.'

'Marietta—what?' Cho's expression was as perplexed as she felt. 'We've been best friends since our first year.'

'Really?' Marietta asked. 'Because last time I heard, you're good friends with Loony Lovegood.'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' she said. 'I don't even talk to Luna.'

'Then what's this?'

To Cho's confusion, Marietta extracted a crumpled piece of paper from her bag. She accepted it and the very moment that her eyes rested upon it, she struggled not to laugh. Quite suddenly, she was overwhelmed with mingled amusement and anger, for on the paper was a quite terribly drawn picture of herself. It read, in oversized writing:

CHO CHANG

CHIEF ADVOCATE OF THE LOVEGOOD ASSOCIATION

'You're really going to believe something that comes from Luna?' Cho asked, not even needing to read the article to know what it says. 'And not just that, you believe something from the Quibbler? Marietta, you know you're smarter than that.'

'Apparently, I'm not. I was going into the common room to talk to you a few days ago and you seemed pretty happy to be talking to Looney,' Marietta snapped. 'I can't risk my popularity with you, Cho. Not if Lovegood's a friend of ours all of a sudden.'

'I'm not friends with Lu-Looney,' Cho huffed. She felt herself tremble with frustration. 'I only offered to help her find some of her stuff because people like you keep on stealing them. Which isn't very nice, by the way. I'd do the same for you if it were Looney stealing your items.'

'People like me?' Marietta let out, appalled. 'Is that what you're calling me now? Whatever, Cho. I don't need people like you in my life.'

'Marietta, you know that I didn't mean it like that,' she insisted and thought just for a second she saw a trace of agreement on the face of her friend. It faded soon after.

'Yeah? Well, we can't all be smart like you now, can we?' Marietta folded her arms, her expression filled with rage as she looked at anything but Cho.

'Is this about Professor Snape?' her brows rose in surprise as the question escaped her. The whole concept that Marietta would let the Potions master upset her was outlandish.

'It was embarrassing, alright?' Marietta confessed, the loathing on her face now dissolving into hurt. 'You don't understand what it's like. People love you, Cho, but the moment that I do something wrong everyone decides to chuck a hissy fit at me.'

'A bit like you're doing now,' she pointed out and was pleased when Marietta laughed, though quietly, at her words.

'It's not that I want to be popular. You've told me a thousand times how awful it is,' her friend explained. 'All I'm saying is that it would be a little bit easier if less people hated me and more people loved me.'

'Then you should probably consider being nice to people for a start, rather than shooting everybody down who tries to befriend you,' Cho suggested. 'Come on, Marietta, come to class. You can start with that today.

But to her disappointment, Marietta shook her head. 'I think I'll skip class today. Perhaps go to the Hospital Wing or something. Can you tell Flitwick I'm sick?'

'I can't lie to a teacher, Marietta,' she said but at the murderous glare she received, she changed her mind. 'Alright. I'll tell Flitwick that you're not feeling very well.'

Without the slightest attempt to offer a single word of gratitude, Marietta turned on her heel and walked off, not in the direction of the Hospital Wing, but instead after a boy who had just walked by. Cho blinked in near astonishment. She could have sworn for a moment the person that Marietta had been so insistent to follow was the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, but she was quite sure the two loathed each other. In the end, Cho merely shrugged to herself, aware that her friend was likely to be intent on torturing the boy with mere words. Yet, just as she had planned to make her way to Charms, something caught her eye. Circling its way towards her was a large owl, black and swift despite how old it appeared. Cho held it on her hand and was impressed when it landed smoothly on her fingers. The owl hooted in delight as she tore off the paper and opened it.

Hi Cho,

I realised that we never planned when or where we're going to meet for tutoring.

How does the Library at eight sound?

Send me your response on the back of this parchment.

Cedric.

Cho memorised the time and place that the tutoring would take place, then scribbled her response as instructed. Yet as she sent off the owl once more, a thought occurred to her that seemed to entice something not unlike disappointment in her. She had envisioned that the tutoring would not involve actual teaching at all, but instead would give her the chance to get to know the seeker of Hufflepuff. Now that she thought the situation through and considered that they would be in the Library, she knew all hope was gone for that to happen. That thought soon passed though and was replaced by a new one. That Cedric cared enough about how well she did at Hogwarts to the point where he had offered to help her was more than what she ever could have asked her.

With that thought in mind, Cho languidly set off in the direction of her Charms classroom. The morning had turned out to be better than she had anticipated. She had, to some extent, filled the void that had separated an unreasonably upset Marietta from her and what was more, she had received confirmation that she would definitely be meeting up with Cedric tomorrow morning.

It didn't even occur to her just how easy it was to make amends with Marietta, or how unlikely the story that it was Snape who upset her sounded.

Nonetheless, Cho's intentions to arrive at class as early as she could were short lived. She'd been walking quite mindlessly through the corridor, weaving her way through the few students who occupied it and turning corners where necessary. In fact, she had been just about to reach her destination when she felt she heavily collided with somebody. For a moment, everything went blurred as books spilled from the other's hands. With embarrassment etched into her expression, Cho mumbled an apology and scrambled to pick up the fallen books. It took her a moment to sweep them all into her arms and she noticed two fumbling hands trying to help her. Once she had a firm hold of the items, Cho straightened herself upright and looked at the person she had collided into. At the moment that she saw him, her eyes nearly widened in surprise and the breath in her lungs seemed to leave her.

'Oh, hello Harry!'