My sincerest apologies for the delay of this chapter! It can be tricky getting a chapter to read the way you want it to! Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters in this story belong to J.K Rowlings!
"For all cats have this particularity, each and every one, from the meanest alley sneaker to the proudest, whitest she that ever graced a pontiff's pillow — we have our smiles, as it were, painted on. Those small, cool, quite Mona Lisa smiles that smile we must, no matter whether it's been fun or it's been not. So all cats have a politician's air; we smile and smile and so they think we're villains"
-Angela Carter
If there was one thing Cho Chang did not like it was being caught off guard. It was something she rarely allowed to happen. She reviewed before each class to be prepared for pop quizzes. She ran quidditch drills every chance she got to make sure she was at her best for every game. She hated surprises. Yet here she was thrown completely off her broomstick.
Cho didn't stop walking until she was a comfortable distance away from the seventh floor. For the entire duration her mind remained forcibly blank. It was only as she reached the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room that she even allowed her self a moment to think. Her thoughts terrified her.
'That tattoo.' She had only seen it for a moment. 'Maybe I'm wrong…' She considered but the anxious feeling persisted. 'What was it… a six? How is this even possible.' She frowned deeply. This complicated things. That evening had been entirely unsuccessful. 'I shouldn't have run… now what am I suppose to do?' Cho placed her forehead against the solid oak door and tried to go over the events of that night.
"I beg your pardon." a stern voice called from above. Too exhausted to register surprise, she slowly tilted her head upwards noticing for the first time that the bronze eagle knocker had been speaking to her.
"Yes?" she asked.
"I ask a question. You answer. I open the door. This only works if you don't ignore me." She had never heard the eagle speak unless it was asking a question before. She didn't even know it had a consciousness.
"Ah, right," She said with mild embarrassment. "Get on with it then."
"Mountains will crumble and castles will fall, and no being can survive its endless call. What is it?" It recited.
Cho considered for a quick moment before answering, "I suppose you mean time," She said but the answer nagged at her. "Although that's hardly true." She decided.
"Oh?" The door inquired.
"Time is relative, it can be bent and even changed." She said quiet boldly. "There is no reason to say that it cannot be defeated."
"I see, do go on." The hanger pressed.
"Well take Nicholas Flamel for example. One could say he beat time." Cho reasoned
"One could also say time caught up with him." Cho scowled at this response. The door hanger was particularly argumentative today.
"Yes, but he decided to die." Cho argued.
"That doesn't make his death any less a fact. Unless you want to count victims of suicide as those who defeat time." Cho considered this for a moment.
"No, I suppose not." 'Of all the days for the door to pick a fight…' She rubbed her temples.
"Consider your argument carefully, I'll look forward to a more lengthy debate next time." The door swung open. She stepped hastily into the common room. She gazed back at the entrance as the door closed behind her.
'I guess door hangers get lonely too.' She mused. She doubted that many people invited conversations with it regularly. She felt and unexplainable pang of sadness. Frowning deeply she decided that she would put some thought into the debate and come back another time. When she wasn't busy that is. At this moment what she really needed was some time to think and clear her head. She headed for the dormitories.
She didn't make it far.
"Cho!" a voice cheerfully called to her. "You must have gone to Breakfast bloody early." Roger Davies's usual handsome smile graced his face.
Cho's eyes darted to a nearby clock, five thirty in the morning. 'Who in their right mind would be awake at this time?'
"Early to bed, Early to rise and all that." She responded casually. "You are up pretty early yourself." She diverted from herself quickly. He was sitting at one of the large study tables his books sprawled out over the table.
"Potions essay due today." He grimaced, "still have about three more revisions to do before I'll be satisfied." He stood up groaning as he stretched. "You ready for the big game against Gryffindor on Thursday?"
"Of course." She replied without smiling. She didn't want to encourage a conversation with Davies. He was a solid teammate but he never knew when to stop talking.
"Glad to hear it!" He grinned "See you at practice tonight then." Cho nodded and began her walk towards the girl's dormitory. It was only as she approached the entrance that Davies called out "So who's the bloke?" She spun around in surprise.
"Excuse me?" She blinked rapidly. He laughed charmingly at her confusion.
"Don't worry secrets safe with me." He winked and held up his hands as a sign of peace. His obnoxious grin didn't leave his face for a second.
"What are you going on about?" 'Does he know something?'
"Oh relax Cho! We've all done it!" He teased. Now she was really confused. She tensed visibly.
"Done what?" She tried to hide her nervousness. She wasn't sure what he was getting at.
"Escaped off into the castle during the night for a romantic tryst." He sighed dramatically, "In your case must have been somewhere quite dusty!" He indicated to her robes. She instinctively looked down and saw her appearance rather was in disarray. "Must have been a broom closet." It finally clicked. Her eyes widened suddenly at his implications.
"You think—" She was quickly cut off.
"It was a broom closest, wasn't it?" He took her stunned silence as confirmation. "You'll have to tell me which one! Filch has got the one on the fifth floor on lock down. It's really killing my social life." A million insults and violent actions sprang to mind yet all she could do was gawk at him.
"A broom closet?" It's all she seemed to be able to say.
"I suppose the one in the Dungeons near the potions storage would also be sufficient." He pondered, "But that's in Slytherin territory! Unless…" He gave her an appraising look, "It was with a Slytherin!"
"I would never snog someone in a broom closet!" She said adamantly deciding to ignore the rest. She could feel her temper rising.
"Cho snogged someone in a broom closet?" A familiar voice yawned behind Cho. She had not noticed the other person's arrival. Marietta's red curly hair was tied back in a puffy ponytail making it look slightly tamer than usual. She nodded politely to Roger and gave Cho an inquisitive glance.
"I did not—" Cho uttered flustered.
"—Good morning Marietta!" Davies greeted cheerfully once more interrupting Cho, "I just caught her sneaking in from somewhere." Cho scowled visibly. No one was giving her time to speak.
"Who's the bloke?" Marietta spoke over Cho to Davies. This irritated Cho to no end.
"That's what I was just asking!" Roger indicated. They both suddenly turned their focus back to Cho. She quickly regained her composure.
"Don't you have a paper to write?" She asked Roger irritably. He looked down at his watch and flinched.
"Back to the mines." He sighed dramatically. Cho breathed a sigh of relief. This conversation was getting exhausting. As Roger shuffled back to his table Marietta gazed after him with a slight blush.
"What are you doing awake so early?" Cho inquired.
"Couldn't sleep anymore. Kept having nightmares about Sirious Black!" Marietta shuddered. Cho accepted this answer. "How about you? Not true about the bloke is it?" Marietta teased playfully.
"Of course not! We both know Rogers is an idiot." Cho retorted.
"Hmmmm but what a yummy idiot he his." She replied dreamily.
"Right…" Cho rolled her eyes.
"Shall we go to breakfast?" Marietta asked after a moment, "I'll go wake Anna and Claire." Cho forced a smile. As much as she liked her friends it was almost impossible to catch a minute to think with them around.
"How about we go down now?" She suggested quickly "I'm famished!" It wasn't a lie. Running around the castle all night had really made her hungry. Also if she wasn't going to be able to get any sleep she was going to need a strong cup of coffee.
"Oh, all right." Marietta sounded hesitant.
"We'll meet up with the others in class." Cho insisted pulling her towards the door.
The extra push was all it took. Marietta instantly began chattering enthusiastically as soon as they left the common room. Cho nodded in the appropriate places but was otherwise miles away.
'What am I going to do?' Cho's mind was reeling. 'Last night was a complete failure.' She had managed to sneak out of the common room, which was no easy feat as of late. She had even managed to elude any professor's notice on her way to the seventh floor. Everything had been going fine.
"Until she showed up." The appearance of Katie only brought more questions than answers. It had only been for a moment but in that room she had seen what she was looking for.
"Katie Bell." Cho murmured 'She must know something.' Her appearance last night couldn't have been coincidental. Could it have? She needed to find out.
"Cho, are you feeling alright?" Cho was suddenly thrust back into reality. 'Smooth Cho.' She chastised herself.
"Yes! Of course." Cho threw in quickly. Marietta didn't look convinced.
"Did you just say Katie Bell?" She frowned. "Are you like friends or something?" Cho shifted uncomfortably at this.
"No way!" She retorted.
"Well good." Marietta said seriously. "You really don't want to be hanging out with that sort." This piqued Cho's curiosity.
"What sort?" She asked carefully.
"I probably shouldn't say anything." Marietta chewed her lips anxiously. This was obviously something Marietta had heard from her mother. Which meant it was probably more than just idle gossip.
"Well now you have to tell me." Cho decided. "You can't just say something like that and not tell me." She gave Marietta a pointed look. Marietta looked about nervously.
"Well okay. But you can't tell anyone. My mom would have my head if she found out." Cho nodded her assent.
'Like I would want anyone to know I was asking about Katie Bell.' Cho huffed inwardly.
"Well, what sort is she then?" Cho pushed.
"You know, Orphan, Trouble maker." Marietta listed off. "My mother told me to steer clear of her when I first came to Hogwarts." She said finally. Cho nodded in response.
'Orphan?' That's the first she had ever heard of it. Then again she hadn't put much thought into that person before last night.
"She's an orphan?" She asked casually. Marietta's eyes gleamed with knowledge. Her mother being in the ministry meant that she had a lot of private information at her fingertips.
"Well I don't know all the details." She whispered as they passed a group of Hufflepuffs leaving the dining hall. "But I do know she was raised in foster care."
"That hardly makes her a trouble maker." Cho reproached. She didn't really care but she knew she could get more information out of Marietta if she was on edge.
"Well not the orphan part in particular." Marietta explained hastily. "My mother told me she was placed in Lord Bennett's Correctional Facility for Troubled Children." Marietta made a face to show her disproval.
"I thought Lord Bennett's was a juvenile detention centre for minors."
"Exactly!" Marietta said triumphantly "A place for troublemakers. Only real head cases go to Bennett's. Whatever she did must have been awful to have landed her in there." Cho frowned as she considered this information.
'Well this is unexpected.' Cho had been hoping to leave this situation the way it is. Yet her interest was being drawn in. Before she could comment further Marietta paused. Cho sent her a quizzical look.
"Oh, well we're here." Marietta explained. Cho looked around and was surprised to find herself in front of the dining hall. Nerves prickled her stomach.
'What if she's here?' Cho didn't feel prepared for another encounter with Katie Bell. Not this soon. As they entered the hall she threw a casual glance over to the Gryffindor table. Except for a few students the table was bare.
'She's not here.' She breathed a sigh of relief. Cho and Marietta settled down next to a couple of exhausted looking sixth years at the Ravenclaw table. Quickly pouring a strong cup of coffee she drank quickly.
"Looks like there is a change in the class schedule today." Marietta said while leafing threw a notice on the table.
"Oh?" She was more focused on the coffee than what Marietta was saying.
"Lupin is out with the flu. They are shuffling the classes around to make up for his absence." She explained.
"No double Defense Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin?" She asked hopefully. Marietta examined the schedule carefully then smiled.
"Looks like it!" Marietta grinned. Cho smiled into her coffee. That particular class was among her least favorites. Blowing on the hot liquid gently she placed the coffee mug onto the table.
"So what class do we have instead?" She asked with genuine interest.
Marietta pulled out her wand and placed the tip against the paper. The wand glowed for a moment revealing her altered schedule.
"Double Potions with Gryffindor." She said matter of fact. "A chance to see your new best friend." She teased. Cho almost knocked over her coffee. She grabbed the schedule away of Marietta quickly hoping she had she misheard.
"Cho?" Marietta put her hand on her arm. "You okay? You look pale." Cho balled up the paper and threw it on the table.
"It's nothing." She smiled reassuringly at Marietta. Turning back to her coffee she brooded deeply. Fate was not her side. Why was everything suddenly happening so fast?
No, she did not like being caught off guard at all.
Hermione Granger stood puzzled in the Gryffindor common room. On first glance the room looked, as it should at six in the morning. It was completely deserted with only the rising sun to light it. It was only upon closer inspection that she began to expect something was amiss. Two tables were overturned, books were scattered haphazardly across a couch and one slipper lay deserted on the floor. Yet not one soul occupied the room. 'Unless. Peeves?' she considered. That didn't seem right either. He would be around to gloat if it were the poltergeist.
The morning only became more bizarre as she sat down in one of the armchairs and hefted her textbooks onto the table. Before she could open one page to study the portrait hole swung open. Hermione jumped in surprise. Crookshanks trotted unconcerned into the room.
"How on earth did you open the portrait hole?" Hermione asked the cat as it approached her. Given the pumped up security mixed with his inability to speak this was quiet baffling. He remained cavalier and jumped into her lap. Hermione stared at the now closed portrait hole in wonderment.
"My god Hermione what went on here?" A voice interrupted her reverie. Jumping slightly she turned to face a tired gaunt looking Percy. In his arms he grasped a load of textbooks that rivaled her own.
"I'm not sure. I found the place like this." She watched as Percy groaned and heaved his books on a table.
"I don't have time to deal with this." He sat into a nearby armchair and made as if to open a book. Then promptly fell asleep. Hermione giggled into her hand. She brushed Crookshanks off her lap and stood up to pick up a nearby throw and draped it over his exhausted form. Her smile turned into a scowl as she glanced at the clock.
"Ten past six. Those boys are so lazy." She complained. They were suppose to meet her in the common room promptly at six so they'd have enough time to go to the library after breakfast.
"Well I am not going to wake them up." She said pointedly to Crookshanks. "Let them live with the consequences." She was starting to feel underappreciated. Crookshanks stretched out his body on the floor making him look even larger than usual. Hermione leaned down to scratch his exposed belly lightly. He purred sweetly in response.
"You'd never stand me up. Would you Crookshanks?" She crooned. He gazed sleepily at her from his position on the floor. Hermione huffed in the direction of the boy's dormitory and pulled out a book. She was going to wait right there until they decided to show up. It turned out to be a long wait.
As the minutes ticked by the common room became busy and full of students making their trek to the dining hall. It was almost time for breakfast to finish before she caught sight of the boys. Despite having slept much longer than her they both managed to look exhausted.
"Good morning, Hermione." Harry yawned standing in front of her. Ron stood at Harry's shoulder. Both seemed entirely oblivious to her icy stare.
"Good morning, Harry." She replied stiffly.
"Hey! Is that today's potion assignment?" Ron's reached down to grab the parchment out of her hand but she slapped his hand away quickly. "Oi! What did you do that for?" Hermione unleashed a cold glare on him.
"If you had come down when you agreed. I would have helped you." She said testily pretending to pay the boys no mind. Harry and Ron exchanged confused looks.
"Sorry Hermione." Harry apologized giving her his most sincere expression.
"Sorry! for wha—? OW!" Harry elbowed Ron in the chest abruptly.
"Do you want help with potion's or not?" Harry hissed under his breath. Ron sent him an annoyed look.
"Right, Sorry Mione." Ron mumbled. Hermione paused a moment as if to consider. Finally she indicated to the chairs beside her.
"Fine. Don't let it happen again." She sniffed. Harry nodded peaceably in reply. Ron scowled his assent.
Ron hadn't sat down for more than five seconds before Crookshanks perked up from his position on the floor. He stared at Ron expectantly.
"Hermione get that beast away from me." Ron warned and kicked out with his leg to shoo the cat away. "Git! Damn thing" He clutched at his robe pocket, which was now squirming frantically.
"Ron!" Hermione shrieked "You stop that this instance!"
"He's trying to get Scabbers again! You should put that dumb thing down."
"Don't say that! He's just trying to play!" Hermione grasped Crookshanks from around the middle and clutched him protectively to her chest.
"Play my arse!" Ron shot back. Before it could get anymore heated the argument was suddenly interrupted by the portrait hole swinging open. Katie Bell walked dazedly. They all balked at her appearance. She looked as if she had been on the loosing side of a scrap.
"Whoah Katie!" Harry called out "You all right?" She didn't seem to register their existence yet. The common room was mostly empty except for them. Most students had already gone to breakfast.
"Did she go out like that?" Ron whispered quietly. Hermione surveyed Katie over skeptically. 'A nightgown?' The girl looked quite ridiculous. Katie blinked tiredly rubbing at her eyes and looked over in their direction.
"Katie, what happened?" Harry kept his ton neutral. None of them were sure how to interpret Katie's condition.
"Reckon she was in a fight?" Ron muttered under his breath.
"In her nightgown?" Hermione whispered back perplexed.
Katie frowned suddenly in their direction taking a moment to rub her eyes and double take. She suddenly seemed very much awake and very angry. Harry swallowed audibly.
"You!" Katie barked and stormed up to the group.
"Katie, what in bloody—OW!" Ron stumbled back as Katie elbowed him out of the way and stopped in front of Hermione. "Why is everyone hitting me today!" Ron cursed. Katie seemed largely unaffected by his plight. Hermione stepped back nervously, entirely confused by what was occurring.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked carefully. Katie seemed less focused on her and seemed to be examining Crookshanks.
"That cat." Katie said darkly. "Is a menace!" Katie whirled around and stomped out of the common rooms into the dormitories.
"Finally someone sane!" Ron shouted after her, "You see! That's what I'm saying." Hermione scowled and grabbed her bag with her free arm.
"I'll be upstairs." She said stiffly walking past the dazed boys.
"Wait! Hermione what about potions…?" Harry trailed off as Hermione disappeared up the dormitory steps. He turned to Ron and smacked him abruptly on the back of his head. "Idiot." He muttered and headed for the portrait hole.
"OW! Bloody hell Harry!" Ron called out before running after him. The common room returned to silence as now only Percy dosed quietly in the corner.
Thank you! REMEMBER if you want more frequent updates REVIEW! I can't stress this enough! I feel ten times more motivated to write when I have reviews to go on.
I know it's been almost a year since the first chapter went up but it has been a crazy year. Not to mention the area of Japan I live in was hit by a mega quake and tsunami 3 months ago delaying the chapter even more.
-Sunhops
