xXx Chapter Two xXx

xXx Accepting an Abomination xXx

Cho gave herself the mandatory glance in the mirror as she pulled her hair back into its ponytail in order to make sure she hadn't missed any strands of hair, trying hard not to let her eyes linger on her image in the glass. Normally she preferred her hair down to help hide the scars, but having the strands in her face made work more difficult. Lord Voldemort may have ordered her to be healed as a reward for her decision, but much of the damage had already been made permanent, a badge for her to carry around showing that she had been on the wrong side of the war.

At least she had her freedom. Any female blood traitors who had refused to submit like requested had been enslaved and were merely used as breeding stock to help continue the various pure-blooded lines who were dwindling. Any half-bloods or Muggleborns who were deemed not to be a threat were magically castrated and handed out as servants to the loyal, for those who preferred human interaction over house-elf. She, at least, had a low level secretary job that the Ministry and could come and go as she pleased, even if she was treated rather poorly by many people.

A sharp rap sounded on the door, and Cho froze for a minute. She had no friends to speak of, even Marietta Edgecombe had shunned her after the battle, her previous best friend having been given leeway from the torture as she was rewarded for her snitching in their sixth year. After she had made the effort to defend Marietta to Harry after the betrayal, for the woman to dump her, well, it was with a perverse pleasure that she noted that faint purple spots that still graced the brunette's face. Hermione Granger had done her job well.

The knock sounded again, and Cho was pulled from her musing by the sound. She tensed, half expecting the door to be busted down as someone forced their entry. Given that she had no friends and her neighbors ignored her existence, the only people who could be coming to call on her would have to be the Aurors - a group of former Death Eaters usually known more for their brawn than their brains, who came to pay visit whenever someone was outspoken against the Dark Lord, usually resulting in that person disappearing, never to be heard from or seen again.

Cho tentatively approached the door, jumping as there was a third pounding. She couldn't recall having done anything that could be construed as working against the Dark Lord, but sometimes it didn't seem to matter, and people were taken on a whim, likely to keep everyone else on their toes and fearful of causing a rebellion. Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the door, the air freezing in her lungs as she recognized one of the senior members of the Aurors squad. She was dead. All that pain and suffering she had survived for the sake of living, and she scarcely had survived another year. What a waste.

Then Cho noticed the slightly wilted flowers that were being offered to her. Aurors weren't delivery men, at least not typically, so what was he doing here? There was no way someone in a position of authority over the Aurors had taken an interest in her, the idea was just absurd. "May I help you?" She worked hard to keep her voice even and her tone light, and she was fairly certain she had done a successful job. If he wasn't here to haul her off to death, she didn't want to antagonize him into changing his mind.

"I bought these for you," the man explained, holding them slightly further out in an effort to get her to take them.

Cho searched her memory for the name of the man. What was it? He'd had a son at Hogwarts the year below her, some big brute in Slytherin that had hung out with Malfoy... oh yes, she was fairly certain he was Crabbe. She'd never studied the family histories enough to learn his first name, but having a surname at least told her whom she was dealing with. "Oh, I'm sorry, this must be a mistake. I'm the only one who lives here."

The large man, Crabbe she reminded herself, shook his head. "No mistake. This is a present for you from me. I have the right person, Miss Chang."

Cho backed up in confusion. This couldn't be right, who would bring someone like her a token of affection, especially someone who had some level of status, compared to her bottom of the barrel status. She shook her head at him. "I'm sorry, I can't take them." She backed up fearfully, afraid of his potential wrath and retaliation, and he lowered his arm, taking a step back away from her door. Once she was certain that was all the reaction she was getting, she shut the door hard, and slide down the wall to collapse into a shaking heap.

She didn't know how long she sat there, trying to still her body's tremors, but the clock chiming in the other room reminded Cho that she had to get to work. She forced herself to stand, moved around the flat grabbing the items she'd need to the day, and headed for the front door. Opening it, she was relieved to find that the hallways were once again empty, and she took her first step out, pausing when she heard a rustling crunch. Looking down, she saw that she had stepped on the flowers Crabbe had left on her doormat.

O-o-O-o-O

As Cho got ready for her day, she diligently ignored the flowers that had been delivered the day before. Leaving them on the doormat would have raised questions, so she had brought them into the house. Unwilling to display them, but feeling like it would be terribly rude to just bin them, she had tossed the whole bouquet onto her tiny kitchen table. They had responded to her lack of care by wilting further due to absence of water, but she still couldn't bring herself to do anything with them.

Once more, a pounding on the door bought Cho out of her daily routine. She cursed herself inwardly, knowing that her rudeness previous would come back to trouble her. She had just slammed the door in the face of one of the higher level Aurors; of course he had gone back to report how her loyalty had wavered to the Dark Lord and that she needed to be brought in for questioning. She walked to the front hallway and waited there patiently, not wanting to be near the door when it was busted in.

The second set of thuds convinced Cho that she might be wrong, and she tentatively approached the door. When it didn't come flying inward to hit her, she grasped the doorknob and turned, pulling the door open herself. There, same as yesterday, stood an Auror in the hallway, watching her intently.

This time, however, Crabbe was holding out a box, rather than the bunch of flowers. Stepping closer to get a better view, Cho was able to recognize it as a box of chocolates. She stepped back, shaking her head. "I don't understand."

"It is a gift. For you." He explained gruffly.

"I - I can't." He frowned at her refusal, lowering his arm so the box was at his side, and they stared at each other, him with narrowed, confused eyes and her with wide, panicked eyes. Unable to take the constant scrutiny, Cho fled to the security of her bedroom, not even bothering to close the door.

When it came too close to time to leave for work, Cho tentatively crept out of her room, peeking around every corner to make sure her flat was empty. When she figured out that she was the only one present, she headed to her front door, noting that it was now closed. She pulled it open to find that he had once more left the present on her welcome mat.

O-o-O-o-O

There was silence for several mornings, and Cho began to think that she had impressed upon him her lack of interest. That thought was broken when there once more was a knock on the door with a an offering of flowers again. This pattern continued on and off for a couple weeks when Crabbe switched things up by offering a small, rectangular box, rather than the usual bouquets or sweets.

Cho was hesitant to take it, certain she wouldn't like what it contained, and tentatively cracked it open. She gasped at the sight of the simple silver charm bracket. Granted, it wasn't something that would have been highly expensive, but he must have done his research on her, given that the charms seemed specific to her. There was an eagle, the chinese symbol for 'order', a book, a snitch and a swan. All basic stuff that could easier be found out about her, but the fact that someone took the time to do it almost made her cry. "Why are you doing this? Don't you have someone else you can chase?" She asked with a hitch in her voice. It was, perhaps, a dangerous thing to say, given that he had the authority to imprison her to do his bidding, but she wanted this charade of courting to stop.

"Yes, but they're not as interesting as you." He replied with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Wh-what?" She stammered, clearly not expecting that response from him. "How am I interesting? I already know that I'm a last resort as a female, you don't have to pretend I'm of any importance."

Crabbe frowned at her, apparently uncertain what to make of her outburst, before he began replying. "I am looking for a woman to provide me with an heir, true, but if that was all I was looking for, I could easily get my hands on a blood-traitor breeding slave. Rather, I would like to also find myself a companion. I am not as wealthy as some of the other families, nor am I interested in spending unnecessary time and money on frivolous luxuries, so I need someone who is willing to live meagerly and take care of things herself, given that my sole house-elf is getting fairly old. I need a woman who is hardworking, intelligent, and willing to take a firm hand in raising a child with the same traits. I would like her to be able to maintain a good conversation without being argumentative, sassy or condescending.

"You have these traits. Your salary, while not extravagant, is more than enough to provide additional luxuries that I have get to see reflected in your home or daily attire. Your work space and what I've seen of your home from this doorway are always neat and organized, proving you take care and clean up after yourself. Your work is always complete and detailed, and I believe that would be similar in your home life. As a Ravenclaw, you are likely intelligent, but I've not heard you talk down to other people or fight your superiors, so I believe I may be able to enjoy speaking with you.

"So, while there are other people I could see, I'd rather try courting you and hope you respond to my advances. An unhappy wife makes for an unpleasant home, so I'm not interested in forcing you. If this is your refusal, state such, and I will not return."

Cho opened her mouth to reply, but then shut it as she looked down at the bracelet she was holding. She had been tempted to tell him to go away, because she wasn't interested in him, but his words made her think. He had told her some nonsense like she was beautiful, she would have sent him away easily, but it seemed as though he was actually playing attention to the person she was, for his analysis of her was correct. Why didn't she want anything to do with him? Her mind supplied the answer easily: he was an abomination. He murdered people regularly, participating in some of the darkest magics, all from a desire to please some Dark Lord.

Cho's drifted from the box to the back of her arm where the scar were still easily visible from that night. Her voice, hoarse from screaming, shouted curses and insults as her hands lowered time and time again, feeling the blood ooze out onto her hand and splash up onto her bare skin. She pulled herself out of the memory. Granted, he may have done the act more times than her, but she had murdered an innocent person in cold blood, the same as him. Wouldn't that make her just as much of an abomination as he? Where did she get this idea that she was somehow morally superior than him?

Here was a person who was willing to look past her 'blood traitor' status and try to get to know her as a person, and Cho wasn't willing to look past his 'Death Eater' status to know him? He had been nothing but nice to her, and here was her one chance at happiness with someone who truly appreciated her. If she passed this up, then she really did deserve to be alone and miserable for her life.

Cho raised her head to meet his eyes, and her lips moved, but no sound came out. He narrowed his eyes slightly, as though trying to read words on her lips, and she swallowed hard before trying again. "Yes. I would like to go out with you."

Crabbe's eyes widened. "Great! How does Friday at seven sound?"

Cho nodded her head. "Th-that'll work."

"I will pick you up then." He stepped forward and gently grasping her free hand, pulled it toward him so he could kiss the back of her hand. "Until then, my lady, be well." With that farewell, he turned and strode off down the hall, leaving the stunned young woman behind him.