What is Next?
A/N- Disclaimer (sorry I forgot to put it in my first chapter)- I own nothing but my original characters and the plot line. I wish I owned Harry Potter, but unfortunately, that is just not the case! Read and review. Tell me what could make it better/what you want to happen. Sorry, this is a short chapter, and also sorry about the story going a bit slow, there's going to be more action soon- never fear, I have a plan!
The memorial service was hell on earth for Cho. She couldn't imagine anything worse than sitting on the cold, hard bench with hundreds of eyes drilling into her. Even the teachers seemed to be searching her face for any sort of reaction. When the first tear left her eye, she could sense the collective pity of the Great Hall.
Becca leaned towards Cho, and whispered, "You need anything? We could go if it's too hard."
Cho shook her head no.
She knew that no matter how much she wanted to leave, she never could. Becca, her best friend and roommate, was the only person that Cho had ever confided in about her wavering feelings about Cedric. Becca was tall, with long blond hair that she had magically highlighted with streaks of pink. She and Cho had met on their first day of school and had become friends, despite significant personality differences. Becca was the crazier of the two. She was the one who was always sneaking out after dark or magically charming her socks to sing Christmas carols during the holidays. She was the only one who really knew how difficult this was for Cho.
Somebody, a student that Cho had only met once was reading something about Cedric. "Cedric embodied all that Hogwarts stands for- brave, loyal, smart. He was a friend to all, he never looked down on anyone who needed help." Cho halfway listened as the tearful girl choked through her generic speech. Her attention began to wander.
Cho noticed Harry Potter diverting his eyes when she caught him staring at her. Every once and a while he would glance at Cedric's crying parents, but for the vast majority of the time he elected to stare at the floor. Cho attempted to keep from staring at Harry during the service, but whenever her eyes would stop, they always seemed to land on him. She finally settled on staring at her other best friend's untied shoelace sprawled out on the tiles.
Nate completed the three best friends- Cho, Becca, and Nate. He was conventionally handsome, but neither Cho nor Becca ever really seemed to notice. They had known him as a scrawny first year, before puberty kicked in. He looked over at her worriedly, silently asking her if she was all right. Cho shock her head softly so that her ponytail quivered slightly, but managed to eek out a small smile.
As soon as the ceremony was finished, Cho, Becca, and Nate retreated to the common room. Cho had never been so glad to leave the Great Hall. She wiped her tears on the back of her sleeve, vowing that they would be her last, Becca and Nate draped themselves over one couch while Cho perched on the arm.
"I can't believe you actually failed that Care of Magical Creatures quiz, Nate," Becca joked.
"Yeah, even I managed to get at least an 85 (A/N- I mean percent)," Cho laughed.
"In my defense, I was blinded by my best friends' amazing beauty. What respectable teenage boy would be able to concentrate with you two around?"
"Stop flirting. You know it won't get you out of having to write to your parents to tell them about your little failure. Imagine how proud they'll be. They can tell all their important friends that their son managed to be the only one in the class to fail," Becca smirked.
"You've conveniently forgotten that you were just 1 point away from failing that potions test last year," Cho pointed out, looking at Becca
"Yeah, but that's potions. Its different."
"Really? What about in first year Charms? Was that different too?"
As Becca and Nate continued their banter without her, Cho realized that this was the first time in a long time that she felt even close to normal. It was a nice feeling, not having to pretend to be all right.
As the conversation lulled into a silence, Nate got up and stretched, "I think I'm going to send that letter to my parents now. Better late than never."
"I'll go with you. I actually should send a letter to my parents telling them that I'm doing okay with everything that's happened."
Nate let Cho step out into the corridor first and they slowly made their way towards their owls.
"Cho?" Nate said catching her eye as they walked in unison.
"Yeah…"
"You know that I'm never one for talking about feelings, but if you ever wanted to talk, about, um, you know," Nate said, rubbing his temple, "all that happened, or whatever, you could come to me."
Cho smiled at Nate's attempt to be emotional, "Thanks Nate. And I know. That's why I loved you," she said throwing her arms playfully around his neck.
"Well, I just wanted you to know," Nate laughed, attempting to disentangle himself from Cho's hug.
It felt good to be able to laugh again. Without a doubt, the sadness was still there, like a weight on her shoulders, but at least she had tricked herself into forgetting about it. At least it gave her a second to pretend like everything was going to go back to normal.