Author's note: Firstly the disclaimer - I am neither JK Rowling nor any of the various corporations to which Harry Potter legally belongs. This is for fun, not for profit, etcetera. This is the fourth chapter of "Grey", entitled 'Irresistible'. There is a CHANGE IN POV from the previous chapter. Enjoy! ~Elske
"Irresistible"
After Cedric's funeral, all Harry could talk about was Cho. Cho and Percy. He brught up the scene a thousand times, analysing it, wondering what it meant. If I were him, I would have been concentrating on more important things - like that epic battle between good and evil that we'd all found ourselves caught up in. But no, all he talked about was Cho and Percy, Cho and Percy, Cho and Percy. Maybe...maybe that was easier for him.
I finally interrupted him before he could ask me for the thirty-seventh time where I thought Percy had spent the night of Cedric's funeral - I had made the foolish mistake of admitting that he hadn't come home to the Burrow that night. I didn't want to tell Harry because it seemed unfair to Percy. For all the differences between us, he was still my brother, and I felt I owed him something. But I couldn't stand to have that conversation even one more time, so I took a deep breath and said "Um, Harry? You don't have to worry about Percy. He's, well...he doesn't like girls. That is, he...he's...you know." Not very delicate, but it got the point across.
Harry looked at me, shocked. He went very pale and then pink and then he asked "Really?"
"Mmm-hmm." I replied, knowing that I was blushing too. I was hoping that he wasn't going to ask me how I knew that. It certainly wasn't because Percy wanted me to know - Percy never told me anything. And I really, really didn't want to re-live that experience. It was one of the most embarrassing ones in my life, even worse than when I walked in on Fred and his girlfriend...because Fred's girlfriend was, well, a girl. Unlike Cedric.
Luckily, Harry just stayed quiet for a moment, and then he started talking about Cho again, wondering if she still loved Cedric and wondering if she could ever live him.
It all seemed a waste of time to me. For one thing, the relationship Cho and Cedric had was a far different one than Harry hoped to have with Cho - so it seemed a foolish waste of time for him to keep comparing the two. And really, all Harry had to do was tell Cho that he liked her. She'd love him back. She had to. How could she not? If Harry Potter ever loved you, could you refuse him? Could anyone?
But I just let him keep talking. I was his best friend, after all. He left the next day, went back home to the Dursleys. A few days later, Percy started coming out of his room and having meals with the rest of the family, which is something that he hadn't done since he found out that Cedric was killed. He talked and smiled some at the antics staged by the twins to try and cheer him up. I don't know if they knew just why Percy was so devastated. I don't know who knew about Percy and Cedric. Me, and mum, of course. And Ginny, she had to have known. She has a talent for seeing things that other people miss. Oliver Wood must have known too, for some reason, because he kept sending Percy notes right after the funeral. Percy asked mum to write back to everyone with his regrets because he was in no shape to face the rest of the world, and she did so. It was one of the few things any of us could do to help him.
I overheard Percy asking mum if he could have Cho over for dinner. They talked about her - she was having a hard time of it, even worse than Percy, I think. Percy had the rest of us to lean on and hide behind, but Cho didn't have anything at all. Her mother had been in St. Mungo's since the summer before, when the Death Eaters showed the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup. And her stepfather and the two little kids moved out there, to be with her, and so Cho had been living with the Diggory family, because their families had been friends, and everything. Percy said that everything there reminded her of the sadness, and so she needed to get out of the house more, because Percy wanted to help her not be so sad anymore.
I half-wanted to run upstairs and write to Harry and tell him what I had learned. Neither of us had known any of that about Cho. It's funny...he doesn't know anything about her, and yet he says he's in love with her. I don't quite understand how that's possible. I didn't write the letter after all. It was, I reasoned, none of my business - no matter how hard Harry tried to make it so.
And Cho did come for dinner, a few nights. She was very quiet and polite and didn't say much at all the first time she came. But later, she was able to be coaxed into quiet conversations. She even smiled at me. I felt guilty afterwards.
Again, I felt like writing to Harry : 'Dear Harry, Cho came to our house and she smiled at me. I'm sorry, Ron'. But, of course, I didn't. What good would it have done? None, at all.
Yesterday, Cho smiled at all of us. George started flirting with her, and she delicately flirted back. I think that made Percy happy, although it's really hard to tell with Percy. I didn't tell Harry about that either, which had me feeling even more guilty. But again,t hat was something else that was really none of my business.
This morning, an owl came and dropped a huge letter on my breakfast plate. I expected it to be from Harry, wondering if I had any new insights on Cho and offering a dozen of his own. Or, worse yet, from Hermione, wondering how Harry was and talking about how much she worried about him. She was sending lots of those, of late. But it wasn't from either Harry or Hermione - it was from Oliver wood. I sat there wondering why Oliver would be writing to me. And then I noticed that it wasn't addressed to me after all, it was for Percy. Stupid owl.
So I had to go upstairs and take Percy his mail. It felt funny - I hadn't really talked to him since before Cedric died. Since I found out about him and Cedric. Well, if you wanted to get technical, I hadn't really talked to him in about nine years. We didn't get along, we weren't friends, just brothers. I didn't want to go up there, but I had to give him his letter.
He opened the door right away after I knocked, looked out at me and said "Hello, Ron." He looked tired. But he hadn't been crying, I could tell that right away, and I was glad - I hate it when people cry. I never know what to do or what to say and I end up feeling more foolish than I normally do.
Anyway, I smiled back at Percy and held out the envelope. "You got a letter," I said, "from Oliver Wood."
"Oliver Wood?" He echoed, and his whole face lit up. I smiled too; I couldn't help it. It was rare to see Percy happy, but when he was, it was contagious.
I didn't mean to prolong the encounter, but I found myself saying, "How are you, Percy?"
He seemed surprised by the question. "Getting better." He said, and he tightened his grip on the letter. "Getting better every day." And then he turned away and went back into his room and closed the door behind him.
I got back downstairs just in time to hear George shouting to mum that he's going out to Hogsmeade to play Quidditch in the park with Cho.
I can't take the guilt anymore. As soon as I finish my breakfast, I'm going to write to Harry.
"Irresistible"
After Cedric's funeral, all Harry could talk about was Cho. Cho and Percy. He brught up the scene a thousand times, analysing it, wondering what it meant. If I were him, I would have been concentrating on more important things - like that epic battle between good and evil that we'd all found ourselves caught up in. But no, all he talked about was Cho and Percy, Cho and Percy, Cho and Percy. Maybe...maybe that was easier for him.
I finally interrupted him before he could ask me for the thirty-seventh time where I thought Percy had spent the night of Cedric's funeral - I had made the foolish mistake of admitting that he hadn't come home to the Burrow that night. I didn't want to tell Harry because it seemed unfair to Percy. For all the differences between us, he was still my brother, and I felt I owed him something. But I couldn't stand to have that conversation even one more time, so I took a deep breath and said "Um, Harry? You don't have to worry about Percy. He's, well...he doesn't like girls. That is, he...he's...you know." Not very delicate, but it got the point across.
Harry looked at me, shocked. He went very pale and then pink and then he asked "Really?"
"Mmm-hmm." I replied, knowing that I was blushing too. I was hoping that he wasn't going to ask me how I knew that. It certainly wasn't because Percy wanted me to know - Percy never told me anything. And I really, really didn't want to re-live that experience. It was one of the most embarrassing ones in my life, even worse than when I walked in on Fred and his girlfriend...because Fred's girlfriend was, well, a girl. Unlike Cedric.
Luckily, Harry just stayed quiet for a moment, and then he started talking about Cho again, wondering if she still loved Cedric and wondering if she could ever live him.
It all seemed a waste of time to me. For one thing, the relationship Cho and Cedric had was a far different one than Harry hoped to have with Cho - so it seemed a foolish waste of time for him to keep comparing the two. And really, all Harry had to do was tell Cho that he liked her. She'd love him back. She had to. How could she not? If Harry Potter ever loved you, could you refuse him? Could anyone?
But I just let him keep talking. I was his best friend, after all. He left the next day, went back home to the Dursleys. A few days later, Percy started coming out of his room and having meals with the rest of the family, which is something that he hadn't done since he found out that Cedric was killed. He talked and smiled some at the antics staged by the twins to try and cheer him up. I don't know if they knew just why Percy was so devastated. I don't know who knew about Percy and Cedric. Me, and mum, of course. And Ginny, she had to have known. She has a talent for seeing things that other people miss. Oliver Wood must have known too, for some reason, because he kept sending Percy notes right after the funeral. Percy asked mum to write back to everyone with his regrets because he was in no shape to face the rest of the world, and she did so. It was one of the few things any of us could do to help him.
I overheard Percy asking mum if he could have Cho over for dinner. They talked about her - she was having a hard time of it, even worse than Percy, I think. Percy had the rest of us to lean on and hide behind, but Cho didn't have anything at all. Her mother had been in St. Mungo's since the summer before, when the Death Eaters showed the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup. And her stepfather and the two little kids moved out there, to be with her, and so Cho had been living with the Diggory family, because their families had been friends, and everything. Percy said that everything there reminded her of the sadness, and so she needed to get out of the house more, because Percy wanted to help her not be so sad anymore.
I half-wanted to run upstairs and write to Harry and tell him what I had learned. Neither of us had known any of that about Cho. It's funny...he doesn't know anything about her, and yet he says he's in love with her. I don't quite understand how that's possible. I didn't write the letter after all. It was, I reasoned, none of my business - no matter how hard Harry tried to make it so.
And Cho did come for dinner, a few nights. She was very quiet and polite and didn't say much at all the first time she came. But later, she was able to be coaxed into quiet conversations. She even smiled at me. I felt guilty afterwards.
Again, I felt like writing to Harry : 'Dear Harry, Cho came to our house and she smiled at me. I'm sorry, Ron'. But, of course, I didn't. What good would it have done? None, at all.
Yesterday, Cho smiled at all of us. George started flirting with her, and she delicately flirted back. I think that made Percy happy, although it's really hard to tell with Percy. I didn't tell Harry about that either, which had me feeling even more guilty. But again,t hat was something else that was really none of my business.
This morning, an owl came and dropped a huge letter on my breakfast plate. I expected it to be from Harry, wondering if I had any new insights on Cho and offering a dozen of his own. Or, worse yet, from Hermione, wondering how Harry was and talking about how much she worried about him. She was sending lots of those, of late. But it wasn't from either Harry or Hermione - it was from Oliver wood. I sat there wondering why Oliver would be writing to me. And then I noticed that it wasn't addressed to me after all, it was for Percy. Stupid owl.
So I had to go upstairs and take Percy his mail. It felt funny - I hadn't really talked to him since before Cedric died. Since I found out about him and Cedric. Well, if you wanted to get technical, I hadn't really talked to him in about nine years. We didn't get along, we weren't friends, just brothers. I didn't want to go up there, but I had to give him his letter.
He opened the door right away after I knocked, looked out at me and said "Hello, Ron." He looked tired. But he hadn't been crying, I could tell that right away, and I was glad - I hate it when people cry. I never know what to do or what to say and I end up feeling more foolish than I normally do.
Anyway, I smiled back at Percy and held out the envelope. "You got a letter," I said, "from Oliver Wood."
"Oliver Wood?" He echoed, and his whole face lit up. I smiled too; I couldn't help it. It was rare to see Percy happy, but when he was, it was contagious.
I didn't mean to prolong the encounter, but I found myself saying, "How are you, Percy?"
He seemed surprised by the question. "Getting better." He said, and he tightened his grip on the letter. "Getting better every day." And then he turned away and went back into his room and closed the door behind him.
I got back downstairs just in time to hear George shouting to mum that he's going out to Hogsmeade to play Quidditch in the park with Cho.
I can't take the guilt anymore. As soon as I finish my breakfast, I'm going to write to Harry.