This is SERIOUSLY late, but I'm not going to lie and say that this won't happen again. My updating is inconsistent because of work and school and other life things. But here's another chapter for you.
Chapter 3: Riddikulusly Unexpected
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In the lowest underground level of a dark mansion, a group of evil wizards met. In spite of the privacy and impregnability of their lair, they spoke in harsh, hushed voices. The room was lit by a burning fireplace that cast dancing shadows on the gray stone floor. Wormtail, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Lucious Malfoy were gathered around a cushioned throne on which sat a deteriorating Lord Voldemort.
Voldemort had shrunken in stature like a dwarfed, aging man. His skin was gray and liverspotted, shriveled up and rotting. His hands looked like boney claws. His face was sunken with his thin skin barely clinging to his skull. He looked like a cadaver and he was just managing to hold on with each ragged breath. The evil desire in him kept him clinging to life.
"Master, it's been reported that she is back at Hogwarts. She's within closer reach," Lucious reported.
"Not with that muggle-loving fool of a wizard, Albus Dumbledore," Voldemort rasped and he gasped for air. "I need a way to get to her. She has rendered me practically useless and she must pay. I hate to relive history in this way."
"What should we do, Master?" Wormtail asked, panicked at Voldemort's anger.
"Quiet your pathetic whimpering Wormtail," Voldemort ordered, "We will have to repeat the past. First thing's first. We must capture her beneath Dumbledore's radar so that we might restore me to full power. After that, we make her suffer and kill her. After disposing of her, we then configure a plan to get to Potter."
"Shall I be the one to capture her, Master? Let it be me. I want to drag the princess here. Oh, what I would do to her! How I would torture her!" Bellatrix ranted on.
"No!" Voldemort forced out, wheezing in distress. Bellatrix squealed at being scolded.
"Dumbledore obviously has an eye on her. She needs to leave the grounds on her own, without Dumbledore's knowledge. Leave it to me to devise. Leave it to me," Voldemort said, barely audible. Voldemort would take his time devising an infallible plan. He would have his revenge. He would take back his power and multiply it by tenfold.
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"No!" Cho screamed as Lord Voldemort shot the Killing Curse at her baby sister. Her family members were lined up in a row facing Cho. Voldemort was standing at her side with his wand extended. Cho felt as though everything was moving in slow motion. She turned to see an evil grin of pleasure on Voldemort's face as he released another curse that struck her father and then another at her mother.
Cho wept as she fought to move to the bodies of her loved ones, but she was unable to to move. Her body was held in place. She felt Voldemort place his cold hand on the top of her back. The cold sensation immediately turned to hot and then to burning. Cho felt as though a hot iron was being placed on her neck.
Cho squeezed her eyes shut as she screamed in pain. When Cho opened her eyes she was no longer in her house. Instead, she was in a rectangular, sunken room. In the center of the room was a large mirror and in front of it stood a prepubescent Harry Potter and Professor Quirrell. He was reaching his hand out to grab Harry. Cho moved from her spot to see what was happening. She was shocked and disgusted at what she saw. She saw a hideous face on the back of Quirrell's head. Cho gasped as Quirrell's hands and face turned to dust as Harry attacked him with his hands. Quirrell turned into a pile of dust and Harry took a red stone out of his pocket. Cho recognized what it was from her history lessons; he was holding the Sorcerer's Stone.
Cho saw that behind Harry, an apparition was from the dust. Cho yelled for Harry to watch out, but it was to no effect as the spirit passed through Harry, causing him to fall to the ground
oooooooooo
The sun had just taken its place in the early sky. It was a bright and dewy Saturday morning, a perfect morning for a fly. Cho strode out in her Ravenclaw practice robes with her Nimbus 2001 clutched at her side in her gloved hands. Her thick robes protected her from the chilly autumn air. She finally arrived at the pitch, mounted her broom and kicked off the ground. She climbed in altitude and relished in the moment. She savored the force of the air, the rushing hum in her ears and the speed of her broom. She plateaued at an altitude and hover for a moment.
Cho had awoken that morning in a state of confusion. Once again, her nightmare transformed into what felt like a memory. Cho was trying to make sense of it, but was having great difficulty. Why would she be seeing events from Harry's past? She had nothing to do with them. Their commonality was that Lord Voldemort had attacked and killed her family and left her with a scar, but the Dark Lord had killed other families too and she was sure that their children were not affected as she was. It seemed that she would have to speak to Harry about it, an event she would dread.
Cho shook off her thoughts. She woke up this morning knowing that she would need to fly to clear her mind. It was two weeks into school and Cho knew had a feeling that it was going to be a long, slow year. Since that first day of class, it seemed that Professor Snape had made it his mission to make Cho's life hell. He critiqued her every other move, no matter how seemingly correct her work was and he was giving her potions partner trouble as well. Cho avoided having prolonged conversations with Harry by writing up pre-potions labs so that the instructions were already set out for the both of them. Talking was usually kept to yes or no answers, unless she had to explain something he didn't understand. They never talked about anything personal. Cho knew that she wasn't making it easy for him. Avoiding Harry on top of people constantly staring at her or talking about her, having constant nightmares, and loosing lots of sleep, made for a stressed Cho Chang.
Cho took off in wide, swooping ovals around the pitch. She picked up speed and coaxed her broom on. She climbed and dove and spiraled, allowing herself to forget about everything but this. After warming up, Cho pulled out her own golden snitch from her pocket. It had been a gift from her father after she won the Cup for Ravenclaw in her second year during her first year of Quidditch. She opened her palm and delicate wings sprouted from the small ball. It flitted into the air and out of sight. Cho spent an hour seeking the snitch. She swung around the goal posts and through the frames of the stands, chasing the snitch. Cho grasped the ball for the eighth time when she heard voices coming from below her. She looked down to see the Gryffindor team assembling below.
Looked as though her flying time was up. Cho pocketed her snitch and descended to the ground. She touched down a few feet away from the team and gracefully dismounted. She did not stop to chat as she walked past them, not catching anyone in the eye as she passed.
"You look great up there, Cho," she heard Harry comment from behind her. Cho stopped in her tracks and turned to face him.
"Thank you," she said in reply with a small smile. Cho noticed that behind Harry, the whole team was looking on and listening to their conversation.
"You know, we have tryouts this Thursday afternoon," Harry meekly offered, "Perhaps you should come out and give it a go."
Cho's brow furrowed and her expression went from thankful to insulted. Cho just shook her head and turned around. She walked away without a word. She heard chattering as she retreated.
How could he ask her that? She had been the Ravenclaw seeker for five years and last year she was supposed to be Ravenclaw Team Captain. She might be a Gryffindor, but was yet to possess house pride. She would be betraying her team if she allowed herself to play for Gryffindor.
Harry and Ron emerged from the locker room having showered and changed. They had practiced hard, working on conditioning and flying drills. As the team captain, Harry had to make sure his team was ready for the new season. The boys entered the Great Hall to meet Hermione who was sitting at the table eating with a book in hand.
They sat down and at once began to help themselves to breakfast.
"Good morning," Hermione said, tearing herself away from her reading, "How was the team?"
"It was great!" Ron stated enthusiastically, "I bet Gryffindor dominates this year and wins the Cup."
Harry nodded his head and smiled in agreement.
"So you're having tryouts next week right? Need a new chaser?" Hermione inquired.
"Yeah, that's right," Harry replied. Breeching the subject made Harry think about his interaction with Cho this morning. He had joined the rest of the team who berated him with questions about what had gone on, but he just shushed them and told them to mind their own business.
"Cho was flying this morning," Harry said off-handedly, not wanting the others to know that he was thinking about her.
"She looked wicked quick up there didn't she?" Ron said.
"Did she?" Hermione asked. She put down her book as she became more interested in the conversation.
"Yeah. Good thing she isn't a Ravenclaw anymore. She looked like she could be one of the only seekers who could offer you a challenge, Harry," Ron stated between sputtering up bits of scrambled egg.
"Ugh, Ronald, you are disgusting," Hermione scolded as bits of food flew from his mouth in her direction, "And you are quite insensitive."
Ron looked as though he had been offended with his mouth gaping open.
"Do close your mouth Ronald," Hermione said, turning away from him.
"She flew amazingly well. She was so light and quick," Harry said in sort of a daze as he imagined her on her broom catching the snitch. Harry shook himself from his daydream to see Hermione smirking at him.
"Well anyway, I asked her to try out for the team," Harry said.
"Now why would you do that?" Hermione asked. She looked slightly mortified.
"Well why not? She was good. I think she could play chaser with her speed and with Ginny lead chaser, I need another reserve seeker," Harry tried to explain, not understanding the blame Hermione was putting on him.
"That's beside the point. Seriously, do either of you two think before you speak," Hermione said in amused disbelief.
"Harry, she wouldn't play for the Gryffindor team. She still feels like a Ravenclaw at heart. I mean, she has won the cup for her house before. And before what happened last year, she was supposed to be Ravenclaw Team Captain," Hermione explained.
It dawned on Harry that he was a complete idiot. Of course she wouldn't even begin to consider playing for Gryffindor.
"How did she react when you asked?" Hermione asked.
"She looked shocked to be honest," Harry replied.
"Yes I'm sure. She may not be the way she used to be, that is apparent, but imagine asking her to play for Gryffindor before she went through what she did. She would have laughed in your face or smacked you," Hermione said, "That girl loved playing Quidditch. Imagine how hard for her it must be to not play anymore."
Harry nodded in agreement. He now realized what Cho was feeling. Harry couldn't imagine having Quidditch taken away from him. Sometimes it was the only thing that kept him sane.
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"Crucio!" Voldemort said as she applied the curse to Cho's contorted body. Cho convulsed in the middle of her destroyed living room. Cho felt like every part of her body was on fire.
Cho squeezed her eyes shut as she screamed in pain. When Cho opened her eyes she was no longer in her house. Instead, she was in a dark, damp, high-ceilinged cavern. She looked ahead to see Harry and an unknown teen boy. They were talking, but she could not hear. Her feet began to carry her towards them, but it felt like they were always kept at the same distance. She saw the boy transform the name 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' into 'I am Lord Voldemort.' Cho gasped. They scene seemed to fast forward as a huge serpentine creature attacked battled with Harry. She saw Fawkes the phoenix descend giving Harry the Sorting Hat. He pulled a heavy sword out of the hat and stabbed the great beast. Harry was hurt. Cho tried to run towards him, and felt as though she was getting closer. He stabbed the journal and the boy was gone. Time once again moved forward and Cho was very close to reaching Harry who was lying on the ground. She saw Fawkes sitting over him. She saw Harry become healed as Fawkes cried tears into his wounds. She saw Ginny sit up. Time moved forward one last time and she was left standing alone, looking up at Fawkes who was carrying Harry, Ginny, Ron and Gilderoy Lockhart. Cho panicked realizing that they were going to leave her. She reached up hoping to grab onto a limb, but instead of catching onto them, she was grabbed around the wrist by a cold hand. She looked up and saw Voldemort's red eyes and twisted grin and she screamed.
Cho shot up in her bed with a scream escaping her lips. Cho was shaking and beads of sweat littered her brow. Cho clung to her comforter as she tried to gain some composure and cease her sobs. She finally caught her breath and was able to calm down. She was calm enough to go over the dream that she just had. Cho knew what her dream was about.
Cho had dreamed about Harry once again. It had been almost three weeks since her last dream. Cho turned to her window. The sun was new in the sky and she stood up to get ready for class. Cho stumbled out of bed, shaken by the torture her body had been put through as she slumbered. Cho took a hot shower and changed into her uniform. She only had three classes today, Potions, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Cho ran her comb through her damp hair and thought to herself how she would begin to talk to Harry. She couldn't just outright confront him about her dreams. No. That might just freak him out. She decided that she would begin to talk to him more and more and then finally bring up her dreams.
Cho grabbed her book satchel, slipped on her shoes and left for the Great Hall for breakfast. Cho quickly ate her food and as she finished, she spotted the Hogwarts threesome enter the Great Hall. They sat further from her down the long table and dug into their meal. Cho mustered up the courage to approach them. She stood and made her way in their direction. Cho wouldn't have a chance to speak to him during Potions because they had a test.
Cho was a few feet away from them when Ron noticed her approaching. Cho saw him elbow Harry who looked up to her and was stunned at her presence.
"Hi, Cho," Harry said, surprise obvious on his face.
"Good morning," Cho said. She cleared her throat, realizing how dry her throat was.
Trying to make some small talk, Cho asked, "So are you prepared for the Potions exam?"
"I think so," Harry replied. Cho could tell that the conversation was getting awkward for Hermione and Ron who were avoiding looking at either her or Harry.
"Good. Anyway, um, I'll see you later then. Maybe we could talk about our next Potions practical," Cho said.
"Sure," Harry said, surprised that Cho was going out of her way to speak to him, "After class. Let's meet in the Common Room."
"Okay," Cho replied shyly.
"Okay," Harry replied.
"Thanks. Good luck then," Cho said before she gave him a nod and strode away.
It was a few seconds after she left that the silence at the table was broken.
"What was that about?" Ron asked.
Harry was still in shock at what had just happened.
"I don't know," Harry said in reply.
"She looks terrible doesn't she?" Ron commented. Cho did look a sad sight compared to her former self. She was still quite small, in spite of her efforts, and pale and she wore heavy circles under her eyes, like she didn't get enough sleep.
"Ron!" Hermione said, obviously shocked at his blatance.
"Well it's true," Ron shot back.
"Well maybe you'd look a mess too if you didn't get a good night's rest," Hermione said. Harry gave her a questioning look.
"Ugh, fine, don't tell her I said anything, but the poor thing barely gets a full night's rest. I come in late sometimes from studying in the common room or doing rounds or when I'm up early and I can hear her. Sometimes she's sobbing or screaming. It's quite disturbing," Hermione said in a hushed voice.
They were quiet for a moment before Hermione began to speak again.
"It's been nearly a month that we've been in school and she hasn't spoken to anyone. Maybe she's ready to start to open up. I mean, I've tried to talk to her, but she has been so closed off," Hermione stated.
"Yeah. Maybe," Harry said, "Do you think she'll talk about what happened that night?"
"Eventually, I hope that she will, but I don't know, Harry. It's important that she does though. Whatever happened that night has directly effected you and in order for you to prepare for what's to come, you need to talk to her," Hermione said, "But remember, just be sensitive. Whatever she does say, just be there for her."
Harry cocked his head up that Hermione's comment. Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry's reaction.
"Oh come on, Harry. It's obvious that she has chosen you to confide in. Even I knew that when she would open up it would be with you. Now if you don't think you can shoulder that responsibility then tell her you don't want to talk. She's in a very fragile state and if you can't deal with that then you're not the right person for her to be confiding in," Hermione said. She stood and began to walk to class, leaving Harry and Ron at the table.
"Look, Harry," Ron started, "I'm no girl expert, but I'm with Hermione on this one. Be careful. Cho looks like she's on the edge of cracking and if she goes mental, it's not your responsibility."
"But you see, it is," Harry said, "Something happened that night and because of it, Voldemort is nowhere to be found. She has everything to do with it and it is my responsibilty."
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The class assembled into the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom. Both the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors gathered at the center of the classroom noticing that the desks were pushed off to the side of the class. At the front of the room were six wooden chests that were moving about with thumps, as though the things they were containing were trying to escape.
Cho took her place in the middle of the group. She had taken the Potions exam and it was a breeze. She had learned from the first day of class to wait till the end of class to hand in her exam. She sat in her seat for nearly twenty minutes, waiting for the rest of the class to finish the exam. Transfiguration was quite easy as well. They were practicing transfiguring water into various objects, which was difficult because of the instability of its liquid state.
Cho nervously looked at the clock that hung on the wall and then over at Harry who was standing on the right side of the room. In two hours she would be meeting with him. Once Cho asked him this morning, she began to have second thoughts. Was it stupid for her to be talking to him? Maybe she was making a big fuss over nothing. Cho pushed the thoughts from her mind. What was done was done and she would be seeing him whether she felt confident or not.
At that moment, Professor Tonks burst out her office and stood at the front of the class.
"Pop quiz!" she announced. The class gave a slight groan.
"Oh come on! This won't be that bad. It's more like a pop practical and it will be fun. We've been reviewing so much lately and this will just wrap up what you've learned over the last couple of years so that we might be able to move on to newer things," Professor Tonks stated.
"Now from my own sources, I know that you all have seen one of these things and thoroughly enjoyed the exercise. So this should be fun," Tonks said as she pointed to the jumping chests.
"Who can tell me what a boggart is and how one is defeated?" Tonks asked.
Hermione's hand was the first to shoot into the air and she eagerly answered, "A boggart is a mystery creature because no one knows what one truly looks like. It takes on the form of one's fear. It can be defeated using the Riddikulus charm or using advanced magic."
"Very good, Hermione. Five points to Gryffindor," Tonks said.
"She is correct. Now in these six chests is a boggart. If I'm correct, there are thirty students in the class. So it will be five of you to one boggart and in order for you to pass, you must defeat the boggart within five Riddikulus charms. After all of you have completed this test, I will be teaching you the advanced wand work needed to defeat a boggart without the Riddikulus charm. Now then, shall we get started? Everyone get into groups," Tonks stated.
Students moved into groups of five. Cho just stayed close to the people surrounding her. The first group had its turn. Tonks pointed her wand at the chest and opened it. Out sprung a banshee. It changed forms four more times, the form becoming increasingly more comical. Hermione finished off the first group, turning Professor McGonagall telling her she was failing into a Professor McGonagall dancing in a tutu. The boggart exploded into an acrid cloud of smoke as the class rang out with laughter.
"Nice touch at the end, Granger," Tonks said. "Next group."
Group after group went, destroying their boggarts till finally, Cho's group was next. Cho was nervous. It had been a long time since she had faced a boggart. In her fourth year, Lupin had done a similar activity. Her boggart had transformed into a water troll that lived at the edge of her family's lake. She had been able to charm it so that the troll sprouted fairy wings and flew about uncontrollably. It had been great fun during her fourth year, but at the present, Cho was having a difficult time finding anything funny. She hadn't laughed during the previous rounds of the practical and hoped that she would somehow muster up the ability to make the troll she expected to pop up fly around.
"Ready?" Tonks asked the group. Cho and the rest of the group nodded. Professor Tonks opened the chest and out sprung a giant spider that was poised to strike Ron Weasley. Ron gave a whimper at first, but the pointed his wand and said the charm. The spider lost all of its legs and was wearing a bonnet. Laughter could be heard round the class. The next three students went and they successfully applied the spell. It finally came Cho's turn.
The boggart was getting confused and weak when it finally came to Cho. Cho took a breath and prepared herself for what she had to do. She tried to mentally picture a slimy water troll with sparkly wings, but she was unprepared for what the boggart transformed into.
The whole class went silent when the Susan Bones' bouncing boggart shark transformed into a menacing, hooded figure. The tall form threw back its hood to reveal the snakelike face of Voldemort. Students screamed and ran to the far corners of the room. Everything happened within seconds as the form charged forward, wand drawn, straight for Cho. Cho stumbled back and onto her bum in shock and fear. Cho thought quickly, threw out her arm and yelled, "Riddikulus!"
At her wand's command, a dark haired toddler appeared and crawled over to Voldemort and upon touching the hem of Voldemort's robe, Voldemort began to scream and disintegrate into ash. The toddler giggled, but no one else in the class did. Professor Tonks took action and waved her wand, causing the boggart to explode.
The entire class was frozen in shock and it was dead silent. The scene had only taken a matter of seconds to unfold. Cho still sat on the ground, cowering next to a desk. She was shaking with anxiety, her eyes wide and bewildered. She could not believe what had just happened. He was standing right there in front of her, in front of the whole class. His red eyes had sent painful chills down her spine.
On the opposite side of the room, Harry stood shocked as well. How could what he had seen been possible. First of all, Lord Voldemort had been the form that the boggart had taken which was shocking. Secondly, the charm had created an infant Harry that destroyed Voldemort much like he had in his first year. When the boggart exploded at Tonk's command, Harry's attention went from his own shock to concern for Cho. He pushed through other stunned students to get to Cho.
She was still on the ground. Her hand was shaking, loosely extended before her, clutching her wand. He crouched down next to her and broke the silence in the classroom.
"Cho?" Harry questioned softly, almost a whisper. Cho slowly turned her gaze from where the boggart stood to meet Harry. Harry saw her eyes were wide with fear and glassy, as though she was going to break down in tears.
Harry gingerly took her by the forearm and helped her up. She held on to him for support. When they finally stood, Cho noticed everyone was staring at her. She looked from Professor Tonks, to around the class, and then to Harry's eyes. She could tell that he was uneasy about what had just happened.
Cho couldn't take everyone's penetrating gazes. She realized that she was still clinging to Harry. She self-conciously removed her arms from his and turned for the exit and walked out of the classroom.
Harry didn't move for a few moments, but once his senses came to him, he made for the exit as well.
"Harry!" Tonks exclaimed from the front of the classroom.
"Tonks! I mean, Professor Tonks," He said right back at her. He looked at her pleadingly.
"Oh, all right," she said caving in.
Harry bolted out the door and caught sight of Cho rounding a corner. He ran to catch up with her.
"Cho," Harry called out as he made ground on her.
Cho heard Harry, but refused to turn around and continued on her straight path.
"Cho," Harry huffed out as he caught up with her. He placed himself right infront of her, blocking her path.
"What happened in there?" Harry questioned. Cho's head was still downcast.
"Come on, Cho. You can talk to me. You said you wanted to talk earlier. Well here I am. I'm all ears," Harry persisted. Cho slowly lifted her chin to look up at him. Harry was silenced by her expression of pain and exhaustion.
"Okay," Cho said quietly, "But not here. Just not out here."
Harry nodded. They were out in the middle off the hall with students passing by on both sides. Some students were staring and talking in hushed tones.
Harry nodded his head in the right direction and led her to the secret door of the Room of Requirements.