DISCLAIMER: The Harry Potter universe belongs to Jo Rowling… and she can do anything with the characters as she pleases… /teary-eyed/

AU. Spans GOF and OoTP. Best for incurable Cho/Cedric shippers above 13.


THE HOUSE OF CHANG

addictedtoheroine


Chapter 6

Telling Mrs. Diggory


'Aye ya! Are you sure about this, Auntie?'

'If you don't do it now, while I'm here, you'll just keep putting it off.'

'But he hates me!'

'All the more reason for you to show him that you're a strong person and that soon you'll be a good mum to his grandchild.'

She'd been so worried about Cho not writing back, Aunt Hong had explained, that she'd taken two days off to check up on her niece herself. She had just checked into the Leaky Cauldron and was planning to visit the Changs at home when Xiao Xiao showed up.

After the introductions were made, Marietta had wisely left the two of them in the sitting room. Cho cried her way through the story of how she found out she was pregnant, and when she'd finally calmed down, Aunt Hong decided it was time to tell Cedric's parents.

And now they were walking up the cobblestone path to Cedric's house and ringing the bell. Cho's mouth went dry. She'd never been this nervous before—not before a Quidditch match, not before her O.W.L.s, not even when she was eight years old and had just broken Great-Uncle Number Five's most valuable Ming vase.

Mrs. Diggory answered the door, and the lines on her face immediately softened at the sight of Cho. 'Hello, dear. Do come in.'

'Thank you,' Cho said, relief washing over her. 'Mrs. Diggory, I'd like to introduce you to my aunt, Hong Chang.'

Mrs. Diggory took Aunt Hong's hand and shook it. 'A pleasure. Why, you look like you could be Cho's older sister.'

Aunt Hong smiled. 'Thank you. I've often felt that way, too—Cho's an only child, you see.'

Mrs. Diggory smiled back, sadly. 'Ah. So was Cedric.'

Cho swallowed back the lump in her throat.

Mrs. Diggory bustled about, getting tea for the three of them. 'How have you been, dear?' she asked quietly, pouring some into Cho's teacup.

'I—I'm not so sure,' she said honestly. 'Part of me wants to, to stopbeing sad all the time. But part of me thinks that the pain is what, I don't know, it's what connects me to his memory. And that if I ever stop hurting… It would be like betraying him.' She blushed. 'I'm sorry if I'm not making sense. And I know that what I feel is nothing compared to—to the feeling of losing a son.'

Mrs. Diggory sat down and clasped Cho's cold, clammy hands. 'You're making perfect sense, love. It's been hard on all of us. It's been hard on Amos and myself—why, today's his first day back at the Ministry, he didn't come in for weeks. But Cedric would want us to be happy. You're young. Being sad all the time is no way to live.'

Cho looked into Mrs. Diggory's clear grey eyes and for one, fleeting moment, fooled herself into thinking she'd been looking into Cedric's eyes again. They were so much alike…

'Shh, child,' Mrs. Diggory said, taking Cho into her arms just as she burst into tears. 'We cannot undo… what has already happened,' she said, her voice trembling. 'We must be strong, and be thankful for what little time we had with Cedric.'

'I am thankful, more than anything,' Cho said softly. 'And… oh, I don't know how to say this… I came here to…'

Mrs. Diggory brushed a tear from the corner of Cho's eye. 'Yes, dear?'

'Cedric left something for you before—before he died,' Cho said, holding on to Mrs. Diggory's hands. 'A grandchild.'


A/N: Aye ya! So much drama. This is why I love chapters with Marietta in it—I pictured her as having a sort of cynical wit, so I can get away with injecting humour into an otherwise very serious situation. But this part had to be written, so I hope you're not too tired of it yet.

Next: Cho returns to Hogwarts. In the following chapters, expect to encounter Harry, Luna, and Cedric's Pensieve. Yay!