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 7
Spots and Stinksap
Up until that summer, Cho and Marietta's friendship had been largely founded on their being sorted into Ravenclaw. Although all five of the Ravenclaw girls in their year tended to go as a group everywhere they went, Cho and Marietta often found themselves pairing up in Charms and other classes simply because they were the least—well, giggly—of the lot.
Bookworm Marietta had been astonished that none of them had cared half as much about schoolwork as she did; true, Ravenclaws were clever, but the top marks that they always got was due to natural acumen rather than actual work. (Cedric was the only non-Ravenclaw who received all Outstanding marks on his O.W.L.s the previous year. It was quite a shock for the Ravenclaws, as not even Percy Weasley from Gryffindor had managed such a feat in years.) As for Cho, she had marked herself as incurably Quidditch-mad when she, using a potion Aunt Hong had sent all the way from Japan, dyed her then pixieish hair bright blue to show support for the Ravenclaw team in the first match she ever watched at Hogwarts.
So it wasn't until they were on the train back to Hogwarts, fully six years after they'd met for the first time, that Cho discovered the one thing that caused Marietta's no-nonsense demeanor to go completely up in smoke.
'Oh-oh-oh-oh!' Marietta wailed, staring at her reflection in the window in disbelief. 'That wasn't there this morning!'
Cho was amazed. 'Marietta, calm down. It's just a spot.'
Marietta whipped her head around. 'Have you ever had spots before, Chang? Look! It's huge and smack in the middle of my forehead! I can't face the first-years like this!'
Cho was biting her lip to keep from grinning. 'Yes, but it's not like you're turning into Eloise Midgen, who is incidentally looking loads better this year, by the way.'
Terry Boot, a fifth-year Ravenclaw, poked his head in. 'Er, sorry to bother you two… Everywhere else is full.'
Marietta waved them inside impatiently. Terry and his friends, Anthony Goldstein and Michael Corner, stepped inside cautiously, casting furtive looks at the usually-unflappable Edgecombe and her friend, whom most of Hogwarts already thought of as the Widow Diggory even if nobody else had known about the engagement. 'Yes, yes, if you must. I'm off to the prefects' compartment anyway. Just don't bother Cho.' She glared menacingly at them.
'I'll be fine, Marietta, go on,' Cho told her.
Anthony finished stowing his trunk away and straightened up to face Marietta. 'Hold on, I'll go with you. If it's okay, of course,' he hastened to add, seeing Marietta's stern face. 'I got the letter this year.'
Marietta nodded grudgingly and off they went, leaving Cho, Terry, and Michael in uncomfortable silence.
Finally, Terry cleared his throat. 'So… Are Ravenclaw's chances at Quidditch good this year, Cho?'
'Um, I hope so,' Cho replied. 'I'll just be watching this year.'
His eyebrows shot up. 'You're not playing?'
'No. Um,' Cho hedged, 'Maybe next year. I've been tired a lot lately. Um.'
'That's a shame,' Michael said earnestly. 'You're a really good Seeker.'
'Thanks.' And, before she could stop herself, 'I was never half as good as Cedric, of course.'
Terry and Michael suddenly looked very interested in their shoes.
Xiao Xiao, in her cage, offered a halfhearted squawk.
Cho got up quickly. 'Um, I'll just go look for the sweets trolley now. I'll be back soon.'
The boys looked up and nodded vigorously, obviously relieved.
Cho stepped out of the compartment and let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. Her hand automatically went to her belly, as if to reassure herself her baby was still there. She was already three months pregnant, but her appearance had yet to change.
She wasn't sure which way to go until she spotted two figures in the distance, one very gangly redhead and another with a head of extraordinarily bushy brown hair, walking towards the prefects' compartment. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger! There was no doubt, then, that Harry was nearby. Harry Potter, the last person at Hogwarts to see Cedric alive. Cho's pulse quickened as she began to walk in the opposite direction. She hardly believed herself capable of perking up the courage to start asking Harry about Cedric, but it was worth a try…
'Harry? I saw him go there'—Padma pointed out a compartment a few metres away—'With Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom. Oh, would you know if Marietta's gone to the prefects' compartment yet?'
'Yes, she went there a few minutes ago,' Cho said. 'Thanks, Padma.'
'Don't mention it.' Padma smiled and opened her mouth, as if to say something else, then decided against it. She settled on squeezing Cho's arm instead. 'It's good to see you again, Cho.'
Cho tried to walk as casually as she could to the compartment Padma had pointed out. She could hear Neville's voice from inside. Right, then. Carpe diem. Cho took a deep breath and slid the door open—
—And instantly regretted it. The compartment was covered in foul-smelling dark green slime. Well, it wasn't completely covered in slime. Luna Lovegood, the fourth-year Ravenclaw who was so peculiar that Cho felt a motherly attachment to her (at least Luna had never dyed her hair blue for Quidditch), had escaped with her face unscathed. So did Ginny Weasley, Michael's new girlfriend, who was getting prettier every year. The slime looked like it came from the odd little potted cactus Neville had in his hand, so he wasn't in the line of fire. But Harry was completely plastered in it. And the way he was sitting perfectly still, clutching a toad in his hands, reminded Cho of victims of sudden, violent volcanic eruptions, permanently frozen in their tracks at the moment of their death.
'Oh… Hello, Harry. Um… bad time?' Surely you can think of better things to say than that!
'Oh… hi,' Harry said blankly.
'Um…' Cho's voice trailed off. 'Well… just thought I'd say hello… bye then.'
And that is officially the stupidest conversation in the history of the wizarding world.
A/N: Finally, a new chapter. I hope you liked it!
Thank you so much for supporting my fic and leaving me gentle reminders to keep it going. I'm feeling better now and in a more suitable condition to update regularly. I also had a brainwave some weeks ago for another fic, so I'm looking forward to starting on that when this one is finished. (Of course, considering my story outline for The House of Chang goes all the way up to Chapter 18, it's going to take a while.)
Much love to you all.