Chapter 10

"Family Ties and Setbacks"

Although the Start-of-Term feast proved to be as splendid as it has always been, Harry found himself having difficulty truly enjoying it.

He could not help but constantly look from Cho at the Ravenclaw table to Kwan Chang who was sitting in between Professor McGonagall, his Transfiguration teacher and Professor Flitwick, his Charms teacher. Desperately, he continued to hope that that the two of them were in no way related to each other. Or at least not directly, as though they were siblings.

Harry was not the only person to keep an eye on the youthfully new staff member. Every single girl in the Great Hall could hardly take her eyes away from Kwan, as he was engaged in friendly conversation with his significantly older colleagues.

"I can't believe he's our new teacher," Ron randomly exclaimed loudly, "He's way too young for the job."

"Don't be silly, Ron," Hermione fussed, once again looking at Kwan, "Dumbledore would never have assigned him the post if he wasn't qualified."

Ron glared at her. "I suppose this means that you've gotten over Lockhart? And what about Viktor Krum?"

"Give it a rest, Ron," Ginny snapped, also looking at Kwan, "You could at least wait until having a lesson with him before you judge."

Ron looked over to Harry. "Come on, Harry. You agree with me, right?"

Harry was hardly paying at attention to Ron. "If you say so."

In what felt like an eternity for Harry, the feast was over and the students were being ushered out of the Great Hall.

"Ron," Hermione called, "We have to show the first years to way to Gryffindor Tower."

"Oh right," Ron replied awkwardly as he looked towards the new students, "Oy! Maggots!"

"Ron!" Hermione and Ginny yelled in shock as Fred and George burst into laughter.

"I'll see you later," Harry quickly said to them as he went off to find Cho.

He found her seeing her other Ravenclaws out of the Great Hall with her fellow prefects.

"Cho?" Harry called as he approached her, "Could I have a word?"

"Oh, Harry. Just give me a minute," she said kindly as she turned to another Ravenclaw prefect, "Padma, just follow the others' lead, okay?"

"Okay, Cho. We'll be fine," replied the newly appointed prefect who Harry immediately recognized as Padma Patil, Parvati's identical twin sister who was sorted to Ravenclaw.

"Hi Harry," Padma smiled as she walked off with the other Ravenclaws.

"Did you want to ask me something?" Cho asked Harry kindly, her smile not wavering.

Harry nodded awkwardly as he tried to smile at her without being nervous. "Kind of, yeah. Professor Chang, um...He seems really cool, doesn't he?"

Harry felt like kicking himself for sounding like an idiot, but he did not what to ask his major question so quickly.

Cho nodded in what look to be admiration. "He is. I'm sure he'll be a great teacher."

"Yeah, right," Harry nodded again, "Well, I was wondering...I mean, about...this is going to be a dumb question."

"Oh no," Cho assured, "Don't feel that way. Whatever it is, you can ask me."

"Okay," Harry said as he took a slight breath, "I just couldn't help but wonder...Are you and Professor Chang...related...in anyway?"

At this, Cho gave a slight giggle. Harry become hopefully, thinking that maybe she would tell him that he was being ridiculous or silly.

"Actually," she said with a comfortably warm smile, "We are."

Harry's heart sunk, although he tried to hide it. "You are?"

"Obviously, that'd make me her older brother," a voice exclaimed.

Harry and Cho turned to see Kwan himself approaching them.

Harry fought the sudden desire to run away as quickly as he could.

"Harry," Cho began, "This is my older brother, Kwan."

Kwan smiled appreciatively at Harry. "The great Harry Potter. I was wondering if I'd ever get to meet you. Pleasure, I'm sure."

Harry nodded awkwardly as he and Kwan shook hands. "Pleasure to meet you too...Professor Chang."

At this, Kwan laughed. "I'm going to have to get use to this. Especially from you, Sister Dearest."

Cho laughed as well. "It comes with the job, Professor."

Harry laughed nervously, although he would have given anything to disappear right at this moment.

"So what gave us away, Harry?" Cho asked, "Just out of curiosity."

"Well," Harry slowly replied, "Your surname, your Scottish accent. Plus I can see the family resemblance."

"Most people can't," Kwan remarked, "Especially with Asian people."

"Well," Harry shrugged in what he hoped looked to be a nonchalant manner, "I was just wondering. Anyways, I should get going to my dorm to unpack."

"See you later, Harry," Cho smiled.

"See you in class," Kwan reminded him.

Harry walked away, smiling insincerely as the complexity of the situation sunk into him ever so slowly. He suddenly felt more certain than ever that this year at Hogwarts would indeed prove far more enduring for him than his previous years.

"You've got to be bloody joking!" Ron gasped loudly.

Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, surrounded by Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins, having just reported to them his latest discovery.

"Shouldn't there be a rule about that?" Fred wondered aloud.

"Family ties between the staff and students?" George added in agreement.

Hermione sat beside Harry and rubbed his shoulder. "Harry, I think you're blowing this completely out of proportion. It really shouldn't be as bad as you're thinking."

"'Out of proportion?'" Harry repeated, looking at her incredulously, "Hermione, our new teacher is Cho's older brother! How can I possibly hope for anything to happen between her and I now?"

"Honestly, what does that matter?" Ginny insisted, "You really like her, don't you? And it seems as though she really likes you too."

"Besides," Hermione added, agreeing with Ginny's perspective, "It could be a lot worse."

Fred nodded. "It could have been her father."

George nodded also. "Now that would have been suicide."

"It's still suicide!" Ron remarked loudly. "Harry, you have got to forgot about Cho Chang and start...looking elsewhere in the market."

"Ron!" Hermione snapped in outrage, "How could you say something like that?"

"It's the rule!" Ron insisted, "An older brother never allows other boys within ten feet of his younger sister without beating them to a bloody pulp afterwards. And with her brother as a teacher, he might be worse than even Snape."

"Oh please!" Ginny exclaimed in exasperation, "The 'Big Brother' Rule. Only complete gits would actually follow that."

"It's the truth," Ron insisted.

"Only for some," Fred said.

"Not every brother," George remarked.

Ginny glared at her brothers with a deadly stare. "Are you saying that you three, Percy, Charlie and Bill would try to stop me from dating boys?"

"No," the twins replied truthfully with unified shrugs.

"Why?" Ron demanded of her suspiciously, "Are you going out with someone?"

"Like you have the right to tell me not too?" Ginny snapped back at him loudly.

Immediately, Ron and Ginny began to bicker with their older brothers mediating them to keep them relatively civil.

Hermione continued her efforts to sooth Harry's doubts. "Harry, as you as long don't try to do anything to hurt Cho, it shouldn't anger her brother. Besides, Professor Chang doesn't cross me as being the overly protective older brother. He's seems too genuine to be that way..."

"And he's simply gorgeous," Ginny added suddenly, quickly diverting herself from her argument with Ron.

"That too," Hermione agreed without hesitation.

"What!" Ron yelled in outrage. Fred and George once again burst out laughing.

Harry sighed miserably as he dragged himself out of his seat. "I'm going to bed."

Harry looked ahead as he transcended the oddly empty space surrounding him. Although he was in one of the many outdoor corridors of Hogwarts Castle, it felt as though no one else was nearby.

Finally, he spotted her. Cho was sitting by herself on a bench in one of Hogwarts' courtyards.

He slowly approached her, full of intention and determination. He was feeling more confident than he ever has before.

Cho saw him approaching and smiled at him.

"Hi Harry," she said.

"Hi Cho," he replied with a smile, taken once again by her subtle but evident beauty.

A peaceful silence surrounded them as they look into one another's eyes.

"I wanted to ask you something," Harry said bravely, "Something I've wanted to ask you for a long time."

"What is it?" Cho asked curiously.

"First," he continued, "I have to tell you something."

"What? Tell me," Cho insisted.

Harry takes a deep breath. "I really like you, Cho. Ever since the day I first saw you, I knew that you were someone special. I can't describe it, but I do feel that way."

Cho was clearly taken by surprise. "Harry, I..."

"It was really hard for me to see you with Cedric at the Ball, just because I was too afraid to ask you first," Harry continued, "And I don't want to disgrace his memory, but I do know that I still want someone like you in my life."

Cho became speechless.

"So, what I wanted to asked you," Harry declared promptly, "Cho, will you go out with me? On a date?"

Before she could respond, she became panicked. He looked confused by her reaction.

"Harry, run!" she warned.

"What?" he asked, not understanding her urgency.

"Hurry and run!" she cried out, "Before he gets you!"

"Before who..." he began to say, but was not given the chance to finish.

Harry felt himself being forcibly pulled from behind and thrust onto to the ground. Cho and the once peaceful surroundings seemed to vanish in an instant into a completely black void.

A wand glowing with blue light was pointed at Harry and he felt himself being magically bounded to the ground. As he panicked and began struggling to free himself, he looked up as the holder of the wand slowly appeared with a most furiously expression in his eyes.

Fear finally overcame Harry as Kwan Chang gripped his wand tightly, not saying a single word as the blue light turned green and intensified in brightness.

Harry let out a horrified yell as Kwan unleashed his deadly curse.

At that moment, Harry abruptly awoke in his bed, breathing rapidly. Judging by their snores, Ron and his other roommates were still asleep.

Harry sighed heavily. "What a nightmare..."