OR DIE TRYING: CHO CHANG'S SEVENTH YEAR

By monkeymouse

NB: JKRowling built the Potterverse; I'm just redecorating one of the rooms. And one of the great things about JKR telling the story from Harry's point of view is that stuff could be happening all over Hogwarts that Harry isn't aware of.

Rated: PG

Spoilers: Everything

xxx

11. "Take nothing for granted"

Whatever had happened to Katie Bell, it was serious enough to send her to St. Mungo's the day after the Hogsmeade visit. Days, then weeks, went by without her return, until she was off the Gryffindor team for a month. Cho made it a point to wander past the stadium whenever Gryffindor was practicing, and they were making do with their two new Chasers plus one Reserve after another. It wasn't working out; each Reserve seemed worse than the next. Gryffindor was going up against Slytherin in the first match of the year, and the Chasers simply weren't ready.

And neither was the Keeper. Cho had kept a close eye on Ronald Weasley last year, when he tried and (mostly) failed to protect the Gryffindor goals. Whether it was inexperience or nerves or whatever, he had failed utterly to stop even the simplest shots.

Until the final game. In that last match, when Cho could only half pay attention to Weasley, he'd played like a wizard reborn, blocking one shot after another. He'd finally found himself, it seemed, although Cho soon found out that this didn't last, either. Weasley had fallen back into being a horrid Keeper.

xxx

The day after the Hogsmeade trip and the attack (or whatever it was) on Katie Bell, Cho and the team had their usual Sunday morning practice. As they returned to Ravenclaw (the password was "arthroscopic"), they saw a dozen or so students in the common room, focused on Padma Patil.

"We both got owls this morning," she was saying, "and every other sentence was, 'You will leave that awful place and come back home at once!' The business with Katie was the straw that broke the camelopard's back, I guess. This time it was someone we'd had over to the house, after all, and someone in our year."

"So will you be leaving?" Michael Corner asked.

"Probably not. Parvati's working on mother even as we speak. I think she can talk our parents out of withdrawing us. She knows all of mum's nerves and just how to tweak them."

"That sounds handy to know," Diana Fairweather added. "Seems like the sort of thing a Ravenclaw would want in their bag of tricks."

Parvati shook her head. "That sort of thing really is Parvati's line. I'm too logical. I could talk to my dad about anything, but not my mum. It's just different, somehow."

Hoping that the Patils would survive this crisis by staying in Hogwarts, Cho went upstairs to change.

xxx

There was one surprise for Cho the Monday after the Hogsmeade trip. That afternoon, Cho was just leaving Hagrid's hut after a lesson about nogtails, accursed piglet-looking creatures with legs so long that Cho was still wondering how they avoided detection, when Sara came dashing up to her from the castle.

"Cho! Cho! Madam Hooch sent me for you."

"Is something wrong, then?" So soon after the cursing of Katie Bell, Cho feared the worst, despite the fact that Sara was grinning, and her eyes were blazing.

"Don't think so. We're supposed to go to her office in the stadium, right now!"

With that, Sara turned on her heel and dashed toward the stadium, leaving Cho rushing to keep up. Sara wouldn't say anything else until they were in the stadium. "What's this about, then?" Cho asked.

Sara didn't answer directly; she simply said, "Better get your breath," and opened the door to Hooch's office without knocking.

Cho saw Madam Hooch laughing, saying "I don't know how you can still drink that," as her guest took a long drink from a bottle of butterbeer. But that guest was the last person Cho expected to see in Hogwarts. As she stood and stared, manners forgotten, the guest lowered the bottle and gave Cho a gaze that was part appraisal, part amusement.

"Well, here she is," Madam Hooch was saying, "the student I was telling you about."

Her guest was a witch about thirty years old, with dark brown skin and hair the same shade as her skin swept back on her head almost resembling a lion's mane. Her gray eyes looked surprisingly like Cedric's.

Cho finally remembered herself and bowed. "It, it's an honour to meet you, Miss Jones."

"Miss Jones?" the woman chuckled.

"Well, you two only just met," Madam Hooch smiled; "you can hardly expect her to call you Gwen."

Gwenog Jones, Beater and Captain of the Holyhead Harpies, stood up, easily twelve inches taller than Cho. "Madam Hooch has told me quite a bit about you. All of it good; don't worry."

"I, erm, thank you." Cho bowed again hastily. The older women seemed amused by her nervousness. "Is that why you're here?"

"Not really. Slughorn is having one of his little soirees tonight, and for once I had the time. Would you like to come along tonight?"

Jones could see two emotions struggling on Cho's face: on the one hand, the chance to speak at length with a Quidditch professional. But on the other hand…

"I'm sorry," Cho bowed again. "It's my N.E.W.T. year, and I have a meeting with the rest of my year, and…"

"Say no more," Jones chuckled. "You really are a Ravenclaw." She Summoned the bottle of butterbeer and drained it. "Some other time, then. Meanwhile, we'll see if you get a chance to use the talent Madam Hooch thinks you have."

"Get a chance?" Cho repeated.

"I can think of several teams in need of a good Seeker. But there's a war on, and the Ministry's been making noises about messing with Quidditch for the duration. Seems that Scrimgeour thinks it's a tempting target: all those witches and wizards in one place at one time."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Hooch nodded. "Something similar happened when Grindelwald was out and about."

"Still, Quidditch will still be around, one way or another. That's all that matters, eh?" She turned to Madam Hooch. "We'd better get to the castle; Horace must be throwing seven kinds of fits that I haven't put in an appearance yet." She then turned back to Cho, holding out a large, muscular hand. "Good luck to you, then, Miss Chang. I'm sure we'll meet again."

Cho shook Gwenog Jones' hand, which felt hard as wood and rougher than her father's hands. "I hope so. And thank you."

"Better get to the castle, then," Hooch told the students; they were clearly being dismissed. They nodded and left the office, then started running for the front steps of the castle, breaking into a kind of exhilarating laughter as they ran.

xxx

That night, the Claw Club spent more time talking about Quidditch than about N.E.W.T.s. They asked about Katie, about Gwenog Jones, and about Ravenclaw's chances this year.

"Won't be easy this time," Eddie Carmichael said. "Last year Umbitch had Potter suspended. So he's back now, right?"

"That may be, but Merlin only knows how long Bell will be out, and she was their most experienced Chaser. Plus they've lost their Beaters and their Keeper is looking as shaky as he did last year."

"Still, Cho, this is Gryffindor," Marietta said. "I think their motto is, 'If you can't play smart, charge in and play anyway.' It's worked for them in the past."

"That's the past, though, and my Divination isn't good enough to let me see the future," added Diana Fairweather.

"Speaking of Divination," interrupted Marcus Belby, "I know I keep repeating myself about this, Cho, but this I Ching business…"

xxx

By the end of October, with the first match just around the corner, Katie Bell still hadn't returned. Cho brought some exciting news to the Claw Club on Wednesday night.

"Gryffindor's only just set the line-up for Saturday, and they've brought in an entirely new Chaser!"

"Lettin' it go till the las' minute? Wot's the sense o' that?" Jan asked.

"Maybe they were still hoping for Katie to come back. Anyway, the new Chaser is someone from Potter's year, a Muggle-born named Dean Thomas."

"Oh, him," Diana Fairweather nodded. "Tall thin black boy, right? Don't know how he is on a broom, but he's supposed to be a dab hand with a paintbrush."

"He should stick to paints. I watched a bit of their practice yesterday."

"And?" Eddie asked.

Cho shook her head, but she was smiling. "Pathetic. The Keeper actually punched a Chaser in the mouth."

"Could be nerves, you know," Marietta said. "They're up against Slytherin; that would rattle an experienced team."

"No, it wouldn't. In my second year, we just anticipated the kinds of tricks they'd pull, stopped them doing it, and won the match."

"Listen to you," Grimaldi chuckled; "Cho Chang, the old war veteran. Why don't you strip your sleeves and show your scars? And anything else, of course."

Even Cho, who was used to Giulio Grimaldi's off-colour jokes, chuckled at that one.

xxx

Saturday morning dawned cool, clear and pleasant. It would be good weather, no matter who won. Neither side had an advantage there, then.

Cho had wanted to be up early, but stayed up until after midnight writing to her parents. Consequently, she overslept, dressed hurriedly, and dashed down to breakfast. As soon as she walked into the Great Hall, the Slytherins started booing and cat-calling, and she had to wonder, What did I do? Then she realized; one of the new Gryffindor Beaters, already in full regalia, had walked in just behind her.

She took a place near the end of the table, and had just spooned some soft-boiled egg into her mouth when Michael Corner sat across from her.

"So, Captain, who have you picked to win?"

Cho hurriedly swallowed the mouthful of egg, but, before she could say anything, a roar came from the doorway. It was Luna, wearing her lion's head hat, proclaiming her choice in today's match to the whole school.

She walked over and sat next to Cho. "The first match of the season's always so much fun, isn't it?" she asked. Cho wasn't sure if Luna was speaking to her or to Michael, or, for that matter, to anyone in particular.

Cho nodded as she dished herself some strawberries and cream. "I think Gryffindor might have a hard time of it today, though, after losing Katie and all."

"Take nothing for granted; that's what I say. That way, everything will be a pleasant surprise."

"I don't know if that attitude will help you through your O.W.L.s," Michael added.

"Ah, well, the O.W.L.s are completely different. You can find out the questions they'll ask months before."

"How, exactly?" Cho asked, half afraid of what Luna would answer.

Luna brought her head closer to the table and whispered. "They have a scheme; the Ministry does. All you have to do is read the Daily Prophet and look for any article that has the word 'Ministry" in the headline. Then you read every fourth word to get a test question. Or maybe it's every fifth or sixth word; they change it around, you see, to keep from being found out. But father's this close to finding out their system," she added, holding up a thumb and forefinger almost touching.

Cho had been right to worry; where does her father come up with this utter nonsense, she wondered, and why does Luna believe it all? Just then, Michael tapped on the table to get Cho's attention.

"Look at the Gryffs," he whispered.

Cho and Luna both turned to look at Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, both in Quidditch gear, having some sort of argument with Hermione Granger. Shortly after that, the team rose and left for the stadium.

"We'd better get going, too, or all the best seats'll be gone. Shall we?" Michael held out his hand as if asking Cho to dance.

"Oh. Erm, can't we wait another minute? I promised Marietta we'd sit together."

"That's nice," Luna smiled. Just then, Marietta appeared at the door, waving Cho over.

Michael shrugged. "Another match, then?"

"The next match is us against Hufflepuff," Cho said, standing up. "Let's just see what happens." She walked as deliberately as she could to the doors, despite wanting to run.

"Breakfast with the lout and the loon, I see," Marietta smirked.

"Michael's been behaving himself."

"Keep meeting him in public places, he'll have no choice."

"But Luna seems worse than ever. Have you heard her latest bit about the Prophet?" By this time they were headed down the stone steps and toward the stadium.

xxx

As soon as the match was over, Cho dashed up to the dormitory. She'd jotted down words and phrases about the match in a notebook, and now wanted to organize them; Ravenclaw would have to play both Slytherin and Gryffindor, and it never hurt to evaluate the competition.

The first thing she wrote, though, was something Luna Lovegood had said over breakfast: "Take nothing for granted." She reflected a minute, then wrote: "Both teams had lost key players, yet overall their play was quite strong. GKW especially good today for the first half." GKW stood for Gryffindor Keeper Weasley, who was brilliant during the first half of the match, blocking everything that came his way. The Slytherin Keeper was also strong, although not as effective. By the end, Gryffindor was in front by only one hundred points; Slytherin could still have won the match by taking the Snitch.

"U Capt." This referred to Slytherin's new Captain, Urquhart. Montagu had graduated, but Urquhart had been a part of the team. He could be counted on to know all of the Slytherin bag of tricks, and, as the game showed, he didn't hesitate to use them. They'd also lost Vaisey, one of their best Chasers, to a practice injury; Cho had been there before, and sympathized, as much as she could for a Slytherin. Most important, Malfoy was replaced by Harper, who had some talent as a Seeker but not a lot. Still, he almost got the Snitch away from Harry in the final minute.

Cho jotted down: "Be prepared to replace anyone!" Even myself, she thought.

"ZS no." That was a reference to the announcer, Hufflepuff Chaser Zacharias Smith. Lee Jordan had also left Hogwarts, but Smith was horribly biased against Gryffindor. Although, Cho had to admit, Jordan had been biased in favour of Gryffindor. There was just something about the way Smith did it: snide, condescending, acting like a veteran player. With luck, he'd be replaced later in the season.

"Harry." That didn't need much explanation; his abilities as a Seeker didn't suffer the year that Umbridge made him give up Quidditch. For many other Seekers, spotting the Snitch later than the opposition, and rushing to get there first, would have been a dream. But Harry did it, commanding the Firebolt as if it was a part of him since birth. He took advantage of Harper fumbling the Snitch and grabbed it to end the game, 290 to 40.

No; she didn't need to speak to the rest of the team about Harry. She did allow herself a minute to daydream, going ahead to spring and the final match of the year—her final match at Hogwarts. The moment at the beginning of the match, when the Captains would shake hands; her hand would be in Harry's for the first time in a year. Perhaps, she thought, she could confuse him a bit by kissing him on the cheek, as she did when the Quibbler ran that interview with him. She smiled.

"Ginny???" She had played against Ginny Weasley last spring, when she was a substitute Seeker for Harry; she'd stolen the Snitch from in front of Cho—for which Cho blamed herself; she hadn't kept her mind on the game nor her eye on the Snitch. This match saw her back at being a Chaser, but, when the match was over, and all the other Gryffindors were congratulating Harry, Ginny pointed her broom toward the commentator's box and rammed into it at top speed. It flew apart at once; Smith fell to the pitch, followed by most of the debris of the stand. McGonagall was sitting next to the box and only just escaped the same fate; she looked furious, but said nothing after Ginny yelled something to her. Perhaps McGonagall, who was Head of House for Gryffindor, couldn't punish a winning player, no matter the fault. Of course, Cho thought, I might have done the same thing to Smith, with some of the awful things he said about Harry—

No! I won't lower myself to her level, no matter what Smith may have said. I'm a Chang and a Ravenclaw! Besides, a simple hex would have been more practical.

xxx

To be continued in part 12, wherein Cho reaches out to an enemy.