Disclaimer: I wrote this when I was 12 to 13 in 2003. Harry Potter is hereby © to J.K. Rowling. Everything else is © to me, or its respective owners.
Chapter Twenty Eight: Recovery and Future Plans
"Hermione…" Ron murmured.
The others had run out the door the moment they heard Hermione's cry. Everyone was smiling and happy, so glad to have Ron back.
Ron was exhausted, and swayed dangerously, then fell onto his side, sleeping.
"Is he going to be ok?" Akira wondered aloud.
"Don' yeh worry one bit. I'll have him up ter Madam Pomfrey in a mo'." Hagrid said, just coming over.
The giant lifted Ron up and carried him up to the castle, the others following close behind.
"He's back…I can't believe it…he's back…" Hermione whispered happily, tears still streaming from her eyes.
Reaching the hospital wing, Hagrid set Ron down onto the nearest empty bed, and called for Madam Pomfrey. The nurse strode out of her office looking flustered.
"Yes Hagrid?" She asked shortly.
"It's Ron, Madam Pomfrey. He's been hurt." Hermione answered.
"I see…well, do you know how he's been injured?"
"No…" Hermione replied, looking downcast.
"Then we'll have to wake him and ask him to tell us what happened…"
"Alright…"
"Ennervate!"
Ron woke up in an instant, and groaned.
"Not the hospital wing…again…this place has too many bad memories…" He muttered.
"Ron…" Hermione whispered.
"Oh. Hi Hermione…"
"Mr. Weasley, I need you to tell me what happened to you. Why you're so badly hurt…" Madam Pomfrey interrupted sharply.
"Oh um…yeah…ok…See it all started when Ginny was…well…yeah…" Ron began.
Ron told his tale and was just finishing.
"…So then, I just saw a really bright light, and then I could hear someone in my head, asking me why I was still trying to live. And I told the voice that my reason to live is Hermione. Then the voice, it gave me life again, and all I could think about was seeing Hermione's beautiful face again, and I was dashing through the forest so fast, I must've reached the edge of the forest in maybe twenty minutes…and then, I finally saw Hermione in the window through Hagrid's cabin. I was so happy, and I was able to see her again…and then she saw me too, and I saw her eyes fill with tears of joy, and I saw her whisper my name, then shout it, I don't think I've ever been happier in my life…" Ron ended.
Hermione had tears in her eyes again, and without realizing it, pulled Ron into a warm embrace.
"Oh Ron, I've missed you…so much…" She whispered.
"I have too, Hermione…" Ron whispered back.
"Oh you two are so adorable!" Akira squealed. "Sorry…I couldn't help it…you just are…it's the truth…"
"So what's happened while I was gone?" Ron asked.
"Nothing much really…" Harry said. "It's nice to have you back…"
Harry took a seat in a chair, and Cho sat beside him, her eyes full of concern.
"What's wrong?" She asked quietly.
"Nothing…" Harry muttered.
"Really, tell me, what's wrong?" She asked again.
"It's just…Voldemort did all this…he killed Ginny, and he hurt Ron…I don't know if Ron will be able to recover in a few days, or be forced to stay in bed for the rest of his life!" Harry whispered angrily.
"I know you're worried…but Ron will be fine."
"How do you know?! I should've never become friends with him six years ago! Then Ginny would've never died, Ron never would've been hurt, and he wouldn't have to worry about Voldemort every five seconds just because I'm his friend!" Harry snapped loudly.
Cho was slightly shocked, and was staring at him, not blinking.
"I-I'm sorry…I'm sorry Cho…I didn't mean to say it that way…" Harry apologized.
Cho finally blinked and stared at him for another couple of seconds.
"If you never met Ron, you would've never met Hermione, and I'll bet you would've never met me. And we wouldn't have had such a wonderful daughter…a-and…I-I'm sorry Harry…but I have to go now…" Cho said, dashing out of the hospital wing.
Harry mentally gave himself a kick in the head, and rushed off after her.
"What's going on? That's got to be the first fight they've ever had…" Hermione said.
"But you're forgetting the one last year at Halloween." Ron added.
"That one doesn't count, because Rochelle was using her shape shifting ability to look like Harry." Akira said.
"True…but what's going on with them? They just don't seem…well, as close as they used to be…" Ron replied.
"Oh well, it's because they both know that they'll be leaving Hogwarts, and they're getting wedding plans made, and they're looking for a place to settle down in…" Akira answered.
"That sounds very exciting." Whitney said sarcastically.
"It must be those jitters everyone gets before they get married…and when the biggest fights usually happen…they start out small, but they can grow larger…" Tom added.
"It must suck…being them right now…they're planning their lives and everything…" Akira said.
"Hey! None of us have even thought of buying houses or anything! We're to used to being able to come back to Hogwarts next year!" Hermione exclaimed.
"We're good," Whitney and Tom replied. "While we were on our honeymoon, we found a nice place in the English countryside, and we bought it."
"The man who was my father bought several estates around Britain. I'm sure mother wouldn't mind giving one to us…" Draco said.
"Unfortunately, I'm not exactly the richest guy, so I don't really have anything…" Ron said sadly.
"Like I said, the Malfoy family has several estates around Britain-" Draco began.
"I know that! Don't rub my face in it!" Ron said angrily.
"Ron, what he means to say is that we'll give you one of the estates to live in." Alyssia said calmly.
"You-what?! You mean-you're actually-wow! Thanks!" Ron stuttered.
"No problem. We'll just have you pick out one you like, and we'll sign it off to you. Each one is furnished very nicely, and they're all paid off. Plus, if you don't like the furnishings, just stand inside the room or rooms you don't like, and imagine what you want in your mind, and that room will become what you were thinking." Draco replied.
"It's sounds lovely." Hermione said smiling.
Cho was running toward the grounds, and Harry was close behind her.
"Cho! Hey Cho! Wait!" He shouted after her.
Cho had flung the oak front doors open and ran onto the sloping lawn and plopped down onto a spot near the lake. She was holding Lin close to her body, as if she was afraid someone would snatch her away from her grasp. Harry sat down next to her, and looked at her, searching her face for what she felt at that moment.
"Cho…" He called softly.
"What?" She snapped, turning away from him.
"Look, I'm sorry about what I said in the hospital wing. I really didn't mean it that way. It's just…just that I have a lot on my mind…I mean, it's pretty much my fault Ron's hurt. Because Voldemort knows that he's my friend, so he's trying to get to me by hurting my friends. And I just feel that I have to do something about it…I just don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me. There have been lots of sacrifices for me, and I just don't want to have to have someone looking out for me all the time, trying to protect me from everything. Because I can stand on my own two feet and defend myself just fine on my own." Harry said finally.
Cho turned towards him, looking startled by what he had said, gazed into his bright green eyes, and flashed him a small grin.
"We've been growing slightly more apart than usual since we started planning all this, haven't we? We're such fools…if we want to have a future together, then we have to stay together." Cho said.
Harry nodded in agreement and sighed.
"It's been hard, hasn't it? We're planning all this, and it's just driving us insane…" Harry added.
"Too right it is…" Cho agreed.
The two burst out laughing and when they had regained their composure, they smiled at each other for a while. Cho rested her head on Harry's shoulder, and without realizing it, fell asleep. Harry smiled again, and stroked Cho's long raven locks, then falling into a peaceful slumber next to her.
The two awoke once again, three faces over them. Harry slowly opened his eyes and saw Tai, Remus, and Sirius gazing down at them.
"Finally awake?" Tai asked.
"I suppose…" Harry said, still trying to wake up.
Cho had awoken, and was giving her head a shake to get the sleep from overcoming her.
"How long have we been here?" She asked.
"A good hour, I reckon…" Tai replied.
The two of them stood up, and Cho started walking towards the castle doors, and noticed that Harry wasn't following.
"You coming?" She asked.
"Yeah. I'll be there in a minute…You go on, I'll catch up…" Harry replied.
"Alright…See you in Gryffindor Tower." Cho said, walking away.
After Cho had gone through the oak front doors, Harry turned to his godfather.
"Ron's been hurt, and Voldemort was the one that did it. I don't want my friends to have to get hurt because of me. So I want to learn, how to protect them. All of them…I want you three to teach me everything you know in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Because I know that I'll have to meet Voldemort again, and I want to be prepared to fight him and save everyone. That way, no one will have to get hurt anymore. So I'm asking you three to teach me the best spells, countercharms, or whatever so I can be sure to keep everyone safe from what's out there." Harry explained.
Sirius and Remus shot each other uncertain glances, then sighed. Tai looked at them quizzically, and started thinking, his brow furrowed.
"Harry, I know that Voldemort and everything he does is hard enough, and I know that when he tries to hurt you by hurting people that are close to you, it's even worse. But everyone cares very much about you. It's our own decision to protect you, but you're old enough, and I will teach you." Sirius said finally.
"I will also teach you, and you know, I can't let Padfoot to have all the fun. After all, the spells he may teach you might be a few that he and James used to use all the time…or perhaps, combinations they invented…Besides, there needs to be someone who can keep you two out of trouble." Remus added.
"If you two are teaching him, then so am I! You can't have good Defense Against Dark Arts lessons without a little Asian in it!" Tai cut in.
"Then it's agreed. We'll all teach you." Sirius said.
"Excellent." Harry said.
"Your first lesson can be this evening if you like." Remus said quietly.
"Sounds great…well, I guess a good time would be after dinner…anyway…I have to go catch up with Cho now…I don't want her to think I've mysteriously gone missing…" Harry replied.
"Alright, see you later!" Tai called as Harry rushed off through the oak front doors.
Meanwhile Cho had reached Gryffindor tower and was pacing anxiously back and forth across the common room.
"Where is he?! It's been such a long time since I left…what if…what if something happened to him?" She said aloud to herself.
The portrait hole flew open, and Cho saw Harry walk inside.
"Where have you been?! I've been so worried! I was afraid Voldemort took you or something!" Cho exclaimed, practically pouncing on him.
"Sorry…I really am…but there was just something I had to talk about with Sirius." Harry apologized.
"But what about Tai and Remus? They were there too!"
"Well, it was more like a guy to guy talk kind of deal…"
Cho sighed and nodded in understanding. 'I guess all guys need to have to seek some advice from the male gender at least once in their life…' she thought.
Dinner couldn't have come any quicker than it did. Harry had eaten his food faster than he ever thought was humanly possible. He was so anxious. He couldn't wait to see what kind of new things he'd learn.
"I'm going to meet Sirius, Remus, and Tai. I won't be back for a while…so don't worry if I come back late, ok?" Harry whispered to Cho at the table, just as he was about to stand up and leave the Great Hall.
"Ok. But don't be there all night." Cho replied.
Harry left the table and Sirius, Remus, and Tai followed.
"Aren't you guys hungry at all?" Harry wondered. "I mean, I ate as fast as I could. You barely sat down."
"You forget, we can use Conjuring Spells so we can create food from thin air…" Tai answered.
"Remus, were you able to find a suitable classroom?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, I do believe so. It's just this way…" Remus said.
They reached the classroom door and opened it, only to find Peeves the Poltergeist writing rude words on the desktops and chalkboard.
"Peeves, out!" Tai ordered.
"Ooh! Looky here! It's the youngest professor who thinks he's so big! Peeves is amazed you can stand up with that huge head of yours." Peeves cackled.
"Shut up you stupid wind bag!"
"Ooh! Peeves is so scared by your unimaginative insult! You'd do the world better if you'd just died when the Black Cloaked Lady came to finish off your parents…too bad you arrived too late…and your poor sister…" Peeves suddenly changed his shape so he looked like a girl, then he put on a high voice. "Tai! Tai! No please don't let them take me away! I'm scared! Help me!" the poltergeist said, obviously mimicking Cho.
"You bastard!" Tai yelled, lunging at Peeves.
Remus and Sirius grabbed Tai by the elbows before he could get anywhere.
"Tai, let it go…the schmuck isn't worth it." Sirius said.
"You're right…a low fuck like him doesn't deserve anything from me…even death…" Tai spat.
Peeves flew away in a high temper, the suits of armor clanging in the hall.
"Alright, since that's over now, Harry, let's begin our lesson, now shall we?" Sirius suggested.
Harry looked at his godfather, not believing what he just heard.
'Peeves just got Tai pissed off, and now Sirius is acting like nothing happened…' Harry thought.
"Er…yeah…" Harry managed to say. "Let's um…get started then…"
They all walked into the classroom, and with a wave of Sirius's wand, all the desks put themselves against the wall. Tai decided to speak first.
"Alright, I'll teach first…I have to let off some steam…Anyway, we'll be learning a Chinese spell that creates a shield that protects you. Very few witches and wizards who aren't Chinese have been able to master this spell…but I think you'll do fine…there isn't an incantation, just a really complicated wand motions…" He said.
Hours later, Harry finally returned, and found Cho sleeping on a couch in the common room with Lin tucked under her arm. He smiled to himself, then not wanting to wake her or Lin, lifted her gently and carried her to his dormitory, laying her down on his bed.
"Oh yeah, she wanted to wait for you…" Ron said.
Harry jumped a little.
"Ron! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Harry whispered furiously.
"We tried to get her to just go to bed…" Draco began.
"But she was just stubborn and insisted that she wait for you." Tom finished.
Harry whirled around seeing the two seventeen year olds with identical white-blond hair looking at him.
"Were all of you waiting for me?" Harry asked.
"Sort of…but mostly we're awake in case something bad happens while you're not here…" Ron said.
"I see…well, I'm back now, obviously, so you can all go to bed."
"What were you doing anyway? Cho said that you were just going to hang out with her brother, Sirius, and Remus." Draco inquired.
"I asked them if they could give me private Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons…so I can defend myself more effectively against Voldemort. Tonight was the first lesson."
"Cool! What'd they teach you?" Tom wondered.
"Lots of things…but I'll tell you later…I don't want Cho to wake up…"
The three boys nodded, then crawled into their beds. Harry, too exhausted to change for bed, slipped under the thick warm blankets and laid his head down on the fluffy pillow, taking off his glasses, and falling asleep.
In the morning, Harry awoke, finding that Cho had wrapped her arms around him, and was sleeping, her brow furrowed, as if she was having a bad dream. Her grip became tighter around him, and tears fell from her closed eyes.
"No…don't die…" She sobbed. "Please, don't…don't die."
She buried her face into his chest.
"Stay strong…for me. Please." She whispered.
More tears fell from her eyes.
"Just…don't give up…DON'T DIE!!!!!" She screamed.
She woke up, pulling him closer. Luckily everyone else had awoken, and the dormitory was empty.
"Harry…I was…so scared…" She whispered.
"What happened? In your dream?" Harry asked.
She cried again, but then took out a small hand mirror. Looking into it, she saw her reflection flicker. Her hair was white, and her eyes were as well. The image was there only for a millisecond, and then the face staring back at her was her black haired brown eyed self.
"It's…going to be soon…" She murmured.
"What is?"
"The day…we defeat him…Voldemort…and the day all the prophecies are fulfilled."
She heard voices.
"Who's coming?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" Harry wondered.
"Can't you hear the voices outside the door? Someone's coming."
"No. There's no one there."
'Then these voices are in my head…wait, voices in my head, what does it mean?! Think Cho! Think! Wait! That's it! They're thoughts! The thoughts of others! That's what this is! Oh no…that means…my powers…I had when I was sixteen are returning…and that must mean Rochelle's power is too…and the door that I thought I sealed last year has once again been opened. But Harry has this power too…why can't he hear it?! Why can't he see it?!' Cho thought.
He has sealed the door. It already is open…but he won't let it. He doesn't want to know…what you know…he doesn't want to see…what you see…he doesn't want to hear…what you hear…he just wants to be happy…in his own world he's created for himself…and you…his friends…his…child…he doesn't want to know everyone's secret they hold. But you, being who you are, cannot block out the power that comes from the door. He is strong, stronger than you…
'What the? Who the hell are you?!'
I am…your ancestor…
'My ancestor? What do you mean?!'
You are my heir…think, Chosai-Himé. Who are you the heir to?
'I don't understand. I don't know. I'm not an heir to anyone!'
You've already forgotten who you are…poor dear, Chosai-Himé…
'Wait…you're…'
Rowena Ravenclaw.
Cho gasped, seeing that Harry was looking at her, his green eyes seeming to pierce through to her soul.
"I…I'm kind of hungry…maybe we can go get something from the kitchens…" She said, breaking the awkward silence.
She got up and left going into the girls dormitory, only to be bombarded by Hermione, Akira, Alyssia, Whitney, Alexa, Angela, and Alicia.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Akira demanded.
"We were so worried!" Whitney said, Mercadez under her arm.
"We'd thought You-Know-Who had gotten you!" Alicia said.
"What?! Honestly, did you even try to check the boy's dormitory?" Cho asked.
There was a silence.
"Nope. We didn't." Angela said.
Cho sighed.
"You all worry…way too much…" She said finally.
"And you're all real stupid. I suggested that we ask Draco or someone when they were on their way out if they'd seen Cho, but no. You all said 'Oh let's not bother them.' I swear!" Alyssia said.
"You're one to talk! You were practically out of your mind with worry! You were practically insane enough to be carted off to St. Mungo's mental ward!" Alexa replied.
"Hey! If I don't remember correctly, you didn't help one bit!" Alyssia retorted.
"Well you didn't do anything either! You were just sitting on your bed rocking back and forth crying your eyes out!"
"Well at least I care about Cho! Unlike you! You were just in the bathroom standing in front of the mirror!"
"You think I don't care about Cho?! I was borrowing one of Hermione's books and I was using a char on the mirror that would let me see the entire castle so I wouldn't have to go scouting off everywhere!"
"How was I supposed to know that?! You looked like you were doing absolutely nothing from my point of view!"
"You could've asked!"
"Well I didn't want to!"
"That makes you stupid!"
"Stupid?! Who're you calling stupid, stupid?!"
"Retard!"
"Whore!"
"Hooker!"
"Slut!"
"Draco's play toy!"
Alyssia fell silent. Looking at the floor. She turned on her heel, leaving the girls dormitory and descending down the stairs, slamming every door she could.
"Alexa!" Cho exclaimed. "Explain. Now."
Alexa sighed, then took a deep breath, calming herself down.
"Angela, Alicia, go. You're too young to understand." Alexa said.
"No we aren't! We've already understood what you said…which means our minds work faster than a seventh year's!" Angela said proudly.
"Just-just go! I don't want to talk about it with you both around!" Alexa said fiercely.
"Come on Angie, let's go…we're not wanted." Alicia said.
"Angela, Alicia, stay here. You've got every right to hear." Cho said.
"No it's alright, Alexa doesn't want us here, so we'll gladly leave." Angela said.
"Just stay! Alexa's just pissed off right now." Akira said.
The two girls shrugged, then sat down on the floor of the seventh year girl's dormitory.
"I overheard Draco telling Tom that Voldemort will attack soon. Because we all know that Draco is Voldemort's second heir. So Draco can see what Voldemort is planning in his dreams. And it's getting worse. He was telling Tom that he's seeing visions of death in his dreams. And it's really messing up his mind. So Alyssia, being his wife, wanted to help…at first it started out with kind words and stuff, but Draco's bad streak came in, and so um…yeah…"
Akira sighed.
"Figures…Hermione, Alexa, and I are the only ones who haven't gone to the next level yet…" She said.
"And you'd better not. You've still got another year here and if you do, I swear Tai and I will smack you one." Cho replied.
"Hey! I know that already!"
"Just checking…"
Cho thought for a second. She decided to tell them about her dream.
"But it's true…Voldemort is going to attack…very soon. I had a dream too…we all were fighting the final battle against Voldemort, and Harry…he saved my life…and he was dying…in my arms…" She said.
Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she went to her four poster bed, holding Lin, then cried.
"Cho. Don't you even think that dream will come true! Harry isn't going to die on you! He won't! He can't!" Akira said firmly.
"But…in the dream, Voldemort was defeated…the dark had been overwhelmed with the light. So it had to have been true! But I can't just help but think that these days will be some of the last with him!" Cho cried.
Akira walked over to her sister and slapped her across the face. Everyone gasped and stared at Akira, not believing what they just saw.
"Where's your common sense?! Harry isn't going to die! Can't you see that?! He loves you, yes, but he would never want to leave you alone! He lives and breathes every day because of you! He wakes up every morning and sleeps soundly at night because he knows that he has you! You're the reason why he lives! You're his hope, his life! If you died, he'd do whatever he could to go with you or bring you back! He's happy because he has you! He cares so much about you! Yes, he'd protect you with his life, and he would die for you, but he would never want to leave you! Ever! Being with you brings him all the joys life could have never brought him! Can you not see that?! Harry isn't going to die and give up on you that easily!" She yelled. "As long as his heart still beats, and his blood still flows, he will not leave you. He will fight to live. Just so he can stay with you. Because with you, he has a family…he has a real family…a family that loves him, worries about him, and cares about him. So he will not die. And when he does, you will be at his side, and you will stay together in heaven…forever." She said, her voice growing softer.
Cho dried her eyes, looking up at her younger sister.
"Aki…thank you…" She whispered, giving Akira a sisterly hug.
"Uh…you're welcome?" Akira said uncertainly, returning the hug.
They broke their embrace and Akira turned around, grabbing a book, then glancing at the window, dropped it.
"What's wrong?" Cho asked.
Akira's eyes were set on the window, and she raised an arm, pointing at the window.
Cho looked, and to her horror saw a black bird with blood red eyes and a scroll in its beak sitting on the window sill.
