Title: Harry Takes Cho
Warnings: AU, Total Fluff
Pairings: Harry/Cho
Rating: T
Word Count: 2,530
Summary: AU GoF. Cho says 'yes' to Harry.
Notes: Written for the Pairing War Competition at HPFC forum.
Written for the het pairing boot camp. Prompt: write.
Written for the Prompts Mania challenge at HPFC forum. Medium level. Prompts: All of Me by John Legend, blush, "I can't dance. You know I have two left feet!", elegant
Beta: the lovely teddylupin-snape
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Something about Cho is just so beautiful to Harry. She makes his head spin when she's near him. He tries to guess what she's all about, but Harry just can't pin it down. Cho is a Ravenclaw, so she obviously has a beautiful mind. Not only that, but she's a very pretty girl with long black hair and the most enchanting eyes, eyes that he could get lost in. She has a seeker's body with subtle curves, but Harry aches to get to know her better. He doesn't understand much about sex, but he knows he wants to get to know her physically as well as emotionally.
When the Yule Ball is announced in fourth year, Harry automatically thinks of Cho and yearns to ask her to be his date. At first, he writes the idea off as ludicrous. Why would Cho want to go with him? She probably has her pick of the guys.
Hermione doesn't let the thought settle in his mind for too long. "Harry, you're cute and sweet. I bet a lot of girls would love to go with you. And you and Cho already have a common interest: Quidditch. Just ask her. The worse she can say is 'no.' You should do it soon, though. Like you said, Cho is very pretty. You probably won't be the only boy interested in being her date."
"But –"
"But what?" Hermione interrupts as she crosses her arms.
"I can't dance. You know I have two left feet!"
Hermione laughs gaily. "That's all? You can learn how to dance. I'm a decent dancer. I'll teach you."
"You will?" Harry asks hopefully.
She punches him lightly in the shoulder. "Of course. What are best friends for? Just go find Cho and ask her before you lose your chance."
Harry searches for Cho and bumps into her near the Quidditch pitch. He takes a deep, steadying breath before approaching. "Hi, Cho."
Cho turns around, and her long hair, tied in a ponytail, whips over her shoulder with the motion. "Hi."
There is an awkward silence as Harry tries to work up some of his Gryffindor courage.
Cho bites her lip before she asks, "Is there anything you wanted, Harry?"
Harry feels himself blush at the very idea that she knows his name. "I was wondering...would you...um...maybe like...er...to go to the Yule Ball with me?" he finishes the question in a rush, just wanting to get it out in the open.
Cho smiles sweetly. "Yes, Harry. I'd love to be your date."
"Great!" Harry says enthusiastically. "Don't worry. Hermione is giving me dance lessons so you won't end up with a broken toe."
Cho frowns. "Would you rather go with Granger? I'd understand of course. I would rather you be honest now, though."
Harry tilts his head, confused. Suddenly though, like a bolt of lightning, he gets it. "No, no, no. Hermione's my best friend. That's all she is. That's all she'll ever be. She's like a sister to me. She knows I like you and encouraged me to ask you to the Yule Ball. My biggest reason for hesitating is I don't know how to dance; that's why she's giving me lessons. I really, really like you, Cho."
"I like you too, Harry. I just had to make sure it was me you really wanted to be with. I'm not fond of being a consolation prize."
Harry shakes his head rapidly. "I promise. The last thing you are is a consolation prize."
"How about you pick me up in front of the Ravenclaw common room?"
Harry scratches his head. "I'd love to. I...just don't know where it is." He blushes again when he admits it.
Cho covers her mouth to stifle her laughter. "Come with me after dinner. I'll show you."
Harry nods. "I can't wait."
"Me neither."
That night, Harry follows Cho to the common room. They say goodnight to each other, but Harry doesn't want to leave her presence.
"Maybe..."
"Maybe what?" Cho asks.
"Well, the Yule Ball is still so far away. Can we possibly hang out before then? Get to know each other?"
Cho nods and takes his hand. Harry hopes Cho doesn't feel how sweaty his hand is. That would be embarrassing. "I'd like that very much. We're in different years, but how about we meet in the library together. At three?"
"Okay," Harry says happily. He doesn't even mind it's going to be to do homework. As long as he's spending time with Cho, it's all good. "I'll be there."
"Great. Goodbye."
Harry waves and watches as Cho answers a riddle to get in the common room. She turns and waves one last time before the door closes, blocking his view from her.
He sighs, feeling like he can float on air. Now all he has to do is learn to dance. How hard can that be?
Famous last words.
It's the night of the Yule Ball and Harry had been ready to cancel on Cho. His dancing is horrible and no matter how patient Hermione is, he just can't get the hang of it.
He admitted his problems to Cho and told her maybe she should find another date. He knew Cedric had asked her about a week after Harry, and the other Hogwarts Champion might still be available.
Cho's answer was to roll her eyes and say, "Pick me up at 7:30 like we agreed."
Harry blinked.
"I still want to go with you, Harry. Who cares if you're not the best dancer? I like you."
Harry smiled widely. "I really can't wait. I just wanted you to have the chance to say 'no' and go with someone that has coordination."
"Well, that's not going to happen, so stop being such a self-sacrificing martyr."
Harry never said another word on the subject.
Now the big night is here and he's outside of the Ravenclaw common room, waiting for Cho to appear. When the door swings open, Harry's feels his breath catch. She's wearing silver Asian style robes. There are pink flowers on precise locations. She looks elegant, extremely beautiful, and Harry feels like he will be the luckiest guy at the Yule Ball.
Cho must read Harry's though because she grins and takes his hand. "You look quite dashing yourself, Harry." They walk to the Entrance Hall, hand-in-hand.
When they arrive outside of the Great Hall, Cedric and Fleur are there with their dates. Harry looks at Cedric and although he seems surprised at Cho being his date, there doesn't seem to be anger. Harry is relieved that there will be no fighting over a girl. Harry isn't really sure he'd stand a chance if it was Cedric against him.
Cedric is there with a Hufflepuff in his year that Harry doesn't know the name of and Fleur is there with Rodger Davis, a sixth year Ravenclaw who is Chaser and Captain of the Quidditch team.
They silently wait and when Viktor appears, Harry is shocked to see that Hermione is the Bulgarian's date. She sees his look and sends him a wink. Harry turns his attention to Cho who is watching the byplay between Hermione and him carefully. "Cho, I promise, I have no interest in Hermione," he whispers.
"I guess I should trust you. After all, I don't believe you're much of a liar."
"Please."
She nods and when Professor McGonagall comes, she summons them as the champions along with their dates will enter last. When it's time, He feels Cho's hands grip his arm, and he likes it. They walk into the Great Hall and notice there is no longer the long house tables, but many small tables instead. They all go to the front of the Hall, and when Harry sees Percy Weasley, he does his best to steer Cho away from the redhead, without making it look as if that's what he's doing. Poor Fleur ends up sitting next to Percy who immediately starts talking her ear off, leaving her unable to get a word in edgewise.
Cho sits next to Rodger, who's next to Fleur, and while he sits next to Cho, Hermione sits on Harry's other side. Harry makes sure Cho is okay with the arrangement, but she sweetly smiles and holds his hand in full view of the table.
Harry blushes and once again, he can't believe how lucky he is to be with this amazing girl at the Yule Ball.
After dinner, the tables are magically swept aside, and a stage with a band rises against one wall. Harry takes a deep breath as the music starts. He leads Cho by the hand and they begin dancing. Harry is tense and he looks at his feet, doing his best to avoid Cho's toes.
"I'm up here," she says.
Harry glances at her, but his eyes immediately go back down to his feet.
Cho laughs. "Harry, just look at me and relax. Try to have some fun. It's not that hard."
Harry finally keeps his eyes up, no matter how much they want to go back to looking at his feet. Cho's hands rub his shoulders and it helps relax him. He begins smiling when he realizes he's not stepping on her toes and there are many worse dancers than him on the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Neville frequently stepping on Ginny's feet, and he feels like wincing in sympathy.
"Why didn't I dance this well with Hermione? I thought she was going to hex me with how many times I stepped on her feet."
Cho presses closer. "Maybe she wasn't the right girl to be dancing with. I could have taught you, you know."
Harry reddens again, and he wonders how many times he will blush that night. "I get really nervous with you, and I thought it would be easier to learn with someone I'm comfortable with. I guess I was wrong."
Cho nods and they continue to dance in silence. One song ends and another begins, neither moving to leave the dance floor. Harry hasn't felt this happy in a long time, and he will do everything he can to hold onto that warm feeling for as long as possible.
Cho is looking over his shoulder, and she says, "Harry, something is going on with Weasley and Granger."
They keep dancing, but turn so Cho's back is to the action and Harry can see. Harry watches as Ron yells at her. He can't hear what is being said of course, but with the way Ron is gesturing heatedly towards Krum, Harry can easily guess. Hermione looks as if she's ready to cry as she shouts back, and Harry wants to go to her, but he hesitates. He has a feeling Cho wouldn't be very appreciative of it.
Hermione sees him and must see Harry's uncertainty because she minutely shakes her head and disappears into the crowd. Harry will talk to Hermione either later tonight or tomorrow to find out what happened, and he'll apologize for not going to her aid, but he owed it to Cho to not abandon her. "They're fighting; there's nothing new about that."
"Do you have to go?" Cho asks dispassionately.
Harry looks into her eyes, and he can tell she's already distancing herself from her. "No, I'm right where I want to be. I'll catch up with Hermione later and make sure she's okay. I'm a champion, and I'm allowed to have some fun once in a while."
Cho smiles and she looks relieved.
The rest of the night passes uneventfully. They do a lot of dancing and talking. By the time the Yule Ball is ready to close, Harry is no longer blushing. He feels comfortable talking to her, and he enjoys listening to what she has to say. She's so lively when she talks about a subject she's interested in; it makes Harry want to learn more about it.
When the Ball ends at midnight, Harry sighs. "I wish it would go on longer."
Cho rests her head on Harry's shoulder. "Me too."
Cedric comes up to them and Cho straightens. He asks Harry to speak to him alone, and Harry wonders if this is where Cedric tells him he's going after Cho.
They walk to the side, leaving Cho alone with the Hufflepuff sixth year Cedric had brought.
"Listen, no hard feelings about Cho, right?" Harry asks.
Cedric looks surprised. "Oh, yeah. Don't worry about it. You asked her first. That's not what this is about. Since you helped me with the dragon, I thought it was only fair that I return the favor. You should take a bath with your egg. The password to the Prefect's bathroom is 'pine fresh.'"
Harry blinks. "Thanks, Cedric. I'll make sure to do that as soon as possible."
Cedric nods and goes back to the girls. He takes the Hufflepuff's hand and leads her out of the Great Hall.
"What was that about?" Cho asks as she takes hold of Harry's hand.
"Cedric was just helping me with something." He doesn't what to be specific because even though everyone does it, champions technically aren't supposed to receive outside help.
He walks Cho to the Ravenclaw common room and wishes he could find a reason to delay them. There isn't any reason, though.
Tonight had been like a dream, and he isn't sure if he's ready to go back to reality again. He worries this date was a one time thing, and that Cho isn't interested in going out with him again.
When they reach the door, Harry shuffles his feet and Cho looks amused.
She leans forward and gently kisses his lips. It's perfectly innocent, completely chaste, but Harry feels as if it's a perfect first kiss. When she pulls back, she asks, "Can we go out again?"
Harry dumbly nods, unable to believe his luck.
She leans forwards and kisses him again. This time, she holds the kiss for longer than two seconds while she still manages to keep it innocent. "I can't wait," she breathes when she's back at a respectable distance.
"Me either."
She turns to the portrait and answers the riddle. When it opens, she turns back to Harry. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."
Harry waves as she steps though and the door slams shut.
The knocker that spewed out the riddles said, "Ah, young love. How absolutely beautiful."
Harry grins widely as he turns around to go to the Gryffindor tower. He's so happy, he feels like he could actually skip.
He knows he still has a lot to worry about. He's an underage champion in a tournament that is known for killing participants. His two best friends are in the middle of some kind of fight and he will probably be force to place peacemaker. Voldemort is still attempting to come back. His godfather is still a wanted fugitive.
But right then, with the tingling sensation on his lips from Cho's kiss, and her perfume lingering on his robes, Harry can't find it in himself to care. He wonders if they can maybe eat breakfast at the same table tomorrow morning. He hopes so.