Previously on 'The Redemption'... Cho decides to play the quidditch match against everyone's better judgment.

Chapter 27 - Breaking Point

Tom watched with horror as Cho crashed, unable to put up a protective spell quickly enough as she accelerated straight into the quidditch stand. He had thought she was going to pull up in time – he had watched her pull out of steeper dives during practice, but a glance to her side distracted her enough to lose control. Feeling his feet run down the rickety wooden steps before he had consciously registered the motion, he sprinted across the pitch towards where a huddle of Professors was gathered.

Resisting the urge to elbow the bystanders away, Tom parted the crowd and knelt by her prone form. Her dark hair was thrown over her pale face, a deep gash running along the length of her cheek that oozed crimson. Her leg was twisted at an odd angle and her royal blue robes were ripped on the sleeve where more blood was beginning to congeal onto the material. Miraculously, her broom was still perfectly intact unlike its owner, lying on the ground with only a slightly bent twig out of place.

"We need to get Miss Chang to the hospital wing right away" spoke an authoritative voice.

Tom looked up, not noticing Dumbledore's presence earlier due to his overwhelming concern. The Professor looked calm on the exterior but as he laid eyes on Tom, he saw a hardness in his accusing stare that made Tom certain that the old man knew.

Swallowing back the bitterness in his throat, Tom spoke up "I'll come with her"

The distrust was clear in Dumbledore's expression as he carefully levitated Cho onto a stretcher that materialized beside them "No thank you Mr Riddle. I'll handle this"

Without a glance back, the Professor strode away while the others around him tittered. Feeling cold dread settle in his stomach, Tom picked himself up off the ground and quickly made his way into the dark recesses of the castle to help clear his mind.

Arlene and Henry sat on either side of Cho's bed in the Hospital Wing, matching frowns marring their faces. Henry, who was still clad in the muddied robes from quidditch, sat dejectedly with his head in his hands while Arlene idly combed back a section of hair that had fallen onto Cho's face. Even Arlene who was usually chatty and sarcastic was subdued, watching her friend lie deathly still on the stark white sheets that almost matched the colour of her bloodless skin. A thick cream was put onto the cuts, the yellow tone glistening slightly in the dim hospital lighting.

As soon as they had seen Cho crash into the stands, Henry had abandoned the game entirely and forfeited to Slytherin. With a tinge of pride, Henry noticed that none of his teammates seemed to care about the loss of the quidditch cup and instead tried to push their way into the infirmary to see if she was going to be alright. They had grown fond of the girl, treating her like a sister for the past few months and Henry was glad that none of them would put victory over one of their teammates.

But wasn't that what he had done?

"It's my fault" groaned Henry, rubbing his eyes tiredly while Arlene pursed her lips from across the bed.

"It's not your fault" she replied, "It's not like you conjured a quidditch stand right in front of her"

"But it is" insisted Henry "I knew she was having headaches for the past few weeks but I let her play anyway because I thought we could win the cup. I should have known that something like this would happen. I should have put our reserve seeker on instead!"

Arlene sighed, reaching over Cho's body to clasp Henry's hand "She would never have listened to us anyway Henry, you know that"

Henry felt Arlene squeeze his hand comfortingly and he gave her a small smile "She is stubborn isn't she?"

"She is" agreed Arlene, retracting her hand back until it lay on her lap. She changed the subject slightly, her tone unsure as she lowered her voice to a whisper "I knew that those headaches had been bothering her a lot more than she cared to mention… but did you notice that they seemed to happen more frequently lately?"

Henry thought about it for a moment, nodding his head slowly "I suppose so… but where are you going with this Arlene?"

She bit her lip, leaning forward slightly "And she's had these headaches ever since the incident at Christmas?"

Henry nodded, his forehead creasing as Arlene continued "And despite having no physical injuries, she can't remember the incident at all?"

Henry spoke slowly, mulling his thoughts over in his mind "Are you trying to say that whoever caused Cho to forget what happened on Christmas is responsible for her headaches?"

Arlene resisted the urge to make a cutting remark "Yes. And that her headaches getting worse could mean that her body is fighting back against whatever was put on her mind in the first place"

Henry looked baffled "Why would anyone do that to Cho?"

Arlene shrugged, leaning back in her chair as she watched the complete stillness of her fallen friend "We're going to find out"

It was a risk going there when the rest of the school was still abuzz with activity, but Tom knew he could find no peace in his dormitory or common room where people would surely bother him. He had been there for a few hours now, unable to face the concerned faces and cautious glances from his housemates who wondered how he was faring. He couldn't even bring himself to visit the hospital wing, knowing that he did not fit in with Cho's friends and teammates who swarmed her bedside with good intentions.

Tom abruptly stopped his pacing, hearing the echoing of his footsteps against the stone stop. What was he supposed to do? Although a part of him had always known that her memories returning were inevitable, Tom was not quite prepared for the moment to be this soon. What would she say and do once she woke up and remembered his monstrous actions? Could he bear the accusation in her eyes?

Tom resumed his quick strides along the length of the cavernous room, pondering the mess that he had made. Tom had never felt so helpless before and he distinctly hated the fact that Cho held all the power in this predicament. His entire future hinged on her, and Tom could not think of a single way to remedy that realization without hurting her again in the process. It was maddening and frustrating, but most of all, it scared him. He feared the consequences of his actions, not from Dumbledore or other forms of authority, but from Cho herself.

Cursing the day he decided to involve her into his life, Tom strode out of the chamber. He would deal with whatever came at him, like he always had, and hope that he made choices that were a little bit more sensible than the ones of late.

A/N: A quick update since the chapters have been super short lately - hope you liked it! - DecoyDream.