Chapter 9: Resolution
Harry looked at Cho as soon as the men left. He smiled and put his hands on her shoulders, then started bringing his head towards her to kiss her.
She suddenly pushed him back. "No," she said. "We're not kissing until we're married."
Harry and the others were stunned. "What?" Harry asked. "Not till our marriage?"
"Yes." She shrugged, and then saw that everybody was staring at her.
"This is your parents' rule, right?" Harry asked.
"No, it's mine."
Harry hesitated, and then smiled. He put his hands on her shoulders again. "Stop joking around and kiss me." He leaned towards her again.
"I said no!" She said as she pushed him away more forcefully than before. "Sorry if you object to it, but I'm not budging on my rule."
Harry paused and sighed. He said finally, "No, I don't have a problem with it. Can we get married over the summer, then?"
"No!" she said emphatically. "Harry, marriage is years away. We have school, and work, and . . " She trailed off.
"As soon as possible, then," said Harry.
"Impatient are we?" Cho said. A smile formed on her face.
"What? Not until you're married?" Ron said incredulously. He paused. "She's worth it," he finally said.
Hermione glared at him.
"Well it's true," Ron said sheepishly.
"You two are gonna have the cutest, most spoiled little babies," Ginny said.
"Indeed," said Harry. "Someday there will be more Potters than Weasleys." He grinned mischievously at Cho. Cho was fighting back a smile.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Ron. He looked at Hermione and raised his eyebrows.
"Oh honestly!"
she said.
On the last day of school, Cho left with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny in the black carriage that would take them to the Hogwarts Express. They had decided earlier that, since Cho had no living relatives and thus no place to stay, that they would owl the Weasleys at the Burrow to see if they could temporarily accomodate her. Harry raved about her for so many pages that Ron had to intervene for Pig's sake and throw pages out. The Weasleys' response was that they would love to have Cho stay at the Burrow over the summer. And so, Harry and his friends boarded the train and, sooner than they had hoped, they arrived at King's Cross Station. Harry said goodbye to Ron and Hermione. Hermione, being unavailable this year, decided not to kiss Harry on the cheek this time. Harry and Cho had a difficult time saying goodbye.
"I'll really miss you," Harry said.
"I'll write," Cho said. She saw Harry's not fully content expression. "I'll write a lot," she added brightly.
"Me too," Harry said. "I hope Ron doesn't get on your nerves too much. But if he does, let me know, and I'll fly over there personally and give him a punch in the nose."
Cho giggled. "Good bye," she said softly. "I love you, you know." She smiled.
"Bye," said Harry. "I love you too."
They parted. Cho left to join the Weasleys, who were smiling and waving at Harry. Harry turned around and saw something that surprised him: the Dursleys' facial expressions were in a state of shock.
"That's your girlfriend?" Dudley blurted out when they got to the car.
"Yeah," Harry said as he loaded his luggage in the back. "She's some girl."
Another year at Hogwarts drew to a close.
A/N: I'm not sure whether Hermione's Oh honestly's are mentioned in the canon, but I know they are prevalent in wotan's "Yours and yours and yours." If they are indeed wotan's idea, then I give credit to him or her. Credit goes to Starling's drawings for inspiration. No, I don't have the books with me. So the idea of Cho's age is based on the fact that I know she's a year ahead of Harry in Claire's Draco Dormiens.
This story, of which I'm immensely proud, was fueled by a week of inspiration. I molded and reformed the plot throughout, and am happy with the final shape it took on. I'm satisfied with the plot and the characterization. Maybe Cho was not totally believable; I might make her less of a Mary Sue in the sequel(s), if I choose to write one or more. Many parts needed more development to slow down the pace, while some unnecessary dialogue could have been trimmed down. It also has a "rushed" feel.
Enough of what I think; I'm biased. I hope that you, the reader, enjoyed it. Maybe you think I've started a Harry/Cho fanfic revolution! Just kidding. The common objection is: "She's an outsider we barely know."
Ito Mori the tengu will return!
I think that I will eventually write
a sequel to this story set in year 6 (year 7 for Cho I think).