Disclaimer: As we all know, characters are part of Jkrowling and blablabla... But Butch and Ray are MINE!!!!!!
Author notes at the end... Keep reviewing!
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Chapter 2: Diagon Alley
Harry sighed as he stuffed the last of his clothes into his trunk, glad to leave,
even though things had changed for the better here. It hadn't changed too much, but he seemed
to earn a bit of respect now. The house seems so quiet now without Vernon constantly yelling at him for one reason or another. And Petunia gets misty-eyed when she looks at Harry. It's quite a change, but I can get used to it, He thinks.
"Harry, they're here!" Vernon yells up the staircase.
Hurrying, he pushed the heavy suitcase down the hall, and to his great suprise, Vernon tries to carry it, but it lands painfully on his foot. Instead, they both carry it down the hall, Vernon limping slightly, to the front door. Outside, were two burly red-haired men, who could have looked like Macho-men Fred and George. They were looking suspiciously at the house, like it may blow up or something. The limo was not all that grand, if you take out all the Dark Magic gizmos and contraptions installed all around it.
"Hello, Harry Potter, I am Ray McDonald, and this is my brother, Butch." both of the men shook his hand, doing the usual gaze across the forhead ritual. "I'll get that!" Butch called, watching Vernon struggling with the siutcase. It seemed like a piece of paper to Butch, who carried it easily into the trunk of the limo. The rest of the Dursleys came out, though Dudley was hiding in shadows, apparently remembering the last time he met up with a wizard. He waved the Dursleys goodbye, and they waved back to his suprise. Then he jumped in the limo.
The limo was enchanted to be bigger in size, and it was like being in the entryway of a palace. Marble Flooring with skins of all creatures carpeting them, and there were numerous couches and chairs to sit in. Then one of the twins came in. "Exploding Snap, Harry? Butch is driving."
So it was Ray. Harry agreed and played numerous games with Ray until Butch came up.
"Were here. It looks like a few people know about us, there's somewhat of a mob." Butch grinned just like George would do if he is up to something. It was eerie. Harry found the door and stepped outside. Yes there was a mob. The Weasleys were all lined up front, as well as Hermione and her family. There was also Dumbledore, McGonagall, and a few people from the ministry. But the majority of the mob were reporters, photographers, and cameramen all yelling and pushing to get at Harry. It's like being a movie star, harry thought as he was blinded by flashing lights and deafened by reporters yelling in his ears. The two Hit Wizards yelled to make way, no comments, etc. and steered Harry into the Leaky Cauldron.
Ah, some peace, Harry thought, as he made his way into a room. The McDonalds followed, installing Anti-Dark equipment all over the place and setting Harry's trunk down. "Where are you gonna stay?" he asked. Butch replied, "the rooms beside you, so we can hear you if something goes wrong." And they left. Harry arranged his room so that it seems a bit comfortable, and not so eerie with the equipment. Someone knocked on the door. "Come in." it was Ron and Hermione. "GOSH what a crowd harry! We thought we were gonna be the only ones there, for a moment, and then all these wizards kept apparating and trying to find a good spot..." Ron could have gone on for ours,
but Hermione interrupted, "Are you okay, Harry?"
"Just a bit ragged, why?"
"That's not what I meant, Harry." Even Ron looked a bit concerned.
Eeurgh, I don't wanna talk about this in front of Hermione."Yeah, I'm fine, Hermione." He decided to change the subject."What books do we need, I didn't get a list..." Ron gave him an envelope.
"Dumbledore wanted to give it to you personally, but he was swept away by the crowd."
"I'll read it later," Harry said."I need to talk to Ron alone, okay Hermione?"
Hermione, a bit startled and hurt, left.
"What, Harry?"
"Its Cho, she wrote me a letter."
Ron raised his eyebrow,"Wow, What did it say?"
Harry gave him the letter, a little hesitantly, thinking he would notice the tearstain.
"This is what you have been thinking, Harry? That you are responsible for something you couldn't control? I'm not really the person who would give advice but---"
"No, no Ron, I'm somewhat over that. It's just that she wrote to me. Why would she concern herself about me?" Harry began kneading his forhead, a usual thing that Harry does when concerned. "I dunno, maybe she is worried about you, and wants to keep contact?"
"But why, Ron?"
"Because everybody else is." Ron said, a little bitter.
"Look Ron, I can't help it, I'm sorry I even mentioned it to you." He was gesturing that towards the door, the conversation was over.
But Ron didn't move. He was still looking at the paper. Harry groaned inside, thinking he saw the stain. "Harry..."
"Unh?"
"I'm sorry. I know you can't help it, its just that I never get any attention, and..." he let it trail off. Harry didn't want to say anything, and he left Ron to leave. He saw the letter land on his lap and heard the door shut quietly.
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"Hermione--"
Hermione turned to see a downcast harry. She knows Ron and him had been talking, maybe they were arguing?
"I need some womanly advice, I think. Come in my room."
She was stunned. Womanly advice? She never heard Harry say such a thing since she knew him.
"I tried to talk to Ron about it, and he didn't seem to understand me." He pointed towards a letter lying on the bed. She picked it up, and began reading. So that's what he thinks? She knew he had liked Cho, but this is crazy.
"Did you write her before?"
He suddenly brightened. "No, that's the point. That is what I was trying to get to Ron, that she could not have known how I...felt... about Cedric."
"Yeah, she was using the excuse of you looking guilty the when we got off the train, but you were more concerned and determined than guilty."
Gosh, girls know expressions well, Harry thought.
"hmmm. This is computer paper, Harry, was she muggle-born?"
"I dunno, maybe I'll ask when she answers me."
"....Answers you?"
"You'd think I would not write back, did you?" He almost bristled up.
"Well, Harry, you have to be careful about the information you give to people, especially these days..."
"--I can't believe you Hermione! You are beginning to sound like Mad-Eye, thinking everybody is a Dark Witch or Wizard!
"Oh, come on, Harry! This is too strange for her to just like you."
Harry blushed deeply, and tried to look somewhere else.
Hermione thought of a question, then finally said it aloud."What do you think, Harry?"
Harry, started, suprised."..me? Um.."
"That she has some sort of intuition, or telepathy connected with you?" He turned darker red, if possible.
"Possible, Harry, but probable? I think not.."
He murmured something inintellable.
"You still write to her, Harry, but think before you give out information so willingly, and try to get information from her, too. I gotta go to bed, harry, it's well past midnight." and she left.
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Ron and Hermione had got up early to talk about what to do with Harry.
"...Why don't you let him talk to her, Hermione? I mean, it's probably his first crush!"
"I dunno, I have a weird feeling about her--"
"--Because you are jealous!"
"I...Am...NOT!!" Hermione nearly screamed.
"Hello, all" Harry finally came down from bed.
"Hiya Harry!" Ron said, steering him to a seat.
Harry pulled out the list of things to buy for school, eager to go shopping. But there was a letter from Dumbledore, first:
Dear Mr. H. Potter,
Under the circumstances I advise you to be more cautious in your life. A teacher will escort you to every class, or by a group of friends, by choice. When you leave the castle, there must be a teacher present to watch you. This includes Hogsmeade and Quidditch practices. You cannot stay outside after dark.
Sincerely,
Dumbledore.
Harry groaned loudly, and tossed the letter for them to read. This was worse than when everybody thought he was the Slytherin Heir in his second year, and worse than his third year, where everybody was assigned to look out for him. "Ooh, Harry, this is bad." Hermione said.
"Well, lets go shopping." Harry changed the subject, trying to get ready for school. He looked down at the list again, and found more books for DADA than anything else, there is even a few muggle defense books he has to buy.
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Halfway through shopping, he found himself bumping into his enemy, Malfoy.
"Well, lookee here, boys, its the Famous Harry Potter." Malfoy eyes the McDonalds apprehensively, though not thinking anything about it. "Get out of my way, Malfoy." Harry pushed aside, and didn't want a confrontation. But Malfoy grabbed onto his arm, and made him stop. "Why did you run away, Potter? You had him all to yourself, but you ran away. I guess this proves that Harry is like everybody else, too cowardly to face his enemies."
Harry had his wand between Malfoy's eyes, before he even knew what he was doing. Hermione tugged at his sleeve, "Don't Harry, he is not worth it" Harry ignored her. "So that is what you think, Malfoy? That I could not face my enemies? Look at what I'm doing, Draco. I could have you dead by now, before you can even think." Malfoy was looking nervous, and walked away. He knew he was bluffing, but he did not know how much he was bluffing.
Harry turned to go back, but he saw how nervous his friends look. "I was just saying that, guys, to get him off my tail. You know I can't kill anybody." But Hermione still looked nervous. "Harry, you did not run away from you-know-who. You had to save yourself and bring back Cedric."
"Hermione, I know that." Yes, he knew, but did feel cowardly for running away.
Hermione did something extraordinary. She grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed it. He never felt such a rush of comforting love before, and was stunned. He did not know how to react, and just let her hold his hand for a while. Ron said he was hungry, and they left to go to the inn for lunch. Harry was developing a tension headache, and left them to go to his room to rest.
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She was walking around Diagon Alley, desperately trying to find him. Where would he be at this time of day? She checked her watch. Hmm lunchtime. She went back to the Leaky Cauldron to see if he was there.
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Ron and Hermione were eating grilled cheese sandwiches and talking. Ron looked a little ruffled. "What do you mean, 'A little comfort'?"
"Didn't you see that he was disturbed by what Malfoy said? He was clearly hurt."
"So??? That doesn't mean that you should hold his hand like he was your boyfriend!"
"He is not my boyfriend, he just needed to be comforted!"
Ron grunted angrily.
"Why are you so mad about it, anyway?"
Ron clearly was trying hard to find an excuse. "You know what Rita Skeeter wrote about you two, don't you think that people would still believe her?"
Hermione didn't have time to reply, a girl sat at their table.
"Hello, are you Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger?"
"Yes," they replied at the same time.
"So, you are Harry Potter's friends?"
"Yes." they replied at the same time again.
"Can you tell me where he is, he said he would be here."
Ron said. "He is in his room. the room number is 15. OW, why did you do that?!?"
Hermione kicked him hard in the shin.
The girl thanked them and went upstairs.
"Do you know who that is, Ron??? That is Cho!"
"And WHY did you have to kick me?"
"Because you gave her information, and You-Know-Who is looking after him!"
"Just because you are jealous does not make his crush evil. OW!"
She kicked him again.
"I am not jealous, Ron, I am just looking out for him. He seems to be so defenseless these days."
"Defenseless?!? He kept himself from being killed by You-know-who a million times, Hermione!"
She was not listening, she was going upstairs. Ron followed her.
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Harry was lying down with an Ice Pack on his forehead when he heard a knocking at the door.
"Who is it?" he grunted, even talking hurt his head.
"Cho, Harry. Can I come in?"
"Cho! Wait a minute!" He turned on the light and tried to make his room not so sloppy looking. Then he opened the door. "Hi Cho! I didn't expect you to come here!"
Cho, now 16 and very pretty to Harry, sat down elegantly on a ratty sofa. "I didn't think I would come, either. but I've read your letter Harry, and I cannot even begin how to describe at how proud I am of you."
Harry tried to reply, but he seemed to be tongue-tied. Instead, he heard shuffling right outside his door. "Excuse me, " He managed to get out, and opened the door. Two figures stumbled onto the floor, apparently they were trying to eavesdrop at the door. Harry, infuriated, hissed at his friends to go away, and promised them he would tell them all about it later. He stepped back into the room, mumbling about how nosy his friends were to Cho. She apparently didn't seem to mind. "That's okay, Harry, my friends would probably do the same if they knew I was here. What I was saying was that you were so brave when you fought Voldemort." He was again stunned. Not only did she complement him again, she said Voldemort's name openly, without being scared or nervous. Harry shuffled his feet, looking down so that she won't see him blushing. "I dunno what to say, except that I am expected to be brave, if I want to stay alive with Voldemort on my trail."
Cho sighed, looking worried at Harry. He was already getting tired of seeing that expression when people look at him. "I'm fine, really. Everybody is looking at me like I would break into pieces with the slightest wind, now." Wanting to change the subject, he asked, "Sorry if I seem rude, but are you muggle born?" Cho sighed again. "Yea, I am. My parents don't like it too much about having a witch in the family. They are worried about my little brother, Tian, being a wizard. He may have to go next year." Ah, so that explains the computer paper. He noted to tell that to Hermione. She was looking at the Dark equipment, interested. "You have a lot of protection here, Harry." "Yeah, I even have two assigned bodyguards following me where ever I go now." She looked a little suprised. "Really? I hope you aren't too mad about it, everybody must be worried about you, then." Well, might as well if she keeps bringing it up. "I guess. I dunno why they are so worried now, they haven't been worried too much before." He knew it was a lie, but it was slightly true. Nobody assigned Hit Wizards to him before. Cho nodded. "Did you have a nice summer?" she asked, a little apprehensive. "Not at first, until my uncle got the letter about the Hit Wizards. Then I had to tell them everything. They seemed to now have a little heart now." She smiled sweetly. "Well, that's good." Then Cho looked at her watch. "Three already! I gotta do the rest of my shopping, Harry. I'll see you at school." She got up, and went to the door, but Harry, as a gentleman, opened the door for her. She smiled again and waved goodbye, then went down the steps.
Harry plopped down on the bed, exhausted as if he ran twenty miles. Then he heard thundering footsteps come up to his room. Ron and Hermione burst in. "Well?" they exclaimed, too impatient to wait. He explained everything. Hermione still looked a bit suspicious. "You said that she said You-know-who's name?" "Yeah, but she was Muggle-born, she probably didn't know that people don't like to say his name." She didn't look convinced, but didn't say anything.
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Author's Note:
Thank you all for reviewing my story! I've still haven't decided if Cho is going to be evil, so it will be as surpassing to me as it will be to you. This chapter is a bit cheesy, but I promise it will get better. I didn't really want this to be a romance, but I really don't control the story, I just write it. :)
Talking about romance stories, I've seen many HP love stories where all the characters' personalities are so wrong that it's quite stupid. I am determined to keep the personalities of my characters the same as they were in the real stories, even though it's a love story. For Ex. I really don't see Hermione all lovey-dubby-hanging-off-the-shoulder-of-her-man girl, but still as smart and clever as she ever was, but with a boyfriend. Also speaking of Hermione, She is NOT in love with Harry, which would be too obvious and creepy. I see them as brother and sister, really. And I'm not gonna tell ya anymore, ya'll just have to read the rest.
Author notes at the end... Keep reviewing!
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Chapter 2: Diagon Alley
Harry sighed as he stuffed the last of his clothes into his trunk, glad to leave,
even though things had changed for the better here. It hadn't changed too much, but he seemed
to earn a bit of respect now. The house seems so quiet now without Vernon constantly yelling at him for one reason or another. And Petunia gets misty-eyed when she looks at Harry. It's quite a change, but I can get used to it, He thinks.
"Harry, they're here!" Vernon yells up the staircase.
Hurrying, he pushed the heavy suitcase down the hall, and to his great suprise, Vernon tries to carry it, but it lands painfully on his foot. Instead, they both carry it down the hall, Vernon limping slightly, to the front door. Outside, were two burly red-haired men, who could have looked like Macho-men Fred and George. They were looking suspiciously at the house, like it may blow up or something. The limo was not all that grand, if you take out all the Dark Magic gizmos and contraptions installed all around it.
"Hello, Harry Potter, I am Ray McDonald, and this is my brother, Butch." both of the men shook his hand, doing the usual gaze across the forhead ritual. "I'll get that!" Butch called, watching Vernon struggling with the siutcase. It seemed like a piece of paper to Butch, who carried it easily into the trunk of the limo. The rest of the Dursleys came out, though Dudley was hiding in shadows, apparently remembering the last time he met up with a wizard. He waved the Dursleys goodbye, and they waved back to his suprise. Then he jumped in the limo.
The limo was enchanted to be bigger in size, and it was like being in the entryway of a palace. Marble Flooring with skins of all creatures carpeting them, and there were numerous couches and chairs to sit in. Then one of the twins came in. "Exploding Snap, Harry? Butch is driving."
So it was Ray. Harry agreed and played numerous games with Ray until Butch came up.
"Were here. It looks like a few people know about us, there's somewhat of a mob." Butch grinned just like George would do if he is up to something. It was eerie. Harry found the door and stepped outside. Yes there was a mob. The Weasleys were all lined up front, as well as Hermione and her family. There was also Dumbledore, McGonagall, and a few people from the ministry. But the majority of the mob were reporters, photographers, and cameramen all yelling and pushing to get at Harry. It's like being a movie star, harry thought as he was blinded by flashing lights and deafened by reporters yelling in his ears. The two Hit Wizards yelled to make way, no comments, etc. and steered Harry into the Leaky Cauldron.
Ah, some peace, Harry thought, as he made his way into a room. The McDonalds followed, installing Anti-Dark equipment all over the place and setting Harry's trunk down. "Where are you gonna stay?" he asked. Butch replied, "the rooms beside you, so we can hear you if something goes wrong." And they left. Harry arranged his room so that it seems a bit comfortable, and not so eerie with the equipment. Someone knocked on the door. "Come in." it was Ron and Hermione. "GOSH what a crowd harry! We thought we were gonna be the only ones there, for a moment, and then all these wizards kept apparating and trying to find a good spot..." Ron could have gone on for ours,
but Hermione interrupted, "Are you okay, Harry?"
"Just a bit ragged, why?"
"That's not what I meant, Harry." Even Ron looked a bit concerned.
Eeurgh, I don't wanna talk about this in front of Hermione."Yeah, I'm fine, Hermione." He decided to change the subject."What books do we need, I didn't get a list..." Ron gave him an envelope.
"Dumbledore wanted to give it to you personally, but he was swept away by the crowd."
"I'll read it later," Harry said."I need to talk to Ron alone, okay Hermione?"
Hermione, a bit startled and hurt, left.
"What, Harry?"
"Its Cho, she wrote me a letter."
Ron raised his eyebrow,"Wow, What did it say?"
Harry gave him the letter, a little hesitantly, thinking he would notice the tearstain.
"This is what you have been thinking, Harry? That you are responsible for something you couldn't control? I'm not really the person who would give advice but---"
"No, no Ron, I'm somewhat over that. It's just that she wrote to me. Why would she concern herself about me?" Harry began kneading his forhead, a usual thing that Harry does when concerned. "I dunno, maybe she is worried about you, and wants to keep contact?"
"But why, Ron?"
"Because everybody else is." Ron said, a little bitter.
"Look Ron, I can't help it, I'm sorry I even mentioned it to you." He was gesturing that towards the door, the conversation was over.
But Ron didn't move. He was still looking at the paper. Harry groaned inside, thinking he saw the stain. "Harry..."
"Unh?"
"I'm sorry. I know you can't help it, its just that I never get any attention, and..." he let it trail off. Harry didn't want to say anything, and he left Ron to leave. He saw the letter land on his lap and heard the door shut quietly.
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"Hermione--"
Hermione turned to see a downcast harry. She knows Ron and him had been talking, maybe they were arguing?
"I need some womanly advice, I think. Come in my room."
She was stunned. Womanly advice? She never heard Harry say such a thing since she knew him.
"I tried to talk to Ron about it, and he didn't seem to understand me." He pointed towards a letter lying on the bed. She picked it up, and began reading. So that's what he thinks? She knew he had liked Cho, but this is crazy.
"Did you write her before?"
He suddenly brightened. "No, that's the point. That is what I was trying to get to Ron, that she could not have known how I...felt... about Cedric."
"Yeah, she was using the excuse of you looking guilty the when we got off the train, but you were more concerned and determined than guilty."
Gosh, girls know expressions well, Harry thought.
"hmmm. This is computer paper, Harry, was she muggle-born?"
"I dunno, maybe I'll ask when she answers me."
"....Answers you?"
"You'd think I would not write back, did you?" He almost bristled up.
"Well, Harry, you have to be careful about the information you give to people, especially these days..."
"--I can't believe you Hermione! You are beginning to sound like Mad-Eye, thinking everybody is a Dark Witch or Wizard!
"Oh, come on, Harry! This is too strange for her to just like you."
Harry blushed deeply, and tried to look somewhere else.
Hermione thought of a question, then finally said it aloud."What do you think, Harry?"
Harry, started, suprised."..me? Um.."
"That she has some sort of intuition, or telepathy connected with you?" He turned darker red, if possible.
"Possible, Harry, but probable? I think not.."
He murmured something inintellable.
"You still write to her, Harry, but think before you give out information so willingly, and try to get information from her, too. I gotta go to bed, harry, it's well past midnight." and she left.
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Ron and Hermione had got up early to talk about what to do with Harry.
"...Why don't you let him talk to her, Hermione? I mean, it's probably his first crush!"
"I dunno, I have a weird feeling about her--"
"--Because you are jealous!"
"I...Am...NOT!!" Hermione nearly screamed.
"Hello, all" Harry finally came down from bed.
"Hiya Harry!" Ron said, steering him to a seat.
Harry pulled out the list of things to buy for school, eager to go shopping. But there was a letter from Dumbledore, first:
Dear Mr. H. Potter,
Under the circumstances I advise you to be more cautious in your life. A teacher will escort you to every class, or by a group of friends, by choice. When you leave the castle, there must be a teacher present to watch you. This includes Hogsmeade and Quidditch practices. You cannot stay outside after dark.
Sincerely,
Dumbledore.
Harry groaned loudly, and tossed the letter for them to read. This was worse than when everybody thought he was the Slytherin Heir in his second year, and worse than his third year, where everybody was assigned to look out for him. "Ooh, Harry, this is bad." Hermione said.
"Well, lets go shopping." Harry changed the subject, trying to get ready for school. He looked down at the list again, and found more books for DADA than anything else, there is even a few muggle defense books he has to buy.
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Halfway through shopping, he found himself bumping into his enemy, Malfoy.
"Well, lookee here, boys, its the Famous Harry Potter." Malfoy eyes the McDonalds apprehensively, though not thinking anything about it. "Get out of my way, Malfoy." Harry pushed aside, and didn't want a confrontation. But Malfoy grabbed onto his arm, and made him stop. "Why did you run away, Potter? You had him all to yourself, but you ran away. I guess this proves that Harry is like everybody else, too cowardly to face his enemies."
Harry had his wand between Malfoy's eyes, before he even knew what he was doing. Hermione tugged at his sleeve, "Don't Harry, he is not worth it" Harry ignored her. "So that is what you think, Malfoy? That I could not face my enemies? Look at what I'm doing, Draco. I could have you dead by now, before you can even think." Malfoy was looking nervous, and walked away. He knew he was bluffing, but he did not know how much he was bluffing.
Harry turned to go back, but he saw how nervous his friends look. "I was just saying that, guys, to get him off my tail. You know I can't kill anybody." But Hermione still looked nervous. "Harry, you did not run away from you-know-who. You had to save yourself and bring back Cedric."
"Hermione, I know that." Yes, he knew, but did feel cowardly for running away.
Hermione did something extraordinary. She grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed it. He never felt such a rush of comforting love before, and was stunned. He did not know how to react, and just let her hold his hand for a while. Ron said he was hungry, and they left to go to the inn for lunch. Harry was developing a tension headache, and left them to go to his room to rest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was walking around Diagon Alley, desperately trying to find him. Where would he be at this time of day? She checked her watch. Hmm lunchtime. She went back to the Leaky Cauldron to see if he was there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ron and Hermione were eating grilled cheese sandwiches and talking. Ron looked a little ruffled. "What do you mean, 'A little comfort'?"
"Didn't you see that he was disturbed by what Malfoy said? He was clearly hurt."
"So??? That doesn't mean that you should hold his hand like he was your boyfriend!"
"He is not my boyfriend, he just needed to be comforted!"
Ron grunted angrily.
"Why are you so mad about it, anyway?"
Ron clearly was trying hard to find an excuse. "You know what Rita Skeeter wrote about you two, don't you think that people would still believe her?"
Hermione didn't have time to reply, a girl sat at their table.
"Hello, are you Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger?"
"Yes," they replied at the same time.
"So, you are Harry Potter's friends?"
"Yes." they replied at the same time again.
"Can you tell me where he is, he said he would be here."
Ron said. "He is in his room. the room number is 15. OW, why did you do that?!?"
Hermione kicked him hard in the shin.
The girl thanked them and went upstairs.
"Do you know who that is, Ron??? That is Cho!"
"And WHY did you have to kick me?"
"Because you gave her information, and You-Know-Who is looking after him!"
"Just because you are jealous does not make his crush evil. OW!"
She kicked him again.
"I am not jealous, Ron, I am just looking out for him. He seems to be so defenseless these days."
"Defenseless?!? He kept himself from being killed by You-know-who a million times, Hermione!"
She was not listening, she was going upstairs. Ron followed her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry was lying down with an Ice Pack on his forehead when he heard a knocking at the door.
"Who is it?" he grunted, even talking hurt his head.
"Cho, Harry. Can I come in?"
"Cho! Wait a minute!" He turned on the light and tried to make his room not so sloppy looking. Then he opened the door. "Hi Cho! I didn't expect you to come here!"
Cho, now 16 and very pretty to Harry, sat down elegantly on a ratty sofa. "I didn't think I would come, either. but I've read your letter Harry, and I cannot even begin how to describe at how proud I am of you."
Harry tried to reply, but he seemed to be tongue-tied. Instead, he heard shuffling right outside his door. "Excuse me, " He managed to get out, and opened the door. Two figures stumbled onto the floor, apparently they were trying to eavesdrop at the door. Harry, infuriated, hissed at his friends to go away, and promised them he would tell them all about it later. He stepped back into the room, mumbling about how nosy his friends were to Cho. She apparently didn't seem to mind. "That's okay, Harry, my friends would probably do the same if they knew I was here. What I was saying was that you were so brave when you fought Voldemort." He was again stunned. Not only did she complement him again, she said Voldemort's name openly, without being scared or nervous. Harry shuffled his feet, looking down so that she won't see him blushing. "I dunno what to say, except that I am expected to be brave, if I want to stay alive with Voldemort on my trail."
Cho sighed, looking worried at Harry. He was already getting tired of seeing that expression when people look at him. "I'm fine, really. Everybody is looking at me like I would break into pieces with the slightest wind, now." Wanting to change the subject, he asked, "Sorry if I seem rude, but are you muggle born?" Cho sighed again. "Yea, I am. My parents don't like it too much about having a witch in the family. They are worried about my little brother, Tian, being a wizard. He may have to go next year." Ah, so that explains the computer paper. He noted to tell that to Hermione. She was looking at the Dark equipment, interested. "You have a lot of protection here, Harry." "Yeah, I even have two assigned bodyguards following me where ever I go now." She looked a little suprised. "Really? I hope you aren't too mad about it, everybody must be worried about you, then." Well, might as well if she keeps bringing it up. "I guess. I dunno why they are so worried now, they haven't been worried too much before." He knew it was a lie, but it was slightly true. Nobody assigned Hit Wizards to him before. Cho nodded. "Did you have a nice summer?" she asked, a little apprehensive. "Not at first, until my uncle got the letter about the Hit Wizards. Then I had to tell them everything. They seemed to now have a little heart now." She smiled sweetly. "Well, that's good." Then Cho looked at her watch. "Three already! I gotta do the rest of my shopping, Harry. I'll see you at school." She got up, and went to the door, but Harry, as a gentleman, opened the door for her. She smiled again and waved goodbye, then went down the steps.
Harry plopped down on the bed, exhausted as if he ran twenty miles. Then he heard thundering footsteps come up to his room. Ron and Hermione burst in. "Well?" they exclaimed, too impatient to wait. He explained everything. Hermione still looked a bit suspicious. "You said that she said You-know-who's name?" "Yeah, but she was Muggle-born, she probably didn't know that people don't like to say his name." She didn't look convinced, but didn't say anything.
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Author's Note:
Thank you all for reviewing my story! I've still haven't decided if Cho is going to be evil, so it will be as surpassing to me as it will be to you. This chapter is a bit cheesy, but I promise it will get better. I didn't really want this to be a romance, but I really don't control the story, I just write it. :)
Talking about romance stories, I've seen many HP love stories where all the characters' personalities are so wrong that it's quite stupid. I am determined to keep the personalities of my characters the same as they were in the real stories, even though it's a love story. For Ex. I really don't see Hermione all lovey-dubby-hanging-off-the-shoulder-of-her-man girl, but still as smart and clever as she ever was, but with a boyfriend. Also speaking of Hermione, She is NOT in love with Harry, which would be too obvious and creepy. I see them as brother and sister, really. And I'm not gonna tell ya anymore, ya'll just have to read the rest.