Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They all
belong to the gifted Joanne Kathleen Rowling so don't sue me! All I have are my
plot and my computer =).
A/N: I've just started looking through my first few chapters
and realized some spelling/typo or technical errors. I guess I should have read
through first before I submit it. =) Well, all the errors are rectified and if
you see any, do let me know. R/R please.
The
Aftermath
Ginny had enjoyed dancing with Colin but she was jealous
that Harry and Hermione were together. She did not realize that her best friend
was in love with the same guy as her until tonight. When she saw Harry dashing
out of the hall and Hermione following him, she immediately ran after them
impulsively, leaving Colin on the dance floor by himself. Everybody was
surprised to see her suddenly break into a run and some even thought that Colin
had offended her but she didn't care. By the time she caught up, she saw Harry
and Hermione kissing. She was almost in tears when she saw another figure
watching the couple. Then Harry looked up. She leaned back into the dark hallway
to hide in the shadows but she need not do that as Harry had eyes only for one
person and that was not Hermione. He immediately let go of Hermione and chased
after the figure that had already disappeared.
******************************
Cho was making her way back to the Grand Hall when she saw a
couple kissing. She had gone wandering about the hallways after telling Roger
to have fun by himself as she wasn't really into it. She had seen Harry with
Hermione and just went into a state of frenzy. She knew that she couldn't keep
sane if she was in the hall. She would just keep staring at them. After walking
a while, her mind cleared and she started to think. She realized that she had
already let go of Cedric long ago. She just wasn't ready to accept the fact
that she could love again so quickly and even get over her guilt. Now she knew
that it wasn't a change of heart, it was that she had always loved Harry and
Cedric was just…a good friend. She knew that she would always feel a tinge of
guilt but so did Harry. Maybe she was being too noble, not going after what she
wanted because she felt she would be letting someone dead down. Should she give
herself and Harry a chance? Did she dare? "Yes," her heart already answered.
That was before. Now, as she stared at the couple in front
of her kissing, she wondered whether she was losing it. She knew even though
neither of them looked up that it was Harry and Hermione. Before her shocked
eyes, Harry did indeed look up. Maybe she had been in self-denial earlier, but
now… As his eyes fell upon her standing there, she spun round and ran. Before
she knew it, she found herself at the lake. She looked at the swirling water
and tried to manage her thoughts. How could he be kissing Hermione? What about
him and me? I thought he loved me. It was only then that she realized how
important he had become to her. How he had gradually buried his way into her heart.
And yet, paradoxically, it seemed she no longer existed in his. Was he just
trying to ease his guilt over Cedric's death by consoling Cedric's
grief-stricken girlfriend? Her heart burnt at the thought. "God, I love him,"
she finally admitted. That was the only reason she could be so hurt at this
juncture. She was so jealous at Hermione and was mad enough to kill Harry.
"What if he doesn't love me?" she feared. She didn't even dare to think that but
a voice in her immediately answered, "If he did, he wouldn't be kissing
Hermione."
******************************
Harry saw Cho and knew what she must be thinking of when she
ran off. He instantly let go of Hermione and ran after Cho. "Shucks…this time I
really blew it," he thought to himself. Why must this always happen to me? But now
he knew how deep his feelings for Cho ran. He would never feel the same with another
girl. With Hermione in his arms, he felt nothing but by just thinking of Cho,
there's such a wealth of emotion and warmth. "I have got to explain…I can't
live without her," his thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to find her.
(A/N: I think this is quite extreme again.) He had followed her out of the
school and she just disappeared. How was he going to find her in such darkness?
Suddenly he saw a shadow moving near the lake. Knowing that it would be Cho, he
was still for a while as he was so relieved to have found her. He walked
swiftly towards her but faltered over the last few steps as he did not know
what to say.
"I know you're there Harry and I don't feel like talking
right now," Cho sensed his presence and hoped he took her hint to leave.
"Please, we need to talk." Harry said.
"We can talk some other time," Cho replied.
"We have to talk now," Harry maintained.
"Can't you just leave me alone for a while?" Cho exclaimed
in frustration, spinning around to pin him with a stare.
She knew she shouldn't have looked him in the eye. It was
just so discomforting and she could feel her resolve weaken at that green gaze.
He knew she was hurt but he was shocked at her ashen face. Maybe she feels the
same way he does. That gave him some hope and he was going to make sure that
neither of them was going to leave before making themselves clear.
"No," he said simply.
"Then I'll leave," she said coldly.
"Wait," Harry grabbed Cho's arm to stop her.
As he tried to hold on, she tried to pull herself out of his
grasp. That led to a tug-of-war, and Cho stumbled and fell into Harry's waiting
arms. Suddenly, time stood still as they both froze. Everything fled from
Harry's mind as he stared at the vision in his arms. Before she could react,
Harry lowered his head and captured her mouth, probing at first but then more
passionately. The world seemed to have disappeared and the heavens turned as
she couldn't help but respond to his kiss. He couldn't have had a better dream.
After a while, they pulled apart breathless and intoxicated. But sanity soon returned.
"How could you do this?" Cho shouted, filled with rage at
what she had allowed to happen.
"You liked it," Harry replied with a smile.
"Imbecile," Cho muttered.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have…" Harry started to say.
"Yes, you shouldn't," Cho cut in while Harry continued,
"said that."
"What?" Cho was really livid.
"If you don't stop shouting, I'm going to have to kiss you,"
Harry threatened cheerily, thinking how beautiful Cho looked when she was
angry.
"Don't you dare," Cho replied, though she was more annoyed
now than angry.
"Why not?" Harry said as his arms encircled her waist.
"We have to talk" Cho said, remembering the events that led
to where they were now.
"I seem to have said so earlier but you distracted me."
Harry replied with a grin.
"Seriously," Cho said with some amusement.
"Seriously, I love you." Harry murmured just loud enough for
her to hear.
Cho was stunned. "But…" she tried to say.
"I know that you saw what happened earlier. It was a
mistake." Harry explained.
"How can it be a mistake? You…" Cho insisted.
"She kissed me," Harry cut in.
"But you kissed her back," accused Cho looking hurt.
"Why do you care anyway? You rather go to the dance with
Roger Davies than me." Harry looked hurt too.
"We only went as friends." Cho explained.
"But we could have gone as friends as well." Harry argued.
"I don't want to go with you only as friends." Cho muttered
with a faint blush.
"So it was because I said we could go as friends that made
you reject me?" Harry said, deciding that this was not the best time to tease
her.
"Yeah," she said simply.
"Then what if I ask you now, will you be my girlfriend?"
Harry murmured into her ear.
"Hermione…" Cho began.
"I thought there could only be a 'Yes' or 'No'," Harry
interrupted teasingly before continuing, "I never liked Hermione. You're the
only one who has always been in my heart and in my mind."
"You kissed her," Cho stated.
"I thought she was you," Harry deadpanned.
"What?" Cho exclaimed.
"It's true," Harry confessed.
Seeing the sincerity in his face, Cho knew he spoke the
truth and couldn't help teasing, "What's so similar about us?"
"Erm…" Harry was a lost for words.
"Aw Potter, you claim to love me and you can't see this
obvious fact." Cho carried on teasing.
"Why don't you tell me then?" Harry asked with a grin.
"It wouldn't be so fun…" Cho started to say before
continuing in a blush, "Okay… She likes you, so do I."
"Ah…" Harry said in mock understanding.
"That's all you can say?" Cho tried to look hurt.
"I only think of Hermione as a sister, a friend, and I do like
you too." Harry replied.
"Well, there were all those rumours about you two…" Cho
carried on.
"All unfounded," Harry stated at once.
"I see," Cho replied.
"Now's my turn to ask," Harry grinned mischievously.
"Is it?" Cho teased.
"Yup," Harry said before continuing in a more serious tone,
"Cedric."
"Oh…him," Cho mumbled.
"It's alright if you prefer not to say." Harry tried to ease
the tension.
"Nah, it's better to clear this up. I never loved Cedric
more than as a friend." Cho stated.
"But…you guys…last year…" Harry stumbled over his words.
"He loved me. I thought it would be suave to go out with
someone like him at first but I couldn't make myself love him." Cho replied.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"I liked someone else, I guess." Cho smiled at him.
"You guess? There's only you're sure or you're not sure."
Harry joked.
"Then I'm sure." Cho grinned.
"You didn't seem to reciprocate my feelings," Harry said,
looking a little hurt.
"How do you know if that guy is you?" Cho teased.
"Number one, you responded when I kissed you, number two,
you like me, number three, you're jealous of Hermione…need I go on?" Harry
teased back.
"You're not sure over all that," Cho tried to make things
difficult.
"Want me to make sure?" Harry asked with a smile.
"Nope. I admit. Alright." Cho surrendered.
"No, you've got to specify." Harry teased.
"I love you," Cho murmured with a grin.
Harry was taken aback at her candidness initially but soon
lightly kissed her and replied, "I love you too."
"Why did you wait until now to tell me?" Harry asked in a
soft whisper.
"I was kind of guilty since Cedric just died," Cho started
before going into the whole explanation of her guilt.
"It's not your fault. It was more my fault than anyone
else's." Harry said.
"Why don't we call a truce or we'd be fighting over whose
fault it was?" Cho teased but was glad to change the subject.
"Sure, anything for my girlfriend." Harry replied with a
smile playing on his lips.
"Who said anything about being your girlfriend?" Cho said in
mock anger.
"Well, let me try again. Will you do me the honour of being
my girlfriend?" Harry asked seriously, with hope evident in his eyes.
"Um…" Cho tried to look indecisive and sent fear surging
through Harry before continuing, "Yes."
Harry did not realize that he had been holding his breath
until he exhaled in relieve at her answer. They just stood there, looking at
each other with silly smiles on their faces, until Harry bent his head to seal
their relationship with a kiss. "I love you so much," he whispered softly in
between kisses. After a long while, he lifted his lips from hers and looked
into her glowing eyes, seeing his own happiness reflected in them.
"Want to go back to the Hall?" he asked with a smile.
"Nah, I think the dance should be over soon," Cho returned
the smile.
"Then where do you want to go?" Harry inquired.
"What about we just wander about the school. It's pretty
cold out here." Cho suggested.
"Sure, as long as I'm with you," Harry grinned.
They spent the next few hours together, just enjoying each
other's company, often stealing a kiss here and there. Happiness was evident in
their voices and they never ran out of things to talk about. They shared with
each other about their lives, their ideals…and held nothing back.
******************************
Meanwhile, Hermione, left alone in the hallway was stunned
at the sudden change of events. She was hurt that Harry had left her so
suddenly, with no explanation. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes and
was about to run back to her dorm when she noticed someone standing in the
shadows. She sensed some familiarity towards that figure and edged her way closer
to take a look.
"Ginny," she said tentatively.
"Yes, it's me." Ginny replied.
"You saw everything," Hermione said.
"Yes," Ginny said simply.
"Sorry, I…er…" Hermione stammered.
"It's alright. He doesn't like me anyway." Ginny was
surprised that she could reply so calmly.
Just then, Hermione thought, "Maybe it's because he saw
Ginny that he ran off. Maybe he realized that he liked her." Then she continued
resolutely, "But I won't give him up without a fight. I love him so much. If I
love him enough, he'll love me back."
Remembering that she was with Ginny, she said, "How do you
know anyway? He might not tell you about his feelings."
"He doesn't like me," Ginny insisted, knowing that Hermione
thought that she was the third party who stole Harry's heart.
"Don't you dare take him from me. He's mine." Hermione said
wildly. (A/N: Don't worry, Hermione is not bad throughout the story…)
"I already said…" Ginny tried desperately to knock some
sense into Hermione.
"Try to say you don't like him," Hermione smirked, seeming
like an evil force was pushing her.
"I…" Ginny stuttered before continuing angrily, "I can't
believe I thought you to be a good friend of mine."
Ginny stalked off. She couldn't believe that Hermione would
accuse her of lying. She was so angry that she even momentarily forgot that Harry
had ran after Cho earlier.
Hermione trudged back to the common room. She couldn't think
properly. What was happening to her? Love was supposed to make the world go
round. Love was supposed to bring joy. Why did it seem to be the opposite?
******************************
In the Gryffindor common room, Ron and Jess were having
another round of wizard chess, with Dudley watching. They had enjoyed their
time together at the ball that night. Jess even suspected that she was falling
for him. "I can't fall in love. I have my mission to fulfil." Jess resolved to
herself. (A/N: What is the mission? I'll tell you when it's time to.) But Ron
looked so cute with his red hair and his lanky frame. His eyes were just so
intense as he contemplated his move on the chessboard. They were laughing
cheerily when Hermione stepped in, looking like hell.
"Mione, what's wrong?" Ron immediately noticed her.
"Harry kissed me and then ran off," Hermione broke into
tears.
Ron instantly stood up and went to console her and let her
cry on his shoulders. Jess pretended not to look but inside, she was insanely
jealous. Ron was feeling particularly murderous towards Harry at that moment.
How could he hurt such a nice girl like Hermione? Ron was jealous when he heard
that Harry and Hermione were going to the ball together but he kept his
silence. Now, this just tops it all. He was going to murder Harry Potter.
"Why don't I accompany you to your dorm? Get some rest,
it'll do you good." Ron advised.
"Yeah, I think I better." Hermione gave Ron a teary smile.
Ron escorted Hermione up, leaving Jess and Dudley together.
Dudley knew that Jess fancied Ron but he rather liked her too. She is not only
gorgeous but fun to be with and not at all condescending towards his knowledge
of wizardry, or lack of. He would love such a girlfriend but he knows that she
only thought of him as a friend.
"Why don't you take over Ron's place until he comes back?"
Jess said, motioning to the unfinished chess game.
"I'm awful at chess. And Ron's chess pieces probably
wouldn't listen to me." Dudley said with a smile.
"Well, you can't learn without practice." Jess returned his
smile.
"Alright then," Dudley replied, won over by Jess'
persuasion.
******************************
Outside the Ravenclaw's common room, Harry was reluctant to
leave Cho. Lingering over his good night kiss, he was unwilling to let her out
of his arms. They just stood there with arms around each other and Cho laying
her head on Harry's shoulders, enjoying a companionable silence.
Just then, Cho remembered to ask, "What are you going to say
to Hermione?"
"I don't know. But I'll make it clear to her that we aren't
meant to be." Harry answered.
"Don't hurt her too much alright," Cho said softly, leaning
back to look him in the eye.
"I won't. She's my best friend." Harry replied before
teasing, "But if you really want, I guess I could kiss and make up with her."
"Potter, you're on dangerous ground here," Cho stated,
trying to act as if she were mad at him.
"I thought you'd be jealous but I guess I don't mean much to
you," Harry carried on dramatically.
"You wouldn't believe how jealous I am," Cho replied with a
grin.
"Good. It is healthy to be constantly jealous." Harry joked.
"Potter…" Cho's words were cut off by Harry's searching
lips.
Breaking the kiss after a while, Harry murmured, "Mmm, what
were you going to say?"
"Nothing important." Cho smiled. "Anyway, I think I better
go."
"A little while more," Harry pleaded.
"Harry, we both know that if I don't go in now, it'd be more
than a little while." Cho remarked.
"Please…" Harry begged.
Ignoring his pleas, Cho gave him a peck on his cheek and
said "Night".
"Alright," he consented grudgingly, not completely
satisfied. After stealing another brief kiss, he continued, " Sweet Dreams."
Cho watched until he was out of sight before entering the
common room. She couldn't believe how unbelievable this night had been. She was
euphoric from his kisses and just loved being with him. She couldn't stop
thinking of him as she made her way up to her dorm sporting a silly grin. She
slept with a smile on her face, dreaming of him all night long.
Harry was feeling the same way. He couldn't believe that
they were finally a couple. Those past few hours were probably the best time of
his life. He loved her so much and couldn't stop visualizing her, thinking of
her, anticipating the next day, when he can see her again. He made his way to
his common room, all thoughts fleeing from his mind except the image of Cho.
******************************
A/N: There would be a scene in the Gryffindor common room,
so look out for it…=) That's it for now. Hope you all are satisfied so far.
Pumpkin Hatching: Don't worry…You can carry on guessing…No
harm done. =)
All others: Thanks for your reviews. I'd appreciate more
though…
