Disclaimer: not mine
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The next few weeks were quite uncomfortable for Harry. Ron and Hermione kept their word, however, and didn't tell a soul about what had happened. Harry was grateful for it, and, too, for there being so many people around at Hogwarts that Ron and Hermione rarely got a chance to try and talk to him about it.
Two of every three nights Harry would find a goblet of Dreamless Sleep potion within the hangings of his bed, levatating so as not to spill. Obviously Dumbledore thought it best for all aspects of the matter to be kept as private as possible, for Harry's sake. Every third day Harry would go to bed in the afternoon, right after classes. He'd close the hangings on his bed and place a Silencing Spell around it. Ron and Hermione would cover for him, and eventually started doing the same, so they could sit in front of the common room fire in the middle of the night and talk to Harry, trying to his mind off his dreams.
"Professor." Severus Snape came to Professor Dumbledore's office one day.
"Yes, Severus?"
"Harry Potter should be taken off the potion soon." Dumbledore looked troubled at this.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"How soon?"
"A week, at most." Albus nodded resignedly, and Snape left.
"Harry!" Harry turned around, and saw Cho Chang catching up to him.
"Harry," she said again. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure," Harry said, surprised. He followed her next to a wall, in an emptier portion of the corridor. Why did Cho Chang want to talk to him?
"Erm... I- I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for Cedric." Harry raised his eyebrows.
"But... what?"
"I wanted to thank you for everything you did for him. Bringing his body back, telling him about the dragons." Harry started to shake his head, not believing what he was hearing, knowing it was his fault Cedric's body had to be taken back, not a living Cedric.
"It's not your fault, Harry."
"Yes, i- it is, I'm sorry..."
"No, it isn't," she said, shaking her head at him. "It's not your fault at all."
"Yes it is! I'm so sorry..."
"*No,* Harry, it's not your fault. Remember that. Maybe we can talk about this later? I have to get to Charms..." Harry looked around and noticed the corridors were steadily emptying, and nodded.
"Okay," she gave him a small smile. "Meet me... in the Charms corridor, at 7:30. That okay with you?" Harry just nodded.
"Okay. Bye," said Cho, smiling at him. He gave her a small smile in return.
"Bye." Going their separate ways, Harry thought how the meeting gave him the odd feeling of deja vu.
After dinner, Harry tried to get away from Ron and Hermione. This was difficult, as they'd taken to staying nearby him at all times, for obvious reasons.
"Harry, where are you going?" Hermione demanded. Harry sighed. What to say? He decided on the truth.
"I'm going to meet Cho Chang," he said. Ron grinned.
"Ooooooooooh, Harry..." he teased.
"*NO,* Ron," said Harry sternly. He rolled his eyes.
"All right, go, go!" he said. He knew Harry was probably telling the truth because he saw Cho pull him aside earlier that day. Ron laughed as Harry left the common room.
Cho was already sitting on the floor in the Charms hallway when Harry got there. She stood up.
"Hi."
"Hullo."
"Do you think we should go outside? I'm pretty sure it wasn't such a good idea to meet here."
"Probably," said Harry, and off they went. They didn't talk until they were outside for a bit.
"It's such a nice evening," Cho said, as they walked by the edge of the lake. Harry nodded almost imperceptably. Cho sat on the water's edge, and Harry followed suit.
"Harry, it's not your fault that Cedric died," Cho said after a few moments. Harry sighed.
"Yes it is," he said. He glanced at her, then looked away, not being able to stand knowing what pain he must have caused her.
"No, it isn't, Harry. You have to see that." Harry said nothing.
"I know it must be hard for you, seeing what you saw. But you can't blame yourself." Harry looked sadly into Cho's deep brown eyes.
"It is my fault."
"Harry, how could it be your fault?" Harry broke eye contact and looked away.
"If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have been there." Cho looked at him curiously.
"I told him to take the cup with me," Harry elaborated. A bit of understanding flashed across Cho's face and eyes.
"Harry, you didn't know," she said sadly. "You *couldn't* have known." Harry said nothing for a moment.
"It's still my fault." Cho sighed.
"No, Harry, no, no, no, it isn't!" Silence. A sigh.
"All right. It wasn't my fault," Harry said, not believing it at all, but just saying it to stop this uncomfortable back-and-forth conversation.
Cho looked at him searchingly for a moment.
"All right. I'm not sure I believe you, but all right." They stayed where they were, just sitting quietly enjoying the beautiful evening. Cho wanted to stay outside, and the silence was uncomfortable, so she tried to talk about other things.
"So... how was your summer?" she asked. Harry made a sound that clearly said "awful," and Cho immediately knew she had chosen the wrong thing to say.
"Mine was all right, I guess," she said, then looked for something to change the subject.
"Who do you think your new Quidditch captain will be?" She knew Oliver Wood had left two years earlier. She also remembered that Cedric had been the captain of the Hufflepuff team. Oops.
"I don't know," he said. "Angelina Johnson would be good." This forced conversation is not the best, thought Harry. Cedric was Quidditch captain for Hufflepuff. Was. He did like sitting there with Cho, though. This might have made a romantic date, had it been a date, and had the circumstances been different. Cho searched for something new to say.
"Played Quidditch lately?"
"Bout a month ago," said Harry. Cho nodded.
"I played all summer, with my cousins. They stayed with us. It was nice, 'cos I'm and only child." Harry looked at her.
"I'm an only child too. But my cousin isn't nice."
"I'm sorry," Cho said. She actually looked a bit sorry, too.
"It's okay, I guess, I'm used to it." Cho remembered Harry's life story, and knew how very used to it he was. Living with the muggles since he was one.
"What's it like with the muggles?" she asked, not exactly tactfully. Harry didn't really mind.
"Awful. Well, just living with *them,* particularly. Most muggles are okay. They're just like us, only without magic." Harry laughed. "That sounded stupid." Cho smiled.
"No, not at all. I get what you mean." Harry gave her a small smile. His spirits were lifting slightly, in spite of himself. They just sat there like that, the pair of green eyes looking into the pair of brown, the pair of brown eyes looking into the pair of green. He would have liked to kiss her... but didn't. Wouldn't be appropriate, plus he wasn't that brave.
Cho suddenly noticed how dark it was getting, and looked at her watch.
"It's getting late, we'd better go."
"Okay." They got up and started up to the castle.
"This was nice," Cho said after a few moments.
"Yeah," Harry agreed, smiling faintly. "It was."
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A/N: to the 90% of you who hate Cho: she's not in the next chapter, so PLEASE don't run away? :)
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The next few weeks were quite uncomfortable for Harry. Ron and Hermione kept their word, however, and didn't tell a soul about what had happened. Harry was grateful for it, and, too, for there being so many people around at Hogwarts that Ron and Hermione rarely got a chance to try and talk to him about it.
Two of every three nights Harry would find a goblet of Dreamless Sleep potion within the hangings of his bed, levatating so as not to spill. Obviously Dumbledore thought it best for all aspects of the matter to be kept as private as possible, for Harry's sake. Every third day Harry would go to bed in the afternoon, right after classes. He'd close the hangings on his bed and place a Silencing Spell around it. Ron and Hermione would cover for him, and eventually started doing the same, so they could sit in front of the common room fire in the middle of the night and talk to Harry, trying to his mind off his dreams.
"Professor." Severus Snape came to Professor Dumbledore's office one day.
"Yes, Severus?"
"Harry Potter should be taken off the potion soon." Dumbledore looked troubled at this.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"How soon?"
"A week, at most." Albus nodded resignedly, and Snape left.
"Harry!" Harry turned around, and saw Cho Chang catching up to him.
"Harry," she said again. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure," Harry said, surprised. He followed her next to a wall, in an emptier portion of the corridor. Why did Cho Chang want to talk to him?
"Erm... I- I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for Cedric." Harry raised his eyebrows.
"But... what?"
"I wanted to thank you for everything you did for him. Bringing his body back, telling him about the dragons." Harry started to shake his head, not believing what he was hearing, knowing it was his fault Cedric's body had to be taken back, not a living Cedric.
"It's not your fault, Harry."
"Yes, i- it is, I'm sorry..."
"No, it isn't," she said, shaking her head at him. "It's not your fault at all."
"Yes it is! I'm so sorry..."
"*No,* Harry, it's not your fault. Remember that. Maybe we can talk about this later? I have to get to Charms..." Harry looked around and noticed the corridors were steadily emptying, and nodded.
"Okay," she gave him a small smile. "Meet me... in the Charms corridor, at 7:30. That okay with you?" Harry just nodded.
"Okay. Bye," said Cho, smiling at him. He gave her a small smile in return.
"Bye." Going their separate ways, Harry thought how the meeting gave him the odd feeling of deja vu.
After dinner, Harry tried to get away from Ron and Hermione. This was difficult, as they'd taken to staying nearby him at all times, for obvious reasons.
"Harry, where are you going?" Hermione demanded. Harry sighed. What to say? He decided on the truth.
"I'm going to meet Cho Chang," he said. Ron grinned.
"Ooooooooooh, Harry..." he teased.
"*NO,* Ron," said Harry sternly. He rolled his eyes.
"All right, go, go!" he said. He knew Harry was probably telling the truth because he saw Cho pull him aside earlier that day. Ron laughed as Harry left the common room.
Cho was already sitting on the floor in the Charms hallway when Harry got there. She stood up.
"Hi."
"Hullo."
"Do you think we should go outside? I'm pretty sure it wasn't such a good idea to meet here."
"Probably," said Harry, and off they went. They didn't talk until they were outside for a bit.
"It's such a nice evening," Cho said, as they walked by the edge of the lake. Harry nodded almost imperceptably. Cho sat on the water's edge, and Harry followed suit.
"Harry, it's not your fault that Cedric died," Cho said after a few moments. Harry sighed.
"Yes it is," he said. He glanced at her, then looked away, not being able to stand knowing what pain he must have caused her.
"No, it isn't, Harry. You have to see that." Harry said nothing.
"I know it must be hard for you, seeing what you saw. But you can't blame yourself." Harry looked sadly into Cho's deep brown eyes.
"It is my fault."
"Harry, how could it be your fault?" Harry broke eye contact and looked away.
"If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have been there." Cho looked at him curiously.
"I told him to take the cup with me," Harry elaborated. A bit of understanding flashed across Cho's face and eyes.
"Harry, you didn't know," she said sadly. "You *couldn't* have known." Harry said nothing for a moment.
"It's still my fault." Cho sighed.
"No, Harry, no, no, no, it isn't!" Silence. A sigh.
"All right. It wasn't my fault," Harry said, not believing it at all, but just saying it to stop this uncomfortable back-and-forth conversation.
Cho looked at him searchingly for a moment.
"All right. I'm not sure I believe you, but all right." They stayed where they were, just sitting quietly enjoying the beautiful evening. Cho wanted to stay outside, and the silence was uncomfortable, so she tried to talk about other things.
"So... how was your summer?" she asked. Harry made a sound that clearly said "awful," and Cho immediately knew she had chosen the wrong thing to say.
"Mine was all right, I guess," she said, then looked for something to change the subject.
"Who do you think your new Quidditch captain will be?" She knew Oliver Wood had left two years earlier. She also remembered that Cedric had been the captain of the Hufflepuff team. Oops.
"I don't know," he said. "Angelina Johnson would be good." This forced conversation is not the best, thought Harry. Cedric was Quidditch captain for Hufflepuff. Was. He did like sitting there with Cho, though. This might have made a romantic date, had it been a date, and had the circumstances been different. Cho searched for something new to say.
"Played Quidditch lately?"
"Bout a month ago," said Harry. Cho nodded.
"I played all summer, with my cousins. They stayed with us. It was nice, 'cos I'm and only child." Harry looked at her.
"I'm an only child too. But my cousin isn't nice."
"I'm sorry," Cho said. She actually looked a bit sorry, too.
"It's okay, I guess, I'm used to it." Cho remembered Harry's life story, and knew how very used to it he was. Living with the muggles since he was one.
"What's it like with the muggles?" she asked, not exactly tactfully. Harry didn't really mind.
"Awful. Well, just living with *them,* particularly. Most muggles are okay. They're just like us, only without magic." Harry laughed. "That sounded stupid." Cho smiled.
"No, not at all. I get what you mean." Harry gave her a small smile. His spirits were lifting slightly, in spite of himself. They just sat there like that, the pair of green eyes looking into the pair of brown, the pair of brown eyes looking into the pair of green. He would have liked to kiss her... but didn't. Wouldn't be appropriate, plus he wasn't that brave.
Cho suddenly noticed how dark it was getting, and looked at her watch.
"It's getting late, we'd better go."
"Okay." They got up and started up to the castle.
"This was nice," Cho said after a few moments.
"Yeah," Harry agreed, smiling faintly. "It was."
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A/N: to the 90% of you who hate Cho: she's not in the next chapter, so PLEASE don't run away? :)