Chapter 4
Monday morning Cho awoke late. She had stayed with Harry until after midnight. There was a lot to know about Harry. They had talked about everything and they still had so much to tell each other. They had sat whispering under his invisibility cloak, dodging ghosts, and Filch and Mrs. Norris. She had actually broken curfew. They had told each other their life stories. They had talked of Quidditch. They had snogged themselves breathless. And now she was late.
Cho Chang had never been late. Professor Flitwick had taken the obligatory ten points from Ravenclaw, and been just as shocked as the rest of her classmates. She felt absolutely smashing though. She attacked her work with zeal. Charms was a subject she loved. Somehow Harry managed to make his way into her thoughts no matter how hard she concentrated.
At lunchtime she found him eating alone at the Gryffindor table, while reading from a text. She went and sat down beside him. His face lit up into an enormous grin when he saw whom it was. She gave him a quick peck before grabbing a piece of fruit and a chunk of bread.
"It's no fair, if you can concentrate. You must've been having me on with all that snogging."
"It's a façade, " insisted Harry, "I just keep reading the same three words over and over."
"It's no fair having to study at a time like this," agreed Cho.
"My O.W.L.S. are only a month away. I am only going to get one or two at this rate. I'm going to have to settle for a career as a chimney sweep."
"I can help you study for them," offered Cho, "I did quite well on mine."
"Do you think that we'll actually study?" Harry asked with a grin.
"We can still play Quidditch can't we? We'll treat it just the same way. I know Potions doesn't really compare to Flying, but it's only for a short time and it's for a greater goal. You'll never have to worry about being a chimney sweep, you know. Any Quidditch team in the world would be glad to have you."
"A Quidditch career only lasts a few years though. I need something to fall back on."
"We'll come up with something, Harry, and besides you'll do fine. I'm a Ravenclaw remember? With my help the O.W.L.S will be a snap." At the mention of her house, Cho remembered that she was sitting at the Gryffindor table. She glanced in the direction of Ravenclaw and suddenly realized that she and Harry were the center of a great deal of attention. Easily half the eyes in the Great Hall were staring at them. Cho blushed crimson.
It was not so unusual for couples to cross House-lines. It was fairly common actually. Neither was it unusual for one member of a couple to sit at the House table of the other member. One wouldn't have known that from the looks they were receiving. It wasn't a matter of House-lines she knew. It was that she was Cho Chang and he was Harry Potter.
She had expected that there would be surprise. She was even expecting a few people to be upset. She had not prepared herself to be stared at in this way. She looked at Harry. His face had turned quite pink as well. It was really rather cute, it gave him an impish sort of look. She had forgotten that he would have to experience this too. She had never even thought of what it would be like for him.
"I thought I might consider a back-up career as an Auror, but that really isn't much easier than playing Quidditch." Harry continued on as if everything were perfectly normal, "I was wondering if I might be suited for something academic, maybe even teaching."
She wanted to kiss him. She had been worried that he would be embarrassed or angry. He was handling it better than her. Discreetly, she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I can't really see you as an academic. Maybe I could see you as a teacher, how about a coach? Lot's of former players become coaches." How long, she wondered, until I have him alone again?
They continued to chat until it was time for the next class. He walked her down to the Potions dungeon and left her there with a grin. "This evening, " she promised, "meet me in the library."
That evening both of them were summoned to Madame Hooch's office instead. Cho had been there many times and loved the walls covered with the photographs of former teams, victory shots from matches long gone. It had been Madame Hooch that had first recognized Cho's talent and who had nurtured her love of flying. Madame Hooch had brought Roger Davies down to the first-year flying classes and pointed her out as a possible seeker.
Over the years, Madame Hooch had become her mentor and role model. She never failed to give her an honest critique of her performance, a few words of advice, or something to cheer her up. Madame Hooch was tough and no nonsense. She didn't go for that touchy-feely everyone's-a-winner nonsense. With her you won or you lost. If you won, you figured out what you did right and you did it again. If you lost you figured out what you did wrong and you stopped doing it. Madame Hooch worshiped Quidditch and she admired talent and ability. If she complimented you, you had earned it.
"You've been holding out on me Chang." Madame Hooch called everyone she liked by his or her last name. Everyone else was 'Miss' or 'Mister'.
"Apparently, I was holding out on myself. It was his fault," Cho answered with a gesture towards Harry.
"You Potter, What are you trying to do to my Quidditch?" Harry gulped and had no answer. Cho realized he didn't know Madame Hooch very well. "So you think you can single-handedly change the way Seekers play?"
"No ma'am, not single-handedly," he managed to answer.
"How long did it take you two to work that out? How did you practice it without me knowing about it?"
"We didn't practice. Cho didn't know what I was going to do until I did it. If you're mad, you should be mad at me."
"Mad? You think I'm angry? How could I be angry? Oh no, I just wanted to know how you did it, what you were thinking. Was it a fluke, did you two pull a fast one on me? Can you do it again?"
"He knew what he was doing," said Cho, "He just doesn't realize how big it is. Harry is a visionary."
"I want to see you two do it again. I want a rematch. I want to invite some friends of mine to watch too."
"But the season is over. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor won't play against each other again until next fall."
"I'll ask Professor Dumbledore to let us have an exhibition match. Let's say last week of the term. I'll make sure you get plenty of practice time. I want to see that again. If I were less battered, Potter, I would have you teach me. You are dangerous Potter, you make me want to take the risk of flying again."
Harry blushed. "It's the same game, only more so. No more waiting around waiting for the Snitch. The other Seeker has to play the same way to have any chance. If you wait for your opponent to find the Snitch, you've already lost. Seekers have always won or lost the game, now we get to play it too."
"Bloody Brilliant. Please tell me you plan to play Quidditch for a living." Madame Hooch snorted.
"If I'm good enough by the time I leave Hogwarts."
"Harry, every team in the world is going to want you. They would probably take you now if they could. You too Cho, you're the only one besides Harry that really understands what's going on. You two are going to be big. Be ready for that match! If I can do anything to help you, please ask."
Harry took that as a sign to leave. Cho said she would meet him at the library in a few minutes. Harry nodded understanding and departed.
"I saw you two at lunch today. I guess I don't really need to ask if it's what it looks like."
Cho shook her head. "He's the one," Cho said quietly.
"Really?" asked Madame Hooch, "When did you know? Before or after?
"During actually. It was beautiful up there, not a second of rest, there was nothing but him and the Snitch and the overwhelming desire to get catch it. He threw himself off his broom to keep me from getting it. That meant more than all the Snitches in the world. Yesterday he told me I was the last person in the world he would ever give a snitch to. It was the finest thing anyone had ever told me. I don't know how to explain why it means so much to me that he denies me the thing I want most."
"I understand, if a man ever said that to me, I'd feel the same way. No one's ever going to accuse him of being a poet, that's for sure."
"He does his poetry in the air, that's worth more to me. I'm a Ravenclaw; I've memorized whole books of poetry. They only try to describe with words, what he actually does."
"I take it your mum doesn't know yet."
"There are a lot of things Mother doesn't know yet. I've decided I'm not going to be a doctor. I never really wanted to be one anyway. Quidditch is what I love, and that's what I'm going to do. Mother will have to learn to accept that I am a real person, and that I have to make my own choices."
"Good for you, Chang, I'm proud of you. The world has plenty of doctors, good Seekers are hard to come by."
Cho said her good-byes and ran to the library to meet Harry. They even managed to get some studying done. They worked on a schedule to prepare Harry for his O.W.L.S.
Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower to face an upset Ron and a peevish Hermione.
"Where have you been?" demanded Ron.
"Library mostly," answered Harry, "Did I forget something?"
"When were you going to tell us about Cho?" asked Hermione.
"Sorry, I never really got a chance. It only started yesterday, and I've been kind of busy. It's not like we were keeping a secret."
"I heard you two were snogging like one of you had swallowed a snitch, and the other was trying to catch it with their tongue."
Harry turned scarlet.
"Eww!" said Hermione, "I could have done without the imagery. Harry, you having a girlfriend is a really big deal."
"I don't see why, lots of guys have girlfriends. This is one of the more normal things I've ever done."
"But it's Cho! I thought that you were over your crush on her," insisted Hermione.
"I was. This is different"
"You and Cho, that's just bloody swell," fumed Ron, "So do you know what your 'girlfriend' did to our owl? She turned it into a dwarf!"
"Ok, I give up," asked Harry, "why would Cho turn your owl into a dwarf?"
"She and Ginny had words apparently. To get even, Cho transformed Lowell into a Valentine Dwarf."
"So, isn't that between Ginny and Cho? Why would those two have words in the first place?"
"Oh come one Harry! You can't be that bloody dense." Ron threw his hands in the air as a sign of exasperation.
"See Ron, I told you," Hermione said smugly, "and you can't be mad at him if he doesn't know."
"Know what?" Harry was at a total loss
"Absolutely nothing!" It was Ginny, appearing from nowhere. "If this is about the owl, then never mind. I don't want another word said about it."
Ron started to say something, but Ginny shushed him. Hermione looked at her with raised eyebrows, as if expecting more, but nothing else came. Harry stormed off to his room and Ginny vanished as well.
The next day, Ellwyn and David Brigstock cornered Cho. Ellwyn had been Cho's neighbor and best friend for as long as she could remember. They were the same age and had started Hogwarts together. Ellwyn had been sorted into Hufflepuff, but still they had tried to remain close. It had been Ellwyn that had introduced her to Cedric, and Ellwyn that had led the efforts to 'comfort' Cho. David was her younger brother, the one who thought it such a grand gesture to give her a Snitch.
They were both extremely unhappy with the idea of her and Harry being together. They brought up every imaginable objection against it. Her mother would hate it – Cho already knew that. It dishonored the memory of Cedric – Cho had already been though that, first on her own, then with Harry. Harry was an upstart, a show-off, and to top it off, dangerous – Cho felt she was a much better judge of Harry's character than these two. Cho brushed aside all of their arguments. Why did they care so much about her and Harry?
In the end it came down to threats. Ellwyn would simply have no part of Cho and 'That Potter'. When they broke up, and she assured Cho that it was only a matter of time before they did, she and Ellwyn could talk about restoring their friendship. Cho told her not to bother, what use were fair-weather friends anyway? Worst of all, they had made her miss lunch with Harry.
When she finally got to see Harry, he wasn't in any better of a mood than she was. He was in the library studying with Hermione Granger. Cho felt a twinge of possessiveness. Hermione greeted her warmly and insisted that she was quite happy for the two of them. Apparently, his friend Ron didn't approve of their relationship any more than Ellwyn did. Harry was also suffering with pain from his scar. Harry tried to play it off as nothing, but Hermione made a really big deal out of it. Cho decided she was going to have to get to the bottom of the nature of the relationship between Harry and Hermione.
Hermione sought out Cho first. They had one class together – Applied Arithmancy and Hermione got her self teamed up with Cho for the lab. Professor Vector generally left them on their own for this kind of work so they had plenty of time. Cho had always wondered how it was that Hermione had been sorted as a Gryffindor, rather than a Ravenclaw. Apparently, it had something to do with directness of approach. Hermione was much more polite than Ginny, but she didn't waste any time getting to the point.
"What exactly are your intentions with Harry?"
"This isn't going to another of those 'Stay away from Harry' lectures is it?" Cho asked, "I already got one from Ginny Weasley and I don't feel like going through that again."
"Humph, she didn't tell us that part, the little wench. I assumed something like that had happened. No, I just want to know if you are just trying to be the witch who landed the 'Boy who Lived' or whether you actually fancy Harry."
"It's Harry I want," answered Cho, "I don't care about the rest."
Hermione smiled. "I'm glad. They come as a package though. Harry is very complicated."
"Are you and Harry 'involved'?" If she can come straight to the point, thought Cho, so can I.
"You are the only girl Harry has ever paid any attention to," Hermione answered. "Harry and I are best friends. That might sound lame and I know a lot of people don't believe it, but that's what we are. I never had a brother, and Harry's never had anyone. That's what we are for each other."
"But you care for him. If Harry wanted, you would be more than that."
Hermione nodded. "It's not exactly like you think though. I am only the slightest bit jealous of you. I really do, genuinely wish you two well. If I didn't, we wouldn't be talking like this. There are a lot of things you need to know about Harry and he will never tell you most of them. Loving Harry is hard, you need to know that. If you just want a boyfriend or someone to look good with when you go to Hogsmeade, Harry is more trouble than he's worth.
"Harry needs. He needs everything and he doesn't even know it. He needs a mother and a sister and a wife and a lover and a friend all rolled into one. I can't be all those things to him; I have to hold something back for myself. If you want to love Harry, you have to love him completely and willingly. Part of Harry is still a scared boy who lost his mother, and thinks it's his fault. Harry doesn't believe he deserves love and if you don't constantly remind him of that, he will close himself off. Do you know how he spends his summers?"
Cho nodded. "With some Muggle relatives. I've heard rumors that they don't treat him well. I've never known whether to believe them or not."
"The rumors only scratch the surface. For ten years they made him live in the cupboard under the stairs. They starve him and they make him wear hand- me-down clothes. He was physically and mentally abused his entire childhood. Everyday they told him he was worthless and good for nothing. In his heart he believes that. His whole life is spent trying to prove he is worth something, but he can't convince himself.
"Harry will take all the blame in the world onto himself if you don't stop him. You must have found a way to deal with Cedric or you wouldn't be with him. Cedric is just the tip of the iceberg. Harry holds himself responsible for everything Voldemort does because Voldemort used Harry's blood to come back to life. The fact that Voldemort had to kidnap him to do it, and took the blood by force is completely irrelevant to Harry.
"Voldemort is afraid of Harry, and will do anything to get to him. Sometimes being around Harry is dangerous. Harry will do anything to get Voldemort too. You will have to be the voice of reason and even put yourself at risk to make him listen. Harry is brave and loyal and clever and will risk his life to save anyone and everyone. I can't tell you how many nights I've spent in the hospital worried sick about whether or not he was going to live."
"Why are you telling me all of this?"
"To give you a chance. This has been the quietest year Harry has had since he's been here. If you are going to stay with him, you need to know it's not going to be all sunshine and Quidditch. You are going to cry tears over Harry Potter. If you aren't going to stay with him, for his sake, leave him now while he has a chance to recover. It's not fair, I know, to make you decide less than a week after first getting together, but time is rarely a luxury for Harry."
"If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh?
Hermione nodded. "I promise."
"I want to be old with Harry Potter. You know how you see old couples in the park, feeding ducks or whatever, the really, really old ones? That is what I want to do with Harry Potter. I want to have his children and watch them grow up. I want to wear his shirts and eat waffles for breakfast on Saturday mornings… "
Hermione grinned. "Okay, I get the picture."
"I'm glad I could talk to you like this. My best friend hates Harry for some reason. She says she isn't going to talk to me until Harry and I break up. So far, only you and Madame Hooch seem to understand."
"Your friend will come around. Ron isn't so happy about you either."
"Is it about his sister?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes, but it's kind of ironic since he never wanted Harry and Ginny to be together anyway."
"Did Harry and Ginny ever…?"
"No, like I said, you're the only girl Harry has ever noticed. Ginny has had a crush on him for almost six years, but he never even knew. After last year, Harry thought it was impossible for you and him to get together. Ginny, all of us really, just kind of assumed that they would finally get together. Harry never noticed though, and Ginny never told him."
"How could Harry not know? The whole school knew."
"That's Harry for you. I don't think he wanted to know. He believes that bad things happen to the people he cares about because of him. There is a good chance he will try to push you away the next time Voldemort attacks. He'll claim it's for your own safety. You can't let him isolate himself though. Don't let him push you away. He could be right too, you know. You could be in danger because of your involvement with him."
"I suppose boredom will never really be an option."
"Life with Harry is never boring."
***
Author's Note: Special thanks to Alex for beta reading. Additionally, I would like to thank all of you for your kind reviews. It is comforting to know someone else is reading this. More chapters to follow soon… If you are impatient waiting, I would like to take this opportunity to plug my other stories: "As Summers Go" and "Destiny and The Headmaster" They are very different stories from this one, but you might like them.
***
Monday morning Cho awoke late. She had stayed with Harry until after midnight. There was a lot to know about Harry. They had talked about everything and they still had so much to tell each other. They had sat whispering under his invisibility cloak, dodging ghosts, and Filch and Mrs. Norris. She had actually broken curfew. They had told each other their life stories. They had talked of Quidditch. They had snogged themselves breathless. And now she was late.
Cho Chang had never been late. Professor Flitwick had taken the obligatory ten points from Ravenclaw, and been just as shocked as the rest of her classmates. She felt absolutely smashing though. She attacked her work with zeal. Charms was a subject she loved. Somehow Harry managed to make his way into her thoughts no matter how hard she concentrated.
At lunchtime she found him eating alone at the Gryffindor table, while reading from a text. She went and sat down beside him. His face lit up into an enormous grin when he saw whom it was. She gave him a quick peck before grabbing a piece of fruit and a chunk of bread.
"It's no fair, if you can concentrate. You must've been having me on with all that snogging."
"It's a façade, " insisted Harry, "I just keep reading the same three words over and over."
"It's no fair having to study at a time like this," agreed Cho.
"My O.W.L.S. are only a month away. I am only going to get one or two at this rate. I'm going to have to settle for a career as a chimney sweep."
"I can help you study for them," offered Cho, "I did quite well on mine."
"Do you think that we'll actually study?" Harry asked with a grin.
"We can still play Quidditch can't we? We'll treat it just the same way. I know Potions doesn't really compare to Flying, but it's only for a short time and it's for a greater goal. You'll never have to worry about being a chimney sweep, you know. Any Quidditch team in the world would be glad to have you."
"A Quidditch career only lasts a few years though. I need something to fall back on."
"We'll come up with something, Harry, and besides you'll do fine. I'm a Ravenclaw remember? With my help the O.W.L.S will be a snap." At the mention of her house, Cho remembered that she was sitting at the Gryffindor table. She glanced in the direction of Ravenclaw and suddenly realized that she and Harry were the center of a great deal of attention. Easily half the eyes in the Great Hall were staring at them. Cho blushed crimson.
It was not so unusual for couples to cross House-lines. It was fairly common actually. Neither was it unusual for one member of a couple to sit at the House table of the other member. One wouldn't have known that from the looks they were receiving. It wasn't a matter of House-lines she knew. It was that she was Cho Chang and he was Harry Potter.
She had expected that there would be surprise. She was even expecting a few people to be upset. She had not prepared herself to be stared at in this way. She looked at Harry. His face had turned quite pink as well. It was really rather cute, it gave him an impish sort of look. She had forgotten that he would have to experience this too. She had never even thought of what it would be like for him.
"I thought I might consider a back-up career as an Auror, but that really isn't much easier than playing Quidditch." Harry continued on as if everything were perfectly normal, "I was wondering if I might be suited for something academic, maybe even teaching."
She wanted to kiss him. She had been worried that he would be embarrassed or angry. He was handling it better than her. Discreetly, she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I can't really see you as an academic. Maybe I could see you as a teacher, how about a coach? Lot's of former players become coaches." How long, she wondered, until I have him alone again?
They continued to chat until it was time for the next class. He walked her down to the Potions dungeon and left her there with a grin. "This evening, " she promised, "meet me in the library."
That evening both of them were summoned to Madame Hooch's office instead. Cho had been there many times and loved the walls covered with the photographs of former teams, victory shots from matches long gone. It had been Madame Hooch that had first recognized Cho's talent and who had nurtured her love of flying. Madame Hooch had brought Roger Davies down to the first-year flying classes and pointed her out as a possible seeker.
Over the years, Madame Hooch had become her mentor and role model. She never failed to give her an honest critique of her performance, a few words of advice, or something to cheer her up. Madame Hooch was tough and no nonsense. She didn't go for that touchy-feely everyone's-a-winner nonsense. With her you won or you lost. If you won, you figured out what you did right and you did it again. If you lost you figured out what you did wrong and you stopped doing it. Madame Hooch worshiped Quidditch and she admired talent and ability. If she complimented you, you had earned it.
"You've been holding out on me Chang." Madame Hooch called everyone she liked by his or her last name. Everyone else was 'Miss' or 'Mister'.
"Apparently, I was holding out on myself. It was his fault," Cho answered with a gesture towards Harry.
"You Potter, What are you trying to do to my Quidditch?" Harry gulped and had no answer. Cho realized he didn't know Madame Hooch very well. "So you think you can single-handedly change the way Seekers play?"
"No ma'am, not single-handedly," he managed to answer.
"How long did it take you two to work that out? How did you practice it without me knowing about it?"
"We didn't practice. Cho didn't know what I was going to do until I did it. If you're mad, you should be mad at me."
"Mad? You think I'm angry? How could I be angry? Oh no, I just wanted to know how you did it, what you were thinking. Was it a fluke, did you two pull a fast one on me? Can you do it again?"
"He knew what he was doing," said Cho, "He just doesn't realize how big it is. Harry is a visionary."
"I want to see you two do it again. I want a rematch. I want to invite some friends of mine to watch too."
"But the season is over. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor won't play against each other again until next fall."
"I'll ask Professor Dumbledore to let us have an exhibition match. Let's say last week of the term. I'll make sure you get plenty of practice time. I want to see that again. If I were less battered, Potter, I would have you teach me. You are dangerous Potter, you make me want to take the risk of flying again."
Harry blushed. "It's the same game, only more so. No more waiting around waiting for the Snitch. The other Seeker has to play the same way to have any chance. If you wait for your opponent to find the Snitch, you've already lost. Seekers have always won or lost the game, now we get to play it too."
"Bloody Brilliant. Please tell me you plan to play Quidditch for a living." Madame Hooch snorted.
"If I'm good enough by the time I leave Hogwarts."
"Harry, every team in the world is going to want you. They would probably take you now if they could. You too Cho, you're the only one besides Harry that really understands what's going on. You two are going to be big. Be ready for that match! If I can do anything to help you, please ask."
Harry took that as a sign to leave. Cho said she would meet him at the library in a few minutes. Harry nodded understanding and departed.
"I saw you two at lunch today. I guess I don't really need to ask if it's what it looks like."
Cho shook her head. "He's the one," Cho said quietly.
"Really?" asked Madame Hooch, "When did you know? Before or after?
"During actually. It was beautiful up there, not a second of rest, there was nothing but him and the Snitch and the overwhelming desire to get catch it. He threw himself off his broom to keep me from getting it. That meant more than all the Snitches in the world. Yesterday he told me I was the last person in the world he would ever give a snitch to. It was the finest thing anyone had ever told me. I don't know how to explain why it means so much to me that he denies me the thing I want most."
"I understand, if a man ever said that to me, I'd feel the same way. No one's ever going to accuse him of being a poet, that's for sure."
"He does his poetry in the air, that's worth more to me. I'm a Ravenclaw; I've memorized whole books of poetry. They only try to describe with words, what he actually does."
"I take it your mum doesn't know yet."
"There are a lot of things Mother doesn't know yet. I've decided I'm not going to be a doctor. I never really wanted to be one anyway. Quidditch is what I love, and that's what I'm going to do. Mother will have to learn to accept that I am a real person, and that I have to make my own choices."
"Good for you, Chang, I'm proud of you. The world has plenty of doctors, good Seekers are hard to come by."
Cho said her good-byes and ran to the library to meet Harry. They even managed to get some studying done. They worked on a schedule to prepare Harry for his O.W.L.S.
Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower to face an upset Ron and a peevish Hermione.
"Where have you been?" demanded Ron.
"Library mostly," answered Harry, "Did I forget something?"
"When were you going to tell us about Cho?" asked Hermione.
"Sorry, I never really got a chance. It only started yesterday, and I've been kind of busy. It's not like we were keeping a secret."
"I heard you two were snogging like one of you had swallowed a snitch, and the other was trying to catch it with their tongue."
Harry turned scarlet.
"Eww!" said Hermione, "I could have done without the imagery. Harry, you having a girlfriend is a really big deal."
"I don't see why, lots of guys have girlfriends. This is one of the more normal things I've ever done."
"But it's Cho! I thought that you were over your crush on her," insisted Hermione.
"I was. This is different"
"You and Cho, that's just bloody swell," fumed Ron, "So do you know what your 'girlfriend' did to our owl? She turned it into a dwarf!"
"Ok, I give up," asked Harry, "why would Cho turn your owl into a dwarf?"
"She and Ginny had words apparently. To get even, Cho transformed Lowell into a Valentine Dwarf."
"So, isn't that between Ginny and Cho? Why would those two have words in the first place?"
"Oh come one Harry! You can't be that bloody dense." Ron threw his hands in the air as a sign of exasperation.
"See Ron, I told you," Hermione said smugly, "and you can't be mad at him if he doesn't know."
"Know what?" Harry was at a total loss
"Absolutely nothing!" It was Ginny, appearing from nowhere. "If this is about the owl, then never mind. I don't want another word said about it."
Ron started to say something, but Ginny shushed him. Hermione looked at her with raised eyebrows, as if expecting more, but nothing else came. Harry stormed off to his room and Ginny vanished as well.
The next day, Ellwyn and David Brigstock cornered Cho. Ellwyn had been Cho's neighbor and best friend for as long as she could remember. They were the same age and had started Hogwarts together. Ellwyn had been sorted into Hufflepuff, but still they had tried to remain close. It had been Ellwyn that had introduced her to Cedric, and Ellwyn that had led the efforts to 'comfort' Cho. David was her younger brother, the one who thought it such a grand gesture to give her a Snitch.
They were both extremely unhappy with the idea of her and Harry being together. They brought up every imaginable objection against it. Her mother would hate it – Cho already knew that. It dishonored the memory of Cedric – Cho had already been though that, first on her own, then with Harry. Harry was an upstart, a show-off, and to top it off, dangerous – Cho felt she was a much better judge of Harry's character than these two. Cho brushed aside all of their arguments. Why did they care so much about her and Harry?
In the end it came down to threats. Ellwyn would simply have no part of Cho and 'That Potter'. When they broke up, and she assured Cho that it was only a matter of time before they did, she and Ellwyn could talk about restoring their friendship. Cho told her not to bother, what use were fair-weather friends anyway? Worst of all, they had made her miss lunch with Harry.
When she finally got to see Harry, he wasn't in any better of a mood than she was. He was in the library studying with Hermione Granger. Cho felt a twinge of possessiveness. Hermione greeted her warmly and insisted that she was quite happy for the two of them. Apparently, his friend Ron didn't approve of their relationship any more than Ellwyn did. Harry was also suffering with pain from his scar. Harry tried to play it off as nothing, but Hermione made a really big deal out of it. Cho decided she was going to have to get to the bottom of the nature of the relationship between Harry and Hermione.
Hermione sought out Cho first. They had one class together – Applied Arithmancy and Hermione got her self teamed up with Cho for the lab. Professor Vector generally left them on their own for this kind of work so they had plenty of time. Cho had always wondered how it was that Hermione had been sorted as a Gryffindor, rather than a Ravenclaw. Apparently, it had something to do with directness of approach. Hermione was much more polite than Ginny, but she didn't waste any time getting to the point.
"What exactly are your intentions with Harry?"
"This isn't going to another of those 'Stay away from Harry' lectures is it?" Cho asked, "I already got one from Ginny Weasley and I don't feel like going through that again."
"Humph, she didn't tell us that part, the little wench. I assumed something like that had happened. No, I just want to know if you are just trying to be the witch who landed the 'Boy who Lived' or whether you actually fancy Harry."
"It's Harry I want," answered Cho, "I don't care about the rest."
Hermione smiled. "I'm glad. They come as a package though. Harry is very complicated."
"Are you and Harry 'involved'?" If she can come straight to the point, thought Cho, so can I.
"You are the only girl Harry has ever paid any attention to," Hermione answered. "Harry and I are best friends. That might sound lame and I know a lot of people don't believe it, but that's what we are. I never had a brother, and Harry's never had anyone. That's what we are for each other."
"But you care for him. If Harry wanted, you would be more than that."
Hermione nodded. "It's not exactly like you think though. I am only the slightest bit jealous of you. I really do, genuinely wish you two well. If I didn't, we wouldn't be talking like this. There are a lot of things you need to know about Harry and he will never tell you most of them. Loving Harry is hard, you need to know that. If you just want a boyfriend or someone to look good with when you go to Hogsmeade, Harry is more trouble than he's worth.
"Harry needs. He needs everything and he doesn't even know it. He needs a mother and a sister and a wife and a lover and a friend all rolled into one. I can't be all those things to him; I have to hold something back for myself. If you want to love Harry, you have to love him completely and willingly. Part of Harry is still a scared boy who lost his mother, and thinks it's his fault. Harry doesn't believe he deserves love and if you don't constantly remind him of that, he will close himself off. Do you know how he spends his summers?"
Cho nodded. "With some Muggle relatives. I've heard rumors that they don't treat him well. I've never known whether to believe them or not."
"The rumors only scratch the surface. For ten years they made him live in the cupboard under the stairs. They starve him and they make him wear hand- me-down clothes. He was physically and mentally abused his entire childhood. Everyday they told him he was worthless and good for nothing. In his heart he believes that. His whole life is spent trying to prove he is worth something, but he can't convince himself.
"Harry will take all the blame in the world onto himself if you don't stop him. You must have found a way to deal with Cedric or you wouldn't be with him. Cedric is just the tip of the iceberg. Harry holds himself responsible for everything Voldemort does because Voldemort used Harry's blood to come back to life. The fact that Voldemort had to kidnap him to do it, and took the blood by force is completely irrelevant to Harry.
"Voldemort is afraid of Harry, and will do anything to get to him. Sometimes being around Harry is dangerous. Harry will do anything to get Voldemort too. You will have to be the voice of reason and even put yourself at risk to make him listen. Harry is brave and loyal and clever and will risk his life to save anyone and everyone. I can't tell you how many nights I've spent in the hospital worried sick about whether or not he was going to live."
"Why are you telling me all of this?"
"To give you a chance. This has been the quietest year Harry has had since he's been here. If you are going to stay with him, you need to know it's not going to be all sunshine and Quidditch. You are going to cry tears over Harry Potter. If you aren't going to stay with him, for his sake, leave him now while he has a chance to recover. It's not fair, I know, to make you decide less than a week after first getting together, but time is rarely a luxury for Harry."
"If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh?
Hermione nodded. "I promise."
"I want to be old with Harry Potter. You know how you see old couples in the park, feeding ducks or whatever, the really, really old ones? That is what I want to do with Harry Potter. I want to have his children and watch them grow up. I want to wear his shirts and eat waffles for breakfast on Saturday mornings… "
Hermione grinned. "Okay, I get the picture."
"I'm glad I could talk to you like this. My best friend hates Harry for some reason. She says she isn't going to talk to me until Harry and I break up. So far, only you and Madame Hooch seem to understand."
"Your friend will come around. Ron isn't so happy about you either."
"Is it about his sister?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes, but it's kind of ironic since he never wanted Harry and Ginny to be together anyway."
"Did Harry and Ginny ever…?"
"No, like I said, you're the only girl Harry has ever noticed. Ginny has had a crush on him for almost six years, but he never even knew. After last year, Harry thought it was impossible for you and him to get together. Ginny, all of us really, just kind of assumed that they would finally get together. Harry never noticed though, and Ginny never told him."
"How could Harry not know? The whole school knew."
"That's Harry for you. I don't think he wanted to know. He believes that bad things happen to the people he cares about because of him. There is a good chance he will try to push you away the next time Voldemort attacks. He'll claim it's for your own safety. You can't let him isolate himself though. Don't let him push you away. He could be right too, you know. You could be in danger because of your involvement with him."
"I suppose boredom will never really be an option."
"Life with Harry is never boring."
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Author's Note: Special thanks to Alex for beta reading. Additionally, I would like to thank all of you for your kind reviews. It is comforting to know someone else is reading this. More chapters to follow soon… If you are impatient waiting, I would like to take this opportunity to plug my other stories: "As Summers Go" and "Destiny and The Headmaster" They are very different stories from this one, but you might like them.
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