centerChapter IV - The First Date/center Since they were done shopping, Cho and Cheryll decided to grab dinner and rest. It was already six thirty. Both were so exhausted from shopping and talking to their friends they'd seen while they were shopping. They went inside Leaky Cauldron so they could drop their things in their rooms and have dinner. A while ago, Cho couldn't help herself but to look around for Harry all day. As they went for one shop to another, she was searching for Harry. She didn't know that Harry saw her as she was looking around but Harry thought she was just looking for her friends.

When Harry saw her, he had the guts to talk to Cho. As he was about to talk to her, he didn't see Parvati Patil. He bumped into Parvati and startled her. Parvati talked to Harry about her summer vacation. Harry wasn't really paying attention as he was looking for Cho. Also, Harry couldn't believe that Parvati was so nice to him. She just kept on asking him how his summer was and told him about her summer. When Parvati was done harassing Harry, Cho was nowhere to be found.

Cho kept telling Cheryll that Harry wants to talk to her while they were going up stairs to their rooms. Cheryll said to simply wait for their time has come and he will talk to her eventually. "Anytime soon, huh?" Cho said as she put all of her stuff on her bed. She was so tired and hungry. She just thought of Cheryll's remark about Harry's incident near Gringotts. "Cheryll was just giving me crazy ideas," Cho grabbed some treats inside her owl bag to give Mackenzie his dinner. As she was giving him water and food, Mackenzie hooted madly and kind of pointing something on the table.

"What's wrong Mackie?" She looked at the table and saw a letter that has her name written on it. She opened it and it said.

Dearest Cho, How are you? I hope you are having a great time. I was wondering if I could meet you later so we can talk. I needed to ask you something. I will be waiting for you at the table near the window, overlooking the Muggle street at around nine pm tonight. I hope its okay, even though it's pretty late. I'll wait for your reply. Love, Harry

"Oh my god!" Cho whispered, "Mackie, can you deliver this letter to Harry for me?" Mackenzie hooted and flew at the table where she was. Cho grabbed a parchment and quill and wrote down 'Okay, see you at nine!' She sealed the letter and gave it to Mackenzie. As she watched Mackenzie fly out the window, Cheryll came in her room.

"I am so hungry and so tired. Come on let's eat. The place is packed already," Cheryll said as she gestured Cho to go with her.

"Cheryll, I got a letter from Harry. He wants to meet me later," She was showing her the letter. Cheryll slammed the door and looked at Cho, shocked.

"Oh my god! Really?!? What did he say?" Cheryll said as she walked towards Cho's bed. She cleared some of Cho's newly bought stuff so she can sit down. Cho sat beside her and showed her Harry's letter. Once Cheryll was done reading it, she smiled at Cho.

"Well, it's about time!" Cheryll said, "He wants to talk to you about something? Hmm.. Maybe he's going to say his feeling for you!"

"His feelings? Oh my! I can't breathe. I am so nervous and excited right now. I'm nervous to meet him, Cheryll, but I want to act cool so he wouldn't suspect anything. You saw how I reacted a while ago. I looked so stupid."

"Come on, mate!" Cheryll said, with a laugh, "don't be too hard on yourself, he just caught you off guard, okay. And also, what would he suspect?" Cheryll said, teasing her.

"Oh, shut up. You know I get nervous easily, especially with Harry. I don't want to mess it up, yet I don't want him to think that I'm too easy," Cho said.

"Okay, well, first things first," Cheryll said, she grabbed Cho's wrist and looked at Cho's watch,

"Let's eat first since it's almost seven o'clock. Then when we're done, let's go back here and pick out an outfit you'll wear, and since the Leaky Cauldron doesn't close, both of you can stay there until tomorrow. You can sleep on the train tomorrow. Oh, this is so romantic," Cheryll said as she was hugging Harry's letter. She hadn't let go of Harry's letter.

"Hey, stop doing that," snatching Harry's letter, "You're wrinkling it." Cho said, with a smile.

"I'm just teasing. Anyway, we better get going so you can help me pick the outfit."

"Cho, this is your first date!" Cheryll exclaimed.

"No it's not a date. We are just going to meet since we've been talking over the phone for almost a month now. It's not really a date. It's uhm.well, it's kind of 'a meeting' for the first time after the phone calls," Cho said, with a weak smile.

"Meeting huh?" Cheryll said teasingly, "Cho, get it through your head. You and Harry are going out on a date. It may be a meeting but still it's called a date. Since you told me both of you shared so much information about yourselves, maybe this is the time the two of you are waiting for. Maybe he will ask you to go steady. Oh, I am so happy for you Cho. I am so excited. My friend is all grown up to be a lady."

Cho laughed at her. She stood up and walked towards the door, "Oh shut up Cheryll, you're making me nervous. I'm not going to expect anything tonight. I am just wishing it would go well. But, Cheryll," Cho looked at her best friend.

"Yeah?" Cheryll said, stood up, looking at her.

"What if he just wants to be friends with me? What if he's just being nice and that's it. What if.."

"What if, what if, what if!" Cheryll said, in an irritating way, "Cho, he wouldn't waste all this time if he just wants to be friends. I mean, I don't blame you if you're thinking like this but you have to give yourself a chance to be happy. I mean, you really like Harry, don't you?"

"Well, I really do but.." but Cheryll cut her off.

"No buts. If he tells you that he has feelings for you and you feel that you are ready to make that commitment, you go for it. I mean, if you feel that this is the time to tell him how you feel, then go ahead and tell him. There's no harm in loving someone, Cho. You deserve to be happy and if Harry makes you happy, then you deserve Harry, got it?"

"Yeah. Thanks Cheryll. I was just thinking that."

"You know what dear, don't think. Just act. If the moment feels right, then tell him. Just make sure he tells you how he feels for you first before you go on spilling your feelings to him. You don't want to make a fool of yourself, girlie."

"Okay, I guess. Oh my, this thinking made me really hungry. I'm ready for that dinner, missy."

"Oh thank god, finally she realizes that she's not the only one who's hungry," Cheryll said as she and Cho went down to eat dinner.

By the time they got back, it was eight fifteen. They hurried their meals so they can have time to choose Cho's outfit. The two went to Cho's room. They were debating on what she should wear.

"A skirt? Are you out of your mind? You know I hate wearing skirts," Cho said.

"But we always wear skirts at school. Oh, never mind then. What about this one?" Cheryll was showing her Cho's khaki Capri pants she bought when she went with her muggle friends to the mall.

"Uhm, that's fine, but what about my top? Let's see," Cho said as she skimmed through her clothes, "if I only knew that I would meet Harry tonight, I should have brought more muggle clothes." Cho exclaimed.

"Hey, hey. Go easy on yourself. You're just nervous and besides, you didn't know that you were going to meet him tonight," Cheryll said as she calms Cho.

"Well, alright. Wait, what about this one?" showing her a plain v-neck white top.

"Yup, you should wear that with these pants. Wear that brown sandals," Cheryll pointed the brown sandal that were inside Cho's luggage.

Cho was getting the shoes when an owl came in her room and swooped around. Both Cho and Cheryll looked up to see whose owl was it. Suddenly, the owl dropped a letter on Cheryll's head and left. "Well, that was a nice thing to do," as she took the letter that was lying on top of her head. She opened it and she smiled.

"Well, I guess you're not the only one who's going out tonight." Cheryll said as she folded the letter and put it inside her back pocket.

"Hmm. that letter's from George, right?" Cho said, smiling to Cheryll

"If you must know, yes, it is from George. He said he's going to show me this new shop of his." Cheryll said as she stood up, walking towards the door, "I have to get ready too. Since my work here is done, I can leave you now. I just want to say good luck and I hope everything will go well tonight."

As she was about to close the door, she looked at Cho and said, "Have fun dear! Tell me everything about it tomorrow," she said and smiled at her then she closed the door.

By the time Cho was done dressing up and fixing herself, it was eight- fifty. 'Is it too early for me to go down or should I wait for 10 minutes?' Cho wondered. One last time, she checked herself in front of the mirror and said, 'Just be yourself, Cho. Everything will turn out okay.' She told herself. 'And now I'm talking to myself. I'm crazy.' She chuckled and picked the book Harry gave her. She was trying to read the comment of Harry on the first page. She smiled as she touched his note. Then she thought of all those times when they were talking on the phone, she couldn't imagine that she would be talking to Harry face to face. She hoped that everything would be okay. As she was daydreaming of what their 'talk' would turn out, she heard Mackenzie hoots. He caught her off guard and checked her watch. It was already 9:05. 'Oh no, I'm late.' She quickly put her shoes on and since it's a little chilly outside (we might go outside, she thought), she grabbed her light white jacket and closed the door.

Harry was already there. He had been waiting for her since 8:20. He couldn't wait anymore at his room so he decided to be early. He checked his watch and it's already 9:05.

'It's only five minutes past 9. I think that's okay. Girls are never on time, that's what Ron told me.' He thought as he looked outside the window. He can see that a lot of cars were passing by. When he was looking at a certain car that stopped just a few blocks from his view, he noticed, from the reflection of the window, Cho was coming down from the stairs, looking for him. Harry looked at her and saw her. Cho saw him too. They both smiled. Cho continued to climb down from the stairs and walked gently towards Harry. 'She's so beautiful.' Harry thought to himself. He couldn't help staring at her as she carefully sat down in front of Harry.

"Sorry if I'm late," Cho said. She was still holding her jacket. She placed it down on her side.

"That's okay. Don't bother," Harry said and he smiled at her. He ushered her to sit down. She sat in front of Harry. They both smiled at each other and none of them spoke for a minute. Cho looked around the Leaky Cauldron. There were a few old people in the Leaky Cauldron. She couldn't help but think that Harry's sitting in front of her and he's so handsome. Cho looked at Harry and he smiled at her. Suddenly, Harry reached out to something beside him and gave it to Cho,

"Uhm, Cho, this is for you," it was flowers. She was surprised when Harry gave her at least two dozen Daisies. They were Cho's favourite flowers.

"Oh, Harry," looking at the flowers and smelling them, "they're so beautiful. Daisies are my favourite flowers. Did I tell you that?"

"Uhm, actually no, you didn't. I went outside the muggle area and saw a flower shop. When I saw them, it reminded me of you, so I bought them. I thought you would hate it since it's not roses or something," he said, as he looked at Cho, admiring her happy face while she was enjoying the flowers and smelling them. 'Ron's idea worked! Okay, let do Hermione's idea' Harry thought.

Cho put the flowers on her side and said, "Sorry got carried away. Anyway, where were we?" Cho asked Harry as she looked at him in the eyes.

"Uhm," he felt his face burning, he said, "Do you want something to drink, eat, dance?" Harry said then he smiled at her.

Cho laughed softly and said, "Thanks, maybe a drink. I'm not hungry. Cheryll and I just ate dinner a while ago, and definitely no dancing. I have two left feet," Cho said, smiling.

Harry laughed and said, "All right then. I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to. Wait here and I'll get our drinks," Harry went to the bar and asked for their drinks. Cho couldn't help herself to look at Harry while he was walking towards the bar. She also can't help smiling. Harry caught a glimpse of Cho and saw her looking at him. Shyly, he turned his back towards the bar tender while Cho, embarrassed that Harry saw her looking at him, turned her attention to the busy muggle street. When Harry came back with their drinks, he also bought some appetizers.

It was almost eleven but both of them didn't care about the time. In fact, they seemed energized, even though they were up early that morning. Cho and Harry were having a great time and they talked almost anything they could think of, except their feelings for each other. Harry was thinking of telling her about his feelings but he was too scared of what Cho's reaction would be. Cho also tried to hide her feelings for she didn't know what Harry's intentions were. She didn't want to ask Harry what he wanted to ask her but she thought that Harry would ask eventually. And hopefully, soon.

While Harry was telling her what Fred and George were inventing for their shop, he saw Ron and Hermione came inside the Leaky Cauldron. Ron's arms were over Hermione's shoulder. Hermione saw Cho and she waved. Ron looked at where Hermione was looking and waved at them. Harry and Cho waved and the couple came to their table.

"Hey Harry," Ron said, smiling widely.

"Hello Ron, Hermione. Guys, I would like you to meet." but Hermione cut him off.

"Don't be silly, Harry. I know Cho. I called her when I got my letter from Hogwarts when they said I'm a prefect. She's my 'prefect sister'. You know, since I'm a new prefect, I need someone to tell me the do's and don't of being a prefect. Cho, you know Ron, right?"

"Yeah, I know him. You're Fred and George's brother, also Percy's. Hey, how is Percy? Percy's my 'prefect brother'" asked Cho, ushered them to seat. Ron sat near Harry while Hermione sat near Cho.

"Percy?" Ron asked as he and Hermione sat. "He's okay, I guess. Ever since the incident of Mr. Crouch, he changed departments and now he's working in the Mystery Department. It's really a good thing because he doesn't blab around like he used to," Ron said, grinning.

"Ron, you stop talking about Percy like that. You should be proud of him." Hermione snapped.

"Well Herm, you know how I don't get along with Percy so can you just let me be?" Ron said, smiling at Harry. Harry looked at Cho and smiled at her. Cho smiled back. The two could sense that a major fight was about to begin.

Hermione put her hands on the table and looked at Ron. She said, "Whatever. Just because he's a prefect, a head boy and got into the Ministry, you think he's." but Ron cut her off.

"Herm, please. I'm sorry. Fred, George and I don't look at him like some people do. Can we just please drop this?" Ron said, stroking Hermione's hands.

"Well, I'm sorry too. I may be tired of all the walking we did," looking at Cho and Harry, she said, "I'm so sorry if we acted like immature people here. So, how are you guys?" Hermione and Ron were holding hands, which made Harry and Cho uncomfortable.

"We're pretty much okay. Isn't that right, Cho?" Harry said, smiling at her

"Yeah," looking at Harry, returned his smile and said, "so, Hermione, did you already read the book that I told you to read? The How's and Why's a Prefect's a Must."

"Yeah," Hermione's face lit, turning to Cho, "I read it like a hundred times already. I can't put it down. Well, the only time I can put it down is when I have to eat and sleep."

"Ahem," Ron said, looking at Hermione. Hermione looked at Ron and said, "And yeah, and also when I'm with Ron," she said, smiling at Ron. Hermione squeezed Ron's hands again. They hadn't removed their hands and Harry nudged Ron to remove it. Ron gently squeezed Hermione's hand, and then he slowly removed his hands. He reached for Harry's butterbeer and drank some of it. Hermione didn't care if Ron removed his hands. She was so interested with her conversation she was having with Cho.

"Well, I still read it from time to time," Cho said, "it's really a good book. There are also two books I bought last year. Prefects who Gained Power and Advance Prefect Workshop. Hey Hermione, did you know that this year Hogwarts is going to give a special award for the most valuable prefect. It's by year, so you won't be competing with me but you will be competing with our fifth year prefect." Cho said, grinning at Hermione.

"Uh-oh," said Ron, looking at Harry, "our girlfriends already have something to talk about. We better buy a book too, Harry, about Quidditch or something," Harry stared at Ron, wide-eyed. Cho stopped talking and looked at Ron. Hermione kicked Ron to keep quiet. She could not believe what he had just said.

She said, "Uhm, Cho, Harry, We'll talk to you guys tomorrow, all right? Ron's really tired and when he's tired, he blabs too much," she turned to Ron and look at him like an eagle looking at its prey, "isn't that right, sweetie?"

"Uhm, yeah. What was I thinking? I only know that Harry likes Cho. Whoops, Did I blab again?" Ron said, turning red again. He buried his face under his hands and tried to flatten his face with it.

Harry just wanted to die on that spot. He had never been more embarrassed than he is now. He just wanted to do a memory charm to Cho, Ron and Hermione so they can forget what Ron said, but he couldn't that to Cho. Ron looked up and looked at Harry. Ron's eyes were saying he was sorry. Harry's eyes said 'Wait until I get my hands on you.'

Hermione stood up. Her evil-eye look at Ron made him jump a little; Ron stood up. She thought he might say something that would embarrass Harry more. Harry and Cho said goodbye to them. When they were out of sight, Cho looked at Harry. Harry looked at Cho, shyly.

"Cho, uhm. you know that Ron's a goof ball right? I mean, uhm, he didn't mean what he said. Uhm, he's just, uhm, messing around. You know he got that trait from the twins, right?" Harry was looking nervously at Cho. 'This is worse than facing Voldemort' he thought.

Cho brushed her hair gently aside and smiled again at Harry. She doesn't know what to react because maybe Ron's just teasing. 'But why did Ron say that?' She thought.

She calmly said, "Well, I know that Ron's just teasing us. I know that you just want to be friends with me, right? I mean, that was your purpose, wasn't it?" Cho looked at him with a blank face.

"I mean, I can forget that remark from Ron if it wasn't true." Cho was keeping her excitement. She was trying to pretend that she didn't care.

"Well, uhm," Harry couldn't find the words. He really wanted to say it was true but what if Cho said she just wanted to be friends? Sensing with her look, Harry couldn't quite explain Cho's feelings. He really wanted to say his feelings, even before but he didn't have the chance.

'But what if she turns me down?' he thought, 'I can't accept another embarrassing moment in the same hour! '

"Harry, cat got your tongue?" Cho said. She smiled at Harry. She took one gulp of her butterbeer then gently she put it down. She was still holding the glass because she needed something to hold on to in case Harry tells her he just wants to be friends. She looked at Harry.

Harry thought 'Maybe she's just waiting for me to tell her that I like her and I would like to go out with her. Harry smiled at her. He put his hands on top of the table and slowly reaching Cho's hands. Cho, seeing the attempt 'holding hands' Harry's going to make, she looked at him and smiled. She thought 'Cheryll's right. I feel that this moment's right to tell Harry about my feelings for him.' Harry's hands were halfway across the table. They are both staring at each other.

Cho couldn't feel her legs. Her heart was beating fast. She could feel her body heat rising. Her cheeks were burning. She could feel that tiny bits of sweat were about to come out. Cho doesn't know what to do. She could feel that her hands are getting wet. She couldn't think straight. She was looking at Harry's hands, just inches away from her hand.

Harry's breathing had become harder. He felt like he was suffocating. His heart was racing and was wondering if Cho can hear his heart. He gently slides his hands towards Cho's hands. He looked at Cho and she was blushing. That relieved Harry because he was also blushing. He was now determined to tell Cho his feelings and he would just tell her how much he loved her.

Cho was waiting for this moment. She wanted to know what it was like to hold hands with Harry. Harry was looking at Cho's hands, hungrily wanted to touch them. Harry looked up at Cho. Both of them were smiling. Both of them were breathing hard.

Harry was getting closer and closer. Harry was almost two inches from Cho's hands. He could feel Cho's heat from her hands. He was almost touching it. He was barely two centimetres when somebody shouted his name.

Quickly, both withdrew their hands and Cho looked down. They were startled from the interruption. Cho removed her hands and almost knock off the glass she was holding. She grinned at Harry. She wiped her hands on her napkin that was sitting on her lap. Harry hurt his elbow because it banged against the chair when he hurried to remove his hands. Harry, while massaging his elbow, looked up and it was Fred. Fred waved at him and came to their table.

"Hey Harry!" he said. He didn't notice that Harry was with Cho.

Fred looked at Cho and said, "Hi Cho! How are you doing tonight? Oh, I'm sorry. Was I interrupting or something?" He asked. Fred noticed that both of them were red and somewhat exhausted.

"Were you guys laughing or something? Both of you have pretty red faces. You said something funny Harry?"

"Uhm, no. We were just uhm. well, uhm, you need something?" Harry asked. He was so annoyed with Fred. He could not believe that he interrupted him when he was about to hold Cho's hands and tell his feelings for her. 'Could it be a sign that I shouldn't tell her yet?' Harry thought.

"Yeah. I was wondering if you know where George is. I can't find him. I've been searching all over Diagon Alley and still can't find him. I have to talk to him about something regarding our shop," Fred looked at Cho and winked at her. Cho couldn't get why Fred keeps on popping up where ever she was.

"Harry and I haven't seen George. I think he's with Cheryll," Cho said blankly.

"Oh! That's right!" slapping his forehead, "he said that he'd take out Cheryll to see the new shop. He was going to show her our new inventions. You want to see it too, Cho? Well, Harry, you can come but you already saw it, right?" Fred asked. Harry sensed that Fred like Cho. He noticed the way Fred's face glow. 'Does Ron know this?' Harry wondered. Harry looked at Cho. Her face was still red but she looks like she doesn't want to go with Fred.

"Uhm, well Fred, Harry and I were." Cho said but Harry cut her off.

"That's fine Cho. I mean, it's late and I haven't packed yet. You can go with Fred," He looked at Cho, expressionless.

Harry was just wishing Cho couldn't tell that he's lying. He already packed after he picked his clothes for their date. He thought since they will be out late, he might not have time to pack.

'Why did I say that?' Harry thought. 'I still want to tell her but I don't know where to begin.' 'Should I just change my mind and say Hey, I'm still not done yet!' No, I have to tell her before Fred tells her how he feels about her. I might lose another chance.

Cho looked at him. She looked hurt. She could not believe that Harry was giving up that easily. They were so close to tell their feelings for one another. Why did Harry suddenly give up? She doesn't know if he was telling the truth or not. 'Was he embarrassed or does he really have no feelings for me.' Cho was so confused that time. She almost had the chance to tell Harry how she truly felt but they were interrupted. 'Maybe the moment has passed and Harry doesn't want to give it another shot.' Cho thought. 'Yeah, leave me hanging. Maybe he doesn't really care!' she thought. She looked at Harry. She felt humiliated and mad. Now she couldn't stand to be in the same room with Harry.

Harry saw Cho's face. He looked away. He couldn't start to say he needed to talk to Cho more. He wanted to change his answer. He looked at Fred. Fred looked at them but he didn't care.

"So, Cho? What about that huh? They might be coming back but at least you can still see the shop."

Fred said, gesturing Cho to take his arms so they can leave. Since Cho couldn't believe what Harry did, she was so mad at him that he looked Fred's arm then looked at Harry and said, "I had a wonderful time Harry. Good night," She didn't smile. Her face was expressionless. She wanted to make a point that she was hurt and wanted to let Harry know that.

"I did too, Cho. I." but he didn't finish his sentence. Cho took her jacket and the flowers and took Fred's arm. She didn't even look back at Harry while she and Fred were walking towards the door. Harry, feeling such a loser, looked at Cho, just in case she looked at him. But it was Fred who looked at Harry and winked at him and mouthed 'Thanks!'

Harry went to his room. He lay down and thought about what had happened. He felt sorry for himself. He'd already had the chance, but he blew it. He didn't know if Cho would talk to him again. He didn't know why he'd said that. 'Maybe she will still talk to me' Harry thought, 'but seeing the way he acted, he doubt if she will go out on a date with me again.'

To be continued.

A/N: Please review!!!