OR DIE TRYING: THE STORY OF CHO CHANG

By monkeymouse

NB: JKRowling built the Potterverse; I'm just redecorating one of the rooms. And one of the great things about JKR telling the story from Harry's point of view is that stuff could be happening all over Hogwarts that Harry isn't aware of.

Rated: PG

Spoilers: Everything

xxx

51. Common Sense

The Fifth-Year Ravenclaws had Defense Against the Dark Arts as their last class on Friday afternoons. The students never skived off, even if some of them didn't have a great deal of respect for Professor Alastor Moody.

"I don't dislike him, exactly," Diana Fairweather was explaining before one class session late in October. "It's just that Professor Lupin had a way of laying out the information, explaining the uses of a spell and all. He didn't just hit you over the head with it."

"Well, we know what he hit you over the head with; you still fancy Lupin, don't you?" Diana didn't answer Letitia's question, but started to blush. "It's a wonder we survived the year; a werewolf, indeed! That man was a menace."

"Still, better than that fraud Lockhart," muttered Pablo.

"But Lupin was about our parents' age; the fighting was mostly over when he came along," put in Libby Foggly. "Moody had to have seen the thick of it."

"But that don't give him the right to act the Sergeant-Magus all the time." Vincent Krixlow was on his feet, limping exaggeratedly in front of the class. "So, Mister Krixlow," he said in a gruff and garbled voice, "you take issue with the way I teach this class. I have half a mind-and that's about all you need to be an Auror!"

The others chuckled nervously, one eye on the door. They didn't like the idea of Moody walking in on the performance.

Vincent, however, went on. "As you can see, I've also got half a face to go with the half a mind. I also got half a body . . ."

"And if you don't sit it down now, I'll take my half a leg and kick you halfway across the lake."

The others were amazed. Alastor Moody looked extremely slow and ungainly; yet he had slipped into the classroom unnoticed by all. Cho wasn't the only one who suspected that there may have been magic involved.

"Now then; the Imperius Curse." He had been teaching the Hogwarts students about the three so-called Unforgivable Curses-permanently proscribed by the Ministry of Magic. He had announced that he would go so far as to use the Imperius Curse on members of the class, because "you have to know what it feels like. Just knowing the countercharm isn't enough."

This didn't make a lot of sense to Cho,. But she couldn't decide what the problem was with Moody's argument. She sat back to watch what happened.

"Now, then," Professor Moody said slowly as his odd eye scanned the class. "I'll tell you right now that I don't hold too much with Ravenclaws. You all think you can use your brains to get out of trouble, and most times that just gets you in deeper. Miss Fairweather!" he suddenly barked. "Front and center!"

Diana Fairweather tried to keep from shaking as she stood in front of the class.

"I've tried to read up on all of the students here. You're a half-and- half, ain't you?" She nervously nodded. "And you live among the Muggles, so you've had to keep the secret for years, right?" Again she nodded. Moody pointed his wand: "Imperio!"

Diana's eyes suddenly went wide, as if she was afraid of something. She looked around at the classroom, waved to the empty air and said, "Excuse me!"

Whoever she was speaking to seemed to pass her by without hearing.

Diana tried again. "Please, sir, there's something I have to tell you!" Again, no reaction from the invisible listener.

"Somebody, please listen to me! You have to listen to me!" The curse seemed to make her think she was standing on a street corner accosting the passers-by.

"I have to tell you this!" she went on urgently. "I have to tell you: I'm a witch. My father's a wizard. We can do magic! There's thousands of us all over England!"

The entire class squirmed as Linda was made to break one of the strictest rules of the wizarding world, by revealing their existence to the Muggles.

"It's not a game; it's all real! We fly about on brooms and cast spells with our wands and brew up potions and all of that! You have to listen to me! Why won't you listen to me?!"

"STOP THIS!"

Moody broke off the curse as the class turned in surprise to Raina. She was on her feet, and they had never seen her so angry.

"This isn't teaching; it's torture! You're just playing with her for your own amusement!"

Moody walked slowly and unevenly up to Raina. She didn't give any ground even though he loomed over her.

"You have me wrong, girl; this isn't about fun at all. It's about putting you in the worst possible place you can be-making you do the very things you don't want to do. Which is why you need the countercurse, and why you need to know what the curse feels like going in. You didn't notice anything at first, did you?"

Diana was still frightened. "I-I don't remember."

He turned back to Raina. "And don't you think the Imperius can make you want to tuck into a great fat ham sandwich, in spite of your religion?" Raina glared at Moody, who went on. "You just saw a half-and-half give up our entire secret world, even though she knew from birth she shouldn't do that."

Cho surprised even herself by speaking up: "I agree with Raina. What you're doing has nothing to do with defense."

Moody turned to Cho as if Raina was no longer there. "We're growing a feisty crop of Ravenclaws, it seems. You think you can do better than your friend here?"

"I just think there's more than one way to resist."

"More than will? More than constant vigilance? Fine. Imperio!"

xxx

Cho found herself flying, more than a hundred feet in the air. She couldn't remember the last time she was on her Comet Two Sixty, circling, swinging back and forth, now riding with the wind and now riding into it, tacking back and forth, completely at peace.

Daddy once said they weren't sending me to Hogwarts to be a Quidditch player, and I try to keep up with my studies. But it's this that makes everything worthwhile. It's not just something I do well; I can work to get even better.

Speaking of work, I'd better try out some new moves. The Starfish-that's one I haven't exactly mastered yet.

So saying, she took hold of the broom with one hand, then rolled off to the side. She hung by one hand, spreading her arms and legs into a risky pose favoured by most professional Keepers.

I know this is a Keeper move, but I'd better put as much into my bag of tricks as I can. I'll have to hold my own against Harry and Cedric and . . .

Wait a minute.

Why? You were right the first time; you need to practice.

No, it's something about this year.

Well, it'll be a tough one. You need to practice more than usual.

But what else can I do besides a Starfish?

I don't know. Well, maybe one thing.

What's that?

Freefall.

But that would simply involve letting go of the broom.

Yes.

Sounds dangerous.

Not really. When you fall, the broom falls too. It'll be right there by you. And if it drafts away a bit, use a Summoning Charm.

Well, I suppose that sounds safe enough.

Of course; perfectly safe.

There's only one problem.

Cho scrambled back onto the broom, stood up on the handle, jumped straight up-

And landed on her feet in the classroom.

Her classmates seemed amazed; so did Moody, although he tried to hide it. "I would like you to tell the class," he grumbled, "and tell me, just what you did to break out of the Imperius Curse."

Cho explained the way the curse made her feel as if she was flying. "Then it suggested I let go of the broom; to kill myself, of course. But by then I'd remembered: I wouldn't even be on a broom this year, because there's no Quidditch this year on account of the Tournament. So I realized I wasn't on a broom, no matter what it felt like. The curse wanted me to kill myself, but, because I knew it was a curse, I could act contrary to what it wanted me to do. It seemed almost crazy, but it was all about common sense."

"Actually, Miss Chang, all you've done is prove what I've been saying all along about constant vigilance."

Cho seemed to want to keep debating the issue with Professor Moody, but she thought he might be bothered and start taking points, so she simply took her seat. The lesson was almost over, anyway.

"Before you all take off," Moody said, "I'm supposed to remind you that next week's class will be a bit shorter. The Tri-Wizard Tournament students will be arriving from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang." Something about Moody's face changed noticeably as he pronounced that last word; as an Auror, he probably didn't think too highly of a school that reportedly placed a much higher emphasis on the Dark Arts. "You're all supposed to turn out and greet them, so class ends a half hour earlier. It'll all be posted. Get going, then."

The students gathered up their books and bags and started up toward their dorm.

The Fifth-Year Ravenclaws had Defense Against the Dark Arts as their final Friday class. As they headed toward the Great Hall, they passed near the dungeon where the Fourth-Year Gryffindors and Slytherins were having Potions. The classes usually let out at about the same time, and it was the one chance in the week that Cho could be reasonably sure that . . .

There he was. Sometimes he'd appear to be having a pleasant conversation with some of the others from his year, especially the two that were closest to him, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Sometimes he looked depressed, or angry, or confused; Cho could understand. Having a class with Snape could easily leave you feeling all that, and worse.

There were too many students, usually moving too fast, to allow her to say anything to Harry; but then, she wasn't really sure what she'd say if she had the chance. So she'd simply catch his eye-and it didn't take Harry too many weeks to realize, as she did, that they'd be in the same corridor on Friday afternoons. She'd smile, and sometimes wave, and he'd smile and sometimes wave. It wasn't much, but Cho began to look forward to it as a high point of her week.

And maybe something to build on.

xxx

to be continued in part 52, wherein the foreign students arrive and the Champions are chosen