Disclaimer: I own nothing, end of story.
A/N: Okay, I have a lot of great ideas for this story. I'm going to try and update once a day or so with new material. A lot of things are going to be happening and a lot of them might not make sense now, but they will. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Thank you all who read and reviewed, I appreciate it.
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Winter's Fire
Chapter Two: A Realization
The Hogwarts grounds – northeast of the castle
Harry, Hermione, Ron and Cho ran out of the north doors and out into the grounds. The laughing soon died down as each of them looked at the beauty that surrounded them. Hermione stood next to Cho, breathing hard from the run through the castle. Her breath rose in columns of moisture when it touched the cold air. She looked over at Cho and smiled. She smiled back. Hermione turned her head to Harry and Ron, who were busy goggling at Cho. She shot them a dirty look.
"Okay. We'll split up into two teams," Harry announced. "I'll go with Ron; Hermione, you'll go with Cho."
Hermione elbowed Cho. "They always pick the other one. Never me," Hermione whispered. Cho just smiled up at her. "Well, we'll just have to make them regret it, won't we?"
Harry went on like he hadn't heard a thing, and knowing him, he probably didn't. "Each team will get a two minute start. On my count, three . . . two . . . one. . . .Go!"
Ron dashed off with Harry. Cho grabbed Hermione's arm and led her into a patch of trees. Here, they waited as the two-minute head-start went by. When there time was finally up, the land around them was silent. Harry and Ron were nowhere to be seen, but Hermione knew that they were out there. She and Cho crouched low and silently began to prepare an arsenal of snowballs. Hermione knocked herself mentally when she saw that Cho had a pair of gloves. She had left hers in her dormitory. By the time she and Cho had a sizable reserve of snowballs, Hermione's hands were wet and freezing. She pretended that she didn't notice – Hermione didn't want Cho to think there was a reason the boys never picked her.
As Hermione looked over the calm landscape, a fluffy snowball hit her square in the nose. Harry's laughter filled the air, but it was ended abruptly by a shriek as Cho whirred around and pegged Harry in the mouth as he hid in a nearby bush. Ron panicked and ran out into the open. Hermione pulled herself together and nailed Ron in his back. Soon, snowballs were flying left and right. Cho was hit about seven times; Hermione was bashed, as were the boys (Harry had his glasses broken twice). The frenzied activity lasted until both sides had expended their snowball reserves. After that, the four had to make their snowballs as they went, so things went a lot slower. It finally ended with Harry being cornered by Hermione, who flung snowballs at him as fast as Cho could make them. Harry surrendered before Ron could try and rescue him. Ron, realizing it was hopeless to resist without Harry, gave up as well.
Hermione and Cho cheered loudly. The two boys scowled. Ron, finally having enough, rushed Cho and knocked her playfully into the wet snow. "Ha!" he said in triumph.
Harry quickly followed suit. He knocked Hermione around the waist, but she had the sense to hold on to Harry as she fell backwards. They both fell into the mushy snow. Only Ron was left dry – but only for a moment. Harry, Hermione, and Cho exchanged glances and jumped to their feet. Ron realized what was going on and tried to run, only to discover that he had back himself into a corner. The other three advanced on poor Ron like a pack of lions closing in on a wounded gazelle. Hermione leapt at Ron, he pushed her away, but lost his balance as he did so. Seeing this, Harry drove at him, knocking him flat into the snow, face first. Meanwhile, Hermione had run into Cho, knocking her over. Hermione fell over on top of her. For a moment, the two girls lay on top of each other - Hermione's chest pressed against Cho's. They looked into each other's eyes. For the first time, Hermione saw just how beautiful Cho was lying underneath her, breathing deeply. Cho saw it too. Slowly, their eyes closed and their lips begin to come together. Just when they were about to kiss, Hermione pulled away. She quickly jumped to her feet, leaving Cho in the snow. Not wanting to be a total jerk, she reached down to help Cho up. She refused Hermione's outstretched hand and pushed herself up. Hermione quickly turned to the boys to see if they saw any of what had just happened.
Thankfully, neither Ron nor Harry seemed to have noticed the near-kiss. A soggy Ron was too busy pushing Harry's head into the snow. Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Cho stood next to her, laughing. She made eye contact with Hermione and pressed a finger against her pale lips. "Shhh," she whispered. Hermione smiled with relief and turned to pull Ron off of Harry. Once more, the four of them burst out laughing. Once Ron could speak, he voiced the thoughts of both Harry and Hermione. "What do you say to voting Cho into our little gang?"
Both Harry and Hermione nodded their approval. Cho blushed crimson. "Oh you guys, you have no idea how glad I am that you said that." Harry patted her back, as did Ron. Hermione rubbed her back in small circles. "Cho," Hermione said, "would you like to spend the vacation with us in the Gryffindor common room? I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't mind, we could say it's to improve inter-house relations."
"I certainly wouldn't have a problem with it," observed Harry.
"Neither would I," added Ron.
Cho stood rooted on the spot, hardly daring to believe her ears. She was being invited to spend the vacation in the Gryffindor common room, in conversation with the three people she had most wanted to stay with. She smiled, "I'd love to, but where would I sleep?"
"Well, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore wouldn't mind putting an extra bed my dormitory," Hermione said cheerfully.
Cho was nearly jumping with joy "Oh, this is just wonderful news. I'll have to pack my stuff. I hope the rest of the Gryffindors won't mind having me there."
Harry chuckled. "Nah, we Gryffindors are a very accepting lot – as long as you're not a Slytherin."
"It's settled then," Ron announced. "Hermione, why don't you and I go to Dumbledore straightaway and make arrangements? Harry can escort Cho to her common room. Why don't we all meet in the library just before lunch?"
"Okay," sang Hermione.
"Gotcha," Harry said.
"See you then," said Cho happily.
Ron and Hermione went into the castle and headed to Dumbledore's office. As she walked away, Hermione looked over her shoulder and right at Cho. She silently cursed herself for almost kissing her. She was a girl for Christ's sake! It was all behind her now. Only she and Cho knew and Hermione was pretty sure Cho wouldn't tell anyone. She had a much bigger reputation to protect. By the time she and Ron reached the stone gargoyle outside of the Headmaster's office, she had completely forgotten about the whole incident.
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A/N: How did you like this chapter? I wanted to throw a surprise in there somewhere, hope you like it. I'm pretty sure this'll end up being a Cho/Harry romance, but please don't get mad at me if there's some Cho/Hermione love going on as well. I wanted to make this one different. And thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I'll really try to keep up with this story. Please throw and suggestions in your reviews. Thanks a bunch!