Disclaimer: Harry Potter and associated characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 32: Gryffindor and Ravenclaw
In a cold, dimly lit dungeon, two figures carrying swords under their robes were dragging the body of Severus Snape out from a cell and bringing him before a figure wearing a long green robe with a deathly white face.
The torches along the walls flickered in the cold and even the flames seemed to draw away in fear from the shadowy figure in the centre, creating a circle of shadows around him as none of the light seemed to reach the place where the green robed figure stood.
"Wake him," commanded Voldemort. "Let's hope that he is of more use than the other two useless idiots who were supposed to guard this place. Unfortunately that clever Headmaster wiped their memories to the point where I can't even undo them."
One of the two Death Eaters drew his wand and pointed at Snape. "Ennervate."
As Snape came to, Voldemort drew his wand in preparation to inflict some dreadful punishment upon the Hogwarts professor lying on the ground before him.
"You disappoint me Severus," Voldemort whispered coldly. "I expected you to be more on your guard, what do you have to say to this?"
Snape attempted to get up but the effects of Dumbledore's spell still lingered and he collapsed to the ground again.
"No answer? Very well then - CRUCIO!!"
Snape screamed in a ghastly tone that echoed throughout the dungeon, spreading fear into even the two death eaters beside Voldemort.
Eventually the pain ceased and Snape breathed heavily onto the cold stone floor, his breath creating icy clouds in front of his face.
"I went, to give them food," Snape explained in between laboured breaths of air. "They grabbed my wand - and used it on me - and the other two."
"I see," Voldemort said slowly, considering the information that Snape had just told him. "So what should we do with you for failing?"
Snape's head shot up suddenly in fear. "My lord, please show mercy and allow me to return to Hogwarts so that I may continue to provide you with useful information."
Voldemort paused but then shook his head. "But Severus, you haven't provided me with a single bit of useful information."
"Vhy don't ve just kill him? He has proven that he is useless, unlike that Necromancer," said the Death Eater to Voldemort's left, drawing his sword in preparation to execute the Hogwarts Professor.
Voldemort lifted a hand and the Death Eater grudgingly sheathed his sword again. "Not just yet, let us see what Severus has to say."
"What of the information that allowed us to capture the entire Phoenix Order?" Snape said in desperation
Voldemort's mouth twisted upward into a slight malicious smile. "Severus, Severus...I can see that you are desperate to retain your life and because of that, I will spare you for now. Return to Hogwarts and continue to provide - 'useful' information for us."
Snape quickly got up and kissed Voldemort's robe before hurrying out of the room before the Dark Lord changed his mind and relieved the Hogwarts Professor of his life.
Once Snape had left, Voldemort turned to the two Death Eaters armed with swords beside him. "Follow him and make sure that he does his duty - you also have your orders."
"Yes my lord," replied both Death Eaters in unison and with a bow, they left the dungeon.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry awoke suddenly in bed with his scar burning slightly from having seen Snape tortured again. Although he disliked Snape for the treatment he had received in class, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for Snape because no one, not even Snape or Malfoy deserved to go through such torture. He of all people would know that for he had gone through it himself.
"Are you ok there Harry?" he heard Ron ask from across the room. "You're holding your scar, did you have another nightmare?"
Looking up, still clutching his scar, he saw that Ron was already awake and that he was changing out of his pyjamas and into his uniform.
"Yeah," Harry told him. "It was of Snape getting tortured but please don't tell Hermione or Cho, I know they'll probably be worried about me if they found out."
Ron nodded slowly. "I'm not so -"
"Please don't," Harry pleaded. "I don't want them to know."
"Oh all right then," Ron said, as he finished buckling his belt around his pants. "We have Quidditch practice later; you'll want to get dressed."
Harry slapped his forehead. This was going to be one long day indeed for the days following their escape from the Malfoy mansion; Harry's attention had been diverted more and more towards his Quidditch game against Ravenclaw. Alicia started to drill the team daily as she wanted to win the Quidditch cup in her last year at Hogwarts just as Oliver Wood had done.
"Why not?" she told the team. "It'd be good to win the cup two years in a row and Gryffindor will be one step closer to winning the house cup."
In terms of classes, ever since Walter had gone over to the enemy, McGonagall put Alastor Moody in charge of the Dark Arts class because Sepet found it too bothersome to have to teach a class in the daytime even though he could stay awake for a continuous 24 hours without problems.
Alastor Moody, like Barty Crouch, was very helpful in that he handled the Defence Class very well and everything he taught was something useful. Harry especially liked it when they got around to the finer points of becoming an Auror since it was something that he might consider doing when he got out of Hogwarts. Hermione was equally excited and she was always complemented by Moody on her knowledge and thoughtful questions in class.
Although the Order had escaped, there was no news that Percy had escaped though McGonagall continually assured the Order that they would not give up on them. Despite such assurances, however, Harry had a horrifying thought that he could be killed but if anyone was worried about Percy, it would be Ron. Ron thought that Percy was a bigheaded brother who thought very highly of himself but in his absence, Ron found it a little depressing that even his brother could be captured and possibly killed.
As for Professor Dumbledore, it was generally assumed that Fudge would never reinstate him as headmaster of Hogwarts so Professor McGonagall continued her role as Headmistress while Dumbledore remained hidden somewhere within the castle but from the Order meetings, it was obvious that her actions were based upon advice from Dumbledore himself.
Still, as a result of his mission and Walter's betrayal, Harry was ever wary of Sepet's actions for if the servant could betray them, why not the master? Yet an interesting side effect was present that Harry had never counted upon and that was the idea that it was always possible for Cho to be harmed and it was here where his feelings for her grew and strengthened his resolve to protect her.
"I'm glad that Dumbledore is back," Ron commented that day at breakfast. "I don't think that any Death Eater will lay another hand on him or cross into Hogwarts again, not even Malfoy's father."
"Ugh," Hermione said disgustedly. "Don't remind us about him.it's bad enough that we have to study for our O.W.L.s this year without having to think about people like Malfoy."
"Come now Hermione," Harry added. "The O.W.L.s aren't for another two months, don't tell me you're studying for them already?"
Cho glared at Harry. "She's right Harry; you should be studying for them now. You may be my friend but that means I care for you and we can't have you failing now can we."
Harry gave her an awkward look since he hadn't expected Cho to side with Hermione. "Does that mean I have to join you two studying for the O.W.L.s?"
Cho and Hermione nodded in unison.
"Yes it does," Hermione said, "and since Cho took them last year as well, she's going to help us study for them. That'll be everyday from now on 9:00 sharp in the library."
"But - ," Ron started to protest but was silenced when Hermione put a finger to his lips.
"I don't want to hear it," she said with a look that indicated that she wasn't going to accept any further argument from either of them. "At any rate, we have potions next and since Snape is gone, I want to get there early so that we can meet the new teacher."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Along the way to the dungeons, the trio ran into Cho in the hallway with another person but when they looked to at him they were surprised to find that she was walking with Viktor Krum.
"Hullo Harry - Hermy-own-ninny - Ron," said Krum. "Funny that ve should run into you three here."
"Where are you off to Harry?" Cho asked.
It took a while for Harry to recover from his state of shock but he eventually responded. "Potions."
"I see, I hear there's a new professor."
"It's Arabella Figg," said Viktor. "I vos just down there dis morning when she came in."
"Is it really?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "I didn't think Dumbledore would be using the Order members to replace the teachers."
"Moody is replacing Walter isn't he?" Harry countered. "I guess Dumbledore would think it reasonable to put any order members as professors since they would know what they were doing, unlike Lockhart."
Hermione gave him a sheepish smile as she didn't forget the fact that he was a fraud but more embarrassing was also the fact that she had a crush on him. "Don't remind me."
"Vell, ve should be going since you need to get to class," Viktor said.
"Bye Harry," Cho called as she started walking backwards to keep up with Krum but then turned around and continued walking down the hall, talking with Krum.
The entire time, Harry regarded Krum with animosity since Krum hadn't taken interest in Cho before, why would he be walking with her now? However his thoughts hadn't seemed to escape Hermione who was studying Harry carefully.
It took the sound of Hermione's voice to draw Harry out of his thoughts but later on, he would be grateful that she did, "Walk ahead of us to class Ron, I'd like to talk with Harry for a moment."
Ron gave her a look of confusion but oddly he didn't object this time and silently obeyed and started walking down the hallway.
Hermione waited until he was out of sight before grabbing Harry by the arm. "Come on, walk with me Harry. I want to talk to you but we can't be late for class either."
"What was that about?" Hermione asked him as they turned the corner. "You seemed to be a little irritated that Cho was walking with Krum, is something wrong?"
Harry shook his head. "Nothing is wrong; it's just that Cho normally doesn't walk with Krum."
Hermione smiled. "You're jealous, how cute. So why don't you ask her out?"
Harry was taken aback by the question. "Before Krum does?"
"Mmm, I don't think Krum is trying to ask her out but just in case he is, you better get to her first," Hermione advised him. "Otherwise you'll end up having someone else take her and you'll be disappointed."
Harry agreed. He knew what that felt like since he tried asking Cho out to the Yule ball last year but Cedric had already gotten to her first. "Except I'm not quite sure that I'd make a good boyfriend."
Hermione shook her head. "I think you'd make a great boyfriend Harry. Take it from a girl; most girls like kind, caring and responsible guys and you have all three characteristics so how can you make a horrible boyfriend? It shows that you can provide security and comfort which I'm pretty sure Cho loves about you."
"But what if things don't work out and I get hurt?"
"There's always that risk but as long as you act like yourself, you can be sure that if things don't work out, it's not your fault and it's not hers either. It just means that you two naturally aren't compatible in the long run."
"Another thing," Hermione continued as they walked down the stairs to the dungeons. "There's no 'I' in relationships. If things don't work out, I'm sure that she'll be hurt just as badly as you will, especially if she puts in a lot of effort into the relationship."
Harry considered it for a moment. "I guess you're right, as usual."
Hermione smiled at him. "Don't be so nervous around her either, it's starting to show and if a girl who has her head buried in books all day long notices it, I'm sure others will too."
"So why are you telling me this?" Harry questioned. Hermione's advice was certainly sudden and it took Harry aback that she would volunteer such advice so freely.
"Because you're my friend," Hermione stated calmly. "I want to see you happy and since it's fairly certain that you like Cho, why not help you two get together?"
Harry nodded slowly, still feeling a little uncertain but eventually his facial expression broke into a wide grin. "Thanks Hermione."
"You're welcome," she said smiling back at him. "Now hurry up and get with her."
"How should I go about it?" Harry asked as they got to the door of their potions classroom.
"I dunno," Hermione replied with a thoughtful look. "Try the astronomy tower, that'll do and since she's not scared of heights like I am, you two could go for a ride on your broom."
"Wow," Harry said in awe. "You always know how to come up with the best ideas Hermione and I'm glad that you're my friend."
"So am I Harry," Hermione said, giving him a quick hug.
"Well, we should go and meet the new professor, right?"
"Right."
With that, Harry opened the door and allowed Hermione to enter the room with him following immediately after.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Potions class went relatively well, Arabella Figg was a lot fairer in dealing points than Snape ever was but that fact alone probably made Harry notice that even Malfoy knew the answers to the questions that were asked in class.
Later that night, on the agenda for Harry was Quidditch practice and it was here that he found time to relax since it was something he truly enjoyed.
Ron was throwing golf balls for Harry so that he could practice catching the snitch because it was far too dark to try live practice. Fred and George were off hitting the bludgers between each other while the chasers were playing a little game of keep away from Alicia.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Alicia cried as Seamus threw the Quaffle to Dean.
"Too bad Alicia," yelled Dean and he quickly threw the Quaffle to Katie Bell, "You wanted Quidditch practice so this is what you're getting."
"They're doing a fair job of keeping the Quaffle away from Alicia," Ron commented as he looked in their direction.
"Yeah..." Harry agreed but when he looked in their direction, he also noticed that a group of people with brooms were heading onto the Quidditch pitch.
"Hey Harry," said Ron, apparently noticing the group of people as well. "Who are those students?"
"Not sure but they're probably Ravenclaws," Harry replied, glancing at the group to see if Cho was there. "I think they want the field."
"Ah I get it," Ron said with a mischievous smile, noticing that Harry was staring at the group. "You're looking for Cho. - Listen, Hermione told me about your conversation with her this morning and I think you should go for it. You have nothing to lose right?"
"Nothing to lose except my friendship with her."
"What do you mean? I think Hermione is right and Cho has some interest in you so you have nothing to lose, I mean you've never cared about your reputation around the school before."
"Is that why she's walking with Krum?" Harry asked, pointing to the male student walking beside Cho.
"No she's - " Ron started to say but as he did a double take, he also noticed that Krum was walking alongside Cho in the group of people with his broom in hand. "She's WHAT?"
The Ravenclaws had mounted their brooms and started to rise into the sky but Cho immediately caught sight of Harry and flew towards him with Krum trailing a little behind.
"How's Quidditch practice Harry?" Cho asked him when she got to him.
"It's going well, I haven't missed a golf ball yet," Harry told her but his attention was more directed toward Krum.
"That's good," Cho said. "Viktor decided to come along to Quidditch practice because he wanted to teach me a few tricks."
Harry smiled at her. "I'm sure it'd be quite a challenge playing against you without resorting to tricks."
Cho's cheeks flushed a tinge of pink. "Thanks Harry."
"Hey Harry," Alicia called as she flew towards him on her broom. "Rodger Davies said that Madam Hooch told him that he could practice on the pitch at 8:00. Its 8:00 but she did tell us that we could have it until 8:30. I think we're done for today though."
"Have enough of keep away eh Alicia?" Katie Bell teased as she came up behind the Gryffindor captain.
"Quiet you, I was only going easy on you," Alicia stammered back in embarrassment.
"I guess it's time for us to go," Ron said with a sigh. "You coming Harry?"
"You're welcome to stay and watch our practice Harry," Cho offered. "I don't think we would mind."
"Wouldn't that ruin any game advantage you'll have on Saturday?"
"I guess but then again, you probably know any tricks that Viktor would teach me."
Harry grinned. "I think you overestimate my knowledge of Quidditch, Cho."
"Oh don't be so modest, just watch us."
"All right," Harry said before telling Ron to go ahead.
Harry then flew to the stands to get a seat where he could watch the Ravenclaw practice for the rest of the evening with thoughts of Hermione's advice going through his head over and over again. He kept evaluating whether or not a relationship with Cho that was more than friendship would be worth it but in the end, he knew that it was and resolved to ask Cho to be his girlfriend on the day of the Quidditch match in the manner that Hermione had suggested.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On Saturday morning, Harry awoke rather early, not only because he was looking forward to the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw but also because it was the day that he would be asking Cho out. Yesterday Harry hadn't felt nervous at all about asking Cho out but now that it came down to it, he felt extremely anxious for the idea of being rejected was always there.
"Calm down Harry, calm down," he told himself in a whisper as he got out of bed to change. "Take it one step at a time, the Quidditch match comes first."
Once he had finished changing into his robes, he buckled his sword belt under it so that he would be ready if anything happened. After grabbing his wand, he quietly went downstairs to the common room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Upon arriving in the common room, he was very surprised to find that Hermione was sleeping in the couch with a book spread out across her lap.
Shaking his head, he picked up the book and placed it on the table. Then he gently nudged Hermione so as to wake her.
"Hermione, wake up, its morning already. I'll never understand why you bother to read so late at night, its not going to help your health."
Hermione didn't budge but merely muttered something inaudible. Sighing to himself, Harry drew his wand and pointed at himself to cast the invisibility spell.
Once he was invisible, he gently picked up Hermione and carried her carefully up to the girls' dormitory. He had to struggle to get the door open since his hands were rather full with Hermione but once that was done; he tiptoed into the room, making sure that no one was awake.
He lay Hermione down on her bed and quietly exited back down to the common room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the common room, Harry glanced around to see if there was anything that he could do beside sit around. He could sit in the room until everyone woke up or read Hermione's book. Reading...the thought didn't appeal to him so he decided to take a walk.
There were advantages to being invisible and since there was no cloak to lose this time, he could move around the castle freely.
As he exited the common room and walked downstairs, it gave him ample opportunity to consider how he would ask Cho out. This way he wouldn't be so nervous when it actually came time to ask.
However wandering through the castle with its twists and turns and constantly changing floors eventually led Harry down to the dungeons but he didn't realize it until he heard a voice addressing someone else. In fact, the voice sounded a lot like Sepet.
Putting aside his thoughts, he decided it would be best to investigate since after his encounter with the two cloaked figures in Malfoy's mansion, Harry wondered what Sepet was up to. Added to that was the fact that his most trusted servant had betrayed the Order and thus Sepet himself was under suspicion as well.
It didn't take long for Harry to catch up with Sepet, or rather for Sepet to catch up with him since as he turned the next corner; he stopped dead in his tracks for to his surprise Sepet was coming towards him. Yet what was even more surprising were the two figures that were on either side of him; armed skeletons.
"Now that he's back, he's probably going to be in hiding for a while," Sepet was addressing the skeletons as they walked down the corridor towards Harry. "Since your commander isn't around, you must take care to stay out of sight. Report your status to me whenever possible and remember that our new objective is to locate him and kill him. Our employer will not tolerate failure and neither will I."
As Sepet came closer, Harry flattened himself up against the wall lest they crash into him and discover him there. However Sepet had stopped walking and was sniffing the air.
"Hmmm, a familiar smell... human.," Sepet said to himself. "Each human being has a distinct scent and this one is no exception."
Sepet quickly drew his sword and stood there in guard position. "He must be invisible since there isn't a single room along this corridor for a while. Just because he's invisible doesn't mean that we can pass through him. Form a wall -"
The skeleton on the right of Sepet switched his shield to its right arm and both skeletons stood next to Sepet so that the shields formed a perpendicular barrier to the wall.
"Advance," Sepet ordered and the three of them advanced forward with their weapons ready to cut down anything in their path.
Although there wasn't anywhere to go except back the way he came, Harry didn't want to risk getting lost and missing the Quidditch match since he wasn't completely sure of the route he took down here. The normal entrance to the dungeon level however could only be reached by going through Sepet and Walter's skeletons.
Harry dropped down and laid against the corner where the wall met with the floor so that when the skeletons reached him, their shields would pass over him instead of hit him. He just hoped that they didn't have the sense to use their swords every now and then to slash away at the ground to see if anyone was lying on the floor.
Fortunately for Harry, they didn't and the group passed right over him. As soon as they had done so, Harry quickly got up and ran down the corridor as quietly as possible so that Sepet wouldn't notice that he was no longer there. He also made a note to tell Hermione and Ron about this later for based on what Sepet said, something big was going to happen; it was just a question of when and where.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
By the time he got up to the ground floor, Harry realized that it was already time for breakfast and that the game would be in another few hours so he quickly made his way to the Great Hall where he found Hermione and Ron eating breakfast with the other Gryffindors.
"G'morning Harry," Ron said as Harry sat down on the other side of Hermione.
"Thanks for bringing me up to my room Harry," Hermione whispered to him as he sat down so that Ron couldn't hear her.
"How'd you know it was me?" he whispered back in surprise.
"Only you would care to bring me up to my bed and only you have the invisibility spell to get past everyone else," Hermione explained.
"Heh, your reasoning hasn't diminished one bit even after a night of very little sleep," Harry bantered.
"Shush, eat your breakfast young man," Hermione admonished him. "You'll need your strength for the game if you're planning to win or are you going to let your crush win this time?"
"I may like her but I wouldn't let her win, not in this case anyway," Harry retorted.
"That's good."
"Did I miss something?" Ron asked finally noticing the two friends talking after finishing his breakfast.
Harry and Hermione merely glanced at each other and laughed, replying in unison, "no."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When it came time for the game, Harry and Ron made their way to the lockers to change into their Quidditch robes while Hermione took a seat with Hagrid in the stands.
The day was relatively cloudy but there were still patches of sunlight coming through the clouds. Lee Jordan's voice could be heard before the teams even got onto the field but once the doors opened, both teams walked onto the field amidst cheers from the stands.
"All right, take your places!" Madam Hooch shouted over the deafening crowd. "Mount your brooms!"
Both teams went to their positions on the field and mounted their brooms. Cho was right in front of Harry and he saw that she was smiling brightly at him.
"Good luck Harry, regardless of who wins, I'm sure it'll be a good game," she said.
"Thanks, good luck to you too Cho," Harry replied as they rose into the air.
Seconds later, the Snitch was released and it took a pass in front of each of the seekers before flying away out of sight.
"AND THE QUAFFLE IS RELEASED!" cried Lee Jordan from the commentator's box.
"Let's hope for a short game," Alicia yelled while escorting Katie Bell. "HARRY! GET THAT SNITCH!"
Harry nodded in her direction but he realized that Cho was hovering right in front of him, looking at him to see what he would do.
"Not going to make my job easy are you?" Harry asked her jokingly.
"Nope, that's why I'm here," came an equally playful reply.
A glimmer of gold light appeared on the ground and Harry looked to see if it was the Snitch but at a second glance, it was gone and Harry just attributed it to the sunlight playing tricks on him.
"Looks like this is going to be one long game," commented Lee. "Neither team has scored and neither seeker has caught the Snitch. Alicia has the Quaffle but - ooh, it was stolen away by the other team."
Continuously scanning the field, Harry was distracted every now and then by Cho who was looking for the Snitch as well but neither of them seemed to have located it.
"Say Cho," Harry began nervously.
"Yes Harry?"
"Would you mind meeting me at the Astronomy tower later tonight?"
"How am I supposed to get there without getting caught?"
"Go straight there after your rounds, then you can always make the excuse that you're going back to your tower."
"Ok. but how am I going to get back?"
Harry gave her a mischievous grin. "Leave that to me."
Cho gave him a look of confusion but that gave Harry the chance to look around again. This time he spotted the Snitch following Katie Bell right above her head as she was heading towards the Ravenclaw goals. An idea hit Harry and he dived at the ground in the direction of the Gryffindor goal posts.
Cho, caught by surprise immediately dove after him seeing as he might have found the snitch.
However about midway through the dive, Harry slowed down so that Cho could catch up.
"Hey Harry, stop being nice and get that snitch already!" Ron yelled at him.
Harry looked behind him and grinned at Cho. She looked at him in perplexity but two seconds later, Harry braked abruptly and made an arc into the air so that he could fly in the opposite direction upside down. In the meantime, Cho shot right under his head in the direction he had just been in.
Harry then pursued Katie and had caught up with her right when a bludger passed in front of his face. That slowed him down a little but he didn't take his eyes off the snitch for he was afraid that it wouldn't find it again.
Leaning forward, he accelerated until he got to Katie Bell, closing his hands around the snitch and winning the game for Gryffindor.
"YES! HARRY POTTER DID IT AGAIN! HARRY POTTER HAS THE SNITCH!" Shouted Lee Jordan, causing Professor McGonagall to cover her ears but poor Professor Flitwick who was standing up on his seat hadn't expected such an outcry and fell backwards off the bench into Professor Sprout's lap.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When the teams had descended, Harry found himself being lifted and throw up into the air with a cheer by his team mates.
"Good job Harry!" Fred and George told him once they had put him down.
"You were great Harry!" Hermione said while giving him and Ron a tight hug.
"Thanks Hermione," Harry responded but then he spotted Cho coming towards him, smiling and shaking her head in astonishment.
"That was a good trick you pulled on me Harry," Cho said with a playful smile. "Perhaps I shouldn't have let you watch my practice yesterday."
"Hahaha, I don't think that had any effect on my playing ability as much as your presence did," Harry said.
Cho blushed but then she ran to him and enveloped him in a hug just as Hermione did. "Your flattery won't get you anywhere."
"Will you still meet me at the Astronomy tower tonight?"
Cho gave him a thoughtful look. "I think I know why you want me to go there but ok, I'll go. My duties end at 10:00 so be there around then."
"All right, see you then."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The rest of the day seemed to pass rather slowly for Harry as he waited anxiously for the time to ask Cho out. Hermione told him to study for his O.W.L.s which were coming up next month so that time would pass faster. Seeing as he didn't have anything better to do, he accepted and so he and Hermione were in the library studying. Ron had decided to go play a game of Exploding Snap with his brothers. Yet Harry found himself more and more distracted by what he would say when he actually got Cho up to the Astronomy tower.
"Just take it naturally," Hermione said, noticing his suspenseful facial expression. "Whatever you say, she'll like it."
"Easy for you to say," Harry countered. "You're not the one saying it."
"True but I suppose I may have to at some point and if that time comes, I'll be equally nerve wrecked."
"You say that almost as if your relationship with Ron won't last."
"I don't know," Hermione replied calmly. "There might be something I find that I can't tolerate."
"Like his commentary which makes you want to be sent to an anger management program?"
Hermione burst out laughing, causing Madam Pince to glare at her and she immediately stifled her laugh. "No, no. His commentary is tolerable..but you and I don't know everything about him. There might be personality flaws which I find intolerable or personality flaws in myself that he might not be able to tolerate. People and relationships aren't perfect, Harry, the idea is whether or not you are able to accept the good and bad things about the other person."
Harry nodded slowly and went back to working but what Hermione had just told him was a little unsettling. what if there was something he couldn't tolerate about Cho's personality? This would be something else to consider but based on what Hermione had told him earlier that week, asking Cho out would be worth it no matter what happened.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that night after dinner, Harry was watching Ron and Hermione play a game of Wizard's Chess. Ron was winning of course but anything that kept Harry's mind off what he was going to do in a couple hours was welcome. In fact, he even tried a couple games himself but those obviously didn't go too well since he was too distracted to play.
"Why don't you play against me Harry?" Hermione offered. "I don't know enough tricks about this game to give you a thrashing like Ron will but I'm pretty certain that you're tired of losing as am I."
Ron laughed. "Ok, ok, I'll go easier on you two."
"No don't do that," Harry replied. "That'd defeat the purpose of the game.. Besides, I want to be able to rub it in when you lose."
Ron grinned. "Fair enough. Let's see you two play then."
They played until 15 minutes before 10 when Hermione interrupted him, much to his dismay since he was actually winning. "Our shift for rounds is coming up so we need to get ready, common Ron."
"See you later ok Harry?"
"Sure thing."
Hermione and Ron got up to get ready and headed up to their rooms but as Hermione passed Harry to go up, she whispered a quick "good luck" to him.
Once they had gone, Harry exited the common room and started walking towards the Astronomy Tower.
Along the way, he made sure to cast an invisibility spell on himself so that he couldn't be seen around the castle.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When he arrived at the Astronomy Tower, a thought occurred to Harry. he had forgotten his Firebolt so he held out a hand and whipped out his wand.
"ACCIO FIREBOLT!" he said firmly and a few moments later, he found his broom in his hand. He then placed it up against one of the stones and sat on the wall waiting for Cho to arrive.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was at least 15-30 minutes before a shadow was seen coming up the staircase to the Astronomy tower. Harry quietly drew his wand, just in case but he realized that he was still invisible so unless it was Moody, no one could see him.
In a few seconds, the shadow revealed itself to be Cho and Harry immediately dispelled his invisibility spell so that she could see him.
Cho let out a gasp when Harry's figure appeared out of thin air. "How did you -?"
"Elemental magic," Harry explained. "But that's not the reason I asked you to come up here."
"What did you have in mind?" Cho asked curiously.
Harry suddenly became self-conscious but he forced himself to say the first things that came to mind. "Well, I figure that this year is almost over..and after all of the things that we've been through, I was wondering what you thought of our friendship."
Cho thought about it for a bit and it was during those moments of silence that Harry suddenly felt discouraged but she spoke eventually and that lifted his spirits a little.
"I think," she began. "That you are a really wonderful person and I think our friendship has been a very good one, you're a good friend Harry and I could never forget all that you've done for everyone."
Harry's cheeks heated up a little. "Thanks Cho.. Say. I was wondering..if you wouldn't mind..."
"Could you repeat yourself Harry? Your voice trailed off."
"I, uh, would you like to go on a broom ride?" Harry asked suddenly, going to grab his broom.
"I'd love to! It'd just be like that one time coming back from that mission with Walter."
So Harry mounted his broom and Cho sat down in front of him. The broom gently rose into the air and Harry slowly accelerated, guiding the broom so that they were flying circles around the castle under the full moon.
"The castle is so pretty no?" Cho commented, seeing the bright torches lighting up the castle grounds.
"It is but..what you said about the mission with Walter." Harry said. "After all the missions that we've been on, I've come to realize that you mean a lot to me and so the reason -"
"Yes Harry," Cho said happily.
"Yes? Yes to what?" Harry said befuddled.
"Your question silly," Cho said with a laugh.
"But I haven't asked a question yet."
"No but I can guess where this is going," Cho replied, looking back to smile at him. "You want me to be your girlfriend and so that's why you asked me to come up to the Astronomy tower, isn't it?"
Harry just gave her a small smile. "Yes it was."
"So yes, I would love to be your girlfriend," Cho said.
This was one of the rare moments in his life that Harry truly felt happy for now he was with the girl of his dreams and the moment was just so..perfect.
For the next two hours, the two students circled the castle on Harry's broom content to be in each other's company.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When it was time to go, Harry flew over to the Ravenclaw tower and allowed Cho to dismount at one of the windows.
"Thank you for such a wonderful evening Harry," said Cho with a smile. "Good night dear."
With that, Cho gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug and retreated into the tower.
"Good night," Harry said softly after she had left and he headed back to the Gryffindor tower, content that everything had gone well.
A/N: There were a lot of reviews for me to respond to and since the next chapter will be posted soon, the replies to the reviews are there. Thanks to Quis though for helping me with the H/Cho scene. didn't really know how to pull it off.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 32: Gryffindor and Ravenclaw
In a cold, dimly lit dungeon, two figures carrying swords under their robes were dragging the body of Severus Snape out from a cell and bringing him before a figure wearing a long green robe with a deathly white face.
The torches along the walls flickered in the cold and even the flames seemed to draw away in fear from the shadowy figure in the centre, creating a circle of shadows around him as none of the light seemed to reach the place where the green robed figure stood.
"Wake him," commanded Voldemort. "Let's hope that he is of more use than the other two useless idiots who were supposed to guard this place. Unfortunately that clever Headmaster wiped their memories to the point where I can't even undo them."
One of the two Death Eaters drew his wand and pointed at Snape. "Ennervate."
As Snape came to, Voldemort drew his wand in preparation to inflict some dreadful punishment upon the Hogwarts professor lying on the ground before him.
"You disappoint me Severus," Voldemort whispered coldly. "I expected you to be more on your guard, what do you have to say to this?"
Snape attempted to get up but the effects of Dumbledore's spell still lingered and he collapsed to the ground again.
"No answer? Very well then - CRUCIO!!"
Snape screamed in a ghastly tone that echoed throughout the dungeon, spreading fear into even the two death eaters beside Voldemort.
Eventually the pain ceased and Snape breathed heavily onto the cold stone floor, his breath creating icy clouds in front of his face.
"I went, to give them food," Snape explained in between laboured breaths of air. "They grabbed my wand - and used it on me - and the other two."
"I see," Voldemort said slowly, considering the information that Snape had just told him. "So what should we do with you for failing?"
Snape's head shot up suddenly in fear. "My lord, please show mercy and allow me to return to Hogwarts so that I may continue to provide you with useful information."
Voldemort paused but then shook his head. "But Severus, you haven't provided me with a single bit of useful information."
"Vhy don't ve just kill him? He has proven that he is useless, unlike that Necromancer," said the Death Eater to Voldemort's left, drawing his sword in preparation to execute the Hogwarts Professor.
Voldemort lifted a hand and the Death Eater grudgingly sheathed his sword again. "Not just yet, let us see what Severus has to say."
"What of the information that allowed us to capture the entire Phoenix Order?" Snape said in desperation
Voldemort's mouth twisted upward into a slight malicious smile. "Severus, Severus...I can see that you are desperate to retain your life and because of that, I will spare you for now. Return to Hogwarts and continue to provide - 'useful' information for us."
Snape quickly got up and kissed Voldemort's robe before hurrying out of the room before the Dark Lord changed his mind and relieved the Hogwarts Professor of his life.
Once Snape had left, Voldemort turned to the two Death Eaters armed with swords beside him. "Follow him and make sure that he does his duty - you also have your orders."
"Yes my lord," replied both Death Eaters in unison and with a bow, they left the dungeon.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry awoke suddenly in bed with his scar burning slightly from having seen Snape tortured again. Although he disliked Snape for the treatment he had received in class, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for Snape because no one, not even Snape or Malfoy deserved to go through such torture. He of all people would know that for he had gone through it himself.
"Are you ok there Harry?" he heard Ron ask from across the room. "You're holding your scar, did you have another nightmare?"
Looking up, still clutching his scar, he saw that Ron was already awake and that he was changing out of his pyjamas and into his uniform.
"Yeah," Harry told him. "It was of Snape getting tortured but please don't tell Hermione or Cho, I know they'll probably be worried about me if they found out."
Ron nodded slowly. "I'm not so -"
"Please don't," Harry pleaded. "I don't want them to know."
"Oh all right then," Ron said, as he finished buckling his belt around his pants. "We have Quidditch practice later; you'll want to get dressed."
Harry slapped his forehead. This was going to be one long day indeed for the days following their escape from the Malfoy mansion; Harry's attention had been diverted more and more towards his Quidditch game against Ravenclaw. Alicia started to drill the team daily as she wanted to win the Quidditch cup in her last year at Hogwarts just as Oliver Wood had done.
"Why not?" she told the team. "It'd be good to win the cup two years in a row and Gryffindor will be one step closer to winning the house cup."
In terms of classes, ever since Walter had gone over to the enemy, McGonagall put Alastor Moody in charge of the Dark Arts class because Sepet found it too bothersome to have to teach a class in the daytime even though he could stay awake for a continuous 24 hours without problems.
Alastor Moody, like Barty Crouch, was very helpful in that he handled the Defence Class very well and everything he taught was something useful. Harry especially liked it when they got around to the finer points of becoming an Auror since it was something that he might consider doing when he got out of Hogwarts. Hermione was equally excited and she was always complemented by Moody on her knowledge and thoughtful questions in class.
Although the Order had escaped, there was no news that Percy had escaped though McGonagall continually assured the Order that they would not give up on them. Despite such assurances, however, Harry had a horrifying thought that he could be killed but if anyone was worried about Percy, it would be Ron. Ron thought that Percy was a bigheaded brother who thought very highly of himself but in his absence, Ron found it a little depressing that even his brother could be captured and possibly killed.
As for Professor Dumbledore, it was generally assumed that Fudge would never reinstate him as headmaster of Hogwarts so Professor McGonagall continued her role as Headmistress while Dumbledore remained hidden somewhere within the castle but from the Order meetings, it was obvious that her actions were based upon advice from Dumbledore himself.
Still, as a result of his mission and Walter's betrayal, Harry was ever wary of Sepet's actions for if the servant could betray them, why not the master? Yet an interesting side effect was present that Harry had never counted upon and that was the idea that it was always possible for Cho to be harmed and it was here where his feelings for her grew and strengthened his resolve to protect her.
"I'm glad that Dumbledore is back," Ron commented that day at breakfast. "I don't think that any Death Eater will lay another hand on him or cross into Hogwarts again, not even Malfoy's father."
"Ugh," Hermione said disgustedly. "Don't remind us about him.it's bad enough that we have to study for our O.W.L.s this year without having to think about people like Malfoy."
"Come now Hermione," Harry added. "The O.W.L.s aren't for another two months, don't tell me you're studying for them already?"
Cho glared at Harry. "She's right Harry; you should be studying for them now. You may be my friend but that means I care for you and we can't have you failing now can we."
Harry gave her an awkward look since he hadn't expected Cho to side with Hermione. "Does that mean I have to join you two studying for the O.W.L.s?"
Cho and Hermione nodded in unison.
"Yes it does," Hermione said, "and since Cho took them last year as well, she's going to help us study for them. That'll be everyday from now on 9:00 sharp in the library."
"But - ," Ron started to protest but was silenced when Hermione put a finger to his lips.
"I don't want to hear it," she said with a look that indicated that she wasn't going to accept any further argument from either of them. "At any rate, we have potions next and since Snape is gone, I want to get there early so that we can meet the new teacher."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Along the way to the dungeons, the trio ran into Cho in the hallway with another person but when they looked to at him they were surprised to find that she was walking with Viktor Krum.
"Hullo Harry - Hermy-own-ninny - Ron," said Krum. "Funny that ve should run into you three here."
"Where are you off to Harry?" Cho asked.
It took a while for Harry to recover from his state of shock but he eventually responded. "Potions."
"I see, I hear there's a new professor."
"It's Arabella Figg," said Viktor. "I vos just down there dis morning when she came in."
"Is it really?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "I didn't think Dumbledore would be using the Order members to replace the teachers."
"Moody is replacing Walter isn't he?" Harry countered. "I guess Dumbledore would think it reasonable to put any order members as professors since they would know what they were doing, unlike Lockhart."
Hermione gave him a sheepish smile as she didn't forget the fact that he was a fraud but more embarrassing was also the fact that she had a crush on him. "Don't remind me."
"Vell, ve should be going since you need to get to class," Viktor said.
"Bye Harry," Cho called as she started walking backwards to keep up with Krum but then turned around and continued walking down the hall, talking with Krum.
The entire time, Harry regarded Krum with animosity since Krum hadn't taken interest in Cho before, why would he be walking with her now? However his thoughts hadn't seemed to escape Hermione who was studying Harry carefully.
It took the sound of Hermione's voice to draw Harry out of his thoughts but later on, he would be grateful that she did, "Walk ahead of us to class Ron, I'd like to talk with Harry for a moment."
Ron gave her a look of confusion but oddly he didn't object this time and silently obeyed and started walking down the hallway.
Hermione waited until he was out of sight before grabbing Harry by the arm. "Come on, walk with me Harry. I want to talk to you but we can't be late for class either."
"What was that about?" Hermione asked him as they turned the corner. "You seemed to be a little irritated that Cho was walking with Krum, is something wrong?"
Harry shook his head. "Nothing is wrong; it's just that Cho normally doesn't walk with Krum."
Hermione smiled. "You're jealous, how cute. So why don't you ask her out?"
Harry was taken aback by the question. "Before Krum does?"
"Mmm, I don't think Krum is trying to ask her out but just in case he is, you better get to her first," Hermione advised him. "Otherwise you'll end up having someone else take her and you'll be disappointed."
Harry agreed. He knew what that felt like since he tried asking Cho out to the Yule ball last year but Cedric had already gotten to her first. "Except I'm not quite sure that I'd make a good boyfriend."
Hermione shook her head. "I think you'd make a great boyfriend Harry. Take it from a girl; most girls like kind, caring and responsible guys and you have all three characteristics so how can you make a horrible boyfriend? It shows that you can provide security and comfort which I'm pretty sure Cho loves about you."
"But what if things don't work out and I get hurt?"
"There's always that risk but as long as you act like yourself, you can be sure that if things don't work out, it's not your fault and it's not hers either. It just means that you two naturally aren't compatible in the long run."
"Another thing," Hermione continued as they walked down the stairs to the dungeons. "There's no 'I' in relationships. If things don't work out, I'm sure that she'll be hurt just as badly as you will, especially if she puts in a lot of effort into the relationship."
Harry considered it for a moment. "I guess you're right, as usual."
Hermione smiled at him. "Don't be so nervous around her either, it's starting to show and if a girl who has her head buried in books all day long notices it, I'm sure others will too."
"So why are you telling me this?" Harry questioned. Hermione's advice was certainly sudden and it took Harry aback that she would volunteer such advice so freely.
"Because you're my friend," Hermione stated calmly. "I want to see you happy and since it's fairly certain that you like Cho, why not help you two get together?"
Harry nodded slowly, still feeling a little uncertain but eventually his facial expression broke into a wide grin. "Thanks Hermione."
"You're welcome," she said smiling back at him. "Now hurry up and get with her."
"How should I go about it?" Harry asked as they got to the door of their potions classroom.
"I dunno," Hermione replied with a thoughtful look. "Try the astronomy tower, that'll do and since she's not scared of heights like I am, you two could go for a ride on your broom."
"Wow," Harry said in awe. "You always know how to come up with the best ideas Hermione and I'm glad that you're my friend."
"So am I Harry," Hermione said, giving him a quick hug.
"Well, we should go and meet the new professor, right?"
"Right."
With that, Harry opened the door and allowed Hermione to enter the room with him following immediately after.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Potions class went relatively well, Arabella Figg was a lot fairer in dealing points than Snape ever was but that fact alone probably made Harry notice that even Malfoy knew the answers to the questions that were asked in class.
Later that night, on the agenda for Harry was Quidditch practice and it was here that he found time to relax since it was something he truly enjoyed.
Ron was throwing golf balls for Harry so that he could practice catching the snitch because it was far too dark to try live practice. Fred and George were off hitting the bludgers between each other while the chasers were playing a little game of keep away from Alicia.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Alicia cried as Seamus threw the Quaffle to Dean.
"Too bad Alicia," yelled Dean and he quickly threw the Quaffle to Katie Bell, "You wanted Quidditch practice so this is what you're getting."
"They're doing a fair job of keeping the Quaffle away from Alicia," Ron commented as he looked in their direction.
"Yeah..." Harry agreed but when he looked in their direction, he also noticed that a group of people with brooms were heading onto the Quidditch pitch.
"Hey Harry," said Ron, apparently noticing the group of people as well. "Who are those students?"
"Not sure but they're probably Ravenclaws," Harry replied, glancing at the group to see if Cho was there. "I think they want the field."
"Ah I get it," Ron said with a mischievous smile, noticing that Harry was staring at the group. "You're looking for Cho. - Listen, Hermione told me about your conversation with her this morning and I think you should go for it. You have nothing to lose right?"
"Nothing to lose except my friendship with her."
"What do you mean? I think Hermione is right and Cho has some interest in you so you have nothing to lose, I mean you've never cared about your reputation around the school before."
"Is that why she's walking with Krum?" Harry asked, pointing to the male student walking beside Cho.
"No she's - " Ron started to say but as he did a double take, he also noticed that Krum was walking alongside Cho in the group of people with his broom in hand. "She's WHAT?"
The Ravenclaws had mounted their brooms and started to rise into the sky but Cho immediately caught sight of Harry and flew towards him with Krum trailing a little behind.
"How's Quidditch practice Harry?" Cho asked him when she got to him.
"It's going well, I haven't missed a golf ball yet," Harry told her but his attention was more directed toward Krum.
"That's good," Cho said. "Viktor decided to come along to Quidditch practice because he wanted to teach me a few tricks."
Harry smiled at her. "I'm sure it'd be quite a challenge playing against you without resorting to tricks."
Cho's cheeks flushed a tinge of pink. "Thanks Harry."
"Hey Harry," Alicia called as she flew towards him on her broom. "Rodger Davies said that Madam Hooch told him that he could practice on the pitch at 8:00. Its 8:00 but she did tell us that we could have it until 8:30. I think we're done for today though."
"Have enough of keep away eh Alicia?" Katie Bell teased as she came up behind the Gryffindor captain.
"Quiet you, I was only going easy on you," Alicia stammered back in embarrassment.
"I guess it's time for us to go," Ron said with a sigh. "You coming Harry?"
"You're welcome to stay and watch our practice Harry," Cho offered. "I don't think we would mind."
"Wouldn't that ruin any game advantage you'll have on Saturday?"
"I guess but then again, you probably know any tricks that Viktor would teach me."
Harry grinned. "I think you overestimate my knowledge of Quidditch, Cho."
"Oh don't be so modest, just watch us."
"All right," Harry said before telling Ron to go ahead.
Harry then flew to the stands to get a seat where he could watch the Ravenclaw practice for the rest of the evening with thoughts of Hermione's advice going through his head over and over again. He kept evaluating whether or not a relationship with Cho that was more than friendship would be worth it but in the end, he knew that it was and resolved to ask Cho to be his girlfriend on the day of the Quidditch match in the manner that Hermione had suggested.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On Saturday morning, Harry awoke rather early, not only because he was looking forward to the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw but also because it was the day that he would be asking Cho out. Yesterday Harry hadn't felt nervous at all about asking Cho out but now that it came down to it, he felt extremely anxious for the idea of being rejected was always there.
"Calm down Harry, calm down," he told himself in a whisper as he got out of bed to change. "Take it one step at a time, the Quidditch match comes first."
Once he had finished changing into his robes, he buckled his sword belt under it so that he would be ready if anything happened. After grabbing his wand, he quietly went downstairs to the common room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Upon arriving in the common room, he was very surprised to find that Hermione was sleeping in the couch with a book spread out across her lap.
Shaking his head, he picked up the book and placed it on the table. Then he gently nudged Hermione so as to wake her.
"Hermione, wake up, its morning already. I'll never understand why you bother to read so late at night, its not going to help your health."
Hermione didn't budge but merely muttered something inaudible. Sighing to himself, Harry drew his wand and pointed at himself to cast the invisibility spell.
Once he was invisible, he gently picked up Hermione and carried her carefully up to the girls' dormitory. He had to struggle to get the door open since his hands were rather full with Hermione but once that was done; he tiptoed into the room, making sure that no one was awake.
He lay Hermione down on her bed and quietly exited back down to the common room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the common room, Harry glanced around to see if there was anything that he could do beside sit around. He could sit in the room until everyone woke up or read Hermione's book. Reading...the thought didn't appeal to him so he decided to take a walk.
There were advantages to being invisible and since there was no cloak to lose this time, he could move around the castle freely.
As he exited the common room and walked downstairs, it gave him ample opportunity to consider how he would ask Cho out. This way he wouldn't be so nervous when it actually came time to ask.
However wandering through the castle with its twists and turns and constantly changing floors eventually led Harry down to the dungeons but he didn't realize it until he heard a voice addressing someone else. In fact, the voice sounded a lot like Sepet.
Putting aside his thoughts, he decided it would be best to investigate since after his encounter with the two cloaked figures in Malfoy's mansion, Harry wondered what Sepet was up to. Added to that was the fact that his most trusted servant had betrayed the Order and thus Sepet himself was under suspicion as well.
It didn't take long for Harry to catch up with Sepet, or rather for Sepet to catch up with him since as he turned the next corner; he stopped dead in his tracks for to his surprise Sepet was coming towards him. Yet what was even more surprising were the two figures that were on either side of him; armed skeletons.
"Now that he's back, he's probably going to be in hiding for a while," Sepet was addressing the skeletons as they walked down the corridor towards Harry. "Since your commander isn't around, you must take care to stay out of sight. Report your status to me whenever possible and remember that our new objective is to locate him and kill him. Our employer will not tolerate failure and neither will I."
As Sepet came closer, Harry flattened himself up against the wall lest they crash into him and discover him there. However Sepet had stopped walking and was sniffing the air.
"Hmmm, a familiar smell... human.," Sepet said to himself. "Each human being has a distinct scent and this one is no exception."
Sepet quickly drew his sword and stood there in guard position. "He must be invisible since there isn't a single room along this corridor for a while. Just because he's invisible doesn't mean that we can pass through him. Form a wall -"
The skeleton on the right of Sepet switched his shield to its right arm and both skeletons stood next to Sepet so that the shields formed a perpendicular barrier to the wall.
"Advance," Sepet ordered and the three of them advanced forward with their weapons ready to cut down anything in their path.
Although there wasn't anywhere to go except back the way he came, Harry didn't want to risk getting lost and missing the Quidditch match since he wasn't completely sure of the route he took down here. The normal entrance to the dungeon level however could only be reached by going through Sepet and Walter's skeletons.
Harry dropped down and laid against the corner where the wall met with the floor so that when the skeletons reached him, their shields would pass over him instead of hit him. He just hoped that they didn't have the sense to use their swords every now and then to slash away at the ground to see if anyone was lying on the floor.
Fortunately for Harry, they didn't and the group passed right over him. As soon as they had done so, Harry quickly got up and ran down the corridor as quietly as possible so that Sepet wouldn't notice that he was no longer there. He also made a note to tell Hermione and Ron about this later for based on what Sepet said, something big was going to happen; it was just a question of when and where.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
By the time he got up to the ground floor, Harry realized that it was already time for breakfast and that the game would be in another few hours so he quickly made his way to the Great Hall where he found Hermione and Ron eating breakfast with the other Gryffindors.
"G'morning Harry," Ron said as Harry sat down on the other side of Hermione.
"Thanks for bringing me up to my room Harry," Hermione whispered to him as he sat down so that Ron couldn't hear her.
"How'd you know it was me?" he whispered back in surprise.
"Only you would care to bring me up to my bed and only you have the invisibility spell to get past everyone else," Hermione explained.
"Heh, your reasoning hasn't diminished one bit even after a night of very little sleep," Harry bantered.
"Shush, eat your breakfast young man," Hermione admonished him. "You'll need your strength for the game if you're planning to win or are you going to let your crush win this time?"
"I may like her but I wouldn't let her win, not in this case anyway," Harry retorted.
"That's good."
"Did I miss something?" Ron asked finally noticing the two friends talking after finishing his breakfast.
Harry and Hermione merely glanced at each other and laughed, replying in unison, "no."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When it came time for the game, Harry and Ron made their way to the lockers to change into their Quidditch robes while Hermione took a seat with Hagrid in the stands.
The day was relatively cloudy but there were still patches of sunlight coming through the clouds. Lee Jordan's voice could be heard before the teams even got onto the field but once the doors opened, both teams walked onto the field amidst cheers from the stands.
"All right, take your places!" Madam Hooch shouted over the deafening crowd. "Mount your brooms!"
Both teams went to their positions on the field and mounted their brooms. Cho was right in front of Harry and he saw that she was smiling brightly at him.
"Good luck Harry, regardless of who wins, I'm sure it'll be a good game," she said.
"Thanks, good luck to you too Cho," Harry replied as they rose into the air.
Seconds later, the Snitch was released and it took a pass in front of each of the seekers before flying away out of sight.
"AND THE QUAFFLE IS RELEASED!" cried Lee Jordan from the commentator's box.
"Let's hope for a short game," Alicia yelled while escorting Katie Bell. "HARRY! GET THAT SNITCH!"
Harry nodded in her direction but he realized that Cho was hovering right in front of him, looking at him to see what he would do.
"Not going to make my job easy are you?" Harry asked her jokingly.
"Nope, that's why I'm here," came an equally playful reply.
A glimmer of gold light appeared on the ground and Harry looked to see if it was the Snitch but at a second glance, it was gone and Harry just attributed it to the sunlight playing tricks on him.
"Looks like this is going to be one long game," commented Lee. "Neither team has scored and neither seeker has caught the Snitch. Alicia has the Quaffle but - ooh, it was stolen away by the other team."
Continuously scanning the field, Harry was distracted every now and then by Cho who was looking for the Snitch as well but neither of them seemed to have located it.
"Say Cho," Harry began nervously.
"Yes Harry?"
"Would you mind meeting me at the Astronomy tower later tonight?"
"How am I supposed to get there without getting caught?"
"Go straight there after your rounds, then you can always make the excuse that you're going back to your tower."
"Ok. but how am I going to get back?"
Harry gave her a mischievous grin. "Leave that to me."
Cho gave him a look of confusion but that gave Harry the chance to look around again. This time he spotted the Snitch following Katie Bell right above her head as she was heading towards the Ravenclaw goals. An idea hit Harry and he dived at the ground in the direction of the Gryffindor goal posts.
Cho, caught by surprise immediately dove after him seeing as he might have found the snitch.
However about midway through the dive, Harry slowed down so that Cho could catch up.
"Hey Harry, stop being nice and get that snitch already!" Ron yelled at him.
Harry looked behind him and grinned at Cho. She looked at him in perplexity but two seconds later, Harry braked abruptly and made an arc into the air so that he could fly in the opposite direction upside down. In the meantime, Cho shot right under his head in the direction he had just been in.
Harry then pursued Katie and had caught up with her right when a bludger passed in front of his face. That slowed him down a little but he didn't take his eyes off the snitch for he was afraid that it wouldn't find it again.
Leaning forward, he accelerated until he got to Katie Bell, closing his hands around the snitch and winning the game for Gryffindor.
"YES! HARRY POTTER DID IT AGAIN! HARRY POTTER HAS THE SNITCH!" Shouted Lee Jordan, causing Professor McGonagall to cover her ears but poor Professor Flitwick who was standing up on his seat hadn't expected such an outcry and fell backwards off the bench into Professor Sprout's lap.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When the teams had descended, Harry found himself being lifted and throw up into the air with a cheer by his team mates.
"Good job Harry!" Fred and George told him once they had put him down.
"You were great Harry!" Hermione said while giving him and Ron a tight hug.
"Thanks Hermione," Harry responded but then he spotted Cho coming towards him, smiling and shaking her head in astonishment.
"That was a good trick you pulled on me Harry," Cho said with a playful smile. "Perhaps I shouldn't have let you watch my practice yesterday."
"Hahaha, I don't think that had any effect on my playing ability as much as your presence did," Harry said.
Cho blushed but then she ran to him and enveloped him in a hug just as Hermione did. "Your flattery won't get you anywhere."
"Will you still meet me at the Astronomy tower tonight?"
Cho gave him a thoughtful look. "I think I know why you want me to go there but ok, I'll go. My duties end at 10:00 so be there around then."
"All right, see you then."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The rest of the day seemed to pass rather slowly for Harry as he waited anxiously for the time to ask Cho out. Hermione told him to study for his O.W.L.s which were coming up next month so that time would pass faster. Seeing as he didn't have anything better to do, he accepted and so he and Hermione were in the library studying. Ron had decided to go play a game of Exploding Snap with his brothers. Yet Harry found himself more and more distracted by what he would say when he actually got Cho up to the Astronomy tower.
"Just take it naturally," Hermione said, noticing his suspenseful facial expression. "Whatever you say, she'll like it."
"Easy for you to say," Harry countered. "You're not the one saying it."
"True but I suppose I may have to at some point and if that time comes, I'll be equally nerve wrecked."
"You say that almost as if your relationship with Ron won't last."
"I don't know," Hermione replied calmly. "There might be something I find that I can't tolerate."
"Like his commentary which makes you want to be sent to an anger management program?"
Hermione burst out laughing, causing Madam Pince to glare at her and she immediately stifled her laugh. "No, no. His commentary is tolerable..but you and I don't know everything about him. There might be personality flaws which I find intolerable or personality flaws in myself that he might not be able to tolerate. People and relationships aren't perfect, Harry, the idea is whether or not you are able to accept the good and bad things about the other person."
Harry nodded slowly and went back to working but what Hermione had just told him was a little unsettling. what if there was something he couldn't tolerate about Cho's personality? This would be something else to consider but based on what Hermione had told him earlier that week, asking Cho out would be worth it no matter what happened.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that night after dinner, Harry was watching Ron and Hermione play a game of Wizard's Chess. Ron was winning of course but anything that kept Harry's mind off what he was going to do in a couple hours was welcome. In fact, he even tried a couple games himself but those obviously didn't go too well since he was too distracted to play.
"Why don't you play against me Harry?" Hermione offered. "I don't know enough tricks about this game to give you a thrashing like Ron will but I'm pretty certain that you're tired of losing as am I."
Ron laughed. "Ok, ok, I'll go easier on you two."
"No don't do that," Harry replied. "That'd defeat the purpose of the game.. Besides, I want to be able to rub it in when you lose."
Ron grinned. "Fair enough. Let's see you two play then."
They played until 15 minutes before 10 when Hermione interrupted him, much to his dismay since he was actually winning. "Our shift for rounds is coming up so we need to get ready, common Ron."
"See you later ok Harry?"
"Sure thing."
Hermione and Ron got up to get ready and headed up to their rooms but as Hermione passed Harry to go up, she whispered a quick "good luck" to him.
Once they had gone, Harry exited the common room and started walking towards the Astronomy Tower.
Along the way, he made sure to cast an invisibility spell on himself so that he couldn't be seen around the castle.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When he arrived at the Astronomy Tower, a thought occurred to Harry. he had forgotten his Firebolt so he held out a hand and whipped out his wand.
"ACCIO FIREBOLT!" he said firmly and a few moments later, he found his broom in his hand. He then placed it up against one of the stones and sat on the wall waiting for Cho to arrive.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was at least 15-30 minutes before a shadow was seen coming up the staircase to the Astronomy tower. Harry quietly drew his wand, just in case but he realized that he was still invisible so unless it was Moody, no one could see him.
In a few seconds, the shadow revealed itself to be Cho and Harry immediately dispelled his invisibility spell so that she could see him.
Cho let out a gasp when Harry's figure appeared out of thin air. "How did you -?"
"Elemental magic," Harry explained. "But that's not the reason I asked you to come up here."
"What did you have in mind?" Cho asked curiously.
Harry suddenly became self-conscious but he forced himself to say the first things that came to mind. "Well, I figure that this year is almost over..and after all of the things that we've been through, I was wondering what you thought of our friendship."
Cho thought about it for a bit and it was during those moments of silence that Harry suddenly felt discouraged but she spoke eventually and that lifted his spirits a little.
"I think," she began. "That you are a really wonderful person and I think our friendship has been a very good one, you're a good friend Harry and I could never forget all that you've done for everyone."
Harry's cheeks heated up a little. "Thanks Cho.. Say. I was wondering..if you wouldn't mind..."
"Could you repeat yourself Harry? Your voice trailed off."
"I, uh, would you like to go on a broom ride?" Harry asked suddenly, going to grab his broom.
"I'd love to! It'd just be like that one time coming back from that mission with Walter."
So Harry mounted his broom and Cho sat down in front of him. The broom gently rose into the air and Harry slowly accelerated, guiding the broom so that they were flying circles around the castle under the full moon.
"The castle is so pretty no?" Cho commented, seeing the bright torches lighting up the castle grounds.
"It is but..what you said about the mission with Walter." Harry said. "After all the missions that we've been on, I've come to realize that you mean a lot to me and so the reason -"
"Yes Harry," Cho said happily.
"Yes? Yes to what?" Harry said befuddled.
"Your question silly," Cho said with a laugh.
"But I haven't asked a question yet."
"No but I can guess where this is going," Cho replied, looking back to smile at him. "You want me to be your girlfriend and so that's why you asked me to come up to the Astronomy tower, isn't it?"
Harry just gave her a small smile. "Yes it was."
"So yes, I would love to be your girlfriend," Cho said.
This was one of the rare moments in his life that Harry truly felt happy for now he was with the girl of his dreams and the moment was just so..perfect.
For the next two hours, the two students circled the castle on Harry's broom content to be in each other's company.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When it was time to go, Harry flew over to the Ravenclaw tower and allowed Cho to dismount at one of the windows.
"Thank you for such a wonderful evening Harry," said Cho with a smile. "Good night dear."
With that, Cho gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug and retreated into the tower.
"Good night," Harry said softly after she had left and he headed back to the Gryffindor tower, content that everything had gone well.
A/N: There were a lot of reviews for me to respond to and since the next chapter will be posted soon, the replies to the reviews are there. Thanks to Quis though for helping me with the H/Cho scene. didn't really know how to pull it off.