In Search of Two Characters - Prologue
***
At first it seemed strange that the public would want me to write a story about Roger. Me, of all people. After all, his wife is hardly someone to ask when you want an unbiased account of a man's life.
However, looking back, it does seem to make sense. To tell the truth, I've always found reading autobiographies to be a lesson on how to spot a lie. Not to detract from some very good autobiographies written during our time, but it is unfortunately a fact of human nature that one cannot give a fair account of oneself. Thereby asking Roger to write about himself would have been a disaster.
While I was in the process of writing this I was just amazed how much actual time that Roger and I have shared together. From the very first moment that I saw him on the Hogwarts Express, I can't remember a time when he wasn't a "somewhat" friend. People now would say that it was almost inevitable that we married and settled down. As it progressed the biography subtly changed from a story about Roger to a story about Roger and I, and how we came to be.
It is the story of our lives.
-Cho Chang
*** Prologue: The First Meeting.
September 1st, 1990 will remain in my memory for all the wrong reasons. I was eleven years old, tossed into the big bad world of school all by myself. Dad was busy and out of the country. Mum had very important (more important than me) guests staying over.
Believe me, I love my parents, I really do. But on that day I resented their happy-go-lucky, everything-will-eventually-work-out attitude. What if I got lost? What if I missed the train? Granted, they had the sense to see me onto the platform, but as soon as I broke the barrier they Disapparated.
It started to rain. I had no umbrella and I knew no magic. I hauled my trunk over to the very edge of the covered area. There was a thin sheet of water dripping down from the roof, creating an icy fence I dared not cross. I rocked backwards and forwards on my toes, silently cursing the fact that I was so small compared to everyone else. I wondered if the train would leave without me. Having no watch, I did not know what the time was.
Suddenly the rain stopped. I dashed out towards the train, my trunk making an awful scrapping noise against the ground.
Getting the trunk onto the train was a bit difficult. Even without trying I was smart enough to know that there was no way I could lift it. Laying it outside the door, I jumped onto the train and tried to pull one end up. It was one of those decorated Chinese trunks - the handles too small and the size too square. I was getting nowhere.
"Let me help."
A curly-haired boy of about fourteen leapt out of nowhere. He pushed me out of the way and lifted one end onto the train. However, it was still too awkward to pull up, despite him grabbing hold with both hands and falling down the effort. He took off his cap and wiped his brow.
"If I go outside and push, we could get it in, but you'll have to pull."
I nodded mutely. Were people always this abrupt? I held onto the handle resolutely as the boy stepped off the train. He bent down and grabbed the other handle.
"When I count three, you have to pull, okay?"
I nodded, more forcibly this time. I was determined to do a good job.
"One, two, three!"
It worked perfectly. He lifted the other end and when it was level I tugged with all my might and the trunk slid onto the train.
"Thank you," I said shyly.
"You'll be right now?"
"Yeah."
"No worries then." He tipped his cap at me, said, "Good day to you ma'am," and walked off.
He left me feeling a bit dazed. I had met my first Hogwarts student. I had made a resolution last night to try and make as many friends as I could, not just in my own house but in other houses as well. My parents had urged me to enjoy my years at Hogwarts. Study hard, of course, but always study with someone. I wandered down the carriage looking for a compartment with some friendly looking people in it.
At the end of the carriage I chanced upon a compartment with only one other person. A boy of about twelve years.
"May I sit here?" I asked him, trying to stop the quavering in my voice. He was busy engrossed in a book. I learnt from my dad the one thing people hate most is being disturbed in the middle of a good book.
He peered over the top of his book [18th Century Philosophy]; at once I saw that his eyes were a hazy blue-grey that didn't quite seem to focus on mine. He seemed to look at me yet not see me.
"I guess."
I took that as a yes.
As soon as I was properly settled in I began to fidget. The boy wasn't very interesting, though out of default he was still the most interesting thing in the area, so I stared at him. He sat with one leg crossed over the other, face partially hidden by the book. I noticed that his eyes, so unfocused before, now were poring over the pages with a remarkable intensity.
The silence would not do. I had to make conversation. It was in my psyche.
"So, which house are you in?"
He chose not to look at me, rather he just plucked at his robe. I saw the Ravenclaw crest, a bronze eagle. Like me, he was already wearing his Hogwarts robes.
"Is Ravenclaw the best house?"
"No."
Perhaps he noticed that I was taken aback, because he actually looked at me when he tried to clarify his answer.
"No, not really. All houses are fairly much equal."
"But who wins then?"
"Ah, you mean the House Championship." He paused for a moment. "Slytherin. All the time. But that does not make then the best."
I was intrigued; if winning didn't make you the best, what did? It wasn't something that my eleven year-old brain could comprehend. My curiosity was awakened by this dark-haired boy, despite the fact that he seemed a natural conversation killer. It was with the stuff that he could have said but did not say that got me interested.
I admit that it is fairly embarrassing when people ask what was the first thing that Roger ever said to me. It pains me that it was something as bland as "I guess". But in some ways "I guess" seems to some up all the different relationships that I've had with Roger. As 'somewhat' friends, as Captain and Seeker, as boyfriend/girlfriend.we've never had a plan for those things. They just seem to happen out of the blue, from one to the next.
I do remember times when I used to be in despair of Roger and I actually having a normal conversation. Sure, we could talk for hours, on serious topics like Muggles and Muggle-borns, the state of the magical community, even the new stock at Flourish and Blotts'. but when it came to random chitchat we just couldn't cut it.
It would turn into me saying such things like, "It's quite hot today". Roger would then either mumble indistinctly or say, "I guess". There are several dozens of times that has happened. It used to frustrate me to no end, but I stuck with it. And in the end, everything did work out, just like my parents used to say.
***
A/N: Still with me so far? I think it might be a bit confusing, so I'll just try to clarify. This is a recount written by Cho about Roger and her, and how they got together. By my guess it's going to be fairly long, but it'll always be in first person, with Cho narrating.
So, any comments? On plot? Characterisation? Any comment you make will help get the next part out faster and make it better. (
Zeft.
***
At first it seemed strange that the public would want me to write a story about Roger. Me, of all people. After all, his wife is hardly someone to ask when you want an unbiased account of a man's life.
However, looking back, it does seem to make sense. To tell the truth, I've always found reading autobiographies to be a lesson on how to spot a lie. Not to detract from some very good autobiographies written during our time, but it is unfortunately a fact of human nature that one cannot give a fair account of oneself. Thereby asking Roger to write about himself would have been a disaster.
While I was in the process of writing this I was just amazed how much actual time that Roger and I have shared together. From the very first moment that I saw him on the Hogwarts Express, I can't remember a time when he wasn't a "somewhat" friend. People now would say that it was almost inevitable that we married and settled down. As it progressed the biography subtly changed from a story about Roger to a story about Roger and I, and how we came to be.
It is the story of our lives.
-Cho Chang
*** Prologue: The First Meeting.
September 1st, 1990 will remain in my memory for all the wrong reasons. I was eleven years old, tossed into the big bad world of school all by myself. Dad was busy and out of the country. Mum had very important (more important than me) guests staying over.
Believe me, I love my parents, I really do. But on that day I resented their happy-go-lucky, everything-will-eventually-work-out attitude. What if I got lost? What if I missed the train? Granted, they had the sense to see me onto the platform, but as soon as I broke the barrier they Disapparated.
It started to rain. I had no umbrella and I knew no magic. I hauled my trunk over to the very edge of the covered area. There was a thin sheet of water dripping down from the roof, creating an icy fence I dared not cross. I rocked backwards and forwards on my toes, silently cursing the fact that I was so small compared to everyone else. I wondered if the train would leave without me. Having no watch, I did not know what the time was.
Suddenly the rain stopped. I dashed out towards the train, my trunk making an awful scrapping noise against the ground.
Getting the trunk onto the train was a bit difficult. Even without trying I was smart enough to know that there was no way I could lift it. Laying it outside the door, I jumped onto the train and tried to pull one end up. It was one of those decorated Chinese trunks - the handles too small and the size too square. I was getting nowhere.
"Let me help."
A curly-haired boy of about fourteen leapt out of nowhere. He pushed me out of the way and lifted one end onto the train. However, it was still too awkward to pull up, despite him grabbing hold with both hands and falling down the effort. He took off his cap and wiped his brow.
"If I go outside and push, we could get it in, but you'll have to pull."
I nodded mutely. Were people always this abrupt? I held onto the handle resolutely as the boy stepped off the train. He bent down and grabbed the other handle.
"When I count three, you have to pull, okay?"
I nodded, more forcibly this time. I was determined to do a good job.
"One, two, three!"
It worked perfectly. He lifted the other end and when it was level I tugged with all my might and the trunk slid onto the train.
"Thank you," I said shyly.
"You'll be right now?"
"Yeah."
"No worries then." He tipped his cap at me, said, "Good day to you ma'am," and walked off.
He left me feeling a bit dazed. I had met my first Hogwarts student. I had made a resolution last night to try and make as many friends as I could, not just in my own house but in other houses as well. My parents had urged me to enjoy my years at Hogwarts. Study hard, of course, but always study with someone. I wandered down the carriage looking for a compartment with some friendly looking people in it.
At the end of the carriage I chanced upon a compartment with only one other person. A boy of about twelve years.
"May I sit here?" I asked him, trying to stop the quavering in my voice. He was busy engrossed in a book. I learnt from my dad the one thing people hate most is being disturbed in the middle of a good book.
He peered over the top of his book [18th Century Philosophy]; at once I saw that his eyes were a hazy blue-grey that didn't quite seem to focus on mine. He seemed to look at me yet not see me.
"I guess."
I took that as a yes.
As soon as I was properly settled in I began to fidget. The boy wasn't very interesting, though out of default he was still the most interesting thing in the area, so I stared at him. He sat with one leg crossed over the other, face partially hidden by the book. I noticed that his eyes, so unfocused before, now were poring over the pages with a remarkable intensity.
The silence would not do. I had to make conversation. It was in my psyche.
"So, which house are you in?"
He chose not to look at me, rather he just plucked at his robe. I saw the Ravenclaw crest, a bronze eagle. Like me, he was already wearing his Hogwarts robes.
"Is Ravenclaw the best house?"
"No."
Perhaps he noticed that I was taken aback, because he actually looked at me when he tried to clarify his answer.
"No, not really. All houses are fairly much equal."
"But who wins then?"
"Ah, you mean the House Championship." He paused for a moment. "Slytherin. All the time. But that does not make then the best."
I was intrigued; if winning didn't make you the best, what did? It wasn't something that my eleven year-old brain could comprehend. My curiosity was awakened by this dark-haired boy, despite the fact that he seemed a natural conversation killer. It was with the stuff that he could have said but did not say that got me interested.
I admit that it is fairly embarrassing when people ask what was the first thing that Roger ever said to me. It pains me that it was something as bland as "I guess". But in some ways "I guess" seems to some up all the different relationships that I've had with Roger. As 'somewhat' friends, as Captain and Seeker, as boyfriend/girlfriend.we've never had a plan for those things. They just seem to happen out of the blue, from one to the next.
I do remember times when I used to be in despair of Roger and I actually having a normal conversation. Sure, we could talk for hours, on serious topics like Muggles and Muggle-borns, the state of the magical community, even the new stock at Flourish and Blotts'. but when it came to random chitchat we just couldn't cut it.
It would turn into me saying such things like, "It's quite hot today". Roger would then either mumble indistinctly or say, "I guess". There are several dozens of times that has happened. It used to frustrate me to no end, but I stuck with it. And in the end, everything did work out, just like my parents used to say.
***
A/N: Still with me so far? I think it might be a bit confusing, so I'll just try to clarify. This is a recount written by Cho about Roger and her, and how they got together. By my guess it's going to be fairly long, but it'll always be in first person, with Cho narrating.
So, any comments? On plot? Characterisation? Any comment you make will help get the next part out faster and make it better. (
Zeft.