A/N: I had two cliffies going at one time, one on here, the other on The
Marauders: Their lives, their story. Cliffies are so much fun. ^_^ But
alas! I cannot keep you hanging forever, I must shut up and let you read
this chapter.
Harry: ::Appears out of nowhere:: Yeah, I want to know what happened to Cho.
Me: Didn't I give you a copy of the script?
Harry: No . . .
Me: Oh. ::Hands Harry script::
Harry: ::Reads script and goes pale::
Me: ::Smiles while you readers wonder what the heck I have planned::
Disclaimer: Do I look like J.K.R.?
Some moron who can't see (in other words my brother): Yes.
Me: She's blonde, I'm brunette; she's great at writing, I'm an amateur; she's rich, I'm not. Moron.
A long silence fell in the room and Harry choked on the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. Questions flew through his mind and he couldn't seem to pick out which to ask first so he settled for, "What?"
"Maybe you should look out your window," said Ron.
Dreading what he would see, Harry walked over to the window. He gasped, every building in Hogsmeade was on fire. "Ron, please tell me that 'disappeared' was not just a cushion for 'dead'," said Harry, turning away from the horrible sight.
"We don't know yet, she hasn't been found but a lot of her friends were. Where the Three Broomsticks used to be, we found her two best friends but no sign of Cho," said Ron.
Harry closed his eyes, sitting down on his bed. 'Please, please let her be alive,' his mind pleaded. "It was Death Eaters, wasn't it?"
Ron nodded but then realizing Harry still had his eyes closed he said, "Yes."
Harry opened his eyes again and turned to the window. "They're still down there," he said more to himself than Ron. 'Why haven't they Apparated? They're bound to get caught, and I'll be the one to catch them,' he thought.
Ron walked up beside him and squinted down, "Harry, we're seven stories up and half a mile away, how can you see them?"
"I can't," replied Harry.
"Then how do you-"
"I just know, Ron, I can feel it," interrupted Harry, heading for the door.
"Harry, you're not going down there, are you?" said Ron tentatively.
"I have to, Ron, if there's any hope of getting her I have to do it now," said Harry.
"That's crazy! There are hundreds of them, even if you managed to find Cho your chances of rescuing her would be one in a million!"
"I don't care!" yelled Harry, then his voice dropped to a whisper. "I have to try." And before Ron could say another word, Harry flung the door open and disappeared down the spiral staircase.
~*~
Cho tripped over a piece of wood and fell to the floor, her wrist made quite an impact as she tried to stop herself and her wand slipped from her fingers, into the flames. 'Oh, great,' she thought bitterly.
She coughed and her eyes stung as she got up and continued to try to grope through the smoke. She had witnessed her best friends' deaths and had done nothing to help them, she had been too shocked and scared by the suddenness in which it all happened. One minute she was chatting happily with her friends, the next she's making her way out of a burning building, the image of two lifeless bodies burnt into her mind. 'I'm sorry, guys, I should have saved you, please forgive me,' she thought desperately.
She coughed again, the smoke was getting more intense and still she had no idea how close or far to the door she was. She fell to the floor once more, out of breath and slipping out of consciousness. She felt something brush against her and she was lifted from the hard wooden floor.
~*~
If Harry had thought seeing Hogsmeade burning from Gryffindor Tower was a horrible sight then he had no idea what to rate it seeing it up close. People in black robes chased Hogwarts students and villagers alike and he searched desperately for Cho, his mind screaming at him for being stupid enough to come down here and his heart calling out to her in hopes that she was alive.
He choked on the smoke coming from the many burning buildings, he was greatful for one thing, the smoke helped him hide when he saw Death Eaters looking at him, Voldemort would have a field day if he was captured in the first Death Eater attack. 'But maybe if . . .' Harry shook his head, he didn't have time for ifs right now.
He searched and searched but found no sign of Cho. He started to head into the Three Broomsticks but then heard someone shout his name.
~*~
Lucius Malfoy was very pleased with himself as he carried the girl out of the Three Broomsticks, Voldemort would be very happy, and that meant no Cruciatus curse. Lucius smiled, it was all too easy. The girl didn't even have the strength to put up a struggle. He was just about to Apparate when he saw someone else whom the Dark Lord would be very pleased to see: Harry Potter.
"Famous Harry Potter playing hero again," yelled Lucius, everyone stopped in their tracks, even the flames didn't seem to move.
Harry gulped, 'Not good, not good,' thought Harry. 'Gotta find a way out of this, I can do it, I can escape.' He looked around, if he ran real fast to his right he would escape easily but just as his mind started telling him to go his eyes fell on the unconscious form in Lucius' arms. His stomach turned to ice.
Lucius followed his gaze, "Do you want your girlfriend back, Potter? Well, come and get her," said Lucius.
"Please, don't hurt her, I'll do anything," Harry pleaded.
"Anything?" said Lucius.
Harry nodded. "Anything. Just name it, I'll do it."
Lucius smirked. "Trade places with her."
~*~
Ron raced through the halls, skidding to a halt in front of the stone gargoyle Harry had told him about. He cast his mind around for a possible password, Harry had said it was always candy . . . "Fizzing Whizbees?" he tried and to his astonishment the gargoyle moved. Ron darted forward, leaping up the stairs. "That's got to be the luckiest guess ever," he muttered.
He knocked and heard Dumbledore say, "Come in."
He stepped inside and Dumbledore looked up. "Why, Mr. Weasley, I'm surprised. I don't believe you've ever been here before, I assume Harry told you how to get up here?"
"Yes, sir," said Ron.
"I see. And why is it that you have come?"
"Sir, there's been an attack on Hogsmeade and Harry has gone down there to do battle," said Ron in a rush.
Dumbledore sighed. "I knew it'd only be a matter of time before they attacked . . . Thank you for telling me this. I must ask you to return to your common room now, something I'm well aware you do not wish to do, but please do this, as it is for your own safety," said Dumbledore. Ron nodded. They left the office and Dumbledore went to the staff room to get the teachers and Ron started in the direction of the common room.
Halfway there, he changed his mind, there was no way he could just sit around while his best friend was in danger! He spun around and sped down the hall. "Sorry, Dumbledore, but I have to go."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ah, another cliffie. I'm so proud of me. ^_^
Samantha: Thanks so much.
Renaurofmyworld: Hehehe, cliffies are so much fun.
John Black: Hey, you're lucky I made the last chapter as long as it was, I kept going back and making it longer 'cause there was no way I was going farther than that.
Phoenix28: Thank you. I hope you enjoyed my cliffy in this chapter hehehe.
Alec6427: Ummm, how about no?
Cozboz: A weasel farmer? Wow, where did that come from?
zaria: Happy New Year to you, too!
Anonymous: Suspense is the best tool for writing, it gets people to review hehehe. And yes, I have fun thinking up funny Disclaimers lol. Thanks for your review.
::Gives all reviewers a cookie::
Harry: ::Appears out of nowhere:: Yeah, I want to know what happened to Cho.
Me: Didn't I give you a copy of the script?
Harry: No . . .
Me: Oh. ::Hands Harry script::
Harry: ::Reads script and goes pale::
Me: ::Smiles while you readers wonder what the heck I have planned::
Disclaimer: Do I look like J.K.R.?
Some moron who can't see (in other words my brother): Yes.
Me: She's blonde, I'm brunette; she's great at writing, I'm an amateur; she's rich, I'm not. Moron.
A long silence fell in the room and Harry choked on the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. Questions flew through his mind and he couldn't seem to pick out which to ask first so he settled for, "What?"
"Maybe you should look out your window," said Ron.
Dreading what he would see, Harry walked over to the window. He gasped, every building in Hogsmeade was on fire. "Ron, please tell me that 'disappeared' was not just a cushion for 'dead'," said Harry, turning away from the horrible sight.
"We don't know yet, she hasn't been found but a lot of her friends were. Where the Three Broomsticks used to be, we found her two best friends but no sign of Cho," said Ron.
Harry closed his eyes, sitting down on his bed. 'Please, please let her be alive,' his mind pleaded. "It was Death Eaters, wasn't it?"
Ron nodded but then realizing Harry still had his eyes closed he said, "Yes."
Harry opened his eyes again and turned to the window. "They're still down there," he said more to himself than Ron. 'Why haven't they Apparated? They're bound to get caught, and I'll be the one to catch them,' he thought.
Ron walked up beside him and squinted down, "Harry, we're seven stories up and half a mile away, how can you see them?"
"I can't," replied Harry.
"Then how do you-"
"I just know, Ron, I can feel it," interrupted Harry, heading for the door.
"Harry, you're not going down there, are you?" said Ron tentatively.
"I have to, Ron, if there's any hope of getting her I have to do it now," said Harry.
"That's crazy! There are hundreds of them, even if you managed to find Cho your chances of rescuing her would be one in a million!"
"I don't care!" yelled Harry, then his voice dropped to a whisper. "I have to try." And before Ron could say another word, Harry flung the door open and disappeared down the spiral staircase.
~*~
Cho tripped over a piece of wood and fell to the floor, her wrist made quite an impact as she tried to stop herself and her wand slipped from her fingers, into the flames. 'Oh, great,' she thought bitterly.
She coughed and her eyes stung as she got up and continued to try to grope through the smoke. She had witnessed her best friends' deaths and had done nothing to help them, she had been too shocked and scared by the suddenness in which it all happened. One minute she was chatting happily with her friends, the next she's making her way out of a burning building, the image of two lifeless bodies burnt into her mind. 'I'm sorry, guys, I should have saved you, please forgive me,' she thought desperately.
She coughed again, the smoke was getting more intense and still she had no idea how close or far to the door she was. She fell to the floor once more, out of breath and slipping out of consciousness. She felt something brush against her and she was lifted from the hard wooden floor.
~*~
If Harry had thought seeing Hogsmeade burning from Gryffindor Tower was a horrible sight then he had no idea what to rate it seeing it up close. People in black robes chased Hogwarts students and villagers alike and he searched desperately for Cho, his mind screaming at him for being stupid enough to come down here and his heart calling out to her in hopes that she was alive.
He choked on the smoke coming from the many burning buildings, he was greatful for one thing, the smoke helped him hide when he saw Death Eaters looking at him, Voldemort would have a field day if he was captured in the first Death Eater attack. 'But maybe if . . .' Harry shook his head, he didn't have time for ifs right now.
He searched and searched but found no sign of Cho. He started to head into the Three Broomsticks but then heard someone shout his name.
~*~
Lucius Malfoy was very pleased with himself as he carried the girl out of the Three Broomsticks, Voldemort would be very happy, and that meant no Cruciatus curse. Lucius smiled, it was all too easy. The girl didn't even have the strength to put up a struggle. He was just about to Apparate when he saw someone else whom the Dark Lord would be very pleased to see: Harry Potter.
"Famous Harry Potter playing hero again," yelled Lucius, everyone stopped in their tracks, even the flames didn't seem to move.
Harry gulped, 'Not good, not good,' thought Harry. 'Gotta find a way out of this, I can do it, I can escape.' He looked around, if he ran real fast to his right he would escape easily but just as his mind started telling him to go his eyes fell on the unconscious form in Lucius' arms. His stomach turned to ice.
Lucius followed his gaze, "Do you want your girlfriend back, Potter? Well, come and get her," said Lucius.
"Please, don't hurt her, I'll do anything," Harry pleaded.
"Anything?" said Lucius.
Harry nodded. "Anything. Just name it, I'll do it."
Lucius smirked. "Trade places with her."
~*~
Ron raced through the halls, skidding to a halt in front of the stone gargoyle Harry had told him about. He cast his mind around for a possible password, Harry had said it was always candy . . . "Fizzing Whizbees?" he tried and to his astonishment the gargoyle moved. Ron darted forward, leaping up the stairs. "That's got to be the luckiest guess ever," he muttered.
He knocked and heard Dumbledore say, "Come in."
He stepped inside and Dumbledore looked up. "Why, Mr. Weasley, I'm surprised. I don't believe you've ever been here before, I assume Harry told you how to get up here?"
"Yes, sir," said Ron.
"I see. And why is it that you have come?"
"Sir, there's been an attack on Hogsmeade and Harry has gone down there to do battle," said Ron in a rush.
Dumbledore sighed. "I knew it'd only be a matter of time before they attacked . . . Thank you for telling me this. I must ask you to return to your common room now, something I'm well aware you do not wish to do, but please do this, as it is for your own safety," said Dumbledore. Ron nodded. They left the office and Dumbledore went to the staff room to get the teachers and Ron started in the direction of the common room.
Halfway there, he changed his mind, there was no way he could just sit around while his best friend was in danger! He spun around and sped down the hall. "Sorry, Dumbledore, but I have to go."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ah, another cliffie. I'm so proud of me. ^_^
Samantha: Thanks so much.
Renaurofmyworld: Hehehe, cliffies are so much fun.
John Black: Hey, you're lucky I made the last chapter as long as it was, I kept going back and making it longer 'cause there was no way I was going farther than that.
Phoenix28: Thank you. I hope you enjoyed my cliffy in this chapter hehehe.
Alec6427: Ummm, how about no?
Cozboz: A weasel farmer? Wow, where did that come from?
zaria: Happy New Year to you, too!
Anonymous: Suspense is the best tool for writing, it gets people to review hehehe. And yes, I have fun thinking up funny Disclaimers lol. Thanks for your review.
::Gives all reviewers a cookie::