A/N: Here it is, chapter two of my edited version. Thanks to my lovely reviewers, comments to them and answers to questions will be posted at the bottom of the chapter.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Wish I did. Might publish a novel of my own someday and people will write fanfics for it, but I ain't got my hopes too high.
~_Chapter Two: To Cho's House_~
"Great. I'll-" Harry froze as he heard his uncle's voice.
"BOY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TAKING SO LONG ON THE PHONE?! WHAT IF SOMEONE'S TRYING TO CALL ME?! THE CALLS I GET ACTUALLY MATTER!" roared Uncle Vernon.
"Uncle Vernon, I-" Harry didn't get to finish his sentence as Uncle Vernon's fist connected with his stomach and the air flew from Harry's lungs. Harry fell back to the floor with a thud, and as he scrambled to his feet, reaching out for the phone Uncle Vernon picked it up and slammed it down on the base. No! Harry's mind screamed.
"Time to teach you some respect, boy!" Uncle Vernon dragged Harry by the collar of his shirt to the cupboard under the stairs and threw him inside. Harry gritted his teeth as his shoulder banged hard against the wall.
Cho... I'm sorry... he thought, sighing ever so softly as he heard the lock click.
Oh, my gosh... What was that? Oh, Harry, I hope you're alright... Something told Cho that no matter how hard she hoped, something had happened. Something bad.
She jerked her door open and slid down the stairs, sliding slightly at the bottom, then turning around and heading to the kitchen to get the phonebook to check for the Dursleys' address. Tongue between her teeth, she scanned the names quickly, Dursley... 4 Privet Drive. Oh, good, it's not far.
Cho walked into her parents' bedroom and shook her mother lightly. "Mom, I need you to take me to Privet Drive. It's important."
Cho's mother looked at the clock, "Cho, honey, what for? It's rather early to be visiting anyone."
"I know they're awake and everything, please, Mom, it's really important," pleaded Cho.
Her mother nodded and climbed out of bed and Cho waited outside while her mother dressed.
They got into the car and though it only took a few minutes to get to Privet Drive it seemed to take forever to Cho. She hopped out of the car, ran up to the front door, and rang the doorbell several times.
A very large, beefy, purple-faced man opened the door and stared down at her. "Hello, Mr. Dursley, I'm here to see Harry."
"There is no Harry Potter here," said Mr. Dursley curtly.
Cho raised one eyebrow, "Are you sure? I don't recall saying the name 'Potter'..."
Mr. Dursley appeared angry with himself. "The boy isn't here at the moment is what I meant. He... went for a walk."
Cho stuck her hand into her pocket, fingering her wand, forgetting about the no-magic rule. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Mr. Dursley and she chose her words carefully. "Then... you won't mind me waiting for him here."
Without waiting for the reply, she pushed roughly past Mr. Dursley. "Cho!" her mother reprimanded.
Cho rolled her eyes, sighing. "Sorry, Mr. Dursley..." she muttered. She looked around, moving only her eyes. "Er... where's the bathroom?" she asked, figuring it would be a nice excuse to take a short look around the house. She turned to Mr. Dursley who appeared to be trying his hardest to look intimidating... and wasn't succeeding.
"Down the hall, second door on your right," he said forcefully. She nodded her thanks and walked off as he and her mother entered the living room.
Once out of sight, she stealthily made her way from room to room, looking for any sign of Harry. Nothing.
She sighed, figuring she better return to the living room before Mr. Dursley became suspicious and passed by a door she had thought led to a closet as it was under the stairs; she heard breathing sounds coming from behind the door though and stopped, frowning. Surely... she thought, surely there's no one in there.
Curiosity got the better of her however and she opened the door. Oh, my gosh... "Harry," she whispered, staring at his thin, sleeping frame. Have they fed him nothing at all? He's even thinner than he was at Hogwarts!
Harry moaned ever so slightly, rolling over. "Coming, Aunt Petunia..." he muttered softly, opening his eyes slightly.
Cho would have laughed had they been in a different situation. "Harry, it's me. Cho," she said, laying a hand on his shoulder.
He winced slightly, moving away from her, but then his eyes snapped the rest of the way open. Did she just say she's Cho? He sat up and whirled around. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing here?" he hissed. Oh, boy... that came out wrong...
To his relief, she smiled. "Came to see you. You're supposed to come to my house, remember? C'mon, get out of that hole in the wall and go get your stuff."
She walked into the living room as Harry snuck upstairs and into his room. "Something has just come to my attention, we'll be leaving now, Mr. Dursley," said Cho. Her mother stood, looking slightly confused but following nonetheless. "Oh, yes, by the way..." said Cho, opening the door, "Harry's coming with us."
Mr. Dursley looked shocked and outraged as Harry came down the stairs with his trunk and Hedwig's cage with her in it in hand. "'Bye, Uncle Vernon!" Harry called with a grin, following Cho out and closing the door behind him.
They all got into the car and Cho's mother drove them home.
"Bet you sure are happy I came to visit you, eh, Harry?" said Cho, helping him get his trunk out. "I think you would have starved to death in that house, look at you! Skin and bones."
"Nah," said Harry, popping his trunk open. "I have friends who arranged the food for me." He reached in and pulled out a box and opened it, revealing some of Hagrid's rock cakes. "Er... well, I thought that was Mrs. Weasley's box, but hey, food is food." He put the box back into the trunk and Cho caught a glimpse of a letter addressed to Sirius Black.
"Er... Harry... What's with that?" she pointed to the letter.
Harry followed her gaze and smiled nonchalantly at her. "Just a letter to my godfather, who is innocent. I'll tell you the story later."
They carried the trunk inside and Cho led him up to her room, which was decorated rather nicely, with a relaxed atmosphere. She had deep blue and purple quilts on two beds that were built into the wall, a large picture of a waterfall with a fairy in front of it hung up, with a slight perfumed smell inside that smelled like lavender.
"Like it?" said Cho, watching Harry look around.
"It's great," said Harry. One posted in particular caught his eye. It was a picture of three white lightning bolts striking down from a purple sky into dark mountains, with a lake in front of the mountains, reflecting the picture of the lightning.
Cho followed his gaze and smiled. "Beautiful, isn't it? One of my favorite forms of nature... captured nearly perfectly inside a picture... And what's really special to me about it is how even though it's lightning, which is anything but calm, it calms me to look at it. I feel like I'm there, really witnessing such a magnificent show of beauty..." She kind of lost herself for a moment while talking and snapped back to reality. "Sorry 'bout that, hope I didn't bore you too much..."
"Not at all," said Harry. "I know exactly what you mean, it's like you were reading my mind."
"Well, how about we take on an element that doesn't agree with lightning too well?" she grinned, walking over to the window and pushing aside the curtains. Harry walked over to her and looked down at a huge L shaped pool that was crystal clear. "Care for a swim?"
"I don't swim very well..." said Harry hesitantly.
"Yeah, right, I think if you could rescue two people from the lake at Hogwarts you can do just fine in my pool. It's only ten and a half feet at the deepest end," said Cho.
Only ten and a half feet... thought Harry, inwardly rolling his eyes. "Well, alright, let's go- oh, wait, I don't have any swimming trunks."
"Not a problem," said Cho, opening a drawer and pulling out some dark green shorts and tossing them to Harry. "Wear those. And I'll go change into my swimsuit, I'll meet you downstairs." She grabbed one of her swimsuits and retreated into the bathroom.
Harry quickly changed into his swimming trunks as Hedwig flew in through the window holding a letter. He stroked her once or twice and took the letter, noticing it was from Sirius. I hate to keep Cho waiting, but this could be important... Harry thought, opening it up.
Dear Harry,
How are you? I hope the Muggles are treating you well. You are welcome to come and stay with Moony and I if you want to. Go away, Moony! Aw, look what you made me write! Moony's trying to give me a collar! Moony, stop it! No, I'm writing! Not anymore, Padfoot, it's my turn. Hello, Harry, I hope you are having a nice summer. Padfoot, stop that! No, don't touch that! Oh, you are going to pay for that one. Moony, go away, it's my turn to write. Hey, Harry, it's Padfoot again, now that I have beaten Moony off with a stick I'm free to write.
So as I was saying, we can come get you if you want to spend the summer with us. Or if you want me to curse those blasted relatives of yours. Write back soon.
Padfoot- go away, Moony! I'm not going to put your name on it, it's my letter! No, not my broomstick! Okay, okay- Padfoot and Moony- there, you happy, Moony? Good, now give me my broomstick so I can hit you over the head with it.
Harry laughed, shaking his head and set the letter aside and headed downstairs. Cho was waiting patiently at the bottom of the stairs for him and led him to the backdoor. She pointed to a cabinet, "Towels are in there when you come back in," she said, opening the door and walking out. Harry took off his glasses, laid them on the countertop then followed her.
Tossing a pair of goggles into the shallow end, Cho walked straight to the diving board then dove in. "Ah, the water's great! C'mon, Harry, don't make me shove you in," she taunted as Harry walked over to the edge of the pool and jumped in. Cho swam around him and picked up her goggles of the bottom, shook the water out of them then put them on and dove down into the deep end.
Harry grinned and splashed her just as she came up.
"Harry!" she yelped, then laughed and splashed him back.
Grabbing a large U-shaped raft, she climbed inside, with some difficulty as it kept tipping over whenever she tried, then paddled with her hands over to Harry and pulled him in with her. They sat facing each other and Cho grinned, taking Harry's hands and she leaned back, and when she came up, Harry followed her example and leaned back, and pretty soon they had a good see-saw motion going, the raft creating large waves in the water.
Cho laughed as Harry went the wrong way one time and they bumped heads. Rubbing her head lightly she fixed him under a stern gaze. Harry started to apologize then she laughed again and shoved him back, and as luck would have it a wave caught the raft on one end just as she did, sending Harry flying off into the water, which made Cho laugh all the harder.
A good while later, they headed inside and dried off. Cho headed into the bathroom to change back into her clothes while Harry changed in her room again. After slipping his shirt on, he took a piece of parchment and a quill, dipped the quill in one of his ink bottles and started writing a reply to Sirius' letter.
Dear Sirius,
I'm doing alright. I'm not at the Muggles' house anymore, Cho Chang invited me to stay at her house for the summer. Do you think she and I both could come spend time with you? You wouldn't have to be in dog form around her either, I've told her you're innocent.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Harry.
He handed the letter to Hedwig, who promptly clamped it securely in her beak then flew out the window.
Sirius's voice rang throughout the Lupin Mansion. "MOONY!!"
Remus entered the room, holding one hand to his head. "Padfoot, I've told you a million times to not be so bloody loud. What is it?"
Sirius pointed to the letter in his hands. "Harry's reply, thought you might want to see."
Remus took the letter and read over it. Seeing nothing in particular about anything Harry said he turned to Sirius with a confused look on his face. "What's to see?"
"Harry's got himself a girlfriend!" Sirius exclaimed, pointing to the name Cho Chang.
Remus chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Well, girlfriend or not, do you think we should let her come here?"
Sirius nodded excitedly. "I want to meet her!"
Remus smiled, practically able to see the thoughts in Sirius's mind. "Well, let's go get them then."
Sirius grinned and snatched a small object from a nearby table then the two disappeared with a pop.
Harry had just finished telling Cho the story about his third year when Cho's mother called up to them. "Cho! Harry! There are two men here to see you!"
They walked downstairs and Harry's eyes lit up as he saw the visitors. "Sirius! Professor Lupin!"
"Hey, kiddo," said Sirius with a grin. "I see you're doing well."
Remus nodded in agreement then added, "And, Harry, please don't call me Professor Lupin seeing as how I'm not a professor anymore. Just Remus or Moony would be fine."
Harry nodded, "So is it okay if Cho comes with me to your house, Moony?"
Remus nodded again. "Certainly. That is... if Cho's mother doesn't mind," he said, turning to Cho's mother, who gave him a smile.
"If Cho wants to go, she can." She turned to her daughter, "Go get your stuff, sweetie."
Cho hugged her mom in thanks then ran upstairs and collected all she would need over the summer, and her Hogwarts stuff. Harry walked up the stairs and helped her carry it all down.
As Cho set her trunk down with a heavy thud, Sirius pulled a small object from his pocket and held it out to Harry and Cho. "Since you can't Apparate yet and this fireplace isn't tied into the Floo Network, we'll have to use this."
Cho grabbed one of the handles of her trunk then reached out a touched the Portkey and Harry reached out as well, but hesitated, remembering what had happened the last time he had touched one. Remus laid a hand on his shoulder and Sirius gave him a sympathetic look. "It's okay, Harry," said Sirius softly, "it's safe."
Harry nodded. "I know. Sorry, I just..." Harry shook his head and Sirius nodded.
"I understand, Harry, it's okay," said Sirius.
Harry reached out again and softly touched the portkey, then Remus touched it and the four disappeared in a whirl of color.
~~~***~~~
A/N: There you go. Kind of a merge between chapters two and three of the original version. Now for my thanks to my reviewers.
Bon: Yeppy. Hope you like the edited version.
Slytherin-ferret: Heheh, I thought it was a nice ending, too. ^_^ Lol, I LOVE cliffies, I'll have more in later chapters. Ooh, I'm so evil... :: cackles ::
KiLLeR KiTtY: Favorite fic ever? :: Blushes deep scarlet :: Thanks...
Auiderva: Here you are. Now you know what happened. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
:: Gives all reviewers a cookie :: Thank you all so much! I couldn't write without you guys.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Wish I did. Might publish a novel of my own someday and people will write fanfics for it, but I ain't got my hopes too high.
~_Chapter Two: To Cho's House_~
"Great. I'll-" Harry froze as he heard his uncle's voice.
"BOY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TAKING SO LONG ON THE PHONE?! WHAT IF SOMEONE'S TRYING TO CALL ME?! THE CALLS I GET ACTUALLY MATTER!" roared Uncle Vernon.
"Uncle Vernon, I-" Harry didn't get to finish his sentence as Uncle Vernon's fist connected with his stomach and the air flew from Harry's lungs. Harry fell back to the floor with a thud, and as he scrambled to his feet, reaching out for the phone Uncle Vernon picked it up and slammed it down on the base. No! Harry's mind screamed.
"Time to teach you some respect, boy!" Uncle Vernon dragged Harry by the collar of his shirt to the cupboard under the stairs and threw him inside. Harry gritted his teeth as his shoulder banged hard against the wall.
Cho... I'm sorry... he thought, sighing ever so softly as he heard the lock click.
Oh, my gosh... What was that? Oh, Harry, I hope you're alright... Something told Cho that no matter how hard she hoped, something had happened. Something bad.
She jerked her door open and slid down the stairs, sliding slightly at the bottom, then turning around and heading to the kitchen to get the phonebook to check for the Dursleys' address. Tongue between her teeth, she scanned the names quickly, Dursley... 4 Privet Drive. Oh, good, it's not far.
Cho walked into her parents' bedroom and shook her mother lightly. "Mom, I need you to take me to Privet Drive. It's important."
Cho's mother looked at the clock, "Cho, honey, what for? It's rather early to be visiting anyone."
"I know they're awake and everything, please, Mom, it's really important," pleaded Cho.
Her mother nodded and climbed out of bed and Cho waited outside while her mother dressed.
They got into the car and though it only took a few minutes to get to Privet Drive it seemed to take forever to Cho. She hopped out of the car, ran up to the front door, and rang the doorbell several times.
A very large, beefy, purple-faced man opened the door and stared down at her. "Hello, Mr. Dursley, I'm here to see Harry."
"There is no Harry Potter here," said Mr. Dursley curtly.
Cho raised one eyebrow, "Are you sure? I don't recall saying the name 'Potter'..."
Mr. Dursley appeared angry with himself. "The boy isn't here at the moment is what I meant. He... went for a walk."
Cho stuck her hand into her pocket, fingering her wand, forgetting about the no-magic rule. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Mr. Dursley and she chose her words carefully. "Then... you won't mind me waiting for him here."
Without waiting for the reply, she pushed roughly past Mr. Dursley. "Cho!" her mother reprimanded.
Cho rolled her eyes, sighing. "Sorry, Mr. Dursley..." she muttered. She looked around, moving only her eyes. "Er... where's the bathroom?" she asked, figuring it would be a nice excuse to take a short look around the house. She turned to Mr. Dursley who appeared to be trying his hardest to look intimidating... and wasn't succeeding.
"Down the hall, second door on your right," he said forcefully. She nodded her thanks and walked off as he and her mother entered the living room.
Once out of sight, she stealthily made her way from room to room, looking for any sign of Harry. Nothing.
She sighed, figuring she better return to the living room before Mr. Dursley became suspicious and passed by a door she had thought led to a closet as it was under the stairs; she heard breathing sounds coming from behind the door though and stopped, frowning. Surely... she thought, surely there's no one in there.
Curiosity got the better of her however and she opened the door. Oh, my gosh... "Harry," she whispered, staring at his thin, sleeping frame. Have they fed him nothing at all? He's even thinner than he was at Hogwarts!
Harry moaned ever so slightly, rolling over. "Coming, Aunt Petunia..." he muttered softly, opening his eyes slightly.
Cho would have laughed had they been in a different situation. "Harry, it's me. Cho," she said, laying a hand on his shoulder.
He winced slightly, moving away from her, but then his eyes snapped the rest of the way open. Did she just say she's Cho? He sat up and whirled around. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing here?" he hissed. Oh, boy... that came out wrong...
To his relief, she smiled. "Came to see you. You're supposed to come to my house, remember? C'mon, get out of that hole in the wall and go get your stuff."
She walked into the living room as Harry snuck upstairs and into his room. "Something has just come to my attention, we'll be leaving now, Mr. Dursley," said Cho. Her mother stood, looking slightly confused but following nonetheless. "Oh, yes, by the way..." said Cho, opening the door, "Harry's coming with us."
Mr. Dursley looked shocked and outraged as Harry came down the stairs with his trunk and Hedwig's cage with her in it in hand. "'Bye, Uncle Vernon!" Harry called with a grin, following Cho out and closing the door behind him.
They all got into the car and Cho's mother drove them home.
"Bet you sure are happy I came to visit you, eh, Harry?" said Cho, helping him get his trunk out. "I think you would have starved to death in that house, look at you! Skin and bones."
"Nah," said Harry, popping his trunk open. "I have friends who arranged the food for me." He reached in and pulled out a box and opened it, revealing some of Hagrid's rock cakes. "Er... well, I thought that was Mrs. Weasley's box, but hey, food is food." He put the box back into the trunk and Cho caught a glimpse of a letter addressed to Sirius Black.
"Er... Harry... What's with that?" she pointed to the letter.
Harry followed her gaze and smiled nonchalantly at her. "Just a letter to my godfather, who is innocent. I'll tell you the story later."
They carried the trunk inside and Cho led him up to her room, which was decorated rather nicely, with a relaxed atmosphere. She had deep blue and purple quilts on two beds that were built into the wall, a large picture of a waterfall with a fairy in front of it hung up, with a slight perfumed smell inside that smelled like lavender.
"Like it?" said Cho, watching Harry look around.
"It's great," said Harry. One posted in particular caught his eye. It was a picture of three white lightning bolts striking down from a purple sky into dark mountains, with a lake in front of the mountains, reflecting the picture of the lightning.
Cho followed his gaze and smiled. "Beautiful, isn't it? One of my favorite forms of nature... captured nearly perfectly inside a picture... And what's really special to me about it is how even though it's lightning, which is anything but calm, it calms me to look at it. I feel like I'm there, really witnessing such a magnificent show of beauty..." She kind of lost herself for a moment while talking and snapped back to reality. "Sorry 'bout that, hope I didn't bore you too much..."
"Not at all," said Harry. "I know exactly what you mean, it's like you were reading my mind."
"Well, how about we take on an element that doesn't agree with lightning too well?" she grinned, walking over to the window and pushing aside the curtains. Harry walked over to her and looked down at a huge L shaped pool that was crystal clear. "Care for a swim?"
"I don't swim very well..." said Harry hesitantly.
"Yeah, right, I think if you could rescue two people from the lake at Hogwarts you can do just fine in my pool. It's only ten and a half feet at the deepest end," said Cho.
Only ten and a half feet... thought Harry, inwardly rolling his eyes. "Well, alright, let's go- oh, wait, I don't have any swimming trunks."
"Not a problem," said Cho, opening a drawer and pulling out some dark green shorts and tossing them to Harry. "Wear those. And I'll go change into my swimsuit, I'll meet you downstairs." She grabbed one of her swimsuits and retreated into the bathroom.
Harry quickly changed into his swimming trunks as Hedwig flew in through the window holding a letter. He stroked her once or twice and took the letter, noticing it was from Sirius. I hate to keep Cho waiting, but this could be important... Harry thought, opening it up.
Dear Harry,
How are you? I hope the Muggles are treating you well. You are welcome to come and stay with Moony and I if you want to. Go away, Moony! Aw, look what you made me write! Moony's trying to give me a collar! Moony, stop it! No, I'm writing! Not anymore, Padfoot, it's my turn. Hello, Harry, I hope you are having a nice summer. Padfoot, stop that! No, don't touch that! Oh, you are going to pay for that one. Moony, go away, it's my turn to write. Hey, Harry, it's Padfoot again, now that I have beaten Moony off with a stick I'm free to write.
So as I was saying, we can come get you if you want to spend the summer with us. Or if you want me to curse those blasted relatives of yours. Write back soon.
Padfoot- go away, Moony! I'm not going to put your name on it, it's my letter! No, not my broomstick! Okay, okay- Padfoot and Moony- there, you happy, Moony? Good, now give me my broomstick so I can hit you over the head with it.
Harry laughed, shaking his head and set the letter aside and headed downstairs. Cho was waiting patiently at the bottom of the stairs for him and led him to the backdoor. She pointed to a cabinet, "Towels are in there when you come back in," she said, opening the door and walking out. Harry took off his glasses, laid them on the countertop then followed her.
Tossing a pair of goggles into the shallow end, Cho walked straight to the diving board then dove in. "Ah, the water's great! C'mon, Harry, don't make me shove you in," she taunted as Harry walked over to the edge of the pool and jumped in. Cho swam around him and picked up her goggles of the bottom, shook the water out of them then put them on and dove down into the deep end.
Harry grinned and splashed her just as she came up.
"Harry!" she yelped, then laughed and splashed him back.
Grabbing a large U-shaped raft, she climbed inside, with some difficulty as it kept tipping over whenever she tried, then paddled with her hands over to Harry and pulled him in with her. They sat facing each other and Cho grinned, taking Harry's hands and she leaned back, and when she came up, Harry followed her example and leaned back, and pretty soon they had a good see-saw motion going, the raft creating large waves in the water.
Cho laughed as Harry went the wrong way one time and they bumped heads. Rubbing her head lightly she fixed him under a stern gaze. Harry started to apologize then she laughed again and shoved him back, and as luck would have it a wave caught the raft on one end just as she did, sending Harry flying off into the water, which made Cho laugh all the harder.
A good while later, they headed inside and dried off. Cho headed into the bathroom to change back into her clothes while Harry changed in her room again. After slipping his shirt on, he took a piece of parchment and a quill, dipped the quill in one of his ink bottles and started writing a reply to Sirius' letter.
Dear Sirius,
I'm doing alright. I'm not at the Muggles' house anymore, Cho Chang invited me to stay at her house for the summer. Do you think she and I both could come spend time with you? You wouldn't have to be in dog form around her either, I've told her you're innocent.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Harry.
He handed the letter to Hedwig, who promptly clamped it securely in her beak then flew out the window.
Sirius's voice rang throughout the Lupin Mansion. "MOONY!!"
Remus entered the room, holding one hand to his head. "Padfoot, I've told you a million times to not be so bloody loud. What is it?"
Sirius pointed to the letter in his hands. "Harry's reply, thought you might want to see."
Remus took the letter and read over it. Seeing nothing in particular about anything Harry said he turned to Sirius with a confused look on his face. "What's to see?"
"Harry's got himself a girlfriend!" Sirius exclaimed, pointing to the name Cho Chang.
Remus chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Well, girlfriend or not, do you think we should let her come here?"
Sirius nodded excitedly. "I want to meet her!"
Remus smiled, practically able to see the thoughts in Sirius's mind. "Well, let's go get them then."
Sirius grinned and snatched a small object from a nearby table then the two disappeared with a pop.
Harry had just finished telling Cho the story about his third year when Cho's mother called up to them. "Cho! Harry! There are two men here to see you!"
They walked downstairs and Harry's eyes lit up as he saw the visitors. "Sirius! Professor Lupin!"
"Hey, kiddo," said Sirius with a grin. "I see you're doing well."
Remus nodded in agreement then added, "And, Harry, please don't call me Professor Lupin seeing as how I'm not a professor anymore. Just Remus or Moony would be fine."
Harry nodded, "So is it okay if Cho comes with me to your house, Moony?"
Remus nodded again. "Certainly. That is... if Cho's mother doesn't mind," he said, turning to Cho's mother, who gave him a smile.
"If Cho wants to go, she can." She turned to her daughter, "Go get your stuff, sweetie."
Cho hugged her mom in thanks then ran upstairs and collected all she would need over the summer, and her Hogwarts stuff. Harry walked up the stairs and helped her carry it all down.
As Cho set her trunk down with a heavy thud, Sirius pulled a small object from his pocket and held it out to Harry and Cho. "Since you can't Apparate yet and this fireplace isn't tied into the Floo Network, we'll have to use this."
Cho grabbed one of the handles of her trunk then reached out a touched the Portkey and Harry reached out as well, but hesitated, remembering what had happened the last time he had touched one. Remus laid a hand on his shoulder and Sirius gave him a sympathetic look. "It's okay, Harry," said Sirius softly, "it's safe."
Harry nodded. "I know. Sorry, I just..." Harry shook his head and Sirius nodded.
"I understand, Harry, it's okay," said Sirius.
Harry reached out again and softly touched the portkey, then Remus touched it and the four disappeared in a whirl of color.
~~~***~~~
A/N: There you go. Kind of a merge between chapters two and three of the original version. Now for my thanks to my reviewers.
Bon: Yeppy. Hope you like the edited version.
Slytherin-ferret: Heheh, I thought it was a nice ending, too. ^_^ Lol, I LOVE cliffies, I'll have more in later chapters. Ooh, I'm so evil... :: cackles ::
KiLLeR KiTtY: Favorite fic ever? :: Blushes deep scarlet :: Thanks...
Auiderva: Here you are. Now you know what happened. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
:: Gives all reviewers a cookie :: Thank you all so much! I couldn't write without you guys.