A/N: Hi everybody! It's me again. ^_^ And so far, I have a few reviews! I'm sorry it's taken forever to type this up… I've been going through a stressful time, for a lack of better phrase. Ice Cream to my reviewers!!! Sorry it's taking so long to type. Writer's block has hit me head on. But hey, at least I've figured out how to do Italics and bold and everything now, huh? ^__- Merry Christmas to my fellow Christians! ^________^
Hippyman69- Naw, he isn't. I really don't want him to, either. Because then, I would have to change the rating and not everyone would be able to see it and read it. So, no matter what you say, I'm not going to do that, even though it would give the plot a twist…. Nah. I think I'll stick to fluff. ^__________^ Yeah, I know, I'm not exactly great at fluff. You see, I'm a lot better at mystery, and fantasy, and what not. Not fluff. All my friends are though. I dunno what's up with that. -__-; Anyway, I would like to check out your fanfics. Might be fun. So if you e-mail me the link, I will. ^______________^ And alright, alright already I'm posting I'm posting…
Herculeha- Were you signed in when you reviewed? I didn't get it if you weren't. hehe, anyway, this chapter is Cho's birthday/Christmas. MAJOR FLUFFINESS!!!!!!!!!!!! Beware. ^__~ Oh, I didn't mean to add that bit of fluffiness into this chapter between Ron and Hermione. Gah. Accidental. Oh well, this will be mostly Harry/Cho, but also Ron/Hermione at the Burrow…. Hehehe Yeah well even though I was grounded I'm on the computer anyway. -__-; I'm not in too much trouble. Don't worry. And this is a long reply to a long review so I'll just shut up and type!
Bon- Yeah. My sister gave me the idea… her and six of her friends call themselves that. LOL. If it's not very major fluffiness, I'm really sorry, but I'm trying to portray that relationship through that… ^_^
I Love Cho- ok ok!!! I'm typing, I'm typing! ^_^;;;
Indigal- thanks, it was fun to write last chapter… even though I've forgotten all their names already!!! lol I know, I know, this chapter is major fluffage!!! That doesn't make sense, but let's just say that there's a lot of Harry/Cho fluff (finally) and a bit of Ron/Hermione… describes both of their Christmases.
Dragon Knight- Thanks so much for your review! I've finally posted! You should be proud. Hehehe Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: All of the Harry Potter characters belong to JK Rowling… you know, the rich and famous blonde-haired woman who lives in Britain? Yeah. Her. She owns it all. T_____T
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Chapter 11
Harry got out of his bed at precisely 5:35:03 on Christmas Eve Day very excited and extremely nervous. Many thoughts ran through his mind, negative ones, like, What if Cho doesn't like my presents? and What if she dumps me?
He bit his lip and got dressed, feeling more nervous than excited now. Thoughts he knew he shouldn't think and be negative about were running through his brain like it was a marathon. He was getting a headache from it, too.
He took a drink of water once he finished putting on his shoes and went down into the common room to relax, or try to, until it was time for breakfast.
The common room, of course, was empty. Only Harry and a few third and seventh years had stayed for Christmas… Ron and Hermione stayed at the Burrow so they could get a bit of alone time. It's not like they didn't have any at Hogwarts. Maybe they just wanted to get away from Harry. "That must be it," he said aloud at the thought.
He sat down and grabbed a piece of parchment that was rolled up, oddly very conveniently, in front of him and sitting on the table with a quill. It was completely empty and never used. The quill was eagle-feathered and there was a bottle of ink lying around somewhere nearby. It was as if someone had perfectly set it up for him.
So he decided to write a letter to his Cho.
Happy birthday, beautiful. At ten o'clock tonight, meet me in the Enterance Hall. I'll be waiting for you!
Yours Truly,
Harry
"There," Harry said aloud. "That sounds good."
He grabbed it and wrapped it up, going back up to his dormitory to give the letter to Hedwig.
"To Cho Chang, of Ravenclaw," he said, petting her pure-white feathers. She seemed to understand perfectly, because she gave a hoot and flew off into the rising sun and he watched her soar, until he snapped out of a trance as Hedwig was suddenly flying back.
Hey Harry! I'm so glad you remembered my birthday!!! Some guys don't. Anyway, I'll be there, don't worry!
You know you love me,
Cho
He smiled and set the letter down, thinking that he had to figure out how this date would be planned.
Nervousness rushed through his blood. This had to be perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect. If it wasn't perfect, if everything he did for her she hated… he would be, for lack of better phrase, a nervous wreck. Heh. Like he wasn't already.
"UGH!" Harry said, fed up after about ten minutes of worrying. "How am I going to get all of this sorted out if I don't calm down?!"
"An excellent question, Harry," a familiar voice behind him sounded. Harry jumped and turned.
"Oh, hello, Godric. Got an update or something?" Harry said, immediately calmed by Godric's ghostly presence.
"Yes, Harry. I do have an 'update' for you today. And it is about the Dark Lord."
Harry nodded and turned back round as Godric came to float before him.
"Harry, this is very, very important. The Dark Lord has been getting even more powerful than ever before. Somehow, he has managed to tap into ancient magic… with every person he kills, he gets one eighth of all their humane and/or magical strength. This magic was even before my time, before Hogwarts… and it's also one of the most difficult to master. I don't think he knows the other power that is conjoined with it… the downside, for him, that is."
Harry listened very carefully. "The downside?" He asked, a frown forming on his lips.
"Yes. With this magic, even though the Dark Lord gets stronger with each person he murders, if his wand ever broke, all of the power would be plotted and placed into the person who snaps the wand."
"Which would have to be me, right?" Harry asked, half-frowning.
"I'm afraid so. But you must do this at a certain point in time. In precisely six months and fourteen days, you must go to Voldemort and snap his wand, ultimately renewing yourself. Then you will have enough strength to save the entire wizarding world, because then is when you must defeat Voldemort."
Harry listened intently and shut his eyes. It didn't really seem that hard… but using the Killing Curse would be. Harry had only once used an Unforgivable Curse, and it was against Bellatrix Lestrange… it also didn't work very well. Not very well at all. She got up by her own will, and she looked nonpulsed… Harry didn't really know how he was going to be able to pull off the worst of the worst, Avada Kedavra against the worst of the worst. Lord Voldemort himself…
Harry sighed as he opened his eyes, but he found that he was staring into an empty common room. Godric had left.
Great. Harry thought. How am I to get Voldemort's wand and snap it, at that? That will be extremely difficult. I can't just walk up to him and ask, "Hey Voldie, can I have your wand for a sec? I'd like to snap it so that I can be more powerful than you and ultimately defeat you in the end. Thanks." As if I don't have enough to worry about right now. Cho, all my friends, Ron and Hermione being together, and just to top it all off, the fate of the whole wizarding world is resting on my shoulders! This is fantastic.
Harry sighed, knowing that he would be very confused and twisted up in his own thoughts for nearly the rest of the day.
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Ron awoke in his brilliant orange room and grinned. Christmas Eve day had fallen upon the Burrow, and everyone was going to be in that happy, cheerful, holiday spirit that they always were in when he was just a kid. The spirit of giving had spread over everyone, and hopefully everyone was going to be nice. Hopefully Ron wasn't going to be the butt of Fred and George's annual Christmas Eve prank.
Ron hopped out of bed and got dressed in ordinary old worn-out gray robes. He remembered them being black when Percy first got them, when he was fifteen and prefect. Ron sighed. He hated hand-me-downs. Especially the ones that were years old, gray and torn from his older brothers wearing them out. Ugh. He hated being poor.
Alas, nothing could spoil his mood. Sliding down the last stairwell after combing his hair through with a simple black brush, he nearly collided with Hermione as he did a tuck flip after falling off the edge of the stair handlebar. He stood and popped up behind her, giving her one of his genuine smiles after surprisingly and annoyingly cheerfully saying, "Good morning, Hermione!"
She smiled and replied, laughing, "You're awfully bouncy and cheerful this morning."
"I know." Ron replied, bouncing into the kitchen.
Hermione followed. "Any specific reason?" she asked through a giggle.
"Nope." Ron said simply, sitting down next to George at the table. Hermione sat across from him next to Fred and they both started to eat a hearty meal of pancakes and sausage. Ron's favorite.
"Good morning dears," Mrs. Weasley said (more commonly known as "mum" around the house these days), greeting Ron and Hermione with cheer.
"Morning mum!" Ron replied cheerfully.
"My, aren't you a bright little ray of sunshine this morning, Ron." Fred said grumpily, nearly falling asleep in his sausage.
Hermione giggled and Ron just shrugged, digging into his hearty breakfast.
"Look!" Ginny said suddenly after a short pause, pointing out the window. "It's Erroll with the Post."
And so it was, the old and retired family bird Erroll came flying down towards the open window. As if it was a re-make of the second movie, Erroll smashed right into the closed half of the window, falling down onto the snow-less ground. Ginny slapped her forehead and Hermione rolled her eyes. "Will you get that, Ron?" Mrs. Weasley asked him. As he got up, she heard her muttering, "That owl is getting too old. I do wish prices would go down on those things, so we can get a nice, new one…"
Mr. Weasley frowned at his wife and merely replied, "One day things will get better, trust me." And with a disappointed smile between the two, the conversation was ended.
"It's from the Ministry, dad. And Mum, you've got one too." Ron said, looking at the two letters with intense curiosity as he handed them over.
"I wonder why I have one," Mrs. Weasley asked herself more than anyone else in the room. Everyone shrugged at the rhetorical question.
"Why don't you kids run along for a moment." Mr. Weasley said, his face paling by the second. Ron and Hermione exchanged worried looks but rounded everyone up and ran up the steps.
Soon they got into Ron's bedroom, (Ginny, Ron, and Hermione) and they each sat down on either the bed or the floor or the nearly-broken chair in the corner. Each looked terribly worried.
"I wonder what it could be," said Ginny, nervously tapping the arm of the chair.
"No idea, but it must be something important, good or bad, because Mum got one too." Ron said, biting his lower lip.
"Don't worry, you two. Everything will be just fine, just you wait and see." Hermione said soothingly, getting up off the floor and sitting on the bed next to Ron. She leaned on his shoulder and put her amrs around him.
"I'm just worried, you know? You can never know what it is going to be…"
Suddenly, Mr. Weasley's voice rang up the stairwell. "KIDS! Come on down here, please!"
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all raced out the door, nearly knocking Fred and George over on the way. They all ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. Once everyone was settled down and seated, Mr. Weasley began to talk.
"I have some good news, and some bad news." He began. "Which would you like first?"
"Good news." A mutual agreement was made between everyone.
Mr. Weasley smiled. "Always looking on the bright side of things, you lot. The good news is, I've gotten a raise! A raise by 55%!"
Hermione's jaw dropped. Everyone else looked confused, having never learned basic percentages in Muggle Math, but they all cheered.
"That's fantastic, Dad!"
"This is awesome!"
"I might get some new robes for school!"
Everyone started saying at once. "This is great! But, Mum, why don't you look too happy?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, what's the bad news?" Fred asked, his normally smiling face a concerned frown.
Mrs. Weasley paused and a tear streaked her cheek. "The Department of Magical Buildings and Homes has put a foreclosure on our house. We're going to lose the house."
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Ten o'clock rolled around very slowly for Harry Potter. Flying had failed to calm his nerves and sleep didn't work for him. He sighed, staring into the fireplace in the Common Room. He then went into the corner and slipped on his invisibility cloak, and pushed open the Portrait, not caring if anyone saw the Portrait hole move or not. He carefully made his way to the Entrance Hall, making sure he didn't run into any teachers or staff.
Soon he reached the Entrance Hall and hid in a darkened corner, forgetting he was invisible, as Snape hurried through the hallway and stomping out unto the Grounds, muttering something Harry couldn't hear. He decided it wasn't worth investigating, so he slipped his head out of his invisibility cloak and stepped out of the shadowy corner.
Just as he did, the beautiful face of Cho Chang appeared around the corner from the direction of where the Ravenclaw common room resides. Harry put the "hood" of his Invisibility Cloak up and decided he should tickle her, just for laughs. He hadn't seen her all day, and he missed her beautiful chocolate eyes and her ravishing smile. He missed her pretty laugh and her irresistible aroma. He reached her and whispered, "Cho…"
She jumped and looked around, confused.
"Choooo…." He said again, this time laughing. He reached her sides with his hands and tickled her, until she almost yelled, "MERCY! Harry! I give!!!" She was still laughing her pretty laugh when he let go. A grin was planted on her face and her eyes twinkled.
He slipped off his invisibility cloak and she jumped into a hug. He spun her around once and said, "I missed you today."
"I missed you too," she whispered, giving him a peck on the cheek. He smiled and returned the favor on her incomprehensibly soft lips, wrapping the Invisibility Cloak around them.
"Happy birthday," He said, slipping his arm around her waist.
"You don't know how sick I am of hearing that," Cho said with a laugh, her smile still planted on her face.
"Ok. Merry Christmas." Cho rolled her eyes and grinned, showing her perfectly white and straight teeth. He smiled as well, not only because of his little joke but because of her contagious smile. Whenever Cho smiled, everyone soon did. It was irresistible.
"Very funny. So where are we going?" She questioned. It was Harry's turn to grin.
"You'll see." He replied simply, leaving Cho on the edge of suspense.
"I'm so happy for today." She said as soon as they walked out the door.
"Why?" Harry asked curiously, a look of wonderment in his eyes.
"Because…" Cho paused. "Because I've lived another year. It's because I know I still have the day and tomorrow yet to come, and I still have my friends and my family. It's because I am still alive, and I have not a single reason to be shamed or unhappy. It's because I haven't let anybody down or hurt anybody. It's because I can live and not be punished by the past or tortured by what may come in the future." She stared straight ahead.
"I'm so happy for today." Harry said after a pause.
"Why?" Cho asked.
"Because I have my friends and another day to come, because I have lived to see another day. It's because I have you. You're the apple of my eye, to say. My life would probably be a living hell if I didn't have you, and before I did, it was. It was horrible trying to live the life that I did, whether I admitted it or not, because whether I like it or not, I have the whole fate of the Wizarding World resting on my shoulders, and there's nothing I can do to change that. But now that I have you, I cannot complain about anything that may go wrong, because all I have to do is remember you, and me, and this…" he kissed her lips. "and I will have peace of mind."
"Wow…" Cho whispered, and a tear drove down her cheek.
"Don't cry, Cho." Harry said, wiping away the tear.
"I'm sorry, it's just that… nobody's ever said that to me before." Cho replied. "I feel so… loved."
"You are." Harry grinned. "And don't ever doubt it."
Cho nodded. After a moment's silence, Harry broke the ice.
"I had a dream about you last night."
"Really? Was it a good one or a bad one?" She asked, looking around at him.
"It was good. Would you like to know?" Harry questioned, and she nodded in response.
"It started off as just me, in a pitch black emptiness. Nothing but darkness surrounded me, and I couldn't move. I couldn't fight it, and all I could do was sit there in the dark. But then, across the way, a light appeared. And suddenly, you appeared, these beautiful features of you that only belong to you. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and in the darkness, it was all I had besides myself. I could move, and I moved toward you, and as soon as I did, my world began to fill with color. And then I reached you, touched you, kissed you, and when I did, the pitch darkness became light and the light became color, and my world was bright, for the very first time in my life."
Cho listened intently and just replied with a simple, "Wow…" as they walked on the new fallen snow. The invisibility cloak was resting on his arm. He didn't remember when he took it off of them.
"It's true. You are the light of my life, and I am grateful. Which is why I got you this, for your birthday."
He handed her a blue box, in which resided the Golden Snitch necklace with her name engraved on it. "Harry, you shouldn't have!" She said happily, slowly opening the box and looking inside. She gasped and took out the genuine necklace and gave Harry a big hug. He smiled and took it from her.
"Let me put it on you."
Cho nodded and moved her long, soft black hair and he clipped the necklace together. He turned around and she let down her hair, looking at him. It was a perfect fit, as if it were designed to be on her and her alone. He grinned and she played with it, twirling her finger around it and moving the Charm snitch up and down the golden chain.
"I love it, thank you so much!" she gave him another hug and he grinned. Obviously, he had chosen something good for Cho, and she had liked it.
They stopped at the Lake, where they sat down and suddenly a birthday cake and two lit candles appeared, along with plates and forks and knives. Cho jumped and Harry just sat up, cutting the cake for a piece for him and a piece for her.
He broke out into song, singing softly in French.
"Bon anniversaire to tu
Bon anniversaire to tu
Bon anniversaire chere Cho
Bon anniversaire to tu!"
(Note: I don't know French. So if I did that wrong, I'm SORRY, ok, I'm not that talented to know so much French. Really. I'm sticking my leg out on that one, I really do not know French… so if anyone wishes to correct me, feel free… lol)
Cho's grin was plastered onto her face, practically permanently. "I didn't know you knew French."
"Neither did I." Harry said, stunned at himself. It just kind of came out, the song. Cho giggled.
"You have an excellent voice you know." She said.
Harry just shrugged. "I've always had it and never knew it, I guess."
A pause as they each bit into their cake and looked up at the sky.
"Tonight's a great night for flying… don't you think?" Cho asked, looking up at the clear, starry sky.
"It sure is… that's the next part, though."
"There's another part? This was enough for me!" Cho was slightly shocked.
"Enough is never enough, chere mademoiselle. C'mon, let's go." Both finished and stood up. The candles, plates, forks, knives, and the cake all disappeared. They started to walk, hand in hand, to the Quidditch Pitch, and soon arrived.
Harry summoned his Firebolt and it came zooming out the window of Gryffindor Tower directly into his awaiting hands. Cho gasped. "An excellent Summoning Charm! I remember from two years ago…" Cho sighed.
"Don't worry about it Cho. Everything is ok, and we shouldn't let the past haunt us. A wise man once said to me that it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
Cho nodded and half-smiled. For once, the permanently planted grin disappeared and it was replaced with nothing more than a mere half-smile. He did the same and wrapped his arm around her. She wiped her eyes.
"Well, how about we go for a ride?" He said, mounting his Firebolt. He let her get on in front of him so that they could both enjoy the view.
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Ron and Hermione were both outside after hearing the terrible news. It was very much night time now, but they didn't care. The grassy ground below them was hard and cold as they sat on it in silence.
"I just can't believe this. Foreclosure! It's like Mum and Dad didn't play the bills, and I know they did, because I watched them pay them!"
"Ron, it's okay, please, everything's going to be just fine."
Ron nodded as if he understood, but he didn't. He didn't understand how this could've happened. They have lived there, barely paying their bills, since Bill was born at least 25 years ago. Not to mention Dad grew up in this house, on this land. And now they had to move, move to someplace dreary with no memories and neighbors around every corner and not a single place to just fly around or be their magical selves. A tear threatened to run down his cheek until he wiped it away furiously. He didn't need crying in front of Hermione as well, making him seem insecure and stupid.
Hermione lay her head on his chest, and they both laid on the cold ground. Ron just played with Hermione's hair and tears fell down his cheek. He didn't want to wipe them away, because as soon as he would, he would feel more hot tears welling up.
Suddenly, whiteness appeared all around them. Hermione gasped and sat straight up. Ron wiped his eyes quickly and sat up as well.
"Ron! It's snowing!" A grin sat plastered onto her face. Sooner than later the snow picked up pace, and there was quickly at the very least an inch of snow on the ground. Hermione's hair was skattered with white bits of snow. She looked so beautiful, like the angel she truly was. Ron put his hand up to her face and brushed his hand across her cheek, and she shivered, not only from the snow but the feel of his touch. She grinned and leaned towards him. They shared a kiss, and Ron thought that all was right in the world at that very moment. He forgot about the foreclosure and about his Father's raise. All he could see was Hermione. Hermione. Hermione…
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After a long time of flying, they finally sat to rest on the stands of the Quidditch Pitch.
"This has been incredibly fun, Harry." Cho said, sitting closely next to him.
"There's more," Harry said.
"More?" Cho asked.
Harry nodded and picked up the star crosser. It looked like a quill, and he wrote something in the sky. As soon as he picked his Star Crosser up, the stars all around jumped in to make those words. Cho looked up and gasped, amazed.
"I love thee, Cho Chang" the stars read. Harry smiled and held out the final box of his present. She took it and kissed him slightly hard on the lips.
"I love you too, Harry." She said, and opened the box.
She gasped at what was inside. She took out the bracelet and set the box aside, holding it up. As soon as she touched it he touched the end of it, and their names were suddenly being traced onto the blank part of the priceless-looking bracelet. She put it on her wrist and stared at it, entranced.
"I love you, Harry Potter," she said as she hugged him.
"I love you too, Cho Chang. Happy birthday, and Merry Christmas." Harry replied, and they kissed. Fireworks exploded, the kind that have been building up and building up all night and were finally released. Cho was all he could think about. They continued the kiss and the fireworks exploded into the night sky, brightening up the darkness all around them.
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wow! Finally! DONE!!! You all should be very proud of me, I've finally finished! You know it's 9:00 precisely on Christmas eve? Merry Christmas to all of you, tomorrow! Please R/R!!!!
Love, Aubyn Lin xox