Chapter 4-Memories of a Not So Rememberable Memory

"But we didn't even---well, do anything to cause this!" Harry said.

"Do anything? Well, Harry, I'm sure you know what it takes to make this…..happen." Professor McGonagall said.

Harry cannot believe he was having this conversation with a teacher. Professor McGonagall especially!

"Harry, Cho has been sick for weeks, can you think back to that time?" Professor McGonagall said.

Harry began to sweat and he noticed Cho was blushing very deeply and wasn't looking at any of them.

Recall that time? Harry thought back to every detail he could. And then he remembered something. A date.

*A Few Weeks Ago Memory*

"Hi Cho, you look very, very pretty." Harry complimented, his cheeks growing hot. He was taking Cho out for a stroll and some elves from the kitchen gave him food for a picnic ("Yes, food for Harry Potter, sir! House-elves most delighted!"). It was a clear Saturday afternoon and he met Cho by the library. She was wearing a yellow and blue sundress which showed off her nicely tanned skin from the summer. Harry had asked her out the first week of school, for a date that is, and she accepted, much to Harry's surprise and happiness.

Harry has never really taken a girl out before, and his horrible experience with the Yule ball definitely couldn't count. Dudley didn't have any dates from Harry's memory, and he didn't really get help or learn anything from Dudley---not that Harry thinks he could ever. Ron didn't have any good experience with girls and Harry decided it was too personal and embarrassing to ask Hermione about good date ideas. Besides, she was bickering with Ron about writing exactly two and a half rolls of parchment and where the half mark stood as Harry exited the Gryffindor common room. He didn't tell anyone that he had a date.

"Thank you Harry, you look good yourself." Cho said beaming. Harry, in effort to prepare, wore his best shirt with his jeans, and in hopeful attempt, wore his green dress robes. He didn't know if he was over-dressed with that part. Harry tried to pat down his messy hair, and since he only had sneakers, hoped that Cho didn't mind. She certainly looked very calm and very radiant. Harry looked mismatched with his sneakers, jeans, and dress shirt and dress robe.

For some reason, Harry had a great urge to ask Cho out on a date, and he felt a sudden, warm attraction to her as he never did. He has never felt this way about anyway. It's like he had taken a love potion.

He wasn't sure if he was to escort Cho outside, and his hands were sweaty, so they walked side by side. Cho was talking to keep things running smooth. Harry thought that she must've been experienced at this.

"I can't wait until the first Quiddich game," Cho said, trying not to giggle at Harry's nervousness.

"Oh, yeah, Quiddich." Harry said absentmindedly. He had a bad feeling he was turning into Neville Longbottom.

And Neville was another person Harry couldn't go to to ask for advice. Neville definitely wouldn't do.

As they walked outside and a breeze came through, though, Harry felt more relaxed and made a better effort in conversation with Cho.

They sat down under a shady tree and Harry put his picnic basket in-between them.

"I brought some food," he said, pointing to the picnic basket.

"Oh great." Cho replied, smiling.

Harry felt very warm by Cho's smile. How very beautiful it was…..

The funny thing is, Harry couldn't remember what happened afterwards. All he could remember was that he and Cho had a very good time outside and laid on their backs later watching clouds and talking. They must've fallen asleep, and when they woke up, Harry found that it was dark and he and Cho was laying right beside each other with their clothes half off!

Harry woke Cho and she was just as startled as he was. Harry put his best shirt (now full of grass stains) and robe back on, and then left running, with Cho and the food behind him.

The next day, Harry avoided Cho completely out of embarrassment, but later, he felt a deep attraction for Cho again, and they found each other talking. Later, Cho asked Harry to meet her in the prefects' bathroom, where they could talk privately again about what happened. But the weird thing was, they fell asleep, and woke both in the bathtub!

This time, though, Harry didn't seem as embarrassed (and certainly did not run off and leave Cho by herself). Instead, they both tried to figure out what happened.

"I really like you Cho, but not enough to, well…..go this far." Harry said.

"Me either, Harry. What happened?" Cho asked.

And they couldn't figure out what. A week later, after trying to keep things friendly, but not too friendly, they had a mutual break-up.

And now, Harry found himself sitting in the hospital wing with a very uncomfortable silence.

"Well Potter? Do you remember anything?" Professor McGonagall said impatiently.

"Well, uh, not much." For some reason, Harry didn't think it would be wise to tell Professor McGonagall about the prefects' bathroom or the very long picnic on a Saturday afternoon. And he was in trouble enough already.

"Well, then. What are you two going to do about this?"

"Are we going to be expelled?" Cho asked.

"No, I think not, unless Dumbledore thinks that is necessary." Professor McGonagall answered. "If I were you, Miss. Chang, I would be informing my parents as soon as possible. This matter isn't something to drag on."

Cho nodded, but didn't look very convincing. Being an only child, she knew how disappointed and furious her parents would be.

Professor McGonagall dismissed Cho with advice to keep quiet about this until they speak to Dumbledore after her classes and to think about what to do. Then she turned to Harry.

Harry swallowed a huge lump in his throat. 'Boy, you've really done it now, Potter.' He thought.

"Do you plan on marrying her, Harry?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Harry hasn't even thought of marrying Cho!

"Well, I really….I don't know." Harry answered.

"Unless you want to leave her with an illegitimate child and to bring it up on her own, I suggest you two talk about how to handle it. It might seem overwhelming to you, Harry, but just think of her position."

And she dismissed him with this.

**

"So is it true? Did the famous Harry Potter impregnate Cho, his ex-girlfriend? And he's dating someone new?" Malfoy's ever-happy face came to the Gryffindor table during dinner.

Harry never knew how these things travel so fast.

It seemed that everyone heard, and Ginny wasn't speaking to him. Either was Hermione. Ron was the only one at his side, but even Ron seemed a little nervous to talk to Harry. ("And too bad you missed Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor LeBlanc would've cheered you up!" but that didn't help Harry at all) Everyone avoided Harry at safe distance, but whispered about the fresh gossip.

"Why don't you get a life, Malfoy?" Ron said angrily.

Malfoy ignored Ron and kept at it. "Bet everyone doesn't think you're all that now, don't they, Potter? You'll finally be caught at something you can't get away with! Even with Dumbledore!"

He walked away with Crabbe and Goyle before Harry's fist hit his face.

Hermione haven't talked to Harry since that morning at breakfast, but he suddenly saw her fiercely walking over to him.

"Harry!" she exclaimed as a thud of books fell on the table. "I was too angry to speak to you at first, but how could you? Do you have any idea how Ginny is feeling?"

"Hermione, please." Harry said, his headache throbbing in his head. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. Harry felt even more stressed than he did last year at the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

"Harry you're so---" but what he was, Hermione never finished, because all of the sudden, a big bang exploded nearby.

Half the students eating heard this and turned to see what was the racket.

Fred and George Weasley were on the ground, in what looked like a fistfight! With each other! One of them (or both) must've knocked the other's plates on the ground and food was spilled everywhere.

"WEASLEY! And…..WEASLEY?!" Professor Snape said marching in with several other teachers following closely.

"COME WITH ME TO MY OFFICE NOW!" Professor McGonagall said. "And twenty points from Gryffindor! EACH!"

"You stay away from Katie!" Fred (or George) yelled to the other.

"Why would she go for an ugly git like you?" the other shouted back. And they continued as they were binded with arms behind their backs with McGonagall's wand and McGonagall was holding them by the ears roughly.

The whole Great Hall was talking excitedly about what happened (and shockingly).

"Weasley fighting his own brother?"

"Did you see how angry they looked?"

"I never thought I'll see the day they would be enemies!"

"Who was the Katie one of them were referring to?"

"Weasley fighting his own brother?"

All this chaos both worried and relieved Harry. On one hand, everyone was talking about George and Fred instead of him and Cho, but on the other hand, he was wondering, 'what caused them to fistfight'?

**

After dinner, Harry and Cho was sitting together facing Professor Dumbledore in his office in still silence.

"Harry, would you like to explain? Or would Cho like to start?" Dumbledore said again.

Finally, Harry spoke, "Well, Professor, I honestly did not know what happened…..actually, I have some idea….but…." and he stopped. That didn't sound right.

"I'm sorry, Harry, what was that?" Dumbledore asked. His eyes gave a warm twinkling although his mouth did not smile.

"Professor Dumbledore, I am truly, truly sorry if this brings shame to Hogwarts," Harry began. "and I want you to know that I will try my best to accept this responsibility. Cho won't have to go through it alone." There that sounded a lot better than the first attempt.

Cho looked up to Professor Dumbledore with sad eyes and in a nervous voice said, "Professor Dumbledore, if it's necessary, I suppose I'll have to withdraw from the school…..unless you can accept me here with the circumstances."

Dumbledore looked at the two students for some time, and then after a deep breath, said, "You both seem to be able to handle this……right now, anyway, you've shown no signs of panic or strange ideas to solve the sudden announcement. I see no reason to expel you Cho," he said turning to face the pale faced girl. "because you are a good student, a prefect! And you will remain prefect unless your studies drop otherwise. Harry," Dumbledore turned to Harry. Harry became very nervous again. "I suppose you and Cho must be in love?"

Harry looked at Cho and knew that he could not just leave her by herself with a child. It wouldn't be right. Harry felt that he should take up to his responsibility----it was only fair and right.

"Yes, I love Cho." Harry answered. He wasn't sure if Cho loved him back, but saying that he didn't love Cho would look very, very bad to the current state of affairs.

"Then I trust you two will be arranging a marriage in preparation for your child?" Dumbledore said seriously.

Cho reached over to hold Harry's hand. "Harry, if you don't want to….." she started softly.

"Yes, I'm willing to marry Cho and accept this responsibility and to start learning how to be a good father." Harry answered with more confidence than he felt. He knew that the important thing was to make sure Cho knew she wasn't alone…..and to figure out how to have Cho's parents accept him. Harry has never been raised by parents since he was one year old. And the Dursleys are certainly not people to go to for that kind of advice.

"Good." Dumbledore said and smiled. "Then, I hope you two will inform your parents…..uh, your relatives to you, Harry, of this as soon as possible. I'll have you do this in your own time. But know that procrastination of this will result with the school sending an owl."