The One to Keep

by Phaedra

A refined Cho falls for the romantic charm of Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood. As passion flares, she notices her best Hufflepuff friend, Cedric, acting strange. Could he want more than just friendship? Cho, Oliver, Cedric triangle.

4. Pain and Pleasure

May 24, 2003

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with JKR and do not take credit for her brilliant work. These stories are based on her characters, setting, and ideas. I would like to thank the webmasters of Harry Potter Lexicon and the authors to "Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter" for much needed reference.

Also, Johnny Poo and Kaihn Aelathali should be recognized and appreciated for buffing and polishing my rough drafts. Thanks a million!

~*Phaedra Note*~

I finally live up to my PG-13 rating on this chapter. I hope I didn't over step my boundaries though. I'd like to especially thank those that reviewed my story. Makes me feel all good inside!

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~ Pain and Pleasure ~

By: Phaedra
Beta: Johnny & Kaihn 

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Roger, dressed in royal blue Quidditch robes, paced back and forth in front of the fireplace in the Ravenclaw common room. He rested his elbow on the mantle and ran his fingers through his thick dark hair. The Quidditch team, minus himself and one Seeker, had headed out to the Pitch for their morning practice. It was 6:05 am Friday morning, five minutes after practice was scheduled. Roger shook his head but held a smile. He had been good friends with Cho since they were little kids and loved each other as friends do. He was the only guy in her life that knew almost everything about her, including her family's complete lack of punctuality. Their relationship had always been platonic, and he intended to keep it that way.

"Well. I warned her," Roger said to himself as he headed up the stairs to Cho dormitory with a beater bat in his right hand.

He slowly opened the door, crept inside, and looked from bed to bed. All four poster beds had their curtains shut. He had one out of four chance of finding the right bed. 'Hmm. Eenie. Meenie. Miney. Cho.' He flung open the curtains of the bed he chose.

"Bingo," he said.

Cho lay on her belly hugging a pillow. She had a pleasant look on her face accompanied with a big smile. Roger quietly set his beater bat on the floor and very carefully peeled the covers off Cho's back. She was wearing a thin pajama short and tank set of baby blue satin. With his left hand he grasped the pillow that was under Cho's head and suspended his right hand high over her bum. In a quick motion he smacked her bootie making a loud pop and inverted her pillow over her face to muffle her scream. He could hear her babbling and struggling under the pillow. She finally stopped. He heard a sob. 'Is she crying?' Realizing he may have been too rough, he threw the pillow to the side of the bed, grabbed Cho's right arm and leg, and flipped her on her back in a coarse manner. She had an irritated look on her face.

"Jackass!" yelled Cho, still under Roger's grasp. Roger's worried face changed to an upset one.

"Why do girls love to fake it?" Roger said as twitched his head to dodge Cho's swinging left fist.

Although her right side was tied down, Cho used every ounce of strength to use her free limb to attack Roger. The irritated Roger took the liberty to jump on Cho's bed, shut her curtains, and pinned her beneath him. She thrashed about but was too weak to move Roger's muscular body. She started to squeal but Roger's hand met her mouth. She eventually stopped struggling and looked at him with piercing eyes.

"Thought I was kidding didn't you?" said Roger with a cocky smile. Cho flinched. "You're late to practice Miss Chang."

"Mmmmm!" Cho tried to speak but Roger's grip was too tight. Unexpectedly, the curtains flew open and there stood an awestruck Amy.

"Oh. My. Gosh!" she yelled loud enough to wake the rest of the girls.

Her eyes widened eyes and her jaw dropped as she studied the situation. Held beneath Roger lay a heavily panting Cho wearing nothing but her satin negligee.

"Wait, Amy! It's not . . . this is not how it looks!" he said releasing his hand from Cho's mouth and extending it to Amy.

"HEIDI! MARIETTA! HEATHER!" Amy yelled.

The younger girls, shocked into consciousness, bolted out of their beds and ran to Cho's bedside. In seconds the couple became a spectacle of lust. Roger, still on top of Cho, covered the panicked look on his face with a well-practiced arrogant grin.

"Excuse us ladies, official Quidditch business," he said with a cocky smile and shut the curtains on the prying sets of eyes.

Before he turned to Cho, she slipped out from under him and off the other side of the bed. He jumped out, momentarily caught in the heavy bed curtains, and followed her into the dressing room.  He was too late to follow her all the way inside, as the door unceremoniously shut in his face. He stood in front of the room with eight wide eyes glued to his back. He could hear the girls whispering. The sounds were burning in his ears, but he stood his ground with his eyes focused on the door and arms crossed. The door slowly opened. Cho stood facing Roger in her snug Quidditch uniform and Comet 260 broom.  He smiled at his lovely seeker. The other girls were quiet, waiting to see what happened. Roger extended his elbow to Cho, and she accepted. She walked passed her dumbstruck friends with her nose in the air and Roger locked to her elbow. Roger turned to the wide-eyed girls and flashed them a cocky smile and a wink.

"See you at lunch ladies. Or maybe another morning?"

He examined the barely dressed girls head to toe with a smile. All three girls flushed red and lost all control of their voices.  When Cho and Roger exited the room, the couple separated their locked arms.

"I'm very sorry Roger. Detention ran rather late last night," Cho yawned.

"Don't mention it.  I didn't mean to be rough on you, but you know I can't control myself with feisty girls," Roger joked and winked at the petite girl. Cho simply smiled. They were about to exit the common room when they heard a girl running after them.

"Roger!" yelled Amy who hadn't bothered putting on a bathrobe. She bounced to Roger in her black slip gown. "You forgot your bat," she panted.

"Thanks Amy. Sorry to wake you up there. Bye now, doll," he flirted.

"Okay, bye Roger! I'll . . . I'll see you later, okay?" flustered Amy hopefully. Cho looked from Amy to Roger with a raised brow. Amy was beaming but Roger's face was expressionless. "Bye guys," Amy said again as they left the common room.

"I will practice more tonight Roger," pleaded Cho. "I don't know what is going on with me lately. This is unlike me."

"A Chang, punctual?" Roger laughed. "You're kidding. I appreciate your dedication, but I won't be staying later tonight. Got me a date. You can stay and do what you have to do."

"Sure," replied Cho.

"C'mon now," said Roger, "let's pick up the pace."

The two started to jog to the Quidditch pitch once they exited the castle. It was a cloudy and cold morning. The sky was dark as the sunrise was blocked behind the clouds, preventing the morning sunlight from illuminating the grounds. Still, they could see the rest of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team flying with the Quaffle, blocking, and beating bludgers. Roger motioned his team to descend as he stepped onto the pitch. The three Chasers, Rex, Todd, and Taylor, were the first to meet Roger. They were extremely big and muscular seventh year players. Cho had no doubt they were the best Chasers in the school. Marquis and Ian, sixth year Beater and fifth year Keeper, followed. Marquis' arms were built like tree trunks. Ian was the thinnest guy on the team, but he still dwarfed Cho and intimidated his opponents. Roger was also tall and muscular, but his handsome face was not intimidating at all. Nonetheless, he was a very skilled Beater. His talent had earned him the Most Valuable Player award last year, and earned him the role of captain this year.

Once Roger reviewed the plays with his teammates, the players took their positions on the field and started a practice game. Cho flew energetically through the air, keeping her eye out for the Golden Snitch. The immense Chasers were as fast and skillful on their broom as they were strong. They bulldozed the pitch tossing the Quaffle back and forth. Roger and Marquis had nearly perfect aim at driving the Bludgers. They aimed at the Chasers to practice their shooting, while the Chasers had to practice their dodges. Many times they hit their Chasers but the practice bludgers weren't as dense as their regulation counterparts.  The Chasers simply flinched when they got hit and continued playing. Ian was having a hard time blocking Chaser's powerful Quaffle hurl. Suddenly Cho saw a faint glint drifting along the center ring on the grass. She dove down at immense speed after the Snitch. It was hovering inches from the grass. She extended her hand, caught the flickering ball, but lost control of her broom. Her old Comet 260 was not designed to turn at angles as sharp as Cho had just attempted. The tip of her broom stuck in the Earth like a dart in a dartboard. The broom stopped immediately, but Cho's momentum flung her off the broom and carried her forward at almost the same speed her broom had been traveling. She crashed on a rocky patch in the sands under the hoops and her body slid on her back. The rocks shredded her robes and scraping her skin.

"CHO!" yelled Roger.

He dropped his bat and dove in after her. He jumped and ran to her before his broom had landed. The Chasers drove their brooms to the goal posts and hovered over her body. She was whimpering in pain as her hand clutched the shiny Snitch.

"She caught the Snitch! Way to go Cho!" exclaimed Rex as he high-fived Todd.

Roger's face twisted into rage.  He grabbed the broom Rex was sitting on and yanked it from under him.  Rex landed hard on the ground and Roger smacked him over the head.

"You thoughtless ass!" he yelled with a deep red face. "Cho is seriously hurt." He knelt down to Cho. Her face was covered in tears, eyes wide shut, and screams of pain escaped her lips. Her hand grazed the curve of her back. "What's wrong? Are your bones broken?" Roger asked, his voice quivering in fear for her. Cho only cried louder. The rest of the players jumped from their brooms and knelt by Cho.

"Roger! Look at this!" said Ian as he observed her side.

Roger looked at Cho's side and saw her shirt hiked up from the sliding. He also noticed a pool of blood soaking into the sand, and his face went pale.

"Oh dear God," Roger exasperated. "Cho, I'm going to roll you to your stomach. Your back is bleeding. I need to see how bad it is."

Cho started to breath heavy. Her tears were now like waterfalls from her eyes. Roger took a deep breath and gently rolled Cho to her stomach. Ian guided her head so her face won't be buried in the sand. When Cho's back was revealed to the team's eyes, they turned their heads in shock and repulsion. Her back had been mauled. It looked like a vicious animal had attacked her. Blood smeared her back and dripped to her side staining the sand. A few shards of jagged rock remained embedded in her back.

"Oh God!" gasped Roger. "Cho, listen to me, I am going to carry you to Madame Promfrey. Grab my neck."

Roger rotated Cho's body slightly to free her arms. She wrapped her shaken limbs around Roger's neck. She held tight with the little strength she had. Roger then lifted Cho from the ground and moved his arms to support her legs. She was situated on him in a reverse piggy-back. He could feel her shaking and hear her whimpers as he rushed to the castle as quickly as he could move without jostling Cho too much. The other Quidditch players followed Roger as Ian ran ahead to make sure Madame Promfrey was ready for what was coming.

When Roger reached the hospital wing with Cho, Madame Promfrey was waiting with clean bandages, potions, and medical utensils. She guided Roger to put Cho in an empty bed, then she quickly shooed out the team so she could work uninterrupted.

"Oh dear," said Madame Promfrey. "Playing rough with the big boys, huh? Never thought Quidditch was fit for girls." Cho didn't cry or whimper, but she could not control her tears. She was too much in pain to defend her favorite sport. "Don't you worry my dear," Promfrey continued. "I can fix you up in one hour with no scars, but you'll have to stay here for a while after that to rest." She handed Cho an orange vial. "Drink this. It will relieve the pain." Cho did as she was told and instantly felt the pain disappear as she slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Roger sat in Charms class with the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. He was still in his Quidditch robes; the emergency with Cho hadn't left him time to change, not that he was thinking clearly enough to change anyway.  His robes were stained with dirt and blood, but the young girls in the class still found him attractive. They always thought Roger looked handsome in his royal blue Quidditch robes, and the stains added a layer of appealing ruggedness.  Roger usually thrived on the admiration from the girls in his class, but now his mind was focused on Cho's accident. He had a hard time following the Charms lesson. Throughout the lesson, he took minimal notes or sat in a daze. The two hour block was almost over when Jenna, who sat next to him, finally noticed how disturbed he seemed.

"What's wrong," she asked him. She noticed his face grew more worried. He took a deep swallow. Jenna surveyed him from head to toe and noticed the blood stains on his uniform. "Roger, what happened?" she pressed.

"Cho got hurt," Roger sighed, "badly. There was a rough patch on the pitch. She crashed into it." He rested his chin on his hand and shut his eyes tight to prevent tears from flowing. "She was in so much pain. But she should be okay, I hope. She's with Madame Promfrey now."

"Oh Gosh!" gasped Jenna. "How did this happen?"

"She dove for the Snitch and just lost control.  I don't think her broom was made for the moves she was pulling.  It . . . it was horrible to see."

Roger and Jenna kept silent after that. Both of their minds filled with worrisome thoughts. A young Hufflepuff man sitting behind them heard their discussion. His mind was also racing with thoughts of Cho's well-being. He had to see her, even if he had to risk sneaking out of class early. When Professor Flitwick's back was turned, Cedric took the opportunity to exit the classroom.

'I can't believe that Roger Davies,' Cedric thought as he tried to keep himself from racing down the hallway.  'He should have protected her from this.  He's her team captain. He shouldn't let his players try moves they can't pull off!' Cedric's walk turned to a run as he neared the hospital wing. When he reached his destination, he noticed Madame Promfrey disposing bloody bandages.

"Is she . . . " he began to ask.

"If you mean that little dear Cho, she is just fine, Cedric.  She's over there," she pointed to a screened off bed. "Please don't upset or excite her. She just woke up."

Cedric thanked the nurse and walked slowly to the screen. He peeked around the screen and saw the young beauty asleep on her belly. 'She lied,' Cedric thought with a smile on his face. He was relieved to see Cho in a blissful state. His gaze never left her beautiful body as he slowly walked to the chair by her bed. She lay there with a peaceful look on her face. Her back was half bare and exposed to his eyes, completely healed and unscratched.  A thin sheet covered the rest of her body. He almost felt wrong staring at the half-naked beauty, but his dreamy eyes stayed fixed on Cho. He sat there watching her sleep. He watched the contraction of her body with every breath she took. His eyes took in her soft and supple skin. He had never seen anything more breathtaking.

Cho finally opened her eyes to see Cedric sitting in the chair at her side, watching her.

"Hey," Cedric whispered. "How are you?"

"Cedric?" she whispered. "You came to see me?"

"Yeah," Cedric said softly with a heart-felt smile.

Cho felt vibrant as if a spark inside her gave her a blast of energy. She felt a rush of warmth run through her body. She was glad Cedric had come to see her; she wanted to envelope him in a big hug for his thoughtfulness. Cho rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up straight to do exactly that. She didn't realize her body had been stripped of clothes. The sheets slipped to her lap and her chest welcomed Cedric's eyes. Cedric gasped and turned his head to the floor. His face flared red.

"Uhh . . . " muttered Cedric, his eyes clamped shut.

When Cho finally realized the indecency of the situation she let out a soft gasp and plopped back to the bed covering her body with the sheets. After a minute passed, she poked her head from underneath the covers like a turtle slipping hits head out of its shell. Cedric's red face was buried in his knees.

"I'm sorry," Cho whispered.

"Uh . . . No, no, It's okay," stuttered Cedric and revealed his eyes. "I mean. . . I should be the one um . . . the one apologizing . . . eh." He covered his eyes again. He felt disgraced. "I just wanted to check and see that you're feeling well. I overheard Roger in Charms."

"Cedric . . ." said Cho as she touched the side of his face. "Thank you." He found little courage to open his eyes and look at her.  She wrapped herself in the sheets, and smiled at him.  He managed to smile back, weakly.

"I'm so lucky to have a friend like you," she said to him. Those few words turned Cedric's light heart to lead. 'Friend,' he thought.

"I care about you Cho," he said. "I was worried."

He leaned in toward her and brushed a strand away from her face. He looked pensively at her and softly stroked the side of her cheek.

"Cho? Oh thank God you're all right!" Jenna knocked Cedric out of her way and hugged her. Cedric nearly fell off his chair. Roger stood by the screen looking a little relieved. Jenna continued, "You had me so worried! I was about to kill Davies for letting this happen to you!"

"No," said Cho, "I probably would still be on the pitch bleeding if Roger hadn't carried me to the infirmary. God knows someone like Rex would have just left me there. But Roger kept his wits. He didn't panic, too much. Thanks Roger," she continued smiling at her Captain.

Roger blushed. He was still too traumatized by the incident to respond in his normal cocky tone. Instead, he graciously nodded.

"You three need to give Cho a moment to change," Madame Promfrey said to Cho's visitors. "Cho, I had your uniform fixed and cleaned. If you're ready to go you may do so. Don't forget to stop by my office and retrieve your excuse form. You three, OUT," she scolded to Roger, Cedric, and Jenna. Cho's friends left the infirmary and waited outside for her.

"Thank you Madame Promfrey," said Cho.

She dressed herself in her restored Quidditch uniform. She flexed her back under her clothes. It seemed as if she had never been injured. She met her friends outside the hospital wing after thanking Madame Promfrey once more and retrieving her note.

"You look great," said Cedric as he hugged Cho. He held her tightly. He didn't want to let go but Cho wiggled in his strong arms trying to get free.

"C'mon, Cho. It's lunch-time," said Jenna. "We still have a few minutes."

"I'm going to change," said Roger.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Roger," said Cho when she realized the blood on Roger's uniform was hers.

"No, no. If I cared about my clothes over my teammates, especially you Cho, I'd run you to the hospital wing in the buff," smiled Roger. The girls giggled. "Bye guys. Oh, Cho forget about practice today. Get some rest . . ."

"NO! I'll see you at sunset, Davies," she winked. "And if I'm late, you won't find me in my bed."

Cedric looked at Cho with a raised brow. "Long story Diggory," Cho said as she blushed at Cedric.

"You're a stubborn one Miss Chang. Please be careful tonight, okay?" Roger smiled at Cho and ran to the Ravenclaw room.

~*~*~

Jenna and Cho sat at the Ravenclaw table and updated their friends about recent incidents. Cedric went to his Hufflepuff table and kept stealing glances at Cho. Her accident stirred new emotions in him. He felt the urge to run to Cho to be with her. For a brief moment, he wanted Cho to be on his Quidditch team. He felt he could protect Cho from accidents. Then he thought of all the accidents that happened to Seekers, especially ones he'd experienced. It saddened him when he realized that Cho may have accidents that were far worse than this morning's. When lunch finished, Cho and her friends exited the hall to head for Charms. Cedric watched her leave. He was glad that she had fully recovered but sad to see her walk out of his sight.

"You're lucky you missed Potions this morning, Cho," said Marietta. "Snape was in an awful mood. More than usual."

"Yeah, but Defense Against the Dark Arts was great!" said Heidi. "Granted, Lupin is not as good-looking as Lockhart, but he had the class on the edge of their seats. We got your homework by the way. We thought you were so busy practicing you'd forgotten about class."

"Oh, that reminds me. I have to turn in my excuses to Professor Snape and Lupin. Remind me again after Charms," said Cho.

As they were walking down the hall they noticed a pack of loud Gryffindors. The girls paid no attention to the obnoxious boys except Cho. Oliver was in the middle of the pack laughing and joking with his friends. He didn't notice her. Cho tried to hide the pain of being ignored that streaked quickly across her face as she kept walking forward.

Moments later, they entered the Charms class. The duration of the lecture and exercises seemed rather difficult to Cho. It was unusual since Charms had never presented a problem to her. Heidi and Amy also seemed to have a bit of trouble with today's lecture. Their first thoughts were that the classes had gotten much harder.  Their second thoughts were that they were all rather distracted, each for their own reasons of course. When the lesson finished, Cho, Heidi, and Amy went to the library to study it while they still had a handle on the material. Marietta offered to join them after she found Joey.

"I don't understand why this is so hard?" whined Cho. "Charms is suppose to be nothing compared to Arithmancy."

"I agree," said Heidi. "Maybe were not cut out for silly wand flicks."

"Hey girls," Ritchie, a fellow classmate and annoyance called as he approached the group. "Long time no see."

"Hey boy," said Amy. "We haven't seen you since dinner last night. Where have you been?"

"Malfoy!" groaned Ritchie. "He made my nose swell. Had to go to the infirmary."

"Infirmary?" said Cho. "I was there all morning, I haven't seen you."

"That's because you were too bloodied up to notice. You were pretty bad. Took pictures of it! But, I'm glad to see that you're feeling better."

"Well, I was awake at one . . . PICTURES? Of my bare back?"

"I thought you might keep it for your scrapbook," said Ritchie. "When Craig's girlfriend spilled hot grease all over his belly; he didn't mind me snapping away. Pretty cool burn!"

"What is the matter with you?" Cho huffed, earning her shushes from other students. "That is a horrible thing to do!"

"So you don't want to see them?" said Ritchie as he flashed the pictures in Cho's face.

"Give me those!"

She snatched the shots out of Ritchie's hands and flipped through them with the girls peering over her shoulder. It took less than three seconds for the girls to squeal in disgust. A furious Amy punched Ritchie in the nose. Ritchie's nose began to bleed instantly as he staggered across the floor.

"How dare you do such a thing! Especially without her permission! That is the most awful thing a friend could do!"  Amy was livid.

Cho started to feel nauseous. Seeing her in such an awful state, she ran to the nearest bathroom but unfortunately the nearest one was on the second floor in Moaning Myrtle's lair. The ghost wasn't present when Cho gagged in an empty stall. She really wasn't upset with Ritchie. She knew he didn't know better and that he was just being a dorky, thoughtless guy. But she was not about to let him make a fool of her. She was smart enough to find a way to get revenge. Cho left the toilet for the sinks to wash up when Moaning Myrtle hissed from behind her.

"You made a mess in my toilet!" she scoffed. "You disturbed my slumber!"

Cho ignored the ghost. She finished rinsing and left the bathroom. She could hear the cries and yells of the ghost when she left. She hated to be disrespectful to the dead, but dealing with an agitated Myrtle was more than Cho could handle at the moment. Cho cleared her throat and entered the library to find her friends. She hoped that Ritchie had disposed of the pictures. Unexpectedly, Cho found both Ritchie and Amy absent from the group.

"Where is Ritchie?" Cho asked. "And Amy?"

"Infirmary," said Heidi. "Amy popped him a good one. His nose swelled without magic! Unfortunately she thinks she broke her hand doing so."

"I wasn't here but Heidi told me everything. I'm so sorry Cho. That was very wrong of Ritchie. I think he deserved what he got," said Marietta.

"Should we pay a visit to our dear photographer friend?" Heidi said with a devilish grin holding Ritchie's camera. The girls giggled.

"Let's give him a taste of his own medicine!" smiled Cho. They packed their bags and walked out of the library. "I forgot to turn in my excuse form! You girls didn't remind me!"

"Sorry Cho," said Heidi. "It's not too late. We can stop by Snape's and Lupin's office on the way back." Cho dug in her bag in search for the slip.

"Oh," she said. "Well it looks like we need to visit the hospital wing for more than one reason. Madame Promfrey forgot to sign my slip."

"This is perfect!" said Heidi.

"It is?" asked Cho.

"Yes. You seek Promfrey and get your slip signed. While she is distracted we'll snap away at Ritchie! Quiet now," she ordered her friends as she opened the hospital door.

They crept passed the bed where Amy lay with her hand covered in bandages. The girls smiled at Amy, Heidi waving Ritchie's camera. Knowing very well what her mischievous friends were up to, she kept her giggles down and emerged a devilish grin to her friends. Cho rushed ahead to find Promfrey. To her luck, she was busy stocking medical supplies and had to lead Cho to her office to fetch a pen, thus buying Heidi more time to snap pictures.

Heidi and Marietta crept around a screen and found Ritchie passed out on a bed. His black and blue nose stretched from ear to ear and was stuffed with cotton to stop the bleeding. His mouth was wide open to allow air into his lungs. However, this made him rather ugly. His tongue dangled out from a wide-open mouth. A litter of kittens could have hidden themselves inside.  Heidi and Marietta found it hard to suppress their giggles.

"Now how does this work?" said Heidi fumbling with the muggle camera.

"Here." Marietta, who was familiar with muggle toys, took the camera. "You look through this window, aim, and press this button. Make sure you can see him in the window. What's in the window will be the picture." Marietta demonstrated by taking a shot of Ritchie.

"Let me try," said Heidi. She took the camera from Marietta and took several shots of Ritchie. "Here," she handed the camera back to Marietta. "Get one of him like this!" Heidi stuffed cotton swabs in Ritchie's ears and tongue sticks in his wide mouth. "Looks like a moose!"

"That is one beautiful moose!" Marietta shot several more pictures of Ritchie until Cho rushed towards them. She looked at him and started laughing.

"Let's go," she said trying to suppress her laughter. "I stalled Madame Promfrey enough. She's about to check on her patients."

They heard Promfrey's office door opened. The girls dashed out of the infirmary and flashed a smile to Amy on her way out. Amy laid there with a big smile on her face when she heard Madame Promfrey freak over Ritchie's new decorations. Madame Promfrey's complains could be heard well outside the hospital door which caused the girls to burst into laughter.

"Well wait," said Heidi with dying laughter. "How are we going to get the pictures out?"

"Here," said Cho as Heidi handed the camera to her. "I know of a second year that is rather talented with photography. I'll find him. See you girls at dinner."

~*~*~

After Cho dropped off her excuse forms to Lupin and Snape, she searched the corridors for Colin, a second year Gryffindor whose hobby was photography. She found him on the benches out by the cloisters reading a school book. She walked behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. 

"Excuse me," said Cho. He looked up at her with wide eyes. "Hi, my name is . . . "

"WOW! You're Cho Chang!" he beamed and stood up. "All my friends think you're the most beautiful girl in school! And you're talking to me?"

"Uh . . . " Cho blushed. "Thank you. Um. I understand you're very talented in photography. I was wondering if you could help me."

"WOW! You want my help?! WOW!" he beamed. "Yes, I'm really great! I can develop anything anyway you like! Black and white, color, still, and moving. Come with me!"

He grabbed Cho's wrist and led her down the corridors. Many heads turn to observe the geeky little nuisance associating with a popular girl. Cho smiled innocently at them until Eliza crossed their paths. She didn't say anything but cast Cho a filthy look. Cho looked away. 'She probably thinking I'm fraternizing with kids now,' she thought. Colin led her into a dark red room.

"Don't turn on the lights," Colin said. "It ruins the pictures. Here." He took Cho's camera and extracted the film to develop it.

"What is this room?" asked Cho.

"It's the Magical Photography lab. What kind of pictures would you like?"

"Still colors please, Colin," Cho requested.

"Yes mam, wow!" beamed Colin.

He felt it was such an honor to do a favor for Cho. He carefully performed the steps in developing film. Cho walked around the room observing the pictures. She found a lot of pictures of Gryffindors and Harry Potter in many poses.

"Are all these yours?" asked Cho.

"Yes mam," said Colin.

Cho looked at the many pictures of Harry Potter. She smiled in admiration. 'He was very brave and courageous for a boy his age. He accomplished so much in so little time,' she thought. She scanned the many pictures of Harry until she found a stack of pictures with a familiar face. She held them up for a closer look. They were pictures of Oliver Wood. The first picture showed him in his Quidditch robes smiling at the camera while flying on his broom. 'He looks so handsome here.' The next picture showed Oliver laughing and goofing off with his friends. 'Playful.' The third picture did not bring a smile to her face but rather a frown. The third picture showed Oliver smiling and laughing, but he wasn't alone. His arms were around a beautiful tall and thin brunette. 'Jenna?' she thought. She was shocked. She had no idea they had a relationship. Sadly to Cho, they looked like the perfect match. She felt her heart sink to her stomach. He looked so happy with her. In the picture they were hugging and kissing. He was affectionate, caring, and held love in his eyes. She couldn't look anymore; she slipped the picture in the middle of the stack.

"All done Miss Chang," said Colin as he handed the pictures to her. Cho drew her attention to the comical pictures of Ritchie, but she could not smile at them.

"Thank you, Colin," said Cho. "Hey, when where these pictures taken?" asked Cho referring to the Oliver stack.

"Oh," said Colin as he flipped through the stack. "Thursday morning."

"Thursday? Yesterday?" Cho said in shock. Colin nodded. She hoped they were old pictures of Oliver in a relationship from the past. 'I thought he liked me! Does he? He is so good-looking. He can have any girl. Why my friend? Why did he play me' "Huh," she pouted.

"Is something wrong?" pressed Colin.

"No. How much do I owe you for the pictures?" Cho changed the subject.

"Nothing! Keep them! I would pay to develop your pictures."

"No, no. I always pay my debts. Here, this should cover your troubles." Cho reached in her robes and handed Colin a couple of sickles. He refused. "Take it!" she insisted.

"Okay," said Colin in a meek voice as he accepted the cash.

Cho smiled at the boy and thanked him again. She left the room with the pictures of Ritchie. She looked at her watch and noted that it was time for dinner. She realized that she would be seeing Jenna and Oliver in the same room and groaned. She walked to the Great Hall with an expressionless face. She made her way to the Ravenclaw table to join her friends. She sat with her back facing the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables. She would rather not be in Oliver's view. She noticed Jenna sit across from her. She gave her friend a stern look. She wanted to interrogate Jenna about Oliver. She wanted to know how long they've been seeing each other, how she felt, and the answers to many other questions Cho hadn't formed words for yet.  She also realized Jenna had no idea about Cho's feelings for Oliver. She took a deep sigh and decided to concentrate on other matters.

"Feeling better Ritchie," Cho smiled in attempt to cover her true feelings.

"Yes," said Ritchie. "Listen, Cho, I am very sorry of taking pictures of you. I know it was cruel and wrong of me." Cho smirked. She handed Marietta the recently developed pictures.  Marietta passed them to Amy, Heidi, and Jenna. The girls burst out in laughter.

"Oh still, my beating heart!" laughed Jenna. Cho glared at her, but smiled to hide her jealousy.

"Hunk of burning love!" joked Heidi. "Now if Roger were to come into our chambers looking like this in the morning, it would melt my butter." The fourth years giggled.

"Very funny, Heidi. I thought it looked pretty melted this morning anyway though," groaned Roger.

"Wha?" Ritchie leaned over the table and saw his poses. "Cho!"

"That's what you get!" she giggled. Ritchie flared red and pouted.

"Okay, okay. Truce?" he pleaded to Cho and extended his hand. She took it with a smile. Dumbledore stood up, said a few chants, and food appeared on the table. Dinner had commenced.

"We can trade pictures later," said Cho. "I don't need to lose my appetite." Cho served herself some meatloaf and passed the plate to Roger.

"Are you sure you are really feeling all right, babe?" asked Roger taking the platter and serving himself a large helping.

"Yes," said Cho. "Couldn't be more excited about practice."

"It's why we love you Cha Cha," beamed Roger. "You're so dedicated. The Quidditch Cup will be ours for sure."

"Hope so," Cho said softly.

She took a sip from her water glass. She heard laughter coming from the Gryffindor table behind her. She had the urge to turn around to look for Oliver but thought it would be best to keep her eyes forward. She was feeling a maelstrom of emotions, few of them good. She didn't know how she would react if she saw Oliver's face. She tried to keep her mind focused on the upcoming practice. Thinking about Quidditch was the one thing that always relaxed her mind.

~*~*

Soon as dinner ended, Cho rushed out of the Great Hall to avoid Oliver, but she was interrupted.

"Cho! Cho, wait up!" said a husky voice. She recognized the voice but continued to walk forward. "WAIT!" He grabbed her arm. Cho abruptly turned and met eyes with Oliver Wood. Her look was ice-cold; Oliver pulled away instantly.

"Yes?" she scoffed.

"Well . . . I was . . . I . . ." he choked. Cho's unexpected behavior was making it difficult for Oliver to speak.

"You were what, Oliver?" Cho snapped.

"Uh . . . Wanted to know what you were doing tonight," he said.

"I am very busy, now please excuse me," Cho said a stern as her shaken voice would let her and walked off.

She did not smile at Oliver or gave him a last look. She could feel her heart ache and tears start to form. She wanted to have him but was not about to destroy her good friend's relationship. She took a deep breath and tried to shake the memory of the picture out of her head. She had Quidditch to think about. The thought of practice gave her a burst of energy. She ran to the pitch.

Cho prepared herself for another Quidditch practice in her locker room. She was still wearing the royal blue robes from this morning. She performed her stretches in the middle of the girl's locker room floor. She was too embarrassed to do them in front of the pig-headed chasers on her team. Being the only girl in a rough sport was proving to be more challenging than Cho thought. Then she thought of the three girls on the Gryffindor team. 'Wonder if Oliver fooled around with them too.'  She shook it out of her head, grabbed her broom, and headed for the pitch. The cloudy morning turned into a clear evening. The sun began to set over the trees of the Forbidden Forrest.

"Hi there Cha Cha," said Roger. "Glad to see you here, but please be careful this time, okay? I'd rather see you well than catch the Snitch."

"Roger, I would not have accepted this position if I were not willing to take the abuse," Cho said sweetly.

Roger smiled.  In no way did he regret picking a girl for the Ravenclaw Seeker, especially one with such determination.

"All right team," Roger said in the middle of the team huddle. "Same routine as this morning. Keep a cautious eye and don't lose your head! Positions!"

The Ravenclaw team took their positions and started practicing on Roger's command. The Chasers were ruthless with the Quaffle, Ian's blocks were improving, and Roger and Marquis smacked the bludgers around the field with the force and speed of a hail of bullets. Cho on the other hand drifted on her broom, scanning the pitch for a flick of gold. She finally found the Snitch hovering over Rex's head. She shot like a bullet for her target. She reached for the Snitch nearly knocking Rex of his broom.

"HEY!" shouted Rex. Cho flipped around and smiled at Rex with the Snitch flickering in her hand. The boys on the team shouted and hooted at their Seeker.

"Knew she could do it without hurting herself," Rex mumbled while rubbing his head. "Knew it all along."

"Good job, Cho," Roger said in a neutral tone. He wanted to shower her with praise for her skill and ability, but as Captain, he could not show favoritism. "Let's have a few more runs and call it a night."

The team practiced harder throughout the evening. The Chasers became faster and moved with the coordination of professional dance troupe.  Ian became a stone wall in front of the rings, only allowing one shot to make it through the goal. The Beaters showed no signs of fatigue as they continued to send the bludgers flying with enough force to shatter bone. Cho found the Snitch within minutes of the start of each practice run. After Cho caught the Snitch for the fourth time, Roger beckoned his teammates to the grass.

"All right mates, great practice!" The team members hooted and barked. "Let's have a brief meeting tomorrow after lunch and go over more plays. I'm very proud of you all," he winked at Cho when the others weren't looking. Cho felt so proud of herself she forgot all about the frustrations she felt earlier. Roger looked at his watch.

"Holy cow! I'm so late!" Roger rushed to the showers to prepare for his date. The cocky Chasers roared and mimicked the sounds of whips after Roger.

"Do any of you have a date tonight?" Cho asked the giant Chasers. They hushed and looked at her than at each other.

"Uh . . . Sexy Rexy has five thank you," Rex said cockily and left the pitch followed by the rest of the Chasers and Marquis. Cho rolled her eyes.

"Great job tonight Cho," said Ian as he lagged behind the rest of the group. "Are you coming?"

"No, I want to practice a bit more," said Cho.

"I don't want to leave you alone out here," said Ian.

"I'll be fine," she said gracefully. "I want to perfect a few moves. If I'm not up in an hour send search party." She winked at her teammate.

"I don't think you need anymore practice, but suit yourself. Just be careful," said Ian as he caught up with the rest of the team.

When the Ravenclaw team was out of sight and the sun was beginning to set, Cho released the Snitch from her hand. She waited until it flown out of sight. She then hopped back on her broom to hunt for tiny orb. The lack of light made it only harder for her to see. She flew around for what seemed like hours. The sun had nearly fallen behind the horizon, but it still gave off a faint amount of light to illuminate a golden object near the locker door. Like a falcon diving for its prey, she plummeted towards it. When she approached it, she realized that it was not a Snitch. She tried to stop, but was too startled to stay in control of her broom. Her old Comet 260 jerked and bucked, flinging her into the air.

She closed her eyes tight and waited for another painful impact, but it never came.  Her body had stopped falling, but she had not hit the ground. She wasn't hurt.  And she felt like she was being held in place.  She opened her eyes and found herself in the arms of a young man that had apparently caught her.  Her body was quite shaken and the stranger held her close. She stayed in his arms breathing heavy and quivering. She looked down at ground, her feet still dangling over it from her broom. The diminishing sun flickered on a gold watch in a patch of dirt she had mistaken for the Golden Snitch. Her savior's dark robes had blended into the shadows; she had not even seen the body on the field.  She finally recovered enough to look up at her savior, to see the face of Cedric. He looked at her with a playful smirk shaking his head. She was still too distraught from the experience to say anything. She continued to pant heavily as she rested her head on his chest. She could hear his heart thumping in his chest, and that sound soothed her.  She could have fallen asleep to it.  Much to her dismay, he guided her to the ground to stand on her own two feet.

"Looking for this?" Cedric said cockily as he wiggled his watch.  "I dropped it and hadn't had much luck finding it.  Thought I'd lost it."

"I'm very sorry, Cedric," pleaded Cho, still hysterical. She finally noticed Cedric's robes.  They were not his house robes. He was wearing his Hufflepuff Quidditch uniform. She had little doubt he had planned to practice before she ran into him.

"I'm glad I was standing here to catch you.  I saw my watch and then saw you barreling towards it.  Then again, if I hadn't dropped this bloody thing, you wouldn't of dove for it and lost control. I'm the one who should be apologizing," he pleaded. Cho smiled and gave him an unexpected hug.

"Thank you, Cedric," she breathed. He was about to wrap his arms around her in return when she pulled back.

"Oh, look at me! I'm a sweaty mess! I didn't mean to hug you like this!" she blushed. Cedric smiled trying to hide his disappointment that she'd pulled away.

"You know I don't mind," Cedric said softly. Cho blinked. "Um . . . Remember on the train? About the scrimmage? Would you like to?" Cedric said hastily to change the subject.

"Of course," said Cho, "but how are we going to practice in the dark?"

Cedric lifted his wand and chanted.  The field lamps sprang to life, providing enough light to make up for the sun hiding beyond the horizon.  He smiled at a wide-eyed Cho.

"I didn't know you could do that!" beamed Cho. Cedric just smiled at her and handed Cho her broom. She took it from his hand as Cedric knelt down to pick up his own.

"What do you say, best three out of five?" Cedric propositioned.

"That much?" worried Cho. "We'll be out here forever! I hope you realize we have a ton of Arithmancy homework due Tuesday!"

"Tuesday? We still got plenty of time! It's Friday," said Cedric. "Which reminds me, are you going to the House Mixer tonight?"

"The what?" asked Cho.

"The House Mixer?" said Cedric. "Well, there is this room where all the fourth years and above have access to. You can buy butterbeer and sweets of all sorts. The prefects organized this Mixer to welcome students to the new school year."

"How come nobody told me about this until now?" asked Cho as she playfully punched Cedric's arm.

"There was an announcement last night!  Maybe if you listened once in a while . . " he taunted.

"When I was in detention?" said Cho.

"Well, I was going to ask you about it this morning, but, well, with the circumstances," he trailed off remembering Cho's accident. "I'm sorry." Cho crossed her arms and gave him a smirk.

"Well, I planned to study tonight."

"Not if I beat you," Cedric winked. "If I win, you're gonna go to the House Mixer with me!"

"And if I beat you?" Cho pressed. Cedric took a deep sigh and looked up.

"Fine, we'll go to the library and work on Arithmancy," breathed Cedric. "Dear Merlin, Please let me win!"

"One . . . " said Cho, as the two mounted their brooms, "Two…" They prepared to accelerate.

"THREE!" shouted Cedric as they kicked off and sped across the pitch. The two weaved and buzzed on their brooms for minutes until Cedric caught the Snitch.

"One for me!" he said proudly as he descended to the middle of the pitch. Cho followed.

"Nice," she said. He released the ball. They waited a full minute and hunted for the ball again. Cho noticed that Cedric, although rather big for Seeker, was very skilled. He caught the Snitch for the second time with little trouble.  Cho hadn't even seen it before Cedric had snatched it from the air.  They met again in the middle of the pitch.

"I may be crazy, but I think you want to go to the social tonight," Cedric smirked.

"Try again!" growled Cho.

As before, Cedric released the ball and the couple waited to chase after it again. Cho finally saw a flicker by the other side of the goal hoops. She noticed Cedric following her closely. In attempt to fool him, she swerved to the side towers to steer him of course. Like a moth to a flame, Cedric followed. When Cedric found himself unable to break away from the tangle of towers, Cho steered off course to the Snitch and pulled it from the air.

"Well done," Cedric praised and met her at starting position.

Cho smiled and released the Snitch. They waited. When the time was right they rose and searched for the ball. Both Cedric and Cho saw the Snitch and accelerated toward it. This time, Cho's lighter weight and greater swiftness were at an advantage. She speed ahead of Cedric and caught it once more.

"Nice Cho, very nice," Cedric congratulated Cho as they met at starting position. "But there is no way I'm studying tonight, young lady!"

Cho released the ball. The fifth round was harder than the others. Cho and Cedric searched endlessly. A glint that caught Cedric's eye finally appeared to graze millimeters over the grass. Cedric dove for it at immense speed. Cho remembered a similar situation that took place this morning. She was hesitant to follow him for fear of another injury. Her hesitation passed, and she took a deep breath and followed.   She could not keep up. Cedric's greater weight pushed him down faster in the free-fall dive. She dove faster and faster toward the ground. She tried to stop as she approached the ground but her sweaty hands lost control of the broom's handle. Her body flipped 180 degrees a few centimeters over the grass, still holding onto the broom. The broom stopped with her back facing the ground. Her hands slipped from the broom, and she fell on the grass landing with a violent thud. Cedric, with the Snitch in his hand, looked aimlessly around for Cho. He finally found her collapsed on the ground.

"CHO!" Cedric speed towards her and jumped off his broom before it had come to a stop.  "CHO! Are you all right! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't dive like that!  I knew you'd try to follow and I went for it anyway!  I'm so sorry Cho, please be ok!" He rushed to her and knelt by her side. He found her lying there open-eyed with a peaceful look on her face.

"I'm okay," whispered Cho. "You won fair and square." She managed a smile and sat up strait. She felt no pain, but the adrenaline rush limited her movement.

"No, No, You win! We can study!"

"You're kidding? Study on a night like this?" she managed to say softly and slowly.

Truth was that Cho wanted to go to the Mixer with Cedric but was not about to let him win. She wanted to prove herself as an excellent Seeker and would have gone to the Mixer regardless if she won. Cedric sat by Cho's side and put his arm around her and rested his head on hers. They were both panting from the intense scrimmage and excitement. She still smelled of plumeria to him even after hours of practice. When the couple caught their breath they took a moment to look up at the stars. The pattern of the stars made Cho remember last night in Professor Vector's office with Oliver. She wondered if she would see him with Jenna tonight. She almost did not want to go, but something inside her had the desire to accompany Cedric tonight.

"Ah . . ." said Cedric as he plopped his head on the grass.

He ran his fingers through his hair. He couldn't take the pleasure of holding Cho anymore. He was afraid he might do something that she would not approve of. But, Cho laid her head next to Cedric. They kept their silence as they gazed at the stars. Cedric took a deep breath. He wanted this moment to last longer but he was afraid what would happen if it did. He reluctantly stood and extended a hand to Cho.

"Shall we go?" he said lightly. Cho took his hand and stood up. Cedric grabbed the two brooms and walked with Cho to the castle.

"You play very well," said Cedric. "Now I'm worried about our first game." He smiled.

"You play well yourself, better than I do," Cho replied. "I appreciate the praise though." Cedric blushed but the darkness kept it well-hidden.

"You had me worried for a moment. I couldn't bear to see you hurt," Cedric sincerely said.

"I'm fine Cedric, I was lucky this time though. I guess you know my weak moves now," Cho half smiled.

"No. . ." said Cedric softly. "As good looking you may be in your uniform, I was keeping an eye on the Snitch than yourself. But now my eyes are glued to you." Cedric flirted.  He wasn't used to being so forward, but something about Cho, or how he felt about her, demanded it of him.

"Well, we're both at loss," said Cho as Cedric opened the castle door for her. The indoor light illuminated his uniform. "You look smashing in bright yellow. Could be a distraction!" Cho giggled and Cedric burst into laughter. They giggled and playfully teased each other until Cho reached her porthole.

"Well, meet you here in an hour?" asked Cedric.

"Sure, bye now!" she flashed him one last smile as he turned the corner. Cho entered the common room feeling happy despite the memory of Oliver with Jenna.  She entered her dorm room to prepare for a wonderful night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*Phaedra Note*~

I used the names of Gator Football (well former) players for the rest of the Ravenclaw players. Go Gators! On a side note, I'm assuming that Roger was the beater because of the other team patterns. Cedric-Hufflepuff Seeker, Oliver-Gryffindor Keeper, Marcus-Slytherin Chaser, what's left? Roger-Ravenclaw Beater!