Even When There's No Way, There's Always A Will
~* Well there's a couple of people who are still reading this story, so I'll keep writing! *~
Chapter 26 ~ Durmstrang
The Quidditch Tournament was two weeks away, six teams had been training hard, both Starkals teams, both Hogwarts teams and both Beauxbatons teams. Durmstrang still hadn't shown up, and the competing teams were beginning to get worried, and wondered when they would arrive.
Above all, Cho and Draco had chosen to keep their relationship secret, not wanting people wondering why it was that they got back together after all they had been through.
The Starkals students had become rather friendly towards Hogwarts students. Harry had become quite close with Vicky Heather, they even began walking to classes together, but Vicky, like all other foreigners, didn't attend Hogwarts classes.
'Vicky, what do you see in him?' Asked Brittany Mitchell one morning.
'He reminds me of my twin brother, Simon,' Vicky had replied.
'That's freaky,' Brittany had said, shaking her head.
In the mean time, Harry had fallen for Vicky, forgetting all about Cho, who had seemed much happier lately. He realised that he only thought he was in love with her because he felt sorry for her. As Captain of the Hogwarts Silver team, Harry had more important things to worry about than a heartbroken Ravenclaw.
Harry had made training sessions longer, much to the extent that his team mates were complaining about the length. Even Justin, Captain of Hogwarts Gold, wondered why Harry was training his team so hard. But Harry had good reason, he wanted his team to win.
No one knew how much Durmstrang had been training, no one knew what they would be like on the Quidditch Pitch, and they feared the worst. The Hogwarts Captains stressed the importance of watching Durmstrang and charting them as soon as they arrived.
Cho and Draco seemed to be having more and more secret meetings, some, not so secret. They brushed past eachother in the hall often and exchanged smiles, the surrounding people looking stunned and confused.
Seeing how Cho and Draco behaved around eachother civilly, Andrea had decided that she would forgive Draco for punching Cho. If Cho could forgive him, then she most certainly could. So Draco and Andrea once again went everywhere together.
'Draco, are you disappointed that you aren't to compete in the Quidditch Tournament?' Andrea asked as they walked across the Hogwarts grounds to a stadium.
'Well, at first I was, but then, Quidditch is over-rated anyway, who cares?' Draco replied as they walked the many stairs to sit at the very back, looking out on the third Quidditch Pitch. 'You can't change things, so there's no point dwelling on them,' He continued as they sat down.
'Do you ever think that there's somewhere out there, better than here, that you would much rather be?' Andrea continued. Draco smiled.
'No, Andrea, I would much rather be here than anywhere else,'
'Why's that?'
'Because I have everything I need right here,' Draco said happily.
'You weren't like this a few days ago, what's changed?'
'Cho and I got back together,' Draco told her, unable to keep it from his best friend any longer.
'Oh, really?' Andrea said, quite the opposite of happy and excited. Infact, she looked completely against the idea.
'Is there a problem with that?' Draco asked, concerned about her opinion. Andrea shook her head abruptly.
'No… no problem,' She said cautiously, shaking the matter off.
'Do you feel that you belong somewhere else?' Draco asked, referring back to what Andrea had asked him.
'Yeah, sometimes, but not right now, right now I like where I am,' Andrea said, smiling at Draco, who frowned in confusion.
'What does that mean?'
'Nothing much,' came the reply.
'I have a girlfriend, Andrea, I told you,'
'I know, perfect, pretty, Head Girl Cho Chang, love of your life, your reason to live, the reason that you're so happy here,' Andrea said, lowering her voice to a whisper. 'You weren't happy before you met her, were you? Before then it was just you and me, and you hated it, you were miserable, admit it,'
'That isn't true, Cho just brought out a side of me that was hidden away from everyone, I care deeply about her, I can't change that, even if I wanted to,' Draco said. 'I just wish you would understand that, Cho is the girl for me.'
His words sounded so final to Andrea, which just made her angry. She stood up and walked away, down the stairs and across the grounds, as far away from Draco as she could get.
'Tut tut tut, quite a pickle you've worked yourself into this time, eh Draco,' Said a voice from behind him. Draco spun around to see Pansy Parkinson standing behind him, a large smile on her face. 'Your best friend, or your girlfriend, however do you choose?' Pansy continued as she jumped over the row of chairs and sat herself in the chair Andrea had left empty. \
'Sod off Parkinson, I'm in no mood for your petty games,' Draco snapped.
'That's a shame, because I could help you decide,' She said slyly.
'There's no decision to be made, Andrea would not make me choose between her and Cho,'
~***~
'Choose,' Andrea folded her arms across her chest. Draco sighed heavily.
'Don't do this to me Andrea, it isn't fair,' He pleaded.
'Do you think this is fair on me? How long have we been friends? Cho steps into your life and you fall in love with her within months,' Andrea said sharply.
'What kind of a friend would make me decide between my girlfriend and best friend,' Draco said, his voice barely higher than a low whisper. He was mad, it was clearly visible from the look on his face, and by the sound of his voice.
'So run to Cho, your precious little princess, cry to her, be the pussy you are, I should have known you weren't a real Slytherin,' Andrea snapped, but didn't move, wanting to see Draco's reaction to her doubting his loyalty to his house.
'You talk to me about being a real Slytherin? Look at yourself, Newbury, you have been everything but a true Slytherin, at least I had five years of being a cowardly Slytherin,' Draco yelled.
'Just look at you now, dating a Ravenclaw, in love with a fucking Ravenclaw! How much more pathetic can you get? Oh, right, dating a mudblood would be worse, but not by much! You need to get your priorities in order,' Andrea said harshly.
'I have my priorities in order, and you aren't one of them!' Draco screamed back at her.
'Like I would want to be one of your priorities anyway, you treat your priorities like absolute shit, you punch them in the fucking face for crying out loud!'
'Cho isn't my priority, she's my girlfriend, I put her over my priorities,' Draco said, but Andrea could tell that she had hit him right where it hurt.
'Well while you and your girlfriend had time apart, she was off shagging some French fuck head who doesn't know the difference between love and lust,' Andrea yelled.
'What happened between Cho and Miguel is none of mine, or your business! Don't get involved in things you know nothing about,' Draco roared.
'He slept with her, then threw her away and moved on to Mariette, forgetting about Cho like she was yesterday's Daily Prophet, you know it's true, and you know that Cho will never get over that and move on with your life, you are with a girl with baggage!' Andrea hissed.
'You shut the fuck up about Cho, you know nothing about her!' He screamed, unable to control his temper.
'Just so happens that I know a lot about Cho, and her relationship with Miguel, she told him everything about you, and he's hounding your blood,'
'He doesn't care about Cho, so why would he want to get me?' Draco replied.
'Because it's your fault he lost her, Miguel bragged so much about how good Cho was in bed, and thanks to you, he's lost his little Play Boy Bunny,' Andrea chuckled, Draco lunged for his wand which was sitting on a small table, but she got there first.
'Give me my wand you worthless piece of shit!' Draco yelled.
'Don't defend your whore,' Andrea said in a sing song voice.
'What the fuck are you on? Why are you saying these things about Cho?' Draco roared, he had now completely lost his temper with Andrea, and was ready to kill her.
'Haven't you heard?' Andrea gave a fake innocent look. 'I think you should have a serious chat with your girlfriend, and make sure everything is out in the open,'
'What are you talking about?' Draco growled.
'You should hear it from Cho herself,' Andrea grumbled, and walked out of the Slytherin, but she was closely followed by Draco, who was in such a rage that he wasn't going to let her get away that easily.
'Get back here and tell me what you know!' He screamed. Andrea spun around to face him.
'Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me, you have to hear it from Cho herself,' Andrea said sharply. 'You wouldn't believe it even if Anabelle and Mariette told you, this is something you have to hear from Cho, no one else,' And with those words, Andrea turned and walked away.
~***~
It was the next morning, and everyone was enjoying their breakfast, talking merrily. Draco hadn't had the chance to talk to Cho, but he promised himself that he would, first available moment. Besides, Andrea was probably bluffing.
'Hey, look!' A Hufflepuff kid yelled out, pointing to the lake, where a large ship was emerging.
'They aren't very original, they arrived like that last time,' Someone from Gryffindor pointed out blankly. Everyone poured out of the Great Hall, through the Entrance Hall and out onto the grounds where they would greet their Durmstrang competitors.
They had a new Headmaster, obviously, as Karkaroff had done a runner after the Tri-Wizard Tournament two years ago. This man was scrawny with a goatee and a monocle.
'I am Professor Dolatov, the new Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute, and I am pleased to announce my two teams, Durmstrang Green, and Durmstrang Blue.' The Professor announced. Continuing, he announced the first name. 'Durmstrang Blue Keeper, Trukov Ufimtseff,'
Trukov was small and skinny, with whispy blonde hair and green eyes. He walked to the space near the lake and stood, facing the Hogwarts, Starkals and Beauxbatons students.
'Durmstrang Blue Chaser and Captain, Esmerelda Bryant,'
Esmerelda was tall and built with long brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She walked over to stand next to Trukov, also facing the crowd of students.
'Durmstrang Blue Chaser, Dennis Schulz,'
Dennis was skinny and tall, with short honey blonde, spikey hair and brown eyes. He had an evil grin on his face as he sauntered to stand next to Esmerelda.
'Durmstrang Blue Chaser, Kassándra Jimenez,'
Kassándra was tall, chubby with a mass of curly orange hair and squinty brown eyes. She must have thought she was cool, because she strutted over to stand next to Dennis, giving the students some "I'm All That" smiles.
'Durmstrang Blue Beater, Elliott Pomory,'
Elliott was tall with thin brown hair and glasses. He was a stocky build, which was clearly noticeable as he wandered to stand next to Kassándra.
'Durmstrang Blue Beater, Micara Endenburg,'
Micara was tall with thin blonde hair and a rather large nose. Her eyes were brown and her smile crooked. She walked over to stand next to Elliott.
'Durmstrang Blue Seeker, Ligia Leite,'
Ligia was short, tanned, skinny with long black curly hair and soft brown eyes. She was definitely pretty. She walked to stand next to Micara, looking extremely happy to be there. The Durmstrang Blue team were all wearing plain robes of ocean blue, obviously their playing robes.
'Durmstrang Green Keeper and Captain, Hans Kippen,'
Hans was short with thick brown hair and green eyes. He walked over and stood two meters from Ligia signalling a team change.
'Durmstrang Green Chaser, Juléy Rothemonde,'
Juléy was a small, skinny girl with short black hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She walked over to stand next to Hans, looking rather shy.
'Durmstrang Green Chaser, Dijov Whittaker,'
Dijov was tall with an athletic build, he also had thick brown hair and green eyes. He wandered happily over to stand with Juléy.
'Durmstrang Green Chaser, Claudia Erskine,'
Claudia had short brown curly hair and blue eyes. She was medium height and had a regular shape and form. She waved at some people in the crowd as she took her position next to Dijov.
'Durmstrang Green Beater, Vern Elkington,'
Vern was as tall as Claudia, with short red hair and green eyes. He walked to stand next to Claudia with a large smile plastered on his face.
'Durmstrang Green Beater, Rachel Rowe,'
Rachel was tall, with straight light brown hair and deep brown eyes. Her face remained expressionless, as if to be intimidating, as she walked over to Vern.
'Durmstrang Green Seeker, Jennifer Schulz,'
Jennifer looked like Dennis, with the same nose, eye colour and colour hair, but her hair was long, thick and straight. She was rather pretty. Jennifer took her position next to Rachel.
'There are Durmstrang's best Quidditch players,' Professor Dolatov explained.
'Come, Professor Dolatov, I shall show you to your chambers,' Dumbledore said coming forth from the crowd to lead the Durmstrang students away.
~***~
Draco searched the mostly empty Entrance Hall in a desperate attempt to find Cho. He hadn't seen her all day, and was beginning to get the feeling she was avoiding him. It was seven PM, and Draco searched for her frantically, needing to ask her about the thing Andrea was talking about. Whatever it was, curiosity had gotten the better of Draco, and he needed to know.
Someone came up behind Draco and put their arms around him. Draco spun around, hoping it was Cho, and he was rewarded. Cho stared up at him with her soft brown eyes. She smiled.
'Hi Draco, I haven't seen you all day, where have you been?' She asked.
'I've been looking for you all day,' Draco replied. 'I think we need to talk, can we go to the Ravenclaw common room?' Cho looked puzzled and worried.
'I don't think so, they're having a party in there tonight,' Cho said. 'But we could take a walk around the grounds,' Cho suggested. Draco nodded and the pair of them walked out of the Entrance Hall and onto the Hogwarts grounds.
'Come in here,' Draco suggested, lifting the tarp of the nearest Quidditch stands. Cho ducked under and Draco followed, letting the tarp drop behind him. He looked over at Cho, too worried to say anything. Finally, he found the right words.
'Cho, we haven't really been back together for that long, and a lot of things happened in the time that we were apart,' Draco began.
'What are you trying to say?' Cho asked, sensing that something was very wrong.
'Andrea and I had an argument, mainly over you, and she said some things about you which weren't very nice,'
'What did she say?' Cho asked, realisation slowly dawning on her face.
'She said that you slept with Miguel, and she also called you a whore,' Draco said slowly, trying not to offend her. Cho looked at the ground. 'So it's true?' She slowly nodded. 'Then what's this about you being a whore?' Cho didn't look up from the ground, tears pouring freely from her face.
'Miguel isn't the only guy that I've slept with,' She said, refusing to look at Draco, who was appauled.
'Why didn't you tell me? Why did you let me hear it from Andrea?' He asked, not getting angry, just anxious for some answers.
'I'm sorry Draco, I didn't know how to tell you… I didn't know how you would take it,' Cho stammered.
'Cho, that's no excuse not to tell me these things, you know everything about me, and now I feel as if you are a stranger to me,' He said softly.
'No Draco, I'm not a stranger to you,'
'If certainly feels that way,'
'But it isn't that way,' Cho pleaded.
'How many people have you slept with? Who?'
'That is irrelevant,'
'I don't think it is, I think it's important, I think everything should be out in the open,' Draco insisted.
'Well, Miguel, Harry -'
'Potter? You slept with Potter?' Draco fumed.
'You're the one who wanted to know!' Cho cried.
'I'm sorry Cho, but how can I look at you and not see the things you've done?' Draco started, Cho began to cry again. 'How can I be with someone who's slept with Potter, and Merlin knows who else,'
'Don't…'
'I don't think we should see eachother anymore, this won't work now,' Draco finished. Cho stopped crying, her face expressionless.
'I have cried too many tears over you, Draco, I just don't see the point of being upset anymore,'
'That is a good thing,'
'No, it means you've pushed me to hurt so many times that I don't feel the pain you give me anymore,' Cho told him.
'This isn't my fault, you cannot blame me for not wanting to be with you after all you've done, and you didn't even tell me! You didn't have the decency to tell me the truth about yourself, how can I be with you when we have no trust, when you go around with Potter when you and I aren't together for a few months,' Draco said, pausing to take a breath, but Cho got in before he could continue.
'That's right, when we weren't together, I have always been faithful to you, Draco, I would never have cheated on you,'
'If you were so sad about us not being together like everyone says you were, why would you go off with other guys?'
'To try and get over you, okay? But it didn't work!' Cho screamed in frustration. 'And you know what? Now I'm going to go off and do it all again, you know why? To try to get over you!'
'Go ahead, do what you like, I want nothing more to do with you Cho, this is the end, no more "us", I will not protect you anymore, I will not come back,' With those words said, Draco lifted the tarp and stalked across the grounds and into the castle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
~* Wow, that chapter took a long time to write, believe it or not! I hope it was good… I didn't actually plan another Draco/Cho break up, it kinda just wrote itself… oh well. Please review guys! Thanks! *~
~Gryffindor Gal~