Ok peoples! Here's chapter 24 and finally Harry and Cho's date.
Miss Aurelia: I couldn't keep Harry hating Hermione forever. What with Ron expelled. Even if I'm not a great fan of Hermione. Actually there's a different reason for Harry and Cho going to Hogsmede and before you get worried it won't be a total disaster. Yay! Reviews! I like reviews I'm trying to beat my friends record, so I need more. Hee, hee. Anyway you like reviewing my story so ha! We both win.
Fireboy: Oh you're good. But not exactly right, there's something which no-one will get and stop focusing so much on Harry. Who says Voldemort wanted Ron expelled so Kieran could get close to Harry……..
Pippi: I think I get what you mean now, anyway I'm glad you liked my chapter and I hope you like this one just as much!
Kemenran: Glad you liked it, hope I updated soon enough for ya!
Ghetx2o: Yup! They're officially over. Loving you're reviews as usual you're the greatest! I wish you could review 100 times per chapter too. *sighs* sorry I was just imagining getting 100 reviews a chapter. Lol, like that would ever happen. Anyway, hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you
Indigal: I'm glad you liked the official end to Harry and Hermione. I tried to make it sound ok, but I wasn't sure. Kieran? Heh, heh, heh. He's my closely guarded plot secret and you won't get anything out of me! Yet I think some have started to guess bits about him. There are a couple of things I don't think you'll ever guess. Hahahaha! I sometimes watch Smallville it's quite cool, I never thought of Cho like that, but I guess I see what you mean now. And the Order….well you'll just have to read and find out.
Zou-Chang: Yup, well I was never a big Hermione fan anyway!
HoshiHikari4ever: yeh I wrote a finalised break-up just to keep you happy. Lol, no I liked writing it anyway. Of course Harry still considers Ron as a friend, they were best friends for 6 years, that all can't just end. Anyway, you'll see why it has to be like that in about chapter 27.
Erika: I know what you mean, parents! Anyway, I'm glad you're still liking my chapters, and glad you liked the way I ended Harry and Hermione, I didn't know whether I wrote it very well. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for this chapter. and I'm so flattered that I'm your favourite author.
Harry-Potter-Rule: Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for this chapter! Don't worry I'll always keep writing for my reviewers!
Lara: Sorry, my reviewers like long chapters, here have some caffeine to keep you awake! *rolls eyes* hee, hee I know you hate that!
LogicalRaven: Don't worry about that date, I could never make it into a big fiasco, they're too good together for it to go wrong again. It's more a reason for Harry to talk to Cho about the Order and stuff. Hope you're not disappointed.
Princess Plankton: Great. Cos in my fridge I know what this is, hey cow, hey cow, this is what cheese is made of, hey cow, hey cow, this is what cheese is made of.
Tylah: Yeh, it had to end sooner or later, and I couldn't; keep them from being friends, they need each other now Ron's been expelled *cries* I miss Ron too, but don't worry he still plays a big part even if you don't get to hear anything major about him for a few chapters. Sorry! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for this update!
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Harry and Cho wandered through the streets of Hogsmede together. Their favourite topic was Quidditch and since most of the time they talked it was about Voldemort it was a relief to laugh about something for a change and just have fun together.
They walked past Madam Puddifoot's and Harry's stomach tightened, he hoped she wouldn't want to go there again. But she showed no interest in it and they went straight past and into the Quidditch shop only a few doors down. They must have spent nearly and hour there and neither bought a single thing. Harry was very tempted by a glinting golden snitch in the window but decided against it, anyway, he didn't really need one.
They went to the Three Broomsticks around lunch time and, despite the numerous amounts of people around who Harry knew, and at who waved at him to sit with them, they sat alone at a table in the corner. Harry was amazed at how relaxed he felt around Cho, compared to the previous year when he even felt nervous to hold her hand. Now they could have sat there all day, talking, laughing and kissing.
Eventually Harry decided it was about time he told Cho about the order. When there was a final break in talking he started.
"Cho you know I told you I had to talk to you about something?" he said. Cho nodded.
"Yeh, I was wondering when you'd bring that up, is it about Voldemort again?" She asked lowering her voice.
"Well kind of……." He paused, "You have to promise to keep it a secret."
"Yeh, ok, I can keep a secret." Cho replied reassuringly squeezing his hand.
"It's about this secret society," Harry began, "It's called the 'Order of the Phoenix'." Cho nodded, looking very interested. "Dumbledore founded it a long time ago when Voldemort was at full power, now that he's back, he's re-founded it. It's for wizards who want to fight against Voldemort. They do a lot of planning against him, spying, stuff like that." Cho didn't interrupt, she let Harry continue with his explanation.
"Obviously Voldemort doesn't know about it, and it has to be kept very quiet so he never finds out, only very select people can join, I'm not a member, I'm not allowed because I'm not old enough. But all the teachers are and a lot of old members like Mad Eye Moody and Lupin, do you remember Professor Lupin?" Cho nodded.
"Why are you telling me?" she asked, though she had a pretty good idea why.
"Well I asked Dumbledore and he thinks you should know because we're are supposed to be fighting Voldemort. Dumbledore said he can try and get us into the order, technically you're allowed because you're of age, but I'm not." Harry paused again. "That's pretty much everything." Cho looked very impressed.
"Wow! That sounds like a great idea!" She said enthusiastically. "So are they going to let you become a member?"
"Hopefully, Dumbledore says he's going to try everything to get me in, and if we're lucky you'll be allowed in as well, once everyone's met you, in the order and stuff." Harry replied.
"Cool, I can't believe you're not in it already, I mean cos you've faced Voldemort."
"Yeh, well, Molly Weasley, Ron's Mum, wouldn't let me, she said I was too young." Harry said sighing.
"But still you've been through a lot more than, I bet, anyone in the Order of the Phoenix." Cho said, sounding slightly disbelieved. Harry shrugged again, he had wanted to join the order as soon as he had learned what it was about, but he hadn't been allowed, he could kind of see Mrs. Weasley's point of view, but he still thought he could handle being in the order.
Harry and Cho talked a lot about the order, Harry told her all about the members in it, he even told her about his parents being in it before they were killed. Cho seemed very interested and listened avidly to everything Harry said. It wasn't long before they realised it was almost time to get back to the castle. They left the Three Broomsticks and wandered slowly back still talking, but not about the order, Harry thought it was best not to talk about it in public too much, in case anyone was around to hear.
They reached the castle and walked up the stairs and a long the corridors until they reached their goodbyes, Harry kissed her quickly on the cheek.
"Remember not to tell anyone, it has to be totally secret," Harry said, trying to sound stern but not being able to resist a smile, as she kissed him again, but this time on the lips, in a long passionate kiss. They stood together for at least a minute, arms wrapped around each other, neither willing to break away.
"Bye Harry," Cho said, in that angelic voice Harry loved so much.
"Bye Cho, see you soon." She smiled in return as if to confirm this and they departed their separate ways.
Harry returned to his dormitory where Kieran was lying on his bed reading.
"Hey Kieran." Harry said brightly, his voice filled with happiness.
"Oh Hi Harry, you look happy, did you have a good date?" Kieran asked eyeing Harry inquisitively. Harry smiled.
"Yeh it was great." Harry replied. "What did you do?"
"Nothing much, Seamus and Dean showed me around Hogsmede, the shops and stuff, they even showed me the shrieking shack." He said enthusiastically. Harry grinned.
"Yeh that place is pretty cool." He said suddenly remembering when he'd been down their in his third year, under the Whomping Willow. The night he'd first found out the truth about Sirius Black, his Godfather Kieran noticed his dazed look and waved a hand in front of his face.
"Earth to Harry, Harry?" Harry suddenly snapped out of his thoughts laughing.
"Sorry," he said clearing his mind of Sirius.
"Thinking about Cho again?" Kieran asked grinning. This seemed like the obvious option so Harry nodded his head. "You really like her don't you?"
"Yeh, she's really amazing," Harry said sighing happily and collapsing on his bed. Kieran asked a lot of questions about Cho and Harry, Harry was glad to answer them, he'd never really talked to anyone about how he felt towards Cho but he could talk easily to Kieran. They ended up talking about Kieran's ex-muggle-girlfriends, they spent another evening talking and laughing. It was becoming a routine for Harry and Kieran to talk about anything and everything. He could talk to Kieran more easily than anyone even…….Ron
It was weird but Harry found himself thinking less about Ron and a lot more about Kieran, it was like Kieran had taken Ron's place in Harry's life, and although it was crazy for anyone to be able to replace Ron. That's how it felt. They spent most of their time together. (except when Harry was with Cho.) Harry even spent less time with Hermione.
When Harry had been worried or sad, Ron and Hermione had always been the people who had helped him out, made him laugh or just given him someone to talk to. Now it was Kieran who did that. To Harry, Kieran was a best friend. It was weird, it could only have been about a month since Ron left and already Harry had found himself someone new, a new best friend to share everything with, and he hadn't yet realised it.
Harry even thought about telling Kieran about Voldemort, about the times he'd battled him. But he stopped himself, thinking that he'd already re-lived all those memories not long ago to Cho, he didn't really want to do it again.
Besides he was happy the way he was, he hadn't been having weird dreams about Voldemort for a while and he hadn't been experiencing Voldemort's feelings. Harry didn't know, or really care why. He just liked the happy feeling that filled him a lot of the time. And another thing, if Kieran wanted to know, Harry was sure he would ask. It turned out Kieran did want to know, and he did ask.
One evening Harry and Kieran were sitting in their dormitory after a Quidditch training session. The conversation was running low. They'd already covered every single aspect of the session, and talked about their upcoming match against Slytherin, which Kieran was playing in. It was his going to be his first real game and Harry had been giving him hints. But they seemed to have run out of things to talk about. Until:
"What's it like?" Kieran asked staring up at the dormitory ceiling. Harry gave him a bemused look.
"What's what like?" He replied sitting up. Kieran paused for several seconds.
"Being you, you know, like being Harry Potter, the boy who lived?" he said slowly. Harry shrugged.
"It's ok, sometimes it's hard with everyone staring at you and being in the papers, but I guess I just get used to it." Harry replied, having random flashbacks of previous years, the 'Potter Stinks' Badges Malfoy had made when he'd been made second Hogwarts Champion for the Triwizard cup. Headlines with large pictures of himself plastered across the front, back stabbing articles written by Rite Skeeter.
"What about you-know-who?" Kieran asked, he sounded slightly apprehensive, as if he didn't know if he should be asking Harry this.
"What about him?" Harry asked not in a harsh way.
"What's it like battling against him?" Kieran replied, not looking Harry directly in the eyes. Harry shrugged again, wondering how it could be possible to put it all into words.
"I don't really remember what it was like, it's kind of blurred, and I guess I don't really want to remember it." Harry replied, sighing quietly.
"I suppose I'd want to forget it. If it was me. Do you wish it wasn't you, that it someone else had to, like, fight Voldemort and stuff?"
"Yeh all the time," Harry replied suddenly, "I've heard people complain about detentions or having to do too much homework, and I wish they could realise how hard it is to be me, always having Voldemort hanging over you, ready to strike, and when he does, you know it'll be you who gets dragged into it, and who ends up facing him again."
Harry wasn't really concentrating on what he was saying,. The words just poured out of him. It was true, he had thought this many times, even about Hermione and Ron, but he'd never voiced it.
"I guess no-one could ever know what's it's like to be you, what it's like to have that on your conscience, I know I could never even imagine." Kieran said honestly. Harry nodded.
"Yeh, I wish they could though, I wish someone could understand, Ron and Hermione were……are the closet people I have to just beginning to imagine what it's like, but I guess I just have to live with it." This wasn't exactly how he felt, but he didn't want to annoy and bore Kieran by complaining so he cut it short. Kieran gave Harry a sympathetic smile, which Harry returned gratefully.
"Come on, I've got some homework to do." Harry rolling his eyes getting off his bed. They collected their books and went to the library.
They hadn't been there long when none other than Cho Chang turned up with her usual friends. Harry flashed her a quick smile and continued with his Transfiguration essay. Cho sat at a table near Harry but he just about managed to concentrate on his homework, though he spent half of his energy blocking her image out of the corner of his eye and leaning close to the paper trying not be distracted.
Half an hour later was about to give up when Hermione came running into the library. Her face was tear stained, her hair looked like she'd run her fingers through it several hundred times and she had something clutched in her hand. She dashed over to Harry.
"I need to talk to you." She said through tears. Harry stood up immediately and followed her worriedly out of the library. They stood in the deserted corridor and Hermione handed him the something that was in her hand. It was a letter, the writing was blurred by Hermione tears and the paper was severely crumpled, but Harry flattened it out and read it.
He scanned it quickly, disbelief, anger and sadness building inside him. When he reached the end Hermione looked up at him, tears still streaming from her eyes. Harry embraced her, trying to comfort her.
"There's something I have to tell you." She said shakily when she managed to let go of Harry. Harry looked confused. "Whilst Ron was suspended we were a couple, I never told you because I didn't want to hurt you, I'm so sorry." Harry was slightly shocked but he couldn't get angry, after all he'd been dating Cho since Christmas. He gave Hermione hug as she began to cry again.
"It's ok, I've been meaning to tell you something too." He said, knowing he had to tell Hermione now, or he'd never tell her. "I've been seeing Cho since……Christmas." Hermione sighed.
"We've been so stupid," she said smiling slightly at the irony. Harry smiled too.
"Yeh, so is this what the letters about." Harry replied glancing down at it. Hermione nodding trying to brush tears from her eyes but failing.
"He broke up with me just before he got expelled, now it's like he hates me……and you." Hermione's voice was choked up and Harry gave her another hug, he hated seeing Hermione like this, even if they hadn't been the best of friends recently.
"Hey, it's ok, he's just angry because he's been expelled, like I was, he just wants someone to take it out on." Harry said comfortingly and Hermione continued to sob quietly into his shoulder. "Come on, let's go back to the common room and you can calm down, it's not the end of the world we'll see him in the summer, then we can all talk."
"I suppose, thanks Harry." Hermione replied, wiping her face and smiling weakly. Harry gave her one last hug and they turned to towards the common room.
Harry sat by the fire later that night still re-reading the letter. Hermione had gone to bed early and Kieran hadn't returned to the common room yet. The fire was beginning to burn low as Harry looked Ron's words over and over again. The curses and abuse, the accusations and spitefulness of Ron's letter. That was all it was. Abusive and blameful words written, it seemed, with no purpose but to hurt Hermione and even Harry.
Ron went on about how he hated them, how it was their fault he was expelled, how he wished they could have left him alone whilst he'd been at Hogwarts them maybe he wouldn't be at the Burrow. It didn't make sense, none of it was Harry or Hermione's fault, it was Ron who'd 'attacked' Harry and Seamus, Ron who'd acted rashly and out of character in class, not doing his homework, deliberately angering teachers. Maybe Ron was just angry that he'd been expelled, upset, and wanted someone to blame. But something told Harry there was more to this than what it seemed.
Cho's POV:
Cho sat on her windowsill crying. Rain began to fall outside as the sky darkened to night. Her tears increased as she watched the sunset fade to black. How could he do this to her? That's what was running through Cho's head right now. How could he? And Why would he? Why did she always have to fall for the ones who brought nothing but sadness and hurt. She still did love him so much, and she'd thought he felt the same, how could someone treat you like that, make you feel so special, so happy. How could it all be a lie?
A fresh wave of sadness swept over her and she lowered her head to sob into her knees. She didn't know how long she sat there crying before her friends came into the dormitory. They spent the evening trying to comfort her. But nothing could make Cho feel any better. She told them about seeing Harry and Hermione outside the library, but nothing they could say would wipe the image from her mind or the pain from her heart.
She lay awake for many hours that night trying to sort it out. But it seemed there was no answer, no light at the end of the tunnel, no explanation. This just made her feel worse.
The last time she'd cried like this was the night of the third task when Cedric had died. She'd loved him too. Oh so she'd thought. But she'd got over Cedric, she'd moved on. After several months of mourning she realised it was not the end, Cedric was meant to die and she was meant to live on and be happy. She still thought of him, when she felt lonely or upset she would think of Cedric, what would he say if he knew what she was feeling now?
But Cedric wasn't there, he wasn't there to comfort her, even as she tried to conjure him up in her mind, just so she could talk to him he wasn't there. All she could find was more sadness and darkness.
Could she forget Harry and move on like she had with Cedric? Or did she love him too much? It seemed hopeless
She'd loved Cedric, but did she love Harry more?
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heh, heh, heh. It seems everything's going wrong for Harry and Cho. Do I put too many questions in my fics which are never answered! Oh well. Now remember, COOKIES FOR ALL REVIEWERS!