Disclaimer: plot is mine, idea is mine, words are mostly mine. but
remember, HP is JKR's!
Author's Note: I know I haven't been updating for, ummmm, two months? Ok, more than two months! But I've been having a terrible writer's block and this year was my senior year, so between college admissions, graduation, Powderpuff football, and finals, I had no time on my hands! But here it is now- the fifth chapter! *cheers* And I'm working on the sixth chapter, which is getting better and funnier by the minute! Ok, go ahead- oh and congratulate me- I've decided to go to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst to pre-med! *sigh* Two more months and I'll be there instead of California!
This chapter is, well, quite different- it's fluffy- you've been warned! But this chapter has kept me up at night for the past two months cos I couldn't decide how to portray Cho and Harry. But it's just a transition to the better stuff!
Rating: PG-13
Thanks to: NengSki, Phooka, Shirayuka, and Evita CA Cardozayputzier for reviewing and reading, especially. Whoa, I got a lot of good feedback!!! Thanks soooooo much you guys!! I really appreciate all your reviews! And a special thanks to Jessie, of course, for always supporting my stories!! I love ya! *kisses* And thanks to UMass for accepting me, as stupid as I am.. lol!
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The Year After: Cho's Story
Chapter 5: Finding Out
Landon proved he could keep a promise. The Ravenclaw team worked hard, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, and Saturday mornings. Besides Quidditch, the workload the professor provided them were stunningly large in amount, especially since Cho got seven OWLs last year, landing her in many rigorous classes. Cho found it easy to push away her problems and just concentrate on Quidditch and homework.
Cho had now become accustomed to opening Cedric's journal each night and reading a different entry. The journal had become magically expanded inside so that the book looked much smaller than what it really was. It seemed as if every thought Cedric had was reflected in this journal, including many of Cho. Reading Cedric's journal somehow made Cho miss him less, because it seemed like he was always there with her.
Cho didn't like studying in the Ravenclaw Common Room, since all Ravenclaws crowded it at night, taking all the good tables and studying loudly. So she would spend her nights at the library, buried by all her books and parchment. It was nice to get away from the social aspect of life as well.
"Oh, sorry," Cho mumbled as she bumped into someone while carrying her large pile of books. She looked around her stack of books, right into a pair of green eyes behind round glasses.
"Oops, sorry," Harry muttered, taking a book from a shelf behind her. He hesitated. "Ugh, here, let me help you with those books."
Always the gentleman, Harry took the stack of books from Cho and had her lead him to her table. "Ugh, well, I'll be going," Harry said quietly, stepping away.
"Wait, Harry." Cho extended her hand to stop Harry. "Umm, thanks for helping me with my books."
"Don't mention it."
Silence followed.
"I.. errr.. just wanted to make sure that we were still friends," Cho finally said.
Harry sat down next to Cho, looking right in her eyes. "WERE we ever friends, Cho?"
"Of course we are," Cho said hastily, looking at Harry. "I've always thought of us as friends."
He laughed. "Of course- I'm talking to the ever so popular Cho Chang, who is friends with everyone. I forgot."
Cho frowned. Why was Harry being such an arse? She gave him a hurt look. "Sorry?"
Harry tossed back his head, glancing over his shoulder to look at other people in the library. It was late and they could only see a few people on the other side of the library left. "Forget it. Look, I've got some issues I've gotta deal with and you being, well, you, isn't making it any better."
Now Harry was going too far. Cho froze up and gave Harry another hurt look. "Well, excuse me for being me! I'll just go off and be Cho somewhere else, if that's alright with you!" She stood up fast, knocking over her chair in her rush and gathered her books hurriedly.
Harry sighed next to her. He grabbed her arm. "Wait, Cho." He stood up and took her books and parchment from her, propping up her chair so she could sit back down.
"Please?" Harry asked, his eyes pleading her to sit down. He sighed again as Cho still was standing. "Please, I'm sorry. I. I didn't mean that. Please, just sit down. We'll talk."
Cho stared at him and sat down. If Harry threw one more insult at her.
Harry leaned up over the table, covering his face with his hands. Cho chose not to say anything yet as she looked at Harry.
After a long silence, he spoke.
"Well, I suppose you want to hear about Cedric. About what exactly happened, how he died, if he mentioned you."
Again, that was the last thing she though Harry would say. "All I needed to know was who killed him and we all know that was Voldemort," she whispered quietly.
Harry did a double take. "Are-are you sure?"
Cho nodded. "I know it must be hard thinking of watching Ced." she swallowed hard. "It's better sometimes to now know. I'm not sure I could handle it." She smiled weakly.
"He had the Avada Kedavra curse on him. It was quick- he died bravely," Harry muttered quickly and quietly, as if the faster he spoke, the less it would hurt Cho.
Cho took this all in slowly. The Avada Kedavra curse? That meant he died immediately. She bit her lower lip, trying not to cry.
"Sometimes it is better to know, isn't it?" she heard Harry say gently. Cho didn't dare speak- she felt as if she was going to cry any moment.
Her attempts failed. Tears leaked out of her eyes and she looked down at her parchment as two fat lumps of tears splattered on it. She heard Harry hesitate next to her and he patted her back awkwardly.
"Oh, ugh, Cho- ple-please don't cry," he stuttered, obviously not knowing what to do when a girl cried.
She threw her arms around him and started sobbing on his shoulder. Harry, caught off guard, just sat there, his arms open and his body stiff. "Errrr.."
After awhile, Harry soften. His arms enclosed around Cho soothingly. "It's gonna be ok," he said softly.
Cho sniffed and pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes harshly. "I'm sorry Harry- I've just never actually thought of how he died." She sighed shakingly. "It's just another proof that he's really gone." She looked at his shoulder and sniffed again. "Look- I made your robes all wet," she muttered, pointing out the wet patch on his right shoulder.
Harry laughed, his left hand touching it. "Quite alright. Look, I want you to go back to your dormitory and just sleep- don't think too much of anything. Believe me, I know. Just don't think too much." He pulled out a handkerchief and reached over, swiping underneath Cho's eyes.
Cho smiled. Harry was so kind and understanding- she didn't even remember how mad she was at him earlier. All she could think about was how caring he was- she just wanted to show him that she cared too, and what a great friend he was to her.
Suddenly, Cho found herself leaning over, locked in another kiss with Harry. But this time- this time was different. Perhaps because it was Cho who made the first move- perhaps it was because she felt it was the right things to do at the moment- but as soon as her lips touched Harry's, kissing him was the only thing on her mind.
After what seemed to be like a really long time, they both pulled back and met each other's gazes.
"I'm not sure if what we just did is appropriate library behavior," Harry finally said.
Cho laughed and looked around. "Funny though, since this is the ideal place." It was true. The library was now quiet and getting darker, aided only by the dimming sunrays shining through the window. Noone was around anymore, and they couldn't even see Madam Pince.
Harry, too, looked around, although very cautiously. "We should leave," Harry said abruptly. Cho looked at her watch. "Oh! I forgot fifth years have to be back by nine."
Harry shrugged. "I have half an hour- I'll go see you off, noone's supposed to be alone at night." He stood up and helped her gather her things.
She glanced at Harry. "Who are you then, walking around corridors alone after hours?" she asked teasingly.
"Why, I'm Harry Potter of course- I did escape Voldemort three times, you know?"
Cho just grinned as they walked out of the library. She thought about her sudden change of perspective with Harry. "So, ummm, what does this mean?" she questioned as their loud footsteps littered the silent corridors.
"I-I don't know. What do you think?" Harry looked away from Cho's gaze quickly.
"Well," Cho went slowly, wanting to think and talk at the same time, "you're a really great friend-"
"Oh."
"-and that's all I've ever thought of you-"
"Oh."
"-until just a few minutes ago actually," Cho continued firmly, her mind boggling for the right words. She looked to see if Harry was going to interrupt again but he fell silent next to her.
They traveled down the staircase as Cho went on. "I really care about you, in more than just the friendship way. But it seems too early for me- much too early to, well, start a new relationship after what happened." She gulped again at the thought.
Harry nodded, urging Cho to go on as they reached the third-floor corridor.
"But I really do like you and I don't know if you feel the same, so I may just be making a fool of myself by just saying that," Cho went on, blushing harder at each work.
Harry's laugh echoed in the hallways. "Cho, are you saying that you didn't know that I've had a crush on you for two years now?"
Cho stopped right in front of the statue of the Knight and gazed at Harry. "Wh-hat?"
He laughed again. "And Ravenclaws are supposed to be clever."
Cho breathed out slowly, still maintaining her red glow. "So-"
"I get what you're saying. I like you, you like me, but a public relationship would be too soon- especially since I apparently killed Cedric," he added bitterly, scowling at the though. "So shall we keep this a secret- just between us for awhile, until, well, ugh-"
Cho nodded firmly. "Until we're ready."
Harry grinned and leaned closer to Cho. "Ok," he confirmed. Cho kissed him softly before he turned and walked down the hallway. She watched him turn to corner and sighed happily, saying the new password to the Knight Statue.
As terrible as she felt on a similar night almost a month ago, it was just that better.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
***Chapter 5: Short Synopsis: Harry and Cho try to keep their relationship secret- especially from those who would be the first to judge.***
Author's Note: I know I haven't been updating for, ummmm, two months? Ok, more than two months! But I've been having a terrible writer's block and this year was my senior year, so between college admissions, graduation, Powderpuff football, and finals, I had no time on my hands! But here it is now- the fifth chapter! *cheers* And I'm working on the sixth chapter, which is getting better and funnier by the minute! Ok, go ahead- oh and congratulate me- I've decided to go to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst to pre-med! *sigh* Two more months and I'll be there instead of California!
This chapter is, well, quite different- it's fluffy- you've been warned! But this chapter has kept me up at night for the past two months cos I couldn't decide how to portray Cho and Harry. But it's just a transition to the better stuff!
Rating: PG-13
Thanks to: NengSki, Phooka, Shirayuka, and Evita CA Cardozayputzier for reviewing and reading, especially. Whoa, I got a lot of good feedback!!! Thanks soooooo much you guys!! I really appreciate all your reviews! And a special thanks to Jessie, of course, for always supporting my stories!! I love ya! *kisses* And thanks to UMass for accepting me, as stupid as I am.. lol!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Year After: Cho's Story
Chapter 5: Finding Out
Landon proved he could keep a promise. The Ravenclaw team worked hard, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, and Saturday mornings. Besides Quidditch, the workload the professor provided them were stunningly large in amount, especially since Cho got seven OWLs last year, landing her in many rigorous classes. Cho found it easy to push away her problems and just concentrate on Quidditch and homework.
Cho had now become accustomed to opening Cedric's journal each night and reading a different entry. The journal had become magically expanded inside so that the book looked much smaller than what it really was. It seemed as if every thought Cedric had was reflected in this journal, including many of Cho. Reading Cedric's journal somehow made Cho miss him less, because it seemed like he was always there with her.
Cho didn't like studying in the Ravenclaw Common Room, since all Ravenclaws crowded it at night, taking all the good tables and studying loudly. So she would spend her nights at the library, buried by all her books and parchment. It was nice to get away from the social aspect of life as well.
"Oh, sorry," Cho mumbled as she bumped into someone while carrying her large pile of books. She looked around her stack of books, right into a pair of green eyes behind round glasses.
"Oops, sorry," Harry muttered, taking a book from a shelf behind her. He hesitated. "Ugh, here, let me help you with those books."
Always the gentleman, Harry took the stack of books from Cho and had her lead him to her table. "Ugh, well, I'll be going," Harry said quietly, stepping away.
"Wait, Harry." Cho extended her hand to stop Harry. "Umm, thanks for helping me with my books."
"Don't mention it."
Silence followed.
"I.. errr.. just wanted to make sure that we were still friends," Cho finally said.
Harry sat down next to Cho, looking right in her eyes. "WERE we ever friends, Cho?"
"Of course we are," Cho said hastily, looking at Harry. "I've always thought of us as friends."
He laughed. "Of course- I'm talking to the ever so popular Cho Chang, who is friends with everyone. I forgot."
Cho frowned. Why was Harry being such an arse? She gave him a hurt look. "Sorry?"
Harry tossed back his head, glancing over his shoulder to look at other people in the library. It was late and they could only see a few people on the other side of the library left. "Forget it. Look, I've got some issues I've gotta deal with and you being, well, you, isn't making it any better."
Now Harry was going too far. Cho froze up and gave Harry another hurt look. "Well, excuse me for being me! I'll just go off and be Cho somewhere else, if that's alright with you!" She stood up fast, knocking over her chair in her rush and gathered her books hurriedly.
Harry sighed next to her. He grabbed her arm. "Wait, Cho." He stood up and took her books and parchment from her, propping up her chair so she could sit back down.
"Please?" Harry asked, his eyes pleading her to sit down. He sighed again as Cho still was standing. "Please, I'm sorry. I. I didn't mean that. Please, just sit down. We'll talk."
Cho stared at him and sat down. If Harry threw one more insult at her.
Harry leaned up over the table, covering his face with his hands. Cho chose not to say anything yet as she looked at Harry.
After a long silence, he spoke.
"Well, I suppose you want to hear about Cedric. About what exactly happened, how he died, if he mentioned you."
Again, that was the last thing she though Harry would say. "All I needed to know was who killed him and we all know that was Voldemort," she whispered quietly.
Harry did a double take. "Are-are you sure?"
Cho nodded. "I know it must be hard thinking of watching Ced." she swallowed hard. "It's better sometimes to now know. I'm not sure I could handle it." She smiled weakly.
"He had the Avada Kedavra curse on him. It was quick- he died bravely," Harry muttered quickly and quietly, as if the faster he spoke, the less it would hurt Cho.
Cho took this all in slowly. The Avada Kedavra curse? That meant he died immediately. She bit her lower lip, trying not to cry.
"Sometimes it is better to know, isn't it?" she heard Harry say gently. Cho didn't dare speak- she felt as if she was going to cry any moment.
Her attempts failed. Tears leaked out of her eyes and she looked down at her parchment as two fat lumps of tears splattered on it. She heard Harry hesitate next to her and he patted her back awkwardly.
"Oh, ugh, Cho- ple-please don't cry," he stuttered, obviously not knowing what to do when a girl cried.
She threw her arms around him and started sobbing on his shoulder. Harry, caught off guard, just sat there, his arms open and his body stiff. "Errrr.."
After awhile, Harry soften. His arms enclosed around Cho soothingly. "It's gonna be ok," he said softly.
Cho sniffed and pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes harshly. "I'm sorry Harry- I've just never actually thought of how he died." She sighed shakingly. "It's just another proof that he's really gone." She looked at his shoulder and sniffed again. "Look- I made your robes all wet," she muttered, pointing out the wet patch on his right shoulder.
Harry laughed, his left hand touching it. "Quite alright. Look, I want you to go back to your dormitory and just sleep- don't think too much of anything. Believe me, I know. Just don't think too much." He pulled out a handkerchief and reached over, swiping underneath Cho's eyes.
Cho smiled. Harry was so kind and understanding- she didn't even remember how mad she was at him earlier. All she could think about was how caring he was- she just wanted to show him that she cared too, and what a great friend he was to her.
Suddenly, Cho found herself leaning over, locked in another kiss with Harry. But this time- this time was different. Perhaps because it was Cho who made the first move- perhaps it was because she felt it was the right things to do at the moment- but as soon as her lips touched Harry's, kissing him was the only thing on her mind.
After what seemed to be like a really long time, they both pulled back and met each other's gazes.
"I'm not sure if what we just did is appropriate library behavior," Harry finally said.
Cho laughed and looked around. "Funny though, since this is the ideal place." It was true. The library was now quiet and getting darker, aided only by the dimming sunrays shining through the window. Noone was around anymore, and they couldn't even see Madam Pince.
Harry, too, looked around, although very cautiously. "We should leave," Harry said abruptly. Cho looked at her watch. "Oh! I forgot fifth years have to be back by nine."
Harry shrugged. "I have half an hour- I'll go see you off, noone's supposed to be alone at night." He stood up and helped her gather her things.
She glanced at Harry. "Who are you then, walking around corridors alone after hours?" she asked teasingly.
"Why, I'm Harry Potter of course- I did escape Voldemort three times, you know?"
Cho just grinned as they walked out of the library. She thought about her sudden change of perspective with Harry. "So, ummm, what does this mean?" she questioned as their loud footsteps littered the silent corridors.
"I-I don't know. What do you think?" Harry looked away from Cho's gaze quickly.
"Well," Cho went slowly, wanting to think and talk at the same time, "you're a really great friend-"
"Oh."
"-and that's all I've ever thought of you-"
"Oh."
"-until just a few minutes ago actually," Cho continued firmly, her mind boggling for the right words. She looked to see if Harry was going to interrupt again but he fell silent next to her.
They traveled down the staircase as Cho went on. "I really care about you, in more than just the friendship way. But it seems too early for me- much too early to, well, start a new relationship after what happened." She gulped again at the thought.
Harry nodded, urging Cho to go on as they reached the third-floor corridor.
"But I really do like you and I don't know if you feel the same, so I may just be making a fool of myself by just saying that," Cho went on, blushing harder at each work.
Harry's laugh echoed in the hallways. "Cho, are you saying that you didn't know that I've had a crush on you for two years now?"
Cho stopped right in front of the statue of the Knight and gazed at Harry. "Wh-hat?"
He laughed again. "And Ravenclaws are supposed to be clever."
Cho breathed out slowly, still maintaining her red glow. "So-"
"I get what you're saying. I like you, you like me, but a public relationship would be too soon- especially since I apparently killed Cedric," he added bitterly, scowling at the though. "So shall we keep this a secret- just between us for awhile, until, well, ugh-"
Cho nodded firmly. "Until we're ready."
Harry grinned and leaned closer to Cho. "Ok," he confirmed. Cho kissed him softly before he turned and walked down the hallway. She watched him turn to corner and sighed happily, saying the new password to the Knight Statue.
As terrible as she felt on a similar night almost a month ago, it was just that better.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
***Chapter 5: Short Synopsis: Harry and Cho try to keep their relationship secret- especially from those who would be the first to judge.***