You'll Do
By Skirty-Embroidery
Diclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, instead they are the property and brilliant ideas of JKR and Warner Brothers.
Note: More planned chapters to come.
It was strange, really, how Cho no longer cared what Mr. Harry Famous Potter thought about her. Her entire sixth year had been spent fretting over it. Her heart had been aching over Cedric; the pain would never cease. Then Harry had replaced- no, not replaced- Harry had been there and acted like an absolute prat. He didn't understand a thing. He could catch a snitch, yet he couldn't save Cedric? He'd beaten You-Know-Who countless times before, so why couldn't he have won the dark wizard over that past year?
He could have saved Cedric and he didn't. Her boyfriend was dead and it was all because of him.
Cho mentally chided herself. Okay, so it wasn't really all Harry's fault. You-Know-Who had murdered Cedric Diggory, not Harry. And from the things she had heard (even though everyone's story was different), it didn't seem like Harry had much of a chance to prevent the death. But, despite all the circumstances, it still hurt like hell.
But that had been last year. This year, Cho considered herself over and done with the Gryffindor boy. She had better things to do, more important subjects that needed her attention. Quidditch, for one. In the previous year's rage she had harbored toward Professor Umbridge she had begun to neglect her flying practices. Ravenclaw's team had suffered, so much so that the Gryffindor team, who had just acquired four new players, had won the Quidditch Cup. It made her gut feel absolutely ruddy just thinking about it.
"Cho, is that you?"
The girl jerked her head to the left, ripped rudely from her thoughts but curious to see who had addressed her. Her almond-shaped eyes met up directly with those of Roger Davies. Instantly, she hoped he had come to tell her about an impromptu Quidditch practice or something entertaining that was occurring in the Ravenclaw commons. As long as she didn't have to stay and chat long with him, she was fine.
"Roger?" she replied, her voice soft but hurried, showing she wasn't glad her reverie had been interrupted.
The chaser was looking handsome, as per usual. His uniform was pressed and the badge that displayed that he was the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team was gleaming from being recently polished. The dark hair atop his head was obviously styled by the gel that was visible in the glint of the sunlight, but it still managed that 'Hell, I don't care' rebellious look. He grinned roguishly at her. She grimaced.
"Oh, come on," he said, noticing her expression immediately. "I'm not that bad, am I?" He came closer to her and set a too-friendly hand on her shoulder. He was a bit taller, so he dipped his neck down, trying to look into her eyes again. "What'd I do this time?"
Cho turned her head away from him, but his forearm blocked her view. Gosh, he had nice forearms. Ah, she thought frantically, that is not what I should be concentrating on.
"Is there something you needed to tell me?" she asked pointedly.
Roger sighed. This was going nowhere fast. He knew, somewhere, in the very back of his mind, that this was the time to back off and leave the girl be. She obviously wasn't interested in him. "Fine, fine," he muttered. He removed his hand from her and stuck it in his robe pocket dejectedly.
Cho slowly raised her gaze to look up at his face. He was obviously disappointed, something she was relieved to notice. That meant he had given up. Personally, she thought it was about time. Sure, the other Ravenclaw had gone out with plenty of girls since the time he'd asked her out last year, but the way he kept sneaking glances at her during their classes gave her the creepy feeling he hadn't stopped thinking about her. She took a breath. "Thank you."
"So, what?" he continued, taking a step back from Cho, further showing that he just might have finally realized his hopes were fruitless. "You with Potter, then?"
That roused an immense frown out of the girl. "I don't even talk to him," she admitted bitterly.
Roger knew, without a doubt, he'd struck a nerve.
"Really? I heard him bragging to some other Gryffindors about you guys snogging-"
Cho cut him off before he could conclude his statement. "What?!" she exclaimed, obviously infuriated. Her mind began to rush around in circles, mightily pissed at the thought of that bloody sixth year spreading rumors about them together when they hadn't even had a chance to talk this year! How dare he! Her hands balled up into fists, nails digging into her palms and bending painfully. She was too distracted by her rage to even begin to doubt what Roger was telling her.
Roger, in truth, was a bit surprised at how emotional Cho had gotten about the entire subject. He hadn't expected quite that reaction from her, but he was now positive his blatant lie would get him where he wanted to go. "Yeah," he added, trying to sound disapproving. "I could hardly believe it myself, but he sounded very... adamant about it."
She was fuming. "I can't believe him!" she murmured, irate beyond terms. "I didn't lay a finger on that little scum bag and he's- Oh, I'll curse his arse off-"
"Hey, hey," Roger broke in, replacing his hand to her shoulder in a comforting manner. This time, Cho forgot to oppose the gesture. "Calm down." He resisted throwing in a pet name at the end. There was a chance it would snap her out of whatever mood she was now in because of what he'd, er- blabbed to her about.
He brought up his other hand to her respective shoulder and was happy to see she didn't refuse that, either. Dare he touch her face?
He dared.
Cho leaned into the gentle touch of the other Ravenclaw as he brushed her cheek with his fingers. "I just can't believe Harry would do such a thing," she continued to mutter to herself. The silly thing was, she believed it, whole-heartedly. There was nothing in Roger's presentation that led her to think otherwise, not in even in the way he was being so kind all of a sudden. This has to be why he always has a girl hanging off his arm, she thought distractedly, he's so sweet.
"It's not his fault he's a sodding lunatic," Roger whispered to her, mentally complimenting himself. That's right, act sympathetic for the loser. She'll like that you're a fair kind of guy. Gullible.
"What an absolute prize prick-"
Roger once again interrupted Cho, although this time the boy didn't utter a word. He had placed a single finger on her lips to silence her complaints. She obliged, but the look in her eyes admitted that she could have gone on mudslinging all day long. She wasn't content being at quieted, but at least for now, she would comply. If only to hear what Roger had to say.
"Lets just forget about him, shall we?"
This sounded like a brilliant idea if there ever was one, but Cho didn't think it would be that easy. Earlier that morning she had been so proud of herself for being over the boy with the infamous scar adorning his forehead, and now he was all she could think about.
Stubbornly, a voice popped up in the back of her brain. You never stopped thinking about Harry. Even if you thought you were over him, you were thinking about him just by priding yourself. It's all a lie...
"Good plan," she mumbled, trying not to talk loudly lest Roger's finger slip through her lips and into her mouth. Not that that would have been so horrible, since she had just leaned forward and kissed the Quidditch captain smack on the gob.
Roger brought his head back slightly, acting as if he were surprised that she had suddenly decided snogging him was acceptable, but then he gradually grew open to the forward gesture. His hands threaded themselves through her straight black hair, undoing what few tangles were there. One of her hands did the same; curling the shorter hair at the nape of his neck around her pinky as best was possible. Roger tried not to wince; not the hair, he mentally demanded.
As if reading his mind, Cho complied. Her hand instead slowly found it's way to the collar of his robes, absentmindedly playing with his Quidditch pin while her mouth worked in a much less flighty manner. She felt his fingers grasp the long hair she had pulled back in a ponytail, and then a sudden shiver shot down her spine as one of his hands ventured toward her bum.
Things were going very strangely, indeed. At any other time, doing such a thing as she was now would have sent her gut into a fit of butterflies. This was so unlike her, randomly jumping on a guy that she didn't even fancy...
A noise sounded to her left again. This time it wasn't Davies speaking to her, but Cho was unable to turn her head to see what is was. Roger seemed to be enjoying himself, and even if she did stop kissing him, his head was in her way.
A gasp, a thump, and then the flutter of parchment.
It took a strong mental reinforcement of all Cho's pent up anger to stop her from halting the tonsil-tag session she was having with Roger. However, Roger had other ideas. If just for a second, he brought his lips away from hers. He tilted his head toward the entrance to the courtyard curiously, allowing Cho a split-second view of who had created the commotion.
It was only a glance, but Cho would recognize that messy hairstyle anywhere.