hey! finally updated! thank you my reviewers! but im not gonna type them this time. i finished doing it before but for some reason before i got a chance to press the save and preview button it wen back and deleted it all! and it was long too! so yeh... sry...PLZ R&R

Mixed Signals and Crossed Wires

Disclaimer: I do not own the story of Harry Potter or any of its characters. They all belong to the FABULOUS J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Inc.

Setting: during their fifth year at Hogwarts; Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is still Dolores Umbridge

Chapter 8: Love?

Hermione unhooked her arms from around Ron to look up at him with wide eyes, "Love?" Ron's eyes widened too. 'Oh God... what have I just gotten myself into?! We haven't been dating that long, I shouldn't have already said I love her!' Ron thought desperately and gulped. 'But you do. You know you do so just admit it.' I voice in his head retaliated.

He gulped again and nodded, "Yeah. I love you Hermione." At this, Neville took a cue and left the common room and went out the portrait hole but the two didn't notice.

Hermione had no idea what to say... no idea what to do. What would happen if she said he loved him too? 'You know you do, tell you love him back.' A voice in her head told her.

"I...I...I don't know what to say Ron.... I'm.... I..." Hermione stuttered nervously, but the voice was right. She did love him, she'd loved him since they're second year at Hogwarts, and she liked him even when she had first seen him when she was trying to help Neville find Trevor.

"I love you too, Ron. I absolutely love you," she said finally and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard with her eyes closed. The two nervous second years that were still in the common room ran out of the portrait hole quickly to leave the couple alone. Ron's eyes closed and they tipped over, kissing on the sofa quietly as several students quickly passed through the common room until they were both breathless and Harry had walked into the common room.

"Hello.... Am I interrupting something again?" he asked as he stared at the breathless Hermione and Ron, both of whose hair was both ruffled and very messy. He choked back a laugh and gave a fake cough.

"No..." Ron said nervously as he glanced at the still breathless Hermione.

"Heh heh... right," was all Harry said as he walked up the steps to the boys' dormitories.

Harry quickly ran up the boys' dormitories and Ron and Hermione started making out again. Harry wondered, 'Why couldn't I find Cho? I asked everyone and looked everywhere... I even asked Marietta and she said she wasn't in the Ravenclaw common room or the dormitories.' Harry fell onto his bed and looked at the hangings on his bed. He would go back downstairs and ask Hermione and Ron to help, but since Hermione had just gotten out of her weeklong rut he didn't want to disturb them.

"Why couldn't I find her? I looked everywhere from the lake to the dungeons, she wasn't anywhere...." Harry thought aloud.

Harry lay there wondering for almost thirty minutes, but to him it only seemed five to him. "Man!" he said aloud and got up from the bed. He walked through the common room to see Ron and Hermione snogging on the couch again. He walked out of the entrance hall and out to where the Maurderers (a/n not sure how to spell it...) had sat and laid back in the shade still thinking as he stared up at the beautiful green leaves. 'Maybe she doesn't want to be found... Maybe not by me anyway.' Harry thought sadly. Just then a brown barn owl swooped over Harry with a letter, it dropped it on his face, then flew away. Harry pulled the letter farther from his face so he could read it. It was from Cho. He immediately sat upright and ripped the letter open carefully. He quietly read it aloud.

"'Dear Harry,

"'Marietta told me you were looking for me. Sorry you couldn't, I was a little busy. Right now you can find me down by the Quidditch pitch. I'm just sitting here writing this letter and I intend to stay here until you come.

"'Love from,

Cho"

Harry reread the letter while getting up and walking towards the Quidditch pitch. He wondered what made her so busy earlier that he couldn't find her.

When Harry got to the pitch he found Cho watching the Slytherins' Quidditch practice. Harry noticed her glancing around the whole area for a glint of gold, but Cho wasn't only looking for the Snitch, she was also looking for Draco. Harry ran up to the stands and sat next to her. Cho looked to him and gave a faint smile but stopped when she felt her heart being squeezed and dropped onto the floor. Her hair was in a neat, low ponytail at the brake of her neck.

"So?" she asked.

"So, what?" Harry asked.

"So, why were you trying to find me earlier? Marietta said you had been looking for me for almost an hour."

"Oh, I just wanted to talk or something. Ron said he wanted to be left alone for a bit and I couldn't find Hermione," he told her. 'Yeah right,' she thought when he spoke of Hermione.

"Oh, so what made you look for so long?" she asked.

"Because I really like you a lot, Cho," he said smiling and inching closer to her. She suddenly felt a little guilty, but when feeling her heart on the floor again she remembered that if Harry really liked her a lot then he wouldn't be cheating on her.

She smiled at him, "Oh, that's so sweet. I really like you too." Cho gazed at Harry, momentarily forgetting about everyone else, including Draco and Hermione. She only saw her and Harry and she only thought of her and Harry. Harry kissed Cho and she kissed back. Right there on the stands, both not noticing or even remembering they were sitting in the middle of the Slytherin Quidditch practice.

Draco was zooming around the pitch on his Nimbus Two Thousand and One when he noticed the couple kissing and gave a large sneer. 'And that girl was just crying to me about him a few hours ago,' Draco thought spitefully. 'I'll just show her...hmm...I have a plan,' Draco thought with a new smirk on his face as he looked for a glint of gold and zoomed away on his broom.

Cho parted from Harry and blushed. "What?" Harry asked.

"Nothing its just...wow... I like you so much Harry..." she said. 'I think I'm in love with him...' she thought a little scared as in her mind she watched her heart fall to the ground below her. 'Oh I think I really do love him. I love him, but I know he doesn't love me. I love him... but he's cheating on me.' She thought while being torn up on the insides. 'Damn it, damn it all! Why did I have to fall in love with the Boy Who Lived? Why couldn't it just be some other boy... one that wasn't famous? One that I knew better, maybe one that was in Ravenclaw. Not the sweet, caring, nervous, curious Gryffindor boy that's sitting next to me. Not Harry Potter' she was being torn up insides so horribly she probably looked like a tiger attacked her from the inside out. This pain was like no pain she ever felt before. Much worse than when Cedric died.

"I...I have to go Harry," Cho told him running of the stands down to the ground. She couldn't stand this pain. She couldn't stand it, not at the moment at least. She couldn't be near Harry right now, that just intensified the pain. She was already running on the ground when she heard Harry running after her.

"Wait! Cho, what's wrong?" Harry called after her but Cho was too far ahead of him. Cho felt tears drop from her eyes.

"Damn it," she muttered under her breath. 'Why does it hurt so much? I don't want it to hurt this much. Make it stop...." She thought.

She ran into the school and up to near Myrtle's lavatory. She cried, keeping her head towards the wall and banging her fist against it. Myrtle floated out of he bathroom through the wall.

"What are you doing?" Myrtle asked curiously. She heard her crying so she really didn't want to make her sadder, but she wanted her to stop hitting the wall by her bathroom. It was disturbing her.

"Crying, Myrtle," Cho said simply.

"Will you stop hitting my wall? My cubicle isn't very far. You're welcome to borrow one, if you like," Myrtle told her.

"Okay. Thanks for the offer but I'm fine Myrtle," she said sniffling.

"All right, but the offer's always open," Myrtle replied and she floated through the wall to the window in the lavatory.

Cho sobbed quietly, not banging on the wall anymore, but still facing it.

"Damn it, why..." she said under her breath, slightly wanting Draco to come and comfort her.

"You're crying again Cho?" said the voice of the person she wanted to comfort her.

"Yes, why? I can if I want," she said.

Draco sighed and held her in his arms. "Just stop. I'm right here and Potter is away," he said to her, almost comfortingly, "I'm here, and Potter is probably with Granger. I'm here conforting you, when Potter is the one making you cry isn't he?"

Cho nodded into his chest. Her eyes fully open with tears still streaming, her body was shaking a little and her breathing was not steady. Her insides were burning with anger, sadness, and pain. She gripped Draco tight; it hurt so much and yet having Draco near her and having him just come in contact with her gave her a tingling sensation through her body. It was as if Draco's touch healed over her internal wounds. She felt the pain simmer over and backed away from Draco slightly confused. 'Why would Draco fill me with such a great sensation? She thought.

Draco looked at her, with a blank yet caring face. The confusion she intended to keep to herself seeped through to her face.

"Yes?"

"Nothing," she told him.

"Mm hmm," he said disbelievingly and leaned his head down towards her to kiss her. Cho gulped nervously but let him. It was a possibility that Myrtle would come out of the bathroom again, she might have overheard that her and Harry were dating and would tell him that she was kissing Malfoy in front of her loo... but how often did people come by her lavatory and gossiped? It was doubtful that Myrtle would come out though, that was really only the second time Cho had seen her in her lifetime at Hogwarts. She hardly noticed that Draco was kissing her until he had nudged open her mouth and was searching it, at that her eyes widened and she separated from him.

"What do you think your doing?" she said shocked.

"I'd think that it was pretty obvious Cho," Draco replied, his face without the slightest hint of shock. Cho looked at him, shocked and yet she was curious.

Draco smirked and leaned in towards her to give her a deep kiss again. His tongue entered he mouth effortlessly. Cho couldn't help not holding him back from her; he was too tempting, too sexy, too hot! (lol, can't believe I wrote that) She gave a slight moan of pleasure and Draco pulled back from her and smirked. Cho was panting, she wanted more but didn't dare to pull herself towards him.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?" he said satisfied.

"So what if I did," she said slightly breathless.

"I thought so," he said teasingly.

Draco laughed then kissed her passionately on the lips again, then on the cheek then on her neck. She gasped longingly and her eyes widened of surprise. It struck her very suddenly that, at the moment, she was with Malfoy and not Harry. 'Harry wouldn't have the nerve to kiss me so passionately on the lips, let alone the neck.' She thought. She detached herself from his gentle touch.

"No, Draco... stop," Cho said pushing away from him. Draco looked her over, the slightest bit disappointed but he didn't show it, of course.

He stepped closer to her again so their bodies were touching again, he held her in his arms and said, "Why? You know you liked it...you know you want it."

She trembled. She knew she did but she couldn't, Harry had broken her heart but she didn't want to break his.... She'd never want anyone to feel the pain that was just moments ago pulsating inside her, never.

"Because I can't, no... Draco, stop!" she said pushing him away when he had started to kiss her neck again.

"I'm serious! Don't!" she said with a stern expression.

Draco touched a strand of her hair and examined it as if lost in thought.

"Fine," he said finally with a slight look of disappointment. Draco dropped the strand of hair he held, patted her on the head, then kissed her on the forehead... almost, it couldn't be possible, sweetly. He then turned and left.

Cho stood staring at the spot Draco had been, she was very VERY confused. That had happened so quickly, one moment his tongue was in her mouth, the next she had made him leave her alone. She leaned against the wall and gently hit her head against the wall muttering, "Stupid, stupid, stupid. What is wrong with me?" Moaning Myrtle almost floated out again but heard her muttering things and stopped. "Who knows what she'd do to someone who made her madder..." Myrtle said quietly as she floated over to one of the windows.

Cho continued to hit her head until it was considerably sore. Then, she decided, to walk around the castle. Hopefully she just wouldn't run into Harry, the last thing she needed. She crossed her arms across her chest and trotted around the corridors. It had taken her 4 years of being in Hogwarts for her to be able to know it well enough for her to be able to walk about freely without getting lost, but she knew she would never know it as well as the Gryffindors Fred and George Weasley. 'Wonder how they know it so well,' she had repeatedly thought ever since she had first heard of them. Their work was legend around, some of the few people Peeves had respected. They were two of the only four people he respected; she wasn't exactly sure who the other two were. She had only heard people talk about them.

She looked out the closest window and saw the light changing. It was already turning orange and giving some of the hills beyond Hogwarts a beautiful touch. She had her O.W.L.s coming up, she should go and study. Cho walked briskly forward and made her way quickly to the Ravenclaw common room.

so what did you think? it might be a while till i post the next chapter. im working on a partner fic wit my good friend Mg-Nashisko. We've finished the first chappie so it'll be up shortly, within the week hopefully. im gonna post my new fic Relationships & Rumors shortly so PLZ READ AND REVIEW that wen its up. and read and review dis one! the botton is just somewhere beneath this text so pllz review!