Cho's Chic

Chapter 16

At first, both men sat together on either side of the bed, watching Cho's white face for a sign of recovery. Then Alan, noting Lucius' weariness, pointed out practically that there was no need for them both to stay awake all the time. He suggested Lucius should sleep first, and he would wake him in three hours' time.

"Do you think I can sleep while she's like this?" growled Lucius.

"Try," insisted Alan. "You'll be much more use to her if you're alert. If anything happens, I'll wake you. Go and lie on the sofa, it's long enough to sleep on."

Lucius gave in, and stretched out on the sofa, throwing his cloak around himself. In spite of his protests, he fell into an uneasy sleep, tossing and turning, and muttering to himself. Alan, sitting in silence watching Cho's deathly pale face, attempted to listen with one ear to Lucius' ramblings, in case they should throw any light on the situation. As Lucius was next door, he could not catch many words, but heard "Lord" and "My Lord" muttered more than once. Alan felt a chill at this: Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater, had only ever called one person "Lord". But Voldemort was dead, so Malfoy must have been dreaming of events long ago.

Nothing happened during Alan's watch, although he almost persuaded himself that Cho's breathing was more normal. He woke Lucius as agreed, and told him as much, then lay down himself on the sofa, covered himself with a blanket, and closed his eyes, eventually drifting into sleep with his mind still churning. He woke once, and saw that his allotted time was not yet up. Before he tried to sleep again, he tiptoed over to the bedroom door and peered in.

Lucius was sitting like a statue staring intently at Cho, whose face was still unchanged. Alan was just about to turn and go back to his sofa, when he saw Lucius give a visible flinch. He rolled back his left sleeve, and looked at his forearm. From where Alan was standing he could not see the arm, but he guessed what Lucius was looking at: the Dark Mark of the Death Eaters. If Lucius was still suffering pain from the Mark after Voldemort's death, he was involved in dangerous matters indeed. The Mark seemed to be causing him a great amount of suffering, for he saw Malfoy bite the back of his own hand, either to prevent himself from crying out, or to create a second pain to distract him from the first.

Alan lay down once more, and pondering what he had seen, he fell asleep.

When Alan woke again, he heard noises from the bedroom, and walked quickly over to the door. He looked in to see Lucius sat on the bed, holding Cho so close he looked as if he were trying to crush her. She was crying, with loud inconsolable sobs that made her gasp for breath. Lucius was trying to soothe her with soft words and gentle hands, but her weeping was unceasing.

Alan went into the room, and Lucius told him over Cho's head that she had been awake for about 20 minutes, and had been crying for most of that time. "It must be the memory of what nearly happened to her," he said. "I can't get her to stop. I could use magic, but I don't want to modify her memory while she's in this state, it would be impossible to sort out her memories properly. I have to calm her down somehow. Is there any hellebore in the place?"

Alan said he thought there was, and went to check. He found what he was looking for in one of the kitchen drawers, where Cho kept a small supply of potion ingredients: a few roots of black hellebore. Alan set to work with a cauldron to produce the right concentration for a Draught of Peace, knowing that great care was needed because too much hellebore could firstly cause a dangerously deep sleep, and more again could stop the heart altogether. Luckily, Alan had been a good student in Potions class, in spite of the fact that Snape had disliked him. The procedure took some time, and even from the kitchen, Alan could hear Cho's heartrending sobs, with no sign of their lessening.

Eventually, he was satisfied that he had made a potion that would work as intended, calming Cho and giving her a sense of peace. He decanted a small quantity into a glass, and carried it through to the bedroom, along with a cup of freshly made camomile tisane.

"Here it is," he said. "Now, how are we going to get her to drink it?"

"Try talking to her," said Lucius. "She isn't taking any notice of me. Maybe a different voice will help."

Alan tried to attract Cho's attention to no avail. Wondering what to say to her, he told her about the customers who had called at the shop while he had been there on Saturday with Mary, a young witch who came in to help once a week. He related the customers' foibles, what they had said to him, and anything else he could think of, trying to keep his voice light and amusing. Cho's sobs died down a little as she seemed to be listening to his familiar tones. Eventually, she lifted her head from Lucius' shoulder, and turned to look at Alan. Then, puzzled, she looked from Alan to Lucius and back again, trying to take in the fact that these two men, who in the normal run of events would avoid contact as much as possible, were both in her bedroom looking at her with great concern.

"Here, my sweet, drink this," said Alan, offering Cho the Draught of Peace. "It will taste foul, but it will make you feel better. I've got some camomile tisane to take the taste away afterwards."

Obediently, eyes wide with confusion, Cho took the glass from him. She pulled a face, but swallowed the draught. Alan passed her the teacup, and she sipped the hot liquid carefully. Briefly, there was silence. Then Cho's eyes flashed with terror, and she cried out, "Lord Voldemort is still alive!" Lucius rescued her cup before she spilled its contents in her fear and distress.

Alan stared at Lucius in horror. When he saw that Lucius did not look at all surprised, he knew that what Cho had proclaimed was true. "Was he responsible for this?" he demanded, indicating Cho. Lucius, realising that it was useless to deny it, merely nodded in affirmation, but refused to say more.

Lucius encouraged Cho to lie down, and tucked the covers round her. He spoke gently to her, and she seemed more peaceful, as the draught took effect. Indicating with his head for Alan to follow him, he went into the living room. "You see now why I have to modify her memory. I am afraid it will now be necessary for me to do the same to you."

Alan, eyes flashing, arched eyebrows now even more so, faced Lucius, and said in low, furious tones, "You really are an arrogant bastard. You consort with the Dark Lord and expose Cho to who knows what danger, then expect to just put everything right with a memory charm. What the hell did he do to her? What on earth are you making her forget?"

Lucius replied grimly, "Rest assured, he didn't have chance to do anything to her, I rescued her in time. If he had done what he wanted, she would be in a far worse state than she is now. It was merely the sight of him and the realisation of what he was about to do that did this to her.

"I know what you think of me, but modifying her memory is the only option. If I don't, she will have this horror in her mind forever. Who knows how it would affect her if she had to live with it for the rest of her life? I'll spell it out for you. The Dark Lord is now a half human creature, and merely to behold him is trauma enough. He has not had access to a real woman, save for a Muggle I gave him to divert him from Cho, for many, many years. He wanted Cho so that he could use her again and again solely for his pleasure not hers. His tastes are for the sadistic type of sexual congress, and he derives even more pleasure if his partner is unwilling and he causes her pain. The Muggle girl died as a result of his excesses. He was using Legilimency on Cho, and while he read her mind, he deliberately planted there a knowledge of what he was about to do to her so that she would suffer even more.

"Cho is a normal young woman who can give and receive the joy of sex with someone she desires. I want her to continue this way. I do not want her every coupling to be sullied by the memory of the Dark Lord's twisted mind.

"Now do you see why I must do it?"

Alan looked Lucius Malfoy directly in the eyes, and nodded his agreement. "But," he said slowly and firmly, "you will not modify my memory, unless you intend to do it by force. You have my word that I will never use what I know to hurt Cho in any way. You're right, I do care for her, as much as if she were my sister. I would do anything to save her from pain. But this knowledge that I have about Voldemort - I can't allow you to take it from me. It may be vital in the future that someone knows this, if he regains some of his power. From what you say, he's not really a threat at the moment, is he? And I think you're starting to regret your involvement with him? Perhaps it might even be a good thing for you if someone was to let out your secret at the right time?"

Lucius looked back at Alan with a new expression of respect in his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded his head curtly. He then turned on his heels, and went back into the bedroom. He sat on the bed, where Cho looked up at him silently, the terror gradually fading from her dark eyes. He took out his wand, and sat for a while regarding Cho, as if trying to imprint her forever in his memory. Then Lucius closed his eyes, and Alan saw his expression change to one of deep concentration. Stroking Cho's sleek black hair with one gentle hand, with the other he passed the wand over her, and spoke the words that would erase Voldemort from her memory forever.

Alan stood unnoticed in the shadows and watched Lucius Malfoy then tell Cho Chang that their relationship was at an end. He gave no reason, he merely stated in a controlled voice that he could no longer see her, and he was fulfilling his promise to tell her when he knew it was over between them. Alan watched Cho, still as pale as a shroud, pretending to be brave, but saw how much it really hurt her. Her lip trembled, but she refused to cry in Lucius' presence. Lucius rose, gave Cho a stiff bow, and walked out of her bedroom without a backward glance.

Alan followed Lucius, and spoke to him: "Thank you for doing the right thing for Cho's sake. I never expected a Malfoy to display decency, but this time you have."

Lucius turned to him. His eyes were dark with grief and pain. "You will never speak of this to anyone," he said. He was trying to sound menacing, but his voice cracked as he spoke.

"Do you love her?" asked Alan suddenly, wondering at his own daring. Lucius did not deign to reply, but Alan read the answer in the troubled grey eyes.

Lucius disapparated, preparing to face the wrath of his Master alone.

Alan, bracing himself, went to provide a shoulder for Cho's inevitable waterfall of tears.

The End

I would like to thank all my faithful readers for their positive comments, both here and on sites with links to this one. I am pleased that my flight of fancy has so many fans.

This story was originally posted some time ago on another site. This version is mainly the same, with a few small revisions and some corrections. Two reviewers of the original asked for a sequel. At the time, I had no plans to write one, but have since been visited by the muse, and inspired to begin writing. So watch this space!