A/N: Yay! I got 3 reviews! Pathetic, isn't it? Anyway, moving on with business!
To Hermione Double: Thanks so much for reviewing! I thought this fic would be really original, so I just decided to go with it. Anyway, keep reading/reviewing!
To Thestral91: I really, really needed your review 'cause I've been having crappy luck with getting any, and it just made my day! Personally, I think you can just go ahead and have Ron, etc. blah, blah, blah; you get what I'm saying, right? J
To LogicalRaven: Thanks for your feedback; I really appreciate it! Okay, well, please don't like, hate me forever and ever or anything, but I just did this particular story line because it's different and I wanted to do something really original, you know? If they do kiss (and there's a good chance that they will) I promise, I won't drag it out and be excruciatingly detailed, for your sake, 'kay? And if you think this is wrong, what about Draco/Hermione stories? They might be cute together and all, but they would SO never happen in the books. Get my point here? You know, I could rant on and on about this… Ginny/Lupin stories are WRONG as are Hermione/Lupin, Hermione/Snape, etc. so on and so forth. I'm still willing to give them a chance though, as long as they're well written. Anyway, I'm so glad you're going to give this story a chance, and I think you might like it a lot more later on.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. End of discussion.
By the way… three cheers for Hermione Double, Thestral91, and LogicalRaven! Do I look like a loser yet? Well, I'd better stop now, just in case. Oh, and one more thing, for everybody. Please, please, please take the time to read through my author's notes, or anyone else's for that matter because sometimes they're really, really important. Got it? Okay, I'll shut up now.
Chapter 3Cho had never been one to starve or deprive herself of food in order to improve her appearance in one way or another. Her image had never really been that big of an issue with her, seeing as she already had a slim body that curved just right, fashion model style. She had never skipped meals because she wasn't hungry, and she had never really worried about whether or not she should take that second helping of pudding because her figure was genetically made to stay the way it was come hell or high water. The only time she had been close to skipping a meal was the night Dumbledore had informed the entire school about Cedric. Her tears were the only nourishment she had needed at the time, and after one spoonful of soup, she left the rest of the food untouched.
Which was why Michael was now looking quizzically at her, wondering why she wasn't eating anything at all, despite the thick, tempting aroma wafting from the golden platters in front of them. She hadn't even taken a sip from her drink; she just left it there, staring at it occasionally, boring her eyes into the orange liquid, watching the occasional ripples on its surface whenever the table shook from activities of some raucous Ravenclaws fooling around on the other end.
"Cho? Are you all right?"
"Hmm?" she said, looking up for the first time since they had sat down at the table.
"Aren't you going to eat something?"
"Oh, no, I'm all right. I'm just not that hungry,"
"Do you feel sick?"
"No, I'm just… thinking a lot, I guess."
"Well, couldn't you think and eat at the same time?"
But it was no use. She had already gone back to staring at her plate, then her cup, and then her plate again, making her look like she had gone stark raving mad for the second time that day.
Why did I like it when Ron held me that way? She thought. I can't have… feelings for him. Can I? I don't even know him…I've been really tired lately. Maybe I was just hallucinating. That's it… I imagined the whole thing. Feelings? Why would I have feelings for him? And Ron Weasley, of all people, Harry Potter's best friend! No, I don't have feelings for him…but then again, I've never really felt that way before, not even with Cedric… was I really hallucinating? Maybe I was. I know I was. Damn it Cho, you already have a boyfriend, just forget about Ron and concentrate on him!
After mulling it over in her mind for a few more minutes, she had finally come to a firm conclusion that she really had imagined the whole thing, regardless of whatever it was she felt. With this in mind instead of the previous disturbing thoughts, Cho suddenly realized that she was absolutely starving and immediately began to fill up her plate.
"Found your lost appetite?" said Michael teasingly, noticing her sudden change in mood and hunger.
"Yep," she said, smiling, but more to herself than anyone else.
It would all have been fine if she hadn't looked up from her plate for that one brief moment and caught the eyes of a certain redheaded Gryffindor.
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"Ron, think logically, the Chudley Cannons haven't won a single game in ages," argued Dean Thomas.
"That still doesn't mean they're not going to win one ever again," said Ron, who was still a blind believer in his favorite team. Leaning over to Ginny, he said, "Honestly, and you think he's better than Michael Corner…"
"Oh, so does that mean Michael was the better choice?" she replied cheekily.
"I- you- no!" Ron stammered furiously, going slightly red in the face.
"That's what I thought," she said, interlacing her fingers with Dean's.
"Gin, I can't eat with one hand," he complained.
She snorted before letting go saying, "Guys are so unromantic nowadays."
"So, Harry, why the sudden mood change?" said Ron, turning to his friend, who was still smirking faintly.
"Oh, let's just say someone got what they deserved," Harry said, unconsciously glancing over at the Ravenclaw table.
"Cho?" Ron said, noticing exactly where Harry's eyes had wandered for a few moments.
"What makes you say that?" he said sharply.
"Does it really matter?" was the reply, emphasized with a shrug.
"No, I guess not… I heard Michael and Cho yelling at each other in their carriage. Remember when one of the doors got slammed in Hermione's face?"
"That was their stagecoach?"
"Yeah," Harry replied in malicious glee.
Ron shook his head. "You're right, he did deserve it. The asshole had the nerve to dump my little sister,"
"Well, I don't think she really cares that much, do you?"
"Nah, she obviously wasn't that serious about him or she wouldn't have gotten over him so quickly."
"Right now, I doubt if she'll have a serious relationship before next year."
"Hey, you never know," said Harry. "She surprised you when you found out she actually had a boyfriend, she could surprise you again,"
"Maybe," said Ron, and for some reason unknown to him, he glanced back at the Ravenclaw table at Cho.
Michael had definitely deserved to be yelled at, but did Cho? How could anyone be really sure that she had gone out with Michael to benefit herself and drive Harry insane? When she glanced up and looked into his eyes, he found something unexpected. In her eyes, the supposed mirrors of our souls, he saw that she wasn't completely happy and when Michael started talking to her and she looked away, she recoiled when Michael kissed her softly on the forehead. Did she deserve it? Ron contemplated this question and a small voice in his head answered, "No…"
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Hermione stared out the window towards the Quidditch field, watching a figure with red hair fly around the tall goalposts around one end of the field, completely lost in thought. She sighed heavily before closing her eyes and leaning her head against the wall of the tower.
"Why do I even feel this way about him?" she thought to herself. "Why can't he notice me? I need help, but from who? Ginny? No, I don't think so… she's my friend, but she might accidentally tell Harry or someone. Besides, I should ask someone with more experience. After all, I'm not the type of person to switch boyfriends every six months or so… Lavender? No, too giggly and annoying… Parvati? No, she'd immediately suggest a makeover of some sort and a serious personality change… think, Hermione, think! Who has actually had a serious, long relationship, besides Ginny? Cho! Maybe she could give me some advice… unless she's going to bite my head off for supposedly 'stealing' Harry from her… I could always try though, couldn't I?" And with one final glance at the field, she slipped on her shoes and set off to find the Ravenclaw to seek some words of wisdom.
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Cho stared at the piece of paper, blinking hard in disbelief. It was over. Michael had broken up with her. She looked the note over again and again to make sure that she hadn't missed anything or misunderstood what he had written, but no mistake, it was there in black ink on a small piece of parchment.
Cho-I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore. After what I saw in the hallway, I see that you've probably moved on to someone else and so I'm letting you go free to do what you want. Sorry it didn't work out.
-Michael
Cho's world had somehow been turned upside down and inside out in the past three weeks, although it had certainly seemed much longer and this note was the finishing touch to her confusion. It had all started on Saturday, the first Hogsmeade weekend when she and Michael had gone to the village with the rest of the students. They separated, promising to meet each other at The Three Broomsticks for butterbeers three hours later after they had finished all of their early Christmas shopping.
She had entered a brand new shop full of delicate trinkets and other things of that sort and was looking at a bracelet for her mother when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and came face-to-face with Hermione Granger.
"Ah yes, Hermione, the most important girl in Harry's life," she thought, still bent on her immature and inaccurate theory that she had formulated the previous year. Scowling, she said sharply, "What do you want?"
"I…" she started, her voice faltering as Cho glared at her, clearly terrified. Cho saw this and relaxed, changing her expression to a neutral one.
"What do you want?" she asked again, more calmly, although still rather cold.
"I was wondering… if you could…" she slowly started, pausing after each short phrase as if she was still debating whether or not she wanted to tell her.
"Yes…?" Cho said, starting to get a bit impatient.
"Well, I sort of need some help," she finally said vaguely.
"What kind of help?"
"Er…" Hermione swallowed hard and turned pink before muttering something.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that," Cho said.
"I need some boy help," she said, a little bit louder.
"You- you need what?" said the astonished girl.
"I need boy help," Hermione repeated, biting her lip.
"Oh I see, Harry acting strangely?" Cho asked angrily. "Is that it?"
"What?!" she said, just as surprised as Cho was moments ago. Then her eyes widened in realization and she said, "Oh! No, it's not Harry, we were never even together. It's about Ron,"
Cho felt as though she had been hit in the face with a ton of bricks.
"R-Ron?" she said hoarsely, her voice barely making its way out of her throat.
"Yes," said Hermione, starting to blush more furiously.
Cho slapped herself mentally. How could she be so stupid? Of course Hermione had never been more than a friend to Harry, they had never shown any of the public signs of affection that any normal couple would, and besides, Ron was always the one she fought with, not Harry. Didn't that mean something? Shouldn't she have noticed that only Hermione and Ron ever fought, sometimes publicly, almost certainly in private as well, and never she and Harry? That was the first sign of attraction in the case of a girl with Hermione's personality, as Cho had learned from experience with countless fellow Ravenclaws in her dormitory.
And now, why was her throat constricting painfully as she tried to say Ron's name? Why was she longing to turn and run away from Hermione and never look back? Did this mean that she…?
"No! Cho, we've already been through this!" her mind screamed at her. "You feel absolutely nothing for him! Ron is just another face in the crowd!"
"Sure, Hermione, I'll help you, but now isn't a really good time, so meet me in the Astronomy Tower tonight at 8:00, okay?" she heard herself say.
Hermione looked up from the spot on the floor where she had been staring at for the last few minutes at Cho's words and looked slightly shocked. "You mean… you're not going to say no?"
"That's right, I'm going to help you." She repeated. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go meet someone," And with that she paid for the bracelet and walked away before Hermione could say a word of thanks to her.
"You can do this, Cho," she reassured herself. "You don't have any feelings for Ron and helping Hermione will prove it. When you see the two of them together, you'll be happy for them and you won't regret helping her one bit. Not- one- bit."
Later, that night in the Astronomy Tower, Cho paced back and forth frantically, wringing her hands and fidgeting uncomfortably. She repeatedly checked her watch and hoped that Hermione hadn't forgotten and finally just sat down on the floor, leaned against the wall, took out her quill from her bag, and began to write down ideas for what Hermione could do to catch Ron's attention, etc., etc., etc.
At last, at 8:30, although it certainly felt much longer than thirty minutes to Cho, Hermione arrived; bag barely hanging from her shoulder by one strap, out of breath, and her wild curls flying everywhere.
"Sorry- Cho," she panted. "Harry- and Ron- wouldn't let me off- and I came- as soon as I could,"
"It's all right," Cho said good-naturedly. "Sit, and catch your breath and then we'll start,"
Hermione gratefully did so, and she settled herself down on the floor across from Cho.
Once her breathing had reached a normal rate again, Cho added the finishing touches to the hasty list she had thrown together while she had been waiting and straightened up.
"Okay, Hermione, so what exactly do you need help with, as far as getting Ron to go out with you goes?" she said, unrolling the list and preparing herself to scratch out several things she had written that wouldn't apply to Hermione's situation.
"Well, I've liked him for a long time now and I'm not sure he feels the same way. It's not exactly an issue on getting him to notice me, and I really don't want to change my looks or how I act to make him like me, if he doesn't already," she started.
"All right," Cho said, crossing out several items on her list. "You wouldn't mind just a little change to your looks though, would you? And flirting is probably going to play a small part too… what do you think?"
"Yeah, that would be fine, as long as I don't look like a slut and have to act like an idiot," she said.
"I agree, you don't want to scare him with any abnormal behavior or appearance, so we'll keep the alterations to a minimal, but still enough to have some sort of impact on him," said Cho in a professional tone, making several notes on the roll of parchment. "Ron doesn't look like the type of guy who'd go for a really artificial girl anyway,"
"Well, there was that Fleur Delacour girl," Hermione said, "but, then again, she was part veela, so I don't think he would pick someone like that either… but yeah, I guess a few changes wouldn't hurt,"
"Okay, so let's see, we don't really have that much to work with, given the information you just gave me," she said, giving Hermione a once-over to see what she could do to be a bit more eye-catching and alluring. "You have a nice, thin face proportioned just right, you just look a little plain and pale. But you have a great complexion and your face is pretty much pimple-free, so we won't have to worry about concealer or foundation too much, make-up wise. You might need a little bit of blush to show off your cheekbones more and put more color in your cheeks… you could definitely benefit from some eye make-up though. Oh, and a few tips with your wardrobe, don't be shy. For example, you have really nice legs, try to show them off a little bit more with skirts that are at least an inch shorter than what you wear now, believe me, an inch can make all the difference. And when you're talking to him, try to send little hints to him. If you're talking about the next Hogsmeade trip, make a big deal about wanting to go and telling Harry all about everything might help a bit too. Do you need me to write this down for you?" she asked, seeing the expression on Hermione's face.
"Um… yeah, that would be good," the dizzy Gryffindor replied.
Cho's quill zoomed back and forth over the parchment, scribbling like mad and more than compensating for the many suggestions she had taken off of the list that weren't necessary making sure to add a few more tips on applying the make-up, as she was most likely not going to be familiar with the usual techniques and rules.
"There you go," she said, rolling up the paper and handing it to Hermione. "Just look over the first few things on there and update me once a week. I guess we could meet every Thursday, say, same time same place?"
"That'd be fine with me," said Hermione, putting away the roll in her bag and standing up again.
"But I really think you should consider telling Harry about it, I think he could really help if given the chance," Cho said, standing as well. "What time is it?"
Hermione glanced at her watch and said, "9:30, time goes by quickly doesn't it?"
"Yeah," Cho said before smiling at her and walking out the door at a brisk pace towards the Ravenclaw dormitories. "See?" she said to herself. "You can do it, and that proves that Ron doesn't matter,"
The next week, when they met again, Hermione was obviously very satisfied with the results of the session they had last week, and walking into the tower, started off with throwing her arms around Cho in a hug of ecstasy.
"So I take that as a sign that my notes helped?" she said when Hermione had finally let go of her.
Being a person who didn't normally squeal and act extremely excited, it was rather a sight to see Hermione do both unashamedly in front of her before finally settling down to tell the whole story.
"Yes! I told Harry about it, like you told me to, and it's been a really big help, like you said it would be. I'm not sure if it's just me, but I think Ron is looking at me a bit differently now, he talks to me a lot more now, again, I'm not sure if it's me, but I think there's definitely some potential for a date sometime in the future," she said, a wide grin on her face the entire time.
"She calls that progress? It's really vague… wow, she must really be desperate; it doesn't really sound like much improvement to me…" Cho thought, not quite as pleased as Hermione was.
"Okay, well, don't get too excited yet though. Considering how long it's taken Ron to notice you, this is a big improvement, but it's not quite to that point where you can tell whether or not he's head-over-heels for you or anything. Let's just keep taking this one step at a time," she said calmly, wracking her brain to try to think of something else Hermione could work on. "Now that you've got his attention, don't lose it by being to eager to be around him and talk to him. Play some hard-to-get; tease him a little, the bottom line being to keep him on his toes. Don't however, play too-hard-to-get, that'll guarantee failure, as I've learned from experience… I think you know what I mean,"
Hermione nodded and sobered up at Cho's words, concentrating more carefully on the advice being given.
"Okay, good. I'll be watching you over the next week and if you need to tone down on your behavior, I'll raise my eyebrows at you, and if you need to turn it up a bit, I'll tuck some of my hair behind my ear. If you're good, then I'll nod. I think that covers just about everything, um, why don't you just owl me from now on with updates on how everything's going, okay? If you really, really, really need to talk to me, write me and we'll meet here same time as always." Cho said, starting to get up, even though twenty minutes had barely passed by. "You're a smart girl, you'll catch on quickly enough. Remember, keep him on his toes,"
"Got it," Hermione said, seemingly a little disappointed at such a short session, but after all, there couldn't be much more to it than Cho had laid down for her in black and white, as plain as day.
"If you give me your schedule, I'll make sure I'll see you at least once during the day on my way to classes," Cho said, straightening out her skirt and brushing off the small particles of dust that still clung to it.
"All right, hold on a minute," she replied, scribbling down her schedule quickly on a spare piece of parchment and handing it to Cho.
And with that they had gone their separate ways. Immediately, the following day, Cho began to make sure (besides mealtimes) that she had a chance to glance at Hermione and check on how she was doing. Before Transfiguration, she purposely steered Michael, who was walking her to class, towards the massive double doors that opened to the grounds to catch Hermione before she walked to Herbology instead of the usual shortcut he took with her by stairway, which led to both their classes, lying about wanting to take a more scenic route that day, "because I feel like it,"
Hermione walked by, just in time, giggling a little bit too loudly at some joke Ron had made to be real. She spotted Cho, saw the raised eyebrows, and lowered the volume on her laughs. The next time they crossed paths was when after dinner when they were heading back to their common rooms to relax for the evening and Cho had seen Hermione acting a little bit too longing towards Ron, and making him look slightly confused and uncomfortable. She seized the opportunity to charm Michael's shoelaces under her breath so that he had to bend down and work on the almost impossible knots they had tied themselves into when he wasn't looking and mouthed to Hermione while her boyfriend cursed and fumed over his shoelaces, "Play hard to get!"
She nodded, and backed off, deepening Ron's confusion, but clearly intriguing him by presenting him with the new challenge of having to chase after the opportunity instead of depending on it being handed to him on a golden platter. By the next day, Hermione had already gotten Ron to ask her out on a date set for the next Hogsmeade weekend, and Cho had promised to be there as well to follow her unseen.
Michael, however, had seemed to grow more and more distant every day, now that she had come to think of it, and instead of walking her to class like he usually did, he usually strayed off somewhere with one of his own friends after breakfast or lunch before heading towards his own classes. At first, she had been too busy helping Hermione to notice this, but once she had gotten the hang of things, Cho began to pay more attention to her surroundings and started to feel more and more suspicious.
Her flying was growing increasingly worse during Quidditch practice, as her mind was usually on something else besides the practice itself, and in a burst of frustration and exasperation, she had been suspended from the team, "until you come back from your little dream world and can play properly again,"
The full force of these words didn't hit her until after practice when she had relaxed enough to concentrate on something besides Hermione and Ron and how everything was falling into place. She loved Quidditch, but it seemed like it was just one of those things that she had to give up for a while until she had completely finished with helping Hermione.
On the fateful day Hermione was supposed to go to Hogsmeade with Ron, Michael had said that he didn't feel well and told Cho to go on to the village without him, which was perfectly fine with her; now she could pay a bit more close attention to the couple without any interruptions or interrogations.
She met up with Hermione outside the gates and told her that she'd always be at least five feet behind her, if she needed anything. She nodded and Cho shifted to the side before hiding behind a tall Hufflepuff to conceal herself more. She watched as Ron came walking down the grounds and offered his arm to Hermione, who gladly took it.
She followed them all the way into The Three Broomsticks after doing so as they walked into several shops, looking around, but not really buying anything. Ron went to buy butterbeers for the two of them, and Cho took this opportunity to coach Hermione some more.
"… sometimes you need to make the first move, you know? It's obvious that he's liked you for a long time now, but he just can't seem to take that many hints. Just try to make sure that he's comfortable and that you don't smother him or anything."
"Got it," she replied before saying hurriedly, "He's coming back,"
Cho looked and saw Ron coming towards them and, nodding politely to him, walked back to her table.
She saw him looking at her suspiciously, and before long, they got up again and left. As she made to follow them again, however, Marietta happened to show up with a few of her other friends.
"Come on Cho," she whined, "you've been ignoring us for long enough now. We're going to make you have some fun for a change, even if it kills us trying!"
And with that, she was practically dragged out of the pub and down the street, in the exact opposite direction as Hermione and Ron were heading. Hermione looked back and Cho mouthed, "I'm sorry, you're on your own now,"
Although she couldn't understand half of what she had mouthed, she understood that Cho would no longer be able to tag along behind her. She mouthed back, "Okay," and gave her the thumbs-up to signify that she had everything under control.
Everything would have been perfect and gone exactly as planned between the two of them if something hadn't happened to ruin it.
On the third Saturday after her first meeting with Hermione, Cho had decided to go to the library to get some of her homework done that she had been neglecting for a while now and was due the following Monday. So, with a feeling of great self-sacrifice and sympathy, she pushed open the old doors and walked towards the very back to find a table to work on.
No sooner than she had walked past five aisles she heard sounds. She froze in her tracks, listening closely to the noises. They definitely weren't animal calls of some sort, and the librarian certainly wasn't making them. In fact, it almost sounded as if…
She crept a bit closer and peeked through a gap in the books in the row next to the one where the sounds were coming from and was greeted with a most surprising sight. Harry and Hermione… making out. (A/N: Okay, this can mean different things, but in my definition it means they were just kissing with their clothes ON.) Her eyes widened and she ran as fast as she could back towards the entrance, not caring about being inconspicuous, only obeying her instinct, which was telling her to get out of there. She heard footsteps behind her, and upon hearing them, ran all the faster and didn't stop until she was home free.
Once back in the common room, she collapsed in a seat, panting rapidly.
"Only friends, huh? Liar…" she muttered, as well as several other rather insulting comments.
All this replayed in her mind as she stared dumbstruck at the piece of paper as if it were something containing a curse of death.
"This is great," she thought sarcastically, putting the letter down on her dresser. "Just peachy. Suspended from the Quidditch team, dumped, and all that time spent with Hermione wasted when she didn't even like Ron in the first place." She looked at the letter once more before tearing it to shreds and gathering the pieces up in her hands before letting them loose in the wind outside the window beside her bed. She watched as the bits fluttered and dance as if they were alive, and, suddenly possessed with a fit of anger, she headed towards the boy's dormitories.
To say she was mad was an understatement; she was absolutely livid and shaking from the violent feelings of hate and frustration sweeping her body. A fire seemed to have ignited inside of her and everything that had gone wrong kept replaying in her head as she completely trashed Michael's belongings and bed. Destroying everything like someone gone mad, she ripped all of his schoolbooks into a pile of rubbish and tore his clothes until they were sad, tattered remains of what they used to be. She pulled down the drapes around his bed, flung the covers off of the mattress, and then left them on the floor. Breathing heavily, she leaned against the wall beside one of the beds and let out a frustrated sob before pulling her knees up against her, and, resting her head on them, crying until she had let it all out.
Standing up and drying her tears, she flicked her wand, which had been left forgotten beside one of the other beds in the dormitory, and repaired everything and restored it back to normal. Feeling drawn and worn out, she headed back to her own dormitory to get her broom. She needed to fly again.
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"I'm going to the library," Hermione had announced that Saturday evening to Ron and Harry, who were playing a game of chess. "I need to do some more research on that essay for Professor Binns… I'll see you guys later, okay?"
They both nodded before turning back to their game.
With a toss of her hair, she left the Gryffindor common room, bag slung over her shoulder, feeling the satisfaction of knowing that Ron was watching her every move as she left and thoroughly enjoying doing so. Unknown to her, however, was the fact that a green-eyed, dark-haired wizard was also watching her closely.
It had all come as a big surprise. When Hermione had first started flirting with Ron that fateful day at breakfast, wearing make-up and actually looking prettier than she had at the Yule Ball a few years ago, it was enough to make him choke on his pumpkin juice. Which he did. What surprised him the most, however, was the fact that she kept up the flirting charade and so, he started to go along with it. In fact, he enjoyed it a great deal, probably more than he would have liked to confess, and the little game they had been playing had led to him asking her out.
"Hey, 'Mione?"
"Yes Ron?"
She was looking at him curiously, although she wasn't woman of the world enough to hide the expectant and hopeful glitter in her eyes.
"Would you- I mean, would you like to- what I'm trying to say is- will you go out with me?" he spluttered, stumbling over his word choices.
"Sure," she had replied, breaking out into a wide smile that filled him with relief. "Say, next Hogsmeade weekend?"
"All right, the next Hogsmeade weekend it is," he said weakly.
She had met him that day, looking beautiful, as usual, and walked with him wherever he wanted to go. He was a bit apprehensive as to what one did on a date, this being his first one with anyone, so he just went to several shops before proposing going to get butterbeers. She, of course, agreed immediately, and so they went.
When he came back, Cho was sitting across from Hermione, leaned in closely so that whatever she said wouldn't be heard by anybody else. He frowned slightly before Hermione looked up to see him and whisper something to Cho, who got up quickly and, nodding to acknowledge him, walked back to her own table.
"What did she want?" he asked when he had sat down.
"She just needed some help with something," Hermione lied easily.
"Oh," he said. When they had both drained their butterbeers (which didn't take that long, surprisingly) he got up first and then led her out the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her turn her head towards a large group of giggling girls behind them and mouth something to someone and then give them the thumbs-up. Or was she just looking to see what the girls had been so giggly about? But all of his thoughts flew away as she pulled him off to the side into Madam Puddifoot's café and led him for a change to a table in the back, surprising him by kissing him and holding his hand as well.
Little did he know that when Hermione had left for the library that night, she would give him yet another surprise.
Three hours later, after Ron had won several games in a row, Harry said, "Listen, I'm going to go find Hermione and drag her back here if it's the last thing I do. She spends too much time in the library anyway and she's going to work herself to death if she keeps on like this,"
"All right," said his friend, watching with a slightly arched eyebrow as he walked out of the portrait hole a little to eagerly than could be normal. Feeling distrustful, he slipped out of the common room as well about thirty minutes later, grabbing Harry's invisibility cloak on the way and putting it on before heading towards the library. When he got there, the first thing he saw was Cho, standing absolutely still and seeming to be on the alert for something. That was when he heard it.
Walking briskly towards the aisle that the moans were coming from, he poked his head around the end of the row as Cho looked through a space in the middle of it and saw them. Together.
Cho slowly backed away from the bookshelf, unconscious of doing so and, without warning, started running. Ron took one more look at Hermione and Harry before following suit and trying to catch up with her, taking off the cloak as he did so, and not really knowing why he wanted to catch up to her. However, once she became aware of him following her, she gave a burst of speed and disappeared before he could say anything.
Neither one of them had noticed an extra pair of jealous eyes following the two of them, turning away before Cho disappeared and looking just after Ron had taken off the invisibility cloak.
Dazed, he headed back to the common room and slowly trudged up the stairs to his dorm. Not bothering to change into his pajamas, he fell onto the bed backwards as he let the events of the night sink into his brain. He closed his eyes and drew the curtains around his bed, making no move to show that he had heard Harry as he entered, humming some unknown tune softly and pretended to be asleep.
The next day, he had gone up to Hermione and said, "It's over," plain and simple, giving no explanation at all before walking away to try and clear his head. Doing homework was out of the question; it was simply impossible when thoughts about betrayal kept drifting into his mind whenever he picked up a quill, for some reason. After restlessly pacing back and forth in the common room for a half an hour, he decided that the best way to relax himself was to go fly a bit on the Quidditch field and practice for the game Gryffindor had next week against Ravenclaw.
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A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed it, and yes, I know I should be stoned for updating so late, but I hope this has made it worth your while. PLEASE review!