Disclaimer : I own nothing only the plot

Chapter 8

(Chapter 7)

"You have a message for me?" Harry asked confused.

"Mmm-hmm," said Cho. She walked up towards Harry and sat down very close to him on the bed, placing her cloak behind her. Harry backed away slightly. He was trying his hardest to only look at her face but being male, this was difficult and Cho wasn't exactly helping either.

"One of the house elves asked me to give this to you," she said as she took a piece of parchment out of the pocket in her robe. "It's from Hermione."

Harry gave Cho a questioning look. He wasn't sure what to say to her. He looked over at Ron for support but he was just gaping at her, muttering words that sounded awfully like 'I've got a girlfriend. I've got a girlfriend!'

He knew that the note was probably Hermione's answer but he was confused as to why Cho had it and why Dobby couldn't have given it to Harry himself. He looked up at Cho's face. She was looking down at the note in Harry's hands and she looked genuinely interested in what the note said.

Harry was about to open the note but there was something that he needed to ask Cho first. "Eh I don't mean to be rude but why did the house elf give it to you?"

Cho tore her eyes away from the note and smiled at Harry. "Sorry I should have said. He told me that he was very busy with chores. It was a shame really, he looked a real mess."

"Oh, right ok," said Harry. Cho did have a point he thought. He knew that Dobby sometimes did too much work for him to handle. However Ron didn't look convinced at all, he was looking suspiciously at her (though still with his mouth open) as if he didn't believe her.

Harry suddenly remembered the unopened note that was in his hands. The note that he had been waiting all day for - Hermione's answer! On the front it said Harry in her neat handwriting. He could recognise that writing anywhere. He quickly tore open the note and read.

Dear Harry,

I'm glad to hear that you feel terrible about what happened last night. You deserve it but I certainly didn't!!

How dare you shout at me like that! I was only trying to help, you know. Now I wish that I had never bothered.

And another thing, will you stop going on about Sirius. I'm sorry that he's dead and everything but I've had enough of you being miserable every single bloody day. You have to forget him and get on with your life!

You really hurt me Harry, I hope you know that. No, I don't accept your apology. It will take a lot more than that to rebuild our friendship.

Also I can't believe that you thought I would go to the ball with you after this! Sorry but go find a girl who will actually put up with you being miserable every day!

Hermione

P.S oh yeah and thanks for the flowers and breakfast.

Harry had to read the letter twice again before it finally sunk in. He was heartbroken. He couldn't believe how horrible Hermione was. It was certainly not like her, a bit too unlike her. 'But then again I really did hurt her.' he thought. 'She was just angrier than I had thought.'

Harry slid down to the floor, put his head between his knees and stared at his feet. He was trying desperately not to cry in front of Ron and Cho. After about a minute he felt a hand gently caress his shoulder. He looked up to see Cho staring sympathetically at him.

"Are you ok Harry? What did the note say?"

"It's...all....my...fault," sobbed Harry just loud enough for them to hear. He no longer had the energy to speak. With a final glance at the note, he threw it away as hard as he could. Being so light, it didn't travel very far. It landed just in front of Ron who picked it up.

"Did she say no then?" asked Ron. Harry didn't answer. Instead Ron began to read the note himself. "Bloody hell Harry what happened?"

"Does it matter now? I've lost her." Harry whipped his head back and banged his head against the bed pole in both anger and sadness. He soon wished that he hadn't thought because he now had a throbbing pain in his head to deal with also.

"Why don't I get you a glass of water?" asked Cho. Harry nodded and she went into the bathroom.

Ron got up from the chair and stood next to Harry. He waited until Cho was completely out of sight to speak. "This just doesn't sound like Hermione at all. She would never say stuff like that about Sirius!"

Harry didn't even bother to look at Ron. He spoke but still stared at the floor. "Yeah well you should have seen her last night. I really hurt her Ron. I'm such an idiot."

Ron didn't know what to say. He went to sit down next to Harry but Harry shook his head to stop him.

"No it's ok Ron. You go and get Lavender,"

"No Harry I can stay it's still early-"

"Just go Ron," said Harry, just loud enough for Ron to hear. "go away". Still Ron didn't move. "GO AWAY!" (A/N Think of Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge! Lol)

Ron stood shocked at Harry's sudden outburst. Deciding not to argue, he left to find Lavender and Hermione. To him, this didn't seem right at all.

Just as Ron had left Cho came back holding the glass of water. Harry got up and sat on the bed. Cho sat down next down to him and handed him the water.

"Thanks," he muttered. Harry took a sip of water and he could feel the ice cold liquid slide down his throat. It didn't really make him feel better at all. He was already feeling cold inside about what Hermione had said.

"Look Cho I don't want you to miss the ball, you can go if you want,"

"Harry don't be stupid, I'm not gonna leave you. Besides I don't have a date, I broke up with my boyfriend last week," said Cho.

"Oh, sorry," said Harry.

"Don't worry," said Cho "I'd rather be here with you than at the ball. So I'm guessing that the note was bad news?"

"You could say that," said Harry.

Cho twisted herself round so she was directly facing him. She got herself into a position where she was comfortable "Well spill,"

Harry wasn't sure about if he should tell Cho about everything but then...she has probably already saw enough for her to guess.

So Harry told her everything, from him hitting Hermione to what was exactly in her note. By the end of it, Harry was surprised to see that Cho was almost in tears.

"I just can't believe that she expects me to forget Sirius. He was the closet thing to a parent that I ever had."

"I'm just so shocked that Hermione said all those horrible things. That is just not acceptable, especially all that you have been through," said Cho.

Even though Harry appreciated what Cho was doing, he couldn't help but notice how nice she was being. Ever since that had broke up, she had been very distant with him, and they rarely spoke. Harry decided to forget this, he was just glad to have someone to talk to.

Nobody had spoke for a while but then, almost out of the blue, Cho had pulled him into a tight embrace. Harry felt a bit uncomfortable at first, considering the history between them but he felt better knowing that somebody actually cared.

"I'm so sorry Harry," said Cho. "But it isn't your fault. You apologised to Hermione and she did the stupid thing not to forgive you. She has chosen not to be your friend so it's her loss."

Harry didn't answer her but she could hear his fait sobs. She placed her hand under his chin and lifted his head up. His green eyes were glazed with tears, not wanting to escape. "Listen to me; it's her that should be more upset. She has just lost a great person as a friend. I mean, who says that she won't be horrible to you again."

Harry seriously doubted if Hermione would ever do that to him again but ........ it wasn't as if she was going to forget what he did to her in a hurry. "But I'm really gonna miss her," said Harry. "I...I......." the word 'love just couldn't escape his mouth somehow. "I really cared for her."

"She doesn't deserve you Harry. You deserve someone who respects you" Cho placed her hand on Harry's leg. "Someone who would always be there for you," she placed her other hand on his cheek. "Someone who loves you."

"You know Harry, I wish that we had never broke up. I'm sorry about everything with Cedric but I have never stopped caring for you."

Harry was completely lost for words. Sure he still liked Cho, but not in a romantic way....he thought.

Cho began to lean in to Harry. Harry leaned back as far as he could but eventually Cho caught up with him. She placed her lips on his - gentle and first, but soon much more passionate.

Harry was surprised at himself to find that he was kissing her back. He knew that this was wrong and something was lurking in the back of his mind saying that something wasn't exactly right but his emotions were soon taking over. What was the harm? Hermione obviously no longer cared for him and like she had said in the letter, he should get on with his life.

He felt himself being pushed back until he found himself lying on the bed with Cho lying on top of him. Desperate for air, Cho broke the kiss, looked down at Harry and smiled, her lipstick a mess.

"Don't worry Harry, everything's going to be OK. You don't need her." She leaned in again for another kiss.

"Harry thought about what Cho had said. He didn't need Hermione? But Harry then thought of all the times that Hermione had been there for him, had helped him. There were too many to count. Then he realised, he DID need Hermione and he wasn't going to lose her without putting up a brave fight.

But there was one small problem. Cho was lying on top of him kissing him. Harry couldn't deny that he was enjoying the kiss but that didn't exactly mean that it was right.

Harry then felt Cho unbuttoning his shirt. Now she had gone too far. Harry tried placing his hands on her to pull her away but she was surprisingly strong.

The longer the kiss lasted, the worse Harry was feeling. He thought he heard the door open but Cho placed her hand by the side of his head so he couldn't turn to see. As Harry felt yet another of his shirt button open he heard a faint sob, a familiar sob. And Cho had heard it too because she stopped what she was doing and looked behind. Harry strained his head to the left to see what was going on.

And there, standing right before was both the most frightening and beautiful sight he had ever seen.

There she was, Hermione Granger, the love of his life, standing rigid by the door, looking as if she had just witnessed her own death.

To Harry, she looked like an angel. Words couldn't describe her beauty, she took his breath away. The dress she was wearing was stunning, it hugged her in all the right places, it was just........perfect. And her hair looked like silk. He noticed that in her hair, was one of the white roses that Harry had gave her earlier that day. The glitter in the dress and in her hair dazzled in the candlelight.

He could feel his heart racing, even missing a few beats but he also felt as if his own soul had been sucked out by the dementors. The look on Hermione face, it was nothing compared to the previous night and Harry wished that he would never have to see it again. But this...was lots worse, and Harry never thought that was possible.

"H-h-hermione i-it's n-not-"

"Oh I know exactly what it looks like," spat Hermione. She then threw a heavy object which Harry didn't recognise on the floor. It landed just in front of him and Cho. He looked up at Cho, trying to survey what Hermione was seeing. And it didn't look good at all - Cho was sitting on top of him, her hands firmly on his chest and the straps of her dress were down her arms. He than briefly looked at himself - his shirt was nearly half undone and he almost never realised that his hands were still on Cho's waist. He quickly removed them. Suddenly Cho turned to him. She was smiling and this made him angry. She leaned to kiss him again as if nothing had just happened. But as soon as her lips were on his, he pulled her away. He looked at Hermione who was staring down at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen.

Harry heard her burst into tears. That sound was unbearable.

"I d-d-didn't mean t-to inter-r-rupt anything. I'm.... j-just gonna...go," said Hermione.

"Hermione, wait!" said Harry. However Hermione didn't listen. She spun around and ran out of the dormitory, still crying uncontrollably.

"HERMIONE!" shouted Harry. No response came. He wrestled himself free from Cho's grasp and ran towards the door but he nearly tripped up on the object on the floor. He turned round to see what it was that Hermione had thrown. It was a book. Ignoring Cho, who was sitting on the bed waiting for him, he picked up the book and sat down on one of the chairs. The cover was made of lack leather and in gold letters were the words 'Memories-Sirius Black' and there was a picture of a dog underneath. Harry opened the book and viewed the first page where there was a picture of Sirius and below it, a message in beautiful handwriting – Hermione's.

Sirius Black (Padfoot)

A noble man, friend and Godfather.

Goodbye may seem forever

Farewell is like the end

But in my heart is a memory

And there you'll always be

Harry turned the page again and noticed that the book was actually a photo album. It was filled with pictures of Sirius beginning with pictures of Sirius as a boy at Hogwarts with his best friends James and Remus (Hermione had cut Peter out) and ending with pictures of him with Harry at Grimmauld Place.

Harry was speechless. It was amazing; unlike anything anyone had ever given to him. Hermione had done all of this and went to al this effort for him. Then he remembered. She looked breathtaking, like an angel. An angel that (by the look on Hermione's face) had been painfully stabbed in the back

"What. Have. I. Done.?" he whispered.

And just like the previous night a single tear ran down his cheek.

He had never felt so guilty and confused in his life. Why had Hermione been there in the first place when she said she wasn't going to the ball with him? And also she looked really hurt even though Harry thought that she had fell out with him. And why had she made him a present like that if she was angry with him? It didn't make any sense at all.

"Aww are you ok Harry?" Cho approached him but Harry extended his arm as a gesture to stop her.

"Just leave me alone please," he whispered.

"Oh come on," said Cho impatiently "Don't let her ruin our evening," she said seductively.

Harry was quite shocked about how nasty Cho was. She didn't seem at all bothered about what had just happened. But he didn't care about her right now, he needed to find Hermione.

Harry stood up and walked over to the bed. He picked up Cho's cloak.

"I think that it's best that you just go," he said as he threw the cloak across the room to her. However a spare piece of parchment came out of one of the pockets and fluttered to the ground. On the front of parchment was the word 'Harry'

Cho gasped and quickly ran towards Harry to get it. I was obviously something for him and by the way Cho was acting, it was also something that she didn't want him to see so he also ran to get. Harry managed to grab it first. He placed one hand on Cho's shoulder to hold her back and the other was holding the piece of parchment. He flipped it open and read it quickly.

Dear Harry,

First of all thank you so much for the breakfast and the flowers. You really should not have done that. Oh and yes, the flowers are my favourite but how do you know that?

I have to admit that I was both shocked and angered about what you did. I really didn't think that I deserved it. But I read your letter and I have never felt so happy. It was beautiful thank you so so much. It means more to me than you will ever know and yes.... I DO forgive you.

Also I accept your invitation to the ball. I would love to go with you. See you at seven then. I can't wait!

All my love,

Hermione

Harry finished reading the note and turned to Cho who was looking extremely nervous.

"What's this?" asked Harry.

Cho stared at the ground and fidgeted with her left glove. "No idea."

Harry took a minute to think but then it finally dawned on him. This was Hermione's real note, she had forgiven him and she had accepted his invitation to the ball. That was why she was there and had looked so shocked. Now it all made sense! But then...who had wrote the fake note.

However unlike advanced potions, this didn't take him long to figure out.

"It was you who wrote that other note wasn't it?!"

Cho didn't answer for a while but then she lifted her head up and looked at him innocently. "I told you I don't know what you are talking about."

Harry was becoming angrier by the second. "I can't believe you! You knew how much Hermione means to me and now you try and tear us apart? You're unbelievable!"

"Thank you," said Cho.

Harry glared at her, if looks could kill, then Cho had suffered a fate much worse than death, even much worse than the dementor's kiss.

"Just get out!" shouted Harry.

"Fine!" shouted Cho. She grabbed her cloak from off of the ground. "But I tell you one thing Harry Potter. You and I both know who is better for you!"

"I agree with you there! I love Hermione!" shouted Harry.

Cho gasped. Harry loved Hermione? She had no idea about that. But that was the last straw for her. She spun round and marched towards the door. Just as she was about to leave she turned to Harry.

"You've had your chance Harry. Just don't come crying to me when Granger dumps you!"

And with that she slammed the door and walked down the stairs, smiling, and quite proud or herself.

Harry didn't see this though. As soon as Cho was out of sight, he had collapsed on his bed. He felt so dirty. Cho had used him and he was so stupid as to fall for her act. He had really done it this time. Hermione would never forgive him now..........but he had to try.

He jumped out of his bed and ran out of his dormitory. He had no idea what he was going to say to her but he wasn't thinking about that right now, the most important thing was to find her first. By the time he was down in the common room he wondered where to begin looking for her. Then he heard people laughing behind him. He spun round and noticed two third year Gryffindor girls come down the stairs.

"Do you know if Hermione Granger is up there?" he shouted at them.

He didn't mean to shout at them. They looked slightly hurt at his rudeness.

"I-im sorry I d-d-don't know she's n-not in our dorm," squeaked one of the girls.

"Oh, sorry," said Harry.

He thought that he would check her dorm first and without a second thought he began to run up the staircase towards the girl's dormitories. By the time he was halfway up, he heard a loud claxon noise – a noise that he had heard once before. Beneath his feet the stairs melted into a slide and soon he found himself at the bottom where he had started.

"Come on this is important!" shouted Harry, though he didn't know who to. He really needed to get up there but how? Then he had an idea. He took his wand out from his robes and pointed it in the direction of his dorm.

"Accio firebolt!"

After a minute his firebolt came zooming down the other staircase and landed neatly at his feet. Quickly, he mounted the broom and kicked off the ground. Within no time, he was at the top of the stairs outside the girl's dormitory door. He opened the door and ran inside, praying that Hermione was there.