mikochan-I know, isn't Draco great? The way I portrayed him is exactly what I think the real Draco would be like if everything in my story happened, don't you think? Thank you for your kind words!

Fiona-Don't worry, Cho's too mad at Draco to just fall into his arms. Hope you like this chapter!

Baby Ree-There's a lot of angst in this chapter, also. Happy? ^_^

Shannon-I would never make Cho an airhead...on purpose anyway...don't worry. Tell me I do accidently, though... :)

LiL-Miz-Chief-Oh, Draco and Cho will show affection in time. Not for awhile, though. Bear with me?

samskiz-If I can't convert you to liking Draco, don't you at least support Draco/Cho?

Miaka-Yes, don't you just love that paragraph? Malfoy's so awesome, don't you think?

fairy-lights1-Where's Cho going? Well, read, and you shall know.

aZnGurLY02-Thank you! Like this chapter?

shinrielwilkenshire-There. It's finally up. Something to satisfy your boredom. :) Romance won't happen for a while, sorry. But it will, so bear with me.

Kiara of LL-I've posted, see? You like?

seraphiclioness-thanks...

zou-chang-thanks for reading.

BlackDragon7037-You'll have to be patient and find out just exactly what happened at Hogwarts. I think this chapter will better explain…


All who have read-Thank you for reading this. Please review so I know that people actually are reading and enjoying my fic. Readreadread!

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Chapter Four
Cruel

The green consumed her as she spun around and around, lost in the maze of openings and tunnels, branching off all around her. The thrusting force was too strong for her already frail body as she sped along at an amazing speed. Too much. There had been too much powder in the magical inferno. She closed her eyes and prayed as the sound of rushing speed filled her ears almost unbearably. She hadn't been clear when she stated her destination, and she hoped it was good enough. She didn't have the will or strength to do much more.

Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared in front of her, and she held out her hands to shield her eyes. It was growing larger and larger as it came toward her. Without warning, the tunnel spewed her out, dismissing her of its ongoing shove. She was not prepared, and even if she was, the force was too strong. She didn't even feel herself land when she heard a loud 'thunk' and the black overtook her yet again.

*

Swirling all around her was green again. She was confused for a moment. Where am I? She had her eyes open for a fraction of an inch, and everything was spinning around. She came to realize a dull, throbbing pain in her skull and she closed and opened her eyes forcibly, trying to get a clearer focus of her surroundings. Slowly, the world grew brighter and more clear. She could feel someone's hot breath on her cheek.

"Cho!" A familiar voice called out in relief. The green that she had seen were a pair of concerned eyes. She urged her eyes to give more.

"Harry…" She felt a sense of peace wash over her as she recognized her best friend. She felt as if everything would somehow now come to pass and be all right now.

She had encountered so much in so little time, that she wasn't even sure this was all a very bad dream. Her parents tortured to death, seeing Draco again, being held against her will at Malfoy Manor… But now, she can finally start to heal again, as she was amongst dear friends again. Harry helped her sit up on the scarlet bed she had been placed upon, and stared at her avidly.

"Are you all right?" He finally asked. Cho looked at him with weary eyes and was about to say, "yes" automatically, when she remembered that this was Harry, the one person she can confide her innermost feelings in.

"How can I be?" Cho said instead. Harry lowered his head as if it was at fault.

"I was so shocked to see you shooting out of my fireplace—,"

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to just barge in like that…"

"No, no, don't apologize, Cho," He said hurriedly, and gripped his hand on her arm tightly. "You are always welcome here, anytime. Especially after what…what…happened…" He trailed off awkwardly. It was Cho's turn to stare at Harry's apologetic face. He knows what happened?

"You mean…about…my par—,"

"Don't." Harry cut her off. "I—I already know." They sat in silence for a while. Cho almost couldn't stand the sympathetic air that surrounded them. She felt ashamed, inexplicably, of Harry's pity. "You—You're a mess…" Harry said softly, his voice filled with sorrow. Cho looked down. It was true. She was still wearing the same bloodstained nightgown. The blood that had soaked and splattered all over her body had dried and crusted, leaving gruesome brown-red marks. She felt her hair. It was disgusting to touch, matted with congealed blood. Heat crept onto Cho's cheeks, she felt embarrassed to be looked at, at such a state. She avoided Harry's eyes, feeling resentful toward everything at the moment.

"I'll leave you to take a bath," Harry said gently, his voice still awkward. "The bath quarters are—well, you know where they are." Cho looked at the door just across the room. She had been at Harry's place so many times she could as easily maneuver around blindfolded. "I believe you'll find some spare robes there, too." Cho could still feel Harry's intent gaze, but she kept her head down, trying to will herself to ask what she wanted to ask.

As he made to get up, Cho finally turned her head to look at Harry. "My parents…" She blurted out. Harry's worried frown became more pronounced as he settled himself down onto the bed again. "What—I mean is, did-did you…?"

"We—," he hesitated. "We took care of it." Cho's face remained unemotional, but inside, she felt uncomfortable at his words. She felt as though she should have done something to help. "Cho…" Perhaps Harry sensed her discomfort. He touched her hand. "Don't worry about it."

"I want to know. Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Everything. What happened? How did you find out? When did you 'take care of it'? Did you catch the scum who—who did it?"

"Maybe you need to rest before—"

"No. Stop that, Harry. I'm fine—physically." Harry had always been overly protected of her. At Hogwarts and after, if anyone caused Cho any discomfort in any way, they had him to answer to. She felt lucky to have someone like that in her life, always trying to protect her from harm, but sometimes, like this time, it was frustrating.

They had a history together. The death of Sirius Black had hit him hard, and he withdrew himself from everything. For a long while, he was maddening to try to talk to, but Cho got through to him in the end, and they consoled each other, both having lost a loved one. They had found solace in each other, but then Draco Malfoy came along. He was different from anyone Cho had ever met, and as she started having feelings for Draco, Harry was shunted to the side, demoted to a brother-like figure instead of something more. Harry tried to dissuade Cho from having anything to do with a Malfoy, but to no avail. The enmity between the two old rivals grew increasingly more pronounced, if at all possible, and Cho had to be on the alert at all times, making sure neither caused the other any serious injuries. There was a time when Harry and Draco had worked together for the Order, but Cho found out later that he had sold them all out.

Harry looked reprovingly at her for a moment. "Fine," he said softly. "Well, we are constantly on alert for any Death Eater activity, and when we were notified of the Dark Mark hovering above a home, we went immediately. Your sudden appearance was such a shock. I thought that you were fine. I thought that you were safe at home. I didn't know you were staying at your parents' this week…" He furrowed his brow, looking guilty, almost.

"It's not your fault," Cho said automatically, like many times before. The familiar uncomfortable silence followed, then, "And their bodies?" Cho said in a quiet but hard voice. Harry stared at her for a while.

"The funeral will be held this coming Saturday. It's all been taken care of." Cho nodded, wishing she could express her gratitude in a better way. "It'll be held in St. Ottery Catchpole Cemetery," he continued softly. "At 2:00pm."

"Thank you."

Harry didn't move. "The house…" He whispered.

"Sell it," Cho said dully.

Harry looked at her with pleading eyes. "Rethink this, please, Cho. You might regret it a year later." Of course Cho wanted the house. It was perfection, filled with happy childhood memories. The collected furniture acquired over the years matched the house perfectly, and the backyard blossomed with colorful flowers and tall trees. It was truly a wonderful home to live in, much better than Cho's own flat. But she knew every time she'd walk into the living room, she would be reminded of the horrible occurrences that took place. She knew that no matter how hard she scrubbed, the walls will never be clean enough, that no perfume or air freshener could drown out the stench of death. She didn't need that. She didn't want that.

"Please, Harry…a—a favor? If you will? Just—just sell it."

Harry nodded, and didn't argue anymore. "I'll leave you, to…" He trailed off and walked to the door.

"Harry," Cho called out before he left. He turned and his green eyes met hers. "Someday. Someday, I will find a way to repay you. For—for everything you've done for me."

A ghost of a smile played upon his thin lips, and a flicker sparkled in his emerald eyes. "We're close friends. There are no debts between us." With that, he left, closing the door carefully behind him.

* * *

Never ceasing raindrops hit the earth, drowning the grass. The world around her gave off a surreal look about it, as it always did when pouring. Everything was wet and so much stronger in color and scent. The overpowering odor of green grass sprang up to her nose as she made her way toward the gathering. The wind felt truly wonderful against her face, and she closed her eyes momentarily to enjoy the cool sensation. She loved rain. She always felt relaxed and at peace hearing the raindrops falling, and feeling the water trickling down her skin. But today, she couldn't enjoy the rain as she usually did. All around her, people in black murmured mournfully over the roaring downpour. Two highly polished black coffins lay before them, each with multitudes of drowned flowers placed upon their glossy covers by various grievers. People huddled under black umbrellas, shivering in the cold. She, herself, stood stony-faced under an umbrella with a dear friend. After everyone said their farewells, Cho approached the black boxes in which her parents lay, Harry hurrying after her, keeping her well protected from the rain with the umbrella.

"I can't say much," Cho whispered, her fingertips gently grazing the polished wood. She was determined to keep her emotions at bay; she didn't want to start crying again. "Thank you…and…I love you…" Her words were lost in the howling wind and rain. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, forbidding tears to cascade. She turned her head abruptly and nodded to the priest. Shakily, she let Harry lead her away from the coffins, blending with the mass of black. Her head was ringing with a sort of numbness, and she couldn't take in a word the priest was reciting.

"They can't—" Cho's voice broke as eight men took hold of the two coffins and started lowering them into the ground. She turned her head away, unable to control the emotions that were exploding inside. "They can't just—just bury them! They—can't just lock someone in a box and put them in the ground and—-and out of sight—that's cruel! It's cruel to—" She burst out in hysteria. Tears escaped to sprang down her cheeks, mingling with rainwater. Harry responded by taking her in his arms and letting her just cry into his black robes. Cho felt as if a part of her were being buried, too.

Suddenly, Cho felt Harry's body stiffen. She released herself from him and raised her tear-stained face to look up at him. Harry was staring fixedly in disbelief at a certain place behind Cho. "Wha—what's the matter?"

"I—It's nothing. F-forget it," He said quickly, still not taking his eyes off of whatever he was staring at. Curious, Cho made to turn, but before she could see what Harry was gaping at, Harry grabbed her arms and twisted her body back to face him again. "Uh—um, stay here."

"Wha—"

"Don't move," Harry said sharply.

"Why? Harry, let me—-" Cho jerked free of Harry's grasp. Before Harry could grab her again, she had turned around. What Harry was caught in a stupor about became easily apparent. It wasn't very hard to locate him: his silver-blond hair made him stand out amongst his dark surroundings. Draco Malfoy was standing, just a few yards away, with his cold grey eyes fixed upon them, his expression stoic and unreadable. He was soaked and the rain was pouring on him relentlessly, as he had no means of cover. The icy winds were battering him, to which he was seemingly oblivious. Cho's eyes widened in shock. Was she hallucinating? No, Harry could see him, too. But why was he, of all people, here? Anger quickly overrode disbelief as he continued to stare at her intently, doing nothing to protect himself from persistent rain, panting heavily against the cold.

How dare he show up? It was as if her were mocking her, showing up at the funeral of the people he had killed. He had no business here, none at all. Cho angrily started to walk toward him, but Harry grabbed her arm. Wordlessly, she pushed him away and continued making her way toward Draco, the rain coming down on her ferociously. She slapped him across the face as hard as she could when she reached him, leaving a faint pink mark on his pale cheek. Draco didn't respond to this.

By this time, Harry had reached them, too. "What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Harry growled.

Draco observed him mutely, then turned back to Cho. In a low voice, he said, "I came here to—to tell you—"

"Tell me what? Huh? That you're sorry? That you didn't mean to—to do what you did?" Cho took a sharp intake of breath. "I have cried so much, too much. I don't like to cry! I don't like feeling weak and helpless and depressed all the time! I hate it! I hate you! God! Just when things start to get better, you come along and you make me even more miserable than ever before! Is—Is this a game to you? Is that what this is? If that's so, then congratulations Malfoy, you bastard, because you have successfully made my life a living hell. Last time we were in this position, you had just betrayed me." Teardrops fell silently as Cho raged on. "Everyone hated me, Draco, you know that? I was the person who was stupid enough to trust someone like you! I was blamed for leaking important information to the Dark Side! It took years to regain their trust in me again. The worst part is, I loved you, and I still can't believe you did what you did. And now, look. This happens. For years, I have cried because of you, I cry for you, I cry about you—I'm sick of it! I hate you so much, Malfoy…" Draco remained silent, his facial expression unchanged. Cho didn't know whether her words made any impact on him or not, as he was a master at hiding feelings. "I can't even begin to…" Cho closed her eyes tightly, squeezing the remaining tears out of her eyes. "Get out of my life, and don't ever come back." She wiped the tears and the rain off her face. "Do you hear me? Stay out, Malfoy. I can't stand any more hurt from you."

With that, Cho turned around and walked quickly out of the graveyard, Harry along her wake, leaving a silent, water-drenched Draco behind.



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So...what do you think? Good? Now, I've got to warn you, chapter five will be very hard to write, so it might take awhile. To all you people who read but don't review, please review. It gives me willpower over my laziness, see. Thank you Betas, and thank you reviewers. You are awesome! Suggestions are welcome.