To wzero2: Woo-hoo! You just made my day…so happy I picked up a new reader/reviewer! Thanks for helping me and reviewing every chapter. Yes, I know I should be severely punished for the Draco-rapist subplot, but no worries, all will be well for Harry and Cho. I know marriage is early at their age but I portrayed H/C has a crazy, high school, lovesick couple, haha and don't worry they'll wed way after graduating Hogwarts. The wedding will not be part of the story. I hope you keep R&R and my next H/C fic should be more to your liking (no Draco whatsoever, since you clearly despise him, haha). Xie Xie! (or Do jeh!)
To Mean Marine's best friend: God's speed to your friend. Yes, I'm afraid I love torturing my readers with cliffhangers. Haha, juusst kidding! I update on a weekly basis, so no worries! Thanks for reviewing
To Dragon Sword Master: I'm afraid that the end of the fic is near, so I'm sorry to tell you that there will be no more lemons. (That is my next H/C fic!) And if you recall, Cho had used a contraceptive spell during her time with Draco, so no, she is not pregnant. Thank you for reviewing.
To Cimbelmyne: Yay! Good to see your review, I thought I'd lost you for a while. Thanks a lot for your review!
To Yin-Yang Sama: Thanks for reviewing! Don't worry, Harry and Cho will most definitely be together. I promise my next fic will be an epic to your liking; Harry and Cho truly are the best couple in Potterverse…let us keep writing about them to keep them alive. (Since sadly, JKR is most likely going to crush them with another romance in HBP :shudders:)
To AznPride: LOL…duh! Anyway, you'll see how it ends…thanks sooo much for all your support, my friend!
To Simbelmyne Star: Hey there! I'm sooo glad I have you to review here and to help me edit…I really needed a lot more editing than I previously thought; I really owe you. I hope you like my revisions, esp. the last line. That was my gut instinct! Thanks a lot!
To Cho-Wood: Ahh! So glad you liked this chapter and thanks soo much for reviewing! I am starting my Cho/Oliver/Cedric story but I think it's going to start out as threesome then end in slash so I'm not sure if I'll be able to post it on got to find elsewhere where you can still review. Don't worry, I will let you know. Thanks for reviewing!
Chapter 16: Harry's Honorable Intentions
Hermione ran to the Great Hall to find Harry the next morning. There was an overwhelming amount of excitement in the atmosphere; most of the students had woken early to get good seats for the last Quidditch game of the season. Hermione hurried her way through the mass of Gryffindors, knocking into the Creevey brothers, making Colin drop his camera.
"Sorry, boys!" Hermione said quickly. She laughed to herself; she imagined the boys thought she was more overzealous than them. The truth is that she was but she wasn't wrapped up in Quidditch at all. Her heart thumped uncontrollably for Harry who was going to propose to Cho in front of the entire school today.
Finally making her way to Harry, who was sitting by himself and staring at his glass of pumpkin juice. He looked unusually pale and kept fumbling around with the small ring box in his lap, dropping it a couple of times. Surprisingly, people knew to leave him alone on his big game day. There was only the usual 'Good Luck' every now and then. Harry looked too nervous to be bothered.
Hermione plummeted herself into the chair next to Harry's at the Gryffindor table.
"Oh, Harry! Ron told me everything! Oh, we're back together and happier than ever, by the way, but I'm so excited! You're going to propose to Cho! How romantic!"
Harry nodded. "Don't shout it out though, Hermione." He cocked his head in Cho's direction. "She can hear."
Fully dressed in scarlet Quidditch robes, Harry placed his hands in his pockets and patted the jewelry box with a shaking hand to make sure it was secure. He asked casually, "So how exactly did Ron beg for forgiveness in the library?"
Hermione grabbed a piece of toast and started buttering it. "There wasn't really any begging. Surprisingly, Ron and I had a very mature conversation. The flowers and the box of chocolates were nice."
Harry raised his eyebrows, expecting to hear more.
Hermione continued, "Well, the whole row was just really pointless and stupid. It wasn't Ron's fault as much it was mine's. I was too stressed out from studying and everything and I didn't have time to spend with him all that much. Ron complained that I wasn't being fair to him; I was upset that he couldn't understand why I was moody all the time. We fought all the time…I don't even know how to explain what happened." Hermione rubbed her eyes and finished, "I don't want to think about it. It's over and it won't happen again. I know you're used to hearing us bicker, Harry," Hermione chuckled, "…but the truth is that we're both quite tired of it. In the end, we stopped trying to figure out and rationalize what happened, kissed and made up."
Hermione finished her toast and then thought about Harry's big decision. Realizing that he was still not eating, Hermione stated the obvious. "You should eat Harry; you've got a big game coming up."
Harry shook his head, "My mouth won't take in any food. I might throw up. It's not the game, Hermione."
"I know."
Harry turned to look at her, his emerald eyes shining with fear and anxiety. "I mean, from a girl's perspective, am I really doing the right thing? Maybe Ron's right. Maybe we are too young."
Hermione began speaking, "You're doing the right thing, Harry. I mean, I'd never have thought I'd be saying this but I'm supporting you because I'm sure you will both go through schooling together and get your careers established after Hogwarts. I mean what difference does it make if you two marry now or in five years? You would both be doing everything together, anyway, except with the title of husband and wife. I'm sure you aren't planning on having children anytime soon."
Harry widened his eyes. "Er—no."
Hermione nodded and spoke, "I'm really, really, really happy for you, Harry."
Harry nodded again. He looked worried. "Yeah. I'm nervous, though. What if I get turned down in front of the entire school? What if she's truly happy with Malfoy?" Harry turned to see Draco fussing over Cho, adjusting her blue collar. He couldn't read the expression on Cho's face. "You're her friend. What d'you think?"
Hermione shook her head. "She hasn't told him she loves him…not ever. He's told her about a thousand times."
Harry looked surprised. "How do you know?"
"Because she told me."
Harry suddenly felt his heart thumping in his chest. Hermione shrugged, "Honestly, Harry, why would Cho choose Draco over you? He's just a passing fancy. I'd want to marry you, Harry. You're strong, you're brave, you're talented…you're a really loving person and a great wizard. I know Draco's becoming much nicer but in reality, people can't truly change that drastically in such a short time. After all, he'll always have to live with the awful things he's done to Cho. And she won't ever completely forgive him for that, no matter how much she 'tries' to convince herself that she can fall out of love with you and in love with him. She's just with him because he's there, and you weren't."
Harry looked down and turned a faint scarlet.
Hermione quickly stated, "But Harry…you proposing to her, and risking huge embarrassment. And that shows you'll always be there for her. It shows that you really love her. I don't think Cho can refuse. Wedding her is telling her that you'll be there forever. That's the best advice I can give you."
Harry smiled, "Thank you. Y' know, on the other hand, if she says yes, I want everyone to witness it. Blimey, I've set myself up for a whole lot of stress. Biggest Quidditch match of the season and possibly getting engaged."
Harry had played this day a thousand times in head the night before. He even thought that fighting Lord Voldemort in that abandoned graveyard had been easier. At least he'd had experience with the Dark Lord. He should have known the girl he loved more than anyone inside and out but he felt that today was full of unpredictable possibilities. He'd partially forgotten about the big Quidditch game as well. Eyeing his teammates who were getting ready and eating a hearty breakfast, he knew that loosing the game would be detrimental to Gryffindor. He felt the extra weight pressing onto his shoulders. Harry guzzled down a tall glass of pumpkin juice and stuffed a cornbread muffin into his mouth.
Hermione nodded in approval. "Thank heavens. I'm happy to see that you're still capable of chewing and swallowing."
Hermione turned her head as she saw Ron walk into the hall sleepily, also dressed in his Quidditch robes.
"Well, I'll see you on the field, Harry. You'll be fine. You had better get going." The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Quidditch teams had started to leave their tables.
Harry nodded and stood up from the table. Hermione ran over to Ron and hugged him, then leaned up and kissed him on the nose. "Good luck, Dear."
Ron smiled. "I'll be alright. I think the 'Weasley is our King' number has finally stopped now that Malfoy has turned a new leaf."
Hermione sighed, "You're my king. You're the one who told Harry to go after his heart, aren't you?" Ron looked at Harry standing behind Hermione, grinning.
Ron rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Yeah, I did. I was inspired by my own feelings for you and I knew I wanted to get back together with you right away."
Hermione sighed happily. "Oh, Ronald…"
Ron leaned in to kiss Hermione lightly. His stomach grumbled. "Man, I've overslept, and now I can't eat. I've got to get going."
Hermione kissed his nose again. "Good luck out there."
Ron nodded and saluted his girlfriend. He patted Harry on the back and the boys walked out together.
Cho had left the Ravenclaw table and Draco had proceeded to sit with his own house. Cho walked over to Hermione.
"Morning, Hermione. I heard about you and Ron. I'm glad you two are together again, I really am."
Hermione looked into Cho's soulful chocolate eyes and mused about how lucky she was going to become. "Yeah, we're back together; no more rows for us, I hope." Cho smiled warmly. Hermione felt her heart dancing in her chest again and bid Cho farewell. She bit her lips, thinking about Harry's big secret and that she knew something that Cho didn't.
"Good luck on the field, Cho. I've got to catch up with my House before people think I'm, what Ron likes to call, 'fraternizing with the enemy.'"
Cho laughed and looked up to see Ron and Harry walked through the doorway out onto the Pitch. "Thanks, Hermione." Cho retreated back into the mass of Ravenclaws following her.
Why does Hermione look more nervous than me? Cho thought.
A/N: I'll take some reviews, please! I know that no much happened in this chapter, it's a filler to build anticipation. Hope you guys are ready for the big finale, dun dun dun! I love you all; thanks for supporting me!
