Forever Mine, Forever Yours
Chapter Two: The Consequences of Getting Lost.
A/N: Thank you to anyone who's already read this, urban, Wryn Flynt, Natalie, Carla, HelloLonely, Mr. Steven, and Lupinslady! Also for the Favorites and Alerts. 3 You guys make my day. :)
Disclaimer: I still own nothing. Not even Cedric. :( Except Paige. Paige is mine
"Ireland won, but Bulgaria got the Snitch," Mandy whispered.
"A Wronski Feint, did you see that?" Cho asked in awe.
"The Irish Chasers, the way they moved," Paige breathed.
"It was bloody brilliant," they said in unison. Arm in arm, the three wandered dreamily through the camps, the loud, boisterous singing of the Irish bursting around them like thunder. Upon reaching their tent, they launched excitedly into replays of their favorite parts of the match, Cho reliving most of Krum's moments, Paige, the Irish Chasers, and Mandy, a little of everything.
Cho's eyes weren't even itching with sleep when Mr. Carlson demanded they all go to bed, but she obeyed anyways. When their excited whispers were also shushed, the three girls stayed silent, though very much awake.
She could still hear the Irish celebrating, singing, dancing, screaming. Cho frowned. That couldn't be right. But there was no mistaking the noise. The joyous noises were soon replaced by ones of terror. Sitting up as quick as lightning, Cho hopped off her bed, hearing Paige and Mandy get up too. Moments later, Mr. Carlson came skidding into the room, in a frenzy. "Girls, there's no time, just grab something warm, get your wand and go. Find somewhere safe, the forests, anywhere, get away."
Grabbing the first warm thing she could get her hands on, Cho sprinted out, tucking her wand into the back of her pajamas, Mandy and Paige running next to her. The running crowd was bumping her every which way, distancing her farther from her two friends. There was green light everywhere and fire bursting around her, and the cries that rose only made her feet hit the ground faster.
"Death Eaters! Death Eaters! They have Muggles! Run!"
The hustling bodies pushed her off to the side, making her run to the forest longer and more obscure than she had hoped. Once she reached the safety of the trees, her foot caught a root, which had stuck up in front of her. Sprawled on the ground, Cho groaned. She picked herself up, and stood. Now that her general panic had faded, a new fear trickled down her back. Her friends were nowhere to be seen. She was alone, and Death Eaters were on the loose.
She shivered, holding what she had grabbed from the tent closer around her body, the thin blanket providing little warmth. She pulled her wand out from behind her pants, holding onto it tightly. Wandering closer into the forest, she found a large path where an abundance of wizards were gathered.
Though many of them were speaking in rapid, panicked voices, Cho felt uneasy, not knowing what to do. She had no idea where Mandy and Paige had disappeared to, and every single person around her was a complete stranger. Taking tentative steps forward, she craned her neck and peered this way and that, desperate to find a familiar face, be it friend or foe.
However, she found neither, only groups of people who already seemed to know each other. Wishing desperately she knew more people from other schools, she shivered. A hand touched her shoulder.
Cold fear trickled down her back, thinking the worst. Cho swung pointing her wand at the person who had touched her. "Expelliarmus!" she shrieked, a wand zooming up and landing into her palm. Her whole body trembling, and quite a few people staring, she frowned. Something looked oddlyfamiliar about the silhouette standing in front of her."Wait… Lumos!" The light illuminated the face in front of her. Dirty blonde hair… handsome features…
Cho emitted a great sigh of relief and tension. "Never do that to me again," she breathed, giving the boy back his wand.
"Don't worry, I won't. I think I got off lucky this time," Cedric said, looking amused and impressed. Cho smiled though it still looked like she was on edge; her nerves still had yet to wear off.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, fine," Cho replied, though a little quickly. "Well, you know… with the Death Eaters, and You-Know-Who and all, I felt a little nervous, on edge and… Merlin, I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Really, don't," Cedric added, when Cho looked as if she was going to speak again. "I was just wondering what you were doing on your own. Where'd your friends go? I mean, you're usually surrounded by them."
Cho laughed, the tension slowly melting away. "Got separated. The crowds are just…" A band echoed through the forest, cutting Cho off. She glanced around apprehensively, but on seeing nothing, turned her attention back to the boy in front of her who still looked somewhat amused. "The crowds are mad, they wouldn't let me through… Say, do you think that… that the Death Eaters would…?"
"Would come through here?" Cedric finished. She nodded. "Probably not. I think they're just out for a good time, rather than actually hurting their own kind." His eyes darkened for a moment, revealing a hint of anger.
"So… you reckon they're only after Muggles?"
Cedric shrugged. "Can't say for sure. But they're definitely torturing them for fun. They like a big bang, I guess. Getting restless without him around, needed something to do."
"Er… torturing?" Cho asked, eyes wide. She didn't recall seeing any torturing, though she was glad she hadn't. Then again, she didn't even see the actual Death Eaters, just heard people screaming and believed it.
"Yeah, torture. Not as bad as the old days, but— I really shouldn't say."
"Why not?"
"I just don't want to make you uncomfortable. It'll probably all go around anyways, why hear it from me?" Cedric smiled. "Do you want me to help you find your friends? Or whoever else you came with?"
"Oh, not yet, er… no," Cho responded, still able to hear screams filter in through the trees and the occasional bang that rattled loudly in her ears, making her far more uncomfortable than Cedric's words would have done. She liked thinking that this patch of forest was safe, and she didn't like the idea of moving around.
"We can look for them after the Death Eaters are taken care of then," Cedric told her, smiling reassuringly.
Cho was infinitely glad Cedric understood the exact reason of why she didn't want to go find her friends just yet, and returned the smile, a steady one this time, without the mask of apprehension behind it. Her grip on her wand loosened, though with the fear gone, she remembered how cold she was, and how little heat her blanket kept in. She shivered.
"Are you cold?" Cedric asked, looking around for something to keep her warm. He had nothing more than a cloak that was keeping him warm, and he unclipped the latch at his neck.
"No! You don't have to do that! I'm fine, really. Just a little chilly, that's all," Cho reassured him, trying her best to look as warm as possible. But if there was one thing Cedric was above all else—especially to people he didn't know as well—it was a gentleman. Ignoring Cho, he took off his cloak and wrapped it around Cho. She tried again to take it off and give it back, but the boy wouldn't take it. Reluctantly, she latched it, giving him her blanket.
"At least take this," she told him. "I don't want you to freeze on my account."
The blanket was a baby blue cotton embroidered at the sides with flowers. Cedric laughed and accepted it, wrapping it around his shoulders. They were a funny looking pair: a small Asian girl with a too-large cloak swallowing up her figure and a tall boy with a silly blanket that barely covered him standing together, talking.
Cho hadn't realized before, but when Cedric had taken off his cloak, something tucked behind it had fallen out. It was a heart, on a thin chain, intricate designs engraved into the silver, with a single pearl at the top of the shape, though off at the side. It was breath-takingly beautiful, and she found herself irresistibly drawn to it.
"Ooh, what's that?" she asked, extending a hand to point.
Cedric looked startled, and when he looked down, he looked abashed. "Oh this?" he asked, tucking it into his shirt. "Nothing."
"It is too something. It's beautiful. Where did you get it?"
"It's a long story," Cedric told her, looking extremely uncomfortable. Cho realized this and tried to pretend as if she had never seen it, but her curiosity was on fire. She had never seen something as beautiful as that, and Cedric seemed keen on keeping it hidden, for reasons she could not begin to fathom why.
"Hey look, it's quiet now," Cedric said eagerly, and it was true. The screams of terror and all the bangs had faded, and even the gaggles of people had grown thinner. Tugging slightly on the hem of his cloak, he led the way, looking around for her friends.
"What about your dad?" Cho asked, strolling alongside him, hiking the cloak up so she wouldn't trip over it.
"Don't worry, he'll find me. Ah, there we go, isn't that one of them?" he asked, motioning over to a girl wrapped in a warm cloak, a long, brown ponytail emitting from the back of her head.
"Yeah, that's Mandy. And Paige," she added, as another girl appeared next to Mandy, her short hair slightly ruffled. "Hey Paige! Mandy!"
The two girls swung around, and Cho could see their faces contorted in worry, small and pinched, uncharacteristic for Mandy. When their eyes fell on her however, they first stared with disbelief, then with joy, running up and grasping her in bone-breaking hugs.
"Cho! We were so afraid…"
"You could have been attacked, or…"
"…can't believe you're okay!"
Gibberish filled her ears as her friends tightened their embrace. When they released her, and wiped the tears of relief from their eyes, they noticed Cedric, with the baby blue blanket hanging over his shoulders. He quickly swept off the cloth, clearing his throat.
"Oh! Guys, you know Cedric right?" Cho started. "He er… helped me find you guys. This is Mandy, and Paige." The three shook hands, Cho's friends looking immensely amused.
"I… think I'll just go," Cedric said with a smile. "Nice seeing you Cho, and nice meeting you, Mandy and Paige. But I really should find my dad. See you!"
"See you," Cho grinned, turning toward her friends, who were still smirking suggestively, their arms crossed and looking at her expectantly. Cho rolled her eyes.
"Really guys, nothing happened."
"Oh? Then what's that?" Mandy asked, pointing at Cedric's cloak. Cho's eyes grew wide.
"I forgot to give it back to him! Oh no! He's not gone yet, is he?" she asked, glad to see his retreating back, blue blanket still in hand. "Cedric!" she shouted, chasing after him. As he turned, her foot caught the hem of the huge cloak, and she lurched forward. For the second time that night, Cho wound up sprawled on the floor, though she preferred the first time than to this one, with her two friends and an acquaintance watching.
Untangling her feet from the cloak, she saw a hand in front of her face. Accepting it, it pulled her up in one swift motion. Cedric was smiling again, obviously smothering a laugh.
Her face burning red, Cho unlatched the cloth and swept it off of her, giving it to the boy. "You forgot to take this," she told him. "And thanks for letting me borrow it. Bye!" She turned and began to walk away when he called her name. She turned and he handed her the blue blanket.
"You almost forgot to take this with you."
"Oh… yeah. Right, thanks." Taking the blanket, the girl walked back to her friends who were clutching each other in silent laughter. Giving them a contemptuous look, Cho grabbed both of them by her hands.
"Thank you ladies," she said airily. "That is enough."
"He totally digs you," Paige snorted though her giggles. Mandy agreed through another fit of laughter.
"Stuff it, both of you. That's what you said about Harry, and neither of them 'dig me'."
"No, but this time it's true, I know he is. Or he will, at any rate."
"Sock it," Cho reprimanded. Despite herself, she couldn't help a small smile blooming on her face as Paige told her this. It shocked her. She didn't like Cedric—she never had. She liked Harry! Harry Potter! She always had, after her fourth year, when he conjured the Patronus. She had always liked Harry. ...Hadn't she?