Forever Mine, Forever Yours

Chapter Five: Harry Potter's Secret Heartache

A/N: This is where I confess my undying love for all of you lovely reviewers and anonymous readers. Without you, my fic would be utterly useless. If you're only here for the Cedric/Cho action, go towards the end, because I felt I was depriving myself, and all of you, of Cedric goodness. Also, sorry this took a while, my beta reader got himself busy with school, and I should too, finals suck, eh?

Disclaimer: Blahblah, J.K. owns all, blahblah, I really just own nothing.

More shocked than anything else, Cho watched as an identically bewildered Harry tentatively made his way forward. He tripped, and instead of her stomach flipping, or finding herself immensely amused, she watched him disappear through the door, numb with disbelief.

What had happened? Was he trying to get himself killed?

In her deepest hearts, she knew he had not entered on purpose, the stark white of his face and his expression of bewilderment and dread had convinced her of that… But how? Was it even possible to be entered without your knowledge? Angry twitters rose up in the Hall once Harry had vacated, and Dumbledore took charge before a single vile thing could be shouted out loud for everyone to hear.

"Ah yes, that is enough. As I was saying, I expect full support from all of you to each of your champions, as their tasks will be trying and difficult. They all need their friends and classmates to cheer them on as this is a huge factor for them to do well, now, with that said, up to your beds. And, don't stay up too long celebrating," he added, giving a significant look to the Hufflepuffs, who, believing that the whole Harry-is-a-champion thing would be solved, were looking exceptionally cheerful. A few, however, were angry with disbelief and sent Dumbledore discontented looks when he also gave the same meaningful look to the bewildered, but delighted Gryffindors.

Then he, along with the other headmasters disappeared in the same room the champions had walked into. Chatter rose up through the Great Hall the moment the teachers gone. Cho's friends immediately leaned forward, their faces intent.

"How did he do it?" Marietta asked.

"It's not possible," Paige said sensibly.

"But it happened," Mandy warded off. "So it can't be impossible."

"But how did he figure it out? And not one of us?" Lisa asked, bemused. "I mean, we're supposed to be the ones with the brains right?"

"Maybe he got someone else to put it in for him."

"Don't be thick, Mandy," Marietta reprimanded. "Then he wouldn't have come out of the Goblet, right? It would have just been Cedric and then that would have been the end of that."

"Then he entered under a different school," Lisa suggested.

"No, that wouldn't have made sense," Paige frowned. "The Goblet of Fire wouldn't fall for that."

"But it's only a thing," Lisa countered. "It hasn't got brains."

"A lot of things without brains can be a lot smarter than us," Paige replied calmly. "But then again… Harry is a powerful wizard…"

"Yes, but he's not that smart yet is he?" Marietta said knowledgably. "I mean, he's only what—in his fourth year?"

"I don't think he did it," Cho said conclusively. All four of her friends turned, stared at her as if she were something new and all asked, simultaneously,

"You what?"

"I don't reckon he did it," she repeated. "I mean, did you see his face, when they called his name?"

"Maybe he didn't think his plan would work… Or that he wouldn't get away with it," Mandy told her.

"No, it wasn't that kind of surprise. It was… complete bewildered surprise. Like he had no idea what was going on. If he had entered his name in there, it would have been an, 'Oh my gosh, I made it,' kind of surprise. But his face said, 'What just happened? Was that… my name?' And that's just not the right kind of surprise if he had entered his name. So… I just don't think he would have been thick-headed enough to do it."

"But you know…" Marietta started, refusing to believe this theory, if even for a moment. "He is a sort of hero, and he could have been asking for more attention or something."

"Oh really?" Cho asked. "So you think he's trying to call attention to himself by trying to get himself killed?"

"Well you heard Dumbledore, Cho. They're making the competition safer."

"But that doesn't mean all the dangers are gone! There's still a chance he could get seriously hurt, Mare. I don't think he wants that kind of attention from people."

"But how would you know that Cho? You aren't Harry. You don't know him that well… do you?"

Cho was determined not to look flustered at Marietta's words. "Of course not," she snapped. "I'm just saying that he probably doesn't want more attention, I mean, he already has more than enough of it. People gaping at his scar, and everyone knowing him. If I were him, I couldn't stand it."

"Yes Cho, but that's you, not Harry."

"Paige, can you get a load of what they're saying?" Cho asked, turning to the one person who she knew would have studied the case carefully enough to at least take her side.

"Cho, I mean, they're making a lot of sense, your arguments aren't really solid. Who would want to knock Harry off?"

"You-Know-Who," Cho responded immediately. Marietta snorted.

"Really, Cho, you think You-Know-Who is really alive?"

"Well, not alive, but he could be planning, I mean, we never know, there's no proof that he really died, is there? He could be lurking around, just trying to pick the right time to do something."

"Cho, think about it," Paige said reasonably. "You-Know-Who has proved he's smart, and he's bound to know that there are going to be lots of people and a lot of security around this tournament. If he's out there… alive, why would he do it now? At this tournament, of all things? Wouldn't it just be smarter for him, and a lot easier to pick a year that wasn't so security-loaded?"

Cho couldn't find anything to counter this and instead sat rather grumpily as her friends continued to talk. How could they think that Harry would have been so bigheaded as to try and enter himself in a contest that could get him killed? She sat rather uninterestedly, as the cheery Hufflepuffs and the astounded Gryffindors stood and made their way to the common rooms, obviously ready to cheer their new champion. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students also exited the Great Hall, though the Slytherins and Ravenclaws lingered, obviously still discussing Harry.

After what felt like ages, the girls stood, and walked to the rooms, their heads locked together in discussion. Cho walked behind them, looking both bored and extremely unhappy.

She must have looked troubled, because quite a few Quidditch team members fell in step with her to ask if she was feeling alright, and when she assured them she was, they gave her a look that told her that they were not convinced. In less than a minute, she found herself surrounded by her entire team, save Paige, telling her all sorts of jokes and goofing around, trying to get her spirits up.

In fact, their loud voices overlapped each other so much that Cho could only hear a beginning of a joke that would be interjected by the hilarious end of a story, which would be cut off by a mini-wrestling match. When the group finally clambered into the common room, it was teeming.

They pulled Cho into a corner and continued their 'cheering up' methods, until the room had emptied and a bleary eyed Prefect stumbled in and told them to shut up and sleep.

The boys just laughed, but when Cho yawned, a couple of them herding her to her dorm and then doubled back to the common room. Stumbling into the room with another yawn, Cho was greeted by Marietta, who gave her a significant look from her bed. What was that about? It asked. Cho just shrugged, and changed into her pajamas. As she crawled into her bed, she grinned. She never did appreciate her friends more when they knew exactly what she needed.

As the days went on, however, it was obvious that Harry's friends knew nothing about what he needed. She often saw him looking very miserable through the halls, as people from all Houses, save his, shot him withering looks. Even his best friend, the lanky Weasley boy seemed to be angry with him.

Cho gave him as many reassuring smiles as possible, but whenever she passed, he never noticed. She couldn't blame him, but she just wished he would look over—even once. Perhaps knowing that one person didn't hate his guts would make him feel better; she knew he needed it more than anything. Cedric wasn't helping, though this wasn't entirely his fault. Many girls, including the Liselle girl from the train were often seen flocking around him, simpering and cooing at him, begging for autographs—then turning around and sending Harry looks of impending doom. She found herself laying the blame on the Hufflepuff champion, as if it were his fault everyone hated Harry.

Then, the badges came out. Whoever had made them—it was the lowest blow possible. Simultaneously supporting Cedric and making Harry look bad… she didn't like them at all. Every single one she saw gave her an uncontrollable urge to tear it off their chest and chuck it in their face. Even Marietta considered getting one, but Cho urged her not to, and told off all her friends who looked even vaguely interested in them. She managed to convince them, and her Quidditch team members, who said they didn't want to support anyone who had gotten beaten by their Seeker, anyways. Cho blushed and immediately told them it really hadn't been his fault, but they shook it off and reassured her that they wouldn't wear them.

The last straw, however, came when the Daily Prophet printed… with Harry's face on the front page.

It gave a long, deep analysis on Harry's life. All of it seemed over exaggerated, and she wasn't sure that Harry had said anything even close to what the poisonous woman wrote in her articles. Rita Skeeter had, of course, a notorious reputation to stretching the story. Squashed at the end of the article, Cho read,

Also, Victor Crumm from Durmstrang, and Flur Dellakur from Beauxbatons have been chosen to represent their schools alongside Harry Potter.

The Slytherins took great joy in this article and took it as a chance to give Harry more grief. Amid the Slytherins jerring at him, she fought her way through the crowds of tightly packed green. She saw a quill fall out of his bag as he fought his way through the Slytherins. Picking it up, she chased after him. Finally, the green thinned.

"Hey—Harry!"

"Yeah that's right!" he yelled angrily. "I've just been crying my eyes out over my dead mum, and I'm just off to do a bit more…"

Cho was taken aback, holding there with his quill in her hand. She hesitated for a moment and then extended her arm, urging her mouth to say something. It felt as if her heart had lodged itself in her throat, blocking off all hopes of speech. "No—it was just—you dropped your quill."

Harry's cheeks gradually turned red, and he took the quill back, "Oh—right—sorry."

"Er… good luck on Tuesday," she said, trying to work around her frozen tongue. "I really hope you do well."

Cho walked off, feeling disappointed. That was all she could say to him? Distracted, she almost collided into someone else, who was going in the opposite direction in a desperate frenzy.

"Oh!" she gasped. "Oh… Cedric."

"What?" he asked, apparently bemused at the amount of disdain in her voice.

"You would have anything to do with those… badges, would you?" she asked accusingly, her eyes checking his uniform for any sign of the badge.

"No, of course not!" he said, looking taken aback. "Can't you tell? I'm not wearing one." As he said this, he peered around the corners of the corridors, looking apprehensive.

"Oh? Really?" Cho felt slightly cheerier at this, and felt abashed at blaming him in the first place.

"Yeah, they're pretty stupid anyways," he told her, still looking around.

"Er… everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just… trying to get away from… those… girls…"

Cho giggled. "Bothering you, are they?"

"You have no idea. You'd think they'd be fawning over Viktor Krum or something."

"Oh they are," Cho laughed. "Trust me. Is it worth it? Being a champion?"

Cedric shrugged. "It has its ups and downs."

"And the girls following you around?"

"A definite down."

They laughed, Cho feeling intensely relieved. She had thought Cedric enjoyed the attention, and if he had, her opinion of him would have fallen again, though now, it rose considerably.

"Hey, where are you going? You know, if I stand here too long, I think they'll find me again," Cedric told her, ushering her to a walk.

"Sure the ladies won't mind?" she smiled.

"Nah," he grinned. "Plus, being with you might get rid of them for a while."

"Oh, so now you're using me, Diggory?" Cho pouted. "I thought you above that." She giggled and he chuckled, shaking his head. "Are they really that terrible?"

"Just a few of them," he laughed.

Cedric's fan club passed, looking delighted that they had found him. When they saw that he was walking with Cho however, they approached warily. Looking extremely nervous at the prospect of confronting them, Cedric herded Cho to the side with his shoulder.

"Can I have your books?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"What?"

"Your books," he whispered, seizing them from her hands and holding them for her. Bewildered, Cho frowned, but when she saw, out of the corner of her eye, Cedric's fan club looking so shocked that they froze in their tracks, she understood. Cedric, still holding her books, looked immensely relieved. Feeling oddly elated and smiley, Cho giggled.

"That worked," she said brightly, looking at the girls out of the corner of her eye.

"Good," he said, also watching the girls. "I hoped it would work. Sorry, for… er… being so… well, taking your books like that." He looked a little embarrassed, and Cho just waved if off, still finding herself unexplainably smiling like a madwoman.

"It's fine, as long as you're alright. Now, can I have my books back?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, of course, here," he said absently, transferring the books from his hands to hers. Their fingers brushed and Cho found herself blushing, her heart flipping over like eggs in a pan.

"Oh! Er… Good luck on Tuesday, I'll be cheering from the stands."

"For me? Or Potter?"

"Who would you rather me cheer for?" Cho laughed.

"Me," Cedric said abruptly, smiling.

Cho laughed at his daring, raising an eyebrow. "Well, you'll just have to see," she smiled. "I might like Harry better than you, you never know. See you around, Cedric!"

"Yeah… see you!"

And Cho found herself still grinning, even after he turned the corner and she could no longer see him.