Chapter Two: Harry and Cho

Morning light bled through a crack in the curtains and onto Harry's eyes until it was impossible to stay asleep. He sat up in his four-poster and looked over to see if Ron was awake, but his bed was empty—as well as everyone else's. When Harry stood and looked through his trunk for his clothes, he heard a painful groan emanating from across the room. Apparently, Harry wasn't alone because, a moment later, Neville sat up in his bed clutching his side.

"All right, Neville?" said Harry, worried by the sound.

Neville removed himself from the clutches of his covers with another groan and began to change into his clothes, being very careful not to move in the wrong way. "I think so," he said. "I will be, at least."

"What happened?"

"You know that stunning charm you started teaching us?" Neville grunted as he pulled his shirt over his head. "I tried to help Luna with it yesterday after classes ended. Turns out it can leave a nasty bruise when not cast properly."

Harry became immediately aware of a dark brown oval stamped into Neville's side. "Merlin, Neville... Does it hurt?" said Harry. Neville laughed then gripped his side.

When the two of them finished dressing they decided to head to the Great Hall together, where they figured everyone else must be. On their way down, Harry thought about the night before. He had come so close to his breaking point. Ever since the summer, it seemed like he was on the verge of crying or screaming but knowing that he wouldn't have to go about it alone anymore somehow already started to make him feel better.

"Maybe," Harry said to Neville as they approached the Great Hall doors. "There should be a rule against practicing spells you don't know very well yet outside of the meetings."

"Probably for the best, Harry. Maybe you could teach a healing charm next class?"

Harry laughed. "I don't really know any good ones for defensive situations, but I'll—er—ask Hermione to add it to the curriculum... Speaking of which," Harry remembered as he entered the hall and saw Hermione sitting across from Ron. "Hermione probably does know one. You should ask her to help with the bruise."

"Yeah, maybe I will. See you later, Harry."

Harry waved Neville goodbye when he took his spot next to Ginny and a few of her friends and began to make his way over to where Hermione and Ron sat. They both wore wide grins and were chatting happily, which sent white noise buzzing softly through the far back of Harry's mind.

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione said as he sat next to her. "We were just about to bring you up some toast before we have to go to class, what took you so long?"

"Oh, I guess I—er... needed the sleep." He said, only then realizing how tired he was. He pulled over two slices of toast and ate quickly.

Harry and Ron chatted for a few minutes on what to expect in Potions. Neither had worked very hard on their essay, and Harry was almost certain he had forgotten to write his final paragraph.

"Hey, Harry," said a dreamy voice from behind him.

"Luna," Hermione said. "How are you?"

"I'm doing rather poorly, actually," she said with a voice that contradicted her completely.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What happened?"

"Nothing too horrible. It's just that after classes yesterday I tried to Stupefy Neville and accidentally catapulted him against the castle wall—he says I'll get better with practice. But that's why I came over. Harry, you should do another class tonight. I talked to the other members and they said they would all come."

"Oh," Harry started. He looked to Hermione, who nodded back at him with a small smile. "I—er—sure. We can do another meeting tonight." Harry yawned. "I may just have to take a nap at lunch."

#

Morning Herbology was Harry's first trial of the day, although staying awake wasn't too hard. Being outside in the chilly October weather while you plant pumpkin seeds for an hour and a half for the upcoming feast and dance made it very hard to even remember what sleep was. What made it easy to remember what sleep was, however, was History of Magic after having just worked so hard for so long.

Harry found himself face down in his notes (if you could call his scribbles notes) trying not to fall asleep before Professor Binns even started teaching. The monotone drawl of which he spoke combined with the spine-tingling scratches of Hermione taking thorough notes beside him, sent him into a deeper sleep than he had been in for a while.

He awoke to the feeling of a quill jabbing him in his side. Hermione stuffed it back into her bag beside him, standing up. "Had a good nap, then?" she asked in a dignified voice, now shoving her textbook in as far as it would go. The seams of the poor bag threatened to tear at any second with an ear-splitting rip. "Class is over," she added when she noticed the puzzled look on his face.

He began to pack his bag and said, "When did I fall asleep?"

"Just before Ron." Hermione pointed to the seat in front of Harry where a small puddle of drool gathered onto Ron's sleeve.

Harry chuckled at the sight. He grabbed his textbook from his desk and got up to stand over Ron. He held his book in the air, aimed, then dropped it onto the desk next to Ron's head with a thunderous bang, causing him to launch up straight like a firework. "Wuh-huh?" he yelped, swinging his head around to Harry, who didn't worry about restraining his laugh.

"Had a good nap, then?" Harry asked with delight.

Harry and Hermione ate lunch quickly and told Ron that they'd see him in Transfiguration, then made their way to the Library for the rest of the break to search for anything on lifting powerful enchantments. The mirror had been a lot stronger than they had initially expected. No matter how many bricks they threw at the glass or how many curses they cast against it, it remained unharmed, so they decided that they'd just research how to disenchant it. The two collected a pile of books from the shelves and sat next to each other at a table by a courtyard window to read as many as they could before they had to go to class.

"Harry!" Hermione hissed at Harry when his head bobbed. He was trying his hardest to stay awake but having to read so many boring books was proving to be quite the task. "You've already slept plenty. I thought you wanted to—"

"I do, I do," he said, forcing himself to sit up straight. "It's just warm in here."

"Hmm. Try to focus, Harry. If what we need to know is in this library, it's going to be in one of these books."

Harry sat on the very edge of his seat for the next few minutes reading and re-reading the same few pages until Hermione closed her book with a loud snap. "What am I thinking?" said Hermione. "I have to write you a plan of what you'll need to teach tonight." She reached into her bag and pulled a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write furiously fast.

"Does that mean I can put my head down again?" asked Harry as he watched her hand speed across the parchment.

"What? Oh, yes, go to sleep Harry. We'll have to research tomorrow instead."

Harry closed the book and used it as a pillow, unable to cease the ear-to-ear grin from creeping around his face at the thought of peaceful, non-stressed, perfectly-allowed sleep... for about two minutes.

"Harry?"

"Yes?" he groaned.

"I need to ask you something."

Harry looked back to Hermione's parchment to see it already filled with group exercises and spells in organized tables. "About what?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I was just wondering... Why don't you want us to tell Ron about this, again?"

"Oh, well, it's just... I don't think Ron would get it. I don't think he'd understand why it's so dangerous."

Hermione gave him a knowing look and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Harry... We both know he'd understand just fine." Harry pulled away and looked out the window, watching a pair of third-years walking by. "Oh..." she said, coming to some kind of conclusion. "You don't want to tell him about... Harry..." She took hold of Harry's hand, and he met her eyes again for a long moment before she softly whispered, "Cedric wasn't your fault, Harry. There was nothing you could do."

But Hermione wasn't there. She didn't know how long they had bickered about who should take the cup. She didn't know that it was Harry who suggested they both grab it. If Harry wasn't there...

"I know," Harry lied. "That's why we need to destroy this thing—or disenchant it... Either way, it needs to go. Just imagine how many times this has happened before. Unrequited love—someone spends the rest of their life caring for a reflection. Killed parents—dead friend—the same thing happens." Harry rubbed his thumb anxiously over Hermione's hand. "I don't want that to happen to me."

Hermione gave his hand a tight squeeze. "That's why it won't, Harry."

#

"So today, we'll be working more on Expelliarmus," Harry said to the D.A. in the Room of Requirement after classes ended. He felt quite refreshed after the nap he took before they started. "But—er—also refining your skills with Stupefy." Harry could see Neville nodding to himself. "Let's get started."

Harry partnered up with Neville, but after he could tell Neville had started to really master Expelliarmus, he sent him over to practice with Luna to help her like she said she needed. Harry noticed that Hermione and Ron—who had been practicing together—were about to switch partners as well. He began to make his way over to practice with Ron when someone behind him called his name.

"Oh, hey Cho," said Harry.

"I noticed you were about to switch. Do you mind helping me?" she said, tugging at her own sleeves.

Harry looked to where Ron was and saw that he had just joined up with Seamus Finnigan. "Er—sure."

Cho managed to hit the bookcase behind him the first time she cast Expelliarmus. The second time, the spell whizzed past his head. Getting better, he thought. But by the fifth time, he thought she had to be faking it. Her face grew red and after every miss, she giggled anxiously at Harry. He had never seen her in such a nervous state before. So, this is what Hermione meant...

She had managed to miss him ten times in a row before Hermione appeared and tapped her on the shoulder from behind. "Cho, Marietta was wondering if you could help her out," Hermione pointed to a cushion by the door where a disheveled Marietta Edgecombe was sitting, "she can't seem to get a handle on Stupefy."

Cho shot harry a guilty look as she inched away.

"It's okay, Cho," said Harry. "Go. I'll see you later."

"Er—okay," she said. "See you, Harry. Hermione..."

Hermione said nothing.

When Cho left, Hermione moved closer to Harry. "Do you see what I mean?" said Hermione.

"I think I do, yeah."

"You like her back, don't you?"

"I... I'm not sure I would say that, Hermione. I mean, have you seen the poor girl's aim? She's helpless."

Hermione giggled and swatted him on the arm. They spent the rest of the class sparring until they had both spells down. It took longer for Hermione to get Stupefy down, but once she did, she was even better than Harry at it. Once they both got to the point where neither of them could speak the incantations without taking deep breaths between the syllables, Harry insisted they take a breather, and they sat down on a large cushion together. He caught himself thinking about the mirror again. As he mulled over the last few nights, one specific memory took the forefront of his mind: Hermione looked into the mirror...

"Hermione," said Harry, watching Luna blast Neville square in the chest. He flew backward a few feet and landed on his back.

"Yes?"

"You looked into the mirror."

"Is that a question?" Hermione snorted.

"Well, what did you see?"

Hermione's cheeks grew slightly pink and her gaze traveled to the floor, where she played with a spot on the ground with her shoe. "Er—it's a bit private, isn't it?"

"So, it isn't boring, then?"

"What?"

Harry grinned. "If it were something boring, you'd have told me. You love boring stuff." Hermione looked like she was really struggling not to roll her eyes at him, but eventually, when she realized he wasn't going to pry, she grew a rather large smile. "You don't have to tell me anything, Hermione. I just hope you see something nice, is all."

Harry looked down at her and saw her staring back up at him with someone else's eyes. The pretty brown irises had dilated into tiny slivers resting on the outskirts of two large forever-black centers. They shared a chuckle together, and Hermione rested her head on his shoulder snugly.

He looked back around the room. After a moment of watching spells dance and students fly, Harry noticed Marietta storm out of the room, leaving an uncertain Cho alone where they had once just argued. It reminded him of something similar he witnessed a while back. The words that bounced around his head for the last year: "Next time there's a ball pluck up the courage to ask me before someone else does! And not as a last resort!" After Hermione shouted that after the Yule Ball, she stormed up the stairs and left him and Ron in a very awkward silence.

"Are you sure you don't like Cho, Harry?" said Hermione.

"I... I'm sure," Harry relented.

Harry had been wondering who he'd take with him to the Halloween dance for the last two weeks but had pretty much settled on just going alone and chatting with Ron and the other Gryffindors. If he wasn't going to take Cho, did he even have any other options?