Chapter Eight
The weeks began to fly by. Ginny had continued to find ways to cut corners by using the Room of Requirement, when Cho later complained about beginning to feel the tension between competing demands, Ginny had no problem sharing her tips. In addition to their two hour morning workout together, they soon added a regular hour of study together before dinner, which of course was equal to four real time hours. They never struggled for study time after that!
They were spending so much time together, other people, Professors included, began referring to them by various ship names; Chinny, Wang and Cheasley among others. Ginny and Cho were outraged, or were they? Well, they were outraged about those terrible names, certainly, and that they were given a name at all, probably. But they secretly liked the idea of spending all their free time together and didn't mind so much that other people had somehow got the impression that they were a couple, or could be a couple or should be - oh whatever!
Each had taken their own sweet time in acknowledging their romantic feelings for the other, it started with the awareness of their physical attraction. Cho was obviously beautiful, you could see it from a mile off, the clear complexion, the beautiful dark brown eyes, her shiny black hair and her lovely smile that made Ginny's breath catch. And her body was killer, clearly she worked hard to keep herself in peak physical condition and it was worth it - to Ginny, it was worth every moment Cho spent working out.
Ginny wasn't immediately pretty, in fact her first impression often left one with the idea that she was rather homely, but she was so lovely, so lively that people were quickly taken with her. Her easy smile, her interest in others, her teasing banter, her sparkly green eyes led those close up, those under her spell to reconsider their first impression. They quickly realised that she was actually very pretty, and if her long hair was trailing down her back, actually rather beautiful.
Their feelings developed beyond attraction, their near constant companionship revealed their shared ability to laugh and joke around, to train vigorously together, to have very deep, personal conversations and to study effectively together. There had been long conversations about their childhoods, their family, the effect of Fred's death on Ginny and her family, Cho's mental decline which began with the murder of Cedric Diggory, their hopes and dreams for the future.
Neither was yet prepared to make a move disclosing their romantic feelings for the other, so their feelings expressed themselves in a range of muted flirting, a series of competitive streaks and dares, disguised favours and quickly withdrawn lingering looks. There had been a few limited physical expressions, the irregular hug, frequent back slaps and there had been occasions where they had been sitting very close together in crowded rooms. They had crashed into each other frequently in training and found themselves tangled up on the ground, they usually disentangled themselves fairly quickly, between struggling to get their breath back and laughing heartily.
Many of these moments, otherwise inconsequential, were nevertheless burned into the memory of each. Both Ginny and Cho were caught between wanting to pursue any one of these moments and feeling inclined to refrain from any such expression lest they make the other feel uncomfortable and jeopardise their friendship, which brought them so much joy and satisfaction.
Finally, it was the Friday morning of the third week of November - Week One of the Round Robin - Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw. Both Ginny and Cho woke with a sense of excitement and anticipation. They felt their own huge grin reflected on the face of the other.
"Two more sleeps!" said Ginny, holding the door to the Room of Requirement, open for Cho.
"It sounds juvenile, but I'm so excited, I don't even care!" Cho replied, turning sideways to fit her sports bag and broomstick through the doorway.
"Juvenile? You're two years older than me, Chang!" said Ginny, feigning hurt, "You sound like an old married woman."
The look on Cho's face revealed the hurt and shock she might have felt had Ginny suddenly slapped her, hard. Ginny did a double take, wondering what Cho had reacted to, she had not said anything so very offensive. Cho realised that her uncontrolled and rather inappropriate reaction had been noted and tried to conceal and disguise it. She became very busy in her sports bag to buy herself some recovery time and the silence stretched out between them,
"You okay?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, sure," replied Cho, but she wasn't.
It wasn't a big deal. She knew Ginny had been joking, she had to have been, Ginny didn't even know that Cho had been married and Cho was sure if she did know, she would never throw it in Cho's face like that. But the comment had still taken her by surprise, taken her out of the moment and back in time. She still had a few secrets and that was one of them. She could not have anticipated such a comment, could not have mitigated her reaction, the look on her face - it had beaten her, and now she had to try and get her emotions in check and smooth things over with Ginny.
Ginny didn't believe that Cho was fine, she was upset and had lied about it, but it wasn't a big deal. Ginny couldn't always admit she was upset, sometimes it took time and perhaps that's what Cho needed now. She didn't really understand what had happened, either she had said something wrong or Cho had taken it the wrong way, she hoped that it would not lead to a bigger misunderstanding.
They began stretching, both searching madly for something to say, to reestablish their former friendly banter. "Ok, Chang, it's your match on Sunday, so you're the boss."
"Great, thanks Weasley, I choose running and if I am really the boss, you will wear Ravenclaw colours to the match!"
"I'd say you were a harsh boss, but I don't want to offend you," Ginny determined not to let one little hiccup change the way they normally interacted, not when their interactions normally bought them so much satisfaction. And if she was going to have to run and wear blue and bronze…
"Ginny - "
"Uh oh,"
"What?"
"You always call me, 'Weasley'!"
They both laughed out loud, it was a joke they had shared before.
"Sorry. First, the boss joke was good. You're funny and clever and I love hanging out with you. Second, the crack about being married was less witty but still fine. It just reminded me of something painful, that's all."
"I'm sorry about the dumb joke, I'm glad you told me."
Cho pushed on before she lost her courage,
"The something painful is that I was married. I am married."
"You? Are married?"
"I am."
"To who?"
"Christain Paine, a muggle from my Hospital Group Therapy Session."
Ginny stared at her, mouth gaping. Cho let her process without interruption.
"Hospital Group Therapy?"
"Yes."
"I am beginning to feel like I don't know you very well, Chang."
"You do, there are just some… blind spots."
"I'll say."
"I was not travelling well when I left Hogwarts, I was in hospital for a period, I met someone in group therapy, we got really close, really quickly and eloped. It lasted thirty days and now we are getting divorced. For the record, the staff told us all that this could happen, intense feelings, they suggested that we refrain from dating for the duration of the session. And, well, Christian and I didn't date, not really, we just… got married."
Ginny was in shock. She'd never contemplated such a concept.
"I don't know what to say. I'm sorry it didn't work out."
"Oh Weasley, you are really sweet, you know that?"
"I am?"
"Yeah, you are. It must be a shock?"
"They should add the marriage warning to the not dating warning."
"Good point. Are you okay?"
"What do you mean not travelling well?"
Cho looked at Ginny, then she looked at her watch.
"I'd really like to tell you, but it's not a short story. Also I might cry, and I will probably end up calling you Ginny and I really don't understand why."
"Oh don't worry about that. Look, how about we leave this room, go back into the room where time passes more slowly, you can tell me, and we can train tonight instead of this morning?"
"You don't mind?"
"It beats running," joked Ginny, prodding Cho in the ribs.
"I'm going to need coffee," said Cho, trying to prepare herself.
"Your need should be enough to secure it," Ginny smiled warmly at Cho, she could see her friend was feeling emotional so she rubbed her upper arm in support and comfort.
They grabbed their bags and brooms and headed for the door. Once outside, the door became obscured and eventually concealed, Ginny paced up and down outside where the door was likely to reappear, concentrating firmly on the room they needed, Cho helped by focussing her thoughts as well. The door shimmered into existence and as it took a more solid form, Ginny grabbed the handle, turned it and held the door open for Cho.
It was the same homework room they always used but to the side of their work stations was now a huge couch area with foot stools and coffee table with coffee cups and saucers, milk jug and sugar bowl. They grinned at each other, threw down their bags and jumped into the soft cushions. Once they had filled their cups a tray of fruit appeared and then two trays of muffins, frittatas, biscuits and cakes.
Cho started at the beginning; Cedric's death, grief and non acceptance. She simultaneously became a focus for people's attention whilst they gave her a wide berth, even friends kept her at arm's length. She developed an inability to eat and sleep, began failing in her classes and performing poorly at Quidditch. Snape ridiculed her sliding effort and results and Malfoy noticed her constant crying and her emotional outbursts and began making fun of her.
Cho became unable to cope and the less well she coped, the more distressed she became, the more obvious her struggles, the more attention she garnered - it was a cycle, a downward spiral. She ended up depressed, anxious, crying constantly, emotionally unstable and isolated, she had been in a very dark place, contemplating self harm and suicide.
Ginny sat listening, not commenting, her eyes hardly left Cho's face. She had been almost totally unaware of Cho's situation in real time, sure she'd seen her crying once or twice, she had heard about one or two outbursts but she couldn't remember a quidditch failure, at all. She racked her brain to remember Cho having been taken from school and could remember nothing, it had been a pretty intense period all around, however, most of all for Chang, as it turns out.
Cho continued her story; after a period at home, she went to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for a couple of weeks and then to a muggle hospital for a couple of months. She began a course of medication, began attending psychiatric and psychological specialist appointments and an in house therapy group where she met her husband. Within four weeks they were married and four weeks later they were separated. She had stopped going to the group but had continued with her personal sessions which, when her marriage failed, had really saved her life, gave her something to hang on to until she began to very slowly regain her physical and mental health.
Ginny continued to listen and watch, she could identify with some of the things Cho had described. She, herself, had experienced some of those feelings, albeit at a reduced intensity, Harry certainly had experienced similar experiences, and now her mother was really struggling with grief. An image of George popped into Ginny's mind, but she pushed it aside to refocus on Cho. Ginny couldn't say that she understood everything, but she was glad to know, glad that Cho had confided in her.
She didn't know what to say and remembered Cho had said that somethings didn't have answers.
"Do you think very differently of me now?" Cho asked, revealing a little vulnerability.
Ginny reached out, took her hand, and held it firmly,
"I know you better now, that's all. I liked you before I knew and I like you now. I care about you, I am glad you didn't hurt yourself, I am glad that we're friends. It doesn't matter that you were married, not to me, at any rate. You don't need me to say that I won't reveal anything you have spoken of."
"Thanks, Weasley. You're awesome," she squeezed Ginny's hand.
"That's why we're friends, we're both awesome!" she squeezed back.
The chat drifted into other areas, other topics, their mood and intensity lifted, they had more coffee and made a meal of the treats on the constantly refilling trays of food. They began joking around and they ended up belting each other with cushions. Eventually it was time to go, Ginny hugged Cho hard, before they parted to change from their Quidditch robes to their school robes and head straight to the first classes. They planned to meet for homework in the hour before dinner, and then again for an hour after to complete their training - Ginny promised she would run without a word of complaint.