Sounds of forks clinking against plates and quiet conversation could be heard throughout Madam Puddifoot's as Cho stared at her half eaten slice of chocolate cake, wanting to finish it but not having the appetite to do so. She'd been feeling off all day, and the fact that Padma knew that made her feel worse about it.

"Talk to me."

Cho looked into Padma's eyes, her heart skipping a beat at the look on her girlfriend's face.

"About what?" she asked, taking another bite of cake to feign innocence. "Everything's fine."

Padma raised an eyebrow, but Cho didn't look at her as she chewed.

"Cho, really," Padma pressed. "You've been acting strange all day, and Madam Puddifoot's is your favourite tea shop ever. If that cake isn't cheering you up, there's a major problem."

Cho sat her fork down with a sigh.

"We've been seeing each other for a few months," she said slowly.

Padma's brow creased.

"Is that the problem?"

"No," Cho rushed to assure her girlfriend. "Not exactly. It's just that every relationship I've been in has imploded horribly, and I'm waiting for it to happen again. The longer this goes on, the more inevitable it feels."

Padma looked at her a second before sighing. She reached across the table to grip Cho's hand.

"You've only had two relationships, and we've already established that Harry Potter is a massive jerk. I'm not going to do something stupid that breaks your heart. Trust me."

"I'm trying," Cho said softly, squeezing Padma's hand. "I really am."

Padma's smile was gentle.

"And I'm thankful for that."

Cho blushed as Padma leaned over the table to place a kiss on her cheek.

"Let me make you a promise," Padma said. "If a year from now we're still together, which I fully plan to be, we'll come here again, sit at this exact table, and have chocolate cake. Maybe then you'll believe that I'm not going anywhere."

Cho gave a shy nod of her head, hoping she'd see that moment.

A/N: I had a bit of a technology nightmare this week that's still playing out, and even though it wasn't my computer, I felt pretty unenthusiastic about writing for a few days. I still don't know how I feel about this, but I'm going to go ahead and post it anyway. I hope you enjoy it.

Prompts:

HPFC

Build a Zoo: Gorilla enclosure - (setting) Hogsmeade

Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments

Fortnightly Challenge - The Boyfriend Checklist: He Shares His Food with You - (food/object) chocolate cake

Word count: 337