Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter". It is hereby © to J.K. Rowling. I wrote this story when I was 12 years old in the year 2003. So, "Half-Blood Prince" wasn't out yet either. It didn't exist at this point. Again, errors in spelling and grammar have been intentionally left in to preserve my skills as a young writer. This story is complete. This is a repost.
Chapter Six: Return Home
"Now Harry, you will have to return to the Dursleys. It's only August fifth so you have lots of vacation left. Cho and Akira will need to bring their Hogwarts things with them and they will stay with you and the Dursleys. If they have a problem with it, we'll all threaten them. Now, let's all rest up and have a bite to eat and tomorrow we'll use Floo Powder to get to their home. Harry, write them a letter warning them to keep the fireplace clear of any obstructions for tomorrow." Lupin said.
"Couldn't we just take the Knight Bus?" Akira asked.
Lupin sighed wearily. "I suppose. Alright, we'll take the bus…"
They all walked back outside and Lupin stuck out his arm and the purple triple-decker bus roared out of some nearby trees and came to an abrupt halt centimeters from Lupin's outstretched hand.
"'Ello there mate! Whatcha be needin' eh? We got a trip package fer solo riders. Oh sorry, my name's Stan, welcome to the Knight Bus. We help any witch or wizard in need of transportation." Stan announced.
"We'll be needing six beds and we'll take the entire trip package for each. Hot meals three times a day and please include nightly hot chocolate and some toothbrushes. Canopy beds would be a nice touch…" Lupin said.
"All right, hop aboard. You can pay once you reach yer destination." Stan said.
They all walked onto the bus and observed their surroundings.
"You'll be on the second floor, any six beds you want. Toothbrushes are in the nightstands and breakfast trays are being sent up now." Stan said.
They nodded and just as Cho walked by, and Harry followed, Stan spoke again.
"Ain't choo 'Arry Potter? Why thy has grown up! Las' time I saw you, you was thirteen. Who are the young ladies?" Stan asked.
"Er yes, it's me, Harry…and this is Cho and that's Akira." Harry replied.
He followed Cho and the others up the stairs and chose his bed which was right next to Cho's and he lay on his bed and slept.
Everyone but Cho fell asleep. Cho patiently waited for breakfast to be delivered and when it arrived, she ate in silence and looked out the window longingly. Birds flew in the sky gracefully and Cho sighed.
"I wish I could fly and be free as you, birds." She said softly.
She opened the window and felt the cool, crisp breeze ruffle her short hair. Then an odd feeling overcame her. She jumped out the window. And instead of falling down, soared high into the sky, up to the heavens.
"I've never felt so free!" She cried out in excitement.
'Cause I wanted to fly, so you gave me your wings.
And time held its breath so I could see,
Yeah
And you set me free.
She flew higher and higher and the air grew colder, then warmer. Cho never felt so alive. She soared back down into the open window by her bed in the Knight Bus and gently woke Harry.
"Hm? What?" Harry asked groggily.
"Breakfast is here." Cho said.
"Oh," Harry replied. "Your hair is messy."
"It was amazing Harry! I was flying!" Cho explained.
"Flying? Hmmm…the cloaks…oh yeah…" Harry said, putting it together. "I'll need to tell you about the prophecy. Let me begin. I'll eat at the same time…"
"Prophecy?" Cho questioned.
"Right, then, let's start with the night you were kidnapped…" Harry said.
He explained the prophecy to Cho, and she nodded in understanding.
"I understand my fate, and the fate of everyone in our world and other worlds. I accept to challenge the dark and watch it crumble in my hands." Cho said.
"Right…uhh…anyway…so…have the others eaten?" Harry said uncertainly.
"No. I haven't woken them…you and me are the only ones who've had a bite to eat. Besides, they all have had a long tiring couple of days. So I figured they all deserved a good rest." Cho said.
"And I didn't deserve a good rest?" Harry asked grinning mischievously.
"Well you slept a little while!" Cho exclaimed.
"Hey, I'm joking! I'm not that tired anyway." Harry replied.
"Oh you idiot! Of course I knew you were joking!" Cho said, with a bite of annoyance and impatience in her voice.
Harry pulled Cho closer and had her sit on his bed as his face got closer to hers. Their lips met and they kissed lightly and then quickly broke away, kissing once more, only with passion. Harry's hand pulled the nearby cord that drew the thick purple canopy curtains shut. Tai had awoken and had seen Cho and Harry in their moment and saw Harry pulling the curtains closed. He chuckled softly and ate his breakfast. He promptly finished, and washed his face in the bathroom. He returned to his bed and sat, quietly staring out the window.
Harry's desires were overcoming him. Cho's desires were also starting to overcome her as well. They lay on top of each other, Harry slipping his hands up Cho's shirt. But their moment was interrupted by Tai. He had turned away from the window and opened the curtains.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Tai said, smirking.
He eyed his sister and Harry's hand retracting from under the shirt and looked up and then and grinned.
"You saw us didn't you?" Cho hissed angrily. "You filthy, spying, evil, brother!"
"Hey! It isn't my fault that I woke up and saw you both doing whatever! And it isn't my fault that my bed is right across from yours!" Tai argued.
"Whatever…" Cho muttered.
Tai picked Cho up and twirled her around in circles.
"AHH! I'm dizzy!" Cho shrieked loudly after her brother had set her down.
Harry was laughing like mad and he couldn't stop laughing.
"Wha-what's all the noise for?" Akira asked sleepily from a far off corner.
"Sorry to wake you up…" Cho, Tai, and Harry apologized.
"Well too late for that." Said Lupin and Sirius.
"Breakfast!" Akira noticed.
Akira, Sirius, and Lupin grabbed their breakfast plates and ate, and fell asleep, once again.
"How much sleep do they need?" Cho asked.
"A lot." Akira replied.
"Shut up and go to sleep!"
"You shut up so I can go to sleep!"
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Okay, both of you shut up." Tai said.
Then after that, no one said a word for a long time. Cho sat on her bed and gazed out the window again, her eyes taking on a misty color. Harry sat next to her and looked out the window too.
'What are you looking at?' Harry said, thinking.
'Nothing. Just thinking of home…this telepathy thing really freaks me out!' Cho replied.
'Yeah. It is pretty freaky. I wonder…'
Harry looked away, and Cho followed his gaze. Harry was staring at a black owl with blood red eyes flying next to the bus. The owl flew in, dropped the letter on the floor, and flew out. Harry stared at the letter. He concentrated with difficulty. Then the letter started to levitate off the ground. It promptly fell down on the floor again. Harry tried again. Then the letter shot straight into his hand.
"How-how did you do that?" Cho and Tai asked in shock.
"I just figured, I've got telepathic abilities, I might as well try telekinetic." Harry replied.
"Or referred to as psychokinesis…" Tai muttered. "Hmm…the abilities are revealing themselves early. We must make haste."
Tai went downstairs to the first floor of the bus and returned a few minutes later.
"We'll be arriving in a minute. Get your things together." Tai said.
He went over and awoke Akira, Sirius, and Lupin. The three of them quickly sat up and gathered their things. The bus slowed and came to a halt at four Privet Drive. They disembarked and paid Stan some galleons and went to the door and knocked.
"What do wa-want? Hello Cho." Dudley said, answering the door.
"Uh hi." Cho replied.
"Hey! Harry's fat, ugly cousin, get your parents!" Akira snapped, seeing Dudley checking out her older sister.
Dudley nodded and muttered angrily and waddled out of the doorway and went to get Mr. and Mrs. Dursley.
"What is it?" Vernon grunted.
"We would like it if Harry and his two young friends could stay here." Sirius replied.
"Potter, who is that man?" Vernon asked.
"That is my godfather, Uncle." Harry said, grinning and fighting the urge to burst out laughing.
Vernon's face drained of all color and turned white as chalk.
"And who are the other two young men?" Petunia asked.
"Tai Chang and Remus Lupin." Harry replied.
"Just and FYI, Lupin is a werewolf." Akira whispered in Petunia's ear.
Petunia's face matched Vernon's, complete with an expression of sheer terror upon her face.
"So…can they stay here?" Sirius, Lupin, and Tai asked.
"Yes." Replied Petunia and Vernon.
"Come inside." Petunia said, inviting them in.
'Well…they're certainly acting…polite.' Harry told Cho through his thoughts.
'I know, really!' Cho replied.
'Strange…isn't it?'
'Yeah.'
'I won't complain. At least they're nicer this way, and they act more like…well, people.'
'Ha ha! True, they are much more likable when they're afraid that they're going to be killed.'
They stopped speaking to each other and realized that they had walked themselves all the way to Harry's bedroom. Petunia, Vernon, Sirius, Lupin, Tai, Dudley, and Akira were downstairs silently sipping tea.
"We're alone." Harry said, grinning mischievously.
"Don't get any ideas. The last thing I want is to see your cousin walk in on us." Cho replied.
"Then we'll lock the door. With magic." Harry said, grinning wider.
Cho sighed and gave in. Harry locked the door and both had a soft kiss and broke away quickly.
"It just…doesn't feel right." Cho said.
"I agree." Harry replied.
They unlocked the door and went downstairs to join the others for tea.
"Duddy-darling, your auntie Marge is coming today." Petunia said cheerfully to Dudley.
"Oh no." Harry muttered.
"And all of you had better be on your best behavior. Or else." Vernon grunted at Akira, Cho, and Harry.
"Yeah, we will…where are they staying?" Harry asked.
"Well, where would you like to stay?" Vernon asked the two girls.
"Harry's room." Cho and Akira replied instantly.
"Alright. Dudley, get the sleeping bags." Vernon barked.
"Yes Daddy." Dudley replied grumpily.
He waddled toward the linen closet and returned with two sleeping bags and pillows. He dumped them into Cho and Akira's arms and sat his fat bottom in a big, boxy chair. Cho, Harry, and Akira quickly threw the sleeping bags in Harry's room and raced back to Tai, Sirius, and Lupin to say goodbye.
"We'll pick you up. Don't worry, it'll be a week before term starts. And we'll have your trunks and everything. And we'll go shopping together." Tai said reassuringly.
"Ok. We'll miss you all!" said the three.
"We'll miss you too! Goodbye, for now." Tai, Lupin, and Sirius replied.
"Bye!" said Harry, Cho, and Akira waving after them frantically.
Lupin and his two comrades boarded the Knight Bus and disappeared.
"Marge should be arriving any moment now." Vernon said.
"Oh how great!" Harry exclaimed sarcastically.
"Who's Marge?" Akira and Cho asked.
"Well she's a female version of my uncle who loves bulldogs and insults me a lot. And three summers ago I blew her up like a balloon." Harry replied.
Akira and Cho snickered and grinned. The doorbell rang and Marge came bursting through the door.
"Three years later and you're still here. How long are you planning on staying here?" Marge asked.
"Well aren't you so pleased to see me…" Harry replied with great sarcasm.
"Don't you talk to me like that you ungrateful brute! Who are these two girls? Vernon, please don't tell me those two were dumped on your doorstep as well." Marge said.
Cho's eyes flickered. Her brown eyes were turning red at the edges.
'Calm down!' she scolded herself.
Marge walked over to Akira and Cho and peered at them with her tiny, beady eyes, surveying them both, looking them up and down.
"Asians. Hmph. Asians are nothing but trashy smart-alecs. And they're hideously ugly, not to mention. And they have the same runty look that that one has." Marge snorted.
Akira and Cho realized exactly why Harry hated his aunt so much. Both had to control themselves from giving Marge a good smack across the face.
"We aren't trash." Akira said through gritted teeth.
"You don't even know us. And yet, you already have judged us for something we are not." Cho said as calmly as she could.
"You both even have the same wretched tongue that he has!" Marge exclaimed.
Akira and Cho's eyes flashed menacingly.
"Vernon, do these two go to St. Abernathy's School for the Criminally Wicked Girls?" Marge asked smartly.
"Er…that's the new girls academy similar to St. Brutus's only for girls, right?" Vernon asked.
"Yes. So…do they attend that school?" Marge asked again.
"Of course!" Vernon replied shortly. "I never really paid any attention to the name of the school, I just sent them there."
"Are they related? It would be very devastating if I learned today that our family is related to people with foul, dirty, putrid blood." Marge boomed.
"SHUT UP!!!" Cho, Akira, and Harry shouted.
"Why? You can't stand the truth?" Marge asked, smirking.
"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! YOU KNOW NOTHING! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF MY FAMILY IN SUCH A MANNER! YOU INSULT US BECAUSE DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO ADMIT THAT YOU ARE THE ONE WITH THE DISGUSTING, FOUL, PUTRID, DIRTY BLOOD! YOU'VE INSULTED HARRY, AND NOW US! YOU ARE THE BAD EGG! HARRY NEVER WAS! THE NAME OF DURSLEY IS A DISGRACE TO ALL OF MANKIND! AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU, MARJORIE DURSLEY!!!!!" The two sisters screamed.
"I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!!! YOU BOTH ARE THE MOST DISGUSTING PEOPLE I HAVE EVER MET!!! YOU DISGRACE EVERY LIVING CREATURE TO WALK THIS EARTH!" Marge bellowed.
Akira and Cho's eyes both glowed a bright red. Harry could feel his own eyes burn full of pure hatred. Cho's hair was turning a vivid red that matched perfectly with her eyes. Akira was levitating off the ground by about an inch or two. Harry concentrated his thoughts to Cho and Akira.
'Let's get her! She deserves it!'
'No! We can't! We'll be expelled!' came Cho's voice in his head.
'What're going to do then?'
'I don't know.' Akira's voice sounded.
'Let's just scare her.' Cho suggested.
"Fair enough." Harry said aloud.
The sisters nodded. They both glared at Marge, who recoiled at the sight of their eyes.
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE YOU'RE KEEPING HERE, VERNON, BUT THEY'RE SUBNORMAL!" Marge roared, grabbing her bulging bag and running out the door.
Harry, Akira, and Cho grinned in satisfaction. Their eyes returned to their normal color, and Cho's hair returned to raven black.
"Ugh…my hair is wretched…" Cho complained.
She grabbed her hair and smoothed it out. It became sleek and shiny. And her hair was now perfectly even with the longest layer of her hair. She took out a mirror from thin air, and a brush. She ran it through her already tangle-free hair, only two layers of her hair on either side of her face grew to her elbows and both sections were streaked with blue and red.
"Much better." Cho said, snapping her fingers, making the mirror and brush vanish.
"What did you just do?" Akira, Harry, Dudley, Vernon, and Petunia asked.
"Hm? Oh just a simple hair regrowing charm with another charm which adds any color you want to your hair. Of course, I can change my hair and eye color at will…but whatever…I mean, my hair has been looking dreadful for at least a day or two now. And I can't stand it being uneven and having split ends and being tangled! I had to do something!" Cho replied.
"Did any of you catch that?" Dudley asked.
"I did. What she's saying is that she had to do something with her hair because she hated the way it was before she fixed it. Some evil person cut her hair all funky and it was uneven and tangled. And she got split ends. She just used some magic to repair it and fix it to her liking." Akira replied.
"Well of course you'd understand. You both with your girl talk…I mean, I don't even understand a wor-did you just say 'magic?'" Dudley said incredulously, his eyes widening.
"No, I said 'manic'. Of course I said 'magic' you hunk of lard! You don't listen do you?" Akira said sarcastically.
"Never say the 'm' word in our house!" Vernon said angrily.
"Which one? I know three. There's magic, Muggle, and motherf-" Akira said, getting cut off by her sister who clapped a hand over her sister's mouth.
"Thank you! That's enough talking for you today!" Cho said, trying to sound normal.
Pink crossed Cho and Akira's faces. Cho was scolding Akira in Chinese speaking in a half-whisper, half-hissing manner.
"Sorry…" Akira apologized to Vernon, rubbing her arm nervously, and gazing downward.
"Yes, well, don't say any of that-that unnaturalness again." Vernon replied.
"It's getting a little late…we should all be getting to bed." Petunia said mildly.
Harry, Cho, and Akira all agreed and trooped upstairs each taking turns in the bathroom then returning to the bedroom. Akira curled up on the floor, next to her sister, who was sitting upright in her sleeping bag next to the foot of Harry's bed. They were talking to each other through their minds.
'Remember that letter that we got today on the Knight Bus? From that evil looking owl?' Cho asked.
'Yeah. What about it?' Harry replied.
'We never opened it.'
'That's right! We didn't! I have it here. Let's open it now.'
Harry took the letter and saw a black wax seal on the front, with a snake winding its body around the letters 'C & H'. He broke the seal and tore open the letter, reading it aloud.
"'Hello.
Cho Chang and Harry Potter. I know where you are at this very moment. I've been tracking you since you freed Cho. I know your exact location. 4 Privet Drive second bedroom on the second floor, Surrey, England. Are you afraid now? Well, if you haven't guessed, this is the Angel of Darkness writing to you. You will meet me again soon. I will not tell you where…but I will meet you soon Cho. And you Harry, and you Akira. Keep an eye out for me. I will be watching you three very closely.
Until we meet,
The Angel of Darkness'" Harry read.
"Ok, I'm officially freaked out, and I mean, freaked out." Akira said.
"Me too…" Cho said.
"Me three." Harry said.
"Even though this may be scary, it might do us all well if we try to get some sleep. We can contact Lupin and Sirius tomorrow and tell them. We'll work through this, Ok?!" Harry said as calmly as he could.
"Harry's right, we can talk this all out tomorrow." Cho agreed.
They all turned over and tried to sleep. Cho turned over to check to make sure her sister was sleeping. She looked so peaceful when she slept. Cho started thinking that she shouldn't be involved in this at all. Neither should Harry or herself. But they were, and they were going to work through this together. With that thought, she was finally able to go to sleep, not knowing that she would be awoken 5 hours later by a horrid nightmare.