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 Twenty Four: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Akira, Liam, and Alexa were all talking together.
"There you are! We're having a Quidditch discussion…" Akira said, motioning her sister over.
Cho sat down on Harry's side.
"Ok, now Friday is the match, and we haven't exactly had time to practice. So after lessons finish today, we'll be practicing. I've booked the field and checked with McGonagall. It's sure to be ours this afternoon…Because you're in Gryffindor now, Cho, the Ravenclaw's obviously got a new seeker…turns out, it's Minh…very funny I know…their seeker last year was a seventh year, so they had to get a new one this year too…they have a whole new team. Their chasers are Yuri Wang, Miyako Sakane, and Sakura Ichijouji. The keeper is Josh Davies, Roger's younger brother. Their beaters are Kenichi Tadashi and Kaori Tsuki…" Harry explained.
"They're all Asian except for Davies…" Cho noted. "Wang…Hmm…Yuri…I once had a friend named Yuri when I was in first grade…maybe she's the same one…who knows…"
"Anyway, they've got a fierce attack plan going. I heard something about them using several swift moves. I'm not sure who's captain, but I'm betting it's Davies…Everyone on the team is either fourth or fifth year, except Davies and Tran. They're sixth years…" Ron said.
"Hey Cho, you were in Ravenclaw for five years. Wouldn't you know all of them?" Hermione asked.
"Well…no…I never really socialized with anyone that wasn't in my year…even when I did chat with younger students, I would never remember their faces or their names. But I would occasionally talk with older Ravenclaws, asking them for help with assignments…" Cho replied. "So I wouldn't know them…"
"Oh well…" Ron sighed.
"Worth a shot to ask…" Hermione concluded.
"Well I have no doubts whatsoever that we're going to lose this match. We're going to win! And we'll kick some Ravenclaw butt!" Alexa said confidently.
"Yeah!" The rest of the team agreed, cheering.
"Now let's go get breakfast! I'm starving!" Akira shouted.
Everyone rolled their eyes except Liam. They all exited the common room and headed downstairs to the Great Hall.
Taking their seats at the house table they started helping themselves to breakfast and rushed off to their first lesson. Charms. Professor Flitwick was cheerfully humming a tune. They seated themselves towards the back of the room and waited patiently as the rest of the Gryffindors filed in. They had lessons with the Ravenclaws today. Minh walked in and as well as a pack of girls surrounding him. Some of them glared at Cho. The girls surrounding Minh were all chatting excitedly. Professor Flitwick had the class settle down.
"Now today we'll be practicing Disillusionment Charms. I don't expect many of you to master it for at least a few weeks…it is a highly advanced charm…"
He went on explaining every miniscule detail in long sentences, boring the class. It was almost like a lecture from Professor Binns, only this one was alive, really short, and had a high squeaky voice. Lessons carried on boorishly, and luckily they didn't have Potions…Wednesday faded, and Thursday settled in, leaving just as quickly as it had come. Friday had finally arrived. The Quidditch match had been scheduled for ten o' clock in the morning. Every Gryffindor was asleep. Harry stirred and rolled over onto his side. He checked his watch which read 9:45. He groaned, then started to go back to sleep, when he leapt out of bed and tried to wake Ron.
"'Smatter Harry?" Ron asked sleepily.
"Get up!" Harry replied.
"Why?" Ron wondered.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Harry said, clearly aggravated.
He took the pitcher of water sitting on the windowsill and poured it on his friend. Ron immediately woke up, and tumbled out of bed.
"Why the bloody hell did you do that for?!" Ron asked, slightly furious at such a rude awakening.
"The match is in less than fifteen minutes!" Harry answered shortly.
Ron's eyes widened, then he and Harry quickly dressed. They both rushed and woke Liam. By now, half of the Gryffindors were up, grumbling and telling the team to keep it down. But they stayed awake anyway, realizing the time. Harry was sending a telepathic message to Cho. She woke up and got dressed very quickly. She bolted around the dormitory, throwing pillows at Hermione and Alexa's faces.
"Get up!!! The match is going to start without us!!" Cho said.
She apparratated into her sister's dormitory and tried to wake her up.
"Sis, get up." Cho pleaded.
"No." Akira mumbled.
"Fine, then I guess you'll miss the match and get no breakfast." Cho said firmly.
"WHAT?!" Akira exclaimed, falling out of bed and transfiguring her pajamas into her school robes. The Gryffindors were all getting dressed, brushing their teeth and hair, then finally, at 9:55, everyone was ready. They rushed out to the grounds and into the locker rooms and hastily changed into their Quidditch robes. Tai happened to be in the locker room, and he gave them each a piece of candy.
"It's bewitched. So it'll fill you up like you just had breakfast. Eat them quickly." Tai explained.
He rushed out of the locker room and onto the Quidditch pitch. The team did as instructed and ate the candies and Harry quickly summarized the skills they were to use then they ran out to the field, their brooms over their shoulders. The rest of the school was arriving and the Ravenclaws had just come out of their locker room and were striding forward quickly. The Gryffindor stands were roaring and cheering. Parvati and Lavender were holding a large banner depicting a lion pouncing on a raven. Alyssia and Whitney were waving Gryffindor flags and they were screaming and cheering the team on. Half of the Hufflepuffs supported Ravenclaw, while the other half, including Amanda Diggory and the Hufflepuff Quidditch team supported Gryffindor. Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley were holding a large Gryffindor flag, that roared. Amanda had taken out her wand and conjured scarlet and gold letters that floated around the field that read 'Go Gryffindor!' She made another one that was a golden lion that roared at the stands as it circled about. Tai and Madam Hooch explained the rules, then had the captains of the team shake hands.
"Davies, Potter, shake hands."
Josh Davies and Harry moved forward and grasped the other's hand for a second then let go.
"Good luck to you, Potter. Hi Cho." Josh said, raising an eyebrow at Cho.
It made her scowl, then she turned away and ignored him He blew her a kiss just before they kicked off, and Cho made a rude sign with her hand towards him. Harry was getting ticked as well, but Cho gave him a look that read 'Let me handle it.' So Harry backed off. The fourteen brooms rose into the air and the game began.
"Whoa! Yuri Wang takes the quaffle! That was fast! She scores! 10-0!" Lee said, amazed.
Cho got the quaffle and pushed her broom faster. She scored, and Akira got the quaffle, scored, and passed it to Hermione. She scored. Cho had it again and when she approached the scoring area, Josh grinned at her.
"Hey Baby!" He shouted.
Cho threw the quaffle at his face and scored a goal at the same time.
"Bastard…" She muttered as she sped away.
Miyako had the quaffle and scored, then passed to Sakura. She scored. Then Yuri came and she tied the scored at 40-40. Akira had the quaffle and the Ravenclaw beater Kenichi pelted a bludger her way. Akira dodged it and scored again.
"50-40! This game's just started and it's already heated up!"
Yuri, Sakura, and Miyako were in formation for a Hawkshead attack formation. The three sped through the Gryffindor players. Cho had possession of the quaffle and Yuri was about to take it when she got a good look at Cho.
"Oh my gosh! Cho!" She exclaimed.
"Yuri? From first grade?" Cho asked astounded.
"Yep. That's me…nice to see you again, but you don't mind if I take the quaffle do you?" Yuri asked.
"Unfortunately, I do mind, so no. You can't have it." Cho replied, speeding off and scoring another goal.
Harry was searching for the snitch, when Minh flew up to him.
"Hi Harry! How are you?" He asked.
"Hi…I'm doing alright…you?" Harry replied.
"I'm ok, I guess…have you seen Cianna by any chance?" Minh wondered.
"No…sorry…but do give Davies a good kick up the-" Harry started.
WHOOSH! A bludger flew in between them, making them both fly off in separate directions. Kaori Tsuki had sent it over, and she was grinning with satisfaction. Cho had passed the quaffle to Hermione. She was weaving through everyone, and easily looped a bludger and approached the scoring area, scored then passed to Akira. She reached the scoring area. Then Josh smirked.
"Hey, your sister is really hot. Do you think she'd go out with me? Is she single?" Josh asked.
"She won't go out with you. One: Because she's with Harry. Two: Because she hates you, and so do I. Three: If you haven't noticed, you're a dick!" Akira replied coldly.
She threw the quaffle into the highest hoop, and scored.
"80-40!"
Akira flew over to her sister.
"Hey the dickhead guarding the goal posts was trying to convince me to have you go out with him." She said.
Cho gritted her teeth angrily.
"Who has the quaffle?" Cho asked.
"Hermione. She just scored. What're you planning?" Akira snickered.
"Oh something I call: Operation- Prepare to lose your dignity." Cho replied.
Akira grinned.
"How may I help?" Akira asked.
"You and Hermione score as many goals as you can, while I teach dickhead a valuable lesson." Cho answered.
"Sounds good." Akira said, flying off, to inform Hermione of the plan.
Harry flew over.
"What's up?" He asked.
"I'm just going to get even with Davies, that's all…" Cho replied, laughing and flying away.
Harry grinned.
'This is going to be good…' He thought to himself.
Cho, Akira, and Hermione were all flying at the goal posts. Akira had the quaffle, and just as she passed her sister, she whispered, "Work your magic…" Cho nodded in understanding as her sister scored a goal and passed the quaffle to Hermione. Cho started circling the goal posts.
"Hey! Davies!" She called.
"Oh hi! Want to go to Hogsmeade sometime?" He asked.
She flew closer, as Davies flew closer to her, away from the goal posts. Hermione and Akira had scored twice already.
"140-40! The Gryffindors are certainly doing well! The chasers aren't letting anyone have that quaffle!"
Davies had realized the plan and flew back to the hoops and made a save, then tossed the quaffle to Yuri.
"Bitch!" He shouted at Cho.
Cho glared at him, a menacing glint in her eye. The Ravenclaw chasers were gaining back their lead and had reached 100 points. Cho was very mad. She started forming a second plan. This one was guaranteed to work. Yuri had scored three more times, making the score ten points apart.
"Wow, nice comeback from Ravenclaw. Although Chang did perform some pretty fancy tactics by distracting Davies…too bad for him though…it's just all about the ladies for him…even if a guy socked him in the nose while he was watching a girl walk past, he wouldn't even notice…he's such an airhead…"
"Jordan! Get on with the commentary!" McGonagall snapped at him.
"Right…Sakane in possession, takes a shot at the goal, and nice save by Weasley who passes to Granger. She goes for it and scores, 150-130. You're doing great, Gryffindor! Keep it up!"
Liam had just hit a bludger at Miyako. She dropped the quaffle, and nearly fell off her broom. Yuri got it and scored three goals, taking them into the lead by ten points. Ron was panicking. The Ravenclaw chasers threw such hard knuckle balls, and they were so fast! He couldn't keep up with them.
"It's only one goal more than us. Harry can catch the snitch and we'll win, 300-160." He assured himself.
He turned his attention back to the game, and made a save as Sakura attempted to get a goal past him while he was lost in his thoughts. Cho had the quaffle and kept trying to score, but Davies blocked it and each time she came near the goal posts, he made kissing faces at her.
"If you kiss me, then I'll let you score. And I'll let you win the game." He said, making another kissing face at her.
Cho threw the quaffle hard into the goal hoop and scored. The score was tied 160-160. Cho decided that it was now time for her second plan to take effect. She flew over to Liam and Alexa.
'It's now or never…I'm going to have to catch the snitch now, or else those chasers are going to beat us…' Harry thought.
He spotted a glint of gold and saw Minh look in his direction and speed off. Harry was closer and flew closer and closer to the snitch. He was almost there, and Minh was falling behind. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cho take Liam's bat and hit a bludger right at Davies. Harry laughed and caught the snitch.
"Wow! Gryffindor seeker Harry Potter catches the snitch, and Gryffindor chaser Cho Chang steals Gryffindor Beater Liam Merrick's bludger bat and hits a bludger at Ravenclaw Keeper Joshua Davies. Davies falls off his broom, and Chang kicks Davies in the face and ooh…right in between the legs…That's really going to hurt! Davies has grabbed his broom and is still being attacked by Chang. Gryffindor Team has to pull Chang away. Oh yeah, Gryffindor wins the game, at 310-160." Lee said, quite out of breath.
The Gryffindor team struggled to fly down to the field as Cho struggled to get free. They touched down and Tai ran over.
"Why the hell were you doing that for?!" Tai asked, enraged.
"The bastard harassed me! That's why!" Cho answered, at the point of screaming.
"He what?!!!" Tai, Harry, Madam Hooch, Ron, Liam, and Alexa asked in shock.
"Yeah, that's right. He even tried to have Aki do his dirty work! Plus, on top of that, he called me a bitch, which makes things a whole lot worse, so I was just giving him what he deserved!" Cho replied hotly.
Everyone's mouth was hanging open except for Akira's, Cho's, and Hermione's. Josh and the rest of the Ravenclaw team had touched down. The whole team was enraged. Josh was nursing a bloody nose, and holding himself between his legs in pain. Minh stormed up to Cho.
"What the hell was that for?!" He growled.
"Maybe you should teach your keeper some respect for women!" Cho screamed at him.
"What're you talking about?! Stop talking lies! Tell the truth! Why'd you do it?!" Minh demanded.
"Yeah!" The rest of the Ravenclaw team shouted in agreement.
"I am telling the truth! You just refuse to believe me! You all don't want to believe me but you know it! You know the truth about Josh! He's just as perverted as his older brother, Roger!" Cho replied, her voice shrieking.
Sirius and Remus had reached the ground. Minh's hand flew, and struck Cho, knocking her down. Sirius and Remus had to hold Harry back, as well as Ron and Liam. Tai strode forward, very angry.
"Never talk about Roger that way. He was and still is a great man. You were once great too. You were a fine Ravenclaw. But now, you're just a twisted and tortured soul of Gryffindor. We were all disappointed when we saw you go to Gryffindor. We'll remember this day Cho Chang. This is the day when all Ravenclaws will form a bond and hate you for life. This is the day that the great, smart, pretty, Cho Chang fell to the hand of a wizard…Don't you forget this day…" Minh said harshly.
"Mr. Tran, detention, fifty points from Ravenclaw, and I shall be having a conference with your head of house and I will send an owl to your parents to notify them of your unruly behavior." Tai said.
"Why?" Minh demanded.
"Because, you have hit another student, and she just so happens to be my little sister." Tai answered.
"You've messed with the wrong people, Minh! Never mess with us again, or else you'll be looking a lot like your friend Davies over there!" Akira said.
"Are you threatening me?" Minh asked.
"Yes. I am. And I'm not afraid to say that I am." Akira replied.
"Well, you'd better watch it, or else what happened to your sister may happen to you…" Minh said.
"Watch it, I'm Tai's sister too. You mess with one of us, you mess with us all…You insult one of us, you insult all of us…" Akira said, her eyes glinting maliciously.
"Well, I hope all you Chang's rot in hell along with your dear mummy and daddy!" Minh yelled.
Then it was the last straw. Akira pounced onto Minh and she started clobbering him.
"NEVER SAY THAT AGAIN!!! OR I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU!!!" Akira screamed.
Tai pulled his sister off Minh.
"Hmmm…twenty points to Gryffindor for defending the Chang name, another fifty points from Ravenclaw for insulting our family, testing our word, and forcing us to use a course of irrational action. Anymore of this Mr. Tran and I will see that your are expelled from Hogwarts or any other magic school. Do I make myself clear?" Tai barked.
Minh didn't answer. He stood up and was silent.
"Do I make myself clear, Mr. Tran?" Tai repeated.
"Yes Sir. Very clear." Minh replied, quietly.
"Good, now come on." Tai said fiercely.
He roughly cuffed Minh's left forearm and he led him away and walked right into Professor Flitwick. Sirius, Remus, Liam, and Ron released Harry. He ran over to Cho and helped her up.
"Are you alright?" He asked instantly.
"Just fine…Oh yeah, I'm great…I just got struck down by a guy who used to be my friend in front of the whole school…" Cho replied sarcastically.
Liam had run over to Akira.
"Aki, are you ok?" He asked.
"I'm fine, Mez. But I don't think Tran is…I gave him a black eye, took one of his teeth out, gave him a broken arm, and a possible broken ankle…" Akira replied, grinning.
Cho smiled as did everyone else.
"Then he got what he asked for…" Cho said finally.
"Yeah." Akira agreed.
They walked up to the castle and up to Gryffindor tower. Remus and Sirius followed. They said the password and walked inside. The fellow Gryffindors were cheering and blasting music by the Weird Sisters, and the common room was decorated in scarlet. One person stood out in the crowd. It was a Hufflepuff girl.
"Melly?" Akira asked.
"Hi Akira! This is the only way I've been able to talk to you! Last year we were such close friends! This year, you just forgotten about me, and now you're always hanging out with your sister and Harry, and his friends, and your boyfriend…I only see you in lessons now! We never talk or anything anymore! You never wrote to me like you promised you would last summer, and now I'm not sure if I can be your friend anymore!" Melly replied.
"Melly, listen, last year, my sister died! But she revived obviously, and our parents were shocked and everything. I didn't write because I was still shocked. Plus on Harry's birthday, Cho was kidnapped, our parents were killed, we had to rescue Cho, bring her to a safe place, get our Hogwarts things, and all that. I had no time last summer. And I'm really sorry that I've forgotten about you…But you know, I think it's cool you went to such a measure for us to talk again, that you being a Hufflepuff, you got inside the Gryffindor common room…how'd you do it?" Akira explained.
"Really? All that happened during your summer? I'm so sorry! I've been rude! You also needed time to get over your parents death…I'm sorry…but the way I got in here, is I waited for a large pack of Gryffindors to come by, and I joined the group and blended in with them, so they said the password for me and I got inside…" Melly answered.
"Well, I still want you to be my friend…even if we don't spend much time together…since our OWLs are this year…" Akira said.
Cho, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Alexa, Liam, Remus, and Sirius all backed off so Akira could get in touch with her old friend. The two girls were gossiping in seconds, both sounding like chattering chipmunks. Remus and Sirius decided they should go, and they left five minutes later after saying goodbye. Ron and Hermione were talking quietly, and laughing. Cho was staring out the window.
"What time is it anyway?" She wondered aloud.
Harry checked his watch.
"It's Saturday. At three in the morning." Harry replied, slightly drowsy.
"I'm not really tired…are you?" Cho asked.
"No…just a little bit…" Harry answered.
"You bored?" Ron asked.
"Yeah." Harry and Cho replied.
"Cool. How about us four go on a walk? Around the castle…" Ron suggested.
"Ron, don't be stupid! It's five past three. On Saturday morning. Filch would have a big fit." Hermione said.
"Yeah, but Harry and Cho can apparatate. If we hear him coming, we'll just apparatate somewhere else." Ron protested.
"Oh fine…" Hermione said.
"Get your cloaks!" Ron said.
The four went into their dormitories and got their cloaks.
"So where do you guys want to go?" Cho asked.
"How about that oak tree you both were in?" Ron replied.
"Alright…everyone sit down…" Cho instructed.
Without needing any further instruction, Ron and Hermione took hands and held onto Cho and Harry with their other hand. They disapparatated with a small pop and reappeared with a loud crack in the tree's branches.
"Cool." Ron said.
"So what do you want to do?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know really…" Ron replied.
"So how have you two been?" Harry wondered.
"Oh, we're great…" Ron and Hermione answered.
"You know…this is actually more boring than the common room…" Ron added glumly.
"I don't think so…" Cho said. "I think it's lovely…it's so quiet and peaceful…"
"Well…I for one don't like places too quiet…" Ron said.
The music that they heard the other day was coming from the forest again…but the tune seemed more mysterious…the harp played, but it was different now…the tune now was accompanied by a flute. It was very soothing. Cho felt herself relax and her troubles disappear. She was drifting away into a dream. Something was calling to her. She ever so desperately wanted to who it was…she was snapped back to reality when she heard Harry calling her name.
"Cho?" Harry repeated.
"Huh? Oh what?" Cho replied, part of her mind still in that dream.
The music had stopped. Cho looked around and at Harry, Hermione, and Ron's faces.
"It's just you sort of…went in a daze or something and you were reaching for something in the air, and this little orb of light pops up out of nowhere…" Hermione said.
"I heard it again…" Cho said quietly.
"Heard what?" The three asked.
"The Phoenix Song…something or someone is trying to draw me closer to…" Cho replied, her voice starting to die away.
"Closer to what?"
"I can't tell you…"
"Look, it's nearly five in the morning now…if we don't get back to our dormitories, people are going to wonder…" Hermione said.
"Who cares?" Ron replied.
"Oh Ron, stop being so thick!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I wonder what Aki is up to right now…" Cho wondered aloud.
"I'll bet she's making out with Liam…" Ron snickered.
"Well…I'll find out eventually…she lets lots of things slip every so often…" Cho replied.