Disclaimer: I wrote this when I was 12 to 13 in 2003. Harry Potter is hereby © to J.K. Rowling. Everything else is © to me, or its respective owners.
Chapter Five: Hogwarts in Peril
They got off the train and looked around them. Teachers were everywhere. Larger boats accommodated the first years across the lake, and two teachers rode in each boat. Tai among them. They walked off to the horseless carriages and got inside, the strong scent of wet hay greeting them. In a rush of hooves, they set off for the castle. As Hogwarts loomed into view, everyone gasped. Hogwarts was no longer as they remembered it. A few of the turrets were smoking, and the castle walls looked like they were falling apart. The carriage stopped moving and everyone got out, staring at the castle. Cho and Harry were walking ahead of the others, and a piece of stone came hurtling down from the wall, towards Cho.
"Cho! Look out!" Akira screamed.
Harry grabbed Cho around the waist and pulled her backwards. The stone missed them by inches. Sirius ran over.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"We're fine." Cho and Harry replied.
The two of walked to the castle as quickly as they could and they opened the oak front doors. The inside was no better than the outside of the castle. The walls were black with ash, and windows had panes of glass missing, doors were burned, and dust littered the floor. The others caught up with them and looked at the destruction. Together they headed into the Great Hall.
They took seats at their house tables and Dumbledore and all the teachers took their seats at the staff table, the first years walked in, and Professor McGonagall brought in the Sorting Hat. The hat didn't sing, it stayed silent, and the first years were quickly sorted. McGonagall took the hat away and returned to her seat at the staff table. Dumbledore stood up.
"I'm sure you've all noticed the damage to the school. It is the work of Voldemort. Last year's transfer student, Cianna Kelsey was taken by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Professor Snape, was the first to try and save her. He fought bravely, but was killed. Potions lessons will be cancelled. This is a very difficult time. I sent a group of students home together last summer. I believe each one of them very capable of helping defeat Voldemort in the front lines. We must stand together, unite our school. I expect that Voldemort will attack again…and Quidditch matches will still be on. In this time, we need something to keep our hopes up. I believe that now, we should get something to eat, so we can mull this information over." He said.
Food appeared on the tables and everyone ate quietly. After dinner, Dumbledore stood up again.
"I must also add that students in years fourth through seventh will be studying various forms of Defense Against the Dark Arts. And we have four head boys and girls…Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, Alyssia Malfoy, Whitney Felton, and Tom Felton. Hufflepuff, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbot, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Megan Reese. Ravenclaw, Mandra Vu, Ryan Ferninski, Minh Tran, and Annie Dinh. Gryffindor, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter, and Cho Chang. Prefects…"
Dumbledore continued on, then finally they were excused and everyone headed to their dormitories.
The new head boys and girls quickly got up and lead the first years to their common rooms. The rest of the room followed the seventh years also because they were very scared about what was happening at the school. Once Harry, Cho, Ron, and Hermione got back to the common room, they waited on Akira and Cho sat them down to talk to them.
"I haven't been completely telling you all the truth. Well, only Harry knows the truth, but, I have to tell you two things…" Cho said.
"What would that be?" Ron asked.
"One, Harry and I, are engaged…" Cho replied.
"Oh congratulations!" Hermione and Akira squealed.
"Two, I'm…" Cho tried to say, but couldn't.
"Let's just say, she got the 'Whitney' path…" Harry finished. "And I'm not saying anything against her, but that's the only way I can bring myself to say it…"
Ron and Hermione's faces were full of shock. Akira wasn't too surprised. Whitney had told her about it yesterday evening.
"So…you're…?" Hermione began.
"With Harry's child? Yes." Cho answered.
"Oh…this isn't good…this can't be good…" Hermione muttered.
Ron hadn't said anything for a while. He was too shocked.
"I think I'll uh…go up to bed now…" He said finally, walking up the spiral staircase.
"We should get to bed too…" Cho whispered.
Harry, Hermione, and Akira didn't object. The four of them went upstairs to their dormitories and went to bed.
Classes started and everyone was rushing around. Plus there was Quidditch practice, and the upcoming NEWTs exams. Lessons were even more difficult and more complicated. Even Hermione was starting to feel the strain. After each week there was a pop quiz, and those who got more than half of the questions wrong lost house points and had to write an essay.
Several weeks passed this way. The first Quidditch match was to be held in February, the day before Valentine's Day. Everyone was excited, except Whitney. On the afternoon it was announced, the others asked her why she was so unhappy about it.
"What's wrong with the match being in February?" Akira asked.
"One, it's Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Two, that'll be my ninth and final month and the baby will be born around that time." Whitney answered.
"Then don't play." Ron said.
"I can't just not play! I love Quidditch! I'd never miss a match if I absolutely couldn't make it!" Whitney exclaimed.
"Well, it's not safe to play. We'll just have someone take your place…" Draco said.
"No. I'm going to play that match even if it kills me!" Whitney said, a trace of anger in her voice.
"Fine…have it your way, then…" Draco muttered.
Whitney smiled in satisfaction and started braiding her blonde hair. Cho wasn't really listening. She just sat in the grass of the school grounds, gazing at the lake, as a light breeze picked up. Her hair was in a messy bun that was secured by a chopstick. Stray hair whipped in the wind, and felt happier than she had ever been in her entire life. She felt bliss. Utter bliss. She continued to watch the lake in silence, watching the sun's light shine on its inky black surface, the way the water rippled from the wind, the way the trees and leaves swayed, the way the grass rippled with waves, the way the bees hummed joyously…the way everything was.
'I wonder what kind of person I will grow up to be…I wonder…what my child will become…' She thought to herself.
"She hasn't moved at all…she's just been sitting there…staring…" Akira said.
"Just let her be…she needs time to herself, you know?" Whitney replied.
Harry put a comforting hand on Cho's shoulder.
"What're you thinking about?" He asked.
She didn't answer right away, but still continued to stare at the things around her.
"My future…what I will be…what this child will be…" She replied, in a faraway voice.
She continued to watch the lake and the trees, and the grass. Then, if someone whispered in her ear, she clearly heard:
"The child of the light is within you…"
'What is the child of the light?' Cho wondered in her head.
"It is but a mythical child, born with many secrets, and many powers. Only it can withstand the wrath of Lord Voldemort…"
Harry put and arm around Cho, and let her lean against him. He could've sworn he heard soft music playing somewhere, and just as it played its last note, he felt a rush of power flow into him. Cho fell asleep, and the chopstick in her hair fell, letting her hair whip softly in the wind.
Harry was in a whole different world. He looked around him, and saw a small girl standing on a gray hill. He approached her.
"Who are you?" He asked.
The girl had raven black hair, and she was no older than three.
"Cho?" He asked.
The girl turned around, she had beautiful hazel eyes, and her face was splotched with tears.
"Please, help me. He came and killed them." She said.
"Killed who?"
"My mummy and daddy! He killed them!" The girl wailed.
"Who killed them?"
"Mummy and Daddy called him Voldemort."
"Who are you?"
"Cho-Lin."
The world disappeared and he blinked and saw the Hogwarts grounds around him.
"What happened?" He said aloud.
"It was really strange…once Cho was leaning on you, a light connected the two of you, and a beam came from Cho and hit you. Then you kept muttering. Cho hasn't moved at all…" Hermione replied.
"Weird…I think somehow, she transferred power into you…" Tai's voice said from behind them.
"Why do you say that?" Akira asked.
"Well it sounds like the Angel's Prophecy is right about completed, and Harry's prophecy, is going to begin soon…" Tai replied.
Akira furrowed her brow in concentration.
"Makes sense…after all, I remember hearing something that when Cho's prophecy ends, Harry's begins." She said finally.
"Exactly. But I don't know why she isn't moving…that's really strange…" Tai muttered.
Tai continued to think, but nothing came to him. Harry gently took Cho into his arms, and kissed her awake. Cho stirred and held Harry close to her.
"Hey Tai, I got her to wake up." Harry said.
"Oh good…I wonder what happened…" Tai replied, starting to mutter again.
"I'm so tired…" Cho said.
"Why's that?" Harry asked.
"I haven't got the slightest idea…" Cho replied.