Chapter 3

Prompt No. 88 – Flying

The class quickly gathered up their things and raced for the door. Cho sighed contentedly as she pushed her notes into her bag and followed her classmates out of the room. History of Magic had to be one of the most loathed subjects at Hogwarts, and it was no surprise. Cho didn't think that she knew anyone who could stand the hours spent in depressed stupor as Professor Bins droned mercilessly on. It was unnatural.

But now they were out, and free, and had all of the Christmas holidays to look forward to, as well as the Yule Ball, which was the only thing that people could talk about these days. Well, aside from the tournament, Cho thought. The First Task had created a wave of excitement through the school and most people were avidly looking forward to the next one, as well as, hopefully, another Hogwarts victory.

Cho was quite happy to continue as normal. Lessons, Hogsmede, and flying. When she'd heard that the Quidditch was to be cancelled that year Cho had been rather disgruntled to say the least. It hadn't stopped her flying though, and Cho knew that the world would have to stop spinning before she gave up flying.

She and her friends had reached their common room, and in front of her, Cho was vaguely aware of Marietta answering the question for them. As the rest of the Ravenclaw fifth-years threw themselves into the armchairs, moaning about History of Magic and noting how it wasted precious time that could be better spent working on other, more important subjects, Cho made her way up to her dormitory and grabbed her cloak.

She heard Marietta follow her up.

"What're you doing, Cho?" Cho glanced over to her friend, tying her cloak at the front.

"I'm going for a fly. I'll see you later."

"But it's freezing!"

"I know." Cho grabbed her broomstick and offered her friend a quick smile as she walked past her out of the dormitory.

The Quidditch pitch was empty when she arrived but a fierce wind picked up the ends of her cloak and pulled her hair to the side. Cho didn't care for the weather. All she cared about was flying. She mounted her broom and kicked off, instantly feeling elated by the feeling in her stomach.

Cho loved to fly more than anything in the world. The rush of feelings that danced through her were unmatchable by anything. The feeling of the wind whipping into her face, the freedom that filled her up was amazing. When Cho flew she could forget everything, be free, and fly.

After several minutes she sensed someone below her. She slowed a little and glanced down. Another warm rush filled her stomach, but this time, it wasn't from the flying.

Stood below, on the edge of the pitch, clutching his own broomstick and staring up at her was the unmistakeable figure of Cedric Diggory.

Cedric Diggory. One of the Hogwarts champions. When his name had come out of the Goblet, Cho had cheered as much as the others. But inside she had felt more pleased. More pleased than the others. Something about Cedric brought back that rush. The feeling that someone was twisting her up inside, that made her heart speed up. Cho knew it wasn't like how the other girls felt when they craned their necks to see him and squealed when he walked past them in the corridor. No, Cho felt different, more resolute, more sure of herself, and more sure of the feeling. It felt strangely right.

With a jolt, Cho realised that her broom was drifting along without her control and she was still staring down numbly at Cedric. She quickly sped up and looked up to the horizon. She briefly wondered what she should do, and whether Cedric wanted her to land for… whatever reason. She carried on flying for a few more minutes, sending tentative glances down and still debating what to do, before Cedric finally mounted his own broom and took off. It took several seconds for Cho to realise he was heading for her. The rush inside of her increased so much it caused her to inadvertedly speed up. Unprepared, she wobbled dangerously for a couple of seconds before she was able to gain control again and slow herself down.

As she straightened herself, Cedric moved in beside her,

"Hey, you OK?" Cho smiled across at him, feeling a blush creep onto her cheeks.

"I-I'm fine," she answered, stuttering slightly, "You?" Cedric twisted his mouth and looked out in front of them.

"I'm fine too. Just thought I'd come for a fly. Clear my head." Cho nodded in reply, muttering a small, 'Yeah,' that she was sure Cedric didn't hear.

They flew slowly in silence for a short while before Cedric continued.

"And," he said, following on from his last words, "I was wondering… I was wondering if you would like to come to the Yule Ball with me. If you want to, you know."

Cho didn't know what to do. She knew Cedric a little through Quidditch, and liked him quite a lot, but here he was asking her out. She slowed her broom down and slowly looked across to Cedric. The rush of feelings were back, stronger than ever.

"Erm - " Now she was going to make a fool of herself. She had one chance to get this right. To make things right. "Yeah. Yeah I'd love to!" She smiled at Cedric and laughed a little. She'd actually done it. She was really quite pleased with herself.

Cedric smiled too, and sped up a little to accommodate to Cho's increased, slated speed.

"Great," he said, "I really am glad. You might not believe it but I was dreading this more than I'm dreading the Second Task."

Cho let out a small laugh again.

"I think I was nervous too." She was suddenly aware of how cold the wind had become, and a light drizzle was blustering into their faces.

"Let's go inside." Cedric said, and Cho nodded her agreement.

Together, the two Seekers slowly landed and made their way back to the castle. As they walked into the Entrance Hall, Cho looked up to Cedric again.

"Cedric, I - thank you." Cedric stared back at her intently and Cho met his gaze. He offered her a small smile before leaning down a softly kissing her on the lips.

It was amazing, and even though her feet were firmly planted on the ground, Cho knew. She felt it. She was flying.

A/N: This chapter and the two previous have been edited since 15/04/08. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this fic so far, it really is appreciated and thanks to my wonderful beta spinkle22 - Elle xx