Cho was numb. Numb and cold, a bitter chill sweeping through her that had her hands shaking and her heart frozen to ice as though she'd never be warm again.

Numb to the world around her, to the students sagging against each other with relief and sobbing and hugging while Cho remained a statue, head tipped back, eyes trained on the periwinkle, early-morning sky.

The sun was rising to a new day.

The Battle of Hogwarts was over.

But Cho's own battle raged on in full force.

Her neck ached from having been tilted upward for so long, but she didn't mind the slight strain. Anything was better than the alternative- looking down to see the bodies of the fallen.

They'd salvaged as many as they could from the wreckage, bringing them into the light.

Cho did not know if they had found Lavender.

She did not dare to look.

It was only when she felt the slightest of touches, a feathery-light brush at her arm, did she shake from her stupor.

Parvati Patil, eyes red-rimmed and puffy, face streaked with tears, opened her mouth to say something before choking on a terrible sob, averting her gaze and sucking in a deep breath before trying again.

"They said...they said that they saw you with her. Lavender." Parvati stumbled over her name, taking another shuddering breath. "Before-" she didn't finish.

Cho's eyes widened.

It was like looking into a mirror, into a time capsule from years ago.

It was like looking back into Madam Puddifoot's tea shop that fateful Valentines' Day.

"I saw," was all she was able to say, the words soft, tentative.

Parvati's rheumy eyes met hers. She opened her mouth once more before shutting it again, pressing her lips tightly together.

"I think they...they found her," she said. "Would you like to-" Cho arched a brow, curious. "Come with me to say goodbye?"

No.

Cho didn't.

It would only allow the failure, allow her utterly helpless stupidity to sink in.

Perhaps that was how Harry Potter had felt when Cho had asked about Cedric.

She remembered how it had felt to be brushed off, her pressing questions tossed aside.

She would not let Parvati fall to pieces as she had.

"Alright."


Cho did not know who had found her body.

All she knew now was that the girl who had once been Lavender Brown lay before them, limbs twisted at odd angles, blood caked on her skin.

Her eyes had been closed, blessedly, but that didn't do a thing to make her look even the slightest bit at peace.

Cho thought she might be sick. She tore her eyes away, desperately searching for something else to look at, something that could take away the images now burning at the forefront of her mind.

Lavender, screaming as she was torn away from her.

Lavender, rising like a phoenix from the ashes with newfound determination, only to have it stolen from her just moments later.

Lavender, body contorted, ugly gashes marring her paled, once-pretty skin.

Cho was startled to feel Parvati's hand latch onto her arm, holding on to Cho as though she were a lifeline.

"How did she…" the rest of the question hung unsaid in the air.

"Bravely. She fought well," Cho replied almost immediately. And she had. Lavender had battled not only her enemies, but her own despair, and she had done so valiantly.

She had not deserved this.

Cho swallowed hard, letting her eyes wander once more.

Parvati's profuse thank-yous rang in her ears, as the numbness settled over her once more.

She sank to her knees without realizing it, gazing up at the periwinkle sky, watching the first rays of sunlight reach up to touch the clouds.

The start of a new day, one without Lavender Brown.

Despite the brightness of the sky, the world seemed a desolate place.

Cho dared to look towards Parvati again, and the other girl's eyes met hers for the briefest of moments. But that look was all it took for the numbness to dissipate.

For Cho to feel something.

Perhaps she had not been able to save Lavender.

But she had saved Parvati from having questions that plagued her in the dead of the night.

From speculating far too much over the what-ifs and possibilities.

From causing a scene in Madam Puddifoot's tea shop, from sobbing a thousand times over the things she did not know.

Cho forced herself to take her own long, shuddering breath.

She rose to her feet once more and greeted this desolate new day head-on.