a/n: i know it's much less angsty/dramatic than the other chapters of this, and more fluffy/light-hearted than anything i've ever written. but i feel like after all that, cho deserves a happy ending :)
There was an azure engagement ring on her finger and a stack of old books in her arms as Cho deposited the precarious pile into one of the boxes to give away.
Sure, they were sentimental, but she had no use for Hogwarts books. Perhaps he might like to see them, she reasoned a moment later.
After all, it wasn't every day that you learned your girlfriend was a witch, and he was bound to be curious. Cho was still waiting for him to snap.
For him to call her a monster, for that look of utter disgust to shine in his eyes, for him to turn and walk away from all of the madness that was her and her magical abilities.
But he hadn't. He'd smiled, brilliant azure eyes sparkling, and took her hand in his own.
The next week, he'd asked her to marry him.
Cho was still wondering if perhaps it was all a dream.
For once, she did not feel so full of regret and remorse. She did not feel that horrible guilt that made her dizzy, nor the coldness that numbed her to her very heart.
Perhaps, Cho mused, reaching into the box and selecting Hogwarts, a History, this was all not a dream.
Perhaps she had finally woken up from a nightmare, and this was how things ought to be.
This was real.
This was true.
Over and over, Cho repeated it to herself, hoping that if she said it enough she'd believe it.
Cho had imagined her wedding day countless times.
Numerous with Cedric, when she had been too foolish and too young to know true loss. After Cedric, after Harry, it had become a taboo topic. One that she forced her mind to stray far away from.
And so it felt odd, almost ethereal, to be experiencing it in reality.
Cho was vaguely aware of her father's arm against her own as she walked, steps slow and careful, down the aisle.
She was vaguely aware of the soft sounds of her mother's tears.
She was vaguely aware of all the family she could not name, but acutely aware of the friends that she could.
Acutely aware of his face at the end of the aisle, those luminous azure eyes crinkled slightly into a smile.
Without even thinking, Cho smiled back.
Cho did not listen to the words of the officiant all that much. She recalled most of them from the countless rehearsals her mother had insisted on, so many that they'd lost meaning. Now all she could focus on was him and the vast future ahead of them.
It was that thought that made Cho smile all the brighter.
A future, one in sight, one that she knew would be worthwhile.
To imagine such a thing was a new sensation indeed.
So when the vows were finished and all was said and done, when he leaned forward and she did the same, arms entwining around one another-
Cho melted into his embrace, closing her eyes as his lips met hers.
This was not a dream, she realized upon feeling the sensation deep within her.
The feelings of love, validation, hope, that she could not ever recall feeling, now so close to her heart.
She held him close and stepped into that bright, bright future with open arms.
