Title: Cho Chang
Rating: K
Pairing(s): Cho/unnamed, Unrequited Cho/Harry
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Summary: Cho thinks on what might have been.
Word Count: 525
Notes: For the Collect Them All Challenge at HPFC forum. Character: Cho Chang, Prompts: post DH fic, Fair, July, Gobstones, Astonished
Feedback: Yes
Cho stared as her husband got dressed. They had been married for almost five years, and even now she didn't think it would last. She didn't love him when they married and she didn't love him know. She gave in to his pursuit because she had no other prospects. Who she wanted was already spoken for.
She had once dreamed of having children, teaching them to pay Gobstones, but now that dream was fading. She didn't believe she could bring children into a loveless marriage. As a grown witch, she had committed many sins. One of the biggest ones was lying about loving her husband, but she didn't think she could commit the sin of having children in this kind of environment. No child deserved that.
It was almost July 31st, and like always, her mind turned to Harry Potter. She wondered what he was up to. She wondered if he was as blissfully happy with Ginny as the media painted him to be. Part of her wished the media was lying like it sometimes did, but she didn't know if that was the case this time.
When Harry had first asked her out, she had been astonished that the boy-who-lived had liked her. He was so sweet and cute, definitely a catch. Unfortunately, she had already said 'yes' to Cedric and her parents had taught her to always honor her obligations. And she did like Cedric. She liked Cedric for different reasons that she liked Harry. They both had that innate kindness that drew her, though.
After Cedric's death, she realized she had another shot with Harry. It wasn't fair to Harry or herself that they tried to date so soon, though. She was mourning and hadn't been ready to move on. She allowed her jealousy over his close friendship with Hermione to get in the way.
She later realized that although she hadn't been in love with Cedric, she cared about him and knowing he died had traumatized her. She tried to force herself to move on before she had been ready. No matter how much she liked Harry, she needed time for her brain to process everything.
By the time she was ready, he was already dating Ginny Weasley. Then they broke up, but before Cho could ask him out on a date, she had graduated and he was gone for who knows where. By the time Cho saw Harry again—after the final battle—he had already reconciled with Ginny.
Cho and Harry were not meant to be. Cho cared about Harry so much; that was why she didn't try to intervene and come between him and Ginny. She wanted him happy, even if it was with someone else.
Even after all these years though, just seeing him from afar made Cho's heart thump. She wondered if she could ever fall in love with someone else, or did Harry have her heart for eternity. Cho hoped not. She wanted that kind of happiness that Harry had found with Ginny. She knew she wasn't going to find it with her current husband unfortunately. Maybe it was time to tell him the truth.