To all those who have supported me with your reviews, I am grateful. Sorry this took so long, I was in a bad place, still kind of am. An Emo forever, but I will now try and finish this story for you. I haven't written in a while, so I hope you will forgive the quality.

With sincere gratitude for you're kindness.

Cheers,

Highice007

Chapter 65: Believe in me

The boy looked around at his environment. The small café was quiet for the time of day it was, and most of the few people who did come in, passed the eating area altogether, hoping to get to the warm comfort of their rooms, and out of the sudden torrential downpour that had come on so sudden. The boy glanced out the window form his booth seat, and observed the strands of flowing water smacking against the pane. Outside was almost constantly shrouded in darkness, save for the illumination of several flashes of lightening that lit up night as day. Thunder cracked so loud outside that several car alarms were set off, and made the boy jump. For though he had faced worse than a short lightning bolt, his nerves were on edge from all the stress he had been through lately. He again scanned the room for something to do in his wait. The café was a modest, unassuming place. The walls were red with chipped paint, and adorned with old style adverts of alcoholic beverages, with men in tall hats, and women in bonnets holding parasols. The deco was very turn of the century nineteen hundreds style. One sign close to him advertised root beer, five gallons for five cents. Several tables and booths around him were set with paper mats, server ware, and small glass vases of fake flowers, but most were empty. Only three people had entered the café since Harry had arrived back from the florist with his single, long stem rose. He had jumped up in anticipation whenever he had seen the outer doors open, but been disappointed to see that no one was the person that he was hopping to walk through the door… the door he kept a constant watch on. Suddenly the door opened again, and Harry stood up eager to find the identity of the new arrival, but to his disappointment it was an elderly couple dressed in trench coats lightly doted with rain drops.

They shook the water off their respective umbrellas, and put them in the large basket in the vestibule, before moving on to be greeted by the hostess. Harry started to sit down in further disappointment, but was paused by a third figure who entered the vestibule next. Cloaked in a black hoodie that obscured their face, their hands pushed deep into the front pockets of the clothing article. Skin tight blue jeans and black converse completed the ensemble. The figure entered the room and began to look around the room as if searching for something, or someone. Feminine hands moved out of the front pocket and rose to remove the hood. Cho Chang's cheeks, rosy red from the cold, glowed brighter than all the lights in the café put together. Her beauty was breathtaking and Harry barely suppressed a tear from seeing something of such beauty.

"Over hear Cho!" he said in a soft voice, she turned to see him, and ran into his arms giving him a hug that seemed disproportionately strong for her small body, and thought it was hard for him to breath in that moment he relished the experience of being with Cho.

When she finally pulled away to look at him, tears were in her eyes. The two of them ran their hands through each others hair for a moment, and then kissed each other passionately. Harry could taste the salt from the streams that ran down Cho's eyes. They pressed their lips together for a long magical moment, and Harry finally put his head on Cho's shoulder, his breathing heavy. She still smelled of sweet vanilla. He closed his eyes for a moment getting lost in the warmth of the moment.

"Why are you crying Cho?" Harry asked with concern, afraid that her mum might have taken a turn for the worst. Cho put her mouth to his ear, and spoke, her voice choking a little.

"I'm… just so happy… to see you Harry." She said softly. Harry tightened his hug. H needed to hear that. His arms rubbed against her sides to warm her up, as she shook slightly from having been in the cold moments before. Could this moment be real? He pondered intoxicated in the ecstasy of it all.

Harry gestured to the booth beside them with his hand.

"Please sit down Cho." He asked politely. They both sat in unison, and Harry handed her the single rose from the table. Cho's eyes lit up, and a fresh tear fell down one of them. She took the rose and inhaled its aroma, enjoying the beautiful fragrance. She looked at Harry again.

"Oh, Harry… it's beautiful. Thank you so much." Harry smiled back at her.

"So, this London weather… when I got here it was sunny out, and now it looks like the storm of the century. Pretty cold out?" Harry asked glancing out the window at the next flash of lightning. Cho smiled.

"Oh yes, see!" she said putting the back of her hand against Harry's cheek. He flinched at the icy touch, and Cho giggled. She had a genuine smile; the first time Harry had seen one on her in far too long. Harry then took her cold hand, and cupped his around it, to warm it, and to feel the softness of Cho's skin against his own again. Her smile grew ever wider, the widest he had seen it. Oh, moments like this were to live for. Harry gazed into Cho's eyes for a long moment without saying a word, enchanted by her features. She was becoming embarrassed, and her tan skin was becoming red and flush. She let out a soft giggle, not understanding what exactly he was seeing.

"What?" she asked in a soft angelic voice. Harry brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.

"I'm just admiring you're beauty. You don't know how much I've missed you." Cho put her other hand around Harry's, and tilted her head slightly.

"Awww, I've missed you too Harry. Terribly." She said honestly. The two spent another few moments gazing into each other's eyes, before Harry finally spoke.

"How have you been Cho?" he asked with sincere interest. Cho shrugged.

"Oh, you know… surviving." She said softly, her eyes lowering slightly.

"And how is your mum Cho? Is she getting better?" Harry asked softly. Cho was quiet for a second, no tears fell from her eyes, but that same sad look was coming back into them.

"She hasn't gotten any better Harry… the doctors are doing all they can. But two… surgeries really take a lot out of a person. She's unconscious often." She finished, now not looking at him directly, and looking disappointed for some reason.

"I see… I'm sorry. But, she hasn't gotten worse has she? I mean… the doctors have stabilized her right?" Harry asked trying to find some hope for Cho's mum in the situation. Cho nodded her head.

"Yes, she's stable. I see her every day before and after work, except Saturdays." She said. Harry nodded his head.

"I've been meaning to ask Cho… what is it exactly that you do at hospital?" Harry asked genuinely curious. Cho gave a slight smile.

"Well, like you saw today Harry… janitor, on morning shift. I mean I would have liked to have continued being a volunteer, but I need to make money to contribute to my family that I'm living with." Cho explained. Harry looked puzzled.

"You mean, the charge you rent to stay with them?" Harry asked.

"No, but I help with the groceries, and electric bills and things like that." Cho finished. Harry nodded his understanding, but had another question.

"Well that's ok, but why janitor. When I came looking for you I had asked them to look under Head Nurse, or at least nurse. I mean you must be qualified for a more prestigious job." Harry queried. Cho shook her head. I didn't finish school Harry. I couldn't get the full completion papers from Hogwarts, so… my employment options are rather limited." Cho admitted. Harry nodded.

For now I suppose, but when you come back after a time then you can remedy that." He added. Cho lowered her head, and it was a moment before she spoke.

"I'm never going back Harry. I… was a failure in Hogwarts. I just couldn't make it there. I'm not smart enough to make it in Hogwarts, let alone Ravenclaw. Anyway, I'm looking after mum now. That's where I belong." Cho finished. Harry nodded.

"Of coarse, for now you need to take care of you're mum, but you're mum will get better eventually, and then you can come back. I need you to come back eventually Cho." Harry said intently. Cho brushed her hand through Harry's messy hair.

"I think it's going to be a while before I would even have the opportunity to go there again Harry, and besides… you can't just come and go to Hogwarts as you please. A professor has to grant you a waver, to write a special letter allowing you back in. My marks in the past two years were too bad for that. But all of it is irrelevant to the fact that I'm going to be in England for the foreseeable future, and that's that." Cho said with finality. Harry's face had a sad look on it, and he gave a heavy sigh. Harry's expression then turned serious, and he looked into Cho's eyes with a pleading expression.

"Cho... I have a confession to make. I've been confined to a room in Hogwarts by the Ministry of Magic. I've been accused of… a lot of things that I didn't do." He finished. Cho's face turned to one of being bitterly upset.

"Has the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet started telling lies about you again!" Harry shook his head.

"No. They are only going by what they see, and the evidence is pretty damming, as far as what people can see. You remember that people accused me of attacking Cindy Miggins, and threatening people?" Harry asked. Cho nodded without a word. "Yea, well… I didn't do any of it. Someone impersonated me using this." Harry continued producing the Polly-juice potion mixture that would allow him to become Ron Weasley again. Cho looked at the vile, and then back to Harry.

"Who is impersonating you Harry? And do they know that you have their potion?" Cho asked. Harry shook his head.

"No, this is mine. I had to escape Hogwarts disguised as a friend to come and see you. I had to tell you again all that was on my mind, and I had to convince you that what you're going to hear from the Government and papers is all made up about me. I had to give you my side of the story Cho. Because I want to clear my name eventually, but right now there are a very few people I need to believe in me, to trust me." Harry continued. He looked more intently into Cho's eyes, and lifted her chin with his palm to face him more directly. "Cho, you're one of those few people. I need you to trust me, no matter what you see, now matter what you hear, I need you to believe me despite all evidence against me." Harry pleaded, but did so in a monotone voice.

"Harry I've never doubted you. I've always stood by you, and I always will. Nothing could ever change that. Harry grabbed Cho's hands with his own. Her hands were warm now, and he brought them up to his lips to kiss them. They were soft, and gentle, and he wished that he could stay here with her for longer than his time allowed, and to a point he wished that he she would never know what he was about to tell her. He wished that he didn't have to tell her this awful thing. But it could wait no longer.

"Cho… have you heard any news from Hogwarts since you left?" he asked. Cho shook her head.

"No Harry. I expected friends to send me an Owl by now, but… I haven't heard anything from them. I suspect it's because of the censorship thing." Cho said. Harry nodded.

"Yes, I… Cho… they found Padma Patel after you left." Harry said in a nervous tone. Cho's face shown excitement.

"They did! That's great!" Cho shouted with excitement in her voice.

"Come again?" Harry asked surprised at Cho's joy.

"Where did she go off too, is she alright? Does she remember where she was all this time, or did she just run out on school?" Cho shot of quickly. Harry shook his head.

"No Cho, they… found her dead body." Harry said flatly. Cho let out a squeak as her hands covered the bottom of her face. And tears instantly shot out of her eyes instantly. Harry lowered his head. "I know, I'm sorry Cho." He said feeling grim. She started crying, and he wanted to go to the other side of the booth to hold her, but he needed to be across from her. He needed to look into her eyes, and have her look into his. Cho looked up at him barely able to breath.

"Hhh… how Harry?" Cho finally got out.

"A bogart. Someone took her down to a storage room took her wand and tied her to a chair. Then they lifted it right in front of a bogart and opened the cabinet where it was hiding. If she had had her wand, or could have just run she would have survived, but she… was tied up as I said." Harry said. Cho folded her arms on the table and then lay her head on them, a look of overwhelming grief on her face.

"What… what killed her? I mean… how… how did she die?" Cho asked. Harry wasn't sure she looked like she really wanted the answer, but he had to be brutally honest with her. "Well she was…" Harry began but was cut off by the waitress who arrived at their table.

"Can I get you both something?" she asked politely. She then glanced at Cho who had tears streaming down her eyes. "Is everything ok?" she continued. Harry nodded.

"Yes, a friend of ours has passed away." He said quietly. The waitress gasped.

"Oh, my… I'm terribly sorry." She apologized. Harry nodded.

"It's OK, uhhh some more tea and two glasses of water please." Harry requested. The waitress nodded, and left to the kitchen.

"How Harry?" Cho again requested when they were alone again. Harry gave a great sigh.

"A bogart becomes your worst nightmare… when it attacks you. Padma's worst nightmare… was a hornet, a swarm of them. They came flying out… and stung her to death. It was… "Harry trailed off shaking from the visual sight, and Cho muffled her cries in her hoodie hands. Her eye liner now ran down her cheeks as well. The remembrance of the event even brought a tear to Harry's eyes. He was sniffing, trying to keep from breaking down to tears, and yet pressing himself to go on. "And… they stung her to death Cho." He finished his voice breaking a little at the end. Cho wiped her eyes with the long sleeves of her hoodie. Cho fought to get out words, as her mouth moved; she could only speak in a whisper.

"Why Harry… why would someone want to do that to Padma? She's so nice, she didn't… have any enemies. She was so sweet to everyone." Cho cried out softly. Harry looked down, with a twinge of guilt.

"Cho… they did it to… to frame me for the murder. To make it look like I did it." Harry said. A look of confusion came over Cho's face, as Harry explained everything that had happened from his perspective of the events. About the body being found, the recreation of the events, Harry seeing himself killing Padma, Dumbledore's mistake in trying to zap Allen Miller with a memory charms the Ministry officials, that he was confined to Hogwarts while he awaited an escort to a cell in the Ministry, and finally how he and Ron Weasley had used Polly-juice potion so he could escape to see Cho. Cho looked in shock. For a long time she said nothing, her breathing was labored, and though she made not a sound an unending river of water poured down her cheeks. Finally she composed herself enough to talk. She looked at Harry with a determined face.

"What… what do you want me to do Harry. How do you want me to help you?" she asked sincerely. Harry cupped his arms around her face, and gave her a look between dead serious and pleading.

"I need you to believe in me Cho. I need you to believe I'm innocent. I didn't kill Padma, but I don't have any proof. I need you to believe I'm innocent no matter what you see or hear. I need to know that no matter what happens to me, that you're out there, and you haven't lost faith in me. Can you do that Cho?" Harry finished, and waited for her to respond. Cho paused a moment, and then nodded. She took a deep breath.
"OK Harry. What do you want me to do to help you? Do I need to get in touch with anyone, or get you anything? How can I help?" Cho asked intently. Harry smiled.

"Just please do what I asked believe in me, that's enough. I know you need to take care of your mum. I'll find a way out of this. I just need to know you trust me." He finished. Cho nodded, and they both rose from the booth and embraced each other. She put her head on his shoulder, and the two stayed in a hugging embrace for what seemed like a near blissful eternity. Cho listening to the rhythm of Harry's heartbeat and Harry inhaling the intoxicating sent of vanilla that he always associated with Cho. They looked at each other and kissed, Harry tasting the salt from what must have been the several liters of Cho's tears that had been shed. When they pulled away Harry smiled at Cho.

"This could be the last time we see each other for a long while Cho." He said quietly. She frowned.

"I… hope not. I miss you… everyday." She admitted. Harry ran his finger through her hair, and smiled.

"And I you." Harry said honestly. He pulled out his pocket watch from his trousers, read it, and put it back. He then looked at Cho again. "I have to go soon. Ron's Polly-juice potion would have run out last night, and if anyone comes in the room… unexpectedly, they will be wondering where I am." Harry said. Cho nodded.

"Harry, who's doing this to you? Is it… is it… you know who?" Cho asked. Harry nodded his head.

"I can't imagine it's anyone else, but he has help from inside the school. Draco Malfoy, and I'm convinced your friend Marietta too." Cho scoffed. "Hump! She's not my friend!" she said appalled at the idea. Harry giggled.

"I know, it was a figure of speech. Look, before I go I wanted to ask two things." Harry continued. Cho nodded. "Well actually three." Harry grabbed a paper napkin from the table that they had been setting at and handed it to Cho. "Have you got a quill and ink bottle?" He asked. Cho smiled and pulled a ballpoint pen out of the pocket of her blue jeans. "Can I have your number and address here in London so it will be easier to find you?" Cho nodded, and placed the napkin against the table for a solid surface. She quickly penned her name, address, home number, and new mobile phone number that she had just purchased. Harry looked quizzically at her.

"I thought those mobile phones were expensive?" he asked. Cho handed the napkin to him.

"Their getting cheaper. It's one of my few luxuries that I allow myself." Cho said softly. "What was the other thing that you needed?" She asked. Harry placed the note in his pocket, and looked at Cho with the most serious expression. I… I want to meet you mum before I go Cho." Two tears streamed down her eyes, and she gave him a tight hug. Harry returned the embrace, and wished that the two of them had more time together, but knew that fate had other plans. We will be together on day Cho. I swear it. I will hold you in my arms again.