A/N: The third bit has been completely redone. A lot of the elements are still there but I added quite a bit of material.
"We really should head out, Harry." She looked deliciously disheveled as she sat up and wrapped the blanket that had been covering them around her torso. Her fingers went up to her face, first to brush the stray hairs that had shifted during their physical rendezvous and later to dab sleepily at her eyes. "The sun is probably down and my team reserved the pitch for practice tomorrow morning."
"But it's so nice in here." He grinned impishly and flopped back into the bed of silky cushions behind them. While he hadn't been entirely convinced about their usefulness when Hermione had first suggested they gather them for practice, he had to admit they had proven to be quite useful for more enjoyable activities. "And Hermione and Ron won't come looking for me for at least another hour."
"I can't say the same for Marietta." She settled beside him despite the comment and placed her cheek on his shoulder. Her breath was warm and tickled as she gave a little sigh of contentment, and the hairs on his arms and legs stood on end for reasons that had nothing to do with the chilly temperature of the room. "And I don't think the team will be thrilled if I get there late. Davies will pitch a fit."
While he didn't much care for what Davies thought of anything, he took a moment to consider who the Marietta girl was. With a grimace he realized that Cho was probably talking about the curly-haired Ravenclaw that kept glaring at him throughout the D.A. sessions. "Your friend doesn't like me much, does she?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that. Besides, Ginny Weasley stares at me, too. " A ghost of a kiss brushed against his collarbone and the hand she'd placed on his navel began to stroke the spot idly. The touch was innocent enough. Still, his unruly body stirred beneath the gentle ministrations. "Harry...are we okay?"
"Erm..." He wasn't sure he liked direction in which the conversation was headed. He glanced down as the silky mass of hair beneath his chin and tried to make out her face, hoping she wasn't about to burst into tears while completely bare beside him. That would certainly ruin his good mood. And they hadn't argued in ages as well...with a mental sigh and an awkward pat on her side, he finally shrugged. "Yeah. Why?"
"I just wanted to be sure." She looked up from beneath his chin and he was relieved to find no trace of tear streaks on her cheeks. Cho shifted beside him and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose, her eyes twinkling beneath the long lashes that framed them. "Harry, I really need to do my homew-"
He cut her off with a kiss.
"I wish murder wasn't frowned upon." Cho rubbed her thumb between her brows and braced her remaining hand on her knee. "Or, y'know, illegal."
A sleepy murmur of agreement swept through the otherwise silent waiting room. The team had been spread across the small seating area for at least two hours and, if the sluggish shuffle of paper in the adjoining room was any indication, they would probably be there for several more. No one in the room had caught a wink of sleep since the previous morning and tempers had begun to flare during their tedious wait inside the Department of Magical Law enforcement. The hard chairs and absurdly cold temperature of the room hadn't helped, either.
She folded her arms over her chest, glad that she'd decided on bringing her leather jacket when she'd left for work the previous day, and cast a critical eye over her team. One of the chasers had moved a chair out of the way so he could collapse in the corner of the room and nap. Her keeper and two beaters struggled to keep their heads from bobbing aimlessly as they fought of the insistent tug of sleep. Her other two chasers, Myra and Quint, had picked up some week-old copies of the Prophet and had kept themselves busy with them for most of their stay there. Their seeker, however, had kept to himself in the chair closest to the Auror's Department and was unusually subdued as he looked at her from across the room.
While the frigid temperature of the room had helped to soothe her temper, she had meant what she'd previously said about murder. She wasn't just angry at the embarrassed man in the other end of the room- anger she could manage in the presence of others- she was absolutely, positively furious. If they hadn't been forcefully confined to the Ministry of Magic while several branches of Law Enforcement sorted out the aftermath of his drunken fight, she might've cheerfully strangled him. She could still do it. All she had to do was wait until the Ministry workers gave them the clear to head out and she could conk him across the head with a broomstick until her ire was placated.
Cho smiled coolly at him as she tapped her foot against the polished marble floor and he rapidly adverted his gaze. Maybe a beating would force those scrambled brains of his back into place and he'd stop being so annoyingly impulsive. It wasn't that his actions hadn't been justified at the time of the brawl. His adversary had pulled his wand out on him and Alex had a right to defend himself. No, she couldn't fault him for keeping himself safe. She could, however, be completely pissed with the fact that the whole incident could've been avoided had Alex had ignored the man's heckling and focused on the game they had been watching. His tart reply had stirred the drunken lout in the corner from his chair and then...then this.
The building had caught fire and the Ministry had been alerted. They had rounded up the team and Alex's adversary outside. The tipsy lot had then been forced to sit side-by-side on the edge of the pavement across the burning building with several grim-looking ministry officials hovering over them. Once the fire had been put out, the team had been escorted back to the Ministry of Magic to face charges. Several lengthy interrogations had followed, and they had been asked to politely sit while they sorted through the evidence afterwards. It was better than a night spent in Azkaban. It was not preferable to the comforts of her bed.
Duels were still considered highly illegal. Even though the team had claimed Alex had done it in self-defense, Cho had caught a glimpse of the word hastily scribbled on one of the worker's notes and grimaced. She hoped the propitiator of the bar had witnessed the incident and would not rule against them, but the sinking feeling on the pit of her stomach wasn't very reassuring. The rotund git that had forced Alex into action looked like he had crawled out of a trash bag in an alleyway. Pressing charges against him would undoubtedly get the owner a pittance in return. As Cho didn't think he wanted to be put of business because of two bickering idiots, she suspected the man would place the blame entirely on the team.
Not only would he net himself some attention from the media if he did this, but the team's manager would be forced to pay a hefty sum for the damages. Chris was already struggling to balance out the destruction left behind by his gambling father in order to keep the team and the reserve players they had hired going strong. This incident might affect more than just how the world viewed the Tornadoes. Chris might have to get rid of some reserve players. Hell, she might be out of a job. Cho slanted a glare at Alex, but he'd bowed his head into his hands and was oblivious to the gesture. She should really have a talk with Chris about their seeker's growing recklessness. Maybe she could even get him agree to some sort of change in the man's contract.
Alex's behavior was becoming troublesome. Cho didn't know why she hadn't done anything about it until now, but she suddenly regretted her decision. It wasn't like her to postpone the inevitable, yet she'd held off his suspension from the team for as long as possible. Maybe it was because she knew that his longtime girlfriend had quit on the relationship and she saw bits of her past self in Alex as he grieved the loss. Not everyone processed heartbreak the same way. Alex had taken to drinking. Cho had developed a temper that had taken her years to overcome. It still slipped from time to time, especially when the team did something incredibly stupid or her kids found new and exciting ways to land themselves in detention while at school.
She tipped her head back on the chair and shifted, trying to keep her butt from going numb. Merlin, these chair seemed to be made from stone. How could something that looked so plush feel harder than steel? Her backbone protested as she tried to place most of her weight on one side, and she shifted back to her previous position after another attempt at accommodating herself yielded poor results. It wasn't fair. She hadn't even planned on going out for drinks. But Myra's birthday was coming up and she'd insisted on dragging her along to the bar for a couple of pre-celebration shots. Cho thought she might have a beer or two and then apparate back at her house, but fate had decided to saddle her with a git for a seeker and a slab of concrete for a chair.
A groan suddenly rang across the room. Myra and Quint glanced up from their newspapers just as Basil sat up in the corner and shot his teammate a baleful glare. "Next time you feel like setting a pub on fire, just shove your wand up your arse sideways and save us the trouble of keeping you alive."
"You need to shut your pasty face up!" Invigorated by the barb, Alex jumped to his feet and puffed his chest out. "It's not like I wanted to spend the night at the Ministry! I have stuff to do as well, you gimp!"
"I might be pasty, but at least I can fly in a straight line." Basil shrugged off the insult and grinned, though there was nothing pleasant about the gesture. "I don't even know why they keep you around. You're just dead weight. Nobody's gonna take us seriously if our seeker can barely get off the ground on account of being three sheets to the wind."
"That's quite enough out of both of you." Honestly, it was disappointing to have to use the same tone on two grown men that she used on her kids. At thirty-one and twenty-eight, they should both be past scolding. "Before I ground you both for what's left of the season and replace you with the reserve players."
Both men immediately went silent but didn't stop sulking as they glared daggers at each other. It was just like watching two unruly toddlers fighting over a toy. They were just as difficult to manage, too. Cho wondered if they knew just how ridiculous they looked sitting there, hands crossed over their chests and petulant pouts on their lips, while everyone else quietly waited for the issue to resolve itself. The members of team usually got along, but they had their moments. Even though her job was to coach and keep them in good shape during and after the Quidditch season, she'd unfortunately been forced to play peacemaker whenever they decided that, no, they didn't particularly like each other one day. It was during moments like these that she was strangely grateful for the experience she'd gained while dealing with the stubborn teenagers waiting for her back home.
"Miss Chang?"
"Hrm?" She straightened in her chair with a wince as the area around her coccyx throbbed and nodded primly at the head peering from beyond the doorframe. "What can I help you with, Sir?"
The boy couldn't have been more than three or four years older than her own son. He blushed as she addressed him and fidgeted with the paper in his hands. "Um, my boss wants to have a word with you in his office."
"Ah." Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all. Her eye gave a nasty twitch as she realized that she wouldn't be leaving the office anytime soon, but she nodded. The young Auror waited in silence as she turned back to Alex and Basil, one finger lifting in a stern manner. "Behave or you'll both be feeling wands up sideways where Basil previously mentioned."
Alex and Basil seethed in silence as she stood up and crossed into the main office.
Harry dreamt of her.
Through slow blinks and temporary lapses in consciousness, her face would come into view. Sometimes she'd be standing in the middle of the Room of Requirement, crystalline tears trickling down her cheeks. She would sit across from him at nightfall, bursts of pink confetti fluttering about her delicate face as Harry nervously talked himself into reaching out for her hand. She would lie quietly by his side while he dozed off at the office, her curtain of shiny dark hair cascading over one shoulder as she worked on that day's assignment. He would see her whenever he covered his aching eyes during lunch breaks, the freckles dusting her nose and cheeks so vivid that he could almost feel the imprint of a kiss against his chapped lips.
Harry slumped into his chair and stared blankly at the picture that hung on the nearby wall. He must've been about nineteen at the time, since Ron was still by his side as he shook hands with Kingsley. Harry only looked marginally older in the picture than the boy awkwardly trying to gain the approval of the Ravenclaw girl who haunted his dreams. He wondered why he couldn't shake the image of her, and why it was that he'd encapsulated her so young and vulnerable in his mind. Cho Chang was a year older than him. He should be picturing a woman grown, not the sweet-faced girl he'd fallen head over heels for at the tender age of thirteen.
It wasn't as if their paths had crossed after the war. The last time he'd seen her she had been sitting on a bench just outside the Great Hall, her face cupped in her hand as she glanced at the faux sky above them. The events that had followed the battle of Hogwarts had been a blur. It was hard to remember if she'd stayed behind to help or if she'd left shortly after the final battle. Harry had been more concerned with the Weasley family, now one twin short, to worry about anyone else. Now that he thought about it, he didn't think she'd shown up for the unveiling of a plaque bearing the names of the students who'd joined the DA, either. He had been too distracted with the hodgepodge of emotions still roiling inside him a year after the battle to even make a note of her absence. Then he'd gotten engaged to Ginny, they had married and later moved in together…
Harry's ears barely registered the insistent tapping of his foot against the floor as he leaned over the desk and stared at the smoothed-out letter on the surface. Even if it later proved to be a hoax, Harry doubted the revelation would do much to ease his growing guilt. Nothing would change the fact that he'd selfishly taken what she'd offered in good faith and then left her. Like she was a thing he'd grown bored of. It wasn't true. God, it wasn't true. He had loved her in his own unique, stunted way. But that was exactly how it had played out, wasn't it? He had gotten what he wanted and he hadn't even bothered to make things right after a stupid argument. He'd just watched her from a distance, still slightly nervous at the sight of her but too tired of bickering to reach out and give the relationship another shot.
She might've been pregnant. While he was busy nursing his wounded ego, she might've been struggling with morning sickness. When he'd seen her chatting with Davies in the pitch before the game, Cho might've been forcing herself to fly despite her nervous suspicions. Bludgers had pelted towards her. The Gryffindor team had done everything in their power to stop her from getting the snitch. And his child could've been growing inside her. The image it conjured was absolutely terrifying. Harry wouldn't have allowed her to play if he had been aware of the pregnancy. But instead of protecting her, he had been completely oblivious to her state.
The need to violently strike at something rushed through him. Harry's fists curled next to the letter and he squeezed tightly. It wasn't fair. He hadn't known. But the fact that he wasn't entirely to blame for the situation did little to stop the images flashing before his eyes even after he'd squeezed them shut. She had become exceedingly fragile after Cedric's death. Harry knew it must've been a nightmare for her to raise their child when death had always been just around the corner for him. He couldn't help but to wonder if she had been struggling in front of his eyes and he had been too daft to realize it. He'd heard her skills as a seeker had gone down significantly, but had other things changed as well? Had her grades suffered because of it? Had she even been able to enjoy her last year while raising a child without his help?
The voice in his head reminded him that he would not have been of much use to her. Harry's last two years had been plagued with attacks and unfortunate situations. He hadn't even been able to finish his seventh year. But…but maybe he could've provided her with something else. Kids were time consuming and expensive. He wasn't drowning in gold, but he could've bought them a couple of gifts. A ring seemed like a good idea, since they had moved from dating to being responsible for creating a life. And Harry was well aware of his lack of finesse, but he did know Cho liked being held. His nights would've been immeasurably better with her curled up by his side, too. He had been so emotionally exhausted, so lonely…and he had allowed an unexpected chance at happiness to walk away from him.
To the man who made me but never wanted me,
If only he knew just how incorrect that assumption was. I would've moved mountains for a chance to hold you in my arms. I would have given anything just to watch you fall asleep in your crib, safe from the horrors that I was forced to endure as a child. I would've given you everything you wanted and more. I would've married your mother, and we would've been happy together. Their happiness would've been short-lived- he still would've been forced to spend a year away from them as he searched and destroyed the horcruxes- but the elopement and birth of his son would've been a pocket of calm within the storm. Because family meant everything to him, and Harry would have never abandoned his wife and child.
I just wanted you to know that my mother has made my life perfect.
How like you, Cho, to overcome everything. The ghost of a self-deprecating smile hovered at the corner of his lips. In a way, they had always been well-matched. She was stubborn and loyal to a fault. It didn't surprise him that she had managed to raise his child without him. She would be too proud to ask for help, too. Regardless of what he thought about the predicament, he couldn't help but to feel a twinge of admiration. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe the Indomitable Harry Potter was destined to be forever haunted by the sins he'd committed in his youth. Cho had always been the caring one, the soft one. And he had thrived by forming a stone wall around himself. Merlin, he was doing an awful job with the children he'd made on purpose. Gods knew how their child would've fared with a father who kept everyone at arm's length. Harry didn't neglect his family on purpose. He worked long hours to provide for them. Because he loved them.
"Shit." He dragged his hands across the greying hair at his temples and began the process of folding the parchment. "Why am I so utterly useless?"
Harry had studied the letter so vigorously during the time it had been in his possession that the ink had begun to fade at the creases. There was something comforting about seeing the neat scrawl scratched inside, even if the contents had been a little hard to swallow at first. The idea that his maybe-son had reached out to him despite the fact that Harry had bungled up his relationship with the boy's mother to the point where she'd neglected to inform him of his impending fatherhood was…nice. Now that he knew about the child he could finally work on making amends. Because he couldn't really blame Cho for what she'd done. Not only was being around him liable to get anyone killed, he'd also been an absolute pillock. Cho had been right to put their child's needs before his. It killed him to admit it, but he hadn't even been close to being a good boyfriend. He probably wouldn't have been much better as a father.
It seemed like the list of reasons why he didn't like himself very much kept growing.
He wished he could summon the guilt that had been keeping him awake for most of the month. It would prevent his heavy eyelids from drooping. The office had been suspiciously slow for about a week and there wasn't really much for him to do, but he couldn't exactly doze off on his desk when he had an office to run. Harry rubbed his eyes sleepily and settled for staring at the picture next to his ink bottle. He wondered who'd taken the thrice-damned picture. The faces were still unrecognizable and, even though he knew the players would never cross the length of the pitch and reveal their identities, he still checked on it whenever he could. He even snuck into the bathroom from time to time while at home to look at it, much to his wife's chagrin. He blamed it on stomach acid, which was a half-truth thanks to his stressful job, but he tried to be careful not to linger for too long in the room. He didn't want Ginny to become suspicious. And what could he possibly say to her when all he had was a shoddy picture and an unsigned letter?
Hey, Ginny, you remember Cho Chang, right? The girl I was obsessed with for three years? My ex-girlfriend? I sort of shagged her and knocked her up. Anyways, what's for dinner tonight? That conversation would not end well. And, as he had grown quite fond of life, he wasn't going to chance being murdered by his irate wife until he was absolutely sure of the child's existence. With a grimace, Harry flipped the picture over and brushed a finger across the names at the bottom. Chang. Neat penmanship, almost identical in appearance. The differences in each signature were slight- the curve of the letter n and the tail on the letter g- but he'd seen them. He didn't know why this was important. Maybe he cared about it because he knew he would never be able to tell their owners apart by looking at them in person.
"Sir?" Despite Pritchard's soft voice, Harry's soul nearly left his body at the intrusion. He hadn't even heard the door open. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need you to sign some documents."
Merlin, would it kill him to knock? Harry cleared his throat and nodded as the young Auror walked towards him. Pritchard placed the folder down, nearly dragging the picture along with it as he slid it towards him. "What's this?"
"Another open and shut case." Pritchard was a bit red around the ears, but Harry attributed it to the change of temperature between the main office and the stuffy closeness of his personal one. "We were called in case back up was needed, but everything has been resolved. Just an accidental fire, Boss."
"Ah." Harry flipped the file open and scanned the page. Everything inside it seemed to match what Pritchard had described, so he placed his signature the bottom of the page beside that of a Mr. Murdoch and closed it. "Is this all?"
"Yes, Sir." Pritchard took the folder back and hesitated for a second. "Cid brought Roman out from his office so he could get an autograph from the team."
"Team?" Why on earth would Roman Sinclair from the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects Office want his team's autograph? "Why?"
"The Tutshill Tornadoes, Sir." Harry's blank stare made Pritchard lean closer to the desk. "The Quidditch team. The Magical Law Enforcement squad brought them in after their seeker got into a fight. Lit the place up like a candle, he did. At first we thought it was duel. It urned out to be a case of self-defense. Should be out in a minute. Dalton already told Miss Chang that Mr. Murdoch will face charges of negligence and magical misuse if he pulls a stunt like this again."
"What did you say?" His heart was suddenly beating a million times per second. He wondered if he'd heard right or if he had become so obsessed that his personal problems were now slowly bleeding into his professional life. "I didn't quite catch that. Did you say Chang?"
"Uh, yes, Sir." Pritchard opened the folder and flipped to the second page. A list of witnesses had been scribbled in the back, along with the names of the offenders and the damaged establishment's proprietor. "Here she is. I almost dropped the file when I first saw her, Sir. She's awfully pretty, that one."
Pritchard mouth was moving again, but Harry had stopped listening long before the man's lips had parted. There it was. This wasn't just some episode brought on by malnourishment and sleep deprivation; her name was actually scribbled on the parchment. It was there. She was there. And he was certain that it was his Cho. He'd seen that extract signature many times before. Harry had often brushed his thumb across it after DA practice. He'd told Hermione he was just memorizing the names on the list, but he was sure his friend had seen right through the lie. Truth was, he'd developed that little quirk because he'd been helplessly smitten. His boyish infatuation had helped him memorize every curve of her name. It was a little embarrassing to remember, but he was actually glad he'd taken the time to memorize the signature.
"Mr. Pritchard, would you mind fetching me a cup of coffee?" The request earned him a puzzled look from his employee, but the boy happily obliged a second later.
As soon as he was certain that Pritchard was out of earshot, Harry lifted the picture beside the folder and placed it above her signature. Merlin's beard, it was almost and exact match to one of the names on the picture. It could've been a coincidence. The rational part of his mind told him he shouldn't be excited over it, but the erratic pounding of his pulse drowned out logic. Finding a sliver evidence was apparently more important to him than he had previously realized. Concrete proof or not, this was enough for him to take action. Harry pushed his chair back and took a second to brush non-existent lint from the front of his pants. He couldn't believe his bloody luck. He'd been struggling to write a letter for a month, had wasted countless minutes in the shower practicing speeches so he would know exactly what to say when they finally met in person, and…had flopped miserably in those make-believe sessions. Now fate had conspired to make their lives collide and his treacherous mind had gone utterly silent.
"God," He exhaled shakily and ran a hand through his hair in an attempt at making the unruly halo look presentable. "Please help me do this."
"Do what, Sir?" Pritchard entered the room looking perplexed, a cup of steaming coffee held in his hand. "Do you need me to fetch something else?"
"Spencer, would you be so kind as to escort Miss Chang to my office?" The man nearly staggered. Harry smiled wryly at the boyish enthusiasm on Pritchard's face and accepted the coffee he was offering. "She was a member of the DA and a faithful ally during the war. I'd like to catch up for a bit before she leaves."
"Yes, Sir." In his haste to leave Spencer almost forgot the case file on the desk. He looked redder than ever as he sheepishly took the file from Harry's hand and dashed out. "Right away, Sir."
It was a little strange to feel so oddly disproportionate as he left the desk and settled in front of it. His arms felt overtly long and thin inside the sleeves of his shirt and his feet were unnaturally heavy as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The entire thing seemed like something out of a dream. He was about to meet up with a woman he hadn't seen in more than a decade and he was about to ask her if she'd given him a son. He normally greeted guests while standing, but maybe a hasty retreat to his desk would be better. The piece of furniture was impressive. She might appreciate it if he looked formidable. Or would that be too intimidating? Maybe a casual stance in front of the desk would be better. He shoved his hand in his pocket, leaned back against the desk and almost slid off it as the fabric of his pants glided against the wood. Okay, maybe not that.
Harry had been about to push back the items at the end of his desk so he could sit at the edge when a hesitant knock rapped against the door. He wished he could remove his heart from his chest. The constant hammering against his ribcage was becoming terribly annoying. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to regain control of a body that seemed intent on betraying him. A balmy hand dragged across the back of his pants in case his posing fiasco had left wrinkles. Not that he actually expected her to stare at his arse. Wait, would she? A second knock stopped him from exploring the thought. He gave his pants one last pat, straightened his spine and called for the person hovering beyond the room to enter. It couldn't have been more than a second or two between the doorknob turning and the door opening, but it had felt like an eternity. Not that it mattered, really. The world stood still as she entered the room.
It should be a sin to look so pretty. Especially when he wasn't feeling particularly confident about his own looks. Harry's insides squirmed as she closed the door behind her and squinted through the darkness. And, Merlin, Cho really looked as good as when he'd first set eyes on her from across the Quidditch pitch. It made him feel strangely grateful for the abysmal light in his office. She tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear and stepped closer, but she still looked a bit disoriented. Her eyes were probably adjusting to the abrupt change of light. He'd previously discussed adding better illumination to the office with Kingsley, but he hadn't followed through with the necessary paperwork afterwards. He was glad he hadn't. As nervous as Harry was, he couldn't help but to keep admiring how well she had aged…which made him feel a bit disillusioned with his appearance.
"Coffee?" Before he'd known it, Harry had jerkily extended the coffee towards her and somehow managed to slop half of the cup over the cuff of his shirt and sleeve in the process. Shit. "Sorry."
Cho had been reaching for it when he'd abruptly pulled it towards his chest, staining the front of his suit. How could silence be so deafening? They both stared at each other, not quite sure of what to do. He'd already bungled up his greeting. Was it too late to thank her for joining him in the office when it was probably an inconvenience and ask her how she was doing? Because he probably should've done that before stepping out of the shadows like a ghoul and offering some caffeine. He had probably spooked her. Damn it. Harry had been trained for a great number of scenarios when he'd first joined the DMLE, but broaching the topic of an unplanned pregnancy with his ex-girlfriend had not been one of them. He would've appreciated it if had been, though. It would make matters considerably less awkward between them. And his clothes would've probably been dry, too. Now that he thought about it, maybe inviting her into his personal office when he'd previously seen her without a stitch of clothing had not been wise. Ginny would explode and implode if she ever found out about the meeting.
But what the bloody hell was he supposed to do about the situation besides asking her? It wasn't as if he could simply send Cho an invitation to meet up somewhere like they were close friends when he'd simply turned his back on her. He'd sort of just pretended she had ceased to exist after their break up. It honestly hadn't been hard to do at fifteen. Yes, it had been a wretched thing for him to do, but he had stopped caring about the constant arguing at that point. Harry had desperately needed a break from the stressful things going around him and the relationship had only served to further complicate his life. At thirty-one, though, he honestly felt like the worst sort of arse for spending all his time staring at his best mate's little sister when the Ravenclaw sitting a few tables away had been quite possibly carrying his child. Or was it children? He swallowed thickly and offered her a strained smile.
"Harry...um…" Cho frowned and made a half-hearted attempt at pointing at his chest. "Harry, your tie is inside the coffee cup."
"Right." He stared at her. Cho returned the blank gesture for half a heartbeat until her words finally sank in. He looked down just in time to realize that his previously red tie was not only a deep shade of burgundy, but also sloping wet. "Oh."
"Um..." She watched but thankfully said nothing as he struggled to pull a handkerchief out of his pocket in order to dab feebly at the end of his tie. At least until the liquid bled through the thin cloth and into his already soiled cuff. "Why don't you use your wand?"
"Err, r-right." Harry wished the earth beneath his feet would open up and swallow him. His face a neon shade of red, he shuffled behind the desk to retrieve his wand and rid himself of the stains. "I, err...I'm sorry about all this."
"It's fine." She said quickly. He might even have believed her…had she not covered half of her face and made a great deal out of looking at the fireplace in the corner. Her bronzed cheeks were tinged with pink. Oh, God, she was embarrassed for him. "Harry, is Alex in trouble?"
"Alex." Harry realized he should've made an effort to read the case file before asking her to join him. He had absolutely no idea who Alex was, but he hoped it was the same man whose last name had been on the bottom of the report he'd signed. "Mr. Murdoch has been cleared of all charges and should be able to leave after he signs a few documents."
"That's really nice to hear." She shifted uneasily on the spot, studied him cautiously for a moment, and cleared her throat when he said nothing. "So...um, I'm just going to head out then, yeah? I have a daughter anxiously waiting for me to get home. I promised her we'd go shopping for school supplies today."
"You're married, then?" The news was hardly surprising. She had always been undeniably attractive and quite lovely to be around. "I'm married, too." A cringe-worthy attempt at clearing the air after his prying question. Where was a sinkhole when he needed one? "With Ginny. To Ginny. Ron's sister."
Cho surprised him by laughing. She looked really pretty when she laughed, and the melodic sound did weird things to his stomach. "Harry, everyone and their grandmother knows you're married."
"This might come as a bit of a shock to you, but I am absolutely wretched at making small talk." She laughed again and he found himself grinning despite the writhing mess beneath his ribcage. "Sorry."
"Oh, I am well aware of that." A twinkle of good humor shone in her eyes as she removed her hand from her jacket and turned it around for him to see. There was a ring on her finger, but the silver band was emblazoned with the double T of the Tornadoes. "I'm divorced. Jonathon and I get along rather well, though. He's sort of my best friend, yeah?"
"Oh." He wished he hadn't asked. It had been a desperate attempt at keeping her there, but now he couldn't help but wonder why she had divorced her husband. Apparently they hadn't gotten along enough to stay married, so he doubted he was the fantastic little buddy she made him out to be. "So…how's the weather?"
Amazing. He was talking about the bloody weather now.
"It's London, Harry." Cho gave a derisive snort. "It was rainy yesterday, and sunny the day before that. It'll probably snow or something soon. I don't actually know. The Ministry's had us in the waiting room for hours since the incident."
"Yeah, they tend to do that here." Harry had experienced that unpleasantness firsthand during his youth. The Ministry wasn't particularly welcoming now that he worked in it, either. Still, his job did pay the bills and he rather enjoyed the idea of making the world a better place for his children. "It's a bit sad to admit, but you've probably spent more time outside in this past week than I have in the past three years."
"They keep you locked in here a lot?" Harry couldn't help but to feel rather pleased with himself when Cho crossed the room and sat on one of the chairs that faced his desk. "I was never thrilled with the idea of sitting behind a desk all day. It puzzled me to learn that you had decided on a career that would restrict your freedom after everything you've gone through."
"It seemed like a good match. It was the one thing I knew I could do." What he really meant by that was that he lacked the proper qualifications to work anywhere else and it was the only job he'd ever considered, but he was too embarrassed to admit to that. "They have me in management now. It's mostly paperwork unless they need me to show my face. Keeping up appearances. You know how it is."
"Hm." She closed her eyes and allowed her head to tip back against the chair for a second, the flickering candlelight of the office casting shadows over her features. "We try to show a united front, but Alex is spiraling. I want to believe he can change, but I have to stop thinking of him as a friend and do what's best for the team."
"I see." She sounded absolutely exhausted. The team had been in the waiting room for hours and the idea of going home was probably more appealing to her than chatting with him at the moment. He really should allow her leave. She'd been in there long enough. "So you coach the team?"
One eye cracked open to lazily look at him. "That is the job title."
"How is it? Coaching, I mean." And also, do you recall if I got you pregnant? Harry's heart skipped a beat as the thought careened across his skull. He had no idea how he would breach the subject of the letter, but at least Quidditch would keep him afloat until he did. "Wood was dropped from Puddlemere United about a year after the war. I don't think anyone else from our term made the cut. Besides Ginny, that is."
"Like babysitting toddlers who can drink." His stomach did an odd flip as she smiled at him again. "I traded my spot in the reserve for the job. Quidditch wasn't as appealing after the war, but it was still difficult for me to give up completely. Now I just make sure the team gets their formations right and stay in tip-top shape. It pays well, so I can't complain much."
The opening he'd been waiting for dropped into his lap like a gift from the heavens.
"Oh." He wished he'd had some time to gather his thoughts before her arrival. All those practice speeches in the shower hadn't prepared him for this moment. The situation was less than ideal, but it wasn't as if he'd get another chance. "I bet your kids love having access to the games. Mine would."
"June doesn't seem to be as interested in it as I was at her age. She enjoys watching the games, though." A chime abruptly rang across the room and bounced around its paneled walls. Cho pulled back her sleeve, tapped on the watch on her wrist and offered him an apologetic smile. "I really must get going, Harry. It was nice talking to you."
"Uh…It was nice talking to you as well." Just ask her already. Ask her if your liaison resulted in an unexpected pregnancy. "Uh…hey, Cho?"
Cho's hand lingered on the doorknob for a second before dropping to her side. And, Merlin, she looked so devastatingly pretty as she glanced back at him that his heart skipped a beat. "Hrm?"
Just ask her!
The candlelight above their heads made the ring on her finger glimmer. It was no longer a wedding band, but it was still a stark reminder that she had moved on. That there had been a life after him. She had a daughter who was undoubtedly worried about Cho not making it home the previous night. Was it wise to bring up the past when they had both rebuilt their lives? Harry wasn't even sure of the letter's legitimacy. A niggling suspicion in the back of his skull did not warrant the hurt that would not doubt resurface if he asked about a child that might not even exist. He really should let her leave.
Harry's fingers slipped into his pocket to brush against the letter. His obsessive perusal would eventually wear the lettering down to nothing. It would be as if he had never received it. As if the stranger who'd penned it had never existed. "Cho, did we have a baby?"
A/N: As always, thank you for taking the time to read. Thanks to Yuuki, SomeKindOfWildGirl for their help as well. I couldn't do this without you guys keeping me in check!