Where we learn more about the friendship between Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe. And where Cho learns something as well.

CHO IV

Cho cast the incantation again. A few feathers fell from her guinea-fowl, and its beak seemed to shrink a little. She tried to focus more effectively, and to pronounce the incantation more distinctively. Nothing happened. Her mind was somewhere else.

She looked to Marietta. Her best friend's attempt to turn her own guinea-fowl into a guinea-pig all failed so far. They had been writing complicated instructions for about an hour before Professor McGonagall instructed them to try the spell. Despite the students in the class being from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, they all struggled to achieve any progress, even after twenty minutes. But Marietta was the one with the hardest time.

"Miss Edgecombe," their Transfiguration teacher said after a moment. "Apply yourself and focus. I know you can do better."

"Yes, professor," Cho's friend said on a weak voice.

Cho usually respected Professor McGonagall. She was a hard but fair teacher. However, right now, she wanted to lash out at her for criticizing Marietta. But Cho refrained herself. After all, McGonagall didn't know about Marietta's situation, and it wasn't the time for Cho to talk about it in front of dozens of students. So she bit her tongue.

"Miss Chang, back to work," the professor told her, as she never missed anything. Cho was forced to make another attempt which failed miserably.

Cho still managed to get rid of most of the feathers on her guinea-fowl, and even to make the four legs appear. Marietta, however, had barely managed to get a few feathers out of her own. Professor McGonagall gave her additional homework as a result, but Cho's friend stormed out of the classroom before she could finish to speak.

"I remove twenty points from Ravenclaw," McGonagall announced. Then she looked at Cho. "Miss Chang, please remind Miss Edgecombe about her additional exercises. If she doesn't complete them, I'll have to remove additional points to your house and to give her a detention."

Cho was boiling inside, but she replied as calmly as she could. "Yes, professor."

The other students quickly left the classroom, but Cho remained behind. She had to send away some of her friends who were waiting for her until finally she was alone with Professor McGonagall. Then she carefully approached the teacher.

"Professor, may I talk to you?" Cho asked, quiet, careful to not have any edge in her voice.

"Of course, Miss Chang," the professor replied as she kept filling her own bag.

"It's about Marietta. Please, don't be too harsh on her. She's having a hard time today."

"I know there are days when we don't feel as good as others, Miss Chang, but this is no reason to behave in the way that Miss Edgecombe did."

"Her parents are getting divorced."

The words left Cho's mouth like a Bludger, and Professor McGonagall stopped everything she was doing to look straight at her.

"She learned about it during lunch, right before the lesson," Cho resumed. "She received a letter from her mother."

McGonagall looked at Cho as if she was examining her. After a moment, the professor finally spoke. "I see." She grabbed her bag. "In this case, I can only advise you to stay close to your friend, Miss Chang, and to support her the best you can."

She said nothing more. She resumed packing her bag.

"Anything else, Miss Chang?"

"Could you… Could you just forgive her and not give her additional work? She's really not in a state…"

"I'm afraid your request is useless, Miss Chang. I already forgave Miss Edgecombe. I understand that she is going through a very hard challenge. But I cannot allow her to neglect her studies. Your O.W.L.s are next year and will determine your future. The additional work I gave her was not meant as a punishment. It is to ensure that she can progress with the rest of the classroom. And believe me, when something tragic like that happens, it is better to remain busy, and to keep our mind occupied with something."

There was obviously nothing else to say. The professor escorted her to the exit, and Cho went to the Great Hall, where Friday's dinner was waiting for her.

When she arrived, she avoided her usual group of friends and sat down with Marietta, who was alone in her corner. The others didn't know yet. When Marietta received the letter at lunch, she ran away from the table after one of the girls asked her what the letter was about, wondering aloud in the same vein if Marietta's father would soon come back home. This brought Marietta to tears. Cho had run after her, and Marietta tearfully told her everything in a corridor.

Cho tried to comfort her friend the best she could, but in fact there was little she could do aside from being present for her. The two girls went to take a walk outside, Cho believing some fresh air would do Marietta some good despite the cold air. They talked about a lot of stuff, but remained as far away from possible from the topic that tortured Marietta in this moment. They only came back late in the evening. After answering the riddle, Cho walked into the common room, Marietta not far behind. They were making their way to their dormitory when someone yelled at her.

"Hey, Cho."

She looked towards the origin of the voice and saw an Indian looking girl heading her way.

"Hi, Padma," Cho replied.

"There's something I need to tell you."

"Eh…" Cho watched as Marietta was already climbing the stairs to their dormitory. "Excuse me, but… I have something else to do."

"It will only take a few seconds, Cho. I think you really want to hear it."

Cho heard Marietta close the door of the dormitory behind her. "I'm really sorry, Padma. But… I really have something important to do."

"I swear it's only going to take you a few seconds, Cho," Padma said very calmly.

Cho looked at the door again, then to Padma. She wasn't a very close friend to that girl. Their relationship was better described as having friends in common. They were not in the same year. Still, Cho had a habit of not shutting people off when they wanted to talk with her. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why she was so popular. She decided that she could leave Marietta alone for a few seconds.

"Okay. What is it?"

"Well, you see, I have a sister, Parvati. She's my twin, and she's in Gryffindor." Cho nodded. She was already aware of that. She knew most of the people in Hogwarts. "I spoke with her after dinner today. And… You know Harry Potter, I suppose."

"Of course," Cho said, almost wanting to laugh. "Who doesn't know who Harry Potter is?"

Cho had seen him a few times. Of course, she saw him whenever he played a game of Quidditch, but she also saw him close. But she only talked to him once, two months ago, aboard the Hogwarts Express, on her way home for Christmas. She just chanced upon him when she left the washroom while he was waiting to use it. They didn't speak for very long. After all, he was waiting to use the toilets and Cho wanted to go back and see her friends. Though she realized later that this happened only a few minutes before Harry was attacked by Peter Pettigrew on the train.

Both her parents had been very worried when she told them that she was with Harry a few minutes before this criminal showed up. Cho was even questioned by the Aurors on the site, and her father brought her home through Apparition rather than to let her stay on the train for the rest of the journey to London. At least, she was allowed to embark on it to return to school, which allowed her to spend time with her friends rather than to use the Floo Network.

"Well, Parvati told me that apparently, Harry has a new broomstick."

Well, that was a good thing. Cho was made aware that Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand was broken by the Whomping Willow at the end of this famous game where the Dementors showed up. Cho could still see him falling several dozen feet. She hoped that such a thing would never happen to her. She was glad that Harry found a new broomstick. At the same time, she was finally interested in what Padma had to tell her.

"Good for him. What broomstick is it?" Cho asked.

Maybe it would be a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, like those the Slytherin team used. Cho rode a Comet Two Sixty, and although she was extremely attached to the series and to her own broom, she couldn't deny that a Nimbus, especially the most recent models, were of better quality. Since Harry's mother could buy him a Nimbus Two Thousand in his first year, she supposed she wouldn't hesitate to buy him an even better broom this time. However, nothing prepared Cho to what Padma told her.

"A Firebolt."

Cho was speechless. The information seemed to take some time to reach her brain.

"Are you kidding me?" Cho asked the Indian girl.

"No, it's true. Parvati told me. One of the boys who sleeps in the same dormitory as Harry Potter told her."

"A Firebolt. Wow!" She didn't know what to say. "I never thought… that someone would get one. I mean, they cost so much…"

"I know. Well, I thought you would like to know. After all, you'll be facing Harry soon."

"You're right."

Cho was first excited, but now that Padma said it, she realized that indeed, she would face a Firebolt in March when they would play against Gryffindor.

"By the way, the Gryffindor team holds a practice tomorrow morning. My sister and I will go to watch it. You would like to come?"

"Oh, yes. Of course," Cho answered.

"Good. Then we see each other tomorrow. You had something urgent to do?"

Cho realized that indeed, for a moment, in the excitement and tension that followed the discovery that the next Seeker she would face was equipped with a Firebolt, she had forgotten about Marietta.

She wished a good night to Padma and headed towards the dormitory. However, when she walked in, Marietta's hangings were pulled, and sadly, the sounds that came from it were anything but snores. Cho thought approaching Marietta to comfort her, but thought better and went to bed as well. She felt silly for thinking about a broomstick a few minutes ago instead of her best friend. She fell asleep on Marietta's sobs.

Cho woke up early on Saturday. She found Marietta's bed empty. Worried, she ran down the stairs and was relieved to find her in one of the many armchairs of the common room.

"Couldn't sleep," her best friend shortly said to explain her presence here.

"Oh. So you've spent the whole night here?"

"Since two o'clock." For a moment, none of them said anything, but Marietta resumed talking. "I wrote letters to my parents, but…"

Cho then noticed all the pieces of parchment scattered on a nearby table and on the floor, with Marietta's feather next to them. She noticed the tears falling silently from her best friend's eyes, and came to hug her in her arms. They stayed like this for a very long time, but Cho managed to make Marietta break away when other students started pouring out of the dormitories. She accompanied her friend back to their rooms, where they changed for the day, then made their way to the Great Hall to take their breakfast. There, Marietta refused to eat anything.

"I'm not hungry," she said.

"But you have to eat something. Look, there are toasts with peanut butter here. They're your favourite," Cho tried to encourage her, to no avail. Marietta only chewed reluctantly on some piece of bacon she didn't even finish.

Cho ate on her side, hoping this would bring Marietta to eat even a little, but this attempt met very little success. She was done with her own breakfast and was trying again to have Marietta eat something when Padma arrived where they sat.

"Hey, Cho. Are you still coming?"

She almost forgot with Marietta. "Hmm… Give me a minute."

"Okay. I'll wait for you near the pitch."

The third-year student left on that. Cho looked at Marietta. She was very concerned for her friend, and the advice McGonagall gave to her yesterday remained in her mind, to be there for Marietta and watch over her. At the same time, her curiosity about Harry's new Firebolt was rekindled by Padma's appearance. She then remembered that McGonagall told her to keep Marietta busy.

"Marietta, I'm going to watch the Gryffindor team's practice. Would you like to come?" Cho asked her, trying to be cheerful so that Marietta may be excited. "One of their players has a Firebolt."

At the mention of it, Marietta raised the head. She wasn't as big a Quidditch fan as Cho was, but the Firebolt remained a source of excitement for everyone, even for those who barely liked Quidditch. "A Firebolt?" Her reaction seemed quite toned down, but it was there, at least. "Okay."

She lacked feelings and emotions in her voice, but it was still something. She and Cho went back to the Ravenclaw Tower, put on their exterior clothing and headed towards the Quidditch pitch. Cho noticed quickly that they were not the only ones to be heading towards the pitch. She even noticed people from Hufflepuff walking in that direction. They were probably not the only ones to know about the Firebolt, she guessed, because she didn't see another reason why so many people from various houses would like to assist to a Quidditch practice.

She found Padma at the entrance of the stairs leading to the benches around the pitch. There was another girl who had to be her twin, who wore a Gryffindor badge on her robes, and a second girl who Cho didn't recognize, who had curly brown hair with shades of blond, and was smaller than the two twins.

"Hi, Cho. You're there," Padma said, implying that she finally arrived. "I think you've never met my sister, Parvati?"

"No," Cho replied, before turning to Padma's sister. "Hi, Parvati."

"Hi," the Gryffindor said, though her smile seemed a little forced. "This is my best friend, Lavender," she said, showing the girl next to her. Cho greeted her as well, and introduced Marietta, who barely acknowledged their presence. Lavender's greeting in return was stiffer.

"So, let's go. I don't think they have started yet. We would see them flying. But I guess we don't want to miss that Firebolt."

All agreed with Cho. They made for the benches and arrived into a section where almost no one took place yet. There were only two girls who Cho recognized as being two Chasers from the Hufflepuff team. One of them stood up when they noticed Cho walking in.

"Hey, hi Cho. You recognize me?"

"Heidi, that's it?" Cho tried, hoping not to make a mistake. The smile on the girl's face proved she was right.

"Came to watch the new Firebolt?" Cho nodded.

"I won't lie, I'm glad it's not our Seeker who got to face it. At least, Malfoy will have to face it too."

Cho nodded. She went to sit with Marietta in the first row. Padma followed them, and her sister and her friend took place not far from them. Cho saw that no player had gotten onto the pitch yet. The Gryffindors were probably still in the changing rooms.

"I wonder how it looks like. The Firebolt, I mean," Padma said.

"You never saw one?" Cho asked.

"No."

Cho was surprised. A model was exhibited in Diagon Alley during all summer. She remembered walking next to it, and her father allowing her to enter the shop and look at it closely. Sadly, they didn't have the money to buy it. Cho didn't think she would have the chance to see one in action before the Quidditch World Cup next summer. But now that she was here, waiting, anticipation built up in her stomach. No matter that she was going to face that broomstick, she wanted to see it perform.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" a voice from behind came loud, almost thundering.

Cho turned to see a group of Gryffindors, four boys and one girl. The one who spoke had to be the redheaded boy with freckles all over his face.

"We're watching the practice," Padma replied for all of them.

"Yeah, you've come to spy on us, I guess," the same boy retorted.

"Ron, leave it," the girl said. She had thick and tangled brown hair, and a voice that sounded like she was used to bossing people around. "Let's go and sit somewhere."

The boys followed her, though the red-haired one still shot a few last sentences before they walked away.

"This time, you won't have it easy. You'll have a real Seeker with a real broomstick facing you."

Cho was stunned by the harshness of this boy. She knew that some people might be upset that, as the Seeker of Ravenclaw, she would come to assist to a practice of the Gryffindor team, but to this point?

"Don't bother with him," the girl named Lavender told her. "It's only Ron. His two brothers play on the team. They're the Beaters. He never digested that you defeated us two years ago."

"Oh," Cho said, understanding.

So people in Gryffindor blamed her for winning against them in her first game. What would they have liked her to do? Let their own Seeker catch the Snitch? Cho regretted in some way that she didn't get to face Harry during this game, but she wasn't to hand the victory to another team only because one of their players couldn't make it to the match.

"Wait. Is he a Weasley?" she asked all of a sudden, realizing something.

"Yes," Parvati replied. "The brotherhood of redheads."

She and Lavender giggled.

"So… He's the little brother of the Head Boy. Perceval Weasley?" Cho asked.

"Percy Weasley," Padma corrected. "There are also the twins who play as Beaters for the Gryffindor team, and the one we just met," she added with a grimace.

"They have other brothers, I think," Lavender said. "But I think they left school a long time ago. How many are they?"

"Maybe ten," Parvati suggested. "It's not hard to see who is a Weasley brother. You just have to look at their hair, and their face too. They have freckles all over it."

Again, the two Gryffindor girls giggled. Cho turned to Marietta, wanting to ask her a question. But she thought better. It wasn't a good idea to ask such a question today, given her current state. Instead, she turned to Padma.

"Don't they have a sister, too? The one who was stuck in the Chamber of Secrets last year?"

"Yes, it's Ginny," Lavender replied before Padma could. "She's in second year." Lavender then looked around. "I'm surprised she's not here."

"Maybe she's hiding somewhere," Parvati said.

The two girls exchanged a smile, as if they shared some secret only they knew. Cho didn't give much attention to them though, as the players walked into the pitch at this moment. Harry came last.

Cho was located right over the entrance to the Quidditch pitch, so she was right over the Firebolt when he made it to the pitch in Harry's hand. It seemed even more impressive than in Cho's memories.

Madam Hooch, who somehow seemed to have decided to attend the practice as well, approached the players and asked to see the broomstick too. The flying teacher looked as fascinated by the Firebolt as Cho was. And from where she sat, Cho had the opportunity to hear an expert's opinion while Madam Hooch marvelled at the broomstick Harry just handed to her.

"Look at the balance on it! If the Nimbus series has a fault, it's a slight list to the tail-end. You often find they develop a drag after a few years. They've updated the handle, too, a bit slimmer than the Cleansweeps. Reminds me of the old Silver Arrows…"

The flying instructor went on like this for several minutes. Cho listened attentively. There was a moment when Madam Hooch compared the Firebolt to the Comet series, and Cho felt a knot taking shape in her stomach as she heard a list of advantages the new broomstick had over her loyal companion. After some time, though, Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor team, asked Madam Hooch to stop, as they needed to start the practice.

"Right. Here you are, then, Potter. Start. You have quite a crowd who wants to see the Firebolt in action, it seems."

At this moment, the whole team of Gryffindor, including Harry, turned to look at the benches around the pitch. Panicking, Cho knelt and hid behind the railing.

"Cho, what are you doing?" Marietta asked her, finally speaking. Not far away, Padma's sister and her friend were giggling. Cho felt red coming to her cheeks, part of it due to anger, another part due to shame. It wasn't that she was shy to be seen, far from it, but she didn't want the whole team of Gryffindor to believe that she was spying on them.

Looking now towards the benches, Cho realized that really many people had come to attend this practice. It seemed it would be impossible to not be noticed.

"They're taking flight!" someone shouted.

Cho immediately straightened and sat back, looking towards the pitch. She saw seven figures in red rising in the air, but one surpassed all the others in speed. Cho watched in awe as the Firebolt carried Harry to the top of the towers in less time than she could have said it. He began to circle the pitch, reaching speeds she didn't think she could reach with her Comet, even under the best circumstances. He made a turn so abrupt and so quickly that Cho wondered how his head didn't detach from his shoulders for a moment. Then he dove, almost perpendicular to the ground, and straightened at the last minute, barely avoiding to touch the ground, raising again, perpendicularly to the ground, reaching higher heights than she ever saw him reach, and at an incredible speed. It was as if the forces of gravity didn't affect the Firebolt.

All around Cho, people held their breath, cheered, screamed, applauded. Cho herself let small shrieks. They were barely audible but they remained shrieks all the same, and they happened when Harry almost rammed into something, either a tower, the benches, or the ground itself. She even heard one of his teammates, perhaps the youngest Chaser, Katie Bell, scream when he turned abruptly next to her.

When Wood released the Golden Snitch, it became the folly. The cheers of the crowd grew as Harry caught the Snitch in only ten seconds, then only fifteen, then only thirty, then only twenty, then only ten seconds again, looping, diving, climbing, zigzagging, slaloming. After another catch, Cho, whose mind was almost numb as it registered all the feats Harry managed to perform, realized that the cheers had kept getting much louder than initially. She looked back, to see that almost half the school seemed to occupy the benches. There were even professors, and some Slytherins. A few among them even cheered.

The practice was almost a celebration. The whole team of Gryffindor received applauses and cheers, as if they had already won the Quidditch Cup. And while Cho kept looking at them, she realized that indeed, they seemed to be in shape to win it.

The next morning, after a day spent trying to comfort Marietta and thinking about what she saw during the practice, Cho found herself sitting with her team in the changing rooms, before their own Sunday practice. She, Randolph, Jeremy, Duncan, Jason and Grant all remained silent while Roger, their captain, was pacing in front of them, an expression of anxiety on his face.

"So, I guess it's useless to say it, but we have a big problem," Roger declared heavily.

"Let me guess. The problem can be summarized in three words," Jason said. Then he started to unfold his fingers, one by one. "Harry Potter's Firebolt."

Roger sighed. "That's a good summary." He didn't look at them while he said the words. But then he stared at each one of them. "So, who went to see the Gryffindor practice yesterday?"

He had spoken on an accusing tone. Cho looked around. No one dared to raise his hand. Quietly, almost timidly, she raised her own. Roger looked at her. This time, his expression didn't soften when his eyes bore on her. He quickly moved away from her and looked at the others.

"Only Cho? Really?"

After some hesitation, Grant raised his hand. Then Jeremy and Jason did as well. Roger then stared at the two remaining players, Randolph and Duncan, who did not raise their own. "What's your excuse?" Cho was surprised by his question. "You didn't go to see what the Firebolt was capable of? If we are to face it in our next game, I would rather have you surprised and awed during a practice than during the actual game."

Roger then turned back his attention to Cho, leaving Randolph and Duncan in shock. "So, Cho, you saw what the Firebolt could do. What's your opinion?"

Her opinion. It was quite obvious. "That the next match is going to be a huge challenge." Not only would she face probably the best Seeker of Hogwarts, but she would also face the best broomstick on the market.

"A huge challenge?" Jeremy ironized. "You saw him? He flew faster than the Bludgers on the terrain. Good luck beating him at getting the Snitch."

Cho could feel that the general opinion in the room was similar to the one Jeremy just voiced.

"Well, everyone, any idea how we can deal with that problem?" their captain asked them.

Cho raised her hand immediately. She had given a lot of thought to it yesterday, after the practice was over, and she thought that she had a solution to at least partially remove the advantage Harry got with the Firebolt.

"You remember the tactic I used against Malfoy last year?" she asked her captain.

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Next chapter: Cedric