Where someone eavesdrops, and draws her own conclusions.

CHO IX

She hid behind the tree, the one from which owls took flight a few moments ago when Harry had one of his outcries. Cho saw him going through the doors of the Entrance Hall leading to the park as she was coming back from the washroom. She only wanted to say hello to him and see how he was doing, so she followed him and the girl who accompanied him. She soon understood though that they were discussing what happened yesterday, so Cho remained behind, not wanting to interrupt, though close enough to clearly hear everything they were saying. She heard Harry talking about a part of the conversation he had with his mother last evening, and also about the dispute he had with his best friend. When they stopped near the lake, Cho still remained behind, but she hid behind the tree when the girl looked over her shoulder. She didn't want people to think she was listening to private conversations.

It had not really been her intention. She just wanted to check on Harry to see whether he was fine. It had been a shock for everyone, including Cho, when his name was announced last night. In fact, she was still confused about what happened. Maybe it was part of this curiosity that got her to listen without really wanting to. But she was also concerned for Harry. She heard several people, not only last night but also this morning talking against him, considering it was unfair that he managed to get himself into the Tournament. Cho, however, had some hard time understanding how Harry managed to do this, and hearing him claim that he never put his name into the Goblet made her highly doubt about it. Although she didn't know much about the girl he spoke to, this Hermione, she knew she was one of his best friends, and it wouldn't make sense that he would lie to her. Cho would never lie to Marietta and her very, real, close friends.

But what told her that Harry didn't put his name was his general behavior. He looked really miserable. He didn't have the attitude of someone who had been looking forward to be a champion in the Triwizard Tournament. This was not the behavior of someone who willingly entered it.

"Look, Harry," the girl next to him continued to speak. "Dumbledore, the people of the Ministry, your mother, all the others… They really believe there's no way to get you out of the Tournament?"

"They didn't seem to think there was one." Harry really seemed discouraged. If he put his name in the Goblet of Fire, he did a good job at convincing others he didn't. "My mother said she would find a way, but…"

He never finished his thoughts. Cho remembered Harry's mother, Lily Evans Potter. She first met her in the infirmary, after her first Quidditch match, when she went to check on Harry. She also came across her a few times, after Quidditch games mostly. Her father worked with her. She seemed like a very powerful witch. She had to be, since she survived a confrontation with You-Know-Who.

"Then you should write to her," Hermione said. "Ask her if she found a solution. And maybe she can advise you…"

"I can't." This time, Harry sounded even more discouraged than before. "She's gone."

"Gone?" Cho was just as confused as the girl Harry was talking to.

"I don't know. She said she couldn't tell me… but I won't be able to contact her for several months, maybe more."

Cho frowned at this. Why couldn't a mother contact her son for so much time? Cho's mother was working at the Department of Mysteries, and yet Cho saw her and wrote to her regularly.

"Then… Write to Sirius, your godfather. Or even Lupin. They'll want to help you. Or even ask Dumbledore…"

"Dumbledore can't help me. He made it very clear. And I doubt Sirius and Remus will be able to help me much."

"Sirius is your godfather, Harry. And Professor Lupin helped you to repel Dementors." Cho had a fleeting image of the silvery shape with horns that Harry produced the last time they played Quidditch. "They will want to help you. You'll need all the help you can get."

"Yeah, maybe."

"And, look, they said they would keep looking for solutions last night. That's encouraging. Perhaps, for now, they have nothing, but who knows? Maybe they'll find a way."

"I hope so. This way, people will stop applauding me for no reason."

In normal circumstances, Cho would not have understood why someone seemed angry at being applauded, but it seemed to be Harry's case right now. She wondered who applauded him right now though. In Ravenclaw, most of the people she knew seemed to think that Harry cheated to enter the Tournament. And the echoes she got from Hufflepuff were far worse. This house was angry at Harry for stealing Cedric's place as Hogwarts' champion. She had to admit that she somewhat understood them. Cedric had deserved his place as champion. But at the same time, she felt sorry for Harry. Right now, he didn't look at all like someone who wanted to participate to the Triwizard Tournament.

"Harry, I must warn you. People from the other houses may not be happy like in Gryffindor," Hermione said. Now Cho understood. The people from Gryffindor were certainly overjoyed that Harry became a champion, and they made it known to him. "I know that many Hufflepuffs are angry at you. It's not your fault, but they're angry. So be prepared. Just try to ignore them."

"Easier said than done," Harry commented on a bitter tone.

Cho knew he was right on this. Ignoring all other students was a very hard thing, especially when you were popular. Cho knew something about it, being very popular herself. But she wasn't famous like Harry was in the entire world, so he would certainly be under much higher scrutiny than she ever was.

"Ignore them, Harry," the girl repeated. "That's the best thing you can do. And ignore the Slytherins too. We must not expect a lot of compassion from their part."

"I didn't expect any already," he replied.

"As for the Ravenclaws… Well, let's hope they will not feel much concerned about it. But I wouldn't expect them to show happiness either."

No, indeed, they shouldn't. The opinion in Ravenclaw was definitely favorable to Cedric and against Harry right now.

"Let's go back to the castle, Harry. You can write to Sirius there."

Cho moved around the trunk of the tree as Harry and Hermione moved away from the lake and went back to the castle, trying to remain invisible to them. Luckily, they weren't looking for someone spying… no, hearing their conversation. Soon, they had their backs turned on Cho. She breathed more easily once they were far away. If they found her there, this would have made for a very awkward situation.

Finally, Cho didn't get to ask Harry how he was faring, but she thought it might be for the better. He didn't look in the mood to talk. Cho realized how cold it was outside. Shivering, she walked back to the castle. Her friends were probably wondering where she was.

Indeed, they were. The moment Cho sat down again at the Ravenclaw table, she was questioned by Marietta. "Where have you been?"

"I've been taking some time in the washroom," she replied, evasive.

"Are you feeling well?" her friend asked further.

"Yes, I'm fine."

She rubbed her hands to create some heat. Marietta looked at her in a suspicious way. Most of the others didn't seem to notice her arrival that much, but they involved her in their conversations quite quickly.

In this Sunday, Cho had to go to the library. The festivities surrounding the arrival of the delegations of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons distracted her and her friends from their studies over the last few days, but this remained the year of their O.W.L.s and they had a lot of work to do. So Cho spent most of the morning completing her homework. Her mind was so set on them that thoughts about the tournament became secondary, although the subject came back on the table from time to time. It was hard to avoid. When people worked together, they ended up chatting at some point, and they also heard conversations around them. Madam Pince's authority proved inefficient in stopping all discussions. Everyone was talking about what happened yesterday. A group of Gryffindor were chatting enthusiastically about the fact they had their own champion. Cho also came across a group of Hufflepuffs while she searched for a book who were recriminating against Harry. Another group from Slytherin discussed the odds of each champion winning. Most bets seemed to be on either Viktor Krum or Cedric. She also heard some Ravenclaw boys in their last year talking about Fleur Delacour. Finally, while searching in the rows, she also crossed the path of the girl Harry was discussing with this morning, discussing with another girl who looked to be of the same age.

"Any trace of more than three champions?" this girl asked.

"No," the one called Hermione replied. "It really seems like there's never been more than three champions in the past."

When they finally left the library for lunch, Cho went to the washroom. Marietta accompanied her this time. It was the first time today that Cho was alone with her best friend.

"So, where were you this morning? You were cold when you came back. It's not in the washroom that you got it," Marietta told her.

"Okay. I went for a walk in the park," Cho replied.

"A walk in the park? This early? And in the middle of breakfast?"

"I wanted to talk to Harry."

They were alone in this washroom, so Cho told Marietta what happened and what she heard. When Cho was done, Marietta shrugged.

"You should stay away from him. With everything that's going on," Marietta said. "And what happened yesterday." She opened the taps to wash her hands. "I didn't have a high opinion about Gryffindor before, but now… Let's just say they totally dropped in my view."

"I know the Gryffindors are not the easiest people to get along with," Cho recognized. People from this house, after all, had a tendency to be arrogant and even selfish at times. "But Harry didn't seem to be lying. He didn't look happy about being a champion."

"Perhaps he should have thought about that before entering the competition."

"Yes, but that's the thing. I didn't get the feeling he entered it of his own free will," Cho insisted.

"Maybe he regrets it now. But it's too late for regrets."

Marietta was now drying her hands. Cho decided to not insist on the matter. She didn't want to start an argument on the topic with Marietta. Furthermore, the door opened at this moment and Heidi Macavoy walked in.

"Hi, Heidi," Cho welcomed her.

"Hi, Cho," the Hufflepuff replied. "You're alright today?"

"Yes, I am. What about Cedric? How is he doing?"

"Very fine. He's excited. He's taking it pretty well, better than most of us. I mean, if someone stole my place as champion, I would be quite furious."

Cho nodded only slightly, not wanting to start an argument with Heidi either. Although on opposite teams, she got quite along with this girl, who also happened to be a very close friend of Cedric. There were even moments when Cho was jealous of her.

"By the way," Heidi resumed, "Cedric wanted to hold a last practice this afternoon. You want to come? With the dropping temperatures and the beginning of the Tournament, it might be our last chance this year."

"Yes, I'll come." To hell with homework. She had the entire year left to focus on them, and only one afternoon left to play Quidditch.

She and Marietta left the washroom. As they went through the door, they saw Katie Bell heading in their direction. She went into the washroom, and Cho hoped there would be no harsh words between her and Heidi like it happened between the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs yesterday.

"So, you're going to see Cedric again?" Marietta's question was quite suggestive, and it was clearly not really a question that asked for an answer.

"Yes. To play Quidditch, Marietta," Cho replied nonetheless, but Marietta's smile didn't leave her face.

"I know," she simply said.

Despite all this, Cho felt her cheeks taking a slightly redder shade. After lunch, she went to take her Comet in the Tower of Ravenclaw, and she headed towards the Quidditch pitch. Far away, she noticed the Durmstrang ship on the lake. The carriage of Beauxbatons was also in the park, closer to the home of the gamekeeper.

When Cho changed, the changing rooms were almost empty, and when she arrived on the pitch, it was to find only two players flying up, and Cedric waiting on the ground.

"Hi, Cho. Happy to see you," he said.

"Hi, Cedric…. Congratulations, by the way." She was talking about the Tournament.

"Oh, thank you," he replied, his irresistible smile appearing on his face. Cho liked to see him smile. He was even more handsome like this. "Well, go up. I'll join once more players have arrived."

Cho took flight, and joined the player from her house and the one from Hufflepuff who were already in the air flying around the pitch. As time went on, the other players slowly arrived and trickled onto the pitch. However, Cho noticed after a few arrived that they were all from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. There was no Gryffindor coming to the pitch. When she asked Roger about it as they flew in circles, he explained her the reason for their absence.

"I thought it would be better to keep the Gryffindors away for today. After what arrived last night, there would have been problems between them and the Hufflepuffs. Anyway, I don't think they would have wanted to come."

Cho regretted it. She might have fewer friends among Gryffindors than in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, but through their practices of late last year and this autumn, she had gotten along quite well with most of their players, especially the girls and Harry. This also made today's practice less interesting. There were fewer players to play with and against. Although Cho enjoyed the afternoon and facing Cedric while trying to catch the Golden Snitch, she would have liked it better to also play against Harry. She had to admit that between him and Cedric, Harry was a greater challenge to face in Quidditch, and she enjoyed it better.

Cho's extremities were numb from the cold air and wind at the end of the afternoon, but despite this she remained behind with Cedric, sitting in the benches where the crowds usually gathered. For this last practice, the people attending had been very few. Their numbers dwindled after the first practices, and with today's weather, many certainly preferred to stay inside. The fact that Gryffindors were kept away didn't help either, she supposed.

"This was a nice practice," she said.

"It was. Too bad it was the last one. But with the Triwizard Tournament and everything…" Cedric didn't finish. He didn't need to.

"Yes. I'll miss Quidditch."

"Me too. I wish we could hold the season at the same time as the Tournament. The Triwizard Tournament is cool, of course. But we only get one… well, two people from Hogwarts participating, while we were twenty-eight for Quidditch. It seems a little unfair."

"Do you regret entering the Tournament?" she asked him.

"Oh, no. Not really. I'm a little… afraid. We don't even know what to expect for the first task. But… that's something." She could feel he was shivering. "It's just a lot of pressure. Everyone seems to be expecting a lot from me now that I am champion."

Cho nodded. She sympathized. "How do you feel about Harry being a champion too?"

"Oh… that. I don't know. I try to go with it. I wasn't expecting that, for sure. But at the same time, it gives one more chance for Hogwarts to win. Though we could say it's not really fair for the other schools. I understand why they're not happy about it."

That was one of the things she liked about Cedric. He always thought about others before himself. But there was something Cho wanted to ask him now. "Cedric… Is Harry really going to compete in the Triwizard Tournament? I thought that maybe Dumbledore and the other judges would not allow it, given he doesn't have the age, and each school is only supposed to have one champion."

"Well, they had a discussion last night, after our names came out. And… Well, Crouch, one of the judges from the Ministry, said that all names coming from the Goblet of Fire… All the people whose names came out of it had to participate to the Tournament. Something about creating a binding magical contract, like Dumbledore told us. None of us can leave the competition. Not Harry, not me, not anyone. Karkaroff threatened to leave with his students, but he was told that Krum would be forced to participate anyway. And I must say, the decision was not popular. Harry's mother was there, and she vehemently opposed his participation to the Tournament. She took Harry away with her after it was all over. Something's telling me he had a very bad time with her after that. She must not have been happy that he put his name in the Goblet."

Cho frowned. "You think that Harry did it? That he actually managed to get his name inside the Goblet of Fire?"

Cedric shrugged. "Well, he must have. His name did come out of the Goblet, so someone put it there. And I don't see who else would have placed it. Though I wonder how Harry did it. I mean, Summers was only a few days away from his seventeenth birthday, and even he couldn't get through the Age Line. So Harry… I really don't know how he did it."

Cho remained silent for a moment afterwards. Then she decided it was better to tell Cedric what she heard. "Cedric, there's a conversation I surprised this morning. Harry was talking with this girl in Gryffindor, the one he spends almost all his time with…"

"Hermione Granger?"

"Yes, that's her."

Cho went on to tell Cedric what she heard them say. He listened attentively. At the end, he seemed to be pensive.

"So, Harry keeps saying that he didn't put his name into the Goblet of Fire?" he asked, looking thoughtful.

"Yes, and… He didn't look to be lying. He seemed quite depressed about it, in fact."

Cedric seemed to be thinking for a moment. "Well, if Harry really didn't put his name and he didn't know about it… Well, I wouldn't want to be in his place right now."

"Me neither," Cho agreed.

"It's true that… well… There's something that Professor Moody said last night. He came up with some theory that someone tricked the Goblet of Fire into thinking there was a fourth school into the competition, then put Harry's name into it so his name would come out for this school."

"That's why Harry's name was the fourth to come out?"

"Yes, according to him. But… I mean, who would do that? Who would want to have a fourth school in the competition? But it's true that… Harry would probably not have the skills to throw a Confusion Charm to the Goblet of Fire. He would have needed to get through the Age Line first, and without anyone noticing him, then to cast the spell. I don't see any student in Hogwarts able to do such a thing. But I don't see who else would have wanted to do that either. And Moody's reason for that is quite… far-fetched."

"What do you mean?"

Cedric looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, he believes that someone got Harry into the Tournament to get him killed." Cho's eyes grew at this thought. "But it's Alastor Moody. My father says he is crazy. He sees plots to kill him everywhere. That's why the Ministry had him retire."

"So someone would be trying to kill Harry by forcing him into the Triwizard Tournament?"

"According to Moody. But I mean, it sounds silly. Trying to kill Harry? Who would want to do that?"

"Well, it's not that stupid to believe," Cho countered. "After all, Peter Pettigrew tried to kill him several times last year." Cho remembered that very well. She had not been far each time it happened, and her parents were even in danger once because of that.

"Yes, it's true," Cedric acknowledged. "But Pettigrew is dead." That, Cho couldn't deny it was true. "Anyway, if someone wanted to kill Harry, there are far easier ways to do that. Why doesn't this person just show up and throw a Killing Curse at him. Did Moody show you the Unforgivable Curses?"

"Yes, at the beginning of the year."

"Well, if someone had Harry enter the Triwizard Tournament to have him killed, he would have gone through a lot of trouble. He would need to get into Hogwarts, get through Dumbledore's Age Line, and confuse the Goblet of Fire, all that without anyone noticing him while he does so, when he could simply have cast a spell on Harry. That doesn't make much sense."

Cho thought about it. Cedric was right. This didn't make any sense. Anyone powerful enough to develop such a plan would have been powerful enough to attack Harry directly. No, even if Harry didn't put his name, the person who did it was probably not looking to kill him. It reassured Cho, in some way. She didn't want Harry to die. Though it was true that he was about to participate to a dangerous tournament that was supposed to be reserved for people who were legally adults.

Cho looked at Cedric, who still looked lost in his thoughts. She feared for him all of a sudden. Cedric might be of age, unlike Harry, but he would still participate to dangerous tasks.

"Cedric… Are you afraid? About the Tournament?"

He looked back at her, and smiled in the same irresistible way as always, though she felt the stress behind his voice when he replied.

"A little. But… I'm telling myself that they took precautions. So it should be fine. I don't believe our Headmaster would have accepted to hold such a Tournament if it was really dangerous. For our lives, I mean."

Cho nodded. Though she still worried. She didn't want anything bad to happen to Cedric. Suddenly, she felt a hand grabbing hers and kindly palming it. "Hey, don't be afraid for me. I'll be fine."

He smiled at her, and she smiled in return.

"Want to go inside?" Cedric asked her. "It's cold here."

Cho had to agree. It was indeed getting much colder. "Yes. Let's go take dinner."

They went to change in different rooms, but they walked back to the castle together before going separate ways to bring their Quidditch equipment back to their respective common rooms. Cho then came back to the Great Hall with her friends who caught up with her. Cedric was already sitting, surrounded by many friends, though their eyes still met, and Cho couldn't help but blush while looking away from him.

Dinner went well, generally speaking. A short distance from them, a few words were exchanged between the tables of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. The atmosphere was still obviously strained between those two houses, but it seemed to be going much better than yesterday. The only event worth of notice was when Cedric stood up at the end of dinner, and he was largely applauded, not only by the Hufflepuffs, but also by many Ravenclaws including Cho's group of friends, and even more surprisingly, by the Slytherins, who usually showed contempt for Cedric's house. The only table that didn't raise or give any cheers were the Gryffindors, some of them going as far as whistling and booing against Cedric. It seemed that Harry wouldn't be the only one who would suffer mockeries from others.

When she left her table and headed back to her common room with her friends, Cho met Harry's path. He was still with the same girl as this morning, Hermione, and his eyes met those of Cho for an instant, but he quickly walked away. Cho then realized that not only her friends, but also most of the students in the Entrance Hall looked with hostility at him. The only positive reaction came from the Great Hall when Harry walked in, applauses certainly coming from the Gryffindor table. Definitely, both Cedric and Harry had a hard time ahead of them.

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