Hey everyone,

The next couple of chapters are going to be a combination of tough love, emotional turmoil and the bond between Harry and Lea deepening beyond belief. Now some of you might think that I am developing this relationship between them too quickly or that I am using this pairing too often, but - I still consider it going quite natural - for someone with no experience in having a relationship - and just love this pairing and what Lea can offer Harry and vice versa too much to really care.
Sorry not sorry,

Venquine1990


Chapter 18
Trouble with Past Love

6th of November 1995
Hogwarts Corridors, Scotland
Harry's POV

"Hey Harry, can I talk with you for a moment?" A voice asks me two days after the incident with Pettigrew, one that has been kept secret to make sure people keep believing in the safe security of my new rooms. Though even with that Mrs. Weasley also secretly hired Bill to check up on the ward scheme and fix any potential problems. I turn around and strangely enough don't feel my heart skipping a beat or my mind worrying over my looks as I see Cho.
Instead I just shrug at the girl, part of me feeling glad that any potential feelings I feared I might still feel for her really are gone as I already suspected. But because the slightly older girl and I are in both different Houses and Years, have I not really had a chance to meet with her and test this out. Still, I turn to my friends and say: "Save me a seat, guys, be right back." Even though I know that Roxas is using his old Recon training to keep me safe.
And because of this do the others not complain or voice any concerns as I follow Cho back to the Grand Staircase, up a few floors and into one of the corridors that aren't usually used when going from one class to another. The girl motions with her hand for me to follow, but I also notice her often looking over her shoulder, as if wondering if I'm still there. This worries me and I wonder if this really is Cho, if the feelings aren't there because this isn't the girl I had my first crush on.

And then I get another reason to feel glad that Roxas is with me as suddenly, after I turn a corner, I hear a lot of scuffling feet behind me and suddenly hear something hitting metal behind me. I turn around, just as Roxas snarls: "Deep freeze!" Causing for the man in robes to be encased in ice just like Pettigrew was a few days ago. Instantly my arm is around my stomach as I turn back to Cho, my other hand holding my wand and snarling:
"Who are you? What do you want with me? Where is Cho? What have you done with her?" The girl looks shocked, but then another man steps out from behind her and says: "Calm down, Mr. Potter. She is indeed Mss. Chang. My partner, who she hired alongside me, just decided to stop following protocol and tried to encase you in ropes, which was against the deal we made with our client. Rest assured that he will be punished for this."
Yet because I don't know the man, do I glare at him and snarl: "Show your arm. Your left one, the lower part. Show me that you don't have his mark." The man seems insulted, but complies. And when I see his bare fore arm, do I release a breath to calm myself and lower my arm. Yet I don't put my wand away and just take a step back, causing for my back to hit that of Roxas, who apparently used fire magic to burn the ropes that were wrapped around his other Keyblade.

I turn to Cho and ask sternly: "What's going on here, Cho?" The girl looks at me and I notice that her eyes seem to convey how conflicted she is about all this. She sighs and mutters: "Harry, I – I'm sorry, but – but I've waited long enough. You know what Cedric meant to me and the fact that you won't come and tell me what happened to him. I - I just – I don't want to believe it, but –." The girl hesitates and I raise my eyebrow at her before she shrieks:
"EITHER YOU TELL ME HOW HE DIED OR I'LL HAVE YOU ARRESTED FOR MURDER!" And the fact that the girl that I once had a crush on would suspect me of murdering her boyfriend, that she would believe I played that kind of part in Cedric's death makes my wand clatter on the ground and makes tears of pain and disbelief leak from my eyes.
I hear someone snap his fingers behind me and suddenly feel myself engulfed by something completely out of this world. And when it's over, I'm back in my dorm and Lea, who was lying on his own bed relaxing, is instantly at my side, gently wiping my tears away no matter how they keep falling and asking: "Love, what happened? Why are you here? Why are you crying? Who hurt you?" And I whisper only three words: "Cho betrayed me." Before I just burst into tears in his arms.

At the same time
At the previous location
Roxas' POV

I send Harry to Lea, knowing the boy will be much better off there and turn a furious glare at the girl, not caring at all for the fact that she is crying. "You lot are just the worst." I snarl at her and the man behind her says: "Mss. Chang was Mr. Diggory's girlfriend, she has a right –.""She's also Harry's friend and should trust him. She should know better and should have realized that Harry might have been just as traumatized that night as she was.
That maybe, just maybe, Harry is still recovering and that he has yet to let go of the demons of his past. That there might be a reason even his Regent, who is also our local Healer and Mind expert, won't let him publicly talk about something like this. Did that ever occur to any of you? And if you lot really do believe Harry guilty, why are you arresting him now? Why didn't you do so months ago? Care to explain that?"

The two Aurors share a look with each other and I glare at them both as I snarl: "Could it be because, unlike all three of you – and several others who are rude enough to gossip about Harry with him around – Madam Amelia Bones actually has realized that Harry isn't guilty and that he has a medical reason for not talking about such a horrific event? Or do either of you not experience difficulty when talking about the deaths you witnessed during the war of the seventies?"
At this all three of them look like they are feeling pretty stupid and I shake my head before I say: "You know, you lot just ruined a perfectly good chance with this dumb impatience of yours. Harry was getting better. The more he got closer to Lea, the more he opened up. My friends and I have already learned about almost everything that happened these past few years. And Harry was showing all the signs that he would talk about that night soon."
"Wait, he was?" Cho asks, shocked and hopeful and I send her a furious glare of disgust and hatred as I snarl: "He was, but now that he thinks one of his friends believes him a murderer, he's probably going to think that of himself and that is not something he needs or deserves. I may not know what happened to Cedric, but I do know Harry well enough that I know he is not a killer. And I only knew him for a month. What does that say about you?"

"That Mss. Chang was heart broken and got impatient. And besides, she just proved that Potter wasn't showing these signs to her." The Auror behind me tries to argue, but I just send him an unimpressed stare and say: "You know, I might have, at one point, been a being without a heart and who acted like a zombie, but you're dumber than I was back then. Chang is neither in Harry's year nor House and things like this should never be discussed in public.
So if Chang wanted to talk to Harry about this, why didn't she ask for a talk before now?""And why should I be the one making the first move? Why couldn't Harry have done so?" The girl tries to argue and I mutter: "Maybe because, as I said before, this event was more traumatic to Harry than to you. You saw your boyfriend return dead; Harry saw the actual murder happen. And just so you know, even Ron and Hermione don't know what happened that night."

The girl looks at me shocked and I say: "Like I said, Harry was a very closed-off person before Lea showed up. Lea's presence, his protectiveness, his care and the fact that his soul connects with Harry whenever they're close gives Harry the sense of warmth and comfort that he needs to open up about events like this. Before, he wouldn't talk about anything. And with the pressure of the public, that monster back in the world and all that slander, did anyone even give Harry the chance to get closure, to get to a point in his mind and heart where he could talk about this?"
At this the three others rub the back of their heads and I snarl: "You lot disgust me. You disgust my friends. You disgust even Sora and he's usually able to see the light in any situation and see the good in anyone, no matter how dark the situation. And quite frankly, you lot are already on your third – now maybe fourth – chance.""Wait, what does that mean?" Chang asks and I sniff and say: "Simple, if we had a say in this, if things had gone our way –."

And while I turn my back on her and walk past the still frozen Auror, do I snarl: "Harry would have left for Radiant Garden with his friends the day we arrived. We just stayed because this world gave us a better chance to learn about the soul bond and get to know Harry and the others. But the fact that you lot are all so demanding and constantly ignore Harry's rights as a person – it's not improving our opinion of this place."
"WAIT!" The girl shrieks and I turn around, wondering why I'm even doing so. "Look, I'm sorry. I really don't believe that Harry killed Cedric. I mean, I – I may not know him as well and I definitely didn't know he considered me a friend, but – but I know enough about him from the last four years that he doesn't have a dark bone in his body. And you guys don't seem like the type who would hang out with a murderer."
"Then why the accusation?" I ask, genuinely willing to believe her as she sounds frantic with the need to convince me and she cries: "Because of Marietta. She's been talking in on me for weeks now. She keeps repeating it, saying that Dumbledore is just trying to give a killer another chance and that Pomfrey is working together with Bones to make a sure-fire case against him. I only asked this of Harry, because I needed to hear it from him, hear him say that he didn't do it."
"Then I hope those tears of his convinced you all the same. And if you want any chance to remain Harry's friend, because yes, he does consider everyone who believed him instead of the Ministry – whatever that means – a friend. And going by what little I've learned of Harry, that's not an easy title to gain. Like I said, he's pretty closed off. So if you want to keep it, report that damned Marietta to your Head of House. She's slandering, plain and simple."

The girl nods and while I hope that telling Harry about the girl's actual beliefs and whatnot will make him feel better, do I sigh as I know I need to make a detour before I can return to the boy's side. And as I close the door behind me, do I use a corridor to get to the chamber that is on the side of the Head Table. I enter this room, tap my Keyblade to the floor and cast a small ice spell to cause for a small path of ice to grow underneath the door.
And a few minutes later Madam Pomfrey and Headmaster Dumbledore enter the room, the Headmaster subtly casting a spell to make the ice vanish as he walks. "Roxas, what are you doing here? Where is Harry?" And this question instantly has the Headmaster just as concerned as the matron and I make sure to recap the story as quickly as possible before I say: "So in short, Harry won't be in class after lunch. He needs time to recover from this."
The two nod and Dumbledore says: "I'll inform Professor Flitwick. Harry has his class after lunch and he is also her Head of House." But to this I say: "Don't tell him the full story. Just let him know that Chang's friend caused for a confrontation to occur between her and Harry and that it went wrong. Make sure he focuses on that friend of hers." The man nods and I turn around, conjuring another corridor and say: "I'll go check on Harry."
Making the two smile at me as Madam Pomfrey says: "Good, tell him that I might have an idea, something that might be a perfect compromise between his need for time and Chang's need for clearance." This intrigues me and I notice her looking at Dumbledore, who seems to get what she means as he says: "Ah yes, that might just work. Good idea, Poppy." And the fact that this man is on board makes me feel a little better.


What's going to happen?
Well, to be honest, this was supposed to be one chapter. But the plan itself turned out to be so long, that it made the chapter way too long, so I decided to turn it into two instead. Personally, I think this is something Dumbledore should have thought of early on between the end of Goblet of Fire and the start of Order of the Phoenix, but
Oh well,

Venquine1990