Disclaimer: Anything that rings a bell is JK Rowling's

Chapter 32: To deal a new hand

Harry's POV

Something was definitely going on with Ky.

I had barely seen her since Friday morning after her paper fiasco. Trust her to pull a stunt like that. Though I appreciated that she had kept me out of it. I shouldered my broom and walked into the entrance hall.

"Harry?"

I turned to the sweet voice and couldn't help returning her smile. It was small and delicate, and very reliable in that it always looked the same. Much different from the wide, toothy, and diverse smiles that graced Ky's face.

"How was practice?"

I shook my head at that, practice was terrible…well it didn't have everything to do with Ron. He was just a bag of nerves because the Slytherins pitched up, he was perfectly fine when we had a pre-practice practice session. And then Alicia fainted. That had to do with the Twins though…Cho laughed at me, a tinkly, private sound that belonged to just us two. Not like Ky's, whose chuckles assaulted everyone within a five-foot radius.

"The first one of term is always like that. That's why Roger insists on us having a team-building session during the holidays."

"You guys' practice in the holidays?"

I looked at her in absolute shock as we entered the Great Hall. She smiled again, "No! It's team building; we have to do all these trust exercises. He read that it helps with the team spirit…though personally I think he does it just to flirt with us girls."

I laughed at that; Cho never made jokes; it was cute when she did. I felt a shoulder bump into me and tossed a glare at the Snake that walked past; I guess we were in the doorway.

"Why don't you sit with m…the Ravenclaws. I don't think I've ever seen you sit at another table before?"

Her request caught me completely off guard, a feeling she seemed to be getting as well as she started murmuring and stuttering, I had to put her out of her misery. Plus, I have no idea where Ron went off to and Hermione wasn't here, nor was Ky, so I had no excuses.

"I think you're right, better make amends to that statement." I walked with her to the table that was just before Gryffindor table, and made for a quieter spot. Cho seemed to have other ideas and walked on. I followed after, and she smiled up at me as she took a seat opposite a curly haired girl. The girl spared me a brown eyed glance and then turned back to the blonde girl she was previously engaged in conversation with. The blonde had other ideas though.

"Hi. I'm Elise. Elise Smelton. You of course, we all know."

I nodded at her awkwardly, two more heads turned our way. A third-year boy perched a few seats away was staring at me, his book long forgotten.

"Is that a firebolt?"

I looked down at my broom and then up at the girl with the very long brown hair, her glasses were almost as round as mine and she sat next to Elise, her long neck stretching over the table to look at my broom.

"Yes."

"How's the drag on that thing. I hear that's the only field that they couldn't outsmart the Nimbus on, a minor setback if you ask me-"

"Nobody did now, did they?" The curly haired girl said it with a smile but there was no sweetness in her voice. Her words didn't affect the broom enthusiast at all however, she merely started with the twig-handle ratio.

"Nellie, why don't we call it a night?" The blonde girl muttered, "Goodbye Harry."

The three of them walked off. I turned to Cho, grateful that that awkward situation was put to an end. The realisation that another awkward situation now confronted me arose. She opened her mouth and then closed it; I bet I was doing the exact same thing.

"So that Nellie…"

"Yeah, she's crazy about brooms. She's terrified of flying though…she's very weird. Elise and she are sisters, but they couldn't be more different."

"Different isn't always bad."

A weird glint passed through her eyes; I realised now that it must sound like I'm chiding her for calling Nellie weird. I quickly looked for a change of subject, "So I guess you're a table snob as well. I haven't seen you sit anywhere but at this table."

She looked down at her potatoes intently as if they were telling her all of life's secrets, "I sat at the Hufflepuff table a few times last year."

Oh, damn Potter. There you go! You are such an idiot. She looked up quickly as if shocked. Her sad expression disappeared, and she smiled wide, "Do you miss your Nimbus?"

That was weird…I guess she wanted a change of subject. Who wanted to think about their dead ex-boyfriend?

"Not really. It's weird; I don't feel differently about either broom…" She looked at me, confused. I didn't know how to explain it. I just felt like they were the same…they just looked different, like its spirit was the same. Oh, I can't tell her that, she'd think I'm completely crazy. "So, when's your first training session?"

"Tomorrow actually." She nodded, cutting her chicken methodically. I looked down at my empty plate that I quickly filled with food. The next few minutes was filled with silent chewing. I looked around, Ky was still absent. I knew Ron went up to the dorm, I think he needed some alone time and Hermione was probably in the library. Maybe Ky decided to do her homework with Hermione. I laughed into my plate at that.

"What?" Cho asked with an insecure look on her dainty features. Oh, she thought I was laughing at her, she wiped at her mouth with a napkin.

"Nothing." I said quickly but she didn't look convinced as she pushed some hair behind her ears self-consciously.

"So, I have an early practice tomorrow…I better get up to my dorm."

She stood and I followed suit, "I'll walk you." It was the least I could do for making her think I was mocking her or something.

She nodded and walked on. She smiled at a few of the students, and I nodded at a few.

"Watch out."

I grabbed her around the waist, preventing her from falling onto the trick step on the first floor. She looked up at me, her black eyes wide. I quickly let go of her, realising that I had overstepped my bounds, and she ducked her head down, her veil of black blocking her face from view.

"Thank you." She muttered from behind her veil, "I always forget about that step…it's good to have someone around again that reminds me."

Again? So, Cedric did that? I didn't want to think about Cedric, aside from the obvious facts, there was also the fact that I knew the truth about him. About his real feelings.

"Moonbeam oil."

I snapped back to attention as we made our way down the fifth, "'Huh?"

She laughed at the confused look on my face, "It helps with the dirt. I add a little in my bath after a practice, a long hot soak is just the thing after a strenuous practice session."

I nodded at her, images of Cho lying naked in a bathtub full of bubbles coming to mind. Her long black her shining brighter than usual as the water clung to her. However, her dark mane became less straight and wilder, the tendrils collapsing in soft waves and the bathtub turned dry and unoccupied. Instead, we sat on the toilet beside it, her slender legs wrapped tightly around my torso as I ran my hands across the most delicate satiny texture that I have ever felt, as I felt her harden below my own fingertips, her core pressed against my own, burning me from within.

"This also leads to the Gryffindor tower?"

I looked down at her, realising that we were in that secret passageway on the sixth. I preferred it to the one that went straight to the seventh when I wasn't in a hurry; it was quieter, better for thinking.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, hoping she didn't look down…dammit Potter! Control yourself. I caught her eye on my way up…guess that's too late…she looked down…oh no. Her eyes were shining with some emotion that I couldn't place but looked familiar somehow…a lone tear fell, dislodged by her long, black eyelashes…

I wanted to wipe her tear away, I hated tears. I hated to see her cry, knowing that it was my fault…I took Cedric with me…I should have…done something. My hand wasn't listening however, as if afraid that it would burn if it touched her. Cho had closed the distance between us and I understood the look in her eyes.

She leaned up towards me, and I met her half way. Even though my hands stayed awkwardly at my side, my lips didn't seem to have the same problem. They worked their way over her own, my tongue tasting salt as I licked at her lips for entrance. She complied and the salt changed to sweetness.

My hands trembled, refusing to move to her waist, or her arm…somewhere in the back of my head the thought that they knew that they didn't belong on this girl crossed my mind. Another part of me brought up the image of a tear stained Ky, shoving me off…pushing me away…running away.

I felt the warmth of Cho's body as she pressed herself to me; here was a girl that was running to me, pulling me to her…why should I not comply? I slowly lifted my hand up and swept the tears from her soft cheek, pulling her to me with my other hand…I was done chasing her shadow…

-x-x-x-

I paced up and down outside the mirror. My thoughts were scattered, chasing each other like a dog chasing its tail. It's not enough that I have to worry about Sirius showing up in the fireplace and Percy's letter, but I haven't spoken to Ky since Friday morning…Hermione said that she had been busy, but her face was slightly pink when she told me this…were they hiding something from me?

I scratched at my scar, observing it in the mirror…it didn't pang the way it did on Friday after Umbridge touched me. What did that mean? And then Dumbledore has been more than a little distant and now Umbridge has been appointed Hogwarts High Inquisitor, the title itself sounded as if it was pulled straight from a fairy tale. And of course, she pisses me off enough for me to get another week's worth of detention; I can still hear Angelina's screams because I'm missing more training sessions.

"Harry?" I turned away from the mirror, looking at one of my biggest problems…why did she have to look so…unproblematic.

Cho had her long hair tied up and she looked flushed, she must have been in a hurry. Well, she was no stranger to running away, considering she did just that after she kissed me on Saturday night.

I breathed, remembering what Hermione had told me last night. After she wrangled the information out of me, she explained Cho's psyche to me…I don't know whether I was better off without her feminine wisdom.

"Harry?"

"Thank you. For Saturday." Her black eyes widened. Fuck Potter! "I mean Saturday morning, with the whole Filch thing, you know when he thought I was receiving dung bombs in the owlery. Not Saturday night…I just realised that I hadn't thanked you for-"

"It's fine. It was my pleasure." She gave me a small smile that made me feel less angry at her. My anger stemmed from the fact that I was sick and tired of girls kissing me and running off!

"Look, Cho. I can't imagine what you're going through. The thing is, we kissed. And I may not be the most experienced guy but when something like that happens…it means something? Doesn't it? I don't mind if you don't want anything from me, if it was just a kiss and I'm over thinking things. But you don't get to do something like that and just run away, you need to-"

I was so scared that she would start crying again, the words tumbling out one after another, but disappeared completely as her lips crashed onto mine. The kiss caught me completely by surprise, and I had just started returning it when she stopped, letting go of my face and settling on her feet properly, when did she even walk down the corridor?

"What happened to you?"

She looked at me, confused.

"Erm…I just wanted to clear the air between us and-"

"No, I don't mean that. I mean, you're different. You're more confident, more direct, not the…forgive me, nervous wreck that asked me to the ball last year…what happened?"

What happened? Grey eyes floated through my mind, and I chased away my inner musings, "Growth spurt?"

She laughed quietly at that and walked to the small bench and sat down. I stood in front of her, she was pink faced, and I was ready for the tears, but she looked up at me, her eyes dry, "I ran away because I was afraid Harry…you're making me feel…things I should definitely not be feeling three months after my boyfriend, my ex-boyfriend…passed away."

"Cho…if any of those emotions make you feel just a fraction happier, don't run away from them." I felt like adding a little Hermione trademark sign at the end of that. "All I'm saying is, I don't appreciate being kissed and left without an explanation. And I'm not saying we have to be anything at all, I just think you should know…the deal."

She stared at me, as if I was a completely different person. I couldn't blame her. Where was this coming from? Every time I wanted to tell Ky something it was like pulling a tooth, this was just rolling off my tongue. This felt easy. Cho stood abruptly.

"Thank you for your…directness Harry. I really appreciate it."

"I don't like playing games Cho. But don't feel pressured in anyway, this goes anyway you want it to. Left, right, just point me."

Cho deserved happiness in her life, according to Hermione she was crying all over the place. And she had every right to be confused. She had an actual relationship with Cedric, and it must be hard to get over something like that. If I make her smile, even a little…I should do this.

"Well…I have History of Magic right now, mind walking me there?"

I nodded at her, stepping aside to let her walk through. I walked past the mirror quickly, afraid to look at our reflection…not fully prepared to face what would look back at me.

A/N: Harry is acting out of rejection, but who can blame the guy! Also, Cho is very lovely in her own right. I think it's a tough decision because Ky and her are night and day in personality, but they've both got positives.

Kalina