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Paying For His Pedestal	By : twocanz Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Cho Views: 82668 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
A/N:� Salon Kitty,� Harry and therapy?� I know what you mean, but what could he be
properly diagnosed with?� The most I can
think of is PTSD, canon and in this story.�
Cho, on the other hand, you�re right, she�s well beyond Stockholm
Syndrome.� I would like to distinguish
something about her in this story or maybe sneaking a little bit of it over
from JKR�s storyline as well.� Her soul has been repeatedly broken,
attempting to heal, then broken once more.�
Like the bones in person�s body, if broken and not helped with medical
attention, they will heal, just not properly.�
Imagine a soul constantly shattered without proper time or means to heal
it.� That�s Cho, to me.� I hope that makes sense because that�s what
I�ve been hinting at in this story.� And
just a warning, it gets worse.

Thanks for the reviews as well.�
You say it�s a privilege to read my story.� You haven�t a clue what a privilege it is to
receive reviews, but especially reviews like yours.� I�m forever grateful.

Chapter 19 � Fight for Freedom

For the remainder of the day, Cho
remained numb, which was good because her little bit of healed soul was
shredded like raw meat inside her.�
Classes became places for her to sit down while her mind swirled with
images of Harry, and her and Harry, and Harry�s name in the Daily Prophet.� The Ravenclaw had been in this emotional
state of numbness before.� After Cedric�s
death, she could barely concentrate on anything around her.� Food didn�t taste right and she could barely
register those around her.� Except one.� Through her present haze of grief, Cho
noticed one thing; she wasn�t this numb after Cedric�s murder because Harry had
survived.� After Harry had returned from
the third task with Cedric�s body, Cho knew that she would have been just as
devastated if their places had been reversed.�
But two years later, the Ravenclaw realized that that was not the
case.� Her assailant was gone, and it
felt like Cedric and Harry had both come back from the third task in body bags.

Not having the strength to stay
around others as she walked to dinner, and after a day repeatedly telling Terry
not to meet her outside of every class out of his concern for her, Cho found
herself walking down a corridor alone.�
The sound of whimpers, that wasn�t her own, brought her out of her haze
of grief.� The Ravenclaw turned a corner
to see the sad face of the bushy-haired Golden Trio member, standing alone
against a wall, and wiping her tears away.�
Cho felt bile rise to the top of her throat at the sight of Hermione
Granger in such a sadden state.� She knew
if Hermione was still crying and it was nearly dinner, she hadn�t received any
word that Harry was NOT one of the bodies in Diagon Alley.� But the pain-stricken Ravenclaw hadn�t given
up hope, entirely, that her assailant had survived, and that hope compelled her
to ask the hurting Gryffindor girl for any information.� Asking Hermione without giving away how much
pain Cho was in, and why, would be a task.

�H-Hermione?� Cho called quietly,
tentatively, as she approached the sixth year.

Hermione startled having not
noticed anyone coming down the corridor.�
She quickly, and pointlessly, wiped tears away from her cheeks that were
soon replaced with others.� �Oh, um, hi,
Cho.� How�are you?� the intelligent witch
greeted the other, though the grief was evident in her voice.

Wretched!� I can�t eat!� I can�t concentrate!� I can hardly breathe!� I need your best mate here, RIGHT NOW!� Tell me he�s alive!� Tell me he�s fine!� Tell me he�ll beg to kiss me one more time�

�I�m�fine, Hermione,� Cho
answered, praying her cheeks won�t drench themselves as they had been for the
past few hours, matching the Gryffindor�s in front of her.� �You�don�t look so good.��

Cho watched Hermione nod, and
force a smile before wiping her cheek and sniffing.� �I-I�m fine,� Hermione struggled to say
without hiccupping.

Cho swallowed hard as the two
girls struggled not to cry in front of each other for the same reason, for the
same person.� �And H-Harry�?� Cho asked,
holding her breath and suddenly wishing she hadn�t been so foolish as to ask
Hermione anything.� She knew at any
moment she would break down and tell Hermione everything about her and Harry,
or at least how much she needed him back.

Hermione sniffed once more, wiped
her face, and forced a smile.� �I�m�assuming
you�read the Daily Prophet this�morning?� she asked, trying her best not to
hiccup.� Cho nodded, and she felt her
heart racing with fear and anticipation.�
�Well�� Hermione started again, swallowing hard, �we�don�t know
anything�for sure yet.� But�I�m sure�he�s
f-fine.�

Cho felt the rim of her eyelids
fill with water at the obvious untruth, or at least, uncertain statement of
Harry�s best friend.� The Ravenclaw
looked away and blinked, willing the tears not to fall and willing Hermione to
be so distressed herself that she doesn�t notice Cho�s pain.� �I see,� she said toward the wall of the
corridor.� The seventh year swallowed
hard and could see herself running back to her Tower, hiding under her covers
and crying for the rest of the night, rest of the week, rest of her life.� �Well,� Cho began again, keeping the lump in
her throat at bay as best she could, �if you�hear anything, Hermione, pleas�I
mean, um, I hope he�s�alright.�

Hermione nodded toward the
ground.� �Thanks, Cho,� she sniffed.

�Hermione!� There you are!� called a male voice from down
the hall.� Cho turned to see Ron looking
doubly distraught as he hurriedly rushed toward his best friend and his best
friend�s victim.� The Ravenclaw�s heart
nearly stopped when she saw the extra worry on the male Gryffindor�s face.� Her feet wouldn�t move from their spot in
front of Hermione; if Ron had awful news to give the sixth year witch, Cho had
to hear it.� �I�ve been looking all over
for you!� Ron said with a mixture of aggravation and relief in his voice as he
approached the two girls.� Cho held her
breath as he wrapped his arms quickly around Hermione.� She watched Hermione fall right into place in
Ron�s arms, fitting perfectly against him, and seeming to be able to breath
again as he squeezed her.� Cho knew that
feeling well.� She hadn�t felt it in
ages�well, not since Sunday, and she feared she�d never feel it again.

Hermione buried her face in Ron�s
chest as he rubbed the back of her head, both seemingly ignoring the Ravenclaw
standing there. ��I�m sorry, Ron.� I just�� the sixth year girl said, her voice
muffled from renewed tears and his R engraved sweater.

�I know, �Mione,� the redhead
interrupted the bushy-haired, whimpering girl.�
�But don�t�forget that I�m still here�for you,� Ron said, then swallowed
hard.� �Always.�

The comforting words of the
Gryffindor to the Gryffindor seemed to hurt the Ravenclaw even more.� She didn�t have an �always�.� Things, people, life�s circumstances,
feelings, always only changed for her.�
Especially with people, Cho knew �always� never lasted.� And she didn�t know if Ron would be able to
keep his promise of �always� to Hermione, but the seventh year hoped with all
her heart for the Gryffindors that they would have �always� together.� Cho wasn�t certain if the two had finally
advance their friendship to that level everyone else seemed to see them heading
except them, but she hoped wherever they were, it was for �always�.� The seventh year knew how it was to lose
someone, then push someone else she wanted even more away because of it.

Hold onto him, Hermione.� And
Ron, don�t be daft enough to let her go, Cho told the Golden Duo in her
head.

As the tears began to fall from
the Ravenclaw�s eyes unbeknownst to the hugging Gryffindors, Cho decided it
best to leave them alone in their grief.�
With a sniff of her own, the seventh year turned to walk away just in
time for a tear to rush down her cheek.

�Um, Cho?� she heard a squeaky
female voice call from behind.� Cho
quickly wiped the trail of sadness off her cheek and turned around.� Hermione stood, still locked in Ron�s arms,
but looking toward the grieving Ravenclaw.�
�Thank�you for your�concern.� If
I�hear anything��

Cho nodded quickly, needing to turn
away from the red, tear-drenched Gryffindor�s face.� �Thank you, Hermione.� I�d appreciate that.� And if you ever need to talk�� Cho�s voice
squeaked and she swallowed hard, willing herself to gain control in front of
the sixth years.� �I�um, know what it�s
like to�lose someone�special�� But her
own words were the Ravenclaw�s undoing and she quickly turned around and ran
down the hall, away from the Gryffindors.

Cho couldn�t feel her feet as she
ran, she couldn�t see where she was going, and she couldn�t hear herself giving
the eagle knocker the password.� All she
felt was her chest burning, hurting, stinging.�
The seventh year had begun wailing well before she made it to her empty
bedroom and laid face down into her pillow.

One �always� Cho realized she had
as she drenched her pillow, was pain; emotional pain mostly.� And oddly, it started with the Goblet of
Fire.� The moment Harry�s name had been
announced, Cho was instantly confused and hurt.�
Cho, having already been crushing on Harry and thrilled by the way he
looked at her (she always loved being on display for him), wondered, worried,
and prayed that he hadn�t entered the tournament willingly.� And when he was set to be a Champion
regardless of his age or questionable entry, she was terrified.� But the announcement of the Yule Ball brought
her spirits up.� The way he watched her,
she was sure he�d ask her.� However, the
pain returned when he hadn�t, and a nice, handsome boy had; Cedric
Diggory.� Temporarily, Cho allowed the
pain of Harry not asking her to fade under Cedric�s sweet, courteous courting
of her. �But when Harry finally did ask
her, the pain was back once more.� Now
she had a boyfriend when the boy she liked already had finally asked her out
and would surely never ask her out again if she were to lose Cedric.� And lose Cedric, she did, which caused a pain
she had never experienced before.� But
part of her pain was eased when her heart allowed her to realize that Harry had
returned, alive.� And in her sixth year,
as the pain of losing Cedric was still present, the Ravenclaw jumped on the
chance to pursue the root or connection to all her pain.� She knew if she had Harry, nothing would hurt
anymore; he was all she wanted to begin with anyway.� But blinded by her grief caused her even more
pain when she feared losing him to Hermione.�
Then, after making up with him, she fell back into pain when they were
both to stupid to see pass their friendship loyalties to agree with each other,
or agree to disagree.

With a new year upon her, came a
new year of pain, and Harry was still the root of it.� Cho had been raped.� She had been raped by a boy who, deep down
inside, she still liked before he took her forcibly on the Hogwarts
Express.� Her crush had become her
assailant.� As her year continued, she
went through the pain of it happening continually, and her finding herself
enjoying it, needing it, needing him.�
Now Cho lay in bed crying over her possibly fallen assailant, not sure
she wanted to know why.� The pain of that
reality felt worse than what happened on the Hogwarts Express.� And the thought that she would do absolutely
anything he wanted if just returned in one piece, was like a thousand needles
wiggling themselves into her chest one at a time.

�I�d kiss him�� Cho sobbed in her
pillow as a metaphorical needle entered her chest.� �He�ll never�have to ask�� Another needle entered.� �You�ll never�have to�beg me, Harry�� Three more added to the fun.� �PLEASE�please�just come back�to me�� Several more added to the pain of Cho Chang.

********************************************************************

Thursday finally came, but Cho
didn�t know what day it was.� She sat in
the common room for breakfast in silence, Terry sitting with her just as
silent.� She attended her classes, but
didn�t answer a question, or take a note.�
Terry walked with her to each class, and waited outside for each one of
hers he could get too.� But they hadn�t
talked.� She sat in the common room for
lunch, and Terry sat beside her reading, his stomach growling, but with no
intentions of leaving his friend�s side.�
Cho realized her friend�s sacrifice and she loved him greatly for
it.� She knew Marietta would not have had the patience to
deal with her, especially without having to divulge her obvious secret in any
detail.� The Ravenclaw vowed the moment
she allowed herself to speak again, she�d tell Terry how much she appreciated
him.�

After classes that afternoon, and
when everyone else began heading toward the Great Hall for dinner, Cho went to
find her seat on the couch in the common room, Terry already heading toward the
same couch.� As the two made to sit down,
there was a loud slam of their House door that echoed in the navy blue and
black room, causing them both to turn their heads toward it.� When they saw nothing unusual in that
direction, well Cho saw something brown, pointy, and fleshy, but she gave up
trying to figure that out, they both gasped when they turned back around to the
coffee table in front of them.� The
Ravenclaws found two large bowls of fruit, juice, cheese, crackers, bread, and
one small bowl of cream that seemed placed specifically on Cho�s side for her
use only.

�What the�� began Terry, and
looked at Cho.� �Blimey, is this for us?�

Cho considered opened her mouth
for the first time that day to speak, but the sight of the bowl of strawberries
and cream flushed her mind with memories of Harry and she couldn�t.� Instead, the Ravenclaw nodded at her
housemate, sure that she was correct in her answer considering the bowl of
strawberries had visited her without request once before.

�Wow!� Let�s tuck in then, I�m bloody starved!� said
Terry, as he and Cho sat down.� Terry did
as he suggested and began eating until his hearts content.� Cho sat in her silence, looking at her meal,
and ignoring her stomach.� The seventh
year sat back in her indent of the Ravenclaw couch and barely watched her
friend enjoying their food.� However, one
thing did catch her attention.� When
Terry grabbed a slice of peach from his bowl of fruit, and reached over to dip
it in what would be Cho�s bowl of whip cream, it moved just out of his way.� Terry shook his head, and Cho narrowed her
eyes behind him as they were both sure they were seeing things.� When he tried it again, the bowl proved to
them that they hadn�t by moving an obvious full inch over.� �Curious�� said Terry under his breath.

Very, Cho thought, and for the first moment that day, she wasn�t
thinking about Harry.� Sitting forward,
the pretty girl grabbed a strawberry and reached toward the bowl of cream.� When the fruit easily dipped into the
confection, Cho narrowed her eyes even further in confusion.

�Oh, that�s not fair.� Let me try that!� Terry insisted.� He grabbed another piece of fruit, wondering
if maybe the topping was biased toward peaches, and he reached toward it with a
slice of pineapple.� The bowl apparently
was biased, but of Terry not fruit.� It
moved another inch over.

Cho popped the strawberry in her
mouth, the only bit of food she had all day, and grabbed another
strawberry.� Easily, and with a suck of
Terry�s teeth to express his discontent about it, she dipped her red fruit into
the dreamy whipped cream.� Again, she ate
the fruit as Terry attempted again and again and again with his piece of fruit,
causing the bowl to move back and forth on the table as though it had wheels.� Finally, Cho picked up the bowl in her
hands.� She scooped up a healthy glob of
it on a strawberry and ate it.� Then she
picked up another, dipped it in the cream and handed it to Terry.

�Thank you!� he said, taking the
coated piece of fruit.� But before he
could get it to his lips, the cream floated off the tip of the fruit, flew
through the air and plopped right back in the bowl.� Then the strawberry wiggled out of Terry�s
fingers and floated in front of Cho until she plucked it out of the air.� �Bloody�� began Terry just above a whisper,
in utter shock.�

The often curious Ravenclaws
looked at the fruit then each other, then the fruit once more.� The often curious enough to research
Ravenclaws watched as Cho took the fruit, dipped it in the bowl and then
slowly, tentatively place the bit in between her lips.� She bit a piece off and slowly chewed.� Nothing was different, and she shrugged her
shoulders at her friend in bewilderment as she finished it off.� She took a piece of pineapple, just for added
research, just because she�s a Ravenclaw, and dipped in the confection without
conflict.� Cho chewed the bit of fruit
covered with cream and shrugged her shoulders.�
�Bloody biased cream,� began Terry again, �I�ve never been so jealous of
a piece of fruit in all my life!� he joked.

Cho almost smiled for the first
time that day, until she was quickly reminded by his statement why she
hadn�t.� For the course of their
experiment, the seventh year hadn�t thought about Harry.� But as Terry�s words echoed in her mind,
reminding her of Harry�s same exact phrase the night they spent in the
kitchens, it all came flooding back.� Cho
felt the tears welling in her eyes and sniffed, not wanting to cry in front of
her friend anymore.� But the lump in her
throat, the sickness in every part of her stomach and the needles entering her
chest were far too strong for her to deal with in front of the sixth year, and
she abruptly got up.

�Cho, WAIT�� but that was all she
heard Terry say as she ran top speed to her stairs.� She knew he couldn�t follow her; he didn�t know
how to get up there like Harry did.�
Harry always knew how to get to Cho wherever she was� and now that added
thought of him made her nearly break her door down to get inside her bedroom.� The Ravenclaw jumped in her bed, closed her
curtains, and found the strength to put a silencing charm on them for she had
every intentions of crying until she passed out.� And she did.

***********************************************************

Cho woke up fully dressed in her
bed.� It was dark inside her curtains, and
judging by the light snores in the room, darkness was outside of her curtains
as well.� Her eyes felt puffy, her body
felt sweaty, and everything inside her hurt.�
The pretty Ravenclaw pulled herself out of her bed, grabbed her
toiletries and went to take a shower.�
Numb to the spray, to the washing of her hair, to the bushing of her
teeth, to the putting on of her flannel pajamas, Cho simply went through the
motions.� Before she left the bathroom
ready to lay in bed and cry some more over her fallen assailant, Cho looked at
herself in the mirror.� She could barely
recognize herself with her puffy, red almond shaped eyes, and her equally red
nose.� Then again, Cho had worn that look
before�it just hadn�t hurt this much. �And she couldn�t recognize herself for other
reasons that were tucked neatly into that sick pocket she was to numb to feel
at the moment.

Unable to face herself anymore in
the mirror, Cho turn away from her reflection and headed out the bathroom as
she wiped a fresh tear away.� She climbed
into her bed that she decided she wanted to change, switch, burn, as flashes of
her and Harry�s Monday mornings, Tuesday evenings, Wednesday afternoons if they
were lucky, replayed in her mind.� The
grieving Ravenclaw�s new tears landed on her pillow well before she could rest
her throbbing head.� The head ached as
her normally logical mind swirled with thoughts of Harry, with the pain of his
not coming back, with the pain that she was in pain that he was not coming
back, with the pain that she�d never see him ag�

Cho�s thoughts stopped instantly
when she felt her curtain on one side open just a little.� �Harry?� she said quickly, hopefully, as she
sat up with her heart racing and her eyes narrowing at the nothingness holding open
the curtain.� But all the Ravenclaw heard
was a shushing noise somewhere much lower in the opening then where she
watched.� As she lowered her puffy red
eyes, she saw that dreaded brown, pointy, fleshy thing slide away from her
curtain opening, causing it to close in the process.� Cho didn�t scream from proximity of the thing
that had been haunting her, stalking her for days.� Actually, she hadn�t had time to, not just
because the thing had disappeared, but also because there was now a wrapped
bundle on the foot of her bed.

The seventh year watched the
bundle tentatively.� She wasn�t sure what
was now in her darken bed quarters, and she wasn�t sure if touching it to see
was the best idea either.� So the
cautious Ravenclaw wiped a tear away, and fished out her wand from under her pillow
where Harry had told her to keep her wand when she slept.� �Lumos,� said the pretty girl, aiming her
wand toward the bundle.� When the tip of
her wand lit, Cho could see that the package was something made of material,
and tied up with gauzes.� There was also
a piece of parchment sticking out awkwardly from the top.� The now nervous raven-haired girl reached for
the paper slowly, plucking it from its nearly crumpled state under the equally
ill-fashioned knot of the gauzes.� And
just as slowly as she reached for it, she opened it up.� Cho had to lift her wand to the parchment for
a better look because the scribble on it was hard to make out at first glance.

In hospital wing.� Please come see me.� Use cloak.�
Door locked.

Cho thought her heart had stopped
because she surely wasn�t breathing.�
However, she found the strength to flick a severing charm at the gauzes
and pulled open the material that was transparent on one side.� The Ravenclaw held the cloak in her hands
tightly, held her breath, and squeezed her eyes shut shedding the new
tears.� They were tears of shock, or
maybe tears of joy.� But before she could
decide, and before she could allow herself to rejoice that her prayers had been
answered, Cho leapt out of bed and barely put her slippers on before rushing
out of the room, Cloak in hand.

The seventh year had been numb on
and off for the past couple of days, and tonight was no exception.� She couldn�t feel herself running through the
corridors of the old castle with Harry�s Cloak over her head, his scent
surrounding her from his many uses of the material.� She hadn�t even seen where she was going,
since her eyes were focusing on the images in her mind of what she would see,
feel, hold soon.� She hadn�t even heard
herself whisper the unlocking charm on the Infirmary doors.� But when her focus and bodily senses did kick
in, Cho found herself tiptoeing passed the doors leading to Madam Pomfrey�s
office and chambers, and further on to the only set of dividers pulled out around
a bed.

Holding her breath and beginning
to tremble as new silent tears fell down her face, Cho rounded the corner of
the divider.� She could hear her heart
thumping, beating, raging in her chest as she first laid eyes on the defeated,
broken, and bandaged sleeping form of Harry Potter.� His entire left side, that Cho could see
considering that he was half covered by a blanket, was beaten, bruised and
broken.� Harry�s left arm was in a sling
and a cast over his wrist and hand.� The
side of his head was bandaged and slightly larger than normal even with his
unruly raven hair.� His left eye was
blackened, the corner of his lips was bruised and puffy, and down the left side
of his neck were three long scratches that topped any Cho had given him on any
part of his body.� Lastly, she could see
that his upper stomach was wrapped in bandages.�
But the Ravenclaw�s focus was mostly on the rising and falling of the
Gryffindor�s chest from his steady breathing.�
Breathing; living; there.�

Cho had never seen anything so beautiful
in her entire life.

Suddenly, there was a sniff, and
Cho wasn�t sure if it was her own or not.�
But when she saw Harry�s eyes shoot open and his head snap forward she
knew it had been him.� �Beautiful?� she
heard him say, and everything inside the Ravenclaw went weak.� Wiping away a tear, and wishing she had worn
something other than her oversized flannel pajamas, Cho pulled the Cloak off
her head.� She watched Harry narrow his
glass-less eyes but smile brightly just the same.� �God, Cho,� he began with a sound of relief
in his voice, but then winced as he tried to sit up with one arm.

�No, Harry!� Cho exclaimed, then
quickly sat down next to him on his bed in an effort to stop him.� However, the rapid decent, bringing her
missing assailant closer by the millisecond, caused the Ravenclaw to go beyond
her control.� Before she realized it,
Cho�s lips were on Harry�s swollen ones.�
The surprised or painful whimper he issued on her lips brought her back
to reality and Cho quickly pulled away and lowered her head.

�Wow, Love!� You�ve missed me, haven�t you?� Harry asked,
his voice strained from his sitting up, but excited at the same time.

Missed you is an understatement, Harry Potter!� She shouted in her mind, but shook her
lowered head and lied.� �No,� she said
quietly.

Cho heard another wince as his
only support lifted from the bed, and held her chin.� Harry raised the lying girl�s head up
gently.� �I missed you, Love,� he
whispered with a smile.� But leaning
toward her mouth for another kiss, Harry winced again.

Luckily for Cho, her need to help
him heal was stronger than her need to kiss him.� Well, her need to help him was strong and her
need to keep her self strong was stronger...all of a sudden.� �No, Harry, lay back down,� Cho ordered,
trying to ease him back down on the bed.�
�Your ribs, they don�t seem��

�Lay with me, Cho,� Harry
requested, interrupting her as he held her arm to pull her along with him.

Cho narrowed her still puffy eyes
at him, then shook her head at his subliminal request.� �Harry, no!�
You can�t�we can�t�you�re all broken��

Harry snorted and winced in
turn.� �No, Love, I didn�t mean that for
goodness sakes!� I just meant�lay with
me�at least for my seventeen minutes you usually give me.� I can�t sit up and talk to you and I�don�t
want you leave, and I need�to feel�you near me.�
Please, Cho?� Harry asked, laying back down and pulling open his blanket
as best he could with one arm, and then reached for her hand.

Cho wanted nothing more than to
climb in the bed with Harry, but in the Infirmary was not a comforting
thought.� �What about Madam Pomfrey,
Harry?� She may come out at any moment
and then��

Harry, still holding her hand,
turned his bruised head to the side.�
�Dobby?� he called, and before Cho could narrow her eyes in confusion
and ask a question, there was a light pop of Apparition.� Suddenly, the Ravenclaw saw a brown, pointy
fleshy thing, actually two of them, and they were on top of the head of a
house-elf.�

�You!� It�s been you sneaking around me, then?� Cho
gasped.

Harry snorted as the little
house-elf wrung his hands nervously.�
�Fine job, Dobby.� Well done.� Looked after my�um, her well, then?� Harry
said, peeking at Cho then back at Dobby.

Dobby nodded his head profusely,
his batwing-like ears flapping on his head in the process.� �Yes, sir, Harry Potter, sir.� Dobby did as Harry Potter requested.� But Dobby is sorry, sir, Miss Chang only ate
once today,� Dobby added sadly, lowering his head in shame.� �Dobby knows he has failed Harry Potter and
must go punish himself.� Dobby will go
slam the door on his knees, sir.� Excuse Dobby.�� The little elf began walking around the bed
to find a door.

Harry sat up as quickly as broken
ribs would allow him, wincing in the process.�
Cho grimaced for the pain and pending pain of both males.� �Dobby, no. wait!� You are not to punish yourself, that�s an
order!� Harry demanded, causing the house-elf to stop in his tracks.� �Now�ouch�I do need you to do me a favor,
Dobby�ouch�� Harry winced, trying to hold himself up.� Cho had her hands on his shoulders trying to
ease him back down, but he wouldn�t move.

�Yes, sir, what is it, sir?� Dobby will do anything to make amends for his
blunder,� said the free-elf eagerly.

Harry looked passed the pleading
eyes of his victim to Dobby.� �I need you
to go�ouch�and watch Madam Pomfrey for�ouch�me.�
If she looks�like she wants to come�out here, come�ouch�out here to warn
me quickly, so I may�hide my lovely visitor.�
Okay?� he requested painfully, and much to Cho�s irritation and worry.

�Yes, sir!� Right away, sir!� Dobby said happily.� Then with a snap of his fingers, he was gone.

The Ravenclaw let out of huff of
frustration.� �Lay down!� Cho ordered,
pushing him harder.

Harry struggled in immense pain to
stay half raised.� �Not with�out�you,
Love,� he said, pulling her with him.

Cho sighed and pushed him all the
way down in the bed, then crawled in the covers of the tiny bed beside
him.� Not having much room, and not
having much of a choice considering that his free arm was now laid out to be
her pillow, Cho rested her head on his shoulder and put her arm around his
neck.� Harry folded his arm around her
shoulders, pulling her closer.� Cho
sighed again, but not from irritation.�
She could hear Harry�s heart beating; actually beating.� Her assailant had returned in one piece, and
another tear threatened to ease out of her eye.

When she felt his swollen lip
press a light kiss to her forehead, it did.�
�Do they�know you�re back?� Ron,
Hermione�and Ginny, I mean?� Ginny
mustn�t know�you�re here, or she�d be�lying beside you right no�� Cho whispered
for some reason not wanting to say it out loud.

�She knows,� Harry interrupted
just as quietly.� �They all do.� But I�made an excuse�to her when she�wanted
my Invisibility Cloak�to come back and�visit me,� he admitted.� �Told her�I may have lost it.� I�needed to see you.�

�

�Needed to see you�� the kind words caused pain to the Ravenclaw,
adding needles to her already aching chest.�
�I thought�you were�dead, Harry,� Cho barely said aloud, not wanting to
sob in the process of speaking.

Harry was silent for a
moment.� �I�had to come�back, Love.� Had to make sure�you were being�a good girl,
didn�t I?�

Cho snorted lightly with another
tear.� �Yes, you did,� she whispered,
squeezing him around the neck and causing him to wince again.� �I�m sorry,� she apologized, loosening her
grip.

�It�s quite alright, Cho.� I�m�glad you�wanted to squeeze me back,�
Harry said to her forehead.� Instead of
another snort, Cho sniffed as another tear slid from her eye and landed on
Harry�s shoulder.� Harry�s lips soon
found her forehead once again for a comforting kiss, but it only caused another
silent tear to fall.� �You�ve
been�crying,� he said just above a whisper.

The Ravenclaw couldn�t speak for a
moment.� She swallowed hard at the lump
in her throat several times before attempting.�
�I�� she sniffed again, �just had a�rough day is all.�

The Boy Hero holding her nodded
lightly against her head.� �I�know,
Love.� And�yesterday too.�� Cho opened her mouth to speak but closed it,
willing her tears to stop flowing.�
�Terry�you were in his bed again yesterday��

Cho sniffed once more then sighed
in frustration of Harry�s obvious jealousy.�
�Harry!� Terry was only��

�Terry�s a good bloke, Cho.� I�m glad he�s�your mate,� Harry said,
surprising her and interrupting her.�
�He�s taken better care of you then Dobby has, hasn�t he?� Especially since�yesterday.� I was told the Prophet reported that I
was�dead,� Harry sighed sadly at his own words.�
�But you�he took care of you�without question��

�How do you know that?� Cho
interrupted him this time from his shoulder, her slight irritation with him
causing her tears to stop.� �You were
keeping tabs on me even while you were gone?�
If you were, Harry Potter, then why didn�t you contact me and tell me
you were okay, instead of making me suffer like this�like that?�

The Boy-Who-Lived shook his
head.� �No, Love.� I�wasn�t keeping tabs while I was�gone.� I got a full report when I got back, though.� I told Dobby the night I left to watch over
you until�forever.� At least I thought
forever�I�failed�� Harry said, then trailed off and tilted his head away from
her.

The words �forever� and �failed�
seemed to hurt the Ravenclaw in the chest.�
She felt the needles having their way with her once more.� �Failed?� Cho tried not to whimper.� �You�re here, aren�t you?� You haven�t�failed, Harry.�� Not to
me�

The Gryffindor hero was silent for
nearly a minute as he held her and kept his head the other way.� �I�failed to�give you your�� I DIDN�T,� he said suddenly, raising his
voice, �get�Him�this time.� I failed you
and everyone else because of my add��

Cho narrowed her puffy eyes and
lifted her head slightly to see him refuse to look at her.� �Harry�� she began hoping he�d turn his head
toward her, but he wouldn�t.� Instead,
she felt his arm around her shoulders gently pushing her back down to his
shoulder.

�I�� he began again, with pain
evident in his voice, �tried, Love!� I
really did�try to�� When we went
in�actually, the entire time I was gone�I thought of�you.� You were my motivation to do whatever it took
to end Voldemort�s pathetic life and my pathetic existence!�� Harry sniffed and Cho echoed it, both for
different reasons surrounding Harry�s unattained death.� �I told myself, �Save her; free her; give her
her life back!�� I just��

Cho closed her eyes to release a
new batch of fresh tears, though she remained silent on his shoulder.� But the Ravenclaw didn�t know if her tears
were from anger or sadness.� She hadn�t
asked him to save her, to end�them, to end his life in the process.� However, the seventh year didn�t speak any of
that as she clung to her assailant.�

Harry seemed to need a moment to
gather himself before continuing.� He
sniffed yet again, and spoke.� �It
was�awful that night, Love.� It�they�we
knew they were coming, so we�hid.� The
moment they arrived, they just�started cursing, and killing, and hurting anyone
they saw fit.� Laughing maliciously as
they did so!� I saw mothers and
babies�mur�� Harry stopped and swallowed
hard.� �Fathers�trying to find their
children�screaming for their wives!�
Older men murdered in cold blood, older women smacked and beaten and
killed�� I�ve never seen so much�blood in
all my life, Cho!� They�re just
so�heartless, so�inhuman!�� The Boy Hero
paused once more, and rubbed his battered chin on his battered shoulder.� �I hadn�t realized�how much like them�I�ve
become�� he barely said out loud.

Cho�s wet, puffy eyes shot
open.� �Harry!� she said, lifting her
head again.� �For God�s sake, what are
you talking about? �You�re nothing like
them!� How can you say��

But Harry�s unwavering refusal to
look at her, and the sight of his Adam�s Apple gliding back and forth up his
column, caused the Ravenclaw to stop speaking well before he continued.� The Gryffindor turned slowly to face his
victim.� Staring intently into her brown
eyes, Cho could see that dreaded red surrounding the beautiful green.� �I am�just like them, Love.� What I�ve�done to you,� Harry said, lifting
his hand behind her and stroking her hair.

�What you�ve done to me�?� Cho
began strongly, wanting to defend him to him; to defend her assailant�s actions
to her�assailant.� The Ravenclaw suddenly
found it difficult to speak as she hovered there mid-air watching the pain in
his eyes, trying to ignore the pain in her chest.� Cho laid her head back down on his
shoulder.� Shutting her eyes tightly as
the sound of his heart beat played against her ear, the seventh year hoped
she�d find the courage to�to what, was the question.

It took a moment for her to
realize that Harry was speaking again.�
��you were there with me, Beautiful.�
Every battle I was in, I saw your face.�
I fought hard against each one of them, knowing that I had to save
myself for Voldemort.� That he had to be
dead, and I along with him, in order to free you.� But I think�� and Harry�s voice trailed off
for a moment once more, ��you were my�THAT was my downfall.� When I�� he swallowed hard, �saw him and
Bellatrix LeStrange and Lucius Malfoy run down a blind alley, his bitch
taunting me to�follow, I did, without fear!�
I had already fought Bellatrix, and that�s how I received these marks
down my neck.� Bloody whore,� he
mumbled.� �I nearly killed her right
there!� She�s the one that killed�my
godfather�� Harry stopped and swallowed
hard.� Cho did the same, but added her
arm tightening around his neck.� Though
he was presently in her arms, the story was beginning to scare her.� She could see him chasing the obvious
madwoman down and placing himself in danger out of hurt and the hurt he�d
caused her.

�Dumbledore and Remus yelled for
me to�come back, to not follow them!� And
that it was a trap!� But I�kept going,
Cho�� I just�had too.� They were taunting me, pretending to be trap,
though his little whore kept snickering.�
I didn�t care!� All I saw was you�standing
at your House door the night I left.�
Your beautiful face�smiling at me,� Harry said quietly as if lost in
thought.� �I could see you smiling�from
the freedom you�d receive if�I ran down that alley.� If�I faced him for the last time�� As he spoke, something in Cho�s stomach
disagreed with him, something in her chest disagreed with him, and even her
mind that wanted to ignore her stomach and chest was conflicted by the
statement that she would be smiling from her freedom.�

It�s hard to smile when your insides are broken��

��your face,� Cho heard him say,
having begun again without her notice.�
�It�it�made me want to fight him, and then�I saw you�lying under me,
Love�making love to you�� Harry stopped again, sniffed and swallowed hard, �and
I just�couldn�t go�any further.�� Now Cho
sniffed and swallowed hard at his words.�
�I just�wanted to do�all I could to�get back�to you�� I�m so sorry, Cho!� Harry said painfully,
pulling her closer and resting his mouth on her forehead.� �I failed you, and I failed the wizarding
word�because of my�need for�you��

Tears flowed from Cho�s eyes onto
Harry�s shirt.� She tightened her hold
around his neck as he tightened his hold around her shoulders.� Cho held her assailant as silent tears fell
from both their eyes, both crying over his failure, both crying over it for
different reasons.� Harry hadn�t failed
her, she was holding him, he was alive, and she was going to ignore the sick
pocket in her stomach and revel in the fact.

But it hadn�t escaped her conscious
mind what Harry really faced in his world.�
The wizarding world placed him on a pedestal, depending solely on this
now sixteen year old orphan to deliver them from an evil Lord.� This teenage boy was meant to witness the
carnage he had faced in Diagon Alley.� He
was meant to lose love ones in battle.�
He was meant to suffer the slings and arrows from the magical world when
they decided he was good or bad.� He was meant to be held in high regard, to be
seen as perfect, to be always the hero.�
He was never seen as a boy with no parents.� That was living with people who hated his
kind.� Who had an evil piece of filth
searching, seeking, plotting his demise.�
Who was meant to face, fight, and kill the most deadly wizard of all
time.� Who was not seen as a distraught
person trying to handle what hand he had been dealt in life, and not being able
to cope with it properly anymore.

There was no excusing what Harry
had done to Cho on the Hogwarts Express and the subsequent days after, but Cho
had known for a while why it happened.�
With the explanation of what he�d just witnessed, how easily he would
sacrifice himself for a world that didn�t love him for him, how easily he would
sacrifice himself to rectify his wrongs toward her, the Ravenclaw had an even
greater understanding of the pain of Harry Potter.�

She held him tighter in more ways
than one.�

�I�m�� Harry began suddenly,
quietly, painfully, �sorry I�ve told you�all the details of�the battle,
Cho.� I rather you never hear, God forbid
SEE anything like that.� After all the
pain you�ve�suffered with Cedric�and what I�ve caused this year�� Cho squeezed him around his neck to indicate
his being wrong, but Harry�s light kiss on her forehead begged for her to
understand.� �You don�t deserve to
hear�such horrible�.such�my
problems.� But�you�re the only one�I can
tell it too, Love...� Thank
you�for�listening�� he finished, a crack in his voice indicating that he
wouldn�t be able to continue if he tried.

Harry�s apologetic and grateful
words meant nothing to the girl lying on his chest.� Selfishly, Cho didn�t care that Voldemort
would live another day, because at the moment, all she cared about was that her
assailant would survive another as well, and in her arms.� Her repeatedly damaged, repeatedly repairing
soul was beginning to heal once more.�
The joy of that reality, of listening to him breathe, of listening to
Harry�s heart beat rocked the Ravenclaw into a tear-laden, but grateful sleep.

**********************************************************

Harry shook with desire under Cho
as she, wearing Madam Pomfrey�s matron attire, laid on top of him, trailing the
very tip of her pointed tongue along the zigzag of his trademark scar.� �Oh God, Love, please�kiss me!� Harry begged.� Cho giggled, giving his scar another swipe of
her tongue, then lightly licked the tip of his nose before plunging the muscle
into his parted mouth.�

Though the two lay in the middle
of a battle in front of Flourish and Blotts, they kissed passionately, and
Harry moaned in Cho�s mouth to indicate it.�
�I only wanted to come back�for your kiss, Cho�� Harry said softly in
the raging battle after Cho lifted her head slightly for air.

Giggling a little, and ignoring
the gory fighting around them, Cho smiled down at her assailant.� �Well, I�ve brought my kiss to you instead,
haven�t I?� she said, caressing his cheek.�
�Now, will you come back with me?�

Harry�s passion-swollen lips smiled
lightly.� �Do you want me, Love?� he
asked, slowly.

Cho�s smile faltered just a little
as she watched him.� �Can�t you tell,
Harry?�

The Boy Hero kept his smile.� �I just want to hear you say it, I suppose��

The Ravenclaw�s grin widened a
bit.� �I want you, Harry,� she said as
she lowered her smile toward Harry�s for another kiss.

�I want to see Harry.� Now!� ordered the voice of Ginny Weasley
interrupting what would be Harry�s and Cho�s kiss�in her dream.

Cho�s pretty brown eyes snapped
out.� All she saw was daylight, Harry�s
t-shirted chest, and the sling on his other arm, as she felt herself still
locked in his functioning arm.� When she
lifted her head, all she saw was the green of his eyes looking mortified at
her.� �SHIT!� they both whispered in
unison, having both heard a redhead outside the Infirmary doors.� Panic being the emotion of choice, the two teens
sat up quickly.� Well, Cho sat up
quickly, and Harry attempted it quickly but winced in pain.� However, the pain of his ribs didn�t stop the
Boy-Who-Was-Broken from grabbing hold of Cho�s cheek, and placing a quick kiss
on her lips, before pulling the blankets off of them.

�Harry!� Cho whispered loudly.

�Smack me later, Love, we�ve got
to find my Invisibility Cloak so you can sneak out of here and come back to me
later!� he whispered urgently in return.

Cho shook her head though a small
smile threatened the corner of her mouth.�
She got out of bed and looked around for the invisible material.� Then heard Harry moan again, and quickly
turned to see him attempting to get up.�
�No, Harry!� For goodness sakes,
lay down!� I�ll��

�Let me in!� Ginny�s voice
bellowed outside the doors.

Heart racing, Cho found the
strength to reach for Harry and slam him back down on the bed, before slipping
her shoes on desperately looking for her wand in the blanket.� �Cho!� he protested, trying to sit back up.� Suddenly there was a tiny pop and a small
figured appeared at the foot of Harry�s bed, causing the Ravenclaw to jump a
few inches off the ground.

�Mr. Harry Potter, sir,� Dobby
said hurriedly.� �Madam Poppy�s gotten
out of bed, sir.� She�s meant to open the
doors for Harry Potter�s Like��

�THANK you, Dobby!� Harry
interrupted the house-elf, chancing a quick glance at Cho.� �I do appreciate your help!� Now maybe you could locate my��

�Thank you, Madam Pomfrey!� Ginny
beamed, her voice echoing in the hospital wing clearly.� Her feet, and two additional sets, could be
heard rushing down the center aisle.

Mumbling out of fear and panic,
Cho�s heart beat finally began to slow down as she retrieved her wand from
inside Harry�s bed covers.� �Thank God!�
she whispered loudly.� �Never mind,
Dobby�go on now,� the Ravenclaw said, then tapped her wand to the top of her
head causing that cold sensation to flow over her body.� Instantly, both she and Dobby
disappeared.� When she looked down at
Harry and saw him squint and dart his eyes around to find her, she knew she had
done it correctly.

�Love, you�ll come see me again,
won�t you?� Love�Love?� Harry called,
receiving no answer from his victim, but he did get one from his girlfriend.

�I�m right here, Harry,� Ginny
smiled as she turned the corner of his dividers, followed by a smiling Ron and
extremely relieved looking Hermione.� The
fifth year seemed to float at the sight of her hero boyfriend, walking quickly
over to his bed.� Well, not so quickly,
as Ginny tripped over something no one could see.� She gasped as did Hermione, as did a quiet
Cho.� But Ginny recovered quickly,
reached down to the floor in the area where she tripped and smiled.� �Here�s your bloody Cloak!� she said to
Harry, standing there with the invisible material in her hand.� �What is it doing on the floor here?� she
asked.� Cho only then remembered that the
night before, she had been so excited to see Harry wanting to see her that she
just pulled the Cloak off and allowed it to pool on the floor.� �No matter,� began the littlest Weasley, �I
have it now!��

Then rapidly, the female redhead
went from standing, to sitting, to kissing Harry.� The sick pocket in Cho�s stomach quivered
lightly at the sight of Ginny kissing Harry while sitting in the spot Cho had
slept by his side all night.� But when
she watched Harry pull away from the kiss first, something inside the seventh
year allowed that threatening smile to appear on her invisible face as she
left.

**********************

�Gorgeous day, isn�t it, Terry?�
beamed Cho as she and Terry met in the common room to head to breakfast.� The female Ravenclaw had smiled all the way
to her Tower that morning, then while changing, and now back down to head to
breakfast.� She was sure this smile would
last her the day like a typical Monday, without the glorious aching from fun
between her legs.� The glorious aching.� She
couldn�t wait for that to return either.�
And boy, would it.� Cho couldn�t
wait for Harry to heal properly; she was sure her efforts would put him right
back in the hospital wing.

�I�m sorry; I was waiting for Cho
Chang.� Have you seen her, perhaps?�
asked a highly confused Terry in the Ravenclaw common room.

The seventh year smiled from ear
to ear, before leaping on her new best friend and hugging him.� �Oh, Terry, you�re such a great friend!� I love you!� she said and planted an over
exaggerated kiss on his lips.

�AHH!� Terry screamed, pushing her
away and wiping his mouth.� �MY GOD,
CHO!� Grief has made you go MAD!� EEWW, girl cooties!� he said spitting and
smiling as they laughed their way out of their House.

Entering the Great Hall, the again
buzzing Great Hall, Cho locked her arm around Terry�s and nearly skipped to
their seats.� �Okay, you�ve got to tell
me what kind of illegal potion you�ve been inhaling, Cho.� Because you�re beginning to scare me��

�Have you two heard yet?� asked
the fifth year boy Cho had screamed at a week ago.

�No, what?� asked Terry worriedly,
glancing at the newly-happy-or-possibly-high Cho.

�Potter�s back!� He�s in the hospital wing.� Apparently, he�s as bloody brilliant as
everyone says he is!� the boy said toward Cho.�
�He survived Diagon Alley!�

Cho couldn�t help but beam at what
would be her bowl of cereal if she poured it.�
Terry turned a raised eyebrow at his quiet happy friend.� �Oh, now I understand,� he said, smiling and
nudging her.

********************************************************************

Cho�s cloud nine had been upgraded
to cloud one hundred and ten, and she had yet to receive all of the benefits of
Harry�s return.� She could wait for that,
though her lower region suggested she speak for herself.� The Ravenclaw was so happy about Madam
Pomfrey�s patient, she hadn�t berated herself in the slightness for spending
another night with Harry.

Well, you should, shouldn�t you? Cho asked herself, still smiling
in the middle of Slughorn�s potions lessons.�
It�s against the rule.

Yeah, a rule I wanted to break the night he�left.� No big deal.

No big deal?� Then why didn�t you
kiss him properly last night?

His�lip was swollen.� Yeah,
that�s it!� As a future Healer, I�know
better.

The Ravenclaw�s smiled waned
slightly.� As his victim, you should know better.

As his �beautiful love�, I could care less, she added before adding
bat livers to her amnesia potion.

�You should, Cho,� she heard voice
say; a male voice.� Cho gasped in fear at
the words she thought were in her head.�
Then the seventh year turned to see her partner for the assignment,
Cormac, smiling back at her.� �You
should, really,� he added.

Cho�s breath caught in her throat
for a moment.� �Sh-should�what, Cormac?�
she asked nervously.

Cormac smiled.� �Come with me to the old Slughorn�s Slug Club
party a few days before Christmas holiday.�
Please?�

A bit confused by the offer, not
being aware that Professor Slughorn was having a party and that there was such
a thing as a �Slug Club�, Cho was hesitant.�
However, in the back of her mind and something a little lower then her
head, she hesitated because that would just be a little more time to spend with
Harry. And the prospect of going with Cormac on a date would surely irritate
Harry�

Or was that just an excuse?

Just agree to go for goodness sakes, Cho! The Ravenclaw told
herself in her mind.� The things you�ve been thinking about doing
to Harry, he will surely need a break by then!

Yeah, so go and wear something pretty for Cormac�

And let Harry take it off of you that night! She thought, smiling
brightly.

�I�ll�� began Cormac, smiling at
the smiling Ravenclaw, �take that as a �yes�, then?�
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