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Paying For His Pedestal	By : twocanz Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Cho Views: 82652 -:- 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
- 28
- 29
- 30
Chapter 29 � Happy
Christmas

Cho walked to breakfast alone that Christmas morning after
searching her room for her pink panties that had gone missing.� As she reached the last corridor to the Great
Hall, she found someone waiting, watching an old piece of parchment.� Three steps down the hall, the person folded
the paper together and stuffed in into the coat she had worn on the Dark Tower.� Cho wondered why he was carrying his coat,
and also why he waiting for her outside of the Great Hall.

�You can�t possibly think that I�m sitting with you in
there, do you?� Cho asked Harry as she approached him.

Harry narrowed his one green, one green and bluish eyes at
her.� �Why not, L-Cho?� I was good this morning.�

Yeah, you looked
absolutely delicious to be exact�

Cho sighed.� �Don�t be
silly, Harry.� There are at least two
teachers staying here who will more than likely be in there, besides Eden and
the Slytherin boy.� They can�t very well
see us sitting together, especially the way you�look at me.� They�ll get the wrong idea.� VERY wrong idea.� Believe me, it�s very easy to get the wrong
idea about�us.�

Harry looked almost scandalized at the suggestion.� �So�I�m not to sit with you at all during
meals?� I�m to sit�away from you�no where
near you�ever?� No way!� I didn�t ask you stay with me here so that I
can be apart from you all the time!� It
was so that we could be together ALL the time!�

�First of all, Harry, you didn�t ASK me to stay with you,
you blackmailed me into it.� Forced me
against my will as you like to do; let�s not forget that.� Secondly, although Dumbledore has
witnessed�us-what-we-do-whatever to a small degree and hasn�t said anything to
anyone, doesn�t mean these professors and the two first years will not.� And then where will you be if word got back
to your girlfriend?� Cho explained matter-of-factly.

Harry huffed in frustration.�
�I don�t give a damn what gets back to Ginny!� Don�t you get it, Cho?� I wanted to be with��

Now it was Cho�s turn to huff, interrupting him.� �You don�t give a damn what gets back to
Ginny, huh?� Then why don�t you go
upstairs and owl her that you�ve blackmailed your�victim slash ex-girlfriend
into staying in the castle so that you may have your way with her at any given
time?� While you�re at it, why don�t you
add a �P.S.� on what we�ve been getting up too behind her precious little
back!�

Harry ran a Cho-mended hand through his unruly hair as he
exhaled.� �Love, why can�t you
understand�let me prove to you that�� he began, reaching for her.

Cho stepped back.� �I
THOUGHT you weren�t going to touch me without permission?� You�ve been acting that way since
yesterday.�� Harry�s outstretched arms
dangled in the air.� Reluctantly, they
dropped as did his head.� �Now if you�ll
excuse me, I�m starved,� she added, surprised again by his restraint as she
entered the Great Hall.

Noticeably alone as she walked in, Cho wondered if he was
coming in at all.� But her wondering
changed from the sixth year to the Great Hall set up.� Just as festively decorated as it had been
the day before, the only thing that had changed was that the long table had
several Daily Prophets lying on it.� Eden
and the Slytherin boy, Ryan, were no longer sitting across from each other, but
right next to the other, but neither had a Prophet, nor seemed to care they
were there.� The two professors at the
faculty table, Sinistra and Vector, were reading their copies looking worriedly
at the wizarding news.� The Ravenclaw
noticed something else about the magical newspaper that caused a mixture of
surprise, anger, then fear.� On the front
page was a picture of her love with a reluctant smile, shifting from one foot
to the other.� The photos beside his were
sixteen total and all of what seemed to be Muggles.� Cho only knew they were Muggles from the
terrifying headline.

Sixteen Muggles Murdered
Christmas Eve

It would seem that not only the
Daily Prophet was set to do a sixteen page spread honoring Harry Potter for the
holiday season.� On the Eve of such a
joyous occasion, Death Eaters decided to spread murder and mayhem into the
lives of sixteen Muggles.� One witness, a
Muggle grandmother, said the hooded thugs entered her home, killed her son, his
wife and their visiting daughter.� But
after a loud humming emanated from the �funny wooden sticks� they were holding,
they simply bade her, the grandson and her granddaughter�s husband a Happy
Christmas before departing, sparing their lives.� It would seem that You-Know-Who�s followers
were meant to only end the lives of sixteen people last night.� A note on the final body recovered indicated
that the deaths were in tribute to every year Harry Potter was alive, and hoped
that next Christmas there would be no additional lives to end in his honor...

Cho felt sick to her stomach.� She couldn�t continue to read article. �The Ravenclaw could only imagine Harry�s
reaction to the news.� And as she heard
the door to the Great Hall creak open, she decided she only wanted it to be her
imagination.�

Without looking back to make sure it was him, Cho quickly
rushed up and down the table, snatching each Prophet away.� Piling them on top of each other, ignoring
the odd looks she was receiving from the professors and the first years, Cho
took out her wand and quickly administered an inferno charm to the papers.� The fire toasted the paper quickly, but just
as quickly grew out of hand and soon the Ravenclaw was in a cloud of smoke.

�Aquamenti!� said a voice in the black smoke next to
her.� �Merlin�s sakes, Cho, breakfast
could not have been that bad, could it?� Harry asked her.

Coughing, Cho waved her hand in front of the doused pile to
make sure it wasn�t readable or recognizable of ever having been paper.� She had achieved her goal; it was now just a
pile of wet, black, mush.� As the smoke
around her cleared, Cho got a clear view of Harry�s smirking face.� He hadn�t a clue what had happened and she
wanted it to stay that way.� �Show me
where the�kitchens are again, will you?�
I rather get something to eat there,� she whispered to him.

Harry�s smirk, turned into Harry�s shock before he nodded
and she followed him out of the Great Hall.�
If anyone were to ruin his Christmas, it would be her if she wanted too,
not Voldemort.� She�d see to that.

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

After the house-elves over fed them, and sang several
holiday tunes to them while they ate and giggled at them, they bade them
good-bye and headed out of the portrait of the bowl of fruit.� Harry suddenly wore that nervous look on his
face as they stood outside the painting.

�Um�Cho?� he called to her feet.

Cho snorted lightly at his anxious demeanor.� �Yes, Harry?�

�I�I�um�� he stuttered.�
�Would�perhaps�could�um��
May�I�would you mind if�� May I
show you around Hogwarts today?� he stammered out, then met her eyes.

The seventh year tried to suppress her giggle.� �I�ve been here longer than you, Harry.� I believe I�ve seen the school quite a bit,
don�t you?�

Harry snorted with embarrassment but continued on
anyway.� �Right�� he began then looked
away, �but�I mean�for Christmas.� I�ve
spent more than my fair share of Christmases in this place and there are some
interesting things I don�t think others have noticed or seen.� Some things�I haven�t even shown Ron or
Hermione when they�ve stayed with me.�

Cho couldn�t help but smile.�
�Not even�Ginny,� she asked subtly.

Harry watched her lips and smiled as well.� �No, not even her.�

�Off we go, then.�

******

It had been an interesting tour indeed for the
Ravenclaw.� She had heard the suits of
armor singing as she passed them for nearly two weeks before everyone had left
for the holiday, but she didn�t know that they all gathered in the Main Hall to
put on show of Christmas tunes.� Harry
and Cho had a front row seat at the bottom of the marble staircase as they
watched the suits of armor singing songs of Christmas greetings and merriment.� Something else the pretty girl noticed during
the concert was that Harry�s focus on the suits was tainted by his quick
glances at her.� Cho also noticed that
any time her hand was near his, his fingers would do an odd wave toward her
hand as if to touch it or grab it, though he did neither.

The second part of the tour led them outside, which she
found out is why he had his coat with him the entire morning.� Harry, never touching her, led her out onto
the frozen Black Lake after they got her coat.� After tapping his wand to her shoes and his,
causing a blade to appear at the bottom, the two walked out onto the ice.� Eden and Ryan were already skating around on
the frozen pond laughing and yelling toward each other playfully.� And though Cho wobbled on the ice, having
only ice skated a few times before, Harry didn�t grab for her.� He grabbed at her when she looked fit to
fall, but he allowed her to straighten up on her own and continue.� He skated beside her, still sneaking peeks at
her red cheeked face.� Her red cheeks
hurt from smiling so much.

Lunch in the Great Hall of sandwiches and hot cocoa, the
sixth and seventh years found themselves sitting with the first years at
Harry�s request.� Cho realized it had
only been a ploy to get them to sit together if Harry invited everyone to join
them.� �It�s Christmas after all,� he
told Cho when she raised an eyebrow at his request.� Either way, her former red cheeks still had
plenty to hurt for.� If not his sneaking
ploy to be closer to her during their meal, it was the fact that her hand that
rested on the bench between them seemed to cause his newly resting hand to wave
oddly near by.� This time, however,
Harry�s pinky finger bravely made contact with her own, before taking it
quickly away.� She noticed him take
breath of relief toward his food afterward.�
It had been a big step for the two people who had done unspeakable
things to each other for nearly four months.

Cho wondered how long Harry would be able to keep up his
charade.� After lunch and as Harry took
her to secluded corridors for the second leg of their tour, his arm was nearly
twitching uncontrollably.� Cho ignored it
and tried to keep from smirking as she noticed him noticing it too and cursing
himself under his breath.�

But what was in those secluded corridors distracted the
seventh year from Harry�s possessed arm.�
The Gryffindor began showing her portraits she had never seen before,
decorated extravagantly by the occupants for the holiday.� Cho was in awe at the detailed put into each
painting; all with their own ways of lighting, from glowing pixies, to
multi-colored candles, to starry night skies.�
There were massive family scenes with beautifully decorated trees, and
enormous dinners.� There were portraits
of children playing in the snow or opening presents.� Cho had been in awe at all she was shown.

�This one is my favorite,� Harry said quietly as they
approached the smallest frame on their tour.�
Cho had to step up closer to get the full view of the painting.� In the portrait, a tiny modest home sat on
the countryside.� The night sky was black
except for one bright star glowing above the home.� A family consisting of a mother, a father and
one little boy stood staring up at the star as it lit their faces.� Cho could see that they didn�t have much, but
the way they held onto each other, they had enough to warrant their
smiles.� The occupants turned to waved at
Harry and Cho, calling out Christmas greetings to the students.� Only one saw them wave, because as Cho waved
back she could see out the corner of her eye that Harry was again, watching
her.� �Lovely�isn�t it?� he asked in the
same manner as before.

Cho turned to him and smiled.� �It is.�
Have you shown�anyone else this painting before, Harry?� she asked.

Harry broke their eye contact and looked back at the family
that specifically said his name as they gave him his greetings.� �No,� he answered plainly.

The Ravenclaw looked back at the family as the mother blew
kisses toward the Boy Hero.� �Will�you?�
Cho asked, and didn�t know why she needed to ask.� Deep down, she hoped that there was something
special to him that he would only share with her.� She knew it was silly, but being in love made
people want silly things.

Harry smiled at the woman in the painting.� �No.�
Never wanted to share it with anyone until�now.�

The raven-haired girl wondered if her cheeks would stop
hurting anytime that day.� Trying to
suppress smiles exaggerated her condition as well.� �Oh,� she said toward the portrait.� The two fell silent for a moment.

�May I�hold your�hand, Love?�
I mean�Cho,� he asked the portrait suddenly, breaking their
silence.� �Damn it�� Harry whispered and
look fit to hit himself in the forehead for the name slip.

Cho�s cheeks pulled again.�
�I�suppose that would be alright,� she said reluctantly, though her
smile gave her away.� Harry�s eyes moved
from the portrait to hers and she noticed he did all he could to contain what
would be a toothy grin.� As his fingers
slowly took hers, intertwining them delicately together, Cho heard him exhaled
with relief.� She had to admit, his
noticeable need to touch was so strong, it made her exhale when it finally
happened as well.

�Thank you, Lov-Cho,� he said, squeezing her hand gently but
strongly enough to indicate he wasn�t letting go.� They fell silent once more as Harry watched
his thumb stroking the top of her hand for a minute before looking up into her
eyes.� His smile was sweet and
endearing.� It was one of the first
things she liked about Harry so many years ago.�
And the Ravenclaw knew that smile would not be present had he known what
happened the night before.� She shuddered
at the thought.

�So, where too now, Harry?� Cho asked, wanting to get her
mind off the Daily Prophet and her love�s sad life.� Harry smiled and pulled her along.

After visiting a few other paintings, none as special as his
favorite, Harry took Cho to Greenhouse 3 where they watched two trees change
their flowers to petal soft ornaments.�
The seventh year was in awe at the purple flowers turning into stars,
angels, train cabooses, and a slew of other decorations.� She would have loved to touch them with both
hands, however, her right hand was locked in Harry�s who wasn�t letting go even
for a moment.

Soon their tour, and hungry stomachs, led the back to the
Great Hall for Christmas dinner.� As they
approached the doors, Harry grabbed the handle with his free hand.� But before he pulled the doors opened for him
and the Ravenclaw, Cho pulled back on his hand, trying to release hers from
his.� The Gryffindor held tighter narrowing
his eyes at the pretty girl in confusion.

�Harry, you know we can�t go in there�holding hands.� Someone would surely notice that, don�t you
think?� Cho explained logically as Harry squeezed her hand.

�But I�� he began, looking crestfallen as he watched their
hands, �don�t want too let you go.�

Cho took a breath as she watched him.� She contemplated forfeiting dinner altogether
or suggesting that they head to kitchens instead.� The latter suggestion was set to be released
from her lips when a couple of voices sounded behind.

�Hiya, Harry, Cho!� beamed Eden and Ryan as they came,
nearly skipping, down the corridor.�
Harry�s and Cho�s hands broke apart instantly.� �Dinner should be fantastic being Christmas
and all.� We�re starved!� Where have you guys been?� Fancy sitting together again?�� The first years rambled off so many questions
at once, Harry and Cho simply abandoned their conversation and walked inside
with the boys.

Sitting down to a massive spread for dinner, Cho was
surprise to find the professors were already sitting down, and at the students
table no less.� Harry stayed closed to
Cho and she knew he was making sure to sit next to her wherever she decided to
go.� Sitting closer than he had earlier,
the Ravenclaw felt sure someone would noticed Harry in her personal space.� But as the first years talked and talked, the
professors seemed consumed with making the holiday conversation pleasant for
the young boys.� And as he had earlier,
Harry�s pinky felt the need to brush across her hand when it rested on the
bench in the little space between them.�
When Cho looked from their hands to his face, it really occurred to her
how close he was sitting.� She wouldn�t
be able to flip her hair over her shoulder without elbowing him in the process.

�We�ll have to hurry and finish up, or we�ll be late,� Harry
whispered to her, doing his best to eat with his left hand.

Cho narrowed her eyes in complete confusion.� �What?�
For what?� she whispered back.

Harry smiled.� �Just
another part of the tour,� he said aloofly.�
The seventh year had to admit, her interest was peaked.� She was curious as to what else Harry had to
show her.

Finishing before the rest, the two casually pretended to be
tired.� Harry chivalrously offered to
walk the Ravenclaw back to her Tower since he was heading out as well.� The professors and the first years all wished
the two a �Happy Christmas� and said good night.� Once they were in the hall, Harry waved his
hand toward Cho.

�Come on, we�ll miss the beginning!� he said urgently and
took to a run.

�Harry!� Where in
God�s name�� Cho started but was set to lose him if she didn�t stop talking and
keep up.

The pretty girl finally found herself in the dungeons of the
castle.� Deep in the dungeons of the
castle.� Finally, they entered a corridor
that was dank, dimly lit and freezing.�
Harry, who was still carrying around his coat for some reason, put in
around Cho�s shoulders.� �It�s going to
get even colder in a moment, L-Cho,� he warned and guided her into a cold, what
seemed to be, storage area.

�Where are we, Harry?� Cho asked, watching her breath freeze
in the air.

Harry didn�t answer.�
Smiling, he walked up to a set of discarded chairs and sat them up
properly in front of a debilitated platform.�
He waved his hand toward a chair, offering it to the seventh year.� Hesitantly, she took it and Harry sat down
next to her.� Before Cho could open her
mouth again to ask what was going on, Harry wrapped his arms around himself,
shivered and nodded toward the platform.�

Suddenly, all the lights lit up the room.� At least Cho thought they were lights at
first, but upon further investigation, she found that it was the glow of
several Hogwarts ghosts floating above the platform.� The set hovered side by side facing their
two-person audience.� Harry clapped, and
slowly Cho realized she should as well.�
The floating entities bowed and soon the History of Magic teacher,
Professor Binns, floated to the side of the stage.

�Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol,� he recited in his
monotone voice.

�You are joking, aren�t you?� Cho asked Harry.

�Sshhh, Gorgeous, this is interesting!� Harry whispered,
smirking and shivering in the process.

Cho couldn�t help but smile with mock irritation.� And the Ravenclaw couldn�t help but laugh as
she watched the Hogwarts ghosts tell the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge.� Ebenezer was played by the Bloody Baron.� Cho�s House ghost, the Grey Lady, played his
discarded girlfriend.� Moaning Myrtle
played a weepy Tiny Tim.� Nearly Headless
Nick played the Ghost of Christmas Past.��
The Fat Friar played the Ghost of Christmas Present.� And Peeves pulled off a wonderfully hilarious
Ghost of Christmas Future.� All with a
sprinkle of ghosts in between that Cho hadn�t recognized.

Cho laughed herself into frozen tears.� And the laughter was the only thing that kept
Harry�s lips from turning a shade similar to his still bruised eye.� Before the finale, and though she was still
laughing herself silly, Cho was becoming worried about how cold Harry had to
have been down there with all the ghosts and the dungeon atmosphere.� As a future Healer and someone in love with
him, the worry began to over take the hilarity.�
Cho took off his coat and threw it over his shoulder as the Bloody Baron
order another ghost to buy the biggest goose in all of London.

�No, Love,� Harry said without hesitation.� �Put this back on.� It�s freezing down here!� he whispered,
trying to pull the coat off his shoulders.

�Harry, you�re freezing!�
I�m fine!� Put this on, we haven�t
much longer before this is over!� Wear
it!� she demanded in a whisper as well.

�No!� Put it back on!�
he said through his bluing lips.� �Now!�

�You�re going to disobey my orders again concerning your
health?� Cho asked, sternly, hopefully, not knowing if that would still
work.� It didn�t.

�You�re damn right I am!�
I don�t want you to get sick!� Put
the coat back on, Cho.� Now!� Harry said,
throwing the coat over her shoulders and his arms as well to keep her locked
inside.

Trying her hardest to wiggle her way out of his grasp, Cho
cursed the Gryffindor under her breath.�
�Bloody stubborn git!�

�You�re absolutely right!�
We�re perfect for each other, then!� Harry whispered loudly, holding her
close.

After a few additional minutes of unsuccessful wiggling, Cho
conceded to her position, and allowed Harry to hold her the rest of the
play.� Angry at him for his stubbornness,
Cho tried to ignore the full intake of his fresh woodsy scent.� She listened to his teeth chatter between
laughs, and felt his strong arms squeeze her through his coat.� Infuriating as he was, it was those moments
that made the seventh year realized why she had fallen in love with him.� His concern for her well being.� His need to take care of her even when it
angered her.� How could he be so sweet to
her and love someone else?

Don�t think about that
now, Cho.� Just revel in the fact that he
does that toward you.� AND let�s not
forget that he�s presently holding you, fighting with you, but concerned for
you, and not somewhere doing the same for Ginny�

Cho leaned her head to the side, resting it on his shoulder
and watched the rest of the play in his arms.

On their walk back toward her House, Harry was silent.� Though he held her for the rest of the play,
his arms still twitched nervously at his side toward her hand.� Cho wanted to hold his hand too, but she
thought she�d allow him to suffer a little for his stubbornness in the
dungeons.� It didn�t stop her, however,
from administering a warming charm on him the moment they left the ghost-filled
room, and put his coat around his shoulders.�
Harry didn�t protest, but watched her fuss over him to insure he didn�t
get sick.

As they stood in front of the eagle knocker, Harry began to
fidget in front of her.� She noticed this
act several times that day, and knew it had nothing to do with wanting to hold
her hand.� But since he didn�t say or do
anything but that as they stood there, Cho yawned and decided it was time for
bed.

�Well�Happy Christmas, Harry.� I had a very nice time today,� she answered
truthfully.� She had had a great time
with him, and was ready to rest her aching heart in her bed.� �See you in the mor��

�May I kiss you, Love�I mean�on the cheek�that�s all�� he
stammered out apprehensively, turning red in the process.

The Ravenclaw took a deep breath that didn�t stop the aching
in her chest.� She tried not to smile at
his anxiousness as she stepped forward.�
She also didn�t know if she believed that it would be only one kiss to
the cheek.� Her Gryffindor was as sly as
a Slytherin at times.� �Okay, Harry,� she
agreed.

Harry took a breath before placing his hand on her
cheek.� Slowly he lowered his head to her
cheek and placed his soft lips on her skin.�
Now Cho took a breath as the lips lingered for a moment.� She forgot she missed his touch as much as he
missed hers.� And since their only form
of kisses was done on faces and bodies, this was damn near a proper French kiss
for the two.� A heat rushed through her
body that would have been very helpful down in the dungeons.� But as her eyes began to close at the sensation
of the lingering lips, and warm hand on her cheek, it ended.

�Happy Christmas, Beautiful,� Harry whispered as he pulled
away.

Cho blinked in surprise that her lips hadn�t been covered by
his or that her body hadn�t been pushed against the wall and her neck properly
devoured in angry red Potter-bites.� Or
was that just her fantasy at the moment?�
�G�night, Harry,� she said, and forced herself to walk to her door, give
the answer to the riddle and walk inside.�

Her morning masturbation would be nothing compared to what
she was about to do in her bed.

But not quite yet.

�Cho, wait?� Harry called, having entered her common room.

She knew he couldn�t hold out for too long.� Neither could she.� They had tried.� They had failed.� It was time to get naked.� �Yes, Harry?� she said with mock
exasperation, waiting for her clothes to be taken off her body right there.

Harry walked toward her.�
He, then, extended his hand toward the door.� �May I�show you one more thing?� he asked
with the nervousness he had when fidgeting around in his coat all day.

Cho watched his hand.�
She wanted to say she knew what he wanted to show and she knew what it
looked like, but something told her this wasn�t a sexual invite.� �What more could there be?� she asked with a
smile.

Harry couldn�t produce a whole smile.� �Just one more thing.� Please?��
The Ravenclaw considered him for a moment, then nodded.� With his other hand, he swished his wand
toward her staircase.� �Accio, Cho�s
coat!�� Now she was thoroughly confused.� But as her coat came floating down the
stairs, and she was helped into it, she didn�t think to ask any questions.� Instead, Cho followed along with the Boy Hero
without anymore question.

The two walked silently as Harry consulted his map
considering the late hour.� When they
headed toward the main doors, Cho bit her tongue, wanting to ask where they
were going.� Then it dawned on her that
Hagrid�s hut was still unoccupied.� The
Ravenclaw could see herself be chased around the hut before giving in and being
made love to on Christmas night in front of a roaring fire.� But when the two made a turn toward the Astronomy Tower instead, Cho�s little fantasy was
proven wrong.

Climbing the stairs behind the sixth year, Cho continued to
bit her tongue.� It was slightly cold on
her face, though her body was warm.� It
was a clear night, with no snow, and only a gentle wintry breeze blowing
through the structure.� When they made it
out onto the landing with all the telescopes for class, the seventh year could
see just how clear the night sky was.�
Inky black but punctured beautifully with tiny dots of white light, and
the semi full moon far off but much closer than the dots of light, Cho was
awestruck.� She had watched the night sky
on occasion, but never had it looked this beautiful.

As she rested her hand on the ledge, leaning forward to get
a better look, she felt Harry stand closer to her.� The pretty girl could also feel his eyes on
her and not the beautiful sky above.� Cho
looked down and remembered how only a few days ago, she meant to take that fall
off another Tower.� She knew Harry
couldn�t have known that, but as he watched her, she wondered.� Meeting his eyes, she smiled, however.

�So�you�ve brought me here to show me the sky?� It�s lovely, Harry,� Cho said honestly.

Harry was silent for a moment, then shook his head.� �Not�exactly just the sky, L�Cho.� Look there,� he suggested then pointed
straight out and up ahead.� There, Cho
saw something familiar.� Something she
had seen in his favorite Christmas painting.�
The North Star shone bright and bigger in the sky then the rest.� Cho wondered how she missed it at her first
glance, because now she couldn�t see anything but the beautiful star.

�Wow�� she barely said out loud, almost feeling the rays of
the star tickling her face.

�Beautiful, isn�t it?� Harry said, though she could see him
glancing at her as he did.� �At
midnight�every Christmas into Boxing Day, a falling star drops in the vicinity
of the North Star.� I�ve made a wish on
each one that I�ve witnessed from this Tower.�
I tried watching for it last year at my�Godfather�s�home.� But I�couldn�t see it.� Maybe if I had, everything wouldn�t have been�different�� Harry lowered his head and sighed.� Cho watched him without his knowledge until
he spoke again.� Quickly she looked back
up toward the star, as he did the same.�
�Anyway�I need my wish now more than ever.� But I�wanted to�share it�with you, too,� he
added.

Out the corner of her eye, Cho could see Harry looking
nervously out the corner of his own.�
Though he wore a half smile, he seemed anxious and tense.� The Ravenclaw tried to focus her attention
back toward the shining star but she couldn�t help but notice that although he
was watching her and the star, his fingers were doing its hesitant wave toward
her hand resting on the stone ledge.� The
seventh year felt sure he would ask for permission to hold her hand shortly.

But Cho didn�t want that.

�Bit�chilly up here, isn�t it?� she asked the star, then
crossed her arms in front of her and rubbed her warm arms through her warm
coat.� In her peripheral vision, she
could see Harry turn his full attention toward her.

�Do you want to�go, then, L-Cho?� Harry asked glumly.� �We�ll miss the star�but if you want��

Cho shook her head at the star.� �No.�
Just�want to be�warmer,� she answered, then glanced at him briefly.

With out the hesitation his possessed hand had earlier,
Harry stood behind Cho and wrapped his arms around her waist.� The seventh year smiled as she was being
pulled back against the Gryffindor.� His
once hesitant hands found hers and intertwined their fingers then pulled her
arms closed around her.� Cho leaned her
head back against his shoulder, and Harry wasted no time lowering his to lean
against hers.� The two exhaled
simultaneously, and Cho no longer saw the lovely bright star as she closed her
eyes relaxing in the rapture of being with her love.

�Are you warm enough, Love?� he whispered to her ear.

Cho smiled hearing her name said without correction.� He didn�t mean it, but she didn�t care. ��Yes, Harry,� she whispered back.

The two stood in silence for several minutes as Cho smiled
at Harry�s warm breath caressing her ear.�
Judging by the position of his head and direction of his breath, Cho was
sure Harry was no longer looking at the star either.� Before she realized it, she squeezed his
hands holding hers.� Soon after, Harry
tightened his arms around her causing them both to take a breath.

Her Christmas had been perfect; much better than she had
expected.� And being held by her love,
even though he didn�t love her, was the perfect end.

I wish I could always
be the one in your arms, Harry� she thought.

Suddenly, she felt the arms around her tighten once
more.� �Did you make a wish, Cho?�
Harry�s whisper asked.� Cho gasped.� She had completely forgotten about the
falling star.� When she opened her eyes,
she only saw the last twinkle of the dying tail lights.� Cho could hear a low snort near her ear.� �Couldn�t have possibly made a wish, could
you?� You�re still in my arms,� he
whispered in her ear.

Cho giggled, twitching a little from his warm breath
tickling her neck.� �Reckon, I should
have wished harder,� she replied in jest.

Arms tightened even more around her and rocked her body side
to side.� �Still couldn�t let you go,� he
whispered with a giggle of his own.

The seventh year smirked, closing her eyes in the tight
embrace.� �Trust me, Harry, I�ve accepted
that long ago.�

Cho expected to hear a snappy retort from her assailant, but
she was surprise to hear nothing, not even breathing.�� The Ravenclaw was even more surprise when
Harry did, in fact, let her go.� She felt
suddenly cold, though she hadn�t been when she first coaxed him into holding
her.� The pretty girl�s smile was gone
just as suddenly as his arms drops.� But
as she felt herself being turned around to face him, the smile tugged at her
lips once more.

Harry shifted nervously again on his feet as his hand
fiddled around his pocket.� Cho watched
him in wonderment, wondering if he�d finally do or say whatever he had been fretting
about all day.� Finally, he spoke.� �Love�I mean, Cho, I�� Harry began, watching
her feet.

�Yes, Harry?�

Harry took a breath, then another and another.� She could see his face turning red for other
reasons then the barely there cool breeze.�
�I�well, I�got you a�Christmas present.�

The smile threatening to tug away at Cho�s lips won
out.� �Oh,� she said happily.

But happy is far from what Harry looked like on such a
joyous occasion.� Unsure if he could turn
any redder before passing out, Cho watched Harry finally pull his hand out of
his coat pocket.� What he pulled out was
a tiny white cardboard box.� The Chosen
One handed the box to his Perfect Imperfection.�
�H-he-here you go, then,� he stuttered out.

Cho took the box tentatively.� She wasn�t sure what it was, or if Harry
would pass out from the final release of it.�
But as he watched the ground to ensure that it remained under his feet,
the seventh year opened the box.� Lying
on cotton filling was a plain, thin, unimpressive silver band.� It took a moment for Cho to noticed that both
her and Harry were holding their breath.�
The pretty girl stared at the ring in the box while her mind wished it
meant the world, while the other part told her that, if anything, she could not
accept that.� �I�I�I�� she stuttered just
as Harry had done moments ago.

�I�got it in Hogsmeade when you�turned me away that
day.� I�didn�t realize�I was buying
it�until I did.� I was going to�bring it
straight to you, but�you had already left the dress shop.�� Harry paused and took a breath, looking away
from the pretty girl and toward the sky as if for support.� �My�head, Love�I mean, Cho�was all over the
place at the time�and since,� he said to her feet.� �But I didn�t take it back�because I did�want
you to have it.� I�m not sure it�s the
right size.� But�I thought�perhaps�I
guess when I bought it I thought�if I could see that�on your finger�then I�d
know�you�d know�you were�mine.�� Harry
found the courage at her feet to look into her eyes.� �Either that�or those hideous hickeys,� he
snorted lightly and briefly smiled at her.

The sixth year stood quietly, nervously, searching the
seventh year�s eyes.� Cho felt his eyes
seeping into her soul as they normally did, seeking out information.� Information that she was scared to give
him.� The pretty girl looked away,
terrified of what Harry might see inside her.�
Slowly, she put the cover back on the box, and swallowed hard as if that
would stop the aching in her heart, or clear away the voice wishing the ring
meant more, meant something real other than possession.� Cho already knew Harry owned her.� He owned her body for months, but now he
owned her heart.� The silver band inside
the box would only represent what she already knew.� It would never mean what she had wished,
inadvertently, on the star for.

�It�s�lovely, Harry, honestly,� Cho said tentatively.� �But I can�t�wear it��

Because it will hurt
me every time I look at it, knowing it meant nothing more to you than a
shackle.� While Ginny probably received
one with all your heart behind it�

Harry looked crestfallen.�
�I�understand, C-L-Cho,� he said to her feet quietly.� �Um�why don�t I walk you back now?� It�s�rather cold out here, isn�t it?� Harry
suggested and extended his hand the opposite way of the Ravenclaw, aiming toward
the door.�

Cho sighed, knowing she had disappointed him, but not
feeling like she had much of a choice.�
She had to save herself and there was only so much she could accept of
her world.� Maybe in a few days she could
accept that reality, but right now, it was too much to ask of the sensible
Ravenclaw.

The walk back to her Tower was a quiet one.� Harry hadn�t even attempted to hold her hand,
her shoulder, her waist or anything.� As
they stood in front of her eagle knocker quietly, he watched her feet for a
moment before nodding in agreement to something only he seemed to know
about.� �Happy Christmas, Cho,� he said,
before turning on his heels to leave.

Something inside of Cho didn�t want him to leave, not like
that on their perfect day.� �Harry?� she
called.� He stopped and turned
around.� Cho walked up to him slowly,
unsurely.� �Thank you for my�present and
my day,� she said before kissing his lips lightly.� Touching his cheek as she watched his eyes
widen in surprise, Cho kissed his other cheek a little longer then his
lips.� �Happy Christmas,� she whispered
and smiled.

The Ravenclaw left a stunned Gryffindor in the hallway as
she walked inside her House door.�

Lying in her bed that evening, Cho�s curiosity got the
better of her and she opened the tiny white box.� The silver band, or manacle, was not much to
look at.� It wouldn�t impress the girlish
of girls, or the one�s one short hair cut away of being a boy.� But Cho knew under any other circumstances,
had she received this ring from Harry, she would have been overjoyed.� If they had never broken up the year before,
and she had remained a virgin, he would be receiving a rather special,
unexpected gift that Christmas.

But the fact of the matter was they were broken up.� He had raped her.� He turned her into an insatiable
monster.� He had threatened her to only
sleep with him.� He had made her feel
loved, then broke her heart.� He had made
her suicidal.� And now he had made her
accept her reality that her heart belong to him forever.� And now he wanted her to wear a shackle,
outwardly marking her as his property?

However, she could help it and Cho slipped the ring onto the
finger designated for such jewelry.�
Ironically, it didn�t fit.� It was
far to big for her slender ring finger.�
The seventh year sighed seeing the irony of such a special gift not
meant to be worn by her�from him.� She
was sure Ginny had received one this Christmas too, gold more than likely, and
fitting her tiny finger perfectly.� Cho
tried to see which of her fingers it did fit, and finally her thumb won
out.� The Ravenclaw snorted to
herself.� How foolish she would be to
purposely wear his shackle?

Footsteps outside her room door startled the seventh year
and made her quickly yank the ring off her finger, toss it in the box and toss
the box on her nightstand.� As the door
creaked open, Cho closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.� She wasn�t worried as to who it might be.� She knew it was Harry.� And when her bed shifted slightly from added
weight, she recognized his heat.� Oddly
to the pretty girl, however, didn�t feel her blankets being pulled back and him
trying to sneak his way into her bed.�
What Cho did feel was his heat becoming stronger and his fresh breath
blowing over her face.� Soon she felt
lips on her forehead, and words whispered not meant for her to actually hear.

�I�m so sorry, Love,� she heard him whisper slowly.� Then she heard nothing else, but felt her
face being lightly stroked.� She tried
not to sigh noticeably under his touch, but it felt nice.� �Happy Christmas, Beautiful,� he whispered
once more before taking the added weight off her bed.

Cho was a little surprise by that and couldn�t help but to
crack open an eye to see where he was going.�
But she closed it when she saw him pull back Constance�s
bedcovers and slip inside.� Turning over,
she sighed sadly before attempting to go to sleep.

I�m sorry too, Harry�
she thought.
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