A Camp Story

Draco's eagle owl flew into Cho's room and landed softly on her as she mumbled in her sleep.

"Hm...Michael...hm..." she mumbled as the owl lightly stamped his feet on her chest. "Oooo...Harry, too? Why not? Yes, snog each other, yes, oh, very good, Harry. Oh yes, touch him, Michael...yes...that's wonderful...oh! Is it my turn now?"

Draco's eagle hooted, feeling completely offended. He knew whom his loyalty belonged too. He dug his sharp talons into Cho's tummy lightly.

"Yes, oh yes, Michael! You know I like it rough!" Cho cried out, the eagle dug his talons in harder and Cho woke up with a start and noticed him. Oh shit, I hope he didn't hear me. Wait...it's an animal! He's not going to tell Draco, he can't! Cho sighed impatiently as Draco's eagle hooted again, his eyes flashing. "Okay, okay," Cho said and took the letter he had dropped on her chest and opened it up to read the elegantly scripted words inside.

My most loved Snookums,

I miss you more with each passing day and don't know how much longer I can stand it. It's 12 o'clock right now and I've just managed to escape from one of my mother's fetes. You would've had so much fun here! There are always so many interesting people at my house. But nothing's fun without you around.

I don't even know how I survived without you in my life. I've realised now that those months we were together at Medea were the best moments of my life, so far at least because I'm certain the happiness and love that waits for us will eclipse this. I look forward to seeing you Saturday at the Leaky Cauldron. I'll be there at 9 o'clock sharp; I don't want to miss a moment of being with you.

I'm happy to know that you've met an old friend of yours. Now from what I've pieced together, it sounds like this "Daniel" is an old Muggle friend of yours, is he not? Do you have a picture of him? You know how much I would love to meet all your friends! Or perhaps his address? I'm going to send him a very friendly letter, Muggle post. Don't worry, I know how to do it perfectly! A "stamp," right? I think I can go buy one at the Muggle village near my house. And I didn't send that letter to Roger Davies,, I swear Snookums! I'm insulted you would think that of me!

Please write back ASAP. I want to hear all that's going on in your life when you're away from me and I want you to stop worrying about me. Also, guess who I saw at the fete on Saturday? Belinda! She and I are having a very good time. I just wanted to tell you because she wanted me to say hi for her. I've invited her over to my house again tomorrow night so we can catch up. Write back!

All my love,

Bunny

Cho laughed so hard that tears ran down her cheeks and she feared she would get a stomach-ache. Draco was as easy to see through as glass! She hadn't meant to, but she loved to see him all jealous so she let it "slip" that she had went to a movie with an old friend of hers who was attending university in London. The concept of the movie alone took ten furiously written letters to clear up; apparently Draco had thought it was something involving leather, whips, and an interactive audience. Cho didn't ask him where he got that idea. It was best to let sleeping dragons sleep.

The last time she told him that she met up with Roger and hadn't meant anything by it when she wrote about it. She just told him how he invited her to lunch and told her what he was doing now that he had left Hogwarts. She thought it was just something interesting that happened in her day.

What she didn't think about was that Draco might track down Roger's current address and send him a cursed letter that said "Keep your filthy paws to yourself or worse things will happen, you bastard" and caused poor Roger's entire body to be covered in giant warts. Roger didn't know who it was because the letter was anonymous and untraceable. Cho only found out about it because Roger had written to her telling her about it and asked if she had any ideas how to get rid of them. He was too embarrassed to go out in public so he couldn't get to a hospital or go to work and she was a very good friend whom he knew could keep a secret. She had brewed up a potion for him that fixed it, but she didn't say anything about who she thought it might be.

However, she did write a letter to Draco severely reprimanding him for it but also showering him with love. She couldn't help it that his evil turned her on!

She mentioned Daniel because she knew Draco would have a much harder time tracking him down because he was a Muggle and she didn't give Draco Daniel's last name either, though she truly doubted he knew what a "phonebook" was. Still, she wanted to push his buttons a little.

Belinda, eh? Cho couldn't honestly say that she was a bit worried. As horrid as it sounded, she knew she had him chained down for life and he wouldn't dare do anything with Belinda. Besides, after the whole confrontation between Draco and Belinda and after they broke up, Belinda had a new found respect for Cho and both of them discovered they both hated being double-dealt and avoided doing this to others. Belinda was the kind of girl who would have no qualms about stealing your boyfriend, but she would do it right in front of your eyes and make no secret of it that he was coming willingly. As well, Cho knew for a fact that Belinda was now dating Jacques Mauvais, the twenty-two-year-old pureblood Chaser on the Bigonville Bombers. The only reason she knew this was because Belinda had kindly sent Cho an album of pictures with her and Jacques in various stages of PDA along with a long letter about how happy she was and how much better Jacques was than all her previous boyfriends and how much money Jacques earned a year and so on.

Cho liked the package a lot, she loved letters. She even made a scrapbook of all the pictures Belinda had sent...only she bewitched a very angry Belinda out of all the pictures and replaced it with one of herself. So now Cho had an album of pictures with her kissing Jacques Mauvais, her tousling Jacques Mauvais' hair, her riding on Jacques Mauvais' broom with Jacques Mauvais' arms around her, and so on. It pleased Cho immensely. Especially on nights like these when Draco wasn't around to satisfy Cho's more carnal needs.

Astoundingly enough, Draco had even kept his promise faithfully and churned out two letters a day, sometimes even more. Cho hadn't promised anything of that sort and wrote whenever she felt like it, which was usually once every two days, to Draco's dismay.

Now the three weeks were nearly over and they were meeting up on Saturday to spend the day together before they set off for Hogwarts on Sunday. Even though Cho had perfected a very peaceful appearance, she was secretly yearning for Saturday as much as Draco. Draco was a godsend. After her hellish sixth year and nearly being kicked off the Ravenclaw team, Draco was the bright beacon for her final year. Not that she would ever tell him that, may the devil take her soul before she did! She loved the power she had over his insecurity way too much.

Draco's owl hooted again, he didn't leave yet and was now strutting around on Cho's work desk, pulling a quill out of her pencil holder and scrounging around for parchment. Obviously Draco had instructed him not to leave until he had a letter to take back.

"Two more days and one more night," Cho said looking at the calendar. It was now 12:45 in the morning, technically it was already Thursday, but Cho planned on going to sleep sometime tonight. "Okay, you need a letter, eh?" Cho asked the owl who just stared at her.

Cho opened up her desk drawer and pulled out some parchment paper. She choose a deep black ink and paused a few seconds, composing what she wanted to say, and then started writing.

Draco was sleeping fitfully. He had just got to bed after his mother's fete ended at one o'clock. He was amazed at how Narcissa kept going with his father locked up in Azkaban and their name blacklisted as You-Know-Who supporters. The whole thing had forced Draco to grow up real quick and realise he was no longer a child; instead he was now the head of the Malfoy household. And now that Cho was in his life, everything seemed much brighter than it had ever since Lucius was taken away. He was still a Malfoy through and through and there was no question in his mind that he would be a Death Eater once he turned 17 (if the Dark Lord was still around). As well, he had to join so he could get his father out of Azkaban.

That day when he saw Cho perform the Respiro Spell, it was like the clouds had parted and a beam of light was shining down into Draco's mind a la Angel-Goes-To-Heaven style. Cho Chang was a pretty piece of flesh and had brains to boot. And when he visited her that night, he wondered how the hell she ever managed to keep her pristine reputation intact. Her name should have been scrawled right next to Mandy Brocklehurst's in the boys' lavatories. All that combined with the loving and patient manner she tended to his severe distress made him think that maybe Diggory and Potter were onto something. The fact that she made rational arguments on why they shouldn't be together in the face of his overpowering veela charm (Draco had effectively blocked out the memories of Cho wiping snot off his face) only made him want to have her more. As a Malfoy, it was only natural that he would succeed in his conquest.

This is where the conflict laid now. He really wasn't prepared for the depth of what he would feel for her and now he worried a lot about their future.

He knew how he felt and knew that he would continue loving her deeply for a long time unless something very important suddenly happened, like Cho told him she was actually a guy. But other than that scenario, he couldn't envision not loving her. It seemed impossible. It also seemed impossible that Cho would decide to do a tailspin and come over to the Dark Side. And despite what the both of them had said in the beginning about not caring they held differing political views, he feared this would be the wedge that drove them apart.

At sixteen, Draco was responsible for a lot. He had to ensure that the Ministry of Magic people were kept far away from their house and didn't decide to go on a scavenger hunt on Malfoy Manor. As well, Fudge was now attempting to freeze his father's account at Gringotts so that Draco wouldn't be able to touch it (an inside source at the Ministry informed Draco of this). Therefore, Draco had been moving everything from his father's account into his own account very discreetly with the help of the goblins ever since he found this out. He also had to polish up their public image again and kept up his father's legacy of contributions to various charities, despite the fact that they were now living on the edge financially before Fudge got his plan sketched out and went for the jugular. Right now Fudge was trying to convince the goblins to go along with his plan, but the goblins were sneaky creatures, they knew they could get more if they helped Draco, as well, they had a reputation of a very reliable banking service to maintain. But you can't underestimate Fudge; he could lure them with foreign accounts so it was a bribing war now.

Cho was everything that Draco needed in his life and he was really shocked that he hadn't realised this years before. She was sharper than a tack, funny, loving and gentle, a wildcat in bed, and a pureblood too and he never saw this. But then again, he was still a spoiled little brat back then who had his parents to shield him from the harsh truths and his biggest problems were The Three Blind Mice. So all he thought of Cho was that she was a goody-two-shoes who went out with that other goody-two-shoes Cedric Diggory.

Draco knew that Cho and Diggory had been dating for four years, ever since the start of her second year, when he was killed. That was all he knew because Cho refused to talk about her relationship with Diggory. Occasionally, if she was in a reminiscing mood, she offered some cryptic words such as "he was too good to keep on this earth" or "you would have liked him, Draco, everyone who knew him liked him" or "we loved each other a lot and I'm happy he knew this when he died surrounded by strangers."

The last one really cut into Draco, but he was careful to never show it because he knew that Cho wouldn't humour him when it came to Diggory. Draco had liked Diggory, had even helped him during the Triwizard Tournament just to annoy Potter, but now he could honestly say he hated Diggory.

He knew that a part of Cho's heart would always be claimed by the dead boy and as time progressed Diggory would be enshrined so fondly in her memory that he would seem perfect and faultless while Draco just got more and more tarnished with time. Once he pushed her too far and she started crying and wasn't able to stop for another hour. The whole time Draco tried to comfort her, but she put up a wall and forced him to leave. Afterwards, she didn't show up at Draco's Dark Arts for Juniors class even though she wasn't teaching that hour. So he learned after that to never ask her about Diggory again to spare not only her feelings, but also his.

But he wasn't perfect, nowhere close to it, so one day during fiesta as she was lying down on the sofa with her head in his lap, he asked her a question that had been nagging at him.

"Snookums, how come you agreed to go out with me knowing that my father's a Death Eater and that I'm going to be one too. How come you don't care about this when you know my father supports the man who killed Diggory and I do, too," Draco asked while stroking her cheek.

Cho looked away and didn't say anything for a long time and Draco was afraid he would be sleeping alone that night. Finally she turned around to stare up into eyes again with her impenetrable black ones (Cho kept insisting that black eyes were impossible unless she broke her nose and Draco insisted equally vigorously that she had black eyes, the argument lasted for over a week as they teased and cuddled while everyone around them gagged). She still didn't say anything, but Draco knew that she was only compiling what she would say.

"I guess I'm just the kind of girl that doesn't discriminate. Even though I'm a pureblood I still have lots of close Muggle friends. I don't believe there's anything black and white in the world and I like to decide for myself what's what. I don't trust first impressions, I've met lots of people in my life and not once has my first impression been correct. So I've learned not every wolf looks like a wolf, far from it in fact. If anything, Cedric was a reason why I didn't care.

"He had lost his life in all this stupidity and he was the nicest and kindest person you could ever know. If he had You-Know-Who's life in his hands, he would spare him because he's just that type of person. And everything I knew was from one side, the 'good' side. But this couldn't be for real so I came here to work after his death, to see what kind of animals would do this. And I met people who I love and cherish like anyone else on the 'good' side.

"So I knew and that's why I didn't care if you or your family were Death Eaters because that didn't mean you couldn't be a wonderful person. We're all just people, we all laugh and we all cry, but we forget this and get turned into enemies because of something as trivial as who's better, a pureblood or the others. I'll never know completely what happened to Cedric that night. But like I've said before, when the time comes for me to choose and I have to choose, then there is no doubt in my mind which side I will be on. I would have to for the sake of Cedric's memory and for my own conscience because I do not believe in the Dark Lord or the message he advocates. Muggles are the same as us, only they're wandless. And I don't think the Dark Lord would ever share his glory with the people who helped him to his throne if he does win. But I know Dumbledore and I know Harry and I believe in them just like Cedric did," Cho finished in a barely audible voice.

That was the only time she spoke up against the Dark Lord and in favour of Dumbledore and Potter. She didn't try to persuade Draco to believe the same thing; she merely answered his question and justified why she felt what she did. And for that Draco was amazed. Amazed at how accepting she was, how she managed to take everything in and not back down, how she could see past the skin and find the common factor everyone possessed. He was amazed at how she accepted both Muggles and Death Eaters for the same reason. This Draco would never be able to do and he recognised this, but because she was able to, he loved her for it. After that, he didn't bother her again for having Muggle friends because he knew that if she didn't have Muggle friends, she would also have never entered into his life.

Aside from Diggory, they told each other everything about one another. And Draco discovered that she loved the Malfoy part of him just as much as the un-Malfoy part. This along with everything else he knew about her caused him to be deeply troubled. He feared she was too loving and loved too many. He realised that the reason she had let herself love him could be the same reason she left him to love another person. What she had said that day about herself was very true. She had loved Cedric Diggory and then Draco Malfoy? Can anyone jump from one end of a spectrum to the other more? And Draco had come right after Harry Potter, how much more could you differ? So she could just as easily decide to fall in love with a Muggle or even Greg Weasley! She was too friendly and it scared the shit out of Draco, so he schemed to keep her to himself. He didn't want to annoy her with his problems so she would feel pressured and everything he did was designed to make her happy and not want to leave him. Therefore Draco artfully let her realise that things weren't all peachy, but he also let her think that the newspapers were overly exaggerating everything. He didn't want anything bad to taint their relationship, he wanted to keep it in a bell jar and preserve it for all eternity.

Draco hadn't slept peacefully ever since the day he came back to Malfoy Manor armed with album after album filled with pictures of Cho. He didn't need reminding of how he felt, but he was afraid she did when he wasn't nearby. A Ravenclaw and a Slytherin are very alike, the only difference was that a Ravenclaw was smarter and their feelings were hidden by indifference caused by a fetish for books. He had no idea what she was thinking, what went through her mind when she was with him or thought of him. Maybe that was part of the allure. So Draco fretted every moment he was away from her. And as he showed his mother pictures of Cho blowing kisses to the camera, swimming, taking a nap, flying, eating, talking to her friends, brushing her teeth, and pretty much anything else she would allow him to photograph before getting irritated he realised that Cho didn't take a single picture of him.

He worried that she would realise that he didn't deserve her, he worried that she would decide that she couldn't stay with a Death Eater anymore, and he worried he would he would lose his mind from so much worrying. And this was the state of mind Draco was in as he slept when his eagle landed on the edge of his bed.

Draco woke up at the first hoot and nearly danced with joy as he saw the letter. He had instructed him not to come back without a letter, but he was surprised that Cho wrote back so soon. He quickly ripped open the letter to read what she wrote.

Dear Draco,

I miss you too and I'm saddened to know that you're not having fun. Just think, in two days we'll see each other again! How wonderful is that? It's almost one now and I'm really tired. I've been studying for my NEWTs since seven in the morning! I really want to do well, how disappointing would it be if I scored so high on my OWLs only to bomb my NEWTs? Pretty horrible, if you ask me.

I hate Herbology so much! Those stupid plants always die when I try to grow them! I know all the instructions and whatnot and follow them to a tee, but it's like I have a Thumb of Death! Even the damn pea plants have withered and died! Mum says it's because I over-watered them. But how can one over-water a plant and have it wither?! I wish you were here with me, too. You're always so good with these plants. Honestly, they all look alike to me; the ones that aren't rainbow coloured or shriek that is. And who remembers all those properties?! I don't even know why I'm taking it, but my parents said it would be good for me if I want to be Healer. Professor Flitwick said the same too. If only everything could be as fun as Potions and Charms!

I found this wonderful book on various potions I can brew at home with simple ingredients! How exciting is that? It's too exciting! And I've made this wonderful potion that can clean like no tomorrow! I've been cleaning my whole entire flat with this! It's so nifty! I'm just so excited! I have to show you this potion; you would not believe it! I'm just surprised it hasn't been trademarked and marketed! And the best thing is it cleans everything! I can use it on windows, bedding, everything!! I'm just too excited! And there's one that I'm going to try tomorrow. It's supposed to make plants grow strong and healthy no matter what! But the damn thing is banned for our NEWTs. Not that I was thinking of cheating. Never, I would never think of cheating. Not for something like the NEWTs where if you get caught, that's it. No more! Your whole future is ruined! Oh, that would be so horrible! No, I was merely commenting on the rules and guidelines of the NEWTs.

Yes, Daniel is an old Muggle friend of mine. A very dear friend of mine. We went to nursery school together before I went to Hogwarts. No, I will not give you his picture or his address. Yes, a "stamp." They usually have a picture of the Queen on it. And yes, I still do believe that you were the source of Roger's letter. I only wonder if you cursed the letter yourself or got someone to do it for you because it is a fairly complex spell. Hm...I don't know, are you good enough to perform the spell? Oh, well...luckily I cured him. Poor Roger, he is an amazing Quidditch player.

I DO worry about you because even though you don't tell me it, I know everything is very difficult for you. I read that article in the Daily Prophet about your father. Journalism has really hit a new low, if those writers could only stop being bought out by the Ministry and stop writing whatever it is Fudge told them to write. Remember that whole smear campaign on Harry last summer? Ugh, heartless beasts they are. But shocking how quick they switch sides, eh? Now Harry's a saint. But I'm happy you're still going strong, like that little bunny on the telly. That's what you are, my Bunny. No matter what, never let them get you down! If you ever need someone to confide in or have something to ask for advice on, I will always be here for you. I'm your friend first and foremost, don't forget that.

Nothing new is going on in my life. I've bought a new book to prep me for my NEWTs. A very good deal I got! I bought it second hand, but it's brand new! Some idiot must've bought it and never bothered to open it. Ugh, those people sicken me! I do, however, have something to tell you on Saturday. I've wanted to write to you about this for a long time, but I've decided it would be better if I tell you face-to-face. Therefore, until Saturday!!

Love,

Cho

P.S. Say hi to Belinda and ask how Jacques is doing for me tomorrow!

"Ugh!" Draco cried out while nearly tearing the hair out of his head. She always managed to send him the same letter every time! Something extremely caring and comforting, yet, at the same time, enigmatic and aloof. In every letter she wrote she spent the vast majority of it blabbering about her NEWTs and the rest of it telling him to keep his chin up and be strong. Then near the end she'll mention something that makes Draco want to go to London as quickly as possible and ask her what the hell she meant. And in the middle of it, she'll always taunt him a little, bait his jealousy with some titbit.

It drove Draco plain bonkers and he still looked forward to her letter so much that he scanned the skies every possible second in the hopes of seeing his eagle. Cho didn't have an owl herself so Draco would write to her and she would send his owl back empty-handed and Draco would write again as quickly as possible in the hopes she would send his owl back with a letter. His owl had come back empty-handed for the past three days while he desperately tried to get more information on who this "Daniel" was. And now, she finally wrote back with nothing in particular about "Daniel" and baiting him again with what she was going to tell him on Saturday. And she could see right through him when he mentioned Belinda. Damn it! I should've thrown out another name instead of Belinda, but who the hell knew they would decide to become the bestest of friends?! How the hell does she even know about Jacques? I swear to Beelzebub, she can even befriend a dragon.

Draco got up, knowing he wasn't going to get any more sleep, and proceeded to write another letter. And asking me if I did that curse myself! Of course I did! I'm not stupid like she believes; I'm very good at my charms too. I don't understand why she never gives me credit where it belongs. And she cured him? Why would she cure him? She didn't tell me this before. Why would he even go to her and tell her about this in the first place? They must be much closer than she's letting on. An amazing Quidditch player, is he? Well, what am I? Canned ham?!! And that "Daniel," I'm certain he's up to no good. Cho can be too trusting sometimes, he may be taking advantage of her and she won't even know it! So Cho went to Muggle school as a child, well...she never even told me about this. What else has she been keeping from me? Who knows, maybe she's pregnant with "Daniel's" love child, maybe that's why she's mentioning him and that's what she's going to tell me on Saturday! I'll kill that son of a bitch!

And so Draco wrote another letter that begged Cho to confide in him as well if anything was wrong, if she needed money, help, or an anonymous Healer specialising in "awkward teenage situations." Then he proceeded to rip up that letter and write another one. By the time he was finished, it was five o'clock on Thursday morning. She's tormenting me on purpose, I know it. Oh, I love her so much!