Harry Potter Still Living

As the two of them started towards the lake Cho stared at Harry with a confused and slightly grim look on her face. Harry was going to tell Cho every single thing that had gone unsaid between them all summer.

Cedric was where Harry's thoughts drifted the death replaying in his head. So, he summoned up all his courage and spoke out sitting down by the lake on the cool grass, "So, how are you getting on?" asked Harry. Cho shrugged and sat down too, stared out at the lake for a moment, sighed, and said

"I'm alright, but..." her voice trailed off.

"I want to say, 'I know,' and be comforting and all that, but I probably have no idea what you're going through, and..." he stopped his voice also trailed off into silence too.

"And what?" asked Cho. "I seriously hope that you don't think you can only ask me how I'm doing outside because if that's the case I can't go for a long walk around the grounds every time you want to talk." said Cho. Harry could tell that she was being sarcastic because she giggled as she said it.

"Now Cho are you changing the subject?" Harry asked her.

"Well, you didn't want to finish your sentence she said so I interrupted it with a new one," said Cho. "So, and what?" she asked again.

"And I 'm not sure how to act around almost anyone anymore. Ron thinks that we need to act like the whole thing never happened, but then I reminded him that it wasn't really Voldemort, sorry- I mean You-Know-Who rising again worrying me, it was Cedric's death. I thought it was all just a bad dream and I'd wake up from the next day ready for the fourth task never seeing anyone die in front of me, but I woke up the next day feeling extremely depressed, and knowing that it did happen. Why did I have to see it? Now I feel like the whole school is a different species or something. I feel about as far away from them as I do the Giant Squid, maybe further," he said as a giant tentacle right, on cue, popped up out of the middle of the lake and smacked the surface sending a shower over the lake.

"Well, not to contradict what you said or anything, but I do know what you're talking about. Ever since Cedric died everybody, including my friends, has been treating me like I'm about to just keel over dead any second," she said.

"Wow," Harry said.

"What?" Cho asked.

"I thought that you were popular and I was famous, now we've both become social outcasts." said Harry. They both began to laugh, and when they stopped Harry checked his watch and said, "Wow it's late we better go in."

"Yeah, we don't want a prefect to catch us," said Cho, and they laughed again.

"Cedric's probably waiting up for you," said Harry, and they were both were getting tired enough where anything becomes funny including rude jokes about dead people.

"Yeah, your parents will be worried sick, not knowing where you are this time of night," Cho finished as they both got up. They went back inside feeling very lighthearted, and when it came time for them to part Cho hugged Harry good night, which surprised him slightly.

Harry set off for bed feeling extremely good about the world. He walked up to the tower where the fat lady who tried to interrogate him held him up momentarily, but he told her the password and said that his lips were sealed until tomorrow at the least. He walked in and sat down on an armchair in front of the fire where he fell comfortably asleep.

The next thing he knew Ron was shaking him to wake him up. "Harry, you've got to see this," he said with a trace of a grin on his face. Harry stood up, yawned, and rubbed his eyes.

"What are you on about?" he asked Ron curiously, but Ron just opened the portrait hole, and motioned for Harry to follow. Harry hurried after him, but why was he going in the direction of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom.

As Ron opened the door Harry's jaw literally dropped the whole room was filled with magical creatures, spellbooks, strange weapons, and to his slight surprise everything pink and fluffy imaginable.

"'Arry!" a strongly accented yet fairly familiar voice cried from the front of the classroom. "Eet eez zo good to zee you!" the voice was coming closer, and more recognizable. It was Fleur Delacour. His jaw wouldn't go back into his head after this surely, but he looked at Ron and had to stifle a laugh. Ron looked as though he was half-asleep in a sort of daydreaming state. As Fleur greeted him with a friendly hug Harry's memory of the previous night came back to him. Even though it felt completely different than when Cho had hugged him.

"Az zoon az I levt here I noo I zimply 'ad to return, I went to zee thee 'eadmaster and Dumblydore zaid that I vit the qualivicationz for theez job pervectly," said Fleur.

"I'll say," said Harry, "look at Ron at least everybody'll be paying attention in classes tomorrow."

The sound of his own name seemed to jog Ron back to his senses, he looked indignantly at Harry, and after a very brief conversation with Fleur about their summer, lessons, and Fleur's English they left. Ron had taken every opportunity to compliment Fleur on anything he could think of that related to the topic they were on, which had made Fleur smile.

Harry went back to Gryffindor Tower to grab his Firebolt, and then headed down to the quidditch field where he thought he might find Cho. She wasn't there, but Hermione stood at the entrance to the stadium, and when she hugged Harry in greeting he thought he was getting way too much of this treatment.

"Hey!" she said punching him on the shoulder.

"There we go," said Harry, "much better, Thanks!"

"What?" said Hermione very confused, "I wanted to talk to you about this whole Cho thing. This is the gossip going around, Padma told Parvarti she heard Cho talking to herself excitedly last night...about you," she finished.

Harry really wanted to talk to Cho again now. He told Hermione that he had to go, and then hurried off for the great hall. Cho wasn't there, so he went into the entrance hall. There she was looking for him Harry knew this because she was asking Ron where he was. He snuck up behind her and lifted her up under the shoulders, swung her in a circle, and put her down.

"I'm right here," he said. She turned to face him.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, "I wanted to tell you about something. Let's go for a walk." She said looking at him and then Ron.

"Inside this time," said Harry.

So, they set off back towards the quidditch stadium talking. As it turned out all of Cho's classes had been mixed with Harry's because she went to see Dumbledore after they had left each other the previous night. "Well," said Harry, "good job Cho!"

"Thanks I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow in Defense Against the Dark Arts first thing," she finished as they reached the stadium and Hermione. When they opened up the stadium Cho hugged Harry who again felt that all of this hugging was really unnecessary, but remembering who it was hugged her back. When they broke apart Cho said, "I'm really glad it was Cedric and not you," this surprised Harry, "I mean the world would seem to fall apart, and you're not like Cedric he was cocky, arrogant, and would never shelve his pride for anyone. Not even me, I was going to tell him it was over after the fourth task. You, well I don't know about how to describe someone like you. Perfect, even without all of the fame," and with that she ran off to the broom cupboards to get her broom, leaving Harry feeling quite confused. That was a lot of information to get in one minute, for anyone, and why would she spill her heart to him of all people? Several people had accused him of being responsible for Cedric's death. Of all times why now? What is this strange feeling?

Harry turned to look towards the entrance and there he saw a familiar face, but it couldn't be. It was standing there in Pudlemere United robes of green was Oliver Wood, old captain of Harry's quidditch team. He walked over to Wood quite confused now. "I've got a full time job here as flight instructor," Wood said delightedly.

"Isn't that Madame Hooch's job?" asked Harry.

"Dumbledore needed someone more aggressive, besides Madame Hooch is away on Hogwarts business, Dumbledore's orders," replied Wood, "You're going to have a tight schedule this year I believe you get them tonight at dinner. I'll be teaching first years strictly flight, second and third quidditch, and fourth and above Flight Combat, an evening class."

"Wow, cool, well I guess I'll see you around," said Harry winking at Wood and nodding his head in Cho's direction as she returned. Wood gave Harry a sort of silent laugh and a raised eyebrow in response.

"Hey Oliver," Cho said, and Wood nodded and strolled off, "Well, Harry, ready to go?" asked Cho.

"Yeah," said Harry. He was glad to see her brief moment of strangeness had ended. They mounted their brooms and lifted off. Harry saw Wood sitting beside Hermione and Ron on her other side.

He felt like he was back where he belonged every time he flew, but felt very strange, he thought Wood had something to say that he wouldn't mention in front of Cho. So, what? Harry thought whatever it was Wood was planning would be good. He had to think everything was going right for once...