A Few Stupid Words

A Few Stupid Words

Cho nodded her head resolutely in the dark and pushed open her bedroom window. The summer night was still. Stiflingly still. Black shadows of trees extended themselves neatly, abetting the blue moonlight in casting prison-like bars across her yard.

She tentatively stretched her left leg out her window; her right leg followed. She gasped sharply as she glanced down, imaging the long fall to the none too inviting ground below. Without a broomstick, dangling in the air suddenly became very frightful. Cho bit her lip and willed herself not to think. She gripped the windowsill tightly, then let go, pushing herself off.

To say that her landing was ungraceful would have been an understatement. Cho quickly brushed herself off, grateful that Harry was not there to witness her little stunt, and glanced nervously back at her house. It was not too late to turn back, to forget this craziness. She had left a note to her parents, telling them not to worry. If her parents found her - rather, when her parents found her missing, she would surely be grounded forever. Quidditch would definitely be out of the question too.

"Rather late for a young lady to be out, innit?" a guard in the train station asked, peering down suspiciously at Cho. Unable to find any reasonably excuse, Cho just smiled up and nodded at him. He stared at her for a few more seconds, before turning away, muttering. Relieved, Cho quickly ducked into her train before anyone else decided to interrogate her.

She chose a seat away from the other passengers on the train, not that there were many traveling so late at night, and sat nervously, fiddling with the fringes of her torn jeans. She sighed and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. She might as well get some sleep before she surprised Harry.

Apparently, just thinking his name was enough to render her wide awake. She remembered how giddy and light she had felt every time she saw him. She smiled, recalling his nervousness on their first fiasco-of-a-date together. And the kiss. Then, she remembered the horrible things he had said to her and the equally horrible things that she had spat back. She remembered him not even acknowledging her on the train ride back home from Hogwarts.

Why had he treated her so horribly? Could it possibly be just because she had stood up for Marietta? No, Harry was a loyal friend, and he would certainly not blame her for remaining loyal to her own friend. Cho racked her mind for Harry's sudden callousness.

Let's not talk about that right now, Harry had pleaded with her at Mme. Puddifoot's coffee shop. She desperately wanted him to like her and she had believed, for a while, that he did.

Was he angry with her because she had wanted to talk about Cedric? Surely Harry, of all people, would understand the pain of losing someone so dear to the heart. He could understand that she needed him to listen to her and to let her cry on his shoulder, couldn't he? She honestly did not mean to upset him or make him feel responsible for Cedric's death. Cho only meant to share her feelings with Harry because she trusted him and knew that he would understand her pain. Who else could she have turned to? Her parents? No, they would only fuss and worry about her. Her friends? They only laughed nervously and quickly changed the subject to something meaningless.

Cho considered herself very lucky indeed, for she had only gotten herself lost three times whilst trying to find Number 4, Privet Drive. Her body flooded with relief and a proud sense of accomplishment as she read the sign of the very square and very neat little house that held a most probably sleeping Harry. She, herself, was far from tired. In fact, it was as though she could suddenly feel millions of molecules of air wrap around every inch of her skin. She could feel the blood in her veins rage through her body and hear droplets of dew slide down blades of grass.

She clenched her fists, bit her lips, and walked, with steady steps, to the door of Number 4, Privet Drive. She raised her hand, finger poised to ring the doorbell. Then, she stopped and retreated from the house.

What would she say to Harry at four o'clock in the morning? How would she explain herself? What would Harry's aunt and uncle say to her? The situation was so utterly ridiculous; she was crazy. Yes, crazy. She would certainly deem Harry crazy if he were to come calling at four in the morning.

But, she had come so far to tell him. And without the aid of magic, too! She couldn't turn back now. If she didn't tell him now, he would never know and probably forget about her forever. She had to tell him. Her mind was made up now; she was inexorable. She would speak to him whether or not he wished to speak to her and she would make him understand.

With that thought in mind, Cho hurried to the back of the neat, square house. She picked up a handful of small pebbles from the tiny flower garden and stood, looking up at the windows, trying to decide which one belonged to Harry's room. Hoping that Lady Fortune was on her side, Cho aimed a flat pebble at the smallest window. It hit the window, with a resounding "ploink!" She waited, but Harry did not come to the window. Cho tried again. And again. And again. Until, finally, she had run out of pebbles to throw.

Muttering darkly to herself, Cho decided that it would be best to leave. She stuffed her hands in her jean pockets and began walking back home, kicking the grass on the ground in frustration.

"Cho?" Cho stopped, ran back to the window, and looked up. There, leaning out the window, was Harry with his black hair in all directions and glasses slightly askew.

"Harry," Cho gulped, blushing furiously. She held her hands up to her cheeks, sure that Harry would notice her blush.

"Er. What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"I was just...walking...around...and I, uh, don't know how I got here?" Cho said lamely. Harry laughed and she did too.

"Wait. I'll be down in a second," Harry said. Cho heard a few crashes emanate from Harry's room, followed by some violent, but creative curses. Soon enough, Harry had joined her in the Dursleys' backyard.

"Let's go somewhere else," he said, taking her by the hand. Cho looked down. Their warm, pink hands fit together so perfectly. She smiled and allowed herself to be led away.

Once they were a safe distance away from the Dursleys' house, they slowed to a walk. At the little park, they sat in silence on the broken swings.

"How was your holiday, then?" Harry asked, digging his sneaker-clad foot into the sandy grooves below him.

Cho shrugged, "I just want to be back at Hogwarts." Harry nodded in agreement. They stared at the sky, which was fast becoming gray-blue. A hint of pink could be seen in the horizon and both Harry and Cho suddenly became enthralled by the spot of color. After a few more minutes of pointless, agonizing silence, Cho cleared her throat and stood up, straightening her shirt.

"Harry, I just wanted you to know that...well, what I said to you at the DA meeting is still true," she said clearly. Harry's brow furrowed in confusion. He shook his head, not able to remember what Cho had said.

"Never mind, then," she said quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She turned and walked away, then stopped and walked back to Harry.

"I - " they both said at the same time.

"You go first," Harry insisted.

"No, you go."

"Okay. Er. I'll go," Harry looked up hesitantly at Cho. Why was it so difficult to talk to her when he didn't even like her any more? She still rendered him incapable of coherent thought every time she looked at him or smiled his way. He had more important things to worry about now besides girls he used to like. She was in his past, right? Why couldn't he just tell her that he still liked her? It wasn't so difficult. It was just four simple words.

"I hope you have a good summer," he mumbled, instead, to his shoes. Cho smiled faintly. She had hoped that he would have said more, but he didn't. "What were you going to say?"

"What? Oh, nothing," Cho said. She forced a smile to her face, glad that Harry had spoken first. Obviously, he did not think of her in the same way that she did of him. I really like you, Harry. Honestly, how was he to remember a few stupid words? She had truly expected, or rather had hoped, that he would remember. She had held on to some faint glimmer of hope that he, Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the reluctant hero of the magical world, actually harbored feelings for her. How foolish she had been!

Forcing back the feelings of self-pity and disappointment, Cho looked up at Harry, who was still gazing intently at his shoes.

"So, I'll see you in school," she said and walked back to the train station.