Young Life Shattered

*~*Young Life Shattered*~*

A Cho Chang Story

Chapter 3

Cho stayed there lying on her canopy bed for hours. Hour after hour went by in Cho's otherwise isolated and deserted top-floor Ravenclaw dormitory. Cho was an extremely smart and quick-witted person and it definitely wasn't like her to miss anything, whether it was an important class or just mealtime. But today, she had already missed her Arithmancy, Potions, and Herbology classes, all of which were after lunch.

Cedric grabbed his dinner and walked over to where Cho and himself had sat together in the Great Hall for the past two years now. He was just about to sit down in his usual seat beside her when he noticed her absence from the table. Cedric immediately became worried. It wasn't like Cho to miss things like this. In fact, he didn't remember seeing her when they usually crossed paths before his Herbology class. Now he was not just worried; he was also afraid. What was wrong with her? What if she was sick or someone had cursed or hexed her? Cedric threw his plate of food to the floor without really noticing exactly what he was doing, before promptly running out of the Great Hall doors in search of his missing goddess.

Cedric's first stop was the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. There he came face-to-face with Madame Pomfrey, who had just cured a Hufflepuff second year of mild twitchy-ears. She greeted Cedric with a wide, kind smile.

"Well, hello Mr. Diggory! Congratulations! One of Hogwarts Triwizard Champions! You must be very proud!" Madame Pomfrey greeted him, practically bouncing on her feet. She was full of glee, seeing the handsome young man before her who would be competing in the Triwizard Tournament with Harry Potter against Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum. The reason behind Harry's entering in the tournament was very suspicious, but since there was no way around it, he was allowed to compete. Cedric smiled warmly back at her, but his worried state quickly jolted him back to the situation at hand.

"I was just wondering...is Cho here ma'am?" Cedric asked.

"No, I am afraid she's not Diggory...She came down here quite awhile ago feeling slightly ill...I sent her up her dormitory to try something and she hasn't returned yet. You will probably find her there," she said kindly, wondering to herself why Cho hadn't come back yet.

"Thanks Madame Pomfrey!" Cedric called to her quickly, and rushed out, running up to the Ravenclaw dorms.

When he found the entrance, he leaned up close to the hidden doorway and muttered the password "LaBelle" (French for 'the beautiful') as quietly as he could. The portrait swung open to allow him inside.

Cedric advanced into the Ravenclaw common room. He enjoyed this room. It was a lot nicer than his Hufflepuff common room. There was a majestic fireplace directly across the room from him, with two magnificent spiral white marble staircases on either side of it leading up to the boys' and girls' dormitories. The couches were beautiful, lush, cerulean-colored velvet with golden wooden curves. The carpeting was thick and shining silver with what looked like blue diamonds dancing on the surface, causing the whole room to shimmer with reflected light. It was a simply magnificent room! He was so into the beauty of the atmosphere around him, he didn't notice the other people that were in the room with him.

"Hello Cedric!" Padma Patil shouted to him on a couch by the fireplace. Even though he wasn't a Ravenclaw, the members of the house saw him in the common room often to visit and cuddle with Cho. "She's in her dormitory...you'll find her there, I'm sure."

Cedric began to head toward the spiral staircases, but before he could get there he was bombarded with little Ravenclaw first and second years bouncing up and down and begging for an autograph from their favorite Triwizard Champion. Cedric signed a few slips of parchment, but he couldn't take waiting any longer. He began pushing students aside and ran up the stairs to the girls' dorms quickly, hoping to high heaven that no one would follow.

He ran up all the way to the top of Ravenclaw Tower, finally reaching the 5^th year girl's dormitories. He knocked, but there was no answer. Hoping she wouldn't mind, he cracked open the door and peered inside.