Harry Potter and the Mirror of Lehcar

Charlie had just awoken to the sound of yelling. He was sleeping in a room directly below Ron's room. The night before he hadn't gotten any sleep. He was supposed to attend a meeting, but when he saw Hermione, he was totally distracted. He knew he had missed his meeting when he had listed to Harry's conversation. This made him really mad as he had been meaning to talk to Dumbledore as well as Ron about Harry's relationship. Overall he had gotten about three hours of sleep, so after he had re-scheduled his meeting and talked to Ron, he went back to sleep.

"What's going on?" Charlie yelled as he tried to keep Harry and Ron apart.

"Nothing, our conversation just got a little out of hand. Sorry we woke you up Charlie. Wow, you don't look too good!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah, sorry," Harry mumbled with his newly acquired bloody nose.

"What are you guys doing?" Charlie asked.

"We were talking about Cho, and it got a little out of hand," Ron explained.

"We weren't talking only about Cho, and maybe it wouldn't have gotten out of hand if someone didn't meddle in my business," Harry muttered.

"Okay, well you guys don't look like you're going to settle this any time soon, so how about not talking about it until tomorrow when you've realized how stupid your fight is. That's an order. And try to keep it down. I was sleeping," Charlie said, walking out of the room.

"Ron, he's right, we can't be so stupid. We're going to need to stick together more than ever before, so we can't fight about these kind of things anymore," Harry said. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight--I know you're only looking out for my best interest but to be honest...I think I'm in love."

"Seriously! You love her?" Ron spat at him, still angry.

"Yeah. Well...I think I do," Harry said flushing. "I have these feelings that I've never had before and I don't really know what else it could be."

"Well maybe you should just think you're in love, I don't know. And I'm sorry that I brought up Hermione in that conversation. I shouldn't have. She's just going through a rough spot and I'm sorry for what I said about Cho. You're right. I don't know her and I shouldn't judge her like that. I just think she is bad news. I don't know why I do but I just have this feeling," Ron said, turning red from embarrassment on his part. They shook hands.

*******

"Hey, how has your day been?" Harry said endearingly.

"I can't go to your party. I'm sorry," Cho said abruptly, failing to meet the green eyes, which she loved so much.

"Why not? I really wanted to see you..." Harry said, disappointed.

"Well, my dad doesn't want me to and I have no way of getting there unless I went to Diagon Alley and used their fireplaces, which costs money. We aren't on the same Floo connection as the Weasleys are."

"I guess...do you think we might be able to meet in Diagon Alley when you're there to get your books for school? I can try and convince the Weasleys to go the same day as you," Harry asked hopefully.

"Um maybe...look, Harry I've gotta go. I'll talk to you tomorrow if I can." Cho disappeared and in an instant the mirror lost all its color.

"Okay, bye," Harry muttered to nobody. He had felt for some time that Cho had been hiding something from him, or maybe didn't like him. He didn't say any of this to anyone--especially Ron, who definitely didn't seem to like Cho.

********

They had an unusually small dinner that night at the Weasleys'. Ginny came down and got her and Hermione's dinner; they ate in Hermione's room. Charlie was out somewhere and Mrs. Weasley wouldn't tell anyone where he went. Bill was visiting Fleur in France, and Mr. Weasley was at work. The ministry needed more reinforcements as weird things were starting to happen, again.

Their dinner was quite dull; Fred and George weren't allowed to make fun of Percy while Penelope was there, and they had to follow the rules because Mrs. Weasley was watching them sternly. She was constantly watching theml lately, since earlier in the summer they had played a mean joke on Percy that nearly ended his relationship with Penelope. The dinner consisted mainly of the boys talking about Quidditch. George was going to be the new captain this year for Gryffindor's house team. Mrs. Weasley, Penelope, and Percy talked about the wedding, which was going to be held at the end of next May.

Toward the end of dinner a sweaty, tired-looking Charlie apparated into the kitchen.

"Mum, I need to talk to you right away. Its really important," Charlie said urgently.

"All right dear, hold on. Go into the den and I'll be in there in two minutes," Mrs. Weasley answered calmly. She went into the other room and came back (up) into the kitchen twenty minutes later. There was no sound from Charlie. Everyone sat around and quietly ate coffee and cake. They knew better than to ask Mrs. Weasley what the interruption was about.

After dinner, Harry and Ron went upstairs to see how Hermione was doing. When they knocked on the door, they heard an unexpected response: one of the girls was crying.

"Who is it?" The crying one said, sniffling quietly.

"It's Harry and Ron, can we come in?" Harry answered hesitantly.

"Um, no. You can't come in. That wouldn't be a good idea, but if you want to be super nice you could take our dishes downstairs and bring us up some cake and coffee. Just leave it by the door and knock," Ginny said sweetly, handing them dishes and shutting the door in their faces. The boys stared at each other.

***

The week before Harry's birthday passed without incident. Almost all the people invited said they would be able to attend Harry's party. Hermione was still acting strange and Charlie was still mysteriously away at random times.

The night of the party came and the house was being decorated. When the guests started to arrive, they went out to the back porch. Everyone leisurely sat around and ate their dinner, all the adults that attended stayed inside.

After dinner everyone migrated up to the hill to watch a game of quidditch. Since nearly all of the Gryffindor team was there they played together. Ginny was playing keeper for the Gryffindor team; she had plans on trying out for that position once term started. The other team was: Ron and Ernie McMillan as beaters, Lisa Turpin as seeker, Colin Creevey, Megan Jones, and Michael Corner as chasers, and Hannah Abbott as the keeper.

The Gryffindor team won, two hundred and ten points to seventy points. It was a fun game everyone enjoyed watching and playing. After the game was over and everyone got a try on Harry's firebolt they headed back towards the house for dessert.

After dessert Sirius changed into his human form and he, Harry, Hermione, and Ron had a conversation about what was going on in the wizarding world as they helped tidy. Then Sirius gave Harry his present (a book about aurors and defeating dark magic). Then Sirius apparated back to Lupin's house after the house was sufficiently clean. Everyone went to bed, exhausted after a long day.

***
Later that night Harry woke up to a bright light shining by his head. He groaned and blinked blearily in the light's direction. It was his mirror. What was Cho calling for at this time in the night? Harry decided to take the mirror downstairs so he wouldn't wake anyone in his room. He crept quietly down to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water before answering Cho's call.

"Why are you calling so late?" Harry said, still half asleep and somewhat disgruntled with the call that had gotten him up in the middle of the night.

"I wanted to know how your party went. Did you have fun?" Cho asked.

"Yeah it was a lot of fun, but would have been more fun if you had been there." Harry smiled at Cho's blush.

"I'm sorry I missed it. You didn't snog anyone while I was gone, did you?" Cho asked bluntly. This was the first time that Cho had seemed to care about their relationship.

"Yeah, you know me I'm the promiscuous one that gets around. We played spin the bottle but hey babe I didn't even need a bottle," smiled Harry.

"Harry Potter I can't believe you," started Cho as her face reddened. "I thought you cared about me, I thought we were a couple. I thougt..."

"Cho, calm down I was only kidding with you I would never do that," mused Harry. "And well are we a couple? You were never quite clear on that subject."

"Well yes we are a couple, well only if you want us to be."

"Of course I do," smiled Harry with a relieved look on his face.

"Well I'm glad you had fun at your party tonight. When are we going to meet in Diagon Alley?" Cho said, changing the subject.

"Well, I'll be there the Wednesday before term. Do you think you'd be able to make it there for lunch?" Harry asked apprehensively.

"Yeah, actually, I think I'll be able to," Cho said, allaying his fears.

Cho and Harry had a long conversation that night. It wasn't very meaningful, but Harry enjoyed it. It was a rare occasion when he just got to sit and talk to her. One of them usually ended the conversation before it really took off.

********

The next few weeks passed without great incident. Harry and Ron subconsciously decided not to talk about Cho. Hermione almost seemed normal again. It seemed as though she was getting over whatever was bothering her. Harry and Ron thought it was best that they didn't try to talk to her about it and she could get over it with the aid of Ginny.

The Wednesday before term, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys stood around the fireplace taking turns flooing to Diagon Alley. Once they all got through to the Leaky Cauldron, they went their separate ways. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to get their new school supplies. Ginny ran off to meet Colin and Dennis Creevey. Fred and George found Lee Jordan and they went off to oogle the latest broomstick in Quality Quidditch Supplies.

Harry, Hermione and Ron went to Gringotts first. Hermione had to exchange the Muggle money that her parents had given her for wizarding money, and Harry had to go down to his vault. Fred and George had already given everyone in the family money which everyone wondered about, but the twins answered their barrage of questions vaguely, managing to leave everyone with the impression that they had done something unsurpassably brilliant.

Everyone ended up in Flourish and Blotts for most of their school supplies. After leaving the crowded bookstore they went to the cauldron shop. This year in potions they needed larger, copper cauldrons for new potions. After they had finished their shopping, Harry left to go meet Cho. They were going to meet in the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.

When Harry saw her he gave her a big hug. She didn't look as good as Harry had remembered, but he was still happy to see her. She was wearing jeans and a tank top. Cho lived in London and had taken the underground to the Leaky Cauldron. She was talented at dressing as a Muggle.

"Hey Harry! It's so nice to finally see you!" Cho exclaimed as they hugged.

"I know what you mean; it's been ages," Harry said coming away from the hug. "Do you want some lunch?"

"Sure that sounds nice. Where do you want to go?" Cho said, taking Harry's hand.

"Well, let's just eat here, unless you want to just go over to Florean Fortescue's, skip lunch, and go straight to dessert," Harry suggested with a grin.

"Sounds great. Bring on the ice cream!" Cho answered, smiling.

When they got to the ice cream parlour, Harry ordered large sundaes for both of them. They sat outside, enjoying the warm summer air. They had a fun conversation about the next term and wondered who the next Defense against the Dark Arts teacher was going to be. Harry mentioned that he wanted Lupin to come back. Cho disagreed; she didn't like Lupin at all. She liked Lockhart, who was, in her opinion, the best out of all the DaDA teachers they had had. Harry wasn't sure how to answer this, but he didn't have much time to think about it. Ron and Hermione came and told him that the Weasleys were heading home. They gave him some Floo powder and told him that they'd see him back at the Burrow. Not long after, a group of Cho's friends came and asked her to join them. She agreed, but before she left, she gave Harry a kiss on the cheek that made his face turn bright red.

Harry returned to the Burrow later that evening to find Ron extremely happy with his new school supplies. He hadn't needed to buy anything second-hand. In fact, he had even bought new dress robes in dark blue. Harry thought they suited his red hair and complexion well.

The rest of the week flew by. Everyone had fun enjoying their last few days of summer. The afternoon before they all left, Charlie bid them farewell; he was going back to Romania and he probably wouldn't see any of them again until Percy's wedding. Everybody spent most of the night packing and finishing the holiday assignments that they had neglected. Hermione had finished early and was reading a huge Arithmancy book.

*******

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley ordered two Muggle taxis to take them to King's Cross Station. It was a tight squeeze. There were ten people (including the drivers), six trunks, three owls (Ron had gotten a new owl for being a prefect and Ginny got Pig), and a cat. As usual, they made a racket art the station and attracted a lot of Muggle attention.

When they got to the barrier, they went in pairs. Hermione and Ginny went first, and Fred and George followed. Harry and Ron went next, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came through last. When Platform 9 3/4 had materialized, everyone separated. Ginny went to go see Colin; Fred and George went to find Lee Jordan. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to get a compartment on the train. Hermione and Ron were allowed to sit with the prefects but didn't want to ditch Harry. Since they knew Draco was also a prefect and they didn't want to sit with him, they quickly scouted out an apartment for them and Harry.

Once they put their belongings in their compartment, they went back out onto the platform. They had come early this year and had time to converse with people before the train left. After a few short conversations about the holidays, Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"I've made you all lunch again!" Mrs. Weasley smiled, mothering them all. She was very pleased with herself. "Okay, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry... those should be the way you like them. I believe I got them all right."

"Have a good term kids, and if you're all danced out you can come back to the Burrow for Christmas. Although I doubt that you'll want to miss the Yule Ball," Mr. Weasley said with twinkling eyes. "Anyway, have a good term," Mr. Weasley repeated as he shook hands with the boys. He gave Hermione and Ginny farewell hugs.

"Yes kids, have a good term and write often. And no misbehaving! Fred, George, even if you don't want to go into the ministry I do hope you'll study for your N.E.W.T.S." Mrs. Weasley smiled, tearing up as she hugged everyone goodbye.

They all boarded the train and waved to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as it departed. Ginny was up front with a few other fourth years. Fred and George were in the very back, wanting to get as far away from all the prefects as possible. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way into their compartment they spotted Malfoy. He was in the compartment next to them.

"Oh, great. We sat back here just so we wouldn't have to sit by him, and what do you know, he's right next to us. This is just great," Ron said disgustedly.

"Be quiet or he'll hear you and come out here. Then we'll have to hear his voice," Hermione said as she opened the door and they slid silently in.

It began to rain as they looked out the window and onto the scenery. Throughout the trip they had many visitors in their compartment. All the Gryffindors of their year came to visit them. They talked about the summer. Neville and his grandmother had toured Ireland and ran into Seamus Finnigan. Parvati and Lavender had gone to France with Parvati's family.

They had fun catching up with all their friends, as they wound through the countryside. Once they had seen everyone, they sat back and ate their sandwiches, and then bought some candy from the trolley. After they had finished eating, Ron and Hermione went to go see the prefects in their compartment.

Harry now sat alone, and was staring out the window. He was thinking about Cho--why hadn't she come to see him? He had no idea where she would be on the train. Just when he had made up his mind to go find her, the door slid open. Harry turned around and was surprised to see Malfoy. He wasn't with Crabbe and Goyle, as he normally was, but alone.

"What are you doing here? I see you're not with your normal goons," Harry said, not entirely rudely, but with a threatening undertone.

"Yes, well," Draco drawled in typical Draco fashion. "I'm just here to chat." He edged into the compartment.

"Oh really," Harry said without any feeling at all.

"Potter, do you remember how you left me and my friends after the last train ride we shared?"

"Yeah, what about it? You only got what you deserved." Harry smiled, remembering the mixed hexes they had left on the Slytherins.

"Well I'm here to pay you back. Crabbe's face couldn't be magically mended. Those little tentacles wouldn't go away. He had to get them taken off with a Muggle knife, and he has scars," Malfoy replied, getting to the heart of the problem.

"So what...he was always ugly," Harry muttered under his breath.

"Anyway, I wouldn't want you to be confused, so I thought I'd come put you straight. You can't be thinking that you're better than me, or that you can beat me. You can't," Malfoy drawled as he got his wand out.

"Oh that's considerate, isn't it," Harry said as he got his wand out as well. "So, is a duel what that you had in mind?"

"No, Potter, I want to have a tea party." Malfoy smirked. As he said this he pulled a fast hex. Harry's quick instincts kicked in and he jumped out of the way. Malfoy was about to do it again when Harry beat him to it.

"Furnunculus!" They yelled in unison. The familiar yellow sparks jetted out of their wands. The two sparks met in the middle and spiraled up together, and yet they never met. As they spiraled up, the yellow suddenly changed into orange, then to purple and finally into a dark blue that came back and hit Harry and Draco in their chests. Their worlds went black.

********