Harry Potter and the Sorceress Queen

Harry woke up rather late the next morning, owing to the fact he went to bed past midnight. Yawning and stretching, he pulled on his robes and went down to breakfast with Ron.

Hermione was already there, a large fat book propped in front of her. Occasionally she would take a swig from her goblet of pumpkin juice or a bite from her buttered toast. She looked up when Harry and Ron sat down beside her.

"Mornin', you two," she said briskly, cramming the last chunk into her mouth. "Harry, Julie Anne's just been over, and I told her you'll come."

"Okay," said Harry, helping himself to scrambled eggs and porridge. "She still wouldn't say what's she got to tell?"

Hermione shook her head, bent down and rummaged through her bag, which was bulging with books as usual. "We've got Charms first period," she said, looking at the course schedule.

"Hope there's something good," said Ron thickly through his mouthful of bread.

Presently they were trooping into the classroom, sat down and took out their books.

"What's that?" asked Ron, pointing.

Behind the pile of books where Professor Flitwick used to stand on was a large cage containing twenty or thirty fluffy white bunnies. Lavender gave a squeal of delight and nudged Parvati. They started whispering excitedly.

"Good morning!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, hopping onto his personal platform. "Today we're going to learn the Engorgement Charms! Now turn your pages to......"

They took notes on the Engorgement Charms for a while, then began on the difficult task of enlarging the rabbits. They were supposed to make them roughly three times bigger. (Professor Flitwick did a demonstration and ended up sitting on the result giving instructions.)

"Blimey, this is hard," muttered Ron after fifteen minutes of swishing and flicking. "Ah......it's growing, wait......no!"

Ron's bunny was getting bigger, but only the ears were. They elongated until they were five feet long and drooped on the floor. Ron was looking exasperated.

"You've got to be patient," snapped Hermione irritably. She had succeeded long ago, her rabbit was exactly the right size with the ears, legs and bobtail all in perfet proportions."Don't flap your arms so, and say the word properly, 'Engorgio'......"

Harry was by no means better. His bunny grew only on the sides; in fact, it became so fat that it reminded him of Dudley.

But Neville's was the worst, it turned out to be a disaster. After countless unsuccessful attempts, he finally managed to make his bunny grow, but it swelled and swelled without stopping. People screamed and bolted for the door as the poor rabbit grew, knocking down tables and cabinets. Professor Flitwick nearly got squashed by Neville's bunny before he made it shrink back to its normal size.

During lunch Fred and George sought out Harry, looking uncommonly serious.

"Hey Harry, we need a new Keeper," said Fred. "Got to find someone quick and start practicing. Angelina went to draw lots yesterday and we're playing Hufflepuff on the 6th of October."

Harry nodded, wondering who was playing Seeker on Hufflpuff's team this time. This made him think of Cedric, which led to a brief moment of pain.

"Alicia and Katie suggested we draft for people who're willing to fill in, and have a tryout this Sunday. You'll have to be there, Harry, 'cause we have to vote for the best." said George with a sly look at Ron.

"Okay," said Harry. "What about team captain?"

"Um......guess we'll take another vote when the new Keeper's born. The Weasley twins left.

In the afternoon they had Divination and Potions. Ron fell asleep during Divination and gave a loud snore, which led to detention from a very angry Professor Trelawney.

Fleur was looking older and more mature than they'd seen her last year. She apparently had cut her long silvery hair shorter, for it was twisted into a bun at the back of her head. She also wore glasses with black rectangular frames. When she swept stately into the dungeons, she caught Harry's eye and smiled.

"Professor Snape 'as informed me to continue on antidotes," she said solemnly, ignoring contemptuous looks from the Slytherins. "We will start on a different type today, one zat cures chronic diseases......"

It turned out that Fleur knew quite a lot on Potions. Harry had the most satisfactory Potions lesson he has had for years. Fleur was strict, but she did not pick on him like Snape. She even assigned extra homework to Crabbe and Goyle, something that Snape never did.

"I hope she stays!" said Ron fervently after class, as they made way to dinner. "She's much better than Snape......"

Harry agreed wholeheartedly. Hermione said nothing; her eyes narrowed slightly when Ron spoke. Harry noticed this.

"What's the matter?" he asked her.

"Nothing......I mean, you boys just think she's better 'cause she's beautiful!" said Hermione, her face flushed. Without waiting for a reply, she walked quickly ahead of them to the dinner's table.

Ron and Harry looked at each other in mild astonishment. "What's up with her?" asked Ron.

Hermione ate her dinner in a hurry, hardly saying a word. When she finished, she said to Harry, "Remember you have a date!" She hurried off in the direction of the library.

Harry thought Hermione was acting a bit queer, but he had other things on his mind to worry. After dinner, he left for the trophy room. Ron grinned and said, "See you then!" but his grin faded when Professor Mcgonagall turned up, telling him his detention was to clean up the boys' bathroom with Filch.

Harry walked down corridors and stairs, still pondering about Julie Anne's message, so he failed to notice Peeves, who suddenly sneaked up behind him and emptied a large waste paper basket over his head.

"Dessert for you, Potter!" Peeves screeched, watching Harry struggle in deep amusement. Footsteps sounded on the floor, and Peeves zoomed away, cackling gleefully.

"Harry?"

Harry stuck his head out of the pile of rubbish. Two girls were standing before him. One was very pretty with silky nut-brown hair, while the other was equally attractive with chin-length pale blond hair.

All of a sudden, both girls burst into laughing. The brown-haired girl was still giggling with her hand over her mouth as she bent down to help Harry out of the garbage. Fortunately, the rubbish consisted mostly of thrown away parchments, nothing really dirty.

"Repairo!" The blond one directed her wand to the scattered mess and the scraps of parchment flew into the air and landed neatly in the waste paper basket Peeves had dropped. Then the brown-haired girl steered a slightly dazed Harry into the trophy room. The blond girl closed the door behind them.

"Hi Harry, I'm Julie Anne Faulkner," said the brown-haired girl, smiling at him. She gestured toward her companion. "And this is Nicole White."

Harry nodded politely, not knowing what to say at the moment.

"You're probably wondering why I wrote that note to you, Harry," continued Julie Anne. "We've wanted to talk to you, seriously. It's about Cho."

"Cho?" Harry felt himself going red.

"Listen, Harry," There was a note of urgency in Julie Anne's tone. "We're Cho's best friends. She's been suffering greatly since Cedric's death. Cho doesn't show it outside, 'cause she doesn't want everyone to worry, but we can see she's hurting deeply inside. So, Nicole and I decided to ask you for help."

"What?" Harry couldn't help blurting out. "I mean, I'm not even a friend......"

"Harry, Cho likes you," said Julie Anne desperately. Seeing Harry's ASTONISHED expression, she hastily explained, "Harry, Cho has liked you since that time she played Quidditch with you. She had been agonizing whether to ask you out, but when she confessed her troubles to us, we just laughed at her, saying she's too old and you're always hanging out with top student Hermione Granger......"

"We shouldn't have made fun of her," piped up Nicole. "Cho seemed subdued after that, and later when Cedric got picked as a school champion, he asked her out. We've expected this, Cedric has been finding excuses to talk with her since her fourth year. Cho couldn't find any reason to refuse him, Cedric's really a nice guy, and we'd think her stupid to say no to someone like him. Personally, I think Cho went out with him because it will make her forget you. But it didn't work."

Harry's eyes were widening. This must be insane, impossible......the pretty, popular girl of the school he'd had a crush on actually had a secret liking for him?

"But......but she turned me down when I asked her to the ball......"

"Yes, but she was convinced you wouldn't ask her!" said Julie Anne in mild fury. "She felt so bad to refuse you when you asked her only a few days before the ball."

"Anyway, Cedric really liked Cho," carried on Nicole. "She did her best to reciprocate his feelings, but......I don't like to admit it, Cedric's boring. He can't see the point of a joke, so Cho didn't have much fun with him. Remember that sword fight she had with Peeves?" she added to Julie Anne.

"Oh yeah," smiled Julie Anne. "And on our third year, it was Cho's idea that we sneak into Lockhart's office and put a Hair Changing Spell on his hair curlers. It made his hair turn blue." Harry pictured a blue-haired Lockhart in his mind and grinned too.

"Cho meant to break it gently to Cedric that she only wanted to be friends, after the third task," said Nicole."But......but.......Cedric......" She broke off, as if the mention of Cedric's death was too much.

"You understand now, Harry?" said Julie Anne seriously. "Cho thinks there's no chance for you and her now, look at the situation. You want to help her, don't you?"

"Er......" Harry more than wanted to help, when he heard this unexpected revelation.

"Just drop a kind word for her, here and there," suggested Nicole. "Cho gets up at six every morning to practice kung-fu. I guess that's the best way to ensure some privacy."

"But don't do it too straightforward, okay?" warned Julie Anne, her manner strangely similiar to Hermione's when Harry and Ron were doing something against the rules. "Just let her know you still care and you'll willing to wait until time has healed her grief for Cedric."

Promising he'll do his best, Harry waved goodbye to the Ravenclaw girls and walked back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Cho likes you......she likes you......" their voices echoed in his ears. This was something he often dreamed of, yet never believed it could come true. Harry knocked a fist on his head to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Merlin's beard," he said listlessly to the Fat Lady. She swung forward, and he climbed in. Ron wasn't in the common room. Hermione was sitting in a distant corner, reading as usual. Harry went over to her and she looked up.

"What did she tell you?"

In low tones, Harry gave her the details of the conversation. Hermione listened intently, unconscious that she had forgotten to bookmark her page. When Harry finished she was almost speechless.

"Harry......" she said, recollecting her thoughts. "Erm......well, what are you going to do then?"

"I don't know," said Harry, blushing furiously. "She's always surrounded by friends, so I guess I'll find her when she's practicing kung-fu and talk to her, I s'ppose."

"Wait for some time," advised Hermione, her expression resembling Julie Anne. "She wouldn't like it, you know, springing at her at the beginning of school term......"

Harry was feeling rather tired now. Declining the Creevey brothers' invitation to join them, he simply went up to bed. He didn't feel like sleeping though. Harry lay down on the sheets, thinking about Cho. How she could have a liking for him? But the Ravenclaw girls can't be lying to him, or they wouldn't have bothered even to talk to him. The guilt of Cedric's death still weighed heavily on his heart. But anyway, he is dead and perhaps the best thing to do was to comfort the living, besides, Cedric wouldn't want to see Cho grief-stricken for a long time.

Ron came up ten minutes later, looking worn out. He was complaining and grumbling about his detention, emphasizing this was the worst he ever had.

"......and what did that Ravenclaw prefect tell you?" began Ron, when Seamus, Dean and Neville entered the room, chattering noisily. Dean had sighned up for the tryout.

Harry shook his head and said, "Tommorrow." They joined in the conversation and soon goodnights were said and the boys fell asleep, Harry the last one.