CHOsen by Cho

"That was the worst Quidditch practice ever," Harry moaned to himself as he walked out of the boys' showers. He was aching all over, but at least the hot shower had cleaned him off and relieved some of the tension.

It had been his hardest year at Hogwarts yet. Now that his encounters with Voldemort had fanned the flames of fame, rumors about him were popping up everywhere. From the fall into the spring, people had been making up stories of his relationships. Some said that he had a crush on his friend Hermione, which was understandable considering how mush she had filled out lately, but it wasn't true. Some said that he was dating Ron's sister, Ginny. She had always had a crush on him, but that rumor was untrue, as well.

The worst by far, though, was the epitome of rumor involving fame. Some of his fans had compiled all sorts of fictional accounts of relationships between him and his arch-nemesis, Draco Malfoy. Draco wasn't too pleased with the rumors either, so, between the two of them, those stories had been nipped in the bud.

In fact, Harry had tried his best to get close to the girl he really liked. He was too shy to approach her in public, but she had given him friendly, if not flirtatious, waves in the hall quite often. Harry suspected that the ball was on his side of the pitch, but he was too reserved to take the chance and talk to her. Harry would often make promises to himself that he would approach her, but his reservations always got the better of him. Maybe his dreams were just a waste of time.

Harry was so lost in his thoughts as he walked through the hot summer night that he failed to sense the object of his affection approaching. Cho Chang was almost upon him by the time he looked up. She was spreading upon her lips a beautiful shade of rich, red lipstick. Her face and skin were so perfect that the pale summer moon made her graceful body into that of a goddess of beauty and poise. She was wearing a short skirt and a tank top that would attract the attention of any man. Harry tensed up as he saw her exposed flesh approach him. As she finished smoothing out her lipstick, she looked directly into Harry's eyes. He suddenly felt conscious of his entire body. He suffocated himself with his fears of what was wrong with him. He mentally went over everything he had done after showering. His hair was as neat as it would get, his breath and teeth were fine, he didn't smell like he had just gotten out of Quidditch practice, and his clothes were clean. Even so, he was so stressed that he felt a bead of sweat gather on his forehead.

He quickly wiped it away in the guise of pulling back his overgrown hair and did something he had never thought possible. He spoke to her.

"Hey, Cho. That's beautiful lipstick, what color is it?" he heard himself ask her. Had he really just done that? Was all of his sweating and worrying for that? Was that one stupid line the best he could think of?

"Well," she answered back, giggling, "That's the idea, and it's Velvet Crimson. I hoped you would like it."

"Perfect," Harry thought to himself, "No beating around the bush with this girl." Why did she have to respond to his complement? Why? Harry had to think fast. He had to think smooth. He had to make her like him.

"I- I've been wanting to talk to you." Harry might as well have been watching a movie. He heard himself spit out what he had practiced in front of the mirror, but he had no control over how he did it.

"I could tell," Cho laughed, "After the fourth time you fell down a staircase when I waved to you, I felt is was better to approach you out here for some space with less obstacles."

"Well," Harry said, embarrassed, "I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, Madame Pomfrey gave me a frequent tenant card last time. Four more visits and I get a Chocolate Frog." Cho's laughter gave him confidence, and he felt himself relax immensely. He felt one of his winners' smiles creep onto his face. Cho's face showed a similar expression. Harry was pleased with himself only until he realized that he had no follow-up joke. The silence that ensued the end of the laughter was more painful than any other torture devised by man.

After what seemed like eternity, Harry finally built up the nerve to say something.

"Do you want to go to the lake?" he planted a hopeful smile on his face and struggled to seem relaxed. He was sure that it had a reverse effect, but Cho's beautiful face lit up as she struggled to contain giddy laughter.

"I thought you'd never ask," she said as she placed her hand on her hip and extended her elbow to create the loop through which Harry placed his arm. As they walked slowly to the lake, Harry found himself staring into Cho's eyes, which he noticed were staring back up into his.

"So what really prompted you to talk to me today, Cho?" Harry forced himself to ask.

"You."

"Say what?"

"Well... I've wanted you to ask me out for a long time, and, off the record, so did your friends."

"What? What do you mean, 'For a long time?' What about..." Harry stopped before he said Cedric.

"Him, too." Harry stopped dead in his tracks.

"What? But you two were..."

"I was tired of waiting for you, so I decided to make you jealous. Cedric and I just got to be really good friends when I asked him to help. We both need to get over his death, Harry." Harry felt too embarrassed to speak, but he tried anyway.

"What would you rather we do than grieve," He said in atone that was more sympathetic to the subject than he realized he could produce.

"I know what he would have wanted, and it's down by the lake." Harry felt his heart skip a beat.

"Let us go then." He said, smiling again, despite the grim subject matter that had just been skimmed over. He waited for her to make another loop for his arm, but none came. Instead, she wrapped one arm behind his back and the other across his chest to meet with the opposite hand. Harry's heart skipped several more beats.

They tried to walk, but the position was awkward. Harry found that it was far more practical and comfortable for them to walk if he placed one of his hands on her lower back. He was not sure how, but the angles seemed to fit together better.

As they reached the lake, Harry saw all of the other couples that had come out to enjoy the post-finals portion of the year on the benches. He let Cho lead him to a nearby bench, and they sat down. Upon reaching the seat of the bench, Harry realized just how tired he was. Even so, he would not allow anything to get in the way of his "date" with Cho.

They sat on the bench, holding hands, and stared at the moon above them. Harry's aches from Quidditch had totally disappeared by now. There was only one thing on his mind: the princess sitting next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and leaned further into him. He looked down to see the full beauty of the divine creature that pressed herself so tenderly against his chest.

Her face was that of an ancient, Greek goddess, chiseled into the finest stone. Her Asian eyes were precious stones that pierced into his soul. Her skin was smooth as marble. Harry was so caught up in her beauty that he ran his fingers across her bare legs. She shivered and he felt his body tense up pleasantly. He ran his fingers through her full, jet-black hair as he took in her amazing beauty. Her shape was curved and shaped just right. He regulated his breath to hers as her bosom gently rose and fell.

They hugged each other close as the moon rose high above. Harry stifled a yawn as he looked into Cho's eyes once more.

"Harry, I think this has been decided by now, but I want to make it official. Do you want us to get to know each other better?" Cho asked, shifting her legs so that she was sitting on his lap.

"You mean like be boyfriend and girlfriend?" Harry asked hopefully, fighting sleep.

"Sounds good to me," Cho said, wrapping her arms around Harry's neck.

Harry found himself the happiest he had been in years. He yawned and felt his eyes close. Cho and the rest of the world drifted away from him.

Harry woke up with a start. Cho was nowhere in sight, and there were only a few other couples still on the benches. He silently cursed himself for falling asleep on Cho. He walked up to the water and watched the giant squid swim lazily across the water. After a while he looked down at his own reflection. He closely scrutinized every detail of what he saw.

He saw a skinny teenage boy with messy hair and glasses. He was only just starting to build up muscles and his hair went down to his lower jaw. There was nothing remarkable on him, with the exception of his scar. Was that scar all he was? Would he be important to anybody if that scar weren't there? That scar was the only thing he could be proud of, and he hadn't even really earned it.

Just as he was about to get up and leave, Harry saw a deep, red smudge by his lips. Were they bleeding? The red conformed to his lips and had small smudges coming off of them. What was that mark? Then he recognized the color. It was Velvet Crimson.

As he walked away he thought to himself: "Maybe I did earn something I can be proud of."