The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game

Everyday brings change, and the world puts on a new face
Sudden things rearrange, and this whole world seems like a new place

I walked through the halls, my books tightly clutched against my chest, eyes darting warily from student to student, expecting a word of sympathy or a frightened “All right, Cho?” It wasn’t like I didn’t want to know that people cared about me, but I despised the distant, fearful pity I had been receiving since Cedric’s death. Everyone treated me like a porcelain doll that would soon shatter. I had been so brave, so composed, surely I would break down soon, they thought. No, I promised myself, I would not shed a tear for Cedric, he wouldn’t want that. And I hadn’t, at least not since the feast in fifth year…not even at his funeral. I floated along like a ghost of a person, trying to comfort others. Comforting other people always served as the best comfort for me.

Every since that fateful night when Cedric had died, everything seemed so different. The world was not the same anymore. My fellow students, once loud, boisterous, and happy, were now quiet and sad. The teachers were subdued and always looked at us with strange expressions on their faces…I imagined it was much, much worse for the Hufflepuffs, watching the teachers’ eyes well up with tears every time they looked at the empty seat where Cedric had once sat. In fact, it seemed like I had transferred to a different school, somewhere in a distant, remote country where no one knew how to have fun, and free time was spent crying over your dead teachers, friends, and family members or wondering whether or not your parents were alright. Morning post was the most dreaded time of the day…Those horrible rolls of parchment, death notices, came more frequently each week. So far, only six students had lost someone, not including me, but that was still a lot, considering nobody had ever died before in my time at Hogwarts.

Indeed, we all regarded each other with the same distant pity and occasional sympathy. Everyone had been so far away, so uncomforting…except for one Harry James Potter.

Secretly I’ve been tailing you
Like a fox that prays on a rabbit
Had to get you and so I knew
I had to learn your ways and habits

I had known Harry had a crush on me for a very long time, and he’d always been a good friend, though not a close one. I liked him very much ever since he came, in my second year, and particularly admired his talent at Quidditch, being a Seeker myself. But it wasn’t until I had walked back into Hogwarts on that first day of my sixth year and seen how much he had, well, grown that I developed a little crush of my own. I had denied it for all of first term, trying to convince myself that it was wrong. Cedric had only just died; how would he like it if I ran off with his Quidditch and Triwizard Cup rival only six months later? He would have wanted you to move on, live a little, I drilled into my mind, until I had finally convinced myself that it was true. So….Christmastime was a perfect time to begin my little game.

And a game it was, I reminded myself time after time. I would toy with his emotions a little, make him want me, and run away before things got too serious. I had a slight advantage, I reasoned, since he had wanted me since third year (maybe second) and I had only had a crush on him since the beginning of first term.

I began the game by talking with his friends and classmates, finding things out about him. Hermione Granger seemed a little overeager to share her knowledge with me. In fact, she was positively delighted that I had finally taken interest in Harry.

“Well, you know, he loves Quidditch, you love Quidditch, you’re both Seekers on your teams, and you’re both captains of your teams, so you already have things in common,” she said breathlessly as I nodded sullenly, doing my best to look interested. “He likes Defense Against the Dark Arts, that’s always been his best subject, but don’t even mention Potions near him, he hates it,” she warned me.

“With reason,” I muttered.

Hermione continued for well over an hour, going on about his love for Chocolate frogs, adventure, and Hedwig. A few times, she nearly let some deliciously juicy secrets slip…But, unfortunately, caught herself.

I moved onto Oliver Wood, his former Quidditch Captain, who was so busy gaping at his new girlfriend, the Beauxbatons transfer student Nikki, who sat on his knee, doing Charms homework on the Hogwarts grounds, to really answer any of my questions intelligently (“Uhhhh, sure,” proved to be his longest answer). However, Nikki proved to be quite useful as she explained to me, in halting English, that Harry idolized Viktor Krum and the Irish Seekers. I especially enjoyed her description of Krum as “Zat Veektor Krum.” Cute.

I had researched Harry enough to know that buying him a mini Krum figure for Christmas and asking him to the Yule Ball would win him over. I was slightly disappointed (frankly, I wanted a challenge) but it would have to do.

Ooooo, you were the catch that I was after
I looked up and I was in your arms and I knew that I was captured

Harry, of course, loved my present and enthusiastically accepted my invitation to the ball. I practically skipped to my common room that night, thinking happily, Cho-1, Harry-0. My fellow Ravenclaws regarded me curiously, because they hadn’t seen me smile since my last night with Cedric. And it was a strange smile, I was sure of it, a triumphant smile, and even-maybe-a cruel smile.

“Cho? What’s up?” Thalia inquired curiously. Thalia had been one of my friends ever since we were three, but our bond had weakened under the pressure of dealing with Cedric’s death. She cared for me, I know, but she didn’t want to be the one with me when I broke down. She was so sure I would.

“Oh…I have a date to the Yule Ball,” I replied cheerfully.

Thalia raised a dark eyebrow at me. “A date? But…what about Cedric? Are you…moving on?” Her words were slow and careful, like they might break me.

I nearly rolled my eyes. “It’s about time, isn’t it? Don’t I deserve some happiness?”

“Well…yeah. So who is he?”

“Harry Potter.”

And with that, I sank into an armchair by the fire, pulled out my Arithmancy homework, and started to write furiously, leaving Thalia to gape silently at me.

The day of the Yule Ball arrived all too quickly. I was truly and thoroughly excited, practically hopping. Finally, it was five o’clock, and time to get ready. Thalia straightened my hair, applied my eyeliner (I’m such a make-up klutz), and picked out my robes. I had so many sets of dress robes it took about an hour before deciding on a gorgeous, deep cobalt. I kept my lip makeup minimal, just a little bit of gloss, added some blush, a few gold bracelets, and some gold hoop earrings. Perfect. Harry would have to be insane to resist me. Fixing a smudge of mascara on my brow bone, I bade Thalia good luck and hurried down to meet Harry in the Great Hall.

The thing I certainly wasn’t prepared for was how GOOD he looked. He wore robes of bottle green, which, on anybody else, would have been ugly, but they perfectly brought out his green eyes. His hair was messy as usual, but that was how I liked it. He was tall, and buff, and wearing a bright, shining smile. I felt a wave of guilt. How could I possibly break his heart?

We walked into the ballroom together. Ron gave Harry a thumbs-up and Hermione beamed at him. Thalia gave me an irritated look, then turned away to drink some punch.

I took a moment to marvel at the sheer beauty of the Great Hall. Professor Flitwick had charmed the Christmas trees so that hundreds of sparkling, yellow-white fairies fluttered around it in rows, like Christmas lights that Muggles put on their trees. Soft, dry, warm snow was falling from the enchanted ceiling and resting on the floor and pine needles. Great wreaths and sprigs of holly were everywhere. Students were already dancing, and Bat, Blaise, Al and Sam were the band playing tonight. I walked onto the dance floor with Harry, put my arms around his neck, and we danced.

It’s amazing what a beautiful night can do to you. I started thinking crazy thoughts, like, What would Cedric think? What am I doing to Harry? This is horrible. I am horrible. He thinks I love him or something, and…I do. I was staring up into his eyes, and I knew. I loved him.

How strange. I had thought I was trapping him. I thought he was my prey. But no, he had captured me. Weird.

What's this whole world comin’ to
Things just ain't the same
Any time the hunter gets captured by the game

I was suddenly filled with the urge to run away, but I didn’t. I stood my ground, felt my knees go weak, and mentally laughed at myself. I am such a fool, to think I could fool Harry. Of course he would win, he always wins. Always.

“Cho? Are you okay?” His voice sounded deep and distant, and it jolted me out of my thoughts.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine, it’s just a little hot in here…I’m starting to feel lightheaded,” I said in my flirtiest voice. He nodded.

“Want to step outside?”

I smiled and nodded. Maybe I could still win…the game wasn’t over.

We walked out into the courtyard, which was covered in sparkling snow. Thousands of gorgeous stars twinkled overhead in the clear sky, winking down at us. My hand in Harry’s was the only source of warmth I had. My robes were made of silk, and I had no cloak.

“Cold?” Harry whispered.

A fresh wave of shivers, though not from cold this time, washed over me. “Yes,” I whispered back. “But it’s alright. Much better than inside. It’s a thousand degrees in there, I swear. You would think one of the Professors could perform a cooling charm or something…Maybe they want us to suffocate, so they won’t have to do exams.”

Harry laughed. I loved his laugh. It was deep and loud and strong and rumbled out from somewhere deep inside him. His soul, I supposed.

I had to lay such a tender trap
Hoping you might fall into it
Love hit me with a sudden slap
One kiss and then I knew it
Oooooo, my plans didn't work out like I thought
'Cause I had laid my trap for you but it seems that I got caught

Harry turned to face me, and I could feel his icy breath on my face. I could also see the fog it made in the cold night air. He was still smiling, those perfect white teeth shining almost blue in the moonlight. His nose was already blue. It was freezing outside, but suddenly, I felt strangely warm.

“Cho…how are you doing? Are you doing okay?” His voice was warm and sympathetic, and it wasn’t filled with cold, distant, scared pity. There was no pity, no fear, just warmth, and true, honest concern. Suddenly, I felt the tears and the pain rushing forward.

“No, no, I’m not okay…I don’t think I’ll ever be okay again. Nobody’s been there for me, everyone seems so distant, and it’s like they’re all afraid of me. Nobody wants to be near me; it’s like they think I’ll crack any moment and throw some temper tantrum or curse them or go crazy or something. And I’m scared Harry, I’m so scared. So many people have died…If You-Know-Who can kill Cedric, he can kill any one of us! Who’ll be next Harry? Who? Me? You? Hermione? Ron? Thalia? Sam? Who? We’re all in danger, even with Dumbledore here. I’m terrified half to death and it doesn’t help that nobody wants to be around me and all my friends have deserted me. You’re the only one who’s treated me the same way, though a little bit nicer, and I’ve been horrible to you, Harry, just horrible. I was playing you false, I was just going to desert you after tonight, and I don’t really know why. Now I can’t imagine doing that…” Tears were spilling over, rolling down my cheeks to freeze on my robes. I wiped them away and continued. “I miss Cedric so much, but I keep telling myself he would’ve wanted me to be strong, but I just want to break down and cry like everyone expects me to. I can’t let myself do that, though, I have to rise above people’s expectations. I want them to look at me and say, ‘Oh, there’s Cho, she’s so brave.’ Not, ‘Oh, there’s Cho, watch out for her, terrible things have happened to her and she’s probably going to go insane any moment now.’”

Harry watched me, silently, listening intently. When he was sure I was finished, he whispered, “The truth is, Cho, they’re scared, too, scared to get close to anyone. I can’t understand it; I think we should be closer now…savor our moments together.” And then he kissed me, softly, on the lips, and hugged me close. The feeling of his arms around me, warm and gentle and strong, made me feel safe, for the first time since the Triwizard tournament. We stood there, our arms around each other, crying and laughing, for about ten minutes before we grew scared of frostbite and hurried inside to dance by the fire.

What a fool I had been, to think I could play that boy and not fall in love….

What's this whole world comin’ to
Things just ain't the same
Any time the hunter gets captured by the game…