The Return

At dawn in a rainforest somewhere in Africa, a young woman bursts out running from a clutter of trees. At first glance, you may think that she's running away from someone, but you'd be wrong. Dressed in black robes, hair tied back, with a slender frame standing at barely 5'5, she may not look intimidating to most.

But the man she was chasing knew better. For you see, she was Cho Chang, one of the best Aurors at the Ministry. There weren't many who could out duel her, at least not many who had survived the Second War.

The Second War... many brilliant witches and wizards lost their lives to the might of Lord Voldemort. Voldemort, a name that not many had dared to speak, was now simply a part of history. Harry Potter, the Chosen One, had defeated him. Nobody knew exactly what happened, but as for the outcomes, it was clear. Harry had somehow dragged himself and Voldemort across the veil... Neither of them has been seen ever since. Many waited outside the veil, waiting for Harry to come back, but after a while, they all gave up. After all, not even the Chosen One can come back from the dead.

The war ended, the remaining Death Eaters were either captured or killed. Only one had eluded the eyes of the Ministry... Snape. Severus Snape. The man who had been Voldemort's right hand, the man who had killed Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest sorcerers of his time. He was now the most wanted man alive, although he has not been spotted since Voldemort's fall.

People moved on with their lives, no longer living in fear. Some felt that they became relaxed, too relaxed. After all, as long as there is good, there will always be evil. Cho Chang was one of those people. She entered the Auror training program, which is not as impressive as it once was, considering they accepted anyone who wanted in. But who's to blame them, when nearly all Aurors had been killed? Cho soon became an Auror; she quickly became, arguably, one of the best.

Today was just another day of work for her. She was chasing down a wizard who had attempted to rob Gringotts. His dueling skills were sub par at best, but he was quite elusive. Cho has been on his trail for a week now, and she has not even seen his face. Of course this did not stop her from knowing exactly where he was.

She continued to run after him, in the direction of the noise. Suddenly, she heard muttering, saw a flash of red light, and then heard nothing. Something was wrong, Cho could sense it. The light had to have been a Stunning Spell, but if he had aimed it at her and missed, why did he not shoot again or continue running?

Realization quickly dawned on Cho Chang. It was a trap... How did it take her fifteen whole seconds to figure it out? He obviously wanted her to think that he thought he had gotten her... Luring her into a false sense of security, and then quickly disposing of her when she was off-guard. Maybe it would've worked on some other Auror, but not Cho Chang. She realized however, that if she were to send Stunners in the direction of the light, it would be indirectly giving away her position. No rookie-mistake for Cho Chang, not today...

The solution was simple. Cho quickly put on her invisibility cloak and crept over, expecting to see him crouching down with his wand ready to curse her. What she didn't expect to see was two men.

Any other Auror would've slipped up and let out a sound, but Cho was no ordinary Auror. She quickly surveyed the situation before her. A short skinny looking man with brown hair was lying passed-out on the floor, obviously having been stunned by the other man. Tall blonde, handsome, and with a look of unmistakable joy on his face. It was blindly obvious that neither of these men belonged in this forest. But who were they? Which one was the man she has been chasing? And where did the other one come from? It seems her questions would soon be answered, as the blonde one stepped on the other one's stomach, pointed his wand at him, and muttered a spell. The man on the ground awakes...

"So who the hell are you?", the standing one says, and quickly presses his foot harder against his victim's stomach.

Having just awoken and looking quite dazzled, he replies, "None of your business... Get your filthy foot off me and let me go!"

"You don't seem to comprehend the fact that you would be dead right now, if it weren't for the fact that I'm a little bored." He glances up, looking directly at Cho. Or rather directly at the tree behind her, of course, for she was still invisible...

"If you don't let me go soon, that Auror will catch the both of us, and then we'll be in Azkaban!" The man on the ground starting smirking, thinking he would soon be let go. Clearly, he had mistaken his captor for simply another fugitive.

"Auror, eh? Well that explains the pretty witch in the invisibility cloak..."