The Heart Never Forgets

The Heart Never Forgets

"Sweetheart, I think I'm going to go to bed," Anthony said, and Cho lifted her head from her book to kiss her husband on the lips.

"Okay," she said, and Anthony smiled and bounded up the steps to their bedroom. Cho grinned and looked down at her watch. It was three o' clock in the afternoon. "Only Anthony would go to bed this early," she muttered to herself, and she closed her book, looking around the living room, trying to think of something else to do.

She could always go over to her friend Marietta's house for awhile, but Marietta probably had some man over and was snogging him to death. She could visit Harry and Ginny, but she shook her head. They were out shopping for baby items because Ginny was pregnant. Cho sighed to herself, thinking hard, and just then, an idea popped into her head.

"I could go through the attic!" she said excitedly. It hadn't been cleaned in a long while and there could be lots of interesting things up there that she had forgotten about. Organizing was something she liked to do anyway, and it was a Sunday afternoon. She might as well give it a try.

Smiling to herself, she tied her long black hair back and went upstairs. Taking her wand from her pocket, she pointed it at the ceiling and said a spell that caused the loose board to move, and a ladder descended to her feet. She climbed the stairs slowly, and entered the attic.

Went through the attic today

It was a tiny, cramped wooden space, full of cobwebs and dust. Five large trunks were on the floor. Cho could make out the labels on all five of them: Anthony's Stuff From Home, Cho's Stuff From Home, Anthony's Stuff From Hogwarts, Cho's Stuff From Hogwarts, and Junk. Cho seated herself beside the trunk that said, Cho's Stuff From Home and opened it with a loud creaky noise.

She coughed as the dust reached her nostrils and wrinkled her nose at the musty, rotten smell. The first thing she saw when she looked in the trunk was a moldy peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She removed it, holding her nose. "Anthony, Anthony, Anthony," she sighed, and she rummaged through the trunk. For an hour, she went through this trunk, finding old books and jump ropes and clothes. Cho made a note to herself to give the baby clothes to Ginny. She and Anthony had decided the first year they were married that they did not want children so it would be no loss.

After organizing things into piles, she moved over to the trunk that said, Cho's Stuff From Hogwarts. She smiled to herself as she opened this red trunk, remembering when she had gotten her letter. She had been talking to her grand papa Chang, when her father had announced that she had gotten into Hogwarts. She had been so happy accepting it. As Cho placed her hand in the box, she saw that all seven of her Hogwarts letters were in a small pocket. Giggling, she removed them from the trunk and read them several times.

She also took out all of her uniforms. She smelled them, tenderly, as though trying to smell Hogwarts once again, and then placed them aside as well. Once going through all of her Hogwarts textbooks she was especially happy, almost as happy as she was on her wedding day. She had fantasized about her wedding as a child, dressed in a simple white dress, a small girl in front of her tossing petals in the air, her handsome husband waiting to meet her...

Cho snapped out of her daydream as she spotted something lying at the bottom of her trunk. Her heart nearly stopped beating, as she lifted the white scrapbook into her hands and wiped the dust from the cover.

Found an old yearbook packed away

It wasn't really a yearbook, but Cho had gotten the idea from a Muggle friend. So in seventh year, she had designed her own "yearbook", full of pictures and autographs. She opened it, and the spine cracked a little. Afraid of breaking the book, she opened it more slowly, and gazed at the first page, which read: Cho Chang's Seventh Year At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Underneath, was a picture of her seventeen year old self, smiling broadly. Cho turned the pages tenderly, and read the autographs and pictures with homesickness.

And I started reliving the past

Images of all her years at school came traveling back to her. She remembered several things...

"RAVENCLAW!"

She closed her eyes and could feel herself slipping from the stool and striding happily over to her table. A few seconds later, Marietta, whom she had known before Hogwarts, joined her and she couldn't remember feeling more happy. She remembered Flitwick's first class, and how she had burnt her feather to a crisp while trying to make it fly...

Cho could see herself riding the Hogwarts Express in second year, and she could smell the Halloween feast. She could remember Professor Quirrell rushing in and yelling, "Troll! In the dungeon!" She could feel fear grip her as the prefects led her to the common room.

Then happiness again, as she felt herself riding her faithful Cleansweep, while auditioning for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team in her third year, and immense joy when she was made Seeker. She remembered Peeves throwing Dungbombs at her as she raced back into the castle after walking around the Pitch with Peter MacIntire after hours while they were pretending to be a couple. Peter had been trying to make Marietta jealous...

She remembered going to see the Tornados play the summer before her fourth year, and she could feel the sensation of riding her Cleansweep in a game against Gryffindor. She felt anger at losing when Harry caught the Snitch.

Cho remembered fifth year, when she noticed boys a little more. She remembered how Cedric Diggory had asked her to the ball...

When I saw his face

With a shaky breath, she snapped the book shut as she tried to push all thought s about Cedric Diggory from her mind. She shook her head, willing herself not to cry. Two sheets fell from her book and she bent down and picked them up. Both were pictures of Cedric. The one she stared at the longest was the one that Marietta had taken at the Yule Ball. Cedric looked especially handsome with his tousled dirty blond hair and his deep grey eyes. She, herself, looked smitten to be with him.

Then suddenly, to my surprise

I felt a tear fall from my eyes

Cho gave a loud sniff and she felt a tear roll down her cheek. He had died. Cedric had died. Putting a hand to her chest, she stumbled away from the pictures, and ran from the attic, and down to the living room. She collapsed to the couch.

The heart never forgets

No, the heart never forgets

You can find someone and live your life

Put an old memory out of your mind

But the heart never forgets

A mess of memories washed over her like tidal waves. Though she had been fifteen, Cedric had been the love of her life, and it was moments like these, when she was doing something unexpected, when she remembered him. She closed her eyes, counted softly to ten, but the memories overflowed her brain, and she let out a choked sob.

"Hey Cho--Cho!" Cho Chang, age fourteen, whirled around at the sound of her name. Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff was running toward her.

"Yes Cedric?" she said hopefully, pondering how she could love one person so much. Cho felt her knees go weak. Ever since her second year, when Marietta had dragged a group of students into that romantic tea shop in Hogsmeade, and they had played Spin the Bottle, she had been in love with him. Ever since his lips and been pressed softly against hers...

"I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me sometime," Cedric said, rather nervously for a big, buffed Quidditch Captain, Cho noted. Her heart flopped involuntarily.

"S-s-sure," she stuttered, and an image of Professor Quirrell floated into her mind, and she winced. "I mean, yes," she corrected, before he thought of her as a freak.

Cho cried, remembering. It had taken so long to get over him, to fully recover from his death, and now everything was just racing around like silver bullets, piercing her heart painfully.

"Cho, would you, er, would you--do you think--oh hell, are you going to the Yule Ball with anyone?" Cedric said, looking terribly flustered.

Cho was flattered, and quite frankly, excited. A smile played her lips and she grinned, feeling giddy. "Are you actually asking me out on a date? Over a year ago, you said 'I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me sometime', Cedric smiled at the impression of his deep voice, "and now you're actually getting around to it?"

"Yes," said Cedric, fidgeting, "I couldn't wait any longer...sorry it took so long, but I'm not in Gryffindor." Cho laughed.

Cho tried to sniff as softly as possible, so as not to wake up Anthony, but she couldn't control herself. Now that she was crying, she couldn't stop. Not only was her crying full of sniffs and small hiccups, it was horribly loud. She knew the best thing to do would be to leave the house.

Cho stood up and walked to the front door, and draped her traveling cloak around her shoulders, and began to walk down the crowded alleyway. She and Anthony lived in a small town right by Diagon Alley. Perhaps I'll see someone I know, she thought, trying to get her mind off Cedric, but that had never helped. Her whole time at Hogwarts after Cedric had died had been a mess. Cho had been a complete basket case and none of her relationships had lasted, because she loved Cedric.

Sighing, she entered Diagon Alley, and glanced around at the different stores, but when her eyes fell on Flourish and Blotts, she stopped dead as another memory swam before her eyes, not even noticing the small wizard that was Professor Flitwick bumping into her legs and falling over backwards. It had been the summer before her first year...

"Cho, dear, we need to collect your books, come along now!" her mother said very sternly, for Cho had been admiring the new Nimbus 2000. Snapping out of her daydream, she followed her mother into the store.

Cho had always been a dreamer. She was always dreaming, even during the day. She lost herself in her own little world, and she would think of nothing else. Her grandfather told her that it was because she had an imagination. Her mother said it was because she was hopeless. Cho agreed with her grandfather.

At the moment, she was dreaming about what it would be like to ride that wonderful Nimbus, when she was brought back to the world as someone crashed into her, and she toppled over, smashing into a bookshelf, which fell to the ground, books falling torn to the ground. "What?" she said dreamily, as someone apologized and lifted her to her feet from the large pile of books that had fallen on top of her..

The manager of the store came over and let out an indignant shriek. "Who is responsible for this?" he demanded, his upper lip curling. Cho opened her mouth to speak, but found that no words came out.

"Sir, that was my fault. I was preoccupied and I walked straight into her. I'm sorry," the boy next to her managed, and as Cho got a good look at him, she noticed that he was rather tall. She felt like a bug compared to him. The manager began muttering curse words under his breath and the boy turned to her. "Sorry," he said again, blushing.

"Are you a student at Hogwarts?" Cho blurted out suddenly.

"Yeah, I'm a second year. What about you?"

"I-I'm starting this year," said Cho, trying to sound important and dignified.

"Maybe I'll bump into you again," he said, grinning at his own joke. Is he flirting with me? Cho wondered absently. He was just leaving when Cho asked him what his name was. "Oh, it's Cedric. Cedric Diggory."

Cho giggled at how they first met, and sighed. Just then, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and came face to face with Amos Diggory, Cedric's father.

A face on a crowded street

"H-h-hello sir," she said, and a sniff came out. Amos didn't really notice.

"It's a fine day, isn't it?" he said, with a small smile. He looked as though he too, had been reminiscing.

"It'd be better if Cedric was here," Cho said suddenly, and a hard look crossed Amos' features, but he relaxed onto a smile.

"You fancied him didn't you?" he asked.

"I still do," Cho murmured, hugging her cloak close to her body. She had been talking to herself more than anyone else.

"Well," said Amos, looking awkward, "Good day."

"Good day to you too sir," Cho said, and she found a bench to sit down at as she remembered the funeral that summer.

"...and he was my son, above all, and I loved him more than anything. I still love him more than anything," Amos finished in a hoarse whisper, and he stepped down from the podium and sat down.

Cho could feel the tears running down her cheeks faster than the blood in her veins. She looked over at the casket with an unknown grief filtering throughout her, and saw that it was closed. Closing her eyes hard, she tried to block it out. She tried to block out the pain, but that was impossible.

She buried her head into her black gloved hands and sobbed like she had never sobbed before. Cedric had meant everything to her. She had been the candle in her dark little world, the person she could run to for guidance and help. Cedric had never treated her as a child, but as an equal, and she loved him. Oh how she loved him.

"Come back to me Cedric, please, just come back to me," she whined, her voice cracking with tears, and she began t rock back and forth in her seat.

She was now rocking back and forth on the bench and earning curious looks from passers by. "Well, it's chilly, isn't it?" she snapped at one poor old lady who had been staring at her, and the woman shrieked and ran down the alleyway screaming.

An old movie on TV

Feeling very waspish, Cho got up and started to walk around Diagon Alley, hoping to find something that would lift her spirits. Nothing did. Feeling somewhat like a machine, she stopped mechanically in front of a tiny shop. She didn't know why, but she just did. Just as mechanically, she read the sign taped to the door.

Movies--A Muggle Creation

(and a brilliant one, I might add)

All your favorites, including American favorites:

Gone With The Wind, Braveheart, Hocus Pocus, and MORE!

Cho hiccuped again and was pulled viciously into another memory.

"Cho! Hey, Cho!" came a whispered voice. "Pssst! Cho!"

Grinning, Cho turned in her seat in Divination to see Cedric hovering beside the window on his broomstick outside. Since Professor Trelawney was busy speaking to Brittany Tibbles and Thorton Murphy in her misty voice, and was so obviously not paying attention to the rest of the class, Cho headed over to the window. "What are you doing, mister?" she asked, trying to be indignant, but a giggle escaped her throat.

"Meet me tonight in Hogsmeade in The Three Broomsticks at eleven tonight. I have a little surprise for you," he said quickly.

"What surprise?" said Cho, her curiosity piqued. But he was already gone.

"Miss Chang, is there something that you would like to add to my analysis of Thorton's crystal ball?" said Professor Trelawney said in her misty voice. Cho whipped around from the window, walked to Thorton's seat and examined the ball, concentrating hard.

"I see that Thorton is going to be growing vast amounts of hair all over his body," she winked at the boy, "if he ever tries to steal my homework again. Oh, and he's going to die. The hair that will grow on his neck will strangle him to death." Cho tried not to laugh as Trelawney's lip upturned with disgust.

That night, once all the girls in her dorm were asleep, Cho crept silently out of the castle with her broomstick in hand, and flew to Hogsmeade, wondering what was in store for her there. She was daydreaming so much that she almost flew past the village, but she caught herself just in time.

Landing lightly right outside the Three Broomsticks, Cho looked around into the night, shivered slightly, and walked in. The small pub was alight with candles and a large black box sat in the center of the room with food and drink on the floor in front of it.

Two poufs were also in front of the black box.

"What's this all about?" she said, as she saw Cedric sitting cross legged on the floor, apparently deep in thought.

"Oh!" he said, scrambling up. "You're here. I didn't hear you come in. Take a seat." He gestured to one of the red poufs on the floor and smiling, she sat. "Muggles," he started, "like to watch a thing called the telly. Basically what it is, is pictures that move across this screen," he pointed to the black box, "that tell a story. It's quite brilliant actually."

Cho was only slightly confused. She remembered reading about tellies somewhere. Cedric turned it on, and color scenes danced in front of her happily. Cedric pressed a button that began to flip the stations and finally landed on a scene of two people snogging. Both Cho and Cedric blushed, but just as Cedric made to change it, Cho stopped him. He looked at her with a bemused expression on his face, pushed up the sleeves of his yellow shirt, and grinned a bit, sitting down next to her on her pouf.

Cho couldn't remember feeling more happy. "Cedric?" she said. "What about Madam Rosmerta?"

"Don't worry about her. She was the one who gave me the idea."

"Oh," said Cho, and she smiled some more, eating a chocolate frog and watching the telly happily, with Cedric's arm around her shoulders. Shyly, she rested her head on his chest, and snuggled against his warm body. She was floating on top of the world.

Cho walked into the shop with a heavy heart and looked through the different videos. She never picked one, but on her way out, the manager gave her a whole box of tissues, telling her she looked "quite peaky" and "needed to get some rest" as though she was five years old.

Feeling more depressed than ever, she stumbled into a bar, not knowing where she was. Everyone in the bar stared at her cruelly as she entered and one man even said, "I don't think you belong in here, missy," with a very crude look on his twisted face.

"And I think you should mind your own business," she snapped, and she settled herself at the counter. The bartender was a very dirty man, and Cho cringed as she saw him. He smiled at her, showing broken yellow teeth, and said in a silky tone, "What is it that you'll be wanting, missy?"

The 'missy' bit was driving her nuts. "Whatever you have," said Cho hurriedly, taking off her traveling cloak and draping it on the stool next to her. She patted her shiny hair self-consciously as she realized that every single man in the bar was still staring at her, and it made her feel truly out of place, not to mention officially creeped out.

Seconds later, the man had set a small glass of an orange substance in front of her, watching her as though she was a Quidditch Match. Not caring what the drink was, and wanting to float away from her misery, Cho downed the orange liquid in one gulp, a burning sensation flowing down her throat. As the hour went on, she became very drunk, and had downed thirteen of the little glasses.

"Cedric, why are you taking me into the Hog's Head?" Cho asked suspiciously.

"I just want to try some Firewhisky is all," said Cedric quickly.

"Cedric! You--but no, you-you can't do that!"

Cedric rolled his eyes and pulled her into the pub. "It's not going to hurt me any, I swear. I'll only take a sip. Besides, dad let me try some this summer."

Cho gasped and turned to him, mouth wide open. "Your father allowed you to drink alcohol!" she said accusingly. Cedric ignored her and sat her down at a booth.

"I'll be right back," he told her, and she watched as he walked up to the counter. He paid the bartender, and the bartender handed him a paper bag. He took it, and walked back over to Cho. "We can go now," he said.

"You're not going to drink it?" Cho asked.

"I'm saving it for last minute study sessions," he joked. "It'll keep me awake I reckon. Firewhisky is some strong stuff. Cho frowned and snatched the bag out of his hands and opened it. "Cho--Cho what are you doing?" he said impatiently.

"I want to see what it tastes like," she said innocently. "I want to see why you're so eager to break the law just to get your hands on this stuff."

Cedric shook his head, looking horrified as Cho took out the bottle and opened it. "No, Cho, I don't want you drinking that stuff," he said strictly, but she merely laughed.

"You're one to talk," she snorted, unscrewing the bottle. Cedric, knowing that she was not going to listen to him, pursed his lips, crossed his arms, and leaned back against his seat, watching her intently as she took a swig.

Cho immediately began to choke and sputter as it seared down her throat. Cedric just watched her as she gasped for breath. When she got control of herself, she put the cap on the bottle, shoved it into the bag, and tossed it to him. "Thanks for your help," she snapped.

Cedric shook his head, grinned a bit, and took her arm, as she continued to look disgruntled. "I told you not to drink it," he said.

She slumped out of her chair and onto the floor as someone reached out an arm to help her.

She knew who he was almost instinctively. "I-I thought you w-w-were out shopping for baby things," she slurred, lying limp in his arms. Sighing, he adjusted her so that she was standing upwards, and he put her arm around his neck and helped her out of the bar.

"Why the hell were you in there?" he asked. "Why are you even in Knockturn Alley?" he demanded, as he led her somewhere else. Her eyes were nearly closed, so she really couldn't tell where.

"I--I could ask you the same thing," she said defensively, her head pounding.

"I had business," he said shortly.

"Where are we going Harry?"

"To my house. You could use some sleep, but you're in no condition to Apparate."

"I can Apparate!" Cho said, pointing her finger in his face. "A whole year before you if I remember properly." She pulled away from him and stumbled backward, falling onto the ground.

"Cho, don't start that 'I'm older than you' nonsense. You know exactly what I mean, and you also know that you can't hold your liquor. What would drive you to do something so stupid?" he said, as she lifted herself from the ground. "We're going to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," he said changing the subject. "George probably has a car."

A song on the radio

Ten minutes later, Harry and Cho were settled in the Ford Anglia, driving in silence. Cho was staring distantly out of the window, remembering Cedric, when Harry turned on the radio. A familiar song drifted into her ears and she sniffed. "That--that's our favorite song," she told Harry.

"Yours and Anthony's?"

"No," said Cho, shaking her head, which made it pound even more, "Me and Cedric's."

Cho took hold of Cedric's hand as they entered their favorite tea shop. It was decorated beautifully for Valentine's day, Cho had to admit. Red painted chimes hung from the ceiling and little elves were waiting on everyone. "Let's take a seat," she said, sighing in content.

"You go on, I need to speak with Madam What's Her Name about something," said Cedric, and he walked happily over to the counter with his hands in his pockets, which Cho knew immediately meant that he was nervous.

She barely had time to think about what he was up to when he was back, sitting across from her at their table, pouring her tea, and grinning broadly. She shook her head at how perfect he was as he grabbed her hand and kissed it, making her blush. "Do you remember when we first came in here?" he said.

"You mean, when Marietta dragged us in here and played Spin the Bottle?" said Cho, taking the teacup that he had handed her.

"That's the ticket!" he said brightly.

"Our first kiss," she gushed, amazed at how sappy someone could be.

"Well," he said, more seriously, "do you remember the song playing in the background?"

"It was Old MacDonald Had A Farm, I remember. Some kid was fooling around with the jukebox," Cho snorted into her tea, making it splatter everywhere.

"Well, I've decided to reenact that moment, in a matter of speaking," he said, and then suddenly Old MacDonald Had A Farm blasted through the speakers. Cho looked around and laughed, but was soon cut off as Cedric kissed her from across the table. His lips were warm and tender, as well as hungry, so she deepened the kiss by slipping her tongue into his mouth. It was heaven, absolute heaven. They broke apart soon, breathing hard.

"Our first kiss wasn't quite like that," Cho commented, licking her lips and taking another sip of tea.

"Have I told you today how much I love you?" said Cedric, rubbing his thumb lightly over the back of her hand, grinning.

Cho set down her teacup, leaned closer to him and said, "I don't think so...tell me."

"I love you more than land. I love you more than the sea. I love you more than the mountains, and the heavens. I love you--"

"More than oxygen itself," Cho finished for him, gazing into his soft grey eyes. He told her that every single day. "I love you too Cedric." Old MacDonald Had A Farm blazed triumphantly in the background.

"Old MacDonald Had A Farm was your song?" said Harry in amazement.

"Yes it was," said Cho heatedly, and she didn't speak to him until they had pulled up in front of his house. "Where's Ginny?" she said.

"Taking a nap," said Harry, unlocking the door and ushering her inside.

"So's Anthony," said Cho. "Harry," she blurted out suddenly, "I-I'm really sorry for snapping at you in the car. It's just I was going through the attic today, a-a-and I f-f-found a picture of Cedric and..." She cut off and hiccuped. Harry sighed sympathetically and led her into the kitchen, sitting her down at the table.

"I'm going to make Ginny something to eat," he explained. "If she wakes up and finds there's no food around, she'll be like a Hungarian Horntail...of course, she's always like this, isn't she?" He sighed again to himself and looked at Cho. "So you can just sit there and chat my ear off. I'm listening."

Can bring it all back

After an hour of telling Harry the whole story, she summed it up with, "It seems like it turns up at the worst of moments. One simple thing can just bring everything back. It's so hard to go on living! I know it sounds stupid, but even though I was young--you know I met him when I was eleven, I loved him. I loved him with everything inside of me. I loved him so much it hurt. I missed him all the time, like if I was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, and he was sitting at the Hufflepuff table. A-a-and I've never gotten over him, but he's gone forever, and I feel like I'm ruining my life sometimes, thinking about him when he's dead and Anthony is my husband. Because I still love him."

She exhaled deeply, and realized that her hands were shaking. Harry had stopped paying attention to whatever he was cooking, because he was studying her intently. "It'll never stop, because your heart won't ever forget him," he said finally. "And that's fine."

Cho didn't respond, but she had a feeling Harry was right. She nodded, feeling much better. "Thanks," she offered lamely, and she stood up and put on her traveling cloak. "I think your glasses are steaming Harry," she added with a small smile, and Harry took them off at once and began to wipe them furiously on the fabric of his shirt.

She Apparated with a small, faint 'pop', just as she heard Harry swear and start muttering to himself about burning Ginny's food.

Cho was now back in her living room. She took her cloak off again and tossed it to the couch, gazing around the room. It hit Cho then how much she had grown up since Hogwarts. She was a grown up, twenty-six years old, with a stable, happy life. She was happily married, even if her husband retired to bed at three o' clock and left peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out to rot. She held a fantastic job at Witch Weekly, and she worked alongside Ginny and Marietta. Cho had matured.

Years roll by one by one

All things change

Everything in her life had changed, now that she really thought about it, as the years went on. Cho stood in the middle of her living room, thinking about how she had come to where she was now in her life.

When she was younger, she had been almost shy about stepping out of the box. Cedric had changed that. Now, she was spontaneous and outgoing. She had always been so concerned about studying and working hard, but she always forgot to have fun. Cedric had changed that as well. She had been insecure about who she was and didn't know if she really belonged anywhere in the world. Cedric had definitely changed that.

She didn't know if anyone would ever love her. Someone did.

But there's always someone

The heart never forgets

No the heart never forgets

You can find someone and live your life

Put an old memory out of your mind

But the heart never forgets

"Cho!" called Anthony, snapping her away from her daydreams. That was one thing that would never change.

"Yes, honey!" she called, running into the bathroom to make sure that her eyes weren't red.

"What have you been doing?" he asked, running a hand through his hair just as she stepped from the bathroom. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pecked her gently on the lips.

Cho smiled fondly, and warmth surrounded her heart as she answered.

"I was cleaning the attic."