The last few weeks before school started, Diagon Alley was filled with students and their parents going from shop to shop buying school supplies. The students who had escaped the Death Eater attacks had been put up in various rooms throughout the alley. Harry and his friends had been given rooms in the Leaky Cauldron. Each day, they went out among the shops, talking about recent events and trying to forget them at the same time.
One evening, about a week before they were to leave for Hogwarts, they were together in the bar at a table in a corner. Tom the bartender brought drinks for Harry, Ron and Ginny, Hermione, Seamus, and the Weasley twins who had done their best to keep an eye on them as much as they could. Ron and Ginny had constantly reminded them that they had a business to run and couldn’t spend all their time tailing them, but Fred and George said they had done well enough over the summer to be able to hire some extra help. They didn’t do much to spoil the others fun, but Ron and Ginny still didn’t like the idea of their older brothers hanging around.
On this evening though, their was a little bit of a celebration as Harry and Ginny had both received letters from Hogwarts detailing something that had been left out of the previous one. Harry opened his and read it out loud:
Dear Mr. Potter,
Due to recent events, we regret that we omitted a special announcement pertaining to your next term at Hogwarts. First, the Ministry of Magic has lifted the ban on your Quidditch playing ability and we would be proud to reinstate you to the position of seeker next year. Also, with the withdrawal of Miss Katie Bell from the team, you have been named Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Please send a reply by owl if you wish to reject the position for any reason.
Professor Minerva McGonagall
Head of Gryffindor House
Harry was beside himself with this letter. He was captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. It was a dream come true for him. It concerned him a bit that Katie had withdrawn from the team, and he wondered if something had happened to her or someone close to her. He would have to get in touch with her soon. Ron and the twins were ecstatic and cheered for him. The sound carried throughout the bar. When they had calmed down, Ginny opened her letter:
Dear Miss Weasley,
Due to recent events, we regret that we omitted a special announcement pertaining to your next term at Hogwarts. As a fifth year student, you have been named a prefect for Gryffindor house. Enclosed is a list of duties that you will be expected to perform as well as the special privileges that will be awarded to you now that you are a prefect. When you arrive on the Hogwarts Express, you will receive further instructions and details.
Professor Minerva McGonagall
Head of Gryffindor House
There was another round of cheers for Ginny, especially from Hermione who was also a prefect. The young Weasley girl slumped in her chair and turned red from embarrassment. Harry reached over and patted her on the shoulder. He was proud of her. After all that had happened over the past months, it felt good that something well was going for both of them. The sound of the student’s voices attracted a few more familiar faces from school. Neville Longbottom joined them, soon followed by Dean Thomas who was a close friend of Seamus’.
Harry found himself watching the boy from West Ham closely, but was unsure why. Dean took a seat next to Seamus, which happened to put him beside Ginny. Harry remembered that he and Ginny had started dating at the end of last year, but why should that have bothered him? He pushed it from his mind.
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Harry kept thinking over and over again about the feelings he had had when he saw Ginny and Dean together. It confused him to the point where he wished there was someone he could talk to about this. Ron was out of the question, because he would say that Dean was working for Voldemort. He never liked the idea of Ginny and Dean dating, which he made clear on the train ride home last year. Hermione would most likely over-analyze the situation and make Harry more confused then he was before. Harry wished that Kevin or Sara were around.
On the first day of September, Harry and the others woke up, packed their things and were escorted by Ministry Wizards and Aurors to King’s Cross Station where the Hogwarts Express waited to transport them. Harry piled his things in a compartment, which also held Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Soon after the train started, the others left for the prefect’s car. They said goodbye to Harry and left him alone.
He soon found himself bored and rummaged in his bag for the book Mr. Weasley had given him for his birthday. As he flipped through the pages, Harry found many things in this book to interest him. He skipped to the section on Patronus charms and began reading. The chapter started off rather slow, telling Harry nothing about the spell that he didn’t already know. It outlined the basics of the spell, the incantation and the general feelings required for it. He scanned the chapter for any in-depth information, but couldn’t find anything.
Then he saw something.
A passage caught his eye that told him something he never knew about the Patronus, something he never dreamed could be done with it. He had been looking for a way to conjure multiple Patronus forms, but this passage talked about using it as a shield against spells. Harry had only known one spell to deflect curses, but it was weak and not effective against stronger spells. He then thought back to the night of the attack, and how Kevin had cast a shield charm over the whole house. Was it possible that he had used a variation of the Patronus to do this? Was it possible that the Patronus was more than a defense against Dementors? Harry wished more than ever that he knew if Kevin was all right so he could talk with him.
He was so deep in thought, that Harry did not notice the cabin door slide open. A soft voice called out to him. “Harry?”
The voice shook him out of his thoughts and he looked up. He met a pair of hazel brown eyes framed by two strands of jet-black hair. Harry knew who this was, and it unnerved him a little. Cho Chang was standing in the compartment door. She looked timid and unsure of herself. Harry stood up. “Hi,” he said. They both stood still, not knowing who should make the next move. It was Harry who did. “What are you doing here?”
It was not the question she had hoped he would ask, but it was something. “I…just wanted to see you. May I sit down?”
Harry motioned for the seat opposite him as they both sat. “How have you been?”
She looked right below his eyes. “All right, I suppose. It’s been an interesting summer for me. And you too from what I hear.”
“Yeah, it’s been a real ball,” he answered, sarcastically. “What have you been doing?”
Cho was silent for a moment. “I was in one of the safe houses that was attacked last month. I was in Italy, and there were about thirty of us. It all happened so fast; the wizards taking care of us were incompetent when it came to defense. If it weren’t for the Aurors, we would all be dead, probably.” Her shoulders shook as she remembered the events. “I wasn’t sure if I would ever make it back to Hogwarts or see any of my friends or…” Her voice trailed off.
Harry had never considered that night that he might never get back to Hogwarts. He had full faith in Kevin and Sara’s abilities to keep all the students safe, and they had come through. Cho, apparently, had not been as lucky. “I’m sorry,” he found himself saying. “I remember how horrible that night was. I was scared.”
He heard Cho giggle. “You, scared? I didn’t know anything could scare Harry Potter.”
Harry chuckled. “Yeah, I was a little surprised myself. But at least you had Auror help. We were left to fend for ourselves.” He wasn’t bitter that no help had been sent for them. They had gotten out of the manor alive and the Aurors had been free to help others. “At least everyone made it back in one piece.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Well, that night made me realize that, with the war going on and everything, that it’s pretty pointless to be mad at someone for a ridiculous reason.” She reached across the compartment and placed a hand on Harry’s knee. “What I’m trying to say is I’m sorry…for everything that happened last year.”
Cho’s touch made Harry feel nervous and excited at the same time. When he thought about what might happen this year, he never dreamed that Cho Chang would be apologizing to him. “No, you don’t have anything to apologize for, Cho. Last year, there were so many things going wrong that neither of us was thinking straight. I probably didn’t help things any.” He smiled at her.
She returned with one of her own. “Well, let’s just say we both made some mistakes.” Cho took her hand from Harry’s knee. “Look, the reason I came in here was to ask if we could be friends again.”
“Of course,” Harry quickly answered. “I’d like it if you were my friend again.”
“No, that’s not it,” she said. “I mean…” She thought for a moment. “Harry, despite what happened last year, I still have some feelings for you. I’ve tried to sort them out, tried to understand if they were sincere or if I was just trying to find someone to latch on to when I felt sad.”
Harry was astonished. “Cho, I don’t know what to say. I’m flattered that you still like me. After what happened last year, I thought…”
Cho waved away Harry’s comment. “Last year, I was confused about my feelings for you and the grief I had over losing Cedric. He was the first person I ever truly opened up to, but you were the first person I ever wanted to open up to. I was so confused.” She placed her face in her hands.
Harry thought she might start crying, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s all right, Cho. I never wanted you to feel uncomfortable when you were with me. Please, don’t cry.” He hated to see Cho cry.
She lifted her face, which was tear free. “I’ve gotten better about crying. I never meant to make you feel bad. I just needed someone who could understand.” She placed a hand over his on her shoulder. “Thanks for listening to me rant, Harry. I’m glad you’re my friend again.” She stood up. “I promised to meet some of the girls before we get to Hogwarts. I’ll see you later.” Cho walked towards the door, but stopped and turned back to Harry. “Listen, we were told to bring dress robes for the school year so I think they’ll be having another ball. If they are, do you think we could give it a chance?”
Now Harry was perplexed. Cho was asking him out? He didn’t know how to respond to this. Somehow, though, he heard himself say, “Sure.” She left the compartment.
Harry’s mind seemed to have failed him as he tried to recall why he just said what he said. Part of him was glad that he had, while another part, a part that he couldn’t quite understand, told him that he had just made the wrong choice.