Courtyard
This is the courtyard to the prestigious and established
wizard school known as Hogwarts.
Of interest besides the giant towering school is the cabin
of the Keeper of the Keys, Rubeus Hagrid, the
Harry stalks out of the doors of the castle, wanting to
venture further out onto the grounds, but he's already pushing his luck this
week by stepping out the door again. He needs air, he needs to do /something/.
The moment he's out the doors, he stoops to pick up pebbles, rocks, pine cones,
whatever he can find near the door to throw. He'd use a banishing charm, however his anger needs a more physical outlet.
Well, throwing rocks at the door might help with anger, but
there are better ways to handle anger and other emotions. Cho on the other hand
is out just to walk and get some time of silence. A walk
around the Quidditch Pitch, nothing more. She's coming back to the
castle and happens to stumble on what is happening at the doors.
"Harry?" her cheek gains a light flush, thanks to some of the things
that Draco told her the other night.
Harry would prefer to be smacking a bludger around in all
actuality, but that's out of the question. Besides, he's a boy, and needs to do
boyish violent things when angered, aside from getting into fights. He really
doesn't want to do that at the moment. He pauses, about to hurl a rock across
the courtyard as his name is called. Great.. now he feels like he's been caught in the middle of a
tantrum. On second thought, he was.
Actually, if Cho had stumbled upon him beating on a bludger,
she'd have some major deja vu. That was something that Draco did after a few of
the more... difficult incidents. "Uh.. what are you doing out here?" she asks, trying not to
sound as if she did just catch him having a tantrum. Even
though the question is kind of obvious. He's throwing things at the
door...
Harry opens his mouth, nearly snapping 'Oh not you too!' But
catches himself, he can't take out his anger on anyone, except for Malfoy and
his goonies. "Throwing rocks?" Thanks for stating the obvious
Einstein. The rock in his hand is tossed aside into the grass. "Well.. getting some air too.. You?"
Cho bites her lip for a moment, still flushed some, "I.. just needed some time to
think." About what happened with Draco, about all thing things he said,
including some things about this particular young Gryffindor...
"I was just going back inside." She walks over, running a hand
through her hair and push the hair behind her ear. "I didn't mean to
interupt you, sorry." She didn't plan to run into him.
Harry nods his head, talk about awkward huh? And as he
wasn't supposed to be ah, overhearing you and Malfoy..
he says nothing about the incident. For the most part
it's shoved to the back of his mind for now. "It's alright. I need to get
back inside before I get yelled at for being outside.."
He moves towards the door, opening it for you. No real reason..
but.. you know, politeness,
ladies first n'all..
But after what Draco said...
well... Cho's flush grows a little bit, though it's still no where near what it
was when he asked her to the ball that first time. How could she not realize
those little hints? He always blushed around her... he always tried to be nice,
sometimes stumbled over words... She feels like such an idiot, especially since
it had to be Draco who pointed it out to her. "Um, Harry..
I-- I'm sorry." She isn't going to say why, no matter what the Slytherin
seemed to think, she doesn't think he could have been out there during their
conversation. He'd have to be invisible!
And is that so impossible to
believe? o/~ Have to believe, we are magic.. Ahem. Harry blinks and starts,
"How'd you kno.. wait,
sorry for what?" Word could not have possibly spread. He hasn't said a
thing, McGonagall asked him to keep quiet, he hasn't said a
.. wait.. are we
thinking about the same thing here? His brow furrows a bit as he stands there,
holding the door open.
It's not /impossible/ but it is
unlikely. Most students don't have magic items of that magnitude, nor abilities of that extent. Cho blinks as he seems to
think she meant something, and for a moment she wonders if it's possibly the
same thing that she means. She certainly hasn't heard the anything that
McGonagall could have asked him to keep quiet, unless he was talking to her
about his.. uh.. feelings. "Uh-- just.. about everything. You've had a.. lot going on, and I don't think I've exactly been much
help..." Meaning her friendship with Draco.
Harry looks extremely puzzled, but says "Oh." A
shake of the head is given, "Don't worry about it. Hermione and Sakura's back. That's a load off my mind. What are you
talking about? Your notes helped quite a bit." Uhm, kay, that's Potter for
you. Sometimes he needs to be smacked with a Clue X 4 over things. But that's
teenaged boys for you. (Well in general.)
Well, she needed to get smacked by
one herself, or she would have gone on thinking that the only reason he asked
her to dance at the Yule Ball was because he felt sorry for her. There was more
evidence that he liked her than that though, going back all the way to the
previous year when he asked her to the Ball. Cho brightens a little as he says
that last part. She'd read about it in the paper, and she'd meant to say
something about how happy she was that they were back, but... "I didn't
mean that. I meant with Draco..." What Draco told her also explains in
part the fight she stumbled on... All the clues were there, did she likely
would have put them together, if she'd have allowed herself to think like
that...
Harry looks down at his shoes, suddenly finding them
interesting and in need of a bit of cleaning later on.
"Ah.. Well.. We haven't
gotten along since we first met, so this goes way back." Still no
connection is being made. Frustrating isn't he? "Don't worry about it. I
don't think we could stand each other's presence for five minutes without nasty
glares, words or a fight."
Well, maybe Draco was wrong! Maybe
he just took the compassion and friendship as something else entirely, just
like some people take how she is towards the Slytherin the wrong way. It could
happen... She's really looking for ways to not complicate her delicate
emotional state anymore, isn't she? Cho nods, "I know. I'm just sorry
that--" That he used her to get back at him and all that? Bah. Maybe
that's what Harry was trying to tell her that day in the Library... Maybe she
should head inside before someone notices the door is open.
Harry just stands there patiently with a million things
zooming through his head. He can't help but feel he should make some effort to
look out for your wellbeing after last year, but like he's the best candidate
for making the attempt. He's doing a pretty shoddy job with his own. If that's
what you're sorry over, it's Harry who feels sorry that you got used. Seems like a lot of that is going around with him as the blame in
the center. "Look.. it's
alright.. Malfoy's.. well.. he's Malfoy." And he's loathe
to really say what he thinks about the boy in front of you.
Finally the blush fades out of her
cheeks, and Cho gives the Gryffindor a smile that touches her eyes.
"That's the best way to explain him..." It reminds her of things
she's said. He's just... him. Jerk, asshole, prick, all of it make him who he
is. There is more than that of course, but... she probably shouldn't try to
tell that to this Seeker. She wanted to apologize, not make things worse.
"I know what he's like." Now more than ever... "But I do want
you to know that I intend to try to be friends with him..." She just needs
to tell him this so he isn't hurt if he sees them together later.
The boy gets it from his father. Be
glad you haven't met Lucius Malfoy. If the Malfoy's can incite a bad reaction
from Arthur Weasley.. you get
the picture. Harry just nods, "Good luck.. I
don't think he has anyone he could consider a friend. Not even Crabbe and
Goyle. You have more strength than I do." Personally, he thinks it's a bad
idea, but he can't tell you that you cannot befriend Draco. But enough talk of
the prick, ".. Do you mind if I tell Hermione
that you provided a lot of notes on that finding spell? She was surprised to
see all the support the school was giving."
The fact that Harry takes it so
well surprises her, but his compliment causes her to shake her head quickly.
"Oh, no, I'm not strong.. I just--" Didn't
she once say something about how he needs to learn to accept compliments? Cho
seems to recall that, then nods, "Thank you. And
of course you can. I'm really glad that she's all right. I wish that I could
have done more..." The spell wasn't what saved her, she knows that, but
that was honestly never her intention in suggesting it. She just wanted to give
the boys hope and something to keep themselves busy and feeling useful.
Harry also has other items weighing heavily on his mind, but
none he can spill forth just yet. "C'mon.. you are too strong." You are too strong, and lucky to
be a girl as you can get away with tears easier than a boy can. Bleh. He nods, allowing a small grin to appear, "You
did plenty.. the locating
spell only let us know she was alive. She was in an unfindable location. It was
better than nothing."
Cho looks away as he adds the compliment again, running a
hand through her hair one more time. "We'll see..." Draco might break
her one of these days... he certainly seemed to be trying to the other night...
The fact that she can get away with crying is probably the only reason she can appear
to be strong at all. If she was a guy... At the
explaination of the locating spell, she nods lightly, honestly not surprised,
but she had suggested the possibility that it would be masked... "I had
thought that might be the case. You'll have to introduce me to her sometime. I
don't think we've ever really met."
Harry will have to hurt him then. Making girls cry. That's
not right. u.u "Alright, I'll do that." His gaze darts into the hall
beyond the door, checking for teachers, "I better get on back upstairs. I
left my things in the Hospital Wing while I.."
Nevermind.. A shake of the head is given to try and
rid himself of the haunted anger creeping back into his face. "Anyway.. Good luck again with Malfoy." And he hopes you don't
get hurt too much more for it. He starts to slip into the hall.