Written 2002, © Erica 2005

Profile for Hogwarts - Harry's Fifth Year. First board | Second board (This was not an "elite" RPG, but was more of a so called "lite" RPG. The main reason I liked this RPG so much was because while there were several good RPGers there, it was a lot more relaxed and we could just have fun with our characters.)

Name: Cho Mei Chang
Nickname: Cho
Age: 16
House: Ravenclaw
Year: 6th

Appearance: At 5' 2" and 48 kg (105 lbs),Cho is short and willowy, but Quidditch and other activities have made her tougher than she looks. Her soft, glossy, straight raven black hair has some bluish tones, gently frames her face and just brushes her shoulders. She used to wear her hair in a long braid until her fifth year, when she cut it off as a sign of mourning. Cho's narrow slanted eyes are a soft deep brown and ever watchful. Framed by long lashes, they are set in a slender face with clear, light toned skin. Cho's eyes hold a haunted look that is very hard to detect if you don't know her well. Her mouth is generally in a neutral straight line, but if she's in a good mood the corners will be turned up a little. It doesn't really take much to make her smile, just the right person. Cho has various scars from various Quidditch accidents, and a bird shaped birthmark on her right shoulder. A conservative dresser, Cho dresses more for comfort and efficiency than trendiness, but she does have a thing for wearing her work robes when not in school uniform. Cho always wears a silver fabrigeé and sapphire ring, given to her by Cedric only a week before his death, on the ring finger of her left hand. Tucked under her shirt, Cho wears a flat silver disk with Chinese runes on a blue silk cord around her neck. An old Chinese monk gave the amulet to Cho's mother when the baby was born. And on in her belt, Cho carries her 20 great grandmother's shukusen. Cho moves a little like a bird in flight, light and flowing; and ever since she was a child, she's always walked softly.

History: Cho was born in Communist China to Hiroshi Chang & Norika Yoshimoto who were on assignment for the Ministry of Magic. Cho's parents had both been born in China and had immigrated, in their late teens, to Great Britain where they met at their jobs in the Ministry. Hiroshi and Norika were both aurors during the Dark Lord's reign of terror, and happened to be in China tracking Death Eaters when Cho made it known she wanted to be born. Norkia returned to England a few days after that while Hiroshi completed the assignment. Then Hiroshi returned to England also. Norika went into hiding with baby Cho and Hiroshi continued working as an Auror until the Dark Lord's downfall with the Potters. Hiroshi and Norika have taken other jobs in recent years. Norika works in the Department of Research, and Hiroshi works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Both the Changs and the Yoshimotos are old wizarding families and because neither Hiroshi nor Norika have siblings Cho will have a large inheritance. Both sets of grandparents adore Cho, as she's their only grandchild, and are quite proud of her progress in school, though they wish she were attending their old school in China. The Chang family is an ancient Chinese family but the Yoshimoto family was at one point originally from Japan. Hiroshi changed the spelling of his last name from Zhang to Chang so less people would be confused on how to pronounce it. In Ancient Japan, the Yoshimoto's had been a high ranking family and part of the samuri class.
Cho was quite an advanced child (one of the reasons she's a Ravenclaw). She learned to talk before she could walk and taught herself to read by the time she was three and a half. As soon as she could talk, Cho started asking questions. Why this? How does that work? Do cats go to heaven? When she couldn't find an answer for her questions, she tried to look it up (the cat question never was really answered). Cho's father began training Cho in martial arts and weaponry when she was very young. She took fairly well to both and is now quite adept at them. Before she was accepted to Hogwarts, Cho attended Hecate Academy, an academy in London for young gifted witches (an all girls school), from five to eleven. When she was sorted into Ravenclaw, Cho took it as a sign that she should study hard (like she'd do anything else). And she did. As one of the top students in her year, Cho has no doubts about what people expect from her.
Cho was very surprised when she was selected to be the Ravenclaw seeker in her second year. Sure, she loved flying but she'd never really been all that into Quidditch. But when her parents suggested she try-out, she did. As it turned out, she was somewhat of a natural. Though it had taken her a long time to master as a child, Cho is able to guide her broom with her knees and still stay balenced. And her sharp eyesight certainly helped with locating the snitch. After her first game, Cho was hooked to Quidditch. It was in fact over the Quidditch pitch that Cho and Cedric first met, during the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff game in her second year. Even though she was on an older broom, she was lighter and was able to outmanuver Cedric. In her fourth year she sustained some injuries during practice and was out for the first half of the year, the back-up seeker taking her place, but she was better in time to play in the Ravenclaw/Gryffindor match. In her fifth year, Cho feel in love with Cedric Diggory. Before that she'd been dating off and on, but not really seriously. But Cho knew in her heart that Cedric was her soul mate. Tragically, it didn't last long, since Cedric was murdered at the hand of the Dark Lord during the Triwizard Tournament. After Cedric's death, Cho feel into a depressed state and is still to come out of it, as she is unable to come to terms with it. She's pretty much running on auto pilot, doing her assignments (still practically flawless), going through Quidditch practice with almost mechanical but still precise moves, and eating just enough to not get sick. It's going to take a lot to bring her back to reality.

Personality: Quiet and subtle, Cho usually doesn't bring attention to herself. But she often notices things most people don't, and because of that she often knows more too. Cho picks up on information very easily and retains it well. Despite the fact that she's not very outgoing, Cho is a devoted friend. She's a good listener and is often helping her friends with their problems. But even her good friends have problems breaking past the barrier she puts up when she's having problems. When she's in a down mood, she'll shut herself away and won't let anyone near her, fearing they will be hurt because of her. The only person that ever successfully got through to her while she was in a state was Cedric. Cho has a good sense of humor and likes to put it to occasional use. She does have a habit of staring off into space at the most inopportune moments though.

Pet(s): Tawny owl- Tori
Bloodtype: Pureblood
Other: Cho has several latent abilities (psonics) that are now beginning to surface.

Writing Sample: (heh, response to another writing sample)
Cho quietly backed away from the center of the maze. She'd been about to step in when she noticed it was occupied by Natalya. Truthfully, she'd rather avoid the Slytherin girl. After the strange encounter at one of the dances and the time in Herbology, Cho had gotten the impression that Natalya was only poliet to whomever she wanted and quite binty to everyone else. But as she walked away, a little voice in the back of her mind nagged that she should go back, dispite the fact the other girl would probably not appreciate it. Cho had seen the expression on Natalya's face and could read her body language, and knew something was troubling her. But Cho uncharacteristicly smashed down the part of her that wanted to listen and help. She had her own problems to deal with right now and really didn't want to hear someone else's.
It took her a little while, but Cho finally managed to work her way back out of the maze. Shaking her head she scolded herself silently. Even after seven years the hedge maze still gave her trouble. Since the center of the hedge maze was taken, there was only one other place to go. The gardens. She crossed the grounds quickly, curfew was soon. As Cho slipped into the garden, the moon slid behind a cloud, casting the grounds into darkness. It didn't matter. She could find the place with her eyes closed.
Her feet followed the paths steadily, tracing the way she had walked so many times. Soon she reached the spot, a bench, in appearance like every other bench in the garden. But for Cho, this bench was as different as night and day. Taking a seat, she ran her fingers over the sculpted birds and flowers. She'd come here to think. But instead of trying to work out her problem with her powers, her mind drifting back to half locked memories. This was the spot Cedric had given her her ring, this was the spot they had first kissed on Valentine's day, this was the spot she had run into Arturo... Closing her eyes she flung her head back, willing the memories away. Standing up, she brushed her hands on her robes. Coming here hadn't helped, only brought up stuff she'd rather leave unbrought up.
Cho left the gardens quickly, as if she were trying to leave the memories there. Walking briskly, she thought she was headed back to the school. But with her mind preoccupied, her subconscious played a trick on her. She suddenly stopped, wonder why the bloody hell, she was back in the hedge maze, just outside the center. She turned on her heel, ready to return to the school. But this time the little voice in the back of her head wouldn't let her. Cursing her good half, she pulled her face straight and entered quietly into the center of the maze. The moonlight filtering through her raven hair, she walked over to Natalya. Gripping her hands behind her back, Cho asked to question she had a feeling Natalya wouldn't want to be asked, especially by someone like her.
"Natalya? Is something wrong?"