Written 2004, © Erica 2005

Profile for Hogwarts: Spirits of the Dead v2 - Board (RPG is now dead)

Basic Info

Ezboard Name: Lady Alastrina
Email Address: [email protected]
IM Screen Names: [email protected]
Name you want us to refer to you as: Erica
Were you accepted to the old SotD board?: Nope

Character Info

Name: Cho Mei Chang
House: Ravenclaw
Year: 7th
Place of Birth: China (exact location unknown to her)
Place Where She Grew Up: Kensington, England
Financial Situation: Well-off. Her parents are both from old wizarding families

Physical

Age: 17
Birthday: October 27
Blood Line: Pureblood
Description of Physical 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. While she can easily pick out a stylish Muggle outfit that would blend in well, Cho her a certain preference for wearing her blue work robes as well. 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.

Emotional

Parents and Siblings Names and Ages: Hiroshi Chang (43) & Norika Yoshimoto (40)
Long Term Family 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 first reign of terror, and happened to be in China tracking Death Eaters when Cho made it known she wanted to be born. (Don't ask why Norika was traipsing around China nine-months pregnant. She won't give a straight answer.) Norika 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. With the threat of the Dark Lord pretty much over, the Changs were some of the Aurors that were placed on reserve, since they had a young child. So Hiroshi and Norika took other jobs in the Ministry. Norika now works in the Department of Research as an artificer, and Hiroshi works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as a hit wizard.

Both the Changs and the Yoshimotos are old wizarding families and because neither Hiroshi nor Norika had 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 was attending their old school in China. The Chang family is an ancient Chinese family with a rich history but the Yoshimoto family was at one point originally from Japan. In Ancient Japan, the Yoshimotos had been a high ranking family and part of the samurai class. Due to some unknown or long forgotten events, the branch of the clan Cho is descended from was exiled and settled in China.

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? Why that? 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. Sadly, 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. When they realized how bright their daughter was, and how willing she was to learn, Hiroshi and Norika enrolled Cho at Hecate Academy, an all-girls school in London for young gifted witches, which she attended from age 5 until she entered Hogwarts.

Cho was very surprised when she was selected to be the Ravenclaw seeker in her second year. Sure she loved flying, and she had been a Tutshill Tornados fan since she was six years old, but she'd never really considered playing Quidditch herself. But when her parents had 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 balanced. And her sharp eyesight certainly helped with locating the snitch. After her first game real, Cho was hooked to playing 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 outmanoeuvre Cedric.

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 had no doubts about what people expect from her. For her first four years at Hogwarts, life was wonderful, despite all the chaos that seemed to start after Harry Potter came. Cho was pretty much not affected by anything that happened, except for when Penelope Clearwater was petrified. Cho was pureblood so she knew she wouldn't be attacked, but she didn't understand why anyone would want to hurt Penny, who had often tutored her when she needed help. When Cho finally met Harry over the Quidditch field her fourth year, she was almost surprised that the scrawny boy (even though he was taller than her) was indeed The Harry Potter. But she found him to at least be a good opponent.

Cho's fifth year however, was not so wonderful. Cho reasoned she should have guessed the year wasn't going to be good after the appearance of the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup, but she hadn't ever been keen on divination. With the added stress of the OWLs and the coming of the Triwizard Tournament to Hogwarts, Cho's stress level was beginning to rise. The stress was alleviated somewhat when Cedric asked her to the Yule Ball. Like most girls, she's harboured a small crush on the Hufflepuff boy for his good looks, but Cho had also liked him for his humbleness and kindness. Cho tumbled head over heels for Cedric, and a week before the Third Task, he gave her the silver fabrigeé ring she still wears. Had Cho known the outcome of the third task, she might have never gone out with Cedric. When Harry, Cedric and the Triwizard cup reappeared outside the maze, with Cedric dead, Cho's world collapsed. Dumbledore's words at the end of the year sunk deep into her heart, though she was hardly hearing them at the time. The Dark Lord was back. Shortly after returning home, Cho suffered a nervous breakdown and was still on the road to recovery when her sixth year began. She almost complied with her parents' wishes for her to stay home a bit longer, but Cho knew that if she did, she'd never leave.

Cho put up a brave face for most of the year, though she was still grieving over Cedric. She tried not to show how much she was hurt, but little things around Hogwarts kept setting her off, leaving her in a pool of tears. In an attempt to gain some focus, Cho threw herself into her studies for Defense Against the Dark Arts. She reasoned that maybe if she did well she could be accepted into Auror training when she finished Hogwarts, and maybe somehow through that she could avenge Cedric's death. Even if it hadn't been the Dark Lord, like the Ministry had tried to say, Cedric was still dead and someone had killed him. And Cho wanted to make them pay. But when the Dark Lord was apparently defeated, Cho was thrown for a slight loop. She quickly shifted her focus back to Defense. After all, even if the Dark Lord was gone, that still left his followers. The Heiress business pretty much confirmed that thought.

During the summer between her sixth and seventh year, Cho pretty much came to terms with Cedric's death. She's not that sure whether or not she wants to get in any sort of relationships this year; she'd avoided them like the plague the year before. But once again she has focused on DADA, more firm in her goal to become an auror. Cho plans to apply to Auror training when she finishes her schooling at Hogwarts and has her NEWT scores in hand. She's a little nervous about having Lucius Malfoy as the new headmaster though. She's heard enough from her parents about him to make her very wary of the man. What she wouldn't give to have Dumbledore back.

Phobias/Fears: One of Cho's greatest fears is someone getting hurt because of her. This pretty much stems from a childhood experience where her father knocked her out of the way of a falling item and was struck himself. He wasn't harmed badly, but when Cho's in a down mood she pulls away from people afraid she might somehow inadvertently cause them harm. Cho is also very hesitant about being in any sort of serious relationship. After Cedric's death wrung out her heart, Cho was afraid to get too attached to someone, afraid something similar might happen.

Hobbies/Interests: Quidditch, her studies, martial arts, weaponry, singing (though she hasn't done it in a long time)
Good/Bad Habits: Good: Cho tries to think everything through before she says it. She also tries to not put off assignments to the last minute. / Bad: Cho tends to hold grudges. She knows she really shouldn't, but sometimes she just can't let things go.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Strengths: Cho is a wonderful listener. She's the person her friends tell their woes to, and their secrets. Cho is also highly observant. Not too much will escape her quick sharp eyes. / Weaknesses: Her temper. Merlin, does she have a temper. If someone can get Cho mad enough, she'll forget all reason, including that she's a witch. Instinct will kick in and she'll attack with her bare hands. Which is bad depending on who she is attacking. Also, Cho is an emotion bottler. She'll pull all of her worries inside of her and seal them away, forgetting that someday, she won't be able to fit just one more in and it will all spill out.

Cognitive

Attitude Toward School and School Work: Cho is one of the rare sort of people that loves school. She loves learning and really cracks the books hard. She'll get her school work done quickly and efficiently, with just enough creativity to earn the high marks she wants. Then she'll go kill time working on Defense, quidditch, or with her friends.
How Does He or She Do in Classes: Cho does very, very well in all of her classes. She can't afford not to.
Favorite/Least Favorite Subjects: Favorite: DADA / Least: Herbology

Social

Personality: Cho hasn't changed much since her early years at Hogwarts, except in a couple aspects. When she was younger she'd been one of the more popular Ravenclaws in her year and well liked by pretty much everyone. But after her fifth year, she'd started to pull away from the circle of students she had previously hung out with. More quiet and subtler than she used to be, 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 as outgoing as she used to be, 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 humour and likes to put it to occasional use.

An ambitious girl, Cho has several goals and dreams. She wants to become an Auror, to become an animagus, and with those abilities avenge Cedric's murder. But Cho also wants to be able to sing again, to love someone again, to settle down to a quite, peaceful life, and to raise a family. Cho's hobbies range from Quidditch and her studies, to defense magic, martial arts, weaponry, and singing (even though she hasn't done it in a long time). First impressions of Cho are generally that she's shy, innocent and sweet, quite far from the truth. Cho's general opinion on school and life are positive, that school is necessary to further oneself in life, and the life has both it's good and bad, and hopefully more good than bad.

Cho does have a couple serious character flaws. For one, she has an incredible temper, which most wouldn’t expect from the usually demure and polite Asian young woman. Once Cho is angered it takes a lot to calm her down. And while she tries really hard to see something from other points of view as well, if she has strong feelings on a certain subject, trying to change her mind will only anger her. And it really doesn't take much to set Cho off either. A frustrating assignment on a bad day can make her throw her text books across the room. Someone insulting one of her friends or someone she really respects (and really insulting them) is probably one of the worst things a person can do in front of Cho. The last time someone did that, Cho completely flew off the handle. Cho takes honour and loyalty very seriously, and while she'll stand up for her friends, she can also sometimes be blindsided by that friendship. Sometimes she simply won't see that her friends really are at fault.

Past Relationships: Cedric Diggory
Other Characters She MAY BE Associated With: Most Ravenclaws, and some students in other houses in her year
Familiar: Tawny Owl- Tori

Other: Cho is very strong in Defense Against the Dark Arts, due to parental influence and her desire to be an auror. She's an accomplished dueler, and while her Patronus may be a swan, remember, swans can get very nasty when needs be. Cho also hopes to study to become an Animagus at some later point in her life, possibly during her Auror training.