A/N: Hey! I'm sorry for taking so long to put up this chapter. I have had a hard time these last few weeks, and I hadn't been able to write until now. But, to make it up to you, I'm posting Chapter 8 way sooner.
Chapter 7 - Clueless
Cho Chang threw herself on the bed in her apartment. She was beaten. Wood was ruthless, and since the first match would be the next day, he had keep them training until night. It wasn't a nice way of spending a Friday evening. As much as she liked Quidditch, she didn't enjoy training over, and over, and over again while hearing the screams of that maniac.
Her eyes moved through the room, and fell on a shiny thing on her nighttable. She grabbed it and a small smile crept in her lips. She twirled the ring thoughfully. It was a beautiful ring, indeed. Too plain in her opinion, but it didn't matter since it was him the one who had bought it.
She hadn't been sure what would happen when she stole the ring. Scratch that, she hadn't stolen it, she had just took it until Harry realized he was about to make a huge mistake wanting to marry that loser. She would give it back to him once she got what she wanted. Everything had turned out very well for her that day. She had taken the ring away, but that didn't mean that Harry wouldn't go through the proposal thing. However, he was more predictable than she had ever imagined. He hadn't felt sure without the ring, and had chickened out.
Cho put one arm behind her neck. Something had happened this week, she knew it. Harry's face was gloomy during the trainings, he always seemed to be in deep thought. However, when she - that stupid bookworm - showed up in the Pitch, he changed his attitude. He smiled, laughed and was his usual self. When she left, it was back to the previous mood.
So, he was hiding something from her. Harry didn't want Granger to know that he was upset or worried about something. There were troubles between them, but they weren't admiting it. Just perfect. Cho hadn't asked Harry what was going on, not because she didn't want to, but because Malfoy had advised her not to, at least not yet.
Cho had to admit that she had her doubts when Malfoy approached to her in the Opening Season Party. She had never talked to him at school, although she was aware of his fame as Harry's enemy. She had never trusted Slytherins. But this time was different. They weren't at Hogwarts anymore, and if she wanted to get Harry, she had to make some sacrifices...
When had she become so obsessed with him? Yes, she had kinda liked him when she was in her sixth year. He was sweet and head over heels for her, she could tell by the way he blushed every time she talked to him. She had thought that maybe Harry would help her forget about Cedric. But nooo, even then, that girl had been in the middle. Cho knew that Harry was telling the truth when he said she was just a friend. And, in her more rational times, she thought that maybe Hermione didn't have the intention to break them apart. But she, somehow was always on his mind, and he didn't even notice it.
Everything had ended that time before it had started. It was only later, when she was on her holidays before her seventh year that she had realized what a huge mistake she was making. Harry was nice, honest and brave - not to mention hansome and popular - and he liked her. She shouldn't throw away the chance of being with him over some minor things like Hermione Granger. She had come back to Hogwarts, with the idea of telling Harry that she was willing to forgive him and have a serious relationship with him...
Only that Harry didn't look like he wanted that. Something was different about him. He wasn't nervous around her anymore. Cho couldn't believe he had actually got over his crush for her. She didn't want to lose!
She observed him a lot, and realized that he was all the time around his friends, specially Granger and the Gryffindor Keeper - she couldn't remember his name. It seemed that friends were important for Harry. Well, she could be his friend. Get close to him and then have him at her feet once more.
It had worked out. Harry at first was a little bit suspicious of her friendly attitude, so she decided to made up a complicated drama. He wasn't very good comforting people, but he cared about others' problems. They became friends. Harry was a really good listener and he was always worried about her. Cho invited him to his Graduation Ball, ready to tell her feelings for him...
But Harry had turned her down. HE had turned HER down!!
"I'm sorry, Cho. You are a great girl, and for a long time I really liked you... Or I thought I did. But now... I'm in love with someone else," he had said. "Only she doesn't know," he added.
In love with someone else. Cho didn't need to ask who, she already knew it. She pretended to be understanding. She even offered her help! As if...
The next day, she remembered yelling at Hermione in the Great Hall. She didn't know what she had said, she was too frustrated at that time to think clearly.
Anyway, she had moved to China. But after spending almost nine years there, she started to get bored. She followed Harry's life through the Daily Prophet that arrived from England. He had defeated You-Know-Who. He was the star seeked of the Chudley Cannon's. He was engaged to Hermione Granger...
Those last news didn't arrive in Cho's best moment. She had just broken up with a guy. She was bitter and tired of living there. How come Hermione Granger had such a wonderful life, with a great job and fiance, while she was living a miserable existence? That was when she asked her agent to find her a position in a Quidditch team in England, and a few days later, Oliver Wood was calling her...
Cho Chang believed in destiny. And somehow, the destiny had led her to the Chudley Cannons, the exact same team of Harry Potter. That had to mean something.
Truth to be told, she hadn't thought about getting Harry at first. But seeing him with Hermione, had changed everything. Cho had never lost at anything she had proposed in her life, except at getting Harry. She couldn't stand that a woman that wasn't even as beautiful as she was stole him away. She was going to fight.
And then came Draco Malfoy. Cho didn't know his motives, and she wasn't sure if she cared. He certainly knew a lot about Harry and Hermione. It looked like he had spent a lot of time watching them.
"OK, Chang, listen very carefully. You won't be able to get in the middle of Potter and the Mudblood, that I can assure you. He doesn't have eyes for anyone else, and the same goes for her. So forget about hitting on him, because he will never even notice you in that way as long as he is with Granger."
"Then what do you suggest?" Cho asked, frowning.
Draco smiled nastily. "The best way to break a couple apart is suspicion... Break their confidence... Have them all paranoid until they can't take it anymore. Even if Potter is not doing anything wrong, you have to make Granger believe he is... The same goes for him."
"And how do you expect me to do that? They have been friends forever, I don't see how someone like me could accomplish to break the confidence they have."
"One thing is friendship, and other is a romantic relationship. I've watched them. They act different now that they are a couple," Draco said.
"How come you know so much about them when they both hate you?"
"Potter and I go way back... Same for Granger," he replied, mysteriously. "Focus, Chang, will you? The point is you'll have to be smart enough to find a way to do what I'm telling you... For now, you should do anything to stop Potter from proposing to her, that could ruin everything. Make Potter believe that Granger doesn't want to get married..."
Cho had a feeling that things were going to work out. She had been planning for four days and she was sure that Harry would ditch Granger very, very soon...
* * *
"The only thing I'm saying is that I don't understand you. You have the perfect boyfriend and you insist in staying single! I assure you, sometimes I don't know how you can be my daughter..."
I rolled my eyes, cursing the minute I had the brilliant idea of asking my mother to help me make some dinner. However, I knew that without her help, I would have probably burnt everything already. The thing was giving Harry a nice surprise, to wish him luck for his first match the next day. Besides, I had noticed that he had been a little down the last few days... Maybe Oliver was going too far in his training schedule.
"Hermione, are you listening to me?" My mother squaled, putting the roasted chicken inside the oven. "Where are the matches?!" she exclaimed, looking for them all over the kitchen.
I grabbed my wand and light the oven for her. "I don't need matches," I reminded her. "And yes I am listening to you, but I have nothing to say, since we have discussed this subject a million times."
"And you still haven't given me a good reason for this nonsense," my mother pointed, folding her arms.
"I don't have to give you any reasons, mum, I'm 25 years old, I think I don't need to give you excuses for what I decide to do with my life."
"You will be 26 next week... It's a good age to get married dear."
"Mum, please..."
"Look, I think I know you well enough to know that the excuse of your career first is not what is stopping you. I want to know what's wrong. You still love Harry, don't you?"
"Of course I do, more than ever," I said, sighing and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Then?"
"OK, if you really want to know, it's not me the one who wants to wait, it's him," I said, defeated.
My mother's eyes widened. "Harry doesn't want to get married yet?"
I shook my head.
"And why?"
"I wish I knew," I said, sitting down on a chair.
"What do you mean? He must have given you a reason..."
I looked at her. "No, he hasn't, because we have never discussed about it."
"OK, this is getting really confusing." She looked around for a chair to sit down. I summoned one from the living room. My mum thanked me and sat down. "You said you've never discussed about this..."
"No, we have never talked about marriage," I said. "I don't know why, maybe we both have been to afraid to bring up the subject. Anyway, I know that Harry isn't thinking about getting married yet, and I want to be supportive. If he's not ready, that's OK with me, I just want us to be together."
"But how do you know that's what Harry thinks?" my mum asked.
"Because..." I hesitated. Actually, the proof I had wasn't very consistent. "I can tell by his attitude. And don't you think that if he wanted to marry me now, he would have asked me to already?"
Suddenly, my mother smiled. "Then, he had never said he doesn't want to get married."
"Not to me."
"Then you can't be sure about his feelings on this. And you won't know unless you talk to him."
"I'm not going to talk to him about this, mum."
"Why not?"
"Because... I don't want to hear he's not ready."
"Hermione, consider this for a moment. What if Harry had been thinking about proposing to you? What if he was waiting for the right moment? Are you picturing that?" she asked sweetly, and I nodded. "OK... Then, what if he decided against it for the stupid thing you said at the Weasleys'?" she added harshly.
"I only said that for him! I thought it would be better if he saw I was in the same stance he is," I protested.
"Only that you don't know which is his stance!" My mother said, matter-of-factly.
"The chicken is ready," I said, standing up and opening the oven's door. It smelled really nice.
"Honey, I'm telling this to you because I want you to be happy. You should talk to him," she insisted.
"I'll think about it," I said.
* * *
When Harry arrived past ten o'clock, I had the table set in his apartment.
"Good night," I greeted him.
He looked really tired. He left his broom by the door and looked at the table, then at me, unsurely.
"Don't worry, my mum helped me," I said. "I didn't want you to be ill before your first match."
He laughed and kissed me. "Thank you."
"Your welcome. Now sit down and eat."
For the most part of the dinner, we only did small talk. I wasn't very focused on what he was saying. I was still thinking about what my mother had said. Her advice was the total opposite from Ginny's. Not that I really thought that Ginny's advice was good, but what my mother was suggesting was too hard for me at the time. Why? I don't really know.
"Harry?" I said, interrupting him in the middle of some story about Oliver and his charts.
"Yes?" He asked, looking up and staring at me.
"Is there... Is there something you'd like to say to me?"
Harry lifted an eyebrow. "What?"
"I was just wondering... If you wanted to tell me something, you would, right?"
He blinked. "Sure," he said after a long pause, and I got the feeling he had actually thought a lot about my question. "And you?" he asked.
And me? What about me? I should tell him what is on my mind. I should say something about what had been going on this last few days. I should ask him straight forward how does he feel about getting married.
Of course, I don't always do what I should. That's why I nodded. He stared at me for a second, and then returned to his food.
Later, when we had just washed the dishes and I was thinking in going back to my apartment to let him rest, he grabbed my hand firmly.
"You do know I love you, don't you?"
I stared at him surprised. He was really serious. "Of course, Harry. I love you too."
"Just wanted to make it clear," he said. "I want you to know that you are the most important thing in my life. That's why I'm willing to do anything as long as you are happy."
I stared at him somewhat shocked. Why was he saying those things right then? And when he wrapped his arms around me, I got an idea. He had realized I was pretending that I didn't care about marriage. And he was ready to sacrifice and go for it because I wanted. I couldn't do that to him. This was something we both had to be sure of.
"Harry," I said, looking at him. "I'm happy because I'm with you. I don't need anything at all. We are fine as we are now, aren't we?"
He nodded. His eyes held an emotion hard to describe... Was it understanding? Acceptance?
"Now, you should rest," I said.
And I left his apartment once again keeping inside me what I was thinking.
* * *
The Stadium was very crowded. It wasn't a surprise, really, since the Chudley Cannons were one of the most popular Quidditch Teams in England. I was sitting in the middle row, rubbing my hands nervously, while I waited for the match to start. Even though I have gone through this so many times -with both Ron and Harry- I'm still not able to control myself when they play... There's so many chances to suffer an accident!
"Is this seat taken?" someone asked me and I shook my head absent-mindly, lost in the thought of Harry falling off his broom.
The person that had spoken to me sat down, and two seconds later chuckled. "You don't change, do you? I can't believe you still get nervous during Quidditch matches."
I turned my head and found Ron grinning at me. He was wearing a black baseball hat and a pair of sunglasses that covered most of his face.
"What are you disguised of?" I asked, frowning.
"I'm not disguised. I'm just trying not to be recognized when I cheer for Harry. After all, I am playing for another team," he explained.
"I didn't thought you would come... After all, Liz could have the baby anytime."
"Don't worry about that," he said, and showed me a red band he was wearing on his right wrist. "This was her idea. It turns really hot if she needs me. So I can apparate back home anytime. And, her mother is with her, so she's not alone."
Before I could say anything else, we were interrupted by screams and cheers that could only mean that the game was starting. Ron and I turned to look at the Pitch and I spotted Harry entering along with the rest of the Cannons.
They got on their brooms and the game started. I could see Oliver pacing frantically with his eyes fixed on his team's movements.
Ten minutes later, the Chudley Cannons were beating the other team 90 - 10.
"She is really good," I heard Ron muttering next to me.
I knew he meant Cho, and he was right. She had scored five times already. I nodded.
"Herm, I've been meaning to ask..." Ron started suddenly, drifting his attention from the game to me. "Are you and Harry alright?"
I turned to look at him, surprised with his question. "As far as I know, yes we are. Why, do you know something? Has he said anything?" I asked, and realized immediately how anxious my voice sounded.
Why was Ron asking about Harry and me? Did he know something I didn't? Had Harry said something to him about us? OK, Hermione, don't get paranoid here!
Ron shook his head hastily. "No... I was just asking."
"Well, that's not just a question, Ron," I pressed. "There must be a reason why you asked that."
"I don't know. Is there a reason why I should ask?" he retorted.
I lifted my eyebrows. Ron and I had never done this kind of talk before. We usually asked and answered immediately, and didn't dance around ourselves like that. "I can't think about anyone."
"OK then," he said, and we both turned to watch the game, just when Alan stopped a bludger from hitting Johnny Bell (The Cannon's Keeper). Harry was flying around, looking for the Snitch. "What about what you said in the Burrow the other night?" he spoke again.
"What?" I played dumb, knowing that he meant the 'not wanting to get married' speech.
"Do you really feel that way? You don't want to marry Harry?" he asked.
I looked at him. "I didn't say that. I said that I wasn't planning on getting married yet, which is completely different."
"But why not? I don't understand."
"Ron, stop acting as if you don't know what's going on, OK? I know that Harry talks to you," I said, annoyed. "I know how he feels."
He stared at me. "You know?" he asked.
"Of course, you think I don't know Harry? I know what he's thinking. That's why I said what I said at the Burrow. Happy now?"
Ron blinked. "So you actually said that for Harry to know that you didn't want to get married yet?"
I nodded. I was about to add that I didn't want him to feel pressed, when the Stadium fell silent. That could only mean one thing. Ron and I snapped our heads to look at the game and saw Harry doing a breathtaking dive and catching the Snitch.
Ron and I cheered and hugged, celebrating Harry's victory and forgetting for a minute what we had just been talking.
I turned to look at Harry. He had been surrounded by his teammates, who were hugging him happily. I also noticed that Cho somehow made her way to him. Were my eyes fooling me? She seemed about to kiss him... She approached to him from the side. Harry turned to her... She wrapped her arms around his neck and...
A fat man stood up in front of me covering my view for just a second. When he finally moved, Cho was hugging the rest of her teammates and Harry was buried under a mass of people.
"Let's go Hermione," Ron said, beside me. "We have to congratulate Harry."
"Sure," I said, looking at Cho again.
There was nothing to be jealous about, right? They were celebrating! It was normal that she had such an efussive attitude when they had just won. Right?
Right?
A/N: OK, if you're thinking this is going slow, that's the idea! I can't start with the complicated stuff yet, had to give them time to shake things a little... So now you know a little more about Cho (wow, I'm really amazed how much you hate her!). There will be more Cho/Draco interaction, of course.
So, this fic is full of awful misunderstandings! There will be more of that! (That is what happens when everyone meddles in this kind of things.)
I hope you liked this chapter. I know there hadn't been much action yet. I'll work on that. It's just that I don't want to rush things, or else it wouldn't be realistic.
Comments, suggestions, criticism, everything is more than welcome. And thanks a lot for the reviews. They light up my life!