DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. does, and she has every right to do whatever she thinks is best for Harry Potter. I just love writing. So sue me. Wait, seriously… don't.
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"Hello, Harry." Cho said, smiling positively at him.
Harry stared, dumbfounded. He opened his mouth and tried to talk, but his lips weren't cooperating with his thoughts: no words could manage to get out of them.
But though his mouth seemed to be malfunctioning, his mind was working efficiently as he couldn't help but let questions repeat themselves like a broken record in his brain.
Why was she here and how on earth could she have entered the private grounds of Hogwarts in a span of two days?
And then Harry mentally slapped himself.
Of course…today was Stopover.
As he let his gaze fall on Cho, Harry's brows furrowed as he saw her swaying back and forth, looking as if she was waiting for something; and he knew exactly what it was and, unsurprisingly, he didn't know what to do--and inevitably, he didn't want to do it.
2 nights ago, he would have walked casually to her to give her a kiss on the forehead or on the cheek, not thinking about second thoughts on his feelings for her. But now, even only the idea of doing it horrified him.
Besides, today was different.
Because today, he knows something that might as well haunt him for the rest of his life if he chose the wrong move that, he suspected, would uncertainly be settled today.
As he halfheartedly took the few steps away from her, he felt that there was nothing in this world he wanted more right now than to escape from her sight, but as he couldn't escape her expecting gaze, he had no choice but give her a kiss on the cheek.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, stepping back; his tone of exuberance was false and forced out. Harry knew at once it was the wrong question and in the wrong approach.
Cho's eyes crossed at hearing this and when she spoke, her smile was wide but her eyes had lost their girlish spark. "And I'm very thrilled to see you again."
"Sorry." Harry muttered, accepting the reproof since it was really his fault.
"Just make it up to me next time." Cho stepped closer, linking her arm through his.
Before he could think of saying anything else to her to make her go away and leave him alone, she had already manipulated him out of the Quidditch field.
For a while, Harry found it hard to speak, the product of somewhat being too busy in suddenly comparing then and now and brooding over how he feels for Cho. This time, his thinking was for her and only for her; no other person was flooding his mind.
Well, maybe one other person was.
Every now and then, Hermione's face would suddenly appear out of nowhere in his mind and disrupt all his thinking and then he would have to start all over again.
But every time he catches a glimpse of her, guilt always gets the better of him and this annoyed every inch of him. Looking at his girlfriend, Harry wanted nothing more than to tell Cho that even if Hermione cared for him more than just a friend, she would always be his choice.
But even that was too unreal for him. Something happened when he found out about Hermione's secret.
He didn't know it.
He has no idea what kind of feeling it was.
It wasn't disappointment.
And it wasn't sadness either.
But it was definitely something worth considering.
"Aren't you happy to see me?" Cho broke into his thoughts just like she usually does whenever she was around and he was thinking.
"How come you got out of work?" Harry asked instead.
"I took a break." Cho said, not bothered that she didn't get an answer for her previous question. "And…I wanted to see you."
Harry gaped at her unbelievably. "But we just saw each other…" Harry couldn't help but blurt out.
"Two days ago," Cho nodded, finishing for him, "don't mind me, I'm just restless. Too much work can get so boring, you know."
She waved her hands in front of him and did this overly dramatic movement showing her exhaustion, hoping that if she did that, he would find it amusing enough to open up to her.
Harry, however, didn't seem to find it enticing at all. On the contrary, he found it disgustingly weird that she would do that to describe the way she felt about work; whereas Hermione would just be shrugging and saying "If it must be done, then there's no point in arguing, is there?"
Knowing her, she'd do it for hours without complaint, nor eat anything at all. She takes her time on checking on elaborate details of her work, making sure she gets everything right. No flaws or miscalculations. Harry sometimes wonders where she gets the energy. Not many witches can take up on work as well as she does.
A strong waft of wind suddenly blew against them as they were walking in front of the Greenhouses and Cho's hair got all tangled in front of her face, making her look like an oversized elf with long black hair (sorry for the description--I didn't know what else to put).
"Augh…can't any Muggle invention work properly? Now I have to fix my hair all over again." She cried out in agitation as she took out her mirror from her bag and began tidying and smoothing down her hair, not even bothering to excuse herself from Harry.
But this movement was what Harry had been expecting; this was exactly the right time to think and decide. So he just remained silent and subconsciously compared Cho with Hermione. He's never done that before, though. Before he knew how Hermione felt about him, all he could think about was Cho was beautiful, Cho was smart; Cho has a great smile…etcetera.
But now, even he couldn't believe himself, he was comparing his girlfriend to his best friend! How ironic. He was noticing for the first time some of Cho's mannerisms that were too girlish for his taste, like every 5 minutes or so she would be retouching her lipstick then going to the bathroom, just to see all in all her appearance.
On the other hand, Hermione is simple, yet beneath that pleasant, angelic face was a beautiful girl whom anyone hardly knows. She was his and Ron's friend alone. No one can take her away from him. And he was going to protect her as long as she remains his friend.
`But will she stay only as your friend?' His thoughts asked him.
`I don't know.' He said wordlessly as he stared blankly ahead of him, mistaking the sensations that were fluttering in his stomach as he thought about Hermione as just confused jitters.
`But would you be willing to give her a chance.'
The question was very abrupt.
It was unexpected, yet absolutely right.
And it most was from him…
`Would you?'
There it was again.
He braced himself for he was sure that the next thing that would come from his mouth would be the most truthful thing he will ever admit to himself and to anyone else.
`Yes.'
And then, he closed his eyes and once more lost himself inside his thoughts.
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In the interim in the afternoon, Ron and Hermione had began talking once more, their recent conversation forgotten, and neither of them had noticed that the time traveling potion was already done with the exception of a few more procedures.
When they finally did become aware of the completed concoction, their chat was halted instantly and Hermione took hold of the manuscript to read the final step of the potion. "We have to let it simmer for 30 minutes before drinking it."
"Why? What happens if you take it earlier than the required time?" Ron asked.
"The effect would be different." Hermione said simply, and then she put down the book and looked at her wrist, and then made a face when she saw that she forgot to wear her watch; she turned to look at Ron. "What time is it?"
After looking briefly at his left wrist, he supplied. "It's 1 in the afternoon."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully and heaved out a weary sigh. "So, basically, I will take the potion at 1:30. It wasn't as hard as I thought." Hermione shrugged, placing the book beside her and then she looked back up at Ron. "Are you sure it's 1, not 12:59 or 1:01? Something might go wrong if I take it earlier or later than after 30 minutes."
Ron checked again, and then nodded in assurance. "If you're not counting the seconds, then it's 1:00 in the afternoon."
Hermione gave him a small smile before sitting up straight. After she had found herself a comfortable sitting position, she eyed the potion, expecting to feel excitement flowing through her when she did, but only to feel, for the first time since they had acted on this plan, the wild frolics of her nerves.
She was really ecstatic about her journey back, but there was no point in denying the fact that she was also feeling nervous as the clock continued ticking.
Seemingly aware of her feelings, Ron adjusted his pose, which was leaning on the wall, and seated himself at the farthest corner of the stall to be able to look at Hermione directly. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked after scrutinizing her for a while.
Despite of her nervousness, Hermione still had the initiative to laugh. She gave him an amused look. "You've been asking me that ever since we started out with this plan." She reminded him haughtily. "We followed everything the instructions had said. I'm going to be fine."
"Oh? Is that so?" Ron asked with a teasing smile. "Then why do I have the idea that you're starting to have doubts about this?"
Hermione tried to look innocent, but after accidentally looking into his eyes, in which by doing so, triggered something like guilt inside her, she smiled somberly. "I am getting a little nervous, but I'm not backing out. I have time traveled before, remember?"
"Yeah..." Ron nodded his head mockingly. "But it was different then."
"No, it's not. I still time traveled, there were also dangers at that time." Hermione interjected and then, having made her point, decided to keep on thinking while saying nothing.
At this point of time, silence became a very essential part of their atmosphere; partly because they were thinking about things, but mostly because none of them have anything to say. It wasn't until five minutes later that Ron spoke again. "Do you need to take anything with you? Clothes, food…?"
She shook her head, thinking that he was being very silly but practically thoughtful and said with a grin. "I appreciate your fussing but, no, I'll be fine without anything. I'm going back to the past, not the year 3004. Whatever it is I'm going to need would still be there."
"Sorry." Ron shrugged apologetically and laughed tensely. "I'm just nervous about this as you are, that's all. What if you get lost? I won't be able to save you. My knowledge with spells is not that good, especially with Potions. And a fat lot it will help you when something goes wrong." He added bitterly. "If it hadn't been for you helping Harry and me, we wouldn't have passed most of our subjects."
"No. You're not the best in academic matters…" Hermione agreed thoughtfully and laughed warmly when Ron looked appalled by her acknowledgment and then comforted him in a whisper. "But you're definitely one of the best friends anyone could ever hope for."
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"Harry, where are Ron and…Hermione, am I right, Hermione, right?" Cho asked in a sweet voice once she had come back.
"Great Hall." He lied obviously, not even bothering to acknowledge the way she deliberately seemed to forget Hermione's name.
"Oh, really?" Came her voice, faking surprise. "But they weren't there when I went inside looking for you."
Harry didn't answer; instead, he silently prayed that Cho would just stop talking for once. He didn't know if he could take another minute listening to her rants and watch that vacuum mouth of hers open and close incessantly. But, clearly, she didn't understand his plain remoteness because she kept on talking.
"My mom's really eager to meet you, you know. Ever since I told her I was going out with Harry Potter, she never stopped nagging me with questions about you!" Then she clapped her hands. "Ooh…I can't wait for you to meet my office mates, they will be so jealous once they find out I'm dating you. Why wouldn't they? You're a fine catch!"
`Am I just some kind of fish you baited in the river?' Harry felt the urge to ask as he heard this, bile rising up in his throat. He was angry because he felt like some sort of prize that she wanted to show off to anyone who would want to listen. But then, once more, he kept his mouth shut.
As they walked, Cho kept on chatting, not even noticing that Harry was trying to begin another conversation; a conversation bringing up the subject about Hermione.
Harry wanted to pay attention to her no matter how much he wanted to talk or how repulsive she was being, but his ears weren't cooperating. Every time he tried to hear Cho's voice, his thoughts only came back to Hermione.
Hermione's helpless form the night before in the lake was haunting his mind as promised and so was the way she felt beneath his arms a while ago. His silent promise to keep her safe had been echoing itself inside his brain like a broken record since the moment he had decided to leave his anger behind by the speed of his flying.
`Would I be able to keep my promise, Hermione--with you not wanting to talk to me?' Harry muttered inside his brain even when he heard someone speak in a muffled voice.
Thinking that he was talking to himself again, he didn't mind it. Instead he let his mouth utter the name of the person he has been thinking of since that morning. It was as if saying it would relieve a thorn inside his heart. "Hermione." He breathed out in a defeated way.
"I should have guessed." Came a sniping voice he was beginning to get annoyed with.
Harry swiftly looked at Cho who was looking at him in a smug way and was glaring at the same time.
"What?" Harry asked in panic.
"I asked you who you were thinking of and you answered `Hermione'."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did!" Cho exclaimed. "I'm not deaf, Harry. And certainly not stupid! You were barely speaking and you were spacing out as if you wanted to be in another place, which I may remind you, is something you've never done before when you're around me! I would have never thought that all this time I've been talking, you were thinking about that …girl!"
"I'm sorry." Harry apologized again in a soft voice. But this time, there was a look of disbelief in his face because of the way Cho had purposely spited out mentioning Hermione's name again as if saying it would jeopardize anything in her life. "It's just that there's been a lot going on in my mind lately that I don't have the sense to pay attention to everything around me."
Cho scoffed heatedly. "I'm not naïve; I know when I'm being neglected."
"I am not neglecting you." Harry said in a calm voice.
"Yes, you are!" Cho pouted and crossed her arms, looking like a silly schoolgirl. "What's wrong with you?" She asked, and then she hit her head with the palm of her hand and pointed towards the Gryffindor tower that was visible from where they were standing now, and said…"Oh! Of course, you were thinking of her! Your darling, best friend Hermione!"
"I can't believe you! You're with your girlfriend!" She jabbed her fingers to his chest with every word. "And it's against the rules in a relationship to think of someone else while you're with your girlfriend. And most importantly, why weren't you listening to me?"
"You want me to listen?" He whispered tediously as he lost it, looking at Cho with piercing green eyes. "What about me? Did it ever cross your mind that I want you to listen to me, too?"
"Well, you never did seem to want to say anything." Cho said haughtily, balancing herself on one foot, and crossing her arms over her chest.
"And that's an excuse for saying all the things you said?" Harry asked, disdain marked in his voice. "What about you? When was the last time you ever listened to me? Come of it, Cho, was there even a time you actually heard what I had to say?"
"Well, I never thought that you, the Boy-Who-Lived, would ever have problems since you were the one who defeated You-Know-Who's." She said with a sneer, knowing that she had gotten through his nerve by calling him his supposed label.
Harry's jaw clenched. "Well, I think it's about time for you to know that this Boy-Who-Lived is also a human being who also has problems."
"Is that so?" She said, clearly amused. "Like what?"
"Like I just found out that my best friend is in love with me and I'm finding it hard to choose between my girlfriend and her!" Harry blurted out in an intake of a breath.
Cho went still and looked taken aback. "What did you say?"
"You heard me." Harry muttered, avoiding her gaze.
"And you're still thinking about it?" Cho said, incredulity evidently noticed in her flushed face; her reaction had gone as quickly as it had appeared. "What are you? Dense? Do you even need to think? I mean; your choice is clear, isn't it? I'm your girlfriend. There's nothing to think about."
Harry absentmindedly looked at her with his intense jade oculars. He gazed at her from up and down, regretting the thought that the girl standing before him was completely different from the young woman he knew at Hogwarts. "Who are you?" He asked all of a sudden.
"I beg your pardon?" Cho asked, not knowing whether to be mad at him for saying something like that or laugh about it because he may be playing some kind of game.
"Who are you?" Harry repeated. "I don't know you anymore. You aren't the Cho I met."
"What do you mean I'm not Cho?" She cried out. "I'm still Cho! I haven't changed."
"Yes, you have…or maybe you haven't." Then he crossed his arms and smiled an empty smile. "Yes, maybe you are still the same. Maybe I just didn't see it. Perhaps I was too busy loving, or rather--admiring--your appealing face that I didn't see who you really are."
"Does this have anything to do with Granger?" Cho crossed her arms and balancing herself on one foot.
"No." Harry said calmly. "Well, yes, maybe. I mean; thinking, not only of her but also of you, for the past few hours was enough for me to be reasonable and for the first time since we went out, I began seeing you in a different way. You've changed, Cho. You're not the modest and charming schoolgirl I thought I knew."
He gave her an odd gaze and looked up at the sky. "And you know what? Thinking of Hermione made me realize what a great friend she is, but I never appreciated that. And instead of repaying her for the things she's done, all I did was give her so much pain and neglect that she doesn't deserve at all."
"A great friend, yes." She said, smirking and ignoring Harry's last sentence. "But when it comes as your potential girlfriend, her rating's zero. She's not suited for you." Cho smirked. "Face it, Harry; I'm the most perfect girl you could ever find. I'm just the ideal type for you. You can't deny that."
Harry had had enough. It was time to make a move. He breathed in and out, trying to control his voice from rising. "You're right. You are the most perfect girl for me. And…I want you to know, I've already made my decision." Harry said. "As well as, I want to thank you for making it easy for me to choose."
"Of course." Cho smiled. "I mean, whom else would you want?" She tossed her hair in a feminine way and gave him a siren's smile. "Anyway, let's not talk about it again. I was just mad because you were thinking of someone else when you had no right since I am your girlfriend."
Harry closed his eyes, pocketed his hands and sighed heavily. "Actually, I had no right because you were my girlfriend."
"What do you mean `were'?" Cho asked, wide-eyed. "I'm still your girlfriend, Harry."
"Who says you are?"
"Well, you've made your choice. You said so."
"I have made my choice." Harry said then he looked at her, a smile playing on his lips. He was having the time of his life teasing her, making her look like a pathetic two year old waiting for her Christmas present. "Whom do you think I chose?"
"Me--of course!" Cho gestured her hand towards her.
"What makes you so sure?"
Harry smiled charmingly and innocently.
"I chose Hermione."
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After a few minutes, Hermione stood up. "I can't take this anymore. I want to travel now and the only thing that can keep me away from that potion is to keep me busy." She complained.
"Ok, what if we check on the procedures again. That would clear your mind." Ron suggested hopefully, looking up.
"It would be all right if we did, but I certainly would have done another thing, but ok." Hermione took the book, scanned the pages, skipping the introduction of the traveling page and went right to the procedures.
After letting her eyes examine the words, she said verbally. "First, place the extract of the hydrangea bud and put the frothfrump ash mixed with the Argonian extract. (I think we did that right.) Next, add in the Cadmium Core, followed by pints of the grinded seeds of the Sequined Flower. Last, add the most essential part, the Aerotone. (All done correctly.) Mix it clockwise, 10 times, (Did I? Yes, I did, Ron. Don't make a face at me.) Let it boil for 5 minutes and then mix it again, this time, do it counterclockwise, 10 times. (Oh no! I did it only about 9 times! Just kidding!) Let it boil once more for 5 minutes and stir it again. Now, take note, when you mix it, 5 times clockwise and 5 times counterclockwise. Do not interchange. Counterclockwise must be preceded by the clockwise. (Ron, what do you mean by preceded by? I must have interchanged it.) And let it simmer for 30 minutes before drinking bottoms up." Hermione read the book, nodding to Ron. "We did all of it correctly, no need to get nervous. What time is it?"
"It's 1:25." Ron said as he gazed at his watch.
"It's nearly time." Hermione breathed out.
"Yeah, it is." He said as he watched her reach over for the goblet beside the potion. He looked in anticipation as she slowly got the ladle and dipped it into the small, black cauldron they had used in making the potion. She got a fair amount of the mixture and poured it into the goblet.
Not wanting to look at her more with feelings lurching inside him, he stood up. "I'm going to check if someone's outside."
Hermione, in eagerness, only nodded, but Ron got the impression that she really didn't hear him. He got out after making sure that no one was standing just outside the door and ran over to the left side of the hallway. He looked around the corner and found no one there. That part of the hallway was deserted.
Then he turned around to check the other side of the corridor. As he walked swiftly, but quietly, towards the opposite part, he heard something. It was some sort of screeching, like someone running, then stopping. After that, he heard subdued sounds coming from just around the bend. What was it?
As he got closer to the other side, he heard loud thumps coming from just around its corner. When he reached the curve, he cast a sideways glance at the turning point and found himself stopping then hearing…
"Have you seen Hermione?"
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