Done. *collapses*
I finally finished it! Gyah, this piece for the Cho Chang Fic-a-Fest gave me absolute HELL, but it's done. Yayness.
Title: Taking Care
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sort-of-maybe-not-really-oh-who-knows Cho/Marietta. Implied Cho/Harry & Cho/Cedric.
For: Cho Chang Fic-a-Fest ( here)
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 614
Summary: Cho just doesn't know what to do anymore. Marietta tries to help.
A/N: This is the third version of the original piece I wrote for the Fest. Just about everything changed from my original idea, including the plot, the pairing, and the ending. It's definitely more gen-like than I had initially planned. However, I think I like it this way better. =D
Taking Care
The room was bathed in pale yellow light, candles glinting against the dark next to each of the beds in the sixth year Ravenclaw girls’ dormitory. A muffled sob came from behind the hangings of the bed furthest from the door, and a sigh was heard from the bed to the left of it. There came a great rustling of fabric, and a girl emerged from the bed on the left, grabbing a plain robe that was hanging precariously close to her candle. She cursed as another sob was heard, and quickly threw the robe on over her shift, barely taking the time to pull her hair out of it before rushing over to the next bed. She fumbled with the blue hangings and finally wrestled them open, all but diving inside. Shutting the hangings, she whispered something, and all was quiet.
***
"Cho?" Her friend’s voice was soft, sounding concerned. She felt Marietta place a hand on her back and sank her face further into the pillow, not knowing whether she was glad Marietta had come to her again or not.
"Cho?" she heard her ask a little more loudly, a note of worry clearly detectable in her voice. Cho hated knowing that she caused it, but didn’t quite know what to do with herself.
"He’s dead," Cho whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. Marietta shifted on the bed, silent for a moment. Then Cho felt a body pressed against her back, and Marietta’s breath was on her neck.
"I know," Marietta told her, stroking her hair.
"I don’t want him to be dead," Cho told her. "I don’t know what to do with myself," she admitted, "Harry’s no help - he doesn’t want to talk about Cedric."
"He just doesn’t understand," Marietta sighed.
"He thinks I’d rather be with Cedric, probably," Cho sniffed.
"Wouldn’t you?"
"Is it terrible of me to say no?"
"You’d rather be with Harry?" Marietta asked. She sounded very skeptical.
Cho sighed. "I didn’t say that. Cedric… loved me. And I wasn’t clear on what I wanted, at that point. But I’d feel terrible being with him now; he could’ve been with someone else who maybe loved him before he died. I’d be too ashamed to be around him now," Cho murmured.
"But that’s not your fault," Marietta reasoned.
"But that’s how I feel. I don’t know what to do about Harry. I’m probably not being fair to him either."
"He’s not exactly being fair to you. Valentine’s Day I don’t know what in the world was going through his head. I don’t think he’s a healthy person for you to be around. And I say that because I care about you too much to let you get carried into all his crap, Cho. You’ve already got into the D.A. - "
"That’s important," Cho interrupted. "We need to know how to defend ourselves… I need a tissue." Cho heard the hangings swing aside as Marietta groped around on Cho’s bedside table for the box.
"Here," Marietta said, handing her a tissue. "While it’s important, it’s also dangerous. And if Harry wasn’t running it, you’d have nothing to do with it and you know it."
"I know," Cho replied. "Merlin, Marietta, I’m sorry I always - " There was pressure on her shoulder, and then Marietta had succeeded in gently turning her around.
"It’s not a problem," Marietta told her softly, looking her straight in the eyes. "Don’t feel bad about it."
Cho reached up and wrapped her arms around Marietta, who ran her fingers through Cho's hair. "Thank you," Cho whispered into her neck. "For being here."
"Like I already said," Marietta told her, dropping her hair, "It isn't a problem."
FIN
On a totally unrelated note, I'm getting a new puppy! Pictures to come when we get him. =]
Title: Taking Care
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sort-of-maybe-not-really-oh-who-knows Cho/Marietta. Implied Cho/Harry & Cho/Cedric.
For: Cho Chang Fic-a-Fest ( here)
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 614
Summary: Cho just doesn't know what to do anymore. Marietta tries to help.
A/N: This is the third version of the original piece I wrote for the Fest. Just about everything changed from my original idea, including the plot, the pairing, and the ending. It's definitely more gen-like than I had initially planned. However, I think I like it this way better. =D
Taking Care
The room was bathed in pale yellow light, candles glinting against the dark next to each of the beds in the sixth year Ravenclaw girls’ dormitory. A muffled sob came from behind the hangings of the bed furthest from the door, and a sigh was heard from the bed to the left of it. There came a great rustling of fabric, and a girl emerged from the bed on the left, grabbing a plain robe that was hanging precariously close to her candle. She cursed as another sob was heard, and quickly threw the robe on over her shift, barely taking the time to pull her hair out of it before rushing over to the next bed. She fumbled with the blue hangings and finally wrestled them open, all but diving inside. Shutting the hangings, she whispered something, and all was quiet.
***
"Cho?" Her friend’s voice was soft, sounding concerned. She felt Marietta place a hand on her back and sank her face further into the pillow, not knowing whether she was glad Marietta had come to her again or not.
"Cho?" she heard her ask a little more loudly, a note of worry clearly detectable in her voice. Cho hated knowing that she caused it, but didn’t quite know what to do with herself.
"He’s dead," Cho whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. Marietta shifted on the bed, silent for a moment. Then Cho felt a body pressed against her back, and Marietta’s breath was on her neck.
"I know," Marietta told her, stroking her hair.
"I don’t want him to be dead," Cho told her. "I don’t know what to do with myself," she admitted, "Harry’s no help - he doesn’t want to talk about Cedric."
"He just doesn’t understand," Marietta sighed.
"He thinks I’d rather be with Cedric, probably," Cho sniffed.
"Wouldn’t you?"
"Is it terrible of me to say no?"
"You’d rather be with Harry?" Marietta asked. She sounded very skeptical.
Cho sighed. "I didn’t say that. Cedric… loved me. And I wasn’t clear on what I wanted, at that point. But I’d feel terrible being with him now; he could’ve been with someone else who maybe loved him before he died. I’d be too ashamed to be around him now," Cho murmured.
"But that’s not your fault," Marietta reasoned.
"But that’s how I feel. I don’t know what to do about Harry. I’m probably not being fair to him either."
"He’s not exactly being fair to you. Valentine’s Day I don’t know what in the world was going through his head. I don’t think he’s a healthy person for you to be around. And I say that because I care about you too much to let you get carried into all his crap, Cho. You’ve already got into the D.A. - "
"That’s important," Cho interrupted. "We need to know how to defend ourselves… I need a tissue." Cho heard the hangings swing aside as Marietta groped around on Cho’s bedside table for the box.
"Here," Marietta said, handing her a tissue. "While it’s important, it’s also dangerous. And if Harry wasn’t running it, you’d have nothing to do with it and you know it."
"I know," Cho replied. "Merlin, Marietta, I’m sorry I always - " There was pressure on her shoulder, and then Marietta had succeeded in gently turning her around.
"It’s not a problem," Marietta told her softly, looking her straight in the eyes. "Don’t feel bad about it."
Cho reached up and wrapped her arms around Marietta, who ran her fingers through Cho's hair. "Thank you," Cho whispered into her neck. "For being here."
"Like I already said," Marietta told her, dropping her hair, "It isn't a problem."
FIN
On a totally unrelated note, I'm getting a new puppy! Pictures to come when we get him. =]