Discussion Topic - Cho Chang: Treasure or Terror?

[beakanoma]

This feels slightly off topic, but since you can hardly write a Harry/Cedric story without taking the Ravenclaw girl into consideration I think it applies. I've been sitting on this discussion topic for a while. Seeing that there hasn't been much activity on here lately, I figured now to be the perfect time for it

Comments

[galenchia]

Good discussion point. :D
I think it's perfectly reasonable to assume that from our perspective, Cho and Cedric were friends. And it's reasonable to assume that from the amount of time he appeared to spend with her, they were fairly close friends. With people who have the popularity that J.K. writes Cedric as experiencing, they truly (in my experience) have very few REALLY close friends. So it's fair to say that Cho was one of his closest friends and thus was what he'd sorely miss. Sort of a Ron to Cedric's Harry, if you will.

Those are my pence on the subject. :3

[beakanoma]

thank you!

That's an excellent point, regarding Cedric and his popularity. It actually made me realize something I'm going to edit to add: do we have any reason to believe that Cedric and Cho were close before he asked her to the Yule Ball? Hmm. But you're right, someone like Cedric may not have many true friends.

[fopperies]

I think you have to take into account that these choices weren't made by some special potion that indicated who the champions would REALLY miss most, but presumably it was a decision based on observation and availability

[beakanoma]

If you look back in what I wrote, I did say that Gabrielle is not of-age to compete and therefore would not have come with the other Beauxbatons students to Hogwarts. Only students who wished to compete came

lack of color review

[anonymous]

i've just finished this story and i am in a hurry to continue to the next one. this was very good and not just because i liked the subject matter but because it was so well written. i have a pet peeve of sorts....i try not to let it come to the surface much... but it really nags at me when authors start writing dialog that is completely out of character. that didn't happen here. cedric never said anything that seemed out of character for him and neither did harry. in fact, no one did. it was a smooth read all the way through. it was an intelligent and well thought out story which makes me think that you might not be an amateur writer. it is a wonderful gift into which you've put a lot of yourself and i want to thank you for your perseverance. just great.

Re: lack of color review

[beakanoma]

Uhhhhhh, well thank you. That's very kind of you to say! But, um, this post doesn't really have anything to do with that series. It's just a discussion topic for the community. You should probably post any reviews on the actual story.

[rotaryphones]

Hmmm. I think I've seen mostly two versions, one where Cho is Cedric's best platonic friend and therefor still his treasure, and one where the hostages are chosen by professors who don't know any better. I'm inclined to think the hostages are not chosen magically, maybe because I have a hard time believing that Hermione is the one person Krum can't live without, or Cho is that one person for Cedric. But maybe I'm just a cynic. :)

In any case, I've never thought to switch it up in the lake, mostly because I could never think of any good replacement. If Cedric is gay, and assuming he and Cho aren't BFFs, I suppose it would be another close friend that would take her place. Unless he's having a secret relationship with a boy...

You know what? I don't think I've ever read a story where Cedric was gay and in school and *already* in a relationship with someone other than Harry. Ooh, someone want to write that for me? :)

[beakanoma]

Ahh, but that's the thing! "We've taken what you'll sorely miss." It never says what they can't live without. The two key lines in the rhyme that help figure out WHY they specifically were taken are that and the one at the end, about - I'm paraphrasing here - how the thing will be gone and won't come back. I think, for Viktor, Hermione probably meant a lot because she was a girl he fancied who didn't give a fig that he was famous. That's rare, and probably contributed to his feelings for her. But sod that, this is a Harry/Cedric community, we don't need to by psychoanalyzing the Bulgarian Bonbon

[rotaryphones]

Oh, you raise a good point. "Sorely miss" isn't the end of the world I suppose. So I can see Cedric and Cho being good friends, whether that happens before or after the Ball. I have a hard time swallowing that Cedric would go with someone he hates, or that Cho is secretly some terrible person.

Now, here's my prompt in full (someone write this!):
The school is shocked when Cedric's treasure in the lake ends up being his current boyfriend, essentially outing them to everyone. This causes Harry to examine his own sexuality, blah blah blah. As Harry and Cedric grow closer, he laments having a crush on the one guy who isn't single. But what he doesn't know is that Cedric's relationship is feeling the strain of being out, or maybe it's just fizzling out as teenage romance is wont to do...in any case, it's just in time for Harry to step in. :)

[beakanoma]

I agree, I don't think Cedric would take Cho if she was awful. There's dozens of girls fawning over him. (Omigod, but can you imagine a fic where Cho *is* awful, and Cedric only takes her because he knows Harry likes her and he doesn't want his boycrush to have it off with her? It's a bit darker than you usually see Cedric, but god damn do I love it!)

Ooh, I love that prompt. That's a beautiful, beautiful prompt. Maybe Harry doesn't even need to examine his own sexuality - he could simply be gay as well. But Cedric has a boyfriend already, oh no! And even after Cedric and His Boy break up, Harry could still have trouble. Knowing you're gay and that someone you fancy is gay doesn't always make it easier to tell them how you feel.

Oh man. I would write this. I wish I could write this. I'm already five stories behind, but this fic sounds so good.