Current mood:	accomplished
Current music:	Simpsons
Entry tags:	cho chang/ginny weasley, fanfiction, harry potter, rated pg

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Era: Ginny Weasley/Cho Chang
Title: How Cho Got Her Groove Back
Completion: Complete
X-posted: none
Words: 570
Rating: PG
Pairings: Ginny/Cho
The Prompt: “Love is not about changing people to fit our own image; it is about letting them be themselves.”
Author's Notes: Written for my Thousand Paths Challenge.

Cho had decided things were over with Harry as soon as they left the room of requirement that winter. She had been wrong in thinking things could work with him. He had never seen her like Cedric had. She knew she was only his first crush. She had known it was temporary. It still hurt though. It hurt he only saw her Quidditch abilities. It hurt their date had been so awkward. Most of all it had hurt her to see the look of disgust on his face when their kiss was finished. She had been his first and still it had been inadequate.

For weeks she had been upset. Her holiday break was spent trying to build her self-esteem back to some semblance of what it once was. When she returned to school her housemates had been upset to find out her Quidditch skills were worse than before. She was distant and her friends no longer wanted to be around her. Who could blame them? She was not a boy and not a girl. Cedric had been the only one to see who she really was- A girl who enjoyed Quidditch. She was not a tomboy. She enjoyed what the other girls did. Why was it so hard for others to see?

Cho’s shoulders hunched over and her body shook with each silent sob. Myrtle was cruelly watching her. She knew it. She could feel the stare on the back of her neck, raising the hairs as if a chill had blown in the room. Myrtle was mocking her with silence. She was cruel. A cruel, mean ghost. A particularly harsh heave tore her apart breaking the silence with one loud cry. Stupid Myrtle. A warm hand rested on her head, stroking her long black hair in an attempt to quiet her. Not Myrtle.
“Myrtle?” Cho managed to speak through the salt on her lips.
“It’s okay. She’s upset you outcried her.” The voice held an edge of humour, making her look up. Ginny stared down at her, smiling. Her hand slid from the top of Cho’s head down her dark locks to rest on the back of her neck. Cho’s lips parted, but no words could come out. She wanted to tell Ginny everything. She knew what it was like to have Harry’s rejection. She knew what it was like.
“Hey, things get better. Cedric wouldn’t want you crying. At least, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t. Anyways, if you don’t do something you realise my house is going to be beating yours this Saturday, ri-?”
Cho had no idea why she acted that way. She had no idea as to why her lips were pressing down on Ginny’s or why her hands were collected on the other girl’s back, pulling her against her own frame. All she knew was Ginny was kissing back. Not a small, tentative kiss like Harry’s. Their lips were parted and Cho could swear they were sharing the same breath. When they parted she looked to the other girl, preparing herself for a look of disgust. All she saw was Ginny’s eyes squinted because she was smiling so big.
“Feeling better?” It was so normal… Cho doubled over, her hands dropping to her stomach as she burst into giggles.
“Freak.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”