Purple Rain.

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

(Y/n) had slept in after Astronomy. She was so exhausted she had forgotten to set an alarm and by extension, she was close to missing breakfast. She was in the middle of getting on a grey pair of joggers over her black lowcut long-sleeved bodysuit, when Cho had barged into the room, looking quite frantic. She gave (Y/n) a short greeting before scrambling over to her bed and taking out a wrapped parcel from under it.

"Hey, wanna deliver something with me?" Cho asked breathlessly. She, unintentionally, matched (Y/n) with a tight-fitting white shirt that had buttons and the same-styled grey joggers as (Y/n)'s.

"Mhm," (Y/n) hummed, grabbing two letters from off her desk before grabbing her Ravenclaw letterman jacket that had her last name and number on it. She slipped the letters into her pockets. Cho shot (Y/n) a grin before going to her wardrobe, grabbing her own letterman jacket, and getting it on due to the pair needing to go outside to get to the Owlery. (Y/n) grabbed a mug in which she planned on just making tea. Having previously packed their Quidditch gear, both girls grabbed their duffle bags and head out of their dorm together.
When the two reached the kitchens and were welcomed generously by the house-elves, Cho seemed to catch onto (Y/n)'s lack of care for breakfast. It was with much argument that Cho finally forced (Y/n) to at least get a bowl— cup of cereal. (Y/n) casually ate from her mug, following Cho up to the Owlery. Upon opening the door, both Cho and (Y/n) jumped, not expecting anyone else to be up in the Owlery.

"Hi," Harry greeted.

"Oh... hi," Cho said breathlessly. "I didn't think anyone would be up here this early... I only remembered five minutes ago, it's my mum's birthday." She held up the parcel in her hands.

"Right," said Harry. His brain seemed to have jammed. He wanted to say something funny and interesting but could not find the words to do so. "Nice day," he said, gesturing to the windows. His insides seemed to shrivel with embarrassment. The weather. He was talking about the weather.
The hand bringing (Y/n)'s spoon to her mouth stopped moving and she turned her head, laughing into her shoulder. She was deeply amused by the fact Harry could get so nervous around Cho yet remain so confident around (Y/n).

"Yeah," said Cho, looking around for a suitable owl. "Good Quidditch conditions. I haven't been out all week, have you?" She faltered momentarily upon remembering Harry shared detention with (Y/n) and (Y/n) could practically feel Cho's grimace.

"No," said Harry.
Cho selected one of the school barn owls. She coaxed it down onto her arm where it held out an obliging leg so that she could attach her parcel.

"Hey, has Gryffindor got a new Keeper yet?" Cho asked.

"Yeah," said Harry. "It's my friend Ron Weasley, d'you know him?"

"The Tornado-hater?" said Cho rather coolly. "Is he any good?"

"Yeah," said Harry, "I think so. I didn't see his tryout, though, I was in detention."
Cho looked up, the parcel only half-attached to the owl's leg.

"That Umbridge woman's foul," Cho said in a low voice. "Putting you in detention just because you told the truth about how— how—" She threw a nervous look at (Y/n) as though expecting her to grow closed off. "How he died. Everyone heard about it, it was all over the school. You were really brave standing up to her like that."
Harry perked up as though inflated by Cho saying she found him brave. Harry's mind raced with more ways to hear Cho's words or comfort or words of praise but as soon as those thoughts occurred, the Owlery door opened again.

Filch, the caretaker, came wheezing into the room. There were purple patches on his sunken, veined cheeks, his jowls were aquiver and his thin grey hair dishevelled; he had obviously run here. Mrs. Norris came trotting at his heels, gazing up at the owls overheard and mewing hungrily. There was a restless shifting of wings from above, and a large brown owl snapped his beak in a menacing fashion.
The moment (Y/n) saw Filch had come through the door, she lowered her cup. Cho moved closer to block it from view and prevent the whole lot of them from getting in trouble.