Harry Potter 05 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

must,’ said Hermione urgently. ‘But will you come?’
    ‘Well … all right, but why?’
    ‘I haven’t got time to tell you now, I’ve got to answer this quickly.’
    And she hurried out of the Great Hall, the letter clutched in one hand and a piece of toast in the other.
    ‘Are you coming?’ Harry asked Ron, but he shook his head, looking glum.
    ‘I can’t come into Hogsmeade at all; Angelina wants a full day’s training. Like it’s going to help; we’re the worst team I’ve ever seen. You should see Sloper and Kirke, they’re pathetic, even worse than I am.’ He heaved a great sigh. ‘I dunno why Angelina won’t just let me resign.’
    ‘It’s because you’re good when you’re on form, that’s why,’ said Harry irritably.
    He found it very hard to be sympathetic to Ron’s plight, when he himself would have given almost anything to be playing in the forthcoming match against Hufflepuff. Ron seemed to have noticed Harry’s tone, because he did not mention Quidditch again during breakfast, and there was a slight frostiness in the way they said goodbye to each other shortly afterwards. Ron departed for the Quidditch pitch and Harry, after attempting to flatten his hair while staring at his reflection in the back of a teaspoon, proceeded alone to the Entrance Hall to meet Cho, feeling very apprehensive and wondering what on earth they were going to talk about.
    She was waiting for him a little to the side of the oak front doors, looking very pretty with her hair tied back in a long ponytail. Harry’s feet seemed to be too big for his body as he walked towards her and he was suddenly horribly aware of his arms and how stupid they must look swinging at his sides.
    ‘Hi,’ said Cho slightly breathlessly.
    ‘Hi,’ said Harry.
    They stared at each other for a moment, then Harry said, ‘Well – er – shall we go, then?’
    ‘Oh – yes …’
    They joined the queue of people being signed out by Filch, occasionally catching each other’s eye and grinning shiftily, but not talking to each other. Harry was relieved when they reached the fresh air, finding it easier to walk along in silence than just stand about looking awkward. It was a fresh, breezy sort of a day and as they passed the Quidditch stadium Harry glimpsed Ron and Ginny skimming along over the stands and felt a horrible pang that he was not up there with them.
    ‘You really miss it, don’t you?’ said Cho.
    He looked round and saw her watching him.
    ‘Yeah,’ sighed Harry. ‘I do.’
    ‘Remember the first time we played against each other?’ she asked him.
    ‘Yeah,’ said Harry, grinning. ‘You kept blocking me.’
    ‘And Wood told you not to be a gentleman and knock me off my broom if you had to,’ said Cho, smiling reminiscently. ‘I heard he got taken on by Pride of Portree, is that right?’
    ‘Nah, it was Puddlemere United; I saw him at the World Cup last year.’
    ‘Oh, I saw you there, too, remember? We were on the same campsite. It was really good, wasn’t it?’
    The subject of the Quidditch World Cup carried them all the way down the drive and out through the gates. Harry could hardly believe how easy it was to talk to her – no more difficult, in fact, than talking to Ron and Hermione – and he was just starting to feel confident and cheerful when a large gang of Slytherin girls passed them, including Pansy Parkinson.
    ‘Potter and Chang!’ screeched Pansy, to a chorus of snide giggles. ‘Urgh, Chang, I don’t think much of your taste … at least Diggory was good-looking!’
    The girls sped up, talking and shrieking in a pointed fashion with many exaggerated glances back at Harry and Cho, leaving an embarrassed silence in their wake. Harry could think of nothing else to say about Quidditch, and Cho, slightly flushed, was watching her feet.
    ‘So … where d’you want to go?’ Harry asked as they entered Hogsmeade. The High Street was full of students ambling up and down, peering into the shop windows and messing about together on the pavements.
    ‘Oh … I don’t mind,’ said Cho, shrugging. ‘Um … shall we just have a look in the shops or something?’
    They wandered towards Dervish and Banges. A large poster had been stuck up in the window and a few Hogsmeaders were looking at it. They moved aside when Harry and Cho approached and Harry found himself staring once more at the pictures of the ten escaped Death Eaters. The poster, ‘By Order of the Ministry of Magic’, offered a