Disclaimer: I am only borrowing the characters. Yes, you heard me. I am borrowing only.

A/N: I'm taking summer classes… that's why I haven't been able to update as much as I want to :( Well, here's the newest chapter, I hope you enjoy :D

Thank you for all the reviews!

Haha why did Cho appear at the village? Hm. Maybe she's the evil kidnapper! Or not. ;D A lot of reviewers didn't like Cho; I don't like her either lol xD So, when you guys tortured her (dumping poison ivy on her, etc), it really made my day ;)

Let's continue where I left off…

Chapter 16: An Old Acquaintance

"Cho! What are you doing here?"

The girl in question smiled softly and tilted her head back to look into Harry's green eyes. "I came here to visit my grandmother actually. She owled me a couple of weeks ago, saying how she was lonely and wanted to see her granddaughter very much." Cho let out a small giggle before continuing. "I know how my grandmother is. She's always writing to me telling me that she's bored, even though she's practically friends with everybody in this small village."

"That's weird… I don't think I've seen an Asian old lady around," Harry pondered.

"Oh, she lives near the edge of the village, about a mile from here." Cho replied, "It's quite far, that's why she doesn't go out often. But sometimes, her elderly friends would visit her. I'm glad that she has some people to talk with."

"Huh… I wonder if Severus or Draco ever went to Mrs. Chang's house…"

Cho, who had been looking at the flowers around the shop, turned around abruptly. Harry thought she was going to pass out when the dark haired girl placed a hand over her heart.

"Did you say… You said Professor Snape and Malfoy…" Cho whispered, her eyes round with something close to fright.

"Er… yeah." Harry smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "They're the owners of this shop. I'm just here to help with the cashier today." Harry jerked his head at the counter. "They're in the lab, working with… Calla Lilies I believe."

"Oh… Well, I was walking around the village square and then I saw this flower shop. I thought of buying some to bring to my grandmother's cottage." Cho said; she lowered her hand and instead, wrapped her arms around her middle. "I had no idea that Snape and Malfoy owned it."

Harry frowned at the Cho's reaction. True, back when they were still in Hogwarts, Harry knew Cho was a very timid girl. He knew first hand because of their mussed up date. Potter shuddered; that day was horribly embarrassing. But none of that explained why she seemed afraid of Draco and Severus. It's not like they did anything to her in the past…

"Cho, are you alright?" Harry asked in concern, "You seem a little pale."

Cho turned her head away, her long black hair obscuring her face. "I'm fine… just a bit shocked I guess. I never thought… I just don't have good feelings about them."

Harry's patience suddenly disappeared and now he felt nothing but being annoyed at Cho.

"Why? Is it because they were Death Eaters? You know the Ministry cleared their names when we found out they were spies!" Harry spat out bitterly, "Draco told us he never wanted to be one; his own father forced him to." Harry was shaking in anger now. "They fought on our side during the war if you don't remember clearly!"

Cho turned back to face Harry, her eyes were bright with tears threatening to fall. But they didn't.

"I-I know they're cleared… and I know they were on our side…" Cho whispered, "I… I can't forget… the war took many lives away, Harry. You know that. I can't help but think they were part of it… even though they were spies."

Harry growled, "They didn't do it on their own will. Voldemort made them! If they didn't, they would've died!"

Cho nodded and walked up to the angry man; Harry was absolutely seething. He was also quite unaware that his lovers were watching him and Cho from the lab. Cho reached up and placed a warm hand on Harry's face, her fingers brushing his hair away.

"It seemed like you really care about them. Is it true then? My grandmother told me that there's a nice, young man, a new face in the village, living with Mr. Snape and Mr. Malfoy. I didn't think about it until my grandmother told me the young man had green eyes, bright, shining emeralds." Cho lowered her hand and smiled; something in her eyes made Harry stiffen. "When she told me that, I had to see the young man for myself. I didn't really think I would actually find you here, Harry."

Harry took a step back and Cho watched him, her smile never left her face. "You-you came here to the village just to see if I was the young man? You don't have any other motives?"

There was something about the way Cho was acting that made Harry suspicious. His eyes traveled away from her face and down to her neck. There was no necklace around it. Harry was looking for that emerald pendant he saw dangling from a necklace around his kidnapper's neck.

Cho frowned and reached up to smooth her hair, "Like I said, I wasn't expecting it was you. All I wanted was to visit my grandmother." She shrugged and walked up to one of the shelves with jars of essential oils in different sizes. "Now, I just want a bouquet of your best flowers. Do you have any suggestions?" She smiled at him charmingly and Harry found himself relaxing.

It was silly of him to suspect Cho to be the mysterious person. She was way too small; there was no way she was the one that attacked him in the alleyway. Harry shook his head and walked up to Cho.

"I think we have some fresh red, scented roses."

"Why is Chang here!?" Draco snarled, "And why is she touching Harry?!" Draco's face was pressed on the door, his eyes scanning the scene on the other side of the room.

"She's just hugging him, Draco. Ms. Chang isn't doing anything inappropriate." Severus drawled, "Besides, she is one of Harry's friends. They haven't seen each other for at least three years I think."

"I don't care! She's touching our Harry!" Draco fumed and moved back from the door. He crossed his arms and stared at what was happening on the other side of the door.

"I came here to visit my grandmother actually. She owled me a couple of weeks ago…"

"See? Ms. Chang is here to visit her grandmother, she's harmless." Severus said calmly; he walked up to the door and stood next to the blond.

"That's weird… I don't think I've seen an Asian old lady around…"

"Oh, she lives near the edge of the village, about a mile from here. It's quite far…"

Draco uncrossed his arms and banged his fist on the see-through door lightly. "Did you hear that? I don't think I've seen an Asian lady either." Draco turned and looked up at Severus, "Have you?"

"I think I have, once or twice. Mrs. Chang doesn't come into the village square often." Severus answered, "Like Ms. Chang said, her grandmother does live quite far."

"Well, I still find it suspicious for her to show up here in the village all of a sudden." Draco glared at the door, "She could've visited her grandmother any time she wished, but no, she chose to come when coincidently Harry is here as well."

Both men continued to watch their lover and Cho Chang from the lab. Harry's conversation with the girl had been normal until Cho mentioned Draco and Severus. The blond let out a low growl when the young woman started stuttering about them being former Death Eaters. Snape held on to Draco's arm, preventing the younger man from charging outside. Severus smiled in satisfaction when Harry started yelling at the girl.

"Is it because they were Death Eaters? You know the Ministry cleared their names when we found out they were spies! Draco told us he never wanted to be one; his own father forced him to!"

The blond and Severus couldn't quite hear what Cho said after; she was whispering and looking at Harry with something close to fear. They saw the brunet scowling and shaking in anger.

"They didn't do it on their own will. Voldemort made them! If they didn't, they would've died!"

"I say Harry really cares about us," Draco said smugly, "God, if only Chang wasn't out there right now… I would go outside and snog the daylights out of Potter."

"You better not or Harry will know we've been spying on them." Severus sniped, "The last thing we want is for Harry to be angry at us."

"Fine, whatever." Draco mumbled; he was about to look away when he saw Cho reaching up and cupping Harry's face.

And Potter let her!

Severus rolled his eyes when he heard Draco growling again. "Stop it, Draco."

"Don't tell me you're not feeling what I'm feeling!" Draco hissed, "How dare she touch Harry with her dirty paws!"

"You know, I'm not even going to grace you with an answer to that statement." Snape shook his head. Severus walked over to one of the lab tables and took a bunch of Calla Lilies. He took out his wand and made a bouquet out of them. "Take this outside and put it where the roses are. I'm sure Ms. Chang is here to buy some flowers if what I'm hearing right now is correct."

"… I just want a bouquet of your best flowers. Do you have any suggestions?"

Draco snatched the bouquet from Severus' hand and yanked the door open. He stomped out and glared at Cho, who was looking at the scented roses. Harry looked up when he heard the door opening; he grinned when he saw Draco walking towards them, a bunch of flowers in his hand.

"Draco! Oh, those flowers are lovely!" Harry praised and he waltzed over to his blond lover. Cho hesitantly followed Harry and stayed a few steps behind them. "Are they for me?" Harry asked jokingly, taking the bouquet from Malfoy.

"No, we had some leftover and Severus asked me to bring these out to sell as a bouquet." Draco smiled as Harry began smelling the Calla Lilies.

The blond smirked when Harry looked up from the flowers, mock pouting; Draco bent down and kissed Harry on the tip of his nose. He looked up through his half lidded eyes and found Cho looking uncomfortable. Draco gently took the bouquet from Harry and took two steps forward to Cho.

"Are you looking for flowers, Ms. Chang?" Draco asked politely; she was a costumer after all.

Harry was clinging on Draco's arms; he looked shocked when Draco addressed Cho.

"You know who she is?" Harry asked; Draco scoffed and nodded.

"I know her, remember her face."

Cho looked between the blond and Harry and then cleared her throat. "Uh… Yes, I'm looking for something to take to my grandmother." Cho replied, a small smile appearing on her face. "The ones you have in your hands… those are lovely. What are they?"

Seeing the almost scared look on Cho's face made Draco sigh. Severus was right; there was no way in hell that this girl could be Harry's kidnapper. Cho Chang was too small, skinny, and didn't seem like she had a vast amount of magical energy in her. Right now, she looked scared enough to leave the shop and never come back. Maybe it was just pure coincidence.

"These are Calla Lilies. If you are looking for something that smells divine, then these would be a great option." Draco said, sounding quite professional. Cho smiled lightly at him before taking the flowers gently away from Draco's hands.

Cho pressed her nose into the soft petals of the lilies and inhaled. A light, sweet scent assaulted her nose. She smiled wider and held the bouquet closer to her chest.

"I think I'll take this bouquet. You're right Mal—Draco, these are marvelous." Cho commented.

"Well, I would never steer a costumer wrong," Draco said airily, "Come to the counter, I'll wrap the bouquet up for you." Draco bowed lightly and gestured to the counter; Cho let out a small chuckle and followed the blond.

Harry snorted and walked after them; he was surprised that Draco was acting so nice to Cho. He knew his blond lover wasn't really that close to the girl. Hell, Draco probably only knew Cho from Quidditch matches. But then again, they weren't in Hogwarts anymore, and they were all grown-ups now. It was time to put the past behind.

Harry stood to the side of Draco, watching the blond wrap up the bouquet with pink tissue paper. The brunet smiled goofily, watching as the long fingers work themselves to tie a bow around the stems of the Calla Lilies. Harry was mostly in a trance until Draco handed the bundle to Cho, who paid for the lovely flowers.

"It was nice seeing you guys again," Cho said as both Draco and Harry walked her to the door. "I'll be staying with my grandmother for the week… Maybe we'll see each other soon." Cho hugged the flowers to her bosom and smiled above the flower petals. "I haven't seen anybody from Hogwarts since… the war." She let out a short laugh, "I'm just glad we're all okay."

Harry leaned forward and kissed Cho on the cheek; Draco let out a huff and turned his head.

"Maybe you three can come to my grandmother's house and have dinner." Cho suggested, "I'm sure she'll love that."

"I'm not sure if we--" Draco started but was interrupted when Harry slapped his hand over his mouth. "Mmmphhrrr!"

Harry glared at the blond then turned to smile at Cho. "What Draco meant was that we would love to go over to have dinner with you and your grandma."

Cho's brown eyes darted between Harry and the glaring blond. She chuckled and nodded. "I'll tell her… How does tomorrow night sound?"

"That's perfect," Harry said cordially. "What time would you like for us to come over?"

"Seven is good." Cho answered; she pushed the front door open and stepped out. "I'll see you guys then!" The door closed behind her and the bell jingled.

Harry removed his hand with a yelp when Draco tried to bite the flesh of his palm.

"Watch it!" Harry cried; he laughed when Draco stuck his tongue out at him childishly. "Now now… Just how old are you, Draco?"

"I'm old enough to beat your arse!" Draco fumed, "Why did you agree to have dinner with Chang?!"

"I haven't seen her for three years Draco!" Harry said loudly, "And it's just a casual dinner, there is nothing wrong with that." He smirked when Draco scowled at him, "Where's Severus? Is he still working on the oils?"

"Oh… Yeah, he is. We should tell him about the dinner." Draco emphasized on the last word. "He doesn't like surprises."

Harry rolled his eyes and walked to the back of the shop. "I'll tell him… It's not that bad is it? It's just dinner with an old friend."

Draco only hummed in reply. Before Harry had the chance to open the door, Severus stepped out, holding two small vials of pink oil.

"There's no need. You both were talking loud enough for me to hear in the lab." Snape drawled, setting the vials on the counter. "And Harry's right, it's just a dinner." Severus sent a sharp look at Draco.

The blond threw his hands up in surrender. "I swear both of you are against me!"

"I'm not, but Harry might be." Snape sneered; Harry laughed audibly, clutching his middle.

"I bloody knew it." Draco grumbled.

Across the street, opposite of the floral parlor, a person wearing a hooded cloak stood watching the three people inside the shop.

"You can't escape me, Potter. We have some catching up to do, you and I." The cloaked person said, a sinister smile appearing on the shrouded face. "You think you can escape me? Think again…"

The smile widened into a feral grin; long fingers played with the green teardrop pendant.

"I can track you down, no matter where you are." A hand was waved in front of the pendant, making it glow. "That scar I gave you… You can't get rid of it."

Brown eyes glared at the brunet, who was talking with a blond and a raven-haired man. The person touched the pendant, making it glow a little bit brighter. The shadowed being chuckled as Harry idly scratched his chest.

"It burns doesn't it, Potter? Well, that was my gift to you. It is my way of finding you."

The hand let go of the pendant and pulled the cloak tighter around the body. "I'll see you… soon enough."

Black cloak blended right in with the shadows and the person was gone.

"Harry… Why are you scratching your chest?" Draco asked as Harry absently rubbed his shirt covered chest.

"I don't know… it just started itching… and it burns a little." Harry frowned, "It's the scar… it felt warm for a second."

Harry turned away from a concerned Draco and Severus. Green eyes stared out the shop windows. He saw nothing but a dark alleyway across the street. Harry had thought he felt a faint vibration from that direction. He could sense magic being used, no matter how strong or weak it was. This was why he was sure there was someone out there just now… but now, it's gone.

'… It can't be that… It can't be.'

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Sorry that this took so long to be updated! I've been busy with school and studying… and updating my other story ;x Yes I know this chapter was on the short side… Please forgive me! D:

Thanks for reading! :D