OOP--Cho (spoilers)

[jlturner10034]

No: HPFGUIDX 61651



















I only found this list a month ago, read all I could, but sorry if
this
duplicates anything from before....

Not that I wanted Harry and Cho to end up together, but I want
to defend Cho against the accusations of being whiney and horrible
and shallow.
 Her six-month relationship with Cedric is a long one at fifteen, and
speaking from
hard experience, it is really really hard to deal with losing someone
you love
violently, suddenly, and probably especially at that age. It takes a
long time, much 
longer than people around 
you think it should.   Her parents aren't around her at school;
friends are unlikely to want to talk about it (grief, rather than
speculation about V and
death) much or have the emotional strength or depth to be of much
help to her 
working through it. 

 I always thought she'd be drawn to Harry because he was near Cedric
when he died...someone who might understand, or at least to help her
understand better.  It makes total sense to me that she'd be confused
about being 
drawn to Harry, and would mix it up with a boyfriend/girlfriend type
feeling.  How 
could she help it?  Dating Harry would bring her closer to Cedric,
let her understand
more about his death and not feel so alone.  Of course she would want
him to want
her (it'd throw anyone off their stride to have their first love
killed-- you'd want
to know you weren't some horrible jinx), of course she'd want to kiss
him, of course
she'd be enormously hurt when, to her, it seems he's rejecting her in
favor of 
Hermione. He's the only 
person who might be a further connection to Cedric (and after you
lose someone 
suddenly, you want to know ANYTHING more about them, because you see
you're never going to see them again, get new things from them, learn
more
about them...finding every little scrap out about them and their last
moments becomes really important); he's someone from whom, she hopes,
she 
doesn't have to hide this pain.  

Before OOP, I thought that maybe Harry would have enough survivor
guilt to work through that he and Cho might be useful to each other,
although
probably not long-term good for each other.  But it makes equal sense
the way JKR 
wrote it-- Harry's just fifteen now himself, completely naturally
self-involved, and
doesn't have the emotional depth, resiliance, whatever, to be able to
help Cho.  And
since he doesn't want a bond through Cedric's death, perfectly
reasonably, he doesn't
want Cho, her tears, her insecure attachment to him.  Their failed
relationship
makes sense without deciding that Cho's this rotten courage-less tear
bag.  She's 
having a rough year.  She'll learn, eventually, I imagine, whether or
not JKR writes it, 
to find strength in herself rather than in boys who can assure her
she's worth loving. 

Poor Cho.