The Three Great Magical Academies

Harry did not feel embarrassed, nor did he think much of it. He looked over the snack trolley for a while, unsure where to begin.

"Two pumpkin pasties, thank you." A pleasant voice reached Harry's ears. It was as though someone had grabbed his ear and turned his head, and he saw a familiar girl.

Cho Chang noticed the boy who seemed a little rash. She only thought he looked rather dazed. Saying hello in a situation like this did not seem quite appropriate, and the girls behind her let out teasing giggles. She gave him a smile that was unclear whether it was mockery or greeting.

Harry had seen this girl before, at the Quidditch pitch, when he had run into her as she came out of someone-or-other's tent.

This girl, so full of the Eastern charm he imagined, immediately became impossible to erase from his mind.

Like the allure of a Veela, he even wondered whether he had been enchanted, since he kept thinking of that Eastern face.

Still, he did not think he had fallen for her. By his own account, it was because this girl named Cho Chang looked a little like Eli. Eli's features had something of an Eastern air to them, and his temperament always made Harry think he was an Eastern wizard.

Harry had never seen a real Eastern person, but now he felt that this girl might be the prettiest kind of Eastern girl, hmm... just as Ginny was the prettiest kind of Western girl.

He was not good at dealing with girls, much less appreciating them. Like right now, he was staring at her face without stopping, terribly rudely.

Even after the girl left with her friends, he kept staring.

"Do you need anything, lad?"

Harry seemed to snap awake. "Ah..."