- Cho: "That was a really horrible trick of Hermione Granger's. She should've told us she'd jinxed that list-"
- Harry: "I think it was a brilliant idea."
- Cho: "Oh yes, I forgot- of course, if it was darling Hermione's idea-"
- Harry: "Don't start crying again."
- — Cho and Harry Potter arguing[src]
Cho Chang (born c. 1978 or 1979) was a student at Hogwarts who sorted into Ravenclaw House. She was a Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and a popular student. In Cho's fifth year, she began dating Cedric Diggory while he was a Champion in the Triwizard Tournament. Cedric became one of the first casualties of the Second Wizarding War, as he was murdered by Peter Pettigrew on the orders of Lord Voldemort in June of 1995. His death greatly upset Cho, and made her determined to fight against the recently returned Dark Lord. In her sixth year, she joined Dumbledore's Army against her parents' wishes, and began dating Harry Potter. However, Cho's best friend Marietta Edgecombe betrayed the D.A., and Cho and Harry's relationship fell apart. Cho remained loyal to her school and to the D.A., returning after she had graduated to participate in the Battle of Hogwarts. She survived the war and eventually married a Muggle.
Biography
Early Life
Cho was born into a wizarding family[1], the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chang. She became a great Quidditch fan at the age of six, and cheered for the Tutshill Tornados.
In 1990, at the age of eleven, Cho began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Ravenclaw house. She soon tried out for her house Quidditch team, and attained the position of Seeker.
Fourth Year
During a Gryffindor-Ravenclaw Quidditch match in her fourth year, Cho first met Harry Potter, who was a year below her in Hogwarts and a fellow Seeker. Harry noticed she was very pretty and she made his stomach "feel funny". Cho's impression of Harry was favourable, and she later wished Harry good luck before Gryffindor had a Quidditch match against Slytherin. Harry went bright red.[2]
Cho and Cedric dancing at the Yule Ball.
Fifth Year
- Harry: "I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go to the ball with me..."
- Cho: "Oh. Harry, I'm sorry but someone's already asked me. And well, I've, I've said I'll go with him."
- Harry: "Okay, great, good, fine, great, no problem."
- Cho: "Harry! I really am... sorry."
- — Harry asks Cho to the Yule Ball[src]
Cho being saved from the lake by Cedric.
In the summer of 1994, Cho went to the Quidditch World Cup, and exchanged greetings with Harry, who had a crush on Cho by this time. She was friendly towards Harry, but probably did not return his romantic feelings, as she accepted when Cedric Diggory asked her to be his date to the Yule Ball. Cedric was a year above Cho and a champion in the Triwizard Tournament. Despite this, Cho refused to treat Harry poorly, as many others did because the Goblet of Fire had also selected him. She refused to wear one of Draco Malfoy's "Support Cedric Diggory/Potter Stinks" badges, a fact for which Harry was grateful. He asked Cho to attend the Yule Ball with him, and she let him down kindly; he still spent most of the ball watching Cho, who soon began dating Cedric. She was the "thing" Cedric would miss most and thus became his hostage during the Second Task of the Tournament; employed the Bubble-Head Charm to save her from Hogwarts' lake.[3]
That June, Cedric was murdered by Peter Pettigrew on Lord Voldemort's orders. Cho was devastated.
Sixth Year
- "Obviously, she is feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing Harry at all... And she probably can't work out what her feelings are towards Harry anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that's all very mixed up and painful."
- — Hermione Granger on Cho[src]
Cho training with the D.A.
Cedric's death made Cho believe Harry's claim that Voldemort had returned, despite the Ministry of Magic and Daily Prophet branding him a liar or a nutter. She sought Harry out several times and attempted to engage him in conversation, probably motivated by both a desire to learn the circumstances of Cedric's death and a growing fondess for Harry. Unfortunately for Harry, these encounters did not go well. The first time, Cho found him covered with Stinksap that was accidentally let off by Neville Longbottom's Mimbulus Mimbletonia. The second time, she ended up arguing with Ron Weasley about Quidditch teams. On the third try, when Cho entered the Owlery to send a letter to her mother for her birthday while Harry was there, she defended him from a suspicious Argus Filch.
When invited by Hermione Granger to join Dumbledore's Army, Cho went against the advice of her parents, who wished her to remain on Dolores Umbridge's good side. She also brought her friend and fellow Ravenclaw Marietta Edgecombe along, despite the other girl's reluctance. Cho joined because she was determined to fight against Lord Voldemort after what happened to Cedric in the previous year. As a D.A. student, however, she had her ups and downs. At first, she got nervous and performed her spells poorly whenever Harry was nearby, indicating that her romantic feelings for him had grown. Later, though, she was able to conjure a corporeal Patronus in the shape of a swan.
Cho initiated a kiss with Harry under some mistletoe shortly before Christmas after a D.A. session. However, she soon ended up in tears, confused and guilty because of her feelings for Harry and Cedric. Despite this, she and Harry went on a date in the wizarding village of Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day. Cho's continuing grief over Cedric's death, her ill-founded jealousy over Harry's friendship with Hermione (who, ironically, tried to advise Harry on how to handle girls), and Harry's overall inexperience with girls soured the experience.
Harry and Cho share a kiss.
- Harry: "Look, let's not talk about Cedric right now...let's talk about something else."
- Cho: "I thought, I thought you'd u-u-understand! I need to talk about it! Surely you n-need to talk about it too! I mean, you saw it happen, d-didn't you?"
- Harry: "Well - I have talked about it, to Ron and Hermione, but -"
- Cho: "Oh, you'll talk to Hermione Granger! But you won't talk to me! P-perhaps it would be best if we just...just p-paid and you went and met up with Hermione G-Granger, like you obviously want to!"
- — Harry and Cho on their date[src]
Later in the year, Cho's friend Marietta betrayed the D.A. to Umbridge, and, as a result, was afflicted by the jinx performed by Hermione on the piece of parchment, signed earlier by all members of the D.A. The hex made purple pustules spell "SNEAK" across her face that could not be removed, something Cho considered a "horrible trick". When Harry scorned Marietta for the betrayal and Cho defended her, their relationship went downhill.[4]
Seventh Year
Cho Chang
- Ron Weasley: "Michael - but - But you were going out with him!"
- Ginny Weasley: "Not anymore. He didn't like Gryffindor beating Ravenclaw at Quidditch and got really sulky, so I ditched him and he ran off to comfort Cho instead."
- — Harry, Ron and Ginny discussing Cho dating Michael Corner[src]
At the beginning of her seventh and final at Hogwarts, Cho caught a glimpse of Harry on the Hogwarts Express. She did not speak with him, instead hiding back in her compartment with Marietta. The two had almost no interaction for the rest of the year; according to Harry, the two of them simply "fell apart".[5] That year, Harry began dating Ginny Weasley while Cho dated Michael Corner[4], who ironically had previously dated Ginny and who offered Cho comfort over the trying events of her fifth and sixth years.
After Hogwarts
- Cho: "If you’d like to see what the diadem’s supposed to look like, I could take you up to our common room and show you, Harry. Ravenclaw’s wearing it in her statue."
- Ginny: "No, Luna will take Harry, won’t you, Luna?"
- — Cho offers to help Harry during the Battle of Hogwarts[src]
Despite a soured romantic relationship with Harry, Cho demonstrated her loyalty by reuniting with other members of Dumbledore's Army to join the battle against Voldemort and the Death Eaters when they attacked Hogwarts. She appeared amicable and friendly with Harry, offering to lead him to the Ravenclaw Common Room in search of Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. She seemed disappointed when this was fiercely denied by Ginny, which indicates that she no longer had any hard feelings for Harry.[6]
Cho later married a Muggle.[7] It is unknown if they had any children.
Personality and Traits
Cho in her fifth year.
- Ron: "You’re well out of it, mate. I mean, she’s quite good-looking and all that, but you want someone a bit more cheerful."
- Harry: "She’s probably cheerful enough with someone else."
- — Ron Weasley and Harry Potter on Cho[src]
Cho was a very attractive girl with long black hair and brown eyes, of Chinese descent. She was both an academic, having been sorted into Ravenclaw house, and an athlete, playing Seeker for her house's Quidditch team and a big fan of the game from a young age. She appears to have been a popular student, with a large group of friends and many boys who admired her.[4]
Cho was perceived by Harry to be a very emotional person, though it is uncertain if she would have acted the same way if not for the unfortunate events of her fifth and sixth years. Harry himself supposed that she would probably be more cheerful in the company of someone who didn't make her think of Cedric's murder.[4] Cho's somewhat dramatic behaviour with Harry, as well as her jealousy towards Hermione, were probably fueled by Harry not wanting to discuss Cedric with her and his inexperience with girls, which led him to not be very tactful. Cho demonstrated that she is a very loyal person by sticking by her friend Marietta Edgecombe even when Harry was furious with her for it, and by later returning to Hogwarts to support her ex-boyfriend, her school, and Dumbledore's Army.[6]
Relationships
Cho and Cedric at the Yule Ball.
Cedric Diggory
In her fifth year, Cho was asked to the Yule Ball by Cedric Diggory. The two subsequently began dating. Because Cho was the person Cedric would miss most, she served as his hostage during the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament.[3] Cho was devastated when Cedric was murdered that June. The following year was very difficult for her; in addition to missing Cedric, she was the subject of gossip regarding her burgeoning romance with Harry Potter, the only witness to Cedric’s murder who was widely regarded as being either a liar or a nutter for claiming that Lord Voldemort had returned. Cho grieved to the point of crying in the bathroom frequently, and her Quidditch-playing abilities suffered.[4] This was probably compounded by a lack of closure, as the only person who knew what had happened to Cedric, Harry, did not want to discuss it with Cho.
Harry Potter
Harry helping Cho learn a spell in the D.A.
Harry Potter developed a crush on Cho when she was in her fourth year, and asked her to the Yule Ball in the next, though she had already agreed to attend with Cedric. In her sixth year, Cho began to return Harry’s feelings, though she felt somewhat guilty for doing so. She joined Dumbledore's Army and became nervous whenever Harry was nearby. They shared a kiss under the mistletoe around Christmas and went on a date in Hogsmeade on Valentine’s Day. However, Cho’s feelings for Harry were confused because of her continuing grief over Cedric’s death and Harry’s discomfort with discussing it. She also became jealous of Harry’s relationship with his friend Hermione Granger, with whom Harry did discuss such things. Harry, who was inexperienced with girls, found Cho’s behaviour very confusing, especially when she tried to make him jealous and to gauge his feelings for her by mentioning that Roger Davies had asked her out. Thus, their relationship was already strained when Marietta Edgecombe betrayed the D.A. and Cho stood up for her, angering Harry.[4] After that, their relationship simply “fell apart”.[5]
Michael Corner.
Michael Corner
At the end of her sixth year, after the end of her relationship with Harry, Cho began dating Michael Corner. Michael’s ex-girlfriend, Ginny Weasley, said that this happened shortly after she chucked Michael when he became sulky over a Ravenclaw-Gryffindor Quidditch match. Michael seems to have offered Cho comfort.[5] They may have continued to date even after Cho graduated from Hogwarts, as she went to sit by his side in the Room of Requirement upon returning to the school for the final battle.[6]
Marietta Edgecombe
Marietta Edgecombe was one of Cho’s closest friends and a fellow Ravenclaw. Marietta joined Dumbledore's Army mainly because Cho wanted her to; she was uncomfortable with opposing Dolores Umbridge because her mother worked at the Ministry. When Marietta betrayed the D.A. because of this, Cho defended her to Harry, pointing out that Marietta was afraid for her mother’s job.[4] Cho’s loyalty to and sympathy for Marietta was the death knell in Cho’s romance with Harry.
Etymology
Cho is a Chinese, Japanese, and Korean name. As a Japanese name, it is derived from the word chou, “butterfly”.[8]. Chang is a common Chinese family name meaning “free” or “unhindered”. Also in Chinese, chou chang means “melancholy”.[9] This may allude to Cho's fragile emotional state following Cedric's murder.
Behind the scenes
Cho being held hostage by the Inquisitorial Squad and Dolores Umbridge in the Order of the Phoenix film.
- Cho was portrayed in the fourth and fifth films by Scottish actress Katie Leung, who portrayed her as a Scot, although this is never mentioned in the books.
- In one scene of Order of the Phoenix, Cho asks Harry if he remembers playing Quidditch against her in "the third year"; her use of the article "the" implies that the pair are in the same year. But in Prisoner of Azkaban, it is established that Cho is a year above Harry.
- In the Order of the Phoenix film, the character of Marietta Edgecombe does not appear, and instead it is Cho who betrays the D.A. under the influence of Veritaserum.
- Cho's known Quidditch record against Gryffindor is 0-3. This includes two straight defeats playing head to head against Ginny Weasley.
Notes and references
- ↑ While her blood status is never stated, Cho claimed to have been a Quidditch fan since she was six, implying that she is not Muggle-born.
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- ↑ JK Rowling New Orleans book tour report
- ↑ Behind the Name:Cho
- ↑ MuggleNet Name Origins