Of all Harry Potter characters who fought alongside Harry to defend Hogwarts in The Deathly Hallowssome are praised for their heroism, while others are simply lost in the chaos. The Battle of Hogwarts had been brewing for seven books, finally inevitable after Harry and his friends destroyed enough Horcruxes to cause an upset. However, once the battle began, it’s no secret that many beloved characters were lost forever, including Remus Lupine and Fred Weasley. There are also many notable characters who fought bravely with Harry without recognition after the war.
JK Rowling faced the challenge of tying up all the loose ends Harry Potterleaving some characters without adequate closure. One such character is Cho Chang, who played a significant role in Harry’s development. While It is confirmed that she survived the Battle of HogwartsNeither the books nor the films explicitly detail what happened to her afterwards. Cho’s story was largely sidelined after her romantic storyline with Harry fizzled, but its importance to the narrative makes the lack of resolution frustrating. Knowing more about her life after the series’ conclusion would have added the depth her character desperately needed.
Cho Chang survives the battle of Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
JK Rowling says this without saying it
Cho proved her relevance in the series when she joined Dumbledore’s Army in The Order of the Phoenix; an interesting detail for her character that revealed how much bravery and courage could be buried behind such a shy personality. This bravery that Cho demonstrated set her apart from other Hogwarts students, marking her from an early age as a loyal supporter of Harry and defender of her school. As the story progresses, Cho is a presence in The Deathly Hallows, defending Hogwarts from Voldemort’s forces. The eighth film implies that Cho lived through the war, but never goes into detail about its ending.
Cho has thoroughly trained her Defense Against the Dark Arts skills and it would have been ideal to see her use these skills against real threats.
JK Rowling never mentions Cho among the war’s victims, strongly suggesting that she survived the battle. While this is a victory for the prosecutor and Cho herself, JK Rowling Really Missed the Opportunity to Give Cho a Moment of Resolutionas a cutscene showing your actions during or after battle. Cho has thoroughly trained in her Defense Against the Dark Arts skills, and it would make sense to see her use those skills against real threats. This kind of scene could have provided satisfying closure and solidified her as more than a plot device, showing that she went through her own hardships and chose to stay with Hogwarts anyway.
Cho Chang found new love after the Harry Potter series
Cho’s love story goes far beyond the walls of Hogwarts
When first introduced into the narrative during Harry Potter and the Spruce Gobletand, Cho was just a romantic interest for Cedric Diggory who added tension to an already intense plot. Later, after Cedric’s death, Cho finds herself in the midst of grief and confusion as her brief romance with Harry begins. Instead of his growth becoming a plot device in the books, her romance with the Chosen One ends abruptly and her narrative takes a backseat. However, additional franchise materials, such as Pottermore, reveal new Harry Potter tradition, that Cho found love again and married a Muggle graduate.
Cho finding love after her story at Hogwarts came to an end symbolizes what likely happened to many minor characters, like Seamus Finnigan or Dean Thomas. Cho and these other characters from Harry Potter it is assumed that the series moved on after the war. Even a scene showing Cho moving on with her life would have made her arc feel much more complete. However, Cho’s supposed ending speaks to her character and proves that she had a unique aptitude for peace and an ability to bridge the magical and non-magical worlds.
The Harry Potter books and films do not do Cho Chang’s character or fate justice
Cho Chang deserves a better ending than the one she got
While Cho’s post-war scenes definitely gave her character a better sense of closure, she arguably deserves even more fleshing out. At the end of the series, it becomes clear that Rowling didn’t really prioritize giving her a fleshed-out story after her relationship with Harry ended. This led to criticism of Cho’s treatment in the story. As a notoriously underdeveloped character, even after having a significant impact on Harry’s journey, she still never had any arc of her own despite being very interesting; this leads to the criticism that she is just a device to advance Harry’s story.
Cho always deserved a more developed arc in the Harry Potter series. For example, after Cedric’s death and her romance with Harry, Cho is reduced to a minor supporting role, despite her emotional complexity and her ties to pivotal events throughout the story. Cho is always close to the main storybut he never quite reached it, making his lost potential seem even more evident. Much more could have been revealed about how Cedric’s death shaped the rest of her life, but with these questions left unanswered, Cho is stripped of her individuality, impact on the narrative, and relatability.