ROMEO [2] ⚡ harry potter

16

SAFE
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His arms were tight around her waist, hers draped over his shoulders, fingertips tracing shapes on the nape of his neck as he murmured sweet nothings in her ear and left soft kisses on her jaw.

Harry wished they could stay like that forever, hidden in the far end of the platform, where nobody else went, together with no interruptions. But they couldn't. He'd have to board the train any minute now, she'd have to wave goodbye and they'd both have to go home.

Charlotte Cardleman smelt like vanilla that day.

"I hate this," he sighed, pulling her even closer. "I hate having to leave you."

"I hate it too," she replied.

"And I hate the countdowns. Counting the weeks, the days, the minutes I have left with you," he told her and she looked at him through her wet lashes, blue eyes sparkling in the dim light blocked by the shadow they were stood in.

"Then we should start counting down the time until we'll be together again," Lottie said, with a soft smile. "It's not long."

"I've still got that flower you gave me," Harry told her. "The first time we said goodbye. Hermione pressed it between the pages of a book and then put it a picture frame. It's weird, I know, but I just-"

She cut him off with her lips and he savoured her touch, her taste. She pulled away and told him: "It's not weird. It's sweet."

"Lottie," he breathed, trying to find a way to communicate his fears, without stirring up fear in her. Ever since the events that had happened to his girlfriend in Diagon Alley, his mind couldn't seem to be put at rest.

"It's okay, Romeo," she said, when his sentence was left uncompleted. He heard the train whistle in the background. He felt his shoulders sag. Lottie pulled away from him and left his body cold. "Off you go."

He didn't move, looking back at the scarlet steam train that was slowly pulling out of the station. Part of him wished it would speed up, so that he'd have an excuse for missing it.

"Go on!" Charlotte pushed him forwards playfully, and he turned around one last time, to kiss her on the lips before he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Harry!" Hermione Granger had opened the carriage door, holding her hand out for him to grab. "Stop being so silly! Hurry up!"

Charlotte laughed loudly, agreeing with the brunette whilst she pushed him forward again and he pouted, walking slowly backwards a few steps (not wanting to take his eyes off the beauty before him) until the train really began to speed up, and he had to run alongside it in order for his friend to haul him in.

Once he was safely inside the Hogwarts Express, he waved goodbye to a laughing blonde who stood on the platform, golden soul shining bright.

~

Lyra O'Riley had her brother's laugh as Charlotte pushed her back and forth on the swing.  Lyra's brother was a lazy teenage boy; he lounged on the concrete ground, watching them with a tube of sherbet hanging from his lips, blond hair flying messily in the wind, blue eyes mirroring Charlotte's as he smiled with glee.

"I push higher than you do," he told her, after tossing aside the empty sherbet rainbow dust tube and she stuck out a tongue in reply.

"Why not come over and prove it then?" She teased, playfully. "My arms are getting tired."

"Higher! Higher!" Lyra's hair whipped forwards and backwards as she cackled. "Flynn, come push!"

The teenager groaned in mock annoyance before jumping up from the ground and wandering over to where his sister was about to swing backwards, and pushed Charlotte out of the was with a playful nudge. She nudged him right back as Lyra soared higher up into the air after her brother pushed her.

"Weakling," Flynn said, glancing over her shoulder to where she stood, wearing the same outfit she'd worn to the platform earlier on in the day. "I hope you've got more stamina when you're playing with your boyfriend- for his sake."

"Shut up Flynn!" Charlotte glanced around at the children running around them as the blood rushed to her face. "There's kids here!"

"I see you're not denying anything,"he laughed.

"If you must know, I'm still a very good Christian thank you very much," Charlotte told him. "Fairly certain my grandma would kill me if I wasn't. Anyway, what about you- haven't you got any girls you'd be interested in playing with?"

"Not really into the whole girls thing, if I'm honest," Flynn said, matter-of-factly.

"Hmm, yeah, alright then," Charlotte answered sarcastically. "'Cause you'd totally tell me if you were into a girl."

"I think that event would surprise both of us," Flynn laughed, before lowering his voice slightly as he continued to push the swing. "Since I think I might be gay."

"Really?" Charlotte grinned, not really surprised at all. "That's cool."

Flynn lost focus at that, and the swing went smashing into him- both brother and sister would've ended up on the ground had he not regained his balance. "That's all you have to say?"

"What else is there?" Charlotte shrugged with a laugh, as he ensured his sister's safety, before she ran off to play on the seesaw with another child. "Good for you, Flynn, good for you. But if you ever get a boyfriend, he'll have to be one hundred percent approved by me or else your relationship is not valid."

Flynn didn't say anything to her, but instead let out a random sob of relief, and hugged her tightly. She laughed, glancing over his shoulder at the seesaw only to have something else catch her eye. Standing beside a large tree, was a man dressed in dark clothing, a man Charlotte had seen before, in Diagon Alley.

"You're the only person I've ever told," Flynn said shakily, holding her tightly. "I was so scared you'd hate me."

"As insufferable as you are, Flynn O'Riley, I could never hate you," she laughed, pulling away. She had to get them as far away from this park as possible. "How about we head back to yours, where we can relax a bit? I'll call my dad and ask him to bring us some treats from the café."

"That sounds great," Flynn nodded, wiping away his tears, hastily.

And as Charlotte dragged Flynn and Lyra away from the park as quickly as she could, she did call her father, but only to beg him to ask Sirius to make the Order to watch her friend, and to hurry along with the protective charms Harry had asked for.

She understood how he felt now, how scared her boyfriend was of something happening to her, because now that the strange man had seen Charlotte with the O'Rileys, she wasn't sure if they'd ever be safe again.

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Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well! I got so much fluff in this chapter- romantic fluff, and platonic fluff YAY! Such a pleasure to write I swear.

How have you all been? Good I hope. By the time the next update is out it'll be too late to say this so MERRY CHRISTMAS! I'm Muslims I don't celebrate, but I hope those who do have a wonderful time.

Qotd: which religious festivals do you celebrate?
Aotd: Eid.

-Amber.