𝐒𝐎 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓! book 2

𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐃 & 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

"Lottie wait!"

"I can't stay in this room, I-I need some air," her voice was croaky, her eyes blurry, her legs felt like jelly. She could hardly contain herself.

She didn't say anything else as James called after her, desperate to talk to her, to make sure she would be okay, he needed something that would relax him in this god awful situation. He felt guilty. Kaycie was his responsibility. He was her guardian and it was up to him to make sure she was okay, yet he failed miserably, leading a child to take her own life.

He leant back against the wall, his eyes fixed on the door that Charlotte had slammed closed. He had seen the pain in her eyes, the fear, the tiniest ounce of hope that wished he was lying, and he felt so guilty for the fact that it was true. Kaycie Lloyd was indeed, dead.

"It will take time, Potter," Minerva McGonagall said softly. "Let her wrap her head around things."

꧁꧂

The second Lottie had stepped out of Dumbledore's office she felt her heart go heavy, her stomach was in knots and it hurt her chest to take deep breaths.

She walked down the long corridors heading towards the Gryffindor tower, desperate to hold in her tears before she got into bed, if anybody saw her crying it would beyond embarrassing.  Then again, she didn't really care about that anymore. Her best friend was gone, it didn't really get worse than that.

Finally reaching the portrait to the Gryffindor tower, Charlotte looked up at the Fat Lady with blurry eyes. She mumbled the password, barely managing to get through two words without her voice cracking, and the Fat Lady gave her a sympathetic look as the door swung open.

Harry was sitting on the couch, a quill in hand as he did his homework whilst waiting for Lottie. He was curious to see what McGonagall had wanted, and so he stayed up whilst waiting for her.

"Hey Charlie- oh!" He jumped up as he saw her facial expressions. "What happened?"

"Nothing Harry," she said, brushing past him, however he caught her arm, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Charlie, love, what's wrong?" Harry asked softly.

"Charlotte?" He said at the silence.

Charlotte met his eyes, her walls crumbling as she couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

"She's gone," she said, her voice cracking as she burst into tears.

"Hey hey," Harry said soothingly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him. "It's okay, you're okay."

"I can't..." she couldn't catch her breath, everything was happening all at once and Harry led her to the couch, rubbing her back.

"Deep breaths, love, it's okay."

"It's not okay! She's gone and I didn't save her," she sobbed, tears pouring down her face. "She helped me so many times and I didn't even rescue her from this! What am I going to do without her?"

"Shh it's okay," he held her close, whispering soft words into her hair as she cried.

"I'm never going to get her back," she whispered, her heart aching.

Charlotte leant her head against his chest, tears rolling down her cheeks as she cried, her breath slowing as she tried desperately to calm down, failing miserably no matter what she did.

All she could think about was Kaycie.

Kaycie, the girl who held her hand on Charlotte's first day at the orphanage.

Kaycie, the girl who always wiped a five year old Lottie's tears away when she cried for her mum and dad late at night.

Kaycie, the girl who taught Lottie to tie her shoelaces.

Kaycie, the girl who was always there as a shoulder to cry on.

Kaycie, the girl who Charlotte could talk about anything to.

She was gone.

Never coming back.

She cried even harder, she was in such awful despair and couldn't think of a single reason for anything to be okay.

"It's okay," he whispered, "deep breaths."

Charlotte was furious with herself.

How had she been so wrapped up in her own life that she hadn't noticed Kaycie was struggling?

Harry held her tighter as another sob escaped her lips, his mind racing with questions and theories, but he knew better then to ask just yet.

And so the pair stayed in a fixed position for almost a full hour, Charlotte crying her heart out as question after question ran through her mind. By the end of it, all she wanted was for the pain she felt to stop. She wanted to wake up in her bed and realise it was a dream, she wanted the closure of knowing Kaycie was alive, and she would be with Lottie in just two weeks for the Christmas holidays.

But that didn't happen.

The harsh reality of it all was that Kaycie wasn't going to return. She wasn't going to be there on Christmas morning like she always was. She wasn't going to be waiting at platform 9¾ at the end of the term. Lottie was never going to see her again.

She tried her hardest to push these thoughts away, to find comfort and to focus on the sweet boy who's arms were holding her close. As she managed to calm her breathing and calm her distraught state, she felt Harry kiss her forehead.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He murmured in her ear as he felt her relax into his touch.

"Tomorrow," she said quietly, not wanting to discuss anything in fear of crying again.

"It's okay," he whispered, "take your time."

"Thank you," she replied, smiling slightly as he kissed her nose.

The pair ended up sleeping on the couch, Harry laying back on the cushions whilst Charlotte curled into him, silent tears rolling down her cheeks as she attempted to get as much sleep as possible.

And yet all she could think about was the fact that Kaycie Lloyd was gone.

A/N

The second I created Kaycie's character I knew I would kill her off...but I did indeed grow to love her as the story went on. She played a big part in Lotties life and I love her for that <33

Kaycie's views on Charlotte's life were pretty much my readers views, and her lines were often based around your comments towards the marauders throughout the story, so I credit you all for how her character turned out!!

Qotd: favourite thing about Kaycie?

Word count: 1536