ROMEO [2] ⚡ harry potter

38

"You want to wait?" She asked him, gently, moving her hands back up around his neck.

Harry had never really thought about it before, but now he supposed the answer was yes. Whether it was romanticism or traditionalism, or fear he didn't know. So, he only nodded.

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that if you do something, you have to be ready to face whatever comes with it," he explained. "And I don't think either of us are ready for accidental babies, no matter how safe we are."

Charlotte laughed, and playfully hit his bare chest. "Hey! I was an accidental baby!"

"Well, I'm glad for it, but you know what I mean," Harry laughed, and he would never grow bored of laughing with her.

"Okay," she said, still smiling. Then, she stretched out to the bedside table, picking up her MP3 player and earphones, offering one to him.

He grinned, as she began to play an Oasis song, one he recognised from when they had listened to it together, endless summers ago.

"Let's just lie down," she said, with a smile, and so they did. "I spent forever on the internet trying to find this song."

The song played and played, as she clasped his hand and the two of them stared at the ceiling, the music blaring loudly as Charlotte sighed happily beside him. It didn't take long for their breaths to line up in synch.

"All the roads we have to walk are winding," Charlotte sang in a cheesy tone, placing a soft kiss on his neck.

"Where did you learn to sing?" Harry joked, as she sang along, her voice melodic. Objectively, he knew she wasn't perfect, but because it was her, to him it was. Regardless, she beat the voice on the record.

"Don't you know I'm best friends with Whitney?" She replied, and they both laughed as the song came to an end. She paused the music, and stood up suddenly, pulling on a satin robe over the top of his t-shirt (which she had graciously stolen).

"Where are you going?"

"We are going to the beach," she grinned, gesturing to the water out the many windows. "Do you remember our first date?"

"Yeah- well no," he said quickly. "We were drunk. The bonfire- where it was warm, not freezing like the beach will be."

"One, that one doesn't count- Flynn was there," Charlotte said. He could only see her blurred silhouette now, with the darkness and the distance. He remedied this by grabbing his glasses, and walking over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Seriously, you don't remember? Here's a clue: trespassing."

"I remember I just didn't realise you counted that as the first," he said, grinning, as she took his hand and began to lead him outside. "We weren't exactly official. And breaking in to your school pool isn't the most romantic thing ever."

"Okay, one, it wasn't romantic, it was adventurous-"

"I think I've had enough adventures to last me a lifetime-"

"And two, we both liked each other and let's be honest, we weren't gonna fuck around with anyone else," Charlotte said. "You were literally my second crush."

"Who was your first?" Harry laughed. "I just wanna talk."

"You know him," Charlotte grimaced as they approached the dark beach, the pathway lit by small lights in the cracks of the stone. "Let's just say, I had a 'best friend's brother phase'."

"No!" Harry laughed as he paired two and two together. He couldn't blame her- Layth Afasy had always attracted a fair bit of attention from the opposite sex. Charlotte hid her face in her hands, as her skin turned red. "Explain!"

"Do I really have to? We were fourteen, and he was cute, and popular, and I knew him, and he was polite," Charlotte elaborated, with plenty of giggles. "And I'm sorry but have you seen Layth's face."

"Yes, I have."

"And his hair- the eyes, oh my god," Charlotte was speaking like a lovesick teenager now, as they approached the water. The two of them immediately stripped down to their underwear, ready to swim.

"I have to admit, he did win the genetic lottery," Harry laughed. "But don't worry about the whole best friend's brother thing- Zara definitely got you back for it."

"Gosh, her and Theodore were an item from day one weren't they?" Charlotte sighed. The water was cool and almost still as they entered, joining both hands so as to not drift too far from one another.

"Honestly, it came as a shock to all of us," Harry told her, thinking back to when Zara had announced that Theodore was her date to the ball, starry eyed and excited. "I didn't even know they knew each other."

"It wasn't a shock to me- even before I knew it was my Theodore she was talking about, I could tell she was hooked on him. It's so strange to think about how we're all connected in this weird pentagon- you, me, Theodore, Zara, even Layth," Charlotte said, wrapping her arms around his neck as they rotated in the water. "We owe it all to her."

Harry thought about this for a moment, pondering on their relationships with one another. Theodore was one of his closest friends now, and that never would have been without Zara. Layth, despite now being miles away from them, was the backbone of many of their friendships, yet they too, only met through his relation to Zara. And Charlotte, the love of his life- he'd never have known her, and she'd never have known him.

Perhaps that would have been best, he thought, but quickly reminded himself that if that were the case, she would never have found her brother again, and wouldn't have the family she deserves.

Then he realised she was waiting for him to say something. "It's even stranger to think that Malfoy knocked over the first domino. A pentagon isn't quite the word for it- it's more a web."

"It makes it a little easier, doesn't it?" Charlotte began. "Knowing everything happens for a reason, believing in fate. Especially after everything we've lost- to at least know we were meant to be together... When I was a kid, Dad always says that the universe has a way of organising itself, and whether that's God's will or destiny, we can always trust it to work in our favour."

"Woah," Harry said. "Richard Cardleman- baker by day, philosopher by night."

"My father has a great many secret talents," she laughed.

"Speaking of your father," Harry started, biting his lip. "I only bring this up because I know you're going to be moving out next year, for uni and stuff, and I was just wondering, would he mind if, erm- just cause you could go anywhere in the country you know and, erm- I don't really wanna go long distance again because I only just got you back and I know there's ages to go but-"

"You wanna come with me?" She asked, casually kneading his tight shoulders in the water- summarising what he had wanted to say in just a few words.

"I guess I just..." Harry sighed in defeat. "Yeah. I wanna come with you."

"You're not going back to school?" Charlotte asked him, tentatively.

"Hogwarts was always home to me," He explained. "But after everything that's happened, I'm willing to make a new one. With you, if you'd let me."

Charlotte placed a soft kiss on his lips, as they continued that way for some time, drifting in saltwater, bathing in each other's company. Regardless of their setting, to Harry, this was paradise.