ROMEO [2] ⚡ harry potter

27

BITTER DREAMS
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Harry Potter should not have been there, in the middle of London at two AM, standing in a red telephone box, hidden by his Invisibility Cloak. His hands hovered by the phone as he took a deep breath. He had dialled the number, now he just had to make the call.

The previous evening he had gotten news, via Potterwatch, that the Order had smuggled two 'unnamed' prisoners from Malfoy Manor, one being a witch, the other being a muggle. He had known instantly, and burst into laughter, rambling the news to Ron and Hermione who both smiled and they celebrated with red wine that Kreacher brought up from the kitchen.

Harry thought he would get a good night's sleep after that. He was wrong. Instead, he lay awake, longing for Charlotte Cardleman more than ever before, and he couldn't stand not seeing her- not telling her. So, he had headed out, and now here he was, at a telephone box, being completely selfish and reckless and making the call. Perhaps finishing two bottles of said wine was a bad idea.

It rang five, six, seven times and he began to worry that she would not answer at this hour. But on the eight ring, she picked up the phone, and he could hear her sitting up in bed.

"Hello?" she said, and her voice voice groggy. His heart soared. He could almost picture her, messy blonde hair, blinking blue eyes, Spice Girls pyjamas... "Who the hell is this calling at 2am?"

"Charlotte?" Harry said, and his voice was quiet, tentative.

Silence.

"Harry?"

"Yes."

"Oh my god," Charlotte replied, her voice shaky in disbelief. "I love you. I love you, I love you."

"I love you too," he told her, and it felt like a weight off his shoulders. He could feel his blood pumping in his veins as his heart rattled in its cage. "Merlin, I shouldn't be doing this- the charms on your house are intact?"

"Yes, it's not a problem but- how did you know I was home?" Charlotte asked, in a hushed whisper. Probably because her family was asleep.

"Potterwatch-" he heard her snigger over the line. "I didn't choose the name! It's a pirate radio station, they mentioned the Order smuggling out prisoners and I knew it was you and Zara. So, here we are."

"Here we are. It was Theodore who-"

"Can you do me a favour?" he said quickly, feeling slightly rude but unapologetic. "Don't tell me anything you wouldn't want the enemy to know."

"Why? You're not the enemy."

"I know, but You-Know-Who's mind, I can sort of get in it," Harry explained, tentatively. "There's a weird kind of link- so don't tell me any compromising information, in case-"

"Okay. I understand."

"So, how are you?"

"Missing you," Charlotte answered. "I can't wait to see you again. So, make sure you come back to me in one piece and not ten."

"Or seven," Harry said, glumly, thinking about the overwhelming task he had ahead of him. He wouldn't see Charlotte until it was done.

"What?"

"Nevermind," Harry quickly corrected himself. "I miss you too, Lottie. So much. Life has been miserable without you- if you could even call this a life."