GLACIAL
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It had been two weeks since Harry's call, and Charlotte missed him now more than ever. So she distracted herself with TV, and radio and schoolwork she had no obligation to do, Gretel teaching her exam technique one-on-one as if she still had A-Levels to sit. The two of them were doing precisely that when Gretel stood abruptly, and rushed to the bathroom.

This had become routine. Random outbursts of sickness from Gretel, when she was otherwise completely healthy. And she'd hear the woman whispering to her father about some kind of 'progress' that Charlotte wasn't allowed to be a part of.

Charlotte paused the French audio tape and followed Gretel upstairs to the bathroom, where she was heaving her guts out, and Richard was holding back her hair.

"What's going on?" she asked, and her father gestured for her to leave, and close the door behind her. "I'm not going anywhere till somebody explains."

"Just- give us a moment to sort this out," Richard said, quickly. "Just leave it for now."

"I think we need to tell her-" Gretel was cut of by another retch. Charlotte thought for a moment about all of the clues in front of her. Gretel's glowing skin, her father's reminiscent spiels where he spoke of how she was as a baby- and this, constant illness.

"Is there a baby coming?" Charlotte asked, carefully, and the two adults heads both span to look at her. There was a long moment's silence before her father nodded gravely- trying to read her thoughts.

"Yes."

Charlotte felt her face stretch into a smile, as she laughed, and clasped her hands together. "That's wonderful!"

"It is?" Richard asked, in disbelief, standing.

"Of course it is!" Charlotte laughed. "Oh, I can't wait- there'll be so much to do, of course- nothing the three of us can't handle though! This is wonderful!"

"Right, well let's get out of this kitchen and have this conversation in a better setting," Gretel said, her voice tired as she made her way towards the sink.

~

Gretel's pregnancy gave Charlotte something to think about that was not Harry or the war, or her months in prison. At the same time, however, Charlotte held onto the picture frame gift her love had left her, watching the petals float and form words she had recently realised were censored, but words nonetheless.

Currently, she was sitting on her windowsill, legs dangling out in the cold air as she waited, with the picture frame held tightly to her chest, as it read: travelling. Maybe he was coming home. Her heart skipped a beat as she noticed a figure approaching in the mist of the night, and squinted to see. But in the end, it was only Zara Afasy, with someone else trailing behind her.

Zara seemed to have transformed since their time at Malfoy Manor, she'd kept her short raggedy haircut but had gained back her lost weight and walked with a slight spring in her step as she smiled up at Charlotte, waving.

"Charlotte," Zara called from below. "Who are you waiting for?"

"Harry's travelling right now," Charlotte replied, quickly, not wanting to delve into her feelings of loneliness and loss. "Who is that with you? They look quite... faint."

The boy who was trailing behind Zara stepped forward into the light, and lowered his hood. He looked up at her, fair skin and sandy hair, lanky and sort blurred around the edges. Charlotte blinked multiple times as her stomach dropped right out of the window, almost dragging her down with it.

"Hi, Charlotte," said Flynn O'Riley, shakily. "Long time, no see."

Charlotte could not bring herself to reply as she stared at him for a few moments in complete shock, before climbing into her bedroom and clambering towards the door. "Dad! You ought to come see this."

"See what?" Her dad called from his bedroom.

"It's Flynn," Charlotte said, peering into his room where he was undoing Gretel's green jewelled necklace. The ginger woman smacked a hand to chest just as her partner moved to take off the necklace from behind her and the chain snapped, the jewels collapsing to the floor.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry," Richard said quickly. It didn't seem like he'd heard what Charlotte had said.

"They're worthless anyway," Gretel said just as fast, before stepping away from him and putting her hands on Charlotte's shoulders. "Flynn? You mean our Flynn? He survived?"

"Apparently so," Charlotte shrugged, still not believing it herself, but Gretel's was already halfway down the stairs.

Something had been nagging Charlotte for a while, telling her that there must've been more to Flynn's story. But now that she looked back on it, it had all been wishful thinking- she'd never expected him to actually turn up. This couldn't be Flynn O'Riley, it was something else, she was sure of it.

"Let's go and meet him then," Richard said, taking her downstairs but she waited for their guests in the front room while reunions took place in the hall.

When they entered the room, Charlotte watched Flynn meticulously, scanning for details that may be off. She didn't notice much but she did notice the goosebumps on Zara's arms and the way she shivered and how when Gretel's brushed gently against her the shivering and goosebumps stopped momentarily before starting up again. She noticed how Flynn was pale and almost not there, how his demeanour and voice were both eerily similar and unlike his old self.

"You're looking ready for a fight," Flynn laughed awkwardly, and Charlotte gave him a sarcastic grin.

"I'm always ready for a fight," she said, sweetly. "So whatever you're up to, just know I could scratch your eyes out."

"I'm not up to anything," Flynn seriously, but she still felt uneasy.

"Charlie, give him a chance to speak," Richard told her from the doorway, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. But soon, curiosity overcame her, and words began to spill from her mouth

"Flynn, I'm not trying to be rude, but you died. You died and then your body was lost- you didn't just die, you burned and you physically no longer existed. You're meant to be ash," Charlotte said with slight confusion and concern. Flynn winced. "How can you be here?"

"He didn't... die," Zara sounded unconvinced of this fact. "He didn't die. Just... listen to what he has to say."

Flynn told them his story. How he had ran to save his sister but was too late, how he narrowly escaped the flames with her half burned body and drove away from the town. How he buried Lyra O'Riley in the country and spent months homeless in London looking for his mother, before returning to look for her.

"You were out there all alone," Gretel sniffled, tears pouring out of her eyes. "Oh, if only we'd known-"

"You were out there, and you never thought to come back?" Charlotte started.

"Charlotte," Richard muttered, his tone warning her to stay quiet, but she had other plans. She had realised something they could not. Because she knew Flynn O'Riley

"No, Dad, let me say this," she continued. "Do you have any idea what I endured for you? I gave up my freedom to save you- and you didn't think to come back, to see if there was anything you could've done to help?"

"No, I didn't, and I'm ashamed of it."

"Don't lie to me, Flynn." Charlotte gently took his hands in hers. His skin was freezing, and Zara's shivers suddenly made sense. "You're very cold. And I know there wasn't a moment in your life where you would choose to abandon your friends. So the only explanation is that you didn't choose."

"Charlie what are you talking about?" Richard asked her, but she ignored him, smiling at her friend.

"It's okay," she said as tears began to fill Flynn's eyes. "I understand. And I am so, so, sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you."

"What the hell do you mean?" Zara said, her heart beating out of her chest even though the realisation had dawned on her. "He saved himself, he's right here."

But he wasn't there, not really. Charlotte had known it for a while but had only accepted it now. Flynn O'Riley burned to death in the fires. But here he was, in front of them. She didn't understand it, but she knew he must be dead.

"I'm not," Flynn said, quietly. "I thought maybe if I acted like it never happened, then I could ignore it, forget it, but... I burned. I burned in those fires along with my sister. I held her as we both screamed and died. I don't know what I am now. But I'm not supposed to be here."

"I know what you are." Theodore Nott had entered the room, and carried a large book. And he explained it all.

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Hi guys!

This chapters shit so you will get another one today don't worry, even if I have to stay up all night.

-Amber.