This had been a long day, and Carina was emotionally spent. But the sight of the man who had sent her godfather to Azkaban without a trial was enough to bring back some energy, if only so she could yell at him a little.
And then, before she could get into a good rant, Crouch opened his mouth and implied that she had cast the Mark of the man who had killed her parents into the sky! "Listen here, you right little arsehole," she said menacingly. "I understand that you're a little moron who keeps himself feeling good by ruining everyone else, but if you DARE insinuate that I would EVER join or support the man who MURDERED MY PARENTS IN COLD BLOOD, you will PRAY that you get sent to Azkaban without a trial!"
The mans eyes widened and he looked at Carina in a mix of shock and wariness.
"Now, you judgmental, arrogant, self-worshipping pathetic excuse for a human being, keep your mouth shut from this point, because I have quite enough reasons to absolutely despise you without your assisting me in getting more!" she snarled.
"I don't know, Black, I think Crouch has a point," a new voice drawled.
"We all have points, the top of our heads," Carina snapped sarcastically. "Seeing as how no one here really cares about your opinion, would you do us a favor and take your whiny little arse far, far away from here?"
"Is it that time of the month, then, Black?" Malfoy drawled mockingly.
This was the point that Carina lost what little control she had over her temper, and, completely ignoring that she had a wand, she smacked Draco across the face, followed it up with a punch, and then kneed him in a particularly painful place. "Keep your mouth shut, you smarmy little rat, and at least be original if you're going to be insulting!" Then she turned to Crouch. "As for you, I had already hated you for sending James to Azkaban. Now I hate you for accusing me of casting the dark mark, and for being a prejudiced, arrogant, self-important GIT!"
James, at this point, decided that as amusing as it was to watch his goddaughter go off on Crouch and Malfoy Jr., he should probably calm her down before she killed one of them. "'Rina, calm down."
"CALM DOWN?!" Carina asked incredulously. "Have you completely lost your mind!? Can you honestly look at Crouch and say you wouldn't find it satisfying to hex him good a time or two?!"
"No," James said curtly. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to. I would appreciate it if you didn't, either, because it happens to be illegal, especially since you're underage."
Carina scowled but stopped ranting at Crouch… and looking anywhere but at the pompous, obnoxious little politician. James sighed, and in a lower voice that only she could hear, said, "As much as we both hate him, Carina, he's a very politically powerful man, and it's not wise to cause problems with him. So do us a favor and apologize."
Carina looked at him incredulously and said flatly, "No."
"Now," James added pointedly. "Look, sometimes we have to do things we don't like to do, this is one of those times for both of us… because honestly, I quite agree with your opinion of him. But he's not an enemy we want or need to have. Please apologize to him."
With a furious glare, Carina stomped towards the ministry wizards and growled, "I apologize, Mr. Crouch, for telling you exactly what I honestly think of you, because apparently we're all supposed to be nice to the bastards who don't care about anything but th – "
She was interrupted at this point by James grabbing hold of her shoulder and activating a portkey.
"What was that?" he demanded.
"An apology," Carina answered imperiously.
"Carina," James sighed.
"No," she said firmly. "Look, I understand that it's not wise to make an enemy out of that petty, pompous little man, but that doesn't mean I'm going to act like I like him. I utterly despise that man almost as much as I hate Voldemort, and I WON'T pretend to even slightly respect him."
James rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll let it be, but d'you really hate him that much?" he asked her curiously.
Carina scowled at him. "What do you think?" she asked sarcastically. "No, I don't hate him at all, I think he might be my hero," she mocked when he looked at her blankly.
James shuddered. "All right, no more teasing Carina. Dangerous for the mental health."
Now it was Carina's turn to roll her eyes, and she did so, fighting the urge to laugh at her godfather and his mood swings. Either way, though, it had been an exhausting day, and she wanted to go to bed and stay there for a long while.
Unfortunately for her, that wasn't going to happen, or at least, not yet.
"So, Carina, why don't you tell me how you came to be wearing clothes that I specifically said I didn't want you wearing when you were out of this house?" It seemed that James had, at some point during the time before and after the actual Quidditch Match, figured out that she'd managed to smuggle out the outfit that he'd protested again so much.
Carina winced. Damn. So much for that plan going perfectly. "Er…"
James sighed. "Carina…"
"They're cute and they're comfortable and why is it a big deal, anyway?" Carina asked in one breath.
"Because I know how males think," James said dryly.
"Like I said, cute and comfortable, I don't care what they think," Carina said defensively.
"Don't think I didn't notice Boot drooling all over you, Carina Rose," James scolded. "And I would very much appreciate it if you didn't lie to me."
"Yes, because that's something every teenage girl wants to tell their overprotective father figure," Carina muttered sarcastically. "Fine, I care what they think, that's why I wore it, but it is cute and comfortable either way!"
"Let me tell you, the only thing going through Boot's dirty-teenage-boy-mind was what you'd look like with even less covering you up," James said flatly. "That's not debatable, it's a fact of human-male nature, 'Rina."
Carina bit back the retort she so desperately wanted to use. It wouldn't be wise to tell him that she wouldn't mind Terry seeing her with less covering her up, as that would likely make it virtually impossible to spend even three seconds alone with her boyfriend. Even if she didn't mean it, James would think she did. Damned overprotective fatherly instincts of his. "Whatever," she said out loud, semi-conceding. "Can I get some sleep now? It's been a disgustingly long day and I'm tired!"
James looked at her and then sighed. "Yeah, get some sleep. But we're finishing this conversation tomorrow, 'Rina."
"Aye, sir," Carina said sarcastically with a mocking salute to match it as she left in search of her oh-so-comfortable bed.