Chapter Thirty-six
"Er, Fred, before you open it," Carolina started as she nervously fiddled with her fingers, "I didn't get anything for George so... do you think that is okay?" They were sitting, huddled together in the courtyard on a breezy morning.
"I'm sure it's fine," Fred countered. "He wouldn't even know when your birthday is if I hadn't dragged him out the day before to find a present in London."
"I suppose you can share it with him, anyway," Carolina murmured to herself, shivering as a gust of wind rippled through the courtyard where they were sitting.
"What's that?" Fred asked.
"Nothing-go on, open it!" Carolina said. She wasn't entirely sure this had been a good idea for a present, but it had been the only thing she could think of; they hadn't exactly talked about this kind of thing.
She watched as Fred nimbly unwrapped the small package, pulling out a jar of grey dust. He furrowed his eyebrow, frowning. "Lina, is this someone's ashes?" he asked, his lips quirking upwards.
"No," Carolina rolled her eyes. "It's powdered erumpent horn. I thought we might use it for N.E.W.T. potions this year but I can always buy more if I need to-"
"Erumpent horn?" Fred interrupted, his eyes widening. "So then, does this…?"
"It's highly explosive, yes," Carolina said warily eying the small bottle. "You just need flames-and no more than a quarter teaspoon at a time, otherwise-"
"Bloody hell…" Fred trailed off, obviously enraptured by the little container. Then, his trademark smirk appeared on his face and his eyes moved up from the bottle to gaze at Carolina. "So if I were to, say, draw my wand and light a flame," he said, pulling his wand out from his pocket.
"No!" Carolina shouted with bulging eyes, lunging across him to grab his wand from his hand.
Fred dexterously darted his wand out of her reach. "Kidding, kidding," he grinned.
"That's a horrible joke," Carolina frowned, crossing her arms. "I have half a mind to retract the present!"
"You can't retract a present," Fred argued. "Once it's given, it's the possession of the recipient!"
"Be that as it may, I'm having doubts about this-"
"Well, that's too bad," Fred said as he pocketed his present, before scooting closer to her. "Great gift by the way," he smiled.
"I wish I had thought to get you something when we went to Hogsmeade, so it could be a real gift…"
"Honestly, Lina, this is better than anything you could have found in Hogsmeade. In fact, I already have an idea for how to use it," he said, patting the pocket in which he had stored the powder.
"Yeah? Do I want to know?"
"How about I tell you when it's done, so that you don't feel obliged to tell me to stop?" he winked at her.
Carolina grinned. "Sounds like a deal-though now that I'm not Head Girl it doesn't really matter if I tell you to stop, does it? It's not like I can take points away… or give detention…"
"And thank Merlin for that! Gryffindor would be nearing negative if you were still Head Girl-"
"Hey!" Carolina interrupted, pulling away from him a bit. "I hadn't deducted any points from you in months!"
"That's because you were too busy pushing me up against stacks of books in the restricted section and-"
"That's enough," Carolina blushed as Fred chuckled, putting his arm around her. "Speaking of the restricted section… I have a bloody Arithmancy paper due on Monday…"
"Fine, run along, then… abandon me on my very own birthday!" Fred said dramatically, bringing the back of his hand up to his forehead as if he were about to faint.
"I suppose I could do it tomorrow…" Carolina said, though she preferred not to procrastinate doing any of her assignments.
"No, no, it's fine. In fact, I might want to bugger off and show George our most recent acquisition before tonight."
"You sure?" Carolina asked, gazing up at him from beneath her eyelashes.
"Positive," Fred beamed. "Though I think I deserve at least one kiss, if you're actually deserting me for your homework…"
Carolina grinned. "I suppose that could be arranged…" she said, leaning in as her eyelids fluttered shut.
Carolina spent the rest of her day regretting her decision to work on homework instead of spending time with Fred, but by the time 8:45 rolled around, she had not only finished her Arithmancy paper, but researched for her Potions assignment and proudly completed the Muggle Studies extra credit assignment on World War II. This meant, she would have all day tomorrow to spend with him… or to study for the ever-imminent N.E.W.T.s that felt like they were approaching much more rapidly than she was comfortable admitting out loud.
She returned the books she had been using as reference to their proper places and checked her watch. 8:55. She didn't want to be late for whatever Fred had planned for them, so she grabbed her book bag and ran out of the library; the statue of the one eyed witch was halfway across the castle!
Okay, she thought to herself as she calmed her pace, approaching the statue. There he was, waiting for her. He waved, smiling and she waved back, before dropping her hand.
Now that she was getting nearer, she could see that there were more people standing in the shadows behind the statue. She instantly recognized Fred's twin, but squinted her eyes to make out the others as she slowly approached.
Lee, must have been there, she assumed… but the two other silhouettes looked like girls.
"You're late!" Fred whispered, winking.
"Sorry, took a while to put the books away," Carolina said, frowning at the people still hidden in the shadows. "Er… hi, George. Happy birthday," she said as Fred's twin stepped into the light of the corridor sconces.
"Wotcher, Carolina. Wicked present, by the way," George responded.
"Oh, er, thanks-I mean… you're welcome?" Carolina answered as Fred and George laughed quietly.
"Right, we should be going. Lina, you might want to leave your bag here," Fred said gesturing to her bulging book bag.
"Where are we going?" Carolina asked, suspiciously.
"Hogsmeade!" the twins said together, grinning from ear to ear.
"What? No way!" Carolina exclaimed, before remembering that they were technically breaking curfew and could be caught by anyone and lowered her voice.
"Yes way," Fred smirked, crossing his arms.
"I am not going to sneak out of the castle at… after curfew!" Carolina whispered angrily, crossing her arms to match his. "It's against the rules!"
"Oh, too bad," said one of the figures lazily. Stepping out from shadows, Carolina instantly recognized her as one of the three Gryffindor chasers-Angelina Johnson. The other silhouette then was probably her best friend, Alicia Spinnet. "Suppose we'll just have to make do without you…"
Fred shot Angelina a wary look but Carolina paid him no mind as her brain began to work itself into a frenzy. On one hand, there were rules for a reason. Sneaking outside of Hogwarts after dark was… well, dangerous. Absolutely mental! They could get caught, they could get recognized in Hogsmeade... the twins were particularly easy to spot. Umbridge could find out and Carolina could get expelled. It was all well and jolly for Fred and George; they were planning on quitting school anyways, but Carolina needed to pass her N.E.W.T.s for any kind of future occupation…
Yet, on the other hand, she didn't exactly love the idea of Fred running off to Hogsmeade with Angelina, who looked a bit too smug for her liking. And on his birthday? What if… well, what if Carolina weren't there and he felt abandoned or something and decided he liked Angelina more than her. They had gone to the Yule Ball together, after all, Carolina remembered…
She frowned, unsure of what to do.
"We don't have all night, you know," Angelina said, pursing her lips.
Carolina rolled her eyes, before sighing. "Fine. Let's go." At least it was a Saturday and she wasn't wearing her uniform, then it would have been far too easy to be spotted as students.
Fred grinned and swung his arm around her shoulders, giving them a squeeze. "I knew you'd come around," he whispered. "Here, leave your bag just around the alcove," he said, taking her book bag and dropping it with a thump where it would out of sight to anybody patrolling the corridors.
"I'm only doing this because it's your birthday," Carolina whispered back harshly.
"I'm only asking you to for the very same reason," Fred said as his lips slid into an even wider smile.
"Don't be smug, it's unbecoming," she said tersely, before adding, "where does this path lead, anyways?"
"Honeyduke's cellar! George and I found it first year…"
"Really? Then it must be a bit of a walk…"
"Yeah-but it's worth it. This is one of the only pathways out of the castle that Filch doesn't know about yet," Fred responded.
"There are others?"
"Loads more!" came George's voice from up ahead. "Though a few have caved in-and we haven't tried the one that goes through the Whomping Willow!"
"Through the Whomping Willow?" Carolina asked, her mouth agape. How was that even possible?
"Or under it, I suppose," corrected Fred.
"You know, with all of the passageways out of the castle, it's almost like the founders planned it so students could sneak out. I mean, why else would they leave six ways out when they built it?" Lee added.
"I highly doubt that they intended for students to be sneaking out after dark," Carolina said crossly. She just couldn't believe that Salazar Slytherin… or any of the other founders would have liked the idea that their students might go gallivanting around Hogsmeade after curfew.
"Well, why else would they build a passageway right to the cellar of Honeyduke's?" Lee countered.
"Maybe they didn't build the passageway," Carolina argued. "In Hogwarts, A History, Bathilda Bagshot explains that different wings of the castle were added on at different times-like the North Tower was only added on about 200 years ago when Phineas Nigellus was headmaster. The walls are actually a different type of stone from the rest of castle; you can tell in the texture of the-"
"Is she going to be like this all evening?" Alicia Spinnet asked George from up ahead, eliciting chuckles from everyone around her.
Carolina instantly shut her mouth, thankful for the darkness of the passageway that hid her blushing cheeks from view.
"Nah, I reckon one of the founders had a sweet tooth and that's how this passageway came to be," Fred continued, oblivious to Carolina's discomfort. "I bet it was Helga; the Hufflepuff common room is smack next to the kitchens, after all!" At this, the rest of the group burst into laughter, as Carolina nervously chuckled along.
The topic of conversation soon changed to the Gryffindor quidditch team-or more accurately, how abysmal the team was doing now without the twins and how unlikely it was that they would win the house cup.
Carolina felt particularly awkward at this point, having nothing at all to contribute to the conversation. It was true, she hadn't known Gryffindor to play so badly since… well, she couldn't remember a time… maybe her first year, when Slytherin had won the cup. But, if she told them the truth, well, that wouldn't be good; they would probably just start going in on her house and her team. On the other hand, if she voiced support for the team, they would easily be able to tell that she was lying and probably go in on Slytherin anyways. So, she kept her mouth shut, and looked down at her feet as they plodded on, one foot after another.
Soon enough, Fred was quietly pulling her through a trapdoor, before sealing it behind them.
Carolina looked around and indeed, they were in the cellars of Honeyduke's. There were barrels of licorice wands and boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans stacked high up to the ceiling.
"How are we going to get out? Aren't they closed?" Carolina whispered as the group started ascending the stairs.
"Back door," George whispered in response.
Carolina followed the queue into the darkened store, then behind the desk and into the back room, where a run down, wooden door stood crooked on its hinges.
"Alohamora," whispered Angelina, the first to reach it. They heard a silent 'click' and Angelina grasped the doorknob, swinging it open easily.
Finally outside, the group began to talk again as they made their way from the back alley to the main street of Hogsmeade Village.
"Well, where to?" Carolina asked, looking around. She had never been to the village at night… it was bustling; perhaps due to the fact that it was indeed a Saturday night and the only all-wizard town in Britain.
"The Three Broomsticks, right boys?" Angelina said, giving Carolina the impression that this wasn't the Gryffindors' first times out of the castle after dark.
"You read my mind!" Fred grinned.
"Right, Madam Rosmerta'll recognize us," George said, gesturing to him and his brother as they approached the pub. "So we'll grab a booth and the rest of you can get drinks?"
"Why would she recognize you?" Carolina asked, quirking her head to the side.
Fred shrugged, before winking. "Maybe you're not the only one with a thing for redheads…"
Carolina's eyes widened. "You-you and Madam Rosmerta?"
At her expression, Fred burst out laughing. "Nah, I'm only joking. But she's not too fond of George and me. We brought Peeves in once and well, they didn't get on."
"That's putting it mildly," Angelina scoffed, rolling her eyes and Carolina felt a twinge in her stomach. These Gryffindors… they had been friends for years and had all these stories, all this history together. How could she, Carolina, a Slytherin, who'd only really started getting to know Fred in the past few months, compare to someone that had been friends with the twins for nearly seven years?
"Right! Drinks!" Lee called over them. "Help me carry them, ladies!" And Carolina obediently walked over to the bar, squeezing her way through the wizards and witches that crowded the space. "First round's on me!" Lee yelled out, as Madam Rosmerta continued pouring butterbeer into the glasses. "Here, Carolina, take these two!"
Lee handed the flagons to her wildly, and the golden liquid splashed over the edge as she tried to balance them. "Yeah, alright…"
She walked to the table that the twins had found in the back careful not to spill any more of the drinks.
"What's in there?" Carolina asked as she placed the drinks on the table and scooted in next to Fred, for the first time noticing that George had brought a small bag with him.
"Nothing you need to worry about now," Fred responded, sliding his arm around her waist.
Carolina raised her eyebrows but decided to drop it as Angelina came over to the table with two pints as well, sliding in next to George and handing one to him.
"Merlin's cup?" Angelina asked, pulling a deck of exploding snap cards from her pocket as Alicia squeezed in next to her with another two flagons and Lee next to Carolina, with what looked like six full glasses of firewhiskey.
"Er, what's that?" Carolina asked, eying the deck of cards.
"Bloody hell, you've never played?" Alicia snickered. "What do Slytherins do in their common room anyways?"
"It's a drinking game," Fred interrupted. "It's kind of like exploding snap but each card essentially has a rule and if you don't follow the rule, you have to drink-and we all have to drink when one explodes…"
"Hm," Carolina frowned, uncertain of whether this would be a smart idea or not. She obviously wouldn't be very good, seeing as she didn't know the rules.
"Right, deal us out!" George said, before beginning to explain what each card signified to Carolina who was only able to hear about half of the rules, so loud was the din of the pub.
"Birthday boys, why don't you go first," Angelina smiled.
Fred reached out and grabbed the first card, pulling it up to his face, before smirking. "Ah, six, ladies drink!" he said, before slamming the card back onto the table.
Carolina watched for a moment as Angelina and Alicia took hearty sips of their firewhiskey, before catching Fred's eye. She quickly brought her glass to her lips, blushing, before coughing. Firewhiskey was much harder to drink than butterbeer.
"Ooh, Merlin!" George said enthusiastically, having drawn his card. "Make a rule… let's see… Every time you drink you have to… hm, yodel?"
"I am not yodeling," said Alicia flatly and Carolina heartily agreed with her.
"Well, if you don't want to yodel, you can take two drinks," George shot back
Alicia rolled her eyes in response as Angelina drew a card. "Two! You can drink, Fred," she said, smiling devilishly at the boy on Carolina's left.
"Cheers!" Fred said, before letting out a disturbingly high pitched yodel and taking a large gulp of firewhiskey.
"My turn!" Alicia said enthusiastically, before picking up her card. "Oh, ten! Never have I ever…" she trailed off, thinking.
Carolina looked to Fred questioningly for help.
"If you've done it, you drink," Fred whispered in her ear casually.
Finally, Alicia spoke again, smirking. "Never have I ever gotten a leg over in the quidditch changing rooms."
Carolina's eyes widened as she looked around the table. She felt her mouth drop open slightly as both Fred and Angelina drank, warranting a cackle from Alicia.
"Oy, that was uncalled for!" George protested eyeing Carolina, as she bit her lip, looking anywhere but at Fred.
Alicia merely shrugged. "What, jealous Fred's gotten some and you haven't?"
"That's beside the point!" George responded, though Carolina wished he would just drop it. She suddenly wasn't sure that she had made the right decision in coming out with them. She didn't want to know about Fred hooking up with Angelina in the quidditch changing rooms… and she hoped he didn't expect her to do that.
She chanced a glance at Fred, who was looking at her, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if to ask if Carolina was okay.
She quickly averted her eyes, feeling even more uncomfortable than she thought humanly possible.
"Right, three," said Lee, breaking the tension around the table. "I suppose that's me," he finished, taking a sip from his firewhiskey.
"Carolina?" Angelina said, raising her eyebrows.
"Oh, er, right," Carolina muttered, having forgotten that she was next. She grabbed the nearest card and lifted it up. "Circe?" she asked. "I'm sorry, I forgot what to do with this one…"
"It's categories," explained Fred.
"You name a category of something and whoever can't think of one has to drink," George added on.
"Right," Carolina said, before an idea popped into her head. "How about Hogwarts Headmasters?"
"Oh, bloody hell," groaned Angelina. "I might as well just start drinking now."
"Right, you first, Fred," Lee said, ignoring Angelina's complaint.
"Dumbledore, obviously," Fred smirked at having chosen the easiest answer.
"Dippet," George said afterwards, before turning to Angelina.
"Hm, well I suppose Umbridge is now; does that count?" she asked the table. They all nodded solemnly in response.
"I give up!" Alicia exhaled, throwing her hands up and quickly taking a large gulp of firewhiskey.
"That's good for me-I would have been stuck too," Lee said chuckling.
"Really?" Carolina asked, feeling slightly astonished. Hogwarts, A History had been required reading for all of them. The fact that they couldn't name any other headmasters or headmistresses was rather surprising.
"Oh, and you wouldn't have?" Angelina asked, raising her eyebrows.
"I wouldn't challenge her on this," Fred warned as Carolina felt a lightning bolt of pride flash within her.
"If I can name more than twenty… you all have to drink," Carolina said, a smirk toying at her lips.
"Twenty? Ha!" Angelina replied. "Sure, go ahead!"
"Phineas Nigellus Black, Walter Aragon, Dilys Derwent, Elizabeth Burke, Amrose Swott, Juniper Everard, Brian Gagwilde, Antonia Creaseworthy, Heliotrope Wilkins, Quentin Trimble, Edessa Skandenberg, Fytherley Underclyffe, Vindictus Viridian, Phyllida Spore, Eupraxia Mole, Basil Fronsac, Dexter Fortescue, Cassiopeia Monaghan, Patricia Limebert, Vladimir Vulpus and Brutus Scrimgeour," Carolina said proudly. "That's 21. I could keep going…"
"Nope!" George said, holding up his hands. "I think you've made your point. Also… no one except for Fred has been yodeling," he added crossly.
"That's because that's a bollocks rule, mate," said Lee amusedly.
"Well, a rule is a rule," George responded. He smiled, then let out a yodel and took a sip, before looking expectantly at the others. They all followed suit, except for Fred, who was staring intensely at Carolina. He leaned in.
"That was impressive." Lina felt Fred's hot breath whisper into her ear and she felt her face immediately grow warm. "I didn't know dating an encyclopedia would turn me on so much…" he said even lower; his tone sent ripples up Carolina's spine, and she quickly took a sip of her butterbeer.
Carolina felt his hand that was wrapped around her side casually sneak it's way up under her shirt so that it was resting on her bare skin, just above her hip.
She wasn't sure how she felt about it all… she certainly liked when he would hold her when they were alone in some deserted section of the library but, at a table with his friends? And his-well, she wasn't sure what Angelina was to him; an ex-girlfriend? An ex-fling?-whatever she was, she was glaring daggers at Carolina.
"Oy, brother, dear!" George called out, and Fred quickly looked up. "Your turn again!"
"Eight," Fred said slowly, drawing his card. "Mate. Lina, I'm picking you."
"What?" Carolina asked, confused.
"You have to drink whenever I drink," Fred explained, grinning.
"Bollocks," Carolina scowled.
"Merlin, I picked eight too," George said, holding up his most recent card which indeed had an eight on it. "Well, Fred, happy birthday, mate!"
Fred smirked, before turning back to Carolina. "Now, whenever George drinks, I have to drink, and whenever I drink, you have to drink, so you have to drink whenever George drinks too!" he said quickly.
"Pardon?" Carolina asked, furrowing her brow and eliciting laughter from the others seated around the table.
A few rounds of Merlin's Cup, and one explosion later, Carolina was feeling mildly more comfortable with the group of Gryffindors, though perhaps that was due to the firewhiskey and two butterbeers she had inhaled.
"Right, birthday boys, this round's on me," she chirped, noticing that the others had all finished their drinks, despite hers only being half empty, before shuffling past Lee.
"I'll help you carry them!" Fred called, excusing himself and pushing through the crowd to reach her at the bar.
"Five butterbeers, please!" Carolina called, waving at Madam Rosmerta, who nodded in understanding, before setting about to fill their pints.
Carolina turned to Fred who had just caught up with her, squeezing himself in next to her at the bar.
She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Fred's mouth on hers.
His lips were warm, though more rushed than usual, and his hands were clinging to her tightly and his breath on her mouth tingled with firewhiskey.
He pulled away, his mouth open and breathing heavy. "I've wanted to do that all evening," he groaned, resting his forehead against hers.
Carolina smirked. "Because I can name all of the headmasters?"
Fred let out a low, rumbling chuckle. "That's right… Say Dylis Derwent again…"
Carolina burst out laughing, as Fred grinned in reply, admiring how her eyes crinkled shut when she smiled.
"Hey! You!" Carolina heard, as she quickly swivelled her head around to seek the voice. No sooner than she did, then Fred's head ducked down below the bar, and a good thing too, because Madam Rosmerta was looking mighty mad.
"Who was that you were just with?" she asked accusingly.
"I wasn't with anyone," Carolina lied haughtily.
"I thought I saw a Weasley," Madam Rosmerta frowned. "How old are you anyway?" She squinted her eyes.
"19," Carolina replied, trying her hardest to look nonplussed, annoyed even, as if she wasn't used to being asked that question.
"Hmm," Madam Rosmerta responded, her eyes darting out across the bar, as if expecting to see the tuft of red hair suddenly appear from thin air. "That'll be two galleons."
Carolina quickly handed over the money, before whipping out her wand and levitating the drinks back to the table. So much for Fred's help.
Upon returning, she told the others about the barkeep's suspicion, and they all agreed that this would be their last drink.
"Right, George and I have a surprise for you all," Fred said, after slamming his empty flagon onto the table.
"Just a little preview of what's to come," George added.
"Shuffle out, you all," Fred said, shaking his fingers to push them out of the booth, before grabbing the bag George had been carrying.
Once they had all pushed their way out of the pub, the group reconvened.
"Right, what's this surprise, then?" Alicia deadpanned.
Carolina wrapped her sweater tightly around her shoulders. Wasn't alcohol supposed to keep one warmer?
"You'll see," George winked.
"Follow us," Fred said, leading them back down the main street of Hogsmeade. They turned off the road a few cottages down and Carolina recognized it as the same route he had taken her when they had come to village together, though there wasn't any snow on the ground anymore.
Her suspicions were confirmed when the Shrieking Shack came into view.
"Fred, if you make us go in there I will personally cut your bollocks off," Angelina said, halting and crossing her arms.
"There'll be no violence tonight," George cut in quickly with a chuckle at Fred's scandalized face. "Keep going, you lot."
Soon enough, they were standing at the lookout and Carolina's breath was taken away for the second time as she stared out across the lake at the shadow of the castle in the distance; tiny spots of yellow shimmered out into the night where the torches were still lit.
"Ready, Fred?" George asked. Carolina and the others had been too busy admiring the view to notice that the twins had removed whatever had been in their pack, but Carolina eyed the strange cylinder in their hands.
"Ready, George!" Fred responded, before flicking his wand to ignite a flame at the tip. "You all should be very excited. You're about to witness our newest product!" he grinned, bringing the flame to the cylinder. The flame sparked a moment, before Fred swished his wand again, and it went out. Then, he frantically tossed the cylinder into the air as high as he could.
Suddenly, a huge boom erupted through the forest around them and Carolina jumped, watching, awestruck as whatever Fred had thrown exploded into a million dazzling crystals of light that gradually trickled down to the ground.
"Whizzbangs!" George yelled enthusiastically, before tossing his into the air as well.
There were gasps of awe as his exploded into tiny blue sparkles.
"Right, we have enough for everyone," Fred said, grabbing a few more of them from the bag and tossing them around.
"Right on!" Lee called, catching the first one.
As Carolina caught hers, she couldn't help but wonder if this was what he had done all day. When he had said he already had an idea for how to use the erumpent horn, was this what he had in mind? If so, it was rather impressive that they had invented the whizzbangs in only a day's time!
"All together?" Angelina called, grinning.
"Hell yeah!" George responded. "Right, light your wands!" Carolina complied, though she was nervous if these whizzbangs indeed contain erumpent horn. "One, two, three, light and let them go!" he said, tossing his into the night sky.
"Wow," Carolina gasped as all of their whizzbangs exploded in unison, forming different shapes and colors above them.
"Impressed?" Fred asked, smirking as he sidled up to her.
Carolina nodded. "They're beautiful."
"Glad you like them," he said, wrapping his arm around her. "They still need a bit of work. Don't last long enough for our taste… and George is worried about the ignition charm backfiring and that they might explode in our customers faces… but we're close."
Carolina smiled up at him. "I love them."
"Well, we wouldn't have made them without the powdered erumpent horn, so really, they're your doing," Fred grinned back, his eyes twinkling in the starlight.
"Hardly," Carolina laughed. "I would never have thought to do this."
"Oy!" Lee interrupted. "You two! I didn't drink enough firewhiskey to be standing out here in the cold this long!"
"Seconded," Alicia said, shivering.
"Right. Back to Honeyduke's?" George offered as they began to leave the overlook.
As they walked, Fred's hand moved down from Carolina's shoulders to find her hand, squeezing it tightly as if to ward off the cold.
The walk back was long and Carolina found herself content to merely observe the others, only chiming in when Fred asked her a question.
But, the night hadn't been nearly as horrible as she had imagined it to turn out. They hadn't been caught despite the close call with Madam Rosmerta, and Fred's friends had been-while not outright amicable, generally welcoming, she supposed. In fact, Angelina and Alicia seemed much more agreeable than Carolina's own roommates-though she could see that they didn't particularly like her yet. Still, after the first few drinks, their guards had come down somewhat and had including Carolina as they teased the boys.
They quietly snuck through the alleyway and into the backroom of Honeyduke's, before tiptoeing silently down the stairs. George pulled open the trapdoor, and they all climbed down through the floorboards.
Once inside the tunnel back to the castle, Carolina breathed a sigh of relief at completing her first escapade into Hogsmeade. As she watched Fred and George roughhousing up ahead, causing Alicia, Lee and Angelina to cackle with mirth, she realized that had she still been Head Girl still, she probably would never have gone along with them. She could not in good conscious have permitted herself to risk getting her badge taken away, but seeing as it already had been-she had felt minimal remorse…
Carolina smiled, feeling quietly thankful that she got to experience this with Fred before he left and before she graduated… even if it meant that she would have a harder time applying for jobs after the abrogation of her status as Head Girl.
But oh! She paused for a moment mid-step, before continuing. If she accepted Snape's offer to work for Amelia, it wouldn't matter that she was no longer Head Girl…
And, if she accepted his offer, not only would she not have to worry about that, but she'd be working for the Order of the Phoenix… and subsequently working towards a world in which Fred's family would be safe, where his father wouldn't end up in the hospital, where Lee Jordan-one of the funniest boys and a muggleborn-would be safe, where Marcus wouldn't call Fred a bloodtraitor…
As she gazed at his grinning face, listened to his bright laugh, watched his bony elbows darting into his brother's side, her decision seemed so easy. There was no other option.
Then, just as swiftly as that realization had struck her, another one came. Professor Snape had made her promise not to tell anyone, and Carolina felt a heavy sadness fall over her.
She wouldn't be able to tell Fred about what she was doing… she'd have to lie to him. Lie to him about her work for Amelia, lie to him about where she was going when she was reporting to the order, lie to him, lie to him, lie to him…
"You alright?" Fred said, having paused, waiting for her to catch back up to the group.
"Yeah," Carolina shrugged, not able to meet his eyes, her mind swimming.
"You don't seem alright," he contradicted as they approached the entrance to the secret passageway.
"It's nothing," Carolina answered, trying to smile brightly up at him.
"Are you still worried about being caught?" he asked.
"Er, yeah," Carolina lied, trying to look bashful.
"Listen, we've made it this far, and if anything, Filch is more likely to catch us," Fred gestured to the rest of the Gryffindors, "than you walking back to the dungeons all alone… unless you want to come back to the common room with us," he finished, smirking.
"Not tonight," Carolina responded, rolling her eyes.
"Not tonight?" Fred said excitedly. "Does that mean you'll come a different night?"
"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Carolina laughed quietly.
"Too late-already way up!" Fred grinned, before leaning down and kissing her square on the mouth.
Carolina wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him tightly to her. She didn't know what to feel about her predicament… the only thing she knew for certain was that she cared for him… that she loved his jokes and wit, his childish energy, his intuitive and curious mind, his messy red hair, his muscular beater's arms, the stubble along his jaw…
Too soon for her liking, Fred pulled away. "We should head back," he said sadly as he stepped out from behind the statue of the one-eyed witch. "Good night," he shrugged, giving her hand a squeeze.
"Night, Fred. I lo-" her eyes bulged. Was she really just about to say that out loud? She quickly changed her route: "I loved hanging out with you all-had a really good time. I'm glad I came."
Fred swooped her up into a hug, nearly bringing her toes off the ground. She quickly reciprocated, tossing her arms around his shoulders.
"I'm glad you came too," his whispered in her ear.
"Happy birthday," she whispered back, before kissing him again.
The night air in the castle corridors was cool and Carolina was grateful that she didn't run into anybody on her return to the dungeons. Yet as she walked down staircase after staircase, her mind reeled. Was that how she felt for him? Did she love him? She didn't know what to make of the feelings fluttering about inside of her. And what did he feel? Was it the same?
As she fell down into her plush sheets and comfy bed, Carolina felt entirely thankful that the butterbeer and firewhiskey combination seemed to be making her more tired than she normally would have been and she easily drifted into a peaceful sleep, Fred's face swimming before her eyes in her dreams.
Carolina knocked, cringing at the noise of her knuckles against the wooden door. She wasn't sure she'd ever had a headache this bad, and it hadn't helped that she'd been rudely woken up that morning by Abigail prodding her and asking if she could borrow Carolina's dragonhide belt.
"Come in…?" Professor Snape's voice rang out.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir," Carolina said, her voice crackly with sleep still, though she was glad she was here. She had awoken this morning with her mind set. She knew what she wanted to do, and if felt like she had always known.
"It is no disturbance, Carolina… Though I assume this is pertaining to my proposition?"
"It is, sir," Carolina responded bravely. "I've decided. I want to go through with it. Work for Madam Bones and the Order of the Phoenix."
Snape's lips, usually presenting themselves in a dour frown, turned up at the corners proudly. "This is good to hear; I will write to Dumbledore immediately." He drew out a piece of parchment from the top drawer of his desk, picked up a quill, before pausing.
"You may go to breakfast, Carolina. Either I or Professor Dumbledore will contact you about your next steps."
"Thank you, sir," Carolina said, nodding, before turning on her heel. So what if she had to lie to her parents, her friends and Fred about her job… this was more important than that, wasn't it?
Author's Note: Wow, another long chapter.. Hope you all enjoyed reading it. I had a good time writing the "Merlin's Cup" bit... maybe not entirely necessary plot-wise but I love King's Cup haha! Let me know in the reviews how you're feeling about Carolina and Fred's relationship! And what do you think of her decision? And her realizations? As always, thank you all so much for the many reviews you have been leaving lately. Makes me so happy. :-)
Also, I won't be posting any new chapters until after the New Year. Sorry, I will be working and traveling! But have a lovely holiday season everyone! See you in 2019!