Part IV: Revolution

Chapter XII: In Which Christmas Eve Dinner Occurs

Night had fallen and Carina was dressed in her pale gold dress robes. She kept her necklace hidden even if it would compliment nicely, opting instead to dress up her ears with some of the jewelry that her mother gave her in an ornate box. There was a beautiful pair of dangling earrings that had small diamonds embedded in gold chains. Every time she moved her head, the diamonds seemed to shift in color. She managed to get her stubborn hair into an elegant updo. After some simple makeup, she appeared to be ready to see her family.

It was the first time she had been out of her room since coming home from school. She supposed she should have known what to expect, but the manor was completely unfamiliar to her. There were displays of ancient artefacts in glass cases. Carina could not identify most of them, but she recognized a shriveled hand from somewhere. She bent over it and inspected it closer.

"Hand of Glory," said her mother, who was dressed all in black. Carina couldn't remember seeing her in anything else. "Gives only the holder light no matter the surroundings."

She placed a hand on Carina's shoulder and steered her down the corridor. It was down a large staircase and they made their way to a sitting room off the main entryway. The corridor leading up to the room was surrounded by pale faces, all of which scrutinized them. Carina held her head up high, feeling as if she was being judged by the portraits. Not knowing what they were trying to discern, she was pulled into the room where Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were standing by the bar area and their son, Draco, sat away from them on the couch. He did not even look over when Carina and her mother walked in, but Lucius and Narcissa stared at Carina with unreadable expressions. Through the bliss, Carina could feel how tense the room was, but it rolled of her mother's back as she all but Carina further into the room.

The décor was ornate, much like the rest of the house. A fire roar in the large fireplace in the center of the room with dark leather couches and chair situated on either side. On the far wall was a glass cabinet full of dark liquor bottles, many of which weren't even in English. She could not even begin to place them all. Light came from gas lamps along the stone wall, giving the world odd shadows, particularly across Aunt Narcissa's face as she gave her sister a murderous look.

Tucked into the corner was a Christmas tree that would rival the ones that were set up in the Great Hall every year. It was covered in gold baubles and white lights coming from real fairies that seemed to twinkle at random intervals. The tree was also the only sign that it was Christmastime that Carina has seen in the manor, and even then, it did not seem to be much; only there to prove that it was the holiday.

"Carina here was feeling up to joining us," said her mother as she ushered Carina to sit down next to Draco. He looked less than pleased at the prospect, giving his parents a look instead of saying anything. Carina just sat on the edge of the couch, not daring to lean back. Her mother smiled at her in the wicked way she does as she walked over to join Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius.

"What the fuck is going on?" Draco asked in a low voice as the adults seem to do the same thing so the teens wouldn't catch word of what they were discussing and vice versa. "Crouch?"

"My name is Carina," she said, glancing over at Draco. She did not remember paying much attention to the platinum haired boy. He had grey eyes similar to many in the Black family with a pointed chin and thin mouth. At the moment, he looked as if someone had put a dungbomb underneath his seat.

"Kor-rin-na or Ker-rain-na?" he sounded out as he kept glancing over at his parents. They were paying them no mind as Uncle Lucius said something low but harshly to her mother.

"Ker-rain-na," said Carina, giving Draco an odd look. "What else would it be?"

Something seemed to slowly dawn on Draco as he looked over Carina. It was as if he was looking over a complete stranger. His jaw slackened as he slowly stood up. "Uh, Mum, Dad," he said and cleared his throat. They looked over at Draco, Aunt Narcissa stopping midsentence to do so. "Is it alright if…Carina and I go for a walk before dinner is served? We won't leave the courtyard."

Her mother looked like she was about to protest, but Aunt Narcissa cut her off. "That would be alright," she said, giving them a strained smile.

Draco grabbed Carina's arm and all but dragged her out of the sitting room. Once the door was firmly shut behind him, he rounded on Carina. "Okay, you're away from her. You can quit pretending now."

"Pretending what?" asked Carina, her brows furrowing as she watched Draco become frantic.

"I know you are really good at telling people what they want to hear," he said in a low voice. "Please tell me you are doing that instead of what I think is going on."

"What could possibly be going on?" asked Carina as she placed a hand on his shoulder. He was very stiff at the touch, so she lowered her hand. "Draco, I've just been sick. That's all."

"Oh, yeah," he challenged. "What are you sick with?"

Carina opened her mouth, but then immediately clamped it shut when the answer did not come forth. "I don't…I don't know. I'm sure my mum knows. I can go ask her."

"No," said Draco quickly, grabbing Carina's hand. She looked down at it and she supposed she should feel something. Her mother did suggest…

He glanced back at the door as indistinct voices could be heard. He tugged Carina away as they headed for the front entrance. She was about to complain about the cold, but it was oddly warm out in the courtyard. Snow still fell and icicles formed on the roof, but it felt as if she were standing in a room with a blazing fire.

"My mother charmed the courtyard," Draco explained when he saw Carina's confusion. "She still likes to come out here and read by the fountain even when it's is like this."

Carina looked over at the fountain as it continued to spray up water in cascading movements. A gentle tune sounded from it as it if wasn't enough that they could have a fountain going in the dead of winter. She did not blame Aunt Narcissa for wanting to read out here. This seemed to be the perfect spot. Even now that night had fallen and the sky was completely clouded over, it would be perfect to read due to the floating lights above the path. The raised beds that normally held flowers were empty of plants, but the colorless peacocks and peahens were taking refuge there for the warmth.

"It's beautiful out here," said Carina as she looked back at Draco, who seemed disinterested in the place. His arms were crossed over his chest and his scowl was still there. "What's wrong?"

"You," he said plainly, looking sharply at Carina. "I think Bellatrix has you under the Imperius curse."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Carina, shaking her head and almost finding the notion laughable. "My mother might do that on Mudbloods and Blood Traitors, but she wouldn't use it on people she loves."

"Now I know you are under the Imperius curse," said Draco. "But what is she playing at? Pretending as if you have been a part of our lives this entire time?"

"Haven't I?" asked Carina, feeling a dull ache start to creep up behind her eyes. She rubbed her temple to try to ease it, but it seemed to go deeper than that.

"No," he said. "You were raised by Barty Crouch."

"Who?" asked Carina as the pain steadily started to increase in intensity. "Draco, you aren't making any sense."

"You wouldn't even call me that," he said. "It's always been Malfoy. Not even my friends call me Draco."

"And why would your cousin call you by your last name?"

"Because I didn't know we were cousins until Bellatrix told me," he said. "I don't know when you found out she was your mother."

"I've always known," said Carina as blackness started to creep up on her vision as the pounding in her heard reached a fever pitch. "Just like you have…"

There was a pop. Draco and Carina stumbled back at Swetty's sudden entrance. "Dinner is ready in the dining room, Master Draco and Miss Carina."

Carina blinked at where the house-elf disappeared as her vision slowly cleared. The pain was still there as she looked up at Draco. He huffed in annoyance as he turned sharply to head back inside. Carina rushed to keep up, stumbling slightly as she tried to keep herself upright.

"Let's just get this over with," said Draco as he stomped back inside.

It took Carina a moment to realize that he was gone. She quickly followed after him. The ache seemed to fill her entire head as she followed Draco into the dining room. Much like the rest of the manor sans the sitting room, there weren't any Christmas decorations adorning the walls. There was a fire roaring behind the head of the table where Uncle Lucius was sitting. On either side of him was Aunt Narcissa and Carina's mother. Draco had immediately took the spot on Aunt Narcissa's other side so Carina went and sat down next to her mother.

Once they were all seated, the first course was served. In a similar vein to meals at Hogwarts, food appeared in front of them. Dissimilar to the usual goings on at Hogwarts, the plates directly in front of them filled with food instead of platters between everyone. The first to appear in front of everyone was a small bowl of pumpkin sage bisque. At the same time, the water goblets were filled as were the wine glasses to accompany the flavors presented.

"What was it you two were discussing in the courtyard?" asked her mother as everyone else around the table appeared as if they would rather be in Azkaban than sitting at this table.

Carina was about to open her mouth, but Draco interjected. "Just about school," he said. "I can't believe the professors assigned homework during the holiday. It's complete rubbish."

"You need to prepare for your NEWTs," said Aunt Narcissa as she stirred the soup in front of her. "If it's too much, we can talk to Severus—"

"No, it's fine," said Draco coldly. He picked up the glass of wine and drained it.

Aunt Narcissa pursed her lips but did not say anything.

They all went back to eating. Carina did not taste much of the soup, the pounding in her head being the only thing she could focus on. It did not help that her vision seemed to be going in and out of focus, but she forced herself to eat and pretend that she wasn't ill. She needed to do that for her mother.

Uncle Lucius droned on in a dull voice about what was going on within the Ministry. "Apparently someone has been sneaking students out of the school, some of whom are related to enemies of the Ministry." He looked over at Draco. "Have you heard anything of the sort?"

"I know some students disappeared, some of them Mudbloods or related to them," he said as he picked up the wine glass that was automatically refilled by unseen magic. He glared over at Carina. "Have you heard anything?"

"No," she said automatically, but an odd feeling rushed over her. She felt like she should know something, but she couldn't put her finger on exactly what. It was the same feeling as she had after waking from her dream. It was there, she just couldn't hold onto it.

"I'm sure whoever it is will be caught," said Aunt Narcissa as her eyes flickered over to Carina. Her dark eyes were filled with disdain for the girl. "Severus won't allow such things to continue within the castle."

"You have put a lot of faith in Snape," said her mother as she watched her sister closely. "He barely punished those three Blood Traitors who tried to steal the Sword of Gryffindor. I had to move it to my family vault because of those brats."

"All they got was going out into the Forbidden Forest with that oaf, Hagrid," said Draco as he finally set his wine glass aside. "It wasn't even that bad."

"Which you would only know since you were caught out-of-bounds in your first year," said Uncle Lucius.

"I still don't see why I had to get detention," muttered Draco. "I was only there to tell McGonagall that I heard Potter and that Mudblood Granger were sneaking to the Astronomy Tower to free that illegal dragon of Hagrid's. And then we get detention with him, along with that stupid Longbottom."

"Yes, we know the whole story," said Lucius, rolling his eyes. They flickered back to Draco's. "You wouldn't shut up about that and Potter all that next summer."

As it seemed like everyone was done with their soup, what was left vanished, along with the bowl it was served it. The place settings, silverware, and goblets remained in front of everyone. A small plate appeared on top of the large plate with three small cap mushrooms stuffed with Romano cheese, garlic, and breadcrumbs. The water goblets and wine glasses were also topped off.

"Didn't you invite ole Sevy out here?" asked Carina's mother as she carefully cut one of the mushrooms in half. "I doubt he had other plans to say no to this."

"He sent his regrets this morning," said Aunt Narcissa. "It seemed that he did have a better offer."

Draco rolled his eyes at that.

"Did he mention what exactly?" asked her mother. She bit down on the mushroom and let the fork run against her teeth as she pulled it away. The noise sent shivers down Carina's spine and reverberated in her already aching head. It was all she could do not to wince in retaliation.

"No," said Aunt Narcissa. "But he sends his regards and is looking forward to seeing Draco and…Carina for the spring term."

"I'm sure he is," Draco muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" demanded Lucius.

"Nothing, Father."

"That's what I thought."

The conversation died down again. Carina managed to get one of the mushroom caps down her throat, which was more than she could say about Draco. The only thing he consumed thus far has been wine. The faint pink on his cheeks and unfocused eyes were a testament to that.

"Anything else going on in the Ministry?" asked Aunt Narcissa as the mushrooms were replaced by a fairly simple garden salad with Roma tomatoes and red onions and coated with a tart vinaigrette. "Any word about…" Her eyes flickered over to Carina and then back to her husband, "Potter?"

"Absolutely none since September," he said and then drained his own glass in the same fashion as his son. "Although we have gotten word that he has a mission straight from Dumbledore."

"But Dumbledore's dead," said her mother with a wicked grin in Draco's direction. He paled almost instantly, even his cheeks that were colored by alcohol. "We saw to that, didn't we?"

"The mission could have been set in place before his untimely demise," drawled Uncle Lucius. "He's somehow managed to stay under our radar, which is surprising. He always said the Dark Lord's name. It's why he decided to make his name Taboo."

"Our Lord has always been wise in that regard," gushed her mother, looking lost in thought. "It will only be a matter of time before itty-bitty baby Potter gets cocky."

Draco looked over at Carina and their eyes met. She could feel sweat breaking out along her brow and back as the pain flared up with a vengeance. She did not take a bite of her salad, feeling like she might throw up if she opened her mouth. Despite the expansive hall that the dining room was, it felt as if the stone walls were moving in on them, threatening to squish them all.

"Do you not like the salad, sweet one?" asked her mother in a sickening voice.

All eyes were now on Carina and she felt like she was in the middle of a test. "I don't like tomatoes." She blurted out the first thing she could think of. As soon as it was said, the diced tomatoes in the salad disappeared, leaving only the dressed romaine lettuce and onions.

"Is that better?" she asked with a smile, showing off the teeth that had yet to recover from her fourteen years in Azkaban.

"Yes," said Carina with a stiff nod. "Thank you."

Everyone else's attention seemed to drift away from Carina. Everyone except Draco, whose cold grey eyes were focused intensely on Carina. She poked at her salad, but she felt Draco's gaze which made her falter, nearly knocking over her water in the process.

She looked up at the chandelier over the table. The orange flames danced around and the light bounced off the stone walls. Despite the very little light it gave off, it burned Carina's eyes as she tried to focus on anything but the pain. She did not even realize that the salad had disappeared off the plates and were replaced with the main course of stuffed lamb breast with a side of roasted potatoes and carrots.

"Draco, at least eat this course," said Aunt Narcissa, dragging Carina out of her reverie. She blinked, and it took her much too long to realize where she was and who she was with. She found it odd to be sitting across from Draco. Never before had she shared a table with him as they were always on opposite sides of the hall.

Carina paused as she was about to take a sip of her wine. Why would she think that her and Draco wouldn't sit next to each other in the Great Hall at Hogwarts? They were both Slytherins, weren't they? She could clearly see Draco sitting with the other Slytherins, goading the other houses, particularly the Gryffindors. But when she tried to picture herself among the group, she wasn't there.

"Yes, Mother," he said as he stabbed one of the potato wedges. He shoved it in his mouth and took his time chewing.

Carina cut off a piece of meat and tastelessly chewed it. Her throat wouldn't cooperate, so she had to take a drink of water to force the food down.

"Draco," said her mother, looking over at her nephew as she cut her lamb breast. He lazily looked. "Are you still seeing that one girl? What was her name again?" She took a moment to think of it even though she clearly remembered who it was. "Pansy Parkinson?"

Draco's brows furrowed into a 'V' as he watched his aunt. "No," he said. "We broke up around Hallowe'en."

"Really?" She tried to look concerned, but she seemed more eager than anything else. "Whatever for?"

"I guess I wasn't giving her enough attention or whatever," said Draco, staring down at his plate. Carina couldn't believe that he actually looked sad about it. Then again, she couldn't remember him showing any sort of emotion besides anger. "She's going out with Theo Nott now, so I guess she doesn't mind being a beard."

"I never liked her anyway," said her mother.

"You were planning their wedding when you heard they were dating," Uncle Lucius reminded. "You and Precilla both."

"That was before," said her mother and she looked over at Carina. "And what of you, Carina, sweetheart. Are you seeing anyone?"

"Besides Potter," said Draco before he could stop himself.

Her mother gave Draco a sharp look. "I know she had a lapse in judgement there. Every teen goes through a rebellious phase. She only dated him to get back at me. Isn't that right?"

Blood rushed to Carina's ears as the pain exploded and threatened to split her head in two. Her knuckles were white as she held the knife in her fist. Part of her wondered if anyone at the table would stop her from shoving the sharp blade into her mother's neck. She knew Draco and Uncle Lucius wouldn't. They would be more than happy to be rid of her, if there constant glares in her direction were any indication.

"Carina, dear?"

Carina blinked as her mother came back into focus. The pain still shot through her brain, but she relaxed her grip on the knife as it fell back onto the table.

"Yes," she managed to say.

"I asked you a question. I expect you to answer it." Her mother leaned in close to Carina and it was all she could not to back away from the gesture. "You only dated Harry Potter to rebel against your own mother. Is that correct?"

No, she dated Harry Potter because she loved him. She had a crush on him since their fifth year, even before she met her mother. If anything, she was surprised that he dated her despite who her parents were. Even knowing that, he still asked her to Slughorn's party and then agreed to date after that.

"Carina!" Now her mother was getting impatient. At some point, she had drawn her wand out and it rested on her lap, pointing directly at Carina.

A choking sound escaped her lips. All she could do was nod.

"And you broke it off with him when you realized that it went against our Lord, yes?"

Another nod, more subtle this time. Her breathing came in shallow gasps as her lungs refused to take in the oxygen and her fingers trembled. No amount of willpower seemed to get them to stop.

"Is there anyone you are interested in? It's okay, you can tell me anything."

Carina looked over at Draco, who was openly staring at her. She tried to plead for him to help her, but it was as if her body was shutting down. Darkness was slowly encircling her vision so all she saw was his pale face. She saw a movement to the side, and she glanced over at Aunt Narcissa. Her lips were moving, but Carina could not hear what was being said. She did not feel someone grabbing her hand as the darkness completely engulfed her.

She did not know how much time had passed, but she woke to almost complete darkness. The only light came from the dying fire on the other side of the room. Someone had changed her out of her dress robes, and she wore one of her rattier nightgowns in its place. The pins in her up-do were gone, leaving her hair a wild and tangled mess on the pillow. She automatically felt for her necklace and watch, but they were both gone.

Sitting up, she looked around madly. She was in her room and she never felt colder despite the fact that her bed should have been warm. Without bothering with slippers or a dressing gown, she stood from the bed and made her way over to the bathroom. She looked ghostly pale in the mirror, her hair almost looking black in comparison. Her makeup from the dinner was smudged and she used the cold water from the tap to remove what she could, but the dark circles from the kohl remained, but she wasn't sure if that was from the makeup or just how her eyes were going to look.

Carina made her way back into her bedroom, not knowing a way she could piece together how much time had passed. It was still nighttime, but she did not know if that was still the same night or a different one. She looked outside as the snow steadily fell, blurring the landscape around them.

She went over to the door and tried the handle, but it wouldn't budge. With a huff of annoyance, she looked back at the fire. It took an embarrassing amount of time for Carina to come up with the plan, but it felt as if her brain was carved out of her skull with a rusty spoon.

"Swetty," she called out.

With a pop, the house-elf was there. "You called, Miss Carina."

"What day is it?"

"Just passed midnight on Christmas," he explained. "I will alert Mistress Bellatrix you are awake."

"No," said Carina quickly—much too quickly. "It's…it's alright. There's no reason to disturb her tonight."

"I was told to get her as soon as you woke," said Swetty, and he popped back out before Carina could say anything else.

Embarrassment wracked through her as she sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling much more tired than she ever remembered being. Of course she would faint during Christmas Eve dinner. She was still very ill, it seemed. She thought she was doing better. She wanted to do something besides be in this stupid room all the time. Now her mother probably would never allow her to leave, and then where would she be?

It was just a couple minutes later that Bellatrix came in. She locked the door with her wand behind her and then shoved the ebony wood into her pocket. "You gave us quite a fright, sweet one," said Bellatrix as she sat down next to Carina and wrapped a tender arm around her shoulders. "Maybe you weren't as ready as I had hoped. You are still very sick yet."

"I'm sorry," said Carina, feeling tears prick at her eyes. "I did not want to ruin dinner for everyone."

"It's alright," she said, moving Carina's hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ears. "Just rest up. We'll have a quiet Christmas, just the two of us."

"I'm looking forward to it," said Carina. She lifted her head and looked outside. The snow had stopped falling. "But, er…mum? What happened to my necklace and my watch?"

Her mother patted Carina's cheek, but it stung as she did so. "Don't worry about that right now. They were quite old and tasteless, don't you think? Blacks don't wear anything less than precious stones. And I'll get you a proper watch. Not some Muggle rubbish."

Carina opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't know what to say. She didn't even know why those two items were so important to her, but the must have not been if her mother tossed them away in such a manner. But their loss was felt on her skin, feeling as if something was missing that was always meant to be there.

"You have your choice of jewelry, I promise you," said her mother as she pulled Carina into a hug. She leaned into the embrace, smelling the perfume her mother wore. She couldn't identify the scent profile, but it tickled her nose in annoyance. "But you will have to wait for the morning to see what you receive. For now, get some rest. Would you want me to stay with you tonight, in case there's another incident?"

Carina shook her head in the negative. "I think I'll be alright," she said softly as she looked back up at her mother.

"Then I'll see you in the morning," said her mother as she stood up from the bed. She glanced back at Carina, who forced a smile on her face to meet her mother's, and then left the room. The familiar glow of the door locking meant that her mother was gone.

Carina crawled back into bed, but sleep did not come easily. She stared up at the canopy until she no longer saw it. She wasn't sure if she had fallen asleep or not, but she was in a familiar but also not familiar room. It was full of books and full of students. It smelled like old parchment. She saw at a table in the back corner, sitting across from a boy with brown hair and olive skin. He tugged at his hair as he looked over a book, muttering to himself. Carina only stared at him, trying to figure out where she knew him from. He had a badge pinned to the front of his robes saying that he was a Prefect.

"Staring at me won't help you study for your OWLs," said the boy, not looking up from the book.

Carina looked down at her own work. The cover of the book said Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5 but nothing else of it was readable. "Aren't we done with OWLs?" she asked, even more confused as to what was going on.

The boy looked up at her, giving her a look with his hazel eyes. "Ha, ha, very funny. You're almost as funny as those Weasley twins. Thinking of dropping out of school and running a joke shop?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Carina. "What's a Weasley?"

The boy snorted. "Let me guess. You're also going to not know who I am, are you?"

"I don't know who you are or how I got here."

"You wound me, Crouch."

"What are you talking about? No one is crouching here."

The boy paused, his playful smile slowly falling. "That was when you make a quip at my expense and call me Boot."

"That's a bit insulting. Comparing someone to footwear."

The boy leaned forward, his eyes boring into Carina's. "The answers you seek are closer than you think. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for." He gave her a wink. "You'll see, Crouch."

"What do you know of…" Carina paused as their surroundings seemed to melt. The students and books blurred into one until it was just her and the boy sitting across from her. Even the table in between them was gone, leaving nothing but darkness surrounding them.

"You can break free, Corinna," said the boy and then he, too, melted into darkness. "I know you can."

Carina woke with a start. A pale dawn illuminated the room as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings and the dream she just had. She closed her mind as the last image of the boy slipped from her mind.