On August 25th, early in the day, Lucius and Narcissa apparated with Draco and Carina to the Apparition point in Dartmoor, England then made their way to their campsite. They, because of Draco and Carina's pleading, were arriving early in the day. They wanted to see their friends. Lucius hadn't been too keen since he didn't care much about the partying before the match, but considering how often either young wizard asked for something, he succumbed to Narcissa's persuasion and permitted it.
Lucius wasn't too excited, but Draco and Carina were edge-of-their-seats-excited since they'd never been to a World Cup and it had been a while since Britain had last hosted the match. Narcissa enjoyed watching Quidditch but wasn't excitable like some other adults.
It was the only time Draco ever considered wearing red, much to Carina's mild annoyance as she was rooting for Ireland over Bulgaria. She didn't have anything against Bulgaria, but all of her friends were rooting for Ireland, and she didn't truly care too much, so she decided for Ireland. That and root for your neighbor, right? Draco didn't care about that. Bulgaria had one of the best Seekers in the world, so that's who he chose.
Once their tent was set up, charmed to fit three large bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room on the inside, Draco and Carina dropped off their bags in their respective rooms then dashed off in search of their friends. Separately. Draco was fourteen, after all. He was getting a little old to want to walk around with his big sister. Not that Carina minded. She was in search of Fred and George.
She found the twins by the woods leading to the stadium talking in low, grumbling voices as they picked up sticks. "Trying to find good wand wood?" she teased, coming up behind them. "Did you break yours?"
Apparently, seeing her was exactly what they needed. The boys whipped around, dropping their piles of sticks, and attacked her with hugs, exclaiming, "Carina!"
While the large, double hug was nice, Carina backed out of it shortly after, looking up at them with concern written on her face. "What's wrong?" she asked.
They both sighed and began picking up the sticks, tucking them under one arm. "Mum happened," Fred answered.
"She caught us smuggling the Ton-Tongue Toffees out of the house before we left," George explained.
"And took them all. We were hoping to start selling some here."
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. Carina didn't like the sad, angry looks on their faces one bit. They were supposed to be happy, carefree, and excitable, not depressed and furious. But she knew of something that could flip it around. At least a little. "Alright, well, how about this to cheer you up?" She opened her purse, dug through it, and pulled out the pouch Fred had sent a month prior.
Fred's face lit up, recognizing the pouch, but George looked confused. Did he not know Fred sent her some toffees? she asked herself. "Is that. . ." Fred trailed off.
Carina nodded and uncinched the pouch. "Yep. Fifteen Ton-Tongue Toffees ready to be used or sold." She plucked one of the sweets out and held it up.
"You didn't use any of them?" Fred asked.
"Why would I when I've got you two?" She then shrugged and put the toffee back inside. "And if Draco found them sitting about, it wouldn't be the end of the world, but I doubt he'd trust me directly giving it to him. Surprisingly, he's not as curious about snooping through my things as I thought he might be as he grew older."
"I guess he's got one thing going for him," Fred joked. Carina handed him the pouch of joke sweets and he looked in it. "Ah, the order form. Not surprised to see all the chocolate frogs gone though." He shoved the pouch into his sweatshirt pocket.
She offered a playful grin. "You can't send a girl some chocolate and expect it not to be eaten." She gestured to the sticks in their arms. "What's with the sticks?"
"Firewood. Dad wants to try things the Muggle way," George said. "He's getting firewood, too, but we wanted to go off on our own."
"I reckon he's back at the tent by now," Fred added.
Carina didn't want to leave them, but she assumed she should. "I guess I shouldn't keep you, or he'll worry."
Neither looked pleased to hear that, but they knew she was right. Collecting firewood wasn't supposed to take them very long. Fred held out his free arm and pulled her into another hug. "Thanks, Rina. Hopefully, we'll see you after the match."
"Yeah, hopefully."
When it was finally time to go to the stadium, Carina and the Malfoys made their way to the Top Box as they were the Minister for Magic's personal guests. She wished she had asked the twins where their seats were so she could try and keep an eye out for them, but that proved inconsequential when she entered the box with her god-family and spotted the Weasley family plus Harry and Hermione already in their seats. Most of the box was already filled except for the four seats behind Mr. Weasley. Carina's eyes immediately locked onto Fred and George, both of whose eyes widened. Neither expected to see her in the same booth as them, same as how she hadn't expected to see them in the Top Box.
"Ah, and here's Lucius!" Minister Cornelius Fudge exclaimed once he spotted the group. He stood next to a wizard wearing black velvet robes trimmed with gold.
"Ah, Fudge," Lucius greeted, holding out his hand to shake. "How are you? I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco, and our goddaughter, Carina?"
"How do you do, how do you do?" Fudge replied, smiling at Narcissa and the two teens. He gestured to the wizard beside him. "Allow me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk-Obalonsk-Mr.-well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else-you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"
Lucius and Arthur shared a tense moment, staring at each other until Lucius's eyes swept up and down the row. "Good lord, Arthur," Lucius said softly. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?" Arthur tried not to show how Lucius's words affected him.
Fudge hadn't even heard what Lucius had said to Arthur. "Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur." With an ulterior motive. "He's here as my guest."
Lucius had been told by Narcissa and Snape that Carina wished to work at St. Mungo's once she graduated, which led to Lucius's 'donation.' It got them brownie points towards Carina getting accepted as an intern for the following summer. Lucius highly recommended waiting for the summer to work at St. Mungo's instead of 'wasting her time' helping Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing during the school year. He told her she would be far too busy for it. So, she agreed and told herself to wait for her seventh year to help Madam Pomfrey.
"How-how nice," Arthur replied with a strained smile, trying to stay polite and courteous in front of the Minister.
"Yes, well, Carina here wants to go into medicine after graduation, and I realized they could never get too much funding," Lucius said, laying it on thick. He set a firm hand on Carina's hand, and she had to try not to wince at the sudden weight pressing down on her. She gave Fudge a smile.
Fudge smiled back, absolutely beaming. "Wonderful. How noble. Please, please, I won't keep you." He gestured to their empty seats.
Carina sat behind Arthur and Narcissa next to her behind Percy. Draco sat on Narcissa's other side by his father, and they were behind Ginny and Charlie, respectively. Carina didn't mind being a buffer between Lucius and his mortal enemy even if it put distance between her and her best friends. Lucius was sat next to a scared house-elf and an empty seat. The elf must've been saving a seat for her owner.
After Charlie sat, Ron, Harry, and Hermione then who Carina assumed was Bill since she didn't recognize him. Bill was sat next to the twins, on the complete opposite end as Carina, so at least they'd be able to look back at her and not draw attention. She wouldn't be able to do anything though with Narcissa next to her.
Once they had settled, Ludo Bagman, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, entered the box. He wore tacky, bright yellow and black clothing. Carina only recognized him from a poster Miles had of the Wimbourne Wasps whom Bagman had been a Beater for before working for the Ministry.
"Everyone ready?" Bagman asked. "Minister, ready to go?"
"Ready when you are, Ludo," Fudge answered.
Bagman pulled out his wand, facing the field. He pointed the wand at his throat, said, "Sonorus," then spoke over the crowd of thousands, his voice echoing over the entire stadium. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!" Wizards and witches in the stands screamed and clapped and waved their flags. "And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce. . . the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"
If Carina was honest, she zoned out at that moment. She didn't care about the veelas enticing men, or rather people attracted to them and unable to control their urges, to begin to strip and feel the need to jump out of their seats. She also didn't care about the leprechauns for the Irish National Team Mascots. But she did find the shamrock firework that turned into leprechaun gold raining down into the stands amusing, mostly because of people's reaction to it. She noticed the youngest Weasley boy, Ron, grab a handful and shove it into Harry's hand. He must not have known that leprechaun gold disappeared a few hours later.
By the looks of it, a good portion of the wizards and witches in attendance didn't know.
Bagman introduced the teams and then they were off. Both the Bulgarians and the Irish were playing on Firebolts for the match, zooming so quickly around the field and passing the quaffle just as fast that Bagman only had a chance to say their names until Ireland made the first goal.
"Troy scores!" Bagman announced and the crowd roared. "Ten zero to Ireland!"
After that, the match only seemed to get faster, the Irish scoring again and again and the Bulgarians becoming more brutal. Krum, the youngest professional Seeker in the world, caused the Irish Seeker, Lynch, to crash when he feinted which caused a time-out on the field. Thankfully, because Carina was getting a headache from the cheers, screams, and bright colors. She had only gone to two Hogwarts Quidditch matches. She wondered why she thought she could handle a professional match.
During the time-out, she caught Fred's eye, and he grinned and winked before turning back to the field. Carina blushed and looked away, a small smile creeping up. Bill, who had been chatting with George, had seen Fred wink and turned to see who he had winked at, spotting the blushing Lestrange. He narrowed his eyes but was then distracted by Lynch getting on his feet again and the loud cheers that followed.
Shortly thereafter, Ireland scored ten more goals, leading by one hundred and thirty points, causing the Bulgarians to play dirtier which one went in Ireland's favor with a few penalty shots.
When the veela began attacking the leprechauns, Carina heard Arthur say, "And that, boys is why you should never go for looks alone."
Finally, Krum caught the snitch, but Ireland won, 170 to 160.
"Ireland wins!" Bagman yelled. He seemed to be taken aback by the sudden end of the match, just like most of the spectators.
Carina paid little attention to the following ceremony of the players shaking hands and whatnot, but she did keenly watch as Fred and George scrambled out of their seats and stopped in front of Bagman.
"Ah, yes. . . yes, I owe you. . . how much?" Bagman muttered, his voice hoarse and looking disgruntled and stunned.
Fred and George looked at him with smug grins and outstretched hands. They had made a bet and won.
Draco and Carina were allowed to go off and find their friends again once they had left the stadium and returned to the campsite, getting swept up in the crowds of celebration. As she looked around the tents for her two redheads, someone grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the main crowd. When she finally was able to turn and see who had grabbed her, she noticed it was Fred. He brought her behind a tent to where George was looking mighty proud and holding a sack in his hand. Most of the crowds were staying on the main paths so they were decently secluded.
"Hello, love," Fred greeted once they had stopped. "Fancy seeing you here."
"You both look awfully happy," she pointed out.
"Well, that's what happens when you win a bet."
"Four hundred and sixty-seven galleons for correctly guessing Ireland would win but Krum would catch the snitch," George explained, holding up the sack.
She smiled and shook her head. "Why am I not surprised? Only you two would guess such an outrageous, unlikely outcome and win."
"What can we say?" Fred shrugged. "We're just that good."
George was playing with the sack of gold. "This is all going towards the shop."
"I sure hope so," Carina blurted. "I shudder to think what you two would buy if you let your imaginations run wild." She waved her hand, looking off to the side. "I can picture it now: a solid gold statue of yourselves to put in the Gryffindor common room for all the students to love and admire for years and years to come."
"Now, don't go giving them ideas."
The three jumped in place and turned to see an amused Bill standing nearby. Bill Weasley, the eldest of the Weasley children, was easily the most attractive of them all with his pulled back long hair, fang earring, tall stature, and dashing grin. If Carina remembered correctly, Bill was a Curse-Breaker in Egypt for Gringotts and had broken his fair share of rules while at Hogwarts despite being a prefect and Head Boy.
Carina had a serious thing for red and rebels, it seemed. She was torn between ogling him and hiding behind the twins in embarrassment at being caught. Not embarrassed at being with them, she could never be embarrassed by them, only embarrassed because she had finally gotten caught.
At the presence of his elder brother, Fred nonchalantly stepped in front of Carina, blocking her from Bill's gaze which only made Bill even more amused as he joined the group. "What are you doing here?" Fred asked skeptically.
"Wondering why you two had snuck away from the family, but I see it was for a girl," Bill retorted easily. He leaned to the side so he could see Carina again and waved. "Hello, love."
Carina shoved Fred aside, who stumbled as he regained his footing, and she smiled at Bill. "You must be Bill." She stuck her hand out. "Carina Lestrange." Bill's larger hand slid into hers and shook it firmly.
"Alright," Fred grumbled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders once she had stopped shaking Bill's hand. Unbeknownst to Fred, George rolled his eyes at the actions of his twin.
"So, how long has this been going on?" Bill wondered, gesturing between Fred and Carina.
"What?" Fred and Carina blurted together. Then glanced at each other and realized. "Oh, no, no." Fred dropped his arm from her shoulders and Carina was shaking her head.
"We're not. . ." Fred tried to salvage.
"We're just. . ." Carina attempted.
"Friends," Fred finished, his voice small.
Bill looked blankly at them. "Uh, huh." He didn't believe them. George was on the verge of bursting into laughter.
Carina ran through the forest, away from the rioting amongst the tents. Lucius hadn't returned to the tent by the time the rioting broke out, so once she saw the Death Eaters, she could only assume the worst. He was one of the ones torturing the Muggle family who managed the campsite. She didn't want to be anywhere near it all, so she headed for the forest to hide like many of the other witches and wizards in attendance.
She didn't know where Draco or Narcissa had gone as all three had been separated almost immediately upon exiting the tent.
Carina tripped over a tree root and stumbled, barely catching herself from falling to the ground, but it didn't matter as she ran face-first into someone's back. Disoriented, she took a few steps back to look up at who she had run into. The mole on the right side of his neck immediately clued her in.
George.
Right next to George stood Fred and their sister Ginny. The three were huddled by a tree.
"Rina?" she heard Fred say.
"Fred," she let out, breathing a sigh of relief before surging forward and burrowing herself in his chest. She didn't care about Ginny's presence or others in the forest that might see. She just wanted to be in Fred's arms. Fred wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight and setting his chin on top of her head. "I didn't know that he was going to-" She couldn't finish the thought. She had heard Lucius talking about it with the elder Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle when they visited the manor a week prior with their sons, but she hadn't remotely thought they were being serious, only that they were wistfully reminiscing about the 'good old days.'
Fred ran his hand through Carina's hair, the movement soothing her frayed nerves. "Shh, it's alright, love. You're alright."
"It was horrible," she murmured. "The children. . ." The torture of the two Muggle children kept replaying in her mind. It made her sick. She didn't understand how that could be entertaining to anyone. They were just children.
"I know. I know."