Here ya go!
Finally, finally they were in Diagon Alley, shopping for their school supplies. Carina was relieved, because that meant that she could wander off alone and not have to worry about being kept in a house with the Weasleys anymore.
Harry had drug Ron and Hermione off on some Malfoy hunt, she had observed, and other than that she had not really cared what they were doing; she had merely bypassed everyone and went to Gringotts to get some money from her vault.
Now, she found herself wandering aimlessly around Diagon Alley, ducking in and out of people who tried to grab her or yelled after her, obviously not caught up on the news that she was innocent.
"Oi, it's Black!" one man had shouted. "Get 'er!"
He had lunged for her arm, which resulted in Carina whirling around and slamming her fist into his nose; she might still be fairly malnourished, but she had far more energy and strength than when she had arrived and had no qualms about assaulting a man.
After all, she had to take out her frustrations somehow, so why not on the imbecile who attempted to attack her?
"Carina!" called a very familiar voice, and she turned to find Luna hurrying over, narrowly avoiding another person rushing past. When the blonde finally appeared in front of her, she found herself raising her brows. "Do you think I could shop with you? Being alone is dreadfully boring."
"And dangerous," reminded Carina in a mutter, rolling her eyes. "It's like you don't care that a Death Eater might curse you."
Luna's expression was rather sober, though the other girl could detect a sense of humor there. "They might," she conceded. "But I believe that I can handle myself well enough, and if something ever happened you would help me."
She sounded very sure of herself, and Carina rolled her eyes slightly. Luna was right, of course; they had spent everyday together since that day at the pond and had developed a strange bond of sorts. They did not talk much sometimes, instead just sat there and lost themselves in their own thoughts. Truthfully, Carina was grateful for the company, for the blonde understood her in ways no one else could at the moment; she never had to explain herself.
The raven haired girl nodded along, stuffing her hands in her pockets with a deep, amused sigh. "Yes, Luna."
She didn't have to say more, because Luna knew that she was answering both her question and admitting that yes, she would protect Luna if need be.
"Thank you." Luna smiled, and then took Carina's hand, which had at some point found itself fiddling with the edge of her shirt. "Have you gotten your things already?" The other girl simply nodded. "And your wand?"
"No." She hadn't, not yet.
"Perhaps we can get my things first, and then come back to Ollivander's and get your new wand?"
Carina shrugged. She didn't care either way, so long as she got her wand at all; though she was typically impatient, she had found that Luna was very easy to tolerate in most instances and never irritated her, even when she talked about some of the strange creatures that only she could see. "That's fine."
"Alright, let's go, then."
And so, the gray eyed girl allowed herself to be tugged along, ignoring the stares that they were receiving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When they were finished, they stood in Ollivander's, waiting for the wandmaker to find a suitable wand for Carina; so far, it seemed they had been through a dozen and none seemed to work correctly.
"It's perfectly fine," dismissed Ollivander, searching about through the back. "There have been trickier customers…." He handed her a wand. "Try this."
Skeptical, Carina waved the wand and watched unimpressively as a hole was blown in the ceiling and the wandmaker was knocked backward; she stepped out of the way as a large piece of plaster fell from the hole and onto the floor.
"No, no," he murmured, getting to his feet and snatching the wand back, hurrying after another. He handed her another, and before she even had time to wave it a vase beside them exploded; he hastily switched that wand for yet another, and this time, a familiar and comforting warmth spread through her. Ollivander finally seemed satisfied. "Cedar wood with a core of dragon heartstring, nine inches."
Carina stared at her new wand, brows furrowed. This was exactly like her first wand, except the wood differed; the last wand's wood was blackthorn, and this was cedar.
Strange, how these things work.
"I have never yet met the owner of a cedar wand whom would care to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they're fond." The strange man was staring at her and by now, it was starting to irritate the heiress to the Black fortune, for she tossed the money on the table and swiftly exited the shop, Luna close behind.
Once outside, they were greeted by the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry, who were staring at the two with various mixtures of emotion on their faces.
"Where have you been?" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, rushing over to fret over Carina, who scowled and ducked away from her. "One minute you were behind me, and then I turn around and you're gone!"
"I went to get my things," informed Carina flatly, sliding her wand into the invisible holster on her arm—she had bought it along with her things—and then crossing her arms.
"And you couldn't have waited?" tried Mr. Weasley, attempting to placate his wife. "I'm sure we could have helped."
"I did fine on my own." Suddenly sharp gray eyes roved over to where Harry, Ron and Hermione were whispering to each other, and when brown eyes lifted she looked away.
"She went with me to get my things as well," supplied Luna, and she seemed to notice how tense Carina had gotten during the conversation, for her fingertips subtly brushed over the skin of the girl's forearm. "So I suppose I kept her longer than I should have."
The raven haired girl's defensive stance faltered slightly at the touch, but at the next words suddenly went back on the defense again.
"Why are you with Luna, anyway?" questioned Harry, frowning.
"Yeah, I thought you hated all of us," chimed in Ron. "Does this mean you forgive us?"
"I have nothing to forgive Luna for," said Carina coldly.
"C'mon, it's all in the past!" The boy was trying a little too hard, and her jaw clenched. "You can't hold a grudge forever!"
She bared her teeth at him, snarling. "You want to bet? I was left in Azkaban to rot at fifteen and not one of you defended me; none of you. I was alone and cold and hungry, and I was tortured every single day—I had no one." At some point during her rant she had gotten so close to him that she was no on her toes, and they were almost nose to nose. "I don't need you."
His ears turned red. "Yeah, well, who said we needed you? You're all too happy to replace us with Loony anyway-"
"Ron!" hissed Hermione, slapping him on the arm.
But it was too late. Gray eyes flashing, Carina lunged for him and slammed into him, sending the bigger teen staggering back; she rammed him again, and this time Ron fell flat on his back and in less than a second, she was on top of him, swinging her fist.
The first punch hit him square in the jaw, but just as the second was headed toward his nose, Luna cried out, "Carina, stop!"
Her fist stopped mere millimeters from his face.
"No," repeated Luna, sounding calmer this time. "It's alright. You don't need to hurt anyone."
Breathing heavily, the raven haired girl stared down at him intensely, eyes filled with fury as she whispered dangerously, "Call her that again and next time, I won't stop."
His head lifted from the ground, and she roughly pushed it back down as she stood, making her way back to Luna's side.
Ron groaned as he was helped to his feet by Fred and George, and yelped when Ginny hit him in the stomach, saying angrily, "She isn't Loony, Ron!"
When Mrs. Weasley began to berate Carina for doing such a thing, the teen ignored her.
He deserved what he got, she thought, glaring at the boy who used to be one of her best friends. Gave me a good reason to finally take a shot at him, at least.
She did not care that she had just attacked Ron Weasley in public, nor about what Rita Skeeter was sure to write about her in the prophet; half the population still thought her a criminal despite her innocence, and the other half obviously hadn't gotten that memo, for they still believed her to be guilty.
Luna was the only friend she had at the moment, and she had been bullied enough by other students at Hogwarts, including members of her own house who constantly hid her things. The girl deserved a break, and even though she was also the best friend of Ginny Weasley, she was on Carina's side in this matter and they both knew it.
"Thank you," whispered Luna, leaning over to the other girl. "Only Ginny has ever defended me before."
"I wanted to hurt him," mumbled back Carina, arms crossing as she continued to ignore the Weasley matriarch. "I should've cursed him."
"I know." The blonde nodded understandingly. "But I don't want you to be slandered for defending me."
The older girl forced herself to calm, and the fury that had been bubbling inside her dissipated as quickly as it came. Instead of speaking, she merely hummed indifferently and allowed Luna to loop her arm through her own.
When it came time to leave, Carina paid her company no mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tonight was their last night at the Burrow, and for this Carina couldn't be happier; she would be able to avoid most students in Hogwarts alongside the trio if Harry didn't use the Marauder's Map (which should be part hers, considering her father was also a creator and Harry had already inherited an invisibility cloak).
She shook these thoughts before her temper could rise and sighed, folding her hands behind her head as she stared at the ceiling. The room was dark as per usual, but she couldn't sleep because she had had a nightmare.
Nightmares had been frequent in Azkaban, if she were able to sleep at all, that is. The Dementors passing by had always sucked her into another terrible memory, but being at the Burrow had been forcing her to remember some of the better things; it was good, she supposed, that she could still remember them at all.
She admired her father for being able to stand that hell for twelve years and not go completely insane. Now more than ever she understood how he had felt, or at least partially.
Carina could remember the nights in here that she had had with Hermione and Ginny, the ones where she would sit up all night and talk with them, often making jokes just to see the smile on Hermione's face when it happened.
"He's really back, Ginny," whispered Hermione, gripping the girl's slightly shaking hand in her own. "I just can't believe it, even though I knew it was coming it all seems so surreal now….oh, poor Harry!"
Carina sat cross legged on the floor just below the other girls, watching with furrowed brows.
"It'll be okay," she told them suddenly, and they both turned to look at her.
"How can you know?" Hermione frowned.
The raven haired girl shrugged. "Because he's Harry, if anyone can get rid of Voldemort—" The others flinched. "—it's him. And I already know you guys are going to survive if there's another war, anyway."
"You can't guarantee that," cut in Ginny with a sigh. It was rather sad that a thirteen year old could feel this way. "None of us can."
Then again, the redhead was only being realistic.
"Actually," Carina shifted onto her knees. "I can." Before either of the two could speak, she continued. "I can guarantee it because I won't let you die, simple."
"Carina…" began Hermione quietly.
"No!" Their friend stood, tone firm. "As long as I live, none of you are going to die in some stupid war. I'll get stronger and I'll protect you, that's all there is to it!" The bushy haired girl watched her fondly as she jumped up onto the bed and knocked both Hermione and Ginny over, arms strewn over them both. "See? I'm already starting!"
The three couldn't help but laugh together as they untangled themselves with some difficulty.
Now, however, those days were over and they would probably never be like that again; Carina had been betrayed by the people she loved and trusted most, and that was incredibly hard to earn back, especially in this situation.
She heard a rustling noise and glanced over to see that Hermione was shifting about in her sleep and sighed again.
Hogwarts was sure to be quite an experience.