Sorry it took so long to update, I was having technical difficulties and had to get everything fixed up. The chapter somehow got deleted and I had to rewrite it. Anyway, thanks for the new reviews and I hope you like this one!
Carina had shown up to the party just late enough to not be pulled away by Slughorn, who was too preoccupied with some other guests to take much notice of her; he might have called out once, but she ignored it and weaved through the crowd until she caught sight of a head of blonde hair.
"Hello, gorgeous," greeted Carina as she approached, circling Luna and taking in her silvery dress. Though she had helped her friend pick out the dress itself and vice versa, she did not expect it to look so good.
"You made it!" the blonde exclaimed, a smile appearing on her face. "I told Harry you were going to show up, but he didn't believe me."
"Of course I'd show up." Carina cast the boy a small glare, and he shifted uncomfortably but did not speak. "I promised." She patted her friend on the shoulder. "But really, you look great, Luna."
Luna beamed. "Thank you. You look stunning." She caught sight of something from across the room and grabbed Harry. "Come on, I think I see something interesting!"
"Luna—" protested Harry, to no avail.
She tugged the teen away, and Carina could see why; Hermione had approached, and she was now left alone with her.
Of course she'd do this.
"Hi," spoke Hermione, stepping up to stand before her, and brown eyes roved over her form. The brunette looked a bit surprised, but then it turned into a shy and sincere smile. "You look amazing."
"Thanks," Carina flushed. What was she supposed to say now? She supposed that she may as well drop the mocking remarks, for if she were to attempt at forgiving Hermione, she would need to try to be nicer. She eyed Hermione, breath catching.
She looks…
"You look…"
...beautiful.
"...nice." she finished.
"Thank you," Hermione attempted to flatten her hair, while Carina unconsciously tousled her own. "But I don't think I look that great, really—I've spent most of the party avoiding McLaggen."
A frown tugged at the raven haired girl's mouth, and she forced herself to speak more instead of possibly making some sarcastic remark. She cleared her throat. "Actually, you look breathtaking."
The bookworm's cheeks turned pink. "Thank you. You really think so?"
"Yes."
Hermione flushed even more, and a smile graced her lips. However, it disappeared as quickly as it came and Carina soon found herself being grabbed by the arm and yanked behind a curtain.
"Bloody hell!" the girl cried, but was shushed by Hermione and quieted. "What is it?"
"I saw McLaggen nearby," came the quick reply as Hermione peered through the curtain, starting. "Oh no, he's coming this way—please, don't tell him you saw me—" She ducked outside the curtain just as McLaggen entered, and he seemed to notice Carina standing there just before he bumped into her.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed, stopping just a few inches short of her body, forcing himself to a halt. "Hey, Black—have you seen Granger? I've been looking everywhere for her."
"No," she raised a brow at him, feeling a spike of irritation. She remembered how at Quidditch tryouts how the boy had said to Ron, "How about introducing me to your friend Granger? I'd like to get on a first name basis with her, if you know what I mean."`
"Too bad." McLaggen eyed her up and down, and a cocky grin spread across his face. "But that doesn't matter. How would you like to have a little fun with me after the party? I can make sure all the guys clear the dorm…" He moved in closer, too close.
A scowl crossed her features, and she was just about to curse him when a brown blur suddenly appeared in front of her and McLaggen's face jerked to the side, a red handprint gradually appearing on his cheek.
Hermione stood there, hand still raised, and from what Carina could see, she was fuming.
"How dare you?" she demanded angrily. "How dare you even think something like that of her? You've been hounding me for weeks, and now you decide that she'll do to satisfy your disgusting needs?" Her eyes flashed. "Detention for disturbing another student, McLaggen. And trust me, I'll make sure you're with Professor Snape. Now, go."
He opened his mouth to speak, hand cupping his red cheek.
"You heard her," Carina cut across him mockingly, feeling a deep satisfaction from Hermione's reaction. "Scram, arsehole." She shoved him back, and he staggered away, wisely choosing not to speak. She turned to Hermione, and her heart skipped a beat when she noticed that they were nearly chest to chest, because of how they had to be close in order to fit with McLaggen also there before. "You came back."
"I wasn't going to let him do that to you." The bookworm glanced outside the curtain, before she met gray eyes. "You've defended me countless times…this was the least I could do."
Carina smirked. "You should've blown his bits off."
"Carina!" Hermione swatted her on the arm, and the raven haired girl found herself chuckling, unable to help it. "That would have been over the top, don't you think?"
Dark brows rose, but before she could speak Luna's head popped through the curtain; Carina hastily took a step back, and they glanced at the youngest girl.
"Hello," the blonde greeted rather cheerily. "Malfoy snuck in and Harry decided to follow him out, before you ask."
Indeed, Carina had been about to ask where he was.
"If he gets stomped again, I won't help," she told the other two with a snort, crossing her arms. After a moment, she sighed playfully at Luna. "I'm guessing you want us to entertain you?"
"Yes." Luna grinned and disappeared. With a groan, Carina followed, Hermione not far behind.
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When the party was over, Carina and Hermione found themselves making their way to the common room, and once they were inside, they made their way to their dorm, which was strangely vacant.
They had not bothered waiting for Harry—Carina had forced him to walk Luna to her common room, so he was sure to be a while.
"Do you remember," said Hermione as they both kicked off their heels and set about getting changed. "When we used to walk through those corridors all the time together after the Basilisk incident, all because you insisted on coming with me to be sure I'd be alright?"
"Yeah," responded Carina softly, slipping on a pair of shorts and sliding her shirt over her head. "I remember." She remembered it all clear as day.
"Carina," thirteen year old Hermione sighed, as they walked alone together through the dark corridor. "Why do you have to follow me everywhere?"
"I don't want you to get hurt," replied Carina easily, taking the other girl's bag despite her protest and slinging it over her shoulder. She grunted. "Man, this is heavy. You carry this around all day?"
"Yes," Hermione snatched it back and lugged it over her shoulder. "I do. I can deal with it myself, I need to prove—"
"—that you're responsible, I know." The raven haired girl laughed lightly and, when the other girl wasn't looking, cast a charm on the bag.
The bookworm noticed immediately, but couldn't resist a smile as she scolded, "Carina, no magic in the corridor."
Carina merely laughed again.
"I'm sorry," the bookworm quickly apologized, noticing the look on the other girl's face. "I shouldn't have…"
"It's fine," Carina waved her off, though her voice stayed quiet as she sat on her bed, deciding that now would be a good time to talk about it. "I remember. Or, now I do. In Azkaban, you lose the good things for a while…" Hermione perched next to her, and her eyes conveyed her guilt and shame as she listened, sensing that the other girl wasn't done as she stared out the window, speaking almost absentmindedly now. "The dementors liked to swarm my cell the most—did you know they gave me dad's old one? I couldn't fight them anymore after a while, so all I could remember were the bad things. It was really cold there...so cold...and the dementors only made it worse; the food was terrible, so I only ate if I couldn't handle it anymore." Carina clasped her hands together between her knees to hide her trembling fingers, but she was sure Hermione noticed. "I could hear the others screaming...some liked to talk to themselves. They're mad—I thought I was going mad, too. I couldn't sleep most nights because of the dementors, and what little I could get, I always had nightmares. I saw him die, over and over again...I felt the beatings, over and over again….all I could feel was how unloved and unwanted I had been for so long, and the pain just wouldn't go away. I don't know how dad handled it for twelve years." Gray eyes flickered up to meet brown. "I wanted to hurt you all so badly...I wondered how you could go off and do something like that to me, when I'd have died for you, all of you…"
She swallowed, but did not speak anymore.
"You have no idea how sorry I am," whispered Hermione sorrowfully, carefully scooting closer. The younger girl did not move away, instead ducked her head and hid her face behind her hair. It had pained her to speak of such things, it had made her remember things she'd rather not, but the brunette needed to know just what she was going to be dealing with if she forgave her. "I was devastated about not only Padfoot, but about my parents, too, though that's definitely no excuse. I should have tried to help, but I was frozen...all of this sounds so stupid, now that I'm saying it." The bookworm noticed how Carina's entire body had tensed, and how her hands were clasped so tightly that it must have been painful. "Turn around, please."
Slowly, Carina twisted so that she was facing Hermione with her legs crossed; gently, the older girl pried her hands apart and took them in her own.
"Oh, Rina," she murmured, not realizing that she had used the old nickname from long ago. Carina did, however, and her breath hitched as she swallowed hard again. Hermione saw the shine in her eyes, and noticed that though the gray eyes were watery, the other girl was stubbornly refusing to let tears fall. "I can't stress this enough, but I am so, so sorry." She reached out to brush a stray lock of hair from Carina's eyes, and said girl felt goosebumps rise all over her body; she attempted to will back her tears, for that simple touch had sent a wave of emotion flooding through her, and she did not want to seem weak.
"I'm fine," managed Carina hoarsely, trying to pull back, only for the grip on her hands to tighten. "It's getting late, we should get to bed before—" She abruptly stopped speaking when Hermione leaned in close and pulled her in for a hug; without meaning to, she inhaled the brunette's scent and slowly wrapped her arms around the other girl.
Is she really…? Did she just...did I just….?
"Remember," The breath that hit her ear made her shiver, but the bookworm did not seem to notice. "Anytime you want to talk, anything you need me for, I'm here." With those words, she pulled away and lay down in her own bed, calling softly, "Goodnight."
I can't believe that just happened…
Still more than a little shocked by what had happened, Carina mumbled back, "Yeah...night."
She lay back in her bed and rolled onto her side, feeling her heart pounding in her chest.