And here's twenty-two! Had a bit more time on my hands than expected...it's kinda hectic, really, but tell me what you think!
The next few days passed by rather uneventfully; Kreacher was not back yet, thus causing Carina to hole herself up in the library after every meal so that she could avoid everyone else. She had, of course, taken to reading every book she could get her hands on, dark or not, and was now rather proud of the amount of spells she now knew.
She set her latest book on the table and let out a breath. She had been there for hours, and could not bear to go back out yet—especially after the piano incident.
Just a few hours prior, Carina had been slipping out to get a glass of water and see what the others were up to when she found Ron and Hermione seated at the grand piano; curious, she had stuck around to watch.
She wished she hadn't.
Hermione had had a small, fond smile on her face as she placed her hands dangerously close to Ron's, their fingertips just barely brushing while she tried to teach him whatever it was she had been playing previously. He had stared at their hands intently for a few moments and then at her face, but she had not noticed. Carina had.
So, here she was, hiding in the library like the coward she was.
With a sigh, she climbed onto a shelf and held on tightly, so that she could reach the book at the very top; she was careful, though, for the shelves were rather high. She almost had the book, until the shout of, "Carina!" had her jolting in surprise and tumbling from the shelf.
It was just her luck that she landed on the table, and groaned as she slid off and rolled her shoulders. Harry had been the one to shout, but he did not seem very apologetic as he spoke again, "There's something you need to see."
How did he even find me?
Carina rolled her eyes, but decided she would get back to that later and nodded, following him to the door where the others were waiting.
She had expected to see Ron and Hermione. What she had not expected to see was a haggard looking Remus Lupin standing there; the shock stopped her dead in her tracks, but it wore off quickly and without thinking, Carina drew her wand and leveled it between his eyes. She was not going to take any chances.
"It's alright, I checked him." Harry put a hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off, arm steady.
"No," Remus interrupted. "It's alright. I'd have been disappointed in her if she hadn't. Carina, that night in the library a year ago, I gave you a bracelet that came from your father. That bracelet." He pointed to where it was clamped around her left wrist, had been since she had gotten it. "And we exchanged a good few words I'm sure you'd rather me not say aloud here, and I told you something, right after New Years. Do you remember it?"
"It's alright to feel," repeated the girl softly, almost as though she were in a trance, before stowing her wand away and shamelessly throwing herself at the man, who staggered a bit before wrapping his arms around her securely.
Remus chuckled. "Glad to see me?"
"Possibly." She pulled back slightly, eyeing him as she composed herself. "And the others?"
"Yes. But we're all being watched. There are a couple Death Eaters in the square outside, by the way. I had to apparate very precisely onto the top step outside the front door to be sure they wouldn't see me. They can't know you're in here, or there would be more out there; they're staking out everywhere that's got a connection to you, Harry. Come on, let's go downstairs, there's a lot to tell you."
They made their way to the kitchen, where Hermione ignited a fire, Remus pulled out a few butterbeers, and then sat down.
"You came here straight after the wedding?" questioned Remus. Harry began to explain, thoroughly shocking the man as he went on. The information the man offered in turn was great, for being holed up in Grimmauld Place with only the occasional paper for news was making Carina jittery.
She stared down at the paper he had procured, and she and Hermione's heads were pressed together as they read.
"Muggle-born Register!" Hermione read aloud. "The Ministry of Magic is undertaking a survey of so-called Muggle-borns the better to understand how they came to possess magical secrets. Recent research undertaken by the Department of Mysteries reveals that magic can only be passed from person to person when Wizards reproduce. Where no proven Wizarding ancestry exists, therefore, the so-called Muggle-born is likely to have obtained magic power by force."
Carina took up reading directly after her with a growing sense of dread. "The Ministry is determined to root out such usurpers of magical power, and to this end has issued an invitation to every so-called Muggle-born to present themselves for interview by the newly appointed Muggle-born Registration Commission."
"People won't let this happen," said Ron rather unsurely.
"It is happening, Ron," Remus told him. "Muggle-borns are being rounded up as we speak."
"But how are they supposed to have 'stolen' magic? It's mental, if you could steal magic there wouldn't be any squibs, would there?"
"I know. Nevertheless, unless you can prove that you have at least one close Wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your magical power illegally and must suffer the punishment."
Ron glanced at Hermione. "What if purebloods and half-bloods swear a Muggle-born's part of their family? I'll tell everyone Hermione's my cousin."
Hermione covered Ron's hand with her own and squeezed it, and Carina hid a wince and looked away, already forming a plan in her head.
I know it's considered dark...okay, is dark, but if I do the blood adoption I found in that book in the library, she'll officially be a Black within a couple days. It'll give her a bit of the magic, a bit of the features...not enough to change her magical signature or her entire appearance…..or I could take the easy way out and slaughter anyone who looks at her the wrong way. I mean, I could blow up the ministry if I really tried, and—
She shook her head and tuned back into the conversation.
"But I might still be of some use to you," Remus was saying. "You know what I am and what I can do. I could come to provide protection, and there would be no need to tell me exactly what you're up to."
Harry hesitated, but Hermione did not and spoke up. "What about Tonks?"
"What about her?"
"Well," Hermione frowned. "You're married! How does she feel about you going away with us?"
"Tonks will be perfectly safe." The werewolf folded his hands. "She'll be at her parent's house."
There was something strange about his tone, Carina realized. It was cold, and she knew for a fact that Tonks would much rather be fighting than left alone at her parents' home, unless, of course, she was ill or….or….
Oh no.
"Is everything alright between…?"
Remus heaved a great sigh, as though admitting something unpleasant. "Tonks is going to have a baby."
"How wonderful!"
I was right, then.
But this did not sit well with Carina. She did not like the idea of her surrogate uncle abandoning her older cousin and not-yet-born baby cousin just to go on some quest with them to rid the world of Voldemort and his horcruxes.
"So...do you accept my offer? Will four become five? I doubt Dumbledore wouldn't have approved, considering he made me your Defense teacher, after all. And I must tell you, I believe we are facing magic many of us have never encountered or imagined."
Ron looked at Harry. Hermione looked at Carina.
Neither of the latters looked very happy.
"Just to be clear," Harry said, clearly disapproving. "You want to leave Tonks at her parents' house and come away with us?"
"She'll be perfectly safe there." He spoke with a finality bordering on indifference, and though Carina cared for the man a great deal, she could not, would not allow this to continue. "Harry, Carina, I'm sure James and Sirius would have wanted me to stick by you."
"Actually," interrupted Carina as evenly as she could. "As much as Dad would have wanted us safe, he would've wondered why you weren't sticking with your own child, actually."
Remus's face drained of color. The temperature of the kitchen might have dropped ten degrees, and Ron stared around the room as though he had been instructed to memorize it, while Hermione's eyes flickered from Remus, to Harry, to Carina and back.
"You don't understand," the man said finally. "Carina, I made a mistake marrying Tonks. I wasn't thinking clearly and have regretted it ever since."
"I see," Harry watched him as he spoke, and the girl kept silent for the time being. "So you're just going to dump her and the kid and run off with us?"
Remus sprang to his feet, causing the chair to topple over backward, and he glared at them so fiercely that they saw, for the first time ever, the shadow of a wolf upon his face.
"Don't you understand what I've done to my wife and unborn child? I should never have married her, I've made her an outcast!" He kicked aside the chair he had overturned; gone was the calm and thoughtful man who had given her the bracelet and offered her words of comfort. "You've only ever seen me with the Order or under the protection of Dumbledore at Hogwarts! When they know what I am, they can barely talk to me—don't you see what I've done? Even her own family is disgusted by our marriage...what parents want their only daughter to marry a werewolf? And the child—the child—" He seized handfuls of his hair, looking quite deranged. "My kind don't usually breed! How can I forgive myself when I knowingly passed my condition onto an innocent child? If, by some miracle, it doesn't turn out like me, then it'll be better off, without a father it should be ashamed of!"
Hermione was visibly upset by this, tears in her eyes as she whispered, "Don't say that, Remus. How could any child be ashamed of you?"
"I am," Carina ignored her with great effort and stepped forward to stand directly in front of the man, staring him dead in the eye. Remus looked as though she had hit him. "If they think the muggle-borns are bad, what do you think they'll do to a half werewolf whose father's in the Order? My dad died protecting us because of our own stupidity, and you think he'd tell you to run off with us and abandon your kid?" She took another step forward, glowering. She could not help it—this was not the man she knew, and she was determined to fix it.
"You don't understand—" Remus seemed to be struggling to control his own temper.
"—I understand perfectly. You think that if you leave it'll be better off, but what that kid needs is a father. It will. I grew up without a father or a mother, and it'll be damn lucky if it gets even one with the rate you're going." She scowled, clenching her fists. "Werewolf or not, I would've happily accepted any sort of parent I'd have got. No, you're not coming. You're going."
The werewolf looked livid. "It will have Tonks and her family, and I'm sure it'll be fine without me! It would not need me to be there, causing society to shun it because of what it's father is—"
Carina gritted her teeth. No, he would not be staying. It did not matter how outcasted the child was; she could remember her own childhood clearly, nights spent curled up in the corner of a basement or closet, whimpering and softly crying for her daddy, mommy, anyone.
She was not about to subject that to her own family if she could help it.
"You. Are. Going." She punctuate every word with a jab to his chest, and the last had her snarling. "Or I will make you."
"I'd never have believed this," added Harry, joining her as he realized what she was doing. His own frustration was getting the better of him, but he understood all the same. "The man who taught us to fight dementors...a coward."
Remus drew his wand so fast that neither teen could reach for their own; there was a loud bang, and they found themselves flying backward as if punched. Harry slammed into the kitchen wall, Carina not too far behind, and as they slid to the floor in a tangled heap, the could just glimpse Remus's cloak disappearing around the door.
The others called out for him, but he did not reply.
He was gone.
"How could you, Harry?" wailed Hermione.
Harry stood and helped Carina to his feet; while he was visibly shaking with anger, she could only feel her hands trembling.
"Don't look at me like that," he snapped at Hermione.
"Don't you start on her," snarled Ron before Carina could open her mouth. She scowled again, but did not speak.
"Stop it!" Hermione launched herself between them, wiping her tears with her sleeve. "Fighting won't solve anything."
"You two shouldn't have said that stuff to Lupin."
"He had it coming to him." Harry's eyes glinted in the light. "Parents shouldn't leave their kids unless they've got to."
"No," Carina stared at the ground, letting out a shuddering breath. "They shouldn't." She could barely feel the consoling hand on her arm as she sunk to the floor, suddenly weary.
She could not bring herself to feel any regret for her words or actions-she had done what was best, and now her cousins would have a husband and a father for however long the war would allow. Hopefully Remus would come to his senses and convince Tonks to go into hiding...but, no. That would never work, because they were both far too stubborn for their own good—especially Tonks. She was probably already itching to fight.
She had not noticed Harry voicing his own regret to Ron and Hermione, and when she noticed the other two hurriedly glancing away from each other, shifted and slunk to the fireplace, curling up in a ball.
She did not care to hear what would happen next.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A short while later, a deafening crack echoed around the kitchen, and Carina's head snapped up, and she could catch the scents—the disgusting scents—of Mundungus Flether and Kreacher, who bowed to Carina and croaked, "Kreacher has returned with the thief Mundungus Fletcher, Mistress."
Mundungus scrambled to his feet and drew his wand, but Hermione was too quick for him.
"Expelliarmus!"
His wand soared into the air, and she caught it. Wild eyed, Mundungus dived for the stairs and Ron rugby tackled him, causing the man to hit the stone floor with a muffle crunch.
"What?" he bellowed. "Wha've I done? Setting a bleedin' house elf on me, what are you playing at, wha've I done, lemme go, lemme go—"
"You're not in a position to make threats," said Harry casually. He tossed aside the newspaper, crossed the kitchen in a few short strides, and dropped to his knees beside Mundungus, who looked afraid. Ron got up, panting, and watched as Harry pointed his wand at Mundungus's nose.
Carina snorted at the stench and crept forward. If Mundungus looked afraid before, now he was positively terrified as she eyed him with unmasked disgust.
"Kreacher apologizes for the delay, Mistress." Her ears pricked, and she swung her head around to peer at him for a moment. "Fletcher knows how to avoid capture. He has many hidey holes, but Kreacher caught the thief in the end."
She shifted back so that she could speak to him. "You've done well, Kreacher."
"Thank you, Mistress." The elf bowed to her.
"Right, we've got some questions for you," Harry told Mundungus.
"Look, I panicked," the man began to defend himself hastily, but flinched violently as Carina slammed a hand on the tabletop hard, drawing his attention.
"Save it," she cut him off sharply. "You're going to answer our question now. We don't need your excuses."
His eyes darted about anxiously. "Yeah? What kind?"
"The kind that involve the locket you stole from my house."
"Locket? What locket?"
Carina snarled loudly, grabbed the man, and with an impressive surge of strength, heaved Mundungus up and slammed him against the wall.
"A large one," supplied Harry quickly, coming to stand by her side. "With the letter S in the center. Where is it?"
"Gone. But it doesn't matter, Sirius never cared about any of that junk—"
There was a clatter, a blaze of shining copper, an echoing clang, and a shriek of agony; Kreacher had run at Mundungus and hit him in the head with a saucepan.
"Call 'im off, call 'im off," he screamed, cowering as Kreacher raised the heavy bottomed pan again.
"Kreacher, no!" shouted Harry, and the elf hesitated, thin arms trembling under the weight of the pan he still held aloft as his eyes sought Carina.
"Perhaps just one more, Mistress Carina, for luck?" he asked hopefully.
Ron laughed.
I finally like this elf.
"We need him conscious for now, unfortunately," Carina told him, ruefully releasing Mundungus and allowing him to hastily straighten, rubbing his head. "But if you'd like, you can bash his ugly head in after we're done."
"Carina!" cried Hermione, as Kreacher thanked her and backed away, eyes fixed upon Mundungus with loathing. She sighed, realizing that she would get nowhere, and turned to the thief. "Where is the locket?"
"Why should I tell—" Mundungus stopped abruptly when Carina's wand subtly jabbed his side, and he gulped as she circled him, trailing it around his back. He cleared his throat. "Er, got it confiscated by some ministry hag. Said it was illegal to be sellin' stuff on the streets and whatnot, took it for herself and let me off with a warning, bleedin' snoop..." He trailed off as his eyes settled on their copy of the Daily Prophet; he reached for it, and the wand on his side jabbed him, causing him to flinch. Instead, he merely pointed. "Her, right there. That's it."
"Umbridge!" Ron exclaimed, and leaned closer to study the picture. "You sure?"
"'ow could I forget an ugly face like that?"
"Great," muttered Carina. "Now we've got to ambush the toad." She vaguely noticed that Harry had dropped his wand and lit Mundungus on fire, but could care less. "Kreacher, get rid of him for us. Do whatever you want to him along the way, just make sure he lives afterward."
Hermione would not forgive her if she allowed poor, poor Kreacher to kill someone and damage his little soul. Inwardly, she actually chuckled. On the outside, however, she did not such thing and faced the others as the house elf grinned maniacally, grabbed the man, and disappeared with a crack.
"So," she said conversationally, snagging a butterbeer off the table and taking a swig as she leaned against the wall. "Dinner, anyone?"
To her surprise, instead of gaping like she thought they might, everyone actually cracked a smile.