Here's 32 up for you! Sorry if it isn't very good, but I know it'll probably be better next chapter. Thanks for the recent reviews, please add more, and lastly, enjoy!
Hermione's heart stopped, and she swallowed, carefully drawing her hand away. Carina's eyes gleamed, but she did not say anything about it or show any outward expression that it had bothered her.
"How long," Hermione found herself saying after that. "I...I want to know how long."
"It doesn't matter," the raven haired girl responded, shaking her head and crossing her arms, before leaning her hip against the table.
"Carina."
"It doesn't—"
But Hermione needed to know. She needed to know just how badly she had hurt her friend over the years with her constant crying and pining for Ronald Weasley, needed to know how badly it had bothered her when she dismissed their kiss at New Years as nothing but a prank, when she was sure she had felt something. Something strange.
"—please."
The other witch sighed, and it took the brunette a moment to realize that for the longest time, Carina Black had never denied her anything; this, perhaps, was why.
"Our first year. In terms of realizing it myself, our fourth." Gray eyes appraised her for a moment, before flickering briefly to the boys and back. "If you think I'm going to make some speech about how if you want me to leave, I will, you're wrong. It's too bloody cheesy and I've got no intention of leaving—it would be suicide if I did, considering I'm Undesirable Number Two and people are on the lookout for me. You can avoid me, you don't have to speak to me, or help me, or even look at me. But I'm staying."
Hermione studied her, feeling a pang. Carina was preparing for rejection, and to be shoved aside with this revelation; had she not tried hard enough to instill in the younger girl that she cared, that she would never do such a thing?
"You should leave," cut in Ron, and though Harry tried to stop him, he glowered at the raven haired witch. "I'm here now, I can protect them. We don't need you around, pining after Hermione day and night…"
How dare he say such a thing to her? Hermione felt her previous anger rise. If he thinks he's doing this for some greater good, that we really don't need her…
Her thoughts were interrupted by Carina, who pushed herself off the table and grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt; he shoved her back, but she caught her balance quickly.
"You think I can't protect her, Weasley?" She drew herself up to her full height of five foot seven, and though he still trumped her with his own five foot eleven, towering over her by a mere four inches. She did not cower before him.
"I know you can't."
She got even closer to him, fists balled by her sides and a muscle working in her jaw. "How about we test that? Drop the sword and let's see how big of a man you are, then, Weasley."
The sword clattered to the ground, and Ron drew his wand. Carina flicked her wrist, and her own was in her hand in an instant.
They would kill each other, and the thought of those two, those particular two people doing such a thing was unbearable.
I have to stop them!
"No," Hermione interrupted. "Lower your wands."
Carina flexed her fingers around her wand, but did not give any indication she had heard, while Ron's eyes flickered to her for a brief moment.
"Lower your wands," she interrupted more firmly this time, knowing she could not use magic because Harry still probably did not trust her with a wand just yet. "Carina, Ron."
Two wands reluctantly dropped in unison, and there was an irritated huff of breath from the raven haired girl, who did not put it away and instead held it at her side, arm tense; she clearly did not trust the redhead not to make a move, and judging by his stance, he thought the same.
"Ron, Carina can protect me just fine, and we definitely don't want her to leave." Hermione, without meaning to, had made her voice sharper and colder than usual. "It's dangerous. Stop provoking her. And Carina…" Her voice softened slightly when she turned to her friend. "I'm definitely not going to avoid you, or not speak to you. That wouldn't be right. Besides, we need you."
"But you'll never love me that way," said the other girl, waving a hand with an air of mocking, though it was not directed at anyone in particular. "And all the other cheesy things you're supposed to say. Don't, by the way. That's the bloody worst thing you could say to someone."
"I wasn't going to say that." Hermione crossed her arms.
She hadn't been. She knew it was a useless thing to say, and even if she had, she wouldn't have mean it. This strange feeling of hers...she needed to think on it more. She needed to...experiment. She needed to figure out what she was feeling and why, and why her affection wasn't solely devoted to Ron.
Dark brows raised in surprise. "What were you going to say?"
The brunette paused, biting her lip. "Can we go for a walk?" Ron made to protest, but she cut him off. "We'll be fine. Don't do this."
He closed his mouth and exchanged a look with Harry, who shrugged, and then all eyes were back on Carina, who nodded once in consent and led the way out of the tent and into the cold.
It was a biting kind of cold, that much was true, and Hermione was thankful she was wearing a jacket as they walked along side by side, hands in coat pockets as they meandered through the forest.
"I wanted to talk to you in private," she said after a few moments, once they were far enough from the tent that they would not be seen or heard, for she was sure Ron would try to spy. "About, well, all this."
"I didn't think there would be much to talk about," remarked Carina, seeming considerably calmer in the forest with just Hermione, far away from the tent and Ron. She leaned her back against a tree, and gray eyes roved over the older girl as she stepped closer so she could be heard. "You don't feel the same, that's it, right?"
"I care for you very much, Carina. But I don't know what I feel. It's all very...confusing. Jumbled up."
"I understand."
Hermione let out a breath, and she could see it in the moonlight, whisping between the two of them. She hesitated. "I want to...for lack of better word, I want to experiment."
"Experiment?" Carina did not look happy nor unhappy, though her brows drew together in confusion. "If you were anyone else I'd say you wanted to be with Weasley but have me as a bit on the side."
The bookworm rapidly shook her head, appalled at the thought of such a thing and happy the other girl didn't think it of her. "No, never! It's just...I want to be sure of things, do you understand?"
"Yes."
"And I want to try something. Would that be alright?"
There was a puff of breath let out, and arms crossed. However, there was no hesitation, no questions, not like there would have been from anyone else. "Do it."
Hermione hesitated and drew herself even further into Carina's space, and the raven haired girl pushed herself off the tree, watching her carefully. So, the brunette moved closer and pulled Carina in for a tight hug, though this time, it was different. She tilted her head so that it could rest on Carina's shoulder, and arms wrapped around her as well, holding her firmly. She could spell the pine and vanilla, which was one of the stranger combinations she had encountered in her life, but still rather enticing at the same time.
They did not move for a great many minutes, not until finally, Carina slowly extracted herself and held Hermione at arm's length, fingers flexing as they slid from her upper arms to her wrists subconsciously.
"That's it, huh?" she murmured. "Seemed fairly simple to me, Mione."
"That's it for now, I suppose, yes." The other witch nodded, eyes flickering about as she felt her cheeks flush, whether from embarrassment or the biting cold, she did not know. "We were always more...affectionate with each other before, anyway."
"And so you want to experiment." The raven haired teen's lips quirked up in amusement, and it seemed as though her animosity from before had long since faded. Eyes roved over her face, and the smile dropped. "I won't be used, Hermione. Remember that. I'll do anything you want, but if this is some fluke, if this doesn't turn out like what you thought it would be, after we get everything settled, I'm leaving. I won't be back."
Hermione swallowed, realizing the seriousness of the situation she was in, but still too stubborn to back down from. She could deal with the consequences. She knew what she was getting herself into, but that did not mean the thought frightened her more than it should have. Lose Carina? For good?
She won't stay to be friends with me forever, not if it means getting her heart broken over and over again. I shouldn't be bothered by this—it's perfectly logical and she'll be doing the right thing if it happens. She doesn't deserve any more pain.
"So," Carina watched her, head tilting to the side; Hermione could feel the solid grip on her wrists, and knew that that was the other girl's way of dragging her out of her thoughts to get her attention. The grip loosened when she looked over. "What is it you want?"
"I…" Hermione looked down, but felt an uncomfortable pressure on her wrists and glanced back up. "I was going to say that we just...try whatever is natural." It sounded ridiculous, even to her own ears, but she could not quell her need to know, to understand.
"Natural." The raven haired girl released her wrists and flexed her own, nodding once as she straightened her jacket sleeves. "Got it."
"Perhaps we should be getting back. It's cold out here."
Carina merely nodded again and took her hand, entwining their fingers together. Right when they reached the tent entrance, right where the boys could see, the teen reached behind her back and produced a full, red rose that Hermione knew had not been there before.
Magic. She's using magic. And she's gotten better, too.
Ron gaped at them as they entered, but Hermione could not bring herself to care at the moment and instead accepted the rose, a smile tugging at her lips as she carefully avoided the thorns and dropped it into a conjured vase on the table, before filling it with water.
She did not miss the smirk that appeared on Carina's lips as she passed Ron.
Natural. It seemed that things might be a bit different after all.
~~~xxx~~~
The next day, when they arrived at Xenophilius Lovegood's home, Carina had at first been excited, for that meant she would see Luna soon after so many months of separation. But, as time wore on in the cottage, she grew suspicious and came to the conclusion that something was not right; fear was rolling off him in waves. She was sure the others were able to see it, but she could smell it, it was so strong.
He had just gotten to the end of the story about the Deathly Hallows when she found herself leaning forward in her seat, hands gripping the edge of the couch the four teens were wedged on.
"Luna isn't here," she said quietly, through gritted teeth. "Is she?"
"Of course she is," the man mumbled, hastily offering her the teapot. "She'll be back in a few moments...tea?"
He was lying. As she took in a whiff of the place, she could tell that Luna's scent—honeysuckle and cherries—was stale, faded. If she had been there recently, it would have been much, much stronger. And, Xenophilius Lovegood wouldn't have been such a nervous wreck, not to have his daughter with him safe and sound.
"No." She glanced over at the others, who were looking increasingly uncomfortable, and her eyes fell upon Ron Weasley, who had been staring at her. She returned her attention to Xenophilius. "She's not here. I know she isn't. Where is she?"
"I-I told you, she's at the river—"
Harry seemed to come to the same conclusion as she and stood, drawing his wand as he said firmly, "Let us go. Don't make us hurt you."
"They-they took her!" The blonde man cried, sounding a bit deranged. He leapt to his feet, shakily drew his wand, and blocked the door, free arm outstretched as if to stop them. "NO! You can't...you can't leave. I had to call them, for her, for my Luna...I'll get her back now….oh, my poor Luna!"
His ramblings had obviously spooked Hermione, who had drawn her wand just as Lovegood shot off a stunner; Harry shoved Ron and Hermione aside, Carina being too far away, and it left only the two of them under the majority of the rubble, scrambling to get out. Carina found herself being smashed against Ron Weasley under the invisibility cloak when she finally got to her feet, and she found herself being drug around a corner with Harry and Hermione both in a similar position; it did not matter that their feet showed. What mattered now was getting out alive, and so she did not dwell on the fact that she was tucked neatly under the redhead's arm as they hustled themselves up what was left of the stairs..
Voices sounded, and she knew almost immediately that they were Death Eaters, called there by Xenophilius Lovegood to take them in; with a growing sense of dread, she realized why.
"I had to call them here, for her, for my Luna...I'll get her back now…"
Luna had been taken, and now she could be who knows where, being held hostage and maybe even tortured by some Death Eaters or Voldemort himself…
She could be dead. Carina inwardly cursed when she felt her body begin to tremble at the thought, and hoped that Ron Weasley did not notice.
~~~xxx~~~
Ron Weasley did indeed feel her trembling body, however, and knew for a fact it could not be from fear, or revulsion. He was not quite sure what at first, not until he remembered what Lovegood had said about his daughter, Luna.
She had been taken, and the big, bad, fearless Carina Black was afraid for her. So afraid, in fact, that she was quivering where she stood under his arm, trying desperately to hide it and failing. He noticed more than he would like to admit sometimes, and he could not find it in him to fault her for this. He could find fault in her for many things—her temper, her ruthlessness, her attitude, her past, the scars marring her body, the way she at times displayed an arrogance that made him want to shout, and that careless front she put up when bothered by something.
But he could not fault her for her love for Luna Lovegood, nor for Hermione Granger.
That did not mean he had to like the latter, though. No, he would fight for the girl he loved as well, but right now, there were far more important things to worry about.
~~~xxx~~~
Carina shuffled into an empty, almost completely demolished room with the others, breaking away from them and crouching under a table, and they could hear Xenophilius stammering downstairs, "I've got no idea where they've gone, they were right here, I'm telling you the truth, please! I just want my Luna back—"
It was not working. They were angry, and were scouring the place for the four of them already; Carina was thankful one of them was not Greyback, else by now they'd be dead. He'd have smelt them from a mile away, been able to track them with ease.
She listened carefully as the Death Eaters spoke among themselves, cursing, and she could hear Luna's father shriek in pain; she winced and clenched her fist.
"They've got to be here somewhere, Selwyn," said the first Death Eater, obviously impatient. "Why don't we just check?"
"Do not tell me what to do," snapped the other man, Selwyn. "Homenum Revelio." After a moment, there was a dark chuckle. "Oh, they're here. Come, let's go and get them."
Carina could see Harry slip his—no, the extra Ron had brought—wand out from under the cloak when the men finally climbed their way up, and when the first got in the doorway he whispered, "Stupefy."
One Death Eater dropped to the ground, and the other glanced about, eyes wide and wand drawn, obviously wondering where this was coming from. He was gripping his wand tightly and smelt nothing like the other, who she presumed to be Selwyn.
Before she could do anything, Ron had stunned the other, and the remaining two Death Eaters came in, shouting and reviving their fallen comrades. Carina held her breath and waited for them to pass, but instead they headed straight for the corner of the room her three companions were hiding in.
She stared straight at the spot they were hidden and mouthed, Go. I'll follow.
"No," came the nearly inaudible whisper of Hermione, only barely heard by the Death Eaters and further reinforcing them to edge toward that corner cautiously. "Ron, Harry, get ready."
The men were mere inches away when Carina slipped out from underneath the table and drew herself up to her full height.
"Looking for me?" she said far more confidently than she felt, and they spun around, spells on their lips; her wand slid into her palm and she only barely erected a shield, sending two dark curses sailing back at their respective casters. Those two fell two the ground, one with his entrails spilling out and another covered in angry red slashes, bleeding profusely. "Stupefy!"
The remaining Death Eaters dodged, and she swiped her hand in the direction of where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were hidden. The message was clear: Go.
They did not. She would have expected it from Harry, or even Hermione, but she did not expect Ron Weasley to appear on the other side of the room and stun a Death Eater in the back; Carina scowled at that, but nevertheless cast a Flipendo Tria, sending him flying from the room and smashing into the ground below. He had to have broken something, but she paid it no more heed and grabbed Harry when he and Hermione appeared.
"Go, go!"
They turned abruptly on the spot, and the sickening, squeezing feeling of apparation was gone just as suddenly as it began when they all collapsed in a heap on a hillside, gasping for air.
"That was," panted Ron. "Bloody hell, that was mad! That traitor! Luna's worth ten of him!"
"He wanted his daughter back," defended Hermione. "He thought he was doing the right thing, not that that would have excused his actions today. They never would have returned her!" She turned and began to set up the protection spells, though it was clear to anyone that she was listening. "Oh, I do hope she's alright, though…"
"Well, if they're telling the truth and she's still alive—"
"—don't say that! She has to be alive, she just has to!" When she finished her spells and the boys and Carina set to work setting up the tent, she cast a warning look at Ron.
He did not notice. "Then she'll be in Azkaban, though, and who knows what'll happen to her there...loads don't survive…"
The conversation was stopped there when Carina slammed her fist into a tree, blood boiling and the adrenaline from earlier still flooding through her; she could not feel it right now. The other three stopped talking abruptly and turned to stare at her.
"I survived," Carina found herself muttering through gritted teeth. "And dad did. Even if she is there, I think she's strong enough to make it."
I hope she is. She might not even be there, but if she is...Carina could not bear to think of her best friend in a place like that, where all her worst nightmares would come true over and over again. And...Oh Merlin, I really hope not….her mum, she saw her die…
Like I saw my dad die.
She shook her head wildly, though she could still feel pain stab at her heart and her stomach flutter nervously. She had no idea what could be happening to Luna Lovegood right now, and now, she would only continue to worry until she knew otherwise.
Poor Xenophilius. He had to feel the same, and though she despised that he sold them out, she could understand. Luna meant everything to him.
"Carina?" a soft voice made her snap out of her daze, and she found Hermione slowly approaching her, looking worried. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," the raven haired girl tried, before she felt her throat constrict and her hands begin to tremble. She swallowed hard and hardened her voice. "Fine. Let's get inside shall we?"
She strode off and crawled into the tent, but did not miss concerned gray eyes following her every move.
~~~xxx~~~
Later that night, after they had listened to the radio and Carina had forced herself to calm and wrapped a bandage around her knuckles, she was left listening to the others yet again discuss the Hallows and their chances of winning this war. She was not paying much attention, too focused on a certain blonde witch; that is, until Harry got very adamant.
"Hermione, he's got it, don't you see?" The boy was frustrated, that much she could tell. "Vol—"
"No!" exclaimed Hermione at once, attempting to shush him.
"Harry!" came the frantic cry from Ron.
"—demort's got the Elder Wand!" Harry clenched his fists, chest heaving, and Carina marveled for a moment at how this idiot could be the boy she had chosen to forgive.
A loud crack sounded outside as Ron bellowed, "They jinxed the name, Harry! I told you they jinxed it—we need to get the protections back up, hurry—"
But he was stopped short when the Sneakoscope on the table lit up and began to spin.
"Come out," said a voice. "You've got a dozen wands on you and no way out."
Carina cursed and rammed into Harry, who fell over after that paired with the curse to the face from Hermione, causing it to swell; she must have been masking his identity, though it would no no good if they recognized her, or any of them. It would be too obvious.
As they were wrestled out of the tent, Carina found her wand being wrenched from her grip, and strong, hairy arms wrapped around her—the stench was overwhelming, and she knew at once who this was.
"Miss me?" whispered Greyback, and she could feel his grin against her neck before he took a sharp whiff and pulled away. "You actually smell good...good enough to eat, that is."
She kicked him hard in the shin for that comment, and he passed her off to someone else and leant over Harry, questioning him. And of course, that dumb boy just had to make up a name composed of his uncle and cousins', Vernon Dudley. It was utterly ridiculous.
"And you?" Greyback faced Ron, whose mouth was full of blood from a hit from one of the Snatchers.
"Bardy," he managed back. "Bardy Weasley."
"A Weasley?" The werewolf scowled. "So you're a blood traitor, even though you're not a mudblood, then. And lastly, your pretty little friend…"
The hunger in his voice had Carina kicking her captor, attempting to free herself, but another grabbed her by the other arm and held tight. She continued to squirm for the next for minutes, twitching and jerking, until finally she was stopped by a wand poking her back.
"I wouldn't if I were you," murmured a Snatcher. "I'd keep very, very still. If you don't, I'll be forced to kill you."
She felt a rumble in her chest, but did not otherwise move, not even when they brought out the sword of Gryffindor and confiscated it. How could Harry be so stupid? Using it to cut firewood? Idiot!
"For a Mudblood," said Scabior, and Carina instantly tuned into this. "She sure is a pretty little thing." he stepped forward and caressed a terrified looking Hermione's cheek. "Hello, beautiful."
That would not stand, damn the wand in her back and damn the consequences!
"Don't touch her," growled Carina, jerking against the grips on her arms.
"Oh," Scabior laughed. "Someone's touchy. This your girlfriend? You don't like this, huh?" He trailed his fingers down Hermione's arm, and the girl stood stock still, knowing that if she moved it may very well be the end of her.
And damn the bloody others, too.
That was the last thought Carina had before she slammed her head back into a Snatcher's, and when his grip loosened, she whirled on the other one and slammed a fist into his nose. He drew his wand and fired off a spell, but by some miracle she managed to dodge not one, but two, one shot from a fellow Snatcher attempting to help.
She found herself seized roughly by the arms by a man, but it was not Greyback, who was merely watching amusedly with a wicked smirk in place and not doing a single thing. Not yet.
She snarled wildly and surged forward, straight for Scabior, who merely smiled and rested his palm on Hermione's collar, dangerously close to her chest.
That did it. Her vision rimmed red, and she lost it.
Carina did not quite know what she did, or what really happened. All she knew was that one moment she was being held by the arms again, and the next she was a wolf crouching low to the ground, snout dripping with blood and something clamped between her teeth. She could taste the blood, and as she stared up at a Snatcher, whose wand was pointed between her eyes, she growled low and dropped whatever it had been that was in her mouth; glancing down briefly, she could see that it was a body part. More specifically, actually….
Her eyes trailed over to where the trickle of blood on the ground ended, and she saw Scabior laying on the ground, eyes wide and unseeing, his throat torn out, chest and face covered in angry red slashes, and one finger missing. It was...gruesome, to say at least.
"Listen," growled Greyback finally, leaning down close to her face. She snapped at him, dangerously close to his nose, and laid her ears flat back on her head, eyeing him warily. "You did me a favor by getting rid of that one—he was a nuisance. But you're outnumbered. Change back, now, and perhaps I'll make the mudblood's death quick."
She snarled once at him, but nevertheless shifted, knowing he was telling the truth. She was outnumbered and she could not fight them all off—it would surely end in the death of her comrades and possibly worse. Besides, she got what she wanted, and though she didn't want to follow through without fighting anymore, she had to.
As she was yanked to her feet by Greyback, she caught the eye of Harry, who had a rather blank expression on his swollen face, passed over Ron, who looked downright revolted and maybe just a bit smug at Scabior's fate, and finally, they landed on Hermione.
Hermione, who, at the moment, looked horror struck and maybe a little green. Wide brown eyes met hers, and Carina could taste the blood drying when she licked her lips; she knew this would bother the other girl. Of course it would. But she could not bring herself to care, because as far as she was concerned, that man had gotten what he deserved.
If only she could do the same to Greyback.
One of the men finally shook himself out of his stupor, laughed weakly, and said, "You sure she ain't one of yours, Greyback?"
"Positive," the werewolf replied, though he grinned nastily at her. "But maybe she can be soon enough, just like that Lupin."
Hermione's eyes gleamed, and Carina gritted her teeth and forced herself to look away just before Greyback apparated off with her, the Snatchers sure to follow.