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CARINA FLITTED AROUND HER DORM, THROWING THINGS INTO HER TRUNK. The term was over, and she was headed home for two weeks. Nymphadora laid upside down on her bed watching the girl in the pale sundress dance around the room.
"I think I'm ready. Shall we go meet Charlie?"
"I haven't packed yet," Dora sighed. She stands from her bed and stomps to her own trunk, yanking it open. She's met with the sight of her things folded neatly inside.
"I did it for you. Let's go!" Carina chirps, pulling her trunk down the staircase.
The girls make their way toward the Gryffindor common room. Bill Weasley pops out of the portrait hole when they arrive. He grins and takes the trunk from Carina's grasp.
"Let me take that for you, love," Bill insists, carrying hers and his own now. He steers them in the direction of the carriages. Dora huffs as she carries her trunk unassisted.
"Wait, where—?"
"Relax. Charlie will meet us on the train," Bill laughs.
Carina sighs but doesn't object. The trio boards a carriage that takes them to the Hogwarts Express. While Dora and Bill find a compartment, Carina stays behind on the platform to wait for Charlie. She stands alone for ten minutes before someone slams into her from behind.
Carina is knocked to the ground and hisses as her hands scrape the concrete. The boy who had run into her begins to stutter as he helps her to her feet.
"Oi! Hands off—"
"—our sister, mate!"
Four hands take ahold of her and pull her away from the stranger. She smiles up at Fred and George, who despite being five years younger are taller than Carina.
She doesn't even get the chance to get the boy's name before the twins loop their arms through hers and begin dragging her away. A smile immediately grows on her face as she sees Charlie weaving between students to get to them. The twins release her, and she skips to Charlie's side, taking ahold of his arm as he offers it to her.
"Where's your trunk, love?" Charlie asks, looking down at her.
"Bill took it. He and Dora went to fetch us a compartment," Carina chimes lightly, looking around at all the commotion on the platform. The redhead makes a note to thank his brother for looking after her.
As they board the train, Carina lets go of Charlie's arm and grabs his hand to pull him along. He lets himself be pulled past compartment after compartment by the little Hufflepuff. When she stops abruptly, he runs into her back and grabs her around the waist to steady them.
"Sorry, Charlie. Found them!" She giggles, shoving the door open and slipping inside the compartment.
"Finally! I thought you were going to miss the bloody train," Dora teased. Carina sat down across from her, and Charlie did the same after stowing his trunk.
"Charlie's always late," Carina said absentmindedly. Her eyes were trained on the window, as they always were on the train.
"Hey!" Charlie protested in an offended tone. She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. He lasted about fifteen seconds before he caved.
"Alright, fine. I'm late sometimes."
Carina covered her mouth to keep the giggles from spilling out. Bill coughed under his breath, though it sounded a lot like he said whipped, and Dora snickered. Carina paid them no mind, which Charlie was grateful for as his face turned pink.
Carina watched the scenery out the window every time they rode the Hogwarts Express, entranced by the countryside. This carried on until eventually the greenery lulled her to sleep. At that point, she would fight her droopy eyelids until Charlie gently encouraged her to lay down.
Sleep always took her quickly after her head hit Charlie's lap. His hands would gently run through her hair while he pretended he couldn't see the looks his brother and her sister were giving him.
"Comfy, Charles?" Dora smirked.
"Shut it, Nymphadora."
Dora's hair turned black as she glared furiously at him. He closed his eyes and relaxed against the wall. Charlie was asleep in ten minutes.
-
Bill shook Charlie awake as they neared Platform 9 3/4. Charlie rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked down at the girl peacefully sleeping in his lap. He gently woke her, smiling softly at the sleepy look on her face.
"We're here?" She spoke in a wispy voice that always appeared when she was tired. It was a sort of delirious tone that never failed to warm Charlie's chest.
"Nearly," Dora chimed in. Carina nodded slowly and leaned her head against Charlie's shoulder.
The compartment was bathed in silence as the pair of nappers regained their wits. The train slid to a stop, and Carina's eyes took in all the people gathered on the platform. She searched for her parents for a moment, finding the Weasley's easily but failing to catch sight of her mum and dad.
Charlie pulled her up gently, and she followed him off of the train as he carried both of their trunks. He stood with her as she scanned faces around them.
"Do you see my parents?" She went up onto her toes in an attempt to see over the students in front of her. Charlie chuckled and started walking. She scurried after him, finally seeing her family waiting for her.
"There you are!" Her mother smiled happily. Carina accepted a tight hug before turning back to say goodbye to her best friend.
"I'll see you in two weeks?" Charlie smiled weakly, crushing her against his chest. She smiled into his shirt and wrapped her arms tight around his torso.
"Two weeks," she confirmed. He pulled away from her and kissed the top of her head.
"Think you can last that long, Weasley?" Dora said sarcastically, punching his shoulder. Charlie rolled his eyes and messed up her hair before ambling off to his family.
Carina's father took the girls' trunks and led them off the platform. Her mother wasted no time in pressing the twins for stories from their year at school. Carina felt a familiar longing fill her as she talked about Charlie, her best and only friend.
Two weeks.Two weeks at home feeling utterly and totally homesick.
