Dirty Mouth, Dirty Blood [h.g]

eleven

11

Then

Carina walked out of the Great Hall, pushing curls away from her face breathlessly. She liked the feel of the metal snake on her back, liked the clicking sound her golden heels made, and she liked how the night air felt against her skin.

Letting down the part of her hair that had been pulled into a knot, Carina smiled giddily. She always had liked parties, liked having everyone's eyes on her.

Carina furrowed her eyebrows upon hearing the sound of muffled crying. She presumed that someone must have been dumped, and Carina never resisted the urge to gloat.

But when Carina stumbled upon Hermione Granger, she sighed deeply before screwing her face up in a disbelieving manner.

"Granger, must you always be such a downer? Here I was, having a good time, and you had to go and be a fucking mess."

"Piss off Malfoy." Hermione said softly, and swallowing her pride, Carina stooped down to the Gryffindor's level.

"You looked beautiful tonight, Hermione. Don't let anyone take that away from you. That's my job." Carina placed a soft kiss right at Hermione's hairline and walked away, cursing herself for breaking character.

She couldn't slip like that again.

Now

Carina sat on the edge of Hermione's bed; taking in the way the Gryffindor's eyes were glazed over and how chewed her bottom lip looked.

Something was very wrong.

Carina bumped her nose into Hermione's gently, giving her a quick kiss on the lips as she did. Hermione smiled slightly, and Carina felt relief wash over her.

Carina didn't know where her boundaries were with Hermione; they hadn't talked after their incident in the bathroom. There were little things the two did, little sources of comfort they partook in, but nothing to let Carina know how Hermione really felt.

Hermione held Carina's hand under the table as they ate; Carina was dominant in her left and Hermione her right, so no one really noticed. Carina assumed that Lupin suspected something, but he wasn't about to say anything. And the two had rearranged the room so their beds were near each other, so Carina could watch Hermione fall asleep before doing it herself. It helped remind her that she was safe, away from the Manor.

Hermione had seemed on board with everything Carina had tried, but she didn't want to scare the brunette away. Hermione had the advantage, and Carina was smart enough to know that she wanted Hermione a lot more than Hermione wanted her.

It was cowardice, yes, but calculated. Carina knew when to be brave, to put herself out there, and she also knew when to step back, and let things play out.

This was one of those times.

So she ran her fingers through Hermione's frizzy curls, trying to figure out what was wrong without explicitly asking.

Hermione sighed slightly, leaning into the blonde. "A war's starting, Carina. I don't know if I'm ready. And my parents, they're Muggles, I don't want them to get hurt. It's all just so overwhelming sometimes, you know? And everyone thinks I'm some kind of savior, they're expecting me to save the world. And I don't know if I can do it."

"Granger," Carina said awkwardly, "you know I'm no good at sentiment. But if I were, I would say that you are the bravest, cleverest person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and if anyone could save the wizarding world, it'd be you. Potter and Weasel would be dead 20 times over by now if it weren't for you, and so yes, you have a responsibility to them in a way, but if people want to be saved, they can up and save themselves and stop putting so much fucking pressure on you."

Hermione laughed softly. "Eloquently put."

"It got you to laugh, didn't it?"

"C'mere," Hermione giggled, pulling Carina into a kiss. "And just so you know, Malfoy, you'll be taking me on a real date once we're out of Grimmauld Place."

Carina's breath caught in her throat, and a smile tugged her cheeks so hard they hurt. Hermione was hers.

Now all she had to do was not fuck it up.