Carina Black: Life After Azkaban

Oscar

All too soon, it was time for Harry to go off to Hogwarts. Carina was happy that he would have the opportunity to go to the school she loved so dearly, but she didn't feel quite ready for him to leave yet. She'd grown fond of the boy, and was now accustomed to having company in her cramped little home. Still, as she said goodbye, she couldn't help feeling a sense of pride and happiness as she watched her godson depart from King's Cross on the Hogwarts Express. Besides, she saw a little red-headed boy sit down in the seat with him before he left, so she already knew he would make friends.

As Carina left the station, she felt an odd sense of foreboding. The feeling got stronger and stronger the closer she came to her house.

I'm sure it's nothing. You're just upset because Harry's gone to Hogwarts. You're overreacting, she told herself. Yet, she couldn't shake the feeling as she walked past the corner and down the street to her house. She entered the house and felt her stomach lurch as she beheld the sight of Lucius Malfoy and a strange man standing menacingly inside her living room.

"Ah, Carina Black. It's a pleasure to see you again," Lucius hissed.

"What do you want?" Carina snapped, angrily.

"As quick tempered as usual, I see. Quick to make... assumptions. In any case, I'm here because my dear friend here has told me that you have some information. Information about the mystery of Harry Potter's mysterious defeat of the Dark Lord," Lucius said, slyly, slowly inching closer and closer to Carina, standing uncomfortably close. Carina's face flushed with anger. So many questions arose inside her, but she only managed to form one coherent thought.

"So what? Why does that interest you, Mr. 'I'm with the Ministry of Magic?' Why do you care about-- that?" Carina asked, now very annoyed.

"So you admit that you have the information."

"You're avoiding my question. Why do you need to know?"

"I'm going to need you to answer some questions. If you cooperate, this shouldn't be painful, but of course, you won't. But being a merciful person, I'll give you the ch--"

"I'll report you to the Ministry and they'll all know you're a Death Eater and you always were!" Carina was now shouting, lunging for the door. The mysterious man reached out and grabbed her before she could reach the handle. Carina tried to pull out her wand, but the man had her arms pinned behind her back.

"Thank you, Oscar. I gave you a chance to answer peacefully, but you resisted. Now I'll have to use force." Lucius pulled a vial out of his bag. It had a colorless, odorless substance contained in it.

"What is that?" Carina asked, disgusted.

"Veritaserum. It will force you to tell the truth, no matter what. Oscar, open her mouth," Lucius answered, looking slyly at Oscar.

"Oh no you--"

"Imperio." His voice was gruff and hostile. Under his curse Carina was forced to open her mouth and accept the truth serum.

"Now, tell me. How was Voldemort defeated that night?" Lucius asked forcefully.

"Harry's mother's love. She sacrificed herself to save Harry, therefore protecting him with love" Carina said unwillingly.

"Oh, so is this magic still working today?"

"Well,--"

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Remus Lupin burst through the door.

"Stupefy!" He yelled. Shocked by Carina's news, the two intruders were not prepared for a sudden attack. Remus took Carina by the hand and dragged her outside. They ran to a nearby park and sat down on the bench.

"Remus, how did you know I was in trouble?" Carina asked, shocked at his perfect timing.

"I was just going to drop by to see how you were doing and I heard you through the window (it was open, by the way) saying these confidential things and I knew you would never just said those things to anyone other than me or anyone else that already knows. I acted purely on instinct. Carina, you run go to the Ministry and tell them what happened. I'll be there later to back you up. I'll go and take care of those two if they haven't already escaped. Goodbye for now, Carina," Remus said hurriedly, turning around and sprinting back to Carina's house.

"Boy, am I glad to have a friend like him," Carina thought aloud. She got to the nearest place she could apparate from and apparated straight to the Ministry of Magic. She got herself checked in and stated her business to the magical law enforcement committee. After she explained the situation, she expected at least one person on the committee to take her seriously. Unfortunately, no one did.

"Preposterous. No such thing has happened since You-Know-Who was in power last time. Coming from a criminal, that story is a lot less believable than you think, young lady," an old warlock rambled.

"For all we know, Lucius and this Oscar fellow may have just found some dirt on you and you don't want them spilling the beans! Maybe you just want them locked up so nobody ever knows what you did," a younger witch asserted.

There were several other responses like these. They just kept coming, so Carina decided it would be best to leave and wait for Remus to show up and give her some support. Unfortunately, when he did show up, he was met with the same response.

"Who would trust you? A werewolf? Don't think we don't know who you are, Mr. Lupin. For all we know, you're in league with You-Know-Who too! In fact, in my opinion, we should have just locked you up when Sirius and Carina..."

So it was, that Carina and Remus left the Ministry feeling quite unsafe and misunderstood. They felt defeated, but ever the more determined to figure out what Lucius and the mysterious Oscar were planning. For all they knew, the fate of the wizarding and muggle worlds alike was in their hands.

Author note:
Sorry I haven't been updating lately again. I'm going to try and make more time once the basketball season is over. I don't play  basketball tho I'm just in the pep band lol (I can't make a basket to save my life). Thanks for reading!