Dirty Mouth, Dirty Blood [h.g]

twenty

20

Then

Carina almost tripped over a petrified Hermione Granger. Suppressing a yelp, she leaned down to look at the Gryffindor.

A mirror was clutched tightly in Hermione's hand, and with a jolt Carina realized that Hermione had figured out what Carina had so many weeks ago.

There was a Basilisk in Hogwarts.

As much as Carina hated to admit it, she knew that if this petrifying madness went on Hogwarts would be closed down.

And Carina couldn't have that.

Hermione had obviously been on her way to tell Harry and Ron about her findings, and Carina also knew that Harry was the only person who could defeat the snake. They were the only two in the school who spoke Parseltongue, and Carina had been smart enough to not spread that fact around school. She didn't need people thinking she was the heir to Slytherin; she enjoyed being fairly low on people's radar.

So Carina gently removed the mirror from Hermione's hand, replacing it with a piece of paper with a single word on it.

Harry and Ron never noticed that the word 'Basilisk' was not in Hermione's clean, boring handwriting but in Carina's loopy one.

And she didn't plan on them finding out.

Now

"It worked!" Harry cried, dancing around the study room.

Carina looked up in distaste. "What worked, Potter? The potion to make you look like a hag? Oh, no, that's just your face."

"Shush, you!" Hermione berated, "The Felix Felicis worked, then, Harry? You were able to get the information out of Slughorn?"

"Yep! Dean and Ginny also broke up, isn't that great?" Harry exclaimed. "Now all I need to do is confront Draco!"

Carina slowly raised her line of sight until her eyes met Harry's. "You've decided to confront my brother. Your Felix Felicis has almost worn off, and you decide that the best thing you could possibly do would to confront not only a potential Death Eater, but my brother."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, "that sounds about right."

Carina rolled her eyes, but let the matter drop.

Hermione, however, couldn't resist mothering him one more time. "Just try not to get either of you killed, alright?"

"Noted!" Harry sang, before disappearing into the rest of the library.

"So..." Carina said coyly, "just the two of us..."

"Vixen," Hermione sighed, pulling Carina into a kiss.

///

Carina heard a small noise right outside the study room and immediately flew off of Hermione's lap into her seat. The Slytherin smoothed down her mussed up hair and delved into her Potions book.

All of Hermione's unanswered questions went away when Harry burst into the room.

"I need one of your Potions books! Now!" he cried, slamming his down on the table.

Carina dutifully handed him hers, opening his to the page she had been on.

"Thanks!" Harry shouted after himself, taking off once more.

The door slammed on its hinges, and once both were sure Madam Pince wasn't going to come shush them, Hermione spoke.

"You're warming up to him, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Carina stated apathetically.

"You just gave him your textbook. That looks like warming up to me."

"Well," Carina pondered, "the joke's on him. He's the one who will have to explain why his textbook reads 'Heir of Slytherin'. He should have fun with that."

"You're evil," Hermione chided, but she didn't look like she cared all that much.

Before they could go at it again, Professor Snape entred the room. Carina nonchalantly slipped Harry's Potions book in her bag, looking up at the Head of Slytherin.

"Miss Malfoy, if you would follow me to the hospital wing."

"Why?" Carina countered, never breaking eye contact.

"Mister Malfoy has been hit with a curse, "Snape sneered.

"I don't affiliate myself with him anymore. But thank you for bringing it to my attention. Potter's work?" Inside, Carina was in turmoil, but her calm expression stayed intact.

"Who else could do that much damage? Have a nice day, Carina."

Snape left with a flourish, and Carina sank into her chair, seething.

Hermione delicately approached her. "I'm sure Harry had a very good reason-"

"Oh yes," Carina cut her off, eyes glinting dangerously, "the wonderful reason of he doesn't think. He rushes head first into anything and everything. No wonder he wasn't put in Slytherin, he's smart as all get-out but he never thinks!"

Hermione smiled softly, "if I didn't know you, I would think that somewhere in there you complimented Harry."

Carina shot her a withering glare. "Just because someone has the capacity to be smart doesn't mean they are. It was anything but a compliment."

Hermione nodded submissively, smiling to herself and leaving Carina to stew.