Dirty Mouth, Dirty Blood [h.g]

thirty three

33

Then

Carina licked her lips, a small, pale hand reaching up to grab a chocolate off the counter.

Narcissa wrapped her arms around the small girl's waist, pulling the blonde away. Carina giggled, clutching onto her mother.

"Now, Ri-Ri, what have we told you about chocolate before dinner?"

Carina shrugged, a smile lighting up her entire face.

"I'm sure you remember!" Narcissa cried gleefully, tickling the five year old.

Carina cried out in laughter, wriggling this way and that, trying to escape her mother's grasp.

Narcissa chased Carina around the kitchen, yelling things such as 'I'm going to get you!', or 'Get back here, you!'. Carina found it insanely amusing, and Narcissa always liked it when her daughter laughed. She and Lucius had the same smile.

The moment ended far too quickly, when Carina tripped over her own feet, and Narcissa was forced back into the harsh reality. Carina was sniffling, but not crying. Close, but not quite.

Lucius had already gotten to her.

Now

Carina blinked hard, pulling strands of Hermione's unruly hair from her mouth. It was strange to the Slytherin that she and Hermione were so tightly curled into one another, such that Carina couldn't distinguish where she ended and Hermione began. The two were a naturally warm pair, and usually woke up on opposite sides of the bed. That morning, however, was different.

Carina felt a slight chill, and everything clicked into place. What with the events of the night before, Carina had completely forgotten about casting the heating charm the girls used at night.

Carina reached over, trying to get to her wand. Straining, the blonde almost had her hand wrapped around her wand when Hermione woke up, kicking out her leg, and causing the Gryffindor to fall out of the bed.

Hermione shrieked, looking up at Carina's laughing face with an expression of shock and amusement. Carina hauled the girl back into bed with a couple snide comments, and Hermione was sure to respond when the door to their room flew open.

Carina's eyes widened substantially, realizing that the Muffliato charm she had cast the night before must have worn off too—it happened sometimes, and now Harry fucking Potter had burst in at the worst of times.

Well, at least it wasn't Weasley.

"Oh, God!" Harry cried, averting his face immediately with a grimace.

"Ever heard of knocking, Potter?" Carina asked dryly, praying to any deities she could think of that he wouldn't freak out.

"I heard Hermione scream, and I wanted to make sure everything was all right. What, exactly, is going on here?" Harry stuttered out, squeezing his eyes together.

Hermione gulped, and started to stammer out an explanation. "Carina and I have been, um, dating. In secret. We were going to tell you, at some point, we just didn't know how you'd react. And it's fine. We're fine, thanks. It's nice to know you're worried about me, though."

Harry awkwardly played with the hem of his shirt. "I just assumed you and Ron would, you know..."

"Granger is full of surprises, isn't she?" Carina asked, drawing Harry's attention back to her. Hermione was almost completely hidden in the sheets, trying to keep her modesty, but Carina was not one to flinch away from indiscretions. Her body was practically falling out of the sheets, causing Harry to look anywhere but at her.