The Scars to Prove It

Carina plopped down on the sand under the shade of the tree. Kicking off her sandals, she leaned against the first thing she came in contact with: Lee. The boy didn’t seem to mind however, so Carina stayed where she was. Around her, the others were talking about Quidditch and other such things. She, instead, took the time to gaze out at the lake, letting the cool breeze clear her mind.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a cloud of light pink curls float into the sky as Farren flopped onto the sand, closely followed by Fred and George on either side of her.

“I want an adventure,” she sighed, her pink hair fluttering around her head and into the sand. As if magically drawn to it, the twins began to run their fingers through what landed on their laps.

“Oh? And the Chamber of Secrets being reopened isn’t good enough of an adventure for you?” Fred asked.

“The bloody chamber isn’t open and you know it.”

“What about the pranks we’ve pulled? I must say, setting those smoke bombs off in Snape’s personal cabinet has gotta be the single most thrilling thing of my life,” Lee said.

“Life’s enough of an adventure for me,” Carina contributed.

“Amen,” George followed quietly.

There was a long silence as the friends became lost in their own thoughts -- something that didn’t happen often with them. Finally Carina stood up, causing Lee to collapse backwards onto her feet. She didn’t pay any mind.

“Lockhart’s mandatory Duel Club starts in a few minutes,” she said, jutting her hand out to Lee for him to take.

“Nothing’s mandatory for us,” Fred sang softly. Lee stood, shaking the sand from his dreads.

At this, Farren sat bolt upright. The twins looked rather unhappy at the fact that they were unable to run their fingers through her soft locks any longer. Instead, she turned to look at Carina with a wicked look in her eyes.

“I heard that Snape and Lockhart will be dueling.”

Carina nodded. “That’s what I heard from Harry, who was with him in detention for a few hours two nights ago.”

“Snape and Lockhart, Rye? Is that a fact?” George asked, turning to look at her as well. Carina nodded with a straight face.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Fred asked loudly, standing up. George followed, and they both stuck their hands out for Farren to help her up. “I want a good view for this.”

Farren, standing up on her own, linked arms with Carina and the two of them skipped off down the hall, leaving the boys behind.



The three boys watched as the girls bounded away from them, not making any move to chase after them. The taller two of the three had small grins plastered on their faces. Lee, standing between the two twins, glanced at each one pointedly after the two girls were out of sight. They looked down at him, each with their eyebrows raised in the exact same manner.

Lee scoffed, shaking his head. “I will never understand you two,” he said, heading off after Carina and Farren.



Carina and Farren slowed down once they reached the corridors and were out of earshot.

“They were acting pretty barmy today, weren’t they? Or am I going crazy?” Farren asked.

“Who? George and Fred?” Carina asked.

“Of course! Didn’t you see them earlier?”

Carina blinked innocently. “I didn’t really notice anything out of the ordinary...” she said, playing dumb.

Farren shrugged. “I must be going barmy too, then...”

“Carina! Farren, wait!”

Lee ran around the corner to catch up to the girls right outside the Great Hal doors.

“Carina... can I have a word?” The girl nodded, and Farren told her that she’d meet her inside.

The two walked off to get a little privacy.

“Please tell me you didn’t see anything between...”

Carina rolled her eyes. “You haven’t? Come on, now. I’ve seen this coming since first year!”

Lee shrugged, but Carina didn’t notice. She was already on her way into the Great Hall, closely followed by the twins, and finally Lee Jordan. Surprisingly, there were already quite a few people present. Farren was standing amongst a group of Gryffindor girls, in the middle of some animated conversation. Carina couldn’t help but think that she looked out of place with these people, and not their group.

With a closer look, Carina realized that the group was Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, and a third year named Katie. So, naturally, their heated discussion must be about Quidditch. Without a word between the others, they all headed over to the group, doubling its size.

All this talk about Quidditch had Carina bored out of her mind. Unsurprisingly, her father had made sure she was a good enough player to play for Slytherin by the time she was eight, but ever since she was sorted into Gryffindor she had been forbidden to try out. Not that Carina minded. She was less than interested to the attention she would gain if she joined.

Finally, the meeting started. While she had been zoning out, the rest of the students piled into the Hall and around the platform the teachers had built. The session quickly began with Lockhart introducing himself (as if he needed to be introduced to any of them) and dramatically tossed his cloak out into the crowd. Carina’s eyes widened as it soared passed her and... right into the open arms of Farren. Girls all around her groaned in disappointment, but Farren just glanced up at her best friend with a look of utmost disgust. The smaller girl just let out a light laugh as Farren tossed it to one of the Quidditch girls who immediately rubbed her face into it.

George leaned over Carina’s shoulder. “I’m just glad you’re not that obsessed.”

The lesson continued, and after Snape beat Lockhart in their duel after one spell, the students were told to pair up. George, being the closest to Carina, was naturally the first person she turned to. He, however, seemed to be glaring at Fred over her shoulder. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Fred grinning down at Farren, who were obviously going to duel.

Carina rolled her eyes as she turned back to face George, who had covered his emotions with his usual lopsided grin. Shrugging, Carina pulled her wand from her leather boot.

“Rye, you do realize that I’m not going to fight you,” George said. She cocked a brow.

“Oh? And why’s that?”

George looked at her, as if caught off guard by the question. “Well... you’re just so... small and... uh...”

“Expelliarmus!”

George looked rather bewildered when his wand was snatched out of the air by Carina.

“You’re a weird kid,” she muttered, tossing it back to him. George caught it, still staring at Rye in astonishment. It wasn’t until there was a disturbance behind her that George stopped giving her that awkward stare.

Harry and Draco seemed to have been paired up, with Lockhart and Snape watching closely. The Malfoy boy had been raised closely with Carina and a few other Slytherins, so she recognized him immediately. Draco, Carina assumed, summoned the snake that was now nipping the ankles of nearby students. Second year girls fled to their side of the Hall at the sight of the thing, leaving quite a bit of open space for Carina to see -- and hear exactly what was happening.

Just as the snake approached a second year Hufflepuff, Harry began to speak -- after a moment, though, everyone in the Hall realized he wasn’t speaking English, or any other language they knew of. Carina glanced up into George’s green eyes worriedly. She, being her father’s daughter, knew of this language. Gauging the look on George’s face, he had guessed it too.

Carina jumped with Snape quickly removed the snake with a harsh snap.

“What do you think you’re playing at?” the Hufflepuff boy snapped before hurrying from the Great Hall. Shooting Harry dirty looks, the rest of his house followed after him.

Carina and George, too surprised to move, were joined by their friends.

“Rina, that wasn’t... Parseltounge, was it?” Fred asked softly, as if he didn’t want to offend her by expecting her to know of these things. Carina nodded stiffly, watching Hermione and Ron push Harry out of the Great Hall and into a secluded part of the castle. It was then that everyone started speaking. First, it was of the writing on the wall that had appeared and how it must have been Harry. Then it came around to Harry being the heir to Slytherin.

“He’s got to be!” a sixth year Ravenclaw said loudly. Carina mentally rolled her eyes as he continued. “He’s a Parselmouth! That can only mean evil.”

Finally, Carina’s motherly side came out. “Harry’s just as much the heir to Slytherin as I am a Death Eater,” she said firmly, drawing the attention to many of the people around her. Everyone was gawking -- those who had never heard her speak as well as her friends, because they never expected this much from her. “He wouldn’t have been sorted into Gryffindor if he was the heir to Slytherin.”

With the people around her giving her strange stares, she pushed her way out of the hall and into the room that Hermione and Ron brought Harry. The determination about her was almost palpable.

She walked in on them in their grim silence. She didn’t wait for anyone to realize she was there for her to speak.

“Harry, there’s nothing wrong with you. You aren’t the heir to Slytherin, I promise.” And with a curt nod to the others, she made her way back to the common room.

She knew it wasn’t Harry; she had a very strong suspicion to who it was though.