Carina didn't enjoy much of her Hogsmeade weekend. She, Roman and Theodore simply went to Huneydukes, walked around and then left, but they did get to see Cho walk out of Madam Puddifoot's place then Harry did as well. Guess his date didn't end well, Theodore said then. After that, they went back to the castle and ate their sweets. Once Carina had spotted Hermione, Harry and Ron (who was still in his Quidditch uniform), she left her Slytherin friends, bidding them 'I'll see you later' then went to the Gryffindor table to speak with them. Hermione told her about the whole meeting with Rita Skeeter and Harry's interview. It made her heart beat twice as fast than normal when they told her of the interview and that Harry's story might go public and finally be heard.
"It must've been tough talking about it... but it was the right thing to do." Carina said.
"I know." Harry said. "People need to know what Voldemort's capable of."
"How about next we give The Quibbler a story on how my father's not a mass murderer and is actually an innocent man blamed for a rat's crimes?" Carina said in an innocent voice mixed with bitterness.
"I'm sure Sirius's name would be cleared, Carina... we just need to wait." Hermione said with a solemn look.
"When?" Carina asked, "When he's old and have gray hair? When he's rotting in Twelve Grimmauld Place?"
"Calm down, Rina." Ron said, "I'm sure Dumbledore's doing something about it, right?"
"I doubt it." Carina muttered.
After a few minutes of silence Carina asked about why she saw Cho walking out of 'that bloody tea shop' crying. Harry had the look of both pissed and distraught then started to tell her the story. It made Carina raise her brow when Harry mentioned Cho ask about Cedric Diggory's death, she now didn't see the sixth year Ravenclaw differently, and believed that she just used Harry since he's the closest to Cedric when the Hufflepuff died.
"You should've said that it was really annoying that I made you meet me, but I'd made you promise to come along ... and it might have been a good idea to mention how ugly you think I am too..." Hermione said, trying to give Harry the possible side of Cho why she just did that outburst and stormed out of the place.
"But I don't think you're ugly." Harry said
Hermione laughed.
"Harry, you're worse than Ron... Well, no, you're not." Hermone sighed("Hey!" Ron said). "Look – you upset Cho when you said you were going to meet me, so she tried to make you jealous. It was her way of trying to find out how much you liked her."
"Is that what she was doing?" Harry said. "Well, wouldn't it have been easier if she'd just asked me whether I liked her better than you?"
"Girls don't often ask questions like that." Hermione said.
"Well I don't like her... and I didn't like how she handled the situation." Carina declared.
"Carina!" Hermione chastised.
"But!" Carina said, "If Harry still likes her, who am I to tell him not to..."
"Thanks, Carina... how come she gets it?" Harry said, gesturing to Carina.
"But!" Carina added. "Hermione's right, girls do have a way of showing that they're jealous and mad."
"How do you know?" Ron asked. "You hadn't gone to a date with someone!"
Carina raised a brow at Ron and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I think I Nott's presence more tolerable right now." Carina said.
"See, she's mad." Hermione pointed out.
"We can see that very clearly, Hermione." Harry said as he moved a bit far from Ron since Carina was growling at him.
"It's not that I'm calling you ugly or anything, but let's be honest, you never been asked to a date." Ron said.
"You're saying I'm ugly?" Carina asked.
"No-no-no..." Ron stuttered.
"May I remind you, Weasley, I was asked to the Yule Ball by a quire handsome date, while you got to go with a pity date." Carina snapped.
"I'll see you later then." Ron said, running out of the Hall.
"Why can't girls just state the obvious?" Harry asked.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Carina said.
•†•
Carina sat at the Quidditch pitch and watched as the Slytherin team practice. They kept their on Roman, who has been sending bludgers to the players as they did a mock-game. It was very fun to watch since most of the Slytherins kept sending glares at Carina, but couldn't do anything about it since Theodore was with her. For some reason, the raven-haired boy intimidated them, maybe it was because he always have his exterior that he knew everything... no, he does know everything. And to piss Theodore Nott, often landed them in trouble.
"Roman's really good." Carina said.
"You should've seen him when he and Goyle were battling for the position – Pucey didn't want to give up Roman, but Malfoy kept on backing Goyle – to settle it, Pucey gave them a task to see if who is better." Theodore said.
"And Roman won?" Carina asked, knowing the answer.
"He shot Goyle off his broom when he sent a bludger to his head. Had Goyle in the Hospital Wing for two days... it was hilarious." Theodore laughed heartily in the memory.
Carina smiled at the sight of Theodore laughing, it was a rare thing to see from the quiet Slytherin – smiling or laughing – and found it nice to see that he had actually shows other emotions than always brooding wherever he goes.
"What're you staring at?" Theodore asked.
"Nothing... it's weird seeing you laugh." Carina said. "It's like a once-in-a-lifetime-thing..." Carina chuckled.
"Well, don't expect me to do it a lot." Theodore said.
"Oh come on." Carina nudged him with her elbow. "It's a nice look on you."
"Are you saying that I'm handsome, Carina?" Theodore raised a brow at her.
"Now, you're being an idiot." Carina said.
Theodore rolled his eyes. He took a nut from their bag of nuts, he tossed it in the air and caught it with his mouth. Carina clapped her hands at his successful catch.
"Never seize to surprise me." Carina chuckled.
"I guess you still haven't done it?" Theodore said.
Carina glared at him. Theodore chuckled and shook his head, he tossed another nut, but this time it was a bit far from his direction. Taking the advantage, Carina caught it with her own. She smirked at Theodore as she chewed the nut.
"You surprise me, Black." Theodore chuckled.
"You bet, Nott."
•†•
HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:
THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED
AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN
It was the title that woke Carina from her sleepy state. She, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were given a copy of The Quibbler by Luna, and they also saw the mail that Harry got from the readers outside. Most of the readers still believed it to be a lie, some believed his story, whilst one had an unsure thought about it.
"This is great, Harry!" Carina said, after reading a letter that said that they believed Harry, "If this goes on – who knows – it might knock some sense to the Ministry."
"What is going on here?" A false sweet, girlish voice said.
Harry looked up with his hands full of envelopes and saw Professor Umbridge standing behind Fred, Luna and Carina, her bulging toad's eyes scanning the mess of owls and letters on the table in front of them.
"Why have you got all these letters, Mr. Potter?" she asked slowly.
"Ist that a crime now?" Fred asked, loudly, "Getting mail?"
"Be careful, Mr. Weasley, or shall I have to put you in detention?"
"Wasn't banning him from Quidditch enough?" Carina asked sharply.
Umbridge breathed in sharply and glared at Carina.
"Well then, Mr. Potter?" she asked.
"People have written to be because I gave an interview." Harry said. "About what happened to me last June."
"An interview?" Umbridge asked. Her voice thinner and higher than before. "What do you mean?"
"I mean a reporter asked me questions and I answered them." Harry said, "Here –"
Harry tossed the copy of The Quibbler at her. She caught it and stared at the cover. Her pale, doughy face turned an ugly, patchly violet.
"When did you do this?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Last Hogsmeade weekend." Harry answered.
Carina and Fred were now smirking under Umbridge's nose, they made a quite high-five at the woman's reaction.
"There will be no more Hogsmeade trips for you, Mr. Potter." She said. "How dare you... how you could... I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies. The message, apparently, has still not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another weeks' worth detentions."
"No more Hogsmeade trip?" Carina exclaimed, "And more detentions?"
"Is there a problem, Ms. Black?" Umbridge asked. Carina heard a bit of disgust when Umbridge said her name.
"Yes, you can't do that!" Carina said.
"Carina, that's enough." Harry said, he reached to hold her hand and stop her, but she didn't listen.
"You must not tell lies, Professor." Carina sneered.
"Detention, Ms. Black, with Mr. Potter." Umbridge said. "I don't think neither you have learned from your previous detentions."
"I would gladly take that detention, Professor." Carina said, she tried to hide her sob and kept a brave face. She didn't want another detention with Umbridge, that pen that Umbridge makes them write with had given her nightmares.
Umrbdige then left the Hall with the copy of The Quibbler in her hand. By mid-morning, an enormous decree had been put up with all the other decrees.
--------- by order of ---------
The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts
Any student found in possession of the magazine The Quibbler will be expelled.
The above is accordance with Educational Decree Number fifty-seven
Signed:
Dolores Jane Umbridge
High Inquisitor
It was quite the banning of The Quibbler caught interest of the students that they had been asking for a copy of the magazine. Carina – being one of the only person with a copy – asked permission from Luna to duplicate a copy of the article for those who wanted to see it, and promised to pay her and her father for it (so she put up a quiet sign that said 'Two Sickle for a copy of Harry's article on The Quibbler'), Luna agreed and, she of course gave half of it to Luna and her father, and she kept the other half.
Theodore, being one of the people who bought a copy of the article – through a Hufflepuff second year – hid it in one of his books. He only read the article when he locked himself in the bathroom cubicle and read it. Just as expected Harry had listed down the names of the Death Eaters in the graveyard: Malfoy, Goyle, Crabbe, and some other names, and then he saw his father's name in the list.
He crumpled the paper and burned it with the Incedio Spell. This wasn't what he wanted to happen. He knew that Roman had read it and he was sure that Carina had read it as well, but the two didn't act differently around him – maybe they were just acting it out, he thought. Theodore let out a frustrated scream in the cubicle, after a few minutes of silence and heavy breathing, he slammed open the cubicle door and stormed out of the bathroom.
This wasn't what he wanted. He didn't need this.