Carina was already questioning her sanity by the time dinner rolled around. They were so close to leaving Hogwarts, and this entire scheme could blow up in her face. Yet she couldn't bring herself to change her mind when she thought of James' giddy excitement when he'd left her that afternoon.
"Everything alright?" Lily asked her curiously as they made their way down to the Great Hall.
"Fine!" Carina replied quickly.
"If you say so," shrugged Lily. "You seemed like you were a million miles away."
"Just a few hundred," Carina smiled, easily easing Lily's suspicion.
To be fair though, Carina did have a lot on her mind. She and James didn't discuss the details of the plan. She assumed he went to go and tell the boys about their plan because there was no way they would be able to fool them. She was internally praying he wouldn't simply plop down next to her and declare her his girlfriend because absolutely no one would believe that, especially not Lily.
"Carina!" Remus greeted, waving them over to where he and Peter were sitting at the Gryffindor table.
With the absence of James and Sirius, Lily felt perfectly comfortable joining Carina next to the boys. It wasn't as if she had many other options since Frank had whisked Alice away for a moonlit picnic tonight.
"Have you seen James today?" Remus asked her curiously.
"Not since this afternoon," Carina said slowly. "Did he not go and find you guys after?"
"They haven't seen him since breakfast," Peter spoke up, digging into his meat pie.
Oh great. So they had no idea. She almost hoped she wouldn't run into James tonight because there was no telling what he'd do to push this absolutely mental plan into action.
"Where's Sirius?" Lily asked them. "Those two are bound to be together."
"No, Sirius was with Marlene for most of the afternoon," Remus told her.
"Oh! Here they come now!" Peter exclaimed, looking over the girls' shoulders toward the doors.
True to his word, James and Sirius were both striding towards them, their hair windswept as if they'd been outside recently. James' gaze lingered on her with a knowing look and Carina could only feel an impending anxious dread pool in her stomach. She couldn't quite tell if Sirius knew or not; he threw the normal grin her way but nothing in his demeanor seemed to hint at teasing. But as they got close, Carina remotely felt Lily stiffen next to her. She probably expected another spar of wills with James.
"Where have you two been?" Remus asked curiously.
"I just met him out in the hall," Sirius shrugged, slipping into the seat next to Remus. "I've been with Marlene."
"A marauder never tells," James winked, slipping into the remaining empty seat next to Carina.
"Except to your fellow marauders!" Sirius exclaimed. When James shrugged innocuously, Sirius raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. "You seriously won't tell us?"
"Later," James insisted, at which they let the matter drop.
"Hey Carina," Peter asked hesitantly. "Do you think you could help me with that charm we talked about later tonight?"
"Sure, Pete," Carina nodded warmly.
"Wait, what is this about?" Remus asked in confusion.
"It's private," Peter mumbled, a blush stealing his cheeks.
"What's with all the secrets today?" Sirius scoffed, thoroughly amused.
Carina could feel her palms begin to get clammy. They didn't know the half of it.
They fell into an amicable conversation as the dinner went on. Even Lily seemed to relax eventually, striking up a conversation with Remus about their Defense class. As serene as Carina appeared on the outside, she was a nervous ball of anticipation on the inside. She was hyperaware of James sitting next to her, and yet he seemed completely relaxed as he and Sirius debated which broom would be better for the coming season of Quidditch.
They'd nearly gotten through dinner without a hitch. When dessert appeared before them, Carina was slightly disappointed that they were mostly fruit tarts. She always had a weakness for chocolate, but there wasn't any tonight. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed James reach into his cloak pocket, bringing out a something rectangular and placing it on Carina's empty plate. The random conversations around her quieted as everyone looked at James and Carina in surprised confusion.
"James how'd you get his?" She asked, lifting the bar of chocolate up.
It was her favorite: cherry-infused Belgian chocolate with caramel on the inside. It was a limited edition flavor at Honeydukes, and she usually only got them once every few months after pestering the owner to continue getting a supply for her. Not that anyone else knew about it- she hated seeming high maintenance, and she knew her particular insistence on having this sweet was a bit of a spoiled indulgence of hers.
"It's your favorite isn't it?" James asked hesitantly.
"Yes, but how did you know? I have to beg the owner of Honeydukes to import a few bars of this every few months!"
"So he said," James smirked. "He usually keeps a few bars on hand for when his niece surprises him with visits, but I convinced him to part with his last one."
"You went to Hogsmeade and didn't get me any Firewhiskey?" Sirius exclaimed.
"I didn't go for you," James shrugged casually. Everyone paused at his unspoken words. He went for Carina.
"Well, thank you," Carina beamed a genuine smile at him.
She shrugged subtly at the questioning look Lily threw her way. It was strange- James had gotten her her favorite sweet but had said nothing directly to Lily all night. She opened up her chocolate, breaking off a section and holding it out to Remus.
"Oh, no I couldn't" Remus insisted, shaking his hand. "That's your special chocolate."
"Playing favorites, now?" Sirius whined. "I thought I was the favorite this month!"
Carina smiled knowingly at Remus. "I know you love chocolate even more than I do, Remus. Besides, you look a bit tired, and hopefully this will be a good pick me up until tomorrow."
The Marauders all stiffened at her words. It was the full moon tomorrow, but Carina had no way of possibly knowing what that signified.
"You know, since there's nothing chocolate in the desserts tonight," Carina continued. "Honestly Remus, please take it, I insist!"
Remus relaxed, taking the chocolate from her outstretched hand. "Thanks, Carina, you're the best."
"Thank James," she humbly deflected, bumping his shoulder playfully.
He bumped her shoulder right back, his gaze lingering on her long enough to make her shift uncomfortably. "Please, how many times have you surprised me with Treacle Tarts when I've been low or baked Peter lemon bars from his mother's recipe when he misses home?"
Carina blushed, shaking her head. "It's not a big deal."
"You've been making these fools food for years?" Sirius cried out. "Lennox, what the hell? Am I your least favorite or something?"
Remus rolled his eyes at his antics. "She goes out flying with you all the time when you need to clear your head, Pads."
"Oh right, you do," Sirius grinned sheepishly. "But I didn't know food was on the table!"
"Food's always on the table," James said smirking. "The elves work quite hard to put it there."
Sirius threw a grape at James' head in retaliation, which James spoiled by catching it in his mouth. Always the chaser, that one.
"I'm going to head upstairs and read while I enjoy my chocolate," Carina spoke up, stepping away from the table. She didn't really know how to deal with compliments or attention. She wasn't self-conscious, exactly. But those moments of kindness? She did it to see her friends smile in their lowest moments. It wasn't a conscious effort to go out of her way. Everyone still had their own unfinished desserts on their plates, so she figured it would be easy to escape them.
But as she made to move walk past, James caught her wrist, stuffing the rest of his Treacle Tart in his mouth when Carina looked back in surprise. He merely held up a finger while he finished chewing, still not letting go of her wrist.
"Let me walk you back," James said, standing up when he'd finished chewing.
"I think I know the way back to Gryffindor Tower after all these years," Carina laughed.
"It's already dark," James simply said. His hand loosened around her wrist only to drift further down and lace between her fingers. Carina looked down in surprise. They never held hands, and even if they did, friends did not hold hands this way. She glanced back up at him and he merely smiled at her before he pulled her towards the doors.
While his actions had been subtle enough that no one else in the Great Hall seemed to take notice, the Marauders and Lily watched them leave utterly dumfounded.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Sirius asked, not one to censor his thoughts.
"Was he flirting with her?" Peter pondered aloud.
"That wasn't flirting, it was almost like he was caring for her," Remus said, his voice deflecting around that word like it confused him.
The three boys glanced awkwardly across the table at the lone redhead still staring after her friend leaving hand in hand with the boy who'd been in love with her for years. When she turned and met their eyes, her mirroring confusion was tinged with a churning feeling she couldn't quite place.
"Oh, Carina has a lot of explaining to do tonight," Lily shook her head. How could she not have told her if they were a thing? They'd just been talking about Potter by the lake this morning!
̶«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶ ̶«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ・☽ ༓ ☾・ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶̶
James and Carina had barely gotten around the corner from the Great Hall when he turned to her, jerking her towards him from their still connected hands.
"Did you see her face?" James looked at her excitedly. "She looked like someone poured water on her head!"
It took Carina a second to understand what he was saying. Lily.
"I didn't really have the chance to before you pulled me out of there," she said, laughing despite herself.
"Well I did, and I have to say I think this plan is already working!" He said cockily.
"Honestly, I was terrified you were just going to announce we were dating out of nowhere," Carina admitted.
"I'm not dense," James waved dismissively. "We have to work up to our dating so Lily actually believes I'm falling for you instead of rebounding with you."
"Right," Carina said. Maybe this crazy plan would actually work. But at the same time, part of her was still hesitant.
"How did you know about the chocolate, though?" Carina asked him when he started to walk onwards. "I've never told anyone about it." He turned to her, not expecting her to fall behind.
"A marauder never tells," he winked, walking back to link their elbows in his usual goofy manner before dragging her towards their common room.
̶«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶ ̶«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ・☽ ༓ ☾・ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶̶
"What the hell was that at dinner tonight?" Sirius asked, storming into their dorms around half an hour later with Remus and Peter right on his heels.
To their surprise, a certain girl was in their rooms.
"Carina," Remus gulped.
"Hi guys," she waved sheepishly.
She was sitting on the end of James' bed, her legs pulled up against her chest with her arms wrapped around them.
"So you two are a thing?" Sirius asked, not waiting for an answer before he huffed with laughter. "Bullshit, James you've been fawning over Evans for literally years."
"You're right," James said from where he was relaxing on his pillows on the opposite end of his bed. "I am in love with Lily."
"So what was all that tonight?" Remus gestured between them.
"Carina is going to be my fake love interest to give Lily petal the wakeup call she needs," James said confidently.
"Come again?" Remus asked blankly.
"I've agreed to be his fake girlfriend while he tries to make Lily jealous and show her the real him and not the showboat he becomes when he normally flirts with her," Carina repeated drolly.
"Hey, I'm not a showboat!" James argued defensively, tossing a pillow at Carina.
"Yeah you are," Sirius smirked. "That makes so much more sense now!"
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Remus asked. "If Lily ever finds out, she won't be happy."
"Well if she returns his feelings," Carina pointed out, "we'll tell her our relationship was fake. And if she doesn't, we'll just end things quietly and she won't ever need to know."
"What'd he do to talk you into this?" Sirius asked her curiously.
"He just asked."
"And you said yes?"
"He is a good friend," Carina reminded Sirius.
"He is right here, thank you," James reminded them.
"Are you sure you're alright with this," Peter shyly asked Carina. "I mean... sure it might bother Lily, but you also deserve better than to be used like this."
"I'm not using her!" James said indignantly "I asked her for a favor!"
"It's alright," she assured Peter. "It's not like I'd be trying to date anyone else in these last few months, and I spend most of my time with you all anyway. It's not a big interference in my life."
"It'll be fine," Sirius agreed. "Brilliant plan if anything. Besides, Carina isn't just any random bird who would end up doing something stupid like falling for Prongs."
Carina laughed along with Remus and Peter. "Precisely," she agreed, chuckling at a grumbling James who smarted at Sirius' jab.