for the one i love ; fred weasley

chapter 12

i know the car's supposed to be at the forbidden forest but guess what! idc :D so enjoy:

NARRATOR'S POV

"Has anyone seen Scabbers?" Asks Ron loudly for the thousandth time, making them all groan.

"Shut up about your bloody rat! No one's seen the rat, Ron. And no one cares, not even me," Percy snaps, narrowing his eyes. "It's dead. Crookshanks ate it, give it a rest," Ron scowls, crossing his arms across his chest. The green eyed girl snorts, hiding her face behind George's shoulder as he chuckles. She likes Percy, honestly. He's just a bit much sometimes.

"I don't wanna go home for Christmas without him!" Exclaims the younger Gryffindor, stomping his foot with frustration. "He's been in the family for twelve years!" He points out, Harry rolls his eyes dramatically.

Carina's taken aback by his statement, twelve years? She's holding her bag in her hand, ready to go spend a week and a few days at The Burrow. Draco left that same morning with the idea that she'd be staying over at Hogwarts for the holidays, which is why they had to get back early. At first, Carina wasn't going to tell Cass and Adrian about going with the Weasleys, but she couldn't lie to them anymore. Not when she knew Cass would be worried out of his mind about her going home to her father.

"Listen," the girl cleared her throat, standing at the foot of her bed, where the boys were lying down. "I'm not going to be staying here for the holidays... and I'm not going back to the Manor," she said softly, waiting for their reaction.

"What?" They both sat up, surprised looks on their faces. "Why, Nina? Where are you going?" Pouted Adrian, holding her pillow between his arms.

Nervously, she looked down, "Well, I'll be spending them with George Weasley and his family... at The Burrow," Carina admitted, running a hand through her hair. Both boys held unreadable expressions, "We've been friends for a while now... And we've gotten very close and, uh, yeah," she explained briefly, biting her lip. "We're just friends though. Nothing more."

"Oh, okay," Cass shrugged it off quickly, a smile settling on his lips when he saw Nina's confusion. "We like George," Adrian nodded in agreement, "I mean, he brings drinks to our parties, he invites us to theirs, he doesn't hate us... really, his only downside is the fact that he's related to Fred," he joked lightly, making Carina chuckle. "Plus, he was loads of fun at your birthday celebration!"

"Yeah, the other one though... he has a problem with all of us - and I mean, I get it," Adrian raised his hands understandingly, "There's some of us that are utter shite, but to that I say: McLaggen," they all bursted out laughing after that, shaking their heads as Carina pulled the bag she'd be taking out of her trunk. "Just... we're still your boys right?" Adrian asked, now looking a little fidgety.

Carina's gaze softened, nodding, smiling when she saw them both relax, "You're my boys."

One of the things that she wants most in the world is to be able to tell Draco the truth about her friendship with George, but she knows that would put him in danger. If Lucius were to ever use Veritaserum on him (or if he already was), then... she couldn't risk it. All of Draco's friends had gone home. It's a perfect plan: sneaking out of Hogwarts with the Weasleys and Harry while Adrian and Cass covered for her.

Evidently, she had to tell Remus the truth after he'd insisted she shouldn't go back to the Manor. He was much less apprehensive when he learned where she would be staying. Apparently, he knew Molly and Arthur Weasley from school and they'd been quite good friends. He even sent his regards.

"Twelve years?" She breathes out, frowning. "That's not normal, is it?" George shakes his head in response.

"It's not," speaks Ginny for the first time, looking annoyed by her brother. "It's been alive since before I was even born!" Carina smiles at her, already liking her attitude. Her heart sinks a little as she remembers the history between Lucius and the young girl. Harry looks at the redhead through his glasses, stifling a laugh.