for the one i love ; fred weasley

chapter 24

NARRATOR'S POV

"What are you doing?" Asks Carina as she walks in the kitchen after they've all eaten dinner. Harry jumps, startled by the sound of her voice, making her chuckle. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, I've just never seen a Wizard do that... Are you washing the dishes?" She questions further, tilting her head to the side. "With your hands?"

Harry laughs at the shock in her voice, nodding his head, "This is the way Muggles do it. Molly lets me do it because she knows I enjoy helping out," he tells her, giving her a toothy smile. "Wanna try?" Carina shrugs, walking over to the younger boy and mimicking his actions after riding her sleeves up. "Good, so you scrub off the food and then put it under the water and -"

"- This is disgusting," mumbles Carina, sticking her tongue out as her hands touch the dirty plates. "I mean, I'm touching someone else's half-eaten food," she notes, scrubbing it off with the sponge and soap that Harry gave her.

"Well, yeah," Harry's lips curl upwards as he thinks about it, "But you're washing it off and then you can wash your hands - you could even use gloves if you wanted," he's babbling now but Carina doesn't stop him. She enjoys Harry's company, he's a sweet boy. After a couple of minutes, Harry speaks once again, clearing his throat, "Hey, I - uh, I've always wanted to tell you something," the girl glances at him sideways as she continues washing the plates.

The boy stays quiet, letting it be known that he's feeling nervous about what comes next, "What is it?" She wonders, shoving him lightly with her elbow, not stopping her actions.

"During our Second Year... Hermione, Ron and I wanted to find out who was the Heir of Slytherin," shares Harry, looking anxious. "We thought it was Draco but we weren't sure so we, uh, we used Polyjuice potion and turned ourselves into Crabbe and Goyle," Carina blinks at his words, brows furrowing in confusion. "That's the first time you spoke to me. Well, I was disguised as Goyle but you were really nice and you defended me, well him -"

Carina ahh's, thinking back on the moment Harry's probably referring to, "It was that night, wasn't it? The night Crabbe and Goyle had forgotten the Common Room password," Harry nods in response. "Of course... I should've known... Goyle was being remarkably kind that night," she laughs along with Harry, shaking her head.

"I was a pretty unconvincing Greg, wasn't I?" Harry asks, grinning at his new friend.

"That's an understatement," retorts Carina, the smile still etched upon her face, "And you were wearing your glasses," Harry laughs at the memory, rolling his eyes at himself. "Well, at least I made a good first impression, then?"

Harry nods vigorously, "I knew something was different about you in that moment," he says truthfully. "The other houses, specially us Gryffindors, they seem to think you're this... rude and standoffish girl but I realised that wasn't the case. We just never gave you a chance, did we?" Carina hums, shaking her head. "I am sorry for that. I judged you because of your brother's actions and I only perpetuated the way others thought about you."

At the mention of Draco, Carina's chest tightens. "Draco is... misunderstood," she settles on saying. "Growing up in our family has its perks, but it's also very hard and lonely," says Carina, finally finishing up with the pots and pans, passing them to Harry so that he can set them aside to dry. "You never know who likes you for you and you're not used to hearing no for an answer. Specially Draco. Father made sure of that," Harry mumbles a small 'you don't say,' under his breath, earning a chuckle from Carina. "It may sound ridiculous to you but all he wants is to be liked."

"Doesn't seem that way," mutters Harry. "He's just so -"

"- I know," Carina says, stopping him, patting his shoulder after they're done. "I hope someday you get to know him like I do... I know you won't think of this as a compliment now but you remind me of each other," Harry's head tilts in confusion, but Carina decides to not say anything about it. "C'mon, its Charlie's turn to pick a movie," she mumbles, walking alongside the Chosen One.