The Witch and Her Vampire

Fourteen

Carina's P.O.V.
I stuffed a biscuit in my mouth and tried my hardest to beat Ron, who had piled his plate just as high as mine and had the bright idea of an eating contest. The boy was like a human vaccine and continued to eat, shoveling bite after bite into his mouth.

By now, I probably looked like a chipmunk trying to keep up, and I was losing terribly.

All of a sudden a hand shot forward, quick as lighting, and I saw Hermione chewing on the two pieces of bacon I had left like it was nothing, before her eyes flickered to my food persistently, for I had stopped eating to stare at her.

So, I continued eating.

Another hand shot out and snatched up my last biscuit, and I glanced up again.

This time, it was Harry, munching away without a care in the world and casting me a wink, before gesturing to Ron's plate, which had more food than mine, now.

I half grinned at him and finished off the rest of the food on my plate, before tipping back my goblet and guzzling all the pumpkin juice away. When I was finished, I slammed it onto the table.

"Ha!" I exclaimed triumphantly. "I win!" I sneaked a glance at Hermione, who was hiding a smile, and high fived her under the table while Harry snickered at Ron's lost look.

"But..." said Ron, eyes wide. "But no one can beat me...."

"Well," began Harry. "When you live with our cousin Jake, you've gotta learn to eat fast."

Ron was about to speak, but stopped when a black owl landed directly in front of his plate, bearing a letter.

It was Nyx.

Eagerly, I took the letter from him and unfolded the piece of paper, finding letters written on it in Rose's neat script. I scanned over the paper, too impatient to wait.

Carina,
If that insolent boy ever tries to attack you again, hurt him. Don't hold back, and tell Harry not to, either. As for his father....I would love to rip the man to shreds myself, but Alice warned me not to interfere with things and my siblings have proved that they can and will hold me here if necessary should I try to run to London. It is not alright the way you were treated there, and it will never be alright. Remember that.
It's good that you've made friends there, and Esme says you'd better be paying attention in your classes.
The house of the brave sounds about like you, considering all the stunts you pulled in the time I've known you.
As for the troll...HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE?? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!! And—

I could already imagine her yelling at me, which she had only done twice before in my entire life and apologized for it. It stung. Silently, I ducked my head and continued reading.

—where would I be without you?? I realize that you were trying to save your friend, but one of you should have at least ran off and gotten a professor while the others simply distracted it enough to get your friend out of there. That was irresponsible, and I have this feeling you'll continue to get in situations like these daily, won't you?
Truthfully, I did break a table, despite your wishes for me not to destroy anything. Jasper came in to talk and calm me down, which helped to alleviate my frustration some.
ME getting hurt? I'm more worried about you getting yourself hurt in some way, and you should be more concerned about your own wellbeing as well.
We're currently in Denali, Alaska with our "cousins", but we're fine.
I miss you more than you can ever imagine, Rina. It hurts me, too.
And how could I ever hate you? Never think that again. I love you, and I don't want you to ever believe otherwise.
—Rose

Carefully, I folded up the letter and stuck it in my pocket.

Rose loved me.

I had always felt as though she did, but she hadn't ever told me before until now, and the more I thought about it, the more I knew that I loved her, too, and I really needed to tell her.

"What was that about?" questioned Harry, leaning forward a little. "Is that from Rosalie?" At the puzzled looks of Ron and Hermione, he elaborated. "Rosalie Hale. She's nineteen and she's been Carina's best friend for over three years. When we had to move, she and her family were as well, and we haven't seen them since. She misses her terribly."

"Is she a muggle?" asked Ron, helping himself to some more bacon.

"Not exactly..." Harry lowered his voice and leaned over to whisper in Ron's ear exactly what she was, before doing the same to Hermione, who had read the letter over my shoulder.

Ron dropped his bacon, gaping, and Hermione's eyes widened.

"They're not-she's not...dangerous, is she?" said Hermione carefully.

"Very," I mumbled, propping up my head on my hand. "But she's amazing when you get to know her, really. She and her family are...vegetarians. They only eat animals instead of...well, you know."

"Oh." She relaxed a little. "Can you tell me more about her later?"

I snapped out of my Rose induced daze and turned to her, brightening as I offered her a grin. "Sure. Maybe we can go to the library and look some things up about her kind?"

A wide grin spread across Hermione's face, and Harry and Ron both groaned.