Dirty Mouth, Dirty Blood [h.g]

thirty eight

38

Then

Carina looked up at the knocking on the door that echoed throughout the house, watching as a House Elf rushed to answer it.

Severus Snape strode through the door, cloak billowing behind him. Carina jumped up, smiling.

She embraced the man, barely coming up to his waist, but for once he didn't return the sentiment, leaving Carina confused.

Severus Snape wasn't a touchy-feely man, this much Carina could understand, but usually he couldn't resist the small girl. Carina could look up at him with puppy-dog eyes and he would at least indulge in a pat on the back.

This time, however, he simply stood like he had a rod in his back, not even acknowledging her presence.

"Uncle Sev!" Carina cried, looking up at him with a pout, but the sallow faced man didn't bat an eye.

Narcissa entred solemnly, also ignoring the young girl. "Severus, thank you so much for coming."

Severus nodded, eyes not staying in one place for longer than a few seconds. "I don't have long. Pray, tell me what I need to know quickly."

"Carina..." Narcissa trailed off, gesturing towards the girl.

"She is young, she won't understand. Tell me now, Narcissa." Severus demanded, dark eyes finally snapping to Narcissa Malfoy's face.

"Carina has killed a small animal, a kitten. She is more powerful than we expected, and Lucius is thrilled. Says she could be the next Dark Lord. Please, Severus, when she is at Hogwarts—make sure she doesn't do anything she'll regret. For me, and for her future."

Severus nodded sharply, prying the small fingers from the end of his robes and exiting just a swiftly as he came.

Carina was left only with the memory and the dull ache of fear.

Now

Harry woke some hours later, much to the girls' relief. After Hermione quickly explained how long he had been out and why his chest had a raw, burned spot on it, Harry stood.

"Alright, I'll take watch now if you guys want."

"I'm so sorry, Harry," Hermione said delicately, "but when I performed the ricocheting curse, your wand broke. I tried to fix it, but it's beyond repair. I'm sorry, Harry, I really am!"

"Here," Carina immediately said, pulling her wand from her pocket. "Use mine. Mine's a Phoenix feather, too, might feel familiar."

"Thanks," Harry spit out. He was obviously furious about the destruction of his wand, but unable to blame Hermione with a clear conscience.

"He'll come 'round," Carina assured the Gryffindor, "I promise."

When Harry eventually came back, seeming much calmer, Hermione pulled a book from her bag. "I found this at Bathilda's house, I thought you might want to read it."

Carina noted the cover as it passed hands, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore by Rita Skeeter.

Harry flipped through it, eagerly devouring the pages, and Carina got the sense that he was looking for justification for his outrage at Dumbledore's actions. Carina would have been happy to supply some of her own, but held her tongue. Harry seemed more upset about the withholding of information, not the manipulative way he treated his students.

"Look at this," Harry commented, showing them a page from the book. "It looks Grindlewald, one of Dumbledore's old friends, stole the wand You-Know-Who wants."

"Grindlewald is a pretty serious dark wizard," Carina mused.

"And look!" Harry said, "It talks about Dumbledore's little sister, Ariana. It looks like he kept her holed up in a house for years."

"Well," Hermione said carefully, "the book was written by Rita Skeeter. There's no telling how much was fabricated."

"Still," Harry said slowly, "there was so much about Dumbledore I didn't know."

"He loved you," Hermione said forcefully, "I promise he did."

Harry bit his lip slightly, not completely believing her. "Carina? What do you think?"

Carina cocked her head, studying the insecure boy in front of her. It would be so easy to rip him apart, and Carina was sorely tempted. But, she restrained herself, choosing her words carefully. "I believe he loved you, in his own way. But it would be best if you didn't put all your eggs in one basket."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked softly.

"I mean, if you place all your trust in one person, they will let you down. They'll let you down every time."