Carina McGonagall is named after the constellation containing the second brightest star in the sky - and it just so happens one Sirius Black is named after the brightest. They've always had an interesting relationship throughout the years - pranks...
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4th June 1976
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
June had rolled around hot and sunny. Exams were upon the fifth years well and truly. Carina and Lily had been seated next to each other during the Defence Against the Dark Arts exam, so naturally they walked out of it together, talking all the way.
As it was a warm Friday afternoon, most of the students with a free period had taken to sitting around the lake, under the shade of the trees around the edge of it. The lake was always cold, no matter the season, so, often during the summer months, a few of the craziest - and dumbest - of the younger year groups would dare each other to jump in. Oh, the shock they got when even in the height of sunny June, the lake was like an ice bucket. Of course, the fifth years knew better than that, having been probably the craziest and dumbest - cough cough Marauders cough cough - of all the year groups. Although, Carina was making an effort not to bring up any sort of conversation that could lead to talking about them at all.
Lily was talking about the holiday her parents had planned to take her and her older sister, Petunia on midway through July, for two weeks. They were heading over to a little island to the south of England to visit some of her dad's family who had moved there a few years ago. Lily seemed really excited, which Carina thought was wonderful as Lily often hated going home due to her older sister. Carina had only met Petunia twice: the first time, at the train station for Platform 9 and 3/4 at the beginning of their third year. The second, and last time, had been when Carina had come to their house to pick up Lily for a few weeks during the summer holidays to go see the Quidditch World Cup. Both times, Petunia had been rude, arrogant and snappy to Lily and Carina so she couldn't imagine what it would be like to have her as a sister. But Lily seemed happier than normal and that was nice to see.
That was until Lily stopped dead in her paths, her words still hanging off of her tongue. Carina turned her head sharply away from Lily to see what she was staring at and then Carina's jaw dropped too.
Standing boldly, surrounded by a crowd of students from fourth year to seventh year, all raucously laughing. The Marauders lined the middle of it, with Sirius standing casually, grinning. In the centre stood James Potter and Severus Snape. Well, only James was standing as Severus seemed to have been knocked to the ground. Oh merciful mother of a banshee, Carina cursed to herself. This can't end well.
Severus was swearing and cursing viciously at James who seemed almost bemused by the other boy's rage. "Wash your mouth out," James said coldly before a beam of light shot from his wand and Severus was coughing up bubbles. Severus was gagging, choking, on millions of pink bubbles and Carina was rushing up to help him when -
"Leave him ALONE!"
James and Sirius turned around sharply as Lily stormed towards them. Carina quickly ran after the furious red haired girl and threw the counter curse at Severus as soon as she was within range. He coughed up a few more bubbles but did not look at her at all.
James ran a quick hand through his hair before turning to Lily with a smirk. "All right, Evans?"
Carina could see the fury bubbling under Lily's skin, waiting to burst free at the arrogant boy. Oh, James had really cocked everything up. He had asked Carina for advice on how to make Lily like him, and had even followed it for a while, but now... now he had ruined everything. Everything she had built up to improve the way Lily thought of her friends and her boyfriend was coming crashing down around Carina.
No one had noticed Carina at all, they were all too busy watching Lily, James and Severus.
"Leave him alone," repeated Lily, with even more ferocity in her voice. Her piercing green eyes were burning with hatred as she stared, with a growing dislike, at James.
"What has he ever done to you?"
"Well, it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean."
Sirius laughed and so did Peter and a few others. Carina could feel her anxiety rising in her chest, squeezing her throat as things progressed.
Where Remus was, Carina didn't know, but she hoped with every fibre of her being he was around there somewhere and was going to come and help her stop his friends.
Then she stopped.
He was sitting, reading, ignoring the bullying in front of him. She knew Severus was an arsehole, no doubt, and he was involved with the wrong crowd and could be equally as cruel, if not more so than the Marauders. But he was still a human. And he still deserved respect.
"You think you're funny," spat Lily venomously. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag! Leave. Him. Alone."
"I will, if you go out with me, Evans. Go on, go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."
Lily looked like her blood was boiling as she stood, quivering with anger looking at the dark haired boy. Whatever hex James had used on Severus was wearing off and he was crawling towards his fallen wand. But nobody noticed him.
"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the Giant Squid!" Lily exclaimed fiercely.
"Bad luck, Prongs," Sirius said with a slight smirk. His eyes made brief contact with Carina's before he quickly looked away, only to spot Severus, now holding his wand. "OI!"
But it was already too late; Severus had directed his wand straight at James and a small flash of light burst from his wand. Carina squeaked in fear as a deep cut appeared across James's face, sending blood splattering onto his robes.
This wasn't right either.
This wasn't ok; James and Severus shouldn't be hurting each other; Carina had to step in, she had to stop them -
But a sudden hand on her chest shoved her backwards. Her breath hitched in her throat as she clattered to the ground but Carina looked up just in time to see James whirl around and then he was grinning as Severus Snape was hoisted into the air by his ankle, dangling him just below the first few branches of the tree they were all crowded around.
Snape was hanging upside down, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants.
Many people in the small crowd watching cheered. Sirius, James, and Wormtail roared with laughter.
A hundred emotions dashed across Lily's face: for a split second, she almost looked as if she was about to laugh, but then her green eyes darkened as her expressions shifted at lightning speed from shock, to sadness, to suddenly igniting with a blazing fury. Carina could see Lily's rage written across her face; it was moving with her, like a tsunami, rolling viciously and rapidly about to come crashing down on the boys.
"Let him down!" Lily yelled, seething with rage. "Certainly." James's wand twitched and Severus fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Severus shot up but Sirius got to him before he could send another curse flying.
Suddenly, Snape was on the ground again, his body as rigid and unmoving as a board. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily belted with all the force and fury her quivering voice would allow. Her wand was drawn and pointed threateningly at James.
Carina didn't know what to do. There was too much going on, her best friends were all fighting and she could feel her heart rate rising. Her breathing was becoming increasingly frequent and increasingly fast. The sounds around were just amounting to a crashing crescendo of noise. Her head was spinning and she could vaguely make out the voices of Lily, Sirius and James.
And finally, the words all came into focus for her with one sentence, screamed out by Severus. "I don't need help from filthy Mudbloods like her!"
