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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24th December 1975
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
After the full moon on the eighteenth had passed, Carina had registered as a legal Animagus. Minerva had told her to do it; seeing as Carina had learnt it under Minerva it seemed to be the right thing to do.
As the Christmas holidays had come, Carina had had more opportunities to test out her new Animagus abilities in quiet areas of the castle.
However the boys had also decided to stay over the holidays and seemed to have something to do with Sirius and his family. Carina was curious - obviously - but she knew when not to pry. But together they had all made plans for Christmas day: they would all be meeting in the Great Hall for breakfast and hanging out for the day though, ending with the Christmas Feast. It was going to be great.
But first Carina had to survive the week leading up to it.
Everything was a chaotic mess of red, gold, green and silver; during the weeks leading up to Christmas, it suddenly became truly impossible to walk around a corner without seeing tinsel, fairy lights or mistletoe. Carina was careful to avoid the last one, especially with a certain Mr Black around her so much now.
Her feelings towards him were baffling to her and the more she got to know him the more confusing they became. They had been childish rivals for years, of course she'd known him for what felt like forever, but they were actually friends now, they actually spoke to each other without a class or a prank having instigated the conversation. It was nice, but as they spoke more, the closer they became, the stranger she felt about him - the stranger the feeling rising in her chest each time he smiled at her. It was all far too new for her and also... kind of scary, especially without the emotional expertise of Pandora or the boy expert Marlene around.
As it grew closer and closer to Christmas, more and more trees appeared, lining the corridors. Carina had joined Flitwick and Hagrid in bringing the trees into the Great Hall on Christmas Eve. As Hagrid dragged some of them in, Flitwick and Carina charmed them and floated them in. "Hey, Freckles, you want a hand with that?" The sudden voice of Sirius behind her almost made Carina drop the tree on top of a small group of first years, who all quickly dispersed, shrieking. "No, thanks," she replied quickly. She finished landing the giant tree up the right hand corner, ready to be decorated by Flitwick. "Well, now you're done, you can come with me!" Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her after him. By now, Carina was just used to this as Sirius seemed to always want to drag her somewhere first and explain later.
This time they ended up on the 7th floor, down some corridor Carina didn't recognise. There was a small wooden door at the side; practically invisible unless you were looking for it. As it happened, Sirius was. Still holding Carina's hand, he pulled her through the little door, forwards and forwards until they reached another door. This one opened up into a wide, brightly lit room. It was large and open, with barely any furniture except a shelf and a table.
"Welcome, Angel, to the Room of Requirement."
"How come this place isn't on the map?" Carina asked, looking around the room for any secret compartments or cupboards. "Because, Curls, it's unplottable. Changes every time a person comes in or out. Erases itself off the map every time we try to put it on." "Wait, so can I change it?" "If we leave and you think about it hard enough outside, yeah."
As they stepped outside, Carina imagined looking around the room, picturing the new things up all around. A beat passed as Sirius looked at her, a strange expression on his face, before he turned away sharply and he opened the door again.
It was as if the room had burst with colours. Strings of fairy lights - in red, green, good and silver - had appeared, hanging from each of the walls, twinkling brightly. Other Christmas decorations had also materialised: an array of sparkling streamers, snowflakes floating in the air, and of course, a large tree in the corner. It was weighed down by what seemed to be about a million baubles of all shapes, colours and sizes. The ceiling seemed almost to mimic that of the Great Hall, reflecting the outside weather. The light snow now fell to the floor of the room, but it didn't feel cold at all. In fact, turning to her friend, smiling, Carina felt a warmth that was indescribable.
Sirius inspected each new addition to the room, approaching the tree last. Gently, he touched the biggest four decorations on the tree: a silvery looking stag, a big shaggy dog, a little rat and a velvet textured werewolf. "Huh," he whispered to himself as he turned to face the grinning girl.
Slowly, he walked back over to her. "The boys and I have elected to allow you to come in here whenever, like we do." "Gee, thanks," Carina replied, laughing. She turned away from him to admire more of the decorations.
Taking a deep breath, Sirius blurted out: "You look really pretty in the snow." Carina turned to look at Sirius quizzically. Mustering up all of his courage, Sirius surged forwards and kissed her.
It surprised Carina but she almost immediately kissed him back. She didn't know why Sirius had done it, or what it meant, but at that moment she honestly didn't care. It felt right and... safe.
