"Does this one look nice?" Carina asked, showing Angelina, Alicia, and Katie the twelfth sweater.

"That one's okay... but not my favorite, I still like the seventh one!" Alicia commented.

"Are you serious? That ones so cute!" Katie stated.

"Angelina what do you think?" Carina asked.

"Just put on a shirt! Oliver clearly likes you regardless of what you're wearing. For goodness sakes, if you're trying to impress Oliver then wear your Quidditch robes," Angelina retorted.

"Great idea, I'll just stroll into Hogsmeade wearing my scarlett Quidditch robes," Carina muttered.

"I bet he'd love that," Alicia commented with a wink. Carina felt her cheeks flush and tried to cover it by taking off her scarf, but she was much too late.

"Awwwww, Carina's blushing!" Katie cooed, causing Carina's face to turn beet red.

"Yes, I am. Now, what do I wear?" Carina asked, jumping onto her bed in defeat.

"Nothing!" Angelina replied, causing the girls to giggle.

"I got it," Carina stated after a fit of laughter. The girl walked over to the pile of clothes she had made, closed her eyes, and randomly chose a sweater.

"This is the one," Carina declared after she pulled on the grey sweater.

"Perfect, now hurry up before he leaves without you!" Angelina shouted.

"You're right, I'm going to be late!" Carina cried, then sprinted out of her dormitory and through the common room, pushing people over on her way there.

"Run Carina!" Fred shouted as he got up from the ground.

"Don't be late!" George hollered while she ran through the portrait hole. Carina laughed at their comments, but knew all too well that Oliver was waiting for her in the cold, blistery storm.

"Where are you going, Sister?" Draco asked bitterly as she sprinted past him.

"None of your business, Brother," Carina replied over her shoulder. She could feel the cold air enter her lungs as she ran out the doors of Hogwarts, but that didn't stop her. She continued running, and even forgot that she was running until she ran directly into her date.

"OOF," Oliver groaned as he hit the ground. Carina landed directly on top of the boy, and let out a giggle as she realized what she had just done. Well this is an interesting way to start off a date, she thought.

"I'm so sorry, Oliver!" Carina cried through fits of laughter. Oliver looked a bit taken aback at first, but soon caught onto her laughter as she helped him up.

"Don't worry about it!" He replied, a huge smile on his face.

-

"Can we go in here?" Carina asked eagerly, pointing towards Zonko's Joke Shop.

"Of course, love" Oliver stated, following her through the door.

"Okay, so I need Dumgbombs, Sugar Quills, and Nose-Biting Teacups," Carina stated, placing a basket in Oliver's hands.

"Nose-Biting Teacups?" Oliver questioned.

"Nose-Biting Teacups." Carina affirmed.

"For what?"

"A lady never reveals her tricks," Carina stated with a wink, then grabbed the supplies she needed and went to the register.

"Carina, back again I see!" Zonko, the shopowner, greeted

"Yes sir, I'm running low on supplies!"

"Good to hear you're keeping up the pranking, and who's this?" Zonko asked, motioning towards Oliver.

"Oh, just a friend," Carina mumbled, then grabbed her items and bid Zonko goodbye.

"Just a friend?" Oliver questioned sadly as the pair walked out of the shop.

"Well, nothing's really official yet..." Carina trailed off while making eye contact with Oliver for a second too long. With a giant smirk painted across his face, he reached down and grabbed Carina's hand from her pocket.

"Just a friend," Oliver muttered under his breath as he held Carina's hand.

"I suppose we're still just friends, even if you are holding my hand," Carina stated blatantly.

"Give it time, love," Oliver finished with a smirk.

-

From the bushes, Fred and George watched as Oliver took Carina's hand in his. As Carina's best friends, the pair felt obligated to watch over her in a way that Draco never had.

"That's enough touching," Fred muttered under his breath.

"Now Fred, we're here to make sure he treats her right, not stop him from holding her hand!" George whispered back.

"I know, I'm just saying he better keep it at that!"

"Calm down, will you? He's just holding her hand! I doubt they'll be snogging in the middle of Hogsmeade anytime soon."

"At this rate George, you never know."

-

"Two butterbeers, please" Oliver ordered.

"Maybe I wanted fire whiskey," Carina suggested with a smirk.

"Now Carina, I'm sure those two wouldn't approve of that," Oliver said with his finger pointed behind her. Carina turned to see the Weasley twins sitting in the corner and monitoring Oliver's every move.

"You've got to be kidding me," Carina huffed as the twins waved to the pair with wide grins across their faces.

"Well love, I suppose it isn't all that bad. Just think, you've got two amazing best friends who are willing to spend their first day in Hogsmeade making sure that you aren't hurt. Sounds like you've found something pretty special," Oliver stated.

"You're very correct... I don't really know where I'd be without them... but enough about the twins, tell me about yourself!"

"Well, what do you want to know?" Oliver asked with a smile.

"Anything! Just tell me about yourself," Carina stated, looking at him expectantly from across the table.

"Anything? Okay, well I love Quidditch and playing Keeper and watching Quidditch and watching you play Quidditch-" Oliver began, before clasping a hand over his own mouth in realization of what he just said.

"I didn't mean that in a stalkerish way... Wow, I really messed that up... Okay let me explain, it's just that you're pretty good at Quidditch and super pretty and it's just a nice combo if you're catching my drift?" Oliver explained uncertainly as his face changed from a shade of pink to red. Carina glanced at the boy as her face turned a few shades redder as well.

"I get where you're going," Carina began, "And I must say that's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in awhile, so thank you for that."

"I'm glad we cleared that up," Oliver admitted, his face turning back to a normal color, "Anyway, I'll continue. I live in Scotland with my Mum and Dad. We all get along pretty well and we all love Quidditch so it works out well. Now, let's hear about you."

"Well, I love Quidditch too... but maybe not to the extent that you do. Also, I must say that watching you play Quidditch isn't too bad of a sight either," Carina began as she casted a grin in his direction, "But I do happen to be the daughter of the Malfoys, meaning that I live in a dreary mansion with house elves everywhere."

"Wait, the Malfoys live in a mansion?" Oliver questioned.

"Yes, but I can assure you that I'd much rather live in a shack. I don't know if you've ever met any members of the Malfoy family, but we aren't exactly... affable. Mother and Father are extremely strict, and it's clear to anyone who steps foot into my house that Draco is the favorite," Carina stated gloomily.

"Is it really that bad? I mean, I suppose your Father was a bit rude to me in the Quidditch store, but you're their daughter, so they can't be that bad," Oliver asked, clearly not convinced. Carina thought of all the times the house elves were kicked profusely, the two times Father performed the Cruciatus Curse on her, and even the time she saw her father kill someone in the meeting room when she was just a child, but she knew she couldn't tell him that. Not even Fred and George could know about that.

"It really isn't all that pleasant... not to mention the horrendous lighting. If you haven't been able to tell by my clothing, my family loves to keep things dark and dreary... but I do believe that my parents love me.... they just have a different way of showing it. At least Father does."

"Sounds interesting... Maybe I could come visit your mansion sometime?" Oliver asked. Carina knew the answer was a no, as her family hated anyone in Gryffindor(she was surprised that they even kept her around).

"I suppose you could, if I could get my parents on board. That's the tough part."

"Well, I really hope you can. Ready to head back?" Oliver asked,  finishing his butterbeer.

"I suppose we should," Carina stated sadly. Oliver pulled out some coins to pay for their drinks, but Carina shut him down.

"I can pay for this," She declared as she pulled out two Galleons.

"No, it's okay love," Oliver stated, placing two Sickles onto the table.

"Listen, my family is loaded alright? Let me pay," Carina insisted.

"No, no it's okay. It's out first date, let me pay just this once," Oliver begged.

"Oh fine, but it's your loss" Carina replied sassily as she grabbed her two Galleons and slid them into Oliver's coat pocket while he was thanking Madam Rosmerta. Oliver then proceeded to grab Carina's hand and strolled out of the pub.

-

As Carina and Oliver entered the Gryffindor common room, they couldn't help but notice that Fred and George had pointed the couch towards the portrait hole. Both twins were sitting there, cups of tea in hand, staring at them.

"8:01..." George began, tapping his imaginary watch, "You're late." Fred finished. Oliver looked between the two with a panicked expression, but Carina handled the situation on her own.

"Listen boys, Oliver hasn't done anything wrong, now give the guy a break!" Carina exclaimed.

"No can do Ma'am," Fred began, "We're watching him," George finished.

"They're stalkers," Carina muttered to Oliver.

"I agree but I must say that, today's been lovely. Perhaps we could do it again sometime?" Oliver suggested, clearly trying to escape from the wrath of Fred and George.

"Do what again?" George inquired as both twins narrowed their eyes in Oliver's direction.

"Oh, calm down! He means go on another date! But yes, I'd love to," Carina answered.

"Great, I guess I'll see you around," Oliver said, giving her hand a squeeze before letting go and walking to the boys' dormitories.

Fred, George, and Carina stood in silence before George decided to speak up, "He seems decent."

"Oh please, you've both played Quidditch with him for a year now, you know that Oliver's a good guy!" Carina replied.

"We know he's nice to us, but we have to be sure he's nice to you," Fred explained. Carina had never seen the twins so protective in her life, but she was pleased to hear that they had her back, despite their pestering.

"Well, I appreciate that you both care for me so much, I really do, but it'd be nice if you gave the guy a break. I mean, it's Oliver Wood, what harm could he really do besides bore us all to death with his speeches?" Carina questioned.

"Just making sure that there's no funny business between you two," George finished.

"So are you guys like a couple now?" Fred inquired.

"No, we're still just friends," Carina replied sadly.

"Don't worry Carrie, all good things come with time," George comforted as he patted the seat between him and Fred on the couch. Carina happily plopped down between them.

"So, I'd imagine that it went well, then?" Fred asked.

"Yeah... it honestly went better than I expected... I wasn't really expecting to fancy him, but after tonight, I think that there might actually be something there..." Carrie trailed off.

"Say it Carrie! You have to be honest with us," George demanded excitedly.

"I know, I know, it just isn't sorted out in my own head at the moment. I guess I never seriously thought about dating Oliver, but after tonight I think I may actually fancy him," Carina mumbled as her cheeks turned pink.

"Do you hear this, Fred?"

"I certainly do, George!"

"Carrie fancies Oliver!" The twins cried in unison.

"They grow up so fast," George fake sobbed.

"Don't I know it! It was just yesterday that she learned to walk!" Fred cried. The twins 'sobbed' next to her in 'grief', and it took everything Carina had not to slap them both.

"Oh, could you two stop! It's not like you've never fancied anyone."

"Now this conversation isn't about us," Fred stated, "This is all about you and your interest in Oliver Wood," George finished.

"Well I did just tell you that I think I fancy him, so what else do you need to know?" Carina inquired.

"Did you snog?" Fred asked flatly.

"Not today," Carina replied with a smirk.

"This will take some getting used to," they groaned in unison.

"Right you are, boys, but we really should be getting to bed," Carina replied as she sat up from the couch.

"So soon?"

"So soon." Carina affirmed, then walked up to the girls' dormitories before turning one last time.

"You guys are the best," Carina stated.

"We know," the twins said before going into their own dormitory. As Carina entered her room, she was greeted by the squealing of Angelina and Alicia.

"HOW WAS IT?!" They asked in unison.

"It really was amazing... I honestly wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did," Carina replied.

"OOOOHH, THAT'S SO CUTE! Did you two snog? Did the twins follow you everywhere like they said they would? Are you two dating?" Alicia asked.

"It seemed like Oliver wanted to take things slow, which is honestly fine by me. But anyway, we didn't snog and we aren't dating yet, but, it did seem like Fred and George had a close eye on us," Carina replied.

"They would do that! You're honestly lucky to be so close to them... they really care for you, Carina," Angelina commented.

"I know, it was kind of cute watching them interrogate Oliver when we got back, but they were being a bit harsh on him considering they've played Quidditch with him for an entire season!"

"I guess it's just a guy thing... but at least you have people watching your back! Anyway, I'm going to sleep," Alicia finished as she rolled over onto her bed.

"Me too, goodnight Carina," Angelina stated, then turned her bedstand light off.

"Goodnight girls," Carina said, then plopped onto her own bed and drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.