Carina's eyes fluttered open, and before a single thought could crowd her head, she heard the twins roar, "SHE WOKE UP!" followed by a bone-crushing hug.

"Fred... George... W..... where am I?" she whispered, struggling to breath.

"You're in the Hospital Wing!" Fred chirped, "you have a knack for ending up here," George added with a grin. When they finally got up, she noticed that Oliver was sitting on a chair next to her with his head in his hands, while Draco paced on the other side of her bed.

"How... how'd I end up here?" Carina asked speechlessly.

"You were paralyzed! Nearly scared us to oblivion!" Fred exclaimed.

"Yeah, we thought you were dead at first!" George cried.

"Oh, would you two shut up? I want to talk to my sister, alone,"Draco interrupted. With a pout, the twins patted Carina on the head, then strolled out of the Hospital Wing, mocking Draco on their way out.

"You too, Wood," Draco sneered. This snapped Oliver out of his trance, but nevertheless he stood up and walked out.

"Sorry, I had to do that... Mother is on her way," Draco commented, "I couldn't believe it at first... I thought the monster only targeted Mudbloods, but I suppose you were too close to that rotten cat..."

"What rotten cat?" Carina asked.

"Right, you haven't heard about anything yet. Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets, not the one I would've expected to be the Heir of Slytherin, but anyway, you were the first one affected along with Filch's Cat. Other Mudbloods were paralyzed as time went by, and of course, famous Harry Potter saved the day and rescued the Weasley girl." Draco spat. Before Carina could reply, their mother burst through the doors of the Hospital Wing as if she owned Hogwarts.

"Carina!" Narcissa cried while running to her daughter's side and embracing the girl.

"Mother? Why're you hear?" Carina asked.

"Because you were paralyzed all year! I was so worried! Poppy, she's awake now. Can she leave?"

"I suppose so," Madam Pomfrey agreed. Draco and Narcissa helped her from the bed, and they slowly began walking towards the exit.

"Carina, why's your hair green?" Narcissa asked hesitantly.

"What?" Carina replied, then remembered what had happened on Halloween, "OH, don't worry about it, Mother, just a shampoo mishap. Where's Father?"

"He has some business to attend to, but don't worry, he'll be back soon. Could you lead us to the Gryffindor Common Room?" Narcissa asked.

"Oh, yes, of course, follow me!" Carina replied. It felt strange for Carina's family to follow her through the corridors of Hogwarts, but nevertheless she continued on, passing a variety of portraits on her way there. She muttered the password to Gryffindor Tower, causing the Fat Lady to swing open. Upon entering, the majority of the Gryffindors gaped in surprise to see Draco and Narcissa there. The family strutted through the crowd of children, and climbed the stairs to the girls' dormitories, before the entire staircase turned into a slide.

"Umph," Draco groaned while Narcissa and Carina landed on him. The common room erupted in laughter, and Carina realized her mistake immediately.

"Draco, you can't come with us," Carina giggled.

"Why?"

"Because you're a boy!" Carina exclaimed, pulling her mother up the stairs.

"Are we going home today, Mother?" Carina asked when they entered.

"Yes, now let's pack your belongings," Narcissa ordered. The two stuffed Carina's trunk to the brim, so much so that they struggled to close it.

"Mother, what about my broom? It's in the Broomshed!" Carina exclaimed.

"I'll have Draco get it."

"Okay... Could I go to the feast before we go?"

"I'm afraid not. Father has lessons laid out for you this summer, and he wants to begin them immediately."

"Lessons? What kind of lessons?"

"You'll find out soon enough, now, come along," Narcissa ordered. Carina lugged her trunk down the stairs, and waved to her fellow Gryffindors as she walked out. She couldn't help but notice Oliver's sorrowful expression as his girlfriend was, once again, taken away from him. The three then walked to Dumbledore's Office. Carina had to be particularly careful not to take any students down with her monstruous trunk.

"Carina, it's good to see you in a state of consciousness," Lucius greeted as he patted his daughter on the shoulder.

"Good to see you as well, Father," Carina replied.

"Amazing, really, what Mandrakes are capable of, and Draco, I'd expect that you're delighted over the cancellation of exams. Now, come along," Dumbledore chimed as he guided the Malfoys into his office. Carina had never been unfortunate enough to be sent to Dumbledore's Office, but she gawked as she noticed the various portraits along the wall. Every Headmaster of Hogwarts appeared on the walls, each giving their own piece of intellect as the family walked by.

"The Malfoys, very noble, indeed... at least in my time," one particular headmaster commented.

"I don't know about that, sounds like they've been up to a bit of trouble recently," another muttered. Lucius shot daggers at them all, then watched as Dumbledore retrieved a pot of green powder from the mantel.

"Here's the Floo Powder, Lucius. I'd expect that you'll be leaving now?" Dumbledore questioned politely.

"I believe so," Lucius replied harshly, then motioned for Carina to go first. She grabbed a handful, dropped it in the fireplace, shouting, "Malfoy Manor," then stepped directly into the emerald blaze. Within seconds, she was in the dark foyer of Malfoy Manor, and the rest of her family appeared seconds later.

"I'd like to talk to you, Father," Carina requested as soon as he appeared.

"Understandable, but first I'd recommend you rest." Lucius replied.

"I've been resting since Halloween! I believe that I'm well rested," Carina retorted.

"That wasn't a request, Carina," Lucius hissed, before turning and stalking out of the foyer.

"He's a tad bitter right now... you see, Dobby's been freed," Narcissa whispered once her husband was out of sight.

"Dobby? Father freed him?!" Carina gasped.

"Yes, he has, but... accidentially."

"Accidentially? How do you accidentially free a house elf?" Draco questioned.

"We'll talk about it later, Draco, but for now, I recommend that you both listen to him!" Narcissa ordered, then stalked after her husband, her heels clicking on the stone floor in the process. Draco shrugged, wandering off to his own room, leaving Carina to do the same. She plopped onto her bed, and to her suprise, slumber carried her away in minutes.

The following morning, Carina awoke, still in her Hogwarts robes. She quickly showered, changed her hair back to its normal color, and changed into a knee-length, grey dress. The past day had felt like a blur for the girl, and she felt the sudden desire to eat breakfast as her stomach growled for food. The girl stumbled down the cold, stone, double staircase which lead to the first floor, then promptly marched to the kitchen. Much to her displeasure, Dobby was nowhere to be seen.

"Tootsie?" Carina called into the open air. In an instant, a meek house elf wearing nothing but a pillowcase appeared before her.

"Yes, Mistress?" Tootsie asked eagerly.

"Can you please make me breakfast? I'm starving." Tootsie simply nodded, then got to work in the kitchen. After she had eaten a delicious breakfast of eggs and fruit, Lucius bounded into the kitchen.

"You want an explanation? Come," He ordered, striding into his office. Carina followed step.

"Close the door," he ordered. Carina shut the door with a click, then sat in a chair across from his own.

"Where would you like me to begin?" he asked.

"Could you please explain that little, black book?" Carina asked.

"I'm afraid that you're not prepared to learn about that yet, Carina. But don't worry, you will be soon enough," Lucius replied with a smirk which churned Carina's insides.

"Father, I do hope you realize that I'll be entering fifth year soon," Carina retorted. She was sick of being left in the dark about her family's actions, and after what happened last year at Hogwarts, she knew that it was necessary to understand what was happening in her father's business.

"Carina, I've already told you that you're not prepared to hear that yet."

"Father, after what happened last year at school, I'm sick of not knowing what you are doing all the time! If you want me to run around and do all of these little chores for you then I deserve to know what's going on," Carina demanded. She could feel her voice dropping an octave as her anger began to boil from within.

"I cannot tell you, Carina," Lucius growled while reaching for the sceptre, which happened to house his wand. Carina felt her body flinch, despite her efforts to remain calm. Too many times had he pulled his wand out and tortured her, so she decided to draw the line there.

"Fine. What can you tell me, then?" Carina sassed.

"I can tell you about the events that took place at Hogwarts this year. As you have already found out, the Chamber of Secrets was opened at Hogwarts this year. This all began due to that little, black book, which happens to be a diary. I planted this diary in Ginny Weasley's cauldron while we were in Flourish and Blotts last summer. Some sort of powerful, dark magic from the diary possessed Ginny Weasley, causing her to act... abnormally. This diary convinced Ginny to perform various tasks, eventually leading to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. Once the Chamber was open, the monster within was unleashed. This monster, which has revealed itself to be a Basilisk, can kill by just a glance; however, if there is anything transparent which obstructs the Basilisks' eyes from the human eye, then the victim will simply be paralyzed. Hence, the reason why you were paralyzed and not killed, is because you were looking at the eyes of the monster through a piece of glass. Very lucky, indeed. Anyway, after you were paralyzed, it is understood that Ginny continued to write in this diary, which eventually lead to the possession becoming worse. She was convinced to enter the Chamber of Secrets, and it is believed that she came face to face with a form of the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord himself was intending to return through Ginny, but Harry Potter arrived in the Chamber and stopped this from occurring. As for you, Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey created a potion which revived the victims from a state of paralysis," Lucius explained. Carina sat there digesting all of the information which was just thrown at her, before asking, "Father, why did you want to open the Chamber of Secrets?"

"You see, Carina, as you may have figured out by now, I was once a follower of the Dark Lord. His sorcery simply surpasses anything I've ever witnessed before, and he is not entirely deceased at the moment. His spirit remains in this world in a way which you cannot yet understand, but you will find out soon enough. It is only a matter of time before he returns, and when he does, we will be prepared. The Chamber of Secrets was simply a mechanism for his return, but I can assure you that eventually, he will come back. It is only a matter of time."

"So you're saying that you're going to return to him? This Lord who killed so many? Why? Why would you help him?!" Carina shrieked. She looked upon her father as if she'd never met him. The man who'd raised her, was now attempting to raise Lord Voldemort.

"Carina, you have to listen to me!" Lucius ordered.

"Why? Why should I listen to a murderer?!" Carina cried.

"LISTEN TO ME! You won't be able to escape him, Carina. He's going to kill our entire family if I do not return to him, and he's going to drag us all into it. You don't have a choice, so I recommend that you listen!" Lucius yelled.

"What do you mean I don't have a choice?" Carina spat.

"Exactly what I said! No matter what you do, he'll find you. There's a target on you, simply because you're a Malfoy. Now, if you were smart, you'd let me teach you a practice called Occlumency."

"So you're saying he's going to kill me if I don't join him?!"

"I'm not saying you have to join him. In fact, I never want you to join him. I'm saying that he's going to come back and he's going to take a toll on us all. We have to be prepared, and in the instance that he does want you to join him, you might just have to. I will do anything in my power to prevent that, but there is a chance that if you don't join him, he could potentially kill our entire family."

"But isn't he trying to kill everyone?"

"No, just those who aren't pure."

"Pure? As in Muggleborns?"

"Precisely."

"I don't even believe that Purebloods are superior!" Carina cried.

"I've figured that out, Carina. As I've already stated, you're a target not because of your blood, but because of your name."

"So he is targeting Purebloods too, then?"

"Just those who haven't returned to him after the First Wizarding War."

"I can't join him, Father," Carina concluded, "I'm not a murderer." I'm not like you, Carina thought, but chose to keep that detail to herself.

"That's not what I'm asking you to do in the slightest, Carina. I'm simply asking if you'll allow me to teach you Occlumency. It proves to be useful in any situation."

"It's going to help me?"

"Yes, it's going to protect you."

"Fine."

"Perfect. Your first lesson starts now."