"Mind if I sit with my friends for this ride, love?" Oliver asked as he helped load Carina's trunk on the train.

"Of course, go ahead!" Carina encouraged. With a kiss on her cheek, he ran off and practically jumped onto his friend's back.

"Boys," Carina muttered with a smirk, before strolling across the platform. She plowed past various families and was nearly at the door of the Hogwarts Express, before a hand placed itself firmly on her shoulder. Carina squealed, jumping to see the face of Lucius Malfoy.

"Hello, daughter. If I can even call you that," he muttered into her ear through barred teeth.

"What would you like?" Carina asked numbly.

"Come," Lucius ordered, dragging her to the edge of the crowd, "Where were you all summer?"

"What does it matter to you?" Carina spat.

"Answer me," Lucius hissed.

"No thanks," she sassed, turning on her heel. He grabbed her by the hair this time, yanking it as he spun her around.

"You're to come back to the Manor for Christmas."

"Sorry, I already have plans," Carina lied.

"You're to come back to the Manor for Christmas," Lucius repeated, his gaze narrowed. Carina glared at him, then turned and hastily boarded the train. She had no intention on returning to the Manor ever again.  She pushed past first years crowding the corridor, attempting to find someone she was friends with. Finally, she found a compartment with Fred and George in it, both of whom were huddled around a piece of parchment.

"CARINA!" they exclaimed, dropping their paper and engulfing her in a hug.

"Hi!" she squealed.

"Tell us everything," Fred began, both twins eagerly sitting across from her.

"Where do I even start? I was kicked out of the Manor!" Carina said.

"What'd you do wrong this time?" Fred questioned with a grin.

"Well, it all starts off with these lessons Father wanted me to take. You see, I've been learning Occlumency," Carina began.

"Occlu-what?" George asked.

"Occlumency! It's a study of protecting your mind from Legilimens."

"English, please," Fred sassed.

"Legilimens, a person who is skilled at Legilimency. I could argue it's mind reading, but Father had a much more complex explanation," Carina began.

"So you can read minds now?!" George exclaimed.

"What am I thinking right now?" Fred asked.

"No!" Carina giggled," I learned Occlumency, which is the practice of defending yourself from the mind reading."

"Who would want to read your mind?"

"Let me explain my story! So Father said he wanted me to learn Occlumency to protect myself from the Dark Lord."

"You-Know-Who?" the twins gasped, "Isn't he gone?"

"For now, but from what Father told me, it sounds like he might come back..." Carina muttered. The twins stared at her in horror, their jaws practically touching the ground.

I know, I was shocked too! But anyway, that's a story for another time. So, Father was teaching me Occlumency, and it was going fairly well, to the point that he couldn't teach me anymore. Eventually had Professor Snape come and teach me, and for one particular exercise Snape had Father enter my mind at random times during the day. So Father did, and he viewed the memory of the time I told you about his work in that broom cupboard. He was livid, and basically kicked me out of the Manor. I was literally on the streets, until the Knight Bus came to rescue me. I tried going to your house, but no one was home when I got there! So I called the Knight bus again, and rode on it, unsure where to go, until Harry boarded the bus! So then I just followed Harry to Diagon Alley, stayed there for a night, got Oliver's address, and travelled there by Floo Powder!"

"You came to The Burrow?!"

"Yup!"

"What'd you think?"

"It was practically midnight, I just wanted a place to stay!"

"Fair enough," George commented.

"Lucius didn't hurt you, did he?" Fred asked earnestly. Carina bit her lip, unsure whether to tell them or not, before giving a slight nod.

"We're going to kill that man," they muttered, shaking their heads, "What'd he do to you?"

"The same as always... the Cruciatus Curse," Carina murmured.

"Kill. Him." Fred muttered.

"Oliver didn't try anything on you, did he?" George asked protectively.

"No! As a matter of fact, he told me that he loved me!" Carina exclaimed.

"He did not," they gasped. Carina was about to answer, but the train lurched to a deafening stop, the brakes squealing in the process. A giant trunk from the shelf above crashed into the girl, pinning her to her seat.

"Carrie!" the twins exclaimed, rushing to her side. Before they could even reach the trunk, the lights flickered out, leaving them in pitch darkness.

"Well this is great," Carina croaked as the twins fumbled through the blackness.

"Is this the trunk?" George asked, grabbing onto whatever was in front of him.

"That's my ribcage, George!" Carina exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry!"

"Hey... there's something moving out here!" Fred cried, abandoning Carina and sticking his head out the compartment door. After palpating her entire side, and some regions Oliver wouldn't have approved of, George successfully lugged the trunk off the girl.

"Thank goodness... I can breathe..." she huffed, "What's going on out there, Freddie?"

"I don't know, but some kid's running down the corridor screaming bloody murder!" Fred exclaimed. She heard the feet shuffling as George approached the door to take a look.

"Oi! It's your brother!" he laughed. Draco's pale skin practically glowed in the dark as he jumped into their compartment and curled into a ball on the floor.

"Real tough, Draco," Carina muttered.

"Dementors! They're coming!" He sobbed. Carina could just make out his figure trembling on the floor.

"Aw, little Draco wants his Mummy!" Fred began, "Don't you mean his Father will hear about this?!" George finished. A grin spread across Carina's face as the three pestered her brother. Suddenly, she heard the compartment door slide open, and Draco's sobs only increased in intensity. She could hear the Dementor take raspy breaths, leaving her insides cold as ice. It felt as if every ounce of joy had been wiped free from her soul. As if she would never love Oliver, or laugh with the Twins, or even see her family again. After a few moments, the Dementor drifted onward, but it left the icy sensation with them.

"I'm dying, I'm dying, my life is over!" Draco whined from the floor.

"Bloody hell," Fred muttered, "What just happened?" George finished.

"I don't know about you two, but I don't think I'll ever laugh again," Carina whispered, shivering. Within seconds, the lights were on again.

"Carina? This is your compartment?" Draco asked as he wiped the dust off himself.

"Yup," Carina grinned. Both twinks were snickering at him from behind.

"Think my fear is funny, do you?" Draco sneered.

"Quite," they replied in unison with matching grins. Draco waved them off with disgust, then turned to his sister.

"A word?"

"Sure," Carina replied.

"Shoo, both of you," Draco said, motioning for Fred and George to leave, but Carina shook her head and dragged him out of the compartment. They walked doen the entire length of the train, but didn't find a single empty compartment.

"I suppose the hall will work," Carina muttered.

"With what I'm about to tell you, I don't think it will," Draco snorted.

"Fine, I guess we'll kick Fred and George out," Carina huffed, sliding the glass door open.

"Hey guys, we couldn't find a spare compartment, could you two sit with Lee for awhile?" Carina asked hopefully.

"Yep!" they chimed, skipping out of the room.

"Odd friends you've got there," Draco commented snarkily.

"Oh please, you just wish you had friends. Now, what's so important that we can't talk in the hallway?"

"Family matters. After your, erm... situation with Father, I do believe that he's starting to realize who your trust lies with, and he's rather upset that it's not with him. Carrie, it's plain and simple... he won't let you go. You know too much about the Dark Lord. He's going to force you to return, whether you like it or not."

"He can't make me do anything," Carina muttered.

"Frankly, he can and he will, so I recommend that you listen to him before he has to resort to force!"

"Draco, don't you get it, I can't go back! It's not where I belong!"

"Do what you want, but just know that I warned you," Draco sneered, stalking out of the room.

-

Carina and the twins were walking into the Great Hall discussing their newest pranks, when they noticed Professor Snape sulking on the edge of the corridor.

"A word, please?" he muttered.

"Of course, Professor," Carina replied nervously, glancing at the twins. Both of them pretended to bite their nails, only increasing her nerves. Snape lead her to his office, taking her down a variety of twists and turns until finally they had reached the dungeons.

"What would you like, sir?" she asked, taking a seat in a wooden chair across from his own.

"I'm under the impression that you ran away from the Manor this summer, is this correct?" Snape asked.

"Father forced me out of the Manor, sir," Carina mumbled.

"And you actually left?! Do you realize how dangerous it is on the streets?! Especially with Sirius Black on the loose! If you haven't found out by now, you happen to be related to him, thus putting a target on your back! That was extremely irresponsible of you! And you disrupted out Occlumency lessons! I do hope you realized that I had my entire summer planned around you!" he spat.

"I'm sorry, but it wasn't my doing! Father's the one who kicked me out of the house, why don't you go blame him?!" Carina shouted.

"Don't talk back to me," Snape hissed, "You could have at least told someone where you were!"

"I'm sorry, sir," Carina muttered.

"You should be. Since you did not complete your lessons, I'm now forced to teach you during the semester. We will meet every Tuesday at six. Don't be late. If anyone asks, tell them you're taking remedial potions. Now, get out of my office," Snape orderded.

"Sir, I have Quidditch practice on Tuesdays," Carina protested.

"I suppose you'll have to skip," he snapped. Carina shook her head in disapproval, then stood up from the chair and stalked out of the room. She climbed a rather bendy staircase, only to realize that she had missed the entire feast. With a huff, she trudged up several stairways, passing a variety of talking protraits, until she reached the Fat Lady.

"Password?" She asked. Carina stood speechless. She didn't know the new password.

"I... I don't know... could you please just let me in, you know who I am!" Carina begged.

"I'm sorry Miss. Malfoy, but with the new precautions, I'm afraid I cannot!"

"New precautions?" Carina asked.

"Have you not heard? The castle is under a strict set of security rules while he's on the loose..."

"He? Who're we talking about here?" Carina questioned suspiciously. The Fat Lady's eyes widened in terror, then she scanned the room before whispering, "Sirius Black."

"Is he near Hogwarts?"

"They say that's why there are Dement-" the Fat Lady began, until the portrait flung open, hitting Carina directly in the face.

"Oof," she groaned, massaging her forehead.

"Carrie? Why're you standing there?" Fred asked.

"I was locked out! Where are you two going this late, anyways?"

"You'll have to find out!" George said as they linked arms with her and dragged her down the corridor.