Chapter Twenty Two

As the week went by, Carina found it increasingly difficult to control her sporadic emotions.

"Not again!" She shouted from the floor after throwing her father out of her brain a bit too late.

"Just remember that the Dork Lord is more talented than I am, Carina. If you don't learn to control yourself, he'll see your thoughts before you can even say hello," Lucius hissed. Carina nodded, then stood up. She had stayed up rather late the night before to finish a Transfiguration essay which Professor McGonagall assigned over break, and the lack of sleep was certainly taking its toll on the girl.

"Legilimens!" Lucius shouted suddenly. His mind practically rammed into hers, and in her state, she couldn't possibly throw him out. Random memories flooded her mind... her first Quidditch match... her old cat, Leo... Draco sorted into Slytherin... telling the twins about her father in the broom cabinet... WAIT...HE CAN'T KNOW THAT, Carina's mind screamed as she shot her Father's influence away. Once she regained control of her own mind, she realized she was sprawled across the floor, with Lucius' appalled gaze cast upon her. The father and daughter simply stared at eachother, until Carina gained the courage to speak.

"I need to control my emotions," Carina stated lightheartedly, hoping she had dejected him before he realized what the scene held.

"You talk to the Weasleys..." Lucius trailed off in disbelief. Carina's eyes widened dramatically.

"You talk to the Weasleys... and you told them I was a Death Eater..." Lucius muttered, shaking his head as he turned away, unable to look at his daughter.

" How dare you tell them... HOW DARE YOU! THAT'S CONFIDENTIAL! YOU TOLD THE WEASLEYS THAT I WAS A DEATH EATER! WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND, GIRL? WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT YOU COULD ASSOCIATE WITH THEM? YOU WORTHLESS, LYING, PIECE OF SCUM! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! OUT!" Lucius roared. His eyes were practically ablaze as he neared his daughter and slapped her straight across the cheek. He continued to slap her, before pulling out his wand and shouting, "CRUCIO!" Carina couldn't believe the intensity of the spell. She had experienced the Cruciatus Curse at least five times within her lifetime, but nothing compared to this. She felt as if millions of sweltering knives were piercing her body on every square centimeter of skin. Her insides were seething in pain, and her limbs were contorting to positions she didn't know possible. It felt as if every one of her nails was ripped off, all of her limbs bent backwards, her bones snapped like twigs, and her mind screeching for it to end. But it didn't. Lucius held the curse on his daughter for what felt like hours, until finally he let go.

"Get. Out. Of. My. House." he growled, his livid face only inches from hers. Carina scurried off the floor, practically flying up the stairs as she stuffed her trunk with anything in sight. She only spent a minute packing her trunk, before slamming it shut and dashing out her bedroom door.

"Where're you going?!" Draco asked as she pushed past him.

"I have to leave, now," Carina whispered, "please send me an owl in a couple of days... I might be needing it." With that, she sprinted down the stairs and out the door. She had no idea where she was headed, but only hoped that it was farther from the pain she had just experienced. She ran until she had reached the end of their lengthy walkway, then walked down the streets of Wiltshire aimlessly. After an hour of sitting in the sidewalk, simply staring at the stars emotionlessly, a thought came upon her: Isn't there a bus for Wizards? She thought, Oh, but how do I summon it... I can't use magic... I don't have Aries... I don't even have my broomstick. Finally, she reached for her wand. Maybe if I just hold it? She thought, It wouldn't hurt to try... she grabbed her wand and held it in both hands, but nothing happened. Maybe I can just wave it around? She thought, then waved her wand in a figure-eight pattern. Nothing happened. Oh, for goodness sakes, how hard can it be to summon a bus? She thoughts as as she waved her wand overhead in annoyance. She sat on the curb with her head in between her knees, until she heard the deafening screech of wheels before her. Startled, the girl jumped nearly a meter in the air, before glancing up to see a shockingly purple, three-tiered bus. How could I be so stupid? I just had to raise my wand! Carina thought. Within seconds, a scraggly boy, probably a year older than herself, leapt from the bus and onto the pavement, wearing an uniform identical to the color of the bus.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the standard witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this evening," Stan finished. Carina nodded at the acne-covered boy, then did as he said, and stepped on board.

"What do I do with my trunk?" Carina asked politely.

"Don' wurry bou' it," Stan stated, then lugged her trunk on board and placed it on a bed near the door, "You 'ave this one. Woss your name, anyway?"

"Elizabeth."

"A'right, Elizabeth, 'nd where you 'anna go?," Stan  questioned.

"I haven't really decided yet..." Carina muttered.

"Well, anywere you like, this bus'll take you! Costs firteen Sickles a night," Stan stated.

"I'll let you know where I decide in a bit, but for now, just go!" Carina exclaimed.

"A'right, love. Take 'er away, Ern!" Stan exclaimed as he sat in an armchair near the driver. The bus practically shot forwards with a BANG, pushing Carina flat onto her bed. She glanced out the window beside her bed to see that the bus was travelling at lightening speed, and somehow didn't hit anything. After making several stops, Carina began to worry that she was running out of time to decide.

"'Choo decide, love? Bus' empty," Stan mumbled.

"Can this bus go to Ottery St. Catchpole?"

"Yep," Stan replied proudly," that where you wanna go?"

"Please."

"'Ear that Ern?" Stan exclaimed.

"Yep. Where in Ottery?" the driver called.

"Well?" Stan asked her expectantly.

"You ever heard of the Weasleys?"

"Yeah, actually. Live up on the hill... Two twins came on 'ere once," Stan replied.

"Anyway, you could drive me there?"

"I s'ppose we can see what Ern can do," Stan said with a wink, "'Ey, Ern! Couldya drive to a soecific house? Noh sure there's a road, but I'e seen 'ou do it b'fore!" Stan called.

"For this young lass, sure," Ern called back.

"Y'know, blondie, yer kinda pretty," Stan mumbled to her with a smirk while taking a seat across from her on a neighboring bed. Carina looked at the boy with a disgusted expression, before scooching back onto her bed.

"'Choo doin' ternight? Wanna go on a date when I'm outta work?" He continued. Carina shook her head vigorously, and began wondering how anyone could find her pretty in the state she was in. She knew there were bags under her eyes, and she could just feel that her hair was disheveled.

"Why not? You prolly has nothin'a do ternight."

"I'm dating a boy already, sorry," Carina stated, but truth be told, she wouldn't have gone on a date with Stan regardless.

"Too bad, 'e prolly doesn' even treat 'ou well," Stan said as the bus came to a stop.

"As a matter of fact, he does," Carina sassed, then grabbed her trunk from underneath the bed, pulled out thirteen Sickles, and stuck them in Stan's hand.

"Bye, love," Stan waved, before the bus zoomed off behind her. Within seconds, she was alone in the dark again, outside of a tall, rickety, old building which looked as if it were built off of a barn. Carina cautiously approached the structure, wand in hand, and squinted to read the sign above the door. The Burrow. A smile crawled across her face as she had remembered Fred and George talk about it numerous times, and her hand shot to the door knob. With one attempt to twist it open, she realized that it was locked. Well that's fantastic, Carina thought as she sat alone outside the door. The wind howled across the field which The Burrow was built in, and she never felt more alone in her life. Great, she thought, just great. I've been cast out of my own house, and now even Fred and George have gone somewhere... If only Mother and Father had let me go to the feast! Finally, Carina decided that there was no one present at The Burrow to help her, so she raised her wand again, in the hopes that Stan Shunpike would come to the rescue. And come he did. The tall, purple bus swuealed as it smashed through the overhang on the edge of the field, and two obnoxiously bright lights pierced the darkness.

"Yer back!" Stan exclaimed.

"Yup. The Weasley's weren't home," Carina mumbled sadly. With a shrug, Stan grabbed Carina's trunk again and helped her onto the bus.

"Yer still the only one. Where ye' goin' this time, Elizabeth?"

"Is Scotland allowed?"

"Yep. You 'eard 'er, Ern. We're goinna Scotland!" Stan exclaimed. The driver didn't even bother responding as the bus burst to life.

"Do yeh know where in Scotland?" Stan asked.

"Somewhere in Kelso... the Wood family, you heard of them?" Carina asked.

"Nope."

"Oh dear... I suppose I should figure that out, first... Could you just drive? I need to sort myself out," Carina muttered.

"Sure thing. Ern, 'ou got anotha one to pick up?"

"Yep."

"Perfect, go there," Stan said. Carina rolled off of her bed as the bus performed a complete U-turn, then sped in that direction. She desperately clawed her way back on, and laid back on the feather-stuffed mattress. Despite the vigorous twists and turns they faced, Carina still found herself dozing off on the bed as she was practically flung off of it again. Within seconds, another screech roared through the bus as it jerked to a stop and Stan jumped to help the person board. He seemed to take longer than usual, and Carina used the stillness to help her fall asleep. She had almost fallen into a complete state of slumber, but the person who boarded simply wouldn't allow it.

"Carina?"

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