Carina awoke early the next morning and began getting ready. As she pinned the silver buttons of her her black blouse, she heard a rather obnoxious knock on her door.

"Yes?"

"ARE YOU AWAKE?" Draco called.

"Yes, now could you please allow me to get ready!"

"Just making sure," Draco muttered. Carina shook her head, then braided her straight, bleach blonde hair. As she took a few last glances of herself in the mirror, she heard yet another obnoxious knock on the door.

"Are you almost ready? We're going to be late," Draco whined.

"Oh, be quiet!" Carina yelled back as she yanked open the door which Draco was leaning on. He immediately landed flat on his face, causing Carina to roar with laughter.

"Carina! My nose is going to be broken," Draco declared. After taking a glance at his nose, she couldn't help but notice a slight trickle of blood flowing from his nostril.

"That's what you get, you prat."

"FATHER! I THINK CARINA BROKE MY NOSE," Draco shrieked. Carina could hear his heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs.

"Episkey," Lucius murmured, causing Draco's nose to crack into place.

"OWW! Father, aren't you going to yell at her for this?"

"No. Now come, both of you," Lucius ordered. She followed him down the steps, then waited for Narcissa in the foyer.

"Wait... we forgot our owls," Carina declared.

"We have no time to fetch them... Narcissa and I will send you each a letter and I'm sure they can figure out where to go from there," Lucius insisted.

Once Narcissa arrived, the family apparated to King's Cross Station.

"Carina, you first," Narcissa ordered. Carina pushed her cart in front of a brick pillar between platforms nine and ten, then closed her eyes and sped towards the wall. Once she opened them, she saw countless students boarding the Hogwarts Express. She turned around after a few seconds and saw the rest of her family standing behind her. 

"Goodbye, Mother" Draco murmured as he hugged his mother goodbye for the first time. Draco moved onto Lucius, while Carina embraced Narcissa.

"Goodbye, Mother. Don't worry about Draco, I'll take good care of him," Carina assured. Narcissa nodded, smoothing her daughter's hair back, before letting go and whispering a soft thank you. Carina nodded, before moving on to her father.

"Goobye, Father," Carina bid, pulling him into a hug.

"Goodbye Carina," Lucius said,"I can only hope that you'll make the Quidditch team this year. I did purchase that broom, after all. Don't put it to waste. Oh yes, and do not forget about what we talked about." 

"I won't Father," Carina replied. With one final wave, Carina and Draco were off, heading towards the scarlet steam engine. 

"Are you ready for your first year, Draco?" Carina asked in an attempt to excite her brother.

"Of course I'm ready. I'm sure that I will make Mother and Father proud by being sorted into Slytherin"

With a slight chuckle, Carina patted her brother on the back then struggled to push their trunks onto the train.

"Need some help there, missy?" A pair of voices chorused from behind. Carina smirked, knowing who the speakers were before she even looked.

"You know, I'd really appreciate it if you two pushed my brother and I's carriages" Carina requested sarcastically. She glanced at Draco and noticed that his nose was shriveled in disgust.

"Don't you dare touch my trunk," Draco muttered, "I don't need any trace of a bloodtraitor on my possessions." Fred and George raised their eyebrows in shock, before ruffling Draco's hair and jogging away.

"Yuck!" Draco cried while flattening his hair.

"Can you get over yourself? I cannot believe that you, a first year, has the audacity to call my friends bloodtraitors! Draco, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but your arse does not run the world!" Carina hissed.

"Carina, why are you so blind? I thought Mother and Father drove some sense into you this summer, but apparently not. We are the superior race and we need to keep it that way. Now if you don't mind, I can push my own trunk," Draco muttered then walked away, leaving Carina in the dust. She slowly regained her conscience and continued pushing her trunk down the aisle in search of her best friends.

Through the windows of the compartments, she could see children sticking their heads out the train windows, waving to relatives of all sorts. Ugh, she thought, I must have missed the departure. Carina sadly continued walking, before coming across a compartment with Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell on one side and Fred, George, and Lee Jordan on the other. Carina happily slid the door open and stepped into the compartment.

"Carina!" The girls shrieked, jogging to hug her.

"Hello! Hi! I really do enjoy breathing, girls... please let go," Carina gasped. The girls let go giggling, before it was the boys' turn.

"Well George, that hug should be easy to beat!" Fred shouted as he sat up from his seat and engulfed her in a bear hug. George and Lee followed suit, and Carina soon found herself gasping for air(yet again).

"Okay... I think... you win..."

"Perfect!" George shouted, jumping back to his seat.

"Hold on a second, where am I supposed to sit?" Carina asked.

"Well, in first year you chose to sit on the floor, so we found it fitting to leave that to you again," Fred stated with a massive grin. Carina glared, before placing her trunk against the window and sitting on it.

"How've you all been?" Carina asked.

"Almost as good as the girl with a Nimbus Two Thousand," George replied, causing everyone to gasp.

"You're kidding," Angelina whispered.

"Nope, we saw it ourselves!" Fred added.

"Well, are you gonna show us?" Lee cried. Carina smiled, then kneeled down before her trunk and pulled out a broom. Everyone stared in awe for a few moments, before they heard a violent knock on the door.

"Carina! Let me see it!" Oliver babbled as he slid the compartment door open. Carina giggled, handing the broom to Oliver. He examined it for about two minutes, leaving the rest of the compartment in an awkward silence.

"It's beautiful" he whispered after awhile, then carefully handed Carina her broomstick. She smiled at him, then passed the broom to Alicia, allowing the rest of the compartment to admire it. Oliver stood in the doorway for a few moments too long, before nodding at Carina and walking out of sight.

"That boy is crazy for Quidditch," Lee informed. Lee was the announcer for Hogwarts' Quidditch matches, and he couldn't help but remember Oliver shedding a few tears at their final match of the season last year.

"Try having him on your team," George muttered, earning a few laughs from the rest of the group.

"Anyways, I'd like you all to know that the Harry Potter is aboard the train at this very moment," Fred informed. Katie, Alicia, and Angelina gasped, but Carina was just curious as to how the boy was getting along.

"I'm going to buy some items at the trolley... I'll be right back," Carina reassurred.

"Buy me some licorice wands!" Lee shouted as she slid the compartment door shut. But the truth was, Carina had no intention of buying licorice wands. After making a promise to her father, she had to see how Harry Potter was doing. She examined almost every compartment in the train, earning an intense glare from Draco in one of them. Carina was about to give up on her search, but saw the small, black-haired boy from Madam Malkins in the very last compartment. She couldn't help but smile when she saw the fiery red-haired boy sitting across from him.

"Are you Harry Potter?" Carina asked politely as she slid the door open. The boy nodded, giving her a slight smile.

"You're the lady from that shop... the one with the cocky brother!" Harry exclaimed. Carina nodded, then turned to the Weasley.

"You must be Ron?"

"How'd you know my name?"

"Fred and George talk about you quite often. I'm Carina... Carina Malfoy."

"Oh... so you're their Malfoy friend," Ron muttered, a look of disgust on his face. Carina simply nodded then bid the pair goodbye. She didn't need anyone else against her.

-

"These carriages are so odd" Angelina mumbled.

"Why do you say that?" Carina asked.

"Isn't it obvious? There's nothing pulling them!"

"What do you mean? Don't you see that weird creature?"

"Are you insane?" Lee asked, looking at her in bewilderment.

"No... I swear it's right there," Carina pointed, but no one else seemed to notice the horse-like creature towing the carriage.

"I can see them too..." a small boy whom Carina didn't even realize was present muttered.

"And you are?"

"Roger."

"Well, do you all see them now?" Carina asked cockily.

"Nope," they chorused.

"Why are Roger and I the only ones who can see them?"

"My grandmother told me that when someone sees a human die, they can then see the creatures. They're called Thestrals," Roger mumbled from the corner. Everyone slowly turned to Carina with wide eyes.

"Who have you seen die, Carrie?" Fred asked softly.

"I... I don't know" Carina stammered, but she knew immediately what caused her to see the Thestrals. The truth was, she simply couldn't tell her friends the truth. Carina vividly remembered a time when she was only four years old, and she had heard blood curdling screeches from downstairs. Being the curious toddler she was, she decided to take a look and was caught walking around Malfoy Manor past curfew. She remembered the harsh voices hissing from the meeting room, and when she entered, her father shouted the Killing Curse at a levitating figure. Narcissa had spotted her and immediately comforted the weeping child, but no amount of comforting could ever erase that memory from her mind. But of course, she couldn't tell her friends this.

"Are you sure?" Katie added, noticing the silence that had grown in the carriage. Carina looked up, as if snapping out of a trance, and nodded. She couldn't act suspicious.

-

The upperclassmen piled into the Great Hall as usual and awaited the sorting ceremony with growling stomachs.

"When do you suppose McGonagall's going to start? I'm starving!" Lee muttered, causing the twins to nod vigorously in agreement.

"Oh, you three could use fewer calories," Angelina jabbed.

"Speaking of losing weight, Quidditch tryouts are next week! Be ready," Oliver called from a few seats down.

"Oliver, why are you stalking us?" George shouted.

"I... er... was just making sure that you were all aware of tryouts. Make sure you're ready! We have to win the cup this year," Oliver stated while scratching the back of his neck.

"We have a theory," Fred whispered to Carina.

"And what's that?"

"We think that Wood fancies your broom," George added, causing Carina to burst into laughter.

"What's so funny over there?" Alicia questioned with narrowed eyes, but her question was never answered. The doors of the Great Hall burst open, and a parade of terrified first years marched down the center aisle.

"That's our next crop, George."

"Right you are, Fred."

The first years glanced at the hall in awe, and Carina noticed her little brother looking rather upset among the crowd.

"What do you suppose happened to him?" Carina asked, pointing to Draco.

"That's your brother? Aw, he looks so cute! Let's hope he's in Gryffindor," Katie commented.

"I doubt he'll be here... that boy's going straight to Slytherin"

"Slytherin! Why?" Lee questioned.

"Well, that's where people in my family typically go... I guess you could say that I'm the rebel."

"How cute. I just hope that we get Potter," Fred stated blatantly.

"What about your own brother?" Alicia asked.

"He's not nearly as interesting," George added, earning a few laughs from the table. Professor McGonagall began the sorting, and the group waited patiently, each hoping for the best outcome. Please be in Slytherin Draco, Carina thought. She didn't want her brother to go through the punishment that she did for being in Gryffindor. When Carina arrived home for Christmas break in her first year, her father performed the Cruciatus Curse on her. No matter how much of a pest Draco was, she knew he didn't deserve that.

"Carina, you're talking out loud," Fred whispered to her. With wide eyes, she placed her hand over her mouth. Carina spaced out for the first sortings, until the name "Malfoy, Draco," was announced. Carina could feel her fists clenching, and didn't even notice when she grabbed Fred's hand and began to squeeze tightly.

"Bloody hell woman, why are you holding my hand?" Fred questioned, but didn't bother to move.

"Sorry, just nervous... now please be quiet..."

Draco strutted up to the front as if he were the Headmaster of Hogwarts, then plopped down onto the rickety stool. The hat barely even brushed against his head before shouting, "SLYTHERIN!" and Carina jumped from her seat, shrieking with excitement.

"YES! THAT'S MY BROTHER!"  A few Gryffindors gawked at her, before the next name was called and they were distracted again.

"Potter, Harry," was later announced, causing the entire hall to go silent. The hat stayed upon his head for a few long moments, before shouting "GRYFFINDOR!" The twins sprang up and cheered.

"We got Potter!" They chorused, causing Harry's face to go beet red. As the sorting continued, Carina couldn't help but zone out. That was until the name "Weasley, Ronald," was announced. She heard the twins go silent next to her, before roaring as the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" A smile spread across her own face at how loyal their family was to one another. Why can't my family be like this? She thought.

The sorting lasted a little while longer, then Carina watched in awe as the feast began. She happily ate with her friends, then went to bed and prepared herself for the first day of classes.