"Mummy!" a little girl called from the top of a stone staircase. She was just four years old, with a head full of bleach blonde hair and a teddy bear clasped tightly to her chest. Behind her, an ornate window revealed the full moon outside, and beside her sat a little boy, just two years old. A graceful woman marched up the stairs, dressed from head to toe in elegant black clothing. She seemed to be in distress, with her eyebrows drawn and her shoulders tense, but the girl was much too young to notice such an emotion. 

"Come along dear, we don't have much time to get ready for bed tonight," the woman sighed, picking up the boy from the floor. 

"You said you would read me a story," the girl cried, a pout spreading across her ashen face. 

"Not today Carina, Father needs help with work." Hastily, she put the boy to bed, before leading her daughter to her bedroom across the hall. 

"I'm not tired," the little girl, Carina, sassed, her arms crossed defiantly at her chest, but her mother pulled a nightgown over her regardless.

"You will be, now make sure you stay in your room tonight, we wouldn't want you to wake up Draco again."

"But Mummy, I'm not tired."

 "You always say that, dear," the mother replied as she placed her daughter in bed and pulled the covers over her. 

"Is Daddy at least coming to say goodnight?"

"Not today, he's very busy right now, but I know for a fact that he loves you very much."

"Then why won't he come and say goodnight?" the girl asked, a tinge of sadness coating her words. 

"I just told you, he's busy right now, but I'm here to tell you that we both love you." The mother looked upon her child with a pang of sorrow, knowing that someday her children would understand what their father was involved in. It lead her to wonder, would her children approve? Would her children hate her for keeping it a secret? How would this innocent, loving, little girl grow up in such a harsh world? A piece of the mother's soul already worried that maybe, just maybe her husband's work habits would interfere with their family life, but she cast that thought aside. 

"Goodnight Carina."

"Goodnight Mummy." After her mother left, she laid in her bed for what felt like eternity, simply wondering why her dad didn't come to visit her. This hadn't been the first time he had abandoned her for work, and she couldn't help but speculate that he didn't love her, and perhaps that mummy had been lying to her all along. All sorts of doubts passed through this little girl's mind, but a monstrous screech from downstairs disrupted her thoughts. What was that? Carina thought. Being as curious as she was, she tossed her covers aside and scooched out of bed, pulling on her slippers to ensure that her footsteps wouldn't be heard. Gradually, she opened the door and walked down the staircase. Tiptoeing her way across the floor, the shrieking only increased, and the girl was able to identify it as a woman.

"I SWEAR I DIDN'T DO IT! PLEASE, JUST MAKE IT STOP. I DIDN'T HELP ANYONE, I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING. MOM, H.... HELP," the woman shrieked. The little girl's eyes widened at this, and she approached the meeting room with caution, "I.... I DIDN'T DO I... IHHHHT. DAD.... SOMEONE, ANYONE. HELP ME!" 

The little girl rounded the corner, revealing a table of about fifty people crowded around the shrieking woman, whose body appeared to be paralyzed and levitating above them. There were no apparent cuts on her, but the little girl spotted her dad with a rather twisted smirk on his face, wand pointed at the woman. 

"Kill her," came a man's harsh voice, and immediately, the Carina's father shouted, "AVADA KEDAVRA." 

In an instant, the woman's screeching came to a halt. 

-

"Mother, please help me! I can't find my potions book," Carina yelled from her bedroom. It was her first year ever at Hogwarts and the absolute last thing she needed was to lose her textbook.

"Carina, you need to take better care of your possessions! I just saw your potions book in the drawing room," Narcissa scolded.

"Right," Carina muttered then sprinted down the stairs of Malfoy Manor. Upon reaching the bottom, she ran directly into her little brother, Draco.

"Carrie, Watch where you're going!" Draco cried.

"Oh shush, it's not like you've never run into me," Carina chimed, grabbing her book and sprinting back upstairs. She began combing through her medium-length, blonde hair vigorously and pulled on a dull, gray dress. The Malfoy's never wore any color, much to Carina's displeasure. After checking her figure in the mirror numerous times, she rushed out of her room, trunk in hand.

"I'm ready!"

-

"Don't worry dear, I'm sure you'll make friends at Hogwarts. If all else fails, at least you know that Marcus Flint will be there. You can always go and hang out with him!" Narcissa encouraged. Carina stared at her mother with a sneer. Marcus Flint? I haven't talked to him in ages, she thought.

"Mother, Marcus and I aren't friends anymore."

"Oh, but you used to be best friends as kids. Anyway, I hope you have a great year! We're going to miss you," Narcissa chimed, then proceeded to hug her daughter. After bidding her mother goodbye, Carina moved on to her father, "Goodbye Father."

"Goodbye Carina," Lucius said, embracing her. She was about to pull away, before he whispered, "I'll be expecting Slytherin."

"I can only hope so," Carina replied, then moved on to her little brother. 

"Oh goodbye, my precious little brother, I just hope that you'll have fun at home while I'm at Hogwarts!" Carina teased. Draco glared, but hugged his sister regardless of her taunting. All summer long Carina had bragged about going to Hogwarts two years earlier than him, and Draco was just about brewing with jealousy.

After saying her final goodbyes, she was free from her family at last and couldn't be happier. Although she loved them dearly, it was nice to get away from their constant gloating about pureblood supremacy. Regarding the issue of blood status, Carina's views on the matter differed greatly. She had once seen the damage her father had caused and, over the years, realized that this was because of his hatred for muggleborns. 

 She quickly loaded her massive trunk onto the train, then searched for a vacant carriage. Carina passed one with Marcus Flint and a few other boys she recognized from her father's work, but she decided she wasn't a fan of them and continued on. After walking to the end of the train, Carina couldn't find any compartment with space in it, except for the very last one, which happened to be empty.

"I guess I'll just sit by myself then," She muttered, sliding the door open.

"Now what was that?" asked a voice from behind. With a swift turn, the girl saw two identical twins with flaming red hair, each wearing a broad grin. 

"I was just saying that I'd be by myself."

"Well, the rest of the train is full so it looks like you're stuck with us!" They exclaimed in unison. The twins immediately pushed past her and took a seat on either side of the compartment. Carina looked between the two, unsure where to sit.

"Pick your poison," One of the twins taunted with a smirk.

"What?"

"He said pick your poison. What are you, deaf?" The other twin joked with an even larger smirk. Carina looked between the twins before a smirk spread across her own face.

"Okay," she spat as she sat on the floor.

"Wow that one hurt, don't you think, Fred?"

"Yes George, it really did."

"We're going to get you for that," they added in unison.

"Oh please, I'd like to see you try."

"Oh yeah? We could get you in seconds, Malfoy."

"How do you know my name?" Carina asked with a puzzled expression painted across her face.

"Well, it's kind of obvious. Bleach blonde hair, dark clothes, hanging around with Lucius Malfoy."

"Yeah, I guess it is," Carina answered with a grin, "Anyway, what are your names?"

"My name'd be George. George Weasley. And this fine-looking boy'd be Fred."

"Well hello, Fred and George, I'm Carina."

"We know."

"Do you two always talk like that?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Well, I recommend you give it a rest. How did you learn my first name anyway?"

"Dad talks about your lot quite a bit, claims that you're all up to no good," a twin explained. Before she could reply, the compartment door slid open.

"Carina?" A voice asked in shock. Caught by surprise, she slowly lifted her grey eyes to meet the brown, hazy eyes of Marcus Flint.

"Oh...uhm... hello Marcus," she stuttered with a small smile. Marcus returned her greeting with a nod, before glancing at Fred and George with narrowed eyes. 

"You must be in the wrong carriage... hanging around with these blood traitors. Your father wouldn't approve... come on," Marcus sneered, motioning for her to follow him out of the compartment. Carina stayed put.

"No, I think I'm in the right place, thanks though. You on the other hand, might need to find another compartment," Carina murmured, before pushing him into the corridor and sliding the door shut in his face. 

"He's a git," Carina muttered, this time taking a seat next to one of the twins, she couldn't tell which. Just as she said this, the door slid open again, revealing a boy with darker skin and dreadlocks.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked uncertainly.

"Come on in!" Carina chimed. The boy happily scurried to a seat across from her.

"The name's Lee. Lee Jordan. And you are?" He asked while sticking out his hand.

"Carina Malfoy," she replied, shaking his hand politely

"Oi! How come you weren't that pleasant for us?" one of the twins asked.

"I could ask you the same," Carina muttered. He shot her a glare which quickly turned into a grin, and finally stuck his tongue out at her. She followed suit.

-

"First years, come with me!" A massive man with a knarly brown mane shouted while motioning for them to embark little, brown boats on the side of a big, black lake. Carina, Lee, Fred, and George climbed into one of the boats, rain pelting their faces as their boat floated away from the shore.

"You don't suppose all this rain will sink the boat, do you?" Lee asked while readjusting his cloak to cover his head.

"Not if we don't do something to sink it," one of the twins answered with a grin. The other twin nodded with an identical grin and the pair slowly started to rock the boat.

"You wouldn't... there's a giant squid in this lake!" Carina shrieked. She had been so excited to atted Hogwarts that she read Hogwarts: A History from cover to cover.

"Aw, is little Carina Malfoy afraid of a squid?" one of the twins mocked.

"It can't be!" the other gasped. Carina glared at the two as their rocking progressed. Waves started to disrupt other students and although everyone was already drenched, no one wanted to visit to the squid (except perhaps Fred and George).

"Guys seriously you can stop now!" Carina shouted over their laughter. Lee looked at them uncertainly for a second before helping them rock the boat.

"Hm.. Fred I think this calls for something... out of the ordinary!"

"You read my mind, George!" Carina immediately felt arms lift her out of her seat.

"You're both bonkers... put me down!" Carina yelled while struggling in their hold.

"I don't think that's necessary!"

"Yeah, where's the fun in that? Ready Fred?!"

"Ready George!"

SPLASH.

"YOU GITS! BLOODY HELL, I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS," Carina exclaimed while wading to her boat. That was the start of their mischief making career at Hogwarts.

-

"WEASLEY AND WEASLY COME HERE RIGHT NOW!" a tall, black-haired woman with green robes shouted. Fred and George shuffled over to her, both maintaining intense eye contact with the floor.

"Is it true that you threw Ms. Malfoy into the lake?" She asked with a voice of venom. The twins nodded slowly, not once looking up from the floor.

"So you think that it's a good idea to start off your time at Hogwarts by throwing a classmate into the lake?" She asked. Fred and George shook their heads in unison.

"I'll let you go for now, but only because I must start the sorting. Just know that I'm keeping a very close eye on you two," she muttered before stalking away in a cat-like manner. The twins sniggered, turning to a shivering, but dry, Carina. Although she had been drenched, The black-haired woman dried her off with a flick of her wand.

"You two are horrid. Absolutely intolerable," Carina muttered as the pair grinned at her. Despite her efforts, she couldn't help but smile back at the two. They actually threw her into the lake. She couldn't believe it.

"You look pretty cold," one of the twins whispered over the roar of first-years. Carina sent him a glare before punching him in the arm.

"Now Carina, we musn't get violent with one another," the other added. Carina turned to him and punched him in the gut with such force that he bumped into a boy behind him.

"Oh, sorry about that. I guess I just lost my footing," the boy said, apologizing even though he did nothing. The twin was about to answer, but the massive doors before them opened, revealing an enormous hall.

-

"Malfoy, Carina," The black-haired witch, who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, called. With slow feet and sweaty palms, Carina crept to the stool. She sat down and in the last glimpse of light, she saw the twins and Lee watching closely.

"Hmmm... a Malfoy. My first instinct was Slytherin. In fact, I almost shouted it out when you sat down," croaked a voice from above. She hoped that only she could hear it from within the hat, "But I see much more... interesting. You are cunning, like your family, but in a different manner. Yes, you have the same methods... but different motivations, which leads me to think about Slytherin ... very ambitious indeed, but there is something more. Courage like no other.... but cunning as well..." Carina listened with attentive ears, worrying that maybe the thing would never make up its mind and she would rot under this mangy, old hat. Please not Gryffindor... please not Gryffindor, she begged. Although she disagreed with many of her family's beliefs, she didn't want to upset her father, and certainly didn't want to deal with his punishments afterwards. 

"Not Gryffindor? But why? There is so much potential there... Oh yes, I see it now. I'm sorry but it looks like it has to be..." Sorry? Why are you sorry you old hat? Just put me in Slytherin! Carina thought.

"GRYFFINDOR!"