December soon faded into January. After that night on the Astronomy Tower, Carina was very delighted, seeing Draco and her met up at least three times a week up there. They would spend time chatting late into the night, and any doubts Carina had were gone as the Slytherin had been true to his word.

Nothing could possibly have ruined this. Carina had finally acquired a companion, a friend, and under no circumstance did she want to lose him. But alas, Carina Black's happiness was short-lived.

Carina was late to her Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, because she overslept, which was a rare thing for her. Her footsteps echoed throughout the empty corridor. As she was running, a hand latched onto her arm, pulling her into an empty classroom.

Carina let out a slight yelp at the sudden change of events, but she felt as if her stomach dropped upon seeing Pansy Parkinson.

"You got off the hook before, but not this time you filthy, orphaned, mudblood!" she said maliciously.

Carina could feel tears stinging her eyes, but she wouldn't let them spill, especially not in front of Pansy for sure. It's not the word "mudblood" that affected her, but more likely the word "orphaned."

Carina noticed Crabbe and Goyle behind Pansy, flexing their knuckles, and off to the side was Draco. Her heart leapt at the sight of him. Draco gave an apologetic look before clearing his throat.

"Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, let's go, we don't need to waste time on her besides, that Lupin may give us detention and I am not going to be spending my time scrubbing the floor. I'll make sure my father hears about it if it does happen."

Alone, Carina and Draco acted as themselves, as friends, joking around, laughing, but on Draco's request because of his family's beliefs, their friendship was kept a secret from others, which slightly upset Carina but not wanting to lose her only friend she agreed, therefore a reasoning behind Draco's current behavior.

"No Draco, you seem to keep giving excuses for her." she sneered and her face hardened, "You don't hold a soft spot for her, do you?" Draco's eyes slightly widened at Pansy's remark.

"No." He spoke firmly, looking anywhere but at Carina, who stared at him in disbelief.

He can't actually be serious? He's just going to let them do it?

Pansy, on the other hand, had raised her wand, while Crabbe and Goyle looked with amusement. Something overtook Carina for the first time, and she whipped out her wand, pointing it at the surprised brown haired girl, and cried out,

"Expelliarmus!" Pansy's wand shot out of her hand and landed a few feet away, but she made no move to grab it, as the quartet of Slytherins were frozen with shock from Carina's action, because they'd never witnessed her fight back, especially like this.

With tears blurring her vision, Carina hurried out of the classroom and ran away, ignoring the desperate cries of Draco, and she locked herself in a cubicle in the girl's toilet.

Slamming the door with a deafening bang, she leant against it, slowly sinking down until she hit the floor. Carina's heart had broken into pieces, as sob after sob escaped her.

She was hurt as she was painfully reminded yet again, that she has no parents, but what deepened the pain was how Draco shrank back into the shadows, not defending Carina at all, making Carina wish she hadn't made the mistake of befriending him in the first place, as the sense of betrayal that engulfed made her heartache worse.

It hurt a lot.

The tears silently stopped but now Carina was staring dead ahead with no emotion. How long she had locked herself away in that cubicle, she didn't know and nor did she care, but a soft knock on the door brought her back.

"Rina, are you in there?"

Carina drew in a sharp breath at the familiar voice.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have let her talk like that. I should have stood up for you like a true friend."

Carina bit her quivering lip.

"I know I've hurt you and lost your trust, but please just open the door, please." The last word came out as a plea.

"Please just leave me alone." said Carina in an audible whisper.

"Carina, listen, just open the door before I break it down." Upon getting no response he spoke again. "I'm counting down from five, open up or I'm using my wand. Five,"

Carina made a move to get up.

"Four,"

Carina faced the door.

"Three."

Her hand moved to unlock the door but froze midway.

"Two,"

Carina bit her lip, debating on whether she was ready to face the grey eyed boy.

"One."

Making up her mind, she threw open the door, only to be met with Draco's wand, who looked a bit taken aback and stowed his wand away before meeting the Gryffindor's eyes.

They stood there in silence, looking at each other before Draco moved forward and brought Carina into an embrace.

"I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it again. I told them everything and made it very clear that they don't trouble you again, or they'll have to respond to me."

Carina's woefulness dullened and a new emotion slowly appeared.

Gratitude.

"Thanks, Draco." She said softly, as she felt Draco exhale in relief. For a while they remained as so, as Draco was afraid of Carina breaking down again and he wanted to let her know that he cared, a lot.

"Now," he said as they broke apart, "enough with the crying, let's go do something. How about let's go eat?"

Carina nodded, a small smile tugging her lips upwards. "But we're going into the kitchens."

Surprised washed over his face, "You know where the kitchens are?

Letting out a light laugh, which lightened Draco's guilt, she said, "Being quiet has its advantages, I'm very observant, helps in the long run." she winked, showing her mischievous side once more that only Draco has seen.

He gently smiled, "Let's go." With their arms linked, they found themselves heading towards the hidden kitchens of Hogwarts.

***

Everything soon fell in place nicely for Carina. She had a friend, she wasn't bullied anymore, her lessons were going great. It was just perfect. Time was going by faster then she realised.

Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy eyed Carina with distaste but made no comment, seeing Draco would have their necks for even a rude look in the girl's direction, and Carina admired him for that.

The month seemed to have neared its end, meaning Carina's birthday had arrived.

January 27

Although if this was the day Carina had been brought to the orphanage or her actual birthdate, she didn't know and nor did she ask. Unlike others who would eagerly await their birthday, Carina never did as it instead left her for a longing for a family.

Carina was awaiting Draco on the Astronomy Tower, under a sky littered with pearly white stars, with a crescent shaped moon, shining down upon the ground, casting ghostly shadows everywhere.

"Happy birthday, Ri."

Surprised, Carina spun around to find Draco wearing a smirk and in his hand a small wrapped present. Carina was left speechless.

"H-how do you know?"

His smirk only grew bigger. "I have my ways."

Carina suspiciously narrowed her eyes at Draco, who seemed to slightly shrink under her piercing gaze.

"I never told you, or anyone else for that matter, so where did you learn that from?"

Draco's expression didn't alter in the slightest, but he seemed to be shifting from foot to foot, nervously.

"You said it the other day, remember?

Carina stared at him, racking her brain for the incident but her mind remained blank.

"I don't recall."

Draco snorted, earning a glare from Carina.

"It's not my fault you have a bad memory." he said, receiving an eye roll from the black haired girl.

"Here," he said as he extended his hand, "your present."

Forgetting all about their little bickering, she gently took the present from his hand. Tearing off the wrapping paper slowly, she was left with a box that fitted perfectly into her hand. Carina took off the lid, only to discover crescent moon shaped earrings. Her heart melted at the thoughtful gift.

"I thought they'd go nicely with your necklace."

Looking up, Carina found Draco watching her amusingly. Tears pricked the corners of Carina's eyes and she threw her arms around him, startling the Slytherin.

"Thank you Draco."

He gently returned the embrace. "Anything for you, Rina."

Sniffling, Carina pulled away only to find Draco eyeing her with concern.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Sorry, it's just that," he gaze fell onto her shoes, "no one has really ever given me anything on my birthday."

Draco's eyes widened. "Really?"

Carina nodded, and Draco spoke, "Well, get used to receiving presents." This caused the girl to snap her head up. "Because I'm always going to make your birthday special." Carina's face broke into a huge smile, and Draco's heart leapt at seeing his best friend happy. "I promise."

Happily content, Carina's eyes gazed at the night sky once more.

Life couldn't be more perfect. 

Hey!

So here's the next chapter, hope you guys liked it. I think after this point things will be moving more quickly, so Prisoner of Azkaban may be done within in the next few chapters but I'm not sure, it all depends on how much time I'll have to write. 

Here's a question: 

What's your favorite place in Hogwarts?

I think I like the Astronomy Tower, the kitchens, the Great Hall, Hagrid's hut and the house common rooms. There's probably some places I'm forgetting though. 

Have a great day! :)

Mini-Padfoot