❝ new friends ❞

"I'm not doing the dirty work this time!" Carina says as Fred proposes a new prank, shuddering at the memory of her detention with Flitwick.

"My nail beds still haven't recovered from scrubbing an entire corridor with a sponge," George agrees, examining his nails in mock disgust.

The sun has barely risen and Carina would love nothing more than to rejoin the majority of the castle in sleeping in on the cold Sunday morning. Instead, she was woken up by Lee, Fred, and George shouting loudly from the bottom of the staircase leading up to the girls' dormitories. While she wished to ignore the boys until they went away, Angelina and Alicia wanted the noise to stop immediately and took to throwing their pillows at Carina until she stumbled out of bed.

Still in her pyjamas - which consist of a baby pink sweater with a large C on it gifted to her by Mrs. Weasley last Christmas and her warmest pair of sweatpants - and her hair everywhere, Carina sits next to Lee in the Great Hall, picking at her breakfast while Fred and George sit across from them, detailing the latest plan.

"When have you ever cared about your nail beds?" Fred counters, looking at his twin as though he doesn't recognize him. He shoots a playful glare at Carina, implying she's behind this, much to her confusion. "Never mind, I'll let it slide. But just this once, and only because you two didn't snitch when Flitwick you guys last time!"

"What kind of savages do you take us for?" Carina gasps, betrayed by his low opinion of her. "Everyone knows snitches get stitches."

The quartet is brought out of their scheming by Oliver slamming a thick binder onto the table next to their plates, causing Carina to nearly spill her pumpkin juice as they all jump in unison. Despite the first game of the year occurring only yesterday, this binder is filled to the brim with completely new tactics and plans, meaning the Quidditch captain most definitely did not sleep last night.

Carina briefly wonders what Oliver's roommates, especially Percy Weasley, think of his obsessive behavior, and she can only imagine the chaos they go through whilst the Quidditch season is underway.

"Hey, Wood!" She greets him cheerfully, offering him a piece of toast since he certainly has no plans of stopping for something as trivial as breakfast when there's tactics to discuss.

"Morning, Potter," he says, absentmindedly taking the food from her hands.

A look of distress crosses Oliver's face as he processes her last name leaves his lips and, for a moment, she's genuinely worried he's going to burst into tears.

"Don't take it personally," George reassures her when she looks around to ask what she did wrong. "He dies on the inside a little more every time he's reminded of Harry and losing to Hufflepuff."

"Anyways, Diggory feels bad for winning after what happened to-" Oliver shudders and points to where Harry is sitting with Ron and Hermione rather than saying his name. "So he called off their practice. I expect to see you both on the pitch in twenty minutes."

Fred and George nod enthusiastically, promising to be there, only to promptly drop their heads to the table and groan as Oliver walks away.

"He had that crazy look in his eyes again," Fred whines.

"He's going to make us practice until we drop," George pouts.

"That sucks," Lee agrees half-heartedly, truly no sympathy in his voice considering he would also prefer to be sleeping. "There's always tomorrow for pranking."

The boys nod in agreement and begrudgingly finish their breakfasts before slowly getting to their feet, bidding their friends goodbye before leaving to join Oliver on the Quidditch pitch for the next several hours.

Carina and Lee share a look the moment the two gingers exit the Great Hall, knowing exactly what the other is thinking. Waiting only a few moments more to ensure they're outside the castle walls, the duo scramble to their feet and run into the corridors, slowing only slightly when Professor Sprout shouts a warning in their direction.

They love Fred and George, but they love their beauty sleep just a little bit more. With the two out of the picture until Oliver ends practice who knows when, they're free to nap the day away on what they both agree to be the comfiest couch in the history of couches - the one in the Gryffindor common room.

Nothing can get in the way of Carina going back to sleep, except literally crashing into a certain Hufflepuff as her and Lee round another corner at too sharp of an angle.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

George slowly treks up the many floors of Hogwarts to Gryffindor Tower, occasionally taking shortcuts down hardly used corridors to avoid the traffic that's students enjoying their free time before curfew. His entire body is utterly sore after going through hours of Oliver's strict new training regime, with their only breaks having been lunch and dinner, and he wants nothing more than to crash into the comfort of his bed.

Unlike the majority of his siblings, George has never been one to find joy in sleeping the day away. He would much rather get a head start on every day, utilizing early morning hours by planning pranks and scouring hidden passages provided by his trusty map that he can hardly get to with hundreds of students filling the hallways. However, he's starting to see the allure of hiding from the world for a day, and considers skipping his morning Potions lesson to lay about and recover from the nightmare that is Oliver losing a Quidditch match.

He's pulled out of this fantasy as he trips over someone's outstretched feet, groaning as his battered body takes another hit as he falls face first. The guilty party jumps from where he'd been sitting on the ledge provided by the large window overlooking the Black Lake, offering a hand to help George back to his feet.

Apologies spew from Cedric Diggory's mouth as he insists George take his seat to recover, despite the fact that the fall could have at most caused a bruise. George waves away all of the kind words, growing annoyed by the fuss the slightly older boy is making. He looks away in an attempt to hide his embarrassment, only to nearly jump out of his skin as his gaze lands on another student sitting on the ledge.

Carina's body is curled up against the window panes, completely oblivious to the world around her as she naps.

After their literal run-in earlier, Carina had forgone a naptime with Lee to spend the day with Cedric instead. They constantly moved locations, though, finding that neither of them could sit still for long periods of time - Cedric was far too anxious and Carina has always been a naturally energetic person once she's had enough time to wake up.

Talking throughout all of their travels, they followed a path alongside the Black Lake for as long as they could until too much shrubbery prevented them from going further, walked to all four entrances of each of the houses, and traced the paths of both of their individual schedules. By the time dinner ended, the duo agreed they couldn't possibly repeat any of those long trips without their legs turning to jelly and found the first deserted area they could to rest.

Their topic hardly strayed despite the many hours they spend together, consisting only of the idea he first approached her with in Hogsmeade on Halloween. The plan is almost entirely worked out and destined to work when Cedric enacts it on Valentine's Day. Granted, the majority of their planning has consisted of Carina building up Cedric's confidence and calming his nerves by assuring him everything will go smoothly, but they're both proud of the final product nonetheless.

Carina found the window's ledge entirely too comfortable once they sat down and it didn't take her long to fall asleep the first time the conversation started to lull. Cedric, not wanting to abandon her in the empty corridor but also not wishing to disturb her from what looks like a peaceful slumber, remained by her side, silently reading a book to pass the time.

"I should be going," Cedric says, not missing the frown marring George's face as he glances back and forth between Carina and Cedric. "You'll make sure she gets to bed safely?"

"Of course." George bristles, annoyed Cedric feels the need to ask such a thing. "I wouldn't let anything happen to MY best friend."

"Okay, sorry." He holds up his hands placatingly, backing away from the Gryffindors. "Good night!"

The boy doesn't reply, too busy trying to figure out exactly when the slightly older Hufflepuff started to take such an interest in Carina, but the task is especially difficult considering she's never mentioned liking or even knowing Cedric to him before. He sighs and, pushing his jealous thoughts aside, focuses on waking the girl in question up by shaking her shoulder gently.

"Shove off," she grumbles, curling further into herself. "I already promised I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Tell anyone what?"

"What we've been up to all day," she huffs, her tired mind not yet processing the different voice. "The plan?"

"Right."

Though he could probably get every secret he's ever wanted out of Carina in her sleepy state, he instead grabs both of her ankles and tugs just hard enough to jolt her awake.

"Merlin's beard! Just let me-" Carina calms down when her gaze lands on a different culprit than she had been expecting, no longer attempting to kick her way out of his grasp. "Oh! Hi, George."

"Hi, love," George retuns the greeting kindly, secretly thrilled that she sounds excited to see him. "Come on. Race you to the common room?"

"If you insist."

Carina pushes herself to her feet, stretching like a cat. Despite the threat of a race, neither student is in any sort of hurry and they amble along the corridor at a comfortable pace.

"What were you and Diggory doing?" He finally asks, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Oh, nothing," she lies easily, leaning into his side as they stumble sleepily up the next flight of stairs. "Just a Herbology assignment."

"Do you like him?"

Carina wrinkles her nose at this notion and that does wonders to improve George's foul mood, her look of disgust causing him to laugh quietly.

"Would you be jealous if I did?"

"Maybe."