It was a short, sweet summer holiday. Time melted away like ice cream—quickly, and with all the sweetness of chocolate.
Every night, she would wash up, then sit on her bed. She would tidy her long hair, draw the curtains around the four-poster, and slip the ring onto her finger.
The ring would shift through a spectrum of colors, reporting Harry Potter's current state.
Violet—alert, on guard.
Gold—success, accomplishment.
Green—safe.
She had no idea what he was getting up to, but the way the colors flickered and changed told her he was keeping himself very busy indeed.
What on earth was he doing with his holiday?
"Not that I'm particularly curious."
Only slightly curious, really—but Carina was mildly irritated all the same.
If he knew she was wondering, he could at least have the decency to tell her. The nerve of Harry Potter, of all people, making her curious about him.
They had exchanged only a handful of letters. An owl flying too frequently would draw Lucius's or Narcissa's attention.
Occasionally a letter arrived under the absurd alias 'Dudley Dursley,' though it never said much of anything—mostly embarrassing little endearments and a brief, earnest plea to take care of herself.
"That's my line," she muttered. "Who is it that goes around staking their life on everything?"
Carina turned the ring between her fingers and laid her head on the pillow.
Still, one thing was certain: she would see him at the Quidditch World Cup, which was coming up soon.
Like every other witch and wizard, Carina had been looking forward to the World Cup—but now she had one more reason to anticipate it.
She lay there staring at the ring until her eyes grew heavy, and she drifted off to sleep.
***
Crash—
Waves hammered the coastal cave. Water struck the rocks and shattered into white foam. The briny smell of sea-wrack rising from the spray seemed to repel any human presence.
As though insisting that land creatures return to the earth where they belonged, the sea sent wave after wave to drive them back.
But the wizards answered with a simple flick of their wands.
A transparent barrier rose against the wind and the waves. They walked calmly along the precarious path carved between the cliffs.
Three wizards were pressing forward through every hazard, making their way toward the cave at the water's edge.
The boy at the rear—Harry Potter—watched the ring on his finger shift from its recent bright blue to a deep, dark navy, then slipped it off.
Sirius glanced at him sidelong.
"What's that, Harry?"
"Couple's ring."
"...You really are something else."
The blue that resembled rosemary—drawn from its flower meaning: longing, or think of me.
When the holiday had first begun, the ring had cycled through all manner of colors. But for the past week it had stayed blue.
Harry wanted to finish this business as quickly as possible and get to the Quidditch World Cup. Only then could he change that blue to something else.
"If it's a couple's ring, why did you take it off just now?"
"Navy means she's fallen asleep. It should be dark when she's sleeping."
The deep navy, like a night sky, meant she had gone to sleep. Harry always removed the ring the moment it turned that color.
Sirius looked faintly nauseated.
"...James was never quite this bad."
"Of course not. I doubt anyone has ever put in this much effort."
Harry shrugged and kept walking. At last they reached the mouth of the cave.
Dumbledore studied the sealed entrance and gave a slow nod.
"Voldemort's handiwork, without question. A remarkably low-quality, juvenile trap. Quite... dispiriting, really."
"The fact that he bothered with all this does confirm there's something here worth finding."
Dumbledore and Sirius raised their wands. Harry rummaged inside his robes and drew out both his wand and a long, gleaming silver sword.
"Please make it quick. I'd rather not be late for the World Cup final."
***
This year, the Quidditch World Cup was being held in Britain. Lucius Malfoy had secured the finest box seats available and had been moving busily to ensure the day would be nothing short of perfect.
Carina and Draco spent the days leading up to it in a state of eager preparation.
"Carina, look at this! It's Viktor Krum!"
Draco thrust a moving poster at her. Carina regarded her chattering brother and said, "Weren't you supporting Ireland, Draco?"
"But Ireland's Seeker is boring. Look at Viktor Krum! He's only seventeen this year and he's already been selected as Bulgaria's representative Seeker!"
A student being named to a national Quidditch squad before even finishing school was extraordinarily rare. Quidditch—the pride of the wizarding world—was purely meritocratic.
It meant that this graduating student was more gifted than any other wizard in Bulgaria.
Anyone who truly loved Quidditch could not fail to know the name Viktor Krum.
"There's even a picture of him catching the Snitch!"
Draco unfolded the moving poster—then, the moment Carina leaned in to look, he whipped it behind his back.
"But I'm not showing it to you! It's mine!"
"You little—"
The audacity of dangling something in front of her and then snatching it away.
She considered simply taking it by force, but this particular small menace was stubborn. Stubborn enough to make even Carina Malfoy—no stranger to stubbornness herself—concede defeat.
Instead, she produced a pair of golden binoculars. Draco's eyes lit up.
"Wh—what's that?"
"Omnioculars. An authentic pair, made by Vidal's shop."
Specially commissioned by the Irish team, these Omnioculars came equipped with magnification, wide-angle view, instant replay, slow-motion, fast-forward, and individual player-tracking—a genuine luxury item.
It was said that the Irish team's winning streak owed no small part to the systematic training made possible by these very Omnioculars.
Being a custom commission rather than a commercial product, they cost several times the standard price.
Draco's eyes glittered.
"Wh—what? Whose are those?"
"Mine, obviously. Just as that poster is yours."
"Give me those!"
"I'm not showing them to you either, Draco."
"That's not fair!"
"Oh? Is it?"
Carina swung the Omnioculars back and forth, taunting him. Draco tried to look indifferent, but he couldn't stop his eyes from rolling after them like marbles.
"In that case—shall we trade? The Omnioculars for your poster?"
"No!"
"Then I suppose you'll have to make do with the same still image of Viktor Krum, while I watch everything live with these."
"That's cheating!"
Draco grumbled and fumed for a good while before finally hurling the poster at Carina. She smiled and handed over the Omnioculars; Draco immediately forgot he'd ever been reluctant and began fiddling with them with great satisfaction.
Carina turned away from him and unrolled the poster.
Inside it, Viktor Krum was diving on his broomstick—plummeting at a speed that made it seem impossible he wouldn't hit the ground—before wrenching the broom upward at the last instant and changing direction. The pursuing player slammed into the earth; the image zoomed out, then cut to a close-up of Viktor Krum with the Snitch clasped in his fist.
Beneath it, the words Wronski Feint appeared and faded.
"Hm. Not bad."
He was certainly good enough to be at the World Cup. Right now, his performance felt overwhelming even compared to Carina or Harry Potter.
But something was lacking. The image of him astride his broom, Snitch in hand, was undeniably bold and impressive—yet.
Was it his face, which was less striking than she'd expected? If that face had been Harry Potter's instead... it might have been just a little more...
"Carina's fallen for Krum!"
Draco, who had been observing her through the Omnioculars, crowed triumphantly. Carina startled.
"What are you talking about?"
"Girls are all the same! A bit of Quidditch skill and they all fall for it!"
"Absolutely not. I have no interest in Viktor Krum. None whatsoever."
Draco grinned with sly satisfaction.
"Really? Then you don't need the poster?"
"That's right. I've seen enough—you can have it."
"Yes!"
Draco clutched the Omnioculars and the poster to his chest, apparently terrified Carina might change her mind, and bolted away.
Carina watched him go and exhaled.
"When is that boy ever going to grow up."
In truth, she hadn't lost anything. She'd had two pairs of Omnioculars all along.
Carina retrieved the real authentic pair she'd kept hidden. The ones she'd given Draco were the commercially available ten-Galleon version.
But young Draco didn't know that, and he would be perfectly happy.
A world in which everyone was satisfied. Mission accomplished.
The Malfoy family's mode of transport was Floo Powder.
The fireplace connected to the Quidditch World Cup grounds was a temporary link the Ministry of Magic had established for dignitaries, and Lucius—having received a personal invitation from Minister Fudge—had access to it.
The Malfoy family arrived at the World Cup stadium in complete comfort, without so much as a moment's wait.
Along the way, Lucius encountered Minister Cornelius Fudge. He extended his hand, and introduced Narcissa, Carina, and Draco. The Minister smiled and greeted them graciously, then turned to Carina and Draco.
"You're at Hogwarts, I hear? You're very lucky—there'll be something rather exciting happening there this year."
Draco, who would be starting at Hogwarts the following year, seemed to take this as some kind of declaration of war; he growled every time he caught sight of the Minister. Fudge was obliged to work quite hard to placate him.
When they finally reached the top box, Carina stopped walking without quite meaning to.
For some reason, Harry, Granger, and the entire Weasley family were clustered together in the top box.
Carina hadn't expected to see them here, and for a moment she was caught off guard. Surely the Weasley family hadn't sold their house just to watch a Quidditch match. Had Harry paid for them, perhaps?
She turned the Omnioculars over in her hands. She'd brought the good pair specifically to find Harry somewhere in the second or third tier of the stands—and here he was, sitting one row in front of her.
"Oh, Arthur! What a pleasant surprise. I invited Lucius personally—he made a very generous donation to St. Mungo's."
Arthur and Lucius exchanged stiff, reluctant greetings. Lucius steered his family toward their seats.
Harry glanced at Carina in acknowledgment, then looked away.
There were too many eyes on them. They had agreed not to make anything visible in public. Carina turned sharply and walked on.
...That didn't make it any less irritating.
The Quidditch World Cup final began. After brief opening remarks, it was time for the mascots of each team to take the field.
Bulgaria went first. From the Bulgarian side, a group of women walked out.
They looked like beautiful women—but they were not human. Someone in the crowd cried out.
"Veela!"
Veela. Magical creatures who wore the appearance of beautiful women to enchant men.
When they began to dance in the center of the pitch, every man in the stadium stared at them as though bewitched.
Silver hair billowed in a wind that wasn't blowing; smooth skin caught a radiance that owed nothing to the absent moon. They leapt and spun across the pitch, their movements growing faster and faster.
Several men made fools of themselves trying to attract the Veela's attention. Ron Weasley looked as though he was about to dive from the top box; a referee struck a muscle-flexing pose. Carina looked down at them with undisguised contempt.
Wait. Surely not.
Carina quickly looked toward Harry Potter. He had his Omnioculars raised and was staring at the Veela with unblinking intensity.
He didn't notice Carina's expression curdling. A smile had even crept onto his face.
"Carina. When I grow up, I'm going to marry a Veela..."
Carina cuffed Draco on the back of the head. Not for any particular reason—simply to knock some sense back into her brother, who had lost his mind to the Veela along with everyone else.
From in front of them, Harry Potter snickered.
The Veela's dance ended and they retreated behind the Bulgarian supporters' section. Next came Ireland's turn.
Ireland's mascot was Leprechauns—the mischievous fairies known for scattering fake gold coins to trick people.
Veela or Leprechauns, both were equally vulgar and tiresome. Carina watched with an expression of profound displeasure.
Ron Weasley gathered the gold coins to his chest with a beaming smile, apparently unaware they would vanish before long.
"Here's ten Galleons, Harry! That covers the Omnioculars, right?"
Harry Potter gave a vague nod and pocketed the coins. He still had his Omnioculars raised. The way he kept smiling suggested he was replaying the Veela footage.
Carina's mood deteriorated steadily.
The match was entirely one-sided. Ireland's players were formidable, and the point gap only widened. Bulgaria's Seeker, Viktor Krum, fought desperately to draw away the opposing Seeker and Beaters, but it wasn't nearly enough to close the deficit.
With Ireland leading by a hundred and sixty points, Krum had no choice but to catch the Snitch, and the Quidditch World Cup ended in Ireland's victory.
"Damn! I missed it! Harry—did you get Viktor Krum catching the Snitch at the end? Let me see!"
Ron Weasley snatched Harry's Omnioculars.
Harry let out a startled sound. Ron looked into the Omnioculars—then his face went very still, and he handed them back to Harry.
"Well, isn't that cozy. Was it like that the whole match?"
"Viktor Krum caught the Snitch? So Bulgaria won?"
"You genuinely didn't watch. You absolute lunatic..."
Ron shook his head and went to find Hermione. Harry just scratched the back of his neck.
After the match ended, Draco was so wound up that he seemed liable to expire if he couldn't talk to someone immediately.
Lucius would have preferred the family to return home at once, but there was no reining in Draco in this state. Instead, he issued firm instructions not to leave the campsite, then swept away somewhere, robes billowing behind him.
Draco latched onto Carina and chattered at her about the Bulgarian team's tactics. She answered him dutifully at first, but Draco seemed to be drawing energy from some inexhaustible source, and she was no match for it.
Narcissa caught Carina's eye.
"He's as loud as a freshly-pulled Mandrake. Go outside and rest for a bit, Carina. I'll keep an eye on Draco."
"...Thank you, Mother. I was just starting to think it might be kinder to gag him."
"Don't go far. We may need to leave soon."
Carina gave a vague nod and stepped out of the temporary tent.
This section of the campsite was reserved for the most distinguished guests, which gave it a half-step remove from the festival's full frenzy. Unlike the area beyond—where fireworks were going off and shouts rang out in every direction—the people here at least maintained the appearance of decorum.
An elderly gentleman was carrying on with as much excitement as Draco; ladies dressed like aristocrats were making a scene over their mead. But that sort of thing happened everywhere.
Carina walked slowly, then drew the ring from her pocket and slipped it onto her finger.
Pink. Together with a loved one.
Who was he with now? Carina's expression tightened again.
She was right here—and he was with a loved one? Was he with the Veela, of all things?
This had happened before, she recalled. The day Harry had been attacked by Dementors. The ring on her finger had flickered between pink and red in alternation.
She hadn't understood it at the time—but in fact, it had glowed pink because Harry, having returned through the Time-Turner, had been with Carina.
The thought struck her, and she lifted her head sharply.
Pink.
Together with a loved one.
Could it be—
"Harry?"
"It's been a while."
The voice came from just beside her ear, and then the silver-grey cloak fell over her. Carina was used to the Invisibility Cloak by now; she didn't flinch.
The world around her was exactly as it had been—only Harry Potter had been added to it. He was smiling at her from beneath the Invisibility Cloak.
It was strange. She had been ready to snap at him just moments ago, and yet now that she was looking at his face, her body wanted to act before her words could. Instead of cutting remarks, she wanted to press her forehead against his chest.
But Carina's formidable pride barely managed to hold that impulse in check.
No matter how glad she was to see him, she would not be the one to make such an undignified display. Carina crossed her arms.
"Idiot. You took your time getting here."
"Sorry. I was a bit late, wasn't I?"
"How did you know which tent was mine?"
"I followed you under the Invisibility Cloak. I couldn't very well go inside the tent, so I was just waiting out here quietly."
Took his time getting here—and yet the one who had actually been waiting was Harry.
Carina covered her embarrassment.
"...Draco was being particularly relentless. It took a while to shake him off."
"Your brother? He is rather loud."
"Isn't he. He could stand to close his mouth once he's said his piece."
She muttered this, and then Harry moved closer and tried to put his arm around her—and she knocked his hand away with the back of hers.
Gladness and irritation were separate matters. There was something that needed to be settled clearly. Carina had not forgotten the sight of Harry Potter with his Omnioculars trained on the Veela.
Harry's look of surprise was satisfying. He would be surprised for quite a while longer yet.
"You seemed to enjoy the World Cup tremendously."
"It was entertaining, I'll admit—"
"You couldn't take your eyes off the Veela. Did you enjoy that so much?"
Carina had not forgotten the sight of Harry with his Omnioculars fixed on the Veela.
She knew perfectly well that Veela were beautiful and instinctively drew the gaze of men. Their moonlit skin and bewitching movements had stirred even a flicker of something like inadequacy in Carina herself.
It couldn't be helped. They were magical creatures—that was their one distinguishing quality, and they had no choice but to live by it.
But Harry, at least, should not have been like that.
She knew he was a man. But still.
"Veela?"
Harry looked genuinely baffled.
"What's that?"
"Don't pretend you don't know. Bulgaria's mascot. The magical creatures with silver hair who enchant men."
Carina put particular emphasis on magical creatures. Harry remained unrepentant.
"I don't know about magical creatures, but I do know a platinum-blonde who enchants men. By a remarkable coincidence, she's standing right in front of me."
"...You think that's going to work on me?"
Carina's eye fell on the Omnioculars tucked under Harry's arm. The binoculars with their replay function would contain clear evidence.
She snatched them and played back the footage.
"I won't forgive lies. If you thought you could deceive me with pretty words... you've miscalculated..."
Carina's voice grew quieter and quieter as she watched.
The Omnioculars had only one function active: player tracking. And it was locked entirely onto Carina Malfoy.
Carina with her arms crossed, looking irritated as she watched Harry. Carina cuffing a dazed, muttering Draco on the head. Carina sighing—and then, as the match began, Carina with her eyes bright, watching the Quidditch with genuine excitement. When Viktor Krum caught the Snitch, she had even clenched her fist.
Two hours of Carina Malfoy, captured here. Not a single moment missing.
Wide-angle view. The Omnioculars' specifications flickered through her mind. She hadn't imagined it could see this far behind—but even if it could—
No. Even granting that it could. She had never imagined he would spend the entire match watching her.
This was the Quidditch World Cup final. The festival of the entire wizarding world.
And throughout that legendary match, he had kept watching Carina—
The realization hit her, and her face went red. Harry smiled, as though he had been waiting for exactly this.
"Suspecting someone without cause—that's a bit much, isn't it? Carina, are you aware there's such a thing as wrongful accusation?"
He took the opportunity to settle his arm firmly around her shoulders. Flushed with embarrassment and guilt over her unfounded suspicion, Carina couldn't bring herself to push him away.
Harry drew her closer and murmured in her ear.
"I can't just let this go. I think I'm owed something in return."
Before she quite knew how it had happened, Carina found herself enclosed in Harry's arms.
She had been completely outmaneuvered. Her suspicion and jealousy had come back to her like a boomerang.
The more powerful the weapon, the greater the recoil when it fails. Having confirmed her target's innocence with the Omnioculars as irrefutable evidence, Carina had walked straight into a counterattack.
Her voice came out unsteady.
"You—you. Did you do this on purpose. Were you trying to make a fool of me—"
"What? Are you saying Carina Malfoy was dancing in the palm of my hand from the very beginning? Isn't that a bit of a stretch?"
For some reason, Carina couldn't quite believe that. The feeling of having been played refused to leave her.
But what did it matter?
The fact that he hadn't watched the match at all—that he had spent the entire time watching her face instead. That was true. And knowing he had been watching her all along made her feel embarrassed and pleased in equal measure.
She hadn't let it show, but Carina had been glad to see Harry after so long.
"Ugh—"
"Still, the fact that you suspected me is a little galling. I'm not sure I can forgive that so easily."
Embarrassment and gladness together were dismantling her defenses. Her mind was overheating; she couldn't find the will to resist Harry Potter.
It was rather like being a puppet that had fallen into the hands of a very unscrupulous wizard.
Carina could not bring herself to pull away from Harry's approaching touch. She closed her eyes and turned her head aside.
That was when it happened. The flap of Carina's tent opened, and Narcissa put her head out.
"Carina? Your father is calling for you... where has she gone?"
"Mm. What a shame."
Narcissa's voice snapped Carina back to herself in an instant.
She wrenched Harry's hand away and hurriedly straightened her clothes. Thanks to Narcissa's voice, she managed to hold onto her reason even through the buzzing in her head.
Even with the Invisibility Cloak—what on earth was she doing, here of all places—
Carina was still struggling to collect herself when Harry clicked his tongue with what sounded like genuine regret.
"Fair enough—there are too many eyes here. This is as far as we can go."
She couldn't begin to imagine what further might have entailed. While Carina caught her breath, Harry smoothed her hair, then pressed a brief kiss to her forehead.
Her face burned all over again.
His business concluded, Harry gave the Invisibility Cloak a sharp tug. Carina's body was pushed out from beneath it, and through the gap in the fabric Harry's form shimmered and vanished.
"I'll see you at Hogwarts, then."
With those words, Harry Potter was gone. Carina stood there, pushed out from under the Invisibility Cloak, unable to say a word.
Just then, Narcissa spotted her and called out.
"Carina! We decided to sleep at the Manor! It's time to go home!"
It was time to go home.
Whether she would actually manage to sleep tonight was another question entirely.