A night in the Gryffindor Common Room where it had been a bit quiet was rare. Andrew and Eliza were sitting in opposite armchairs, making attempts to read their Charms textbook. They found it difficult with other conversations going on around them. Groaning in annoyance, Andrew closed his textbook and slouched deeper into his chair.

"What's your problem?" Eliza asked, closing her book as well.

"I don't have one," he replied.

She pursed her lips. "Yes, you do. I can see it written all over your face."

He rolled his eyes. "I just wished that I was out on that pitch, trying out for the Quidditch team, you know?"

Eliza sighed. "I know, Andy, but that whole duel was your idea and your fault."

"I know, I know. I don't need any more reminders," he stated.

The two looked over at Ron sitting on the couch by the fire, while Harry and Hermione sat on the floor on opposite sides of his feet. Their legs crossed. "I have to admit, I thought I was gonna miss that last one," Ron chuckled, talking about the tryouts. "I hope Cormac's not taking it too hard." He looked down at Hermione. "He's got a bit of a thing for you, Hermione."

Hermione put down her newspaper and looked up at Ron, then shook her head, reading her paper. "He's vile."

"I think we know who is a better match for Hermione," Andrew muttered towards Eliza.

She smiled, thinking about Oliver. "If he'll just ask her out already."

Ron looked over to see Lavender Brown gazing his way, which made his face turn into a funny expression.

"Have you ever heard of this spell? Sectumsempra?" Harry asked Hermione, showing her his Potions textbook.

Andrew and Eliza were now curious, as the spell mentioned was the one Andrew almost tried out on Mary during the duel.

"No, I haven't," Hermione responded, sounding annoyed. "And if you had a shred of self-respect, you'd hand that book in."

Ron scoffed. "Not bloody likely. He's top of the class. He's even better than you, Hermione. Slughorn thinks he's a genius." Hermione shot him another look. "What?"

She folded her newspaper up. "I'd like to know whose book that was. Let's have a look." Hermione stretched her hand out for Harry to give her the book.

Harry closed his book and quickly stood up. "No."

Hermione, confused, stood up with him. "Why not?"

"The binding is fragile," Harry blurted out, trying to get away from Hermione.

"The binding is fragile?" Hermione repeated in shock.

Andrew and Eliza snorted. "Nice one, Harry," Andrew commented.

"Yeah, very smooth," Eliza added.

"Well, it is..." Harry mumbled.

Andrew looked at Ginny, motioning her to grab the book. She grinned, standing up from the chair and snatched the book from Harry's hand. Before he could grab it from her, Ginny had already opened the book. "Who's the Half-Blood Prince?" she asked.

"Who?" Hermione questioned.

"That's what it says right here: 'This book is property of the Half-Blood Prince.'"

"Sounds like a weird bloke to me," Andrew said.

Ginny threw the book back to Harry, letting him go to a desk so that he could read more of the book. Hermione and Ginny grinned at each other.

Andrew and Eliza made eye contact once again, smirking at each other. "I think we should do more digging on this Half-Blood Prince," Andrew said.

"Or we can stay out of it," Eliza commented.

Andrew shook his head, scoffing in response. "You can, but I'm going to do more research."

Eliza furrowed her eyebrows. "Good luck with that. Let's see how far you get."

*******

For the next few weeks, Hogwarts students were preparing themselves for the colder weather, wearing their scarves and hats all over the castle. Mary made sure to pack for this kind of weather when she moved, knowing it would be a lot different here than in America. She was certain that the winter here would make her miss America even more, where it wasn't as cold as it was here at Hogwarts.

It was time for her first Hogsmeade trip, the place where every student liked to go shop around. Mary was not sure what to expect, but she was not too certain if she would be spending her time looking around at all of the stores.

"Do we have to do it there, Draco?" she asked as he was putting on his coat while walking with her.

"Yes, we do," he replied, gripping the package in his hand. "It'll be the perfect time and place. The Three Broomsticks is a busy place, so no one will catch us."

"I hope not," Mary muttered.

"We won't get caught," Draco said firmly. "There you go, being all paranoid again."

She huffed a sigh. "Sorry, it's just...I've never done anything like this before, and I know for sure that you haven't, either."

Draco stayed silent as they continued their walk. Then, he swallowed hard. "You're right. I haven't done anything like this before."

She stared at him. "Do you want to?"

He looked at her. "Do you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I really don't think I have a choice."

He nodded his head. "Neither do I."

Mary chuckled a little. "Tobias would've jumped at the opportunity to do this. I know he could do this job with no problem."

Draco sighed. "Well, we were chosen for this, not him."

She turned back towards Draco. "I know." She paused, sighing. "We'll get through this, Draco."

He looked at Mary and looked down at the package. "I hope so."

The rest of the walk was quiet, which was good for both of them, as they needed to clear their minds for a moment. Mary had never done anything like this before, plotting a plan like this. Of course, she knew that Draco had been a part of this life forever, therefore, he had been more affected by his parents' choices ever since he was a young boy. But Mary...this was all new to her. How could she go into this kind of life?

Once they arrived in Hogsmeade, the two watched as Hogwarts students and some of the staff walked inside the Three Broomsticks. Mary followed Draco inside the pub when he made eye contact with Harry, the one from her Potions class.

"Potter," Draco sneered. "Of course, he'd come here with his friends today."

"Just walk away," Mary told him. She looked over to see Oliver and some of his friends sitting at a table.

"You can stop staring, you know," Draco stated.

"Sorry," she muttered. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"Couldn't agree more," he muttered back, heading for the bathroom.

"Ah, Miss Fowler!" Professor Slughorn stopped her as Draco walked off. "Good to see you here!

Mary motioned Draco to go on without her, so he obliged. She turned back towards Slughorn. "How are you, Professor?"

"Very well!" Mary could smell alcohol on his breath. "So, listen here...I'm planning a little...supper party, we'll call it, and I select a few students to come. Would you be game?"

She let out a small smile. "Of course, sir, I'd love to come."

"Splendid! I've never taught an American at Hogwarts, you know."

"I don't think many teachers here have, either," Mary joked.

Slughorn chuckled. "Well, look for my owl! Good to see you!"

"You, too, sir," Mary replied as he strolled away from her, heading towards Harry and his two friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, students that she recognized from Potions.

"What the hell was that about?" Draco asked from behind, making Mary jump in surprise.

"Slughorn invited me to some dinner party," Mary explained. "I think he's fascinated with me because I'm American."

Draco snorted in amusement, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the Three Broomsticks. "You're not really thinking about going to that, are you?"

Mary shrugged her shoulders as the cold air hit her face. "I mean, why not? I want to make a good impression."

"But we have a mission to complete and you know that," Draco retorted.

"I know, but maybe the students and staff need a distraction, get the attention away from us." Mary raised her eyebrows. "We could mess up on our mission."

"We won't."

"But we could. Besides, If I didn't go, my parents would be upset with me."

Draco huffed a sigh in defeat. "Well, you're right about that. My parents would have a fit, too, if it were me going."

Mary smiled a bit. "So that settles it, then." She looked down at their holding hands and quickly let go, which almost threw Draco off. "Anyway, what did you do with the package?"

"It's been taken care of," Draco simply replied.

"Really?" Mary asked.

"Really."

Even though she was still curious about what happened to the package, Mary didn't press on about it. So, she nodded her head. "Okay."

So the two continued walking in Hogsmeade, trying to get the mission out of their heads.

~~~~~~~

A/N: So yeah, sorry about the wait. You know how it is when you have NO motivation to finish a chapter, right?

ANYWAY, I know this chapter is kind of ehhh and more focused on Mary, but better than nothing. XD Song above is Malfoy's Mission by Nicholas Hooper.

Comment, vote, more soon (maybe).

-A