Blaise,

The last thing I want to do is write this letter, because believe me, it hurts my heart to actually sit down and say what needs to be said.

I want to start off by saying that I cherish the almost one year we spent together, as friends and as a couple. You showed me so much kindness when I arrived at Hogwarts and we created something special between us. The last few months have also been amazing. You made life in England more bearable, and I'm thankful for the time we've shared together.

However, you and I both know that I've been keeping secrets from you for a while now, ones that I couldn't tell you or anyone else. I'm sure you also know that Draco was involved, too, his secrets becoming my own. Of course, I still cannot say anything, which is why to keep everyone safe, including you, I have to end things between us.

I'm so sorry, I really am, and know that I will always care about you and I'm grateful every moment we shared together. This is for the best, Blaise, and I hope you understand.

Love,

Mary

For what felt like hours she read the letter over and over, wondering if her words were the rights ones. Ultimately, she knew the guilt would stay with her as she wrote everything down, her brain filled with thoughts and every scenario that this could go. His reaction to the breakup was one that she didn't want to imagine, but the image of seeing his face was already haunting her.

She watched as the Malfoy owl flew into the dark night, not taking long to disappear in the clouds. Her heart was aching, but she knew it had to be done, for everyone's sake, especially when a war was on its way.

There was a knock on the door and Mary turned to see it opening. A blond head poked in. "They sent me up here to get you ready for the meeting," Draco said.

Mary nodded her head. "Okay, thanks."

Instead of leaving, he entered her bedroom. "You sent the letter, didn't you? To Blaise, I mean."

Looking back out the window, she sighed. "Just now."

Draco walked over and stood beside her. "I know it was hard, but it had to be done. We're playing a bigger part in this war now and--"

"How, Draco?" she cut him off, shooting a look his way. "How did anything we do this past school year make a difference? Neither of us had the guts to kill Dumbledore."

"You know how it made a bloody difference? We're not dead, that's how," he retorted.

"No, but my brother is," she snapped.

There it was. Tobias came back to her thoughts.

Not even a full month had gone by since that night on the Astronomy Tower, the last time she saw him alive. Sure, Dumbledore's death was tragic, too, but she didn't kill him. Even with Tobias, she didn't do it on purpose. It was self-defense.

Aurors ruled his death as an accident, as no sign of the Killing Curse was present in his body. Thanks to Snape, Mary was able to avoid any interrogations, also being able to leave for America long enough to bury Tobias. If one good thing came out of that night, it was Snape and his loyalty to the Dark Lord and to the Malfoy and Fowler family. He saved them from a fate that Draco and Mary didn't want.

"I'm sorry you had to go through with that, Mary," he spoke up in a more calm manner. "I can't imagine how difficult that was for you."

Mary felt a lump in her throat, but she managed to swallow it. "It was difficult." She paused, nodding her head. "I know my parents wonder what happened, and I keep telling them it was an accident."

"Well, it was an accident," Draco pointed out. "And it wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was, Draco," she said. "I cast that spell at him, which is what caused him to fall over the balcony."

Draco sighed, looking at Mary in a sympathetic way. "Like I said, it was an accident. I know what I'm about to say next sounds terrible, but if he hadn't died, then who knows how many Mudbloods would've died that night because of him."

The girl stared back at Draco. She wished he wouldn't use that foul word.

There was a moment of silence between the two, then Draco spoke up again. "We better head down for the meeting. Snape should be here soon."

So the two left the bedroom and headed down the stairs. In the drawing room, at a long table, sat Death Eaters, the topmost followers (and most loyal), along with Draco and Mary's parents across from each other. Then, at the very end of the table sat the Dark Lord himself. Even though she was on his side, it was still rather difficult for her to use his name, just like Draco.

"So lovely of you to join us, Miss Fowler," he said to Mary as she took her seat in between her parents.

"Of course, my Lord," she responded, moving closer towards the table.

"He was getting impatient," her father whispered beside her.

"Excuse me for wanting some alone time," Mary muttered.

"Don't start with that attitude," her mother hissed.

Mary resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She looked over to see her former Muggle Studies professor hanging upside down at the opposite end of You-Know-Who, with Wormtail in the back, watching her. It didn't take long for her to rip her eyes away at the woman, but the sounds of her groaning from being upside down was still in earshot

After a moment of nonsense chattering, the sound of footsteps was heard, then stopped.

"Severus. I was beginning to worry you had lost your way. Come. We saved you a seat."

Snape slowly made his way over to the last empty chair by some Death Eaters Mary didn't know that well. "I have news," he stated. "It will happen Saturday next at nightfall."

"I've heard differently, my Lord," a Death Eater that Mary knew as Yaxley, who was sitting across from her, spoke up. "Dawlish, the Auror, has let slip that the Potter boy will not be moved until the thirtieth of this month, which is the day before he turns seventeen."

"This is a false trail," Snape assured him. "The Auror Office no longer pays any part in the protection of Harry Potter. Those closest to him believe we have infiltrated the Ministry."

The Death Eater next to Yaxley chuckled. "Well, they got that right, haven't they?" The others chuckled, but Mary and Draco only looked at each other.

When the laughter stopped, the Dark Lord raised his head at the other man at the end of the table. "What say you, Pius?" he asked.

The other man with long, brown hair, who was eyeing the snake on the ground beside his chair for a short moment, looked back up. "One hears many things, my Lord. Whether the truth is among them is not clear."

The Dark Lord chuckled. "Spoken like a true politician. You will, I think, prove most useful, Pius."

More useful than me, probably, Mary thought.

"Where will he be taken, the boy?" You-Know who questioned Snape.

"To a safe house. Most likely the home of someone in the Order. I'm told it's been given every manner of protection possible. Once there, it will be impractical to attack him."

"Ahem." All eyes went on Draco's aunt as she leaned forward on the table. "My Lord. I'd like to volunteer for this task." She paused, staring at her master, while the sound of screams echoing from below. "I want to kill the boy."

"WORMTAIL!" he shouted, making Mary jump. "Have I not spoken to you about keeping our guest quiet?"

Wormtail let out a shaky breath. "Yes, my Lord. Right away, my Lord," he replied, scurrying out of the dining room.

Mary looked at her parents, hoping that neither of them would volunteer her for this, given that she failed the last one.

His face grew more calm as he looked back at Bellatrix. "As inspiring as I find your bloodlust, Bellatrix, I must be the one to kill Harry Potter." Bellatrix sunk back in her seat, looking rather embarrassed for even asking. "But I face an unfortunate complication." He stood up, holding out his wand. "That my wand and Potter's share the same core. They are in some ways, twins. We can wound, but not fatally harm one another. If I am to kill him, then I must do it with another's wand." He walked around his chair, scanning amongst his followers as he placed his wand on the table and began to walk down the row Draco was on.

Mary held her breath when he was merely close to her blond friend. She felt goosebumps go down her arms when she rested them on the table. Don't let him know you're afraid, she thought.

"Come, surely one of you would like the honor? Hm?" The man didn't walk any further, turning his head down at Draco's father. "What about you, Lucius?"

Lucius Malfoy, his expression a scared one, hesitated to look up at him. "My Lord?"

"'My Lord?'" You-Know-Who mocked him. "I require your wand." He stuck his hand out, stretching his fingers.

Lucius slowly nodded his head and pulled out his wand from his coat pocket with a shaky hand, placing it in the hands of his master. "Here you are, my Lord."

The Dark Lord gripped it tightly, raising it closer to him. "Do I detect elm?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"And the core?"

"Dragon...." He cleared his throat. "Dragon heartstring, my Lord."

"Dragon heartstring?"

"Yes."

He nodded, taking one last look at the wand and Lucius before pointing it at the floating professor and heading back to his own chair, bringing her to the center of the table for the other Death Eaters to see. "To those of you who do not know, we are joined tonight by Miss Charity Burbage, who, until recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The woman was letting out short breaths. "Her speciality was Muggle Studies."

While the Death Eaters laughed altogether, Mary did her best to bite her tongue. By the looks of Draco, he was having a hard time even looking at the professor.

"It is Miss Burbage's belief that Muggles are not so different from us. She would, given her way, have us mate with them." There was more laughter, followed by a cackle from Bellatrix, while Mary clenched her fists. "To her, the mixture of magical and Muggle blood is not an abomination, but something to be encouraged."

Her face was beaten and exhausted, her eyes pleading towards Snape. "S-Severus. Severus, please." She paused, a whimper escaping her lips. "We're friends."

While Snape didn't respond, You-Know-Who took a moment before he hissed, "Avada Kedavra," a green light leaving the wand and hitting the professor.

When the loud thump rang in Mary's ear, she flinched, a small gasp leaving her. Draco's lips quivered, sniffling a little.

"Nagini. Dinner." The snake made its way onto the table, slithering towards the corpse. It was when the snake opened its mouth wide and lunged for the body that Mary closed her eyes.

*******

"You need to stop being so tense at these meetings, Mary," her father commented once they were upstairs privately in their room.

It wasn't a surprise her parents were giving her another lecture after the meeting, just like the last few they had recently. She heard it over and over, almost to the point where she could recite every word.

"Dad, it's kind hard to do that when you watch someone commit murder right in front of you," she replied. "And you know, being constantly surrounded by Death Eaters is a bit intimidating at times, especially when your own parents are a part of this cult."

"You're just a part of it as much as we are," her father retorted. "After all, Draco Malfoy is one of them, too, and you just turned seventeen, the same age he is."

"So? I don't have the Dark Mark like he does," Mary replied.

Given her role in the mission, even after she failed, her parents agreed to wait until she was ready before her next step as a Death Eater. However, Mary noticed their patience was running thin as the month went on.

"Well, we were going to discuss that with you," her mother said. "We think it's time you got the Dark Mark. There's no point in waiting any longer, and you're one of them now."

Mary folded her arms over her chest. "You know I don't want that or any of this Death Eater stuff."

Her father huffed a sigh. "Tobias never gave us a hard time about all of this."

Mary's blood was boiling now. "Well, he's not here anymore, so you can stop comparing us. I'm not like Tobias and I never will be."

"At least he was up for this, unlike you," he spat back. "You're just about a disgrace to the Fowler name. Tobias would've not let us down so many times like you have."

"Walter!" her mother hissed.

That was when her heart sank. She sucked in a breath, nodding her head. "Okay, I understand. I get it now. Don't worry, Dad. I'll make sure I won't disappoint you anymore." She turned to leave the room, trying to keep it together.

"Mary, dear..." her mother said, attempting to reach out.

Mary pushed her away. "Don't, Mom." With that, she opened the door and headed out, shutting it behind her.

It was then she felt a few tears come down, along with the pain coming from her throat where she stopped herself from bursting into tears. She knew that Tobias was their favorite child, there was no doubt. But hearing her own father say those things out loud...

The worst part about their argument was that he was right.

So she furiously wiped the tears away and stormed for her own bedroom. The first thing she did was grab a rucksack and put the Undetectable Extension Charm on it, filling the bag with as much clothes and other useful resources that she could find. It was a quick process, pulling the strings so the bag was closed tight. She sighed, looking around the bedroom she called home for almost the last year. Sure, she would somewhat miss it, but in the gloomy state, much like the rest of the manor, was something that made Mary hate it.

"Going somewhere?" Draco asked, making her jump.

She turned around and gripped her rucksack tighter. "Yes, and you can't stop me."

"I wasn't going to," he replied. "In fact, I'm here to help you."

She furrowed her eyebrows his way. "Why? It seemed like you wanted me to be a part of this so much, since we had the mission to do and all."

"And because I didn't want to suffer through this alone?" he said. "Yes, there was that, but because you don't have the Dark Mark, you have a chance, and I want to help you take it." He paused. "I heard what your father said to you, and he's wrong, you know."

Mary tucked some strands of hair behind her ear, sitting on the bed. "No, he's right. I had a lot on the line in order to keep the family name from being tainted or just any of us strained. But we all knew that I was the one that didn't want any of this, and because of that, I screwed things up." She paused, looking at Draco. "Which is why I need to leave before I cause any more trouble."

Draco nodded. "I get it." He took out a piece of parchment, placing it in her hands. "Pius had some of the names of Muggle-borns that Snatchers are heading for tomorrow. Two of them you know."

Confused, Mary opened the piece of parchment and just about froze when she saw the names and addresses. "Oliver and Eliza."

"Yes, and if you want to warn them, then I suggest you leave this instant."

"I still don't understand why you're helping."

He stared at her with a serious expression. "Because you need to get out of here for your sake, that's why," he responded. "And if I didn't tell you about Campbell and Pearce, then I'm sure you would've hexed me for it."

She chuckled. "Yeah, well, they're still mad at me, I bet," she commented. "Still, I can't let the Snatchers get to them first." She stood up from the bed. "Well, lead the way, yeah?"

So Draco obliged and took her out of her room and down the stairs. They crept down with each step, checking around the corners and looking behind them often.

Once they got to the front door, Mary faced the blond boy. "We won't see each other for a while after I leave, I'm sure."

He nodded. "Technically, we're fighting on opposite sides now."

"Well, no one says you have to."

He shook his head. "I don't have the guts like you do."

She smiled a little. "Take care of yourself, and thank you for all you've done for me." She stuck out her hand for him to shake.

While he was hesitant, Draco shook it. "Be careful."

Mary nodded in response. "I will."

"Goodbye, Mary. Maybe one day we'll see each other again. You know, once all of this is over."

"Yeah, I'd like that." She let go of his hand and backed away. "Goodbye, Draco." With that, she spun around on her heel and jogged down the path to the gate. She didn't turn back, knowing that at this point, she let her old self burn inside Malfoy Manor. Now, she was rising from the ashes, fighting on the side she should've been on to begin with.

She just hoped that for now, she didn't have to be alone for very much longer.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, here is the beginning of PART II! I'm very excited, as we are pretty much halfway done with the story!

What did you think? What do you think will happen next?

The song for this chapter is Shadowland by Heather Headley, Tsidii Le Loka, and Ensemble.

Comment, vote, PLEASE COMMENT, and enjoy part 2!

-A