Mc'gonnagal strode up the length of her office hastily. Me and Draco exchanged looks. He looked a bit scared when he saw Harry, Ronnie and Hermione following her. But they had one more girl with them. She was in my year, Gryffindor. I think her name was Leah or Leanne or something like that. Why was she sobbing?

Was it her that delivered the parcel? What was going on? Was he already dead? But he wasn't in school this morning... So what was going on? A hundred questions buzzed around in my head. My face turned into a nonchalant mask but sweat pooled in my palms. I started tapping my foot nervously. My hand flew to my mouth and I chewed on my fingernails. I hope they hadn't made any connection to me.

The girl started to tell her story. Katie was carrying the parcel to gift it. And they started a scuffle over unknown parcels. The parcel tore and Katie's hand brushed the exposed surface causing her to be cursed. I crossed my fingers under the desk. I could feel Draco's eyes widening as he glanced at me pretty frequently. My plan had failed. The necklace never reached him. He was still very much alive. And I hope for our sakes that Katie was too. But if the dark lord knew how clumsy we had got. How the plan failed we were definitely in for at least some form of punishment. I was in no way interested in getting myself Crucioed but I knew I had to see him this Christmas. Mc'gonnagal sent off the sobbing girl.

"What happened when she touched the necklace?" she asked the three trying to get the coherent answers she couldn't get out of the sobbing girl.

"She floated up and started screaming like she was in extreme pain. I am pretty sure she was cursed." Harry replied clutching the scarf tighter.

"What is it in that scarf?" she asked.

"It is the necklace she touched. She said she was delivering it to Dumbledore. I carried it so Madam Pomfrey could have a look. Maybe it would help." he replied placing it on her desk. She did not dare touch it either.

"Why is it that whenever something like this happens it us always you three?" she asked. Harry shrugged.

"I have been asking myself the same thing for the past six years." Ron muttered under his breath. The door slammed open again and Dad stalked in. The black cloak billowed behind him with every swift step he took forward.

"Oh Severus! I am so glad you came. Here is the necklace." she pointed to the silver and opals necklace.

Dad examined it for a long time, levitating it in the air with his wand not daring to even brush it.

"I would say Ms. Bell is lucky... to be, alive." he drawled his voice just as monotone and emotionless as it gets. Both the teacher's started discussing something in a voice so low I couldn't hear. I only heard the terms assassination, Dumbledore, necklace, delivery and St. Mungo's.

"Katie is a good student." Mc'gonnagal said finally. "I am sure she wouldn't do this voluntarily. She must have been cursed."

"I believe it was Draco Malfoy." Harry blurted out so suddenly my eyes snapped to him in shock. Mc'gonnagal gasped.

"That, is a very... serious accusation, Potter." Dad said walking down the platform and closer to Potter. "May I know your sources?"

"I..." he faltered making me smirk. He had no idea. Just a wild guess. A blind shot arrow that had hit it's target but he had no idea. "I just, know."

"You, just know." Dad repeated slowly. "How grandit must be to enjoy the extraordinary gifts, of being the Chosen one." he taunted.

"And for the record, Potter, Mr. Malfoy has not been in Hogsmeade today. He has been in detention with me along with Ms. Snape for all of the morning. They have both not set foot out of this room." Mc'gonnagal supported us. We looked as innocent as we could. Dad smirked. "Thank you for informing us of your suspicions."

Harry turned around to look at us. His face showed his shock, his indignation. I smiled and waved at him. He didn't even bother to return the gesture. Instead his lips set in a hard line. I had a feeling he knew what I was, knew exactly what I was hiding. But he had no reason to suspect me. And now he had proof. I was associating myself with them. Sirius's daughter was associated with the death eaters.

***************************************

I looked up at the unusually tall ceiling of the bathroom. This one was different. Different in many ways. Creepy in some ways. Maybe that is why this is where Myrtle haunts. This place has a secretly crazy feeling. The coiled serpent handles of taps, the large water bath with no water ever spouting from any of the taps, the carving of snakes in the marble.... All of it was slightly wierd if not unusual.

I revelled in the strange silence of the place. There was no one here to disturb me but Myrtle and mostly she was so tired of my sassy remarks and so annoyed at me for not leaving her bathroom that she had stopped harassing me and started taking care of Draco instead. She was good at supporting him while I worked in peace. I had no idea moaning Myrtle could ever cheer up anyone or I would have introduced them earlier.

I added a dash of four leaved clover mash to the unicorn blood and bicorn horn mix brewing slowly over the flames. Along with that a pinch of powdered iron. The crackling flames I had magically created were getting too high. This was only a temporary setting.

I took out the vial of goat blood and swirled it. Fresh blood of a goat killed on the red moon. I added twenty drops of it before the vial emptied.

Sixty drops were needed. And I had four more vials. I would let this brew for around half an hour more. I think that much time should be sufficient for the blending of the ingredients into the vial of unicorn blood that I had used. I still had two vials left if anything went wrong.

"He will kill my parents if I do not succeed." Draco whined again. I sighed. The boy was too afraid for his own good. He was only attracting negativity that way. I had told him to stay positive a hundred times. But I felt like a hypocrite every time I uttered those words. I contemplated between opening the door and talking to him, giving him a little hope. But instead I pulled out the letter I recieved a few days back. I reread it.

Grizzles,
How are you doing, darling? No scratch that. I have every idea how you must be doing. I guess I should say sorry that your plan failed, but you can't blame her. She did her best. I know, I know. You aren't blaming anyone but yourself. But dahling, that is why I write.
Stop blaming yourself for no mistake. Just stop taking the blame because no one else is there to. Okay I guess am getting preachy. Well; for starters, letters and all is not my forté. But you know, I try. I have nothing to say but a lot to tell. And there are only a few things I can put in this letter for fear it may be intercepted.
Duffus is learning the bike from me in return for self defence letters that I am giving her. Cool, eh? Not so cool when you are at the recieving end of kicks and punches. Well, I did know some in my time. But any of it is hardly useful against magic. So we have been trying to imply that to.... you know what am saying, right? Am sure you do. Cause if you say you don't I would hit you on the head with a frying pan for being so dumb.

I chuckled at the last line of her letter. They were really bonding well. But I knew my mom was just dragging it out so she could ask me one question. And that meant only one thing. Either she hadn't contacted him once, as I told her to; which was highly unlikely. Or he hadn't replied to any of the hundreds of letters she sent him, as I had requested him to. I felt like some sort of villain in this love story but it was essential at some point. I went back to reading the rest of it. Duffus was Sera's pen name.

So.. I was going to say don't worry about us. We will be fine. Everything is great here. And I hope you find success in whatever you are trying to do, dark lord's orders or not. I expect to find my daughter alive by the end of this year no matter what happens. For, even if you fail, I love you.
And I wanted one more thing to tell you. Some Adrian Volkov says he's interested in going against the league. We are in talks via Tony. I have my doubts about this person. He has doubtful written all over him, in fact. And I know you can imagine the frown on my face. But he is the reason for it. He has no idea we are related in any way but it could be a pretense. I am being as careful as I can. We have been meeting him outside instead of in the house. So, I just needed your opinion on him.
Sera said something about bad history, ex issues... A professional quidditch player, really? And you never thought to tell your poor mother? That says something about how much you trust me, I guess. Yes, this may sound blunt. But I think this should get out there in the open and we should have a discussion over this, when you come back for Christmas. And I say when and not if; because you are coming back and I do not permit you to live there.

Her words made me crack a smile in my boring, depressing day. Maybe, knowing someone cared for you was a good thing.

Oh, and one last thing. I know you expect me to ask this already. So I guess no harm in asking, right? How is he? Severus? I hope he is well. You aren't troubling him more than necessary are you? It's hard not knowing...
Love,
Risotto rice!!

I smiled at my mother's handwriting, small but straight. The e's looked like they had deflated, the round wasn't prominent, exactly how I wrote them. It was nice but not round. Instead the letters were pointy. It wasn't perfect or beautiful but legible enough. It smelled like her and of new parchment and mint and coffee. But the scent was deteriorating away with every day. I wondered if my world would have been different had she actually loved Sirius. Had she been a proper witch, had she never been attacked, had she borne the child she and Snape were going to have; but she aborted. Maybe I would have an older sister or brother to confide in. Maybe I would have an extra support. Maybe, they won't let me be recruited. I could have been dropped off by my own mother at age eleven so I could go to Hogwarts, kissed and fussed over. Dad would have been happier. We all would have been happier. I would have lived on Drew manor all my life. I would have gone to the beach everyday. I would have actually loved my parents, both of them. But all that was a distant dream. And the past was unchangeable.

I sighed and I looked at my watch. I had spent twenty minutes doing nothing, simply wondering what if this had always been my destiny, if I could have been a completely different person. I wasn't. And the topic should have ended there. I wanted to be that carefree girl I would have been. But that was not possible now. And after the war... I scoffed at the tiny part of my brain that was still in denial. There was no happy after war for me. There was either Azkaban or a honorable death in battle, in place of someone I love. I would prefer the second option.

The knocking on my door brought me back to my senses. I looked at my watch. I had spent another ten minutes only thinking, thinking of non productive things. I needed my sanity back. I had to talk to Dad.

************************************

The Slug club party invite I held in my hands repulsed me. He had sent out the gold trimmed invites a week before the actual party. This idiot wanted to have parties when the world was at war! Did he have no conscience? What of all the children and young adults who were getting butchered. Muggle or not, they were lives. Most of them, every single on of them had friends, had family, had siblings, had a mother had a father, had someone who cared for them, who still looked at the door every time the bell rang hoping they would enter and getting depressed again. Those people were grieving for their loss. And this idiot here wanted to throw a Christmas party. What kind of mad was he! Psychotic? Neurotic?

I still hadn't gathered enough courage to talk to Dad. I was in a complete mess and today was a Sunday. I guess I will go tell him am leaving for the manor. That means Slughorn would also hear of it, I hope... I had no wish to go to his party. I mean, I didn't want to voluntarily commit social suicide by not going. People were literally begging to be invited. But remaining antisocial was more important right now. I needed to be out of the public radar.

My birthday had just come and gone. Like it didn't matter. Neither to me nor to anyone else. I was very impressed with Dad conveniently forgetting it. Somehow that affected me more than it should have. I mean he had never forgotten my birthday, ever, period. Even when we weren't talking. Maybe he was just over stressed. Or maybe he really didn't want anything to do with me anymore. Maybe he didn't forget, he was just treating me like stranger... or maybe, I was reading too much into something where there was nothing. Maybe he was actually under too much pressure and forgot all about it.

I sighed audibly and got off my bed determined to talk to Dad. I just couldn't stay like this all my damned life. We both had no idea how much of it was yet to be lived. And I didn't want to die as a stubborn idiot who was too proud to apologise to her father. So, without taking a shower (lest it change my mind) I pulled on my worn out sneakers, tied the laces and got off the bed. I searched for my wand on the bedside table and the clutter of Fels' hair clips fell to the ground. I swore under my breath, found my wand and hastily pocketed it.

“Wha- going jogging?” Vega asked groggily from her bed, awoken by the small sound. I nodded mutely. Jogging reminds me I have to organise quidditch practice this evening. The woes of being captain... I sighed again and looked at her. She had yet again buried her head in the pillow and fallen asleep.