The next few weeks went by fast and before Mary knew it, she was getting ready for Slughorn's dinner party. She felt more nervous than excited, knowing the impression she had to make on Slughorn. Mary wrote a letter to her parents and her brother about it, which her mom and dad were pleased to hear about her invitation. Tobias, on the other hand, never responded, which Mary wasn't surprised about.

As for her and Draco, their friendship got stronger, with both of them getting a better understanding of each other the night they recieved their letters from their families.

"So what was Ilvermorny like?" Draco asked, leaning back on a big tree, crossing his arms and legs.

"What do you mean?" she inquired.

"Well, how would you describe it?"

Mary couldn't help but laugh a little. "I guess it's like the American version of Hogwarts." That was really the best way to describe her old school.

"Do you miss it there?" he questioned, sounding really curious now.

She shrugged her shoulders, pulling at the grass beneath her. "I mean, yes and no. I do miss being back in Massachusetts, but some of the students and teachers there were people I didn't particularly care for."

"That's probably why you don't have many friends," he teased.

Mary grinned, shoving him playfully. "Shut up."

"I could tell when I first met you that you didn't have many friends," he admitted.

She sighed and looked down at the ground. "Sometimes, it's better if you're alone."

Draco nodded his head. "Yeah, I thought so, too. But now, I think we need each other more than ever."

She raised her head and raised her eyebrows at him. "I thought we weren't going to talk about it."

"I was just making a point," he protested.

"Well, while you're right, let's change the subject," she suggested. "Tell me, why does everyone seem to know who Draco Malfoy is?"

Draco smirked. "What can I say? I'm very well-known at Hogwarts."

"I'm very interested to hear all about it."

"Are you sure? It's a long story."

She smiled his way. "We've got plenty of time."

Mary enjoyed that night, where Draco started at the beginning with his life story. He began with his childhood, leading into his early years in school (mostly his feuds with Harry Potter), then finally ending with last year, where things began to drastically change for him and his family.

She sure knew that feeling.

With one last look in the mirror, Mary headed out of her room. Her outfit consisted of a white, short-sleeved blouse with a green blazer (to show her Slytherin pride), a pair of tight jeans, and black flats.

She sighed, tightening her high ponytail as she descended the stairs, with Blaise and the Carrow twins, Flora and Hestia (Mary only knew that much from Draco), standing around in the common room.

"About time you showed up," he joked, smirking at her. "You look nice."

"Thank you," she replied. "You look pretty good, too." She stared at his black dress shirt and pants, then observed his ring, seeing the detail engraved on the silver.

"I always try to look my best," he said, straightening himself. "We should head down so we're not late."

So Mary and Blaise, followed by the Carrow twins, left the common room and walked down to Slughorn's office. It was quiet amongst the four, which Mary was fine with, wanting to get all of the nerves out for this dinner party. She looked over at Blaise, who held so much confidence and pride in himself. She wanted to know how he did it.

Other students who were invited were standing in front of Slughorn's office, waiting for the door to open up. She recognized them from her classes, especially Harry Potter with his glasses and scar, as well as Hermione Granger, a Muggle-born that Draco always had something to say about.

Mary could already tell there was tension beginning to form, so she stayed back.

"Potter, Granger," Blaise spoke up, eyeing them. "Not surprised you two are here." He then scanned his eyes towards the boy with his hair combed nicely and his crooked teeth. He kept his head down, while Blaise was practically rising up over him. "But it's very shocking to see you here, Longbottom. Not sure what Professor Slughorn sees in you that makes you worthy of being invited tonight."

"Watch it, Zabini," Harry warned him.

"Or what?" Blaise inquired.

"Blaise, just stop," Mary intervened. "Now is not the time to start anything."

"Oh, looks like you've got the American saving your arse now, Zabini," another boy that Mary didn't recognize stepped in, smirking. "Us Gryffindors have heard a lot about her, you know."

"Stop talking as if I'm not standing right here," she snapped. "And despite what you've heard, you still don't know anything about me."

"Really? Then please enlighten us, will you? Tell us more about you and why you transferred to Hogwarts." The boy raised his eyebrows, taking a couple of steps towards her. Yet, Mary wasn't intimidated by him.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing Slughorn with his biggest smile. "Ah, splendid! Come inside! Take a seat!"

Mary stared at the Gryffindor. "Looks like you're about to find out." With that, she strutted past him and inside the office.

The rest of the students walked inside, taking seats at the round table with plates and glasses set up. Blaise took a seat next to Slughorn's spot. But before she could get next to him, a student beat her to it. So, Mary plopped down at a random seat, then Harry Potter took one nearby, which caused Blaise to shift in his seat. She eyed the empty seats closest to Blaise, but wasn't quick enough once again as a familiar face sat next to her, along with someone else.

"William, Rolf!" Slughorn exclaimed. "So glad you could join us!"

The two boys smiled and nodded at Slughorn as they got adjusted in their seats. "Of course, Professor," Jacob replied.

William Scamander, she thought, remembering him from the train and from the duel.

"Nice to see you again," Mary mumbled. "In better circumstances, of course."

"Yes, I agree." He straightened himself up, glancing at her.

Mary avoided his stare and looked around the office. It looked more like a living room, filled with polished objects, pictures, and decorated tables and a couch. To Mary, it reminded her of her old home, with her parents wanting to have a neat house, being the perfectionists they were.

One empty seat in between Harry and Mary was all that was left when Slughorn finally took his seat. "Well, let's eat and mingle, get to know one another!"

So with dinner being served, Slughorn made conversation with the students while still encouraging others to talk to each other. The atmosphere at the table was calm as Mary went on with her dinner.

"I heard Katie Bell is recovering," Jacob commented out of nowhere, taking a sip of his water.

"That's good to hear," Mary replied, swirling her spoon in her bowl of soup, trying to not sound or look nervous. "The news of what happened to her is all over the school."

"It's tragic, isn't it? Who would do such a thing?" Jacob asked.

Mary sighed. "No idea. No idea at all."

She knew what he was doing, and she wasn't going to fall in the trap he was setting up, especially with Harry Potter sitting beside her. Draco was certain he was already suspecting what happened to Katie Bell was their doing, so she had to trust him on that.

As dinner went on, Mary observed everyone else conversing, mostly staring at Blaise, who was eyeing her often. She couldn't help but grin his way, feeling a little bit more at ease that she had a familiar face to look at whenever she needed it.

"You're a pretty good dueler, by the way," he spoke up again. "I'm sure you remember that night with Andrew."

"Yes, I remember." Mary slurped her soup, nodding her head, still wondering about his randomness. "Thank you for the compliment." She paused. "You know, you're very random, Mr. Scamander."

"It was just a compliment," he told her.

"Right, after you implied I had something to do with what happened to Katie Bell," she retorted in a hushed tone. She turned her head for a brief moment to make sure Harry wasn't listening to their conversation.

"I was just making conversation, Miss Fowler," Jacob stated in a polite tone. "Like you said, the whole school knows what happened. It's only natural that other students talk about it."

Mary didn't respond, which made a small smirk creep up at the corner of Jacob's lips. She then wondered if she really did fall in his trap after all.

Once it looked like everyone was finished with their dinner, Slughorn clapped his hands together in excitement. "Well, then, I say we have some dessert, shall we?" He waved his wand to make the dinner bowls disappear, replacing them with bowls of ice cream. "I think now is a good time for me to get to know all of you."

This will be interesting, Mary thought.

"So, Harry," Slughorn began, getting Harry's attention. "I must say, it's an honor to have you here tonight. With your status and all, I mean..."

"I'm delighted to be here," Harry said confidently, giving him a small smile. "Really, it's a pleasure, sir."

"Splendid! You're a lot like your mother, you know, in terms of your magical skills. I can't imagine if there were two of you with the same abilities."

Harry chuckled. "I have no doubt in my mind that we'd be double trouble."

Slughorn grinned at this, clearing his throat, then taking his attention off of Harry. "Of course, William, Rolf, your grandfather, Newton Scamander, is also well-known in the Wizarding world. How is he doing?"

Jacob swallowed his ice cream quickly and composed himself. "He's doing well, sir. We plan to briefly see him over the holidays."

"Ah, very nice. I'm sure you plan to follow the same career path as a Magizoologist like him, is that right?"

"Actually, that would be me, sir," Rolf spoke up beside his brother.

"Yes, Quidditch is my passion," Jacob added. "I'm the black sheep in the family, really."

"Well, you're still a bright student, nevertheless." Slughorn let out a hearty chuckle. "And I've heard great things about your Quidditch skills. Hufflepuff House is very lucky to have you, no doubt." He cleared his throat. "Now, Miss Fowler..." Mary sat up straight and gave her attention to Slughorn, feeling the nervous energy entering inside her. "Tell me, what made you move across the pond to study at Hogwarts?"

Mary swallowed hard, putting her spoon down. "My dad was offered a job at the Ministry of Magic. He transferred from MACUSA so we all packed up and joined him here."

"And you came from Ilvermorny, correct?"

She forced a smile and nodded her head. "Yes, sir, I did."

"How was schooling there?"

"It was nice. It's a lot like Hogwarts, only with different...teaching styles, but still very enjoyable."

He nodded in satisfaction. "I hope we've been treating you well here."

"Yes, for the most part." Mary felt a weight lifted off her chest, hoping she did enough to put on an act for everyone to see. She glanced over at Jacob, who didn't dare to lock eyes with her, then looked across the table at the boy from earlier, who shot her a suspicious look.

"That's very good to hear." He gave her a smile, then moved onto the curly-haired boy next to him. "So tell me, Cormac, do you see anything of your Uncle Tiberius these days?" Slughorn asked.

"Yes, sir. In fact, I'm meant to go hunting with him and the Minister for Magic over the holidays," Cormac replied, then turned towards Mary and shot her a smirk.

Mary rolled her eyes. Jerk.

"Well, be sure to give them both my best." He turned to the next student. "And what about your uncle, Belby? For those of you who don't know, Marcus' uncle invented the Wolfsbane Potion. Is he working on anything new?"

"Don't know," the boy replied, shaking his head and scarfing down his ice cream. "Him and Dad don't get on. Probably because me dad says potions are rubbish. Says the only potion worth having is a stiff one at the end of the day."

Mary widened her eyes and continued with her dessert.

Slughorn nodded and went on. "And what about you, Miss Granger? What exactly does your family do in the Muggle world?" Slughorn asked her.

The girl placed her spoon down, setting her hands in her lap. "My parents are dentists."

Everyone, including Mary, looked at her, waiting for her to explain more.

She froze for a moment and then spoke again. "They tend to people's teeth."

Slughorn became wide-eyed. "Fascinating. And is that considered a dangerous profession?"

"No." She paused, then smiled a bit. "Although, one boy, Robbie Fenwick, did bite my father once. He needed ten stitches." She was the only one that laughed, but Mary could see why she found it amusing.

As soon as it got quiet again, the door opened, revealing a redhead creeping in. "Ah, Miss Weasley, come in, come in."

The girl came in slowly, her eyes red and puffy, but her fiery red hair straight and down with her black dress smoothed out and sparkly, making herself look presentable. "Sorry, I'm not usually late..."

Suddenly, Harry immediately stood up, causing Mary and the others to give him a confused look. The two stared at each other after a quick moment. Harry then looked around the room and sat back down in embarrassment. Mary couldn't help but chuckle.

"No matter. You're just in time for dessert," Slughorn said. "That is, if Belby's left you any." He let out a chuckle before getting back to his ice cream. "Anyway, Mr. Longbottom..."

As Slughorn finished with the rest of the students, Mary focused on finishing her ice cream, the clinking of the spoons against the bowls became enough to drown out the talking. Out of the corner of her eye, Blaise was staring her down. She slightly turned his way for a brief moment, then looked back down at her ice cream.

Finally, as if it couldn't get here fast enough for Mary, the dinner party was over. Slughorn made the announcement of us looking out for invitations to his Christmas party he would be hosting. As much as Mary dreaded going to another party, it was something her parents would want.

When it was time to leave, Mary felt relieved as she shuffled out of his office. "Well, that was fun," Mary told Blaise sarcastically as they began to walk together.

"Yes, you put on quite the act for Slughorn, didn't you?" he asked, smirking.

"Who said it was just for Slughorn?" she retorted playfully.

Blaise chuckled. "You're one intriguing girl, Mary Fowler."

She flashed a smile his way. "I think my American charm is working on you, Blaise Zabini."

He shot her a seductive look. "Yes, it certainly is."

~~~~~~~

A/N: Hey!

So I know there wasn't any Oliver, Eliza, Violet, or Andrew, but hoped you liked it still!

Also, did anyone notice my reference to a certain series? You know, the one that I wrote? ;)

Song above is Who Are You, Really? by Mikky Ekko.

Comment, vote, more to come!

-A