"I think we've had enough of this for today, don't you think?"

Draco sighed, turning away from the Vanishing Cabinet to give Mary an annoyed look. "In case you've forgotten, we're a bit behind schedule."

Mary rolled her eyes at the reminder that they spent the holidays with their families rather than stay behind and work on their mission. If they had spent Christmas at Hogwarts, then their parents surely would've said something about it. Either way, Draco and Mary wouldn't have won that battle.

"Can you blame me for wanting to spend some time with my parents and Tobias?" she retorted.

"I'm sure they would've understood your reason for staying here," he said, turning back at the cabinet.

She huffed a sigh and stood up, going beside him. He didn't turn her way again, which she knew would happen. "You know your parents love you, right?"

He pursed his lips, running his hands down the cabinet. "I suppose so."

Mary scoffed in response, shaking her head and throwing her hands in the air out of frustration. "You're unbelievable."

The blond boy spun around to face her once more. "You don't understand how they raised me, what they taught me to believe in. For years, I always thought everyone that wasn't from a pure-blood family was beneath me, that families like ours were the superior race in the Wizarding world. Then, I got older and I began to see and learn things that maybe I shouldn't have. But my parents, specifically my father, thought I was ready for it."

"Well, I can clearly see that you are about to break under pressure," Mary pointed out.

"And you're not?" he snapped. "Tell me, with everything coming together soon, how do you feel about becoming a Death Eater now?"

Mary slightly opened her mouth to respond, only no words came out. With the deadline coming up closer and closer with each day, the idea of her being a Death Eater remained in her head more often than before. She imagined every scenario as one of them, the good and the bad. Yet, she wasn't sure how anything good came out of it, but the thoughts were there.

"Well?" he spoke up, raising his eyebrows.

"It's a lot to take in, okay?" she admitted. "Is that what you want to hear? That I'm beginning to get scared with every outcome that could happen to us, to our families, and our friends?" She crossed her arms over her chest and began to pace in a circle. "It's all happening so fast now that we're getting closer to getting this cabinet fixed."

She heard nothing from Draco for a moment, then she felt his hand go on her shoulder in a gentle way, which caused her to turn around. "I know it seems like everything and everyone is changing around you, but we're about to start a war, one that's been in the works for years now."

Everyone is changing.

It was then that Mary remembered the way Tobias was acting around the holidays, keeping the secret their dad didn't want Mary knowing about. She wondered if Draco knew anything of it. If he did, then that would sure as hell be a slap in the face to her.

"Do you know of anything that was supposed to happen over the holidays?" she asked him.

Draco furrowed his brows in confusion. "What?"

"Were there any missions planned over the holidays? Anything the Death Eaters were ordered to do?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

She shot him a serious look. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not," he retorted.

"Draco, I need to be able to trust you, and right now you're making it difficult to do just that."

He was about to respond with a snarky comment, but he ended up huffing a sigh. "I was told to not say anything to you by your parents and brother."

Mary widened her eyes in shock. "You knew what they were up to?"

"I overheard them," he pointed out.

"Still, you didn't tell me."

"Well, I'm going to tell you now."

The girl composed herself before she could blow up again. She took a deep breath. "Okay. So, what was the plan?"

Draco sat down on the chair near the cabinet, running his fingers through his hair. "Your brother was given his own mission over the holidays."

"What kind of mission?"

"One suited for a Death Eater."

Mary felt chills go down her spine. "What?"

Draco nodded his head. "It was basically his initiation."

"You still haven't told me what this mission was."

He hesitated, but then responded with, "Murder."

The word itself lingered in Mary's mind, with Draco's voice echoing over and over. Murder. Her brother committed the worst crime there was. Blood was on his hands, the red soaked into his skin for the rest of his life.

"Who did he murder?" she managed to get out, even with the lump forming in her throat.

"Andrew Rowland's adoptive family."

Mary's heart began to sink. Out of everyone, his family was the one who suffered. Sure, she didn't care for Andrew, but he didn't deserve that. No one should have to go through that pain, according to Mary.

His friends must be heartbroken for him, she thought. Especially Oliver.

Oliver. Did he know her brother was the one who killed his family?

"Rowland was lucky he survived," Draco continued. "I heard the house was a mess once the job was done."

It was after that Mary picked up her feet and rushed out of the Room of Requirement. She couldn't stop the tears this time. This made it the first time she broke down since the move to England. Her attempts to be strong for everyone, including herself, was finally over, and she knew that it was okay to let it all out. Still, she never really wanted to do that, for everyone's sake around her.

She finally stopped and leaned against the wall, her cries filling the quiet corridor. Her face went in her hands as she kept weeping, becoming overwhelmed with guilt and heartbreak.

This is too much.

"Mary?" the familiar voice of Blaise made her look up.

"Blaise," she replied, wiping her tears.

"Are you alright?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine," she lied.

"Your red and puffy eyes say otherwise," he pointed out. He reached out, taking her hands in his. "What's wrong?"

"Blaise, I told you, I'm fi--"

"Mary, you don't have to lie to me." He took one hand and cupped her chin, raising it so that she was staring at him. "Talk to me."

So the girl admitted to herself that she wouldn't fight it anymore. Looking into Blaise's eyes, the only thing she could think of was him and their moments together throughout this year so far. Right now, her conversation with Draco in the Room of Requirement didn't matter.

She shook her head. "I don't want to talk."

Confused, but Blaise nodded his head, anyway. "Okay, so what do you want to do, then?"

Mary thought about it for a split second before pressing her lips onto his.

Blaise, to her surprise, was ready to kiss her back, placing both hands behind her head. It made Mary think that this was something he wanted all along. Now, he got the girl, and she was perfectly okay with that.

When the two pulled away from each other, a longing stare was between them.

"Wow," was all Blaise said.

"Yeah, wow," Mary repeated. "Sorry, I just--"

"No, it's okay," he assured her, smirking. "I liked it."

Mary broke out a smile. "Me, too."

He chuckled. "I'm glad to hear that."

She paused for a moment, then spoke up once more. "So, does this mean we're a couple, or...?"

"Only if you want us to be one," he answered. "Which is exactly what I want. I've wanted it for a while now."

Mary raised her eyebrows, thinking about the idea of her and Blaise. To her, maybe their chemistry was always there, hidden through their conversations and laughs. Maybe, just maybe, the two of them was always a possibility.

So she nodded. "Yeah, I want it, too."

With that, Blaise smiled and pulled her in for another kiss, and for now, at least, Mary felt completely content.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, there ya have it.

I had a feeling for a while that Blaise and Mary would get together (probably why I focused on it so much), especially since Oliver and Hermione had their thing going on, I couldn't just leave her out lol.

Anyway, what did you think? Song above is Overwhelmed by Royal & the Serpent. I thought it was a good vibe with what Mary and she's feeling in this chapter.

Comment, vote, PLEASE COMMENT OMG I'VE WORKED ON THE MAJORITY OF THIS CHAPTER ALL DAY.

-A