Had I known what would happen, had I been told or knew, would I have still done it? We all ask ourselves that. For some it's about small things like should we have bought that overpriced jacket even though we barely had enough money for lunch. But for me it always came down to decisions that weren't mine to make.

I choose to be in Slytherin. The hat asked before it told me a thing about where it thought I should go and I said, "I want to be in the house were people are remembered. A house that people have listed in their biographies because it says something about them." And I added. "I want to be in the house my mother was in."

So I went to Slytherin.

Was it easy? No.

Being a half-blood may be fine in any other house. They may not even know about your blood status at all but in Slytherin that is all that matters. From the moment I started I knew what I was getting myself into and I didn't care. My blood status and who I came from was made clear to me well before I walked beneath the charmed ceiling of the Great Hall.

By the time I reached my seventh year I'd gotten the swing of things. I knew who to watch out for, who to ignore, who I could ask for favors from and who would rather go skinny dipping, wandless, in the middle of the Black Lake than help me. I was Quidditch Captain despite several of my teammates constant attempts to get me kicked off for being 'less than pure,' and despite my struggles in Transfiguration I was still passing. It was starting to become manageable until Mary McDonald... Until we found her body.

October 4th I headed into the kitchens to meet Dorcas before I was supposed to go to practice. She was sitting on the table cross legged like some kind of starved animal, inhaling the sugar cookies with her dark hair tied in a loose bun on top of her head.

"You realize they make more cookies if you ask nicely right?" I laughed, hiking up on the table to sit next to her.

Dorcas shook her head with a delirious sigh. "No... it will take time... I can't afford time..." She hugged the bowl. "Do you know how long it's been?"

"Are you talking to me or the cookies?"

"The cookies."

Snorting, I took one before there was nothing left. "So I guess you're not handling the Gryffindor Quidditch diet well, huh?"

"I hate James and Sirius for graduating and leaving me with dick-ta-tor Wood." Dorcas practically growled, her black eyes narrowed. "Why is it remotely necessary for me to eat healthy? I work out. I stay fit. I don't need to eat a green thing every day. And I will fight anyone that says I do."

"I don't doubt that... I don't know what to tell you. Although I'd pay someone good money to try to put Flint on any sort of diet... I swear if I wrote the word chocolate on a piece of parchment he'd eat it."

"That's why he's Keeper. Not a lot of deep thinking going on there."

"No."

"But then." She wiped the crumbs off her face. "With that logic you could say that about most of your team."

"Lucinda's smart."

"Yes... the only other girl on the team."

I said. "I'm not going to deny there's a connection there but let's be honest your team isn't from the greatest stock either."

"We should have just combined Slytherin and Gryffindor and made a hybrid team."

"And kicked off everyone we didn't like."

Dorcas smirked at that. "If only."

"Yeah." I sighed, leaning back against the wall. "Well either way. We'll both be playing Quidditch next year while all of these idiots are doing other things."

"God, what is Flint going to do after he graduates?... How did he even get to the point where he is illegible to graduate?" She grimaced.

"Daddy's money... or mummy's money... You never know with these Pureblood's. They all have a back up relatives with offshore accounts and gold incrested everything."

Dorcas snickered at that. "True. Only teacher who won't pass him through is McGonagall. I love that dumb little face he gets when she tries to slow it down to explain it for him."

"I would if he didn't get the same look on his face whenever I talked to him... I swear it's like his brain has a switch and it was shut off at birth."

"That could be a thing."

I laughed and shook my head. "Just one more year, right?"

"Less than that at this point... Oh, I've been meaning to ask you. Have you seen Jocelyn? I've been trying to track her ass down to figure out what we're doing for her birthday next week."

"Nope. Last time I saw her I was yelling at her for taking my pitch time."

"Did she laugh?"

"Yeah." I laughed. "She wouldn't give it to me."

"You know she doesn't care. It will kill her if you beat her when you have a man with a light switch brain stopping her team from scoring goals."

"Listen, we all have problems. I'm sure she's cuddling with Jack or doing her Ancient Runes homework."

"I don't know why she takes that class. The homework takes hours."

I shrugged. "She likes a puzzle. Why do you constantly jump on the nearest dick available?"

"Why don't you?" Dorcas countered.

"Exactly my point. We all do weird things."

"No but really why, don't you?" Dorcas nudged me with a smirk.

"You're acting like I'm saving myself for something." I laughed. "I just don't like anyone so it's not happening. Which is the opposite of your problem really."

"It really is... I like it better when they don't like me. Makes the hate sex much more interesting."

"I'm sure it does." I checked my watch. "I should get down to the field before they try to stage another mutiny."

"Who do you think will do it this time? Rabastan for favorities sake? The creepy twins?"

"I don't know maybe Black will use his one sentence of the year and telling I'm doing something wrong. Who knows?" I pushed myself off the table. "We should corner Jocelyn tomorrow about her birthday. I still don't even know what to get her."

"You're not going to bake her a cake?"

"No of course I'm going to bake her a cake but that can't be her only present."

Dorcas nodded. "I'll grab you tomorrow at lunch and we'll see what we can do."

"That works. I'll see you later."

I left the kitchens feeling a bit stuffed but knowing I wouldn't be flying for another half hour I didn't dwell on it. I just tucked my hair behind my ear and started heading towards the field when I saw Black.

He walked towards me with his usual blank expression and said. "The Carrows are sick."

"Of course they both are." I scoffed in disgust. "Well I think we can do without them for one practice."

Regulus nodded and I knew that was the most conversation there would be. I actually half expected him to walk away until we both saw a crowd around the front door across from the Great Hall. "What is it?" I asked Elizabeth Yaxley, not able to see through the hoards of students.

"I dunno." She shrugged, only getting up to my height on her tiptoes. "I just got here a moment ago."

Frowning I said, "I wonder what the fuss…." My words fell flat when she got a flash of what they were surrounding.

A small girl was on the floor and for the longest pause I thought was Dorcas. She had the same hair color and was rail thin like Dorcas but that was where the comparison ended. Her bright blue eyes were thankfully shut but I could see from the angle of her limp body to the pool of blood on the floor that she was dead.

"Oh god…" A girl next to me gasped. I was speechless. When the crowd broke a part again there was writing on the wall.

'All mudbloods, half-bloods and blood-traitors are next.'

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