Chapter One

"What did you say?" he asked me calmly; it wasn't a calm I was used to, though, not a calm that made him seem in control of the situation as it usually did. It was one in which he just stared blankly at me, no expression on his face to be see. How was I meant to respond to this? How are meant to respond to a boy, who's been a good friend of yours for seven years now, who's obviously seeking approval and support in what will probably be the most stressful time of his life, with the answer he's not looking for, when he looks at you like this?

He looked at me in this stumped way for what seemed like a couple of years, although in real time it was probably no more than five seconds; as he did so, it not only felt like he was sucking out my soul, like the dementor he pretended to be all those years ago at the Quidditch match, it felt like he was looking into it, too. I can tell you this, there is nothing worse than having probably your dearest friend look into your eyes, judging whether or not your relationship is a lie.

This time, Draco shouted, "What did you say?!"

What you just read is what's yet to come, and what's yet to come is war.

My name is Florence Carrow and I'm in my final year of Hogwarts education. I'm taking NEWTs in Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts, which, as you can probably guess, entitles a career as a Healer, if all goes well. Quite a lot of this comes at my family's dismay, though, as, as you have also probably guessed, my family has a history with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this yet; I've grown up with the tradition and custom of referring to Muggle-borns as Mudbloods, speaking ill of Muggles, Dark Marks on the forearm, threats of the Cruciartus curse as a form of punishment, anything you can really think of growing up in a house of Death Eaters. I mean, don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad upbringing. Happiness isn't a foreign emotion, even if your parents are dark wizards, and fun isn't a rarity. There are dark times, as you'd expect when you're living under the Dark Lord, but that didn't have to last long as long as you behaved.

So yes, they're the kind of folk who have problems my choices thus far. They don't see the point in studying Defence Against the Dark Arts, "Dear, why do you feel the need to defend against it when your family history suggests you should embrace it?" my Dad would ask me. I was stumped for a while after first telling them I wanted to take it as a NEWT, but found a good excuse.

"Well, the way I see it," I'd begin, "Part of learning to defend yourself is learning what to defend yourself against. And also, what's the point in learning at school something I could probably learn better at home, with you?" Complementing my Father was always a sure fire way to his soft side. For a Pure Blood supremacist, my Dad really was a bit of a softy off-duty.

The other thing my parents fail to see the point of is being a Healer, or having any professional occupation really, "What's wrong with following in the line of work your aunt and uncle have gone into?" What's wrong with being a Death Eater, mother? What's wrong with killing people with different views to you or with the 'wrong' kind of heritage? Well I'll tell you one reason why mother; apart from it being morally wrong and totally barbaric, I somehow don't think you get paid to do such things. There isn't a Death Eater's Union or an agency or anything that will hire you to carry out little assassinations. So I reply to her, "Eating death doesn't pay the bills," but this kind of humour always seems to rub her up the wrong way so she tends to leave at that point.

So, as you can see, the situation with my family is fragile. I'm seventeen now so I'm of age, but until now I've had to conform to what I'm told. I wanted to do Care of Magical Creatures as an extra NEWT but was told that I'm "not going to be taught by that incompetent idiot that Dumbledore's foolishly elected as a professor". I thought about Apothecary as well but was told that was a stupid subject and a waste of time.

Then there's my friends. Being in Slytherin is great and all, especially when your favourite colour was green anyway, because we have probably the coolest common room which have views of under the actual lake, and we get sympathy and all from Snape which should never be taken for granted. The same goes for my friends, they're great too, but they do have certain standards that they like to uphold. Pansy jabs me in the ribs anytime I so much as smile at a Gryffindor; Zabini comes and 'rescues' me if ever end up too close to one, telling me I'm "very welcome" after; Muggle-borns don't even dare breath the same air as Pike unless forced to; and Crabbe and Goyle aren't really clever enough to form their own opinions so they just react in accordance with what everyone else thinks and punch anyone who disagrees with that.

Then there's Draco. He was the first friend I made here, really, unless you count the couple of hours I spent on the train with Hermione searching for someone's frog. He's in the same situation as me but it's obvious that he's got a bit more pressure riding on his decision, being a Malfoy and all. If I do anything out of the Slytherin character, yes, okay he frowns at me, but I feel like that's happening less now, like he's starting to just not care. He's a complex one, our Draco. He keeps up his tough and in charge façade when in the public eye, but out of it you can see it drop, and what's left appears really quite vulnerable. Especially last year; in fifth year everything seemed normal, enhanced if anything given his title in the Inquisitorial squad, but last year he seemed different. Like something was eating away at him.

They're like my Hogwarts family: we have an amazing time together and, as you can see, have each other's backs, but there are certain appearances that they feel necessary to keep up. I wouldn't dare tell them about wanting to do something like Care of Magical Creatures, the ridicule would be insufferable, and we never really talk about life after school, seems more sensible to live in the now considering the current circumstances.

As I said before, what's coming is war. Anybody can tell that, even Crabbe and Goyle and that's saying something. Lots of families don't want their children coming back to Hogwarts; it's bad enough for them that the Dark Lord is back but now that Dumbledore's well… Gone, Hogwarts has entered the long list of once secure places that are no longer safe. Of course, my family has no problem with me going back. Apparently, Snape being made headmaster is a blessing, and the fact that my own aunt and uncle, Alecto and Amycus, are now employed there for whatever reason is also amazing. Nothing to do with the fact that it'll be the most important year of my education, of course, nothing to do with that.

So being in this family in this particular time adds a certain amount of pressure onto the shoulders of people like me. Do I follow in the path of my family and fight on the side of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in this looming battle, or do I follow what my gut instinct says and go against my family?