Mary MacDonald was a Griffindor. She believed in bravery, she believed in chivalry. She knew that standing up for the weak was always the Right thing to do. These five years in her House had simply bolstered her pre-existing beliefs; had led her to see the absolute Right in every situation she came across. Though finding this Right was often difficult, Mary knew that the perseverance and strength of character that paved the way to the Right would always lead her true. The Right, she knew, would always win out in the end.

It was those thoughts that bolstered her as she was laid out by a Full Body Bind on the ground, the seventh year Slytherin Mulciber standing over her. Her mind resisted the situation, telling it that it was unfair and so clearly wrong. Mary refused to acknowledge the ever more insistent thought that maybe some situations had no Right.

She felt the bulky Slytherin clumsily pull her shirt and skirt off, the somewhat chill air marking her bare skin with goosebumps. She mentally flinched for what came inevitably next, all the while screaming and pleading in equal measure for the Right to make itself known.

"You there," came the boy's grunt as he moved to crouch in front of Mary, "You know why you're down there and I'm up here?"

Mary couldn't respond, couldn't scream, couldn't even shake her head.

With a nasty chuckle, the boy elaborated, "See, bitch, I'm a Pureblood man, you're nothing but a Mudblood cunt."

That didn't matter, Mary silently shrieked, None of that made any difference! Right is Right! Wrong is Wrong!

The boy continued, "See, slut, you're nothing more than my practicing target." His grin widened and for the first time, Mary felt the cold finger of fear stroke down her back. "And I know just what I'm gonna hit you with." He pulled out his wand and leaned down close to Mary's ear. "Imperio."

When Mary came to in the Hospital Wing, she was surrounded by her friends, and their friends, and most of the staff. Relief washed over all who were standing there, a wave crashing down and replacing the fear that had obviously been there. Soon, the faces were smiling and laughing, a hard switch from the somber and solemn faces just moments ago. Even Headmaster Dumbledore was in attendance, his blue eyes and plum hat twinkling merrily. Everything had turned out fine, in the end.

Except for Mary.

While everyone else was smiling and laughing and joking with one another, Mary sat on the bed, nodding occasionally when asked something. She was staring at her legs, maybe sometimes her arms, but generally she stared away from people.

Lily Evans, one Mary's dorm mates, was telling her about how worried James Potter had been when he'd heard, but Mary barely even heard her. Normally, Mary would have been barely a step away from hysterical when James Potter came up in conversation, but now it was all she could do to keep her eyes focused on anything. Nothing anyone was saying seemed important at all. Nothing had any color to it anymore.

Finally, everyone filed out of the Wing, shooed out by Madame Pomfrey, leaving Mary in blessed silence. The matronly nurse was saying something about staying the next few nights, just to make sure there were no lasting effects from Mulciber's curse. Mary could not even bring herself to feel disappointed in her lack of freedom. Sitting there on the bed, she supposed, was just as swell as going to class or eating in the Great Hall. Better even, considering there would be no chance for a repeat performance by Mulciber or any of his goons while she was in bed.

"Will he get expelled?" came Mary's voice, cutting off the nurse. Her voice, normally lilting and cheery, was harsh and raspy from lack of use.

Madame Pomfrey was taken aback, she was not used to being interrupted by students. "Ah, um, that is to say, Miss MacDonald, I should very much think so." She smiled kindly. "I have verified that he used the Imperius Curse on you. Do you know that curse?"

Mary finally looked up and shook her head.

"Well, it's a particularly nasty curse that takes over its target completely." Madame Pomfrey's smile faltered. "As such, the Ministry has deemed it Unforgivable. The boy should be going to Azkaban for a long time."

Mary surprised herself as a sudden surge of savage joy poured through her.

Madame Pomfrey grew serious. "Miss MacDonald, I'm terribly sorry, but I have to ask if you remember anything that happened while you were under the influence of Mulciber's curse."

The joy vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving Mary feeling sick and empty. "I, I don't. Sorry." Her voice threatened to break, but held together.

Madame Pomfrey looked sadly down at her clipboard and nodded. "I understand. If you remember anything, please let me know."

Mary nodded absently, her eyes now staring at the off-white cover on her bed. The nurse walked towards her office, but turned when she reached the door. "Try and sleep, dear," she said, comfort infusing her voice, "It'll help."

Mary shrugged. It didn't seem like anything would help.

In the passing days and months, Mary found that she had been wrong. Time helped. Routine helped. Silent company helped. She also found that several things did not help. Sleeping did not help as her dreams were chock full of Mulciber. Eating did not help as she knew that Mulciber was always in the same Great Hall as she was. And Lily Evans did not help.

As soon as she was back from the Hospital Wing, Lily had immediately taken Mary in tow wherever she went. This would not have been so bad had Lily simply walked in silence. However, Lily seemed to have almost a pathological need to talk. Whether it was about Charms Class, Witch Weekly, or James Bloody Potter, there was hardly a moment in Mary's new life that did not have Lily Evans jabbering on about something or other.

The months passed and OWLs came and went. Mary did well enough, she suspected. The tests weren't too different from previous final exams and she had always done well on those. The haze that Mary had been experiencing since leaving the Hospital Wing finally began to take its toll on her friends. One by one, they dwindled from her side, making quiet comments about how she had changed since the Incident and how quiet she was now. While Mary had never considered herself a chatterbox before, she did agree that she was quieter now.

Things just didn't seem as important anymore. Even a thrilling tale of Snivellus Snape getting hung out to dry like a piece of old laundry failed to even get a laugh from Mary. Her sense of Right was failing her. The story only brought the strange and unwelcome feeling of pity for the poor grease bat. Mary tried quietly reaching out to the boy, but he called her a Mudblood and threatened to "pull a Mulciber" on her.

At last, the Hogwarts Express was at Hogsmeade Station and it was time for summer vacation. Mary had long since packed her belongings and was waiting alone for the horseless carriage to arrive when Lily Evans walked up behind her. After a bit of banter, meaning Lily talked about the struggles of packing for fifteen minutes, the carriage was there and the two witches got on. Mary was able to interject a little during the ride to the station, asking how Lily and James were getting on. The two had been seeing more and more of each other since the incident with Snape.

Lily had immediately launched into a long diatribe about James Potter that put all of her other soliloquies to shame. Mary partially listened with a sort of morbid curiosity, utterly amazed that anyone could talk that much about a single topic. Lily was still talking when they boarded the scarlet train and found seats in an empty compartment. Finally, when the sweets cart came by for the first time, did Lily think to ask if Mary's crush on James was done or not.

Mary assured her that it definitely was.

The rest of the ride consisted of Lily and Mary getting a head start on their homework for the summer. Mary intended to find a job and Lily apparently had a sister who would raise all sorts of hell if she found the magical homework. For all she prattled on, Lily Evans was quite good at magic, and the two witches finished nearly all of their homework by the time the train arrived at King's Cross.

As they were standing in the bustling station, waiting for their respective parents, Lily surprised Mary by asking if she wanted to come over during the summer sometime. She explained that she would be dreadfully bored as the only person at her house would be her sister. A bit taken aback, Mary agreed to visit hesitantly, but with more vigor as Lily pushed her. Not long after that, Mary's parents arrived and she left, smiling and waving over her shoulder at Lily.