Another fairly short one, I'm afraid. But also, without a doubt, a very IMPORTANT one.

Max had been outside far too long to count by now. She didn't want to go back inside the castle until she had the answers to questions she wasn't even sure existed. If she was to ever return to the normal life of a Slytherin she needed to be rooted in facts, sure of everything she was doing. There would be no more fighting, no more confusion, not more anything without a purpose.

There was a rustle in the trees. Max froze. Somebody was there.

"Dammit!" she hissed, getting up. Maybe she'd have to go back sooner than planned.

"Maxwell," a voice said. Max stopped her moving.

"Father?" she asked, not turning to face him. "What are you doing here?"

"Master sent me," he said. "Though I am surprised to find you so easily. Good, though, to not have to bother with McGonagall."

"Master?"

"Our master, Maxwell, The Dark Lord."

"What does he want?" Max asked after a moment of silence. Her brain was reeling faster and faster, adrenaline rising up from the pits of her body. The master had a message for her, something important. This sent fear jolting through her for it could mean one of two things. First she could be punished, a fate Max had been expecting anyway, though certainly not wanting this early on.

Or, he could want something from her.

"He has a mission for you."

"Oh, does he? What would that be?" Max asked, amusement in her voice. She would play it cool with her father, pushing away the excitement that threatened to leak out her voice. It was childish, how happy she felt, but had this not been what she was just asking for? Fate was on her side!

"I've told him you have been friends with the boy-"

"What boy?" Max asked, turning to face her father.

"The Potter boy," her father said, glaring at her for interrupting.

"Why did you tell him that?" Max asked, raising her voice. That was supposed to be a secret. It was a mistake to let her father know, especially if he was going to run off telling people.

"Because you are his follower and he wants Potter dead," the words came out like venom, each one hitting Max hard.

"So I'm to kill him?" Max asked, offended. She wasn't sure if she could do that. Sure, they were enemies now but murderous intentions did not run strong in Max's veins, even towards those she hated.

"No, of course not. In fact, you are to do the exact opposite," Nate Connors said, a twisted smile on his face.

"What?" Max asked.

"You two were once friends, no?"

"Yes, father, but we aren't now. I don't talk to him unless it is ridicule. I mean, once I was taught right.

"Wait. How did you find out about him?" Max questioned, raising an eyebrow, hate etched on every line of her face.

"You spoke highly of a friend from school during your summer before Hogwarts. It was only necessary to pry into your mind and find out who he was. At least it wasn't some muggle, but really, you can do much better," Nate said, glaring.

"Why do you think we aren't friends anymore?" Max whispered, hiding the pain in her voice with ease.

"But you were, and now I, or rather, The Dark Lord, ask you to rekindle this friendship."

"But why?" Max yelled, throwing her hands up.

"He used to trust you. Make him trust you again. Then you will feed our master information about Potter. Eventually we will have enough to kill him, possibly using you as bait," Nate suggested, snickering.

"He already knows who I serve. He won't trust me," Max protested. This was certainly the strangest thing she had ever heard. It was impossible, really. Harry didn't even remember the friendship they'd shared. There was no way to make him befriend her now, after so much hate had ran through them

"Don't make excuses. You're a smart girl. You will figure something out," her father said.

"Of course."

"I'm proud of you. At first I thought you were much to like your mother, but now I see where your true loyalties lie," Max's father said with a smile. She was surprised. He had never been proud of her before, or spoken of her mother, for that matter.

"Thank you," she said truthfully as she nodded.

"I'll be taking my leave now. The Dark Lord is gracious. You have until the end of the year to gather enough information to kill him," with that Nate Connors left, leaving Max alone once more. Well, it looks like she got her wish. Somehow it didn't seem as glamorous as it did before, though.