Title: Grey

Summary: In a world of black and white, Blaise is grey.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything HP related.

A/N: I know I said I would be finishing other stories first but this just popped into my head and I had to write it. Afraid I would forget about the story if I didn't upload, I decided to post it here. Updates for this story might take a while though!

Please read:

I decided to write this story after I read HBP, yet Blaise is a girl in this fic. I have never written a girl!blaise before and even though it now goes against canon, I couldn't resist. This story is loosely based on the movie Mr and Mrs Smith. That's all I'm going to tell you.

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Friends.

They had promised each other. They would always be friends. They'd be there for one another, able to share their darkest secrets. Nothing would ever come between them.

Nothing.

People had always wondered about the nature of their friendship. Was it really just platonic? Could any friendship between a boy and a girl be just that – friendship. Every Slytherin in Hogwarts had believed they would end up as a couple. Blonde Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts Prince, and the mysterious raven-haired Blaise Zabini. Many boys were jealous. Blaise was well liked, she was beautiful, yet she paid attention to only one. Draco, in return, spent most of his time with Blaise, though his eyes were always wandering to other girls. She did not mind, or she pretended not to mind; like she pretended to be just friends.

She had been pretending that for years, until the day of their graduation came and she could finally breathe again. Things would be easier now. She would not have to face him every day of the week. She would not have to feel guilty about her betrayal. About her lies. Her promise had been an empty one. She could not tell him. Never. He would not understand, or he would, and she didn't know what was worse.

The truth was, Blaise was a Death Eater. She had expected Draco to be one too, yet he had never spoken of it. And she, feeling ashamed, had never either. If he truly were to be a Death Eater, she could not tell him. It would endanger her life. That's what she kept telling herself even though she knew he would never betray her trust.

She did not want to be a Death Eater. She had never wanted to be one. Her parents were, and silently she had felt ashamed of it. She had longed for the day Hogwarts released her, for then she could finally be distanced from her parents. She could get her own job, her own life, and she would no longer need to stay at home. She had conveniently tried to forget her 17th birthday. The day she would finally become a grown up. The day the Dark Lord could claim her.

And he had. Her father had forced her to go to a meeting with him. She had obliged, not wanting more rows in their already pitiful holiday. The moment he had let go of her arm, after apparating, she had wanted to run away. There he had been. The Dark Lord. It had made her nauseous. He was...disgusting. Her father had grabbed her left arm again, and had not released her until it had been done. She had been branded. She was his now. And she had never felt more miserable.

In time the feeling faded, but she made sure never to speak a word of it to anyone. She was forbidden to tell anyone, for the identity of all Death Eaters should remain a secret, but she wouldn't have told people even if she were allowed to. Some did. Crabbe. Goyle. They were so proud, boasting about how the Dark Mark had made them special. She was glad for the masks they wore. Glad that nobody would ever find out.

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Six years had passed since that dreadful year. Six years in which she had ignored the Dark Mark as well as she could, trying to find her way in a world that was not hers. She worked as a Muggle. In a Muggle hospital. Oh she knew her father disapproved. That was part of the reason she worked there. She kept telling them, however, that she was simply biding her time. That, if for some reason the Dark Lord would fall and Death Eaters would get punished, she would be able to continue his work. Someone would have to. After all, it was a noble cause.

She was about to head to work when she heard a crack in the living room. It looked like someone had just apparated into her house. Curious to see which wizard wanted a word with her, she walked inside.

Review please!

A/N: I know this is a mean place to end the chapter, with no promise of an update coming soon, but it is just a prologue. If I have any time and inspiration, I will update this story faster than some others. So, if you are interested in this story, please leave a review!