*Insert loud squealing*
IT'S HERE! The first chapter I envisioned of this fic and one of the most important ones in the whole story is finally here!
It's longer than my usual, but I decided against cropping it and wanted to give you the whole thing at once. I hope you like it as much as I do!

The tiniest trigger warning for a reference to self-harm.
Without further ado... The Halloween Ball.

Draco went back to his dorm to find Theo and Blaise lying on the floor while wearing their finest robes. He stifled a laugh at the sight, thinking morosely about what their mothers would say about such travesty.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourselves!" he could imagine his mother's displeasure clearly in his mind's eye; the way her tongue venomously lashed out at him without misplacing a single hair on her head ingrained in his memory. "Three young heirs to such noble families cannot be playing with a cat on the floor!"

Well, at least she used to be like that in front of his father. Their unspoken agreement was that Draco got to be a child whenever he wasn't around. In his absence, Narcissa would gladly join him in his mischief. When Lucius was home, though, they could never be seen like that. "You're coddling him too much," he'd always say, his lip curled in disgust. So in order for Draco to be at least somewhat sane, they went with the charade until his father was taken to Azkaban — for good.

He supposed he should owl her more. He missed her dearly, but still felt shame wash over him whenever he remembered how he had allowed himself to be played like a simple pawn in a game that was bigger than himself or his family.

What if he'd never taken the Mark? What if he'd just taken his mother and ran to the Order, like Granger had said all those years ago?

The bad memories started flowing. They always did, nevermind where he was or what time it was. They just did, in varying stages of clarity and producing various degrees of despair.

"Draco?"

"They're going to kill you, Granger."

"No, they won't! I'm not- "

Inhale. Exhale. Let the cold seep in.

"I miss you."

"You clean up well," Draco exclaimed, his mouth lifting in a barely-there smile. It was their usual joke whenever they wore fancy robes for whatever event was going on at the moment. He forced himself to pay attention to his present, instead of stumbling back arse-first into the past.

Blaise was the first to turn his head around at the door, as Theo was quite engrossed in combing Lilith's hair. "And you are a disgrace," he spat back, pretending to eye him distastefully. "All sweaty and exhausted, like some kind of commoner."

Draco rolled his eyes before heading straight to the shower. "Oh, woe is me!" He joked back at him. "I actually did something instead of sitting on a desk to count the galleons in my family vault. How could I live with myself now?"

The sound of the bathroom door closing was echoed by full-on belly laughter from the sitting room.

The hot water on his skin was soothing and inviting, helping him chase all the bad memories away. He had actually had fun as he worked on the incantations. It was still obscenely awkward to be around one of the people he'd bullied the most and with the woman who'd been locked in his bloody dungeon, but he felt like they had a good time together. Or at least, he fervently clung onto that feeling.

The cuts on his arm were starting to scab recently. He'd been able to stop for two weeks, but it felt like a lifetime. Whenever he felt like grabbing his wand and inflicting yet another scar, he thought about Lilith.

Getting dressed for a school ball brought back so many memories from Fourth Year... from the Tournament, the World Cup, Krum… and Granger. Of course, his fucking brain would take him back to Granger. It always went back to her.

He sighed, barely admiring his form in front of the mirror. He had undoubtedly been sleeping better and eating more, so he looked far healthier than he had in years. His hair was longer, almost brushing his shoulders in a disheveled way. Draco frowned, wondering why he hadn't noticed it before. The thought of looking even more similar to Lucius in any way, shape or form had him shuddering. He decided he'd get his hair cut as soon as possible.

He wanted to be away from mirrors, hopefully for the rest of his life. Perhaps if he did, his reflection would never be there to remind him of his father.

"Drake! Look what we've got!" Theo's sing-song voice beckoned him back to the present, interrupting his depressing inner-monologue. He decided to go, wondering what would have Theo in such a great mood.

What was waiting for him, however, was not what he had expected.

Lilith was sitting in front of the fire, a perfect picture of poise and regality. Her fur had been thoroughly brushed and detangled — most likely Theo's doing —, and it shone beautifully, complimenting her overall image. The collar around her neck had been replaced by the finest purple silk money could buy, and it had been tied with a neat ribbon on the side. In the front, her recently-polished plaque glinted in the light of the setting sun.

"Hello, gorgeous," he cooed at Lilith with a smile, bending down to take her into his arms. "What did these ugly fuckers do to you, huh?"

"I will not tolerate this level of disrespect" Theo scoffed indignantly. "For your information, it was she who wanted to go."

"As if," Draco scowled, lovingly stroking his cat's chin. "Cat's don't talk."

"Theo just asked her if she wanted to go and she acted like she did. Couldn't stop yowling until we agreed to beautify her" Blaise unsuccessfully restrained a guffaw, clearing his throat quickly. His eyes kept flickering between Draco and Theo, waiting for the hexes to spark as they usually did when bickering broke between them.

"Excuse you, she's the most beautiful cat in the world" Draco spat out, unamused. Lilith had multiple ways to communicate with them, especially when she was hungry or angry, but she'd never done so for something like getting groomed. Perhaps he hadn't been taking the best care of her, after all.

"Excuse you, Drakey, her hair was a mess. This princess won't even bathe herself and you don't brush her more than once a week, which should be illegal, by the way. Such a terrible owner, you a-" Theo's soulful tirade was interrupted by a well-aimed stinging hex to the ear, which brought on a loud yelp from the bespectacled man. "You sodding prick!"

Blaise was in hysterics, clutching his stomach as Draco disinterestedly kissed Lilith's forehead. She shifted a bit in his arms, as if she were uncomfortable by the gesture, but didn't escape his hold. "Is Theo telling the truth, girl? Do you want to chaperone the dance with me?"

Draco had no interest whatsoever in dancing. In fact, he was going because he had to. The school was short on staff, so they needed the older students to make sure nothing would go amiss. He offered at once for the first shift, relieved at the prospect of spending no more than a couple of hours with his friends and then swiftly going back to the safety of his room.

Lilith wiggled away from Draco in response to his question, darting to the door. To everyone's surprise, the portrait let her out as soon as she came closer.

"That blasted chicken!" Blaise cursed, annoyed at Fawkes. Sure, it was one thing to let humans in or out, especially when they got to come and go as they pleased, but letting Lilith move around the castle was dangerous. She had Draco's name on her tag, which made her a target for unscrupulous students.

He huffed along with Draco, hurrying along behind her after an ironing charm to his and Theo's robes. "We'll get her, you go get Lovegood" he called to a reddened Theo, finding a twin to his mischievous smirk on Draco's visage.

The job had been much easier than he thought. Students trickled on slow waves for the first hour or so, keeping mainly to the edges of the dancefloor. They spent their time socialising, having alcohol-free punch and dodging the odd decorative bat or two. He was able to spend most of that hour sitting down in a corner, scrutinising the room with Blaise and Lilith beside him, the latter being thoroughly dazed by the floating pumpkin lanterns. Both friends were engaged in amicable conversation, a couple of wallflowers to the rest of the school. Lilith attracted a couple of curious stares, but nobody — thank Merlin — had approached them.

"Keep an eye on Finnegan, Blaise" Draco grunted when he saw Seamus come inside, not trusting him to be free of several flasks of hard liquor. Fortunately, the refreshments were conveniently placed no more than three meters away, making anybody's task of spiking the drinks much harder.

Lilith gracefully sprung onto his lap, already in the mood for cuddles. He noticed her head going side to side as his leg bounced up and down to the rhythm of the music, which had gradually increased both in tempo and volume. For a moment, he forgot himself and gave her a huge smile without minding who could see. "Do you like this song, Lil?" he asked, and she kneaded his trousers in response.

"Look who got dragged to the dancefloor!" Blaise exclaimed, pointing discreetly at Theo and Luna on the other side of the room. It was hilarious seeing how he struggled with his upbringing, striving for a more traditional dance as he tried to match whatever Lovegood was doing. Sometimes, she flailed her arms around as she twisted and turned to the music. Other times, she did her best to follow Theo as he tried to engage with her, which ended up in an endearing mess. The people around them stared, but Theo took it in stride. By the time three songs had passed, both of them were on their own little world, dancing at the beat of their personal drums with identical smiles on their faces.

Draco eyed his best friend, his brother, with fondness. He and Blaise knew that Theo'd had endured several hardships growing up, with a violent father and a deceased mother. Sometimes, they faced similar demons, but he'd seemed to find a companion in Lovegood. He hoped they got together soon, and by the looks on their faces, a first kiss was due that very night.

It all brought back so many memories. The music, the dancing… His princess in periwinkle blue. It was a far less fancy affair than the Yule Ball, yet the buzz of happiness in the air felt just like that day. Fuck, even Pansy was sulking in the corner with Daphne, all sour in the face.

"Right, mate. Your time is up. I don't suppose you'll have a dance with me?" Blaise grinned at the blond, giving him his most charming smile. Draco chuckled, placing Lilith gingerly on the floor.

"Nah, thanks. I've had enough dances for a while, I think. Besides… the only person I'd dance with is not here."

"Meet you at breakfast?"

"Sure. Come, Lil" he beckoned his one of a kind feline, walking along the walls to avoid people stumbling into her. He wasn't in a great mood, but he didn't feel like hexing someone, either.

The music gradually dimmed as they lazily made their way to the sixth floor, where their room was located. Lilith walked next to him, ever the faithful, intelligent pet, making eye contact every once in a while. She really did look more beautiful than ever, and he promised he'd brush her every day from then on. Perhaps he'd buy more silk ribbons for her, so that she could have a wider array of colours to choose from.

He paused for a second next to a window as he scanned the grounds below. The edge of the Forbidden Forest swayed rhythmically to the beat of the autumn wind. The Whomping Willow swatted a bird that dared to fly too close to it, and the stars twinkled on the inky night above. He spotted the constellation that gave birth to his name, wondering for the thousandth time… What if he had been born in a different family? What if he'd had another father, or different values?

What if he had made the better choice?

All of a sudden, he heard Lilith hissing.

He barely had time to ask her what was wrong when he spotted the wretched figure of Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris. Evidently, Lilith remembered her as well, for she darted upstairs and was gone in a flash.

Draco scowled, breaking into a run behind her for the second time on the same night, not without sending Mrs. Norris a quick Confundus for good measure. He spotted the end of Lilith's puffed up tail turning the corner. Then, around another one. Then, going up a flight of stairs… He was so focused on getting her to safety that he ignored his body shuddering when it recognised the hallway before his mind could catch up.

It didn't register where he was until he saw her admiring the door opposite a tapestry he'd rather forget — Barnabas the Barmy.

It couldn't be true, right? It had been destroyed, swallowed by Fiendfyre. Surely, he must've been dreaming? He followed her, in a daze, as Lilith hesitantly entered the room that had opened its door to her.

The Room of Requirement was dark, lit only by small blue flames dancing in the torches. There was no sound apart from the echo of his shoes on the stone. He walked, like a man possessed, until he reached the back of the room.

Placed against the wall was an ornate mirror with clawed feet and a golden frame. The closer he got to it, the stronger he felt the humming of magic in his blood. It wasn't, by any chance, an ordinary mirror. Of this he was certain.

He had no idea how long he'd been standing there, trying to examine the strange inscription on the frame. It felt both like a second and a year when, after a flash of purple magic behind him, he heard a voice he thought he would never be able to hear again in his life.

"Malfoy?"

Reflected in the glass, looking directly at him, was a flustered Hermione Granger.