This chapter is set just over two months after the previous one. Sorry for the huge time jump but I didn't want to include too many more filler chapters.

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It was midnight. Stars painted the black canvas of the cloudless night sky and the moon hung bright over Hogwarts. Katerina Blair was sat at the top of the Astronomy Tower, her legs pulled close to her chest, staring down over the Lake, the surface of which twinkled in the starlight.

"Can't sleep?"

She did not look around, she did not say anything. Over her last three weeks at Hogwarts, she had learned that if she just ignored Draco Malfoy, he would eventually leave her alone.

Footsteps echoed across the Astronomy Tower and Draco sat himself next to Katerina.

"What do you want?" she asked, not taking her eyes away from the Lake.

Draco shrugged. "Nothing."

"Then why are you here?"

It took Draco about a minute to respond, and when he did, Katie received an answer that she was not expecting.

"I took you up here one night in fourth year, remember?" Draco said.

Katie racked her brain and discovered a memory that she did not even know she had. On the first night of their fourth year of school, Katie was upset because her father had died and Leo and her mother were missing, so Draco took her up to the top of the Astronomy Tower so she could get away from the large crowds in the school below.

This was one of the few times that Katerina saw the real Draco. She had said it before and she would say it again; Draco Malfoy was nothing like his father.

"I was upset about my dad." Katie mumbled.

"And worried about your brother."

"And then Filch caught us." Katie added with a chuckle, smiling as she reminisced on the good times before Voldemort had returned and wreaked havoc on the world.

"You know," Draco began, and his voice was oddly much quieter than it had been moments before. "That night, I.. I really wanted to kiss you."

"But you didn't." Katie noted.

Draco shook his head. "No, I didn't."

For the first time since Draco had sat down beside her, Katie looked at him and she frowned. He did not look any better than he had when they first reunited at Malfoy Manor all those weeks ago. Maybe the moonlight was exaggerating his features, but he seemed so pale and sleepless that he almost appeared dead.

"Why didn't you?" Katie asked.

Draco started fumbling with the hem of his sleeve, avoiding Katie's eyes.

"I didn't think you'd want me to."

Katie gazed back out at the stars. "I always made excuses for you," she said. "I always tried so hard to convince Harry, Ron and Hermione that, deep down, you were a good person."

Draco let out a heavy sigh of dismay. "I know." he mumbled.

Without thinking about it, without stopping to contemplate her decision, Katie took Draco's hand, which seemed to surprise him because his head snapped up and he dared to look the girl in the eyes.

"It's not the fact that you tried to kill Dumbledore," Katie said, shaking her head. "It's the fact that, all year, you were plotting it behind my back. The whole time I was falling for you, you were hiding this huge secret."

"I know," Draco shuffled closer to her. His eyes were welling with tears. "I messed up, Rina, and I'll feel guilty about it for the rest of my life."

Katie chewed her lip. "You promised me, Draco," her voice cracked. "You promised me you wouldn't join him. You promised me you hadn't--"

"Katerina," Draco cut her off. "I'm sorry, I really am, and I know now that, no matter how many times I apologise, you won't forgive me."

Katie could feel herself choking up. She drew a deep, shaky breath, willing her tears to stay back for another few seconds. She broke her gaze away from Draco's and stared down at the floor.

"But I'm being hypocritical. I've hidden secrets from you too."

Draco shook his head quickly. "That doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?" Katerina croaked. Draco gave her a despairing look.

"What did you do, Rina?" he asked, and Katie could hear the sorrow in his voice, almost as if he was afraid of the answer he would receive.

"I..." she hesitated. "I kissed Harry."

Draco was silent for many moments in which Katie could hear nothing put the pounding of her own blood in her ears.

"Like, three years ago, or?" he said at last.

"Three months ago," Katie would not look him in the eyes, she couldn't stand to see him hurt. "It was after You-Know-Who planted the false vision of him torturing you in my head. Harry didn't want me to leave, he was trying to get me to stay, and I don't know what came over me, but I kissed him."

Draco squeezed her hand tighter, an action of affection that Katie was not expecting in the slightest. "But you still came back to me," he said softly. "Even after everything I did to you, you were still willing to risk your life to save me."

Katie did not speak another word. She felt like she would burst into tears if she opened her mouth.

"But there's something I need to ask," Draco moved closer to her yet again. Katie could tell by the tone of his voice that he was reluctant, once again fearing the pending response. "When you kissed him, did you -- did it feel right?"

Draco cringed at his own strange wording of the question, but Katie knew what he was asking, and, as though someone had suddenly struck her upside the head, knocking some sense into her, she knew her answer. It was definite and clear, as though illuminated by a thousand glowing candles.

Once more, she turned her head to face Draco, and for the first time since their departure on the night of Dumbledore's death, she looked at him the way she did on the Quidditch pitch, a million years ago, when he kissed her. She placed her trembling hands on either side of his face, cupping his cheeks, and his breath hitched.

"It's you, Draco," she whispered. "It's always you."

Apparently this was the invitation that Draco had been waiting for. Completely disregarding the awkward position in which they were sat on the floor, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and he kissed her, and it was blissful.

He was the only thing in the world, Draco Malfoy, and everything else seemed to melt away as the pair held each other.

The world around them was crumbling; outside the Hogwarts walls, Voldemort was probably torturing someone as they kissed, or perhaps the Death Eaters were destroying another street, but none of that mattered because Katerina Blair and Draco Malfoy had found each other again.

"I missed this." Draco breathed, pulling away.

Katie wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close.

"I missed you." she said.

***

"Where are we going?" Draco asked, trying to stifle his laughter.

Katerina was gripping his hand and dragging him down the seventh floor corridor. Outside the windows, the sun was setting, painting bands of orange and purple across the sky. The hallways were practically empty — Katie and Draco only saw a few people who were returning to their common rooms for the night.

"You've already asked me that seven times."

No one knew that Katerina Blair and Draco Malfoy had kissed on top of the Astronomy Tower two days ago. The pair had not gotten the chance to spend any time alone since then, but Ginny Weasley noticed how Katie and Draco exchanged smiles when they passed each other in the hallways, which was an extinct sight ever since Draco tried to kill Dumbledore.

At long last, Katie came to a halt in front of a blank stretch of wall, which was across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and his tap-dancing trolls.

"The Room of Requirement?" Draco asked, arching an eyebrow.

Katie paced in front of the blank wall three times and then a door appeared in the stone. Taking Draco's hand again, she pushed the door open and was instantly met with the loud and lively chatter of Dumbledore's Army.

Katie felt Draco's grip on her hand tighten when he realised where she had brought him. He turned to try and leave, but people had already begun to notice him and silence was falling. Everyone — Ginny and Neville included — glared at Katie and Draco. Katie smiled nervously.

"Uhm — hi." she began uncertainly.

"Get him out," Ginny barked. "Now."

Katie frowned and took one step forward. "Listen, Gin, I trust him—"

"And what happened the last time you trusted him, Katie?" Ginny snapped. Katie opened her mouth to argue but could not conjure a valid response and closed her mouth again.

"What are we going to do with him?" Lavender Brown said. "Now he's seen where we train, he knows that we've reformed the DA."

"I say we wipe his memory." Zacharias Smith, perhaps Katie's least favourite person at Hogwarts, suggested loudly. Several people cheered in agreement. Katie stepped in front of Draco, shielding him.

"No," she said firmly, scowling in Smith's direction. "You'll have to go through me first, and I don't really fancy hurting any of you."

Zacharias snorted. "Wow, I'm so scared." he mocked, making his friend group, as well as a few others, chortle. Katie's scowl only hardened.

"You better watch it, Smith," she bit. "You saw what I did to Professor Carrow, and there's more where that came from."

For the briefest of moments, a sliver of fear flashed through Smith's eyes. A few people bowed their heads together and started muttering incoherently, but Katie was fairly certain she knew what they were talking about — the prospect of her being a Death Eater.

Parvati Patil confirmed her suspicions.

"You are a Death Eater!" she shrieked. "You're a spy for You-Know-Who! Why else would you go out with him again?" Parvati glowered at Draco with utmost contempt.

Katie was about to respond, probably by shouting, when Draco put a hand across her torso and gently pushed her behind him. As Draco stepped forwards, everyone drew their wands, holding them aloft. Draco gulped before speaking, and when he did speak, his voice was slightly higher than it usually was.

"Rina's not a Death Eater," he started, reaching out for his sleeve. Katerina grabbed his arm to stop him but he smiled reassuringly and nodded. Reluctantly, she let go, and he rolled up his sleeve, revealing the intelligible Dark Mark that was burned on his forearm. "But I am. Rina has suffered at the hands of You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters just as much, if not more than all of you. She lost her family to the Death Eaters, and you have no idea what she went through over Christmas; I know you have no reason to trust me, but if Katerina can forgive me after all of that, why can't you at least try?"

All eyes were either staring fixedly at the floor or on Draco's face, which was pale and sunken. Ginny was the first to lower her wand, although her glare still stood firmly.

"One wrong move, Malfoy, and I'll have your head." she warned darkly.

Draco smiled unsurely. "You got it, Weaslette."

Ginny did not argue the matter with Katie any further, although she did shoot Draco sceptical looks anytime she saw him in the corridors. The day before the Hogwarts students were due to return home for the Easter holidays, Draco had been making his way back from Potions class when someone seized the sleeve of his cloak, slapped their hand over his mouth to stop him from crying for help, and pulled him into a nearby broom cupboard.

Draco heard the lock click shut and a girl's voice muttered, "Lumos!"

Squinting through the sudden harsh light, Draco could make out the stony face of Ginny Weasley, whose eyes were narrowed so much that Draco was sure they would never open again. Her red hair was glittering mysteriously in the blue glow emitting from her wand and her lips were pursed. Before Draco could demand answers as to why she had pulled him into the cupboard, Ginny started speaking.

"Let me make this simple, Malfoy," she said darkly, stepping closer to Draco and holding her wand in his face threateningly. "If you hurt her again, if you so much as look at her the wrong way, you'll wish You-Know-Who had got hold of you instead of me."

"Weasley, I..." Draco stammered as his mouth went dry. He had not planned on getting browbeat when he got out of bed that morning. "I would never—"

"You said that last time and look what happened," Ginny pressed her wand against his throat. "I don't trust you, Malfoy, not even in the slightest. I don't care if she's forgiven you — I haven't. I look at you and all I see is a traitor."

Draco gulped. He was stunned into silence. Never in his life could he recall feeling so threatened, excluding the few times he had been in the presence of Lord Voldemort, and the fact that Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley's little sister, was the cause of his fear made him feel quite ashamed of himself.

"Do I make myself clear?" Ginny demanded fiercely.

All of a sudden, Draco came back to his senses. What was he doing, cowering like this? It was just the Weaslette, after all.

Draco reached into his pocket for his wand but his heart missed a beat when he couldn't seem to find it. Smirking, Ginny raised her presumably free hand to reveal that she was holding a second wand — Draco's wand. Somehow she had slipped it out of his pocket without him noticing. Draco's mouth fell open in surprise, but he hastily snapped it shut and scowled at the Gryffindor.

"Give it back." Draco ordered. He tried to snatch his wand back but Ginny pulled it from his reach.

"Swear that you won't break her again." Ginny told him.

Draco snorted and rolled his eyes. "What are you going to do, Weasley? Going to have me make the Unbreakable Vow?"

Draco's cocky grin quickly melted away when he saw that Ginny's face was as dour as ever.

"Don't tempt me."

With that being said, Ginny handed Draco back his wand and he left the broom cupboard at the speed of light. He sped off down the corridor, throwing nervous glances over his shoulder every few paces to ensure that Weasley wasn't following him, and feeling embarrassed that he was so afraid of her. Everyone at Hogwarts knew about Ginny Weasley's Bat-Bogey Hex and no one really fancied being on the receiving end of the spell. Not to mention her deep eyes that seemed to flame more fiercely than her hair when she was angry.

Katie was waiting for Draco outside the door of the Slytherin common room. She was leaning against the wall, her arms folded, and smiled when she saw him approaching. She noticed that he looked anxious and was rather jittery.

"You all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just — uh — got the older brother talk," Draco said and elaborated when Katie raised her eyebrows in bemusement. "I got the older brother talk... from your step-sister."

Katie let out a breath of understanding, then she frowned. "She shook you up pretty bad, huh?"

Draco shook his head. "I'm fine. C'mon."

He held out his hand, which Katie (who was still smirking, finding it mildly amusing how much Ginny terrified him) took and he led her up from the dungeons.

Up and up flights of stairs they climbed until, after what felt like a lifetime, they arrived at the familiar blank wall across from Barnabas the Barmy.

"What are we doing here?" Katie inquired.

The corners of Draco's lips twitched as a smile played at his mouth. "You'll see."

The usual black door appeared on the wall only, this time, when Katie pushed it open, she was met not with the DA training room, but with a gigantic room full of clutter. The ceiling was so high that it resembled a cathedral. Enormous piles of broken furniture, books, jewellery, and hundreds of other kinds of knick-knacks and discarded possessions were dotted throughout the vast room, which seemed to span for infinity. Dusty light swept the room.

"What is this place?" Katie breathed, awestruck, yet ever-so-slightly disgusted by the mess.

"The Room of Requirement." Draco replied smugly.

Katie elbowed him in the arm. "Shut up, smart-arse," she rolled her eyes. "I meant what's the deal with all this... stuff?"

She eyed the heaps of jumble.

"Follow me." Draco tugged gently on her hand and she followed him through narrow pathways that were wedged between the piles. Occasionally, an object would tip from the top of its mountain and fall to the floor with a crash, making Katie squeal in fright and Draco titter.

"Here." Draco announced after a few minutes of walking.

The dust in the room was thick and Katie was resisting the urge to cough. Draco had stopped in front of a tall something that was covered in a rich purple cloth; he grabbed the cloth and pulled it to the floor, revealing a magnificent mirror. It was much taller than Katie — probably the height of the classroom ceilings, with an ornate gold frame. It stood on two clawed feet and had an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

Immediately, Katie knew exactly what the Mirror was. Harry had told her about it over six years ago, and how, when he looked into the Mirror, he would see his parents smiling back at him.

"The Mirror of Erised." Katie whispered, running her fingers tenderly along the gold frame. She had not yet stepped in front of it. She was almost scared of what she would see staring back at her.

Draco's eyes widened. "You know what it is?"

Katie nodded. A smile was tugging at her lips. "Look at the inscription." she told him.

Draco furrowed his eyebrows and read the words through narrowed eyes. His face contorted in concentration.

"You don't know what it does?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. Draco shook his head, frowning.

"I found it last year while I was — you know..." Draco trailed off, directing his shameful gaze to the floor. "While I was mending the Vanishing Cabinet... Anyway, I came across this. I've never really understood what it does but I thought I'd show you it because — well — every time I look into the mirror, I see you standing next to me."

Katie blinked slowly. Her heart must have missed at least seven beats at once. "You see... me?"

"Yeah," Draco was slightly worried now, evident by his widening eyes and quavering voice. "Why? Is that a bad thing."

Katerina took one step closer to him, though she still did not step in front of the glass, and together they gazed up at the inscription. Flipped around, the inscription read: ishow no tyo urfac ebu tyo urhe arts desirE.

"I show you not your face," Katie read quietly, "but your heart's desire."

Draco's face was blazing pink. Katie bit her lip to keep from smiling as Draco tried desperately to hide his blushing cheeks from her.

"What — what do you see, then?" Draco quizzed her.

Katie stiffened and gulped. When Harry first told her about the Mirror of Erised, she would have killed to find out what she would see instead of her own reflection. Now, however, as she stood before the mirror, the concept of having such knowledge scared her.

Correction: Katerina Blair was scared of the truth. So many times throughout the course of her life, she had gone searching for the truth, and every time she found it, she wished she had not.

Who killed her father? What happened to Leo and her mother? What was her Boggart? What form does her Patronus take? Who was her biological father?