They snuck in thanks to Neville Longbottom's idiocy of not looking behind him before entering the common room, and the moment they stepped inside, they could immediately tell they didn't belong - for numerous reasons. To begin with, they were dressed drastically different from everyone else. The Gryffindors had invited the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and all three houses were dressed in vibrant, welcoming colours, but the group of Slytherins who had snuck in were repelling that warm energy by dressing themselves in shades of black, and dark green.

And secondly -

"Are they actually playing Taylor Swift?" Lorenzo's voice sounded in disbelief, with Shake It Off playing in the background, and Draco immediately scrunched his face, nauseated by the song choice.

"What the fuck are they thinking?" His snobbish voice snapped as he eyed the extremely red common room distastefully, and running his fingers through his messy blonde hair, skipping the gel after second year when Chloe kept incessantly and annoyingly calling him a slimy fetus. After this dramatic change, Chloe believes how thankful the girls of Hogwarts were for her forcing him to ditch the hair gel.

"I'm not even surprised, honestly." Theo's voice sounded next to them, and he quickly grasped Chloe's wrist and dragged her with him towards the DJ, and he announced to their friends, "It's time to fix this sad excuse of a party."

As he pulled her with him to the back of the Gryffindor common room, all Chloe could do was sweep her gaze across the area, in search of Timothy. Perhaps if she spent less time gazing dazzlingly at the Slytherin boy she was infatuated with, then no one would suspect there was anything between them. None but Draco, of course. Theo reached the DJ, and he snorted the moment he realised that it was none other than Seamus Finnegan.

"So typical." Theodore rolled his eyes. "Move, Finnegan." He nudged the boy out of the way, and Seamus looked awfully offended, but he didn't try to fight him. So much for a brave Gryffindor. Chloe tried not to laugh as the dark haired boy with the intense eyes tapped the stereo with his wand, whispered an incantation under his breath, and an inappropriate song started playing.

Theo smirked at Chloe, who grinned at him almost shyly. He was too beautiful, Chloe wasn't sure how she should even act around him sometimes. The duo met with the rest of their group shortly, and by then, everyone had clocked their presence from the song, and they were giving them deadly glares.

Lorenzo rolled his eyes. "Look, we come in peace. We even brought Fire Whiskey as a peace offering instead of your crappy punch." He lifted two bottles of the alcoholic beverage, along with Pansy, who was carrying two of her own.

Everyone either grunted and looked away, or kept glaring at the intruders anyway, but Lorenzo shot Chloe a wink, moving towards the drinks tables to spike the punch and pour it into some red cups, without a care in the world. Chloe smiled at her friend, and as she searched for Timothy while standing next to Pansy, Lyra and Theo, a hand tapped her shoulder, and she turned around.

Grinning at Daisy Vane, she allowed the Ravenclaw girl to pull her away from her Slytherin friends. Lorenzo came back with two cups of vodka martinis he'd made himself instead of the sad excuse of punch the Gryffindors had, and his face fell at the absence of Chloe.

"Where'd she run off to?" He asked his friends, and Theo nodded towards a group of girls and boys in response, a bitter look on his face that he attempted to mask. Lorenzo followed his gaze, and he clenched his jaw. She was surrounded with her traitorous friend group, including Timothy.

Pansy snatched the vodka martini off Enzo's hands and winked at him. "Thanks, love."

He rolled his eyes and glared with Draco. "When is she going to realise that hanging out with them is a waste of time?"

Draco shrugged. "When she gets a dangerous wake up call."

This caught Pansy's attention. "Draco? What are you playing at now?"

Draco shook his head and pushed past them in annoyance to the drinks table. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

It was one thing to play around with the Slytherin boys, but affiliating yourself with a Gryffindor was something entirely different. Draco couldn't understand how Chloe's survived this long through doing the most foolish things, and he along with his friends always had to clean up after her messes - no questions asked. He was starting to get sick of it.

A new song started playing off the playlist Theo had incorporated, and he gasped, clutching Pansy's wrists and pulling her closer. "I need to dance to this, Pans. Come on."

Pansy giggled and placed an arm on his shoulder as his snaked their way around her waist. Enzo lingered behind next to Lyra, sipping on his drink, and watched Draco bully Neville in the distance.

Lyra shuffled hesitantly in her spot next to the boy she was helplessly besotted with, before she asked quietly, "Would you like to dance?"

Lorenzo gazed down at her in slight surprise, a smirk forming on his suggestively seductive facial expression, and he teasingly asked, "to this wildly inappropriate song? I didn't take you as the type of girl to dance to this, Ly."

Lyra blushed furiously at his teasing tone and the intense gaze he was fixating on her, and she subconsciously took a step backwards, stammering, "I - I'm not! I just - I -"

Right when the beat dropped, Lorenzo took a step forward towards her, and placed his hands firmly on her waist, pulling her closer to his chest. Smirking down at her, knowing full well the effect he had on her, he stated, "Come on, let's dance."

"I see you made it." Timothy smiled at Chloe warmly, and she blushed shyly. "Although, I didn't exactly invite you, did I?"

Emma Wright rolled her eyes and shoved him roughly by the shoulder and shouted over the music, "She's welcome here any time, you pompous shit."

Timothy laughed and gently touched Chloe's forearm. "I hope you didn't take offense. I was only kidding."

Chloe grinned. "Don't worry, I know."

Arthur smiled knowingly with Daisy, before Daisy suggested, "Hey, Arthur, let's dance." She pulls onto Arthur away from Chloe and Timothy, and drags a clueless Emma with her, who didn't really protest, leaving the two of them alone and painfully awkward.

Timothy smiles gently, and claims, "Although I detest your friends, I must admit - their music taste saved this party."

Chloe laughed sweetly, and nodded, her eyes briefly glancing over to her friends, who were gazing at her already, something that came to her as no surprise, especially when Enzo turned his back on her and grabbed himself all over to pretend he's making out, and Pansy lifted her fist to her mouth to suggest a very foul insinuation between Chloe and Timothy. Chloe bit back another laugh and focused her gaze back onto Timothy.

"Yes, they really are the best when it comes to parties. All of us are."

Timothy raised an eyebrow playfully and placed a brave hand onto her waist to pull her close, and Chloe smirked in response.

"Are you stereotyping your people, Croft?" He teased.

Chloe hummed, sliding her fingers across his shoulder and pulling him even closer to her. "Are you going to deny that we're truly the best when it comes to a wild night?"

The Gryffindor boy breathed shakily, feeling her body heat radiating off her in her skintight dark green, velvet dress. "No, I will not deny it, because it's the truth."

Chloe lifted her head to regard him properly, their noses now touching, and she stated, "Good."

They could faintly hear the songs changing, a new one playing in the background, but they were far too invested in each other's presence, that they could hardly hear or see anything but one another. Timothy was transfixed by her alluring beauty, and he felt almost hypnotised by her. He found himself slowly leaning forward, his lips eager to taste her own, yearning to feel them against his, and the feeling was quite mutual.

Chloe really believed that this would be it. This would be her salvation from the big mess she'd made that is Theodore Nott. She could also finally release herself from Lyra's jealous talons and get off her back now that she could be with Timothy and no one else. None of her friends would feel betrayed. She could be a better person.

But it never happened, for Timothy was yanked backwards and away from Chloe, who was momentarily confused with the weird absence of his body close to hers. She watched in perplexity as Draco snatched Timothy by the collar of his shirt, and landed a punch straight to the boy's jaw, causing chaos around him and screams echoing across the common room.

"Draco!" Chloe yelled, and watched in horror when Harry Potter rushed over and aimed a swing at the back of Draco's head, so she cried, "Look out!"

Despite him deserving the blow, she didn't want to see her childhood best friend get hurt, and thankfully, she didn't have to. Theodore Nott grabbed Harry's waist swiftly before he could reach Draco, who had his back turned to them as he kicked Timothy Rune. Harry flailed his legs and arms as he roared.

"GET OFF ME, YOU FILTHY SNOBS!"

Ron Weasley charged at them angrily, ready to strike, but Lorenzo stepped forward and shoved him back. "Stay the fuck out of this, Weaselbee." He sneered at the ginger boy.

"Stay the fuck away from Chloe." Draco seethed, glaring down at Timothy, sprawled out on the floor with a busted lip, and Lyra grabbed her brother's elbow. Theodore smirked down at Timothy sprawled out on the ground.

"Draco, we need to leave." Lyra urged, annoyed by his hotheaded ways. "We're outnumbered, Draco."

At this, the blonde boy lifted his gaze, and found the Gryffindors all pointing their wands at them. Chloe was distressed, and she shuffled forward and pushed Draco away from Timothy. She knelt down beside him and brushed his hair out of his forehead affectionately. At this, both Theo and Draco clenched their jaws angrily, and Draco lunged down to grab her, but Lyra pulled him away before he could.

"Stop it!" His sister snapped aggressively. "Let's just go."

Draco glared harshly at Chloe. "What's it going to be, Chloe?"

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut, already knowing what was coming.

"Are you going to betray us and stay with the blood traitors?"

"Draco." Theo sighed exasperatedly.

"That's not fair, Draco." Pansy muttered next to him, but he completely ignored her.

Chloe finally looked at Daisy, Emma and Arthur, who looked at her hopefully, as though silently promising her that should she stay, they would welcome and protect her. But one look at her Slytherin friends had her collapsing in a guilt-filled black hole. They were pulling back Gryffindor boys from going anywhere near her, all of them constantly by her side since she was born, all of them never once judging her for who she unapologetically was.

She knew why Draco did what he did. It was the best intention, executed in the filthiest ways. He didn't want to risk getting her hurt by her parents. Knowing how important image and reputation is to purebloods, he was just trying to keep her safe and untainted. Despite this, Chloe resented Draco so much for his actions tonight; it was worse than the library incident with Silas - for at least her brother didn't get his hands dirty trying to keep his little sister safe.

Avoiding everyone's gaze, she sniffled and slowly stood up, and slowly inched closer to Pansy, who took her in her arms and ushered her out of the Gryffindor common room, the other Slytherins following right behind them. Chloe could not bear witnessing the disappointment flickering onto her other friends in her for abandoning them, but she could not possibly leave her childhood friends either. They meant the world to Chloe.

As soon as they were out of the common room, Chloe detached herself from Pansy's embrace and stormed forward, walking away from her friends, despite them calling out to her in concern. Chloe ignored them and practically ran, trying to find somewhere quiet to let herself cool down. She staggered into an empty classroom, and allowed herself to sob loudly, clutching her face in her hands.

This wasn't how her night was supposed to go. She'd finally found the solution to all her problems, and Draco bloody Malfoy had to step all over it and crush it. Chloe angrily kicked the floor and cried harder.

The door, a few seconds later, was slammed open, and Chloe jumped slightly, turning around to face Draco, who was glaring at her viciously.

"The fuck are you crying for?" He snapped rudely, and Chloe's nostrils flared angrily.

"Get out." She demanded, but Draco only stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

"Why are you crying?" He repeated himself, and stepped towards her, but Chloe stepped backwards and repeated herself as well.

"I told you to get out, Draco. I mean it." She spoke through a clenched jaw, but he kept approaching her anyway, until she was almost pressed up against one of the classroom tables, so she shoved his chest aggressively, only to have him grab her wrists and pull her forcefully to his chest.

"Why are you crying?" He asked her once again, calmly.

"Why did you hit him?" She finally questioned. "Why would you ruin things when I've finally gotten him interested in me?"

Draco stared down at her with a wildly livid expression across his face, and he pulled her even closer to him. "You could have anyone, anyone from this school, Chlo - and yet you end up falling for the one that doesn't like you."

Chloe snarled, ripped her wrists out of his grasp and pushing him again, but he didn't budge. "But he does like me! He was going to kiss me if it weren't for your rather rude interruption. I swear, you and Silas are just the same."

Draco clenched his jaw, before leaning against her, thereby leaving her with no choice but to lean backwards, her lower back digging into the table, and he placed his palms flat against its smooth surface, eyeing her determinedly.

"Are you comparing me to your brother, Chloe?" He asked her gently, a hint of fire burning in his usually cold gaze, and Chloe gulped nervously.

"Yes." She stubbornly replied. "Both of you always try to ruin what I have with my other friends."

Draco lifted a hand and gently traced the side of her neck, causing her to shift away from him but her eyes softening ever so slightly. He was her best friend, his touch never failing to comfort her. But he was also known for his manipulative ways, and Chloe was well aware of it.

"From where I'm standing, love," He paused to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear delicately. "I don't think you mind all that much that I've ruined your cringe worthy moment with that filthy half-blood breed."

Instantly, Chloe slapped Draco's hand away from her, pushed him yet again, and this time, Draco stepped back and allowed her some space between them.

"You have no right." Her voice was shaking furiously. "No right to interfere with my love life. Timothy was my solution to my messy problems, and you destroyed it."

Draco scoffed in disbelief. "Love? Are you listening to yourself right now? Are you calling whatever clownery's happening between you and Rune love?"

"He was supposed to be my rebound from everyone!" She cried desperately. "With time, I would properly fall in love with Timothy and forget about Theo, and leave Enzo all for your sister."

Draco's gaze softened in understanding, and he slowly reasoned, "Chloe, you genuinely don't need another man in your life to forget about the other two. You really don't think you're strong enough on your own to resist them? To resist Theo?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant."

"No, I'd like an elaboration." He crossed his arms over his chest, and Chloe refrained from slapping him out of sheer annoyance. Instead, she made to move towards the door, but Draco blocked her path, and clutched her waist possessively.

"What are you doing?" Chloe exhaled exhaustedly.

"Come on, Chlo." He lowered his voice, his eyes searching hers for any sign of her succumbing to his touch. "Neither Theo nor Enzo are stronger than your determination."

Chloe gulped harshly and avoided his gaze. "What, and you're stronger?"

Draco looked puzzled, frowning deeply. "The fuck are you on about?"

"Your ego needs to deflate before you hurt yourself." Chloe snapped rudely, glaring vehemently at him.

A moment later, the door to the classroom was shoved open by Lorenzo, whose gaze fell on them both, and he raised his eyebrows. In that moment, Chloe aggressively shoved Draco away from her, and she glared hotly at him, and he glared right back. They were like two roaring forest fires merging, wreaking havoc wherever they went.

"Go back to your ill girlfriend, Malfoy." She spat, and walked towards Lorenzo, before pushing past him and leaving.

Enzo blinked in confusion, and asked in bewilderment, "what the fuck, Malfoy?"

"Leave me the fuck alone." Draco hissed, before flipping a nearby chair angrily. Lorenzo raised his arms in surrender, before leaving the room and following after Chloe.

A/N: HOWWWW DO WE FEEL?? 🤭🤭🤭
Thank you so much for reading, I truly hope you had a good time reading!

Bye guys! Next chapter will be up soon!

- lucidreamshade