Lilith, cloaked with a dark hood, stepped lightly towards the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library. Carefully, she flicked the lock and she was in. Her footsteps were entirely silent and she stalled her breathing as much as possible. No creaks could be heard throughout the library - thank Merlin, she thought.

She flicked her wand and whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa."

Without another moment, the book she had been searching for made its way down from the shelf, making a slight noise as the other books collapsed into each other. Lilith wasn't concerned. Filch was nowhere to be seen. She read the title of the book: Magick Moste Evile. It was just what she was looking for.

"Reducio," she said, and within seconds the book was two times smaller than it was. She pocketed it right where her father's book was, on her left hip.

She rushed back to the Slytherin common room. It appeared that nobody had even spotted her along her way. Lilith grinned as she realised how fortunate she'd been and sat yet again on one of the comfortable sofas. This time, she chose a more isolated one. She had no plans of sleeping that night.

Her burnt amber eyes just began to scan the first page of the book, and she only just caught a glance of the author's name, Godelot, before someone else's footsteps echoed throughout the vast room. Lilith could well have hexed them, she thought to herself, yet her mind was changed when she saw a tuft of blond poke from around the corner.

"Thank Salazar it's you," he breathed as he stepped out. Draco pushed a hand through his hair. "I was trying to get away from Crabbe and Goyle. Thought one of 'em might've beat me down here somehow, the fat arses."

Lilith slowly moved to place the book just under the hem of her skirt. Draco didn't seem to notice her slight movement. She fiddled with the gold chain hanging so delicately from her neck, hoping that it'd actually work so she could avoid any further conversation with Draco about her powers.

"What were they doing?" she questioned almost timidly, far too concerned about Draco finding out about the book she'd just borrowed.

"Asking me some nonsense about that Golden Trio."

"Ah, Malfoy, you're softening up. I thought you enjoyed bullying them to no end," Lilith teased, a smirk appearing on her lips.

He scoffed, "Of course I do. Any filthy blood traitors or mudbloods are the same to me, but Crabbe and Goyle do get on my bloody nerves sometimes."

Lilith giggled. Draco's smokey eyes snapped to her with a harsh glare. "What's so funny, Lovell?"

"Lilith," she corrected him, "Anything other than Lovell or Lily, actually."

"You'd rather not share the same name with the mother in famous Potter family?" Draco chuckled, then froze. 

"I'd rather not," she muttered back into the air, put off by Draco's sudden silence.

"I think I'll stick to Lovell," Draco taunted her before getting back up from his seat on one of the chairs near her. "I think I can hear one of those trolls snoring - goodnight."

"Night," Lilith mumbled back, her calculating stare following him as he left. As soon as he did, she whipped the book out from under her skirt, but it was too late.

Draco had rushed back down the stairs, and hovering above her, he held the book in his hands. This seemed to have become a bit of a habit of Lilith's. It had been returned to its normal size. It was far too clear what it was. He told her, "Impressive. First you've been attacking other pupils, now finding your way into the Restricted Section... I wonder how you haven't been kicked out yet."

"They need me here," said Lilith, smugly. "I'm too powerful for them to let go."

"You don't look it."

"Flipendo!" With Lilith's incantation, Draco had been pushed back at unbelievable force into the carpet. Crouching down next to him, Lilith showed him her hands - both empty. She picked up the book from beside him, smiling.

"Wandless magic..." he reported in disbelief. "Where in the name of Salazar did you learn that?"

"It's a talent of mine," she remarked with a sideways glance in his direction. She made the book shrink again and put it back in its place in her pocket. "You won't tell anyone of this, will you, Draco?"

"No," he told her simply, standing up and brushing off his legs. He stood still for a moment, almost frozen, before whispering, "Fumos."

A cloud of smoke covered the common room, the pair being engulfed by it. Lilith was nowhere to be seen as far as Draco knew, but he heard her shout, "You bloody idiot! You don't think anyone's going to notice this?!"

Draco sighed and the smoke cleared before anyone seemed to notice.

"I don't know what you were trying to achieve with that, Malfoy, but I assure you if this happens again-"

"I wouldn't go around making any particular threats if I were you, Lovell. I know your secrets. It'd be a shame if one of them were to make its way to Dumbledore, wouldn't it?"

Lilith almost choked on her own words. It was easy to threaten Daphne or Pansy - they had nothing to retaliate with. Yet Draco had something on her, something that wasn't worth letting out for a little bit of satisfaction. No matter how much Dumbledore needed her to remain in Hogwarts, he wasn't going to tolerate stealing books from the Restricted Section or jinxing Draco in the Slytherin common room.

"Fine, Malfoy. This all stays secret, you understand?" she announced as she blew the last bit of smoke out of her face.

"Understood," he said, and with that, he was gone. 

Lilith dropped back onto the sofa, exhausted. She'd never had somebody who could actually hold their own argument stand up against her. If there was one thing she knew, it was that it sure as hell wasn't going to happen again.

She took the book back out of its hiding place. Dark magic, dark magic, dark magic. The words ran through her head like a song. Was it worth it? Dumbledore would never forgive her. But all the enemies she'd already made... There was no chance in fighting them with good.

Good never gets you anywhere, she assured herself.

Little did she know, there was one page missing from her precious book written by her father - one page that had become weary, and torn - one page that could've changed her decision that night.