Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
A/N: Welcome to my first space!AU. I hope you'll enjoy!
Beyond
Draco had seen hell. And it was white, antique white.
He hated that colour. Everything was colourless here; from the carpet on the floor to the walls and the ceiling. Even his wardrobe and bed were white. At least, it wasn't a gleaming clean white, but a little faded, a little off. Antique white, Draco had concluded the first day he'd set foot on the starship.
His mother had been obsessed with shades of colours and possible colour combinations. She'd been an artist, painting the most realistic landscapes Draco had ever seen. From her, he knew it was antique white.
His eyes automatically searched for a spot of colour inside his room, but in vain. Maybe if he cut open his wrist, the carpet would be scarlet red, like the Gryffindor Common Room.
Draco shuddered at the thought. No, maybe not red. He missed green… fresh green of grass, the darker shades of moss on trees, the almost neon colour of green apples, the emerald green of the Slytherin Common Room…
But here, everything was faded, antique white.
He sighed. Would he ever see it again? Hogwarts was a thousand light years away. So much time had passed since he'd walked through those halls. The thought of the old castle triggered a longing so deep and all-encompassing that it took his breath away.
Only with enormous effort, he managed to push air back into his lungs. These times were gone. Earth was far, far away. His mother, his friends, his enemies – all gone.
Wasn't that the reason he'd volunteered for this mission? Ten years on a spacecraft, exploring the galaxy. It had been an escape for Draco, an opportunity to leave the war, old rivalries, the trauma, and the hatred behind.
He hated how much he missed it. He'd wanted this, wanted the adventure!
Draco was on the first magic space mission in history. The Nordlys carried a crew of fifty witches and wizards specifically trained for this mission. Draco had put all his money and his capabilities into landing a spot on the starship. He was a Potion Master; as such he assisted the Medi-wizards, creating potions with limited supplies, experimenting on nutrition supplements, and so on. He liked it, if he was being honest.
But now, they'd been two years in space, and he was falling into a depression. The impossibility to move outside of the ship, the restricted contact to people, the food. Ugh.
The crew was fine, friendly enough. But he missed Earth. Simple as that.
Suddenly, the lighting changed, and everything was tinted in blue. The voice of the captain rang through the speakers, "Attention, crew. We have permission from Control Alpha to send a team to explore the Einstein-Rosen bridge. As a reminder, our sensors picked up on what is commonly called a 'wormhole' a few days ago. We designated it Aleph, for the first letter in the Arabic alphabet."
Draco shot up from the bed he'd unsuccessfully tried to sleep in, slipped into his shoes and the prescribed grey jacket, and was out of the door in seconds.
Captain Jodi Dell'Acqua's voice echoed through the deserted hallway. "A group of volunteers will man the Raptor and move towards the edges of Aleph. Whoever wants to join this mission, report to the first officer."
Draco broke into a run. He would be on that Raptor if it was the last thing he did.
The Einstein-Rosen bridge was the most beautiful thing Draco had ever seen. The deepest darkness, swallowing, devouring everything around it, killing stars, feeding off light.
They had been careful, trying to stay away as far as possible from the wormhole. But it was more powerful than them. Now, they were spiralling downwards, their engines failing.
Draco didn't care. His crewmates were pale, scared, but Draco grinned. In theory, this 'bridge' could bring him into a different galaxy, a different time, hell, a different universe altogether. This world didn't have anything left for him anyway.
"Don't be scared, Prince," he said to the girl next to him. "It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure."
And then, they were sucked into the wormhole.
Draco regained consciousness in layers. There was a loud annoying beeping sound pulling him to the surface. He was shaking, no – the ground was shaking and he was shaking with it. He was lying on a metallic floor. The cold pervaded his clothing and bit into his flesh.
With a gasp, Draco opened his eyes. What he saw caused his heart to stop and then beat on twice as fast. He was inside the Raptor. The others lay on the floor or strapped into the seats, unconscious and lifeless.
But not Draco. He was alive! Thank Merlin, he was alive. The realisation came rushing at him, like the ground to a falling man, and then it hit him all at once – he had fucking made it through a wormhole! And just for a heartbeat, an intake of breath, the world hung motionless and silent.
Draco had never felt this grateful for anything ever before. Quickly, he oriented himself, then climbed to his feet and swayed over to the pilot seat. Life control measures were still working. Draco exhaled. Thank, Merlin!
The gratitude painted everything bright and soft. The stars outside the window. The silvery body of the Raptor, still falling, falling through space.
"Prince!" Draco rasped, shaking the girl on the floor. "Come on. We need to re-power the energy stone."
He couldn't wait to travel through this new universe, wherever they were. The comms picked up no sign from the Nordlys. That meant they were out of reach.
Emily Prince opened her eyes slowly, and Draco was hit by another wave of gratitude. At least, he wasn't alone, alone in a whole new galaxy!
"This cannot be!" Prince exclaimed three weeks later. "The sensor picked up on a planet, but… that would mean…?"
"Mean what?" Draco bowed over the screen. It showed the image of a blue planet shrouded in clouds. "Wait…"
"It's Earth!" Prince exclaimed, gripping his hand tightly. "We made it home!"
"How the hell is that possible?" Felix whispered, stepping beside Draco and staring at the screen.
"I don't care," the girl exclaimed happily. "Now we can report to Control Alpha. And I can tell my friends that we flew through a freaking Einstein-Rosen bridge!"
Draco didn't echo her excitement. Home. He'd wanted to flee home, and now he was right back to where he started. "But, if this is Earth, why aren't we picking up anything from Control Alpha?"
"Wait a second…" Felix pointed at something on the screen. "According to the readings, we're … we're in the year 1957."
It was as easy as breathing for Draco to find his way back into Wizarding society. He was a skilled Potion Master and an excellent wizard. He kept his first name, but got rid of the damning heritage of his last name. He wished no ties to Lucius. Instead, he called himself Black, after his mother's maiden name. The pureblood name would give him the access he needed.
He was going to kill Tom Riddle, later known as Lord Voldemort. He'd find the Horcruxes, and then, he'd kill the bastard. That madman was never going to destroy the family of this Earth's Draco Malfoy, who wasn't even born yet. Riddle would never cause a war. Harry Potter would never be The-Boy-who-lived.
And maybe, just maybe, this Draco would get along with him in school. Maybe, this Draco had a chance at happiness.
Draco was grateful for the opportunity that he'd been given. It was as if the wormhole had picked him specifically, him and the others, to go back in the past. But, not the same past. Draco had realised that quickly. Tiny things were different.
They were in a different universe altogether.
And in the universe he'd come from, Draco Malfoy had died heroically while testing the limits of the unimaginable.
Written for the QLFC, Season 6, Finals – Round 1.
Position: Chaser 3
Position Prompt: Star Trek (reboot films)
Optional Prompts: [dialogue] [colour] Antique White, [quote] 'It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure.' — Ernie Harwell, [emotion] gratitude
Title: Beyond
Word Count: 1, 346
Beta(s): Aya Diefair