Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, though I wish I did!
Rated T for violence (I guess, IDK) and some language.
Informal summary: Basically, Draco is given the choice to either face his consequences and die or go back in time and relive part of his past, which will allow him to live. By doing so, however, he is sentencing someone he cares about to death, as good as replacing him. Obviously, he chooses life. Because come on, it's Draco, what else is he going to do?
It's actually a great story, guys, I think it flows really well. Please read and see what you think!
Don't forget to follow my Instagram, whisperblaze_luvs_dramione, for updates on this story or any of my others!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be sure to review! Reviews are my motivation and help me to write faster and better! They don't have to be long reviews, they could be one word, anything makes me smile, really! I really do love any feedback I can get! And I update faster, too XD
Enjoy!
They are coming.
He doubled over, ragged breath ripping through him as he gripped his platinum blonde hair with white fingers and knuckles, eyes screwed shut in pain and mind-numbing terror. He could see him, snake eyes infuriated, wand pointed menacingly, about to take the life of the sixteen-year-old boy who pleaded before him desperately, on his knees, begging for his life.
That boy was him. He was going to die. He knew it with every fiber of his being, and he was petrified beyond words.
They are coming for you.
The boy visibly shook, hands still pulling agonizingly at his hair in an attempt to calm himself down. Ahead of him, his deranged aunt was setting fire to a lopsided hut that sat next to the Forbidden Forest while Snape yelled at Potter, but he couldn't care enough to pay attention to any of this. He was too terrified about what was surely about to happen to him.
I'm about to die.
Yes, the deed was done, but it was not by his own hand, and so his fate stood in front of him, looming and unyielding. He was doomed.
"Not quite doomed, Draco."
The voice caused him to turn around, fright making his grey eyes three times their normal size. Behind him stood, or rather floated, a dead man. He was dead, Draco knew it, for he had seen him fall from the astronomy tower not twenty minutes ago, hit by Snape's own spell. But here he was, long beard drifting in the slight wind of the dark and gloomy night. His half-moon spectacles were perched upon his nose as if it were any normal day, hands clasped behind his back, the small smile on his face effectively throwing off the horrific mood of the night.
Yes, he was dead. He had no solid body, but wasn't exactly a ghost, his appearance more similar to that of a patronus. He floated there, looking into Draco's eyes calmly.
It was too much for Draco. His breaths still coming in great rasps, he blinked the fearful tears from his eyes. "What are you doing here? You're dead!"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, I am."
"So what's your deal?!"
Dumbledore smiled. "My deal is that I am here to help you. You need it."
Draco was shaking his head before the headmaster's words were even fully from his lips. "No, no no no, there's no help for me now. None. I'm doomed, dead. I'm dead." He dropped to his knees, the tears finally falling from his eyes as a particularly large burst of flames burst from Hagrid's Hut, met with a cheer from Bellatrix. He sobbed helplessly, his body shaking on the dead grass below him.
"As I said before," Dumbledore said, "not quite."
Draco looked at him, cheeks drenched. "Wha-what do you m-mean?"
Dumbledore gave the boy a kind smile. "I mean that you will not die. Not if you choose to, at least."
In a very Malfoy-ish manner, a surge of anger shot through Draco. What did this man take him for, an idiot? He knew he was done for; there was no avoiding the Dark Lord's wand any longer.
Before the teenager could say anything, Dumbledore chuckled again. "No, I don't take you for an idiot, Draco. And I'm not lying to you. You will live if you only listen to me."
Draco's shock at Dumbledore's ability to read his thoughts was pushed aside in his urgency to hear his words, for the boy was desperate to cling to hope, any kind of it. "What? What are you saying?"
"You will be given a second chance, Draco," the dead man said calmly. "A chance to rewrite your story. To go back and change the words on the page to what should be written."
Draco swallowed, wanting to believe him, but refusing to in the current situation. "I-I don't believe you."
Dumbledore shrugged. "Whether you believe me or not does not matter. If you stay, you will die. If you take my hand, you will survive. I see no reason for me to lie to you now, do you?"
Draco's mind was racing. Despite his better instincts, he was believing him. It was the only thing for him to hold onto at the moment.
Yet Dumbledore continued before Draco could become too excited at the prospect of everything turning out fine. "But be warned of this: the prolongation of your existence and prevention of your death will only shorten the life belonging to another."
A cold hand gripped the boy's heart. "Who?"
"That I cannot say. But it is someone you will come to care about immensely."
Draco had to pause to take everything in. If he took his hand, he'd live, redo his past so that his future may exist…
…but in doing so, he would kill someone else, an unknown person whom he'd like, possibly a friend.
"How would this work?"
Dumbledore smiled. "You will be taken into your past and effectively relive it, but there will be a small change from before, a difference from what you have already lived through. It will seem small at first, but will turn into a large part of your life. This event will save you."
But it will doom someone else…
Draco shivered at the thought, but was distracted by an explosion behind him as something flammable in the hut finally caught fire, illuminating the land.
Breathing very hard, Draco slowly turned back to Dumbledore. He had made up his mind.
With a leap of fear and desperation, he took the dead man's hand and was gone in the blink of an eye, disappearing into the night with a small pop.
950 words. Not bad for an opener XD
So this is my first HP fanfic so be sure to tell me what you think of it so far! OH, and PLEASE follow, favorite and review! They are VERY much appreciated!
Lastly, for updates on OPAR or any other of my stories, go follow my Instagram, whisperblaze_luvs_dramione!
OK thank you! PLEASE REVIEW! They motivate me!
Thank you! Love you lots!