Bonjour, mes chers. After reading most of your comments we have a little...surprise for you. While I personally don't appreciate the complaints about taking our old stories down - our stories our choice our decision - I can respect that you wanted to see that story to it's completion. After a few talks, we came to a solution.
Draco Malfoy and the Philospher's Stone - docs google com/document/d/16Ztdt_ozoXwfbNg9vSJSmITIUceZX0QIUAVLvA2JpW8/edit?usp=sharing
Draco Malfoy and the Chamber of Secrets - docs google com/document/d/1BjAdi1AGjUVkAbY4m_QqxG1uoXzILRgaQTQBksgX15c/edit?usp=sharing
Draco Malfoy and the Prisoner of Azkaban - docs google com/document/d/1mek3T0jv0tBsFG-RBzFaneATyTKDJAjmSN2LspC172w/edit?usp=sharing
Draco Malfoy and the Goblet of Fire - docs google com/document/d/1ml41O0SV7AiUWEVYIaGY2wfmXG_b4xBSzJEa91j-h6g/edit?usp=sharing
Draco Black and the Order of the Phoenix - docs google com/document/d/12X888y4BdLTi17_pUAHY2cB2UUv-rkjmkisUfov2r9k/edit?usp=sharing
Draco Black and the Second Wizarding War - docs google com/document/d/14ss5wZEeVRMZYtc5N9khNNzlCmYspmo4srPHn0ty7u0/edit?usp=sharing
Draco Black and the Hunt for the Horcruxes - docs google com/document/d/1_B5aCAsvVS6AILinBPzayxPQXGpW8GtkAZmzxwylnzY/edit?usp=sharing
Snippets Between Years - docs google com/document/d/1f97RDtzZ1nsDeCJdiiJj0RJkRKUGv7ITdQ3vFIlyJwg/edit?usp=sharing
These stories always felt incomplete to us, as if something was missing. That is why we chose to rewrite them. So we could complete the story we were so eager to tell all of you. Unfortunately, we did a disservice in allowing you to start a story and then refusing to allow you to finish.
Both stories come from the same intentions, and while I will forever love this current telling more than the last, I can respect your desire to see the former through. So, enjoy these as you will. I can't begrudge a reader for falling in love with a story, no matter what the authors may say.
Chapter Three: The Meeting of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy
::
"Draco? Draco, darling, it's time to get up." A sharp rapping noise echoed against what sounded like wood. "We'll be leaving for Diagon Alley in a half hour. Be downstairs for breakfast in ten minutes!" The muted sound of heels against marble, fading away. Draco groaned and rubbed at his eyes. He felt exhausted all of a sudden- Wait... Hadn't Howard said he'd wake up that morning- Wait. Diagon Alley. Ten minutes?
Draco bolted out of bed and ran to the bathroom joined to his bedroom, quickly brushing his teeth and slicking his hair back with his comb. He took a moment to look himself over in the mirror and frowned. That... That wasn't right. He didn't slick his hair back anymore. At least, eighteen-year-old him didn't. Draco parted about two thirds of it to the left, biting at his bottom lip as he looked in the mirror. Alright. Still combed. Still neat. Just...different. That could work.
Nodding, Draco scrounged up an outfit, getting dressed and feeling a bit uneasy. It was... He was eleven again, yet it felt like moments ago he was eighteen. It was... Well, uneasy was putting it lightly, really. Sweet Merlin, he had really done it. He had traveled seven years back in time and he was about to meet Harry Potter for the first time. He was about to meet Harry bloody Potter for the first time. Now was his first - his only - chance to not screw up and be a decent human being.
Draco took a breath and nodded, leaving the room and heading down to the dining room for breakfast. The house now was...so much warmer. And lighter. As though Voldemort hadn't touched it. Which, when Draco thought about it, he hadn't, in this time. Voldemort wasn't resurrected. He wasn't staying at the Manor. And Draco was most certainly not going to join the Death Eaters. Of that, he was certain.
"Good morning, Draco," Narcissa greeted, gently running a hand through Draco's hair. It was telling that she had managed to not get a single hair out of place with the action. "Breakfast is on the table. I'll meet you by the fireplace in the next half hour, alright?" Draco smiled brightly, settling down at the table and nodding, thankful she hadn't said anything about his hair- Ah. There was his father at the head of the table, reading the Prophet as he used to always- As he now always did.
"Good morning, father." There was a moment where Lucius Malfoy glanced to Draco's hair, seeming to study it for a moment before deeming it acceptable.
"Good morning, Draco. I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you to Diagon Alley, today. An unexpected mess came up at work." Huh. That... Huh. The first time, Lucius had gone with Draco. Draco frowned though quickly wiped it away, nodding and keeping his hands in his lap so he could continue speaking.
"May I ask what happened?" Huh. It was incredibly easy to draw upon that mix of pride and fear he'd felt for his father at this age. He should probably speak about that to someone some day... Maybe.
"Rita Skeeter," Lucius sneered, shaking his head with clear disdain. "That woman is always trying to stir up trouble. Although I have no doubt you might find her latest article interesting." With that, he was setting down the Daily Prophet in front of Draco.
In bold letters across the front page stood Rita's headline. 'The Boy Who Lived To Attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. Draco's nose crinkled and...he didn't remember an article like this. Of course, it could have been written, and he just didn't remember it, seeing as it was seven years ago. That would really make the most sense. "Is there speculation about what house he'll be in?" Of course Draco knew what house he'd be in, but still. He had to appear normal. And hopeful for Slytherin.
"Quite a few are claiming Gryffindor," Lucius scoffed, making a fresh cup of tea with a flick of his wand - as well as one for Draco. "Of course, others seem to be claiming Slytherin... I suppose we'll see in a month or so, won't we?" Draco gave his father a grateful nod and took a sip before his nose wrinkled. This was not his cup of tea. Did he really used to drink this swill? Ugh. Disgusting. "I take it you have your list ready? You know how your mother hates to be kept waiting in lines."
"Yes, I know. I-" Draco paused and nodded slowly. "I have my list waiting on my nightstand." Fuck he had to go find his list later. He'd do that after breakfast. Once he found some damn sugar to put in his tea.
"Very well." Lucius took the paper back and stood, nodding to Draco and then heading for the fireplace where the floo powder was. It took a moment to notice that a house elf was cleaning the empty plate left behind and... Was that Dobby? Draco froze for a moment, only staring. Dobby... It was actually Dobby. Dobby'd been released in his second year- He was here. Floppy ears, wide eyes, and all.
Draco looked around before leaning close and speaking quietly. "Dobby?" The house elf startled for a moment, ears pressing back against his head as he looked up at Draco.
"Yes, Master Draco?" Ah, right. They had been right nasty to their house elves, hadn't they... Lucius, especially.
Looking over his shoulder again, Draco leaned even closer, lowering his voice further, as he was certain Dobby would be able to hear him with those ears. "Would it be too much trouble for you to get me some sugar for my tea?"
Dobby stared at him with wide eyes for a long moment, nervously looking around. "Master Draco knows that his parents forbid him from having too much sugar. Dobby and all the house elves under strict orders to not give him any."
"It wouldn't be too much. It's only to go in my tea. And mother said that it was alright." Draco was not above taking advantage of the situation, and lying. Not one little bit.
"If Mistress Narcissa agreed..." Dobby snapped his fingers, catching a bowl of sugar cubes and holding it out. "Here you be, Young Master Draco." Draco smiled and grabbed five of the sugar cubes, dropping them into his tea and stirring it until they dissolved.
"Thank you, Dobby." That, more than anything, had Dobby looking at Draco with wide, shocked eyes. It was a long moment before he finished collecting the plates and left, still shooting Draco furtive glances. Draco sipped his tea in near glee. Ah. He could trick absolutely anyone. They would all be wrapped around his little fingers. And there wasn't a thing they could do about it.
Hm. Maybe he should work on sounding less evil... Then again, where was the fun in that- Oh, right. He had to work on what he was going to say to Harry Potter. He definitely didn't want to be rude like last time. Perhaps just small talk would work for now. Asking him about himself instead of just blabbering on about Slytherin and purebloods. That would certainly do. He did so love to talk about himself, after all. Draco just had to ask easy, simple questions. He'd only be there for a few moments before he'd be done and on his way. First impressions were very important, as he'd learned.
Besides, this was to be Harry Potter's first day in the wizarding world if that rumor about him growing up with muggles was true. That meant Draco would be one of the first wizards he'd meet. Which was just fine with him. He could show the younger one the finer parts of wizarding society. No doubt that oaf Hagrid had taken Potter to the Leaky Cauldron first thing. Just what he needed, to be around drunkards and beggars. Honestly.
Well, he would just have to fix that as soon as he could. After all, it was Potter's birthday, today. Might as well as make it a good one.
::
"I didn't think it'd be this busy," Narcissa frowned, gently leading Draco away from some of the more boisterous crowds. "Darling, would you like to get fitted for your robes while I get your books? It'll take less time that way."
"That sounds perfectly fine. Shall I be meeting you, or will you wait for me?" Draco tilted his head slightly and looked around Diagon Alley. It had been so long since he'd seen it like this. People were being loud. There was no fear of the war. They were all laughing and having fun. It was amazing. And this was before the joke shop! This was just people being normal bloody wizards! How could he have once looked upon these people with disdain?
"I doubt it will take you very long to get your school robes," Narcissa spoke, guiding Draco away from where he almost ran into a stand. He was a little distracted, it was allowed. "Why not meet me in Flourish and Blotts. You can get any other books that catch your eye, as well."
"Alright." Draco gave her a hug before running off to Madame Malkin's with a wide grin, near bouncing. He opened the door, head tilting a bit at the quiet tinkling bell. It was a bit dimly-lit, but that seemed to make the store...cozy. "Madame Malkin? I'm for Hogwarts. I need robes for first year."
"Ah, yes, yes," Madame Malkin waved him in, looking to be balanced rather precariously as she stuck a few pins in a robe she was working on. It was very...fluorescent. "Always busy this time of year, of course. New and old students alike- Well, up you get, then. Just stand there with your arms out. Shouldn't take long at all."
Draco smiled and nodded, climbing to the stands carefully, doing his best to keep his trousers unwrinkled. He bounced on his toes a bit, looking around with unhidden curiosity. "You get many, then? Not much competition?"
"My prices are a bit better than some of the other shops around here," Madame Malkin laughed, enchanting a cloth measure to get Draco's measurements. "I specialize in school robes, as well, so most of the parents know to come to me."
"I see." That actually was pretty interesting, too. It would certainly explain why his parents had him come here. While they had plenty of money to throw around, they never liked to do it. And it sounded like Madame Malkin was 'one of the best.'
Plus she was very efficient in her work. Already she had a rough robe on Draco, tweaking it as needed and bunching the fabric where she could. "Curious as to what house you'll be in, then?"
"Not one bit. I know what house I'll be in," he said coolly. Slytherin... It wasn't something to be overly prideful of, but not something to be ashamed of. Hm. Maybe this time he could try to work on how the other houses saw Slytherin. They weren't all that bad, really.
"Better than most," Madame Malkin laughed quietly, gently shifting the robe around. "I know near all the children I get in here don't know which house they'll be in." Draco was about to respond, head tilted as he watched her work, before the quiet chiming of the bell sounded again. His head nearly shot up as he tried to look to see who had just come through the door. "Hello, dear. Hogwarts, too? Got the whole lot in here."
Madame Malkin's voice trailed off as she walked to the front door to greet the newest customer. From her words, it was obviously a child here for school robes, which meant... This had to be it. Draco drew himself up a bit and okay. Okay. He was about to meet Harry Potter for the first time. He had to make a good impression. Chin up. Back straight, don't slouch. Smile, he heard his mother's words echo to him. Right. He could do this.
Just like that, Harry Potter was walking into view as Madame Malkin directed him onto the stand. The child (he had just turned eleven today, right?) was looking around a bit curiously, although... Draco didn't recognize that expression on him. A cold, closed off expression. Eyes the bright color of the killing curse darted around, finally landing on Draco. Draco rose an eyebrow at him, looking him over before smirking. "Hogwarts?"
There was no verbal response this time, just a slight nod as the child held his arms out as Madame Malkin instructed. Strange. Last time the boy had seemed a bit more receptive, at least. Now it was just... Did this timeline have another thing different? "I think it's the best wizarding school in Europe," Draco continued casually, trying to get a reaction out of the other, and restraining himself from pouting. Why wasn't he reacting like he did before? At least last time, he was all...shy and nervous. Now it was like he was jaded. "My father wanted to send me to a different school because it offered different courses, but I refused outright."
That had the younger glancing over for a moment, studying him appraisingly. It was similar to how Draco observed people before deeming them worth his time. It was a little...unsettling. "I thought Hogwarts was the only magic school."
"The only one for the British Isles," Draco agreed, his smirk becoming more of a smile. Yes. He got to show off his knowledge. "He wanted to send me to Durmstrang. It's in either Norway, or Sweden. Mother and I weren't having any of it."
"Mm." Well, that was about the same as last time- Ah, yes. This Harry Potter didn't have any knowledge of the wizarding world. He was raised by... Who was he raised by. Muggles, of course, but weren't they related to his mother? Draco would have to find out later.
"And you? If you weren't going to Hogwarts, where would you be going?" Draco looked him over again, nose crinkling. It was worse than Weasley. Hand-me-downs three sizes too large, and glasses that had obviously been broken far too many times to count. Even now they were held together by very persistent tape.
"Stonewall High." The response was more of a bitter mutter, than anything. "It's not far from where I live. Local high school."
"A...high school?" Draco would admit, he didn't know...anything about muggles, really. From a young age, he'd had a private tutor until he turned eleven, and he spent that summer preparing for Hogwarts. He didn't even know what kind of subjects were taught at muggle schools.
"'S basically the same as every other school," the boy rolled his eyes - sweet Merlin had this kid always been this bitter and jaded? "You learn to read, write, do math, and get your head shoved down the toilet."
"That happens, at schools?" Wow. Now Draco was glad he didn't know anything about muggle schools. He didn't want to go near them.
"Only to the ones who are 'freaks'," Harry muttered quietly, glancing back to Draco. "I guess you grew up in this world, then?"
"Draco." That had Harry giving him a strange look for a moment before nodding slowly.
"Harry." Huh. He wondered if the younger just didn't like saying his last name. Then again, Draco hadn't said his last name either.
"You obviously weren't going to ask." Draco shrugged, shifting a bit and internally wincing as he got stuck with a needle. He just needed to. To bounce. Run. Something. Hm. Perhaps that sugar with his tea this morning had affected him... Aha, no possible way. It was just tea.
"Probably not," Harry shrugged, not managing to hide his wince as he was stuck with a pin. Madame Malkin must have been far too used to antsy customers, since she barely even noticed the movement.
"That's incredibly rude, you know. I could be a famous celebrity, and you wouldn't know." Draco sniffed and tilted his head up, looking as pompous and prattish as possible. "I could be royalty."
"Please convey my apologies to whoever you rule." Oh. Oh, this little- Ugh. That was so like Potter and the kid didn't even realize it.
"You're forgiven," the blond huffed, tossing his head, and huffing a breath to get his hair out of his face. Why was that happening so often?
"Mm." And again with the monosyllables- Oh, right. He had decided to try and show Harry around Diagon Alley. Now, how could he do that... This Harry Potter was a lot less trusting than his had been.
"A shame you don't seem to know much about Diagon Alley. I know all the best places to shop," Draco hummed conversationally, glancing at Harry out of the corner of his eye.
"I'm learning." That seemed to be that, Harry's attention caught where Hagrid was waiting outside with two ice-creams, giving a beaming smile. Right. Just don't insult the oaf and everything would be fine.
"You know him, then?" Draco gestured out the window by nodding his head, raising an eyebrow at Harry.
"He's the groundskeeper at Hogwarts," Harry explained, giving Draco a measuring look. "He's the one who came to get me this morning with my letter."
"You got your letter hand-delivered- Wait. This morning?" Draco frowned at that, looking over at him. "I got mine a week ago."
"My Uncle kept burning and tearing up my letters." Harry's voice was back to being cold and closed off, the boy looking away from Draco. "I didn't get to read what it was until this morning."
"...I don't have any uncles," the blond said casually. "My mother's got two sisters, though we don't really talk about one of them. No uncles, though."
"Be thankful." There was a sudden movement from Madame Malkin, who spelled Harry's robes off and set it down next to a pile of others that had been completed in the background.
"Alright, dear, that's you all done. Will there be anything else?" What? No- They had only been here a short while! Harry couldn't leave now.
"I'm sorry," Draco said quite suddenly, hopping down himself, and holding his hand out to Harry. "I never properly introduced myself." He gave a short bow. "Draco Malfoy."
"Oh, ah..." Harry looked right startled, staring at Draco in surprise for a moment before cautiously taking his hand and giving it a light shake. "Harry Potter." Draco smirked, looking pleased.
"I know. I'll see you at Hogwarts, Harry." With that, he hopped back up onto the stand, and held his arms out expectantly. It was a moment or two before Harry left, paying for his robes and carrying the bag out to where Hagrid was waiting. As they passed the window, Harry gave a small smile, and a quick wave to Draco.
"Well, I'll be. I didn't think I'd actually be seeing Harry Potter in my shop," Madame Malkin shook her head, going back to finishing up Draco's robes. "He'll be starting in your year, can you believe it!"
"Of course I can," Draco scoffed. "I just met him." He tossed his head, trying to crane his neck to watch Harry leave. It was a bit regrettable that he hadn't had a chance to show Harry around, but there wasn't much he could do about that.
Hm. He wondered why this Harry was so much more...bitter.
::
"Mother, mother," Draco said, bouncing on his feet as they got home - and away from Diagon Alley where certain first years could hear.. "Mother, mother, mother-"
"How much sugar did you have and who gave it to you." Narcissa was looking distinctly unimpressed, and, right, yes. Right. His parents hated it when he had sugar. Draco bit his lip, looking down at the ground and standing stiff straight.
"I only put some in my tea." There was a long silence, Narcissa seeming to measure his words carefully before nodding and helping the boy carry his bags to his room.
"No flying this weekend. You know you're not supposed to have excessive amounts of sugar. It's bad for you. And those involved. Now, what did you wish to tell me?"
"I met Harry Potter, today!" Draco was beaming and yes. Harry. He rather liked that. He liked that far more than Potter. He would call him Harry from now on.
"Did you, now?" Narcissa's face softened, the woman setting the bags down. They had gotten everything they needed for today, at least- And Draco finally had his wand back! "What was he like?"
"He..." Draco paused at that, his smile falling. "I dunno. Like me." Like the him that had been embittered by Potter's rejection, and had gone out of his way to torment him.
"That doesn't sound so bad, considering you're a rather nice young man. Do you think you two might be friends, this coming year?" Narcissa was waving her wand and sorting all the new things away. Books on the shelf, robes in the closet, and potion ingredients by his desks.
Draco was silent for a long moment, sitting on his bed and looking thoughtful. "I don't know. I hope so." This Harry seemed... Well, he certainly wished Weasley luck. He'd need it in order to deal with this Harry.
"I'm sure you'll charm him just as you do everyone else," Narcissa smiled, kissing the top of Draco's head. "Lunch will be in an hour. Make sure to clean up before coming down." Draco nodded, hopping up onto his feet and pacing his room. He needed to make a plan, if he wanted to charm Harry as his mother had suggested. Help him to classes? Would he even trust a Slytherin? Mm... If he came from muggles, he wouldn't have the normal sort of prejudice, so then that meant that he'd be more willing to accept help from Slytherins.
An hour later, Draco's cuff links were beginning to tarnish and his hair was an utter wreck when he came down for lunch. Narcissa raised a single eyebrow at him before spelling him clean - and fixing his cuff links as an added bonus. Draco really needed to learn to do that himself. It was a very useful spell. "I'm rather certain I asked for you to clean yourself up."
"...I thought you meant my room," he said with a shrug. He sat down at the table, head tilted down at his food. "I cleaned my room."
"That's good, at least." He had cleaned his room, although it was more throwing things away while pacing and trying to decide on what to do. "Are you excited to start school next month?"
"Absolutely." Draco beamed, squirming a bit in his seat. He got to tease Harry- Not torment. Tease. Because that was what students did. They teased each other. In a friendly manner.
"What class are you looking forward to most. Potions?" Narcissa served Draco his usual cup of tea, putting no more than three sugar cubes in it, which, alright. That was fair.
"Definitely Potions. It's my favorite. I especially love-" Oh. Right. He hadn't taken Potions, yet. Sure, his tutor gave him the basics, but... If Narcissa noticed his slip in words, she didn't comment on it.
"I rather enjoyed Charms, myself. Professor Flitwick was a wonderful teacher, and quite adept at teaching us new things." Sipping at her tea, Narcissa looked curious for a moment. "I wonder who they'll have as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor... They never seem to last past a year now, do they?"
"I wouldn't know," he said quietly, picking at his food. Right. He...wasn't supposed to know anything about Hogwarts. Sure, his parents told him plenty of stories, but... As far as they knew, he'd never been there. And that would be as far as they knew.
"Yes. It's rumored there's a curse on the position," Narcissa chuckled, nodding at the house elf that served their plates. "I never took much stock in it myself. So, what house do you think Harry Potter will be in?" Draco nodded to the house elf.
"Thank you, Popsy." He turned back to his mother. "I don't know. He didn't give much away. Of course, I'm hoping for Slytherin." But knowing Potter, he wasn't nearly cunning enough.
"With who his parents were, I wouldn't be surprised if he got Gryffindor," Narcissa shook her head, rueful little smile on her face. "Always stirring up drama and mischief in school, Lily and James Potter were."
"He didn't seem the mischievous type," Draco said with a shrug before going back to picking at his food. He didn't notice the house elf's wide eyes, staring at him in shock and concern. Although he did notice the house elf stumble away, shooting him glances much like Dobby had that morning.
"Yes, that's what we thought of James Potter at first. And yet the school was never the same after the Marauders hit it."
"Well, I'm rather certain that 'the Marauders' won't be a worry... What were the Marauders like? With cousin Sirius, and James Potter, and Lupin."
"They were... Explosive," Narcissa spoke, voice nostalgic as she stared into her tea with a soft smile. "Bright. They took up the entire room when they went somewhere... Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew." Ah, right. He'd forgotten about that rat Pettigrew. Lying snake in the grass not even worthy of Slytherin. "They were the talk of the school. You either loved them or hated them, but the one thing you could never do was ignore them."
"What happened if you ignored them?" He knew that with the Golden Trio, if you tried to ignore them, they'd just continue getting shoved in your face. Merlin knew he had tried in second year before giving in to tearing them down.
"No one ever could manage to ignore them for more than a few days," Narcissa chuckled, pushing a lock of her hair back. "They were never the best people, but... I believe they had good intentions at most times. But whether it was a prank, teasing their 'enemies', or just garnering all attention in sight, they were impossible to ignore." Draco nodded slowly.
"I think I can understand that." Fidgeting with his cuff links, Draco leaned back in the plush dark-colored seat. "...What was Sirius like?" He knew that he'd been stricken off the Black family tree, but his mother was never one of the extremists. Besides the fact he was stricken off the family tree and an animagus, Draco had never known much about Sirius Black.
"He was..." Narcissa trailed off for a moment, seeming to think about the question carefully. "Outspoken. He felt that purebloods went too far in separating the worlds. That we didn't deserve our magic for what we did sometimes... He was wild, and fierce. He blazed as much as any fire, drew every eye to him. And just like a fire, he burned away at any who tried to tame him, who snuffed him out.
"Even then, though, with heat that could melt the toughest of souls, he was kind and gentle. He was sweet to me and Bella when we were younger. He didn't judge us for our parents, but for who we were. He was a Gryffindor, and he wore that mantle well." Trailing off for a moment, Narcissa smiled down at Draco. "I believe meeting James Potter and finding a new family was the best thing that could have happened to him."
"That...was really poetic," Draco said quietly, allowing himself to look back up, giving his mother a weak, slightly nervous smile as he ran a hand through his hair to push it back. "Did you ever think about going into writing?"
The warm laugh was familiar and relaxing. That, at least, was something that would never change. Nor the hand that warmly ran through his hair. "Thank you for the compliment, but I don't think I'm anywhere near that good. The point I'm trying to make with that story, however, is that sometimes we don't agree with our family ideals. Sometimes we feel they're wrong, or too different, or something we want no part in. And that's fine. No matter what, as long as you're true to yourself, then it's fine." Draco felt a part of himself go cold. He stared at her for a moment, licking his lips before nodding.
"I suppose." Did she know? She knew something. She acted as though she knew something. Did she know? He wouldn't exactly be surprised, but- How? He'd been so careful, and if it was all just thrown away like that- This conversation hadn't happened last time! So it had to be something he had done, something he had said to given himself away. Right?
"Don't look so worried," Narcissa laughed - laughed - soothing a hand through his hair again. "It's just a talk I've been meaning to have with you for a while. When you go to Hogwarts, you'll meet people who have different views from your own. Sometimes, you might find you agree with them more than with those you hold now. I just wanted you to know that things like that are okay, and healthy. It's good to expand your worldview, and how you see things."
"...Alright." Was she talking about blood traitors? Or mud- Was she talking about muggleborns? Did she think that how he saw muggles was going to change? She'd been meaning to have- This talk hadn't happened last time. He'd only just arrived on this day, so he must have done something different, today. Otherwise, she wouldn't have said anything about it. What could he have possibly done to prompt this?
His new behavior in thanking the house elves? His excitement about Harry Potter- Well, no, he had that last time, too. Was it... Was this just one of those things Howard said would change? Harry had been more bitter, after all. And the way they stocked most of the stores they had gone to had felt... Different. As if it was an ordering system he was unfamiliar with. Was this just one of those little changes? "Draco? Are you alright?"
"Y- Yes. I believe so." He rubbed at his arm, standing. "I'm not hungry. I'm going to my room." Before she could stop him, Draco quickly walked out and up the stairs, hand trailing along the railing. How much had he changed?