Draco Malfoy woke up suspiciously comfortable in his bed. For a moment his mind had lagged and he was confused as to where he was, where such a comfortable place existed in the middle of a war. But once his mind caught up with him, the confusion vanished from his features.

Hogwarts had always felt nicer to him, than the Malfoy manor. He wasn't sure why, but the atmosphere here always brought his mood up in one way or another. Compared to his house where the constant perfectionist eyes of his father were always on him. Hogwarts was a welcome change to that.

He pulled himself out of bed and his grey eyes scanned his surroundings. Unlike most other Houses in Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin made sure that the students of his house had the privacy that they needed. Hence why each student had a room of their own. And with the Slytherin Dungeons being under the ground, the founder made certain arrangements. For one, each year had a level to themselves. Meaning there were seven levels below the common room, magically extending to accommodate any number of students. A very proficient display of magic, the Malfoy heir admitted.

But the rooms weren't the biggest. It was in comparison half the size of a master bedroom in Manors. The beds were four-poster beds made from some dark wood and with the colors of House Slytherin adorning its curtains and bedsheets. The walls were smooth stones with carvings of serpents close to the stone floor, both greenish-black in color. There was a bookshelf, a wardrobe, and a study table made from the same wood the bed was made of. And it also had a bathroom attached to it. Above on the ceiling was a small chandelier with candle stands for four candles, which only burned to life when it was dark outside or if anyone was reading a book or something. Small as the candles were, they were plenty enough to lighten the entire room, another display of magic from the now-dead Salazar Slytherin.

Draco stood, taking a moment to steady himself, before he made his way to the bathroom, performing a silent 'Accio' to summon a fresh set of robes and clothes to wear underneath it from the wardrobe. He was thankful for the heating charm placed on the walls of his room and the shower in his bathroom. Otherwise, he would have frozen to death by the first night, being under the ground and the lake being so close to the dungeons. Another thing he'd praise Salazar Slytherin for.

The common room, when Draco entered was already filling up with students. So far, only the older year seemed to have made themselves at ease here. The younger years, mostly the first years, were probably still getting ready.

The common room was a dungeon-like room decorated with greenish lamps and chairs. The giant green-tinted glass was right with the lake and the light trickling through it gave the common room a greenish tinge. The common room has lots of low-backed black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas; skulls; and dark wood cupboards. It was decorated with tapestries featuring the adventures of famous Medieval Slytherins. It gave off a quite grand and cold atmosphere.

Draco did not wait for his 'friends' to come down. Instead, he greeted his seniors in a manner that a pureblood should and walked out of the place. He made his way to the Great Hall with the intent to get something to eat. That place too was partially empty, with a few faculties and a few students eating their food.

Draco sat at the Slytherin table and before him the food he wanted popped into existence. House-elves, such weird creatures. His eyes scanned the room while he chewed his bacon. He saw a few Ravenclaws and a few Hufflepuffs. No Gryffindors were there, not that it surprised him. The Gryffindors certainly were the last to arrive every time he could remember.

"Hello there" a regal voice greeted him and Draco looked to the side, making sure to swallow his food before doing that. Beside him stood a femme of his owl house. She was wearing the standard Slytherin robes, her blonde hair falling in tumbles across her back and her blue eyes looking at him with some excitement and nervousness. "I'm Daphne Greengrass."

"Draco Malfoy" the boy gave a respectful nod, but he knew she already knew that information. Everybody knew who he was, what titles he would inherit in the future.

"May I?" she asked and Draco shrugged. The girl sat and immediately food appeared before her. Draco watched her from the corner of his eyes. She had the grace and poise of a pureblood that much was undoubted. But that was never in doubt. The Greengrass family was well known in the British Wizarding community as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. What Draco was trying to remember, was where he had seen her before.

The realization came to him and he remembered that the memory he was trying to acquire was not of this lifetime. He remembered the version of Daphne from before he traveled in time. She was one of Pansy's cliques, and later on one of the girls that ignored more or less everyone.

Slowly more students began to file into the Great Hall and Draco watched in silence, studying each of them intently. His attention only broke when a shrill voice made him wince.

"Greengrass! You're in my spot!" Pansy Parkinson shrieked. Draco looked to the side and saw the blonde making moves to get out of her seat.

"She can sit here if she wants to" Draco's words made both girls freeze. Pansy looked about ready to protest, but she instead gave a glare to the blonde and sat on the opposite side to the Malfoy heir. He almost rolled his eyes at that. The Malfoys had a standing in the death eater ranks far above most of the other death eater families in Draco's house. While the older students would just ignore him until they were referred to, those in his year would pretty much listen to what he says without a second thought.

Professor Snape came by, distributing the first-year timetables. Herbology with Ravenclaw, Charms with Ravenclaw, History with Hufflepuff, and Transfiguration with Hufflepuff, Draco read in silence. He did not remember how lessons went the last time around, but he did remember not being the best at these basic courses. That was about to change this time around.

The first class was being taken by Pomona Sprout who was a squat little witch with short, grey, wavy hair. She wore a patched and battered hat with her clothes being covered in dirt and earth.

Class with Ravenclaws went as one would expect. Almost every answer was being by the Ravenclaws, who earned point after point for their answers. Draco pitched in as well, remembering oddly enough from the last time. That earned Slytherin some points as well.

They were being taught the fire-making spell, a charm that would conjure a jet of fire to ignite things on fire. Their task was to deal with the spell on certain thick vined plants. They were fake of course, but the task was to light them on fire. Draco got it immediately, already knowing the spell. He was awarded the highest points for it.

The next class was Charms and that too with Ravenclaw. This class was taken by Filius Flitwick. The man was quite short thanks to his goblin ancestry. His hair was white and he had on him green robes.

The task for today was to levitate a feather, the levitation charm. Professor Flitwick went into the procedure, rambling on about how to do the spell, how to maneuver the wrist, and what the incantation was. Draco kept his ear open, listening only to when the Professor would ask them to begin. And when he did, Draco did the spell with ease and on the first try. He was awarded the highest points in a class by a very excited Flitwick.

There was a big gap between the next class and this one. Draco in that time went back to his dorm and in silence thought about a few things. The first was his circle of friends. He wanted to ditch every last one of them. But he also knew the importance of having these specific people around him. Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson all came from high-standing Pureblood families. And they were also Death Eaters in training Draco knew. Or at least they were sympathizers.

If he cut them off then their parents might bring it up to his father. Who would in turn make sure the friendship still happens. The thought of dealing with his father about this made him groan out loud. He had to still hang with them. But he wasn't about to be chummy with them.

I could always make other friends, the boy thought with a hum. He had already started some parts with Daphne Greengrass. And Potter did not hate him like he used to. He'll count that as a victory and try to befriend him as well. That was always the plan after all. Now if only Weasley stepped away or something.

Your mother on the other hand values family, the hat's words came to his mind. He would still need some help with matters that he won't be able to handle himself. And his mother would be a good person to approach for that. Plus, by telling her he would be able to get some sound advice. Who knows, maybe she could even save his father.

Quickly Draco grabbed a parchment and began to scribble down on it.

Mother

I'm doing alright, I hope things at home are fine as well. I've two of my classes so far and I've gotten the best results! I was awarded plenty of points for it. So, no need to worry about me on that end. I'll do you proud I promise.

But there is something important that I must discuss with you. I can't write it in a letter since it is a lot. We need to meet and the sooner the better. I am eagerly waiting for your reply.

And send Dobby with the reply and show this to no one else. It is of the utmost importance.

Yours,

Draco

He reread the contents a few times before folding it neatly and transfigured another piece of parchment into an envelope to put into.

Draco hastily made his way to the owlery first before class. He had used one of the school owls for this, whispering his mother's name and address before watching it fly away.

The next class was History of Magic and it was taught by Binns the ghost. The less said about it the better it was. Draco was sure he had fallen asleep in the middle of class and woke up right before the end.

The final class of the day was Transfiguration and it was with Hufflepuff. The teacher was Minerva McGonagall, the deputy headmistress who had also been there for the sorting last night.

She began her lecture by giving a brief explanation of what the course was before explaining the Transfiguration Alphabets which were drawn on the chalkboard behind her. She showed how letters corresponded to the English letters before moving on to the transformation formula. Draco silently hummed as she gave her lecture, making mental checklists of the things the woman was saying. This was after all his favorite of the basic courses.

The professor laid out the first task, turning a match stick into a needle. It was maybe a bit too early for them, but the Professor aimed to see how the students performed rather than how many succeeded. It was a test and she didn't expect anyone to pass right away. So, when Draco had done it flawlessly, she was quite surprised.

"5 points to Slytherin for a work well done. And a further 5 for being able to do it on the first try" she stated, giving Draco an encouraging smile. Draco smiled back.

He looked around after, watching the rest of the students try and fail. He gave words of advice to Crabbe and Goyle, but they were not the sharpest and were not able to pick it up. Pansy was able to somewhat change the stick, making it a little shiny. She hugged Draco for the help, much to his disgruntlement.

Daphne on the other hand was not as physical with her gratitude. She simply smiled and nodded at him, her match stick looking slightly silvery before her.

Draco's eyes moved to the other House in the classroom. The Hufflepuffs were diligently working on their match sticks. But there was one chubby gingerish blonde that seemed to be frozen on her seat with a nervous look on her face. She was sat alone for some reason.

Draco got up and took the empty seat beside her, much to the surprise of the Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs. "Take a deep breath. Picture it in your head first. And then keep the image in your mind when you cast the spell" he explained gently.

The girl looked at him and gave a shaky nod. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. When she exhaled, she opened her eyes and pointed her wand at the stick. The match stick shook for a moment before it looked smoother and slightly silver.

"2 points to Slytherin for extending a helping hand" McGonagall spoke and Draco looked at her. She had a genuine proud smile on her face and Draco felt his cheeks flame slightly.

Draco moved back to his table and he stayed there till class ended, answering questions from both houses about the spell. As he was packing, he was approached by the Hufflepuff girl.

"Thank you for helping me" the girl spoke, a nervous smile on her face.

"No need to thank me" the boy smiled back. "I'm Draco Malfoy."

"I know" the girl's smile seemed a bit easier and more confident now. "I'm Susan Bones. It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine" the Slytherin returned her smile with one of his own, a knowing and accomplished glint in his eyes.