I had thoughts and visions of a vortex composed of fire, spinning around a grassy open field and yet the luscious greenery did not burn as the inferno passed. I could not comprehend what I was seeing or even that I was viewing something outlandish, in the moment everything seemed natural. The fiery vortex was beginning to falter and cracks in the flame revealed a small oval like shape being concealed and protected by the flames. In the distance, thunder could be heard and as the sound cracked so did the strange oval like object. I heard a cry and I was blasted from my sleepy plane.
I awoke and felt breathless. I felt weak and paralyzed, for my limbs were too heavy for me to open, but the most frightening experience that I felt was the fact that my eyes also refused to open for me. I have experienced sleep paralysis before so that is what I first thought had happened to me, but then I was assaulted with memories of the fact that some stranger of light towered over me, what seemed like only moments beforehand.
I lay there on the surface of something soft for what felt like ages. I slipped in and out of unconsciousness for what I learnt was hours at a time. Sometimes I felt a presence taking hold of me and my stomach which I never realized was hungry felt soothed soon after. This process took place over the course of months and I only really learned of the ramifications of my situation once I learnt how to open my eyes again and gain some sort of resistance to the light.
When I learnt that I was a baby again, I actually cried, not as a baby, but literally in my adult mind as well. It took my new mother, Narcissa and her caretaker Anna days to calm me down. They seemed to give up after the first few days and slipped some sort of liquid into my milk and I felt oddly calm even though I felt I shouldn't be. There was a lot of very familiar things that seemed like I had knowledge of when I shouldn't have had any, for one my mother's name as well as the name they occasionally called me was ringing bells in my head, but I couldn't place my finger on where they belonged, though it was on the tip of my tongue.
The most embarrassing part of growing up again was that I had to soil my wrappings and get inspected by Anna every couple of hours. Speaking of that woman, she always had an eye on me, always watching to see if I was going to do something. I had no idea what she expected out of a little kid, but hey to each their own.
Something interesting started to occur when I was starting to learn how to speak again. I have been trying to speak again ever since I realized I was a child, but until I was two years old, I could not physically move the muscles in my face and throat to produce cohesive words. When I was about eighteen months, I could make sounds that sounded like words, but it was too embarrassing so I decided to wait till I could at least sound like I still spoke a modicum of English.
As I was saying though, when I was about two and a half years old, Anna came in with a strange stick in her hands. I thought that perhaps she was about to garden or something else, but when a light shot out of her stick and the room started to clean itself, I was shocked beyond my mind. I lay dumbfounded for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes. When Anna noticed my shock she smiled at me and opened her mouth to converse.
"Young Draco, you like what you just saw there?" She asked while smiling.
"What was that just now Anna?" I asked.
She looked at me mysteriously. "Magic." She said and after a few moments of no reaction from me, her shoulders slumped and she straightened her back and took on a more serious expression. "Well you're no fun at all, usually when kids hear something like magic they start jumping up and down in joy." She pouted.
"Will you get to the point sometime today, or will I have to book an appointment sometime in the near future for you to collect your thoughts." I said sarcastically.
I could read the expression on Anna's face, she was thinking something along the line of 'this little shit', or something like that. It's pretty funny and even though she never admits it, I think she enjoys our little back and forth conversations. "Well Draco, I was going to tease you for a bit, but I actually have duties to perform, believe it or not, so I'll give you the small version of magic."
I waited and soon I felt a tick on my forehead. "Well, so what is it?" I asked impatiently.
She gave me a shit eating grin. "Why one would usually ask nicely before requesting information." She said with sass.
I started rubbing my temples, then had an idea. I walked over to a jade vase and grabbed hold of it. She gave me a questioning gaze and I greeted her with my own shit eating grin. "Talk…or else I'll drop the vase and say you did it."
She clutched her chest and gave me a scandalous look. "You…you are really a Slytherin at heart you know that, ok fine magic is something we wizards and witches are able to use and control to bend reality to achieve feats that would be incredible and sometimes impossible for others." She explained.
When I heard Slytherin, I nearly slapped myself. It suddenly all clicked together and when I realized just who I was, I was shocked and my grasp on the vase faltered. It dropped to the ground and Anna and I stared at one another for a minute.
She soon pointed her wand at the vase. "Reparo." She muttered.
I watched in amazement as the shards flew in the air and quite literally rebuilt itself. I actually thought it might've looked better than before. Soon a thought rushed to my head. "Hey wait a second! Don't tell me you could've done that all along." I yelled kind of embarrassed.
She gave me a smirk. "Maybe." She said.
I puffed up my cheeks. "Then why did you look so shocked when I threatened to drop it." I asked.
She started laughing. "For my own amusement of course. I really wanted to see the look on your face if you dropped it and I instantly repaired it. I actually thought we would've started some sort of cycle of you continuing to break things and I repair them instantly. I would've paid to see the look of frustration on your face." She said while wiping a tear.
My face turned red and I turned around in childish anger and I began to ignore her. She left, but the fact that I was the Draco Malfoy was shocking to say the least. I decided then and there that I was not going to be the pompous prick that Draco Malfoy was and was going to be much more than some sad character.
The months rolled by and soon turned to years. I would always ask about magic and my parents would always supply me with any knowledge that I desired, but told me to wait until my fifth birthday to attempt to do any magic myself. When I was about three years old, my mother was attempting to feed me some disgusting mashed food that I did not want to eat and something funny happened. The food started floating and soon the plate turned upside down and fell on top of my mother. She looked happy that I performed magic, but I could see she was pretty pissed off that her clothes got ruined, even though she cast a spell and cleaned herself in seconds. Over the months more and more minor feats of magic occurred from me, although most of the time it was levitating objects.
I asked my father why whenever I seemed to do any magic, why would it always float, and he simply told me that levitation was the most common accidental magic that was cast by children, often times cast subconsciously by a wizard or witch when they wanted to reach something like cookies that were too high up and their desire sent out magic to reach it for them.
When he explained that to me I was ecstatic. I would always try to reach out with my magic to try to lift objects off the ground. When my father found out what I was doing, he started laughing and told me to wait until I was a bit older to start attempting wandless magic and if I waited until I was six he could supply me with some of the family's wands to practice a bit.
I really wanted to perform wandless magic and I knew for a fact that it wasn't necessarily some godlike ability some people made it out to be. For one, the African school of Uagadou, taught almost exclusively wandless magic and more incredibly, wandless transfiguration magic, something which many people agree to be the most difficult school of magic. In Europe wands existed and were used for years simply because it made everything easier and more powerful. Do not get me wrong, magic without a wand is most likely not as effective and would probably tire you out quickly, but still it can be done. Think about this, why ride a bike when you can instead drive a car. They both take you to your destination, but the car is obviously faster.
I particularly chose levitation as that was the magic that Grindelwald could perform wandlessly and it made him a living god to some people. It also was probably one of the simpler magic spells that could be cast.
For months I tried to lift anything with my mind, but failed to so. Whenever something floated it was because I was not aware of it, I tried to lift objects with emotions, but it still did not work. I decided to try at least once a day to lift anything, but wait until I was six and tried using a wand for the first time to expect any results.
For my fifth birthday I received something that put a smile on my face. My parents had gifted me a toy broomstick.
"Thanks guys! I cannot believe that you guys got me a broom." I shouted while jumping up and down in anticipation.
My mother chuckled. "Well you have been quite a good little boy lately and we decided it was time for you to truly take to the skies…well at least to the ceiling of your room." She grinned.
"Can I try it out now?" I asked ignoring her.
She smiled and looked at my father and he only started laughing. "Sure why not. It's not like that broom is going to be used to collect dust, so no use wasting it." He said
My mom smiled and nodded towards me. "After dinner though. Anna was gracious enough to make you a cake, so let us go and fill our bellies full."
My parents started laughing when I ran to the kitchen and started to gorge down my meal. After no more than two minutes I ran back to the living room and proceeded to rip the broom right out of my mother's grasp.
"Give me, give me." I demanded impatiently. Apparently experiencing childhood for a second time caused some childish traits to make their way back into my personality.
My mother started to laugh. "Alright here you go." She said while giving me the broom. I greedily took it and then a brief stern expression marred her face. "I hope I do not have to tell you to be careful while on that thing. I swear all young boys just try to jump in the face of danger like it is some kind of adventure, there will be none of that here, you hear me young man." She nagged while waving her finger at me.
I rolled my eyes. "Yes mother, I will not do anything stupid, what do you take me for…a Weasley?" I asked sarcastically and my father nearly choked on his drink while laughing.
My mother looked over at my father and he gave her a shrug. "What? The boy has got some pretty good humour, you can at least give him that much." He defended himself.
My mother shook her head in resignation and told me to try the broom out. "Now Draco, all you need to do is take hold of the broom and it'll automatically sense your intent to lift off the ground." She explained.
"What do you mean mother? Do you not have to use any magic or direct any magic towards the broom for it to take off?" I asked confused.
My dad chuckled. "You see son, the toy broom is just that, a toy. Normally with regular brooms you would need to use a burst of magic to unlock the enchantments of the wood. Yes before you ask, the enchantments such as the ones that help you fly are on the broom itself, you would just have to be able to use magic in general to be able to use them. Now before when I said a burst of magic was required, I was a little wrong in my words. What actually happens is that the broom when it comes into contact with you will automatically use a little shred of magic to unlock the enchantments and make them active. Truthfully the magic required is so minuscule that you wouldn't even realize it was being used up. What this means is that you could probably fly all day long and not get exhausted, well at least not magically. I would imagine that you would probably feel quite physically tired after a few hours of spinning in the air." He explained.
My mother smiled at him and nodded towards me. "What your father said is correct Draco. With regular brooms you would need some sort of magic to activate it, but in this case a toy broom doesn't actually require magic to activate it, or if it does then we cannot track it." She said.
Something clicked in my head. "Hey wait a second, if it does not require any magic would it not fall under the banned items of the muggles misuse department. I mean technically speaking wouldn't a muggle also be able to use the broom in that case."
My father frowned for a bit at the mention of muggles. "Well in this case that ridiculous farce of wasted resources you call a department would never be able to something like that. For one, toy brooms have been around ever since the first brooms were being created, it is literally tradition for parents to help teach their children to fly with them. Also other than possibly thousands of parents rebelling against the government for such a decision, the toy brooms these days have muggle-repelling charms placed on them. They wouldn't be able to look at it, much less pick one up." He smugly explained.
That…sort of made sense in a way. "So wait, these toys are actually training tools?" I asked incredulously.
My mother spoke up. "Yes they are. You see the whole point for the toy broom is to get the child used to the feeling of riding a broom and the feeling of levitating in the air, so when they ride a real broom they wouldn't freak out. It is also to help curb a fear of heights when a child is young so it doesn't develop into adulthood. In this case you could only fly a few feet in the air, but that does not mean that it still isn't incredibly fun." She smiled.
I looked at both my parents and smiled at them. This was going to be the start of a very fun hobby I think. "Alright! I'm going to get started, do I just sit on the broom and wish for it to fly?" I asked.
My mother smiled and nodded. "Just put the broom between your legs and grip it tight and think of the broom taking off the ground." She said.
I nodded at her and proceeded to clutch the broomstick between my legs. I grasped the end of the stick with both my hands firmly on it and took a deep breath. I imagined the broom floating in the air and was momentarily surprised when I began to rise. I had a flushed expression on my face and looked at my parents and they were amused at my expression, I smiled at that.
For some reason I just felt natural in the air. For the first few moments, my stomach felt fluttery, just like when you're on a rollercoaster and it is still climbing slowly for the first drop. Speaking of rollercoasters, I was kind of an enthusiast when it came to them, so that might explain why I felt so alive in the air, I felt like I was born for this moment.
After a few moments I reached near the ceiling in the room and just decided to go wild. I could hear my mother screaming in the background, but I did not care. I started looping around and spinning in the air, making rapid turns whenever I reached a wall. I think turning at the last second is what made my mother anxious and after half an hour she essentially ordered me to stop my antics and ground myself and the broom.
When I reached the ground she admonished me for my behaviour and told me to be more careful, but I could only think of wondrous feeling of being airborne. I cannot explain the feeling, but I felt like I was supposed to fly, like it was in my DNA. After an hour long rant, she grounded me and told me that my broom privileges would be suspended for a month.
After I left the room to go to bed, I overheard a conversation between my parents. "Honestly Lucius, I have no idea what we are going to do with that troublesome boy." She told him worriedly.
My father started laughing. "Honey, he's a boy what did you expect. You saw danger, you know what I saw?" When my mother blankly stared at my father he continued. "A future quidditch champion. Perhaps if he were to get drafted, England would finally have a chance at the title for a change." He said smugly.
I smiled at that notion and decided to leave before my mother restarted her rant towards my father.
Despite my grounding, I would always sneak out in the night to try out my broom and fly for at least an hour every night. I think Anna knew about my extra-curricular activities, but I do not think she ratted me out since my mother never showed up during my sessions. The months passed by and day by day I was gaining more knowledge of magic.
I guess you could say that I was blessed in having being born into a pureblood family as they were very well off and boasted quite a huge library full of magical tomes. The most interesting thing happened as I turned six years old as every day since I was four years old, I would attempt to lift objects with my mind. When I read in a book that it would help to visualize an aura being extended from my body and lifting the object up like an invisible third hand, it was finally the step that broke the wall guarding levitation. At first I could only lift up a few specks of dust, but after a month on concentrating, I could successfully lift a button into the air and sustain the feat for quite a while.
One time Anna walked into my room while I was practicing levitation. It was quite comical to say the least.
"Urgghh." I said while in frustration. I imagined an imaginary hand lifting the button and after straining my face, the button started to lift off the ground. "Hahhh." I breathed out. That was quite difficult, much harder to do consciously than subconsciously. I watched in amazement as I flexed my fingers and the button dancing around the room. I made it spin and do tricks in the air. "That'll never get old." I said.
The door suddenly opened. "What'll never…" Anna asked and then she was stumped. I think at first she was in denial. Right before was a floating button, but to her it was not possible since the only other occupant in the room was a child who had yet to receive his wand.
She rubbed her eyes and the button disappeared. She turned around and shrieked when it was only inches from her face. "What-what the hell is going on in here?!" She pointed at me and narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you had something to do with this madness." She asked.
I looked innocently at her and folded my arms behind me. "What, little ole me? I think you're highly exaggerating, besides what are you talking about?" I asked while whistling.
She narrowed her eyes further and pointed behind her. "Don't get smart with me young man, I'm talking about…" She turned around and the button that was flying only seconds before laid on the table before her.
I smirked. "As you were saying?" I asked her smugly.
"What, I, I swear I just saw…" She sputtered out incredulously.
"Seeing things at your age Anna? I can't say I'm too surprised, perhaps an afternoon nap would serve you well in your old age." I said with some sass.
"Why you little…" She began, but restrained herself. "I'll have you know I'm only twenty-eight thank you very much." She huffed. "I swear kids these days are becoming way too bold, especially you young Draco, some humility would serve you well." She huffed and marched out of the room with a flushed face.
As soon as she left I burst out in laughter and rolled on the ground laughing. After that day whenever Anna didn't realize I was in the room, I would levitate small objects whenever she was distracted. I think it got to a point where she was so paranoid of random objects flying around her, she called a medic to see if she was cursed in any way.
I had to hold myself back when the medic arrived and waited hours for anything to float and asked her if she was alright mentally after being frustrated hours later. I decided after that visit to take it easy on Anna for a while, but at least a positive thing occurred during the whole ordeal, my levitation could be cast on small objects with almost no effort now. Although I could still only lift one thing at a time. I don't think I've ever had so much fun in either my lives.
I was turning seven years old soon. When I turned six, my father let me try out some wands, but all the ones he had did not work for me. When I was worried he told me not to be. He explained how it was difficult to be able to make a wand that was not bonded to you work. When a wizard was older they could make most wands respond to them with force, but there would always be some that would only obey their true masters. He told me not to fret and that when I turned eight years old, we would all go out and buy a wand together.
When I asked him why we could not buy it earlier he told me that there was a law in place that prevented anyone from purchasing a wand before the age of eight. Technically when you received the wand you weren't allowed to use it till you were ten years old, but they made an exception for pureblood families as they could home-school the child till he was of age to attend a wizarding school.
My seventh year passed by in relative peace, then about a week before my eight birthday arrived, I saw a familiar figure. I saw Dobby the house elf and we were both alone. I knew then and there that fate brought this moment to the light and something was about to occur from our soon to be interaction.