January 1st, 1991

"Shit!" Draco exclaimed in fright when he stumbled into the figure huddled outside his bedroom door. "Theo?" He asked, recognising the boy's stature and floppy brown hair. They weren't good friends by any stretch – Theo preferred to keep to himself when they met at functions with their families, where Draco preferred to sneak off to do something stupid with Vince and Greg. So, he was surprised to see Theo sitting next to the door, leaning against the wall at 4 o'clock in the morning. He had woken up, needing to pee but had heard a sound coming from the hallway on the way back to his bed from his ensuite.

Theo groaned "You kiss your mother with that mouth, Malfoy?"

Draco rolled his eyes, even though the other boy wouldn't be able to see it in the dark. "What are you doing here Theo?" He asked.

Theo shifted and hissed, apparently in pain "Can't I just come to visit a friend?"

"We're not friends and it's the middle of the night." Draco deadpanned.

The other boy sighed. "I didn't know where else to go." He admitted. "Some of dads friends are 'visiting' and they had a New Years party. I didn't appreciate the 'entertainment'"

Draco frowned. He had heard Theo's dad being mentioned when adults thought he wasn't listening. Generally, people weren't saying nice things about the man, but he didn't know if what they were saying was true or not. "Well, uh. Do you want to come inside then?" He shifted a little, insecure about the entire situation. What is the etiquette for when your not-friend breaks into your house?

Theo snorted. "If you'll help me get in."

Draco frowned even harder. Theo tried to get up but huffed and collapsed again. Draco went to help him up, by supporting him from the side. "Careful, I think I've got a couple of broken ribs on that side" Theo remarked casually.

What the in the world?

"Ellie!" Draco whisper-shouted.

Ellie appeared with a muffled crack. "Young master?" she squeaked.

Draco huffed "can you please help me get Theo inside?"

"Master is not wanting Ellie to call the older master and mistress?" Ellie frowned suspiciously.

Theo's head snapped up in panic. "No! No parents! And I'm not going to Saint Mungo's either"

"But you're badly hurt! What if it's worse than it looks and you have internal bleeding or something like that? I can't have you dying in my room!" Draco hissed in disbelief.

Theo snorted. "I've had worse. And trust me, I don't have internal bleeding, I know how that feels"

Ellie snapped her fingers and Theo was transported inside, relieving Draco of the other boy's weight. He couldn't help but wonder exactly how messed up his not-friend's home-life was and decided that maybe the boy was more in need of a real friend rather than a not-friend.

Draco walked into his private sitting room, where Theo was lying on one of the sofas. He huffed "where does it hurt?" he asked with a pretend long-suffering sigh.

Theo smiled at him and now that they were away from the darkness of the hall, Draco saw that his teeth were stained red and that he had several bruises on his face that was swollen from who knew how many hits he had taken.

Draco sighed for real, silently thanking his godfather for training him well. He might not have a wand, but he did have a fully stocked potions cabinet. "I'll go get my kit" he said with an uncharacteristically gentle smile.

July 31st, 1991

Draco hated visiting Madam Malkin's. The woman was friendly enough, but she smelled like cheese and it was dreadfully boring to stand there while being fitted. He didn't even know why he needed to get his robes fitted. Madam Malkin had all his measurements, surely, they would do. But no – because his mother was in charge of the clothing-part of his school equipment and of course he might have grown a couple of inches since last month when he was fitted for a set of dress robes to wear for Summer Solstice, but what were the odds of that?

He had been standing, bored out of his mind, when he heard the bell over the door jingle. Madam Malkin went to speak to the newcomer and Draco's hands started to feel sweaty when he heard the voice of a boy confirming that he too was going to Hogwarts. It wasn't a voice he knew, so he had to make an entirely new impression. It had to be good – he had to be cool, collected and superior. The one that everyone would want to be friends with.

… He failed. Spectacularly. He could hear himself blabbering and blabbering on and on and could practically hear his father's voice telling him to calm down and stop talking nonsense, but he couldn't hold himself back. He was nervous – much more than he anticipated and it had been incredibly awkward. He hoped he would do better at Hogwarts, otherwise he would be an embarrassment to the Malfoy name.

September 1st, 1991

Draco was bouncing on his feet entire morning. He was so full of nervous and excited energy that his 11-year old body simply couldn't contain it. He was constantly fidgeting – something his mother hated. Especially in public. For that reason, he had been clenching his hands ever since they had left the Manor. He wouldn't be surprised if he had marks in his palms from his nails. Never mind butterflies – he had giant bat-like creatures flapping around in his stomach. They were walking down the platform, the trolley with his trunk following slightly behind them, guided by his father's wand. He noticed that they drew the attention of many people there and they were looking at them with different kinds of expressions. Some observed them with something akin to awe, some with envy and some outright glared at them. He knew his family was either respected, revered or despised. He sneered back at the ones who were glaring.

As he looked around, he saw several children being hugged to death by their parents, and he was infinitely grateful that he and his parents had gotten that kind of sentiment out of the way before they left for the station. He didn't think he would be able to take the embarrassment, but that didn't mean he wanted to go without if. He was eleven years old, but even almost-adults like him could appreciate a tearful hug from his mother. Even the ones that lasted for several minutes. He'd prefer that it wasn't displayed in front of other people though, and his parents were the same. Tears, or bursts of emotions were best kept in private. You never knew who would use that kind of vulnerability against you. He definitely knew that he was taking note of all the ones who were being crushed against their mother's chest.

The train ride was boring to say the least. He, Greg and Vince had intimidated some second years into giving up their compartment. Odds were that they had heard of his family before and knew better than to argue.

He had just sent his friends off to find the trolley to buy some candy, when the oddest thing happened. A girl his age, wearing a Hogwarts first year uniform, opened the door to the compartment. She was so deeply engrossed in a book she was reading at the same time as she was walking, so she didn't even see him sitting there.

He knew that he had a tendency to shut the world out when he was focusing on potions, but this girl had reached a whole new level of concentration he had never seen before. It was honestly fascinating. But Malfoys don't stare, so he stopped himself doing just that and leaned back in his seat, making sure to look as relaxed and confident as possible before clearing his throat. He looked at her amusedly, as her large brown eyes snapped to his in surprise. She recovered quickly though. "Oh! Hello" she beamed at him and he found her smile infectious. He could feel his smirk tugging into a smile. She returned to her book quickly though.

"What can I do for you?" he inquired, wondering what she was doing in his compartment.

The girl shrugged "Nothing right now, thank you, but it's nice of you to offer your services" she said with a small smile, not even looking at him. Draco frowned.

"What are you reading that had taken your attention so much that you hardly notice your surroundings?

"Chemistry" she told him excitedly. "I'm really curious to see if any of the principles can be used in potions"

Draco was confused. "Chemistry?" he raised an eyebrow at her, trying his best to channel his father's scepticism.

The girl sat up straighter "Are you a pureblood?" She inquired, her head tilted slightly to the left.

Draco sneered "I take it you're not"

"Ah. You're one of those" She rolled her eyes, closed her book and stood, moving towards the door.

He frowned at her, grabbed her arm, and stood up too, grateful that he was taller than her. "One of which?" he practically growled.

She met his eyes head on and had the audacity to smirk. "One of those who think they know everything, but really only know one half of the equation." She pulled her arm out of his grip and left. She just walked out calmly, without looking back. He found himself irritated that she hadn't reacted more. He had hoped to throw her off kilter, maybe make her so angry that she would slam the door, or maybe cry. But neither happed and he definitely felt like he had lost that round. He hadn't even gotten her name.

He watched her get sorted at the ceremony. Hermione Granger. Obviously a mudblood and naturally in Gryffindor with all the blood traitors. He sneered in her direction, even though she wasn't looking at him.

December 1991

"I swear, if I hear another word about Harry Potter, that Granger girl or the Weasley-clan, the Malfoy line will die out because I might strangle my only heir" Lucius rubbed his face tiredly as the couple went to bed.

Narcissa snorted inelegantly. "He does complain quite frequently"

"With all the sweets and extravagant gifts, he received, he still has it in him to complain that Potter has that broom or that the Granger girl has that book. At least he isn't envious of the redheaded runt, I don't think I could bear that."

He plopped down so heavily on the bed that pillows fell in several directions.

Narcissa pursed her lips "No, he might not be envious, but he is mocking him something awful. I know you and Arthur don't see eye to eye and Morgana knows I question their choices and their knowledge of the contraception charm, but that shouldn't have any influence on the children"

Lucius sneered "From my understanding, Draco is simply giving as good as he gets."

"You can't possibly be that naïve. He might be on the receiving end of some hexes or harsh words, but I have no doubt that he is provoking them. He's only gotten more arrogant with age and with those two baboons by his side, egging him on, there's really no telling what he might be up to, with low supervision." She looked pointedly at him. The "I told you so" was just at the tip of her tongue.

Lucius rolled his eyes and waved her off "Severus will keep an eye on him"

Narcissa scoffed "Severus is the most biased man I have ever met. He adores Draco and would let him get away with murder if asked."

Lucius shrugged. "He is his godfather after all. That's what godfathers are for – hiding the bodies."

June 1992

Draco wanted to kill someone. He knew without a shadow of a doubt, that that trio of misfits had broken probably hundreds of school rules that each would warrant expulsion, but what happens? They get rewarded. Ridiculously so. His father really is right, Dumbledore is the worst thing that had ever happened to this school. And they said that uncle Sev was biased.

He sat, silently fuming and he hadn't realised he was trembling with rage until he felt a hand on his shoulder, giving it a hard squeeze and releasing it again. He turned towards Theo who was looking pointedly at him and they had a silent conversation. He relaxed a little. He didn't want to look like a petulant child. Who cared about a stupid house cup anyway?

Another chapter down, quite a few more to go.

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