Draco Malfoy felt like he was drowning, he struggled for air so heavily that he quite literally threw himself out of bed and to the floor. It was only once his body was on the thick rug covering the wooden floor that he began to wake. It happened slowly, as much of his recent mornings had begun, though this time it didn't feel like it was a firewhiskey hangover. He groaned before standing on shaky legs and pulling his battered body off the floor. Blinking his eyes open blearily he looked about the space and for a moment it didn't register exactly what he was seeing, not until his eyes caught the mirror. Walking slowly to it, as if in some trance, he touched his face…. There were no scars.
Hyperventilation was something he was familiar with, and it started as little black dots seemed to be on the edges of his vision. There was a soft crack behind him and he whirled to look and see his old house elf there. "Young Master! Yous is awake!" Its ears flopped happily, "Good, good, now yous can come to break your fast and Tizzy will get yous trunk ready for school."
"T-Tizzy?" The name felt like saw dust in his mouth, seeing the elf again for the first time in…. "Wait, school?"
"But of course, yous gots to go back to Hogwarts, yous still have two years to go!" She nodded
as she began levitating things out of his dresser to his trunk that was being levitated out of his
closet. He swallowed once, twice, and nodded briefly before disappearing into the bathroom attached to his childhood bedroom. He had barely made it to the toilet before he was emptying the contents of his stomach. The juxtaposition of seeing Tizzy alive and well, and the last very visceral image he had of her on the floor…. It was more than he could handle.
After a moment or two, when he could regain his footing, he stood and shakily made his way to the shower. In that moment, more than anything, he wanted to feel some semblance of warmth and clean. The pulses of hot water seemed to help ease out his achy joints and muscles, he lathered his
hair and drug his hands down his neck and to his shoulders and that's when he felt the scar tissue. His shoulder was a gnarled mess of freshly healed flesh, wait… freshly healed… that thought stopped him in his tracks. It was then that he attempted to catalog the scars on his person and almost all of them were gone… the only ones left were the ones he had prior to… year six. Suddenly things began to click into place and his brain realized then that he was back.
How? That he had no clue, but he was…. It took longer than it probably should for him to leave the shower and dress. His hand shook as he went to reach for his wand and tuck it away, the familiar thrum of magic pulsing through him… Merlin how long had it been since he had been able to feel that?
He tenderly made his way out of his rooms, letting his mind wander and his eyes dart across the familiar halls, and down to the dining room. It was on his way there that he spotted the doors open to the drawing
room and he paled slightly before swiftly moving forward. His mother was seated a bit stiffly at
her normal seat and the pale thin looking Lucius sat at the head of the table.
Draco took his place, per usual, and began to eat once his plate was in front of him. Breakfast
was always a quiet affair, and he couldn't help but drink in his parents a bit as he ate. Things had turned out so wrong… there was so much death and destruction…. He remembered desperately wishing that he could fix things, that he could go back and just… fix it all. He spent the last galleon to his name for an elixir, a cure all to fix it and he… did he even drink it? Under the light of the moon near the Thames… that is where he was, he remembered unstopping the vial and putting it to his lips and then… drowning.
A delicate clearing of his mother's throat broke him from his thoughts. "My dragon, are you ready for school…. You know how important this year is." Lucius twitched in his seat as he brought his tea cup up to his lips. Draco badly wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, but he swallowed the laugh and nodded instead. "Good…. I have alerted Severus to your new predicament," her eyes glazed his shoulder, "and he is aware that there are some adjustments that need to take place this year." Chewing on a bit of bacon he nodded once more,
remembering this conversation from when it had happened before. "Right, once you are packed
I will take you to the station. Be sure to take all the materials you need darling." It was then that she picked up Witch Weekly and pursued something or another between its pages. His father was quickly lost in the Prophet and he excused himself to explore the house once more before it was time to leave. Tizzy would have everything handled and in his trunk, he was aware, but he wanted to just remember his home for a little longer.
Perhaps it was selfish of him, but he was feeling a bit nostalgic, seeing this place as it was before the dark bastard moved into the place. It still felt of home and not some shroud of evil, the bastard was staying elsewhere for now, though he knew that it wouldn't be too long before his father caved into the pressure he was under. There were many things that he knew… and that he shouldn't but there were many things that he wanted to change, if he could. Heading into
the library, he summoned a blank journal, and quickly began scribbling out details of what he remembered from his timeline, and then charmed them hastily before heading back to his room.
The clock in the library had chimed and he knew it was about time to side along with his mother. Kings Cross was exactly the way he remembered it, his mother had come early with him as always, and apparated directly at the apparition point on the platform for the Hogwarts Express. Giving him a soft smile she patted his cheek and kissed his forehead softly before motioning him forward and heading home. His mother was not one to show affection in public often, however this last summer was very hard on her. As soon as she was gone he opened his trunk, grimacing at his father's cane, and pulled out the journal before closing it and tucking it in with
the rest that were preparing to be put on the train.
Being as early as he was every year, he normally sat back and watched the others arrive, but today he headed over to the small exchange booth and exchanged a small handful of coins for some muggle currency. Thankfully the goblin said nothing as he headed through the barrier and into the muggle world, he headed to a little corner store where he purchased a small pack of muggle pens and then over to one of the strange muggle coffee places to get a hot chocolate and sit at the outside tables so he could observe the clock in front of the station. He continued to chronicle some of the events that he remembered and was almost out of his chocolate when he glanced up and realized that it was about time to head back and get on the train.
Waiting until he was safely behind the barrier to the platform 9 , he then shrunk the journal to fit into his pocket as well as the muggle pens and finished the chocolate before throwing the paper cup away and heading over to the train. He still had some time, but he wanted to watch for some familiar faces that he hadn't been able to see in a long time. He saw the inky mop of black hair that signaled the arrival of Harry Potter and the shock of red that showed the
Weasley's were here as well. It was really the third head of hair he wanted, no needed to see.
The drawing room this morning, seeing it made this… need appear in his chest to see her. It was a few moments before he saw her arrive with a couple, her parents he assumed, and she hugged them tight.
To most, it would look like a normal farewell, but there was a strain on her face as she hugged her folks, a pain that Draco could recognise. He had no clue why she had that look, but he was sure it was the same look he had given his mother before she headed back home. There was no way it could be for the same reasons, but seeing that look seemed to rattle something within him. Shaking his head he assumed the air of haughtiness that he was known for, though it was somewhat dimmed with the knowledge that he now possessed and boarded the train.
It wasn't hard to spot the few people that he thought of as friends. It was almost hard to catch his breath
as he looked at Blaise and Theo playing some chess in the back seat, Greg and Vincent gobbling down Merlin knows what, Daphnie and her younger sister sat with Millicent, Pansy, and Tracey looking over some article in Witch Weekly. He took a seat opposite Vince and Greg, per usual and waited, remembering that Potter was going to come looking for him. It felt as though he couldn't sit still, and bought a small collection of things from the trolley as it passed, his eyes lingering on the sugar quills. At one point he
needed to stretch his legs, and he got up to walk the length of the train, there was still plenty of time before they reached the school.
It was during his walk up the train that he bumped into a head of frizzy curls that he could recognize from anywhere. "Wotcher Granger." Mumbling he
helped her up off the ground as she stared at him wide eyed. Something seemed to shift in him,
there was a moment where he swore he could see her pupils dilate and her breath catch that
had nothing to do with the fall. Something had changed.
"M-Malfoy…" Her voice was a bit rough around the edges, but with it he let out a breath. Before his body could do something silly, he nodded and headed off to the front of the train now that she was fine. He slid into one of the washrooms near the front of the train and splashed some water on his face before heading back. Why had the interaction with Granger shaken him so? There was no real reason for it, yes he had sought her out before the train ride, just to try and
make sure that this was before… well it was, this was his sixth year. This was the year that he needed to Kill Dumbledore. With that heavy weight on his mind, he didn't notice the glare that Potter was giving him as he passed the car that he had chosen, nor did he see Granger reading an interesting slim black volume.
Hermione watched Harry leave with a growing sense of alarm, though what she held in her hands was much more so. She had found it in the aisle of the train after Malfoy had helped her back up and she watched him walk away. He was alive, considering seeing her parents this morning, and watching Fred and George interact on the platform, she should have known that he would be alive too. The feeling of her heart breaking when she had read the newspaper…. Shaking her head she curled up on the seat and began reading the journal in her hands. Ron assumed it was just another book as he spoke to Nevile who had joined them not long before Harry got up. The fact of the matter was, it was not just some book, it was a diary of sorts. In a very neat and precise script was a timeline… one she recognised. It wasn't very detailed, and there were some bits that were missing, but it was a timeline that she knew nonetheless. Pulling a purple pen out of her bag, she notated a few things that were missing from this year and then she flipped the page.
Honey colored eyes darkened as she read the next page and she saw her own name written down around easter. Yes, she remembered that day vividly, and her hand absently went to the same wrist where there once was a scar. Again she filled out a few things that were missing, leaving out the horcruxes, of course, but filling in the break in at Gringotts, the break in at the Ministry, and a few other bits and bobs that she could see were missing. It was then that it dawned on her, this list was written by a death eater that was from her time. All the points listed were things from the opposite side of the war. With a muttered few spells she duplicated the book and placed a simple charm on it, making sure that when she returned this to whomever it belonged, if they added anything additional she would be able to tell.
Knowing that Harry was going to be found by Luna, Hermione got ready and urged Ron and Nevile out of the train and to a carriages. The book that she had reshruk burning a hole in her pocket. There was a vague idea that this was Malfoy's book, and she needed to get it to him somehow. The few entries on the task that he had been given and what he had to do to fix the cabinet were in there, so it was a safe bet that the book was his. She saw him being harassed by Filch and Flitwick before Ron got into their carriage. Seeing as how there was only one more, she set the book down on the floor of the last one and hoped that he would see it.
Draco did in fact see the journal, luckily it was after he was already in the carriage and assumed that it had slipped from his pocket. Quickly he grabbed it up and tucked it safely away in his pocket, gripping the leather on the ride up to the castle. Though he knew more about the future than he did the first go round, he needed to keep things normal for now. So he had stunned Potter and left him under his own cloak, but didn;t break the bloke's nose. There really was no need for all that. It was like a punch to the gut to see Dumbledore there, and announcing the sorting, and then the feast once the majority of them were all settled inside. Strange emotions welled up and he felt the need to jump up and yell at the old man but knew that he could not, instead he focused his gaze at his table and ran his fingers gently over the leather of the journal in his pocket.
For a brief and fleeting moment he really wished that this was just another year and that all the weight of what he knew was coming wasn't sitting like a brick on his chest. Though there was really nothing to do about that bit. It seemed as though there was always going to be something there, however he might be able to change somethings, perhaps this time he could do something a little different. It was then that Potter came into the hall and Draco's eyes were drawn once again to Hermione as she looked up at Potter, but there was a flicker of something that looked remarkably like confusion that filled her face before her eyes darted over and caught his. Sucking in an involuntary breath he swallowed and looked down at his dish, unable to hold her stare as his hand gripped the book.
As soon as there was a time for him to leave and head back to the dorms he did, muttering the password and entering the commons he slipped directly into his room and slid the curtians closed on his bed. Ensuring that the proper charms for silence and privacy were enacted, he took the journal out of his pocket and enlarged it as he tugged at the tie around his neck. Loosening the offending garment, he undid the clasp n his robes and laid them at the foot of his bed. With a deep breath he opened the journal and began to look through his own notes. He pulled the muggle pen out of his pocket and was about to un cap it when he noticed that there was another's handwriting in the book…. In purple ink? His stomach dropped and he frantically flipped through to see the small purple ink patches in his timeline, though they matched with things that he heard but could never actually find factual evidence of, especially now. There was something distinctly familiar about the script that he just could not place. It was precice, neat, barely any frivolity with the loops… but it was feminine.
With a humorless laugh he shook his head as his mind immediately wandered to Granger, but no there was no way. He had never left his journal with her, and there was no way she was mixed up in this whole time travel madness that he had somehow concocted. There was a vivid moment where he remembered exactly what his life was like before coming back.
He was in Diagon Alley again, he was not really sure why he had decided to come here, he was never welcome, though he no longer looked like himself which somehow was a boon to him. His hair was currently a rather full shade of brown and he kept to himself mostly in his hand me down rags, people just saw him as one of the crowd now which is what he wanted really, right? He wanted to blend in and not cause a fuss… he just wanted to be around magic for a while. It was then that he bumped into a little girl with wild curls, or well rather she seemed to take out his knees. "Ooh! Sorry mister! I was reading… mummy says I need to sit when I read because I have a tendency to wander."
"Well, we should get the little miss back to Mummy before she gets worried hmm?" He asked her softly and then he saw the little freckles across her nose and the book she was reading and he knew exactly whom this little girl belonged to. Swallowing the lump in his throat he knew the glamour that he paid for kept him from being recognised, but still this was Granger…. He guided the little girl back to Flourish and Blotts and sure enough there was a frantic Hermione Granger, with a small boy on her hip looking for something.
"Mummy! I'm here!" The little girl ran over and hugged her mother's knees. "I wandered… but I bumped into this man and he brought me right back so you wouldn't worry." Hermione's eyes looked up at him and for a moment he worried that his glamour was failing, because the look she was giving him… before she apologized on behalf of her daughter Rose, and made the little one apologize before having to hush the boy at her side. He had waved her off and ducked back out into the alley knowing that somewhere deep in his gut he would never get the image of Hermione and her children out of his head.
A few years went by and his money slowly dwindled but he always found himself in the alley looking forward to seeing the children getting their things for school. He was not lucky enough to have any of his own and he doubted at this moment if he ever would. There was nothing quite like the resounding loneliness that was life for a death eater after the war. No one wanted to look at him twice. Why would they really?Flourish and Blotts caught his attention, as it always did and he saw Rose Weasley and her brother Hugo leaving with a small stack of books. This was Hugo's first year and Rose was rather proud of her brother, he could tell just from the looks she was giving him as she helped him navigate. Hermione Granger, because he could just never call her a Weasley, exited not that far behind them as Harry and Ginny Potter followed them with their two eldest sons. Draco was not privy to their names, but it was good to see some of his school mates with a family, though he idly wondered where Ronald was. It seemed as though he was never around when it came time to school shop. NOT that he was keeping tabs on them, not at all.
It was only a few months later that he ran into the weasel, and not in a good way. He had it in his head that somehow he was an auror and was there to make Draco's life miserable, even if Draco had done nothing wrong. It was payback, he supposed, in some cosmic karma way, this was payback for the little shite that he had been. So with a broken nose, and a broken wand, Draco stumbled into Mungos and was made to wait for a stupid length of time before being corrected and sent out on his merry way, when he bumped into the weasel again, this time in a compromising position with some tart, and that was NOTHING he wanted a part of and yet somehow it had broken him just a little bit more. He had a WIFE and a FAMILY at home… how?
Something needed to change, so he went where the hopeless go, Knockturn Alley and found himself a witch that was rumored to bottle time… he just needed a change, a chance to prove that he wasn't that git… that he was done with this cosmic Karma… and she gave it to him, for his LAST GALLEON, and he just handed it over as she told him where to go. The Thames, and wait until midnight and drink it in one go… so he did.