A/N: Thanks for 100 views! We hope you guys like this second chapter and please comment below with your thoughts!

A message from DaOneInDaCorner: Don't expect everything to play out the same in this story...things are changing for every action Draco makes, so many original plotlines are automatically rerouted with his existence in this timeline.

Hplover4ever3: BUT we're sure you'll be pleased with what's in store for Draco as the story progresses!

Kay go read now.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling. Thanks


CHAPTER 2: TIMES SURE HAVEN'T CHANGED

"Oy, getup, you!"

Draco moaned. A pillow smacked him in the face.

"Ow!" he cried, sitting up in his bed and rubbing his eyes against the blinding light.

"Sorry," someone said, laughing slightly. "Breakfast is starting soon."

"Oy Pete, you think you could hurry up in there?! I HAVE TO TAKE A PISS!"

Draco groaned as he finally opened his eyes and blinked. The room slowly came into view and he found James Potter standing at the foot of his bed, grinning down at him, and Sirius Black pounding hard on the bathroom door.

"PETE!" he shouted, banging on it again.

Draco rubbed his eyes again and looked around.

"Where…?"

"Moony's always been an early-riser," said Potter, shrugging. "He's already been down in the common room for at least an hour."

Draco glanced at the empty bed next to him and nodded slightly. He didn't bother trying to explain that what he'd really wanted to ask was where the bloody hell he was. But it all slowly came back to him as he stood up from the bed and stretched. He was in 1976—and a Gryffindor. He glanced around the room again and then stifled a yawn, realising that Potter was still watching him.

"What?" he said, in a slightly bitter voice.

He really didn't fancy being analysed like so.

"Nothing," said Potter, shrugging with a smirk on his face.

He'd definitely noticed the bitterness but had obviously chosen to ignore it. Draco frowned. He had a feeling that Potter was the sort of alpha dog of their little pack. He seemed to be the primary decision-maker. He also seemed to have no problem smirking at Draco as he waited for a response. At that moment however, the bathroom door flew open (Black had taken out his wand) and the boy called Pete wiggled his way out.

"What's up with you?" said Potter.

"I s-stubbed my toe when Sirius threw the door open," said the boy called Pete.

"You're such a git," laughed Potter. He turned to Draco. "Hurry up and get dressed. I'm starving."

Draco silently dug inside his trunk for his uniform and began to pull it on. He had a massive headache this morning, though he tried desperately not to show it. Once he was ready, he packed his book bag (Dumbledore had taken the liberty of fetching his books for him as well) and followed Potter, Black and the scrawny boy down to the common room where, sure enough, Remus Lupin was waiting by the fire. At the sight of them, he jumped to his feet and pulled his bag over his shoulder.

"Ready?" he asked, glancing at Draco once.

"Yeah, come on," said Potter, leading the way through the portrait hole out of the common room.

As they walked, Draco hoped for the opportunity to try and learn the way from the common room to the Entrance Hall, but it was rather difficult to do this when a new question was shot at him every seven seconds.

"So you really don't know any of your family at all?" said Black.

"No."

"Growing up, Dumbledore must've taught you a lot of things," said Potter.

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Did he tell you about his past? About how he defeated Grindelwald? About his studies on dragon blood?" said Black.

"Y-yeah I think he did."

"Why have you only come to Hogwarts now?"

"Well, I—"

"What was it like growing up with muggles your whole life?"

"I dunno—"

"Hey, do you know of any famous Quidditch teams? Are you a fan at all?"

"Um—"

"I'm hosting Gryffindor's tryouts in two weeks, you have to try out for me—you do play, don't you?"

"What are you talking about, Jamesy? Of course he plays. Can't you see he's got a beater's build?"

"Alright Padfoot, don't get your wand all tied up in a knot."

The two boys went on a rant and successfully drowned Draco out of the conversation, which he was quite grateful for. It was too early to answer many questions anyway. They entered the Great Hall moments after and walked towards the Gryffindor table with Potter and Black bickering the whole time.

"So tell me again," said Potter as he shoved Black aside to take the seat between Lupin and Pettigrew. Black smirked and walked around the table to sit next to Draco. "How come you're only coming to Hogwarts just now?"

Draco took his seat.

"I didn't really fancy coming earlier," he said.

Potter froze halfway through reaching for toast. Lupin, Black and Pettigrew were also staring at Draco, all of them wide-eyed.

"You what?" gasped Black.

Draco looked sideways at him and shrugged slightly.

"I dunno," he said, glancing at them all. "I…I was raised by muggles my whole life. And then this big wizard shows up one day and tells me I can do magic and there is this whole Wizarding World and all that…"

"Oh poor you," said Potter. "It must've been dreadful to find out such a terrible thing like that!"

Black barked a laugh and then folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair, narrowing his eyes at Draco.

"I," said Draco, looking round at them all. They really were the nosiest gits he'd ever met. "Well, it doesn't really matter, okay? I just didn't care that much about magic, that's all."

"But—" said Potter and Black at once, but Lupin gave them each a look and silenced them at once.

"Alright, alright," said Black. "Enough interrogation for one morning. Eat."

He handed Draco a glass of orange juice and poured one for Potter who took it, his eyes still narrowed at Draco. Draco ignored him and dived into his food without another word. Dumbledore had told him exactly how to answer that question, should it arise. He was meant to convince people that Dumbledore didn't think he was ready for familial complications that might rise with his coming to Hogwarts, and so he tutored him on his own until he believed Draco was mature enough to handle it. But Draco wasn't stupid. He knew exactly how this lot would react if he went with that story, so he decided to alter it a little bit. There was no harm in that. After all, it wasn't like Dumbledore was going to stand up from the staff table and give a speech to the whole school about why Draco was only joining now.

"Could I have your attention please?"

Draco's heart stopped. The Great Hall fell silent and everyone's eyes shifted to Dumbledore, who had gotten to his feet and smiled upon them all. No. Please. He wouldn't, would he? Anything but this!

"I just wanted to remind you all that Mr. Filch is kindly requesting you do not use magic in the corridors between classes," he announced.

Draco breathed.

"That slimy git," said Potter, watching Mr. Filch standing near the staff table as Dumbledore took his seat again.

Draco looked round at Filch and was taken aback slightly. He looked a whole lot younger and there was no skeletal cat strapped to his chest like always.

"Who's he?" Draco found himself saying. He kept having to remind himself that he wasn't supposed to know anyone there.

"This new caretaker we got a couple of years back," said Black. He looked at Lupin. "When did he join?"

"In our third year," said Lupin. He turned to Draco. "He doesn't really handle magic well."

"Or students for that matter," Black added.

"We think he's a squib," said Potter. "You know, a person born into a Wizarding family without magic in them."

"Yeah, I know what it means," Draco muttered into his bowl.

By the time he was on his second helping of porridge, Professor McGonagall rose up from the staff table and began to approach the students at the Gryffindor table. One by one, she handed out the younger students' timetables and consulted the older students regarding their OWL results and their choices for NEWT courses. Draco's heart stopped. NEWT. NEWT! He hadn't given NEWT a thought! He'd completely forgotten that this was the start of sixth year again. What on earth was he supposed to tell McGonagall (and the others) when she reached him and asked for his results?

Trying his best to hide the worry that was building up inside of him now, Draco lowered his head and concentrated hard on the porridge in his bowl.

"Hey Prongs," said Black after a few moments. "Which NEWT courses are you selecting?"

Potter looked up from his morning edition of the Daily Prophet newspaper and frowned.

"Dunno," he said. "Suppose Divination can't be it—I got a T in that."

"Oh that's splendid," said Lupin with a hint of sarcasm. "Way to go, James."

"Nah, it's alright," said Potter. "I don't care about Divination."

"Hey, I got a T in it too," said Black, who looked to be quite proud of himself for that.

He and Potter high-fived each other.

"Yeah well, that we all saw coming," said Lupin, and the others laughed collectively.

"I suppose you got all O's on your exams?" said Black, dully, as he bit into a fresh piece of toast.

Lupin shrugged and looked away quickly. Draco smirked. So he was the smart one in the group then.

"How about you, Black?" said Potter, looking directly at him.

Draco's smirk faded quickly and he turned instantly pale. He looked round at the boys.

"Um," he managed to say, but before he could think of a lie to come up with, McGonagall interrupted with her cough.

"Mr. Black," she said, shuffling through the many papers in her hands.

"Yes?" said Draco and Black together.

Draco looked sideways and smiled weakly at the curly-haired boy smirking back at him.

"Oh, I um…suppose I'll have to get used to this," said McGonagall, awkwardly. "I shall proceed alphabetically then. Mr. Draco Black…" Draco looked up at McGonagall. "Professor Dumbledore has provided me with your OWL results—" Draco's mouth fell open "—and as I'm sure you already know, you have achieved an Outstanding in every subject with the exception of Transfiguration, History of Magic and Charms, all of which you received an Exceeds Expectations in." Draco gulped nervously. When did Dumbledore have the time to do all of this?! "So seeing as how you have no limitations set, the choice is yours. What will it be, Mr. Black?"

Draco looked round at the boys. They were all positively gaping at him. Even Lupin looked slightly taken aback by McGonagall's revelation of Draco's supposed OWL results.

"Um," said Draco, trying hard to remember what he'd originally chosen for his first 6th year. He could barely remember because he'd been a little preoccupied to care what classes he slept through. "W-well…Defense against the Dark Arts I suppose…" McGonagall took down some notes and looked up at him through her glasses again, somewhat impatiently. "Um…Charms …" Draco froze as McGonagall took down the notes. He couldn't remember a single thing from before! This was really, really not good.

"Might I make a suggestion?" said Potter, suddenly, turning both Draco's and McGonagall's heads towards him.

"You want to take Potions because Slughorn teaches it and he's brilliant. Then there's Transfiguration which of course is taught by the wonderful Professor McGonagall (McGonagall scowled at Potter), and I'd also recommend Care of Magical Creatures because, well, why the heck not?"

Black laughed at this and nodded vigorously at Draco.

"Oh and also," Potter added, hastily, "You ought to take six classes—better yet, take five. That way, you'll have more time for Quidditch. I only take on the best, of course."

Lupin shook his head.

"Don't listen to them, Draco—just take whatever you want to take."

"W-well, I don't really know much about the classes offered here," Draco invented wildly. "W-what are you lot taking?"

McGonagall sighed heavily and turned to talk to the girl on Draco's other side.

"I'm taking Ancient Runes, Astronomy, Arithmancy…" said Lupin, counting off on his fingers.

"So basically all the 'genius' subjects," Black concluded. "Hold on—you're taking Astronomy?!"

"Yeah," said Lupin, shrugging.

"Why on earth?!" cried Black and Potter together.

"I-it's a good subject!" the boy called Pete intervened. "I'm taking it too!"

"What is the matter with you two?!" said Potter, staring at the pair of them with great disbelief. "Draco, you ought to go with the normal subjects…Charms, Defense, Transfiguration, Potions…you know, the works."

Draco nodded.

"Jamesy here will be taking Muggle Studies, I expect," said Black, sniggering.

Potter kicked him hard under the table and Lupin let out a small laugh.

Draco thought hard. He really didn't care for Muggle Studies, but seeing as how he was supposed to have been brought up by muggles, it'd make more sense to take it so he could keep up his cover story. He sighed.

"Well, Mr. Black?" said McGonagall, turning round to look at him again. "What will it be?"

"Defense, Transfiguration, Charms," said Black lazily, counting the subjects on his fingers with an evil grin on his face.

"Mr. Black, please, it's too early!" snapped McGonagall.

Black howled with laughter and Draco smiled weakly as the rest of the group also laughed quietly.

"Mr. Draco Black," said McGonagall again. She looked like she was going to burst with impatience any minute.

"Um…" said Draco. "W-well, adding to what I said before, t-transfiguration, potions, um…a-astronomy…" he bit his lip, "Muggle studies and…h-history of magic."

"Very well, Mr. Black," said McGonagall. She tapped a piece of paper with her wand and handed it to him. "Here is your copy. Your first lesson for the day will be Potions with Professor Slughorn. I'm sure you will find a prefect in your house who can show you around the castle. Perhaps Mr. Lupin will be up to it?"

"Absolutely, professor," said Lupin brightly.

She nodded at him and turned to the boy called Pete. Meanwhile, Potter leaned forwards.

"Why'd you choose seven subjects?" he asked Draco. "That's quite a load."

Draco merely shrugged and glanced up at the staff table. Besides Dumbledore, the only people he recognised up there were little Flitwick and Slughorn. Well, at least he'd know three of his teachers. That was certainly something.

When McGonagall had finally gotten through all the sixth year Gryffindors, she moved on to the Ravenclaw table.

"Cool!" cried Black, looking down at his schedule. "We've all got Potions first period. That'll be cheerful with old Slughorn."

"Yeah and little Snivelly will probably be there," said Potter, smirking. Black grinned at him.

"Who's…?" began Draco, but he was ignored because the boys jumped to their feet, finishing off their food, and threw their bags over their shoulders.

Draco did the same and followed them out of the Great Hall. If his mother could see him now, trotting around with Harry Potter's father, godfather, a werewolf, and a pathetic, scrawny little boy called Pete—Draco's eyes widened in shock. Pettigrew! Why, of course! How could he have overlooked it?!

"You okay?" said Lupin, tapping Draco's shoulder as they walked.

"Huh?" said Draco, who realised he'd been staring at Pettigrew for a good couple of minutes. "Oh, yeah I'm fine."

So this was Wormtail—the Wormtail. Wow, Draco sure felt stupid now for having overlooked it. He should have realised it the minute they'd been introduced!

"…and then the snitch just swivelled out of his hand!" Potter cried. Pettigrew smiled at him widely as he listened to the little story Potter was telling on their way to their first lesson of the day—Potions. "IT WAS AMAZING!"

"Relax Jamesy, or you'll give yourself a heart attack one of these days," said Black, jokingly.

"Blimey!" cried Potter, stopping dead in the corridor.

"What?" said the others.

"I forgot the map up in the dormitory!" said Potter, taking a few steps backwards. "Tell Slughorn I'll be late, okay?"

"Hang on—I'm coming with you!" said Black, racing after him.

"Guys!" cried Lupin, but they already disappeared from the hall. Draco's eyes were still on Pettigrew. "Ugh, they always do this! Do you know how many times I've had to explain to teachers where my two best friends had gone off to?"

Draco gave Lupin a small smile and followed him down the corridor, turning the corner and walking up some steps.

"What's 'the map'?" Draco dared ask, once it'd hit him that Potter and Black had run off to fetch this so-called map.

"It's nothing really," said Lupin, waving the subject away with his hand.

Draco shrugged and continued to follow him, all the while watching him closely. He really was nothing like his older self. Whatever made him the way he turned out to be?

"So," he said, slowly, trying to start up a conversation again.

"So," Lupin repeated, waiting.

"Why did you take Astronomy?" said Draco. Lupin's face changed instantly. "I mean…from what I've heard, it's not the most fascinating class out there."

"Oh well, I dunno," said Lupin, quickly. "I just…did."

"But why?" Draco pressed.

Lupin shrugged.

"I've always been fascinated by cosmology and the moon and…um, come on, I think you'll really like Slughorn."

Realisation dawned upon Draco instantly, but he had no time to respond with anything because they entered the potions room and found that many of the students were already in their seats. Draco looked around briefly and concluded that the classroom looked exactly the same as it had in his sixth year. Slughorn really hadn't changed that much—he was standing at his desk, shuffling through some pages and muttering to himself in a low voice.

"Morning, professor!" said Lupin, brightly.

Slughorn looked up.

"Ah Remus my boy, how're you today?"

"Fine, fine—this is Draco Black."

Draco felt his cheeks flush slightly as the professor surveyed him in the dim light of the potions room.

"Ah yes," he said, nodding in comprehension. "Welcome, Mr. Black. You're certainly not the first Black to enter my classroom—that's for sure."

"Professor Slughorn is always talking about how he's taught all the Blacks," Lupin informed him.

Draco nodded and followed him to a table, taking his seat and ignoring the way that every student in the classroom watched him intently. He reached into his bag and pulled out a brand new copy of Advanced Potion Making. Well, here we go again.

"Relax," Lupin told Pettigrew a few moments later. Draco realised Pettigrew was watching the door nervously. "They'll be here soon."

"I don't want us to lose any house points on the first day!" Pettigrew squealed.

Draco scoffed.

"Did you say something, Draco?" said Lupin, noticing.

"Me? No, nothing," said Draco, blankly.

Desperate to conceal the anger that was clearly building up inside of him now, Draco propped open his book and flipped through the pages, quickly and recklessly.

"Whoa, slow down!" said Lupin, staring at him. "You'll rip the poor things to pieces!"

"Sorry," Draco muttered, without the least bit intention of slowing down.

Snape never had told him what it was that Wormtail had done to make him hate him so much, but if it was big enough to make Snape hate him, then it was big enough to make Draco hate him as well. The poor boy watched Draco nervously now. He was obviously not yet aware of whatever it was that he would do in the future to make future Snape hate him so much. And if Draco remembered correctly, the Dark Lord hadn't been that fond of Wormtail as well. So when exactly was he planning to switch over to the dark side, before Hogwarts graduation or after?

"Ah, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black!" cried Slughorn, and the class turned to the door to see the two boys panting their way into the room. "Nice of you to join us at last! Class started five minutes ago, I believe."

"Sorry, professor," they muttered together, taking their seats at the table with Draco, Lupin and Wormtail.

"Alright," said Slughorn, clapping his hands together once and looking up at the class. "Now that we're all settled in, let us begin. As you can see here, I've prepared a number of concoctions for your observation. Any idea what these might be?"

The class stared at the three different-coloured bottles sitting up at the front desk. Lupin's hand shot up into the air, almost automatically, reminding Draco of someone.

"Yes, my boy?" said Slughorn, smiling.

Lupin jumped from his seat and approached the front table. Black leaned in to Draco.

"Oy," he whispered. "What's up with you?"

"What?" said Draco, staring at him. He hadn't realised that he'd been glaring at Wormtail again.

Black smirked and glanced at Wormtail.

"I know he doesn't shower that much but don't blame the kid for that," he said, scornfully. Potter choked back a laugh, having overheard this bit. Wormtail stared at the boys, confused.

"Right," said Draco, giving Black the fakest grin and fixing his eyes up at the front where Lupin was correctly identifying Veritaserum.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Slughorn. "That'll be 10 points to Gryffindor. Well done!"

Draco groaned before he could stop himself. Both Potter and Black shot him curious looks. He quickly flashed them both grins and muttered "well done" to Lupin as he rejoined them at the table.

"Now," said Slughorn, coughing loudly to get the class's attention again. "As Mr. Lupin has clearly stated, this one over here is the most powerful love potion in the world. It can be quite deadly with disastrous results. However, the correct antidotes can have significant impact. So, here is what I request of you all today. Brew me the most effective antidote for a powerful love potion, recipes for which can be found in page 12 of your books. The instructions can be confusing so be sure to read them carefully! And as a bonus, the student who manages to complete the potion first shall be awarded a solid fifty points for their house! Good luck to you all, and let the brewing commence!"

The students grabbed their books and hurried off to their cauldrons and set to work straightaway. Draco glanced back at Lupin, who seemed to have wandered away from their table to join some girl. He noticed that Potter was also watching Lupin curiously. Black opened up his book, flipped the pages, and frowned.

"Oy Draco," he said, his eyes still on the page. "Dumbledore teach you any good potion tricks?"

Draco's eyes darted away from Lupin—who was now accepting some kind of a twig from a redheaded girl in Gryffindor on the other end of the classroom—and stared at Black.

"What?" he said, blankly.

"Seriously, what's the matter with you?" laughed Black, glancing at him curiously. "You don't look like you're on this planet at all right now."

"Oh," said Draco, smirking. "Right. Um, yeah Dumbledore's taught me some stuff." He opened up his book to page 12 and scanned it.

ANTIDOTE TO LOVE POTION

BREWING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add four Wiggentree twigs, or until the potion turns green.

2. Stir until the potion turns orange.

3. Add castor oil until the potion turns blue.

4. Stir until the potion turns purple.

5. Add extract of Gurdyroot until the potion turns red.

6. Add Wiggentree twigs.

7. Add Extract of Gurdyroot until the potion turns purple.

8. Leave the potion to simmer till it turns red.

9. Add more gurdyroot extract till it turns green.

10. Stir till it turns orange.

11. Add seven Wiggentree twigs.

12. Allow to simmer till it turns pink.

Funny. Draco remembered brewing this exact potion at around October in his original sixth year. Well, this shouldn't be too difficult then, he thought.

"I'm going to go get the Wiggentree twigs," he said to a curious-looking Black, and he turned around without waiting for an answer and approached one of the cupboards.

He ignored the way that many heads turned as he passed the various tables and propped open one of the cupboards, peering inside.

"Here's a fresh pack," said a voice behind him.

He spun around. The same redheaded girl that Lupin had been talking to only moments ago (he was back at the table with the others now) was smiling at Draco and holding out a package of what looked like a load of Wiggentree twigs. Draco stared at the girl. Her face was slightly shadowed by the dim lights in the room but even in the terrible light, he could tell that she was smiling brightly at him.

"Um thanks," said Draco, snatching the package from her and moving back to his table.

"…still, I really don't appreciate it, Moony, and you know exactly why," Potter was saying as Draco rejoined them. "Oh good, you got the twigs. Thanks, mate."

Draco nodded.

"Look James," said Lupin, sighing heavily. "I've told you many times before and I'll tell you again—it means nothing, okay? She's just a really good friend! Come on, you can understand that, can't you?"

Potter shrugged and began to cut up four twigs for himself. He then tossed the package to Black who separated four for himself and passed it to Wormtail. Draco got up several times during the lesson's duration to fetch more ingredients from the cupboards, as did Lupin. None of the others seemed to have even the slightest intention of getting up and getting one of the items themselves. Draco and Lupin simply took turns fetching ingredients for them, while they took turns helping themselves to the ingredients and passing them around the table. What gits. Like father like son, Draco thought as he watched Potter curiously near the end of the lesson.

"Well then, let's see what have we here," said Slughorn, moving to their table and placing his glasses on the edge of his nose as he peered inside Draco's cauldron. "What—my goodness, this is magnificent! It's absolutely perfect!"

Well it'd have to be in his second time around, Draco thought. However if he remembered correctly, he'd originally messed up the potion during his first try, months ago. Oh well. That life did not seem to matter in this world.

"And Mr. Lupin, I see, has also managed to brew the perfect antidote!" Slughorn exclaimed as he wheeled around to survey Lupin's potion. "Very well done, boys! Well, as promised. Fifty points for Gryffindor! Eh, let's make it sixty."

Several students in the classroom applauded or cried "Well done!" Draco scratched his nose and shut his potions book. He really didn't like being the center of attention. It was humiliating.

"Uh Mr. Black," said Slughorn, glancing at Black's potion with a disgusted look on his face, "Try for less Gurdyroot next time."

At this, Potter let out a wild laugh and Black slapped his arm with his potions book.

At the end of the lesson, the two jumped from the table and raced out the door. Just before they exited the classroom however, they bumped into a figure at the door, causing it to fall to the floor and its books to topple out of its hands, thumping loudly.

"Whoops, sorry Snivelly!" the boys cried, laughing as they ran out.

Lupin sighed in frustration and approached the boy on the floor by the door. Draco turned round to look at him. His eyes widened as soon as he recognised the mysterious character.

"Here, lemme help you," he heard Lupin say, but the boy shoved him aside and collected the books in a hurried manner. He jumped to his feet, cast Draco a glance for a fraction of a second, and hurried out the door.

Oh no, thought Draco. He'd seen him, Draco, with his school tormentors. It all came back to Draco now, and his heart ached as he realised that, given Draco's cover story and his cover 'friends', Severus Snape now hated him as well.


"So…J-James is Quidditch captain then," said Draco, conversationally, as he and Lupin made their way to their next lesson. Draco was still looking around the corridors wildly, hoping to catch another glimpse of Snape…hoping to somehow explain—to convince that he was not their best mate. But Snape was nowhere to be found. He'd run off in such a hurry that Draco had had no time to even smile at him—to be reassuring in any way. Perfect.

"Yeah, he's a little obsessed with Quidditch," said Lupin, answering his question. Draco gave him a look. "Okay, a lot obsessed. Oh well, at least he plays fair and likes to include everyone. I remember all those times he and Sirius tried to recruit me when we were younger."

"How come you never went for it?" Draco wondered, glancing sideways again when he thought he'd seen someone with long black hair pass by.

"I don't really care about Quidditch," he heard Lupin say.

Draco looked round at him incredulously. If Draco remembered correctly, Lupin would later attend every Quidditch game Harry Potter played in, at least during his time as a teacher at Hogwarts. But now, Lupin made a face Draco couldn't quite understand.

"I've just had other things to do and don't really have time for Quidditch," said Lupin, flatly, as they turned the corner.

"I feel the same way," Draco muttered, doubting Lupin had heard him.

"Why is Potter...uh, I mean James, taking Muggle Studies?" Draco asked a few moments later.

Lupin smiled.

"He has his reasons," he said, simply. "Come on; let's save seats—Sirius will join soon."

Draco followed him into the classroom and found one other person already sitting there.

"Hi Remus!" said the girl with the bright red hair. Draco suppressed a groan. She looked just like a Weasley. She was probably Weaslebee's mother or aunt or some distant cousin. They had too many kids for their own good anyway.

"Hey Lily," said Lupin, brightly. He went to sit next to the girl at the front and motioned for Draco to save the two seats just behind them. "This is Draco Black, by the way. He's new this year."

"Yes, I know," said the girl called Lily. "We've actually already met in Potions. Nice to see you again, Draco!"

"Yeah, you too," said Draco, taking the seat behind her and pulling out his History of Magic book.

Lupin and the girl suddenly delved into an exchange of information about their chosen NEWT courses, both of them completely forgetting that Draco was sitting there. And so, Draco waited as students slowly entered the classroom. Professor Binns was sitting up at the front, reading a book. Draco had forgotten that he'd be there. He'd died ages ago so of course he'd be there.

When the bell rang and the lesson finally began, Draco looked around the classroom until he spotted the person he'd wanted to see. Snape was sitting at the back of the class, at a desk in the corner, all by himself. He was staring gloomily up at the front—up at Lupin and the redheaded girl. Draco frowned. Snape looked to be in quite a bit of pain as he watched them feverishly taking notes. He then caught Draco's eye and quickly looked down at his notebook, copying down some of his own notes. Draco bit his lip. Something was definitely wrong.

Black ran into the classroom ten minutes late, though Binns didn't seem to care or even notice. He smirked at Lupin as he moved to sit next to Draco and propped open his book.

"Why are you always late?" Draco asked in a whisper.

"Had an urgent meeting just now," Black said, smirking even more now. Draco stared at him curiously, but Black shook his head and began to flip the pages of his notebook until he found a clear page. He dipped his quill in ink and began to write.

Draco decided to take some notes down. Though, just after ten minutes, he got quickly bored of Binns' dull lecture. Well, at least that hadn't changed one bit. Suddenly, Black tossed a torn page at Draco and nodded at it. Draco unfolded the paper and frowned. Black wasn't taking class notes. He was writing him a message!

Her name is Ellen Bennet. She's a Ravenclaw and mighty fine too. We began talking last year and she's been writing to me all summer. She said she couldn't wait to have me so close to her that she'd be able to smell my peppermint breath. Well, I couldn't pass that up now, could I?

Draco smirked. He dipped his quill in ink and wrote below Black's message,

Was she pleased?

Black grinned down at the page once Draco tossed it back to him and quickly scribbled on it,

Well, I'm not one to brag but she'll soon be coming back for more, I imagine.

Draco smiled at the page again and then looked up at the professor, who was completely oblivious to what was going on. Black snatched the page from Draco again and wrote on it. Meanwhile, Draco looked back at Snape, who was now sulking over in his little corner, still watching Lupin and the girl. Or was it just the girl? Draco couldn't tell. Every time Snape realised he was watching him, he looked away frustratingly.

You've had girls before, right?

Draco stared down at the sheet that Black had just tossed him, thinking of Pansy. Well, he supposed that would count. They hadn't been exclusive or anything, but they also weren't just housemates. If he had been born into another family with a different destiny—if he had had a different life altogether, then perhaps they would have worked out. And suddenly, Draco wanted to smack himself. He did have another life. Right now, right there. This was his second chance. He could actually try and pursue relationships this time. He had time for it now. Why not?

Of course I have, he responded and Black seemed perfectly satisfied with that answer.

At the end of the lesson, Draco had concluded three things. One, he liked Black a whole lot better now. Two, the redheaded girl sure liked to show off how much she knew in class—what a typical Granger. And three, Professor Binns' lectures were as dull as ever, even in this timeline.

The rest of the day's lessons were pretty uneventful. Draco spent most of the time following Lupin around, since he seemed to know exactly what to say or do in any given situation, and he also seemed to prefer answering any questions directed at Draco before Draco could even come up with lies. So, feeling lazy, Draco let him do all the work and focused only on observing the others as carefully as he could. Yep. Potter was definitely the alpha of their little pack. If Black were a girl, he'd be Mrs. Alpha. He definitely seemed to follow Potter around like a puppy, although Potter sometimes followed him around and they certainly did an equal amount of teasing, so Black certainly was no underdog. If anybody was an underdog in fact, it was Wormtail, who laughed when the others laughed and agreed when the others agreed. He was like one of those shadows that followed you around stubbornly and wouldn't give up even when you tried to shove them aside.

At around dinnertime, Draco excused himself from the others to go and put his things away in the common room. But he regretted this choice almost as soon as he'd left them because it took him ages to find Gryffindor Tower, and when he finally had, he stood in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady stupidly, and wondered about the password. Thankfully, a few Gryffindors exited through the portrait hole just then—on their way to dinner—and gave him strange looks as he rushed past them inside. He dumped his bag on his bed and hurried back, hoping to catch up with them so they'd lead him back to the Great Hall. But by the time he'd left the common room, the corridor was deserted. Perfect.

He wandered around aimlessly for what felt like ages. He swore he must be walking around in circles because the Great Hall was nowhere to be found. Was Hogwarts really that big? After six years of living and studying there, was he still yet to be ambushed by foreign corridors?

"Keep your voice down, will you?!" someone hissed.

Draco stopped in the hall and looked around. Two voices were whispering in some corner somewhere. Draco strained his ears to listen.

"Look, I just want to know. You can't blame me for being curious, can you, Sirius?"

Draco's eyebrows shot up. He tiptoed until he was up against the wall and moved down the corridor, listening intently.

"I don't blame you," said Black's hushed voice. "Look Reg, I know we've had our differences—" (someone scoffed) "—but I need you to do this, alright? Like you said, you're curious too. So why don't you just put our differences aside and do this for me—for us—so we could both know the truth?"

"Fine," said another voice. "I'll write to mother."

"That's all I wanted," said Black, sounding pleased with this answer.

"Wait!" said the unknown voice. "So…so he really has no idea who his parents are?"

"None whatsoever."

"And...and what's he like?"

There was a pause.

"He's quite a laugh," answered Black. And even though Draco couldn't see him, he could tell that he was smirking.

Footsteps echoed through the corridor now, descending as they moved further and further away. Draco remained there in the deserted area, his back still up against the wall, his heart thumping. He knew this would happen. The two Black brothers were now very curious about him and preparing to involve their parents in this. How could Dumbledore be so stupid so as to suggest that Draco introduce himself as a Black?!


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