Chapter I: Inheritance.

"Are you sure about this?"

"What other options do we have?"

"We're going to fix this."

"The ritual is ready, prepare yourself."

"The Heralds are coming! Illuminus has found us!"

"ILLUMINUS IS -."

And with a start, Draco threw himself from his bed, a scream caught in the back of his throat, the image of crazed golden eyes still fresh within his mind. With a resounding crash, he tumbled off the edge of his mattress, hands reaching out frantically for purchase only to grasp at the covers which then fell alongside him. The pain of the impact sending a wave of shock and clarity through his mind, as he slowly and with great effort, sat himself up.

What are horrid nightmare, he thought to himself, rubbing at his face then to clear the sleep from his eyes and sweat from his features. It had been a while since he had had a nightmare as bad that one. Next time, no more reading Hogwarts a History right before bed, though fantastic, some of those stories were downright terrifying. Thinking of those eyes again, he felt a shiver go down spine. Creepy.

Standing himself up, he made his way over towards the loo, being careful not to trip over any of the scattered covers he had brought along with him on his tumble down. Getting to the sink, he stepped up on the small step ladder his parents had graced his bathroom with, and moved to examine himself in the mirror. Grey eyes. Chubby cheeks. Blond hair. Breathing a sigh of relief, he acknowledged that everything at least seemed fine. He couldn't afford to be sick today of all days after all.

Hopping down from the step ladder, he moved to draw himself a bath. As he did so, a soft pop, sounded off near his side, and he turned to take in the sight of one of the family's house elves standing confused by the vanity - Dober, Dodson, Dodo?

"His name was Dobby. And he was my friend, you git."

Hearing the voice, Draco spun himself around, eyes glancing about in an attempt to find its source. Finding nothing, he turned back towards the elf, a pensive frown upon his features. Soft, distinctly male, and distinctly older than himself. It certainly couldn't have been his father, particularly considering it just referred to a house elf as it's friend, as if such a thing was even possible. Frown deepening and stepping forward, he spoke then, eyes focusing upon the other being.

"It's Dobby, right?" He said, absently dipping a hand in the bath to test the temperature of the water. Watching him, with its large eyes, the elf jumped as it was addressed. Surprise clear upon its features.

"Y-Yes! M-m-master Draco!" the creature stuttered, head bowed low. "I i-is Dobby. Ummm, w-would Master Draco be wanting Dobby to draw his bath for him now, instead of himself?"

Deciding he was comfortable with its temperature, Draco withdrew his hand from the water before shaking his head in response. "No, thank you. It's fine. I can handle this on my own. You can however help me with rechecking my luggage, in case I've forgotten anything from the night before. Please and thank you." He finished with a nod.

Looking legitimately dumbfounded, the elf merely stared at him, eyes growing impossibly large. "D-D-did Master Draco, just tell Dobby p-please and th-thank you?"

Pausing at the elf's statement, Draco took a moment to reflect. Huh. "Yes. What of it?" He said with shrug, not entirely sure where the elf's bewilderment was coming from. True, he hadn't really ever been particularly kind to the family elves at any point when he was younger, but he was sure he'd at least said please and thank you at some point in the past. It was after all, the polite thing to do. No, you hadn't. Not even once.

"Anyway, my luggage Dobby?" He repeated, gesturing an arm back out towards his room. "Both Mother and Father want everything to be perfect on my first day, and the last thing any of us wants is to find out we forgot something."

"Oh! R-Right away Master Draco!" Dobby spoke then, popping away from the loo to his room the moment the words had left its mouth, the sounds of shuffling and latches clicking open and closed wafting back towards him through the open door.

"Well that's certainly a new look. Trying to change things up on your first day hmmm?" His mother smiled, watching him then as he bounded down the steps of the manor's grand staircase, his luggage piled neatly at her side. Reaching the bottom, he rushed forward, his mother catching him in a hug just as he came to a stop. He laughed in her arms, before pulling away, smiling up at her as his father joined them in the main hall, the last of Draco's luggage floating alongside him.

Lucius smiled at the sight of them, before spelling the items he had brought to set themselves down along with the rest of Draco's things. "New indeed." He spoke then, walking forward and extending a hand to ruffle the younger blonde's hair. "And here I was getting concerned you were never going to get past the excessive gel phase. I am beyond relieved."

Chuckling softly behind her hand, Narcissa moved to stand by her husband, observing the new style in amusement and with a critical eye. Gone was any trace of gel or mold, and instead a more laissez-faire sort of approach was used, with the long blond locks left to sweep along and frame her son's face as they curled and coiled near the top of his head. "That makes the two of us dear. Though I am rather curious as to what exactly brought about this particular change."

"It makes you look so much more handsome this way. Nothing makes a man more approachable than a little organized chaos, and you even look less like a pompous arse." The voice, a new one, whispered at his side, soft, teasing and wonderfully sweet. "Even despite the fact that you are one."

"... Shut up Astoria."

"Draco? Draco, dear is something the matter?" Narcissa spoke then, her delicate features shifting into the smallest of frowns. Immediately realizing that he had momentarily zoned out in the presence of his parents, Draco shook his head.

"Oh, sorry Mother. Got distracted for a moment."

Lucius let out a scoff. "More than understandable. I recall barely even being able to tie my own laces my first day at Hogwarts. The boy's clearly just excited darling, there's nothing to be concerned about. I think the new look is just fine. Regardless," and it was at this point Lucius reached into his robes and pulled forth a pocket watch. Clicking it open, he continued. "It is already 8:30, and if we want to grab the best cabin on the train for Draco, we're going to have to leave now. The Crabbes and Goyles are probably already there as we speak."

"Right. Yes of course." Narcissa nodded, turning then towards her husband to place a kiss on his cheek. Eugh, Draco internally thought. "Alright then, I'll go ahead with our little Dragon here, and you finish sending off the luggage to the Castle. We'll see you on the train alright."

"Of course." Lucius smiled. "I wouldn't dare miss it."

And with that, Narcissa took Draco by the hand towards his stack of luggage. Then, grabbing a single leather bag from amongst them, she pushed it softly into his hands, a quirk upon her lips. "Your new school robes from Madame Malkins. Be sure to treat them well, we even had them spelled to grow alongside you as you get older. You'll also need to change into them while you're on the train, so keep that in mind as well."

Taking the bag, Draco nodded. "Yes mother, I will. I'd really rather not get measured again. Madame Malkins was nice, but it was soooo boring. I was sure I was going to go bonkers if I was in there any longer."

Chuckling at the statement, Narcissa extended a hand towards Draco. "Ahh yes. Pleasant as she is, Madame Malkins certainly does have a tendency to drag things on far longer than necessary. Now, come along dear. Time for us to go."

Taking her hand, Draco immediately felt a pull at the pit of his stomach, clenching his eyes shut then as the familiar feel of being squeezed in all directions took hold upon his form. Gravity shifted, his body suddenly falling and floating all at once, an increasingly uncomfortable and nauseating push and pull upon the entirety of his being. Then the next thing he knew, he was bracing himself against the chill of the outside, the light of the sun suddenly bearing down upon him as the sound of hundreds of people and strange muggle crafts rang through the air.

Turning towards him, his mother crouched down to meet his height. "Alright now Little Dragon, one more hop and we'll be right by the entrance. Do you think you'll need a bit before we go?" She asked, absently patting his robes. Currently, they were standing within one of the smaller desolate side streets along the path to Kings Cross, with the Station itself already within sight. "I know you're not exactly fond of apparating."

Draco shook his head. "It's alright Mother. I think i'm good." He smiled.

"That's the spirit." Came the prompt reply, his mother once again offering her hand for him to take. Without hesitation Draco took hold, glancing towards the Station proper just a few streets away. Turning back to his mother he asked.

"Also, why did we have to apparate out here mother? Couldn't we just pop inside the station?"

"Ah well, that's a thing love. We can't apparate inside the station, only beside it, because of the wards surrounding the facility."

"Wards? You mean like the ones we have at the manor?"

Thinking for a moment Narcissa tapped a finger to her lip. "Yes and no, they are similar yes in that they are both made to protect those inside, but also different in the way that they've been made and supposedly powered. But, I highly doubt now is the time to be discussing the intricacies of bounded fields and transmutation. You good little sir have a train to catch, and if you really must know. We came here first so that we could see where best to apparate near the building. The last thing we want to do is appear directly in front of a group of muggles if we can help it."

"Oh, I understand now mother, thank you." Draco smiled.

"My, my look at the manners on this one." Narcissa smirked, giving the boy a couple playful pokes to the ribs, causing Draco to descend into a fit of giggles. "Hasn't even been a day from home and already so mature. Alright, now let us away." And they vanished with a pop, reappearing inside the curve of a small alcove along the old brick walls of Kings Cross. From there they made their way around the building towards the entrance, and slipped inside.

There were so many people! Everywhere that Draco looked was bustling with activity, the sound of incoming and outgoing trains echoing throughout the entirety of the building. With swift steps, and the slightest of frowns upon her features as she gazed upon all the muggles amongst them, Narcissa lead Draco further into the station, passing platform after platform until they reached a small section of wall between 9 and 10.

Stopping for a moment, Narcissa bent down to crouch at Draco's height, hand coming to rest on his shoulder. "Alright darling, mother will go first, and you just do exactly what I do alright. It may look a little strange, especially with so many muggles around, but I assure you none of them will notice and nothing will hurt you. Right, now watch closely dear, I'll be waiting on the other side." She spoke, lips quirking upwards as Draco gave a nod.

"Alright mother."

"Good. Till we meet again little Dragon." She stated with a poke to Draco's nose. And with that, Narcissa rose from her crouched position and made her way forward towards the empty wall. Then with a wave and a smile, she gingerly took a step and vanished into the stone. Whoa! Draco gaped, that was so cool.

Running up to the wall after her, Draco immediately ran up towards the stone. With an excited energy, he pushed his hand up against the cool surface of the wall and watched in amazement as his arm simple went into it. Seeing this, Draco let out a giggle and pushed himself forward, face meeting the stone with no impact whatsoever.

In an instant, he was on the other side, the sight of an entirely new platform greeting him as he moved past the threshold. From there, he spotted his Mother of to the side, giving him a small wave and motioning him over. Joining her there, Draco took in the bustling site of the station before him, the people everywhere, readying their things and saying their goodbyes, and the roar of the train as it slowly readied for departure.

Without preamble he felt his Mother then gingerly take his hand and begin leading him deeper into the station, weaving their way around people as they neared the train itself. The train wheezed loudly as they drew close the whining of the steam echoing in Draco's ears. Stepping up towards the nearest entrance for boarding the train, Narcissa reached forward to wrap her arms around her son, spotting Lucius as she did so quickly making his way to join them.

"Perfect timing darling." Draco heard his Mother chuckle, releasing him from her hold just as his Father arrived. Immediately, a firm and comforting hand came to sit atop Draco's shoulder, Lucius smiling softly.

"But of course. I wouldn't have dared missed this. Our little Drake is finally starting to grow up."

"That he is dear." Narcissa laughed. "Though let's both just hope he doesn't get into anywhere near as much trouble as we did when we were in school."

Clapping Draco on the shoulder, Lucius smirked. "Only matters if he ends up getting caught. Isn't that right Draco."

The smallest blonde simply grinned in response. Narcissa sighed, though her features were fond. "Such a wonderful influence you are Lucius. Anyway, you'd best get going now little Dragon. Cabins look to be filling up quickly."

"Ah yes, your mother is right Draco, better move soon else all the good spots end up taken and you have to room with some of the less dignified folks currently about." Lucius drawled, his previous warmth smoothly cooling over as he shot a glance at a family just entering the platform. Bright red hair, old worn clothes and the numbers matching their rodent like name. Weasleys, his brain immediately supplied, his lips slowly curling. Blood-traitors, ugh how disgust-.

"I'll forgive you, so long as you forgive me Malfoy."

"... Just like that?"

A nod. "Just like that. Helps that I've unbelievably come to the realization that I actually kind of like you when you're not being a slimy ferret. We were kids Draco. Neither of us knew any better."

"... No. No I guess we didn't."

"-every other week." Draco blinked, the very tail end of a comment made by his mother just barely registering to his senses. "Or at the very least one letter a month. Sound reasonable?"

Suddenly feeling ill and decently confused, all Draco could do was give his mother a nod and try to stop the unexplainable discomfort churning in his gut. What in the world was this sensation. Like a weight in his stomach and a foul taste in his mouth, all pertaining to those filthy blood traitors.

Guilt. Its guilt that you're feeling. His mind supplied. But how? How could that possibly be the case here? Guilty, he was feeling guilty? For what?

Seeing his discomfort, both Narcissa and Lucius sent a glance towards each other before looking about around themselves for the briefest of moments. Then in the next, having acknowledged that there no prying eyes, both moved forward to comfort the younger blonde.

"Don't worry son. Everything's going to be alright." Lucius smiled, placing both hands atop Draco's shoulders. Warm and stabilizing. "You are a Malfoy remember, and Malfoys can handle anything. You're going to crush this year little Dragon."

"My Gods Lucius, that's what you have to say. No skill whatsoever." Narcissa spoke, rolling her eyes towards her husband before turning towards Draco. "Now things may see scary and intimidating at the moment sweetie, but soon you're going to be having so much fun, learning new things and meeting so many new friends -."

"- Just so long as they're the right sort of -."

"- Lucius." Narcissa cut in, shaking her head fondly. "But yes. You're going to have a wonderful, fun and amazing year little Dragon. And if you ever need anything, remember both your Father and I are only an Owl away. I love you my little one."

"Love you guys too." Draco replied, feeling warm to his ears and all sense of discomfort banished from his person.

"Good." Narcissa nodded, before ushering Draco up into the train. "Now, quickly. Quickly. The train will be leaving in a couple minutes so hurry up and find Vincent and Gregory. And don't forget to write. I mean it!"

"I will! Talk to you both soon!" Draco waved, excitement bubbling up from inside him as he slipped into the train. Almost immediately, his eyes took in the sight of countless jittery first years just like himself, dragging their luggage along the path of the train. All of the slowly but steadily peeking into cabins before disappearing inside.

Scoffing smugly at the sight of the others, Draco stride confidently further into the train entirely unhampered by cases and bags thanks to his parents sending his items ahead. It was so fascinating, walking up and down the aisles, taking in the sight of his soon to be yearmates and sizing them up in terms of potential connections and obvious talents. Network early and as often as possible, his father had always said, because the more people you know, the more popular one seems and the more resources you have at your disposal. And popularity, recognition was power. And though still young, Draco knew he was destined for power. He was a Malfoy after all. It might as well be in his blood.

After a bit of time looking, Draco eventually stumbled upon Vincent and Gregory in one of the forward cabins in the train, sitting quietly with a smaller boy staring blankly out the window in the seat across. Tousled brown hair, the slight smattering of freckles on his still fairly rounded cheeks and though he couldn't currently see them, bored, disinterested looking eyes of solid black. It had been a while since Draco had last seen Theodore Nott, and judging from the awkward and slightly pleading looks both Vinny and Greg were giving him through the glass, the smaller boy was likely still as frigid and biting as he always was. A natural-borne arse if you will.

It took Draco less than a second to decide on what to do, and with a smirk gave both his fellow purebloods a wink and promptly walked on by. He did feel a little bad for leaving Vinny and Greg there to deal with Nott by themselves, but he would be back. Maybe, possibly. If he didn't end up finding Pansy or Blaise or Millicent or Daphne. Yeah, he really just didn't want to deal with Nott right now. Or ever.

Besides, if rumours could be believed. There supposedly quite the celebrity on the train today, his parents had absently informed him a while ago. A fact confirmed by the near incessant buzz of excitement from all the other first-years as he made his way further towards the back of the train.

Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived, was on the exact same train Draco was on right now and it left the blonde almost giddy with excitement of getting to meet an actual living legend, even despite how much Lucius disapproved of him. For Draco, like with most other Wizarding youth born in recent times had grown up with tales upon tales of the great Harry Potter, and the fact that, right here right now, if Draco played his cards right, he could potentially become friends with him was both legitimately mind-boggling and practically meant to be. After all, they did have quite a lot in common, fame, money, power and though Draco was certainly behind in glory, he was certainly determined to catch up in that regard as well.

Smiling to himself at the thought, Draco steadily quickened his pace just as the train beneath him began to move, eyes and ears scanning for any traces or hints of Potter's potential location. And just as he's about to make his way into the second last section of the train, he sees him. A tiny scrawny little thing, with crazy black hair, thin wire-rimmed glasses sitting in a cabin all by himself. He was wearing drab muggle styles clothes, that seemed clearly several sizes too big and was overall not at all as impressive looking as Draco had been expecting. Draco would have almost been disappointed if not for the sudden nausea that rapidly overtook him the moment he laid eyes on The Boy Who Lived.

Draco also realized at this moment, that he also had had no idea what Harry Potter even looked like, save for the scar and that in some bizarre form of precognition, he immediately known that this tiny timid little thing was the Savior of the Wizarding World. But how? How did he know that? Why did he know that?

Faster than he could even realize, Draco's whole world began to spin. The churning roiling sort of nausea in his stomach spreading throughout his entire body, just as his mind was suddenly aflame. Images, faces, voices and sensations all not his own slamming into him, a torrent of emotions and fragments of knowledge forcing themselves into his brain in a stream of just unending colour, sounds and tragedy. Draco didn't even feel his back hit the ground, body curling into a ball, his vision having gone blank already long before. The very last cognizant thing that he can recall hearing above the raging storm inside his head, a voice, old and young at once, strange and yet so very very familiar.

"Not exactly the outcome I was hoping for but good enough. Hello Draco, I'm you from the future and we have a lot of work to do."