webnovel

1

4 June 1988

As he is looking around he sees the classic English aristocratic interior, which means massive doors and large windows, cozy carpets and luxurious curtains, wide wooden staircases, and fireplaces.

He is currently sitting at a large aristocratic table, to his left sits his mother, to his right at the head of the table sits his grandfather, and opposite to him sits his father. Sitting to the right of his grandfather while he is sitting to the left of his grandfather. What this means is that his father sits at the position of honor, only below the head of the house. While he sitting to his grandfather's left is still a position of honor but it is below the seat of his father, his mother got no such honor.

He is currently eating with the gracefulness of a swan, his face a mask of indifference while thinking.

Today he woke up as Draco Malfoy.

He got his memories.

He even got some of his personality.

He went through a panic attack when he finally found out where he is through Draco's memories. Then instinct kicked in and with whatever knowledge of mind arts, he possessed, he suppressed his emotions to a level where he could think.

Right now he is seven years but tomorrow he will be eight years old. Yes, his birthday will be tomorrow. But that's irrelevant for now, his biggest problem right now is that he is in a book series or movie series.

He didn't read the books although he saw the movies that was quite some time ago. He doesn't know the details. But he has read a quite a lot of fanfictions so he even knows quite a bit of backstory of the world and other stuff that wasn't in the movies. Now with Draco's memories he is only sorting what is true and what is not.

He frowned, he has limited options.

"Is something the matter Draco?.." Spoke a feminine voice,

Draco looked from his food to find that every person sitting at the table was looking at him, his mother with a worrying look, his father the same and his grandfather looked just curious.

He pulled out his perfect smile and looked everyone in the eyes,

"Everythings alright, I am still a little bit dizzy from my sleep.."

His grandfather looked away with a knowing look, at his age he supposed getting up in the morning must be difficult in a few ways, Draco was still a young child so it wouldn't be a complete lie to say that things like waking up affected him to a certain degree. After all at that age children are quite sensitive to weather, temperature, etc.

His father's look lingered on him a second longer as if reassuring himself that he was alright.

His mother bit her lip as she was looking at him with concerned eyes, so he threw another smile at her, that seemed enough for her as she smiled at him too with only love and warmth in her grey eyes.

After he ate his food he looked at his grandfather,

"May I excuse myself, please?.."

His grandfather looked surprised at his politeness, Draco never did this so it was probably a surprise for him. Draco planned to make himself the perfect heir as that would only bring benefits for himself, if his grandfather and father started to see that he was maturing from their point of view then they would have to take him more seriously.

His grandfather took a long look at him, Draco looked right back. While his father was the Lord his grandfather was the oldest in the family which makes him the head of the house, which meant that actually in the Malfoy family he held the biggest authority, and while his father could oppose him to some extent his grandfather still had the last word.

Of course, this doesn't mean that just because someone was the oldest they held the biggest authority, the head of the house was decided by the family on numerous factors. Mostly the head of the house was the oldest in the family or the best duelist. And as the Malfoy family is patriarch it was always a male.

From Draco's memories and the feelings of the memories he was intimidated by his grandfather, and it wasn't unfounded Abraxas Malfoy was an intimidating man. So Draco didn't meet his gaze and was always acting submissive before him.

And while he was still a child it was still a weakness, due to that his grandfather didn't take him seriously, the fact that the past Draco was a momma boy didn't help that.

This needed to change, so although he was the head of the house he wouldn't grovel before him.

So Draco held his gaze, even when his grandfather's look changed into a hard glare. Draco didn't even flinch.

After a few seconds, his grandfather's cold grey eyes changed from hard to amused, and he could see the mirth in them. From the corner of his eye, he could see his father, the man tried to mask his expression but Draco could see the pride in his eyes.

His grandfather gave him a last look before he wawed his hand, dismissing him.

Draco took that in stride as he again with gracefulness stood and started to walk away, he passed his family crest which was on a wall, with their words 'Munditia Vincet Semper' which means 'Purity will always conquer'.

The big doors opened to him and as he walked through them he heard his grandfather's voice,

"...The rose is starting to grow thorns.." He said in an amused voice, practically singing in mirth.

Draco ignored that.

...

As he said before, his options are limited. On the other hand not so much. He is pure-blood and an heir to a powerful family. This gives him advantages but also disadvantages.

The main character of the series is half-blood, and his friend is a mudblo...

His personality and Draco's have mixed so even though he doesn't really want to insult her it just came out. He doesn't even feel bad or anything it's just pointless right now, there are no other pure-bloods right now so he doesn't need to act as if he hated muggle-borns, but he would be lying if he said that he doesn't feel slight disgust towards them, that's Draco's personality speaking for him and he can't do anything about that, he just feels slightly disgusted at the thought of touching one of them.

But that's irrelevant right now, Hermione Granger is a muggle-born and Ron Weasley is a blood traitor, by other pure-bloods.

Ron Weasley doesn't have anything to really give him. He is just an insecure little boy, his talent is maybe above average but he is lazy so it's more like mediocre, he doesn't learn or better himself so he is pretty much pathetic.., his wealth is pretty self-explanatory...

What he remembers is that while the movies made him a comedic relief people said that in the books he was actually smart, or more like knowledgeable about the wizarding world which means that he is the one to put information about the wizarding world to Potter and Granger and while Granger will educate herself Weasley's knowledge is more street smarts? Things that you only learn if you have four older brothers.

Hermione Granger is a much better investment, maybe even better than Potter because while Potter has wealth and everything Granger is the 'Brightest Witch in her year'. She is talented and she is always trying to better herself so she is the biggest threat of the three. And while Potter is even more talented than herself he doesn't find the means to better himself in his own free time. So he is a smaller threat than her, of course, he is the main character so Draco wouldn't cross him off.

Now Granger's advantage would be her smarts, but that is also what makes her the biggest threat, her ability to think for herself and trying to find the hidden meanings behind words. And while she is the weakest duelist of the three of them her ability and knowledge of magic cannot be underestimated. Especially in the later years, right now she still doesn't know anything about the wizarding world. So should he kill her? Right about now, the next three years would be the best time for it.

No.

His biggest advantage right now is that he somehow knows the future, at least at Hogwarts, if he would kill her the butterfly effect would be too great and he surely isn't a supporter of Voldemort.

That is another thing, Voldemort. From Draco's memories, he understands that his grandfather too isn't a supporter of his. His father regrets following him and his mother seems neutral.

But that doesn't change the thing that there will be a war in the future, where will he stand?

Not with Voldemort and certainly not with Dumbledore. His family will not stand with Dumbledore and certainly not Voldemort. So should he make his side? For that, he would have to actually get followers. And not someone like the two idiots that were gonna follow him in the future. Someone who is actually competent. But that's a thought for the future.

In the end, the golden trio took care of Voldemort so he wouldn't want to kill any of them. Especially not Potter.

Now, what would Potter give him? He is wealthy even though he doesn't know about it, he is talented as he managed to cast Patronus in his third year and he is actually smart when he wants to. He is insecure and abused so his confidence at the beginning is close to nowhere. In the end, in the first year, they are still kids so they shouldn't be a problem for a few years. And Draco will use that time to create a gap between them so large that they would completely lose sight of him.

Speaking of the gap, right now he is making his way to the family library, from Draco's memories he was educated to a point where he will not embarrass himself and is still being educated right now. Though not really on the magic side.

Right now he is more than able in mathematics, reading, etc. Due to them mixing their memories he is having a hard time recognizing which memory belongs to who but speaking of the fact that he graduated from college he should be alright. Quite a difficult college should he want to brag.

But there are more than a few things that he remembers from the fanfictions and other sources of information that should probably help him in certain areas of magic.

Making his way to the library he arrives before it, the runes and wards recognize him as a member of the Malfoy family, and the big doors open for him.

Its massive, Malfoy family is an old family dating back to the reign of King William I. Almost a thousand years have passed since then, so it's quite respectable.

Right now he just wants to find a theory books on magic, he wants to use the information he got from the fanfictions to actually see if there was some truth to them and create a foundation for his eventual magical supremacy, because in the end if he becomes a very powerful wizard then he will have something else to fall back on than status and this is still a dog eats dog, for example, Dumbledore. Politically he is arguably the strongest politician in Britain and a large part of that is thanks to his magical prowess. People respect strength, they worship it, adore it, search for it, etc. If all fails then all that he will have would be his eventual wand.

Another thing would be mind arts, which is pretty self-explanatory. It would give him a huge advantage, there are not a lot of students of mind arts. Especially not the kids at Hogwarts. Yes, every pure-blood has some kind of mind arts but they are pretty meager. More for controlling emotions than real protection.

He would really like to try legimelency to see if he has any potential for it and try some other difficult spells because right now he knows about a lot of magic that he really shouldn't know about. But he will not do it.

He needs to build up his foundations, he needs to master the theory, and if he wants to master the mind arts he needs to first master the occlumency or at least get to a respectable level.

He didn't start occlumency, he just got some lessons in controlling emotions which are the start for occlumency, and almost every pure-blood got these lessons.

Well, right now he just wants the theory of magic, mind arts, difficult spells can come when he actually understands what he wants his magic to do.

So he started to search the library, one thing he immediately noticed was that of course, there were a lot of books about magic, spells, but there were also a lot of books about history, manners in a public setting, laws and other interesting stuff. He will come back later to this when he actually has time for this.

So a few minutes later he finally found something about the theory of magic,

The Theory of Magic

It was a straightforward title, the book seemed quite old. So he picked it up and went to the nearest table and started to read it. He enjoyed reading and learning new things so he was quite happy.

Few minutes in and it talked about wand motions, the 'core', and intent. Essentially wand motions help guide your intent, as does the incantation, to channel magic power into a spell, and the 'core' determines how many times you can use that spell. How 'big' your core is determines your age, potential for magic, and race. So by the time you are seventeen your core should be mature. That is probably why you are considered an adult at seventeen. Your core should get bigger with age as you use more and more magic.

As he thought about this he concluded that exhausting his magic would probably benefit him. Even though it probably wouldn't do that much he will take every advantage that he can get.

Another thing why he wanted to read about this was the intent, he doesn't really remember where he came to this information but essentially when children come to Hogwarts they are making a very big thing about wand motions but if he will duel, which is already kinda decided because he will have to deal with some children with superior complex. And they will have magic so what better to use?..

Well in duel every little thing that can get you a little bit of speed, time, and space would be very important. So instead of doing wand motions should he try to base his magic solely around intent? He imagines that it would be even more powerful but probably harder to control as the wand motions serve as a thing to moderate his magic but also to better control it. At the start, it would be probably difficult but in the long-term, it should be only beneficial as his magic would be more powerful, faster, and probably more creative as his core would get used to intent magic so things as conjuration and transfiguration would probably be a lot easier for him.

Another thing he noticed was that The Theory of Magic as the book was more personal, so there were quite a lot of philosophies and beliefs. He imagines that if every powerful wizard was to write his The Theory of Magic it would be different every time as people like that had to have something different about their magic. Which actually makes sense, believing in your own ideals and philosophies instead of taking others for yourself. He actually beliefs that to resolve his magic around intent would be a really good idea. Why be the same as others and rely on the teachers, and books before him. Maybe going his own way would help him in the long term.

He should try to read as many books on the theory of magic as to get the most information and opinions on magic. How others see it etc. Then take that information and add the information in which he beliefs and add it to his own theory of magic.

As he read the last page of The Theory of Magic he felt better than before. He decided, instead of using the wand motions and etc. He will base his whole magic around intent, imagination, and maybe creativity. As actually making his own spells interests him.

So he went and read as many books on the theory of magic, he spent the whole day thinking through his own ideals, philosophies, etc. Correcting the flaws in his thinking and in the end trying few easy spells himself and eventually some more difficult ones.

He found out that the spells were actually quite easy for him, he didn't know if it was because of his new thinking or because he was really talented. What he knew was that this was possible because he was still really young so his core was really 'pure'. The Draco before him didn't have any beliefs in magic as he has right now. He imagined that if after seven years of Hogwarts he was to try this kind of thing it would be very difficult as his magic would be already matured and already working like a machine and to try and completely remake it would actually do more trouble than good.

Right now he is still at the beginning so he was very lucky to get the idea to first start with the theory. What he accomplished was that his magic would be stronger, faster, and more efficient. This is something which he wouldn't tell anyone. This was his foundation to eventually become a powerhouse in this world.

Another thing he found out was that magic was alive, well at least he thought so. For example the oaths, magic would remember it and if you broke the oath she would punish you for it with the punishments that you chose. Well at least he thought it was alive, he actually believed it. It was very interesting to just sit and read as many opinions on magic and then think about your own opinion. He was enjoying himself.

...

Right now he was searching for his grandson, Lucius and Narcissa are out as they are finishing the things for tomorrow's birthday party for his grandson. Abraxas would not entertain his son's or his daughter-in-law's ideas of their biggest birthday party for their 'Dragon' if there wasn't a logical reason behind it. The reason why he allows it is because it is an opportunity for Draco to socialize with people he may one day share a house with. To form connections, alliances, and maybe even a faction. If he was asked yesterday if his grandson could lead his own faction he would say no.

But after what happened at the breakfast and the elves informing him every hour that his grandson is reading and reading and in the end, was performing spells with 'Exceptional proficiency and ease' as the elves put it, he doesn't know.

Has the kid always had that will that he showed at breakfast but simply tried to act as non-threatening? He doesn't know. But he is proud of it. That the legacy of the family will continue. And while Lucius was anything but bad he was far from perfect. Talented wizard, competent Lord, etc. He didn't have any glaring flaws but he too didn't have anything to add. He was competent that much was obvious, but he would be lying if he said, that it was enough for him.

Especially after his son almost ruined his family.

Abraxas once saw Tom Riddle as a friend, but in the end, he just became another monster, an insane monster best to be forgotten. By the end of the war, he just became so focused on the so called 'prophecy' that he completely lost sight of the ideals that he began with.

Abraxas by the end of war knew it was going to end badly, and he told his son that. Tom Riddle wasn't the man he once was. They wouldn't win with him in that state. But no, Lucius saw the new age that would come, that they would be at the top and other delusions. In the end, it ended even worse than he imagined.

'The Dark Lord ended by a one year old'

Even now he would chuckle darkly at the thought. How could anyone take him seriously after 'that'?

In the end, his son almost ended up in Azkaban, their reputation was forever tarnished, and to add to it Albus Dumbledore won. Oh, he hated Dumbledore with his heart. He and his ideals, about how you were evil or good just after three seconds that he saw you, his constant judging about what was right and wrong. He hated it all. Especially how much magic he deemed illegal. And because of that, he made sure that the whole of Britain saw it like that too.

That was the reason he went into the war in the first place, to oppose Dumbledore, not to kill muggle-borns like they were the filth that needed to be exterminated. Muggle-borns were not bad, they bring new magic. Now Muggles that was something different. Some saw Muggles as a danger, Abraxas just want to let them be, observe them see what they are doing, maybe learn from them. But certainly not to start a war with. A lot of the pure-bloods didn't really mind Muggle-borns, of course, they were still some that do but they were a minority. Most pure-bloods were neutral towards them, but that idea that most pure-bloods hate Muggle-borns comes from Hogwarts where a lot of pure-blood children have the need to feel superior to them. So they are being difficult about it. In the end, Muggle-borns bring new magic, ideas to the wizarding world. Something new, which a lot of people don't like. A change, that's why a lot of Muggle-borns feel like they are oppressed because of their lineage but it's just the fact that most are trying to change a completely different world that they know next to nothing about.

If Muggle-borns actually educated themselves about the wizarding world and exhibited some actual tact there would be next to no problems about where they come from if they are being respectful. Of course, then there are some that just find this whole 'nobility' thing funny. There comes the other problem, pure-bloods are 'Nobility'. With that comes responsibility but also certain respect that should be given to them. It's true that a lot of them have sticks up their asses but it's still an actual fact. So if the Muggle-borns aren't respecting certain things they seem more like tourists instead of actual citizens...

The doors to the library open before him as he goes in. Draco is leaning against a chair and seems to be thinking very hard. As his footsteps near him, he notices him and looks at him with cold grey eyes. That was what changed too, they weren't this cold, this calculated before. They were more arrogant, more hot-headed.

He doesn't get up, he just gives him a nod of acknowledgment.

This wouldn't happen yesterday, if this was yesterday he would be on his feet and bowing before him and trying to avoid eye contact but he is still sitting and looking him straight into his eyes.

He is sending him a message, that his days of groveling before his feet are over and while he still acknowledges him as the head of his house he will no longer bow before him if he doesn't need to. Oh, he will give him face, especially in public when they should be presenting a united front but he will not go out of his way to flatter him, bow before him, etc.

Abraxas likes this new Draco, whatever happened he doesn't care. If he got some insights or whatever. Malfoy should bow to no one, especially an heir. He isn't being disrespectful, no. He just finally found his own dignity and self-respect.

This is good, very good.

"You weren't at launch nor dinner, why?" Abraxas spoke in an authoritative hard tone, while he could imagine why he wants to Draco to say it to his face.

Draco hasn't lost eye contact, neither did he flinch when he spoke in a more aggressive manner. He gave him a knowing look at which he internally smiled. He knew what Abraxas was doing.

"I was reading, and I take my education more seriously than playing a game of mouse and cat with you.." Draco spoke in a smooth neutral tone, at the end he sounded amused.

Ah, Draco knew his parents wouldn't be here for launch and dinner so Abraxas would have the opportunity to do whatever he wanted.

"Who is the cat and who is the mouse?" Abraxas asked with an amused smile on his face. His eyes practically dancing with mirth in them.

Draco snorted at that, tilted his head, and gave him a look as if to say 'Do you even need to ask that?'

Abraxas actually laughed. Which was a rare occurrence nowadays. He even forgot that his companion in this banter was an eight year old. He didn't get too much of an actual intelligent banter nowadays so any playing with words was appreciated.

Draco suddenly started sizing him up, looking at him up and down as if trying to find how exactly he was standing.

"Would you give me a few pointers in dueling?.." Draco spoke again with a neutral expression, he was trying to hide any emotions right now. He was still looking him straight into his eyes, he was in for a rude awakening. He attacked his mind, searching for his current emotions, Which was quite easy. He wasn't trying to hide the fact that he attacked his mind.

Draco suddenly started to hold his head and clicked his tongue as probably quite a strong headache overcame him. What Abraxas didn't expect was that he actually managed to throw him out of his mind. Of course, Abraxas wasn't utilizing his full abilities in mind arts and even got his current emotions but the fact that he still forced him out was very respectable at his age.

Draco's eyes practically screamed 'Displesure', and 'Annoyance'.

He clicked his tongue as he spoke up,

"I should have known that an old coot like you would be somehow efficient in 'Legimelency." Draco said as he gave him a backhanded compliment.

Abraxas just smiled and brushed off the insult as dust,

"Next time you have the courage the look me in the eyes make sure your 'Occlumency' is to an acceptable level alright? And it is actually funny that you were feeling angry at the fact that you had to ask for help..." He spoke in an amused voice, while also insulting him back.

"As for the pointers, why ask me and not your father for example?" Again he wanted to know his reasoning.

Draco again gave a knowing look but still did as he wanted,

"First of you are double the age of my father, so you probably have double the experience. I know that I need to know spells, have good reflexes, etc. What I want to know are things that you have to actually experience to know that, you can actually give me the experience you have founded over the years.

Second, you are old in a world where it isn't weird for someone to attack somebody or duel to death so you are either very lucky or very skilled.."

Abraxas smiled at that, there was solid logic behind that. Why go to his father when he can give the exact same amount of knowledge and probably even more.

Another thing, there are a lot of manuals for dueling what Draco actually wants is the experience that Abraxas came to in the form of war. Fighting for his life and killing people, so that he can prepare himself, and eventually, if he has to do it too he can at least make some preparations.

He just waved his hand for him to follow him, Draco's parents wouldn't be home for another few hours so they got some time.

Next chapter