Nightmare 1/2
Draco barely opened his eyes and the headache was the first thing he felt, making him frown while shifting beneath the soft silk sheets.
"…Ugh…," he groaned while lifting the upper half of his body from the bed, which, being such high class, felt more like solid rock.
Impossible for anyone to sleep on this.
That was what he thought while the light passing through the silver curtains forced him to squint harder in annoyance, irritated by every little thing around him.
Though it was probably completely his own fault, since he had definitely gone to sleep late after staying up all night playing again, and now his body seemed to be making him pay for it this morning.
But… what had he been playing? Golems?
That confusion hit him suddenly and he looked around his room, trying to find where that thought had come from, because he didn't understand why he had thought that.
Maybe he had simply been reading a story late into the night and his mind got mixed up, as if he had really been playing with miniature battle golems.
Though honestly he couldn't properly remember why he had thought that specifically.
Before he could fully organize his thoughts, the knock on his door interrupted him.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Young Master Draco," a voice spoke from outside. "Mr. Malfoy wishes to see you before breakfast."
Draco, hearing this, quickly pushed those thoughts aside.
"I'm coming…," Draco replied while climbing out of bed and picking up the clothes for the day, neatly folded beside it, placed there by his family's house elf.
The young Malfoy walked toward the nearby mirror after getting dressed while trying to fix his hair.
Lucius hated seeing him messy, since a young noble should always appear neat and superior to others.
Draco walked down the enormous staircase of the manor, which was as silent as always.
The house elf moved around serving breakfast while avoiding making too much noise or even being too visible, since that would only earn another punishment from his master.
But Draco frowned the moment he entered the main dining room.
Because there was only one person there.
Lucius Malfoy barely lifted his gaze from the newspaper he held in his hands.
"Finally," he said.
But seeing Draco's frown, his expression hardened slightly.
"Is something wrong… Draco?" he asked slowly.
Draco blinked a couple of times and shook his head after realizing the disrespect toward his father.
"Ah… no. Sorry. I'm still a little sleepy, father," Draco said with respect and submission.
He felt like today his head wasn't fully right if he had disrespected his father like that.
Without wasting his father's time, he sat down in the seat across from him while his breakfast was already being served.
The house elf placed a glass of juice in front of him, lowering his head and not even allowing himself to look the young master in the eyes.
Draco briefly looked at Dobby, because something about the elf felt strange to him.
Yeah, he was behaving exactly like always.
"Narcissa had important matters to attend to this morning, so we'll have breakfast without her, and afterward I'll have the butler take you to the train station," Lucius said while setting the newspaper aside.
"You won't… come with me, father?" Draco asked with a hint of hope, since this was his first year at Hogwarts and he had truly hoped at least one of his parents would be there to watch him board the Hogwarts Express.
"It's a waste of time. I have no desire to step into a station filled with muggles sending their mudblood children to Hogwarts to steal our magic," Lucius said in a tone filled with contempt.
Draco simply nodded, slightly disappointed, though not because of Lucius's absence, but because his mother would normally never miss something like his first trip to Hogwarts.
But before he could think too much about it, Lucius spoke again.
"Today you officially enter the magical world, Draco."
Lucius's calm voice echoed through the enormous dining room while he slowly lifted a cup of tea.
And there was a weight in his gaze that kept Draco from interrupting him.
"And that means from now on, every action you take will represent the Malfoy family. There will be many people trying to get close to you. Some out of interest, others out of fear. And some… because they wish to take advantage of our family name."
Lucius barely lifted his gaze toward him.
"That's why you must quickly learn who deserves your time and who does not. Not all wizards are equal. Blood and legacy matter, so you must keep in mind who could become your friend."
Draco gave a small nod.
Lucius continued speaking.
"I'm not asking much from you. Only that you maintain our family's pride properly. Our family has belonged to Slytherin since the creation of our surname, so that is the bare minimum I expect from you," Lucius said.
Even though his words sounded normal, Draco could actually feel a hidden threat beneath them, understanding that if he failed to belong to the house of serpents, his father would be deeply disappointed in him.
"This year the eldest Greengrass daughter will also be entering. Just be careful around her. Her family has become quite powerful these past few years. Especially after losing his wife, Edward became much more ruthless and protects his daughters to the point he wouldn't hesitate to destroy entire families. If possible, become friends with her. Perhaps we can arrange an engagement if you succeed. Having that monster as an ally would benefit the Malfoy family greatly," Lucius said while calmly returning to his breakfast.
Draco, hearing that familiar surname, couldn't stop himself from feeling confused while something like fog lightly brushed against his memories.
But the feeling vanished so quickly he didn't even pay attention to it.
…
Platform Nine and Three Quarters was filled with excited students and parents moving around everywhere.
Draco looked around while adjusting his luggage.
The butler who had brought him there had already left after saying goodbye. He had wanted to carry Draco's luggage onto the Express, but Draco, for some reason, wanted to do it himself, so he sent him back home early while he pushed the cart loaded with his belongings on his own.
Draco couldn't help glancing at the students being hugged and saying goodbye to their parents as he walked forward, though his gaze quickly returned to his path without paying it too much attention.
The moment Draco entered the compartment, he was greeted by two small… not so small familiar boys.
"Crabbe and Goyle," Draco said as he recognized them.
Both of them, who were stuffing themselves with every kind of magical candy imaginable, turned around to see who was talking to them.
"Malfoy. There you are. We thought you wouldn't take the Express," Goyle said with a dumb smile while still having chocolate smeared across his lips.
Crabbe, on the other hand, couldn't even open his mouth since it was completely full of food while he hurriedly shook out his robes to look more presentable.
Though maybe it was a little too late for that.
"I'd rather go directly to Hogwarts without having to travel in this…," Draco was about to say disdainfully, but stopped himself, suddenly feeling uncomfortable hearing his own words.
Crabbe and Goyle didn't notice Draco's confusion and Crabbe spoke after swallowing.
"Hey, I heard that kid's on this train. Harry Potter," he said, feeling Draco might be interested.
"Harry Potter?" Draco asked, pulled out of his confusion with genuine curiosity in his eyes about meeting this famous savior.
His father had told him to associate himself with famous and powerful people.
And Harry Potter, even if he wasn't pure blood, still fit those categories.
"Mmm… where is he right now?" he asked attentively.
…
Now followed by his two new lackeys, Draco walked through the corridors of the Express while hearing people talk about Harry Potter.
And thanks to that, finding him wasn't very difficult.
Without hesitation, he opened the compartment door without much care and found the two people sitting inside.
One was a redheaded boy with dirt smeared on his nose and rather old clothes, holding a disgusting rat in his hands while eating the snacks in front of him as if there were no tomorrow.
The other was a young boy with black hair, green eyes behind round glasses, and a scar trying to hide beneath his bangs.
But it was unmistakable.
"So it's true," Draco said while staring directly at the black haired boy. "Harry Potter is going to Hogwarts. So it's really you, huh?" Draco asked with genuine curiosity toward the young wizard.
But for some reason he felt really familiar.
"Yes," Harry Potter said in a fairly calm tone while his gaze showed… amusement?
His eyes resting on Draco and then on the two boys beside him.
Draco felt confused again.
"Oh. This is Crabbe and this is Goyle," Draco introduced casually. "And my name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself with pride clear in his voice.
The redhead, hearing his name, let out a small laugh.
And Draco finally turned his gaze toward him.
"Something funny? No need to introduce yourself. My father told me all the Weasleys are redheads with freckles, and they have more children than they can afford," Draco said while looking Ron up and down, who was clearly wearing hand me down clothes from his brothers while his hair was completely messy.
Not even bothering to look at himself in a mirror.
And supposedly his family was also one of the pure blood families among the Sacred Twenty Eight.
The redhead looked at him with immediate anger.
But before he could respond, Draco turned back toward Harry.
But… why did it feel like he was very obviously trying to hold back a smile that was about to come out?
But not because of his insult toward the Weasley. No, it was way too obvious he was trying not to laugh directly in Draco's face.
That filled Draco with fury, making him desperately want to ask what exactly he found so funny.
But continuing to look at that irritating face only made him angrier and angrier.
And for some reason, right now he no longer wanted to say the words of friendship he had planned and simply turned around and left the compartment.
Leaving both Crabbe and Goyle, as well as Ron Weasley, completely confused.