Back to Summer
Chapter 1
The first week of Draco's summer was eventful to say the least. Severus decided they could start with his studies later and gave Draco a week to settle into Spinner's End. Draco knew his godfather was trying his best to make him feel welcome and he was truly grateful, but he knew it would take time for them both to be used to living with each other.
Severus was used to living alone and for him to let Draco into his home without any qualms spoke true words about their relationship. Draco always wished his father was as understanding as his godfather was. He hadn't heard from his mother or father since that day in the infirmary, and he couldn't help but feel like they were trying to get rid of him.
He had always wondered if his father had actually wanted kids or if he just had Draco because of pureblood traditions and needing an heir for the Malfoy family. He knew his mother had always wanted a child but was only going on with this to please Lucius, or at least he hoped that was the reason. He couldn't stand the thought of disappointing her anymore than he already has.
The first day of summer break Draco and Severus spent time laying out the design for Draco's new room, and he thought back to all that happened that day.
Lucius had sent Severus money along with Draco's belongings from the Manor and made sure to let him know that money was no object for Draco's education and comfort while staying with the professor. When his godfather mentioned that detail, Draco noticed the distaste in his voice and slight eye roll. Draco smirked a little and shook his head.
Severus turned to him with a confused look and asked, "Why do you have that look on your face?"
"You really don't like people thinking you don't have money, do you?" Draco asked in return.
Severus stared at his godson for a moment. "What do you mean by that?" he questioned.
Draco smiled. "In my other lifetime, you would always get this look on your face when people mention finances around you. It's the same one you just had while reading that letter. When I asked why you took it so personally, you explained how you were treated in Slytherin in your early years for being a halfblood and being poor.
“You took me to your vault one day when we were buying potion ingredients, so I know you aren't poor anymore. I mean you aren't Malfoy rich, but you are well off, Draco explained.
"That is true, actually," Severus said with hesitance and then pointed something out. "I guess you can talk about the past."
Draco didn't even realize he was talking about the past freely. He had never even tried it before and never gave a second thought to telling the story. This information came with shock. It was one thing for Draco to be able to tell people he was from the past, but for him to be able to tell people what happened in another lifetime like this one was powerful.
There was a reason an Unspeakable was called an Unspeakable. Since their line of work revolves majorly around time travel, they have to be really careful about what they say and do so as to not alter the timeline. One slip up could get them into a lot of trouble. So why could Draco talk about the past?
"I-yeah I guess I can," Draco said surprised.
"We still need to talk more about this whole time travel situation, you know that right? I know we said we would during the school year, but after your little stunt before the term ended, there wasn't much time," Severus said.
"Yeah, I know," Draco sighed, "It's just hard because there is so much I don't know and don't understand about why I'm here and how I got here. And then there's going to be things that you will want to know about I can't tell you, well more like won't tell you. I can't risk things changing because I tell the person the wrong thing, even if it is someone I fully trust."
"Draco, I'm not asking you to talk about the past. That is a subject that should rarely come up if ever. What I'm asking is for us to make a plan or have an idea of how this is going to work," Severus tried to explain to his godson calmly.
"I don't even know where to start," Draco admitted, "This lifetime and the last are so different already it's hard to think of them as the same, but at the same time they're so similar that I can almost expect what will happen next."
"You shouldn't rely on your experiences in the last lifetime too much. As you said, things are different now, so just because it happened before don't expect it will again. Every time that you do it will only make you weaker. Do you understand?" Severus asked.
"Yes, I know. It's just every move I make, I can't help but compare it to the past," Draco explained.
Severus sat up a little straighter before saying, "Your experiences from your past life are not for you to forget. They are for you to learn from. I know you were sorted into Gryffindor, but from the time I've spent with you this past year I also know you think at least a little bit like a Slytherin. You know that what knowledge you have is a powerful gift. So powerful that many would do more than kill to have it. Which is why I don't think you should let anyone else know about it."
Draco sighed, "I know. You're right. I just feel like I'm lying to everyone. Like I have this big secret that I want people to know about, but I can't," He thought for a moment and then asked, "I know I have a limit to who I can tell, but are you able to tell people?"
"That's a good question because I don't know," Severus said thinking and then called out, "Let's test it out. Dobby, can you come in here for a moment?"
With a pop Dobby, the house elf, entered the room and asked, "Yes, Mr. Snape? How can Dobby assist you and Master Draco?"
"Draco has-," Severus started, but stopped as if something was holding him back. He cleared his throat and then started again. "Draco has-. Draco is-. Draco has requested that we have treacle tart ice cream with dinner. Can you make sure we have some for then?"
"Of course," Dobby said eagerly, "Dobby will head to the store right away. Is there anything else Dobby can get you, Mr. Snape or Master Draco?"
"No, that will be all Dobby. Thank you," Severus answered the house elf.
Dobby left the room and headed to the store while Draco turned back towards his godfather. "What happened when you tried to say anything about it?" he questioned.
"It's like I forgot how to use my voice," Severus tried to explain accurately, "Every time I went to say you had time travelled, my throat tightened and I couldn't say a word."
Draco smiled, "Well at least I know who I tell will be the only ones who will know about my past. My knowledge can only get into the wrong hands at my own mistake of trust."
Severus nodded in agreement. "It's good that there is that safety blanket, but that only makes me realize how powerful and specific this spell is. It's powerful enough for a spell to send you back in time and that alone, but this spell left you with your memories, allows you to tell people that you went back in time and speak about your past experiences, and on top of all of that whoever you tell the spell extends to and binds them to never speak of it to anyone else. I have never heard of a spell as complicated as this one."
Draco had never thought of that. He had alwasys focused on how the spell got him into this lifetime and not the other aspects that went along with the spell.
"We should probably do some research and see if we can find any spells or curses that are similar. Then we might be able to figure out what exactly happened to me and what spell or curse was used," Draco suggested.
"That's something we can work on this summer, but right now I'm not too worried about it, okay?" Severus waited for Draco to nod and agree before moving on, "Right now I want to know what color you want your walls to be?"
Draco smiled. It was moments like these that he truly appreciated his godfather. Draco and Severus both knew how important and dangerous this curse was since so much was unknown about it, but Draco knew his godfather didn't want him dwelling on the topic too much, so he steered Draco back to their previous topic.
"I was thinking green. That was the color of my walls in my room back at the Manor," Draco said after thinking about it for a moment.
His old room had been one of the things he missed most from being away from Malfoy Manor, though that list wasn't very long. During the time Voldemort and his Death Eaters were using the Manor as their headquarters to plan all their horrendous attacks and figure out ways to catch Harry Potter, Draco room's had become his safe place.
Before Voldemort was slowly taking over his world, Hogwarts had been his safe place. The place he could get away from all of the bad things going on in his life, but like most of the good things in his life, the poison Voldemort had taken that place away from him too.
The funny thing to Draco was he was so close to escaping it all. In less than a week he would’ve been out of the Manor, safe or possibly helping the right side, but everything had to go sideways like always. Now, he could see himself getting dragged into all again. At least this time he would be on the right side from the very beginning.
"Yes, I know. I think we can make that happen," Severus said, breaking Draco from his thoughts.
After that, Draco continued to ramble off ideas he had for his new room to his godfather. Severus listened to every idea his godson had and made mental notes for when they would go shopping later that week.
They had drifted off into a different discussion when Dobby had popped back into the sitting room. "Master Draco, Mr. Snape," Dobby said as he bowed, "Dobby has just finished dinner and it is on the table for you to eat when you are ready. Dobby also got the treacle tart ice cream that Master Draco had requested. It is in the freezer, and Dobby can serve you some whenever you want."
"Thank you, Dobby. Draco and I will be in the dining room in just a moment," Severus told the house elf. Dobby nodded and then left the room with a pop.
"We should go eat before it gets cold," Severus suggested and then continued, "We can go shopping later in the week and then spend time fixing up your room to your liking."
Draco nodded with a smile and followed his godfather into the dining room. He was looking forward to finishing his new room and spending time with his godfather.
The dining room in Severus's house was tiny compared to the Manor, but Draco liked eating here more than he ever did at the Manor. He took a seat at one of the four chairs surrounding the table, and looked hungrily at the food Dobby had prepared.
Severus sat in the seat next to his godson and started to grab food off the table to fill his plate. As Draco took the bowl of mashed potatoes his godfather had passed him, he looked over at Dobby, who was standing in the corner watching the two wizards begin their meal.
"Dobby, come sit," Draco told the house elf, "I know you're hungry after fixing all this food."
"Dobby can eat when Master Draco and Mr. Snape are finished," Dobby said politely, "You should eat before Dobby, sir."
Draco didn't like that answer. Dobby was a part of this household as much as he was. "Dobby, this isn't like the Manor anymore. You are my friend, and I want you to eat with us. You can sit right beside me," Draco practically ordered as he pulled out a chair for the house elf.
Dobby smiled brightly as he sat at the table with Draco and Severus. The three talked amongst themselves and ate their dinner in peace. Once they were finished, they each had a bowl of the treacle tart ice cream Dobby had bought, and Draco and Dobby talked about different stories from the Manor, while Severus was amused by just listening.
Draco could tell meals with Severus and Dobby were going to become one of his favorite parts of the day. He felt better thinking about the food than he had in a while and actually found himself looking forward to the next meal. Not only for the food, but most importantly the time he got to spend with those he cared for.
❀ ❀ ❀
It was only a couple days later that Draco and Severus went into town to get what they needed to finish decorating Draco's room. When they got back to their house, they immediately started to work.
A few hours later, the room was completely transformed. The once pale blue walls were now a beautiful forest green, which didn't fully match the color of his room at the Manor, but Draco was more fond of this shade. He had organized his school supplies on his desk and even hung up a poster of his favorite Quidditch Team, The Montrose Magpies.
The Magpies were his first introduction to Quidditch. His father had business in Scotland when Draco was six and decided to take Draco with him to show him how business life was. During their time there, one of Lucius's business partners invited them to watch the Magpies play.
Draco remembered how excited he was walking into that stadium. All the fans dressed in black and white to support the team. How for the first time he learned what a box seat was and how important you had to be to sit in those seats.
Everyone up there reminded Draco of his father. Even though it was only a Quidditch game they were all dressed in proper attire, including Draco. He was the only kid up there, so he knew he needed to act like an adult otherwise father would never take him back.
He was fully engrossed in the game from the minute it started, watching as the chasers passed the quaffle between each other with ease, and the seeker dived at the first sight of the snitch.
Since then, Draco fell in love with the sport. He begged his father for a broom and lessons and practiced every chance he got. His father pushed him to become seeker, saying it was the position that would get him the most glory, but now being a seeker didn't even come close to being a chaser in comparison. He didn't realize it until his third or fourth match, but something about being a chaser clicked in his mind a way being a seeker never did.
Draco turned to his godfather and asked, "Have you heard from Father or Mother yet?"
"Not yet," Severus said as they walked down the stairs to the sitting room. "Your parents are busy people. Maybe you should write them first," he suggested.
Draco hummed at the suggestion. "I'll ask to meet them for dinner tonight. I want to go over the details of my birthday next week. Whether or not I am having a party this year is still up in the air, but I'm sure I can get rid of doubts they have. Besides, I still need to grab a few things from my room that weren't brought over."
"If I know anything about your parents, it's that they will take every opportunity to host a public event. Why don't you write them a letter now to make sure," Severus said.
Draco nodded and headed back up the stairs to his room. He sat at his desk and pulled out his ink and a sheet of paper. He dipped his quill in the ink and started to write.
Dear Mother and Father,
I hope the Manor hasn't become too lonely without me. I'm enjoying my stay with Severus so far, and things are going good here. I am writing to ask if we can meet up to discuss the event of my twelfth birthday next week. Severus and I are free tonight to go over the details over dinner.
Your Son,
Draco Malfoy
Draco folded the letter and placed it inside an envelope. He let Nyx out of his cage and gave the owl the letter.
"Take this to Malfoy Manor and give it to Mother and Father," Draco told the owl and opened the window for Nyx to fly out. He watched as the all black owl sored through the air before heading back downstairs to rejoin his godfather.