Ius Visionis

Draco didn’t think his day would start like that. His plan for the day was simple: say hello to his friends, go up for breakfast, read his book, talk to no one, attend his classes, do his homework, read his book some more and finally go to bed. The first few points of his plan were successful, he was in class, barely paying attention to Professor Slughorn. His mind was somewhere else these past few weeks but he tried his best to still listen and learn intently.

Draco Malfoy had changed since the war between Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter. As a child and as a teenager, Draco had always done what he could to make his father proud and feel accepted and respected by him. He went out of his way to act like him, be him, because he thought it to be the way to his father’s heart. The only thing Draco didn’t do was shape his own mind, believe what he wanted to believe and choose what he really wanted. He used to bully people who were poorer, who weren’t of the same blood as him and who weren’t in the same Hogwarts house as him, because his father did, and for Draco, what his father did was what he had to do. Draco was not going to lie to himself, he used to like that feeling of superiority, that feeling of having this terrible impact on his classmates. There was a time where he really liked to antagonize others and see them cry, it boosted his already big ego, gave him more confidence and the best in all of this was that his father approved. But all this didn’t mean that Draco still felt that way. Since the war, so many things have changed. Sure, he used to like to bully others, but he never ever imagined his classmates dying. He used to believe Muggle-borns didn’t belong at Hogwarts, that they stole the magic they had and possessed dirty and stained blood, but he never wanted any Muggle-borns dead. Draco had always liked provocation, verbal insults, teasing and maybe once or twice he liked casting spells at others while they had their back turned. But he never wanted any blood shed. During the war, he saw it first hand. People tortured on his dining table, people being eaten by Voldemort’s snake, people being ripped apart by the werewolf Greyback or people being cut open by his crazy aunt Bellatrix. He saw some of his classmates being slaughtered during the final battle, innocent children who didn’t leave and hid at Hogwarts to stay and fight, some older students being brave and fighting alongside the adults. Draco saw so much blood on the floors of the castle, from Purebloods, Half-bloods and Muggle-Borns and he thought it unfair and all his prejudiced beliefs went flying away. Why were so many witches and wizards dying, all of them deserved to live and have a happy life. Why was Voldemort doing all of this, why was he killing off all the Muggles, Muggle-borns and half-bloods while he himself was one. Why was the pure hatred of one monstrous man dictating how everyone else had to live and think. Draco couldn’t fathom it. He didn’t want to obey anymore, he wanted a taste of happiness, he wanted his guards down and enjoy his life, because so many people couldn’t anymore.

Today, like the majority of the Slytherins who returned to Hogwarts for their 8th year, Draco kept his head down most of the time. He stayed silent, didn’t interact with many people and when he did he was polite, which often brought a look of pure apprehension on their faces. He understood their hesitancy and disbelief, he used to be nothing but cruel to them. He knew being on speaking terms with other houses would take time, and knew it also might never happen but he still tried his best. Many people still sneered at him as they passed him in the hallways but he would always politely nod at them to show he meant no harm and that he changed. One of the people he never thought would acknowledge him after the war was Hermione Granger. He thought that she would be the first person to hit him for everything that happened, especially after what happened at the manor before the final battle. He thought she would hate him so much that she wouldn’t want to stand in the same room as him, but he was wrong. It took her some time as she was as hesitant as the other students, but Hermione nodded back at him in the corridors, nodded back at him in class when their eyes met and was very polite and respectful to the other Slytherins. He knew that she still very much disliked him, after everything he did to her during their years at Hogwarts, but he was still very glad of the improvement. Now here he was, trying to be invisible in potions class and Pansy made it quite difficult for him.

A sigh of annoyance left Draco Malfoy’s lips. He looked down at his once impeccable black two piece suit, potion was dripping down his front, some was splattered on his face and he was sure he could taste some on his lips. His friends had a look of horror on their faces, Pansy rushing to him with some paper towel to clean the mess she had caused.

“Oh Merlin, Draco I’m so sorry!” Cried Pansy, wiping some dripping potion off his arms.

Professor Slughorn rushed to them, a worried look on his face as he took in the scene that had just happened.

“Oh my dear child, don’t touch it! We don’t know for sure that the potion was done right!” Exclaimed Slughorn halting Pansy from wiping more potion off her friend. “My dear, did you consume any?” Asked Slughorn, turning to Draco in apprehension.

“...I fear that some drops landed on my mouth… and I fear I subconsciously licked them off.” Admitted Draco, his brows furrowed thinking of the potential consequences.

“Oh no, Professor, what if I messed up that potion? What if I forgot to add the powdered root of asphodel? Because I forgot it, Oh Merlin I’m so sorry!” Panicked Pansy, her head rapidly going from Professor Slughorn to Draco.

“Oh my dear, you need to go straight to Madame Pomfrey, I myself am not sure about the outcome of consuming an unfinished Elixir of Vision…” Replied Slughorn while rubbing his sweaty forehead with his handkerchief, but Slughorn couldn’t finish his sentence as Draco started to look paler and paler.

His eyes started to become unfocused, his perfectly still stance relaxed, his shoulders dropped a few inches and his head started to feel heavy. Draco didn’t feel good, it was suddenly very hot, even hotter than before. Sweat started to pool on his forehead and on his back. He went to open his jacket, but his fingers felt numb. He looked down to his hands, but his vision started to waver and his body started to dangerously sway. Someone suddenly brought him a chair and he managed to sit down on it without falling. He lifted his head back toward the ceiling and that’s when everything became black for him.

Draco was sitting on his stool, head toward the ceiling looking blankly upwards. His eyes were hazy and had a weird shine to them. It was as if a shimmering blue light was in his pupils. His arms were limp on his sides, but his body seemed frozen in place and his mind seemed far, very far away. He was not responding anymore, even when Professor Slughorn lightly shook him or when Pansy and Theo frantically called his name. Draco wasn’t there anymore. His mind was in fact 7 years into the future. He was just experiencing a magical day.