The Haunting Past
Draco sat up at the Head table. He had been assigned to sit next to a witch named Camilla Vaughn. She was the new flying teacher and was a Slytherin herself. She was easily ten years senior to him. Vaughn was the current Head of Slytherin, and she was very pregnant. Besides this, all the other Heads remained the same from when Draco had last attended school,which had been his sixth year).
With the war over, McGonagall had been promoted to Head Mistress, and Sprout had been made the Deputy Mistress.
Leading the Sorting Ceremony must have been a task for the Deputy because Professor Spout led in the anxious first years and positioned the Sorting stool in place, setting the Sorting Hat on top of it.
One by one, each of the Muggleborns that Draco had recently met spotted him and waved. He returned their greetings with a polite nod.
The Sorting Hat then started singing:
Now that our differences have been put aside
We'll start the year off more peacefully
And from here, continue on the upside
Whether you were a saint or a bully
If we are smart, we will forever be united
Allowing no one to sabotage our way
And that good deeds shall be requited
We shall not allow anyone to go a-stray
Wise we would be if we offer some support
Assist your peers, be they friend or enemy
And let us not wait until events contort
Before correcting a life of treachery
Here's to a well-deserving year
A time to start a new beginning
Students, Staff, I ask you not to fear
This time it will be enriching.
While everyone clapped when the song was finished, Draco doubted that anyone would take the hat's advice when it came to him.
The first years were then called, one by one, to be sorted. Hans was one of the first.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Draco was obviously disappointed. The flying talent that Hans had wouldn't be applied to Slytherin. He didn't think Hans would make a good Gryffindor. Gryffindors were a rowdy, loud bunch. Hans was a fairly quiet, reserved boy.
Draco watched as Hans walked to the cheering table of Gryffindors. He was engulfed by his newest housemates where he sat down next to a girl named Leslie Adams who had also just been sorted into the Gryffindor house.
A few others were sorted, including a Slytherin boy, Gabriel Fleesled. His mother had been a werewolf (fighting for the Dark Lord) before she had been murdered in the war. Draco noted that the Slytherin table wasn't cheering very loudly. Gabriel was incredibly quiet as he approached the Slytherin table. A few of the older Slytherins clapped him on the back politely, but Draco wasn't going to deny that the child was definitely not widely-accepted.
Next came Jessica. The hat didn't even touch her head:
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"What?!" Draco gasped, completely in shock as he watched Jessica walk to the Hufflepuff table. She dodged their hugs (Hufflepuff was full of students who didn't understand personal space), showing her fists as a threat to anyone who wanted to touch her. They quickly took the message and permitted her to take her seat.
Draco was absolutely baffled. He didn't think she at all fitted in Hufflepuff! She was too smart, too tough. She didn't like to be touched and she didn't easily trust anyone. None of these qualities were Hufflepuff! She was definitely more Slytherin than Hufflepuff. Draco felt that Slytherin was robbed of a good student.
Maybe Slytherin wasn't ready for a Muggleborn yet, though Draco disagreed. This year would have been a perfect year to infiltrate Muggleborns. Most of the bigots had been put in their place since they lost the war.
Nonetheless, not only was she the first Muggleborn Draco had befriended, but Jessica was also the first Hufflepuff. He set his hand to his forehead, having issues accepting this. He couldn't keep himself from scowling in disappointment.
A Gryffindor, a Slytherin and two Ravenclaws were sorted before it was Nathaniel's turn.
The Sorting Hat took its time with him. Two minutes passed before:
"RAVENCLAW!"
At first, Draco was mildly shocked. His shock wasn't like Jessica's sorting, but Draco had been certain that Nathaniel would have been a badger himself. As Draco thought back though, Nathaniel loved to read, and since he was practically neglected by his family, the boy had to be awfully intelligent to survive in that family. After reconsidering the decision, Draco felt Ravenclaw suited the Muggleborn well enough.
None of his Muggleborn charges had been sorted into Slytherin. Draco was a little disappointed by that.
The feast started, and Draco slowly ate, absorbed in his thoughts. The room was full of chatter. No one was talking to Draco though.
He looked across the way to the Slytherin table. Gabriel also had no one to talk to. Draco set his fork down and walked to the boy. He could feel eyes on him as he moved, but he kept his focus on Gabriel.
Gabriel wasn't eating, shuffling around the food on his plate. The chatter near him died down as Draco slipped in next to him. The students budged up, not wanting Draco anywhere near them.
"Oi," Draco greeted when Gabriel looked up at him.
"What do you want?" Gabriel asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Thought you could use a friend."
Gabriel scowled at him. "Heard you've been cozying up with Mudbloods, why would I even bother with you?"
Draco's fingers curled up into his palm. His nails dug into the skin of them. He wanted to smack him, but he was a teacher, and an adult. He couldn't harm a child.
He also wanted to cut out his tongue. But Draco couldn't do that either.
So Draco came up with a better idea. He conjured up an object and delicately set it on the table for Gabriel to see.
"Know what this is?" Draco asked with a gentle, soft tone to his voice.
Gabriel shrugged indifferently. "Soap."
"Indeed it is." He snatched a hold of the boy's ear, making him wince. Draco's tone got darker. Nastier. "And if I ever hear that word escape your lips again, you will be tasting nothing but this for a week. Am I clear?"
Draco may not have had his good name anymore, but he knew he could make a first year piss his trousers with the infamous Malfoy tone he had inherited from his father.
Gabriel's throat shook. "Yes," he whispered.
"I'm a teacher here, and you will address me as sir."
"Yes, sir."
"Great!" Draco instantly smiled, releasing his ear. He pointed the soap at the nearby Slytherins, slowly swinging his arm in a semi-circle around him. "My threat expands to everyone at this table. I trust that you all will spread my message."
He then stood up. "I'd like to congratulate you, Fleesled, for being the first student of the year to get detention. I'm also deducting twenty-five points from Slytherin. Enjoy your feast."
Draco returned to his seat at the Head table after that. He stole a glance at the Slytherin table and smirked when he saw that the table was giving the first year scowls.
Gabriel will quickly learn to act accordingly.
"What did you say to him?" Vaughn asked, staring at Gabriel who shook in his seat, affected by Draco's threat. The entire Head table was closely listening for his answer.
"I was taking care of his filthy mouth. Nothing more," he answered innocently, sipping from his mug. "Didn't hurt the lad. Except perhaps his ego."
"His mother killed my cousin," Vaughn grumbled. Her eyes were still locked in on Gabriel. She was holding a personal grudge.
Draco grunted. He knew first hand what it was like to have a parent's reputation reflect on him.
"Well, he is not his mother. Give him a little slack. He's going to regret his mother's mistakes for the rest of his life."
Vaughn finally pulled her eyes from the first year to look at Draco. "He is a bit of a snot though."
"He'll learn to play nice soon enough," Draco assured her. "I've got plenty of soap."
Vaughn's eyes shined with amusement as she bit into a chicken leg. "I'll donate to the cause should you need it," she offered dryly after she had swallowed her bite.
He snickered softly. "I'll keep that in mind."
The next morning, right after breakfast, Draco hauled himself up into his classroom. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. He kept rearranging the things on his desk, undecided on where he wanted anything. He knew this was only because he was feeling uneasy.
By now, his Muggleborn charges had mingled with their houses. This meant that they had probably been exposed to the stories of the war, including Draco's participation in it.
He kept clearing his throat. He took sips of water to attempt to soothe the dryness, but the effort was useless. Why he was at all concerned what a handful of eleven-year-olds thought of him he'd never know.
One of them is your friend, his inner voice admitted.
There was no doubt that Jessica was the one who would take the news the hardest. People who weren't so easily trusting also weren't easily forgiving.
Nathaniel came in first. "Hello, Professor!" He was all smiles. Perhaps no one had told him yet.
"Hello, Mr. Larson. Choose yourself a seat, if you would."
"The food here is so good!" Nathaniel exclaimed as he did as Draco instructed. "My parents never make fresh meals, but wow! Those house elves can cook! I'm going to write them a thank you note!"
Draco refrained from rolling his eyes. Granger would simply adore this lad.
"Yes, the food here is delectable," Draco agreed. In all truth, most of Draco's life was full of grand meals, so the meals at Hogwarts meant very little to him.
Nathaniel started talking about his new friend Delilah, who he seemed infatuated with. The girl could already do second year spells, thanks to her older brother who had taught her what he had learned.
Then Hans came in, and Nathaniel, the chatterbox, latched onto him. "Oi, Hans, is it? I remember you from the Sorting! You're the tallest boy I've ever met! I'm Nathaniel Larson, do you remember me?"
"Um… I suppose?" Hans said with uncertainty.
"Did you make any friends? Is your room decorated in red and gold? Mine is blue and bronze, to match my house colours!"
Hans nodded. "Red and gold is mine, yes."
"What class are you most excited for? I can't wait for Charms! Delilah— she's in Ravenclaw like me— she can make things clean themselves! How wicked is that?!"
Hans did seem impressed over the idea of the scourgify charm. He asked about it, and from there, he and Nathaniel began talking about spells they wished they knew.
Three students walked in together. Two Gryffindors, a boy and a girl, and a Slytherin girl. They looked young, but they weren't first years. Draco guessed that they were second years.
"Are you three lost?" Draco asked them as they took a seat in the back.
"We're Muggleborns," the female Gryffindor said.
Draco lifted his eyebrow, looking at the Slytherin. A Muggleborn in the school last year would have been very rare, but a Slytherin one?!
"It's our second year," the male Gryffindor supplied.
"You can imagine the time we had last year," the Slytherin said, almost accusingly.
Draco cleared his swelling throat. It was a wonder they had survived at all.
"Neville and Ginny helped us," the Gryffindor boy explained, as if reading Draco's mind.
"Still have scars though," the Slytherin muttered, earning a comforting tap on the hand from the Gryffindor girl.
"They made us into targets," the Gryffindor girl said.
"For their torture training," the Gryffindor boy whispered. His eyes went out of focus.
The Slytherin girl leaned back in her seat, glaring at Draco. "We are taking the first year over again, since all we learned last year was to stay hidden away from psychopaths."
Nathaniel had gone quiet, listening to what the older Muggleborns had said. Hans sunk low into his chair, trying to look real small. His legs stuck out from under his desk.
"McGonagall advised us to take this class," the Gryffindor girl said.
"Fundamental Exploration of Rare and Remarkable Enchanted Transitions," the Slytherin girl said with a shrug. "Sounds useful."
"Don't know much about the teacher though," the Gryffindor boy scrutinized. He didn't look like he trusted Draco in the slightest.
"Didn't much agree with McGonagall until Emily told us what you said to Fleesled," the Gryffindor girl informed. Emily was their Slytherin friend.
Draco looked down at his desk. He saw a lot of his younger self in that Fleesled boy. He intended to correct the boy before it was too late.
"Read the papers much?" Draco asked the second years.
"Not really." Emily rolled her eyes. "Bunch of lies."
"Some of the things said about me used to be true," Draco confessed. Hans stirred in his seat.
"Well I heard you've changed," Nathaniel spoke up. "And I believe it to be true."
"Only so he avoids prison," Emily accused.
"That's not true," Draco argued.
"You didn't call people like us Mudbloods?" the Gryffindor boy asked.
"And didn't wish death on us?" Emily added.
"And you didn't fight to kill us?" the Gryffindor girl squeaked out.
Draco didn't get a chance to answer as footsteps approached and stopped just inside the room.
Jessica.
He could tell by the ugly scowl she sported that she had heard the history of Draco's past.
"Go on and answer them, Professor," she snarled. "Tell them how you were a Death Eater and how you joined the monster who believed Muggleborns were only good for practicing harmful spells on, including the death curse! Tell them how many children were murdered because they weren't pure!"