Draco's Time

The Professors were not fooled by Draco’s attempts to dumb himself down and assigned him increasingly difficult independent projects. This along with his search for the diary, cut into his research for another option to the Chamber issue.



Because of Draco’s decreased spare time, Harry frequently joined Draco in the Ravenclaw common room for homework. Harry didn’t need his help for most of the homework but it was comforting to be together.



On one such afternoon, Harry challenged the Ravenclaw status quo.



A first year looked up from his table in confusion. He gathered his quill and parchment and tried to find an upper classmen who would help him. At every table he was cut down with harsh words and occasionally had to duck a head slap. Near tears, the first year boy gazed sadly down at his parchment, shoulders drooped. The other first years watched with empathy but were too scared to do anything.



Harry however, had very little fear.



“Hey? Need help?” The boy brightened but when he saw it was The Harry Potter talking to him blushed and shook his head no.



“Oh come on. I’m not going to bite you. Plus I’m a hufflepuff so it doesn’t matter if I help you.”



A few of the upper years glared at Draco for sharing house secrets but Draco ignored them. They all owed him favors anyway, most of them needed the Lubrication spell Severus had taught Draco.



The first year shuffled over to the table slowly and Harry winked at him as he sat down across from Harry and Draco.



“So what is the problem huh?”



The little guy sniffed and said, “It’s this essay in Transfiguration. McGonagall wants us to write out Gamp’s laws of Transfiguration and Flitwick wants Merlin’s three rules of magic and I can’t find it anywhere.” His little voice rose in pitch until Draco winced at the ringing.



Harry only chuckled and leaned forward. “I’ll tell you a secret okay?”



Draco cleared his throat and Harry looked at him curiously. “If I may?” He raised his voice, “are there any other first years wanting to take advantage of Harry’s good mood?” Four more first years rushed to the table and Draco waved his wand mumbling Mufflato. Harry rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Ravenclaws.”



Luna was of course not among them as she seemed to just know everything and conjure her homework since she was never seen actually doing it.



Draco rolled his eyes and went back to studying the magical properties of the moon.



“Alright, the secret is: they assign this essay every year, and only a few ever get it right. In fact I’d say less then 10% got it right.” Draco rolled his eyes at Harry’s dramatics.



“Just tell them Harry.”



“Alright, alright, Merlin. Okay so listen up.



Okay so the first part of Gamp’s rule is: Everything has a time limit. You can transfigure something into something else but it won’t stay that way forever. Some things last longer then others, inanimate to animate last the least amount of time and some spells can last for centuries, but eventually they will turn back into what they were.”



The first years wrote notes furiously and Draco smirked gleefully as the Ravenclaw upper years watched enviously. These first years would have information that they didn’t have and wanted. It shocked Draco that most Wizards never knew these rules. The information just wasn’t out there. Draco only knew because Malfoy’s passed it down through the generations during pre-Hogwarts training.



“You cannot transfigure food or create it from nothing. This ties into the time limit thing. Food has the smallest life span and will change back into whatever it was, inside you. Next is that there are things you cannot touch with any magic not just transfiguration. Anyone have an example?”



A blond girl raised a hand and Harry smiled at her. “You can’t bring back the dead?” Harry nodded and Draco was struck with how good Harry was at teaching. Hearing about the DA was different then seeing Harry’s natural ability to involve the first years in this, though this was pretty fascinating and Draco was the one to tell Harry about it.



“Anyone else?”



None of the others had any, “Well I’ll leave that to you I guess, wouldn’t want your essays to be all the same right? Okay so the next part is you cannot truly create life. Its just animation and most of the time, how it is animated is based on your intention. You could make your cup come to life and only insult people or only complement them,”



“Like mirrors?” The little first year boy who started this asked.



Draco nodded, “yes. That is an example of animated life. The only way to create life is to impregnate a female, or get impregnated by a male.”



The first years blushed as did Harry and Draco actually and to control his body not to follow. Sometimes it was a bother being twelve again.



“Okay, Okay. The last part is love cannot be created only imitated, just like life. A potion or a spell can make a person think they are in love, but they aren’t truly.”



Harry worked on his own homework while the first years outlined their essay. Draco and Harry absently answered questions and gave clarifications until they were done.



“So about Merlin’s laws?”



Harry looked pleadingly at Draco so he pushed his homework away to take this one.



“Merlin’s laws of magic are about wand magics, they don’t apply to potions, or creatures, or anything else, just wand magic okay?” They nodded.



“Okay the three laws are: words, intention, and motion.”



A little girl scowled, “those don’t sound like laws.”



Draco raised an eyebrow and ignored her, either she would accept his knowledge and get an O on her essay or she wouldn’t and would fail. It didn’t matter to Draco.



“As I was saying: words, intention, and motion. Picture the spell like making a clay pot on a spinner. The clay itself is the magic inside you and the spinner is the magic of the earth, outside of you. Got that? Alright so if the clay is the magic then the wand movement would be how you used your hands to shape the spell, used them to mold the clay into the shape you want. The words you use would be like the decision to make a bowl rather then a pitcher or a tile. Understanding so far?” He didn’t get any answers because the first years were writing at a fevered pace so Draco waited a moment before continuing.



“If the motion is your hands and the words your direction, then your intention would be the finishing process. Without intention your clay pot would not be fired or glazed, it would crumble quickly and would be ugly and undignified, nothing to be proud of. It is your intention that powers the spell and gives it detail and on occasion is the most important part of the spell. Often you cannot cast the spell unless you truly want it. Have any of you tried to cast anything yet?”



The boy who began this all nodded, “yes, I tried to cast the levitation spell.”



“Did it work?” Harry asked



The boy shook his head sadly. “Cast it now.” Draco ordered.



The boy left to get his wand and Draco glared at Harry when he giggled. “You shouldn’t giggle Harry. I remember catching you without your wand last year.” Harry tilted his head.



“You did? I don’t remember that. When?”



Draco thought about it and froze when he remembered that it wasn’t in this time line that it had happened. Luckily the boy returned before Draco had to answer. He brushed off Harry and made a mental note to add this to the journal he would give Harry.



The boy cast the spell at his roll of parchment, which wobbled and then blew up spectacularly. The boy gazed at his destroyed notes in desperation. “Now you know not to practice spells on important things.” The boy turned wide teary eyes at Draco but it was Harry’s large begging green ones that made Draco sigh, “Fine, Reparo.” The charred pieces flew together and smoothed out. It wasn’t perfect as there were still sections missing but the boy could read enough of it to re write the notes.



“Alright, what you did wrong in this case was the wand motion. You wanted it to work so bad, probably pictured it rising and you said the words correctly. Because of this your spell was high powered and defined but uncontrolled. You’re lucky only the parchment exploded. Make sure you have the words right and the movements right before you attempt any spell.”



The first years nodded and thanked them profusely. Feeling a moment of fondness for them Draco said, “You now hold the secret to wand magic. As Harry said only 10% of the school knows this secret and this is why few of your classmates will master their spells. Even the upper classmen have trouble mastering spells because they do not know this secret. Use it well little Ravenclaws and remember Knowledge is power.”



It took Draco nearly a month to live down Harry’s constant nags that he was going soft after this stunt. Harry didn’t seem to care that it was he who called over the little first year.



The dueling club was a welcome amusement to the stresses of Draco’s days. In the first timeline this was the beginning of a hellish year for Harry but Draco was confident that the other boy could keep his unusual abilities to him self. Indeed he could.



“Can you believe how horrible that was?” Harry was nearly bouncing with glee and barely suppressed giggles. “The way Snape blasted him across the chamber!”



Draco cleared his throat to remind Harry that they were in public. Some of the other students were looking at the supposed innocent boy with shock. Harry jerked slightly. “I mean, Lockhart’s been so mean to me. You remember how he attacked me in class when he made me be the werewolf? He didn’t even let me attempt to defend myself.”



Draco forced a sympathetic expression, when inside he was chuckling. Harry was brilliant. The students that were shamelessly listening were now watching the Fraud Lockheart with disgust and revenge in mind. No one messed with innocent hufflepuff Harry Potter and got away with it.



Lockhart seemed to run into a nasty bit of bad luck after that. Harry and Draco enjoyed regaling each other with the gossip they’d picked up at night in Draco’s rooms.



The year passed quickly. Draco hadn’t been able to get the diary from the Weaselette despite the fact that she followed he and Harry around like a wayward puppy. He was startled when it practically dropped in his lap. He and Harry were walking on the grounds when it hit him on the head. Someone had thrown it from a tower window. The sun was just in the way and Draco couldn’t see who it was. He allowed Harry to keep it with a heavy heart. He knew he needed to let Harry figure some things out on his own.



They only had two major events with Dumbledore.



One when Flamell came to collect his stone.



“What do you mean you destroyed it? You weren’t supposed to have it in the first place! I’ll have you up on murder charges for this!”



Harry and Draco exchanged frightened faces and slowly approached the ranting form of a middle aged man in dark robes outside Dumbledore’s office.



“Um. Mr. Flamell?” The man whirled on them, obsidian eyes flashing under thick bangs. He seemed to have kept up with modern styles.



“How do you know who I am child?”



Draco gulped and straightened his backbone. “Sir. I know that the only stone that was here under Headmaster Dumbledore’s protection was the Sorcerer’s Stone that Mr. Flamell made. I deduced that since you were yelling about Professor Dumbledore destroying yours, that you were he.”



Harry stepped up when Draco voice gave out under the man’s snarl. “How did you know that?”



“Sir. There were clues, Hagrid collecting a small object from a vault broken into that same day.” Harry waited while the man ranted about how it had been him and that he’d only done it because Dumbledore stole his key. The Headmaster seemed to pale and sigh disappointedly. “And then he let it slip that it was only yours and the Headmaster’s business. I looked you up and found out what you had done. It was on a chocolate card you know.”



Harry seemed to shrink from the dark laugh where he hadn’t from his anger and so Draco took up the tale again. “We knew that the third corridor was blocked off and that it would be there. Then Harry was nearly killed and we suspected Professor Quirrell. When he obliviated me and Professor Snape confronted him, he attacked the school and we thought it was over.”



The man sagged. “My wife and I do not have enough life in us to make a new one.” He turned on Dumbledore. “I will have you arrested for this.”



Harry nudged Draco and bit his lip. Draco glanced at Dumbledore. His occlumency shields would hold but he didn’t want to have to lie.



When Mr. Flamell turned to leave they scrambled after him, ignoring Dumbledore’s calls. “Sir. Sir?” Flamell turned slowly, his rage on a slow bank. “Could we walk you out?” He nodded jerkily but neither Draco nor Harry let that deter them.



At the gates, Flamell turned to them. “Alright, I think we’re far enough. What do you want?”



Draco swallowed heavily and reached into his bottomless pouch. He pulled out the bland red stone and handed it to the man. He reached for it with shaky hands. “How….?”



Shrugging, Draco said, “I’m not really proud of this Sir, but when I first saw Harry. I didn’t know who he was. I saw a large Half Giant with some very powerful magical object in his pocket and I wanted it. I switched it with a stone from the ground, but I haven’t been able to make it work. I tried to owl you to give it back when I realized what it was, but you didn’t ever reply.”



Harry shook his head as Draco’s big secret was revealed and Flamell pierced him with a look. “That was very noble of you; to return it to me.”



Draco shrugged and pulled on his Malfoy mask, unable to handle the praise. “It was of no use to me. I decided you owing me a favor was worth more.” He valiantly tried to hold Flamell’s eyes but didn’t succeed. The knowledge there staggered him. He felt Harry put a supporting hand on his back.



Flamell chuckled again softly. “I didn’t respond because my wife and I frequently receive notes on the stone, this person has it, or this person is coming to steal it. We only read them when we need a good laugh. You are not what I expected Draco Malfoy.”



Draco refused to respond to that and the man left.



The confrontation with Dumbledore was expected but confusing.



He waved both boys into his office as soon as the got back to the castle, which surprised Draco. He expected that the Headmaster would want Harry alone.



“Hello boys. Fancy a cup of tea?” Both of them refused politely, they’d only just had lunch.



“I find myself at a loss.”



Draco was rather confused by the expression on Dumbledore’s face, it seemed genuinely exhausted. He struggled to prevent himself from feeling sympathy.



“I heard your explanation of cleverly following the clues and discovering the object hidden here. But there are many things I still do not understand.” Twinkling blue eyes turned from Draco to Harry and then back.



“You knew what I was protecting here but yet did nothing about the threat to it.”



Draco raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat pointedly when Harry opened his mouth. Dumbledore hadn’t asked a question and giving him information was how the old man worked.



Dumbledore chuckled genially, his face breaking in a smile Draco could only call proud. It was off-putting.



“Yes it is unfair of me to require information without asking questions. How about this: Please explain to me in detail how you came to realize the stone was protected here.”



Draco blinked and refused to comment on how that statement was not a question. Harry answered slowly, as though Dumbledore were stupid. The old man only smiled, not looking bothered at all by Harry’s attitude.



“First it was that someone had broken into the vault Hagrid emptied, on Hogwarts business, with me. Since the third corridor was off limits I figured that you hid something important there. Then I accidentally discovered the three headed dog out one night.”



Draco submerged a smirk remembering that night.



“Then Hagrid told me that whatever Fluffy was guarding was between you and Mr. Flamell and Draco and I looked him up. Then I was hurt and then Draco was enchanted by Quirrell and we assumed that he was the one after it, if anyone was. Since nothing else happened we assumed that the threat was over and you returned the stone.”



Harry’s face scrunched in obvious disapproval that Dumbledore had stolen. In Harry’s opinion, thieves were simply bully’s of a different kind. Instead of disrespecting a person by beating them, they disrespected them by taking their things, showing they didn’t believe the other person worthy of owning said thing.



Sighing, Dumbledore bowed his head. When he looked up again, he was the picture of misunderstood sorrow.



“What has happened is a mistake, a grave mistake on my part. Nicolas had expressed to me a desire to make another stone and so I assumed he had indeed made a second. I heard rumors that someone was going to attempt a break in at Gringots, and since I had Nicolas’ key for safe keeping I acted in the best way I knew how. Had I known that the stone was Nicolas’ only one, I would not have destroyed it.”



Harry and Draco nodded, it was plausible. Draco discounted much of what his father said, but in Dumbledore’s case, both this timeline and the last had taught him that the old man was not to be trusted. Every new thing discovered about the man seemed to point to his manipulations and lack of integrity. Draco refused to give the man the benefit of the doubt, though Harry had at one time expressed a desire to.



“Of course Headmaster.” Harry said softly. Draco quirked his lips but said nothing, he could not tell if Harry was being genuine or not.



The second encounter with the Headmaster was less genial. It did not occur until the first petrifaction. Since Draco and Harry had poor luck and happened upon the hapless muggleborn targeted, they were quickly absconded to the Headmaster’s office. Flitwick and Sprout were the only others there though Severus had also attempted to join.



“They did it I saw them. This time you have to believe me.” Flitch, who had happened upon them first, snarled greedily.



Draco pursed his lips and glared.



“Now now, I believe there is an explanation for this.”



Unable to prevent the small tendril of thankfulness that slipped into him, Draco had to admit that Dumbledore played a good game.



“I swear Headmaster, we just walked up and saw him.” Harry said, eyes wide.



“Lies,” Filtch nearly screamed, “I saw them over him, like the little demons they are.”



Idly, Draco wondered how they had gotten on Filtch’s bad side. Draco had made sure he and Harry were securely in the great hall on Halloween when Flitch’s petrified cat was discovered.



“It’s not true Headmaster.” Draco pressed softly but urgently. “We were headed to my room after dinner and saw him laying there. We ran over to see if he was okay and Filtch saw us.”



Dumbledore nodded slowly. “I believe you boys.” Harry slouched in relief, though Draco was able to hold off on such an action.



“What?” Filtch cried.



“There is no way two second years could have done this.” Dumbldedore pressed, a small frown on his face.



“That Malfoy, he’s smart though, I’ve heard the professors talking. Must be Dark magic. ”



Draco turned to look at the caretaker with wide, incredulous, eyes. What was with the Malfoy hunt?



Flitwick stood up for him, “Mr. Filtch, I keep a good eye on my students’ progress for just this reason. Any unusual jumps in intelligence are investigated and Mr. Malfoy has showed the exact promise just now as he did when he walked through Great Doors the first time.”



Draco flushed, Flitwick\'s compliments were uncommon and so all the more powerful.



Filtch scowled and Dumbledore asked him to leave. Soon it was just Harry and Draco with Dumbledore again.



“Well boys. I am sorry that you were the ones to find Poor Justin petrified like that. It must have been very traumatizing. As it is, I want you both to know that you can come and visit me to just talk, have questions, or even play a game of chess at any time.” He smile genially and Draco rose to leave with a nod. He was severely put off by Dumbledore’s switch. It was hard for him to distinguish this Dumbledore from the one his father had always talked about and the man who had placed Harry with abusive relatives.



Harry and Draco waited until they were safely in Draco’s private room with a silencing barrier up before talking about it.



“Draco, what do you think is going on with Dumbledore?” Draco just shrugged, he didn’t really have any idea.



They decided that they would take advantage of the new Dumbledore for now and try to keep in mind that it was his decision to put Harry in an abusive home and his decision to prevent Sirius from having a trial.



,b>An: see i can keep a promise