Chapter 2
The excitement he felt truly rivalled that of his younger self at the time, only for completely different reasons.
Once his mother got herself involved in his preliminary schoolwork, he had little daytime left for research on more pressing issues.
After all, Draco couldn't say whether he was here on borrowed time.
Perhaps the situation would resolve itself if left alone, but he couldn't sit around assuming it would.
Their shoes dug into smaller gravel lining the path from the Manor, cracking and scraping in time with their rhythmic steps.
Today marked the first real opportunity both to find out information, and begin introducing small changes to actions he regretted and their dire consequences.
Nevertheless, old habits do tend to stick, and as such Draco hoped to avoid meeting Potter until he couldn't put it off any more.
Ideally, after he has fixed his time travelling situation and returned home.
Best to leave that issue to his younger self, in fact.
The Malfoy family made their way to Diagon Alley as swiftly and easily as ever.
Before long, Draco was surrounded with excitable shoppers and colourful window displays.
A considerable difference to the peaceful isolation of the Manor and its grounds.
"Now, Draco. Your mother and I understand you've been keen to not only learn the syllabus this year, but also expand on it a rather great deal.
If your current reading habits persist we'll run out of suitable material before the school year starts.
" Lucius Malfoy's voice barely resembled anything beyond neutrality, but Draco could see the subtle hint of amusement and satisfaction on his father's face.
"There are a few titles I have in mind, mentioned in tomes from the library. I could go pick them out while you and mother go visit the vaults?" He suggested, his tone skimming past demand yet stopping before it could reach authority.
"Perhaps you should join your mother at the wand maker's, Gringott's shouldn't be long."
It seemed like his father found the requests somewhat unusual.
Draco couldn't remember what caused his parents to leave him at the tailor shop unsupervised last time, but it clearly would take more than this.
Perhaps he hadn't been a believable replacement, or his occlumency was not as strong as he hoped.
Either way, the only thing he could do was follow along.
"That old crook better find me a great wand." He drawled with growing frustration, following close behind Narcissa.
The store was unremarkable, not maintained enough to read as luxurious despite excellent calligraphy on the sign.
He remembered when death eaters carried out the hit on Ollivander, filling the halls with their hysterical laughter, drunk on power from destroying half the shops on Diagon alley for fun.
The shop owner couldn't prevent the violence and damage back then, and he shouldn't have to in this reality.
If only... That was none of his business, Draco rationalised.
He wasn't going to be here long, and had plenty to do without being weighed down with reignited guilt over every single victim of war singeing his conscience.
The air inside the narrow shop felt heavy with dust, and he couldn't resist the reactive cough.
"Good morning, another young wizard off to Hogwarts come autumn I presume?
" The man peered from behind a stack of boxes piled on the counter.
He turned towards Narcissa, speaking with a level of familiarity too high considering the last time he saw her was when she purchased her own wand.
"Unless this one has finally decided to give you some grief? "
She did not indicate an answer in either way, but Ollivander undoubtedly took it for encouragement to continue voicing his obsession with his creations.
"Unicorn hair, black walnut, surprisingly inflexible.
.. I might even say it's quite impressive to avoid a fight with that combination.
It tends to cultivate a preference for finesse in spell casting.
But enough about that." Ollivander cut himself off.
A flick of the wrist and Draco found measuring tape extending from the tip of his nose to the floor.
Part of him hoped to avoid all the fuss, and just ask for his old wand, but it was a treat to experience the excitement of getting his first wand again.
The shop owner narrated the process with a passion reserved only for artists and fanatics.
One by one, the suggested wands refused to react, as if they felt he was already bound, leaving Ollivander somewhat puzzled, but undeterred.
Eventually Draco felt the familiar hilt and weight in his fingers, magic swelling from within in joy of being chosen by a wand.
Snowflake-like sparks surged around for a brief moment before fading out.
His wand finally where it belongs, he thought, blocking out Ollivander listing the properties and preferences he already knew.
Feeling a surge of self assurance, Draco left his mother to pay, claiming he wanted to take a good look at the Nimbus 2000 before his father tired of waiting.
There was a considerable crowd of children growing by the window display, it would be too much effort to push past them all.
A few boys at least a foot taller blocked the view of anything past the smooth tail.
Draco turned away in frustration, fully prepared to storm off towards Flourish and Blotts, or back to his mother, but was instead met by another body.
Their heads crashed together hard enough to send him to the floor, hands scraping on the cobblestone.
Draco couldn't hold in his indignant response.
"Watch where you're going, idiot." Followed by a whispered curse as pain finally registered.
"Sorry! Though you should look around too or you'll the one called an idiot" a hesitant voice joined the outstretched hand before Draco reacted.
"Yeh aight 'Arry? I jus saw yeh knockin heads, seems yeh came out better off, at least." Draco recognised the booming voice and accent immediately, after all he spent years mocking the half giant during and between Care of magical creatures lessons.
If Hagrid was here, that would imply... he grasped the offered hand.
Of course he had to literally run into Harry Potter almost as soon as he decided to avoid running into him figuratively.
The scruffy boy rubbing the back of his head with an unoccupied hand looked entirely too small, too young to be the future hope of the magical world.
There were not enough words to describe the feelings surging inside Draco.
As far as he was concerned no one else had experienced bringing a war back in time within himself, only to meet ghosts and victims he didn't protect, and see the key to victory before constant fight to survive shaped the boy into a battle ready man.
It seemed that despite everything that would oppose such sentiments, Draco was doomed to idolise Potter from childhood.
"I'm okay, Hagrid," Potter smiled at the man, then turned to Draco. "Are you? I'm Harry, by the way."
Draco cleared his throat as he rubbed the grit and blood out of his hands on his robe, before introducing himself.
"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, that is." His voice was too stiff, mind unprepared for such a casual encounter with someone he disliked for most of his life.
"Accident aside, it's uh... nicetomeetyou. "
Thankfully the half giant processed his name and quickly dragged the boy off with a reasonable excuse of a tight schedule.
It would have been even worse if his parents witnessed the exchange and fall.
Once she caught up to him and ensured he wasn't attacked or seriously hurt, Narcissa scolded Draco for running off, before she soothed the scratches and cleaned the slight stains on his robe with precise and quick spells on their way to Flourish and Blott's.
Lucius was engrossed in a boring conversation with another ministry employee, unaware of all the customers they were inconveniencing by standing there.
Narcissa offered to find the assigned booklist, letting him explore freely.
He was drawn to arguably (and objectively) the best section: alchemy.
He remembered the surprise his grandfather got when Draco asked to join the class after fifth year.
Of course he wanted to reach for greater achievement than a ministry position or mastery of potions.
Well, technically professional alchemy required a near mastery of potions and built on it.
.. He got distracted. What was he looking for in the first place?
How to fix his time travel issue. Running into Harry Potter must have rattled him more than he thought if he could put being stuck as an eleven year old out of mind.