The Other Side of the Mirror

The Other Side of the Mirror

Year One

Chapter One

-The Wizarding World-

People went about their daily business, going to school, going to work, producing traffic jams; everyday, normal life. Within this world, the Muggle world, there resided another world: the wizarding world. Unplottable by Muggles, there stood many manors and schools. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was such a school, hidden from all prying Muggle eyes. Boys and girls all over the world received letters from the various schools, some were pure-blooded, some were Muggle-born, or half and half, but they all got letters.

In an unplottable manor, miles away from Muggles, a boy had just received his acceptance letter. He sat in his room, by the window, looking at the letter he had been anticipating for his entire life:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
'-----------------------,

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Surpreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins September 1. We expect your owl no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress

Draco Malfoy had grown up in the wizarding world in one of the most prestigious wizarding families: the Malfoys. Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, was in the Ministry of Magic and was someone very powerful and to be admired. His father was one of the few wizards that managed to survive through the reign of the Dark Lord and Draco knew that his father had enough Dark Arts items beneath the manor to put him in Azkaban for life, but Draco knew that his father was far too clever to be caught. All his life, Draco had tried to live up to his father's expectations, but he never seemed good enough, fast enough, smart enough, or brave enough. Draco wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to please his father.

Draco's mother, Narcissa, was someone to whom Draco could talk to all the time, unlike his father who remained very aloof and was never home due to his job in the Ministry of Magic. Draco would often go to her room and sit with her in her bed, talking. She always smiled when he was around and whenever Draco was around her, he felt that he was good enough to become a wizard and continue his blood line. She was the one that had argued with his father about which wizarding school he would attend. His father had wanted him to go to Durmstrang but his mother wanted him to go to Hogwarts, the school that she had attended. Secretly, he didn't want to go to Durmstrang because it was so far away and he wouldn't be able to see his mother as often. Besides, it was said to be somewhere remote and cold, and Draco always preferred the warmth. Of course, he never spoke a word of this to his father.

This school, Hogwarts, was going to be a very new experience. Sure, he'd been on many trips and he always roamed the manor by himself, but he wouldn't have anything familiar to ease his nerves. Of course, Crabbe and Goyle would be there with him; he had grown up with them, and he was sure that Pansy Parkinson would be going. He knew that they would be sorted when they reached Hogwarts, and he hoped that Crabbe and Goyle would be in the same house as him and that house would be Slytherin. He desperately wanted to be in the same house his entire family had been in and he didn't know what he'd do if he was placed in another. He would be very pleased if Pansy was placed in a different house, though. He only got along with her because their families were friends, but he didn't like her. She was so grabby and she always hung on him. It had gotten very annoying after awhile. He remembered one birthday when she had been invited and she had not let go of his arm the entire time. His mother had finally come to the rescue, asking him to come help her inside.

Draco looked out the window and spotted his eagle owl, Mabol, flying towards him. He quickly opened the window, letting her soar in. He held out his arm and she landed. He smiled and stroked her affectionately. She gave a hoot of pleasure. "Let's go outside, shall we?" he asked. She hooted again and he stood, placing his letter down on the window sill. She flew over to the railing at the end of his bed, perching there as he put on his cloak, scarf, and gloves. He held out his arm and she flew over to him. He left his room, following the maze of corridors until he walked out under a large arch into a grassy open area next to the manor. He sat down on a stone bench, Mabol still sitting on his arm. She flew off his arm, soaring into the open air. He watched her as she stretched her wings and disappeared behind one of the manor's many towers.

"Draco!" Draco looked to see Crabbe and Goyle walking towards him. He winced inwardly, but he forced a smile on his face. They weren't that bad, but they were so immature sometimes; and they were not very bright. On the sunny side, Goyle was very tall and bulky, and looked very intimidating. Crabbe was stouter, but he still could look menacing if he wished to. Draco had every intention on using those facts while he was at Hogwarts. Draco himself wasn't that short (Goyle still towered over him), but he was very lean. His white-blond hair and fair skin didn't help to make him any more intimidating. His father though, was a man to be admired. He could carry himself so confidently and he was always cool and collected. Draco wanted to be exactly like his father and he knew his father had taught him well. The Malfoys were above the rest and he should never forget that. His father, tall, but not extremely muscular, could stare down anyone and anything. The look he could get on his face was enough to scare anyone and Draco wanted to be able to make people leave him alone with a look just like that.

Of course, he was willing to befriend anyone, just as long as they were pure-blooded. That was something his father was strictly adamant about, and Draco agreed. His father said that Muggles were dirtying up their blood and the pure-bloods were becoming lesser in number. They needed to preserve what they could. His father had told him several families to watch out for. One family in particular was the Weasleys. Draco sneered as he thought about them. The Weasleys were pure-bloods, but they hardly acted that way. Their father disgraced the wizarding world by associating with Muggles. Mr. Weasley was in the Ministry of Magic, but as Draco's father had said, Mr. Weasley should not be in there, since his mind was tainted by his love of Muggles.

"We got our letters!" Goyle said, waving his letter in his slightly pudgy hand. Draco blinked out of his thoughts as Crabbe and Goyle stopped in front of him. Crabbe had his letter in his hand as well. Draco smiled.

"Hogwarts is going to be wicked!" Crabbe exclaimed.

"From what I hear, I suppose so," Draco said. His thoughts went to the headmaster. His father had said that Dumbledore shouldn't be headmaster because he was a Muggle-lover. That was why he let in Mudbloods. Draco knew what he heard, but he had decided to see for himself and then make his own opinion of the headmaster; though his father had never been wrong and Draco trusted him completely.

"Happy birthday, Draco," Crabbe said. Draco rolled his eyes.

"My birthday was a month ago, Crabbe."

"Oh, sorry." Draco waved his hand.

"Don't worry about it."

"You think there will be food on the train?" Goyle asked. Draco sighed. That was all Goyle ever thought about : food.

"Yes, Goyle, there will be food."

"I can't wait!" Goyle said, rubbing his stomach.

"Neither can I," Draco said, unenthusiastically.

~ ~ ~

Draco stood in his room in front of his mirror. He didn't think he was vain, but he did pride himself in his appearance. "Draco!" his father called from downstairs. Draco straightened his black turtleneck and pants. Then he began to smooth out the creases in his cloak. "Draco, now!" Draco sighed.

"Coming father." Draco moved away from the mirror and then glanced back, sliding his hand over his slicked back hair. He wanted to be as neat as his father, especially since they were going to Diagon Alley, and he never knew who he'd meet. Also, he wanted to impress his father. A new racing broom had just come out, the Nimbus 2000, and Draco's Comet 260 was getting very old. Draco really wanted to play Quidditch and he really wanted that broom; he also knew that first-years weren't allowed their own broomsticks, but if he got one, he knew he'd find some way to get it into the school. He had really hoped he would get it for his birthday, but unfortunately, no broom-shaped packages had been there to open.

"Draco!" Draco checked one last time to makes sure he had his supply list and then walked out of his room. He slid down the banister of the spiral staircase, nearly flying off the end. His mother and father were standing at the bottom. His father had his arms crossed, a scowl on his face. Draco straightened his cloak sheepishly as his father held out his hand. Draco walked over to his father and Lucius put his arm around his son. Draco knew that they wouldn't be Apparating into Diagon Alley like this for much longer, since Draco would soon be too big; but Draco silently loved being this close to his father. Lucius never let Draco near him and Draco knew his father was not a warm person, but he was his father, none the less, and Draco admired him deeply. As they Disapparated, Draco kept himself close to his father.

A few moments later, they Apparated in the alley behind The Leaky Cauldron. Narcissa stood on the other side of Draco and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. In front of Draco stood the brick wall that Draco knew was the entrance to Diagon Alley. He saw his father give him a cold glare when Draco didn't let go of his father's waist quickly enough. Draco immediately removed his arm and watched as his father opened the entryway.

Though Draco had been there numerous times, he still enjoyed the street lined with various shops. When Draco edged towards his mother, his father glared at him and Draco moved away. "Draco, why don't you go get your robes. I'll be waiting for you in the wand shop." Narcissa said, smiling. Draco smiled, nodding.

"Give me your list, Draco," Lucius said curtly. Draco handed his father his supply list and watched as his father walked off, giving off a superior air and a look on his face that said 'Make way, I have money and I'm shopping.' Draco walked down the street and spotted Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. While there were normally various colored robes for every occasion, there were only black robes in the window; school robes. Draco stepped inside and immediately Madam Malkin rushed over to him.

"Hello," she said, smiling. Draco smiled back. "Hogwarts, dear?" Draco nodded. "Well then, let's get you fitted up." She led Draco to the back of the shop and over to a stool. He stepped up onto it as another witch hurried over and began pinning black robes up to him. Draco looked around, bored. He had been fitted for robes all of his life, and it had never gotten any more interesting. Through his bored thoughts, Draco heard a chime sound and Madame Malkin rushed to the front of the shop. "Hogwarts, dear?" Draco heard her ask. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."

Draco watched in interest as Madam Malkin led another boy to the back of the shop. Finally, something interesting. This boy had bright green eyes, round glasses and slightly messy hair. Draco glanced over the boy's clothes; the shirt and pants that were too large. He may look disorderly, but he might be someone to be friends with. There was a certain power that he could sense in the other boy. Draco decided to be friendly and try to make friends with this boy. Draco knew that he wanted as many friends as possible in Hogwarts because he would not be with his mother and he would have to fend for himself. He knew his father expected great things of him and Draco was going to try his hardest to fulfill his father's vision.

The boy stood on the stool next to Draco as Madam Malkin slipped a robe over his head and began fitting him. "Hello," Draco said pleasantly, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," the boy said curtly. Draco felt slightly rebuffed at the boy's short answer, but decided to try to see if he could find something in common with the boy.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," Draco said. He smiled. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." Draco smiled again. "Have you got your own broom?"

"No," the boy replied. Another one word answer. Why was this boy being so unfriendly? Draco decided to try another subject.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No." No Quidditch? Was this boy some sort of Mudblood? Then Draco thought about it. I suppose that he could still be pure-blooded, but not to hear of Quidditch? Well, I suppose I'll try another subject.

"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

And, true to the past, the boy answered with a short, "No." Draco decided to keep trying, although he was beginning to become frustrated.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" Draco said with a laugh.

This time, the boy hardly answered. "Mmm."

Draco glanced out at the front of the shop and saw someone waving and holding two ice cream cones in his large hand. It was a large man, with dirty clothes, and scraggly hair. Draco recognized him from what his father had told him about Hogwarts. This man was some sort of servant, a savage that lived on the grounds of Hogwarts, Draco thought. What was he doing waving in here?

"I say, look at that man!" Draco exclaimed, pointing at the giant man.

"That's Hagrid," the boy said, finally smiling. "He works at Hogwarts." Draco swallowed, realizing that the man had been waving at the boy. Draco felt bad, now that he realized that this boy was friends with this man.

"Oh," Draco said. "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper." Another rude answer. Draco found that he was beginning to find this boy very distasteful. Maybe he shouldn't befriend this boy. After all, the boy was going around making friends with savages, who knew what kind of blood he was?

"Yes, exactly," Draco agreed. "I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed." Draco thought this was funny but his smile was cut short when he saw the boy's cold glare.

"I think he's brilliant," the boy said coldly. Draco was beginning to dislike this boy more every moment. What was his problem?

"Do you?" Draco asked, curious. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," the boy said shortly. Draco winced inwardly. No parents? How awful.

"Oh, sorry," Draco said quickly. Then Draco thought of something. "But they were our kind, weren't they?" What if this boy was some sort of Mudblood? If he had been talking to a Mudblood, his father would be very displeased, and Draco did not want to be associating with Mudbloods.

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." Draco sighed in relief. Good, a pure-blood, but still, his attitude. Draco still felt angry that this boy was being so unfriendly. It wasn't as if Draco had done anything to the boy. Draco decided to ask some more questions, still very curious. He should probably find out the boy's name; then he could ask his father about him.

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

Before the boy could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," she said. The boy quickly hopped down from the stool.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," Draco said, still trying to be pleasant, although he severely dislike this boy. The boy didn't even have the courtesy to answer and quickly hurried out of the shop. Draco clenched his teeth in anger. That boy had no right to be so rude!

"You're finished, dear," Madame Malkin said, bringing Draco out of his thoughts.

"Thank you," Draco said, hopping off the stool. Madame Malkin handed him his school robes and Draco left the shop, heading over to Ollivander's to get his wand. As he was walking through the street, he noticed the boy and the giant walking towards him. Draco quickly ducked into a shop, watching as they passed by. Draco hurried out and headed towards Ollivander's.

However, when he reached the wand shop, his mother was no where to be seen. An older man with thinning white hair stood by a counter. "Good afternoon."

"Hello," Draco said, slightly uneasy. "My mother is supposed to meet me here. I'm not to buy a wand until she comes."

"Not to worry, she'll be here. In the mean time, we should get you your wand. It may take a bit." Draco went to protest but then he grudgingly walked over to the man. "Don't look so sour-faced. Which is your wand arm?" Draco held out his left and Mr. Ollivander began measuring him. "You must be a Malfoy, am I correct?" Draco nodded.

"Yes, my name is Draco." Mr. Ollivander nodded.

"Very powerful family you come from."

"Yes, I know," Draco said shortly. He didn't like the uneasy feeling that was in the pit of his stomach. He very much wanted his mother there with him. Where was she?

Mr. Ollivander sighed. "Let's find a wand for you, shall we?" He walked up to a shelf full of boxes and pulled down a few. He opened a box and handed the wand to Draco. "Oak and dragon heartstring. Eight inches." Draco waved the wand around, but nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander handed him another wand. "Holly and unicorn hair. Ten and a half inches." Draco waved his one around, but again, nothing happened. "Maple and phoenix feather. Eleven inches." This time, however, the wand emitted red sparks. "Very good. Slightly temperamental, but you've got a good wand."

At that moment, Narcissa walked in. Draco heaved a sigh of relief and ran over to her, his new wand in his hand. She smiled. "I see you have a wand! Very nice, Draco. I'm sorry that I wasn't here sooner, I ran into a few old friends." She put an arm around Draco and he crept closer as Mr. Ollivander boxed up his wand.

When they walked out of the wand shop, his father was standing there waiting, a tower of brand new books in his arms, a cauldron hanging on his arm with his scales, telescope, and phials. Draco quickly took the books and cauldron from his father and they left Diagon Alley, Apparating home.

~ ~ ~

Draco sat at the end of the long, shiny, table in their dinning room. His mother and father were nowhere to be seen and so Draco was eating yet another dinner by himself. He poked at his steak and then cut a piece, chewing thoughtfully, looking around at the tapestries that filled the walls of the room. Draco had been brought up in luxury and with house elves. From what his mother had told him about Hogwarts, he knew that the school had house elves, so Draco wasn't worried about his clothes, food, or room. What he was really worried about was disappointing his father. The previous night's conversation flooded back to him.

"Now Draco, understand one thing. You are a Malfoy, therefore you have certain obligations to fulfill. Who are you to make friends with?"

"Pure-bloods only because we are superior to Mudbloods," Draco recited. He had had that drilled into him his entire life.

"Very good. And how will you do in school?"

"I will get the top grades and be the top of the school," Draco recited again.

"Good, and you will not study, because studying is bothersome and gets in the way of your social career. All Malfoys have gotten the highest marks in the past without having to be locked up in their rooms like some boring Muggle, pouring over dusty books. You will be the same."

"Yes, father."

Draco sighed. How was he supposed to get the highest grades without studying? Sure, he was smart, but he wasn't foolish enough to believe that he could get top marks without studying. He knew that his father expected great things of him and for him to excel in everything effortlessly, but Draco knew that he was going to have work extremely hard to live up to his father's expectations. The trick was, not to let his father find out that he was studying, because his father would disapprove and his father's wrath was the last thing that Draco wanted.

Then, of course, if anything could ever get worse, which it always seemed to do for Draco, he found out that he would be going to school with Harry Potter. Draco had figured that he had to be around the same age as Harry because it was eleven years ago when the Dark Lord was defeated. How did a boy, an infant, defeat the Dark Lord? That question had run through both Draco and his father's minds constantly. Of course, this boy would be famous and he was sure that everyone would want to be friends with him because he was Harry Potter. Draco, admittedly, did want to meet this boy that he had heard so much about. He was probably a great wizard and if Draco was friends with him, all the better. He figured that Harry would be brilliant and powerful, and Draco always aligned himself with the more powerful families, as his own family had done in the past. He hoped that Harry wouldn't be stuck up, or snobbish, because Draco sincerely wanted to be friends with him. The other factor about pure-bloods was covered because Draco knew that Harry's parents had been a witch and wizard. He hoped his father would approve.

Only one more week and I'll be off to Hogwarts, Draco thought. Let's just hope it goes well.