Change

*Flashback: Summer, 1996*

"You idiot boy, look at what you have made your mother do. Leave my sight, you imbecile! I do not wish to see your face right now!"

A silver haired boy ran to his room, far away from his father and the cane he carried. 'Why are you doing this? Am I really an idiot?' He cried to the sky, as loud as he may dare, for fear his father may return. 'What have I done wrong?' Draco thought a bit. 'Besides those things.'

When he reached his room, he bolted the door and slid down the rich ebony panels that lined the lower half of his room. Tears that near matched his hair slipped down his cheeks as he thought of someway to change the crown of fate that adorned his head.

He had to change. He knew that, it was the one thing he had been told since the day the mental abuse started happening. Maybe if he changed, his father would be happy and leave him be. Maybe if he blended with the shadows, Lucius would forget he existed.

Standing up quickly, with a half-ass plan in his head, Draco ran to his closet and pulled out his Nimbus 2001 Broomstick. Even though his father had given it to him, and he had a newer model broom, he trusted his old Nimbus. It had become his friend during the long years of torment and it was the only thing he trusted.

His friends, they were but figments of everyone's imaginations. Crabbe, Goyle, they were lackeys. Mere bodyguards paid by Lucius to protect his child. Blaise, the poor boy of Slytherin. Draco wasn't even allowed to talk with him, under strict orders of his father. Pansy was a mere toy that Draco used to get his stress and frustration out. He didn't care if he hurt her during those long nights on the astronomy tower roof, he just didn't care. Millicent, Pansy's best friend, Blaise's girlfriend, Draco didn't want anything to do with her.

Now he was flying to the closest Muggle city, not caring if he was seen. He knew what he needed, what he needed to do. He had seen people in Hufflepuff turn dark with depression, wanting to be another shadow in the flickering lights of Hogwarts.

His mother, being Muggle-born, taught her son Muggle currency, right under the his fathers nose. Though, Lucius was also thick enough to not know Narcissa was a Mudblood.

Now that was political irony, his mother being the one thing he was supposed to despise above all else. But he didn't really despise them; it was his public façade that despised them.

He now flew over the rooftops and landed in the dark alley below. He knew what store he was looking for. 'Morbid Tears' clothing and apparel had the style he needed to change to.

He needed to go Goth.

He stepped in shadow around the train station. His black hair fell in front of his eyes. His pants material made a soft swishing noise when they brushed each other. The chains coming from his belt clanged. His shirt was baggy. His nails painted black. His whole demeanor shouted 'GO AWAY!'

People subconsciously went out of their way to avoid him. Trolley's swerved away from him. He wasn't stepped on or bumped. But most of all, no one recognized him as Draco Malfoy, social Slytherin Prince.

He looked around and saw many familiar faces, of his lackeys and of his fellow housemates. Of course, they didn't notice him. They wouldn't with his change in appearance.

Draco had gotten thinner, if possible. He dyed his hair black. He had gotten paler, if possible. He dressed in black and chains. He changed his personality and his habits. He was no longer social.

He boarded the train, and took the only compartment in the back left. Sure, he had the prefect compartments in the beginning of the train. He figured that if he were needed, he would be looked for.

Draco shut the blinds and sat down, snatching his wand to do a music charm with. He developed it while he was studying combined spells. First, he needed to transfigure a simple object to play music, and then he needed to charm the object to play his track list with a long string of charms for each song. In reality, it was a very difficult spell and he was coming up with ways to make it shorter and less complicated.

There was one problem with the spell, and that was that it only lasted 24 hours before exploding. Then Draco would have to do it all again. He had a feeling that to permanently keep the charm on, he would need to use a Perpetuo Potion on it. He would have to ask Professor Snape later on.

Draco took out a stone from his pocket. "Commutare ars musica pixis."* It flashed blue before melting into a silver box with two earplugs on top. He put the earplugs in his ears and pointed his wand at the silver box again. He thought of the songs as he put them inside the silver box, "Trames unus, trames duo, trames tres...."

Once he had finished putting over thirty songs on the little box, he pointed his wand to it once again and said, "Aggredi, amplitudo octo."