Title: I Must Be Good This Time.
Summary: Draco Malfoy failed to travel back in time. His memories were not sent, but a single thought was. Now, young Draco will have to live with the consequences.

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Prologue set many years after Hogwarts.

Draco doesn't have a manor, doesn't have a wife, he's actually in a pretty bad situation. He gets a stupid idea of travelling back in time and improving his situation. Thinks to himself that his eleventh birthday is a nice point in time when he can influence things. It takes some resources and a lot of work, but finally he has what he thinks is a nice method of sending his concious mind to his younger body in the past.

He fails, no memories are sent. In fact, the experiment kills him.

However, something is sent after all. Not a memory, but a single thought, which will always be on young Draco's mind and influence his choices.

"I must be good this time."

June 5th, 1991

Draco wakes up as usual, expecting presents and a party for his birthday, especially since it is his eleventh.

Upon awakening, he wants to run, open the presents and eat sweets right away. Something stops him. "I must be good this time" appears in his thoughts. So Draco changes his mind, goes back to his room, performs daily cleaning, dresses nicely and calmly walks to his parents.

And once again, he wants to demand presents and be showered with praise. Just before he can open his mouth he thinks "I must be good this time". He changes his mind. He tells his parents that he loves them and thanks for everything. They are, of course, a little surprised, but don't question it overly.

At the birthday party, some of Draco's friends appear. Goyle does something stupid (breaks a vase or one of Draco's toys). Draco once again wants to scream at the other boy, wants to insult him. Instantly he thinks to himself 'I must be good this time' and changes his mind.

Goyle and the others are surprised at Draco's nice attitude and Draco himself sees that they look at him in a better light. This gives him something to think about.

Another day Draco calls Dobby to perform some task, but the Elf is late. Draco considers punishing the Elf, but the now familliar thought once again appears in his mind. He tells the Elf that everyone makes mistakes and tells him "Your punishment shall be to make your favorite meal and eat it. You shall do this as soon as you are hungry." Dobby is shocked, but obviously happy.

July 31st, 1991

This time around, Draco goes to Diagon Alley not only with his parents, but with Pansy Parkinson as well. Pansy's parents couldn't come and seeing as Draco was a gentleman to Pansy at his birthday, they allow the girl to go with him.

They go to Madam Malkin's first to get their robes. A few minutes pass and a boy dressed in obvious muggle clothing enters the store. Pansy is about to make an insulting comment, but Draco raises his hand to silence her, his new thought has already influenced his choice. Draco introduces himself and Pansy to the boy. They learn he is none other but Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

A good natured conversation follows, in which Draco constantly stops himself from saying insulting words about muggles and muggleborns, Pansy is surprised by Draco's behavior but follows in line and Harry is happy to meet his peers and dare he wish it, friends?

Harry spots Hagrid and tells the other kids that he was the one to introduce Harry back to the wizarding world. Draco naturally thinks lowly of Hagrid, but refrains from saying it. Instead, he claims that it is a strange thing that they wouldn't send a teacher, but also that he 'seems nice'. Pansy at this point can't take this game anymore and is about to explode, but once again Draco silences her with a furious expression. Harry doesn't notice. Eventually, they wait for Harry to finish, as Draco wants Potter to meet his parents.

Hagrid is obviously not happy about it, but sees that Harry likes the idea, so he allows it. Narcissa and Lucius see Harry and Draco's happy expression about the situation, so they act nicely and don't even sneer at Hagrid. Since the Malfoys always spoil their son, they reluctantly allow him to finish the rest of the trip with Hagrid and Harry, but summon Dobby to observe them in case something happens.

When the Malfoy Elders leave, the rest goes to purchase other items (something made faster with Dobby around) and eventually all go for wands. Even Pansy is surprised by Ollivander's comment about the Dark Lord's wand and looks at Harry with something akin to awe. Later they all go to eat something, Draco sees Harry is about to pay and the Thought compells him to pay for the boy. Harry protests, but Draco says "I have too much money anyway, don't worry."

They talk about Hogwarts Houses, Draco mentions that Merlin was in Slytherin (something Hagrid confirms) and so was the famous Professor Slughorn. Eventually it looks like Harry views all houses about the same (though Hufflepuff is for duffers). Eventually they all part their ways, as Dobby calls for Lucius who side-alongs Draco and Pansy home. The last scene of the chapter shows Draco as he thinks over the changes he went through the last weeks. He's unsure about them, but finally admits that they helped.

During the following month, Draco explains his behavior to his parents and to his friends. They seem still a little surprised, but happy about his changes. Something Draco notices and wonders if he was a burden to them before. He meets more regularly with his friends, especially with Pansy as they have bonded over the Diagon Alley trip. They wonder if Potter will be powerful at magic and what House will he be in.

September 1st, 1991

Draco and his parents arrive early at King's Cross, as Draco hopes to meet Harry and Pansy. He remembers that Potter lives with muggles and will probably enter through the 'muggleborn entrance'. As such, he asks his father if he can wait for Harry on the other side. Lucius doesn't seem happy about the situation, as the presence of filthy muggles may be dangerous, but seeing the hopeful expression on Draco's face is enough to melt the ice. Draco is allowed to wait on the other side, but Lucius and Narcissa don't go there.

Draco goes through and waits. He kills time observing the muggles and is amused that they really don't notice anything. However, he doesn't see primitives. After about fifteen minutes, he sees Harry walking with a troubled expression. He waves his hands and Potter is happy to see a familliar face. He instructs Harry how to enter the platform and they both go through.

Harry once again meets the elder Malfoys and they act warmly towards him. Eventually the boys enter the train and find an empty compartment. They talk a bit, Draco even explains what Quidditch is and why he likes it. Pansy comes around and sits with the boys. Eventually, C&G arrive as well.

The train starts moving.

Hermione arrives with Neville, asking for a toad. No toad here. She acts like a fangirl when Harry's name is mentioned and Harry doesn't like her attitude. Draco's Thought makes him act good and he respectfully talks to Hermione, despite her being muggleborn. Pansy disapproves, but not vocally. Still, what Draco says, Pansy does, that's how it is. Eventually Hermione leaves and Harry appears relieved. The rest of the ride goes uneventfully. Harry gets a chocolate frog card with Merlin, which confirms that he was in Slytherin.

At Hogwarts they take the boat ride, Draco goes into one boat with Pansy and Harry. The Sorting happens. From the three friends, Draco is the first one to be Sorted. The hat is placed on his head and something strange happens.

"So you must be good, eh? Hm, it seems that's the only thing you can think about." There was a pause, as if the Sorting Hat did not know what to say next. "How strange indeed. Well, there is only one place that is right for you, you'll be good in SLYTHERIN!"

Pansy is sorted next and goes to Slytherin, no surprises there.

Then is Harry's turn. Before the hat is put on his head, he looks hopefully at Draco. After a moment, the Hat places Harry in Slytherin as well. There are no over the top reactions, like in other fics. Slytherins clap and that's about it.

Draco hears Dumbledore's warning about the third-floor corridor and thinks that it is strange. He decides to write to his father and tell him about this.

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So that's the initial setup. What do you guys think?

 

I haven't seen "harry befriends Malfoy" done well and so I 'm dubious about that. But Draco failing to send his memories back in time is interesting because it takes something I've seen several times and and turns left where they turn right.

 

"Neither can live while the other survives"​

Since he could remember, Harry Potter felt like a superhero. He could somehow do strange things happen and, as far as he knew, he was immortal. If those weren't superpowers, then he didn't know what was.

It started when he ruined one of Vernon's business dinners. Vernon was a little on the drunk side at the time and he didn't really mean to throw his nephew down the stairs. Unfortunately, Harry involuntarily broke the fall with his neck and landed in the nearest hospital. The doctors were amazed to see his X-rays showing no damage, when they predicted possible paralysis.

Following that incident, Harry became reckless - more reckless than you would expect a nine-year old to be.

Over the next two years, he survived several serious accidents. Once, inspired by a movie, he tried to drown himself and discovered he couldn't.

When the strangest letter arrived on his eleventh birthday, Harry learned that his abilities weren't actual superpowers, but magic.

On Halloween, he and Ron rescued Hermione Granger from a mountain troll. Harry distracted the troll while Ron and Hermione relocated to safer location. Professor McGonagall found the troll stubbornly trying to club Harry Potter's body into mush. The troll was dispatched, but Harry Potter had been mutilated - there was no way he could have survived. Then Harry sat up and asked if he could go to the Infirmary already.

In the Chamber of Secrets Fawkes had arrived to late to aid Harry in battle, but no worries - Harry had managed to break off one of the basilisk's fangs and stabbed its brain through the eye. His injuries were quite horrifying, especially dozens of bite marks, but Harry, once again proving that he was the Boy-Who-Lived, shrugged off the venom as if it was nothing.

In Harry's third year, the Dementors tried to suck out his soul, but for some unfathomable reason they couldn't.

The Tri-Wizard Tournament ended with Voldemort's resurrection. Harry didn't know why Professor Dumbledore seemed so nervous when he reported what had happened in the gravyard. Surely if Voldemort had tried to kill him, Harry would have been alright? He was, after all, quite immortal.

***​

I'm going to end it there. Basically, the prophecy results in Highlander!Harry, where he can only die if Voldemort is the one to perform the act of killing. If I were to act on this bunny, it would be more of a humorous fic, I think.

 

I think it's too straightforward and easy. It doesn't take into account that Draco's view of good and bad is not what ours is when determining what he would not do as a result.

Acting like a brat? Sure that would probably be something he internally acknowledges is bad but does anyway because he can get away with it. Treating muggleborns and muggles and half-giants as lesser beings than pureblood wizards? Nope. There's nothing to indicate in canon that this isn't what he totally and wholly believes is right. When he gets the thought "I have to be good" he's not going to stop himself from treating Hagrid or Hermione like crap, because in the mind of 11 year old Draco Malfoy it is good. He's been taught that it's good to do so his whole life.

 

Plot Bunny...

People run out of magic as they age.

Every year it lessens, so the most magically strongest are those fresh out of Hogwarts, you have a decade to really make a name for yourself before life becomes more about politics and using the younger generation.

Theoretically a reducto from a 1st year would be an amazing powerful spell well beyond anything a 50 year old could do... but they still need training.

Young people are viciously used and traded as political commodities, families like the Weasleys hold much more sway.

People like Dumbledore are powerful due to their positions they have and the sway they hold, also they are able to use the little magic left to them to great effect still, more than most people half their age.

Teaching positions at Hogwarts are considered the highest job possible due to the interaction and manipualtion of students. People get murdered to make a new position available.

 

How would the Philosopher's Stone and Horcruxes relate to this?

 

The Philosopher's Stone is a method of retaining power over your lifetime, which coincidentally allows the very talented to cast spells that prolong their lifetime indefinitely. The initial problem is that in order to create the Philosopher's Stone you need to be immensely talented and have a lot of power to wield, so nobody has been able to make it work before or since Nicolas Flamel.

Horcruxes are a less efficient method of doing this, because instead of prolonging life, they prevent death. The effect of magic weakening with time is not prevented, as with the Philosopher's Stone, but if you're willing to go through a time of incorporeality you can create a new body with the power of a young wizard and the mind of an old one.

 

Slightly expanded on the Reverse idea:

Year 1 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - There was a different prophecy in this world. Non-BWL, French-raised Harry enters the magical world controlled by Voldemort from behind the scenes. Dumbledore was forced abroad, but returns this year to turn the tides. Consider Albus and Harry as Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker.

Year 2 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Voldemort's servant and the current Headmaster, Severus Snape, kills Dumbledore. Harry plans to avenge his mentor.

Year 3 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Harry founds the Order of the Phoenix, a secret rebel group intending to overthrow Voldemort. He recruits among students and adults alike.

Year 4 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Voldemort organizes the Triwizard Tournament in an effort to bring other wizarding nations to his side. Harry orchestrates himself to be selected as the Hogwarts Champion.

Year 5 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Sirius Black escapes Azkaban to avenge his friends and to help Harry's Order.

Year 6 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - After successfully stealing the Diary from his father, Draco Malfoy becomes possessed by Tom Riddle's spirit. Voldemort is confused as he did not order this to happen.

Year 7 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - With the help of Nicolas Flamel, Harry uses the Philosopher's Stone's healing powers to unite Voldemort's Horcruxes into one piece, which can be then killed.

 

I'd read the hell out of that. How do the Hallows factor into book 1?

Oh, Dumbles can come back as a jedi ghost cause of the ring.

 

Well Dumbledore was forced to leave Britain, perhaps he and Voldemort dueled and the Dark Lord won and took the wand, while Dumbledore managed to escape alive. So Voldemort has the Resurrection Stone and the Wand. Harry has the Cloak thanks to his family. The main theme of the year may be Harry discovering stuff about the Hallows and at the end of the book he gets the Stone and is able to speak with his parents for the first time.

 

I wouldn't say this is a plot bunny, per se, but it is a sort of quasi-worldbuilding idea. Basically this: in any story with a quidditch-element in it, should Salem, MA have a professional quidditch/quodpot team I would name it the "Salem Press." Fans would shout "More weight!" instead of things like "De-fense!" I wold also support the creation of a "New Orleans Hoodoo" team (the cheer squad would almost have to be nicknamed "The Dolls").

If we were importing Lovecraftian town names for fictional magical enclaves of New England, I'd also support the "Dunwich Horrors" and the "Insmouth Shadows." These are all, of course, in addition to the named teams in Quidditch Through the Ages: The Sweetwater All-Stars, Quiberon Quafflepunchers, and the Fitchburg Finches (if Canadian teams were included in the US league like major league sports on this side of the pond, you'd have to include the three named Canadian teams as well: Moose Jaw Meteorites, Haileybury Hammers, and the Stonewall Stormers).

Any such story, I think, should also really get into the nitty gritty of sports statistics, Sabermetrics-style. Game statistics like shots on goal, keeper saves, time-to-snitch, bludger speed and accuracy, wins above replacement should be defined and talked about by any generally knowledgeable Quidditch fan.

 

Mentioned this on in IRC a while back, an idea for a pretty short one-shot. Basically the idea is an alternative take on when Dobby comes to visit Harry at the start of CoS.

Harry has never seen or even heard of house elves before, so he's dangerously naive. Dobby comes along, claims to be a house elf and claims Harry is in danger. All he needs to do is follow Dobby and Dobby will get him to safety...

... it turns out Dobby is not a house elf at all, but an erkling:

Harry goes with Dobby and Dobby eats him.

 

lol, and this is why Hermione is insane? Freed house-elves become infant-devouring monstrosities.

 

Because she was such a bitch to Harry, Myrtle somehow possesses Skeeter -- Goa'uld-style!

"Rita" walks out of Hogwarts, smiling ear-to-ear.

Or a darker take is that Helena Ravenclaw possesses Rosmerta.

Because underused characters are awesome.

 

And the next day the Prophet has a 5-page exposé on Olive Hornby

 

And some stories right out of the Prefect's bath.

 

This plot bunny is probably due to my fever, but I've been thinking about the whole city in the sky thing, that Taure's Lords of Magic had going for it. I think it'd be the perfect set up for a Bioshock mergeover with HP.

I dunno if I'd want to see Harry getting sent to an alternate reality where HP=Comstock, or if Harry would be the Lamb. Though if he was, Dumbledore wouldn't be apart of the Pseudo-Columbia's govt; sounds too much like the workings of manipulative Dumbledore.

Any ideas to further it?

 

Let's play a plot bunny game: brainstorm an idea and post a fake FF.Net summary for it. The idea isn't to think for ages, just to generate a plot bunny. The trick: choose a character, a location, a moment in time, or a crossover (or a combination of the above). Think of a plot that could rise from that single thing.

Here's what I just came up with:

HP/LOTR. Post-DH, no epilogue. The goblins always were too greedy for their own good. Searching for the legendary metal mythril, they dig too deep, and awaken beneath Gringotts a nameless horror. A demon of the ancient world. Can Auror Captain Harry Potter contain this threat, or will modern magic fall to an ancient power?

---------- Post automerged at 11:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:43 PM ----------

And another:

Pre-Hogwarts. Nine-year-old Harry Potter never gets any Christmas presents and he wants to know why. He decides to take matters into his own hands and crawls up the Dursley's chimney to find himself in a winter wonderland. But not everything there is friendly. (Ever wondered why wizards celebrate Christmas? Perhaps its because they know that Santa Claus is real.)

Alternative:

Pre-Hogwarts. Nine-year-old Harry Potter never gets any Christmas presents and he wants to know why. He decides to take matters into his own hands and crawls up the Dursley's chimney to find himself in a winter wonderland. Dresden Files crossover.

Wow, I now have an image in my mind of kid!Harry and kid!Maeve going on an adventure together to find Santa Claus.

---------- Post automerged at 11:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:48 PM ----------

Another:

Ivy knows everything and anything that ever was written. She understands the most complex science, the deepest philosophies, the most arcane magic, and the importance of crayons. So where's her Hogwarts letter? Not willing to leave it to chance, she decides to travel to the furthest reaches of the Nevernever and find out for herself. Of course, Kincaid couldn't let her go alone.


---------- Post automerged 25-01-2014 at 12:05 AM ---------- Previous post was 24-01-2014 at 11:57 PM ----------

Another:

GoF divergence. There's a hole at the bottom of the lake and only Harry knows about it. Ever since the second task he can't stop thinking about it: the deep, dark tunnel leading down into the earth. Where does it lead? Who built it? What strange creatures might he find on the other side? Harry can't wait to find out, and Luna Lovegood is going with him.

---------- Post automerged at 12:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 AM ----------

Another:

HBP divergence. When Scrimgeour comes to the Burrow at Christmas, he has a task for Harry: he must help the Ministry secure an alliance with the kingdom of Svalbard, one of the most powerful magical nations in the world. How? Rufus recommends starting with the King's daughter, the Ice Princess: Daphne Greengrass.

 

What? No deaged, elfling, son of Elrond, wizarding, prince Harry? What kind of LOTR/HP story is this? The next thing you'll tell me is that he isn't the 10th Fellowship member and that he doesn't feel Legolas's Elf Eyes (TM) on him all through the story.

 

OotP. Frustrated by his lack of occlumency progress, Harry decides to take things into his own hands and foolishly attempts legilimency on his connection with Voldemort. Now's he's stuck inside the maze of Voldemort's mind. Will he escape before his mindless body forgets how to breathe? Or will the horrors of Voldemort's mind overwhelm him?

---------- Post automerged at 12:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 AM ----------

Muggle Girls Love Magic by Averis
Post-OotP, summer fic. Don't tell the Muggles, they said. Don't let them see. But Dudley's friend Mandy has amazing tits, and impressing her suddenly feels very important to Harry. International Statute of What?