He's Still A Part of Me

4) It had been Potter.

In the dim light of his family's drawing room, Draco paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair. The Manor felt haunted, every room filled with memories he'd rather forget. The silence weighed on him even more since his father had been sent to Azkaban. Lucius Malfoy's actions throughout the war had led to a swift and severe sentence, one Draco had no illusions of ever being overturned.

He glanced at the far side of the room, where his mother was sitting, silent as always, her eyes fixed somewhere beyond the Manor's walls. His father was gone, taken to Azkaban as part of the fallout from the war. Lucius Malfoy's crimes were numerous, and the Wizengamot had barely paused before handing down his sentence. His mother, Narcissa, had been spared that same fate only through a small miracle—a mercy Draco had never expected.

It had been Potter.

His mother, though, had been spared that fate by a twist he still didn't understand. She had faced the Wizengamot with calm and dignity, and while Draco had braced himself to see her condemned too, it had been Harry Potter who'd spoken up on her behalf. Potter had vouched for her, claiming she'd acted out of love for her son, rather than loyalty to Voldemort. But Draco knew Potter had left something out, had held back certain truths. What those were, he wasn't sure—no one had said anything specific. The whole event left him feeling tangled between gratitude and unease.

Even stranger was Potter's decision to stand up for *him*, too. The bitter rivalry they'd shared since their first year at Hogwarts seemed an odd foundation for the mercy Harry had shown him that day. Draco couldn't make sense of it. Why would Harry, of all people, go to such lengths for them? No one had ever explained it to him, and he hadn't dared to ask.

A soft tap at the window interrupted his thoughts. Startled, Draco looked up to see a tawny owl, unfamiliar and sharply alert. He opened the window, and the bird swooped inside, landing on the armchair and dropping a letter marked with the Hogwarts seal.

Draco broke the seal and unfolded the parchment.

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

We are pleased to inform you that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is offering all eligible students the opportunity to return for a special seventh year. Due to the interruptions caused by the recent conflict, students who were unable to complete their studies are invited to resume their education and sit for their final exams.

The new school year will begin on September 1. We look forward to welcoming you back.

Yours sincerely,

Professor M. McGonagall

Headmistress

Draco stared at the letter for a long time, his thoughts swirling. Hogwarts. The very idea of returning stirred a mixture of dread and conflicted longing within him. The school wasn't just a place he'd learned magic; it was where he'd been shaped, for better or worse. And now he would go back a very different person than he had been before the war.

The thought of seeing people he once considered beneath him—many of whom now saw him as an enemy—was daunting. He imagined the accusing glances and whispers, the judgment they'd heap upon him. It wouldn't be easy, and he'd have to face people he'd wronged... and Potter.

He tucked the letter into his pocket just as his mother entered the room, her gaze lingering on him with an unspoken question. "A letter from Hogwarts?" she asked gently.

Draco nodded. "They're inviting us to return for seventh year... if we want to," he replied, the words coming out slowly.

Narcissa's expression softened, a glimmer of hope in her eyes that he hadn't seen in some time. "And what do you want to do?"

Draco shifted his weight, unsure. "I'm not sure, Mother. I don't know if I even have a place there anymore."

She stepped closer, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "Sometimes the only way to find your place is to begin again," she said softly. "Whatever you decide, I'm proud of you."

He nodded, glancing away, feeling the weight of her words. If he went back, it would mean starting over, in a place where every corner held memories and every face remembered what he'd done. But maybe that was why he needed to go back—to see if he could create a new path, one that could finally untangle the questions left in Potter's wake.

Draco found Pansy and Blaise in a small café in Diagon Alley. He slipped into the seat across from them, noting their identical expressions of curiosity. Pansy, tapping her nails impatiently on the table, had a gleam in her eye, and Blaise's mouth quirked into a knowing smirk the moment Draco sat down.

"So, I assume you got one too," Pansy said, reaching into her bag and tossing a letter onto the table. The Hogwarts seal was unmistakable. Blaise pulled his own from his jacket pocket, waving it in front of Draco with a flourish.

Draco took a deep breath and pulled out his own letter. "Apparently, they're inviting all of us back. Everyone who missed their seventh year."

Blaise snorted. "Redoing seventh year. McGonagall's got a strange idea of a 'fresh start.'"

"Strange or not, it's Hogwarts," Pansy replied, though her voice held a mixture of skepticism and something softer. "After everything, part of me never thought we'd set foot there again."

Draco nodded, his fingers fidgeting with the edge of his letter. "It feels... surreal, doesn't it? Going back, facing everyone we left behind."

Pansy's gaze softened. "Well, after you've made it through everything else, Hogwarts should be a piece of cake, right?" She raised an eyebrow, teasing but sincere. "Besides, maybe it's time we put the past to bed."

Blaise looked at Draco with a glint in his eye. "Speaking of the past, I hear Potter vouched for you and your mother in court. Interesting choice, don't you think?"

Draco sighed, exasperated. "Potter's... complicated. Why he vouched for my mother, I have no idea. Or me, for that matter. I still don't know what he was thinking." He shook his head, looking out the café window. "I never even told him about her... her role in the end."

Pansy gave him a knowing smirk. "Maybe you'll have the whole year to ask him yourself. It's a fresh start, remember?"

"Besides," Blaise added with a grin, "you've been obsessed with Potter since first year. Now's your chance to unravel all that mystery you've been carrying around."

"I am *not* obsessed with Potter," Draco grumbled, though a faint blush betrayed him. "Just because I want to understand why he did what he did doesn't mean—"

Pansy and Blaise exchanged looks, both stifling laughter.

Pansy nudged Draco's arm, grinning. "We're just saying it's a unique opportunity. For all of us. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing what Hogwarts looks like with a few changes. Maybe a bit of reinvention wouldn't hurt."

Draco managed a reluctant smile, glancing between his two friends. For the first time since the war had ended, he felt a flicker of hope. Going back would be daunting, facing the people he'd wronged and navigating all that had changed. But with Pansy and Blaise by his side, it felt just a little bit easier.