What Draco did not expect was that his second meeting with Granger would happen so soon.
It was on the platform at King's Cross Station.
In his previous life, he had been filled with anticipation for the upcoming Hogwarts term. He had been solely concerned with finding the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and wanted to quickly board the Hogwarts Express. He did not remember whether he had encountered Granger.
However, in this life, once he became aware of this name, she seemed to be everywhere.
He noticed her immediately. Who could ignore that hair?
The mass of brown, tangled hair, facing away from him, remained on the platform for a considerable time. So long that Draco found it irritating. Nearby were probably Granger's Muggle parents. He vaguely saw their anxious faces, attempting to explain something to the platform attendant, but to no avail.
A look of understanding crossed Draco's face.
Foolish first-year! Could she not find the Hogwarts platform?
Every year there were always a few confused Muggle-born first-years who asked for directions everywhere, and they always annoyed the Muggle platform staff. Draco smirked slightly. After becoming a prefect in fifth year, these ridiculous questions from first-years every year had been a nuisance.
He decided to do something to help the disoriented little girl find the platform she was supposed to reach as quickly as possible before the Hogwarts Express departed.
He certainly was not naive enough to think he could simply walk over and assist her.
Lucius and Narcissa would think him mad.
However, an eleven-year-old boy who was excessively spoiled by his parents possessed many natural and irritating advantages. For example, he could engage in some annoying and uncontrollable behavior, shout loudly, and disrupt public order.
Very well, let us begin this embarrassing performance. Draco shook his head helplessly and deliberately pushed his trolley closer to the Grangers. He looked back at his mother and competently played the role of a spoiled eleven-year-old boy, complaining loudly: "Mother, there are too many Muggles here!"
From the corner of Draco's eye, he saw Granger turn and glance at him curiously.
Excellent. Sharp ears, Granger.
"It is Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, correct?" Draco continued to announce.
"Draco." Lucius glanced at his son expressionlessly, feeling quite displeased about his sudden overexcitement. "Mind your public manners."
Narcissa seemed far gentler. She took Draco's hand and whispered, "Dear Draco, do not be too loud. Do not attract their attention."
Draco nodded obediently, pretending not to notice Granger's gaze, and followed his parents dutifully, pushing the trolley laden with luggage swiftly into the barrier.
The moment he entered the barrier, he looked back at Miss Know-It-All, whose mouth was open in astonishment. It could be said that the effort he had expended embarrassing himself in public was completely worthwhile. Her wide-eyed, inexperienced expression was truly rare.
He had thought she was always so self-assured and all-knowing!
Draco did not notice that the corners of his mouth were slightly raised because of this.
The locomotive was already releasing steam, and thick smoke curled upward above the chattering crowd. Once on the train, Draco had no difficulty finding Vincent Crabbe and then meeting Gregory Goyle. Just as in his previous life, they shared a compartment.
The Crabbes always claimed they were old friends with the Malfoys, which was akin to being equal "friends." But the Malfoys often viewed the Crabbes as subordinates. As for the Goyles' influence, to be precise, they were not as powerful as the Crabbes. Goyle was not even Draco's childhood playmate.
He was a "new friend" that Draco had discovered on the train to Hogwarts.
Due to various influences from his family, such as his grandfather's domineering and authoritarian manner toward the head of the Crabbe family and the head of the Goyle family, and his father's commanding and indifferent attitude, Draco in his previous life had not regarded Crabbe and Goyle as equal friends from the depths of his heart.
To put it bluntly, Crabbe and Goyle were members of his grandfather Abraxas Malfoy's faction at the Ministry, and were loyal to Abraxas. Therefore, as the younger generation, Crabbe and Goyle were naturally defined as "Draco's followers."
Imagine a proud and rebellious boy surrounded by two slow-witted fools who seemed to have only eating and sleeping in their minds. It would be difficult for anyone to regard them as equal friends.
The Malfoys only admired those who were capable, those who were clever, or those who were confident. These two were neither.
Even the most important qualities of a Slytherin, ambition and cunning, were absent in these two, which was disappointing.
Did the old Sorting Hat still function properly? What exactly did it use to sort students?
Later, in the Room of Requirement, Crabbe had ignored his obstruction and, in order to obtain the Dark Lord's reward, had recklessly released advanced Dark magic such as Fiendfyre to incinerate Potter, which actually reflected the Slytherin trait of being ruthless and unscrupulous.
Unfortunately, his ambition exceeded his ability. Crabbe had endangered everyone and even lost his own life. Thinking of Crabbe, who had perished in the fire in the Room of Requirement, and Goyle, who had always been foolish and useless, Draco felt a headache.
Why were Potter's companions clever while his own followers were increasingly foolish, and in the end, even killed themselves through stupidity.
Not only foolish, but also arrogant. Arrogant enough not to take his words to heart, not to take him seriously. Yes, he was referring to Crabbe.
When he recalled Crabbe's undisguised ferocious face in his previous life, and his words: "Who cares what you think? I shall never listen to your orders again, Draco. You and your father are finished..."
When the Malfoys fell from power, Crabbe's mind gradually slipped from Draco's control, and this loss of control reached its peak in the Room of Requirement.
Looking back on it all, Draco could not say he harbored no resentment toward Crabbe. He was still angry about it. But it also proved that deep down, he still considered Crabbe a friend he could trust to some degree.
After his rebirth, when he was alone contemplating and reviewing everything, he attempted to understand the reason for the betrayal from Crabbe's perspective.
On one hand, the friendship bound by the previous generation's connections and the next generation's interests was inherently fragile. On the other hand, his attitude toward them at that time had not been particularly good. He had been contemptuous and domineering, arrogant and complacent, humiliating and mocking their clumsiness.
He had never learned how to be a normal, equal friend.
They had accompanied him for many years. By the time he gradually understood the meaning of cherishing this irreplaceable companionship, it was too late.
Now, everything had returned to the beginning. He was willing to attempt to change a little. Even if it was just slightly.
He could try to soften his commanding attitude. He was too weary to resort to humiliation and contempt.
But simultaneously, Draco could no longer be as open and trusting with them as before.
He would not give anyone a second chance to betray him.
He lazily gazed at the pastoral scenery passing by outside the window and told Crabbe and Goyle, who were eating and drinking frantically across from him, "You two watch the luggage here. I am going to walk through the carriages."
Crabbe and Goyle, who were enjoying their meal, naturally agreed without hesitation.
The snacks on the table were nearly gone, so Draco tossed a few Galleons to the smiling trolley witch who was pushing a cart and asked her to bring back some of each sweet.
Finally he closed the compartment door.
The world was finally quiet. Draco sighed and stood by the corridor at the end of the carriage, staring blankly at the scenery of the fields rushing past outside the window.
In his previous life, he should have been on his way to "get acquainted with" Potter. In this life, he was exhausted and did not wish to waste time searching for Potter.
A sensible Malfoy never provoked unnecessary conflicts. He estimated that the red-haired Weasley boy would have nothing pleasant to say about him, just as before.
Was Potter enjoying a feast with his new friend, unaware of the danger that was approaching?
Signs of danger had already appeared, and they were constantly lingering in the mind of the reborn Draco.
It had been a full month since he had been reborn. Throughout August, he had been occupied with becoming familiar with his young body, observing his parents' condition, and acting like a proper eleven-year-old boy.
This brought him no joy, but rather a certain exhaustion. He deeply felt the awkwardness of a mismatched body and soul. A weathered soul forced into a youthful body, his youth in its prime, yet his heart was as lifeless as withered wood.
The brutal memories of his past life overwhelmed him almost every night in his dreams. Pain, struggle, and fury, if he was not careful, would spread unchecked. Those dark past events, those foolish choices, those unforgettable memories... He locked them away again and again using Occlumency, sinking them into the deep ravines of his heart, consigned to the ruins of his mind.
During the day, he forced himself to be animated and pretend that everything was fine. Only he knew that deep down, he was depressed and hollow. If it were not for some unfinished matters that sustained him, he would probably be overwhelmed by the immense panic soon.
With a faint hope, he had to exert every effort to do one thing, the only thing he could do at present: do everything possible to protect the people he cared about.
He wanted to make full use of the memories of his past life to restrict the Dark Lord's movements, so that he could no longer destroy the beauty in his heart.
He wished to eliminate any signs of danger one by one so that they would never emerge again.
At this moment, right here at Hogwarts, who would believe that the soul of the Dark Lord was hidden beneath the turban of Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?
What could he do about it?
Dumbledore set numerous protections and concealed something as important as the Philosopher's Stone at Hogwarts, just like setting bait for prey. Was it because he had noticed something abnormal about Quirrell, or was it more profound, because he had detected something about the Dark Lord?
Looking back on the years at Hogwarts, it seemed major incidents occurred every year. Hogwarts had never truly been peaceful.
For example, next year, a chamber called the Chamber of Secrets would suddenly be opened in the school, and there was a terrifying monster inside that could petrify people.
Additionally, Draco still remembered the diadem in the Room of Requirement in seventh year that Potter cared about deeply. It was something Potter was willing to risk his life to obtain.
There must be something suspicious about all this.
Danger did not exist only at Hogwarts. Sometimes, deadly danger came from within the family.
Draco's father, Lucius, a former Death Eater, urgently needed to change his mindset. Among his relatives, his aunt Bellatrix remained trapped in Azkaban, a complete lunatic. And his distant uncle Sirius Black, whom he had not seen in years, was still locked up in Azkaban, half-dead, even though he had taken the blame for that wretched Peter Pettigrew.
Professor Snape, the Head of Slytherin House, was a master of Occlumency and vacillated between the two opposing sides. Draco still had not determined to whom he was loyal and what he was thinking.
Professor Snape had killed Dumbledore! At the same time, he had saved Draco more than once. This made it impossible for Draco to conclude that Snape was a Death Eater who had lost all humanity.
As for Professor Dumbledore, Draco could not trust him rashly. Firstly, his death in his previous life had been too shocking, and Draco could not yet process his emotions, making it difficult for him to face Dumbledore directly. Secondly, while Dumbledore was certainly powerful and indeed feared by the Dark Lord, he was also a man of great skill and hidden depths.
Without being able to guarantee the safety of the Malfoy family and prevent them from being exploited by those with ulterior motives, Draco would not have rashly told Dumbledore everything he knew.
Do not be hasty. Plan before acting.
He must first investigate all of this thoroughly before he would have sufficient leverage.
All the clues and mysteries were overwhelming Draco. There were so many things that needed to be accomplished one by one, so many threads that needed to be untangled one by one...
The setting sun shone through the carriage window, bringing warmth. Draco closed his eyes wearily and leaned against the wall. The chaotic thoughts and the heavy pressure made him frown.