A New Journey

(A/N: The first half of this chapter is infodump, a progress update. Then some talking. All in all, a slow chapter. Next chapter will pick things back up again.)

Draco POV:

The Hogwarts Express stood on the tracks in all it's glory. A magnificient burgandy train of classic design. I couldn't help but grin like a loon while looking at it. 11 years since I was born into this world and now I get to ride the Hogwarts Express on my way to the magical castle. I couldn't wait.

"I'm going to miss you." Said mother, hugging me tightly. "Make sure you write to me Draco. I want to hear about all your adventures. Study hard and make lots of friends." She wished me well, kissing to top of my head.

"Good luck Draco. Write regular reports. I love you son, now go." Said Lucius, smiling at me.

"Bye mother, father. Love you. I'll be back at Yule." I said before boarding the train and giving them a smile and wave on the steps. I watched them leave before going to find a cabin.

We were quite early to the station as Lucius had something to see to in the ministry. Not that I minded really, more time to settle myself. Most compartments were empty at this time and the station was quiet. I claimed a comparment somewhere in the middle of the train and settled in, taking my shrunken trunk from my pocket and putting it on the rack above me.

I settled in and thought about my time in this world, reflecting. Even before I was born, I was aware and playing around with magic. I took things easy and developed myself slowly. Then grandfather Arcturus came into my life. Constantly seeing his condition made me uncomfortable with the pace I had set for myself. It made me feel lazy.

So I stopped holding back and started progressing fast. Not as fast as possible to the point of ignoring everything else obviously, I wasn't stupid. But still much faster than before. Whenever I read new books in my mental library, I would now dilate time in my perception as much as I could using both my mind and soul. The outside world moved at a snails pace when I did, allowing me to burn through my collection.

I'm still not close to finished. Over 2 million books along with hundreds of thousands of scrolls? Yeah, that will take me a while. Not to mention I need to verify for myself if the information is true or not, slowing that down further. I was still a lot faster than before though.

My progress with magic has gone well past the point of school level now. I wouldn't say i'm at famous teacher's levels like McGonagall or Flitwick, but i'm not too far behind. I haven't met them yet obviously, but i'd estimate that my magic is as strong as theirs. It's stronger than my parents but weaker than grandfather was at any rate. My specialty however is runes and arithmancy. Not to brag, but i'm so far ahead in those I doubt many in the world are better. Especially since my breakthrough.

Said breakthrough came roughly 2 years ago. I'd been trying for many years to turn the logic centre of my brain into a computer, thinking it would help. Progress was slow, but it was there. It was the only thing I didn't speed up, considering the damage that could happen if something went wrong.

After many years of effort and constant work under the guidance of my soul's strong instincts, I succeeded. I turned the logic centre of my mind into a computer. I didn't need to learn any coding languages or binary for it to work either. This is magic. That kind of thinking would've just limited me. If I knew how a computer actually worked then it would've probably been a lot harder as I subconsciously kept those mechanics in mind.

Since I don't know how they work, my mental image of a computer is an advanced machine composed of processors, plural or singular, that work in conjunction to logically process vast amounts of data using RAM. I know that much, but nothing more. My image of RAM in this case is a percentage of my available mental power.

The whole setup sounds complicated, and the implementation is, but the end result is very simple to use which I like. Simple is good. I can now use my mind's computer to make calculations for just about anything. Maths, arithmancy, science etc. The only thing it doesn't help for is things requiring creativity or emotions, I need to rely on my unchanged mind for that. But it's a massive help after an idea is made to make it feasable.

The computer needs a small amount of it's processes focused on what the logic centre of the brain normally does, and the rest is free for me to use. I can then allocate more or less of my mind's available mental power, or RAM, to adjust the rate it works. The best part is that it's not a computer in my mind, though I can use it as such in my mindscape, it's that a part of my mind is now a computer! The distinction is small, but it's a massive gulf in results.

After that breakthrough, my progress sped up immensely. I used this frankly obscene advantage to progress rapidly in magic. Experimenting became easier. My mind would simulate what would happen with the knowledge that I have and then I would test it. If it's correct, good. If not, find out what's wrong and add to my knowledge. In this way, I curate my understanding of magic and delve into the mysteries further and further.

I would often tell my parents that I was going to see Daphne, but I would go to the mansion grandfather left for me to practise my magic, swordsmanship and brew potions. I haven't yet delved into alchemy, but the mansion has an alchemy lab set up for when I do. It's my sanctuary.

Practising with the dummies didn't simulate real people, only predetermined movements that I have gotten used to already, so I just piled more of them on me as I got better. I'll leave advanced practise for the fabled Room Of Requirement. I absolutely can't wait to see what it's like in this universe!

After grandfather's death, his elf Mipsy came to me for work and so I charged her with keeping the mansion livable and attending to me when i'm at Hogwarts. Dobby can't follow me for obvious reasons. I started her on the mind arts just like with Dobby and it's made me feel more secure as she will undoubtedly see some of my secrets. She was already calm and collected so not much changed in her demeanour, strange for an elf but I preferred it this way.

The final important thing to do with myself is my body. My body's conductivity is off the charts, higher even than the cores of wands. The results of my daily active circulation training has done for everything else however is completely absurd. I upped my routine to twice a day at 12 hour intervals. I tried 3 times at 8 hour intervals but my body hadn't had sufficient time to heal. Maybe in the future. Thank Merlin I barely need sleep.

From that, my body's strength skyrocketed. I'm stronger than adults now. All muggles are weaker than me, even massive buff men. When it comes to magicals, I exceed the strength of most of them. If they're really big or buff then not just yet but soon. Only people who are ritually enhanced or are part non-human like Hagrid or Madame Maxime are stronger than me currently.

This may not seem like a lot, but i'm eleven right now. With that strength, I can just 3 metres off the ground. Not to mention this is just the beginning. Right now is only the initial stage. I've found that the strength enhancement is an exponential increase, my pure strength having grown more in magnitude in the last year than all of the time before that since I created this method. The enhancement will only become faster.

That however is not the end of it. My active magic circulation method to refine my body doesn't only result in a simple strength increase. It's a comprehensive enhancement of everything physical. My sight is enhanced: range, night vision, clarity etc. Everything about it is enhanced. The same will smell, touch, taste, hearing, balance, internal awareness, proprioception and everything else I don't know about.

My organs are stronger and more robust, my joints and connective tissue are more resilient. Suffice it to say that there's no need for me to do any rituals like the beginner ritual I recommended to Harry for his eyesight. I could go on and on about it but I think my point is made. My method is genius! Hehehe.

Teaching Daphne proceeded apace. I guided her in wandless magic and magic in general with her progress being prodigious. She blew my expectations out of the water and could already use simple spells wandlessly after 5 days. I also shared my method of protecting my magical core with her. She chose butterflies for her protections, but otherwise the setup is the same as mine.

She managed to bring the rest of her body up to her wand arm's level of conductivity in only a few months. It makes sense. The passive magic circulation is just that, passive. It didn't take more than a fortnight for her to make it a background process. Wheras the wand arm is only conducting magic when actively using spells with a wand. From there, she's elevated her body's conductivity quite fast. She's not a Harry's level due to his... situation, but she'll surpass him in a few years.

I didn't forget Harry in all this, however I didn't guide him so closely as I did Daphne. Daphne is close to me, Harry is my mission. Different priorities. I've already provided everything he needs. I didn't share my method of magic circulation with him either active (body strengthening) or passive (regular background circulation), nor did I share my methods of protecting my core.

He regularly floods his body with magic as I advised, but this uses up his magic so he can't do it often. His method of protecting his magical core, after I advised him to do so, was quite rudimentary. He found just as I did that he couldn't make a solid shield around his core, so he simply made some forest animals to protect it.

Not as good as mine or Daphne's, but it's nonetheless protection that will work for most curses. Mine took it to a paranoid level, but i'm not ashamed of that. It's more security. It may sound a little callous to leave him out, but he's a smart boy, he can create his own methods. Mine are for me to share with those close to me.

The final thing is that I finished my little project of enchanted protective items. I told Daphne that I would make some enchanted items and that I would make her a set as well. I did. Truthfully, I didn't need it at all, but a little redundancy never hurt anyone. 

I found that the best materials for enchanting are silver, gold and platinum. I'm sure more materials are just as good, but truthfully I didn't look that hard. I will do my investigation of elements in relation to magic when I delve into alchemy or spell-forging, not even mentioning magical materials. Right now I only needed a few rings that hold enchantments well.

And so, I made a bunch of simple rings with an alloy of 50-50 gold to silver. Platinum is expensive and not necessary for this. Making them was very easy with a bit of transfiguration, I just needed to mix the metals by weight. It's barely even transfiguration really, just reshaping of materials. I could have just used silver, but I like the slight gold shine and I can afford it easily, so why not?

From there, I enchanted the rings with as much as I could fit into one ring without overloading the material. I geared each ring for a single purpose and layered tonnes of spells and runes on them to the limit of the material. I had a ring for foreign substance detection along with enchantments to isolate and slow potions and poisons. I had another for mind protection. I had one for protection against foreign and ill-intent magic.

I even had one for stealth with spells of scent blocking, sound erasing, high level invisibility, magic concealment, notice-me-not and more. This one I could toggle on or off. Of course, I can do all those spells myself, but this makes it convenient. I found during this process that I quite enjoy making things. Which is good. Making magical items and doodads is practically a prerequisite for a legendary mage.

I made two sets of these rings for me and Daphne like I said I would. She was very thankful when I gave them to her and so were her parents. It turns out that Jacob was going to do something similar and have some protective items commissioned before she went off to Hogwarts, but now he doesn't have to. It's not surprising really.

Pretty much all families that can afford it do so as well, even if not to the same paranoid level as my enchantments. It's just good sense. Case in point: Lucius presented me with 2 platinum rings just yesterday: One for mind defense and one for low level spells. My self made rings are just better. The ones I was given by Lucius are platinum though so I will disenchant and use them for my own purposes when I think of something.

Thinking of the Greengrasses, Jacob and Elizabeth's effort to create their own voting block is gaining traction slowly but steadily. I haven't kept up with all the moves made, but I know the general situation. 11 families so far have joined the new faction which has saved the Greengrass businesses and also gained them some good allies. These families generally lean to either the light or dark, but they all think that the factions are too extreme as they are today and so agreed to start this new movement.

I'm not involved with the government, nor do I keep up to date on the minutae, only the overall situation. The situation now is they're beginning to make waves, but aren't yet at the level to challenge the other 2 factions. They need to sway more families, but also more individual people with votes like the order of merlin holders and high level ministry officials, which takes time and money.

A knock brought me out of my reminiscence, only to notice that the station is beginning to fill with people. The door opened and I couldn't help but grin seeing who it was.

"Blaise! It's good to see you." I said. "How have you been since last years Yule Ball?" I asked.

Blaise and I struck up a friendship at the Malfoy Yule Ball proceeding my official introduction. I actually got to speak to the other kids my age at that one. He's an interesting guy and plenty smart. Plus, he's fun to be around. We started exchanging letters and our friendship stuck ever since.

Blaise grinned back and acted nonchalant. "Oh you know me Draco. A little of this, a little of that..." He trailed off.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, fine, don't tell me, probably ferreting family secrets out of old ladies again. It's not like you have many friends to tell anyway." I said with a teasing smile.

Blaise feigned being affronted. "That was one time!" He exclaimed. "And I have more than you at least. I'll have you know that I can make connections everywhere. No one can resist my charms!" He declared.

I may have been talking shit, but what he said is true. Blaise has a silver tongue that can open many doors.

"Hahahaha. And how many of those people are you actually close to? Blaise, Blaise, Blaise. You should know me better by now, your words won't work on me." I said.

He smiled brightly and sat down to settle in, having put his trunk on the rack above him. "And that's why I like you Draco. Do you know how few people are able to see through me?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "I imagine most adults. I know my mother saw right through you at the last ball." I quipped.

His face froze as he wilted. "Your mother is a special case, she's unusually observant. And she knows my mother, that's an unfair advantage." He said, before adopting a serious expression. "But no. Few adults i've met ever realise what i'm doing." He looked at me speculatively. "That's why I don't understand how you do it. You must be cheating somehow or have some kind of method I don't know about." He said, looking at me curiously.

I smiled innocently at him. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about Blaise." I said. He was right though. I have to use soul sense whenever talking to him as he's just that good at masking his expressions. He can even control his emotional fluctuations with his occlumency, something I've picked up from him.

He looked skeptical. "Riiiight, sure you don't." Then he shrugged. "That's why I like you though. I'll be able to hone my skills just by being near you." He finished.

I sighed. "We've had this conversation before. No one can deny your skill in social maneuvering, but I still maintain my stance. No matter how good you get, it's a supplementary skill. Your silver tongue won't help you when someone shoots a killing curse at you." I said.

"Let's not get into this argument again. You have your views and I have mine. Although, now that we're going to Hogwarts, I might take your advice and focus on magic a bit more." He said.

I was surprised. "Really? What changed?" I asked.

He sighed. "Nothing drastic or anything. I was just doing a little digging recently. You know I enjoy reading about history right?" He asked. I nodded and he continued. "It just stuck out to me that dark lords rise every half a century or so. Sometimes quicker, sometimes longer, but it's like clockwork. I should at least be ready for the worst for when the next one comes along. Plus, what better place than Hogwarts to learn magic?" He said.

I smiled triumphantly. "I see i'm finally getting through that thick skull of yours."

He scoffed sheepishly. "Hardly. I still maintain that being able to talk well is a better skill to have than being good at magic. I just... well, like I said, it's better to be prepared." He said.

I shook my head. "It seems we'll never see eye to eye on this issue." I said.

He nodded. "Seems so. Besides, your view relies on being good at magic. I'm never going to be a powerhouse. I may be a little talented, but not to that level. In our society, having a good social position and being able to talk yourself out of a bad situation is often more important." He said. I agreed with him here. He's good, but not especially talented like Harry or Daphne and i'm not taking him under my wing. I'll help him with spells here and there, but not to that level.

I nodded slowly and sighed. "I can agree with that, the caveat being the 'in our society' bit. Our society as it stands really is perfect for someone like you to thrive." I said, thoughtful.

He smiled. "I'm glad you can see things my way." He said smugly.

I scoffed. "I never said that and you know it. Don't twist my words. Magic is still..." Another knock at the door cut me off from rehashing our old argument.

I turned to looked at smiled brightly as the door opened. "Daphne! It's good to see you!" I said, picking up her trunk and putting it on the rack for her. "Excited for Hogwarts?" I asked as we sat down, getting a nod of thanks from her.

She smiled brightly. "Draco, lovely to see you again." She said. "And of course i'm excited!" She exclaimed. "Mum and dad have told me so many stories about their time at school. I can't wait!" She said excitedly.

I smiled back, excited myself as well. I've been looking forward to Hogwarts for a long time. 

She turned to Blaise. "Hello to you too Blaise. How are you?" She said with a lukewarm expression. She likes him, but she doesn't trust him. I make sure to undermine him whenever Daphne is around so she doesn't get caught by his bullshit. I won't let my student get caught out like that.

"I'm well Daphne." Blaise replied. The beginnings of an awkward silence started before Blaise broke it. Awkward silences are anathema to him. "What house are you aiming for?" He asked.

She sighed minutely in relief at the opener. "Either Syltherin or Ravenclaw. How about you?" She asked.

"Slytherin." He replied immediately.

I snorted. "Slytherin is the perfect place for you Blaise. Give it a day and you'll be talking circles around the older students. You'll slip right into the power structure." I said snidely.

He smiled brightly. "Maybe, maybe. A single day is a bit ambitious though. I'd say a week." He remarked, taking my words as a compliment. I may have been sniping at him, but he really could do it in a week.

"Hahaha. You'll be right at home in the snake den." I said with a smile.

"And you Draco?" He asked back.

I smiled brightly. "Ravenclaw, of course." I replied. Not only would Ravenclaw afford me privacy not found in the other houses, it would also afford me some anonymity. Not much, but a bit. Not to mention, everybody knows that Ravenclaw is the house of reincarnators! I'm not going to break that tradition. There's a reason reincarnators choose Ravenclaw after all: There are many advantages to being in that house.

He nodded as if he expected it. Which, to be fair, he did. "Your father won't like that." He remarked offhandedly.

I shrugged. "I could care less. He may expect me to go to Slytherin, but you know i'm not a fan of politics and power games. I'll have to handle plenty of that already with my position of Heir Black. More after graduation as well. I don't want my school years to be mired in those games." I said.

He nodded in understanding and didn't comment on my words. That's why I like Blaise. He doesn't try to push an agenda with me after he realised he couldn't fool me and he's not naive either, but still a friendly person.

"I guess I'll be going to Ravenclaw then." Daphne commented.

I raised a questioning eyebrow at her. We handn't actually spoken about Hogwarts too much in our time together, so this is a little surprising.

She looked at me weirdly. "I'm not going to just leave you all by yourself Draco. Plus, my father has told me stories about his time Slytherin. With all the politics going on there, it sounds exhausting." She said.

I smiled, touched by her thoughtfulness. It's not dangerous in Slytherin, so I wasn't worried about that. I had asked mother about it before, thinking of some fanfictions i've read where horrible things happen in the dungeons. And while there is a little risk, it's not major. Hogwarts is a school. Whether the student targeted is a muggleborn or not, no one would send their kids to a school where assault, either regular or sexual, occurs. Period.

Memory charms exist, yes, but unless the person doing it is a master of the charm and legilimency both, they're usually easy to spot. The matron in the medical wing can spot it easily and has a lot of power in the castle. She is one of the best healers in the country. She has to be: magical accidents are usually a lot harder to fix than deliberate spellwork and they're the kids of the british isles, so the healer is one of the best. The parents demand it.

In emergencies, she can even override the headmaster although that hasn't been needed in a long time. This is something that not even Dumbledore can change. He may, MAY, have subverted Poppy Pomfrey with potions, spells or alchemy, but the chances are slim. The school healer position is protected and carries a lot of weight.

To balance this, the healer has no say in the running of Hogwarts. Only if a practice is found that is harmful can she step in. So yeah, whether Daphne goes to Slytherin or not, I wasn't particularly worried about her safety. Like she said though, being in Slytherin would be exhausting.

"Thank you Daphne. At least i'll have one person I'm friends with in Ravenclaw. I can't imagine i'll be very popular." I said.

She smiled softly. "You're welcome. I planned to follow you anyway so Ravenclaw sounds perfect." She said.

Blaise snorted. "You're right though. You won't be popular in Hogwarts unless you go to Slytherin." He said, addressing my point. "Your father made sure of that. Too many people hate him and will hate you by extension." He elaborated.

Both Daphne and I nodded. We knew that already. I shrugged. "That's fine. I'm not going to Hogwarts to make friends. A few would be nice, but I don't need everyone to like me." I said.

Blaise looked at me with a tired expression and sighed, shaking his head. "That kind of attitude is what makes me exasperated with you. How can look at this opportunity and not pounce? I don't get it." He complained.

I looked at him weirdly. "I'm not going to make everyone hate me Blaise. I'll be polite and friendly with everyone and make sure i'm on good terms with the important Heirs in our year." I said, a serious expression on my face. "But i'm not going to go out of my way like you do to get close to as many people as possible. As long as there are no serious disagreements, that's fine. Alliances made in school would be a boon, yes, but i'll let them happen naturally. We have different priorities as you well know." I said.

He nodded. Despite our differences, I respect Blaise's abilities and he respects mine. His points are valid as well, as are mine, so I will not dismiss them. But like I said, our priorities are different.

Daphne cut in. "Forget all that boys. I don't want to sit here listening to you two repeat the same argument you always seem to have the whole train ride." She said.

I nodded. "I agree. We can argue later. The train should be starting soon and I want to go meet everyone. Harry Potter will be in our year you know. I also want to say hi to Neville." I said. 

Blaise nodded with a smile. "Let's wait till the train leaves before moving around too much. I wonder what Harry Potter is like?" He mused. "Anyway, I read this book recently about..." He changed the subject.

I smiled, happy to go into lighter topics. We continued chatting as the train sounded it's whistle and pulled away from the station. Half an hour into the ride, I remembered to change my robes. Better to do it now or it will be an annoyance in my mind until I do.

Taking out my wand, a swish later and my robes were switched for the black Hogwarts robes and tie from Madam Malkins. I had gone to Diagon Alley with mother and Lucius a week earlier to get everything. My trunk was expensive, but standard. I will be upgrading it at school. I had to get robes, books and a wand, we had everything else at home.

It was an uneventful visit. I didn't see anyone I recognised and the shopping ended quickly. Ollivander's was a creepy experience. The man himself seemed as if he could look through you and see your soul. He can't, I checked, he just likes playing the part. I could feel his amusement the whole time. The whole song and dance of trying different wands went on for a while until I got mine. Pine and phoenix feather, 12 inches.

No custom made wand of 5 different woods and 9 cores with gemstones embedded or anything like that. The wand fits me perfectly. It's nice having a wand. I'm not going to use it much, already having a transfigured stick prepared to cover for it, but I like it. It sits in the arm holster I bought and gives off a comforting warmth.

Wands are a part of the mistique of the wizarding world in the original series, so I wouldn't pass up the chance to have one even if I rarely use it. It'll be a momento of sorts. They're amazing creations even if I don't like what they've done to the society by making wizards lazy. So i'll be keeping mine thank you very much.

Daphne followed my lead and swished her wand, switching her current clothes with robes as well. Neither of us said an incantation while doing so, much to Blaise's shock. He already knew we were good at magic, I would often tell him so in our letters, but he hasn't seen it yet.

I smirked at him. "That's what being good at magic does for you." I said.

He huffed but didn't respond, having to get his robes from his trunk manually like a pleb. He just put it on over his clothes. Hogwarts doesn't have a uniform, only the robes and tie are mandatory. Same with the stupid hat, but that's only for formal occasions like the feasts. I had mine in my pocket for the sorting ceremony. 

He put his trunk back up on the rack and turned to us, rubbing his hands excitedly. "Shall we go then?" He said impatiently.

Daphne rolled her eyes but complied, opening the door for us. "Let's go introduce ourselves to our new classmates then." She said, determined to make a good impression. "And Blaise... don't go overboard." She ordered him with flinty eyes. Blaise flinched minutely hahaha. Good Daphne. I patted her shoulder and followed her out of the compartment with a smile, ready to meet some new people.

(A/N: Wooo! Finally going to Hogwarts! Took a while right? Well, no more waiting, we'll be there soon. Enjoy!)