Chapter 12: Past
When Draco opened his eyes, he was still in the gallery, though it was completely empty of people. Before him was the stand with Ancient Egyptian Scepter, which, just seconds ago, made a light-show appear inside the main exhibition room.
Draco was a bit confused because he couldn't see a soul in this big room. He felt that only few seconds passed since he fell, so where was everyone? Where were his friends and Mr Rabbit?
Draco felt a sick sensation at the back of his throat and his body ached for no reason - as though he exercised for few hours without stopping, like a newcomer in a gym. His limbs also felt a bit strange, almost unlike his own and his eyesight was a bit blurry.
The boy carefully patted himself down, to check that there were no injuries and nothing important was missing. After making sure that everything was in place, he stood up from the gallery's floor.
Draco felt that something wasn't right.
He looked down at his hands and body, squinting his eyes a bit to observe himself better.
Suddenly, the boy felt a panicked emotion rise up inside him.
There was no mirror in this room, however, Draco was sure that he was back in his thirty-year-old body from the previous life. His hands were larger and seemed nostalgically familiar, his point of view was also higher, which meant that his body was taller than the child's one he last remembered possessing.
Draco carefully observed the only clue, which could point to him, what the hell has happened when he blacked out.
The scepter was still faintly shining with a golden light, seemingly showing off its royal might, as though afraid that others wouldn't know how it once belonged to a King.
As soon as Draco's eyes focused on the ancient artifact, it pulsed with light, and the child-who-was-now-adult-again could feel a heavy gaze settle on him.
Draco felt as though he was being judged.
His eyes involuntarily closed and thousands of images passed through his mind - all of them were related to his last life. They were his memories.
He stood there for what felt like hours. Or it could have been mere seconds. Draco completely lost his sense of time while standing there observing his own life flash past.
Finally, Draco saw flashing lights, heard screeching tires and voices, telling him to 'hold on'.
Then there was another memory, however, he couldn't quite grasp what it was - whenever his mind tried to focus on it, the threads would slip out from his hold.
The memories ended and with a gasp, Draco opened his eyes for the second time that day.
This time, he woke up in a hospital.
---
"Draco, do you need me to call someone to fluff your pillow?" Narcissa asked anxiously.
"No, it's fine like this."
Draco felt that his parents and friends were too fussy. Sure, the Egyptian artifact flashed some lights and he was the only one who fainted, as well as the closest one standing to the scepter when it reacted. However, it wasn't like he suffered from anything apart from light concussion - which he got only due to the fall.
Draco found it hard to believe that he was unconscious for two whole days.
During the time that he was 'sleeping', his father threatened to sue the Egyptian Magical Ministry, the archaeological team, which found this scepter, the organizers and the gallery. In other words, everyone, who could be considered to hold even a grain of responsibility for this incident would be sued, according to Lucius Malfoy.
Draco's mother was also beside herself from worry. When Draco woke up a few hours ago, he saw that the usually carefully dressed lady was now sitting at his bedside while wearing a home robe with a mismatched cloak hung on the back of her chair. Her gray eyes were red around the corners and there were shadows below them. However, only people who knew Narcissa Malfoy very well, would be able to see these signs - for others she appeared to be as elegantly dressed and indifferent as usual.
Draco's return to consciousness was accompanied by frenzied mediwizards and healers casting all sorts of spells, making the boy drink various foul potions and conduct numerous tests, before he was considered as 'not in an immediate danger'.
As soon as Draco's friends heard that he woke up, they quickly arrived, accompanied by their guardians or house elves, who now stood outside the ward.
"You are alright! Merlin, you are alright!" cried out Susan as soon as her eyes landed on the 'sick' boy. Hannah, Daphne and Theo also came with her.
The girls rushed forward with tears in their eyes and each squeezed Draco's body so hard, the boy thought his organs were about to be crushed. Even Daphne, who was rarely emotional, hugged him tightly.
"Draco! Oh, Merlin, I thought... I thought..." babbled Hannah incoherently while transferring her hold from trying to crush his body, to just trying to crush his hand. She felt afraid that her friend will disappear if she lets go of him.
Susan, who already managed to calm herself, patted the blond girl's head and said, "It's good that you woke up, Draco. You should have seen how worried Mr Rabbit was when he couldn't find you due to the crowds rushing out. And when he saw you collapsed near the display..."
Susan paused and frowned. Theo, who was standing on the other side of Draco's bed continued, "Mr Rabbit blames himself for this incident because he didn't carefully watch over you."
"The crowds pushed me when the scepter was revealed and I lost sight of you all," Draco finally managed to squeeze in an explanation. "However, I will have to talk with Mr Rabbit - it wasn't his fault. Who could have known that the artifact wasn't safe? It has been exhibited in other countries before and nothing ever happened..."
Draco really felt pity for his old Languages tutor - he felt that in his old age, the man shouldn't receive such shocks. After all, who could have known that this artifact was somehow connected with death magic and when Draco, who was a reincarnator, got close to it, there would be a reaction. The blond boy felt it to be reasonable that others couldn't find this scepter's effects - it's not like there were a lot of people who remembered their last lives walking on the streets every day.
However, even if Draco deduced why this scepter reacted, he didn't know what exactly it did - aside from showing the boy his past life (which he remembered anyway, thank you very much). But there was something else... Something, that he couldn't quite remember - it was shown at the very end and very briefly.
Draco felt that whatever it was that he had seen, it was a key to why he reincarnated into Draco Malfoy's body.
It was true that during the year which he spent living this life, Draco never really wondered why he appeared in a book as its character. He never wondered why he retained his memories either. The boy just accepted the situation into which he was thrown and happily lived on.
However, what if it was important? Maybe that last memory was of a higher deity telling him to do some kind of mission in this world. Or maybe it was a test which Draco had to pass, in order to see whether he would have to go to Heaven or Hell, because gods couldn't decide on it when he originally died - he did feel someone judging him...
In his last life Draco read a lot of books and novels, so he found these scenarios to be quite possible. After all, he was living in a book right now.
"Are you alright?" asked Theo, when he saw Draco spacing out. The dark haired boy was the calmest of the bunch. Even though he was worried when he saw his best friend unconscious and even wrote to one of his father's friends, who dabbled in curse breaking, asking about any information on the ancient scepter. He hadn't received a reply yet when he heard that Draco was finally awake, thus he rushed to the hospital with the girls.
"Yes, I am fine, just lost in thought," Draco directed a thankful smile at Theo. His male friend couldn't hide his worries from the blond. After all, Draco was practically an adult in child's body - how could he not see the emotions on the much younger boy's face?
As the only two boys in the room, they shared an exasperated glance when the girls continued to fuss.
"The visiting hours are over," Draco's friends were interrupted by a mediwitch, who came to chase everyone out.
Goodbyes were quickly said and Draco was left alone with his mother, who has been sitting not too far away, watching her son's friends with a small smile the whole time.
On that day, in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, one seven-year-old blond boy had hard time falling asleep - he was constantly plagued by various thoughts about his past and future.
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