If You're Not the One

By E. Caddy Compson (persephoneia) (formerly Narcissa Black)

Please keep in mind that this was written just after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Also, keep in mind that this was my first work here on written a long, long

time ago (I shudder at the thought). I do, however, hope that if you decide to read it,

that you will find it enjoyable. Cheers!

Summary

Entering their sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione find that they have a

new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, who turns out to be someone unlikely, and

is intent on getting the Gryffindors and Slytherins to get along. Who is she, and why does

she care? What means is she willing to use to get the rivals to be civil towards one another?

How will the students react to all this? Draco Malfoy faces some hard decisions, which will

ultimately decide his fate. His mother wants him to take a different path than the one his

father did, and avoid making the same mistake... But wait, where does she fit into the

equation? (Eventually a DM/HG Romance, with some others, perhaps, and some, maybe

predictable, twists and turns along the way)...

Disclaimer

I don't own any of the characters taken from J.K. Rowling's books; they're all hers (Though

I wouldn't mind taking Draco off her hands... laughs evilly) and I'm just temporarily

borrowing them for this story... Songs and poems contained herein to provide emphasis

and/or set tone for/in chapters are not the property of myself, and credit will be given to

those to whom it is due when that is the case...

Spoilers present for Harry Potter through Order of the Phoenix

This is my first fan fic, so I hope you'll be kind, and please read and review:)

Thanks!! Oh, and one more thing, if you find that some of my chapters seem on the short

side, it's because this way I can update more often… So here's the first chapter:

Chapter One: If I Could Turn Back Time

Narcissa woke to the sunlight dancing through the long windows in her bedroom. It

was just before six-thirty in the morning, and the sun was just starting to come up over the

horizon. She got up out of bed, the bed she had shared for so many years with Lucius

Malfoy, from the beginning until… just last spring… when he had been hauled away to

Azkaban. She wiped a tear that streamed down her face, like a river of despair over her

cream complexion.

It wasn't that she missed him so terribly. Not that at all. Rather, it was the habit

that she missed, and even then not so much. She was free now, or more free than she had

been before. He had never mistreated her, but she found that after he joined the Death

Eaters, he had changed somehow. She thought the birth of a son would somehow bring

him back, the loving Lucius Malfoy, the man she had married, given up so much for… After

Draco was born, he seemed to come back, for a while.

And then Voldemort fell. In the years that followed, he was consumed by the Dark

Arts, by his service to Voldemort, attempting everything to bring his master back, ignoring

his family practically, until Draco started at Hogwarts. That had been at her insistence.

Lucius had been prepared to send him away to Durmstrang, but she would never have

allowed it. She remembered the day he got his letters…

--Flashback--

Two owls had come that morning, both for their son, and he had come down the

stairs with a defiant smirk on his face. The house had the aroma of bacon and scrambled

eggs, and pancakes and maple syrup, the Saturday morning usual, as the house elves

busied about. He had entered the kitchen, to find his mother and father sitting at the table,

having coffee, waiting for breakfast to be served.

"School letters?" Narcissa had asked.

Draco had nodded, holding them up. "Durmstrang and Hogwarts."

At that point Lucius had said, "bring them here, Draco."

Draco did as he was told, of course, and took a seat at the table.

His father had looked over the letters, an arrogant smirk on his face, before meeting

the gaze of Narcissa, and then Draco, and saying, "We will need to visit London to get your

school things. You start at Durmstrang on September first…"

"He most certainly will not," Narcissa had said, her words cutting through the air like

a sharp knife, and clearly catching her husband off guard. "He will be going to Hogwarts."

Her voice had a tone of finality in it; Lucius overlooked this, hoping he could gain the upper

hand.

"But his training for the service for the Dark Lord will be…"

"He is not going, Lucius. I will not allow my son to go to Durmstrang. It is simply

too far away. He will be absolutely fine at Hogwarts, under the studies of Professors

McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape…" She had been firm in her response, and Lucius knew better

than to argue with her when she had that set look of determination in her eyes, and tone of

affirmation in her voice.

Lucius looked at her. He could not argue with the abilities of certain Professors, she

had known that, and the mention of a fellow Death Eater was certain to get Narcissa her

way…

--End of Flashback--

She grimaced. The "Dark Lord," as her husband called him, had taken over his life,

and taken away almost all that was important to her. Except Draco. She would save him

from the path laid out for him. There had to be something she could do… some way to

change things. Another tear streamed down her face, and she wiped it away. She would

worry about this later; today she had to take her son to King's Cross Station. It was time

for him to return to Hogwarts.

She went downstairs and had coffee in the patio, overlooking the gardens of the vast

Malfoy estate. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she turned to see her son, already dressed

and seemingly ready.

"Good morning, mother."

She smiled. His demeanor had softened since his father had been imprisoned, the

arrogance had lessened, and that air of superiority was breaking down as well, but one

thing was certain, he wanted badly to exact revenge on Harry Potter. She would talk to him

later about this, because Lucius, as much as she loved him, had certainly gotten what he

deserved.

"Good morning, Draco." She looked at the clock. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

At that moment, two house elves brought down his trunk, and Narcissa said, "Well,

we'd best be on our way."

They had decided to travel by floo – since Draco was not yet of age, starting his sixth

year at Hogwarts – to the Leaky Cauldron, and form there they would catch a ride to King's

Cross Station on a muggle taxi.

When they arrived at the station, Narcissa looked around. It had been a couple of

years since she had come, Lucius insisting on taking Draco by himself for the past few. She

looked around.

There was a small crowd near the barrier to platform nine and three-quarters, and

she could not help but examine them. There were several redheads, the Weasleys, she

thought. Two of them were identical, the twins, most likely, who had left the school on

their broomsticks in front of stiff old Professor Umbridge to open a shop in Daigon Alley.

Narcissa smiled at the look that woman must have had on her face. Looking on, there was

a balding, thin man, also with red hair, Arthur, and his wife, a somewhat round woman,

Molly, whose hair donned the same red hue. There were two more redheads, a tall, lanky

boy, who looked about Draco's age, likely Ron something-or-other, and a girl, who was a

little shorter than him, Virginia, Ginny, the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets, wasn't

it? There was a boy with dark hair, and that unmistakable lightning-shaped scar on his

forehead, Harry Potter, and a girl with brown hair that fell in layered waves, who had an air

of superiority about her, not unlike the one Draco often had. Narcissa smiled. This

promised to be a very interesting year, indeed.

That was when she noticed several others with them as well. There was a woman,

about the same height of the tall Wealsley boy, with long pink hair that was braided, but

other than that nothing out of the normal… 'Except the eyes,' Narcissa thought. 'She has an

air about her… like Andromeda, my sister… She had a daughter, Nymphadora, I think… my

niece…' She remembered what Lucius had come home talking about after his last visit to

King's Cross, about the Weasleys, Potter, several others accompanying them, and a dog… a

big, black dog… her cousin, Sirius. She sighed. He had died before the end of the last

term, unaware of how sorry she was for everything, all her regrets. Unaware of how she

wished she could change things. She fought back the tears that threatened to escape her

eyes, but was unable to do the same with her thoughts, which ran away with her. If only

she could turn back the hands of time, to change the things that were to come, retaining

her present knowledge. She could make things better with her family, make a difference,

help her son, save her husband, and maybe her cousin as well. It was impossible, she

knew…

"Mother?" Draco's voice interrupted her thoughts.

She sighed "Yes, Draco."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, dear, just thinking…" she looked at the group, as they crossed the barrier one

by one, and she reached a determination. She might not be able to set things straight with

Sirius, but she would do her best with the others. If they did not understand, or wish to

accept her apologies, fine, but she would at least try. She would make an effort, and Albus

Dumbledore had promised to help.

Author's Note

Hope you liked the first chapter… I thought it would be interesting to let you guys into

Narcissa's head for a bit, you'll see why later… I've got it all planned out… Just need to get

the story out of my head (it's in there somewhere) and typed up. Okay, romance will be

coming up… I'll update later today and hopefully add two chapters… Try to get you to the

romance part… Maybe… R&R Please!! Thanks for your time :)

E. Caddy Compson (persephoneia)