A/N: There are OCs in this story and mild slash. There is are background M/M relationships, and another one if you like squinting. This is a story about friendship, so no romantic relationships at all until sixth year and even then, they're not the real focus. If you hate OCs or slash exit to the left.

This story also has a companion— it can be read either before this, after this, or not at all. It's called Over the Rainbow, and it follows the OC present when Draco goes back in time, as she gets sucked back in time to the Marauders period. (There is a slash relationship in this story and it's not background.)

The major inspiration for the start of this story came from another fan fiction by Athey's entitled Tampering with Time is Risky Business. It's an unfinished story, but worth a read for her writing is brilliant and caused the birth of this story. (As well as a few other time travel fics, but that is the one that got me writing which is why I'm pointing it out.)

At some point, my note about the series went MIA in my updating/editing. See my profile for notes on this story, as well as the Rewritten in Time series. Feel free to read it before you read, or when ever. Or not at all.

Edited 13 December 2015

Disclaimer: If you know it, I do not own it. If you really know it, it's out of Deathly Hallows, written by JKR.

Hit Restart

History was littered with disasters. People were supposed to learn from mistakes, yet Draco felt he was repeating the same mistakes over and over, never any wiser.

It was now clear to Draco, that instead of wanting to be his father, he ought to have learned from his father's bad choices and not followed in his footsteps.

Draco should have stuck to his gut feelings about becoming a Death Eater, that sick inclination that the Dark Lord was in fact a psychopath. Draco allowed fright to drive him.

Looking back, his behavior embarrassed him to such a degree he didn't even want to go on living. He was a Slytherin, so he was supposed to be cunning, sly, and ambitious. Draco was to be great, successful, and the envy of the entire country.

Draco was no better than a House Elf and he was scared out of his mind. The past year had been the worst year of his life. The past two summers were miserable, living in fear of being cursed, being in pain and unable to stop it. Time slowed down, sped up, and seeped around him and people kept dying.

The Dark Mark on his arm was a memory that he was forever marked, a slave. The Dark Lord wasn't merciful, he was not kind, and he was not even human as far as Draco could tell.

Draco was tired of being scared. He was tried of seeing the end. That was all he saw: the end. If the Dark Lord won the stupid battle, his family would be run into the ground by the man's demands and whims. They had already lost favor because of the failures of his father to get the prophecy, Draco's inability to kill Dumbledore, and allowing the Golden Trio to escape at Easter. And whatever the trio had stolen from Bellatrix's family vault had been the last straw.

Draco wiped the blood from his mouth as he scrambled through a hidden doorway. He'd barely escaped having a few Death Eaters kill him. Until someone finally took out the Death Eaters, only to later punch him in the jaw. That person sounded ominously like Ron Weasley, though there was no red hair in sight.

If the other side won, his family would be punished, thrown away to Azkaban for their crimes. There was no way to deny they were Death Eaters.

It was the end of the Malfoys, something that did not sit well with Draco, along with all his other regrets. It was clear to him now, clear as glass what he should have done, what should be done. He'd known he ought to do it since he'd found the tiny box when he was fixing the cabinet last year, but he'd been too scared.

The battle raged in the Entrance Hall as more Death Eaters rolled on into the castle. If anything, Draco really didn't want the Dark Lord to win.

Time wasn't something you messed with. It was a black and white law in the magical world. But, Draco Malfoy was going to mess with time. He tore through the halls, dodging battles and duels left and right. He'd lost his mother's wand in the fire Crabbe had started in the Room of Requirement. Potter had Draco's actual wand. Oddly, he didn't care. The end was all he could see. In a few hours from now, this reality wouldn't exist. He'd make a new one.

All he had to do was swallow the vials, read the paper with the incantation on it and choose a point in time to go back to. The only reason he hadn't done this as of yet, was for one foolish moment he saw a way to redeem himself and his family from their falling from grace: get whatever Potter was after before Potter got it. It was a crown of some sort.

He'd failed. He'd lost Crabbe. While he didn't really enjoy Crabbe's company all that much, he felt almost as if he'd lost some limb he hadn't been aware he had.

"You have fought valiantly." The cold voice ripped through the school, reverberating through the walls and floors. Draco shivered. "Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery."

Lies. The Dark Lord valued nothing except himself and his means to his own end. Draco pressed himself to the wall.

"Yet, you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist, you will all die. One by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste."

Lies. Lies. Lies.

Draco shut his eyes as the past year rushed into his mind's eye. Students were beaten, Muggleborns killed. For no reason at all other than they were different.

Draco understood that now, just hadn't been brave enough to admit it. Brave enough to down the vials he'd brewed and read the little paper from the box he'd found when he'd been trying to fix the cabinet. The Vanishing Cabinet, how he wished he'd never fixed it. As much as he thought Dumbledore was an idiot and slightly mad in a bad way, the old man could duel and had frightened the Dark Lord.

If Dumbledore was alive, none of this would be happening.

"I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."

The Dark Lord when on to threatened Harry Potter directly, blaming him for the deaths and gave him an hour to meet him in the forest.

Potter would give himself up.

Draco's eyes popped open. He plunged his hand into the pocket to the left and yanked out one of the vials. He always kept them on his person since he'd brewed them during the summer. He popped the top and downed the first one. It froze his insides. An unnatural silence fell. He had ten minutes before he could drink the next vile. Staggering, Draco retraced his steps. He pushed the tapestry aside and entered the Entrance Hall. As he did, he saw Potter, Granger, and Weasley enter, looking around. They looked troubled, none more so than Potter.

He was going to do it. He was going to give himself up.

The Dark Lord was going to win, because he wasn't going to keep his promise to let anyone live. Anyone against him would be struck down.

Anyone who stood with him would be struck down.

Draco lurked around, watching the three enter the Great Hall. He crept down the stairs, his worry getting the better of him.

Potter came to a halt, staggering backwards. He turned sharply and ran, heading right for Draco. Throwing himself out of Potter's way, Draco watched Potter run passed clutching something tightly in his hand.

Potter was going to give himself up.

Draco went to the doorway, looking at the bodies of the dead lined up. He spotted someone who didn't belong within the walls of Hogwarts. Draco had once known the girl, who was seated at the feet of two of the dead.

It felt like a lifetime ago he'd grudgingly spent time with the American witch. He'd never really taken to her, as she was too rambunctious for his liking, but he felt a longing for simpler times she represented. The days before he knew who the Dark Lord was, before he'd seen Potter, before he had tried to be his father.

She was sitting at the foot of two bodies, a blank expression on her face. Draco had never seen her look so…dead before. He did not need to see to know who those bodies belonged to: that strange Auror with the pink hair and Remus Lupin— stepmother and birth father of Atlanta Black.

Quickly, Draco turned and followed in Potter's footsteps. As soon as he reached the top of the staircase, Draco downed the second vial. He had thirty minutes before he had to take the last one. The hour limit would be up by the time it was time to end this.

"Draco?" asked an out of place American voice, too close.

He turned away and ran. Draco needed to get somewhere she wouldn't be able to find him and since she was unfamiliar with Hogwarts, it should be easy. Of course, like most things, he was wrong. Atlanta easily followed him and caught up with him. She tackled him and he landed with a thud, Atlanta on his back.

"You're up to something, aren't you?" Atlanta accused, flipping him over and slamming his back into the floor.

Draco felt dizzy. He closed his eyes so he couldn't see her accusing amber eyes. He had to get away, he needed to be alone when he did what he was going to do. A part of him didn't want anyone knowing he was about to go off and save people. Who knew Draco Malfoy would save people? That was Potter's area. Draco usually only wanted to save his own hide.

Getting his feet out from under her, Draco kicked Atlanta in the chest, sending her toppling backwards with a grunt. Without looking backwards, he leapt to his feet, and pressed on. Atlanta caught up to him easily and grabbed his forearm, yanking Draco to face her. Even though the Mark currently didn't hurt, he still tried to jerk away with a hiss, but Atlanta seemed to have super strength for someone so thin and fragile looking. Her long fingers closed around his arm and jerked him forward, towards her. Her eyes looked deadly, then went confused as she stared him down.

"You don't believe," Atlanta stated softly.

"I don't," Draco breathed, speaking the truth out loud for the first time

He didn't dare look up into her eyes.

"So, come with me," Atlanta said softly, digging her nails into his arm.

Draco slid his eyes towards her, taking in her feet. She was wearing sandals and her feet were covered in drops of blood and rubble of the castle. Her legs, bare as she was wearing shorts for some unknown reason, were covered in dirt, scrapes, and more blood. His eyes continued to trail upwards, noting her grey appearance due to the dust she was painted with. She had rubble trapped in her raven hair, which was wild and curling aggressively.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Draco heard himself ask.

"I bet your mother is worried sick," Atlanta admonished, ignoring his question. She took in his singed robes, the streaks of dust and grime. She frowned. "Do you have a wand?"

Hers was clutched in her hand.

"I lost it."

Draco felt time slipping, dragging all around him. It was an odd sensation. Things got bright, then dimer. Wider and shorter. Atlanta went in and out of focus, speaking in a super slow Southern accent, then a high pitched, fast one.

The potion was doing something to him.

"Draco?" Atlanta asked, noticing he wasn't exactly himself. "What did you do? What did you take at the top of the stairs?"

Something crashed somewhere in the castle, making Atlanta turn around. Draco took advantage of her distraction to rip his arm out of her hold.

It was time to go.

"Goodbye," he whispered in Atlanta's ear before he ran down the corridor.

He could hear her turn and begin to follow him, but he turned a corner and ducked quickly behind a tapestry he knew Atlanta didn't know about.

"MALFOY!" Atlanta screamed in the distance.

Draco sharply turned the corner. He ran till his legs gave out. Falling to the ground, he reached into is pocket and seized the last vial. He yanked out the paper, pressing himself to the wall of the empty hallway. No footsteps followed him, but he could hear Atlanta shouting in the distance. Taking deep breaths, he emptied his mind. The hour had to be up. He opened his eyes and it was almost as if there was an alarm in the last potion to tell him when it was time to take the next dose. The whole world was upside down, yet he was still sitting on the floor.

Popping the cork out, he drank the last one. He felt nothing, but the world righted itself. Making sure he was indeed alone, he read the incantation out loud, thinking of his eleventh birthday. Eleven was still young enough he could change who he was, change how things turned out. And he wasn't too young to seem like he was acting too old for his age.

"MALFOY!"

Draco snapped his eyes open, but didn't see anyone.

He felt a pull in his head and searing pain. His knees buckled, just as he heard the Dark Lord Voldemort announce to the whole school, "Harry Potter is dead."

And the world went dark with one last scream of "MALFOY!"

The only thing about time travel Draco knew was that one: what he'd done was illegal. Two: you were not allowed to change time, hence what he was planning wasn't such a smashing idea.

The pain in his head was worst than when the Dark Lord put him under the Cruatius curse. He pressed his hands to his head and felt himself sort of drift away. The pain continued, but then he felt nothing at all. He was floating, drifting through nothingness. A maelstrom of visions, images, and thoughts soared into his head, too fast for him to process. It was his life flashing past in reverse.

His life didn't amount to much, tragically.

Then it all ended and it was dark. And he couldn't breathe. There was something heavy on his chest, restricting his breathing. And it kept squirming.

"Miss Siri, get off of Master Draco!" a thick Southern accent chided somewhere far away.

Who the hell was Siri?

"Draaaaaaaco! Get up!" sung another voice, with a slight accent. It wasn't as thick as the first.

They were both American accents. Not English.

Draco's eyes flew open.

Atlanta Black was on top of him. Draco found now he couldn't breathe because she looked so young. He studied her face, taking in her amber eyes. His eyes latched onto her nose, which was a combination of Remus Lupin's nose and the aristocratic Black nose. The more he stared, the more she looked related to Lupin.

How had he missed that before?

Why did she look so young? Where was he?

"Miss Siri," chided the first voice.

Who was Siri?

Atlanta vanished and the pressure on Draco's chest eased. Gasping and gulping down air, Draco rolled out of bed (how'd he get in bed) and fell to the floor with a thud. He looked around, wondering where this Siri person was located and how he had gotten into his bedroom.

"Draco," Atlanta drawled slowly.

She sounded funny too. Her voice was too high pitched.

Draco pushed himself up into a kneeling position. There was only a House Elf and Atlanta in the room.

"Excuse me?"

Whoa. His voice was a little high. He quelled the urge to scream.

"Draco, what's wrong?"

Atlanta knelt down next to him, placing a small hand on his back. Emotions flooded through him, mostly confusion as she was touching him. No one touched him, except his mother.

"Master Draco, yous sure yous all right?"

His eyes went wide as the House Elf stuck its face in Draco's line of vision, looking rather worried.

"Sookie!"

"Ah, good, at least Master remembering who Sookie is," the house elf said, raising one eyebrow.

Sookie did not like him. Mostly because he was a rude git who treated her like vermin. She was a servant.

Wait, why was Sookie calling Atlanta Siri? She'd always called her Lanty.

"Sookie!" Atlanta shirked.

"Miss Siri, I was telling you we shouldn't be here before nine."

"It's three in the morning!" Draco shouted, managing to get to his own feet as he heard a crack.

"Well, I wanted to wake you up," Atlanta admitted, looking somewhat bashful. She took a few steps away from him. She was in her night things, her hair rolled in rags to help her waves actually form curls.

Slowly, Draco lifted his left arm up, pushing back the sleeve. There was no Mark, and yet he clearly remembered there being one. Draco was also a lot shorter.

The potion worked. He still remembered everything from the past seventeen years, but also remembered things he was sure never happened.

Frowning, Draco stared at Atlanta.

"You came to wish me a happy birthday?"

"Yes, you're eleven today!" Atlanta exclaimed, throwing her arms out. "You get to go to Hogwarts this year!"

This had not happened. By this point, he'd not seen Atlanta for years, having outgrown having forced play dates with extremely distance relatives. On his eleventh birthday, he'd been woken up by Dobby at the normal hour. Not at three in the morning by Atlanta Black.

Draco felt mild panic. Had he traveled back in time or somewhere else all together?

"Miss Siri, we must be getting back," Sookie drawled, eyeing Dobby, the Malfoy's house elf wearily.

When had Dobby arrived? Dobby was alive! And their House Elf still.

Draco had no clue why this fact elated him so much. Maybe a side effect of time travel?

"Little Master?" Dobby asked, looking scared. His large eyes darted all over the room.

"Well, Draco, happy birthday!" Atlanta shouted, setting a wrapped package on his bed. "I'll leave this here with you. I must go to bed."

She skipped over to Sookie, smiled and patted Dobby on the head. Sookie grabbed Atlanta's hand and they were gone with another crack.

"It worked," Draco muttered, staring at his small hands.

Draco took a moment to take stock of his smaller self while Dobby twisted his hands together. Draco jumped to his feet, running to look out the window. The manor's grounds were cloaked in darkness, but looked as Draco remembered them looking before Voldemort took over. Quickly, Draco began to go through anything on his desk. Being ten, he didn't keep documents or anything with vital information. Frowning, turned to Dobby.

"Get me the most important Daily Prophets from the past ten years."

With a crack, Dobby was gone. Draco paced back and forth for twenty minutes till Dobby reappeared, holding a stack of old papers. Draco went through them and breathed a sigh of relief. All the important things had happened. Nothing had changed, other than a few of his more personal memories, but the world was the same. Joy filled Draco and he grabbed the elf and began to shake him.

"Dobby it worked!"

"Dobby is pleased!" the elf squeaked, not looking pleased in the least.

Draco let him go and sat down on his bed.

It worked. Voldemort was a shadow of his former self and Harry Potter was alive.

"Brilliant," Draco breathed.