Fanfic / Draco Malfoy and the Mirror of Ecidyrue

"Llehfo tuokcabb mil cyamen oylno." ^note Only one may climb out of hell.

— The mirror of Ecidyrue

The Mirror of Ecidyrue is a Harry Potter fanfic series written by Starbrigid, starting with the titular Draco Malfoy and The Mirror of Ecidyrue.

"All it takes is one look in a mirror and an ill-advised attempt to shatter it, before an embittered Draco Malfoy fresh out of Azkaban is sent back into his body on the day he gets his Hogwarts letter.

Suddenly, Draco has an unwanted second chance, with a Sorting Hat that doesn't know what to do with him, a certain Muggleborn who won't leave his study table alone, and green eyes he just can't get out of his head. And then there's his new wand, whose choice of him could just mark him as every bit as dark a wizard as his name means he should be."

A Time Travel fic wherein after bitterly reflecting on the disastrous defeat his family suffered after the Second War with Voldemort, Draco breaks a mysterious mirror and accidentally finds himself back in the past, on the day his Hogwarts letter has arrived, with a unique opportunity to start anew and fix all of his greatest mistakes.

---

This series provides examples of:

• Abusive Parents: It's shown early on in the series that Lucius Malfoy has no qualms with beating some sense into his only child, even long before the events of the blue loop/canon ever take place. Narcissa, while aware of the beatings, doesn't ever protest or stop them from happening, rather preferring to sneak her child healing and numbing potions in the aftermath.
• Adaptational Badass: Draco's extra years of experience in the blue loop and further pursuits into Black Magic make him a vicious and capable foe to have even as a pre-pubescent child, much to everyone's despair.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Severus Snape takes up the widely-popular fanon role as Draco's godfather in the series, and it's written to great and heartwarming effect.
• Affectionate Nickname: Due to Draco joking about owning the troll that attacks the dungeons in First Year, many of the other students, especially muggleborns, quickly take to calling Draco Frankenstein, much to his initial confusion. Soon after Hermione ends up adopting it as a permanent nickname.
  • Draco later on grants the nicknames of Striker and Canon to Hermione and Ron, respectively.
• Aimlessly Seeking Happiness: After failing to stop Voldemort's resurrection and yet still managing tosuccessfully clear Sirius' name, Draco is unsure of what else he has to offer to the red line and somewhat wary of thinking about a future beyond the war. It leads to a recklessness in his actions that is quite alarming to his friends and family.
• Animal Motifs: From the birthmark on his shoulder to the heartstring core of his new wand, Draco shows a much stronger affinity with his namesake than in canon.
• Anti-Hero: To the point that it's one of the tags included in the fic series itself.
• Archnemesis Dad: Draco's joining of the Light side naturally pits him against his father, with whom his relationship in this timeline was already deteriorating pretty quickly.
• Artifact of Doom: The Talon Wand, previously owned by the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange, certainly applies. The dark origins of its core, powerful magic and unknown true allegiances make it a precarious wand to wield. It has bonded to Draco's magic so closely that he's practically a squib without it, and chances are there will be disastrous consequences should he continue to wield it in the future, on his magic if not his sanity.
  • The titular mirror of the series may also apply, as its purpose and connection to the canon Mirror of Erised have yet to be discovered, especially considering that they may both be linked to the Deathly Hallows in some way.
  • Black Daggers appear to be an in-verse example, used traditionally to signal a formal enmity between two people and made of very, very dark magic.
• Ascended Extra: Theodore Nott, whom is barely mentioned in canon, is featured and fleshed out much more in the series due to his close friendship with Draco.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Draco's need to get a wand earlier than in the blue loop in order to return to his present ends up backfiring pretty spectacularly.
  • Similarly, his efforts to push people away by making himself seem like a fearsome dark wizard in the making naturally result in him making more enemies than allies, and often becoming the number one suspect in his mishap adventures with the Gryffindors.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: Between a neglectful mother, an abusive father drenched in bigotry and prejudice and a crazy bloodthirsty aunt who would most likely torture and murder him for the theft of her wand, to name a few, Draco has very few blood-related members of his family whom he can actually trust.
• Blood Magic: The Naufragiam potion, which is very dark magic and requires the blood of its victim to work. Draco and Luna use it to bind Harry to Hogwarts and keep any portkeys from whisking him off on the day of the Third Task.
  • Draco also uses blood spells to access places such as his godfather's private quarters at Hogwarts and the Black Family's No. 12 Grimmauld Place.
• Cannot Tell a Joke: Draco's sense of humor is quite strange, and often serves to get him into further trouble due to people not realizing he's joking in the first place.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Draco's yearly resolutions originally tended to include the goal to not get himself involved with events that he remembers from the blue loop, but he often finds himself jumping in to help anyway.
• Commitment Issues: Draco's tentative relationship with Harry is rife with these, compounded on not only by his self-esteem issues but also by the messy way his first "relationship" ended with Theodore Nott in the blue loop. See The First Cut Is The Deepest.
• Costume Porn: From Hogsmeade outfits to ballroom gowns and suits, Starbrigid never fails to take advantage of an opportunity to dress the characters up with loving detail.
• Cowardly Lion: Despite his extra years of experience and knowledge of the future, Draco often freaks out when he finds himself in trouble on his adventures, and was especially prone to panicking in the earlier years of the red line.
• Creepy Child: Because of Draco's secret knowledge of the future, massive cynicism due to rampant PTSD, family association with Death Eater members and affinity for the dark arts, people have him pegged as a rising Dark Lord in the making, both inside and outside of Hogwarts.
  • Luna's experience with Tom Riddle's diary and association with Draco seems to have acclimated her to participating in activities that are considered morally darker than what most people tend to be comfortable with.
• Darker and Edgier: The Mirror of Ecidyrue series is read solely from the cynical perspective of a PTSD-ridden Draco, so it can often come across as this.
  • Following as in the canon book series, fifth year and beyond are also noted to contain more mature content in their stories, as evidenced by the ratings jump compared to before.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Draco's infamous reputation for using dark magic (and obscure motivations to people not privy to his thoughts) often throw his allegiances into question, but despite the constant doubt and vitriol aimed his way he never stops working on behalf of the side of the Light.
• Death by Adaptation: Peter Pettigrew dies earlier than in canon when Voldemort uses him to block the Killing Curse.
• Didn't See That Coming: Draco's obliviousness and later constant denial of Harry's infatuation with him result in him not expecting him to be taken as Harry's most precious person in the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament, nor for Barty Crouch Jr. to later use him as a back-up plan to lure Harry to the graveyard for Voldemort's resurrection.
• Didn't Think This Through: Draco's constant visits to the Black family's ancestral home in third year are this, considering that Sirius Black, one of the few people who can access it, is free from Azkaban and on the run. Naturally, this results in a confrontation.
  • Draco in general is prone to this, to the point that even one Remus Lupin points it out at the start of Fifth Year. His resolutions to influence or acquiesce to the red line are often poorly thought out, which leads to sloppiness and impulsiveness when he finds himself interfering at the last minute.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Draco despises this from other people, even if it's just a perceived thing.
  "Don't pity me, Ron," Draco said sharply. "That's the one thing I want less than anything. Not just from you, from anyone. I don't want anyone ever to pity me."
• Double Entendre: A favorite type of humor of Draco's, especially in the younger years where it would often go flying over more guileless characters' heads.
• Drowning My Sorrows: How the events of the series kicked into motion in the first place.
• Empathic Weapon: The Talon Wand, which seems to jealously guard its owner from other wands and interlopers, and appears to be almost sentient at certain moments.
• Endearingly Dorky: Harry's shy earnestness and constant fumbling in front of his not-so-secret crush can be downright adorable, especially from the perspective of a cynical character like Draco.
• Establishing Character Moment: After literal in-universe years of accumulating tension, Bellatrix Lestrange's horrifying character does not disappoint after her escape from Azkaban, as one of the first things she then proceeds to do is send her underage nephew an ancient magical ultimatum dark enough to freak out all the teachers and students at the Slytherin table. She even comes with her own warning!
• Everyone Can See It: Harry and Draco's mutual attraction to each other, which is so blindingly obvious that Barty Crouch Jr. uses it to his advantage so that Harry can be kidnapped to revive Voldemort after the Third Task.
• Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry: Draco's refined and expensive tastes (and skill at Transfiguration) leads to him often accessorizing with all types of jewelries, such as most notably, the hair clasps and brooches Harry gets him as birthday gifts.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: This time around, Draco changes his hairstyle to appear more like Snape's instead of his father's, to signal the way he looks up to his godfather more.
• Family of Choice: Draco takes Luna under his wing after his actions lead to her and not Ginny being taken into the Chamber of Secrets. Their relationship quickly develops into something akin to close siblings in further years.
  • Similarly, after Draco takes up the mantle of attempting to prove Sirius' innocence in Third Year the latter is happy to keep up close ties and take up the role of supportive uncle on Draco's behalf. This ends up resulting in Sirius and Remus taking Draco in after his attack on Voldemort results in an unsafe home environment after the end of Fourth year.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Harry's improved friendship with Draco in the red line and resulting infatuation leads him to many a moment of jealousy whenever Draco shows even the slightest hint of romantic inclinations with other boys, or hangs out with other people while keeping Harry at arms-distance. Although mainly Played for Laughs, it has caused a strain on the relationship between him and Draco in later years.
• Heel–Face Turn: The whole premise of the series. Draco's involuntary trip to the past slowly turns into an opportunity for him to fix the mistakes made during Hogwarts and the Second Wizarding War.
• Heirloom Engagement Ring: An interesting inversion of the trope, where instead of using the heirlooms for the family meaning behind their value, Sirius commissions Draco to transfigure all the Black Family jewelry into engagement rings for Remus Lupin and himself, shedding the pieces of their prejudiced origins.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Draco's low self-esteem issues regarding his actions in the blue loop keep him from accepting any praise for his actions in the red line, nor from considering any sort of long-term happiness for himself.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: See Dark is Not Evil. Draco's efforts to push everyone away by making himself look like a genius dark wizard in the making have worked a little ''too'' well.
• Hope Spot: Draco and Luna's plan prevents Crouch's portkey from activating on the day of the Third Task, allowing Harry to go on and win the Tournament, and Draco to believe that he's finally managed to changed events in the red line for the better. Things quickly crash and burn after that.
• It's Personal with the Dragon: Draco with Bellatrix Lestrange, as the accidental theft of her wand and her own crimes committed against his friends and family (and his former self in the blue loop) have set them up for a spectacular clashing of the Blacks.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Draco certainly doesn't let his friendship with the Gryffindors and Heel–Face Turn stop him from being a lovable prick.
• Kiss of Distraction: What an imperiused Draco uses on Harry to stop him from noticing the reactivation of the Triwizard Cup portkey.
• Laughing Mad: Draco has a tendency to laugh inappropriately in moments of high stress, especially when they're unknowingly ironic to the rest of the cast; such as when Lucius Malfoy punished Dobby by freeing him instead of killing him, and when Hermione offered to help Draco travel back in time in third year to keep him from getting seriously injured helping Sirius escape Aurors.
• Like a Son to Me: Although more evident in his actions than his words, Snape obviously considers Draco this.
• Like Brother and Sister: Draco and Luna Lovegood, after saving her from the Chamber of Secrets.
• Love Epiphany: Draco about Harry in Third Year, not that everyone didn't see that coming already.
• Mental Time Travel: The way the Mirror of Ecidyrue seems to have worked on Draco, either replacing or fusing with the consciousness of his eleven-year-old self.
• Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Although not outright stated, Draco has (internally) expressed suicidal tendencies due to the massive guilt and PTSD brought over from the events of the blue loop; but setting out to fix the red line for the better takes priority.
• Neck Tie Leash: Draco is quite fond of fussing over Harry's necktie, and using it to jerk him around when making a point.
• Oblivious to Love: Draco about Harry and vice-versa when they're younger.
• Our Time Machine Is Different: The Mirror of Ecidyrue, which employs an unusual time travel method compared to the ones known in the Harry Potter series, sending back the consciousness but not the body. From what McGonagall has theorized, it seems that the original events we know that happened as in canon^note AKA the blue line, although the events he's repeating in particular are also known as the blue loop have been sealed into Draco's mind, while the new events have become a completely new timeline^note AKA the red line. Draco has also been seemingly cursed to prevent him from outright revealing he's a time traveler (although not from hinting at events to-come) and provided with spectacularly strong occlumency shields; if there are methods to get around said enchantments they have yet to be discovered.
• Papa Wolf: Severus Snape is certainly prone to flying into a frothing rage whenever his godson Draco is in trouble.
• Parental Substitute: Since Draco came to Hogwarts, Severus has been slowly stepping up in his role as godfather to make up for Draco's neglectful and abusive parents.
• Pet the Dog: Draco's unexpected friendship with Dobby can come across as this to people who judge him prematurely for his infamous reputation.
  • Funnily enough, Draco himself acts as this role for Severus Snape of all people. Although Snape strives to put up a cold front most of the time and remains as stubbornly vitriolic with his students (and Harry Potter in particular) as ever, there's no denying that he cherishes his godson just as much as Draco does him.
• Poor Communication Kills: The main source of conflict between Draco and the Gryffindors in Second Year.
• Prophecy Twist: Trelawney's prophecy in second year seems fairly straightforward, but doesn't end up working out the way Draco thinks it intended by the end of year. Later subverted and full realized in fourth and fifth year.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: In spite of the changes Draco has made in the red line, his memories of the blue loop remain intact and are only affected by the passage of time like any other natural memories would.
• Sadist Teacher: Barty Crouch Jr while disguised as Moody, who is more than happy to cast a suspicious eye on Draco in front of his peers and actively bully him for his Death Eater father.
  • Bellatrix Lestrange back in the blue loop, whose methods of teaching her nephew occlumency leave much to be desired.
• Security Cling: In moments of distress (and sometimes, just for comfort), Draco likes to cling onto Hermione and bury his face in her hair.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Draco's attempts to keep Harry safe from the fourth year prophecy is what ends up leading it to completion in the first place.
• Slowly Slipping Into Evil: It's unclear how much of Draco is being affected by outside influences, but some of his actions to help the side of the Light are starting to toe the line of what's acceptable in order to keep up with the rising threats.
• Spared By Adaptation: Thanks to Draco's efforts in the red line, Cedric Diggory survives the Triwizard Tournament.
  • On a similar note, because of Draco's unknowing interference Gilderoy Lockhart managed to escape his position of DADA teacher with his mind intact, free to run away from Hogwarts and go enact his scams elsewhere.
• The Atoner: Draco has certainly turned into this, even if he didn't plan to go through the Mirror of Ecidyrue originally. It's obvious he feels obligated to use his future knowledge to improve the events of the blue loop and prevent the Second War from ever happening.
• The Commandments: Every year Draco writes out a list of goals regarding his plans for the events of the blue loop, ranging from small, silly goals to the most important details to watch out for in the red line. As you can imagine, results usually vary.
• Devious Daggers: Draco's moonstone dagger, used in a ritual to divine Draco's fate in fourth year, becomes this, after its previous owner Pammaque Periander dies mysteriously and bequeaths it to him in his will.
• The Dog Bites Back: Years and years of abuse and buried resentment build up to a truly horrifying confrontation between Draco and his father in the Department of Mysteries.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: Draco's on-and-off Friends with Benefits situation with Theodore Nott in the blue loop, and its messy end, have led to a lot of trust issues with committing romantically, and stopped him from pursuing the same thing with a very willing Harry Potter.
• Trauma Button: Most of the trauma from events of canon have followed Draco into the past, making places like the Astronomy Tower and the Room of Requirement, and people like Albus Dumbledore and Bellatrix Lestrange this trope for Draco.
• Troubled Child: Draco definitely qualifies as this in the earlier years in the red line. It's been noted by a few teachers that his unusually quiet behavior and voluntary isolation from the rest of his peers have been brought up as a sign of concern amongst the staff.
• Under The Magical Mistletoe: Much like in the blue loop, a mischievous Dobby pulls this off in Fifth year, to great effect.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: And how! When Starbrigid tagged this series as slowburn, she meant it. Draco and Harry certainly can't stop dancing around each other, despite their ^note  Mainly Draco's many motivations to not become romantically involved.
• Villain Takes an Interest: Rumors of Draco's uncharacteristic choices and magical prowess are drastic enough to catch the attention of Big Bad Voldemort to a frightening degree. Despite Draco throwing an AK at him, he seems much more interested in offering Draco a spot amongst his Death Eaters this time around.
• Wartime Wedding: Sirius Black is quick to propose to his childhood sweetheart Remus Lupin after his name is cleared. As by this time Voldemort has already risen, they have no compunctions about fastforwarding the wedding and organize it as quickly as possible before the War escalates.
• Wham Line
  "Finally. I thought the Mudblood would never leave. Imperio!"
• What the Hell, Hero?: Hermione evokes this upon Draco in fifth year, after Draco steals the contents of Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault, calling him out for the lackadaisical attitude with which he endangers himself on personal missions and his exclusion of the people who would be willing to challenge him on/help out with his plans.
• You Can't Fight Fate: Many of Draco's attempts to change the bigger events of the blue loop throughout the years end up being futile in spite of his efforts, and often backfire on him in unexpected ways.