Decreso Aetas

A little while later, they arrived outside of a portrait in the dungeons containing a large silver dragon. Harry let out a tiny yelp as it roared menacingly and breathed out fire. Draco scowled as Harry hid behind him, his small arms wrapped tightly around his knees.

"Salazar, King of Serpents," Draco muttered. He watched the portrait slide to reveal a hole in the wall that led to a large room. Everything inside was decorated in a Slytherin colour, from the green walls right down to the silver carpet.

Harry peered out from behind Draco, his eyes widening at the sight that lie just beyond the threshold. Slowly, he let his arms fall from around Draco's knees and walked through the portrait hole, his mouth hanging open. He stopped in the middle of the living room. Draco stood quietly behind him, watching the small Gryffindor's reaction. To him, it seemed that everything was reflected in the young boy's large green eyes.

Without warning, Harry set off running across the living room and up the small set of stairs that led to the hallway. Draco panicked, thinking Harry was going to destroy something. He ran after the small child. He skidded into the bathroom, tripped over the small rug, and fell to the tiled floor. He stood up, expecting to see a disastrous sight. Instead, he saw Harry kneeling on the green marble counter, his small hands pressed against the large mirror. He was looking at his reflection, his glasses halfway down his nose. Draco reached over and lifted him off the counter and set him onto the tiled floor. "Come on, Potter. Let's go back out here," he said, turning to leave the room.

"Why don't you call me by my first name?" Harry asked so quietly, Draco wasn't even sure he had heard him. He turned back around to face him. Draco closed his eyes slowly, and then opened them. He sighed, looking at him. The boy looked so upset, he seemed to be on the brink of tears. Draco seemed to find himself lost in those big emerald eyes that were filled with many different emotions. He shook his head to clear his mind. Sighing once again, he held out his hand for Harry to take.

"Okay, I'm sorry," he said hesitantly. "Come on - Harry." The name really did sound different coming from his mouth. It sounded - forbidden. Harry stared at his outstretched hand, then back up at his face. He seemed to be studying whether he could trust Draco or not. He hesitantly placed his hand in Draco's and was soon led back down to the living room.

It was then that Harry noticed a silver tray of chicken legs, rolls, crisps, treacle tart, and two flasks of pumpkin juice on the glass table. He hurried over to it, then paused in mid-reach, looking at Draco questioningly. Draco looked at him curiously before nodding. Harry grabbed a chicken leg and went to sit on the dark leather couch. He ate slowly while looking around, wide-eyed. He seemed very aware, looking as though he was ready to be scolded for doing something wrong. For a split second, Draco felt pity for the small boy, knowing he must have gone through hell and back many times during his childhood with his so-called family. That moment passed all too quickly.

Another moment later, there was a quick knock coming from the other side of the portrait. Harry, who had been currently reaching for another piece of chicken, looked up quickly and jumped off of the couch. He ran over to the dining room table and dove under it just as Draco went over and opened the portrait. He then came back into the room, followed closely by Albus Dumbledore.

Draco sat down on the end of the couch as Professor Dumbledore sat on an armchair close to him. Draco scowled at the floor, not looking very happy about having the Headmaster in his dormitory.

After a period of silence, the Headmaster cleared his throat and began speaking. "Of course you know why I am here, Mr. Malfoy." Draco merely nodded while pretending to seem interested in a spot on the floor. "You also know you are to stay here for the time being. You can't be seen while walking around with an unpredictable child. Who knows what mayhem may occur?" The professor's intelligent light blue eyes twinkled with mirth, knowing what hell Harry would be capable of causing. "If you wish to leave your dormitory for any reason, you may use your invisibility cloak. Of course, you would have to ask permission first, so it would be best to owl ahead of time, except in a case in which it's an emergency."

Draco nodded, now seeming determined to burn a hole in the floor just by looking at it. The professor looked around the room as though looking for something. "Where has the young Mr. Potter run off to?" he asked, his eyes lingering over toward the dining room table. Without hesitation, Draco pointed at it. There was a squeak and a chair fell over, revealing a nervous five year old. Dumbledore let out a small laugh, which only caused Harry to blush. "Come on over here, Harry. It's okay," he coaxed. The small boy slowly crawled out from underneath the table and walked over to the couch. He sat next to Draco, who scooted away. Harry, who watched him, looked very upset before the professor spoke again. "It looks like he may have taken a quick liking to you, Mr. Malfoy," he said, chuckling. "He has always been quick to judge others rather quickly, if you don't mind me saying."

"You can say that again," Draco mumbled, looking at the boy who was now sulking at the other end of the couch, suddenly remembering the day on the train when Harry had declined his hand in friendship. The professor ignored his comment.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and began once more. "Now, as I may have said before, I will inform the school about your absence. Hopefully nothing slips out to the students," he added thoughtfully. "If it happens there may be a way to cover it up. Someone trustworthy will have to bring up your class work so you don't fall behind. I may recommend Mr. Weasley since Miss Granger has her own duties to attend to. I've also thought that instead of Mr. Weasley taking over your Head Boy position, I will give it to Mr. Zabini. It would be easier since he is also a Slytherin." Draco nodded, though now he was giving the floor a death glare. If he could have his way, the Weasel would be tied to a rock at the bottom of the lake where the Giant Squid usually dwells. That thought seemed to make Draco feel a little better. He still wasn't happy about the part where the redhead has to set foot in his dormitory.

Professor Dumbledore then turned his attention back to Harry, who was leaning over the edge of the couch, wiggling his toes. He watched the small boy thoughtfully, and then took a small box out of his cloak pocket. The sound of it being opened made Harry's head snapped up and he watched the Headmaster reveal a chocolate frog. His eyes grew wide as it hopped out of the man's hand and in his direction. Noticing the wary look on his face, the Headmaster said, "It's quite all right, Harry, it's only chocolate." Harry's eyes grew wide, never knowing chocolate could move. When it was within his reach, Harry shot his arm out and grabbed it. Without hesitation, he stuffed it into his mouth. "I guess he always had those reflexes," the professor thought out loud, smiling.

"No wonder he had been made Seeker," Draco muttered, looking at the small Gryffindor, who was now licking his fingers.

"We should put more food like that into his diet," Professor Dumbledore said quietly. "He's far too skinny." A dark look crossed over his face, one that surprised even Draco.

"Why is he so thin, Professor?" Draco questioned, unable to keep his curiosity in check. The Headmaster cleared his throat, looking a bit uncomfortable. He looked at Harry, who was tugging at the ends of his sleeves, which were already frayed. The Headmaster waved his right hand and a Snitch materialized out of thin air. It caught Harry's attention right away. His large emerald eyes widened as he stood up.

"Why don't you go and play with this up there, Harry?" Dumbledore pointed up the stairs and Harry nodded energetically. With a snap of the fingers, the Snitch whizzed up the small set of stairs and out of sight, Harry not far behind. "Now, that ought to entertain him for a while. At least he won't be able to overhear. If he were his normal self, Harry would do anything to stop me from telling you," he said. Draco chuckled lightly despite himself. The professor cleared his throat once more before saying, "As you have been told earlier, Harry's family is very abusive. They also neglect him most of the time, whether it's going places, having things to play with, or even eating." At the last statement, Draco's eyes grew wide.

"How could anyone be like that?" he thought out loud. It was surprising to hear that, even though it was his enemy they were talking about.

"Well, his aunt and uncle are very much against the idea of him being a wizard," the Headmaster informed the blonde Slytherin. "Ever since he had appeared on their doorstep the night his parents had been murdered, they fed him lies about who he was and what happened to his real family. They had hoped that doing those things would drain every bit of magic out of him. They were horribly wrong. On his eleventh birthday, Hagrid went to take him away so he could help him get ready for Hogwarts and he had been told everything." Draco nodded, now understanding. Everyone had thought that Gryffindor's Golden Boy had the best life that anyone could ever dream of. They didn't have any idea about how wrong they were.

The Headmaster cleared his throat once more, and that was when he turned the tables.

"Now, I know Mr. Potter and yourself have never gotten along very well, which I know is an understatement." Draco nodded slowly at that. He had been wondering how either of them was going to get through this, though Harry didn't know about his life here. "I am not so certain about how Harry will react to this, though I am sure he will be all right with it." The Headmaster smiled a little at that, which became annoying to Draco. He then became more serious, looking more pointedly at the blonde. "Be sure to remember; if anything out of the ordinary is to occur, report it to me or the Heads of Slytherin or Gryffindor Houses."

Draco nodded once more as Professor Dumbledore stood up. With a nod, he said, "Good day Draco, Harry" and was gone. Blinking, Draco stared at the spot where the Headmaster had disappeared. Shaking his head, he hurried up the small flight of stairs in pursuit of the small Gryffindor.

Draco found Harry in his room, jumping on the bed with his arm outstretched toward the Snitch that was fluttering just out of his reach. With one last jump, his fingers closed around in it. Grinning, Harry turned toward Draco and waved it through the air triumphantly. "Draaaco! I got it!" Draco cringed slightly at the sound of his name being carried out like that, but instantly regretted it as Harry jumped off of his bed and collided with him. They both slid down onto the floor and Harry quickly scrambled out of Draco's lap, looking frightened. Without looking back, he ran out of the room and down the stairs. That was when Draco heard another knock at the portrait.

"Merlin, doesn't anyone know the meaning of privacy?" he yelled as he made his way across the room to answer it. A smiling Professor Snape, which was unnerving, and a huffy-looking Hermione Granger greeted him. "Why is she here?" he blurted out while eyeing Hermione with disgust. The professor chuckled, which made her jump a foot away from him, looking frightened. Draco had to stop himself from laughing out loud as he let them by, though reluctantly.

"I met Miss Granger on the way here, so I asked her to join me," the professor replied, smirking. Draco's eyes went wide and his jaw fell open. Just as he was about to ask what kind of drugs he was on, Snape continued. "There is something that I would need to talk to you about, and I needed her." He jabbed a finger in a very confused Hermione's direction. "I may have figured out a way to change Potter back, and I would need her assistance. She's the only student that has more brains than the other imbeciles. " Both students instantly relaxed, though still looked highly confused. "There is a potion that could be made that will increase his age, but it is highly dangerous. It will take several weeks to make, but a little more time will be needed to get the ingredients, the fact being that they are very rare," the professor informed them, looking pleased with himself. Hermione was looking around the room when something dawned on her face.

"Where is Harry?" she asked quietly, glancing sidelong at the professor as if he would bite her head off for changing the subject.

"I'm not sure exactly," Draco replied carelessly, shrugging his shoulders. "He ran off somewhere before you two came." He glared at them for the intrusion. It was bad enough when a very hyperactive Pansy Parkinson came but having a Muggleborn in his dorms seemed worse at the moment. Hermione's cinnamon brown eyes widened in disbelief.

"What? You haven't been keeping an eye on him?" she huffed, glaring at Draco. "What if something happens? Who knows what kind of harmful things you could be hiding here?" She stood up quickly and headed towards the staircase. "Harry? Harry, where are you?"

"'Mione?" came as her reply. His voice sounded distant, like he was hiding under something, which he was. Rapid footsteps were then heard as he ran down the hallway and the stairs and into her arms with so much force that they both fell over. Hermione sat up, laughing, and placed Harry in her lap.

"Where were you?" she asked, smiling at him while glancing at Draco, who looked slightly amused, though a little disgusted at the same time.

"Underneath the desk," was all Harry said, causing Hermione to raise an eyebrow. Though as young as he was, Harry seemed to be able to read her questioning look. "I thought I hurt Draco when I crashed into him and I thought I would be in big trouble." Harry took the Snitch, which now had its wings folded around itself, out of his pocket and told Hermione what happened, and she nodded in understanding without saying anything. Harry began looking around once more. The moment his eyes laid on Snape, he jumped out of Hermione's lap and hid behind her, peeking over her shoulder. She couldn't help but let out a small laugh, which she quickly changed into a cough.

"Don't worry, Potter, I won't hurt you," the professor said, looking at the boy with mild interest and amusement. Harry narrowed his eyes, as though he was calculating the man, seeing whether he could trust him or not. Snape motioned for him to come closer so he could see him better. Harry hesitantly stepped out from behind Hermione and over to him, though he kept his eyes wide as though he made sure he could see everything around him in case he had to run away. He stood in front of the man, who looked him up and down. Stroking his chin, the professor said, "He seems to be about five to six years old, so this potion will take a little longer than I thought." Hermione's face fell; she hadn't been expecting on being around the professor too much this year. So much for that...

Hermione suddenly stood up as though she had been struck by lightning, hit with a sudden idea. "I just thought...a book...library...Ron...bye!" was all she said before hugging Harry quickly, glaring at the Slytherin, and running out of the room. The three males looked very confused, the two older ones thinking they will never understand the mystery that is women.

Turning back to the situation at hand, Professor Snape stood up. Brushing off his robes, he nodded at Draco before heading toward the portrait hole. "I need to do my own research, as I am sure Miss Granger is at the library doing the same," he said as he closed the portrait behind him. Draco scratched his head, an eyebrow raised; this day couldn't be anymore confusing than it was becoming.