Decreso Aetas

Hermione ran along the corridor with Ron not too far behind her. "What's going on?" he panted as they made their way up a staircase to the second floor. "What's wrong?"

Ron had been in the Great Hall eating lunch and had been anything but happy when Hermione interrupted him. She just kept going on about how she needed him to help her with something and left it at that. When she still hadn't answered his questions, the redhead kept his mouth shut.

Within minutes, the two Gryffindors had reached the library. Ron raised an eyebrow at Hermione, who was oblivious to the gesture. She came here all the time; he just didn't see what all the excitement was about. She still hadn't told him why they were here.

The librarian, Madam Pince, looked disapproving of their flushed, sweaty faces, and 'loud' panting. "Come on!" Hermione whispered urgently, grabbing Ron by the neck of his robes and hauling him over to the Charms and Hexes section, which was located in one of the far corners. Ron's mouth fell open at the sight of the shelves that almost reached the ceiling, all crammed with books. Hermione's eyes danced with delight as she pulled book upon book off of the shelves. The redhead watched, horror-struck.

"We're going to be here all night..."

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Harry pouted at Draco, who was looking at the boy with eyes full of loathing emotions. The small Gryffindor had been asking him questions non-stop for the past fifteen minutes. Finally annoyed, Draco simply sat on the couch, looking anywhere but at Harry. Realising he was being ignored, tears filled those startling green eyes. What came next was something Draco wasn't fully expecting...

Harry curled into a ball on the floor, crying loudly. His wails echoed throughout the room, seeming twice as loud once they reached Draco's ears. Sobs raked through his small body, making him look as though he was ready to collapse into nothing. He was just that small...Draco rolled his eyes, his ears and head beginning to ache. He had never known someone that small to be that loud. Knowing what he would have to do, he walked over to Harry and picked him up by his arms. The small Gryffindor's face was red and slightly blotchy from the crying. He instantly quieted when he had been picked up, but those constant sniffles wouldn't go away for a while. That's the last time Draco would ignore a child at this age...

Not feeling very guilty, Draco sat down on the couch with Harry next to him, knowing he would have to comfort the boy. Harry rested his head hesitantly against Draco's chest and quieted down a little, seeming to be comforted by the sound of someone else's heartbeat. Reluctantly, the Slytherin ran his hand gently through Harry's hair. The boy's eyes fluttered shut. He actually looks sort of cute and innocent when...NO!!! Draco mentally slapped over and over himself for having a thought like that sneak its way into his mind. In no way did he think Harry was cute, no matter how young.

Just as Harry was drifting off to sleep, there was a single knock on the portrait before it banged open. Draco stood up and only saw a glimpse of blonde hair before he was in a death grip. "Hello, Pansy," he managed, his chest feeling constricted. He had never noticed how much strength that girl had, especially when hugging someone.

"Oh, Draco, I can't believe they're making you do this!" she squealed, batting her long eyelashes at her oblivious fellow Slytherin. "It's so unfair -" Draco had managed to free one of his arms and clap it over her mouth before she could continue her ranting. She went slightly crossed-eyed for a moment while looking at the hand that covered her mouth before looking up at him, glaring. He pushed her back onto the couch right next to where Harry lay, sleeping. After taking one look at the boy, she stood with a shriek. Realising who it was, she calmed down, straightening her hair.

"Pansy, what the hell are you doing here?" Draco couldn't help but snap at the girl. Always barging in, nagging, never shutting her mouth...

"I just came to see how you were holding up," she replied, making an attempt to look sweet. The sight of her alone made Draco feel nauseous. "I've just finished telling Nott about the incid-"

"WHAT?!" Draco grabbed Pansy by the arms with enough strength for her eyes to water in pain. "What the hell did you just say?!" Unconsciously, his fingers began creeping up along her quivering arms toward her throat. "Don't you dare let it be what I thought I heard." His voice had now withered away to a hiss that would send anyone scampering. Pansy had the decency to be scared out of her wits. "Did you just say that you told Nott about this?" Draco also had the decency to look enraged; Theodore Nott was one of the worst gossipers in all of Slytherin house. Once something made its way to him, the whole school would hear about it within twenty-four hours. No one was supposed to know about this besides their class. So much for that...

Unable to keep his boiling temper at bay, Draco released her right arm and struck her across the face with his free hand. "You insolent cow!" he roared. "No one, and I repeat, NO ONE was supposed to know about this!" Draco was now shaking so badly that he had to sit down. No one had enraged him this much in a very long time, not even Harry. "Get out," he said in a deadly whisper. Pansy had finally found her voice.

"Draco, I -"

"GET OUT!" Without looking back, Pansy sprinted out of the dormitory.

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Ron let out a heavy sigh, fighting to keep his eyes open. Even though it was still pretty early in the day, he was beginning to feel drowsy due to the fact that he had been looking through book after book after book. Hermione had finally told him that they were to try and find information on the spell that had been cast on Harry. So far, not one thing had come up.

Yawning, Ron stood up to get another book. His head was pounding with information that he had absorbed. Hermione was immersed in Hogwarts: A History, having said that she needed to relax her mind for the rigorous research ahead. Ron thought that to be really unfair since the responsibility had been put on him for now. He also couldn't believe that she was reading that book again, perhaps for the umpteenth time.

Without warning, Hermione let out a loud gasp that caused Ron to fall out of his chair, as he had been half asleep. She leaned inward toward the table, her nose almost touching the book itself. Her eyes were moving frantically along the pages. Beaming, she stood up with the book in hand and grabbed Ron by the arm. "Come on! I have something that may be useful to Harry and Malfoy!" With that, she set off at a run out of the library with Ron protesting behind her.

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Draco sighed deeply and laid down on the couch; he had just taken a very strong cheering potion that was supposed to keep him in a good mood for a while. Harry was sitting across the room from him, watching the blonde's movements fearfully; he had awoken when Draco began yelling at Pansy.

When there was a frantic knock on the portrait, Draco let out a long string of colourful profanities as he went to answer it (as the potion hadn't kicked in yet) that caused Harry to jump off of his seat and sidle behind the draperies. A moment later, Draco came back into the room followed closely by Hermione and a sulky Ron behind her. The redhead looked like he would rather be off eating a box full of only vomit flavoured Bertie Bott's Beans than be here. "What do you want?" Draco asked, eyeing both of them with distaste. Hermione held up the book she had brought with her.

"I found something in here that you may like," the brunette replied breathlessly. "I know you're not to leave the castle, so I think this will help to pass some of the time." The two older males looked at her, confusion making its way onto their faces. Harry had snuck up behind them after hearing Hermione's voice. "Oh, come on!" She grabbed a startled Harry's hand, just noticing he was there, and turned to run out of the room. Shrugging, the other two followed.

Once they reached the seventh floor, all very winded, Ron said, "Hermione, this is the way to the Gryffindor common room!" Just as he finished the sentence, she turned down a corridor that they had never been down before. They went up a small flight of stairs and turned left into a corridor that had only one door. Beaming, she pushed it open to let them look inside. The sight that met them was unbelievable...