Decreso Aetas

Stepping into the room, the three older students drew in a collective breath. It was just like stepping outside itself. Trees sprouted from the grass-covered floor. The topmost branches barely touched the ceiling that, just like the one in the Great Hall, had been enchanted to look like the sky outside. On the far side of the room in the corner, there was a structure of large stones that had clear, clean water cascading down them into a creek that cut its way through the full length of the room. Bright sunlight that seemed to be coming from the ceiling dappled the grassy floor. Ron, Hermione, and Draco let out a breath they hadn't realised they'd been holding. Harry managed to move out from the three older students and over the threshold.

"This looks sort of like the classroom we used on the ground floor in Fifth year," Ron muttered quietly, stepping inside after Harry. The other two followed, Hermione closing the door behind her. Harry was looking fearfully at a section of wall that appeared to be missing, opening up to the outside world. Hermione walked over to it, looking down at the book. Smiling, she took out her wand and prodded what they thought would be open air. Instead, ripples spread from the tip, the wand not going any farther.

"There's nothing to worry about," she said soothingly, now placing her hand where her wand had touched. Ripples spread over the whole length of the wall. "There's an invisible force here to keep anyone from falling out." Draco looked around the room carefully. To him, it looked like a small section of the Forbidden Forest, though this place seemed to have a more cheerful atmosphere. Harry tore his eyes away from the open wall and began walking over to a wooden bridge that arched over the creek. Ron looked fit to bursting with curiosity.

"What is this place?" he asked, his eyes taking in every detail. Hermione consulted the old book.

"It's called the Room of Seasons," she replied. Ron suddenly looked confused. Grinning, she held up her wand. Double checking the book, she called out, "Frigus!" Instantly, the atmosphere changed. A chilling wind blew throughout the whole room and snow began falling from the ceiling, covering the ground. The trees that had once held green leaves were now bare. Harry yelped in surprise, putting his arms around himself to keep warm. Ron's jaw dropped at the sudden change.

"This would be perfect for when it gets really hot outside," Draco said, looking around in amusement. The potion he had taken earlier had finally kicked in, and, surprisingly, he was feeling civil. Hermione glanced once more at the book, shivering.

"Primo Vere!" she shouted, and once more, the scenery changed. The snow disappeared and the bare trees were now sporting large green buds. The wind blew a little more warmly this time. New flowers sprouted from the ground in a large array of colours. Ron looked closely at one that seemed to be shifting through different shades of purple, blue, and red. The whole room smelled of new life. Raising her wand, Hermione called out, "Aestas!"

The trees were now covered in dark green leaves once more. The only difference was that the air was a lot warmer and thicker. "Wow, it got so bloody hot in here," Ron mumbled, taking off his trainers and stepping into the creek. Draco rolled his eyes at the redhead and pulled off his robes and took his shoes off as well. He went over to the creek and put his feet into the water, staying a good distance away from Ron. He laid down in the grass with his arms underneath his head and closed his eyes, Harry, who already had his shoes off, sat on the bridge and dangled his legs over the side. "Hey! Look! There is some sort of fish things living in here!" Ron shouted. Hermione walked over to the bank, looking where he was pointing. There were indeed things that resembled fish, only their transparent fins sparkled brightly, matching their colour-changing scales, and they had a slightly pointed face, making it look like that had beaks.

Hermione instantly answered their unasked question. "They are called Lyries. They help to keep water clean enough for other creatures to live in by filtering it with their gills. I wonder why nothing else lives in there with them -"She was cut off as Ron hastily jumped out of the water and fell into the grass, holding his foot.

"It bit me!" he yelled, looking scandalised. The others couldn't help but laugh, only making them receive a glare in return. Draco quickly took his feet out of the water, still lying down in the grass. He rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face in his arms.

"They used their pointed mouths as a defence mechanism," Hermione managed through her laughter. "Apparently they thought your foot was an intruder in their territory." Ron only mumbled incoherently under his breath, pointing his wand at the shallow gash in his foot. It instantly disappeared and he stood up, shooting a glare at the Lyries that were now glimmering innocently beneath the surface of the water.

Hermione, now managing to keep her giggles at bay, consulted the book once again. "There's only one more." Raising her wand above her head, she shouted, "Autumnus!" The stifling air turned crisp, a slight chill in the enchanted breeze. The trees now showed a large variety of red, orange, and yellow leaves, some already littering the ground. Ron sat down on the bridge with Harry, careful to keep his feet his feet away from the water.

"Now I see why they call it the Room of Seasons," he said, lying down on his back. Draco was now standing near one of the larger trees, examining a red leaf that was larger than his entire face. "I wonder why Dumbledore never told us about it. There could have been so many times when we could have come here, like when it was too late to leave the castle or when it was pouring rain outside. It's so close to the common room, too!" Disappointment could be clearly heard in his voice.

"Well, maybe he didn't know about it Ron," Hermione replied. "It's just like when he found the Room of Requirement, but he never really knew what it was. Anyway, we may be getting more use out of it now." She glanced at Harry, who was making his way over to her. He looked slightly confused and a little frightened.

"'Mione? How did you do all of that?" he asked her, his head tilted slightly to one side. "The room changed so quickly when you said those funny words." Hermione looked slightly shaken at the question, but then smiled at him. Why not tell the truth? He would be finding out sooner or later...

"It's called magic, Harry," she said soothingly and the small Gryffindor's eyes widened. He then looked disbelieving.

"My aunt and uncle told me magic didn't exist," Harry said, sounding thoroughly disappointed. "They said it was all made up and to never ask about it again." Hermione had a feeling that this would be the reason behind the confusion. Smiling, she handed him her wand.

"Just wave it, Harry, and watch," she urged. Looking confused and a little doubtful, Harry made a swish-and-flick motion. Ron almost laughed out loud at the fact that a five year old had gotten the motion down faster than he had in their First year. Harry almost fell over in surprise when a trail of multicoloured sparkles emanated from the tip of the wand. He handed it back to its owner, looking a little more convinced.

"I wonder why they told me it wasn't real," Harry whispered. Hermione patted him on the shoulder in a motherly way.

"It's okay," she replied. "They might not have known." She knew that was a downright lie, but she didn't want to make him even more upset. At that point, Harry decided to yawn. Hermione took that as a hint to be getting back to the dormitories. Outside, there was a reddish glow over the horizon, signalling the sunset. "Let's go," she said, motioning for them to leave. "It's going to be dark soon."

As they were leaving, Draco muttered darkly, "I think there were fairies in those bushes...and they were winking at me..."

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Harry finished the little bit of Shepherd’s pie he had been eating before yawning once more. Ron had badgered Hermione all the way to Draco's dormitory about sneaking into the kitchens and nicking some food. Before she left, Hermione left the book with Draco that had the information for the Room of Seasons. She bid Harry good night, as well as Draco, though a bit reluctantly, and was pushed out of the room by a hungry Ron.

"Come on, Harry," Draco muttered, shuddering at the sound of his name leaving his mouth. "It's time for bed." It wasn't very late, but the events of the day had worn both of them out. Harry made his way up the stairs, almost falling over with exhaustion. They entered Draco's room and he helped Harry into a pair of pyjamas. The small boy was practically asleep already. Draco then helped him into a small bed that had been set up. It rested against the wall near the balcony that opened up into the living room. Draco then climbed into his own bed, his pillow feeling like heaven.

Just as he was nodding off, he felt a weight on the bed and a small tap on his arm. Opening an eye, he saw emerald eyes glinting at him in the darkness. "I'm cold," Harry whispered. He was shivering pretty violently. Very reluctantly, Draco moved over and closed his eyes. He was pretty surprised when he felt Harry curl up against him, the top of his head resting underneath his chin. Sighing, Draco brought the blanket up and covered Harry, who had snuggled his face against Draco's neck and was already fast asleep. 'I guess I better get used to this' had been his last coherent thought before drifting off to sleep.