Decreso Aetas

Draco awoke some several hours later, feeling a lot better than he had before he had fallen asleep. He also felt pretty warm, despite the cool dungeon atmosphere. Opening his eyes, the first thing Draco saw was a head of jet-black hair and felt a face pressed against his neck. Harry seemed to have found a way to drape himself over Draco’s chest while he was sleeping. The small boy’s arms were still wrapped around the blonde’s neck. It felt oddly comforting, yet very wrong.

“Potter,” he whispered. “Potter, wake up.”

Harry stirred. He opened his eyes and looked up at Draco. His hair was ruffled in the oddest places, giving him that cute just-out-of-bed look. He pushed himself off of the blonde and slid off the bed. Draco swung his legs over the side and stood up, stretching. He then made his way over to his wardrobe, threw open the doors, and grabbed a set of clothes for himself and Harry

After grabbing Harry’s hand, Draco led him out of the bedroom and down the hall. Stopping outside of the bathroom, he knelt down in front of the small Gryffindor.

“I’m going to get a shower now,” he said. “You’ll wait out here until I’m done, then I’ll give you a bath.” He then stood up, went back into his room, and came back with a piece of parchment and a quill with ink at hand a moment later.

“You can draw with these until I come out, okay?”

Harry nodded, a smile spreading out across his face as Draco laid them out in front of him. He was already working hard when Draco stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Sighing deeply, Draco turned toward the shower. After turning on the water, he stripped down and stepped in. The cool water felt soothing against his warm skin, his tense muscles relaxing. He leaned back, resting his head against the dark green tiles, letting the water wash over him.

While Draco lathered himself up, he contemplated about the things that have been happening over the last couple of days. He couldn’t get over the fact that he was put in charge of a five-year-old version of his enemy of six years. A good thing is that Harry doesn’t remember any of their past; otherwise, this would be a living hell for both of them. After washing his hair, Draco rinsed off thoroughly, turned off the water, and stepped out. He the grabbed his wand off of the marble counter and gave it a complicated wave, causing warm air to come out of the tip. After drying himself off, he went over to the mirror and picked up a comb. After running it through his platinum blonde hair, he took a quick glance at his reflection. Now that he no longer used gel to plaster his hair back, it was much easier to get ready in the morning. His hair now fell to about his eye level in soft locks. Draco pulled on a pair of boxers, followed by a pair of trousers. He wasn’t going to bother putting on a shirt just yet; if he was going to assist Harry with his bath, what would the point be if he got wet?

Draco pulled the bathroom door open. Harry didn’t even look up; he was so absorbed in what he was doing that he probably didn’t even hear the door open. When Draco placed a hand on his shoulder, he jumped, dropping the quill and piece of parchment. That cleared up Draco’s suspicion about Harry not hearing him come out.

“Your turn,” Draco informed Harry when he had looked up at him. He motioned for the small Gryffindor to go into the bathroom, and then followed him inside, closing the door behind them. Draco then went over to the bathtub to run more water, adding bubbles as well for Harry’s sake.

“Go ahead, you can get in now,” Draco said once he had everything ready. At once Harry looked uncomfortable. His averted his gaze to his feet, wringing his hands.

“What’s -” It then dawned on him why Harry was hesitating. Rolling his eyes, he turned around, waiting for the small Gryffindor to get ready. When he heard water splash, a signal that Harry had gotten in, he turned around.

Harry was immersed in the water, the bubbles coming halfway up his stomach. He was awed by the suds; they were a light green and had an apple scent. Whenever he popped one, a few more appeared in its place. Draco grabbed his wand, waved it, and used the warm water emanating from the tip to wet Harry’s dark hair. After that was done, he grabbed the shampoo, which also smelled of apples, and lathered his hair. Harry’s eyes fluttered closed as the blonde’s slender fingers ran through his hair and across his scalp. Draco then waved his wand again, using the warm water to rinse him.

“Okay, I think you’re done now,” Draco said after Harry washed himself and he let him stay in the tub a few minutes longer. He turned around, facing the opposite wall, and raised his wand.

“Evanesco,” he muttered. He heard Harry yelp; Draco knew he was surprised because the water disappeared without a trace. “There’s a towel over there, and your clothes are right there,” Draco said, pointing to each in turn before grabbing his own shirt and turning to leave the bathroom.

Right after Draco closed the door and buttoned up his shirt, he noticed something on the floor by his left foot. He instantly recognised it as the piece of parchment he had given to Harry to draw on while he was waiting. Picking it up, he looked at it more closely. He saw a drawing of the Snitch in good likeness and what appeared to be pictures of Harry and himself. It also looked as if the small boy was practicing his name; Draco couldn’t stop himself from smiling slightly; a couple of the letters were backwards.

Harry came out of the bathroom a moment later, clad in a red collared shirt and a pair of black trousers. His hair was still dripping wet; Draco motioned for him to come closer. He waved his wand and dried Harry’s hair, which ended up looking the same as it always did. Rolling his eyes, Draco pocketed the wand and started down the small flight of stairs. On the glass table was a tray containing two bowls of porridge, two goblets of orange juice, bacon, and toast.

Harry, who had followed the blonde downstairs, headed over toward it, a hungry expression crossing over his features. Kneeling down next to the table, he pulled a bowl close to him, picked up a spoon, and began eating. Draco grabbed the second one and sat down on the sofa. After eating in a strained silence, Harry sat back and looked around the room. His emerald gaze settled on one of the chairs. He stood up and headed over toward it.

“What’s this?” he asked, pointing to what appeared to be a large piece of cloth that had been folded up and placed on the cushion. Draco, looking where the small Gryffindor was pointing, noticed it as once as his Invisibility Cloak. At least they had the sense to send it back, he thought, standing up and retrieving the cloak. He noticed a small note pinned to it that merely read ‘Be careful.’ A thought suddenly struck him as he let the liquid-like material slide between his fingers.

It’s around lunch time so everyone else will be heading to the Great Hall...It wouldn’t be difficult to make their way through the corridors...Grabbing a spare piece of parchment and a quill, Draco scribbled a quick note, then whistled for his eagle owl, Aeolus. The owl clamped the parchment in its beak and flew out of the high window. A moment later, a phoenix feather appeared in front of them, then disappeared in a burst of flame.

“Come on, Potter,” Draco said, throwing the cloak over the both of them. “We don’t need to stay here all day.”

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Ginny slumped down at a table by the fireplace, massaging her temples and glaring at the hearthrug. Something was bothering her, something that was out of place, but no matter how hard she racked her brain, the farther it seemed to slip away from her

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Ginny jumped, brought back to reality rather violently. She looked up to see Hermione sitting opposite her, wearing a look of concern. “Nothing,” see said rather hastily, immediately regretting it. Hermione would never believe that

As if reading her mind, the brunette crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head, a look that clearly said ‘nice try’ written on her face. Moving closer, leaning on her elbows, Hermione locked her cinnamon brown gaze with Ginny’s clear blue one.

“Spill it,” she whispered quietly. The redhead sighed deeply, burying her face in her hands. She wasn’t sure if she should lie to Hermione, just in case what she suspected was true

‘However,’ a shrewd voice said in the back of her frazzled mind, ‘if you do tell her, she may be able to help.’

Right...she thought, looking through her fingers at Hermione, who merely raised an eyebrow, waiting.

“Well,” Ginny began, feeling slightly uncomfortable. “You see, it’s sort of complicated and confusing. This morning my friends and I were heading to breakfast. The problem is that we remember leaving our common rooms and meeting in the corridor, then it all went blank.” She paused and looked at Hermione, who was looking at her with a thoughtful expression.

“What was the next thing you remembered after the blank in your memory?” the brunette questioned, casting a quick glance around the common room to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

“At one point during breakfast, we seemed to come around fromâ€whatever had happened to us,” Ginny continued, her eyebrows coming together as she spoke. “We didn’t remember how we’d gotten there.” She stopped once more, looking down at her hands. She didn’t want to continue, but she had to, otherwise Hermione wouldn’t be able to be of assistance.

“It only seemed to have happened to us, because everyone else was talking and laughing, so apparently nothing happened to them.” Leaning closer, the redhead dropped her voice to just above a whisper. “You don’t think we’ve beenâ€possessed, do you?” Her clear blue eyes widened, fear clearly written in them.

Her fear had now been laid out on the table in front of them. Hermione’s eyebrows knitted together as she tried to think of why the redhead would say something like that†Then it dawned on her. She thought back to her Second year when Ginny had been controlled by none other than a sixteen-year-old Voldemort himself through a diary. That couldn’t happen again, can it? After thinking for a moment, Hermione looked up at Ginny, who was anxiously waiting for her opinion.

Giving the redhead a comforting smile, she said, “I don’t think that’s what had happened,” Ginny’s expression softened immediately, but she still looked expectant for answers.

“For one, Voldemort is gone, and he may have been one of the only wizards with the ability to do it.” Hermione then paused before asking the question that had just seeped into her mind. “You didn’t have any strange objects with you, ones you weren’t familiar with?” She instantly relaxed when Ginny shook her head.

“No,” Ginny replied. “No way in hell would I do that again after what had happened, especially after the stern talking to Mum sent my way. That was scary enough.”

“Then most likely you weren’t possessed.”

“What could have happened, then?” Ginny asked in a strained voice. Hermione was now stumped. She looked around the common room as if searching for an answer. This was very confusing indeed. Did a student have a spell backfire and it affected them, or something along those lines?

Then it hit her. Ron’s broken wand in their Second year, always backfiringâ€Gilderoy Lockhart as their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher

Putting it all together, Hermione asked, “Do you think you could’ve had your memory modified?”

At that moment, Ron walked over to their table. “Hey, what’s going on here?” he asked, looking from Hermione to Ginny and back again.

“Nothing,” they both said quickly, causing Ron to raise an eyebrow. Ginny then looked back at Hermione, a thoughtful expression on her face. Then, without warning, she jumped out of her chair with enough force to knock it to the floor and dove across the table, looking relieved, and hugged a very surprised Hermione.

“Yes, that has to be it!” she exclaimed. Ron rolled his eyes and walked away, mumbling something where ‘women’ was clearly distinguishable.

Ginny’s outburst caused a group of Second years to cast nervous glances in their direction. “Thank you so much!”

Hermione made to pat her back, but the redhead suddenly pulled away, looking highly confused. “But why?”

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Draco opened the door to the Room of Seasons and stepped over the threshold with Harry at his heels. He threw the cloak off of them and proceeded farther inside. The blonde paused at the bank of the creek and looked into the crystal-clear water, which shimmered dully in the disappearing sunlight. Draco looked up and noticed dark clouds skirting across the ceiling.

“It’s getting dark out there.”

Draco turned to see Harry standing near the open wall, looking out at clouds identical to the ones above them. A slight chill passed through the room; Draco noticed Harry shiver slightly. Loosening the first couple of buttons on his shirt, the blonde sat down in the grass. He jumped slightly when he felt Harry unexpectedly sit down next to him. Harry sat up on his knees and moved closer to him. He reached up and ran one of his small hands through Draco’s platinum blonde strands.

“It’s so soft,” the small Gryffindor said quietly. He locked his emerald gaze with Draco’s surprised grey one. Harry then suddenly wrapped his arms around the blonde’s neck and ended up sending them both to the ground. Ever so slowly, he moved closer to the blonde.

“I like you, Draco,” he said quietly. Draco’s eyes widened; never could he imagine hearing those words leave the Gryffindor’s mouth.

All of a sudden, Draco felt Harry tense against him. The Gryffindor was looking up at something behind him that he couldn’t see. Harry pushed himself away from the blonde and put as much distance between them as he could. Draco had to reach out and grab Harry by the ankle to stop him from falling into the creek. He then turned to see what was causing Harry to act like this.

Hovering directly above Draco was a group of fairies, each a different colour. They were all peering at Harry, who moved closer to Draco for protection from the unfamiliar creatures, each with an interested expression plastered on her face.

“Draco, what are they?” he asked, his voice quivering slightly.

“We’re fairies,” a fiery red one answered, landing gently on top of the small Gryffindor’s head. Up close, Draco noticed that they appeared to be extremely small young women with long hair and flowing dresses. They had transparent wings that matched the colour of their gown, hair, and the glow aura that surrounded them.

“I’m Flamma, and they are Aerius, Circe, Aquarius, Natura, and Aquilus,” she said, pointing to each in turn. Aerius, a pale blue fairy, landed next to Flamma and buried her face in Harry’s hair.

“Mmmmm...He smells good enough to eat,” she said, laying down on her stomach and peering into his emerald eyes. “He looks it, too,” she added with a grin, causing his eyes to widen. Aquilus, a deep purple fairy, perched herself on Harry’s shoulder.

“You smell like apples,” she said, giving him a smile.

“Oooh, my favourite.” Aquarius, and aqua blue fairy, hovered closer to Harry. “What do you say? Shall we see how he tastes?” she asked with a wicked grin. The other five nodded simultaneously, mischievous smirks appearing on their faces. They formed a half circle in front of him and began closing in. Then they went in for the kill

Harry fell backwards into the grass, trying to shield himself as the creatures came at him from every angle, attempting to kiss every inch of his face that the could reach.

“Hey! That...that tickles!” Harry managed through his laughter as their wings and hair brushed against his skin.

The fairies pulled away a moment later, leaving Harry panting in the grass, his face flushed from laughing so hard. Circe, a yellow fairy, licked her lips, looking thoughtful.

“He tasted just like I thought he would,” she said, a small smile appearing on her face.

“Just like fresh apples after a rain shower,” Natura added. Her green glow brightened as she grinned at him. “You have very nice eyes.” She peered intently at Harry, who merely flushed a darker shade of red.

“They’re green like me, but they’re the most unique shade I’ve seen yet.”

“He’s just too adorable!” Circe exclaimed, pinching the small Gryffindor’s cheeks. “It’s so hard to come by someone this cute.”

“Well, maybe not that hard,” Aquilus added, catching sight of Draco for the first time. The other five turned to look at him as well.

“Maybe you’re right,” Flamma said, peering intently at the blonde. Behind the fairies, Draco saw Harry lie down and visibly relax. He looked relieved that they had left him alone.

“Your hair’s like silk,” Natura said, running her fingers through the blonde strands.

“So is Harry’s,” Circe added, perching herself on the small Gryffindor’s forehead. She buried her face in the jet-black locks, her own golden strands splaying over them and making a noticeable contrast.

“How do you know my name?” Harry asked, going slightly cross-eyed as he tried to look up at Circe.

“There were two students here very early this morning,” she replied. “One was a female with bushy brown hair and the other a male with red hair. I overheard them speak of a student who had been hit by a spell and put into the hands of his enemy. I heard the name Harry and figured it was you,” she said with a shrug. Circe then looked between Harry and Draco.

“You two don’t look like enemies, though,” she added, flashing them a mischievous smirk.

Before Draco could come back with a retort, she changed the subject completely. “Did you know your eyes are the same shade of grey as storm clouds?” she asked, smiling innocently as though she’d never said anything wrong. When she winked at him, he was forcibly reminded of the day before when he left the Room of Seasons and saw a group of fairies winking at him. They must be the same ones, he thought miserably.

Draco was brought out of his thoughts when Flamma spoke. “Speaking of storm clouds, we should seek shelter very soon. I haven’t seen clouds this dark for a long time. Dark clouds mean bad weather.” The blonde raised an eyebrow at her. Did it ever rain in here?

All six fairies took to the air.

“It would probably be best to wait this one out in the knothole of a tree,” Natura informed them. “If this is going to be as bad as it seems, hiding in a bush will be useless.” They all nodded in agreement before flying off, all except Aquarius.

“What do you have against water? I’d like to know!” she called out huffily before flying after them. Draco rolled his eyes before turning his gaze to Harry, who was sitting up and rubbing his forehead.

“I felt a raindrop,” he said, looking up at the blonde. Draco looked up at the rolling grey clouds. After feeling a drop on his nose, he felt that his previous question had been answered. A flash of lightning illuminated the room briefly, followed by a loud crack of thunder that caused Harry to yelp in surprise. The blonde searched the ground for his wand, but only found his Invisibility Cloak.

All of a sudden, it was as if the clouds had opened. The rain came down in icy sheets, drenching them within seconds. Draco gave up his search for his wand and grabbed Harry by the hand. He threw the wet cloak over them and proceeded out of the room.

Much to Draco’s relief, the corridors were empty. Their trip to the dungeons was an easy one. Their only problem was that the dungeons were a great deal cooler than the rest of the school. Harry clung to the blonde for warmth, but Draco could still hear the small boy’s teeth chattering. It was such a relief to get back to the dormitory. Draco threw the heavy cloak off of them and immediately hurried upstairs. After changing into warm dry clothes, he helped Harry do the same.

“I don’t feel good,” Harry said after Draco helped him put on a dry pair of socks. Draco sat back on his heels and looked at him. The small Gryffindor’s complexion was much paler than normal and his lips had taken on a blue tint. He was shivering violently. Having been a Slytherin for almost seven years, Draco was used to the cool atmosphere of the dungeons. It must have been the exact opposite for Harry, who had spent most of his time up on the seventh floor.

Draco carried Harry into his bedroom and laid him down on the bed. He propped up a couple of pillows so that Harry was in a sitting position. The blonde made his way over to his wardrobe, opened the door, and grabbed a vial of red potion from a shelf. Harry eyed it briefly before he sneezed. Draco sat on the edge of the bed and uncorked the vial.

“This will help you feel better,” he said as he helped Harry down some of the liquid. The small Gryffindor’s eyes widened as he coughed, a little bit of steam coming out of his ears. He then curled up under the blanket and yawned, causing Draco to do the same. The blonde lay down as well, staring up at the ceiling. Harry instinctively moved closer to him for warmth.

The last thought that crossed through Draco’s mind before drifting off was that even if he strongly disliked Harry, it was pretty difficult not to grow attached to him while he was in this state.