Life From the Start

Chapter 9: As He Gets Older

"Give this to Potter at night, Draco." Snape ordered as he handed the blond a vial of green liquid.

Draco eyed the potion warily and nodded, pocketing the vial in his pocket. It was that time again. The time to age Potter. Draco always dreaded the day Severus would come to his quarters and hand him a vial of the aging potion. He didn't want Harry to turn older; he wanted to keep the brunet young, innocent, and most importantly, not remembering any of his real memories. Draco hated that the potion aged Harry by so many years. It would've been fine if it only turned Harry to a four year old, but Snape told him it was to make Harry turn seven.

"Should I mix it with his drinks again?" Draco asked; the Potions Master looked at Draco's subdue expression and nodded.

"Put it with his pumpkin juice or whatever Potter likes to drink for dinner." Snape told the blond, "The potion will activate once Potter falls asleep. By tomorrow morning, he will be seven years of age."

"Just like last time… He'll change at night." Draco murmured; he breathed in deeply and looked at Snape, "I'm assuming the playroom will become Harry's bedroom from now on?"

"Yes, by tonight that room will become his sleeping quarters. All this clothes, toys will change to fit a seven year old."

"I see…" Draco whispered.

Snape sighed and stood up from his seat—they were both sitting in the living room.

"Don't think too much on it, Draco." Snape said, putting a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder. "You know Potter will age back. It's inevitable."

"I know that, Professor… I just wanted more time with a young Harry that's all." Draco muttered; he looked up at the standing man. "I have to go wake Harry up… get him ready and all that…" Draco stood up and walked slowly back to his bedroom, where Harry was still sleeping.

Snape watched as Malfoy walked back to his room with his head down. Shaking his head, Severus made his way to the front portrait and left, to get ready for the first class of the day.

HPDMHPDM

Draco sighed softly, his hand brushing Harry's hair back. The toddler also sighed and nuzzled into Draco's touch.

"You'll be back to your old self soon…" Draco said quietly, "My time with you is running short."

Harry scrunched up his face and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a couple of times, getting the haziness away. When he saw Draco hovering above him, Harry's face broke into a wide smile.

"Dway… Mornin'?" Harry yawned audibly; he giggled when Draco's fingers tickled his cheeks.

"Yes sleepyhead, it's morning." Draco chuckled when Harry rubbed his eyes with his small fists and rolled onto his stomach.

Harry pushed himself to a sitting position, looking half awake. He let out another yawn before he held his arms up, wordlessly asking to be picked up. Draco obliged and lifted the toddler and into his arms where Harry immediately snuggled into his embrace.

"Dway… Wat's for bwekfast?" Harry asked, his small hands playing with the ends of Draco's hair.

Draco shifted Harry, bouncing the toddler in his arms. Harry laughed and gave a small peck on Draco's cheek. By now, Malfoy was used to the little kisses Harry gave him every morning.

"Are you really that hungry? Everytime I wake you up, you ask for breakfast." Draco chided with a smile on his face. "We're having pancakes today. Your favorite."

Harry's green eyes lit up, "Wif seerup on tops?"

"Yes love, with syrup on top."

"I wuv seerup… sticky seerup." Harry said; he was once again snuggling into Draco. "Wuv seerup like Dway."

Draco rolled his eyes at the toddler's comment; it was one of those sappy moments. Not that he minded.

No, not at all.

"Are you saying I'm sticky like syrup, Harry?" Draco asked, arching one eyebrow at the brunet.

Harry smiled and shook his head, "No. I juss wuv Dway lots. More den seerup."

Draco chuckled and walked out the bedroom, with Harry babbling about syrup and pancakes.

HPDMHPDM

"Dway! My bed is not dere!" Harry cried out.

It was just after classes and Harry had whined about being tired and sleepy the whole way they were walking back to their quarters. After Draco had said the password to the portrait, Harry made a beeline to the bedroom. Now, he was standing exactly where his small bed was. Except… the bed wasn't there.

Draco had calmly followed the toddler to the bedroom; he chuckled when Harry began looking around for his bed.

Harry let out a sob and toddled over to the blond; Draco sighed and picked up the crying Harry.

"Dway… you don't wants me to sleep with you no more?" Harry asked as tears trailed down his chubby cheeks. "My bed not here…"

"Hush Harry, you bed is moved to another room." Draco said, combing his fingers through Harry's dark hair. "You're… a big boy now and big boys sleep by themselves."

It was so hard to explain to a three year old that he was going to turn seven by tomorrow morning.

"Buh I don't wanna!" Harry cried, "I wants Dway!" Harry buried his head in Draco's shoulder and cried loudly. "You don't luv me no more…"

"Now Harry, you know that's not true." Draco whispered, "It's just that… you're uh… going to be older than you are now."

Draco rolled his eyes; this all sounded confusing, even to himself.

"An' dat why I sleeps in 'nuther room?" Harry sniffed; Draco sighed and kissed Harry on the forehead.

"I'm not going to be that far; my room is next to yours. I promise you, Harry, I'll be there if you need me." Draco vowed, "And you can always come to my room. The door is always opened."

"Kay…" Harry nodded then rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "Can I go sees the new room?"

"Of course…" Draco murmured and with Harry in his arms, walked to the room next to his.

When he opened the door to the previously known playroom, Draco gently placed Harry on the ground and let the toddler run around, looking at the decors. Harry poked and prodded his new bed; it was way bigger than his old one and a bit higher. The green eyed baby tried climbing on his bed but failed. After two tries, Harry 'humphed' and gave up, instead running to one of the shelves filled with books and figurines.

"Ohh… Dway wat is dat?" Harry asked, pointed at a floating, miniature Firebolt in one of the shelves.

Right there and then, Draco wondered if Harry remembered any of his experiences on brooms. He wondered if by looking at the miniature Firebolt, would Harry remember playing Quidditch against the Slytherins. Draco shook his head, clearing all thoughts. He walked up to Harry and bent down a little to peer at the floating broom.

"That is a Firebolt, a type of broom." Draco explained to the toddler, "When you are old enough, maybe I'll let you fly."

"Weally? I can fly?" Harry asked, his green eyes wide. "Da broom can fly?"

Draco chuckled and ruffled Harry's hair, "Not that tiny broom, but yes, you can ride them. But there would be no flying in the rooms. You can only do it outside."

"Ohh… Can I fly now?"

Draco took one of Harry's hands and walked to the brunet's bed; he lifted Harry up and plopped the young child on top.

"Only when you're bigger, Harry." Draco told the brunet; Harry pouted but nonetheless nodded. "Well, look at it this way Harry, you're a big boy now aren't you?"

"I sleeps in big room so I is big boy." Harry nodded once and crossed his arms. "Dat means I can ride the broom!"

Draco's smile faltered; Harry was right. He would be a big boy, and soon. Draco had calculated that he would only probably have around two months with a young Harry. After that, Harry would be back to normal and Draco would never have the chance to be near him again. It was painful to think about, but just as Severus said: it was inevitable. Draco sighed and put his smile back on, reached out and caressed Harry's soft cheek.

"Yes, you're a big boy… before you know it you will be doing many things you can't do now."

'One of those things would be hating me again…' Draco thought sadly.

Harry smiled then let out a shaky yawn; the toddler promptly rolled onto his stomach, his head on the pillow. Draco chuckled and tucked the boy in; he planted a soft kiss on Harry's cheek before straightening himself.

"I'll wake you up when it's time to eat dinner okay?"

Harry cracked his eyes opened and nodded sleepily; he then stuck his thumb in his mouth and went to sleep. Draco patted Harry's head and left the toddler to his afternoon nap.

HPDMHPDM

"What do you want to drink tonight, Harry?" Draco asked the squirming toddler.

Tonight, Draco chose to eat in their quarters since he had to give Harry the potion. The blond was quite sure that Harry would fall asleep right after taking the aging potion, just like the last time he took it. This was why Draco made Harry choose his drink after all food was eaten. He even gave Harry his shower already; usually he would bathe the young child after dinner because of all the messes Harry made.

"Uhm…" Harry tilted his head to the side and thought for a second. He grinned at Draco and pointed at the pitcher that held cold pumpkin juice. "I want dat! I want da pukmin juice."

"It's pumpkin juice, love." Draco laughed and reached for the pitcher. He took Harry's small cup and poured in the juice.

After putting the pitcher back on the table Draco plucked Harry from his chair and placed the toddler onto his own lap. Under Harry's watchful eyes, Draco took out the small vial and uncorked it.

"Dway wat's dat? It's green! Is dat pumkin juice, too?"

Malfoy shook his head in the negative, "No… it's not. But this will make your juice taste better."

He felt his chest tightened when he told the lie. Draco hated having to lie to Harry; but he had to do it. Draco couldn't explain to the toddler that the green potion would make him age; Harry would never understand that.

"Oh… So dat makes my juicy yummy?" Harry grinned and held his cup in his hands. Draco nodded and tipped the vial over Harry's cup, watching the green liquid blend with the orange. The pumpkin juice bubbled a bit and then, it looked normal again. "Can I drink it now?" Harry asked, bending his head to take a sip.

"Yeah, sure, you can." Draco said; he watched as Harry took three gulps before putting the cup on the table.

Draco held Harry tighter and waited for the glowing green light; it came a minute later and Harry slumped in his arms. Letting out a shaky breath, Draco stood up-—toddler and all—-and made his way to Harry's bedroom. Exactly like last time, Harry was dressed in sleeping garments that would normally fit a seven year old; Draco thought the clothes would be way too big, even when Harry would become seven. Draco looked down at the sleeping boy and smiled; Harry's head lolled in his arms.

Padding across the room, Draco finally reached the bed where he put Harry down gently. He pulled the blankets up, under Harry's chin; it was snowing outside and Draco could hear the howling winds. Christmas was a week away and Malfoy smiled at the idea of having to spend it with a seven year old Harry. He looked up and saw Eddy the teddy next to Harry's pillow. When Harry woke up from his afternoon nap earlier, the first thing he did was cry for Draco. The blond had rushed in and was by Harry's bed in a matter of seconds. After seeing his guardian in the flesh, Harry then asked Draco to bring him Eddy, who was still in Draco's room, on top of the bureau of Harry's clothes. When Malfoy brought Eddy, Harry took it from Draco and planted the bear firmly next to his pillow.

Draco sighed and smoothed back Harry's messy locks. "I think I'll get you something else for Christmas… Would you like a broom, Harry? I'm sure you'll like a kid broom." Draco murmured to himself.

It was quite likely that Draco would have to take Harry outside to Hogsmeade, where wizards and witches alike would see the de-aged Potter. He would have to take that risk since it was the only way for him to buy the present for Harry. Draco smiled softly and after checking that there were no complications from Harry, he retired to his own rooms where for the rest of the night, he tossed and turned, thinking how life would be with a seven years old Harry Potter.

HPDMHPDM

The very first thing Draco noticed upon waking up was a very heavy weight on his stomach. Because of being half awake, Draco thought there was a pile of bricks on him.

It was nonsense, he knew.

When the weight on his stomach started bouncing up and down, Draco had no choice but to open his eyes, to make sure that there weren't some sort of jumping bricks on his body. So, when he cracked one eye opened, Draco was greeted with the sight of a seven year old Harry sitting on his abdomen.

Harry smiled down at his Draco when he saw that the blond had opened his eyes. He bounced once more for good measure; Draco let out an 'oof' and tried to still Harry.

"Draco! You're up! I called you a couple of times but you never answered so I came to your room! I kinda remember you telling me I can… So I did!" Harry grinned and bounced again, "But then you were still sleeping and I watched you for a few minutes… Then I tried waking you up by poking you… and now I'm here!" Harry laughed when Draco arched an eyebrow at the excited kid.

"You little monster! Is this how you wake people up? By jumping on them?" Draco growled playfully and went on to tickle Harry, who squealed and tried rolling off Draco's stomach but was trapped when the blond held on tight. "That's what you get for bouncing on me early in the morning."

Harry laughed audibly and rolled; this time Draco let him. But instead of letting Harry slid off the bed, Draco held on to Harry's arm to prevent escape. Malfoy sat up, twisted his upper body and continued with his tickling. Harry cried out in surprised and squirmed; he then head butted Draco and went straight into Malfoy's arms.

"Stop it, Draco… I'm sorry for jumping on your stomach," Harry looked up at the blond and batted his eyes adorably; Draco snorted and thought that Harry should be in the Slytherin house.

"Alright, I forgive you." Draco huffed and messed up Harry's hair. "Where's my morning kiss, Harry?" Draco smirked, but then he gasped when Harry grinned at him and gave him the kiss.

"Sorry I forgot… I was too busy trying to wake you up." Harry said with a smile; he sighed and snuggled into Draco's chest.

Draco was still shocked on the fact Harry gave him the kiss. He had thought that, since Harry was now seven, the boy would feel he was too old to be giving morning kisses. But Draco was wrong. It seemed… Harry didn't really care. Judging from the look of things, a seven-year-old Harry wasn't too bad. At least now, Draco didn't have to deal with all those tantrums.

“Hey, did you even brush your teeth yet?” Draco asked suddenly; Harry laughed and looked up at Draco. He stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry.

“Nope! I was trying to wake you up… I forgot.” Harry said cheekily and scrambled off Draco’s lap when the blond made a grab at him.

“Go brush your teeth! You just kissed me without brushing your teeth!” Draco laughed and trailed after the laughing Harry.

Twenty minutes later, Harry emerged from his bedroom, dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, a thick grey sweater, and had actually wrapped a scarf around his neck. Draco chuckled and for the first time since waking up, he had a good look at Harry.

All the baby fat was gone, leaving Harry to become a skinny little boy. In Draco’s opinion, Harry didn’t really grow too much; the top of the brunet's head now reached Draco’s hips. Malfoy guessed Harry was about four feet tall, maybe even less than that. He frowned when he saw how big the sweater and jeans looked on Harry. One thing that didn’t change at all was Harry’s mop of hair; it was still as messy as before. It flopped in ten different directions and no matter how hard Harry combed it, it stayed that way.

“Dracoooo… I’m hungry,” Harry whine as he sat down at the dining table. “Where’s breakfast?”

“You know, you are always asking for food… but you’re still so small and thin.” Draco chided; Harry shrugged.

“I’m a growing boy so I need more food.” Harry replied; he wiggled his chair closer to the blond and folded his hand on top of the table, waiting for his breakfast to appear. “Wonder what we’re having today? I really want some pancakes…”

“We had that yester--” Draco trailed off; he bit his lip and stopped talking altogether.

“Yesterday? Yeah, I know. But I want pancakes today, too.” Harry smiled and started swinging his legs.

Draco was taken aback and stared at the sitting boy next to him. “You remembered? You remember having pancakes yesterday?”

‘How can that be?!’

“Yeah… why wouldn’t I?” Harry frowned, “I even remember having syrup on top as well. Oh, and you said I can fly on a broom… or something like that.” Draco sucked in a breath and held it; Harry tilted his head and touched Draco’s arm. “Is something wrong, Draco?”

“No-no… Nothing’s wrong…” Draco murmured; Harry shrugged again and muttered ‘yes!’ when plates appeared on the table.

Draco watched silently as Harry began cutting the pancake into tiny pieces before spearing them with his fork. Malfoy’s mind was still whirling; Harry actually remembered the things that happened yesterday when supposedly Harry was still three then…

‘Merlin… Does that mean Harry’s going to remember everything?’

HPDMHPDM

A/N: Here's a new chapter for you all! ^_^ Thanks for reading! :D