The Boy Who Lived

Nightmares

Unfortunately, it was as if Harry had cast a curse on Draco's sleep. At some time gone two in the morning, he was woken by screaming. He rushed down the corridor, only half-dressed, to be confronted by Kreacher wringing his hands outside Draco's door.

'He is locking his door, Master Potter,' Kreacher offered. 'He is being waking Teddy if he is always shouting.'

Harry didn't need to hesitate to know that the sudden rush of adrenalin had affected his magic. He reached for the door handle, and just as had happened previously, the door handle sizzled beneath his fingers and fell off.

He waved the door open impatiently and rushed into Draco's room. In the semi-gloom he could work out Draco thrashing in his sleep, his covers thrown off. He was crying out, screaming, 'NO! NO! DON'T TOUCH HIM! PUNISH ME INSTEAD!'.

Harry knelt on the bed and grabbed Draco's flailing arms, holding them before he injured himself.

'Draco, Draco,' he called. 'Draco, you need to wake up, you're having a nightmare.'

'Yes, kill me instead!' Draco's face was contorted with fear.

'Draco, Draco, please,' Harry called desperately. 'Wake up! You're having a nightmare...'

Hercules barked once, short and sharp, from beside the bed.

Draco's eyes shot open as he gasped loudly and he sat bolt upright, seeming to hold his breath as if he'd just plunged into ice-cold water.

Harry loosened his grip. 'You're okay, Draco, it was a nightmare,' he said softly.

Draco looked at Harry wildly before flinging himself at him. 'Oh Salazar,' he was gasping for his breath, 'I thought he was going to kill you.' His head buried into Harry's bare chest as he held on tight.

'It's okay, just a nightmare,' Harry murmured again. 'It's not real, we're safe. Draco, you need to lie down properly to sleep,' he offered quietly.

'Yes,' he murmured, still half-asleep, and he pulled Harry down next to him and huddled against Harry's chest, his breathing uneven, panicked.

'It's okay,' Harry repeated. 'I've got you,' he murmured against Draco's hair. His own heart was thumping wildly, probably as much as Draco's, with adrenalin from being pulled from his sleep and from seeing Draco so defenceless and distressed. 'Breath, Draco. It's okay. It wasn't real.' He stroked Draco's hair, carding his fingers through it at the nape of his neck and he felt Draco relax against him.

And he didn't know what possessed him, maybe it was the naturalness of playing with Draco's hair to sooth him, or the way his own head was turned so that his lips were buried into his soft hair which smelt of his bath and of rosemary and eucalyptus, but Harry found that he had gently kissed the top of Draco's head as he held the man against him and comforted him. Of course, as soon as he'd done it, he realised he'd unconsciously crossed a boundary and he froze. Luckily, Draco was drifting off to sleep or he was so sleepy and didn't seem to notice.

Gradually, Draco's breath evened out until Harry heard it deepen and knew the blond man had fallen back to sleep in his arms. He lay there for some time, feeling his own heart slowly calming.

He groaned silently when Draco unconsciously snuggled closer into the crook of Harry's arm with his arm flung across Harry's chest, unsure if he could deal with this.

He was acutely alert to the fact that as he was only half-dressed, Draco's head was resting against his bare chest. At least he slept in pyjama bottoms; the scenario could have been far worse. Though he wasn't sure how much worse it could get than have one's old nemesis and latest crush sleeping obliviously against one while trying to contain surging and potentially dangerous magic.