The Sleeping Princess

4- Sweet Dreams

Harry had gone to bed early that night after a round of laughter around the dinner table. He had quickly grown to enjoy Ron's company… it had been a long time since he had a good laugh. He went to bed wondering if he would have normal dreams for once or…?

He shook his head hard. 'Stop it,' he told himself. He tried to empty his head of all thoughts and dream without dreams tonight. Because seeing her wasn't helping with his life.

Who was she? For a long time now, he had been having very strange dreams… they started happening about a year ago… when a girl would appear… a girl he didn't even know.

He sighed as he shut his eyes and laid his head on the pillow and was asleep in no time. But then…

*Dream*

'Oh, no…' he thought as he opened his eyes to see that he was in the middle of a forest. 'That dream again…'

He looked around him, the tall enchanting trees towered over him as a gentle breeze of wind blew through his hair and clothes. He could hear birds chirping and knew that she would be here. He got up from where he laid and started wandering aimlessly through the trees, wondering how long it would take before he found her… what she was doing now. As he walked, he couldn't help but remember the first time he saw her.

About a year ago, he went to bed and dreamt of this very same forest. He had wandered through the trees for what felt like hours until he finally saw someone. It was a young woman standing among the trees looking so sad and lonely that he had to go up and talk to her.

But back to the present, he was ducking through the trees, looking around for his friend… and finally he spotted her there. A girl with beautiful red hair and brown eyes sitting underneath a large tree, as if waiting for someone; she glanced up when she heard him coming and smiled when she saw him.

"You came back," she asked as he came up to her. This was what she said whenever he came to her.

"I always do," he told her teasingly and she smiled brightly at him. He took his seat next to her and asked her, "So what's your name?"

She chuckled sadly. "I can't remember. You know that."

This time, it was his turn to laugh. "Never know when you might remember," he told her as she raised her eyebrows at him. He looked down at her lap to see that she had been weaving something from the grass. He merely sat back and watched as she exhaled wearily and her fingers relaxed around the grasses she held cradled in one palm.

Her long arched neck ached and her tense back ached from staying folded in the same position for such long hours that seemed to stretch on much longer than they ought to have done. She had the energy of a warrior spirit… he knew her well enough that her energy wanted to be free and untamed, leaping her onto treetops.

But she was also so gentle as she handled the project in her lap so delicately that he had no worries that it would break. "Do you remember when we first met?" he asked her and she gave him another beaming smile.

He remembered as if it had been yesterday. It had been after he had fallen asleep after a particularly hard day working with his father in the field. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and he was suddenly in this beautiful place.

He had walked on for so long that he was beginning to feel that he was trapped when, all of a sudden, he heard crying. He followed the sound of tears to the very girl next to him. She had been underneath a tree and continued to cry.

She looked so unhappy that he called out to her. But as soon as she heard his voice however and looked up to see him, she got up and ran.

"H-hey wait!" he had yelled and ran after her. He could only see the image of red hair as she disappeared into the trees. He pushed his way through the plant life, trying to follow—but he felt like he was just wandering around in circles. When he thought that he would never find her again, he heard her scream and ran on ahead. He remembered how he had burst through a clearing and spotted her… she had been trapped by thorns and vines, attempting to drag her into a deep pit.