Remember?

Remember When

Fire flashed in Harry's eyes, blinding him momentarily. Spells bounced and ricocheted off walls, resulting in a light show that would have been beautiful, if it weren't so terrifying. Harry dodged a bright green spell, and ran. He ran and ran thinking 'Not again, not again'. And then he stopped. He stopped, and stared horrified at the sight before him. There lay Fred Weasley, his last smile still on his lips, and his normally bright eyes, dull and unseeing. Slowly, Harry backed away, and turned to run once more, but was once again, stopped in his tracks. In front of him was Dobby, cold and lifeless, and Remus beside him, his hand still intertwined with Tonks'. Everywhere Harry turned there were more. Lavender Brown's mangled body, Severus Snape and even his own parents lay before him. These were the people who had died for him, and here they were, silently judging him. Harry screamed and sobbed "I'm sorry", but his cries fell on dead ears. So he ran and he didn't look back until- "Harry?"

Harry's eyes flew open. Tears and sweat mingled on his face. He grabbed his glasses, and everything came into focus. He saw his wife, Ginny, staring at him, sympathetic.

"I'd rather not talk about it.", Harry whispered.

Ginny nodded, understanding. She got the nightmares too. She dreamed that Tom was controlling her again, and she dreamed of her brother, and the war.

They sat in silence for a moment. It wasn't an awkward silence, where one felt obligated to say something, and didn't know what, but a comfortable silence, between two old friends.

Finally, Harry spoke.

"Do you remember the explosions? The fire, the flashes of light?"

Ginny smiled wryly, "How could I forget? It's like it's seared into the back of my mind, always there to haunt me, as soon as I close my eyes."

There was another long silence between the two. A silence heavy with thought.

This time, it was Ginny who broke the silence.

"I dreamed tonight too."

Harry looked at her curiously.

"I dreamed that my brother was still alive, and we were having dinner as a family, like we used to. Remus and Tonks came by as a surprise, with Sirius in tow. We laughed as if we had no knowledge of the war, like we hadn't a care in the world. Fred and George were playing pranks, and apparating unnecessarily, and Mum was yelling at them, as per usual, but nobody minded, because they knew she didn't mean it. Remember when things were like that Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry murmured, "I miss that.

After a while, both Harry and Ginny managed to fall back asleep, holding each other tightly, and the sound of their gentle breathing in unison kept away the nightmares. And so instead, they dreamed of their future, and the happiness that was right within their grasp.