Because I Deserve It - Drarry

Chapter 5

Harry was pissed. Didn't he deserve to spend one year, just one, in peace? He was annoyed with McGonagall. Couldn't he have at least been with at least one Gryffindor? He understood and admired her push for unity, but he felt much less gracious when it meant he had to sleep in the same room as Draco Malfoy.

He decided that he would take a quick shower to unwind before he had to sleep. He needed to relax.

As Harry stepped under the steaming water, he felt his muscles loosen. He sighed in contentment. He took far longer than necessary, but he felt like he deserved to be a little selfish. When he turned the water off, he walked out of the shower only to realize he had forgotten to bring a change of clothes. Damn. Harry wrapped his towel around his waist and poked his head out of the en-suite bathroom. He was surprised to see that the room was still empty. Feeling much less uncomfortable, he walked out and over to his trunk. But as he was about to lean down to grab some pajamas, he felt a draft of cold air on his still damp skin. Harry turned, startled.

Draco Malfoy stood there, looking at him. More specifically, his body. Harry didn't like it when people looked at his body. He hated seeing the pity in their eyes when they realized how skinny and underfed he was. So he fell back to his natural defense mechanism. Anger.

"Next time, knock! I thought you purebloods had manners!" He said angrily.

But Malfoy only smirked at him, glancing over him once more. "There's no need to knock when I'm sleeping here, Potter," he drawled. "Or did you forget that even the Golden Boy doesn't get a room all to himself?"

Harry was about to snap back a reply when he realized that Draco had not commented on his malnourished state. He closed his mouth, suddenly eager to escape. He grabbed his pajamas from his trunk and walked to the bathroom, slamming the door for dramatic effect. He took his time changing, hoping that Malfoy would bugger off in the meanwhile.

When he opened the door again, he was relieved to see that Malfoy's curtains were shut. He walked over to his own bed and clambered in, closing the curtains and rolling over, punching his pillow into a more comfortable shape. Sleep followed quickly, thank Merlin.

But what seemed like only minutes later, he was no longer thanking Merlin. His head was filled with images from the battle, bloody corpses screaming out his name and asking why he hadn't gone to the forest sooner.

Harry woke up in a cold sweat. At least it seemed like he hadn't screamed. That would have been embarrassing. The curtains suddenly felt they were suffocating him and he ripped them open. The room was dark and all the other beds were occupied, curtains shut. Harry stumbled out of his bed and groped blindly in his trunk for his map and invisibility cloak. After finding them, he swiftly walked to the door, opening and closing it as quietly as possible. He strode through the empty common room and exited to the dungeons. He felt much better in the cold, drafty corridors. He felt more awake now.

Harry knew there would be repercussions for coming to Hogwarts when his last memories of it had been filled with death, including his own. He could only be glad that it meant nothing more than the continuation of his nightmares, even though they seemed to be getting only worse.

Checking the map to make sure he wouldn't run into anyone, he wandered about the corridors under his cloak. With a start, he remembered that he no longer needed to sneak about; the 8th years were not forbidden from being out of bed in the middle of the night. Still, Harry preferred not to run into anyone so he kept the cloak on.

After a few hours, he made his way back to the common room. Casting a quick tempus, he discovered that it was nearly three 'o clock in the morning. He snuck quietly back to his room and chucked the map and cloak in his trunk before falling on top of his bed and immediately succumbing to slumber.