"NO! NO please. NOT JAMES!" hot tears rolled down Lily's face as she tossed and turned in their bed.
Her arms flailed against the sheets that had managed to wrap around her causing her to panic more as she struggled to be free. Strong arms gently woke her from her fit and she pressed her face into his chest as she sobbed. Her hands wrapped protectively around her stomach and his heart broke for her and whatever demons she'd been fighting in her dreams tonight. He drew her as close to him as possible and stroked her hair as she cried, leaning back into the pillows and whispering softly,
"I'm here, shh, it's okay, we're safe. No one is going to hurt you."
He kissed the top of her head and continued stroking the thick auburn hair belonging to the girl he loved so much. Her sobs were slowing, but to him, each shuddering breath she took still felt like someone was stabbing him in the gut. He knew what she'd been dreaming about, the last time they'd had to face him. It'd been a close call and they had both found it harder to bounce back from it, especially after having found out that she was pregnant only hours later. She stirred against him, his t-shirt still wet from the onslaught of tears that shook her small swollen body.
He wished he could do anything to help her sleep better; he'd given her every tonic he could find that wouldn't harm the baby. He'd asked everyone, from Healers to other mothers what to do for her. But the nightmares she endured were locked in a place so deep inside her head he felt he would never be able to reach them. So he held her and he promised to keep her from harm, whispering pretty things in her ear. Hoping beyond hope that one day he wouldn't have to make promises and say pretty things he didn't know if he could keep.
He knew without a doubt that he would do everything in his power to protect his family from the prophecy that had laid claim to their futures, even if it meant sacrificing himself. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her. She was the love of his life. The mother of their unborn child. She was everything he needed and wanted in this life and he would do anything to protect her to make her feel safe. And so he cradled her and stroked her back, praying for the strength to keep her safe, to keep his promises of love and protection.
"I love you more than anything in this world, Lily," he whispered into her hair, kissing the top of her head.
"I love you too," her body finally relaxed against his.
And though the nightmares will return for her in the nights to come, he would always be there, to wrap his arms around her and whisper his love in her ear.