Guardian Angels
Sa1boy
Chapter 1: Dreams
Draco was dreaming. More to the point, Draco was having a nightmare. There was nothing unusual or new about this nightmare. It was just like all the other nightmares that he had before this one. He was in an all too familiar place. Even in the dream, he knew that he had been here before. The setting was just ideal, logs on the porch and soft running water in the background. Yes, this was a familiar place, a safe place. Then she would appear. Every time Draco had this dream, the same figure would appear to him. This figure would sit next to him peacefully looking out into the distance, never once saying a word. She was beauty itself, always smiling the sweetest smile that Draco could ever hope to see. Surrounding her with a soothing glow was a beautiful red aura. The more Draco looked on her, the more he believed that she was an angel. The figure held out a hand and beckoned Draco to join her.
"What? Do you want me to come with you?"
A small nod from the glowing figure showed Draco her intent. Floating on thin air, he accompanied her away from the first scene into another. They were drifting over a sea of red. Upon closer examination, Draco saw that they were floating over a field of red poppies. The figure kept moving forward just slightly ahead of Draco leading the way, never turning, never sharing the destination. Draco would always follow.
"Where are you taking me?" He pleaded, "Please I don't understand. Why am I here?"
No response came from the angel who was looking on with a deep sadness in her eyes. Draco watched as the poppy field turned into a battlefield. In the distance, there was a spectacular battle. Wizards were shooting lighting bolts and spells at each other. Draco ducked one spell to see it go straight through his angelic guide.
"Am I dead? Oh, please gods don't let me be dead. I have never loved. Merlin, I have never even been touched by another. Are you an angel?" He asked in a pleading voice.
The angelic figure turned toward him shaking her head. To avoid his question, she raised her hand drawing Draco's attention with a pointing finger to a fight in the distance. One lone wizard was standing over another, deflecting the attacks of four Death Eaters. The protected wizard was cowering, kneeling on the ground, pleading with the Death Eaters to show mercy. 'How pathetic and weak the wizard looked,' thought Draco.
The Death Eaters continued pressing their assault against the courageously protective wizard. The gallant wizard was using his last reserves of strength to save his charge while the other whimpering wizard had turned his back to the attackers. Draco could hear the heroic wizard chanting a series of counter curses in his attempt to save them both. However, his noble efforts appeared to be quickly approaching an inevitable demise for the hapless pair.
At the sight of the approaching fatal conclusion, Draco wanted to flee. However, he had become frozen to the spot while still gazing at the horrific scene unfolding before him. Then as in all the previous dreams, the angelic figure floated away from him towards the battle. She approached the valiant wizard and entered his body, seeming to invigorate him with her power. Now energised, the undaunted wizard stood upright and pulled back his arms as if they were wings. A brilliant red flash emanated from him, throwing the Death Eaters back like rag dolls. Then as if the Death Eaters were never there, they vanished.
'What the hells?' Draco thought, 'where am I? Where did she go? Who is that wizard? Who is he saving?'
The answer to his last question shocked him when he looked down and saw himself crying on the ground. Next to the image of Draco lay the limp and lifeless body of the valiant wizard. Even with the additional powers of his dream guide, the final assault to save Draco's life had consumed all the gallant wizard's strength and powers. The brave wizard lay dead on the field where he had done battle.
'Why would I continue to dream this nightmare? What would make me continue to view that next scene, over and over again, as if it were the first time? Who would die for me?' Draco thought as he looked down at the fallen hero's face. He gasped in disbelief, 'No, it cannot be. He would not. But he hates me.' The face belonged to Harry Potter.
As if hearing voices in the distance Draco could hear someone calling his name.
"Draco! Draco, please wake up."
"No, not you," Draco woke with a start. Sitting up in his bed, he saw Blaise Zabini standing beside him.
"Draco, are you ok? You have been screaming in your sleep again, 'Have mercy,' you were screaming 'have mercy' over and over again and then …"
Draco abruptly cut his friend short. "Nonsense… Malfoy's do not scream in their sleep. A pure blood of my standing would never do something as unbecoming as scream in their sleep …"
It was Blaise's turn to interrupt as he attempted to make light of the situation in a sexy voice. "Whatever you say gorgeous, but this is the fifth time this week. I think you have an issue that needs resolving. The tension you keep bottle inside is having its effect. Let me get in the bed with you and I'll help…"
"Finish that statement at your peril, Zabini." Draco snarled. He pushed Blaise out of the way, got out of bed, donned his dressing gown, picked up a towel and went for a long shower.
Draco was all too aware that memories of that dream had been plaguing him for the last two months since starting his sixth year at Hogwarts. On each occasion, he was in the presence of the ethereal lady. Each dream started in a lovely poppy field that looked like a picture postcard and ultimately ended with himself saved by his biggest and longest standing enemy, Harry Potter.
Draco did not understand the dreams. How could he? 'They were not very erotic. They were weird. Well, not unless you class having your own hero as erotic. Stop that!' Draco thought. 'Maybe it was a spell that Potter has cast on me. No that is nonsense.'
Since getting back to school, Draco has made a special effort to avoid Potter. To be honest, the fighting over the last five years had taken a toll on him. He did not get any pleasure out of it any more. Draco had stolen Potter's invisibility cloak near the end of fifth year and used it, to his own detriment, to discover that almost everyone at school hated his guts. Everyone hated him, that is except Blaise, whom Draco felt had a very unhealthy and lascivious attitude toward anyone with a pulse and a hole. Overwhelmed by this knowledge, Draco spent the entire summer holidays lonely and miserable.
On his return to Hogwarts, Draco decided to concentrate on his studies. Additionally, he decided to make a friend with someone, for once, that he did not intimidate. The thought of making such a friend was getting more complicated with the unsettling feelings that surfaced in his mind from his recent dreams. Moreover, being a Malfoy had a major disadvantage for Draco when it came to showing a pleasant disposition.
o
"Harry. Harry, wake up. It's Quidditch practise in twenty minutes." Ron shouted at Harry who was not exactly a morning person. Harry awoke from what could only be described as a troubled sleep.
It was all too familiar for the boy-who-lived to have nightmares. They were unfortunately part of the job titles, which were namely Boy wizard, Boy-who-lived, Saviour of the wizarding world, Marked man and Nightmare sufferer.
These past two months had been different though. The same dream seemed to haunt him and he could not get the image out of his head.
A beautiful glowing figure with a bright green aura around her disturbed his sleep. The angelic figure led him floating from his cosy nap to a sweeping field of red poppies where they could go no further.
"Where, am I? I don't understand." Harry would ask again, and again.
The mysterious figure would point at a horrific battle in the near distance. The Battle was always between four Death Eaters and a wizard protecting another's life. Harry was looking at himself fighting to save another wizard's life. In spite of his best effort, he saw that his dream-self failed and perished. Then following quickly, there was the other wizard dying a horrible painful death.
This dream was no better and no different. Harry watched helplessly as four Death Eaters rounded on and killed their last victim. It was a gruesome death. The Death Eaters tortured the defenceless victim until they became bored with his agonising screams. They finished the unbearable ordeal by using a blasting curse that caused the left side of his face to explode. He was the same victim that died in all of the other dreams. The victim was Draco Malfoy.