Written for Wren as part of the ultimate fic exchange challenge. I hope you like it!

Words: 1,055

a thousand dreams for the world we will create

"Mum, wait!"

Hermione, who was just about to leave the room, turned around and leaned against the door frame.

"What is it, love?" She asked back into the darkened room.

For a moment, nothing was said. Her daughter Rose was still staring at her with big brown eyes, but even with the faint light that was shining through the open door from the floor, Hermione noticed that her 'little' girl was fidgeting nervously with her soft purple blanket.

"Rose, what's wrong?" The brown haired witch repeated softly and took a few steps further into the room. "Your father already left you stay up far longer than you are supposed to. You should already be asleep by now."

"I – I… can you sleep here tonight?" The fourteen-year old finally asked and continued to stare at her mother with big eyes.

Raising and eyebrow, Hermione decided to investigate this a little further; after all, her daughter hadn't asked her to stay the night for at least six years now.

Sitting down on one side of the bed, the successful witch reached out to take her daughter's hand in hers. She then flashed her a concerned look and due to the wonderful relationship the two of them shared, Rose knew that she should better explain her wishes.

"I – I can't sleep…"

Hermione had her suspicions where this was going, but she decided to say nothing for the moment and wait for her daughter to elaborate.

"It's just… every time I close my eyes… I have these pictures right before my eyes..."

"Nightmares?"

Rose sighed and nodded. Hermione did the same.

"I see. Would you mind telling me what they are about? Usually talking about them helps to deal with the fear."

The fourteen-year-old blinked, but in the end she nodded once more. "It's – It's usually always the same one… about you and dad… sometimes uncle Harry and aunt Ginny… and – and you're dying. Every time."

Tears were forming in her eyes and Hermione reached out to take her not-so-little girl into her arms.

She whispered words of nonsense into her ears and while she was thinking about what to tell her, her brown eyes wandered over to her daughter's desk, where she had dropped some of her Hogwarts things during her stay home at Christmas break.

"You are discussing the Battle of Hogwarts, aren't you?" She suddenly asked her daughter as a thought hit her.

Rose looked up and wiped the last remains of her tears away. "Yes, in history of magic…"

Sighing, Hermione once more tightened her arms around her. "Love, I know what you are thinking. But I'm fine, and so are your father, uncle and aunt. The war… it was… difficult, but we are all here and we won't leave you, okay?"

Rose sniffed, but nodded slowly.

"And Rose, there's no shame in having nightmares. Do you understand me?" Hermione asked upon seeing her daughter's expression.

The red-haired girl looked at her mother with sad brown eyes. "But – you and dad… you've all been so brave… and I… I'm having nightmares about something I wasn't even part of…. I – I just want to be like you!"

Despite her best efforts, Hermione chuckled. "Oh, Rose! Bravery isn't about having no fear at all, but rather admitting once fear. And I have had a lot of nightmares myself, so again, this is nothing to be ashamed of, love!"

Big brown eyes looked up with hope. "Really?"

The brown haired witch nodded. "Really."

"Will they ever go away?"

For a moment, Hermione didn't know what to say. She really thought – well, hoped – this conversation was over… mainly because she didn't want to scare her daughter in telling her that the nightmares she used to have about Bellatrix's torture were still haunting her more often than the witch would like…

"Eventually," was her final answer and she once more took her daughter's hand in hers. "But I have something for you that might help."

Curiously, Rose watched as her mother waved her wand and whispered a spell which the young girl hadn't yet heard of. After a view seconds, a small feather-y object landed in her mother's hands.

"This," Hermione explained and carefully handed her daughter one of her most prized possessions, "is a dreamcatcher."

Rose inspected it in awe. The dreamcatcher looked like a round net, held in all the different colours of a rainbow, and lovely pearls and feather's in matching colours were attatched delicate strings; which made it look like they were flying in the air.

"The net in the middle catches all the bad dreams and only let's the good one's through," Hermione explained softly and with another flick of her wand she glued it to the wall above the bed. "It will help you sleep."

Rose moved and hugged her mother tightly. "Thank you. It's beautiful!"

Hermione smiled and returned the embrace. "You are quite welcome, love," she whispered. "And yes, it is beautiful. Your father made it for me."

"He did?" Rose asked surprised.

The witch smiled and nodded; then tucked her daughter in like she had done years ago. "Yes. After the battle… I was really struggling with nightmares, so he made it for me."

Rose eyes went wide. "But – but don't you need it?"

Hermione smiled softly and kissed her daughter on the head. "You need it more. Now go to sleep, my love. The dreamcatcher will protect you."

Later that night, Hermione was snuggled up against her husband with her head on his chest and his strong arms were protectively wrapped around her.

"Are you sure you don't need it anymore, Mione?" Ron asked a little concerned as he was softly playing with a small strand of her hair. "The nightmares about Bellatrix… they're still haunting you in your sleep."

Hermione sighed and despite her best efforts, a shudder run down her spine. But she lifted her head carefully and looked at her husband with bright brown eyes that were sparkling with love.

"They will always be haunting me," she whispered and her voice was shaking a little. "And I love this dreamcatcher… and it means so much to me, but Rose needs it, too. And… I have you."

Ron looked surprised.

"I have you," Hermione repeated and kissed him softly on the lips, "And you can protect me better than every dreamcatcher in the whole wizarding world ever could."