Unsweet Dreams
Okay, this is my first piece of Harry Potter fanfiction. I know that this has probably been done a million times, but considering I've never interacting with the fandom I didn't get this idea from anyone else, I swear. The characters might be a little off, and I apologize.
Please enjoy.
"Tell me!"
"It's just a copy-I swear! Just a copy! Not again, please, pl-" Her pleas were cut off by another fresh wave of agony. She was screaming and thrashing, she could feel her limbs hitting the floor. It was pain worse then anything she'd ever felt in her life, it was consuming her, every thought and bit of reason. She wanted it to end, even death must be better then this.
"AHH! NO!"
Hermione sat bolt upright in bed, sobbing. Her breaths were labored and uneven. There was a lingering sense of terror in her, icy and sharp. She could still feel the pain burning through her body, hear Bellatrix's demands for information. She let out a whimper and leaned against the back of the bed, sobbing quietly.
"Hermione?"
She tried to respond, but she couldn't find her voice. She looked towards the source of the sound, and saw that the other occupant of the bed was awake as well.
"Hermione, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" He asked, sitting up and gingerly reaching a hand towards her. She didn't stop him, and he proceeded to tuck a lose strand of her hair behind her ear.
She nodded, a fresh wave of tears rolling down her face. "Ron, it-it was about that night. Wi-with her." Hermione shuddered and closed her eyes.
She heard Ron shuffle closer, and wrap an arm around her shoulder. He stroked her hair absentmindedly, and when she opened her eyes again he was looking at her anxiously. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"It-it's not that I'm scared it'll happen again," Hermione began, leaning into Ron's touch. "I just can't forget-no matter how hard I try. It was years ago, Ron, I should be over it-I mean, Harry was tortured when he was fourteen and he didn't have nightmares about it eight years later. I'm just scared that-that I'll never forget. That I-I'll always have these nightmares. Until I-I die." She began to sob again, hating herself for reacting like this. It was eight years ago. Why couldn't she forget?
Ron pulled her closer, and she felt his lips gently kiss the top of her head. "Hermione, you know as well as I do that Harry had nightmares about what happened in the graveyard every night for months. He still has nightmares about what happened in the forest, he told us on the anniversary of He Who Must Not Be Named's defeat. I still have nightmares about all the crap that we went through. It's normal to have nightmares about what that woman did to you, even this long afterwards."
Hermione took a deep, shaky breath, and rested her head on Ron's shoulder. "It-it doesn't stop me from being-being scared. I know that sounds si-silly, but I'm still af-afraid of...her. More then I am-of You Know Who. More then I was, at least." She said shakily. Her tears had stopped, but the fear was still there, lingering inside her.
Ron pulled her even closer, and shushed her gently. "Darling, she's dead. She's gone, and she'll never hurt you again. It's alright to still be afraid of her, as long as you know that." He laced his fingers into her cold, shaky ones.
"I-I do." Hermione choked, shutting her eyes. She could feel exhaustion urging her to return to sleep, but she feared that she would re-enter her nightmare.
"Do you want me to make you some tea?" Ron asked, slightly shifting away from her.
"That'd be nice." Hermione answered, squeezing his hand before she let it go. She untangled herself from him and leaned against the back of the bed.
"Let's get some light in here," Ron said casually, reaching for the Deluminator on his nightstand. He clicked it, and the lamps in the room flickered on. Hermione hadn't noticed that they'd been in the dark until light flooded the room.
Ron walked towards the door, but before he opened it he turned to Hermione. "Are you going to be alright? I'll be back in a few minutes."
Hermione gave him a weak smile. "I'll be fine." She said, reaching for an album on her bedside. "I'll look through this."
Ron smiled back at her, and left the room. Hermione carefully fingered the leather cover of the album, and slowly opened it. She turned past the title pages, and smiled as she saw photos of herself in her first year at Hogwarts. Her younger self looked so bright and cheerful as she grinned at the camera, wand in one hand and a large book in the other. She flipped through the pages, watching herself grow older and older. Soon fluffy Crookshanks was present in the photos, and eventually her large front teeth became normal sized. Her hair shrunk to a normal volume, and she was smiling less. Then the pictures from Hogwarts abruptly stopped, and the pictures afterwards were from occasions like her birthday, vacations, and her wedding.
"Feel a little better?"
Ron had re-entered the room, carrying two cups of tea. He handed one to her and took a sip out of the other. She took it gratefully, and drank the warm liquid.
"A little bit," she answered in between sips, "Thanks for the tea."
"Of course," Ron answered, sitting down next to her. They sat in silence for a little bit while they both drank their tea. Once the cups were empty, Ron gathered them and placed them on his nightstand.
He shuffled closer to Hermione."Do you want to try and go back to sleep? I'll stay up with you if you think you aren't ready."
"No," Hermione said, "No, no. I want to sleep. I don't think I'll have the nightmare again."
"Alright," Ron said, clicking the Deluminator. The lights went out, and Hermione slipped underneath the blankets. She heard Ron do the same, and she snuggled close to him. He wrapped his arms around her, and she let her body relax against his. She could feel her mind going blank as she drifted off to sleep. Just before she lost consciousness, she felt Ron gently kiss her forehead.
"Sweet Dreams."