Draco's POV

Darkness. Complete darkness. Then suddenly, a massive flame ripped through the space in front of Draco. It slowly got bigger and bigger, turning into different animals and lunging at the boy.

"AHHH!" Draco screamed, taking as many steps back as he could, before running into a large barrier. The flames surrounded him while he whimpered in fear. A snake, lion, badger, and eagle took form from the dancing flames, seemingly mocked him. They moved closer and closer. Draco spun around to only to see that on top of what looked to be a cliff, was his father watching down on him.

"Father! Save me please!" He begged while sobs escaped him. "Father please!"

Lucius' face remained passive as he spoke. "You're no son of mine. I have no son."

Draco watched helplessly as his father turned on his heel and walked away. Tears streamed down his face as he turned around and stared at the flames to began to engulf him.

"Stop!" He woke with a shout, shaking in cold sweat. He swiftly got up and walked to the bathroom. He stared at his pale face, it had a grey tinge, just like during his sixth year when he was panicking because of Voldemort's task for him. Holding a hand over his chest, he tried to slow his heart. Silently, he thanked Merlin for remembering to put up silencing ward around his bed before he went to bed. Ugh, I hate these living conditions. I knew McGonagall wanted more house unity but I didn't realize I would be living IN the Gryffindor Tower.

Earlier, at the Welcome Feast, the new headmistress had explained how a member of every house would be sharing a room. It was just bad luck that Draco got put into the Lion Tower. Or is it good luck? I do get to see Potter more often now. He started shaking his head. Stop. Do not think about Potter like that. Besides, having to room with Longbottom is not worth the slight chance I get to see Potter. When everyone realized they'd have to share a room with a Slytherin, there was an uproar. When Justin Finch Fletchy, Neville Longbottom, and Ravenclaw Christian Collins learned that they'd be living with a former death eater, they almost hexed Draco the moment he walked in. Although he wasn't turned into a frog, everyone made it very clear how they felt about the Malfoy.

I can't really blame them. I wouldn't want to share a room with me either. He took a few more deep breaths, before walking out and down the stairs. He knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, so what was the point of going back to bed? Walking into the common room, he glanced around. Red and gold everywhere made Draco miss the dimmer, but just as nice Slytherin Common Room. Chairs were neatly tucked away, unlike when he went to bed. The sofa by the fireplace would've seemed cozy to anyone but Draco. The last time he sat near fire, he had an anxiety attack. His therapist said it was his trigger, while Draco just scoffed. "Malfoy's don't have triggers" he had said. Nonetheless, he still avoided fire.

Finally, he decided to leave the common room, not caring about the rules he was breaking. He'd never been a fan of late night exploring and only went when absolutely necessary. And when Potter was involved. He wandered around, completely zoned out. It could have only been a few minutes or a few hours. He had no idea. All he knew was that he somehow ended up on the Astronomy Tower. Why did I have to come here? As if my nightmares haven't been torturing me enough. Draco tried his best not to think about the events that happened in that exact spot, and turned around, only to find messy haired Potter boy staring at him.

"Umm hi." Harry looked equally as surprised as Draco.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" After Harry spoke, it took Draco a second to register what had been said.

"Oh. I was looking for a place to be alone."

"Then I can go if you want."

"No, no it's okay." Draco stared into Harry's eyes. "Please stay. It might actually be nice not being alone for once."

"Alright, if you say so." The half-blood boy sat near the edge of the tower, watching Draco until he did the same.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence until Harry finally spoke up. "So, why are you up this late?"

Malfoy hesitated before speaking. "Nightmares."

"Yeah me too. You wanna talk about it?"

"NO," he snapped. Harry just stared at him in surprise.

"It's okay if you don't. I just want to make sure you're okay."

Draco sighed. "I know and I'm sorry. I'm just not ready to talk about it."

"That's okay. Frankly, I'm not either."

In this moment, Draco saw how worn down the other boy is. He had a tired look on his face that could only appear because of unspeakable horrors. They've both been through too much for their age he thinks. They just sit beside each other in silence, both enjoying each other's company. Sometimes, no words are needed to understand exactly how someone is feeling. They were both exhausted because of life, and all they needed was someone who understands. For Draco, he'd never had someone like that. Although Harry had Ron and Hermione, it was easier sometimes to be with someone who didn't know you as well.

Draco's mind was racing. He thought about everything that could have been different if that one thing hadn't happened. If Harry had accepted his friendship, would Draco still have become a death eater? If Draco hadn't been a selfish brat, would Harry liked to be friends? Why was it so important to Draco that his friends were not muggle-born? Now after the war, the only groups are the dead people and the people that cheated death. None of that matters anymore, why did it before? Why did it take the destruction of the wizarding world for him to realize?

Breaking the silence Draco spoke up. "I don't think we're as different as we thought we were."

Harry turned to look at the blonde. "What do you mean?"

"We're both just boys who could've had it all, but somehow was left with nothing."