*Okay, sorry it's been so long since the last update (I thought I was meant to have more free time in the holidays apparently not :L ) but here here it is!*
"You need to take this one."
"What is it?"
"A Dream Wash. It will make you fall asleep, but yours dreams will be much more vivid and symbolic, there might be memories – it'll drag up all the dirt of your subconscious. It's like the reverse of Dreamless Sleep, used to get the mind to process everything rapidly so you wont have a breakdown in the middle of a battle or something. You're in for a hell of a night."
"Oh joy."
Draco snorted. "Bottoms up, P- Harry."
Harry rolled his eyes, grimaced, and gulped the potion down. If it helps win the war. He was asleep in moments.
.
"Cedric... Cedric wake up, please, wake up!... Sirius? Sirius where are you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean it! She made me! *gasp* You? What did you do with Sirius? No – no, I didn't! No, I won't! He wouldn't! Aargh!"
He jolted awake, gasping, the image of Bellatrix crossed with Sirius still burnt across the back of his eyelids. Someone was holding him, murmuring "It's just a dream, it isn't real. You're safe, you're okay. Go back to sleep." He let the lies wash over him, lulling him into a false sense of calm as the potion dragged him back to his dreams...
And so the pattern continued until he was shouting and screaming himself hoarse as the potion took full effect. Draco wanted nothing better than to wake him up, but to do so would ruin the point of the potion.
He simply held him in his arms and when Harry woke he told him they were only dreams, wiped the sweat off his forehead with the corner of his robe.
It brought back a weird sense of De-Ja-Vu which he traced down till he could remember a time when he was seven and suffered terrible nightmares for weeks after stumbling in on his fathers Death-Eater-Reunion party.
His mother had comforted him back then herself, stroking his hair, telling him he was okay and the nightmares weren't real; whether or not they were. She had held him like this and sung softly, because that had been the only thing which made him feel safe.
So when Harry woke up again shouting and begging, Draco slipped into verse, and in this surreal state he rocked gently back and forth, reciting the old lullaby
You spotted snakes with double tongue,
Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;
Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong,
This boy's as safe as he could be
Weaving spiders, come not here;
Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence!
Beetles black, approach not near;
Worm nor snail, do no offence.
Philomel, with melody,
Sing in this sweet lullaby,
Lulla-lulla-lullaby
Never harm, nor spell nor charm,
Cometh this dearest child nigh.
Something seemed to glow and tingle around them and though Harry slept for longer, no old hidden spell could protect him from the crashing walls of his own mind. When he awoke again, sobbing and crying, Draco sang, for he didn't know what else to do.
A crown of stars adorns your brow
Tree's hold you safe in their willow boughs
Angels feathers blanket you
I hold you in my arms
Strong and True
And Harry was asleep again, quiet and peaceful for a while longer before the inevitable nightmares. Draco was still there when he awoke, moping his brow and tears, singing softly
Wash away your fear
No demons are coming near
They will turn there tales and flee
They cant hurt you or me
I have you safe, I have you close
Do not fear, you're not alone
You're wrapped up warm
You're wrapped up safe
Angels hold you
In their embrace.
So sleep softly
Sleep deep
Dreams cant haunt you
When your at peace.
No daylight warned them of morning, but as the unseen sun dawned, the nightmares wore off, Harry woke less, and finally both boys fell to a more restful sleep.
.
"Uh, Draco?" He didn't respond, so Harry gently pulled himself from the blonde's grasp.
He felt, not well rested, but somehow much lighter. It was like after talking to someone about something you've been dying to say, or crying yourself out and then realising that that was all that you had really needed to do.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes, trying not to think about last night. He could hardly remember the dreams, they were some kind of foggy blur and he wasn't particularly keen on re-living them as it was.
He stretched carefully, trying not to break his healing skin and wincing at the scabs and blisters. He had healed, however, to a much greater extent than he had previously thought possible.
This thought stirred another, a memory. He frowned and chased it down till he pulled up Draco's voice, singing old lullabies and hidden charms in soft, tenor tones. A wave of gratitude washed over him and he wondered how he could ever repay such comfort the songs had brought him.
.
They had both been awake for an hour when food was passed through the bars. They shared it in companionable silence, until Draco knew he had to face up to the conversation.
"Harry."
"Yes?"
"The escape is planed for tonight."
Harry nodded sadly "I'll miss you. If – if you see Ron and Hermione... Ginny, Lupin... tell them, from me that-" His voice caught in his throat "That I love them, and... and I wish them the best of luck. Don't give up, the main thing is to destroy the Horcruxes and..." He raked a hand through his hair, torn between the advise to kill Voldermort or run and hide somewhere they could be safe.
"Why don't you tell them that yourself?"
"Because I'll be trapped here, won't..." He caught Draco's gaze "Won't I?"
The aristocrat sighed. "No, Harry – hear me out." He put a hand up to stop his objection "To win this war, you need to kill the Dark Lord. That's not something I can do. It's you, Harry. You have to do it. Not me, not Ron or Hermione. You. And you have to fight him with all the strength and might you have. He's coming here tomorrow, and you shouldn't be here when that happens. When Severus comes down this evening with the Invisibility Potion, he'll also be carrying two vials of Polyjuice Potion-"
"No! Draco, you cant!"
"I will take the form of you and you will take mine and my place when the escape is staged. Severus will then get you to some place safe-"
"-There's no way-"
"- Where you will be handed over to the Order to recover, prepare and eventually fight."
They stared at each other in defiance.
"No. You're not giving up your chance of escape, your life, for me. I will not comply."
"Harry, please! If you don't go you'll be giving up everyone's chance of hope. I've done more wrongs in life than you could know of, and if there is one thing that can begin to repair the damage I've done then it's this. Let me salvage whatever soul I have left. And when people ask about how the Malfoy legacy ended, don't let them say that we collapsed like cowards and villains in the darkness. Tell them it was how the last one to bear the Malfoy name helped Harry Potter, Saviour of the Wizarding World and Destroyer of Lord Voldermort bring the most terrible villain down. I always said I would sacrifice myself for one thing and one thing only. The Malfoy name and legacy. Now I'm doing that and saving the fucking world-" He broke off into an odd chuckle "-so don't take it from me. Escape. Kill the mother-fucker who's ruined my world. And Emblazon the Malfoy name with the honour and victory it deserves. Please."
Harry looked at him for a long while, and finally nodded slowly. "You've been working yourself up for that, haven't you?"
Draco stared at him in a mix between shock, annoyance and humour. He let out a surprised laugh, and then laughed again properly, shaking his head that Potter really would put such an anti-climax to his awe-inspiring speech. Because it really had been that good. Natural that Harry wouldn't get it. At least he'd agreed.
They sat in their own thoughts for a while until Harry cursed, smacking his forehead.
"What?"
"Bellatrix disarmed you, didn't she?"
"Obviously, why?" Harry looked grim. "Because I'm going to need to get that wand back."
.
*Aargh! Haha, I suddenly realised that if Harry was going to be the owner of the Elder wand, he'd have to get Draco's wand. Which Bellatrix overpowered :O
The first lullaby is a slight adaption from Shakespear's Fairy Lullaby, (cause Harry couldn't be called a Fairy Queen :L ), and the second and third are my own.
Shadow Entity – thanks for you're review; you were right D: Hope you like this chapter, sorry once again how long it's taken to update!
Everyone else- the more reviews I get the faster I update – so please please review (else Fenrir Greyback will hunt you down(... uhm? i'll ask him about it ;))