" 'Mione!" The red-headed girl jolted awake, anxiety thrilling under her light pajamas. Ron's face filled her vision- in her post-dream stupor, she could almost…

"What?" She rubbed a hand over her face, eyes swollen with sleep. Hermione could already sense a headache coming on. She didn't know how Harry went on so little sleep.

That's when she caught the glint of fear in Ronald's shadowed eyes, bouncing back and forth through the room. Her breath stopped in anticipation. What had happened this time?

"It's Harry. I don't know what to do, he just-"

Hermione was up in a flash, causing a quiet rush as she threw her covers back and jumped lightly to her feet. Ron took her hand, pulling them down the dark hallway of the upstairs Weasley residence. Her feet sank into the old yet still soft carpet (most likely enchanted) as they sped down the hallway to Ron and Harry's room. The white-paneled door was just slightly ajar, revealing two figures silhouetted against the moonlit window. Hermione rushed forward, releasing her hold on Ron as the sleep left her. It was Ginny, comfortingly wrapped around a stiff Harry. His eyes were sharp yet somehow unfocused, his hand was gripping one of Ginny's so tight it was turning white…

"Harry?" Hermione whispered, closing the gap between them and kneeling so as to see his face better. "What happened?"

Nothing- just Harry quietly licking his lips, breathing heavily. "What happened to him?" Hermione asked, this time twisting to ask Ron, who was sitting stiffly on the edge of the bed. He swallowed, shaking his head. Hermione took in his appearance- mussed orange hair, rumpled tan pajamas, grayish bags under his eyes, vacant expression- he'd just been woken, too. "Ron?"

"I don't know." Came the quiet, scared reply. Hermione quietly reached out and ran her thumb over Ron's palm, earning a shaky sort of half-smile. "He just…" A pause. "I think it was a nightmare. He was rolling around on his bed like he was in a fight 'ro somethin', and then he started groaning, all scary-like, and muttering our names…" Ron shuddered. "It was scary."

"So he woke up?"

"Yeah." Ginny whispered, casting a fearful look at the unresponsive teen. "I heard him from the other room, it was so loud, and came over to check on them. I tried to wake him up, and his eyes flew open and he ended up like this. Hasn't moved since."

"Bloody hell." Hermione barely registered the fact that she'd borrowed Ron's classic phrase. She scooted closer to Harry, pressing her side against his cold, stiff, shivering one and looping an arm across his hunched shoulders. Now she could hear the raspy breaths with clarity.

"Ginny, back off." Ron whispered- Hermione shifted uncomfortably at the glare she was recieving. I'm just a friend. She tried to share with a glance, resting her head on Harry's shoulder and blinking slowly at Ginny. Like a sister. I'm no threat.

Brown met brown, and after a long moment, Ginny nodded and copied Hermione's movement, leaving the two girls plastered against Harry's side. His lungs heaved under the thin Adidas jacket he always seemed to sleep in, and his hands shook. His lips quivered every now and then as if on the verge of tears, yet none slipped down his cheek. He was trembling, too.

"Wha'dda we do?" Ron broke the silence after a long moment. " 'Mione? You always know how t' cheer 'im up!" His tone held something pleading, almost desperate. "You're the relationship expert of the trio." Ginny shifted beside them, obviously left out in Hermione's mind. Could others really not read simple body language?

Not that anything about this was simple.

"Well, he's got all the symptoms of classic shock. So probably nightmare? What's happened to him recently?"

"Hell, what hasn't happened to 'im recently?" Ron shot back, moving behind Hermione so his feet rested in the small of her back. She shivered; the room was cold, his presence providing a bit of warmth. "Let's see. Dead parents, stupid family, bullying, poison, Quidditch, Malloy, Snape, freaking Voldemort, Cedric, Sirius- need I go on?"

Hermione swallowed, rubbing circles on Harry's knuckles with her thumb. She nodded, curls bouncing. "Ok, so it could be any of those things. Obviously, he has some… trauma." Was it just her, or was Harry's breathing picking up a bit? "If he had… a flashback, or something-" She gulped, imagining the pain.

"So what do we do?"

"Typically, one would seek a source of comfort. But for Harry…" Hermione twisted- Ginny had been the one to speak. The girl glanced down, twisting a red strand behind her ear. "I've been hanging out with Neville."

"What would comfort him?" Ron asked, shifting awkwardly. "I'm not exactly the emotions expert."

"Teaspoon."

Ron and Hermione shared a quiet chuckle before Hermione continued. "I… honestly don't know. It has to be something that makes him feel something, preferably something good."

"Well, 'at's hardly easy!" Ron shot back. "What does 'e even like?"

"What was his patronus memory?" Hermione asked, twisting back around to rub her hand down Harry's arm. He still wasn't responding. She shook him gently.

"He said once, to me, that it was you guys." Ginny replied softly, still wrapped around her brother's friend. "I don't know if that helps."

" 'ey, Harry!" Ron's voice suddenly became very forcedly cheerful as he jumped off the bed and kneeled in front of his friend. "Remember that time we raided my brothers' store and got all that animal candy? That was fun! You did the steampot, and I was a lion- and then we started a massive food fight!"

Moments passed. Ron's smile slowly faded as he stood, the dim light leaving his eyes. "Nothing."

Hermione nodded, giving him a grateful glance. "You tried. That sounds exactly like the pig-brained thing you two would do anyway."

"What about… a-a song?" Ginny asked, squeezing Harry's pant leg. "Something Muggle, Hermione- you'd know better than us."

Hermione paused. Wouldn't that just cause him more grief? His Muggle life is terrible enough.

She shifted, unsure if she should disclose her thoughts. I'll give it a go.

"Ok…" She thought, long and hard. Surely everyone liked The Wizard of Oz, right? She certainly had. Shifting once more, straightening up yet still keeping an arm around Harry's shoulders, she began to almost-whisper the melody.

"Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high…"

Her smooth, light tone carried easily through the small space. As luck would have it, the acoustics were quite nice as well. Ron shivered, gaze fixed on her. Even with her rumpled pajamas and unfixed, messy curls… this was beautiful. She was beautiful.

"And the dreams, that you dream of once, in a lullaby…

Yes, somewhere, over the rainbow, blue-birds fly…"

Hermione smiled softly as she felt a small exhale escape Harry's lungs. He swallowed thickly, not quite moving.

"And the dreams, that you dream of, really do come true…"

Ron moved behind them, kneeling behind Harry and wrapping his arms around the shivering teenager's chest. Hermione spared him a smile. "Someday, I'll wish upon a star, and wake up, where the world is far behind… me…"

A soft sob escaped Harry's lips. Ginny brushed her hand through his spiky jet-black hair, fingers tracing the small lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. The boy who lived.

"Where trouble melts, like lemon drops, high above the chimney tops… that's where you'll find me…"

Harry began shaking, more violently now, pressing his head into Ginny's shoulder. Silent tears slipped down his face- it was both a relief and greater fear for the three comforting him. "Keep going." Ron whispered.

"Somewhere, over the rainbow, blue-birds fly…" Hermione smiled despite herself, a bitter-sweet sort of smile. She held memories of this song herself, from simpler days. "And the dream you dare to dream, oh, why can't I?"

A wretched sob broke from her friend and she broke off, clinging tight to him as he seemed to collapse into Ginny's arms, letting her rock him slowly back and forth. "Harry?" Hermione whispered into the silence. Nothing but the quiet, painful sounds of sobs met her ears. Hermione sighed, pulling Harry closer as his hand tightened desperately around hers. Ginny wrapped her legs around one of his, pulling him as close as possible. Hermione shivered as Ron looped his arm around her shoulders, one of his legs coming around to brush against her hip as they all sat in a sleepy stillness, pressed up against each other, all offering silent support for the one of their group who had seen far too much. Hours seemed to pass before their eyes as they quietly adjusted whenever an offending limb fell asleep or began to tingle. All in quiet comfort, centered around their weeping friend. Eventually, when the moon was just starting to set, the light from the window dimming, Harry seemed to quiet. Everything went still for a long moment; Ginny, with a meaningful glance at Hermione, shifted so that the teen's head was in her lap, wiping trails of tears from his face. Quiet gasps broke the silence every few moments as, weary, anguish finally spent, Harry Potter slipped into a sort of slumber. The others shifted as well, Hermione laying back against Ron's chest, legs dangling from the bed. Ron lay sideways behind the three, waist touching Harry's and feet pressed up against his sister's back with his hands in Hermione's hair. Ginny laid back, legs crossed, arms behind her head, with Ron's feet in her side and Harry's head in her lap. It was a comfortable tangle of limbs which encompassed their friend, and as the others drifted off to sleep, soft snores rising from the largest of the pile…

It was peaceful.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered, touching his shoulder again.

"Mm?"

"What… what was your dream about?" Even in the darkness, she could sense him stiffen. "You… don't have to tell me."

"It was you guys." His voice was grave, yet somehow warm. Caring, yet anguished. He shifted, swallowing and glancing out the window. "The night Cedric died, in the graveyard. But he was replaced by all of you."

Hermione clenched her teeth, determined not to react even as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Her mind swam, tired, as she struggled to take it all in.

Harry shifted again, wrapping his hand around hers. "It's OK, though." He swallowed, voice coming in a drowsy whisper. "I killed him for you. And then I woke up, and… I know you guys are OK now, so I'll be alright."

'For you'. It's us that drives him. Hermione smiled a bittersweet sort of smile, squeezing his hand in a sisterly fashion. "Love you, Potter."

Harry scoffed, smirking at her in the dim moonlight. He closed his eyes, letting his head nestle more naturally in Ginny's lap. "Don't let Weasley hear you."

"Which one?"

"Either."

Hermione stifled a chuckle at his conspiratorial whisper, ruffling his mussed black hair and closing her eyes. A peaceful smile pulled her lips apart at the corners. And perhaps it was the late hour, or the rampant emotions of the past moments, but Hermione felt more at home, more loved, then she had in years.

Found family. The Muggles got something right.

And when Molly Weasley found them like that late the next morning, sun streaming in on the entangled forms and rumpled white sheets? Of course she didn't hesitate to capture the moment on her husband's new Muggle camera. And keep it, hung right next to her and Arthur's wedding photo- much to Ron and Hermione's embarrassment… and Harry's quiet joy.

I am so so so so so sorry about not uploading last Thursday... and I did say double upload Thursday too, so now you get four :) One in the Potterhead fandom, and most likely the rest in How to Train Your Dragon and Big Hero 6.