A/N: Comment responses,

Someone Reading - If I were to do this right he wouldn't just pop back up right at the beginning, patience.

Ami- Thanks

Cheergurl- Thanks

Fanficaholic- Thanks

King - Thanks

MalibuBarbie - My current favs as well, Thanks!

bravo - Thanks

PadfootsNoxed - Sometimes it just flows. Thanks

Eliza E. - Thanks for noticing the continuity! I've only read the book five times since it came out. I'm pathetic, I know.

Chapter 4

Late into the night, after a particularly weird dream where she was riding bareback on a unicorn with a bottle of butterbeer in each hand singing 'I've Got to Be Me,' Hermione woke to a startling noise. More to the point it was yelling and groaning from the room adjacent to hers.

She slipped out of bed, donned her night robe and cracked open her door slowly. The landing's torches cast a dim light down the hallway which she could see was quite empty at the moment. So she opened the door further and stepped out onto the landing.

"Harry?" she whispered.

Receiving no response she crept up to Harry's bedroom and listened at the door.

"Get away from her. I'll kill you!"

She took a deep and nervous breath, holding her wand up high and opened the door just enough to see inside. The sight before her pulled on her heart. Harry was thrashing around in his bed struggling with some unknown dream assailant. She had a good idea who it was, actually, but the more important thing she needed to do was wake Harry from the nightmare he was currently having.

She pocketed her wand and closed the door behind her as she entered the room and neared the bed. Once her eyes became accustomed to the dark sat on the bed and leaned closer to her friend.

"Harry," she whispered, not wanting to startle him.

"Hermione? Is it you?" he responded.

She let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding, "I'm here, Harry. Everything's okay."

Harry lowered his voice, "He's here, Hermione. Voldemort. Stay down."

His hand snatched out and grabbed her own, startling her and pulling her down on the bed near him in a protective embrace.

"I won't let him hurt you. I won't."

Her breathing increased as she was getting scared. Hermione knew that they were safe, but Harry's dream had spooked her all the same. She moved in and tried to rationalize him down from the dream.

"Harry, I saw him leave. He was scared of you and he heard Professor Dumbledore coming as well."

He started and his head turned away as if to look around. "Dumbledore's here?"

That was getting the job done. "You saved me Harry. You saved everyone. Everything's going to be all right."

He visibly relaxed and let loose a shuddering sigh letting go of the nightmare. Hermione waited until his breathing deepened and she started to slip back out of bed except Harry still clutched her hand in a firm grip. She tried to pry his fingers gently away to no avail.

"That's it, no more Quidditch for you," she whispered silently.

When she heard him whimper slightly she gave up and laid back down, squirming under the covers from the cold night air trying to get warm.

************************

"Hermione?" Harry whispered.

"Go to sleep, Harry. You're okay," she responded.

He laughed quietly, "Erm, I know I'm okay. What are you doing in my bed?"

Hermione's eyes snapped open and she sat abruptly upright. "Oh, uh ... Harry! Um ..." her brain was still clouded with dream fog and she couldn't think straight. "I ... um ... that is ... nightmare."

Harry tried not to laugh. "It's okay, Mione," he said tying to sooth her. "You had a nightmare?"

Her hand went to her breast, "Me?" She realized that her night robe had slipped open while she was asleep and she tried, pathetically, to close it. "No, not me, you ... you had a nightmare."

He closed his eyes and shrugged smiling the whole time, "That makes more sense."

She'd had enough trying to explain and wanted out of the room, needing the safety of her own room and the surety of clothes. Lots and lots of clothes, "Um, excuse me."

Harry took his time getting dressed in jeans and a hooded pullover and made his way down to the kitchen to start breakfast. He had small sausages cooking over a flame and eggs in another pan when Hermione entered the kitchen.

"Good morning," Harry announced brightly.

He could tell Hermione was still quite flummoxed and embarrassed about waking up in his bed.

"Morning," she responded. After a moment, "What are you so happy about?"

"Hermione, I think I've had the best night's sleep in over four years. I just feel happy," he shrugged. "And also I think I have you to thank for it."

She turned her face downward so Harry couldn't see the embarrassed smile that was now showing.

"So how do you like your eggs?"

Her head came back up. "You can cook?"

Harry gave her a weird smile, "The Dursley's have had a slave for the last sixteen years. What do you think?"

She laughed and stood, looking at the pans sizzling away. "Anything's fine."

He took a whip from the utensils rack and started beating the eggs in the pan. Hermione looked on with great interest and listened as he hummed a tune under his breath that she remembered as being vaguely familiar.

A few minutes later he had the contents of the pans separated on two plates.

"Could you grab the pumpkin juice from the cooling box?''

Hermione nodded eagerly and poured herself and her friend a tall glass apiece. Harry lifted his glass. "To a really good night's sleep."

She grinned, clinked her glass against his and took a sip. She was starving and quickly took a bite of eggs.

"Harry, these are great!"

He shrugged, "They're just eggs."

She shook her head and took another bite. "A great wizard and a great cook. You're going to make some witch a very lucky husband someday."

Harry coughed, nearly choking on his sausage.