Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Warning: Just as a reminder, this chapter contains swears. Draco has a dirty mouth. :) That can be taken so many ways...:smacks self for thinking that way: I have to tone down these fangirl habits...
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Chapter 3:
Nightmares
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The following morning, Draco awoke to an empty flat. Potter was nowhere to be seen, and Draco's wand was missing from his pocket. The blond scowled darkly, and muttered something that would make mothers cover their children's ears in shock. He stood slowly, trying his hardest to ignore the stiffness of his muscles as they protested the movement, and moved over towards the table. There sat the berries he had picked yesterday, and he popped a few into his mouth, his eyes resting on the desk as his mind whirled into action. His thoughts ranged from how he was going to track Potter down, how he was going to get back to civilization, and to the many creative ways he was going to kill Potter if he ever caught up with him.
About the time he had come up with his 57th Way To Kill Harry Potter and no way to get home, the door to the shack opened, and Harry entered, carrying two dead rabbits in one hand, and Draco's wand in the other. He jumped when he saw Draco standing in the middle of the one-room flat.
"Oh, ah…I went to get something to eat before you woke up, but ah…" His cheeks flushed crimson. Draco strode from where he was standing and placed himself dangerously close to Harry, so close, in fact, that their noses almost touched. Harry swallowed hard.
Never breaking eye contact, Draco took the dead rabbits and his wand, gave Harry the darkest look he could manage, then turned on his heels and moved back to the table. Feeling Harry's gaze on his back but choosing to ignore it, the blond set the rabbits on the plates and cast the same spells as he had the night before. He took his rabbit and sat in the chair, eating in silence. Harry watched him again, then he, too, took a rabbit and began to eat.
Neither spoke while they ate. When they were finished Draco wordlessly cleaned up, similarly to how he had done it the night before, then dragged the chair to one of the windows and sat down -- elbow resting lightly on the windowsill and chin propped up in his palm. His silver eyes focused blankly on something outside of the shack, and the silence between the two boys stretched on and on until Draco's back began to itch from Harry's intense stare. With an irate sigh, Draco pivoted his head so that he could stare back at the green-eyed boy.
"Can I help you?" he drawled. Harry shook his head quickly. "I don't appreciate being stared at like an animal in a tank." Was that a blush on Potter's face?
"Sorry," he heard Harry mutter as his silver gaze returned to the outside world. "Um…" Draco shifted his stare towards the boy once more, and silver orbs met an inquisitive stare.
"Yes?"
"Could you, ah…I mean…would you…tell me what you know…ah…about me?" There was the briefest twinge of hope in those green eyes. Draco arched a brow slightly, before his eyelids slid closed with a tired sigh.
"Why should I tell you anything?" he asked coldly. As he reopened his eyes, Draco saw Harry flinch away slightly, and the Gryffindor's gaze shifted nervously as he searched for an answer to the question.
"Well, I'd really like to know, and you're not doing anything else, so I just kinda…figured that you wouldn't mind…" He trailed off hopefully. Draco ran a hand through his hair quickly, rocking back in his chair before nodding slightly.
"Very well. But you cannot talk or ask questions until I'm finished, understand?" Harry nodded eagerly, and sat down on the floor at Draco's feet. The Slytherin let out a slow breath and began to tell the wide-eyed Gryffindor the tale of Harry Potter.
It was starting to get dark by the time Draco had finished his recount of Harry's life, conveniently leaving out the parts involving himself and the allegations against him concerning the Dark Lord. He had just finished answering Harry's final question when his stomach gave a deep growl, causing the blond to frown. Both boys had skipped the midday meal in order to finish the story. Draco scowled and reached for a handful of berries, popping a few in his mouth as he studied Harry's face.
Harry had gone quiet after Draco answered his final question. His green eyes studied the floor just above his knees, his gaze clouded and glazed.
"Potter?" asked Draco, arching a brow. Harry didn't move. "Potter." He nudged Harry's knee with his foot. The brunet jumped slightly and looked up at him.
"Oh, ah, sorry." He grinned sheepishly, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I was thinking…"
"So I noticed." Draco slipped a few more berries past his lips, eyes flicking back out the window. There, he was doing it again; Potter was watching him again. "Stop." He felt the gaze fade, and he sighed lightly. "I'm afraid it's berries only for dinner. It's too dark to go out and find anything, and we don't know what's in these woods." He heard the ruffle of Harry's clothing as the boy stood and made his way towards the bed. Draco pivoted his head so that he could see the brunet sit down on the bed, eyes still a bit cloudy.
"I think I'm just going to go to bed. Goodnight, Draco." Harry rolled onto his side, his back facing the blond, who nodded in response.
"Yeah…sleep sounds good." He pulled the chair closer to the table, and sat down, setting his feet on the tabletop. Eyelids slid over silver eyes, and Draco slowly slipped into a restless sleep.
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Draco awoke suddenly, and blinked the sleep from his eyes before scanning the shack for any sign of danger. At first glance, everything seemed to be fine, but that was before his eyes landed on Harry.
The boy was thrashing on the bed, muttering something in his sleep as he tossed back and forth. His face was scrunched up in a look of terror and confusion, and his mutterings gradually got louder. Draco frowned.
"No… stop it… Cedric… so much blood…please, stop touching him! I'll do what ever you want…stop please…Voldemort…NO!" Harry let out a scream that made Draco's blood run cold. Frantically, the blond scrambled to his feet and went to the bedside, attempting to cover Harry's mouth with a hand. The brunet was twisting and turning way too much for Draco to actually do any good. The shack began to shake violently, and Draco swore under his breath; Harry's magic was getting away again. Ignoring the dull ache in his knee, Draco grabbed Harry's thrashing arms and pinned him down on the bed, climbing up beside him so that he could pin down the brunet's legs as well.
"Potter! Wake up!" he shouted against the boy's screams. "Potter! Harry! Don't fuck with me! Wake up, you prat!" Harry's eyes snapped open, and he ceased movements. Staring up fearfully, green orbs began to tear up, and Draco released the breath he hadn't noticed he had been holding. He released Harry's arms, and slid off of him, moving to sit on the side of the bed.
"Draco?" The blond tilted his head to look at the terrified young man on the bed. Harry had tears running down his face, and he was sitting up; Draco could see the brunet's thin form shaking against the moonlight that streamed in from the window.
"You were dreaming, Harry. It was just a dream." Draco bit back a laugh at the sympathetic tone his voice had taken on. When did he turn into a compassionate person? He kept his cool silver eyes on the boy in front of him, who looked as if he was going to break any moment.
"I…Draco…I saw them die…" Draco arched a brow.
"Who?" Harry couldn't answer the question. His face twisted into a mask of pain and terror, coupled with an immense grief. It chilled Draco to see such horror on the boy's face, and silently he vowed to do whatever he could to keep that expression from reappearing.
Before Draco even knew what was going on, Harry had wrapped his arms around his neck and was now crying in gasping sobs against his shoulder. He blinked quickly, stunned, and not quite sure how to react. He had never comforted anyone; he was always the one being comforted, and that was usually just to get attention.
After a few moments of sitting stock still on the side of the bed, Draco gently lifted his arms to wrap around the brunet's waist, his hands splayed awkwardly over Harry's back.
"Shh…" he whispered softly. "Shh…it's alright. It was just a dream, Harry…just a dream." Slowly he began to rub gentle circles on the boy's back. "It's alright…"
After several long moments of comforting, Harry finally released his hold on Draco, sniffing loudly and wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. Draco suddenly found that he was strangely cold without Harry pressed against him. He shivered slightly, then brought his attention back to the brunet in front of him.
"You okay?" he asked softly, his silver eyes tinged with the slightest hint of worry. Harry nodded slowly, staring down at his hands.
"Yeah…Draco?" The blond arched a brow slightly; he wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to hearing Harry use his first name. "Would you mind sleeping over here? Just in case I have another nightmare?" Harry still hadn't looked up.
Draco watched the brunet for a moment, regarding him with a steady gaze. When he didn't answer right away, Harry looked up, green eyes blanketed in concern and fear. Draco sighed slightly.
"Yeah, I guess I can do that." He suppressed a smile as he saw Harry's eyes light up.
"Really?" Draco nodded and stood, fetching his chair and dragging it to the bedside. Harry smiled gratefully before laying back down and rolling onto his side, so that his back was facing the blond. Draco slouched back in his chair, trying to get comfortable, and let his eyes close once more.
Not ten minutes later, just as Draco was on the verge of sleep, Harry spoke again.
"Draco?" The blond responded with a sleep-drugged grunt. "…Thanks." Draco opened one eye to look at the boy a moment - who still had his back to the blond - before it snapped shut again.
"Whatever," he muttered, focusing on sleep once more. The last thought that crossed his mind before he slipped into a dreamless sleep was perhaps he could try and be a little nicer to Potter from now on.
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A/N: Sorry this took so long for me to write up. I've had it sitting on my desktop begging to be posted, but I just haven't had the time to do it. So, I hope you enjoyed it! Please, please, please submit a review. That button down there is just begging to be pressed. Not to mention I'll love you all for it.
