Nightmares in Grimmauld Place

Chapter 6

Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place was much different than how Harry had seen it before.

For one, it was completely deserted. Having been there with all the Weasleys during his previous summer holidays, it was plunged in a very different atmosphere now. It appeared more foreboding than ever and Harry was grateful when Lupin came by late in the morning just to see another friendly face around.

Lupin had been in St. Mungo's visiting Tonks and he assured them that she would be fine within a couple of days. Harry belatedly remembered that he was staying with Sirius and was quite happy to know there was at least someone who had kept Sirius company, when he had been in Hogwarts.

Lupin had given them a clear idea of what had happened when the Ministry had caught hold of the captured Death Eaters. He had been horrified to hear that Sirius had been spotted and was to be produced for a trial. The morning Daily Prophet gave them more insight on that matter.

The first half of the page displayed the Ministry's statement early in the morning about the Death Eaters and Voldemort infiltrating the Ministry. It had also mentioned rumours of Harry and his friends having been spotted in the Ministry. The bottom half was of Sirius who had been seen helping Harry up and also the impending trial and some rather wild speculations about what Sirius Black was doing with Harry.

Harry and Lupin were eating their breakfast that they had prepared when Sirius spotted Kreacher, whom he promptly kicked as soon as he laid his eyes on him. Sirius had yelled a lot and was almost dishing out brutal punishment when Lupin had stepped in. It wouldn't help to treat Kreacher badly — that was the main reason he had left Grimmauld Place. Even though Harry himself hated Kreacher for what he had done, he tried to put himself in Kreacher's shoes after Lupin's advice. Kreacher had just wanted a master that would care for him. Harry could understand that albeit grudgingly.

Lupin had then wriggled out a promise from Sirius that he would treat Kreacher civilly. Both Sirius and Kreacher had stared at each other for a whole minute with utter loathing. Kreacher had then bustled off to the kitchen, muttering obscenities under his breath.

After breakfast, all three of them had retired for a long overdue nap. They had all forsaken sleep the night before and meant to catch up on it. Harry was so tired that he had slipped into a dreamless sleep without even changing into his pyjamas. It was late afternoon when Harry woke up to find the gas lamps lit up along the dark corridors.

He took a quick shower and changed his clothes before heading down. He was surprised to see Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt chatting along with Sirius and Lupin in the dining area. Harry wondered if they were discussing Order related stuff and lingered uncertainly near the doorway when Sirius looked up at him and gestured for him to come in.

Lupin passed him a butterbeer and Harry felt Moody's eye on him, but they continued talking about the Ministry and their plans. Harry was grateful that they didn't ask him what had happened and was content to simply listen to them talk, sipping his butterbeer.

oOo

After a late dinner, Harry had retired to the room he and Ron had shared. He was not sleepy at all since he had slept in the afternoon and thus decided to write to Ron and Hermione. He pulled out a roll of parchment and quills from his trunk and sat on the desk, thinking. After about a quarter of an hour, he had his finished letter in hand which read:

Dear Ron and Hermione,

I hope you are doing well as you were both asleep when I came to visit early in the morning. I am so sorry about that night— I should have listened to you, Hermione, when you said it might be a trap. All I can say is I'm thankful we all made it out alive. I'm sure you know by now that Snuffles is getting a trial by the middle of this week. I'm all he's got and I wanted to stay with him for support. Professor Dumbledore has given me permission, so I left last morning.

Thank you for coming with me by the way. I don't think I would have made it out alive if it weren't for you both and also Neville, Ginny and Luna. I hope they are doing well too.

I'll write to you soon.

Best,

Harry.

Harry wondered if he should tell them about the prophecy but decided against it. It wasn't safe to write things like that in letters and he wasn't even sure if he was allowed to tell them anyway.

He rolled up the parchment and left it on the table, waiting for Hedwig to arrive.

He changed into his pyjamas and lay on his bed, hoping sleep would overtake him to escape the crushing weight of guilt that seemed to creep up on him at odd times. No matter what everyone said, he knew it was his fault just like it was his fault that Cedric died last summer. How many more lives would he lead to danger?

He sighed and tossed to his side, punching his pillow into a better position. He wondered if Voldemort was reading his thoughts again. Would he manipulate Harry again into believing someone he loved was in danger? Dumbledore didn't think so, but what if Voldemort thought the pain he experienced was worth it if it got Harry or his friends killed?

He fell into a restless sleep, with dreams of thestrals and thr dreaded hall filled with rows upon rows of shelves stacked with glowing glass orbs…

Unbidden to him, he dreamed of Sirius kneeling on the black, polished floor of the Department of Mysteries, being tortured at Voldemort's hand. The screaming was worse, he wanted it to stop, but the image of Sirius convulsing in agony was burned into his eyes…

oOo

Sirius' first thought upon being woken up was recognising the sound of the rickety squeak of old furniture. He wondered if maybe Kreacher had made some noise that had woken him up. He sighed and he tried to go back to sleep. He hadn't slept properly at all for the past twenty four hours. Hell, he hadn't slept properly for more than a year now.

Again, he heard the same sound and his eyes snapped open. Was it Remus or Harry? But, it couldn't be Remus. It was a full moon tonight and he had already left early to transform somewhere private.

Just before he could make up his mind about getting up, he heard a muffled yell and he was instantly awake as he bolted upright on his bed.

The house was eerily quiet at all times and even the slightest sound was audible. He heard the muffled yell again and his heart quickened. It sounded like Harry!

Sprinting quickly down the steps, he leaped past two of them at a time to the room Harry was sleeping in. He could already make out Harry's voice, moaning. "No, stop! Sirius! SIRIUS!"

Heart-leaping into his throat, he tried to open the door. But it was locked.

Cursing himself for leaving his wand upstairs in his room, he rammed his shoulder against the door, which remained firmly shut.

Harry was outright screaming now and Sirius was panicked. "HARRY! Harry, open the door!"

At that moment, he heard the click of the door unlocking and he burst open inside without hesitation.

Harry was tossing and turning on his bed, tangled up in his sheets with his eyes screwed shut. Sirius quickly put a hand on Harry's shoulder and tried to jostle him awake. "Wake up! It's just a bad dream!"

Harry's eyes snapped open and they wandered frantically around the room. He immediately tried to sit up and Sirius put a calming hand on his chest. "It's okay, Harry. It was just a nightmare."

Harry reached for his glasses from the side table and put them on. He looked at Sirius with something akin to horror, gasping as if he had run a mile.

"You… you're…" he stuttered and put a trembling hand over his eyes to cover them, visibly slumping in relief.

Sirius waited for him to calm down and watched as Harry's breathing became somewhat regular and he sighed. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

Sirius sat on the edge of bed. "That's alright. Do you want to talk about it?"

Harry was staring in the opposite direction outside the dark window. Sirius was slightly worried when he saw his expressionless face but a moment later, Harry shook his head. "No, it's fine. It was just a bad dream."

Sirius looked at him a moment longer and nodded. "I'm going to get myself a hot chocolate. I'll be down if you need me."

He left Harry's room and proceeded down to call for Kreacher. The elf appeared in the sitting room with a crack and immediately swooped low in a mockery of a bow. "Master called for Kreacher. Kreacher lives to serve the… "

Sirius, who was quite irritated with that loathsome elf, snapped. "I don't want to hear your nonsense. Get me a cup of hot chocolate."

Kreacher bowed again and vanished. Sirius took a seat on the old, worn out sofa opposite the fireplace when he heard footsteps coming down. Predictably, Harry entered with his hair sticking up worse than ever and took a seat beside him. He avoided Sirius' eyes, mumbling, "Can't go back to sleep."

Kreacher popped in with the hot chocolate and Sirius handed it to Harry before asking another one for himself.

Sirius sipped his hot chocolate, quite satisfied at the presence of his godson with him. He usually hated the quiet and silence. It reminded him too much of Azkaban — which was partially why he hated this godforsaken house. It was too silent, which was all the more true when it was devoid of the Order members. He was thankful that Remus stayed with him, but even he had Order missions or full moons that meant Sirius was stuck alone with nothing and nobody to entertain himself with.

Harry broke the silence and the train of his morose thoughts, "I dreamed you were being tortured and then… Voldemort killed you."

Sirius was surprised and pleased that Harry felt comfortable enough to share that with him. But he was frowning as he realized what was plaguing Harry's nightmares.

"It wasn't a vision or anything, was it?" Sirius asked slowly.

Harry shook his head. "No, my scar would hurt if it was. This is just what my head makes up."

Sirius grimaced at the thought. That must be painful to watch. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

He didn't think it was unusual or strange to be dreaming like that. He himself had all sorts of nasty nightmares, even before Azkaban. War did that to people.

He stretched out his right arm around the head of the sofa as he leaned back, finishing his hot chocolate. He placed the empty mug on the coffee table and propped his legs up. Harry was leaning back against the couch with his eyes closed. For the first time in a very long time, Sirius was content at the companionable silence. He watched the fire crackling merrily and a pleasant buzz of haziness filled him as he unwittingly fell asleep.

oOo

The clatter of the door opening was unheard by the two occupants of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. A pale-looking man in shabby clothing walked up the corridor past the kitchen and the sitting room and towards the stairs.

He froze when he saw the silhouette of the back of a head on the sofa. On closer inspection, it turned out to be Sirius, fast asleep with his legs propped up on the coffee table. What surprised Lupin was the other person who was curled on the sofa with his head on Sirius' lap, one arm hanging down the edge of the couch. Sirius had his right arm over Harry and Lupin fought a smile.

He shook his head, smiling, and walked up the stairs to his room. He had had a rough night last night and he was going to sleep till tomorrow.