Chapter Twenty-four

"I want to stay up," Harry complained, frowning as he crossed his arms. He sat on his bed while Snape tried to put Harry underneath the covers, but Harry firmly refused to lay down. "I have to stay up, Professor, I can't go to sleep tonight!"

"And just why not?" Snape demanded. "You never fuss like this about going to sleep. You're worse than a baby!"

"Am not," Harry said, frowning. "I just can not go to sleep tonight." He looked Snape in the eye firmly, showing the Potions master that he wasn't going to back down just yet.

"Why don't you want to go to sleep?" Snape asked as calmly as he could manage. "Are you scared of a monster in your closet?" He sneered while Harry frowned.

"No! I got over that years ago, though I have never had a closet in my...cupboard. Anyway, I'm going to have a really bad dream tonight, Professor," Harry explained, not budging from the spot on his bed. "I can't go to sleep. The dream is really bad, I know it."

"How do you know that you're going to possibly have a nightmare tonight, Potter?" asked Snape. "You can't possibly know that."

"But I do," Harry insisted. "You know how I can always sense things, Professor? Like… the Dursleys, how I could sense when they were going to phone and when they were going to return home? I can just sense now that I'm going to have a nightmare." Harry paused to inhale and exhale a breath before continuing. "Can you at least stay with me, Professor? Please?"

Yeah, come on Professor, Slyther said after Harry, stay with Harry.

"I'd rather you not sleep at all," Snape said briefly, getting up from the bed and walking towards the door. "Do as you wish, Potter. Stay awake the whole night."

Harry yawned. "N—no! Professor Snape, please! Please, please, please? Just until I go to sleep, and then you can leave or do whatever you want. Just for tonight. I don't want to get scared." Harry scooted over to the left, giving enough space for Snape to sit down beside him. He looked up at the Potions master. "Please, Professor?" Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry. "If you are adopting me," Harry said slowly, "then shouldn't you have some practice first? Believe me, there'll be more times—"

"Fine, fine," Snape went back over to the bed and sat down. "Now can you go to sleep so I can leave?" Harry smiled and nodded, his body laying on the silk green sheets while the silky silver blankets were tucked up under his chin.

Harry tried to close his eyes and go to sleep, but every time he feared that if he did close his eyes and drift off into sleep, that he'd have a nightmare. And from what he sensed, a very bad nightmare.

Harry tossed as he tried to settle into the mattress comfortably, and turned when he always found it uncomfortable.

"Can you stop that and just go to sleep?" Snape asked firmly, in exasperation. "I'm not going to stay with you all night, Potter."

"I can't, though," Harry complained. "I don't want to have the nightmare, Professor Snape. I'm scared." He let the last part out as a terrified whisper. Snape sighed.

"I'll go get you a drink of pumpkin juice?" Snape suggested. "Then… I'll make you… a Sleeping Potion?"

Harry looked at the Professor quizzically. "I've never heard of it. What is the Sleeping Potion?"

"It'll help you fall into a deep, peaceful and dreamless sleep. All right? I'll mix it in with your pumpkin juice," Snape offered. Harry smiled and nodded.

"Yes, please. Thank you, Professor." Snape gave a swift nod as he stood up and walked out of Harry's room. Hopefully Harry didn't know that he wasn't going to put a Sleeping Potion in Harry's drink, but maybe if the boy thought that he was... that perhaps Harry might just feel drowsy, and eventually fall asleep.

Harry waited patiently until Snape returned to the room, and couldn't help but yawn. He tried to keep his eyes open as his head lay against the soft pillow, but it seemed useless. Sleep was already overwhelming him too much to try to fight it. Nightmare or not.

"Here, Potter I have your—" Snape stopped in the middle of his sentence as Harry was already asleep in the bed. "Looks like you didn't need me there, after all," Snape said quietly to himself, setting the filled goblet on the nightstand by Harry's bed.

Harry's snake, Slyther, was asleep as well down by the end of the bed. Snape found it pretty quiet without Slyther's complaints, demands, whines and cheekiness. Snape decided to use this quiet opportunity to finish his book, and was pleased to notice that he was almost finished it. Though he was not on the twenty sixth page, Snape was thoroughly gratified that he was on the one hundredth and fifty seventh page of the somewhat thick book.

Snape quietly left Harry's room. He picked up the book from the table and walked over to the armchair, sitting down and opened it to the accurate page.

-

A thick, black mist surrounded a man, that was completely unfamiliar to Harry. "Hello?" Harry called out tentatively, almost softly, hoping the man would answer him. He didn't, he just looked past Harry, as if he were an invisible ghost; not even there.

"Help me…" the mist spoke in a hoarse voice. "Let me…"

"M—my lord?" The man stuttered. "How?"

"Help me…" the mist repeated. The man nodded, almost in awe. The mist now stopped circling the man, and instead went forward. It filled the mans mouth, nose, eyes and ears. Though the man, who almost looked like the man Harry drew on the parchment, didn't make any noise with his mouth, he trembled. The mans whole body trembled, shook and writhed, and Harry couldn't help but tremble along with him.

Harry took in his surroundings. It wasn't any place that was familiar to him, but it was dark, grey and rainy. He winced as there was an unexpected clap of thunder and bolt of lightning. It almost reminded him of the night… of the storm…

"Ow," Harry cried, his palm resting against his forehead, where the lightning bolt was. It burned so badly, worse than the night of the storm. It was so intense; was it because that whatever had caused his scar to burn was right in front of him?

"Thank you, Quirrel," the mist (now another face on the back of the bald mans head) thanked. "I will never forget this."

"Anything, my lord," the man said. Harry, still in pain from his scar, squinted at the man. Was it the two-faced man he drew on the parchment? It looked so: the bald head of the man, almost the same facial features, the hideous other face on the back of the other mans head.

"Make it stop," Harry pleaded, dropping down on his knees and clawing at his forehead. "Please…"

The man, Quirrel, looked down at Harry. "Harry Potter," he spat. "Could it be?"

"I—" Harry gasped for breath as the pain soon became excruciating, overwhelming. "P—P—ease… St… op…"

-

Harry woke up screaming, clawing at his scar as he did in the dream. There was a loud crash from outside of Harry's room, and suddenly Snape appeared in the doorway looking startled.

"What in Merlin's name is the matter?" He demanded, rushing over to Harry, who kept on screaming and clawing.

"Make it stop," he cried, balling his hands in tight fists and leaving deep fingernail cuts. "It hurts. Please!"

"Potter," Snape said slowly, sitting on the bed beside Harry and shaking him gently. "You're awake."

"No—no," Harry insisted, his eyes clamped shut as he took his balled fists and repeatedly hit Snape. Not hard, but hard enough for Snape to wince.

"Potter, control yourself!" Snape exclaimed, grabbing onto Harry's wrists. "Stop it this instant." Harry opened his eyes slowly, and his rigid body soon relented. He fell against the bed limply.

"Is it over?" Harry asked softly. "Is the pain gone?"

"Sip this," Snape instructed, letting go of Harry's wrists. He stretched over and grasped onto the goblet, handing it over to Harry who wordlessly took a grateful sip.

"Thank you, Professor." Harry held his hand over his mouth as he started to have a coughing fit. Snape patted Harry's back, trying to help the coughing stop. When it finally did, Snape got Harry to explain what happened. "I don't know," Harry said, taking another sip of the juice. "I remember some stuff. Why did you let me fall asleep, Professor?"

"I didn't," Snape responded. "I was getting you the pumpkin juice, and when I returned you were already asleep." Harry glanced down at the bottom of the bed where Slyther was curled up at.

"He can sleep through anything," Harry commented with a smile.

"Are you ready to tell me what your remember or not, Potter?" Snape asked impatiently. Harry glanced up at Snape before answering.

"I will if you at least try to call me Harry from now on." Snape just looked at Harry, his eyes telling the boy he was in no mood to be doing this. But Harry never backed down, and kept his own stare.

"Fine, fine," Snape said. "Now can you tell me or not?"

"I forget the names," Harry said. "But it was the day of that storm. And… there was this guy and a black mist. The mist was talking, and then the man said something, and then the mist went into the mans body and… that's all I remember, Professor," Harry said sadly, hoping he wasn't going to disappoint the potions master. "Oh, yeah, and something about parchment," he added.

"Parchment?" Snape repeated. "What about parchment, Po"—Harry glared at him—"Harry?"

Harry shook his head, a faraway look on his face. "I don't know. My scar started to hurt so much—it was unbelievable! I never felt pain like that before."

"You caused quite a racket," Snape commented. "Be hopeful that you didn't wake the entire staff."

Harry laughed. "I couldn't of been that loud, Professor."

Snape glanced down at Harry. "Oh believe me, P—" Snape sighed, "—Harry. I can assure you that I wouldn't be surprised if you did wake the staff."

Harry smiled faintly and shook his head. "I don't think so." Snape sat on Harry's bed beside Harry in quietness.

"Do you think you're going to be well enough to go back to sleep?" Snape asked, finally breaking the silence. Harry didn't do anything before he nodded.

"I think so, Professor." Snape nodded and got up.

"I'll be in the next room if you… need anything," Snape informed the boy. Harry nodded.

"All right. Thank you." Harry leaned back against the backboard of the bed, not completely ready to go back to sleep. He still couldn't get over the dream. Though all of it wasn't clear, he still knew it was something of significance.

For over five minutes Harry tried as hard as he could to fall back asleep. But he couldn't. Careful as to not wake Slyther up from his deep slumber, Harry quietly threw the blankets off him and stepped onto the floor. He slowly crept to Snape's room, where he was sitting up in bed and reading (what else?) his book.

"Professor?" Harry asked quietly, his hands resting on the doorframe as he peeked inside of Snape's room, and Snape glanced up. "I can't go to sleep. Can I take a bath?" Snape raised his eyebrows and set the book down.

"A bath?" He repeated. Harry nodded.

"Yeah. Maybe if I take a bath it'll make me feel more relaxed. Then I'll be able to go to sleep," Harry explained with a shrug of his shoulders. Snape just nodded and picked his book back up.

"Go ahead." Harry opened his mouth to add more, but he hesitated.

"Can… you wash my hair?" He asked tentatively, moving into the room a bit more. "I—I mean, you don't have to, but I think it'd make me feel more—"

"Relaxed?" Snape guessed, interrupting. He sighed, setting the book back down on the bed and getting up. "Very well. Hurry up." Harry nodded, picking up his pace as he led Snape to the bathroom.

As Snape turned on the taps, Harry undressed himself. He gave a tiny shiver as he stepped into the water. "A bit more hot, please?" Snape, looking chafed, turned the taps on a bit more hot. Harry smiled. "Thank you."

"Now, can I finish my book or do I have to supervise you?" Snape asked, almost sarcastically.

"No, you don't need to supervise me," Harry said, "but I want you to wash my hair. Please," he added. He reached to his right and picked up a little bottle of shampoo from the cubby, handing it to Snape. "I could do it myself but I'm afraid that I'll get soap in my eyes," he explained. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as Snape opened the cap of the shampoo and poured it into his hands, then rubbing the shampoo all over Harry's head.

"You needn't shut your eyes so tightly," Snape observed as he worked the liquid gel into a lather.

"I don't want to get any in my eyes," Harry explained, his eyes still squeezed shut. "I'll open them when you finish, though. Tell me when, OK?"

"Dunk your head back into the water," Snape said, and Harry obeyed. As Snape worked the shampoo out of Harry's hair, Harry slowly opened his eyes. Wiping his eyes with his hands, Harry blinked a couple of times.

"All out?" Snape nodded, and Harry grinned.

"Your turn now, Professor?"

Snape gave Harry a sarcastic smirk, getting up to get Harry a towel.

"I don't think so, Potter," Snape said, handing the towel to Harry. "Now get out, get dressed and get to bed. I'm not going to tell you again."

"What happened to Harry?" Harry questioned, taking the towel and sighing exasperatedly. "Harry, Professor, Harry! We agreed."

"Yes, we did," Snape said. "But you didn't expect me to keep my word, did you?" Harry scowled at the potions master as he wrapped the green and silver (you expected red and gold?) towel around him.

"I actually did, Snape," Harry said with a smirk of his own. "You're not the only one who can call people by their last name, you know." Snape raised his eyebrows before glaring at Harry, who had an innocent smile on his face.

"It's Professor Snape, you brat," Snape said, narrowing his black eyes at Harry.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Harry said, slipping into his pants and then shirt. "Let's have a deal," continued Harry slowly. "One that you're going to keep. I'll call you Professor Snape as long as you try to call me by my real name: Harry." Snape just kept his eyes narrowed at Harry. "And you're going to keep this deal," Harry reminded Snape.

"There's really no point in arguing, is there?" Snape said with a sigh as he led Harry back to Harry's bedroom. Harry smiled, shaking his head.

"Nope. So… it's a deal?" Harry asked tentatively.

"If it has to be," replied Snape, standing in the doorway while Harry climbed into bed and tucked the blankets under his chin. "Do you need anything else?"

"Maybe I should have another Sleeping Potion," Harry mused. "The first one in the pumpkin juice doesn't seem to be working."

"Actually, I didn't put one in the first one," Snape admitted. Harry looked surprised.

"Why not?"

"I thought maybe if I told you that I did put the Potion in, you'd think you were becoming tired and go to sleep," Snape explained. "However, when I returned you were already asleep."

"Well, this time I want the Potion," Harry said, throwing the covers off of him again. "And this time I'm coming with you to make sure that you get it."

"Oh, no," Snape said, shaking his head and indicating for Harry to go back into bed with his hand. "No, no. You go back to bed and wait until I return with the potion. I won't be putting it in any pumpkin juice now, P— oh, for Merlin's sake—Harry, so you'll know if I bring it or not." Snape turned around, walking out of the bedroom and to where Harry thought was the potions classroom, where Snape left all this ingredients and extra vials of Potions.

"Here," Snape said, when he returned with the Potion. "Drink it up."

As Harry put the vial to his lips, he stopped before drinking and asked, "No bad dreams?"

Snape gave his head a shake. "No."

Harry gave a trusting nod to Snape before tipping the vial to his lips and drinking it all. Almost immediately after he drank the Potion, he soon fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

-

A/N: I bet you can guess what I'm going to say before I write it, huh? Come on I know you do... next chapter will be up soon! ;-)