Sleep-Apparation

By StarflowerGem

Nightmares had plagued Harry all his life, it started before Voldemort, before the Dursleys, before the war. Baby Harry would toss and turn, too scared to do more then whimper helplessly in his sleep. It was never loud enough to wake his parents and so he was forced to endure them alone in the dark. His young mind too underdeveloped to understand what was happening and only focusing on the fact that it was scary and dark and his mommy and daddy weren't with him.

The first time his parents woke to find him between them in bed had been a shock to say the least. It was utterly baffling to the new parents and neither could find a reasonable reason for Harry to not be in his crib, especially since the minute he was surrounded by the warm safety of his parents he had calmed right down.

Then Voldemort attacked. Harry's mommy and daddy were gone and Harry had nowhere safe to apparate to anymore.

Green light and a sinister figure looming above him filled his nightly terrors with a whole new world of grief and fear, only now there was no escape. He was shut in a small smelly place and no matter how long or loud he cried no one ever came.

No mommy to curl her warm soft arms around him comfortably. No strong fearsome daddy to chase away all the bad things.

Just Harry.

Just Harry, and the dark.

Just Harry, and the dark crowded stinky cupboard under the stairs.

Oh, and the night terrors too.

Those never went away.

Now that Harry had no mommy or daddy to protect him in the night Harry had taken to sleep walking. His subconscious seeking out someone new to watch over him and guard his sleep.

But all there was now was Uncle Vernon, who was not daddy, and often joined the sinister figure looming in his dreams. Only this new terror didn't go away when he woke.

Uncle Vernon was quick to learn of Harry's nightly wanderings. He shouted, he yelled, he hit.

And now Harry's terrors had a new dimension they had never taken before.

Pain.

Pain, and dark, and yelling, and sinister figures looming to a backdrop of acid green light.

There was no safety, there was no escape. There was Just Harry and his small little cupboard in the dark.

Oh, and the lock. That was new.

Hogwarts was a sort of a release for the young child. The night terrors were still there, every bit as scary and all encompassing as they had been before.

But now there was no cupboard.

There was no dark.

There was no Uncle Vernon and no lock.

Harry's nightly wanderings started again, only this time it didn't just happen when he was asleep anymore.

Harry didn't sleep much.

If Harry didn't sleep there was no terrors.

Just Harry.

Just Harry, and magic.

Just Harry, and a magical castle filled with all sorts of wonderful things to learn and explore.

Oh, and the night terrors too.

Those never went away.

But that was okay now, because Harry had magic. And Harry had friends. And that was new and amazing and made Harry want to dance and jump around he was so happy.

That was new too.

Harry couldn't remember being happy before. He was sure he'd never once been Happy with the Dursleys. But as long as Harry had Hogwarts there were no Dursleys to lock Harry in dark smelly closets with only the night terrors for company.

Although Harry was happy at Hogwarts, his subconscious mind still sought out someone to keep him safe from the terrors of his dreams. It wasn't often he slept, but when he did it was rarely in bed. Harry often found himself waking in strange places.

The second floor corridor behind the tapestry of the one eyed pirate.

The moving stairs (he'd almost stepped right off in mid-air if he hadn't woken when he had).

The astronomy tower.

Outside the door to the Potions classroom.

That last one had Harry utterly baffled, Snape was mean and scary with long greasy black hair and a huge hooked nose…he couldn't possibly keep Harry safe and chase away all the night terrors.

As Harry grew and his night terrors increased in both horror and frequency his nightly wanderings slowly came to a stop.

Harry figured that his subconscious mind had finally caught up with his conscious mind and realized there was no such thing as safety. No one was going to protect him because that was his job.

Harry was the hero. He had to chase the bad things away, banish the evil and bring peace to the world of magic and light.

Sure Harry had no idea how he was supposed to do that on his own, but Dumbledore said it was his job, so he supposed it must be.

And if Harry was the hero, that meant no one was ever going to save him, because what good was a hero that needed saving?

So there was Harry.

Just Harry.

Just Harry, the hero.

Just Harry, the hero who had to save the world from the worst nightmare ever to haunt the human race.

Oh, and there were the night terrors too.

Those never really went away.

Harry won. Yes, he was just as surprised at that as you are. There were many times he thought he would never live to see the age of 18.

But he did.

Harry beat Voldemort, the monster that loomed in his nightly terrors surrounded by that grisly green light. But just because Voldemort was gone from the world didn't mean he had left Harry's dreams. He was still there in Harry's head, sapping all the strength from the sleeping young man, who had taken to tossing and turning and whimpering. It was just like he had done when he was a baby, only now his subconscious mind was silencing his cries so he wouldn't bother the other young men sleeping in the dorm.

A month passed like so.

Just Harry.

Just Harry and his horrifying nightly terrors.

But those never went away.

The night was dark, and crushing, and Harry was tucked in his bed trying to sleep. The night terrors were at their most horrible. The looming figure of Voldemort crowded Harry, pinning him to a cold hard slab of stone in a graveyard. Skeletal hands were latched onto his ankles, keeping him from running, and cold clammy hands held his arms in place.

Harry couldn't see who held him, but the wheezing rattling gasp of the dementors breathing was heavy in his ears and that was more then enough for him to know who stood behind him.

Green lights flashed randomly in the dark, creating a sickening strobe effect that left Harry half blind.

Blood dripped heavily from his hair and arms, sending chills down his spine and even though Harry new this was no more then a dream he couldn't wake himself up.

And Voldemort laughed.

It was a chilling laugh.

Cold.

Cruel.

Mocking.

Harry tossed and turned and whimpered in his bed. Silently pleading for someone - anyone - to save him.

But there was no one.

Just Harry.

Just Harry and the laughter.

Just Harry and that cold cruel laughter and dizzying lightshow.

And the night terrors, because those never went away.

Harry's heart wept, his soul cried. Then he was gone. Swept away in the night to leave the Gryffindor boy's to wonder what had happened to their Golden Boy come morning.

But by then Harry would be somewhere safe; somewhere where the terrors would never bother him again.

Because Harry's magic had found someone to chase them away.

Draco Malfoy woke with a start, a warm solid body settling on his bed next to him and curling into his side like a contented kitten.

Blinking sleepily Draco glanced down at the body tucked up against his own like it belonged there. He must still be asleep, he decided, rubbing his eyes and looking down again.

Nope. Still there.

What in Merlin's name was Potter doing clinging to Draco like he was some new form of teddy bear? And how had he gotten there anyway?

The door had not been opened, his drapes were still spelled shut, and his quilts were tucked right up close to him just like always.

Yet there was Potter, snuggling his cheek against Draco's chest and, Merlin, that should be against the law. Draco grit his teeth as Potter nuzzled against his nipple, his hands clenching in an effort to restrain himself.

That alerted Draco to the fact that, not only was Potter securely snuggled up against him peacefully asleep and doing things to Draco's body in his sleep that he was sure Potter would be mortified to learn about when he woke -but Draco's arm was stretched underneath the other body and sometime in the past five minutes Draco's arm had curled around the other boy's back and dragged him closer to Draco.

A soft coo from the sleeping Gryffindor had Draco going completely boneless. Oh, who was he kidding? He'd been wanting Harry in his bed for months now, who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth?

Tugging the warm body closer, Draco buried his nose in the dark hair of his sleeping partner and inhaled deeply before sighing out and slipping back into his dreams.

The morning would come, and it would be full of confusion and accusations and teasing.

But there was no getting around the facts.

It would forever be just Harry.

Just Harry, and Draco.

Just Harry, and Draco who teased him mercilessly about his nightly apparating.

Just Harry - and Draco, who teased him, and kissed him, and chased all those nasty night terrors away.

Harry had finally found a hero of his own. And Harry was never going to let him go.

Okay, so yeah, this was a little different from usual and I'm not entirely sure where it came from. But I like it all the same.

I hope you did too.

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