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Chapter 11
The room was awash in inky blackness, only the faintest light was peeking in from the waxing moon, casting a glow over the occupants cuddled together in the bed. It would have to be late if the rain had stopped and the moon had risen—after midnight for sure. She'd slept for more than twelve hours and missed two meals. But what had woken her?
As she came to more awareness, the answer became clear. Behind her, deep sobs echoed through the room and she pulled away from Draco whose pyjama shirt she had been clutching in her sleep. Draco was deeply asleep and did not seem to be aware that she had moved. His breathing was especially laboured in the deep night, but Hermione couldn't be worried about that right now, as Theo wept behind her.
Rolling over, Hermione saw that Theo had moved away from her and curled into a tight ball as he cried. Tears ran down his cheeks as he shuddered and shook, the sight making her reach out to comfort him. She wiped away the tears with her fingers and realised that he was still sleeping, trapped in a nightmare. He must be in the grip of one hell of a nightmare.
The tears continued to flow and Theo continued to tremble. Hermione wished that even a single muttered word might pass his lips so that she could know what was wrong. She tucked that wish aside as extremely unhelpful.
Gently, terrified to startle him, Hermione began to rub Theo's back. It seemed to help, but it still wasn't enough. The trembling started to subside, but the tears continued to pour over his cheeks.
In a last ditch effort, Hermione began to softly sing a lullaby her mother had sung to her when she was very little. Before her first accidental magic, before Hogwarts, before the war. Before everything had gone to hell in a hand-basket really.
Hermione's singing voice was horribly out of practice and off key. She didn't think she'd sung a line in years, but if it helped soothe Theo, she'd try anything.
"Over the mountain over the sea
Back where my heart is longing to be
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love
I see the moon the moon sees me
Down through the leaves of the old oak tree
(Please) Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love
Over the mountain over the sea
Back where my heart is longing to be
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love
Let the little lady with the tambourine sing (Hee hee hee)
I kissed the rose (no not yet)
I kissed the rose (no not yet)
I kissed the rose and the (no not yet, now)
I kissed the rose the rose kissed me
Fragrant as only a rose can be (sing a little louder miss)
Please take the kiss (not too loud) that comforts me
Back to the one I love
Over the mountain over the sea
(Back where my heart) Back where my heart is longing to be
(Please let the light) Please let the light that shines on me
(Shine on the one I love) Shine on the one I love
Over the mountain over the sea
Back where my heart is longing to be
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love!"
After Hermione had sung the entire song through twice, Theo's body finally showed signs of calming. His tears were drying up and he relaxed as he slipped into a deep sleep again. Hermione exhaled a sigh of relief, as she cast a scourgify over his cheeks and the drenched pillow.
She looked over at Draco and to her surprise, he was awake, eyes unblinking as he stared at her. She realised her hand was still making small circles on Theo's back.
Their eyes met. Her breath caught.
"Draco, do you want me to rub your back too, my love?" She knew that the hope was clear in her voice, but she couldn't help it. If he knowingly let her touch him, that would be everything.
He stared at her intensely for another minute, so aware that she knew, just knew, that he was in there - somewhere - but he didn't respond to her query. Instead, his eyes searched her face and then he turned over, pretending to sleep, until eventually sleep truly took him again.
Hermione knew this because she lay there, fighting back tears, for long hours before she too finally fell back into Morpheus' embrace.
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Endnote: "I see the moon" is a lullaby released by Meredith Willson in 1953 and also an old English nursery rhyme first recorded in 1784's edition of the "Gammer Gurton's Garland, The Nursery Parnassus"