Under The Moonlight
Harry’s POV:
Harry was feeling refreshed, like he had been reborn. He was happy, running around with a big grin on his face. He felt like he could move mountains.
And his happiness and this feeling of being freed from a heavy burden were visible from the outside, too.
Hermione’s Dreamless Potion had really helped him a lot. Most nights he wouldn’t dream at all, and if he did, they were very nice dreams—beautiful landscapes and nature.
“You alright, mate? I mean, I’m happy you don’t look so gloomy anymore, but you almost seem a bit too happy now. But honestly, do I need to worry?” Ron asked Harry with a slightly worried expression, his voice slightly sarcastic—but in a funny, playful way.
“I’m feeling brilliant!! Thanks for asking!” Harry answered, wearing his brightest smile, so bright one could almost feel the room light up.
“The truth is, it’s been so long since I’ve had such good sleep. No nightmares, no waking up during the night drenched in sweat. I just feel really refreshed,” Harry confessed.
“And I wanted to thank you too. I’m really grateful for you two being my friends, everything we’ve been through together, and everything you’ve done for me…”
Ron now looked very confused, his expression reading: Has he finally gone bonkers?? The red-haired boy directed his gaze at Hermione, who returned his look, looking equally unsure of what was happening.
“You know what? Let’s go to Hogsmeade this weekend—Butterbeer’s on me!” Harry announced to his friends.He didn’t mention the potion, his thoughts already too many steps ahead, and he was sure the two of them already knew what he was talking about anyway.
“Of course, Harry! You did the same for us. It’s natural—we’re friends. And sure, let’s go to Hogsmeade,” Hermione answered with a soft smile, as if a huge burden had finally been lifted from her shoulders. She looked very relieved.
The three of them agreed on a trip to Hogsmeade and continued their breakfast in the Great Hall.
At the Slytherin table, Blaise Zabini was looking over at the Gryffindor table and noticed Harry’s odd behaviour. He turned his head back to his friends and said, “Well, seems like someone got some good wank last night,” looking very smirky. “Or maybe he’s got a new girl?”
Draco, seemingly a bit embarrassed, answered, “Well, or maybe he just got some nice sleep or something,” trying to act as if he didn’t know the reason for Harry’s refreshed look.
“Same thing, right?” Blaise laughed out loud.
“Oh, come on, Blaise!” Draco said, facepalming—but then started laughing a bit too. If he didn’t know about his potion, he would’ve really started to worry if Harry had a new lover.
Harry had broken up with Ginny some time ago. After the war, the two of them had agreed it would be best to end the relationship. After Fred’s death, Ginny had a lot to figure out on her own, and she had seen Harry suffer so much—he clearly needed time for himself too.He didn’t want anyone to get sucked into the mess of emotions he was feeling after the war. He wasn’t really stable—he needed to figure out who he really was. He wanted to show his best side to Ginny, not drag her down the hill with him. He wasn’t that selfish. It was better to “suffer” alone than to drag anyone else along, he thought.
But they had continued being friends, and they still saw each other often when Harry visited Ron. There was really no bad blood, just understanding.
Harry noticed how the other guys from the Slytherin table looked at him. He really felt they were talking about him. But he couldn’t be bothered—he was feeling so happy and refreshed that he just didn’t care about a thing anymore.
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Draco’s POV:
Draco saw Harry today at breakfast in the Great Hall. Harry just seemed so happy—his dark circles were finally gone, and even his hair seemed like it had been tamed, like he had actually brushed it.
It had been four days now since Draco had placed the Noctis Serenitas vial on Harry’s nightstand.
Draco really felt a sense of accomplishment. Seeing the boy he was in love with so happy and smiling brightly—
It almost melted his heart.
The blond-haired boy always made sure that no one would notice his obsession with Harry, but seeing the saviour so happy, he just couldn’t help but feel happy too. He even laughed at Blaise’s jokes. Usually, he wouldn’t react to them.
Though Draco felt proud of his potion-brewing success, he himself unfortunately still felt really tired. He had also suffered from nightmares for quite a long time now...But after he saw that his potion seemed to be working so well, he decided to just take it himself too, as he had actually filled a few more vials than just Harry’s. He had almost forgotten about them. He’d been so focused on Harry this whole time that he’d forgotten to take care of his own sleeping issues.
Actually, Draco was quite desperate. He’d taken the Dreamless Potion for too long, to the point where he suffered from side effects...He felt like he wasn’t able to fall asleep without it anymore.
After a while of taking it, he felt a sense of numbing.“It’s like my mind doesn’t know how to rest without it anymore,” Draco thought to himself, running his hand through his hair.
And he knew the side effects could become even worse if he kept taking it. The worst possible outcome after these early warning signs would be that he wouldn’t be able to feel any emotions at all anymore—and it could even affect his magical core.
So Draco really knew this couldn’t go on. He had to stop.
After Draco finished his classes for the day, he went to his own potion room and took a few vials of the brewed Noctis Serenitas he had stored there.
He placed the vials in the top drawer of his nightstand this time.
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Draco sat on the edge of his bed, looking at his own vials of Noctis Serenitas. He took one and put a single drop into his glass of water.
A purplish drop of liquid fell into the clear water, the colour spreading in a flower-like pattern. He took a spoon and stirred the liquid, then lifted the glass to his lips and drank it all at once. He closed his eyes for a moment.
“I really hope I can finally have a good night’s sleep too…” he thought.
He laid down under his blankets. He could feel how he grew more tired and drowsy—and only after a short while, he fell asleep.
Draco found himself in one of his dreams.
This one didn’t seem like the beginning of a nightmare, though. He was standing in a forest—it looked like summer. There were many different kinds of flowers blooming on the ground. The sunlight filtered through the crowns of the trees. He looked up, reaching his hand into the air, feeling the warmth of the sun on his fingers. It tingled a bit.
He had the feeling that this would be a good dream. He felt so conscious. So the Noctis Serenitas had worked. This seemed more like a lucid dream.
Everything felt so intense.
The feeling of the sun on his skin.The feeling of his bare foot on the slightly wet, cold moss beneath him.
He looked around and saw a forest clearing. It looked truly beautiful, and he felt drawn to it.
But when he moved closer, he saw a figure in the distance.
“Hm? Who’s there?” Draco thought. He figured this was some kind of nice lucid dream where he could influence the scenery and plot.
As he almost reached the forest clearing, he recognized that it was a boy. He was facing the other direction, so Draco couldn’t see his face.
He had dark, slightly messy hair. He seemed about the same height as him.He had an awful resemblance to Harry, Draco thought as he moved closer.
“Hello?” he asked softly, a bit cautious.
The figure turned around.
“Draco? Is that you?” the boy asked—and he definitely looked like Harry.
It was Harry.
Well, maybe a projection of him.
“What?… You weren’t supposed to be here…” Draco murmured to himself, just loud enough for the other boy to hear.
Draco turned around quickly. He walked back in the direction he had come from, his pace speeding up.
“What the fuck was that?” Draco now said out loud to himself.
But after thinking it through, Draco figured he was just so obsessed with Harry that it was no wonder he appeared in his dreams.
It actually wasn’t the first dream where Harry had shown up. He’d even had some… smutty ones.
It was just weird, because this dream felt so real, just like a lucid dream—and it surprised him to meet Harry here.
He just wasn’t mentally prepared to meet him here.
In this safe space.
But maybe his subconscious was just longing for Harry so much that it had created Harry in this dream.
With that thought, Draco calmed down again.
And now, he wanted to use this opportunity—because, well, why not?
It was a dream, and he could do whatever he wanted. That’s how dreams worked, anyway.
So he went back to the forest clearing, where he found Harry still standing, happily looking around.
Draco picked one of the purple flowers from the ground, where they were blooming everywhere the sunlight fell through the trees.
He moved closer.
Now standing right in front of the dark-haired boy.
He was greeted with a “Oh, you’re back!” from a smiling Harry.
Draco didn’t answer. Instead, he took one of Harry’s hands and placed the purple flower in his palm, wearing a soft smile.
Harry looked at his hand, confused, as if he didn’t know what on earth was happening.
“What?” he asked softly, his voice filled with so many questions.
“Shh~” Draco said. “Don’t talk. Please don’t ruin it for me in my dreams too.”
Draco was actually quite the romantic one, and he had always dreamed of showering Harry in presents and beautiful flowers.
With that, he intertwined his fingers with Harry’s free hand.
Draco gestured toward the forest floor, a silent invitation to sit with him.
The two of them lay on their backs on the ground.
Draco could change everything he wanted in his dreams—so he changed the time of day from morning to night.
The sky turned into a night sky. Still holding hands, they looked up in silence at the beautiful, starry sky. Just admiring the view.
It was so dark that it almost felt like they were surrounded only by the light of the stars.
Draco was truly happy. Just lying there, hand in hand with Harry, stargazing…
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Harry’s POV:
Harry woke up in his bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling very confused.
What on earth had he just dreamt about?? Why did Draco appear in his dream?
Well… apart from Draco, it was a very nice dream. No nightmare—just a relaxing and beautiful dream.“I must have spent so much time with Draco recently that he started appearing in my dreams…” Harry thought.
But still, even with that realisation, he felt confused. Why had the dream been so… romantic?
“Maybe it’s really time for me to start dating again,” Harry thought.
Hermione—and even Ron—had asked him a few times recently if he didn’t want to go on a date again.
And maybe they were right.
Because Draco appearing in his dreams… yeah, that was probably not a good sign.
His love life was as dry as a desert, so yeah—maybe it was time for a date.
There were a lot of girls who wanted to meet up with him.
He’d talk to his friends about it at breakfast later.
Of course… not about the dream!
That would be a bit embarrassing. He wouldn’t admit that