Nocturne’s Thread - The Dreambind Draught

Draco‘s POV:

The deed had been done.
Draco should have felt relieved now that he had taken the Noctis Serentias away from Harry‘s nightstand — ending their shared dreams.
But instead, he felt emptiness and regret.
"Why do I even try to be a nice guy… that’s not who I am anyway. That wasn’t who destiny wanted me to become too," Draco thought, running his hands through his hair in distress, clearly regretting his decision.
If he hadn’t taken back the vial from Harry‘s room, he would still have the chance to meet the boy he loved in his dreams.

He was afraid — afraid of not seeing Harry in his dreams anymore. The thought of it made Draco‘s heart ache.
Draco still wasn’t ready to face this outcome yet. So instead, he decided, tonight, for one last time, I don’t want to face the feeling of loss.
His decision had been made. He would stay up the whole night — as being awake meant that he wouldn’t dream and therefore wouldn’t experience what it would feel like not being able to meet Harry in his dreams anymore.

And thank Merlin it was the weekend!
Draco was standing in front of the mirror in his room, looking into his own reflection with a determined look in his eyes: “You won’t dream. Not tonight.” he said out loud to himself.
He was wearing black loose-fit dress trousers paired with a black satin shirt which seemed to be tailor-made just for him. He looked very elegant and classy — an outfit that would turn heads. His platinum-blond hair was sleeked back.
His outfit looked like the perfect revenge dress to try to win one’s ex back. He looked stunning.

Draco was still busy styling his hair when suddenly the door opened.
“You ready, Draco Darling~~?” Pansy entered the room with a big grin on her face, dancing a little cute dance.
“Pansy… for the 101st time, I told you not to call me like that!” Draco laughed out. “But yes, as good as…”
“Draco, come on, nobody with nicer-looking hair than you will be there!” Pansy mocked him a little, as Draco always took quite a long time getting ready when they went out for a drink.
“And besides, Blaise is also already waiting for you in the common room!” she added a bit impatiently.
“Boys… but needing longer to get ready than me,” she mumbled quietly to herself.
“Alright, alright. I’m coming.” Draco rolled his eyes, a bit annoyed.

The three of them apparated into Diagon Alley and were now standing in front of a fancy-looking nightclub with the name Maison Mordaine.
It was a very popular nightclub in the wizarding world, and not everyone was granted entrance, as it was an exclusive club. But the three Slytherins didn’t have to worry about that — all of their families were known and they all looked stunning, not having to worry about the dress code.

Maison Mordaine shimmered with an air of decadent mystery — wrought-iron chandeliers hung low over plush velvet lounges, and the walls were lined with spell-lit portraits whispering in French. The scent of absinthe and enchantments lingered in the air, as deep mahogany wood met flickering golden candlelight across all three opulent floors.

They were sitting in the corner of the room on a dark brown leather couch, draining down their Firewhiskies. Draco was present — but at the same time, his mind was elsewhere, thinking about Harry, his regrets. He tried his best to distract himself, drinking with his friends… but he just couldn’t shake that feeling off.

“Alright Draco, what’s wrong? Like, you seem distracted the whole night now?” Pansy mustered Draco, wearing a worried but also a bit curious expression.
“Yeah, you’re not as good at masking your feelings as you think,” Blaise raised one of his eyebrows at Draco. “You can’t fool us!” He crossed his arms in front of his body, giving Draco an expectant look.
“Nothing. Everything’s fine.” Draco answered dryly, his chin resting bored on his hand placed on the desk, his gaze looking into nothingness.
“Honestly, have you even noticed that guy at the bar over there? He’s been looking at you for like the whole night now,” Blaise laughed out loud, his eyes mischievous. “100% sure that he would fancy a shag.” He smirked and winked.
“No thanks…” Draco still looked uninterested “…I just think I need more alcohol.” He laughed a little, his voice filled with something — it was desperateness.
Draco just wished that he wouldn’t feel anything anymore — not the loss, not the regret, not his self-hatred…

“Alright, we keep on filling you up then, until you spill the beans!” Pansy grinned, seeming determined with her little plan as she was really curious what was on Draco‘s mind. But Draco didn’t spill the tea for the rest of the night.
But it was fucking hard to forget Harry when, in the middle of the night, Draco felt a sudden impulse inside of him — it felt like someone was calling him.
“Draco… where are you?” — it was Harry’s voice filling Draco’s head, his voice slightly trembling with fear.
Draco felt like he had finally gone bonkers — it must have been the alcohol getting the better of him, making him hallucinate things.
And at one point, it even got worse: “I want to see you… I miss you.”  The voice rushed through his head like an echo — filled with longing, sadness and a tint of fear.
Draco felt like he had lost his mind. His heart started to ache wildly, as if someone had rushed a sword through it. He felt his eyes getting teary.

Suddenly, he felt something warm on his cheek.
It was a teardrop running over his skin.
“What the fuck is going on…” he thought, rubbing his face — rubbing away the evidence.
Thank god his friends didn’t notice — otherwise Draco might have died from embarrassment this night.
Though at some point, as the alcohol started hitting, Draco hit the dance floor with his friends, trying to push these voices aside. They stayed in the club until 6 am. Nighttime was over — and so was the risk of experiencing the first dream without Harry.
But instead, he experienced withdrawal symptoms.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Harry‘s POV:

Harry had just finished his Quidditch training. He had stayed a bit longer than the rest, trying to sort out his mind. For Harry, sport was a great way to feel more concentrated and deal with his thoughts.
After a nice long warm shower, he fell into his bed — feeling so tired that he even forgot to take a drop of the Noctis Serentias to avoid nightmares.
He fell into a deep sleep just after a few minutes.

Harry found himself in one of his dreams again. But this felt different than the ones he had before — it seemed dark and gloomy.
Everything about the dream seemed sad. There were no colorful flowers, and the sun wasn’t shining — instead, the air was foggy and cold, making it hard to look into the distance.
The air felt cutting and cold. There was no space for happiness or magic.
It was similar to the feeling when you are kissed by a Dementor — as if all bits of life and happiness were being sucked out of it.

Harry gulped, unsure if he was trapped in one of his nightmares again. Well, he had forgotten to take the Noctis Serentias — maybe it was a nightmare after all…But he kept on walking, cautiously and slowly, exploring the environment.
He walked through a forest — even the conifers seemed sad and gloomy.
There was no sign of life until he reached a small lake.

He could recognize the outline of a person sitting on the ground, hands crossed and placed on their knees.
It was Draco.
“Draco!” Harry said loudly, a bit excited, as he walked nearer.
But there was no answer. Maybe he didn’t hear him, as he seemed to be lost in his thoughts — his gaze wandering into the distance, looking at nothing.

“Hello?? Draco?!” Harry stood right next to him, but he didn’t get an answer again.
“DRACOOO!!!!!!”This time Harry shouted — but Draco didn’t even flinch an inch. He was sitting completely still.
It was almost as if he couldn’t hear him…

Harry sighed. “That’s weird…” he mumbled to himself. “That reminds me of something…”
Harry was lost in his thoughts — he was so close to finding the answer.
This scene seemed so familiar somehow — as if he had experienced something similar before.“Wait no… that can’t be…!” He realized something.

He reached out his hand to touch Draco, his hand trembling slightly.But his hand rushed through nothingness — it was as if Draco was a ghost.
It was just like when Harry was in his second year at Hogwarts — the time he was sucked into the diary of Tom Riddle.
It was just like watching a memory — not being able to interact with the person or touch them.

Though Harry wasn’t sure if this was a memory. It felt different still — it was as if the whole scene was filled with emotions.
The whole scenery was wrapped in something gloomy, and he could actually feel emotions floating around — almost as if they were his own.
Harry placed his hand on his chest.
“It hurts…” he said quietly to himself.
He could feel his heart ache, and he didn’t know why. It was as if he was flooded with sadness and grief.It felt so real and yet unfamiliar — as if the emotions belonged to someone else.

He took a closer look at Draco.
Draco‘s eyes seemed empty, as if every bit of life had been sucked out of him.
He was throwing stones into the lake. His facial expression seemed pained — almost as if he had experienced the loss of someone close.

This dream felt horrible. Not only was it dark and gloomy, but also because he wasn’t able to interact with Draco.
Harry had actually enjoyed all these romantic dreams with Draco, starting to develop feelings for the other boy.
And now he felt so far away — unreachable.It wasn’t only because of the emotions that the dream carried, but also because, after some while, it mixed with Harry‘s own emotions.

“Draco… where are you?” Harry said out loud, his voice slightly trembling with fear.
He somehow felt so lonely and rejected…Harry tried one last time, putting every emotion he felt into his sentence, hoping it would somehow reach Draco.
“I want to see you…” his eyes started to get a bit teary “... I miss you.”
A single drop of his tear ran down his cheek.
The only warmth he would feel for the rest of the night.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Harry woke up in his bed, his chest rising and falling heavily, filled with sadness. His face felt wet.
He ran his hand over his face — it was covered in tears.
“What on earth was that…” he said out loud to himself, his voice still trembling in fear.
This dream felt horrible. It was indeed a nightmare.

After he sat on the corner of his bed for a while, his breath had evened out, and he calmed down a bit.
He felt very confused and empty.
Harry looked to his nightstand, wanting to take a look at the Noctis Serentias.
“Hm?” He had his glasses on, but he still couldn’t find the vial on the nightstand.
Instead, there was something else.
It was a little purple flower, he took it in his hand to get a closer look.

Harry turned the flower slowly between his fingers, studying each of its velvety petals.
They shimmered softly in the light — a deep violet streaked with midnight blue, like someone had poured a drop of starlight into it.
It looked like a rose, but the edges of the petals curled gently, almost like whispers frozen in bloom, delicate and shifting ever so slightly as if they were alive.

A strange warmth began to spread from the flower into his fingertips, slowly moving up into his chest.It was… comforting. Sad. Beautiful.
Like someone saying, “I was there. Even if I never said it out loud.”
He had never seen a flower that felt so alive. It was like it had been born from a dream.

He surely hadn’t placed the flower there, and he didn’t know anyone who would have gifted it to him.
The flower looked really beautiful — just looking at it made Harry instantly feel a bit better.
It was as if it was filled with love.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door.
“Harry? Can I come in? It’s me, Neville!” It was Neville‘s voice.
“Yeah sure, come in!” Harry answered quickly, still feeling a bit confused.
Neville came through the door.
“Wait, you’re still in bed? It’s already noon though!” he said as he saw Harry sitting on the corner of the bed.
“Haha, thank god it’s the weekend.” Harry laughed a bit.
“I hope I didn’t wake you up. The others are already waiting — we wanted to go to Hogsmeade, remember?” he said with a soft smile.
“Oh yeah, right, sorry. I think… I was just deep in my dreams.” Harry responded with a smile that seemed more filled with pain than happiness.

“Wait… that flower in your hands!” Neville’s eyes opened in surprise, as if he had made the discovery of a century.
“Yeah, what about it?” Harry asked, clueless — he didn’t understand why Neville seemed so surprised.

“You do know that this is a Somnium Amoris. This flower is said to only bloom in the presence of a love that dares not speak its name — also known as the Flower of Silent Confessions.” Neville’s eyes seemed to sparkle, as he was passionate about magical herbology.

“What?… I didn’t know about that.” Harry looked at the flower, unsure of who had placed it there.
“It’s like the ultimate love confession…” Neville continued, wearing a big soft smile.
“It’s just… I don’t know who placed it here…” Harry’s voice was filled with so many questions.

There was something in Neville’s eyes, making it seem like he knew something.
“Well… I might have a hunch. I actually did see someone at the library researching magical herbology…”
His voice was unsure if he should continue or not.

“Only blooms in the presence of a love that dares not speak its name…” Neville’s words echoed softly in his mind.
The flower of silent confessions.
And in that moment, Harry knew: This flower wasn’t just beautiful. It was a message.