The thing about nightmares is that you don't really realise what's happening until it's too late.
Gideon saw flashes of images. Blood on walls. Blood on his hands. His own face in the mirror, and then someone else's.
He'd see scales and hear the drag of them on metal and stone. The hissing of a basilisk. A creature that he knew far too well.
He'd feel the feathers and skin of roosters, the pressure of their muscles against his palms whilst he strangled them. The cries and screeches as they tried to run and fight.
He'd watch himself clean off the blood from his hands and heal the cuts on his skin.
But worse of all, he'd see him.
Most of wizarding Britain was terrified at the thought of You-Know-Who, but that's not what scared Gideon.
Gideon was scared of Tom Riddle. Tom Riddle was the boy he saw in his nightmares. The boy he saw in the mirror. Tom Riddle was the voice he couldn't get rid of.
----
This night was an especially bad one. The nightmares had gotten worse ever since rumours of You-Know-Who's return had spread last summer. Now it was only a few weeks before Gideon would start his 4th year and he had no idea how he was gonna handle it.
He woke up sweating, a half-choked scream caught in his throat and his heart pounding. It took a moment for him to realise where he was and that what happened wasn't real. Or, at the very least, it wasn't currently happening. He was safe in his room. His very quiet, very dark room. By himself. Just him and his thoughts.
"Fucking hell." He climbed out of bed and quickly changed into a less sweat soaked shirt and then pulled on a hoodie. "C'mon." He mumbled to himself, grabbing his broom from it's tucked away spot and carefully flew out of his window.
----
Luna was naturally a very light sleeper so she woke up quickly when she heard five gentle knocks at her window. She pulled the window open to find a distracted looking Gideon smiling sheepishly at her.
"Hello." She greeted, smiling easily at him as if 2am visits were common.
"Hey." He rubbed at the back of his neck, maintaining balance on his broom. "Can I come in?"
"Of course." She helped him inside and then returned to her spot on the bed.
He shuffled inside and then took off his shoes and hoodie. Luna motioned for him to join her on the bed.
The pair settled next to each other, lying with Gideon on his back and Luna on her side facing him. They had laid like this with each often over the years.
"You're covered in wrackspurts and flutterflies."
Gideon grinned at that, though it felt self-deprecating. "I'm not surprised."
"Would you like to talk about it?"
He turned to look at her. She was already staring.
"Had another nightmare."
She reached a hand out, leaving it in the space between them. He took the silent offer and intertwined her hand with his.
"It was worse than normal...what if they're not just nightmares, Lune? What if I still have some connection to him and him being back is making them worse?"
Luna quietly played with his fingers for a moment before looking up at his eyes again. "I think that if you were still connected, then we'd find a way to handle it. We always do. But I also think that if you were connected, then I'd see it in your head. I don't see him. I only see you, Blitts."
Gideon smiled weakly. "How are you so confident we'll always find a way to handle it?"
"Because it's you." She said it simply. "I'd change anything I had to for you. Just as you would for me."
His grip on her hand tightened. "Damn right I would."
The pair smiled softly at each other and just stared for a moment, letting their eyes trace each other's faces in the easy silence.
----
"What was that thing you said earlier?"
"Hm?"
"Blitts?"
Luna just smiled at him, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
It would be two years later that Gideon would find out the meaning of the nickname.
Blittering nargles were what Luna saw in people's heads when they were feeling love.
He was her Blitts.