Chapter 8
xoXOXox
Harry came awake with a gasp. His wand was in his hand and his magic buzzing at his fingertips. It took him several thudding heartbeats to remember he was at Hogwarts and was as safe as he could be in the post war world. Not really remembering whatever nightmare woke him, he shifted until his feet touched the ground and pushed himself up. He was awake now. Might as well check on Hermione.
Stepping silently to the connecting door, he peered in only to freeze. She wasn’t in bed alone and the shape of the other person did not match Ron in the dark. Moving forward, wand at the ready in case someone needed hexing, Harry cast a spell Hermione had taught him and Ron that allowed him to see in the darkness.
The pale features and stark white hair of Malfoy came into sharp relief and for a moment he stood in silent confusion. At least until his eyes drifted to Hermione. She looked… peaceful. He hadn’t seen her look so calm in so long that he forgot what it looked like until this moment.
A twitch brought his eyes back to Malfoy. The wizard’s brows were drawn down, a furrow of pain or fear forming between his eyes as his hand gripped the sheet tucked under him and he restlessly shifted in place. Not wanting to wake Hermione but not knowing how to get Malfoy away from her enough for that not to happen, Harry’s hands twitched at his side.
A slight whimper had his eyes snapping up once more to glance at Malfoy. He looked so lost and small laying under the covers, his legs pulling up closer to his chest. A sensation crawled through Harry that he had not felt in months. It took him a second to identify it for what it was. Compassion.
Not knowing any other way to help and keeping in mind that the Slytherin prince had crawled into bed with his best friend of his own volition, Harry carefully climbed up until his front was close enough to feel the warmth from Malfoy. Tucking his wand under the pillow and being careful not to wake him, Harry let his magic flow out and over the wizard the same way he and Ron did for Hermione when she was having a hard day. Malfoy stiffened for a moment before the tension seemed to seep out of him and he relaxed back into a deep sleep.
Not the hero, my ass. Way to stick to your plan there, Potter.
Inner voice sounding a lot like the Headmaster, Harry rolled his eyes at himself and then closed them. He didn’t think he would get much sleep, but it also felt odd to stare at Malfoy’s back as he slept. That was the last though he had before, without any effort, Harry fell back to sleep without a single issue.
Ron stood at the foot of the bed trying to work through what he was seeing. Hermione was laying on the right side of the bed on her side, facing inward. Draco, for some reason, was in the middle of the bed on his side, arm outstretched with his fingers entwined with Hermione’s and fast asleep. But what really had his mind spinning was the third occupant of the bed. Harry lay on his side facing Draco’s back, close enough to almost touch him and he was sleeping. Truly, dead to the world, sleeping. Between him and Hermione, Ron felt like maybe he was dreaming. Neither of his best friends slept that deep anymore. Between the nightmares and never feeling safe, sleep was a rare commodity for all three of them.
A commotion in the common room pulled him from his staring. Casting a silencing charm over the room, Ron made his way out only to see Nott and Zabini pacing between the furniture of their shared space.
“Where would he go, Blaise? We have to find him before he does something stupid again.”
Nott twisted his hands together. It was a nervous gesture Ron had never seen him do. It was oddly human.
“Calm down, Theo. We’ll go get Snape. The Headmaster has access to the whole school. I have no doubt he will find Drake without any issue.”
The response was calm, collected, and Ron wondered if Zabini was human at all. Everything from his perfectly styled hair to his pressed shirt and slacks, his shiny Italian shoes, and his nonchalant attitude made him seem entirely unfazed by life. Clearing his throat, he watched with interest as Nott flinched as if he had been struck and Zabini turned as if he knew he had been there the entire time.
“What do you want, Weasley?”
The hint of annoyance would have been a great cover up for Nott’s panic-stricken eyes a few years ago. Ron saw right through it now.
“Sorry, wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. Malfoy is fine. He is sleeping in Hermione’s room. I am guessing he went to help her with her magic after we all went to bed and just stayed there.”
He watched that perfectly sculpted eyebrow of Zabini’s raise in what he guessed was either surprise or curiosity before both Slytherins moved as one, reminding him a little too eerily of him and his best mates. He allowed them to pass him, following a step behind as he watched them both peek into the room before closing the door quietly. Some unspoken conversation happened as they looked at one another before both sets of eyes turned to him.
“What is Potter doing in there?”
Ron shrugged.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
Nott frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Well, try to guess, Weasley.”
Ron huffed, running his hands over his face before leaning against the opposite wall of the hallway and closing his eyes.
“If I had to guess, either he came to check on Mione and saw Malfoy and decided to stay to keep her safe since he doesn’t trust any of you even a tiny bit. Or, and this hinges on if Malfoy has the same issues we do, if he caught a glimpse of him caught in a nightmare, it’s possible he laid down to help him sleep. We found, well Hermione found, a book on magic sharing. Something new mothers do to help their infants sleep through the night. It feels like a warm blanket over you. The three of us learned that if we were having bad dreams, we could extend our magic over each other, and it would help us all sleep.”
He looked at both boys before sighing and hoping he wasn’t breaking his friend's trust by saying his next thought.
“He may not give a fuck in the light of day, but Harry is still in there somewhere. I doubt he would have been able to let Malfoy suffer when he was obviously helping ‘Mione. He may not want to be looked at or called the ‘hero’ anymore, but he has spent more of his life saving people and fighting that fight than he has being apathetic and angry at the world. In his sleep muddled state, he wouldn’t have been able to help himself. Malfoy is safe for now. Let them sleep.”
With that, Ron headed back to his room to take a shower and get ready for the day. He had no idea what was in store outside the walls of this dorm, but he wanted to make sure he was ready for anything.
Theo and Blaise watched Weasley go back to his room and shut the door before peeking back inside. Both of them took in the scene a little slower before looking at each other.
“That is the oddest thing I think I have ever seen, mate. And I’ve seen some odd shite.”
Blaise nodded, quietly closing the door before heading back to the common room, Theo close on his heels.
“Drake is going to either freeze in terror if he wakes up first or flip. I’m not sure which one I’m hoping for. If he does the second, it might do him some good. Wake up those dying instincts in him. Bring him back to life a little.”
Theo nodded, flopping down on one of the chairs with a huff of laughter.
“Can you imagine? Waking up to a peaceful Granger only to roll over and realize you are in bed with your arch nemesis. Talk about jarring.”
Blaise gave a low chuckle, sitting more gently on the sofa, leaning back and stretching one arm over the back.
“I don’t know, Theo. He always did watch Potter a little too closely. Maybe it will wake other parts of him up.”
Theo looked at him shocked before covering his mouth to muffle the laugh that broke free.
“Shut your mouth, Blaise. Drake would be mortified to hear that. There is no way he has a thing for Potter. Right?”
Blaise just raised his customary eyebrow of intrigue, a small smirk tilting one side of his mouth as he leaned his head back and waited on the rest of their merry bunch of rejects to wake up and come out for breakfast and class. Only time would tell if his suspicions were right, and he wanted a moment to focus on the stirring that he felt in his chest when he thought about how soft and small the Gryffindor Princess looked sleeping soundly in the bed with a Slytherin. What an odd sensation.
xoXOXox