Somnio Salvus DRARRY

Chapter 12

Harry woke with a placid smile on his face, which was becoming a common occurrence, these days. Images from his dream played back in his mind, making him blush as he opened his eyes and rubbed them sleepily. He sat up and fumbled for his glasses, knocking everything else on the bedside table to the floor as he did so.

Eyesight restored, he stooped to retrieve his watch, his wand and a scrap of paper on which was written "The Psychic Shield" and a scrawled incantation. He frowned as he tried to get his sleep-addled brain to register what that was all about.

Not the quickest of thinkers first thing in the morning, he stood up and became vaguely aware that he was going to have to wash out his pyjamas in the sink again today. His spare set wasn't back from the laundry, and these ones seemed to have turned to cardboard around the groin area. Most uncomfortable, but an unavoidable result of another 'Draco Dream'. Harry grinned to himself as he padded off to the bathroom. He hummed a happy little tune as he locked the door. He burst into song as he turned on the taps and filled the sink. He splashed his face with cool water and shivered with the sudden shock of becoming fully awake. Then he stopped abruptly in the middle of a chorus and gaped at his dripping reflection in the mirror. The previous day's discoveries flooded back and arrived in his thoughts like waves crashing onto a beach.

He's been in my head again. I was supposed to tell him that I know what he's up to. I was supposed to kick him out...

As he absently cleaned his teeth he began to wonder if perhaps his dream self was not able to carry out the will of his waking self. That must be it, otherwise he would have remembered to confront Malfoy in the dream, wouldn't he?

A little voice in the back of his head timidly muttered something about how his dream self would have remembered - if that were what he really wanted. Harry chose to ignore that and spat viciously into the sink.

Wiping his mouth, he weighed up his options. He could confront Malfoy in real life - and be subjected to ridicule and abuse that Dudley Dursley would have been proud of. Or he could simply go ahead with the Psychic Shield charm - that would keep Malfoy out, but then he'd never find out why he'd turned up and fought off the nightmares, and he very much wanted to know that.

The only other option was to do nothing. Carry on letting Malfoy into his dreams and see how things panned out. After all, the Slytherin was not aware that Harry knew about the Somnio Salvus potion. He could just pretend that everything was fine, and wait and see if he would give anything away.

'Give him enough rope and he'll hang himself,' Harry muttered.

Having successfully justified his chosen course of action, without having to admit that he desperately wanted Draco to keep visiting his dreams, Harry strolled back into the dorm to get dressed.

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Draco spent the day feeling surprisingly sad. The night's activities had been wonderful, as always. But sitting in Potions, staring at Harry made him realise that his addiction was starting to make him unhappy.

He'd used up half of the potion already. If he carried on like this he'd run out in a matter of weeks and then what? He wasn't sure he could think of another excuse to raid Greenhouse Five. And Madam Pomfrey would be sure to get suspicious if she returned to find her store cupboard unlocked again.

Even if he did manage to make another potion, that too would eventually run out. He realised with a sinking feeling that sooner or later he would have to give it up. Either that or...no. Impossible. He watched the green-eyed Gryffindor stir his potion, absently scratching the back of his neck with his other hand. Only last night he had kissed that very spot, making Harry shiver and whisper his name.