C'est La Vie -Harry Potter AU (D.M)

My Nightmare

Song; My Nightmare by Get Scared

The screaming is what woke Kore up. It had been a year since they left the academy, and yet the loud sound haunted her nightmares. Only this time, it wasn't a nightmare. She pushed herself up out of bed and followed the source of the sound to Harry's bedroom. Without a second thought, she opened the door, closed it behind her, and climbed into bed with him. This had become a ritual over the last year.

"Harry," she whispered, shaking his shoulders. The boy jostled awake, turning onto his side to face her. Upon seeing her, he let out a small sigh.

"I'm sorry, Delia." He whispered. Kore shrugged and curled up against him, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. He held her tight, relaxing under her touch.

The war had taken a toll on both of them. Kore was sickly pale from the lack of sunlight, as she was reported as missing from the attack on the muggle school. She spent time training to hide herself within the shadows as well as how to fight with them. They never let her on missions.

Harry had been doing as many missions as possible, pushing himself past the point of exhaustion. He had seen many people he cared about die, and often relived their deaths in his nightmares.

Kore pressed a few kisses to the side of his neck, making him smile.

"Delia." He spoke quietly still. The girl shifted to look up at him. He leaned down and kissed her gently, as he had every night the last six months of the year he had known her. His hand cupped her cheek as she pulled herself closer to him, kissing him desperately.

They were together for all the wrong reasons. Harry hadn't known romantic interest beyond Cho Chang until Kordelia. He did everything he thought he should as her boyfriend. He bought her flowers, he took care of the wounds she got from training as well as the self inflicted ones. He held her while she cried and brought her whatever books or CDs he got while out. It was empty, fueled by lust and a need to forget, but it was theirs.

Kore had never gotten over the kiss she shared with Draco. She longed to be with him, but that was impossible. She hadn't seen him since the attack. She hadn't received a single letter from him. Her heart broke for the missing piece she had lost. Harry couldn't fill that void, but he did try. She only wished she could give him the love he deserved.

He pulled her shirt over her head, kissing along her neck, drawing the girl from her thoughts.

Everyone coped with the war in different ways.

-

Draco took another pain potion before stretching. A year of training with his Aunt Bellatrix really had done a number on him. The cruciatus curse caused constant shaking that he had kept at bay by massaging his hands and stretching often.

As he dropped down to do push-ups, his mind wandered. He wondered how Kore was doing. Had she been coping well? Had she fallen off the deep end as his mind had threatened to do many times by now?

Was she even still alive?

He stood after a set of fifty before going to the kitchen. He always had trouble sleeping by now. Every time he closed his eyes, he dreamt she was with him still. It hurt beyond belief.

He made himself a cappuccino much too late for one. Some habits die hard. After finishing the coffee, he gave the dish to the new family house elf, Honey, before walking back to his room. The elf had flinched when he handed her the cup, but he hadn't hurt her.

He laid in his bed and stared up at the ceiling, wishing to go back to the night before the attack. He wished for that one final party. He wished for his friends.