Book Two: Snape's Memories

Chapter Ten

In an instant, Harry was on his feet with his wand out, taking in his surroundings. The room was dark and the fire burned low. The blood curdling shrieks were coming from another room.

Before doing anything, he took a second to check the household wards. His wand shot out silver sparks, meaning the wards were intact.

"Harry?" called Ginny's voice, alarmed.

"It's Tim!" Harry called back as he tore down the hallway.

Ginny arrived scant seconds after Harry, dressed in her nightdress with her wand in her hand.

Tim stood in the middle of the room. His eyes were wide open and his hands were thrown up to fend off an invisible attacker. He was screaming as though he were mortally wounded.

Just to be safe, Harry cast a revelio charm.

Nothing.

"It's a night terror." Harry said.

Ginny nodded, "Kreacher. Go get a calming draft." she said, quickly, "Tim?" cautiously she crept to the screaming child's side, "Tim, it's Aunt Ginny. Wake up now, sweetheart." she put her hand to his shoulder, but he clearly didn't recognize her, flinching and batting her hand away.

Harry passed his hand in front of the boy's open eyes. Tim didn't blink or give any sign he saw Harry or Ginny. The screams were now being replaced with terrible keening sobs.

"Gin? D'you think..?" asked Harry.

Ginny nodded. Very gently she put her arms around the boy. After a moment he seemed to give up trying to struggle away from her.

Harry knelt down to look into the boy's eyes. This was something he'd done with James when James was tiny, James had been prone to these night terrors. It had gotten so bad that they'd consulted a mindhealer about it.

The healer had said that it was not uncommon in young children and he would grow out of them. He had indeed had grown out of them, although James had been three not seven when he'd had them.

In order to help the avoid (or at least to cut down on) sleep deprivation in both child and parents, the healer had taught Harry this technique. Harry rather than Ginny, because it was not that different from the techniques Aurors might use to calm witnesses.

Blue eyes met green. Harry silently incanted legilimens.

The boy's thoughts were sleep muddled and chaotic with fear.

Like most night terrors, the images were unformed, more feeling than anything else. Not evolved into anything as concrete as a nightmare.

Shadowy figures flitted threateningly, at the edges of everything. Somewhere on the floor, a serpent waited.

"Tim." called Harry, "It's fine, you're safe." Harry looked for the image that Tim's sleeping mind would associate with the word "safe".

Tim began to wake up a little and the images became more coherent. Quick flash of an elderly woman with a worried, but kind face. A glimpse of gold fish in a pond. Mr. Clark having dinner with Tim and the kind faced woman, that Harry assumed was Tim's Nana while she lived.

Harry pulled those memories forward, very gently. Their associated feeling would pull him away from the fear. Harry hoped he could find one Patronus worthy memory. Carefully, he probed a little deeper.

Tim seemed to sense Harry. Harry could feel him shying away from the mental touch.

Suddenly, a vivid memory of trust. Tim's face sunk into sweet smelling, red hair. Someone's arms embracing him, s strong and reassuring shoulder to lean on. A woman's shoulder. Ginny, probably.

A memory of peace, a girl's hand clasped tightly in Tim's own. When Harry studied the image for a second, he decided it was probably Lily's hand.

Harry brought those memory forward. Their emotions began to override the boy's panic

Tim began to relax into Ginny's embrace, slumped sideways against her.

Harry didn't like to stop now that he was making some headway, so he probed one last time.

Another good strong memory. Green eyes that seemed to be promising safety.

For a bare second, Harry was disoriented. The eyes looked exactly like his son Albus', whom Tim had yet to meet. Harry realized, with a little smile, he was looking at his own eyes from Tim's perspective. It was funny the way small children saw things- discounting Harry's glasses entirely that they didn't even appear in the image.

Harry pulled that image forward, as well. Tim was probably remembering the roof from Sunday.

Tim seemed almost completely awake now, Harry very gently dropped the spell.

Tim's keening sobs had quieted to more normal sounding crying. Ginny patted his back and whispered calming words into his ears.

Kreacher stood at Harry's elbow with a calming draft. Harry took it, glanced at it to check the potion's appearance and label (Kreacher was unlikely to make a mistake like that, but it didn't hurt to look) and uncorked it.

"Tim? Lovey, you need to drink this." said Ginny gently, "You had a bad dream and you're all overwrought."

Tim reached out with a shaking hand and took the vial. He oddly, repeated Harry's gesture, seeming to look to see what the potion was. Then he held it under his running nose, gave it a lttle sniff, as if to check its scent. Apparently satisfied, he drank the whole thing in one go.

Ginny pulled Tim to her and he laid his head on her shoulder. His crying still hadn't stopped, but his breathing slowed. When he finally did stop, he was asleep.

"I'll bet a hundred galleons, he doesn't remember a thing in the morning." Ginny whispered, picking the little boy up and returning him to his bed.