forced | d.m.

05.distraction

January '01 | H E R

On the sixth night, Althea wakes up from a series of loud noises. Screaming. Someone is screaming. In the middle of the night. Who is screaming in the middle of the night?

Looking alarmed and stunned next to her, Talia is sleeping peacefully. Heavily. The screams are loud, but sound far off, coming from a couple rooms away.

With her head all fuzzy from sleep it takes a second longer for Althea to realise.

Draco.

He sounds like he's being murdered and that alone sets panic in. Grasping her wand from the nightstand, Althea scrambles out of bed and the room, bolting for the master bedroom.

Not caring who else could be there.

But he's alone. Restless in bed, sleeping yet thrashing his limbs and screaming no! and things like please don't!over and over again. It's loud and honestly scary in the otherwise quiet, dark house.

She nearly stumbles over her own feet when storming over onto the bed, not thinking twice to grab his shoulders and shake them lightly. "Wake up! Hey, wake up! It's just a dream, Draco!"

He seems to not hear her, so Althea shakes a little harder without trying to hurt or worsen his state. This has never happened before.

Alas, he sits upright with a gasp and his eyes shoot open, searching the dark room for something. Her heart twists at the terror im them, his breathing erratic, sweat coating his skin. But he does seem to recognize her, maybe find some solace because he wraps his arms around her, pressing himself against her and squeezing tightly.

She returns it, as if to soak up anything that terrorizes him.

"It was so real, I swear," he pants, burrowing his face in her neck and Althea moves one hand up to stroke the back of his head. "He was r-right here."

Its not long until she feels wetness hit her skin where his head is laying.

"Nobody's here. You're safe, okay. You're safe and he won't come in here. He's dead remember? He's dead and you're safe."

She can feel hm calm down slowly as she keeps reassuring him that nothing will happen to him. Althea is aware that the war has had an effect on him. How can it not if he was a front line Death Eater.

She can't even imagine how traumatising that must have been, the stuff he has seen. Still after over two years the stuff has his mind working. Anytime they visit Malfoy Manor, he has trouble falling asleep the day before and his witty personality vanished.

He is always so withdrawn. Like a shell if himself.

Not just with her.

"Nothing can hurt you here. You're safe," Althea repeats while she rubs his back in a comforting way.

They sway back and forth a little, completely ignoring the fact that this is the first time they have ever fully hugged. Or that this is not something they do.

"Wanna talk about it?" she whispers after a little while and feels him shake his head immediatly. "Can I do something?"

Draco pulls back a bit, his arms falling down to around her waist. A fight is playing out in his eyes, if he should say whatever he is about to say.

Althea frowns, hoping that he will accept her help because she is truly worried. She has never experienced him having a nightmare before but she wants to be there for him.