Nightmare | Drarry | English

Chapter 4

Draco discreetly glanced at the Gryffindor table as the Great Hall buzzed with the arrival of owls. At daybreak, he had left the room, haunted by the nightmares and the emotions that he shared with Harry the previous night. There was no way he could apologize to Harry in person. Apologizing was already challenging for Draco, but doing so directly to Harry Potter seemed even more daunting. The weight of his words hung heavy upon him, especially after witnessing the death of Harry's godfather. Although Draco had only experienced Harry's feelings briefly, the pain still lingered within him. Both of Draco's parents were alive, yet through Harry, he had indirectly discovered a feeling he was a stranger to: the profound sorrow of being an orphan. Although it had been suppressed by other emotions in his nightmares, Draco was barely able to name what he felt. He recognized that he owed Harry a genuine apology. And he also knew that Harry would never anticipate an apology from him.

When his owl dropped an envelope from his mother, instead of reading it immediately he put it in his pocket. He didn't want to miss the look on Harry's face when he received the letter. He was mentally distant from the ongoing conversation at the table. Oblivious to the questions directed at him, his attention was abruptly seized when the owl carrying the letter he had sent landed in front of Harry. He made an effort to discern the hidden meaning behind the surprise that etched onto Harry's face as the male read the contents of the note. Was he pleasantly surprised? Or were these negative feelings? As Draco pondered on it, Harry crumpled the parchment in his hands, and a deep sigh escaped Draco. He had his answer, hadn't he? It wasn't exactly a positive response.

Concealing any trace of disappointment on his face, Draco continued to stare at that direction. When Harry eventually turned his head, their eyes met, and Draco silently yearned for Harry to perceive his genuine intent. As Harry averted his gaze, Draco exhaled slowly, noticing how tense he had been. He directed his attention downwards, realizing that he hadn't touched the food on his plate. He broke free from his silence, gradually becoming aware of the sounds surrounding him.

"Potter's grumpy today too," he heard Pansy say. Perhaps it was the Potter that pulled Draco out of his silence.

"What?" he asked, as if trying to catch up with the conversation he had missed.

Theo turned around, staring at the Gryffindor table for a few seconds, then broke out into a grin. "Must have been a rough night for him, nightmares and all."

"Really," Zabini said, turning to Draco. "How are you sleeping?"

Pansy grinned. "Isn't it hard to sleep, with all the crying?"

"Don't say that," Theo said. "Let's think of it as a practice for fatherhood."

Blaise interrupted as Draco remained silent. "Do you guys ever talk? What does he dream about?"

"Does he talk to himself?" Pansy asked, and her cheerful attitude annoyed Draco.

"He's probably dreaming about the Dementors," Theo said as he put on the hood of his robes and raised his arms. "Boo..."

"Is he crying in his Mommy's arms after that?"

As his friends continued to talk, Draco felt Harry's emotions from when he was sitting across the Mirror of Erised. He gulped, a shiver coursing through him, followed by an inexplicable chill. Overwhelmed by a surge of sorrow not his own, he bowed his head deeply and shielded his face with trembling hands. He was struggling to breathe as the sorrow enveloped him. Anger surged within him, he was as angry as Harry would be at his friends' laughter. Unable to bear it any longer, Draco reached his breaking point.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled, his voice echoing in the Great Hall. He removed his hands from his face, raised his head, and sat up straight, his gaze roaming over the faces of his friends. "Enough," he repeated in a lower voice.