Nightmare | Drarry | English

Chapter 14

Neither of them fell asleep easily after Harry went back to bed. Draco was afraid of seeing the same things again. Harry was afraid of seeing the same things again... A shared fear kept them awake, but they sought the comfort of each other's presence. By staying awake and thinking they were in the other bed, they somehow dealt with their shared and separate fears. At least tonight was such a night.

After a while, Harry fell asleep first. When Draco finally could reach the gates of Harry's dreams, he realised that Harry had finally fallen asleep and, unable to hold out any longer, he surrendered to sleep.

When Harry opened his eyes in the morning, he felt fine despite the lack of sleep. As he put on his glasses and sat up, he was greeted by a sight he was completely unprepared for. Draco was standing on the other side of the room, his back to Harry, wearing only his underwear. Harry held his breath. He knew he shouldn't look, but it was so hard to look away that he just kept staring. He wondered if what he had said the night before had caused this sight, the first time he had seen it in all the time they had shared a room. Maybe it had. Maybe Draco hadn't thought Harry would wake up.

Looking at the marks on his back, Harry quietly got out of bed and walked to Draco as he put on his trousers. It was one of those things he shouldn't have done, but he couldn't stop his footsteps from leading him to Draco. Just like he couldn't help the hand on his back. When Draco realised Harry was coming, he wanted to turn around. But when he felt Harry's hand on his back, he stayed where he was and closed his eyes. Harry's breathing hurt as he slowly ran his hand over the marks on Draco's back. He hadn't realised how much it would hurt to look at them this closely. When he couldn't bear to look any longer, he pulled his hand away from Draco's back, but instead of moving away, he leaned closer, letting his head fall forward and resting his forehead on Draco's shoulder.

Draco felt as strange as Harry. He'd never let anyone see his scars like this. Until now. After what they had talked about last night, he had decided that Harry needed to take that step to forgive himself. They both had to face it first, then accept and forgive. No matter how hard it was, no matter how much it hurt, it was an important step in putting the past behind them.

Feeling Harry's chest against his back and the weight of his head on his shoulder, he reached back and took his hands. Then he allowed him to lift his arms and wrap them around his waist, making him hug from behind. He turned his head to the side and took a deep breath as he put his own arms over his. He didn't know why he was doing this, but it certainly felt good. The smell of his hair filling Draco's nostrils had taken away most of the discomfort.

After a moment, Harry did something else that he probably should have prevented but couldn't, pulling his forehead away from Draco's skin and pressing his lips to it instead. Then he pulled away again. Then he placed his lips where the scar that ran from Draco's neck down his back began. He knew he couldn't make the scars disappear like that, but if he could, he would. After a long and warm kiss, he pulled himself back with difficulty. He pulled his arms out from under his and somehow managed to get away from him. It was wrong of him to even go this far when the feelings he thought he had let go of in the past were back in full force, and Draco was with someone else.

Draco turned to Harry as the warmth from the touch of his lips spread all over his body. Harry picked up Draco's black shirt from the bed and held it up for him to put on. He put the shirt on and turned to face Harry again as they both remained silent. He tried to catch Harry's eyes but failed as he carefully avoided it. Studying his face instead, Harry raised his hands and began to button his shirt. After a few buttons, Harry broke the silence.

"To Hogsmeade?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Draco said. "You?"

As Harry buttoned the last button, he pulled his hands back and looked at Draco's face with some courage. Then he nodded his head. "I'll get ready and go."