A Dreamless Sleep

A second try

  Harry

Harry was sitting in the common room waiting. He had pulled the table and the love seat in the common room just a little bit closer. And now he sat, waiting for the common room to clear out and for Draco to show up. Now there was just Seamus and Dean sitting in a corner, rather close to each other talking about God knows what. Draco was late, 10 minutes late.

Harry pulled out his transfiguration homework and he stared at it. It would have been a good use of his time to do it now, while he waited. But Harry had once heard the muggle saying work smart not hard, and he knew that if he waited he could convince Hermione to do it with him (for him). So instead he just looked at it.

As he looked from his homework to the clock he thought of quidditch dispite his hate for the slytherins, they were his favorite team to play. They played aggressively and unfairly. At times this made him angry but it made the match challenging and Harry loved to be challenged. Unless it was a challenging potions assignment, he would have to pass on that one. Draco was his favorite seeker to play. This was a fact he hadn't realized until now. He would have thought it to be Cho Chang on the ravenclaw team. But it wasn't, it was Draco.

As if on cue Draco entered the common room, panting. Dean and Seamus jumped to their feet, pointing their wants at him.

"How did you get in here?" They exclaimed at the same time.

Harry jumped up from where he was sitting, banging his knee on the table. "I gave him the password! He's here to see me."

"Yeah so if you don't mind you could point your wants elsewhere, thanks." Draco sneered.

The two boys shared a glance and then put their wants away. Draco crossed the room and took seat next to Harry, plopping his bag down on the floor. He pulled his materials layed them all out on the table.

"I was only late because I went to the library to find another book about dreamless sleep potions and as far as I can tell we're doing everything right." Draco said. He was still catching his breath, probably from running up the stairs to Gryffindor tower.

He handed Harry the sprigs and runespoor egg and Harry began to cut them up. Again, Draco stared. It didn't go unnoticed by Harry.

"The Dursley's make me cook for them," he explained, "that's why I can do this. I've been cooking all their meals since I was nine."

Draco stared at him. "You're not very funny."

Draco

I handed him the sprigs and runespoor egg. And watched him chop them up, lightning speed. It was as if he had enchanted the knife, but he hadn't touched his wand. Harry's sleeves were pushed up, revealing his muscles. Draco had to consciously remind himself not to stare. It had nothing to do with Potter, Draco was just very gay and appreciated such things as a well muscled body. But it was Potter he reminded himself, and returned his gaze to his hands.

"The Dursley's make me cook for them," he explained, "that's why I can do this. I've been cooking all their meals since I was nine."

Draco was astounded that Harry would make such a joke. It didn't even make sense. Everyone knew that house elves cooked your food unless you were as poor as the Weasley's which he knew Harry wasn't.

"Your not very funny." Draco told him.

"What do you mean?"

"That wasn't a very good joke."

"I didn't make a joke." Harry said.

"The whole bit about cooking," draco insisted.

"That wasn't a joke. I live with my muggle aunt, uncle, and cousin. Awful people, they make me cook all their meals. I get to eat their leftovers. Usually there aren't much though, my cousins a pig." Harry revealed.

Draco's jaw dropped.

"Is that legal?" He practically shouted, then caught himself, "not that I care of course. Just curious."

"Probably not."

Harry handed him the ingredients and he began to mix the potion in a clockwise and counterclockwise pattern once again. When the potion was purple he said the incantation and gave it a few more stirs.

"So just to make sure you're doing it right your just supposed to drink it and go to bed. Its simple, Potter don't mess it up."

"Yeah that's what I did last time, Malfoy"

"Well clearly not because it didn't work and it wasn't the potions fault "

"How do you know it's not the potion?"

"Cause I made it Potter," Draco sneered.

How did things get so unfriendly so fast? Harry handed him the phials. They didn't say another word for the rest of the time. Draco poured the potion and then packed up his things.

"See you next month potter."

Harry was confused. Draco was giving him whip lash. First he was odly nice. Then rude and intitled then nice again. And when Harry had told him about his aunt and uncle he seemed concerned. Maybe Dumbledore was making him be nice to him.

*later that night*

Harry was the only one in the dorm. Good, he thought. None of the other boys knew he was taking dreamless sleep potion, except Ron of course, and he wanted it to stay that way. He took out a new phial of the potion and drank it focussing on how Draco said to do it. Then he disposed of the old potions and climbed into his four poster bed. He tried to clear his mind like Dumbledore had told him to continue trying but he just couldn't images flashed in his mind Cedric dead, his father is Snape'smemories, Draco's muscled arms, the potion, dark corridors, and snakes.

He was slithering down a long corridor. It was cold and dark. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of what seemed to be black tile. He recognized this place. He had been here before. But when? A dream perhaps? Or was it real life? He continued slithering till he reached a door. He felt drawn to the door, or whatever was behind it. Just as he got to the door it opened. But just before he had seen what was behind it he sat up in bed with a start. He was drenched in sweat and panting. His scar was burning and he felt as if at any moment his head might split down the middle. His eyes were watering slightly from the pain and he thought he might vomit.

He hadn't woken anyone up this time but he couldn't go back to bed so he grabbed a quill, ink and some parchment and headed for the stairs to the common room.

Dear snuffles, 

He began to write and told Sirius all about how Dumbledore had made him try occlumency but Snape kicked him out and about making the potion with Draco and how it didn't work and so they tried again and it had failed again and how he was embarrassed of the stupid dreams and how he wanted more than anything just to be a normal teenager at Hogwarts. And then he cried. For the first time since Cedric's death he let himself cry. And he certainly did just that, he cried, and then sobbed and then fell asleep, right there on the common room loveseat. And he unconsciously decided that he was going to tell Draco the potion had worked. He was done being a mystery he was done being different. He thought.