Thicker Than Blood | Drarry

Twenty.

WHOO double update!!! I love this one <3

*~*

That night, Draco woke to screaming.

He heard it first in his dream. He can't remember what he was dreaming of, but that he was talking to someone, when their words slowly morphed into incoherent moans and cries.

He bolted upright, the cries growing into screams, the moans growing into words. "No, please," and "Cedric."

He knew immediately that they were coming from Harry's bed.

He flung himself out of bed and scurried across the room, as Harry's bed was on the opposite side of his. His heart felt a sting every time Harry yelled.The other boys in the room had started to wake up, still disoriented and confused as to what was happening. Soon Ron was on his feet and peering over Draco's shoulder as he reached Harry's bed.

Draco yanked the curtains aside. Harry was thrashing his head side to side, covered in sweat, the blankets pooled at his feet. Draco placed one hand on each of Harry's shoulders and started to gently shake him.

"Harry, wake up. It's just a dream, Harry," he repeated over and over again, in a low voice. He wanted to jolt him awake, to get him out of whatever horror he was currently stuck in. He wanted nothing more to get the pained expression off his face, but he knew that startling him was not a good idea.

Harry's eyes fluttered open as he violently gasped for air, his body shaking when he did so. Ron breathed out a sigh of relief.

His shirt clung to him, sticking to the sweat that was beginning to drench his body. His hair was messier than normal, which said a lot, and his hands were gripping Draco's biceps, his fingernails digging into his skin. His chest rose and fell, quickly at first, but gradually slowed as he came to, his grip loosening and his eyes darting around the room.

"It's okay, mate. It's just a dream-" Ron started to say, but Harry cut him off.

"It's never just a dream," he mumbled, kicking the blankets off his feet. Before any of them could even think of something to say, Harry was slamming the dormitory door shut behind him as he stormed out.

The five boys stood there in awkward silence, Draco and Ron standing next to Harry's bed, the others still in their own, rubbing their eyes, trying to go back to sleep.

It wasn't the first time this had happened, but it was the first night in a while. They used to happen almost every single night during the first week of classes, Ron always talking Harry back down until he was able to sleep again. Then, abruptly, they had stopped. But had they really?

Draco sighed. "I will go talk to him, you should get some sleep," he said.

Ron started to argue. "Are you sure-"

"I have been meaning to talk to him, anyway." It was a lie and not a lie at the same time. He didn't really need to talk to him, he just wanted to make sure he was okay. Draco didn't think he would be able to go back to sleep without knowing what had happened, without knowing that Harry had someone there to support him. But he had been meaning to talk to him, about if he was feeling the same things Draco was starting to, but he didn't think he was ready for that conversation quite yet. Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe the butterflies and caught breaths would go away, and bringing it up would be a mistake. "Unless you really want to talk to him," he added.

"No, that's alright," he said, yawning. "Thank you."

Draco gave an awkward nod as Ron climbed into his bed. Draco took a deep breath as he left the room, not knowing where he was going to find Harry or what was going to happen when he did so.