It Has To Get Worse Before It Gets Better

nightmare riddled nights

Apollo's POV
I wake up and look around the room I'm in. It's a room I don't recognise, with blue walls and nothing but the bed I'm in. But suddenly, the door bursts open and in comes Sirius and Remus. They smile at me and come closer, but as I can see their faces more clearly, their friendly smiles turn into sadistic grins and they begin talking to me. "Look at him. The ugly, fat, freakish, fake fag! I wish he wasn't ours, he should have died when Vernon tried his hand at him."
~Ugly~
~fat~
~freakish~
~ugly~
~fag~
~freakish~
~FAKE~
~We don't want you, you fake!~
~No one's ever going to love you~
~You freakish, fake fag!~
I shrink back from them, as their faces get dangerously close to mine. But then Remus' face morphs into... uncle Vernon!
He starts hitting and kicking me. Just like he did when I was back at privet drive. Sirius laughs along with him, the sound ringing in my ears along with my own screams. But just when I think I couldn't take it any more, they morph into two similar looking redheads, my mates. Fred and George cackle at me as I whimper in pain from the beating. They begin to shout at me, saying that they'd never accept me and no one ever would. Their hurtful words cut into me like knives as their voices, along with Sirius', Remus' and my uncle Vernons voices ring in my head like sirens.

I shoot up in bed, my breath coming in painful gasps, covered in cold sweat and tears streaming down my face. Sobs wrack my small figure as I struggle to breathe.

Sirius' POV
Remus and I waste no time when we hear the terrified screams coming from upstairs. We shoot down the hallway and sprint up to Apollo's bedroom. Upon pushing open the door, I see my son, thrashing around in him bed and screaming. As I get closer, his screams die down to heart breaking cries and whimpers, and he's mumbling something I can't quite make out. I sit on the edge of his bed to coax him awake. "No... please... I thought you loved me.... no....!" Tears collect in my eyes when I hear what he said. I grab his wrist gently, but he squirms away. "No... it hurts! Please, stop! No.... No... dad?" Despite the situation, my heart skips a beat when I hear him say 'dad'. Remus is on the other side of me, clearly feeling the same way as I am. Suddenly, Apollo shoots up, gasping and panting, covered in sweat. His small figure shakes with sobs, as tears stream down his face like Niagara falls. "Shhh, you're alright. It was just a dream." I say. His head whips around the room, and his eyes lay on Remus and I. "You're alright, it's okay. It was only a dream." The terrified look on him face makes my heart wrench. I open my arms to him, as if to say 'come on. Come here.' Hesitantly, he shifts towards me, inching closer and closer until he's in my arms. I wrap them around his body gently and he relaxes slightly. "That's it, you're ok." Small sobs escape his lips and he just curls in on himself. Remus rubs circles on his back comfortingly, and I run my fingers through his curly hair, playing with the tips of his ears. "We're here, you're safe." I murmur, kissing his temple. After a while, his breathing regulates mostly and he calms down a reasonable amount. "Are you alright now sweetheart?" Remus says. He nods his head a little bit. I feel as Apollo shivers in my arms, and I tighten my grip around his petite frame in attempt to warm him up. He presses his nose into the crook of my shoulder and his soft curls tickle the side of my neck. "I'm sorry for waking you up." He says quietly. "No no, it's okay. Don't worry about that." Remus says, and I nod in agreement.
"Did you want to talk about it? The dream I mean." I say after a moment, careful not to distress him any more. He moves a little bit.
"You were there, both of you. And you told me you... y- you didn't w- want me, and... and that you w- wish I was- wasn't yours. And then Moony turned into m- my uncle Vernon and was b- beating me again. A- and you just laughed al-ong with him."
He sniffs a a bit and I rub his side reassuringly.
"But... But then y- you turned i- into the t- twins and t- they said th- they hated m- me and l- laughed at me b- because it hurt..." the renewed tears were steadily rolling down his cheeks and seeping through my shirt, but I didn't care. I hate that he would think such things, of course, it's not his fault, but it must've been so terrible; the people who loved him telling him they didn't. Remus and I have both had our fair share of nightmares, and know what it's like to wake up petrified, unable to breathe. We helped each other through every one, being there for each other through thick and thin. But Apollo, or Harry, has never had that. He'd probably get beaten back at the Dursleys for making so much as a squeak, I know that because I did too. But even then I had Reg, he would have been completely alone. He never would have had someone to comfort him once he woke up, leaving him alone and terrified, the horrific memories scarring him for life.
As I contemplate how we're going to make things better for Apollo, I just hold him in my arms, occasionally leaving small kisses in his hair. Eventually, small snores could be heard from the small boy in my arms. I maneuver him so that he's tucked up in his bed again, careful not to unsettle him. We leave the room silently, with one last loving glance at the sleeping teen, and head back to bed ourselves, at about 3:47.

Okay so quickly, I did my research on nightmares and night terrors in older children and adults and apparently you're not supposed to wake them up. I thought you did but I guess not..?
But anyways, theres the chapter! Hope this was okay. Also, as well as the wolfstar dad fluff, there's going to be more of my babies Fred and George in the next ones ^-^
Have a good day :)
Toodles !!