Harry tossed and turned as beads of sweat poured down his face. His shirt was sticking to his body and his legs were tangled up in the sheets around the bottom of his bed. His scar prickled and then burned causing his eyes to shoot open and search aimlessly around his ceiling for an assailant that wasn’t there. He breathed deeply, in through his nose and out through his mouth, the normal regime he had adopted for dealing with these now prominent nightmares. This had all happened before, several times in fact. The nightmare, the sweating, the pain…that noise was new though.
Suddenly Harry was very alert, his ears jerked as the noise of someone snooping through his belongings rode in the air. He heard them picking things up – books, clothes, Hedwig’s cage – then setting them back down again, as if bored with their outcome. Preparing himself to yell at Dudley for being in his room, Harry labored as he sat up and detangled himself from his sheets, but he stopped midway and caught his breath in his throat as his eyes met with the cold sneer of Draco Malfoy.
“Evening Potter, having good dreams?” Malfoy’s voice drawled.
Harry sat up slowly, narrowing his eyes as he placed his glasses on his nose. He detangled himself from his sheets and flung his legs out over the edge of bed, never removing his gaze from the unwelcome guest in his bedroom.
“And you are here for what reason exactly?” His voice was steady and challenging, of course he was expecting a lie.
“I’ve always liked that about you Potter,” he said, placing the book he had been examining down on the table in front of him, “skip the pleasantries, right to the topic. No point in wasted time.”
Harry shrugged, “You still haven’t answered my question.”
“Interesting books you’ve got here,” said Malfoy examining yet another piece of Harry’s property, “some volumes that my father has in his own collection. Interested in the dark arts are you?” He looked up, his sneer had grown in a disturbing grin, his eyes bearing down on the still sweaty Harry.
Harry stood, keeping his hand near the pocket where his wand was, “You haven’t come here to talk about my books. What do you want, Malfoy?”
“I’ve been sent by Dumbledore to retrieve you from your,” he paused and looked around the room, “well, it’s not really a house is it? Hovel is more like it.”
“Insulting my Aunt and Uncle is a waste of your time, I don’t care what you think of them.”
“No matter, you’re to come with me back to the school.” Malfoy said matter-of-factly.
Harry laughed at this, “Voldemort must be really daft to think I’d fall for that. Of course, it was probably your idea huh, Malfoy? Thought you’d make your imprisoned dad look good after failing to follow orders before?”
Malfoy turned to Harry, his sneer had returned and Harry flicked his eyes from Malfoy’s face to his hand lingering near the front of his robes, “Does that mean you won’t come with me quietly then?”
Harry scoffed, “You’re an idiot.”
They had both drawn their wands before either could blink, almost like a green light had been triggered and it was a race to be the first to aim. They stood their like that, wands raised and poised in prime spell casting position, for what felt like and eternity. Malfoy sneering and jabbing his wand nervously in the air, Harry standing there feigning patience while all the while waiting to duck and yell the counter curse to whatever Malfoy thought he could pull off.
Slowly, as Malfoy decided what he was going to do, his sneer turned into a great grin that spread across his long thin face like a bolt of lightning. Harry tensed and kept his eyes on Malfoy’s face.
“Hope you enjoyed your last summer Potter.”
“Oh yeah, this is a perfect end to a perfect vacation,” said Harry sardonically masking his anticipation with scorn.
“Avada K—“
“Expelliarmus!”
The word sprang forth in someone else’s voice and the scene melted before Harry’s eyes. He was tossed back to his bed by the rocking floor and Malfoy was disappearing into nothingness, frozen by something that Harry had not done. Frantically looking around his room turned black Harry realized he was falling, falling into an abyss to a destination that he could not see. Then he was in his bed again, still wrapped in his sheets, still sweating, his scar still prickling on his forehead. He could hear his name being called but it wasn’t Malfoy’s voice that greeted him.
“Harry! Wake up!”
He woke with a start and shot up in bed feeling, almost immediately, the warm hand of Remus Lupin on his chest. His presence was calming and as Harry stared into his eyes his heart slowed to a level beat. Lupin’s wand was raised behind Harry’s back and Harry’s wand, Harry realized, was across the room on the floor beneath the window.
“All right, Harry?” Lupin asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
Harry nodded slowly, his breath still coming to him in spades. Malfoy had been about to kill him, what if Harry hadn’t woken up.
“It was just a dream, Harry,” said Lupin, as if reading Harry’s mind.
Harry nodded, more quickly this time, in response to Lupin’s stare. Behind him something fell and Harry smiled in spite of himself, “Hello Tonks.”
Tonks smiled a sheepish grin as she walked around Lupin into Harry’s view, “Hi Harry. It’s good to see you again.”
“You too,” he said with a happy smile.
It was the first time he’d felt happy the entire summer. Another two months wasted waiting around for someone to feel like keeping him informed. Sure he understood the need for secrecy, the necessity to keep things quiet. But Ron and Hermione could have at least written to say hi. But now Lupin was there – and Tonks – and that could mean only one thing…
“Is my vacation, and I use the word loosely, finally over?” He asked daring to let hope shine in his words.
Lupin gave him a lopsided smile and pat Harry on the chest as he lifted himself up from the side of the bed, “Yes, my dear boy, we’ve come to collect you. Get your things together.”
“Allow me!” Tonks said enthusiastically, whipping her wand from her robes and swishing it around in front of her, “I’ve been practicing since last year,” she said with a wink to Harry as they examined the neatly packed truck with his books and clothes.
“Good job,” said Harry with a chuckle.
“So,” Lupin said, clapping his hands together, “are we ready to go then?” He took his wand out calling forth Harry’s broom and making his trunk and Hedwig’s cage float.
“Yes!” Harry cried, moving forward gripping his broom. Then he said, “I have one request though.”
Lupin looked at him inquisitively and waited for Harry to speak.
“Never send me on holiday again?”
Lupin and Tonks laughed as they both gripped their own brooms, Tonks’ with Harry’s things tied securely to them.
“I’ll see what we can do,” Lipin said with a scoff and a ruffle of Harry’s hair.
And then they were off, back to Harry’s life, back to his home.
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"Unwelcome Dream" copyright 2007 by Bella Luna (beautifulmoon29@aol.com)
Harry Potter and the... and its associated characters copyright J. K. Rowling.
The text of this work was created by Bella Luna (beautifulmoon29@aol.com) and is her exclusive property. It is not to be used without her permission.
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