Gift for the Community! Fic: Sweet Dreams
Title: Sweet Dreams
Author: chibitoaster
Recipient: The community!
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Draco/Harry/Severus
Word Count: 10k+
Warnings: Threesome?
Summary: Harry and Draco go to save Severus, and they all realize they have come out of the war with similar issues.
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters, I'm not making any money off of this fic, all of the characters are of legal age, and this little work of fiction is not intended to hurt anyone.
Notes: This is a case of "too many ideas, with a stubborn muse". It's my first time writing a 3-some, my first time writing this group, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it!

Okay, so life is more than just a little strange. I will admit that I may not be the bravest, or the most loyal, or the strongest, smartest, or cleverest. However, I do have my strengths, and I've never allowed anyone to shove my talents down and cast them aside. Not even to spare myself certain pain.

Pain is a part of life. I am not naïve enough to deny that. I know that it has been difficult, and that there are certain things that we all must do. The key being the word "all." We all must do certain things. Because if we do nothing, we might as well not exist at all.

And I do exist! I am not a pawn. I am not a tool, and I will not have anyone telling me what not to do.

It was by this reasoning that I tore myself away from my family. I did it. I broke away.

And I went after him.

Severus Snape was the headmaster, a known Death Eater, and possibly a known double-agent. Why was nobody else even looking for him? How could they not see the gaping hole in the middle of the room that was the absence of my…?

No, I won't get ahead of myself. There was one other person who knew. When our eyes met and he saw me tear off through the open door, I knew he would follow. And that he knew where I was going.

"He's down there."

I looked over my shoulder to find him running only a pace behind me; that cursed Elder Wand still in his hand. "Is he all right?"

The question escaped my lips before I could do anything about it. I wasn't going to ask him, you see. I really didn't want to hear his answer.

"I don't know, Draco. He might be if we can get there in time."

Thinking back on all that happened, I think that was more of a confession of love than anything I'd heard before. Oh, sure, it sounds terribly syrupy and romantic, but it's true. Up until that point, he had never said anything that suggested the two of us might have some sort of role to play together. It was the sort of thing he would say to his friends, not to me.

The other thing I remember so vividly about that night was how the burn in my lungs and the bile in my stomach churned as I ran. I passed by Vincent's father laying dead on the ground, half-crushed by a troll's club. Two of my classmates from Ravenclaw were also in our path, lying motionless, the charred remains of their bodies barely covered by their house robes. I couldn't even tell who they had been, their bodies were so badly damaged.

He seemed not to care about any of that. He just kept running toward the tree.

Almost as if it was an orchestrated maneuver, he jumped over the body of a giant that lay across the path, cast Immobilus on the Whomping Willow, grabbed my hand, and pulled me with him down a hole in the roots.

"There's always hope," he whispered to me.

We'd gone under the tree, and he dragged me along an underground passage. It occurred to me that he was still holding my hand. At the time it was so reassuring, I just held on tightly and followed him. God, but that hand felt nice. It was the first time in ages that I could trust someone so completely. He wanted me with him for some unexplained reason, and when we arrived at the other end of the passage, he did something else that I don't mind telling you stunned me for a few moments.

Before he let me go up the stairs, he pulled me toward him and hugged me tightly. No, it wasn't even that. He was clinging to me. Very much like someone who was afraid to lose everything – and considering the scene waiting for us in the room above us, that wasn't too far from the truth.

Of course, he went right to Severus's side and knelt there in the blood. Oh, God, there was a lot of blood. Now, I'd seen corpses before. I'd seen death. I mean, I couldn't have lived with that megalomaniac in my own home for three years without seeing him cut down the lives of …

No, I don't want to think about that. There is a vast difference between watching some random malicious person who knew your father get slashed into ribbons, and seeing the man you loved lying dead on the floor of a creaky old hovel.

I think I was crying. No, I'm sure I was crying because then Potter came up to me, pulled me into his arms and told me that Severus might still be alive. So, maybe I was more than crying. I might even have been in hysterics. And actually, I couldn't hear anything he was saying until after the kiss.

Yes, that's right. He kissed me. I really wasn't expecting it. Well, of course I wasn't expecting it. I mean, who does? Some bloke comes up and plants a wet one right on your mouth. Especially if said bloke had tried to kill you a year before and was on the other side of the battle lines?

I don't think I should dwell on that. In fact, considering what happened next, I really shouldn't.

Suffice it to say, he settled me down, and then pulled me down next to the body on the floor.

"You need to help me. I really shouldn't be doing this, and I certainly can't do it alone." There was no time for questions after that. He pulled me up next to him, wrapped a chain around both of our necks, and did something with the charm at the end of the chain.

"That was a time turner!" I know, I really ought to think things out a bit more before I open my mouth. Such an obvious statement was… well, I won't say it was uncharacteristic of me, but… No! I'm getting distracted again.

"Draco, I need you to just stay with me, don't say anything, and don't do anything."

"Why do you need me with you, then?"

God, that sigh he has is insufferable. I swear he must have gotten it from Granger. "You have something to give him that I just can't right now. Not until after everything is said and done."

I must have looked confused because, after he pulled me back into a closet at the other end of the room, he opted to explain himself without being asked. "You love him in a way that I… never have. At least, not yet."

Now, it's one thing to have a secret. And another thing to have a secret that you think someone might suspect. However, it's something on a completely different level of panic, reality, and terror to have a deep, deep, dark secret that someone not only knows, not only states in plain English so that you are absolutely positive he knows, but then confirms that not only does he know, he wants to be a part of the secret.

God, what I would have given for a shot of Firewhisky. Cowering there in the drafty old closet with Harry's magic dampening spell over us was a constant reminder that luxuries like food and drink would have to wait until after we'd accomplished our mission.

And it was a good thing Potter got those spells up right away. As it was, we didn't have long to recover before the room was a flurry of activity. I suppose most of you know what happened already, so I won't go into great detail as to the "whos" and "whys" of it all.

Voldemort. Nagini. Severus.

When I saw my lover fall… yes, I'll call him my lover for now. At the time – at the altered time, he was not yet a corpse, so I won't call him that. And since this whole scenario hinges on the fact that I was deeply, madly, and carnally in love with my Godfather (and I might add, it was reciprocal), when I saw my lover fall, Potter had to physically hold me back to keep me from charging out to save him.

He'd wrapped his arms around my body and held me as we watched the Dark Lord leave with his snake. We watched as Potter and his friends went to Snape's body and there was some sort of exchange.

And then, after they'd all left, the room was a flurry of activity again. Harry released me, raced to Severus, and poured four vials of potions down his throat. Tossing me my wand, he ordered me to cast a warming charm over all of us. Come to think of it, he ought to have given it to me as soon as we'd left the Great Hall, the little rat! No, wait, that's neither here nor there and has nothing to do with this story. Sorry.

Where was I? Oh yes!

"I… is there something else you need me to do?" I asked, clutching my wand and kneeling down next to Severus.

That's when he did it. God, it made my stomach churn with envy. That green-eyed, scar-faced… No, I can't do it. He's done too much for me to deserve the insults at this point. He leaned down and breathed into Severus. Into his mouth. It was a breath of life that I didn't understand. Even in the wizarding world, there were certain laws that could not be transgressed. And breathing life into a lifeless body was one of those.

Of course, later I would find out that it happened all the time on the Muggle side of things. That this was no more than a technique they'd developed to save and restore lives. Who knew?

Harry had patched up Severus' throat, and had given him potions to replenish his blood. There was also a bezoar in one of the potions to remove the poison from his body. And then it was my cue to take the stage and step into my role.

"Severus?" I whispered when I saw him take his first breath. Mindless of the blood seeping up into my trousers, I knelt down next to him and gently pulled his sticky, blood-soaked hair away from his face. "Severus, love? You're… you're alive."

It honestly didn't occur to me that Harry was still in the room. I leaned down and kissed Severus's lips, then his cheeks, and forehead. One hand I kept on his hairline, and with the other, I reached down to take his hand.

"We need to go," Harry said after a few moments. "We can't be found here, and he has to pass for dead. It's the only way to keep him safe."

Harry insisted that we must not disturb anything, and that there were certain things we had to do to prepare for… well, for our arrival.

I honestly didn't understand half of what he said. The only thing that mattered to me was that Severus was alive, even if he was unconscious. Harry cast some sort of stasis charm on Severus that disguised any signs of life, and a glamour charm that made him look dead, as if that horrible snake really had ripped his throat out.

It all made sense, of course. He had to appear dead to anyone who might stumble upon him so that we could, in the near future, come back and save him.

After Harry was satisfied with the appearance of things, he forced me to leave, to abandon Severus. It's true that if anyone had found us there, we would have had our share of explaining to do, not to mention the possibility of some sort of magical backlash.

Oh, and The Dark Lor- um… Voldemort. Yeah, at the time, he was still around and if he found either one of us…

Well, it turned out Harry had other ideas. He started making lame excuses about not wanting to destroy timelines, so we had to find a place to hide while the battle waged on. I think he might have been tempted to save some of the others who fell. Professor Lupin, his Auror girl-wife (who was supposedly a cousin of mine), and the Weasley twin -- just to name a few.

And he was asking me to distract him? Or not. As it happened, he apparated us to this cave up in the hills. All the time mumbling on about walking around on padded feet or something – who knows! The poor sod never makes sense when he's under a lot of pressure and afraid he's going to be murdered by some megalomaniacal, zombie-esque super-wizard.

Still, the way he was shivering, huddled down on an old blanket in that dark cave gave me pause. Here was the hero who just defeated the Dark Lord.

As disgusting as that blanket was that he was sitting on (and let me tell you, it had seen better days. Why, I don't even think Hagrid would have used it to line the cage of one of those disgusting creatures he insisted on keeping), I sat next to him. "So, it's over, then. Well, not now, but when we go back?"

"It's over."

"And Seve—Snape will be okay."

"He'll be… He'll live."

I think he wanted to say he'll be fine but didn't want to lie. Or couldn't lie. I'm not sure which at this point. There were so many lies flying about before, during, and after the battle, that perhaps the most unbelievable thing was the truth. And Harry seemed to command that like a born leader– still does, to be perfectly honest.

After a few awkward moments, I felt his hand touch my arm. "I'd like to rest," he said softly. It was so odd, the fact that we were sitting there. He was so vulnerable, and I had no desire at all to take advantage of it. Instead, I moved my arm up and around his shoulder so he could lean against me.

The warmth was nice.

"You saved me. You saved him. You saved the world. I'm not going to deny you some rest."

Harry wrapped his arm across my waist and settled in on my chest. "Thank you."

He thanked me. I sat there dumbfounded. What does one say to someone who just thanked you after he saved the entire bloody world in one go? What does one say to a person whose whole life had been carefully constructed, orchestrated, and played out with the single purpose of being the savior of every worthless soul on this planet?

"You… are welcome."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Getting back to Severus wasn't the difficult bit. I think getting us out of the cave… no, waking Harry was definitely the difficult part. He was, understandably, exhausted, and actually very warm and comfortable. I'd only been in close contact with him once before… well, maybe a couple of times when we fought, but when he saved me from the Fiendfyre, I could practically feel his ribs beneath his robes. Still, having him sleeping there against me really made me think about what he must have gone through.

And he was still short, and thin, and completely and utterly normal. I remember thinking that because he farted. Harry Potter, savior of the Wizarding World, nay, the world in general, the Chosen One, Saint Potter… passed gas right there while sleeping nestled up against me.

I'm fairly sure that I laughed. I remember chuckling at any rate, but I might have laughed outwardly. It was so wonderful and absurd and sublime and just… so very human, I might have even cried.

At any rate, whatever it was that I did woke Harry up, and before I knew it, those green eyes were staring up at me with the most innocent and peaceful expression.

My heart ached. I could feel something coming from him. He was a force to be reckoned with to be sure, but there was something more. It was as if he wanted me to kiss him. No, I knew he wanted me to kiss him. Sometimes you can just feel these things.

I shook my head. "We need to get back to Severus. The battle is over."

Gods, but I felt like a complete and utter prat. Here he was, looking for some comfort, and Merlin knows he deserved it more than anyone, and what do I do? I not only turn him down, stabbing him in the heart in the process, but I put a nice twist on the hilt by reminding him that he was no longer needed? "That is, if you're up to it."

And why does everything that comes out of my mouth have to sound like a challenge? What I meant was that if he needed to sleep longer, I would afford him that luxury, but instead, I challenged his abilities? No wonder he couldn't stand to be around me all those years.

"I'm up to it." Harry pushed himself away from me, rather forcefully, and dusted off his shirt. "Let's go."

I broke an opportunity for something special just then. And actually, even now, I'm not sure I have made up for that loss. I felt it immediately.

And by the time I realized what was wrong, he was already outside, waiting for me. "You're right. We really should get back to him."

Well, I couldn't say anything else after that. So, I followed him.

We arrived at the shack just about the time the other versions of us were leaving. We waited there on the steps until we heard ourselves leave… well, the other us…

… no, I'm not going to try to explain what that was like. Suffice it to say that our other selves were gone by the time we actually got to the room, and everything was all right in that respect.

As soon as I entered the room, I knelt at Severus' side. God, he looked horrible. Of course, some of that was due to the glamour charms, but my heart clenched at the sight. Harry must have noticed my agony because he joined me on the floor only a moment later and started his work again.

I don't know if it was the Elder Wand, or if he was really that adept, but in almost no time, he had Severus looking normalish again. He'd cleaned up all of the blood, and had settled down on the floor near Severus's feet.

To be perfectly honest, at the time, I hadn't considered Harry's feelings. I gingerly lifted Severus's head. It didn't matter that Potter was sitting there on the floor, watching us. I leaned down and kissed him softly on the mouth, felt his breath against my face, the warmth of his lips. Maybe I needed to be reassured that he was alive. Maybe I was hoping he could feel my presence.

That was when I realized what had happened earlier. When we first came in here and Harry kissed me, it was more of a distraction than anything. He needed to keep me from touching the body. The only question in my mind at that moment was "Why?"

I didn't ask him.

"We need to get him out of here," I said, cradling Severus' head in my lap.

Harry nodded. He didn't look me in the eye. At the time, I had no idea why he was being so cold, but then again, I didn't know anything, did I? I'd been kept out of everything for so long that it almost didn't matter what I thought. It would just be wrong, anyway.

And I was grateful that Harry was there to help cast the immobilization charm and carry Severus out of the shack, through the passageway, and back into the night. Once we were out there, he cast the levitation charm, and we escorted Severus back to the school and to Madam Pomfrey

"You haven't asked about us," I said as we rounded the path near Hagrid's hut.

"I don't think there's much that needs to be explained, is there?"

"Not really."

I was holding Severus' hand when the curse hit. At first, I wasn't sure what had happened. It felt as if my insides were turning around, and someone had scrambled every thought and memory in my head. I do remember looking up into Harry's green eyes just before I blacked out. He must have caught me.

As I lost consciousness, I thought. That… is nice.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was such a strange feeling, waking up in a hospital bed with someone rubbing my hand. Really, it wasn't a bad way to wake up, but for someone who was used to waking every day with screams of agony coming from two floors below his bedroom, it was oddly disconcerting to feel so peaceful and tranquil.

Harry's hand was warm. No, it was more than warm - it was everything that could define the word "comfort." His calloused fingers were gently, softly stroking the back of my hand while his palm was pressed against my own, anchoring the two of us with his magic.

God, I knew it was wrong. Compared to Severus, it was a completely different flavor of magic. Harry's magic was much more impulsive, just as intense, but in a much different way.

So, maybe I was awake for a little longer than I'd let on. After years of practice pretending to sleep to avoid facing the horrors of the day, I'd become quite the expert. It was completely indulgent - I knew that. And if it weren't for the niggling feeling at the base of my neck telling me there was something more important I had to do, I might have stayed there for the better part of an hour, just relaxing into the warm feeling of his magic flowing through me.

"Severus," I whispered. I couldn't actually speak. Whatever curse had hit me seemed to have affected my voice, as well.

"Shhh. He's sleeping in the next bed. He's fine. Well, concerned about you, but otherwise fine." Harry moved his hand from the top of my hand to my forehead.

That was all I needed to know. If he was all right, then I could relax.

But, not really. I mean, there he was – Harry Potter. And he was gently petting my hair, still holding my hand, offering me more information than I'd asked for.

"She didn't know you were helping me. Ginny, that is. She thought I was bringing you back to Hogwarts at wand-point."

What?

"I don't know why she didn't trust me to take care of myself. Why she had to do that to you…"

The last thing I wanted to know was that the little Weasley bitch had cursed me. I couldn't get back to sleep after that. Instead, I pushed myself up and sat there for a moment, just staring down at the sheets. Harry's hands had fallen to his sides.

I looked over at Severus, who was sleeping in the next bed.

"Pomfrey gave him a sleeping potion."

I nodded.

Looking back at Harry, I saw fear in his face. Well, maybe not fear, but something akin to it. "You saved my life again?"

"Oh, no, the curse… it isn't lethal. And she wouldn't have—no matter how upset she was."

"But you saved him. And you helped me. And… Why, Potter?"

Harry gave me a look that I'll never forget as long as I live. I hadn't needed to ask. Not really. Actually, I probably shouldn't have asked. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me again.

But he didn't. Instead, he swallowed hard and stood. "I'll see you, Draco," he said and turned toward the door.

Don't say I should have gone after him. You weren't there. Don't presume that you know how I felt, with my mind scrambled, my body feeling as if it had been assaulted by a thousand pins and needles, while my one-time nemesis was looking at me as if I held the secret to his happiness. And all this was happening while my lover, who had just recently been very nearly dead, was lying in a hospital bed across from me.

There aren't any easy answers, and remember that bit about life being painful?

Nobody was going to hand me an answer to this one. I had to do something on my own. Or nothing. At that point, I didn't really care which, and nothing was infinitely less painful.

So, I lay there on my side, watching Severus as he slept. Part of me wondered what would happen when he woke. After all, I hadn't seen him once during the entire battle, and then afterward – well, he was still unconscious when Harry and I started back to Hogwarts with him.

I watched him for about an hour. At least it felt like an hour. Maybe it was two. Not that it mattered. As soon as the pain ebbed from my legs, I got up, coasted along the bed toward his, and crawled in with him, wrapping his arm around me and snuggling into his chest.

Comfort is sometimes the only remedy for confusion.

"He wants you."

Severus's voice echoed in his chest just under my ear. I wasn't startled. Not exactly. I mean, I'm no fool. I know how good Severus is at staying alert even through the heaviest sleeping potions. It was his mode of survival for so many years.

"Does he?"

"You know that he does."

I pulled out of his embrace just enough to slide up and look him in the eye. "And you?"

"Do not ask questions to which you know the answer. We are both too tired to play this game, Draco."

"Are you telling me to go after him?"

"I would not be so presumptuous. However, he is just as lost as you and I in this world. What is his role now that he no longer must save anyone? What is my role now that there is nobody to spy for or against? And what will you do without your social and family influence?"

To be perfectly honest, I was so glad just to be alive, I hadn't thought about anything else. For the past three years, while the rest of the students were looking for possible apprenticeships, showing off for Quidditch teams, and generally working toward an uncertain, but at least possible future, I'd been in a daily struggle to keep myself and my family alive while trying to drown out the screams of torture and murder all around me.

"Severus…"

He kissed me fiercely. I love it when he does that. It was a very possessive kiss, and one that I clung to as my assurance that our love was not dead. That no matter what the world might think of it all, there was a physical and emotional attraction that neither of us would deny.

I groaned and moved against him, pressing my thigh against his groin, and straddling his leg. Even after all we'd been through, we both had the same needs. That meant more to me than anything at that moment - that, and the fact that Severus was still willing to give it to me.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Harry doesn't return immediately. My mother visited, and informed me that my father had been taken into custody. She said something about going to stay with Aunt Andromeda and her grandson while the Wizengamot decided what to do with her. Apparently Potter had spoken to the new interim minister, and they'd decided to let her go free for a while.

I slept in Severus' bed. He said something to Madam Pomfrey the first day he was up and about, and apparently, whatever it was kept her away except to administer potions and check on my progress.

The funny thing was, Severus recovered from the snakebite much faster than I did the Cruciatus. That's what it was, you know. The curse, I mean. No matter what anyone has to say about that Weasley girl, she can certainly cast a mean Unforgivable. A part of me was sure that I deserved it, but it wasn't enough to overrule the rest of me that never wanted to see that miserable excuse for a witch again.

Still, I didn't tell anyone else. Not that they would have believed me. I just… I guess I didn't want her to get in trouble at the time.

And I had other things on my mind.

Severus was right. I had no idea where I was going to go and what I was going to do. I'd been so used to having everything laid out for me every day, that all of the options before me seemed more like a jumble of pointless and confusing exercises than anything I could actually do.

And where would I live? Hogwarts was closing down for the summer, and Malfoy Manor had been confiscated (temporarily, albeit for an unknown period of time) so the Aurors could investigate. I couldn't possibly stay with Aunt Andromeda and Mother and that baby. I'd go off the deep end before I even unpacked my trunk.

I was about to ask Severus what he had planned when Harry came back.

"I've prepared rooms for the two of you. Ron and Hermione are off to find her parents, so they won't be back for a few weeks."

The confusion must have been evident on my face. I looked from Severus to Harry to Severus again. Severus nodded and straightened out his robes.

"What? Where?" I finally asked.

"We're going to… my house. There's plenty of room there. "

It's funny how sometimes we remember the silences as much as the words people say. There was a long period of "did not say anything" going on at the time. Harry looked at me while I was trying to figure out what was going on. Then I looked over at Severus who was looking away.

It was awkward. More than awkward, it was actually painful how we all stood there, waiting for someone to accept.

Then I realized the "someone" was me.

"All right."

Severus moved over to the window, looking out like a man who was thinking about jumping. Thinking back perhaps he actually was. We all knew that there was no denying Harry anything he wanted. Well, almost anything. Not that he'd have asked for something outside of his strict Gryffindor morals. No, he would have just let us know that he was miserable.

Like he did then. He was standing there, watching me with those damned emerald eyes!

"Have you packed your things, Severus?" I asked, mainly to break the silence. "I don't expect I'll need much right now. I shan't go back to the Manor yet to get my other clothes, so I suppose I'm stuck with whatever happens to be here at school."

"Oh," Harry said, " there are some things that belonged to Sirius at the house. I think they might fit you. They're far too long for me."

At the mention of Black's name, Severus whipped around. "We have everything we need, Potter," he said in a hoarse whisper.

And that was that. Within the hour, McGonagall had helped us gather our things together, Hagrid had carried them out beyond the gate, and Harry had apparated us away. All three of us. And our things. The amount of power he has makes my skin crawl sometimes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now, here's where my story gets interesting. Well, more interesting. Up until this point, I've been led from one situation to the next with very little say in the matter. How Potter saved the day, and then Severus tried to tell me he was owed something – perhaps hinting that I should be the one to give it to him?

It was ridiculous, if you ask me. The way they pushed me along, hoping I would do one thing or another. I was about ready to deny the both of them anything at all, run off to Belgium or Austria or somewhere equally far away, and start training flying squirrels.

After we'd all moved into that musty old mansion, we suffered through three weeks of tormented silence. Harry sometimes came to me and looked at me in that infuriating way of his. Then I'd go to Severus, and try to have a little bit of private time with him, and he'd push me away. And sometimes I'd go into the parlour or the kitchen or the hallway leading down to the cellar, and they'd be there, whispering in hushed voices, but not saying anything particularly important.

We ate supper together. An early supper. For some reason, Harry liked to have his evening meal between four and five. Maybe because he was one of those infernally early risers. The kind who had to be up before the sun, or he'd miss part of the day?

Not me. I'd sleep in, miss breakfast, have a meal around eleven, and then sometime around 4:30, the three of us would converge on the dining room and sit at that table, eating in silence for a good half hour.

Then, Severus would go back to his brewing or reading Harry would go upstairs and do whatever it was that Harry Potter types did in their spare time, and I'd… never you mind what I did. Suffice it to say that I would go off and do my own thing until it was time for bed.

Alone.

Until the dreams started. Not mine, of course, but his. Harry was the first one with the affliction. Of course, I found out the hard way. One night was just falling asleep around, oh say, one thirty in the morning, and all of a sudden there he iwas, at my door. Inside my room, actually.

"Draco?"

"I'm asleep, Potter, go away."

"You're not asleep."

"Found me out, did you?"

He came in and sat on the end of my bed. I still had my back turned to him, but apparently he couldn't understand such a hint.

"I can't sleep."

"Can't you?"

"Well, yes, I suppose I can, but then… you wouldn't have any Dreamless Sleep potion, would you?"

Nightmares? Saint Potter was having nightmares? Well, yes. Remember that bit about him being human? I certainly did at that point. Just the idea that he'd come to me with this kind of problem was so strange, I had to think through my reaction.

I turned to face him. "I don't. Severus might. It can't be that bad, why don't you just get a drink of water and try to go back to sleep."

He huffed. "What do you know about nightmares, anyway? It is that bad! Actually, it's –"

"It's NOTHING!" Okay, so I might have shouted. "You have no idea. You have NO IDEA what it's like. Screaming, crying, the torture, the murders. All of it happening right underneath your bedroom. The threat looming over your head all the time."

"I DO know what that's like, Malfoy! Remember? I had to see all of that, too. And more! And watch my friends die and—"

"Some of them were my friends, too!"

Before we realized it, we were shouting at each other. I grabbed the sleeve of his pajamas. He grabbed the collar of mine, and our other hands were clenched in fists.

That was when Severus came in.

"If you two must shout at and kill each other tonight, you could at least have the common courtesy to cast a silencing spell so that the other occupant in this household can get some sorely needed rest!"

It's funny how he can yell at us, his voice roaring and booming even though he doesn't increase the volume. One of these days, I really ought to ask him how he does that.

I suppose we were both frozen at the sound of his voice, because several seconds passed by before he sighed.

"I would like to see both of you in my chambers in two minutes. Please make yourselves presentable."

With that, he closed my door with a resounding thud and left us alone.

"He was upset."

"Oh really, Potter? You think so, do you?"

"Shut it, Malfoy."

A few minutes later, we were standing in Severus' bedroom, lined up as if we were still in school, awaiting some kind of punishment.

I was all ready for him to lay into us. If he'd gone off on one of his speeches, lecturing us on our behavior and asking over and over again why we could not get along for one night so that he might get some sleep, I'd have been ready for it.

Instead, he just sat there on the bed. His legs crossed, his hands clasped around one knee, and he stared at us. In silence.

Harry shifted from one foot to the other. I fidgeted with my hands behind my back.

"Snape, I'm sorry, I—" Whatever Harry was going to say was stopped with a wave of Severus' hand. I don't think Severus actually cast a spell to shut him up, but the look he shot was effective enough. I must have looked somewhat smug about it because he turned his gaze to me next, and that stare seemed to bore down into my soul.

I bit my lip and looked at my bare feet. I could see Harry straighten out the hem of his pajama top in my peripheral vision.

After a long moment – probably several minutes – Severus heaved a sigh. I looked up.

"We will sleep tonight. Through the nightmares and the turmoil inside each of us. Then tomorrow morning, we will all wake at six, and have breakfast together. After that the two of you will begin work on the upstairs of this house, while I will clean out the cellar. You are not, under any circumstances, to go into the attic. Then we will luncheon at precisely twelve-thirty. After that, it will be reading and study time until three, at which point we will all have tea together. You will each then have four hours to yourselves before dinner, after which we will retire for the evening."

I think I had been holding my breath. Severus was very calm, collected, and matter-of-fact. He'd planned out our entire day? We weren't to be punished in any way?

"Now, get into my bed, both of you. I do not have any dreamless sleep potion tonight. I will brew some tomorrow, and both of you will take it."

"I'm not having any nightma—"

Snape interrupted me. "BOTH OF YOU WILL TAKE IT!"

Seeing that vein on his forehead throb was a dead give-away that he wasn't as calm as he made himself out to be. Harry was the first to step forward. He let out a deep breath and got directly into the bed.

I settled myself directly in the middle of the bed. After all, if I took the middle spot, then Severus would have to sleep next to me, and maybe I'd get a little affection at some time during the night?

I was more than a little surprised to find myself shoved over to the edge as Severus slid in next to Harry.

Harry was in the middle. Don't think I didn't realize the irony of Harry Potter coming between us again. Still, with those green eyes looking at me like that, laced with fear, and Harry clearly terrified of going back to sleep, I knew why.

Severus reached over Harry, sliding his arm across Harry's waist, and took my hand. "There are horrors inside each of our minds. Things that nobody else could possibly understand."

I brought Severus' hand up to my mouth and kissed it.

Severus closed his eyes "Go to sleep," he said.

Harry looked up at me and relaxed into a smile. When he snuggled closer to me, I let him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

To say that it was the best night's sleep I'd had in years would be a little melodramatic, but still not untrue. Honestly, it was one of the first nights that I had not dreamt at all. Well, nothing bad, anyway. My dreams were all light and forgotten as soon as I woke in the morning. Granted, that might have had something to do with the fact that at one point in the night, Harry had curled up into my arms, Severus was slowly and gently stroking my hair, and I had one arm draped across Harry, hand planted in the small of Severus' back.

"It is nearly six," Severus said hoarsely. "I will go see to breakfast." A few moments later, he was gone.

So, what was I supposed to do there in the room, alone with Harry Potter sleeping like a baby in my arms. He smelled good. I remember that. And I was almost, almost seduced by those long eyelashes resting softly on his cheeks.

Tell me, why is it that someone as infuriatingly perfect as Harry Potter can exist in this world and I am forced to lie there and resist him?

Well, resist him I did. And I would like to point out that it had taken quite a lot of self-control. Something everyone might want to remember in the future, hmm?

"Come on, Potter. It's time to get up. I don't want to make him angry again."

Harry stretched and draped his arm over my shoulder. As his eyes opened, I felt the same way I had when we were in that cave. He wanted me. I could tell. And I had to make a choice... or so I thought.

"You're right." Harry pulled back, rubbed his hand on my cheek for a moment, and then rolled away from me and got out of the bed.

Now, I don't know if you've ever been in a situation like that, but it was terribly confusing. The best thing to do most of the time is to let it go until something else happens.

So, that's what I did.

And that "something" happened that evening.

The day had gone pretty much according to Severus' plans. We had breakfast, we cleaned the house, and then we had lunch together. As could have been expected from a former professor, Severus had given us each fifteen inches of parchment to fill with some rudimentary, tedious research, and then had taken himself off to brew dreamless sleep.

"We need to talk," Harry said.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Harry always had a way with words like that. "Do we?"

"Yes."

If you've never been interrogated by those green eyes, you have no idea what it's like trying to lie to them. I'd say impossible, but I know it's happened a time or two in the past.

"Okay, we'll talk."

"I'm not going to give up."

"Like a tortoise that's clamped down on his little fish?"

Harry smiled at me. "I suppose so."

It was too much. Someone had to make some sense out of the conversation before it sunk to the level of a couple of silly schoolgirls. "Look, the way I see it, it's one of those round-about things. You're after me, I'm after him, he's after you, and back and around again. So, until someone decides to back out or give up or... I don't know, I don't see any end to this chasing of each other's tails. Pardon the expression."

"What do you mean, he's after me?"

"Forget I said that. The point is that he and I..."

"I know. At least, I think I know."

"And when we were back there in that horrible shack, you said something about how you weren't able to give whatever it was to him, yet. I'm sorry, but if you intend to just waltz in here and take him away from me without a fight, you've got--"

"I have no intention to do that! Malf- Draco, look," he put his hand on my arm, "I want you to stay with me. I want him to stay with me."

"You want? Why is it always about what you want?" I don't know what came over me then. Not that it's unlike me to get ahead of myself or anything, but when he started talking like that, all I could think about was how much I wanted at that moment.

So, I took what I wanted and kissed him. It was pretty desperate, and he's really not very good at it. I mean, you'd think that with all of his fame and glory, he might have learned how to kiss somewhere along the way, but no, apparently that was too much to hope for.

His tongue was in my mouth before our lips even had a chance to get to know one another. And he had this horrible tendency to slobber...

Well, it didn't last very long, anyway. I had to get out of there. Really, what was I thinking, kissing him like that? Severus would never forgive me! And if he did, it might be even worse.

I pulled away from him and wiped off my mouth. "I'm done studying. I'll see you at tea."

Gods, what was wrong with me? Apparently I just wasn't thinking.

Now, I'm not stupid. I know better than to bother Severus while he's brewing. Not only would I run the chance of destroying his work, but over the years, I'd learned that in his mind, breaking his concentration with something like a personal crisis that was anything less than a life-or-death situation was akin to interrupting a healing spell meant to save somebody's life with the news that the cat coughed up a hairball.

So, I transfigured one of the side tables into a chair in the hallway outside the room he'd adapted into a potions lab, sat down, and waited.

"You are supposed to be studying." His voice came from behind the closed door.

I remained silent.

"Don't be an idiot, Draco. If you have something to say, come inside and tell me, then go back to what you are supposed to be doing and leave me to my work."

It's a good thing he could not hear my eye rolls. I went inside.

"What is it?"

How was I supposed to answer that question? "I, er, I was just thinking of you."

"Oh really? I thought you were just here because you got lost." Severus continued to work without looking up. "Hand me those chamomile petals."

"Why aren't you sleeping with me?"

Severus' hands stilled for a moment. He glanced up at me, and then looked back down into his cauldron. "We shared a bed last night."

"That's not what I mean. And you slept next to him."

"You're jealous? If you think for one moment that I wanted to—"

"No. I don't think that. I just don't know why you did that. Are you finished with me? Do you not want me anymore?"

Severus's head snapped up at that. I had convinced myself that I was just asking those questions to get some kind of assurance from him, to get a reaction, but as I looked over at my lover, I actually wondered if my worst fears might not be true.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"But you did."

"I did."

"It's because of Potter."

"Partially, yes."

Severus ran his tongue across his teeth. He scrubbed his hand down his face and let out a long breath. "He needs you –wants you. And I owe him. I know how you feel, but if you could consider the idea of accepting him into a relationship—"

"I am NOT giving you up!" I never had much of a chance to yell at Severus before. Not that I didn't want to, mind you. But this was the first time I refused to let him win. "If you think I'm going to just sit by and..."

He was holding me, kissing me before I could finish my sentence.

Maybe we all needed a little reassurance. I gave it to Harry, and then Severus gave it to me. That's what Severus was talking about in the Hospital Wing.

When he finally pulled away, he stroked back my hair and gave me that guarded smile he would always save for the times he knew we were completely alone.

I smiled back. "I think we should accept him into our relationship."

"Are you sure?"

No, of course I wasn't. How could I be sure of anything when it came to someone like Harry Potter?

But I knew we had to do something. That somehow the three of us were connected in a way that nobody else could possibly understand and we needed to do something to keep him with us. Or to keep us with him.

"Yes. He needs us. And I think we need him, as well."

"Indeed?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dinner was a little tense. No, it wasn't really tense. I suppose it was just tense for me. Harry seemed to be fine, although a little distracted. He kept looking up at me every five minutes.

Then again, who could blame him? After all, I had given myself extra time that afternoon to make sure I was 100% in order before I went to dinner.

Severus was silent through the entire meal. Harry and I were attempting small-talk, but barely managing complete sentences.

Awkward was the better word for it.

And I'd decided I would have none of that.

"We're all sleeping together tonight," I announced as I set down my fork and shoved my plate away. Not that the potatoes and chicken weren't fine, but somehow, the gesture of shoving away food was necessary to make my point.

"I think I'll be alright if I have the dreamless sleep potion."

"No, we're all going to take that, too. But I mean, we're going to sleep together tonight."

I didn't wait for a response from Harry. I'd made eye-contact with Severus, and caught his look of approval. Smiling back at him, I excused myself, left the dinner table, and went upstairs to get ready for bed.

Real bed.

In Severus' room.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So, I know you'll want to know the details of that night. Who was doing whom, and how it all happened.

The truth is, I'm not entirely sure myself. I can remember walking into Severus' room, and Harry was already there on the bed. Candles were burning on the nightstand and dresser, and there was some kind of incense burning. Severus opened the door for me wearing a silk bathrobe and ushered me inside.

"He's waiting for you," my lover said softly as he pulled my nightshirt off of my body.

The scent in the room was intoxicating. On the bed, leaning up against the headboard, Harry was nude, with one knee up. His eyes were heavy, and when they met my own, he smiled.

"Come here."

Even if I had wanted to resist, there was no way I could have done it at that point. Strange magics were at work. I could have sworn I'd known every aphrodisiac by that point, but whatever had been burning in that room was more powerful than Amortentia.

And yes, if I need to spell it out for you, I was hard as a rock and more than ready for whatever it was they had planned. Not that they were planning anything. This was, after all, entirely my idea.

Or so I had thought.

Severus was looking apologetically at me.

I looked over at Harry again. "Harry?"

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Nobody else would understand."

I took a deep breath and let it out again. "I understood." I looked down at my feet. "Severus understands."

"But the nightmares, and-and I have nothing left! What do I do with a life after my one purpose has been fulfilled?!"

I sat on the edge of the bed. "You look for another purpose. And if you don't find one, you play it off."

Severus came up behind me. He was, at this point, the only one still clothed. "Harry, you've done enough saving for one lifetime. Why don't you just shut up, sit still for a moment, and let us take care of you for a change?"

Harry closed his legs. Severus crossed his arms and leaned on the door jamb.

"Look, we all know you're tired of it all. We all know you've had a hard life that hasn't given you even one moment to rest. We know that you're whole fucking life has been handed to you for this one purpose." I took a deep breath, let it out again, and then I stretched out on the bed. "You're not the only one, you know. Do you think I had a choice in what my life would be like? Or Severus? Did he have a choice? Of course not. And we know that you understand that, okay? Just... don't assume we don't know."

"Draco, I- I didn't mean to--"

"Don't worry about it, Potter." Severus came over and sat down next to me. Oh, we must have been a sight. There I was, naked as the day I was born, looking up at Harry, and Severus sitting like a protective lover, only with a soft, velvet voice that was entirely reassuring. "Even you must understand what is happening here."

I smiled as Harry practically choked with emotion. God, I love it when he falls apart like that. Sure, it's that sadistic part in me that gets off on such cheap thrills, but really, what do you expect?

"Now, let's make sure we all understand what's happening here." I wasn't about to have any misunderstandings as far as this was concerned. "Severus is still mine. I'm not giving up on him, nor am I willing to just hand him over to you. I appreciate everything you did for him, and what you did for me."

"Draco, it wasn't--"

"Stop that! You're always interrupting people. Why do you interrupt people when they're trying to tell you something important? Let me finish." I rolled over onto my back and covered my eyes with one arm. "I've decided that we all need each other."

"Very eloquent, Draco." I could hear Severus untie his robe and let it fall to the floor.

Then, there was the feeling of lips upon my own. Very wet lips from my side where Harry was sitting. I opened up to them as they explored my mouth tentatively at first, and then with growing enthusiasm.

Someone moaned. I think it was Harry, but it might have been Severus. It certainly wasn't me.

At least, not until I felt Severus come up behind me and press his body against mine. "You have no idea how erotic that was, watching the two of you kiss like that." His voice sent chills up my spine.

Apparently I wasn't the only one affected by that sound. Harry pulled back and looked over my shoulder to my lover. I could feel his prick pressed against my thigh twitch and leak a few drops. His face was flushed, and he looked positively starstruck. I don't know if it was from Severus' voice and the soft sounds coming from him, or from watching him kiss along the back of my neck.

Maybe it was a combination of the two. I know it was certainly affecting me.

Still, no matter what Severus was doing to me, with his kisses, his hand sliding up my thigh to my hip, and then back down again, the look on Harry's face held my attention.

"I see our new bed partner is interested in what I'm doing to you, Draco."

"Yes. Fascinated," I gasped.

Harry looked embarrassed for just a moment.

"Would you like to watch me first, Potter? Perhaps you'd like to observe how I play this perfect, lovely body like an instrument, drawing out the most beautiful sounds with my touch?"

Teasing Harry Potter had always been my favorite pasttime. And now that he was in bed with us, and I had an opportunity to tease him like this... Well, I couldn't resist, could I?

I arched my back and turned my neck to give Severus better access. Bringing one leg up, I rubbed my knee against Harry's thigh, watching him the whole time.

"What do you say, Harry? Would you like to watch him fuck me? Maybe you can learn something. Or if you'd like to participate, we might be able to make some of those dreams go away?"

It didn't take him long to decide. Not that either of us thought there would. I think Severus actually laughed when he dove into me like a good little Gryffindor.

Still, I'm not going to say anything bad about his instincts as far as this was concerned. After all, with Severus behind me, working his fingers up my thigh, back around my buttocks, and deep into the crevice of my arse, and Harry in front of me generally being far too enthusiastic about pressing his cock against my own, grinding against me while kissing my shoulder, chest, neck, chin, and any other skin that happened to be close to his mouth...

... let's just say I was at that moment about as close to heaven as I'd ever been.

"Watch, Harry." Severus pulled away from my body for a moment. He reached over and brought a small vial of oil from the bedside table.

Harry pulled back from me as I lifted my leg to give Severus access. The look on his face as he watched Severus' fingers press into my arsehole was priceless. Oh, I put on a good show for him, to be sure. But the way he was looking...

"I think our new partner likes the view from up there," Severus said as he kissed along my shoulder and arm. "Watch his face, Draco. Watch him while I do this."

Severus pulled his fingers out of me, and I could feel the pressure from crown of his cock against me. I could tell he was watching Harry, as well. And what a show it was! Harry's gaze was positively glued to where Severus's and my bodies were connected. He reached down and began stroking himself as he watched Severus breach me and slowly push all the way inside.

"It feels good, Harry," Severus said softly, still watching Harry's face. "He's very tight and very hot. You can see how he squeezes me as I move inside of him, can't you?"

I'm telling you, for a moment, I was worried that Harry might have something seriously wrong with him. His cheeks were flushed, his breathing was erratic. Oh, sure, he was in the throes of ecstasy, but he looked like a kneazle choking up a hairball.

Alright, he didn't look that bad. He looked about as aroused as a man could be, to be honest. Furiously stroking himself as he stared down at the place where Severus was furiously pumping. "Look at his face. He's ready to come just from watching us, Draco."

"Come here," I gasped, and put my hand on Harry's arm. "Let me suck you off."

For someone who looked dangerously close to passing out just a moment before, Harry sure moved fast when the situation demanded it. I could tell he'd never done this sort of thing before. Partly because he was still watching Severus fucking me while he positioned himself, and also because he practically choked as I wrapped my lips around him.

Oh, and then there was the fact that only moments after I'd taken his cock into my mouth, he was finished. Not a word of warning, mind you. One moment I was tasting him, trying to explore the smoothness of the underside of his dick, and the next moment I was choking on what could only be described as an "impressive" amount of seminal fluid.

Apparently Severus was watching, as well. It had been a long time since we'd done this, but I still recognized the signs. His moaning into my ear, the way his rhythm became erratic. He also reached around and took my own cock in hand.

Even through all that, I kept my focus on Harry. The look on his face, the flush in his cheeks, and the way he looked down at me, then glanced over to Severus, and back at me again sent me over the edge.

And, of course, Severus was close already. As I reached orgasm, I could tell he had finished, as well. A few deep thrusts inside of me, and he was finished.

I don't think any of us had experienced anything quite so fulfilling before. Years of pain and suffering were forgotten, even our animosity toward each other was completely gone in that moment.

And as Harry slid down and curled into me, I could feel the tension melt out of his body.

Severus pulled away from me and moved around to the other side of the bed so that Harry was situated between us again. He cast a charm to clean up the mess and reached out to rest his hand on my hip just as he had the night before.

Harry was the first to fall asleep. His breathing was regular and deep, and peaceful.

I stared at him for a moment and then looked up at Severus again. He was watching me. I reached up and tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear. He turned his head and kissed the palm of my hand, then leaned down and kissed the top of Harry's head.

A few moments later, I drifted off to sleep and I dreamed. And for the first time in five years, the dreams were sweet.

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