Draco smiled. "Thanks. Sleep well."

"You, too," Harry said, but Draco had already closed the door.

The house was silent, and Draco was a little scared. The door to his room creaked when he opened it, and that didn't lighten his mood. He thought about not changing into his pajama and just jumping into bed and hiding under the covers until next morning, but when he opened the door, he saw a white, fluffy animal on his bed. It was a cat, and immediately Draco was no longer scared. I'm not alone, he thought, relieved as he went over to the cat.

The white cat looked up, and Draco was stunned by her blue eyes. She had long, fluffy fur and looked royal. "Hey," Draco said a bit insecurely. Cautiously, he reached for the cat's head and pet it. The cat purred, stood up, and rubbed her head against Draco's hand. "No, I'm not alone," Draco said happily.

~*~

It was three in the morning when the alarm in Light Arrow's bedroom was activated. He crawled out of bed, and when he stepped into the hall, he saw Harry's bedroom door aglow with a shimmering red light. He had just gone to open it when Severus opened his door, a sleepy look on his face.

"Back to bed with you! You don't need to damage your hand any more than you already have," Light Arrow ordered strictly, keeping his voice low so as not to wake the others.

"But-" Severus tried to argue, but Light Arrow interrupted him.

"No ‘buts', boy! Back to bed! Tomorrow we have an appointment with Doc Martens followed by a long talk." Without looking to see if Severus obeyed, Light Arrow opened Harry's door and went in. He didn't need to look back to know that Severus obeyed his order.

Harry was thrashing on his bed, screaming. "No, please let go of him! Please take me instead!" A thick piece of tape was hanging from Harry's cheek. Quickly, Light Arrow went over to Harry and removed it. He then placed one hand on Harry's chest and the other on the boy's forehead. "Wake up, Harry!"

With a jerk, Harry sat up and looked around wildly. Light Arrow had let go of him upon his waking, and now he held his hands up so Harry saw that he was no harm. "It's okay, Harry. It was just a nightmare."

Harry was sweating and breathing heavily. He was still looking around, clearly scared.

"You are at our ranch, Harry. You are safe. Everything is okay. I'm going to come closer now and will touch you, okay?" Light Arrow asked calmly, moving closer to Harry.

Harry was still looking around wildly. Light Arrow cupped one of Harry's cheeks, and placed his other hand on the back of Harry's head. Harry jerked back when the hand touched his cheek, but the hand on the back of his head prevented him from pulling away completely. "Shhh, Harry. Everything is okay. You are safe."

"They were here. They..." Harry started to speak in confusion.

"Nobody is here beside me and you, Harry. You are safe here," Light Arrow assured the frightened boy while pulling him closer until Harry sat on his lap. He ignored the wetness of Harry's pajamas; first he had to calm the boy. Nothing else mattered besides that. Gently he rocked Harry back and forth, and Harry slowly started fully wake.

"A nightmare?" Harry asked, still somewhat scared.

"Yes, just a nightmare. You are okay," Light Arrow said in a sing-song voice.

The door creaked and White Cloud came in. She smiled gently at Harry, a hot, steaming cup of cocoa in her hand. "Come on, Harry. Nothing is better than a nice warm cocoa after a nightmare."

Harry took the cup and drank a bit of the delicious liquid. He sighed and leaned further into Light Arrow's chest. White Cloud took the cup out of Harry's hand and sat down on a nearby chair.

"Do you feel better, Harry?" Light Arrow asked.

"A bit," Harry said and then he realized the state of his pajama bottoms. "Oh, Merlin!" he said in a panicky tone as he tried to wriggle out of Light Arrow's lap. It had happened several times before, but gladly nobody besides Draco had ever witnessed it. Not even Severus knew that Harry had wet himself on several occasions after the torture in the dungeons.

"Calm down, Harry. That's not a problem," Light Arrow said soothingly and tightened his embrace.

"Not a problem? Oh, Merlin, no, please let me go. You are...No!" Harry started to sob out of embarrassment and desperation. Why did Light Arrow have to hold him like this while he was wet and smelled? It must disgust him. Oh, Merlin, White Cloud must know as well. "Please, let me go!" Harry pleaded miserably.

White Cloud came over and cupped Harry's face in her hands. "Harry," she addressed him and waited until he stopped his unsuccessful struggle against Light Arrow and looked at her. "Light Arrow is right. It is not a problem to worry about. You would be surprised how many of our other children have this problem at the beginning of their stay here. It's not freakish or abnormal or whatever you think it is. We have no problem with it, and we are only concerned that you calm down so we can help you to go back to sleep again. So, why don't you go with Light Arrow into the bathroom and I will make your bed ready for you when you're done." Her gentle tone soothed Harry, and he stopped his struggling completely.

He still was very embarrassed and couldn't understand why Light Arrow didn't shove him from his lap; his pajama pants must be drenched now as well from having Harry sitting on his lap. Harry wanted out of them, wanting to forget the whole embarrassing moment as soon as possible. Therefore, Harry croaked, "‘Kay."

"Then let's go, lad," Light Arrow said and set Harry down. White Cloud rummaged in Harry's wardrobe and found him a new pair of pajamas and gave them to her husband. Patiently, the old man guided Harry, who was trying to cover his wet pajama bottoms, to the bathroom. "Now undress and throw the old pajamas in the laundry basket. Then a quick shower and you will be ready for bed again. No big deal. I will turn around so that you have some privacy, but I won't leave you alone so shortly after a nightmare."

Harry didn't want to be alone. Having someone at his side after his horrible nightmare was very good indeed; it allowed Harry to feel safe. The feeling even overpowered the embarrassment. Quickly, Harry striped, threw the wet pajamas in the basket and jumped under the shower. He still felt as if the Death Eaters might be lurking behind any of the furniture or doors. Only because he knew that Light Arrow was in the bathroom with him did he dare to close the shower doors. He showered as quickly as possible, and when he was dressed in his fresh pajamas, he shyly said, "Ehm...I'm finished."

"Good," Light Arrow said cheerfully and turned to face Harry. The old man didn't look the least bit sleepy, and Harry felt less guilty for having woken him in the middle of the night.

Back in his room Harry noticed in relief that White Cloud had already gotten rid of all evidence of his accident. She smiled gently at him and pat the bed. "Nice and cozy, even warmed for you, my dear. Come snuggle in and drink your cocoa."

It felt good to not be alone, and the warm cocoa tasted delicious. It made him begin to feel sleepy again, but struggled to stay awake.

"It's okay, Harry; just go back to sleep. We will stay until you fall asleep," Light Arrow, who had sat on the edge of the bed, said.

"No, I don't want to sleep; I will dream again. Please, let me stay awake," Harry pleaded.

"No, Harry. You need your sleep, and tomorrow we will talk about what bothered you in your dream. You are safe here, my boy." Light Arrow took the cup from the almost asleep boy. He gently tucked him in more securely, gently stroking Harry's hair until he fell asleep. "You are safe here, Harry. Nobody will hurt you."

Fortunately Harry didn't dream again and awoke around six thirty in the morning. Karim lay curled into a ball beside him. The first thing Harry did was check his pajamas. He had learned to dry his wet night clothes perfectly due to previous nightmares, but unfortunately the smell didn't go away with the spell. Not even the freshening spells he had tried worked. This morning he had no need to cast one, so Harry sighed, relieved. Damn, I wouldn't have even be able to do one because I don't have my wand, Harry realized.

The events from last night were embarrassing, but with the sun shining in his room and Karim lying beside him, he didn't feel as bad about it. Light Arrow and White Cloud had been so relaxed last night that Harry started to believe them; it all wasn't a big deal for them. Not that he wanted to repeat it. He wondered why the tape he had used on his mouth last night hadn't worked. I didn't even have it on me when I woke up. Surely the alarm in Light Arrows bedroom is activated by sound. I will have to try more tape next time, Harry thought.

Around five minutes after Harry had woken up, a knock came from the door. Harry drew the bed clothes higher. Karim hadn't reacted to the sound at the door, but he did when the bed clothes moved out from under him, lazily opening his eyes.

Harry stared at the door. "It's me, Light Arrow. Can I come in, Harry?" Light Arrow spoke in a calm voice because the others were still sleeping.

"Okay," Harry said, a bit worried because he knew that he now had to talk about last night. The sunshine was no longer as nice as it had been a few minutes before, and Harry sank down into his bed.

"Another cup of cocoa?" Light Arrow asked while offering Harry the cup.

"Thank you," Harry said shyly. He sat up, causing Karim to finally stand up and stretch. He looked up at Harry as if he expected Harry to give him some of his cocoa, and Harry looked confusedly at him.

Light Arrow chuckled. "Come on, Karim, Harry isn't used to your morning rituals. A nice scratch behind the ears and a nice back rub - that's what a cat likes in the morning, right, Karim?" Light Arrow did the mentioned actions, causeing Karim to purr happily. After Light Arrow had finished his caressing, Karim looked up expectantly at Harry. Light Arrow chuckled again. "It seems he won't be satisfied until you have done it as well."

In one hand Harry held is cup while with the other he scratched and pet Karim. The cat purred loudly and rubbed his head against Harry's hand. Harry could feel Karim's claws when he started to knead his paws rhythmically against Harry's leg. It was a bit painful, but the satisfied look of the cat transfixed Harry.

"A good way to start the day, isn't it?" Light Arrow asked cheerfully.

Harry smiled. "Yeah."

Finally Karim stretched again, then jumped from the bed and onto the window sill to look outside.

Light Arrow scooted closer to Harry and asked: "Ready to talk about last night?"

Harry gulped and sipped again at his cocoa to delay the time until he had to answer. "I would prefer to not talk about it," he said finally, not looking at Light Arrow.

"That won't help you, Harry. This nightmare will come back as long as you just try to forget about it and suppress it; it will continue to harass you. We old people don't need much sleep, so we don't care if we have to come to help you each night. But for you it will be very tiring, and from the look I got yesterday, this dream is very scary, and I can't believe you would want to undergo that each night."

Harry sadly looked down at his cup.

"I won't force you to talk about your nightmares, but they won't go away if you don't talk about them," Light Arrow said gently.

"I don't see how it would help. I just want to forget about it," Harry said miserably.

Light Arrow sighed. "I know, Harry. Unfortunately it isn't that easy. While talking about it you can release some of the angst you're feeling. Telling somebody about it can help; you will then know that you aren't alone. Dreams are not memories, even when you see them as if they are. They are the way your subconscious deals with the stress and worries you have. Talking about them would mean that you are trying to handle the past and that you would be able to deal with your memories. Your subconscious wouldn't have to deal with it alone every night; that would spare you some nightmares. Not all, but some. What you had to experience was very bad, and it isn't something a young man like yourself can easily deal with. Not even an adult would be able to. It will take time until you can feel truly safe and look back at what happened with a healthy distance. Talking about what happened in the dungeons, or whatever else is bothering you in your dreams, would help you to deal with all the confusing feelings you are having and that are causing your nightmares."

"It's too hard," Harry said sadly.

"It's okay, Harry." Light Arrow laid a calming hand over Harry's. "Whenever you feel ready to talk about it, just let me know."

Harry sighed and nodded.

"One more thing, Harry, before I leave you to get ready for breakfast," Light Arrow said, "you don't have to bother trying to make yourself silent again. Even if your attempt at fooling me had staying in place over you mouth, I would have been alerted to you having a nightmare. My wards are not reliant on sounds. No tape tonight, Harry!" Light Arrow looked at Harry directly in the eyes.

Harry lowered his gaze. "But the others-"

"-Won't hear you. The rooms all have silencing spells on them so nobody outside can hear a word that is muttered from within. Anything you say or scream in here stays completely private, but one of us will be alerted so we can help you." Light Arrow assured Harry while gently lifting Harry's chin.

"Okay. Ehm... I'm sorry for waking up you and White Cloud," Harry said, apologizing.

"No need to apologize, Harry. Like I said, we don't need much sleep, and we have decided to help children like you and knew from the beginning what it would entail. Still, we love it. We want to help you, no matter what time of day or night it is. Never feel embarrassed about waking us up at night," Light Arrow said seriously.

Harry didn't know what to say, so he was happy the need to say anything was eliminated when Light Arrow ruffled his hair and said, "Now get ready for breakfast. We eat in forty minutes. I will go and wake the others now."