5: grimly familiar

One thing Harry’s learned about Bear is that he has weird dreams.

This night isn’t the first time Harry’s been woken up by Bear yelping, growling, and twitching in his sleep, but it’s the loudest. He lies in bed for a minute before he sits up and nudges Bear’s shoulder. “Hey, Bear. Wake up, boy, you’re having a nightmare.”

Bear whines.

Harry nudges harder. “Come on, boy, wake up…”

Bear wakes up with a start and shrinks back against the foot of the bed, ears flat and tail tucked in. Harry’s heart squeezes. “It’s okay, it’s just me,” Harry says. “Easy, easy…”

Slowly, Bear unwinds and inches forward until Harry can rub his ears. He’s trembling.

Harry orders two hot chocolates. Tom brings them up within ten minutes, and Harry carefully pours hot chocolate into a saucer for Bear until his drink is gone. It seems to help. Bear curls up into a tiny ball in the bed with his back firmly against Harry’s legs.

When his own drink is gone, Harry goes back to sleep.

Previous Next