Nightmares

The first night he heard the screaming, Remus thought someone was being murdered. He was jolted awake by the sound of a man in anguish and for a moment he could not place the sound. He was on his feet and moving the second he realized its source and he reached Sirius's room just in time to see Severus Snape receive a split lip from Sirius's flailing fist.

"Black, for Merlin's sake - I am not a dementor, you witless cur!" Snape barked. At this, Sirius's eyes snapped open. He seemed disoriented for a moment before his eyes locked on Snape.

"I take it I was screaming," he said tiredly. Snape's lips thinned.

"You were. Kindly raise a silencing charm next time, Black. Your werewolf friend may be able to stand your baying at the moon but I for one do not wish to hear it." He scowled and swept out the door before Sirius could reply, leaving Remus to speak to his friend alone.

"Will you be alright?" he asked. Sirius nodded wearily and stood up slowly, grimacing in pain as his muscles protested the movement.

"I'll just go down to the kitchen - it's only an hour till dawn," he said. Remus frowned.

"Sirius..." he began, concern in his voice.

"I don't have those all that often anymore," Sirius said sharply. "I'll be fine, Remus." Remus nodded reluctantly.

For the next few weeks, there were no incidents, either because Sirius did not dream about Azkaban or because he had sound-proofed his room. Remus hoped that it was the former.

Whichever had been the case, however, it did not last. The second time, Remus could hear the bed-springs creaking long before the screaming started. He made his way into Sirius's bedroom, Snape on his heels, only to see his friend thrashing back and forth in the bed, moaning softly.

"No - I didn't - Remus please - NO!!!!" Remus, his heart constricting painfully, had put a hand on Sirius's shoulder, attempting to wake the other man. To Sirius, however, the hand belonged to a Dementor which was slowly but surely drawing him closer to perform the Kiss. Remus just barely moved in time to avoid being punched in the eye. Nevertheless, he kept his hold on his friend, shaking him firmly.

"Sirius - Padfoot, it's alright, it's just a dream - Padfoot, wake up!" This last seemed to shake Sirius out of the nightmare; he looked at Remus for a brief moment with eyes that were frighteningly blank before shaking his head wildly. He stared at the other wizard, clearly confused.

"Moony?" he asked. "What are you doing - hold on - where am I?"

"You're home, Padfoot, in London. Remember?" Sirius's eyes darted around the room and then, with a shuddering breath, he nodded. Remus did not ask where his friend had thought that he was - there was no need.

"Merlin, Remus, I thought...." He trailed off, but this time there were no shutters behind his eyes. Remus could see the pain and above all else the loneliness that was hiding there and for a moment his stomach twisted. That he had abandoned Sirius to this....

"Thought what?" he asked quietly. There was a brief hesitation and then, to his surprise, Sirius answered.

"That I would never see the sun again, or the stars, or... anyone I cared about. That I would spend the rest of my life alone and... and freezing...." He looked up bleakly, and his eyes were haunted as even Remus had never seen them before. "Hell is cold, Remus," he said grimly, hugging his knees against his chest.

Snape stared at his old nemesis for a moment and then, reluctantly and very, very slowly, pulled a vial of potion from one of his pockets.

"Take this," he said gruffly, holding the vial out to Sirius. "It will stop the nightmares for tonight at least." Sirius stared at him, the haunted look in his eyes now superceded by suspicion. He took the vial after a moment's hesitation, gave it a cautious sniff, and then downed it, all the while keeping a wary eye on Snape, who snorted derisively.

"Why?" he asked after a moment.

"I got sick of the screaming, Black," Snape sneered. He stood up and headed toward the door. Remus stayed a moment longer. There was a murmured discussion and then, reassured that Sirius was once again asleep, he followed the irritable Potions master into the hall.

"Thank you for that," Remus said quietly once the door was closed. Severus snorted.

"As I said, Lupin: I need my sleep. I can't very well rest with that racket going on in the next room."

"Thank you all the same. I don't think he'd really slept in..."

"Three weeks," Snape finished grimly. "Don't tell me you haven't heard him getting up and going to the kitchen at all hours?" Remus shook his head, a concerned look on his face. Snape shook his head and clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Really, Lupin, I would have thought with your condition...." Remus gave him a pointed look and Snape shrugged.

"He cannot take the potion every night," he warned, his voice devoid of malice for once. "Taken too often it is addictive. We will have to find a more permanent solution come morning." Remus nodded, then raised one eyebrow at the realization of what Snape had said.

"We?" he questioned. Snape scowled.

"Unless you know any other Occlumensi...?" he asked. Remus stared for a second, then shook his head. Snape nodded curtly. "Tomorrow morning," he said shortly, turning away. It was only then that Remus realized that the Potions master was still dressed in his robes, not as if he had been in bed; furthermore, the robes were not wrinkled in the least, thus further discrediting the notion that the ex-Death Eater had been asleep, though it was at least two o'clock in the morning. And why, the werewolf asked himself, had Snape been carrying a vial of Dreamless Sleep potion on him? Remus frowned pensively. It appeared that Sirius was not the only one who had trouble sleeping.