A short little thing inspired by my own insomnia. I imagine that Harry would be one to have a hard time sleeping.. but it's lucky that he has a whole castle to explore (with the help of his invisibility cloak!) during those sleepless nights. And Luna is definitely a creature of the night. R/R!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Jo is a goddess.

They were probably the only two people awake at this hour and, somehow, they had found each other. These late night/early morning meetings had become a common occurrence. To pass the hours they talked. About everything. About nothing. Sometimes, they just sat together silently, keeping busy to themselves as if each other's company was enough to get through another sleepless night. The quiet castle towers were perfect sanctuary from the crowded dormitory occupied by dreaming (and often snoring) roommates.

Why don't you sleep, Harry? she had asked him once.

He had replied slowly, carefully, thoughtfully. Like he himself didn't understand his own insomnia. "I don't really know." Another pause. "I think.. that I think too much. About all of it, I guess," he finished lamely.

She didn't ask him to elaborate. She never did. She didn't probe further as to what he meant by "all of it". Instead, she just …waited. They sat in pensive silence a little longer before Harry felt compelled to speak again. "You know that stretch of time before you drift off? Right after you've decided to try to sleep?" he asked aloud.

Pale pink lips smiled at him as the blonde gave a soft nod of understanding.

"Well, for me, that bit lasts forever," Harry continued after her silent affirmation, "And during that, I'm sort of stuck with all of these.. non-sleepy thoughts. The kind of thoughts that usually end in nightmares." He raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. "And I guess that I'd rather just wait until I'm completely knackered and pass out without thinking. Because it's easier to sleep that way. I think. At least without Dreamless Draught."

Harry leaned against the stone archway of the balcony they currently sat on and stared into the dark distance as the weight of his answer hung in the air. He felt slightly embarrassed at his rather revealing confession. What the hell did he even just say? And how is it that her simple question—one he didn't even have to answer- left him babbling like a loon? The moonlight bounced off the surface of the still lake. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her watching him.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could control what we dreamt of at night?" she stated rather than asked, her soft voice cutting through the heavy silence. She sighed contentedly at the thought. "I would love that power: to decide exactly what I wanted to see while I was dreaming. I suppose that it is an extraordinary amount of power for a person to have, but I think I'd be responsible enough to handle it," she added rather seriously and he smiled. "I'd spend my dreams traveling the world. Or I would dream myself very small and explore things from the perspective of a ladybug. Or I would have lunch with my mother. Or I'd dream of my own herd of Snorkacks!"

Harry turned his head and studied her face before quietly muttering to her, "Don't be silly."

She ducked her head slightly at his words. The girl's smile nearly faded completely before he grinned slyly at her and added, "Snorkacks travel in packs, not herds."

At this, she lifted her head and looked into his green eyes. She saw that they shone with mirth and also, but more subtly, with an unspoken 'thank you for listening'. She matched his grin then, tooth-for-tooth. "Oh yes, that does make more sense considering their cooperative behaviour patterns."

Harry laughed softly, feeling lighthearted at her calm response to his somewhat haunted feelings towards dreaming. They spent the rest of the night discussing the wonderful, silly things that their would-be dreams would entail- sharing, laughing, and helping expand each other's wishes and hypothetical fantasies until sleepiness hit them at last and they headed to their respective dorms.

Luna Lovegood was his nighttime savior.