WatLP: Chamber of Secrets

by Harry Leferts

Rating: everyone
Tags: Crossover, Human, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna
Length: 26848

Book Two of the Lonelyverse. Having gotten through Harry's first year with a lot of excitement, him and the alicorns thought they could unwind. Sadly, it was not to be. House elves, giant snakes, hidden chambers... Looks like another eventful year!

Book Two of the Lonelyverse

Having returned to the Dursleys after a highly eventful first year at Hogwarts, Harry and the alicorns had been looking forward to unwinding. As it turned out, all their hopes were for nought. Between summer shenanigans, a crazy house elf, and learning Potter family history, they've got a full summer ahead of themselves. And when they get back to Hogwarts, they'll have to deal with giant snakes, idiotic teachers, and a gathering darkness. With things going off the rails, they've got a long year ahead of them.

And if they survive that, they still got to deal with the strange power surges and dreams that both Luna and Nim have been having since soon after the Summer Solstice...

Other stories in the Lonelyverse:
The Wizard and the Lonely Princess
Hooves, Plush, and Magic: The Untold Tales
The Wizard and the Lonely Princess: Hallowe'en Special
A Nightmare Christmas

Published 2015-03-01 17:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-17 23:49:12 UTC

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.

"Hello"-Normal Speaking
"Interesting..."- Nightmare Moon speaking.
'Huh'- Normal Thoughts.
'All mine...'-Nightmare Moon's thoughts

Having placed his trunk at the end of his bed, Harry sighed as he flopped back onto the lumpy mattress. "Well... I guess that we're back for a few weeks at least..."

With a sigh of her own, Luna laid down beside him and placed her head onto his shoulder as the two stared at the ceiling. "We got so many plans and so little time to do them in... we should probably set up a schedule of some sort tomorrow in order to get ready." A grunt caught their attention and while they turned toward the source, Luna caught sight of something. 'Did Harry's ears just move toward the sound? No, no... must be my imagination. Human ears can't do that.'

Both of them noticed Nightmare where she sat on the desk next to a cage with Hedwig in it. "You both seemed to have forgotten about our plan to give our fine feathered comrade here some extra freedom over the summer. Which she so richly deserves."

The two friends shared a look before they turned to Nightmare and Harry spoke up. "Should we really go through with it now, though? We could wait until tomorrow after all when Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia might be a bit more agreeable..."

However, Nim only shook her head and sighed a bit. "Yes, but striking now when he wants to get us out of his hair is better. Hay, he'd be more agreeable due to what we came up with involving the plan after all. It would make us look more... normal in his view after all. Which would offset what happened on the platform."

Harry shared a look with Luna before he shrugged a bit and gave his opinion. "She does bring up a good point actually. He's not too happy that I'm here and I suppose that tossing him a bone in a sense would probably help matters quite a bit..."

A sigh escaped from Luna and she nodded before both her and Harry got up. "I suppose that it would be best to handle it right now then... like pulling off a old bandage on a wound."

Smirking, Harry glanced at her while his eyes looked far into the distance before he shook it off. "An apt description of them at times if there ever was one..."

Once they were gone, Nightmare waited until they were out of earshot and then scrambled off the desk. She looked up at the suspicious Hedwig and wagged a hoof at her. "Now no telling them what you're about to see, hmm? It'll be our little secret." Without having waited for a reply, the plush reached the trunk and threw open the lid as she looked inside. "Okay, the coast is clear now."

To Hedwig's surprise, Myrtle floated out of the trunk and looked around her. After a moment, her expression turned to one of distaste. "You weren't kidding about how they treated Harry... this is awful."

All Nightmare did was nod. "Yes, yes... rather awful and all that." She then looked up at her friend. "So then, you know what to do?"

With an annoyed expression, Myrtle nodded and rolled her eyes. "I'm to hide somewhere else until a week has passed, then I can reveal myself. That way, it will be much more unlikely that anyone will be able to send me back to Hogwarts and we'll know if they notice if I am missing as you and Harry are the first two they would ask." The ghost then looked around with a bit of a frown. "It'll be rather interesting to see how things might have changed in the Muggle world since my death..."

There was a grin on Nightmare's face by the end. "Good, good... now, you should get going before they come back..." Then to Myrtle's surprise, she shivered. "Just... stay away from any large, abandoned mansions in the park, okay?"

Myrtle just looked at her oddly for that. "Sure... though one day you'll have to give me the story about why you kept giving me that warning after we came up with this plan..."

However, the plush just waved her off. "One day, maybe..." After Myrtle left, Nim shivered and looked around the room which had seemed to have darkened. "... But more likely not..."

Having come downstairs, Harry waited to gather himself before he entered the living room. For several moments, his uncle tried to ignore him as he sat on a chair and watched television. However, when Harry finally cleared his throat, Vernon gave him a slight glare. "What is it, Boy?"

With a frown, Harry took a breath as Luna hovered nearby and unseen by all but him but still lending her silent support as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Uncle Vernon, I'm just letting you know that I'm going to let Hedwig have run of the room and ability to fly outside when she wants."

As he turned red, Vernon gripped the arms of the chair until his knuckles turned white and glared at Harry. "You'll do no such thing under my roof, Boy! That ruddy bird can stay in it's cage!"

Having caught sight of Petunia listening in, Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "What if I could give you an excuse that you could use that not only would be rather... normal and not involve the M-word, but also one that would make you look rather good to the neighbours?"

Now slowly turning puce, Vernon grunted as his mustache bristled. "Boy, there is no such possible excuse."

Strangely enough, it was Petunia who came to the rescue. "Let's at least hear the Boy out... just in case..."

Though he knew why she was looking around nervously, Harry ignored it in favor of explaining. "Well... I was thinking that if any of the neighbours ask about Hedwig, you could use the excuse that I'm learning falconry at school using an owl and she's being let out to hunt down mice and such nearby. Killing pests and all that."

For a moment, Vernon stared as he shifted between different colors. "Falconry, eh..." He seemed to be chewing something as he fought between not allowing it to make Harry miserable, the fear of Nightmare visiting him in his dreams, and how it might increase his standing in the neighbourhood if people thought that. "Noble sport and all that... Don't think that I like it being associated with the likes of you though."

Luna grumbled next to Harry. "Oh, I am so tempted to ask if Nim wants some help next time that she decides to give them some lessons..."

However, she was ignored by Harry. "Well, I actually read up on it, so I can bluff my way through it if anyone asks." He glanced at his aunt Petunia. "And me learning it might be something that the others on the street could be jealous of..."

For a few seconds, Petunia thought it over and imagined the reactions of the neighbours. In fact, Harry could practically imagine the gears as they turned in her head. "Vernon..."

A huff escaped from the walrus like man as he knew what the expression on his wife's face meant. "Boy, can you actually act the part."

Knowing that he had won, Harry nodded. "I have some hide gloves and such that I can use. Hedwig is also trained so I can use her that way as well if someone decides to try and get me to prove it."

Grumbling, Vernon finally nodded. "Fine, if you can pull that off I'll allow it. But first bloody time that ruddy bird does something unnatural, it's going into its cage and being locked in there. Do I make myself understood, Boy?"

Though he knew it to be an empty threat, Harry nodded in agreement while his aunt sniffed. "And it better not make a mess of my home, Boy. And if it has an... accident, then I expect you to clean up after it."

Giving another nod, Harry made sure not to smile as he moved away from the two. "I'll make sure of that, Aunt Petunia... Uncle Vernon..." Soon after, he was making his way upstairs. "Well... that worked out better then we thought."

With a sigh, Luna smiled. "Much better... we barely had to argue it at all. Much better then to threaten them with using magic on them and Dudley." The two re-entered Harry's room and blinked as they noticed that Nightmare had been watching out the window. "Something the matter?"

The plush jumped a bit before she turned and smiled at them, though she ignored the glare that Hedwig gave her. "Oh, nothing at all... just thinking about some things is all." She then glanced at a clock and frowned a bit. "... Isn't it dinnertime yet?"

Harry shared a look with Luna before he sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a car door slam and the three glanced out the window to see Vernon's car leave. "... I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that we're likely on our own for dinner..."

More then slightly annoyed, Luna closed her eyes as if to ward off a headache. "Of course we are..." Once she took a deep breath to calm herself, she opened her eyes and looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow. "So... you still have the Pounds that we converted from some of the Galleons in your vault?"

Now interested in where she might be going, Harry slowly nodded. "Yes... I do, why?"

A smile bloomed on Luna's face as she bounced on the bed. "Then let's go out ourselves and get some PIZZA!"

There was silence as both Harry and Nightmare looked at her before the plush raised an eyebrow at her other half. "... Seriously?"

While she huffed, the alicorn crossed her forelegs across her chest as she nodded. "I have not had any for the past almost ten months. And while the food at Hogwarts is good, I still missed things like the gooey goodness of pizza among other things..." She reached up and wiped some drool from her chin before having given Harry a smile. "Besides, the pizza place is next to the grocery store and we can stock up on some items while waiting... like Nutella!"

Once more there was a silence before Harry reached up and rubbed one finger on the side of his forehead. 'Should have really expected that...' With a sigh, he reached down for his backpack. "Well, we should get going then... And I have never been so thankful that Tonks expanded the inside of some of my pockets in my backpack, we're going to need them if we want no one to know what we got..."

The next day, after they had made sure that the Dursleys had left, Nightmare frowned as she leaned against one hoof. "Okay... Could you explain to me once more what exactly it is that you two are doing?"

With a sigh, Luna rolled her eyes as she took position behind Harry. "We're doing an experiment right now." She then raised a hoof. "We know that when Harry pumps his magic into me while I focus on using my own that I become more solid and can do things like eat and drink, even though I should not be able to." The Night Princess then tapped Harry on the shoulders. "By the same account, when I pump my magic into him, it can give him a boost or recharge him. On the moon, it also seems to make his spirit form more solid then what it normally is which is exactly like what his magic does for me in such an instance."

It was then that Harry took over. "The question now though is what would happen if Luna channeled her magic into my body and at the same time, I channeled mine into hers."

Still, Nightmare continued to frown. "Yes... But isn't that still rather dangerous?"

Harry just shook his head and gestured at her. "And that is why you are here. If something goes bad, you can break us up." He then chuckled some. "Though, all we're doing is combining the two. And neither of us have been hurt before by simply channeling our magic into the other."

As she chuckled, Luna closed her eyes. "Anyways... Time to begin." In front of her, Harry closed his eyes as Luna placed her hooves onto his shoulders and began to channel magic into him. "Remember, Harry, we need to synchronize our flows otherwise, it won't work." While she felt his magic as it began to flow into her, Luna frowned as she felt something else. 'Odd... My hooves feel like they're sinking into something... Why-'

Her thoughts were then cut off as she felt a clicking sensation regarding hers and Harry's magics and she felt herself fall forwards into darkness. Nightmare however shouted as she watched as Luna seemingly disappeared and Harry pitched back. In a moment, she leaped to his side as she looked around for Luna, but couldn't see her as she then turned to Harry, whose eyelashes fluttered. "Harry? Harry? Speak to me!"

Harry's eyes snapped open to reveal that they are no longer an emerald green, but something between that and teal before he sat up and spoke in a flanged sounding voice that was both male and female in nature. "Harry's hurt?! Where is he?!" It was then that Nightmare recognized that part of the flange was from the sound of Luna's voice coming through Harry's mouth alongside his own. Her next clue was that "Harry" had noticed his hands and stared at them. "What the hay!?"

The plush just fell on her butt as she stared. "Oooh boy..."

After a few moments as the body that she was in shook, Luna clutched Harry's hair as his pupils shrank to pinpricks. "This can't be happening! This cannot be happening! This cannot be happening!"

She felt a tap to the knee and looked to see Nightmare there who was watching her. "Calm down now..." She then gestured with her hooves as she pantomimed breathing. "Now just follow me... Breath in... Breathe out... Breathe in... Breathe out..." The plush waited for a few moments until she felt that Luna had calmed down enough. "Okay now... First things first... I need you to look inside yourself and see how Harry's doing..."

Luna nodded and then closed her eyes. "He's... Freaked out a bit, but doing okay..."

She then heard his voice as it echoed up from deep inside her mind. 'And now I know what a rubber glove or bodysuit feels like!'

The alicorn just gave her darker counterpart a sheepish grin. "Um... Yeah... He's fine..." She then frowned, or rather, Harry's body frowned, as she looked around. "This body is so different..." She flexed her new fingers in thought before she wiggled her toes. "Definitely."

Just then Nightmare rubbed her jaw as she noticed that Luna had her translucent wings sticking out of Harry's back. 'I wonder...' She then trotted around to behind Harry/Luna. "One moment..."

When she tried to turn her head around to see what Nightmare was up to, Luna winced as it could only go so far compared to her normal neck. "What are you-OW!"

The doll leaped onto Harry's back and grabbed hold of Luna's wings and pulled as hard as she could. "Come... On!"

As the back of the body she was inhabiting curved from Nightmare's hind hooves digging into her/his back, Luna felt tears in her now human eyes from the pain in her wings and back. "OW OW OW OW OW! STOP IT!" Nightmare tumbled off and Harry/Luna reached over and gently rubbed her wings. "Ow... why the hay did you do that!?"

With a sigh, Nightmare shook her head. "I was seeing if I could pull you out of his body..." She then facehoofed. "You really are stuck in there..."

She was shot a glare by Luna as said alicorn growled... which sounded weird coming from Harry's mouth in a flanged tone. "You think!?" Suddenly, she realized something. "Wait... why do I still have my wings?" The alicorn then frowned. "At least with the way they look that means that their invisible to everyone else..."

Luna heard Harry snort from the depths of her mind at that. 'Yeah... one good thing...' She then heard him sigh. 'So... until we solve this, we got three issues...' He felt Luna nod and continued. 'One, you have to act like me so that no one knows that something is wrong. That also means acting like a human.'

The alicorn smiled at that. "That is rather easy, I have hung out around you long enough that I can do a passable imitation of both."

With a mental roll of his eyes, Harry continued. 'Two, is part of that. You need to learn how to walk like a human and also do something about that voice... that is a rather big give away that something is really wrong.'

For a moment, Luna closed her/his eyes and nodded. "Yes, that is something that should be taken care of rather easily." She waited for a few moments for him to continue and then cleared her throat. "Harry? You said three things? What's the third?" Luna raised an eyebrow as she felt that Harry was both embarrassed and mortified. "What is it?"

Seconds later, Harry made a choking noise, despite how impossible that could have been as it was inside the mental realm. 'Er... Luna? Um... I'm a boy... You're a girl...'

It took some thought, but it hit Luna what he meant as she paled and blushed heavily at the same time at the implications of what he had said. "Oh hay no!"

Nightmare raised an eyebrow at her actions and made a noise like she had cleared her voice. "Mind explaining to me what is the matter?" After Luna explained to her, Nightmare was silent for a minute or two...

And then promptly fell off the bed laughing despite the glare she was given.

Once the plush got her laughter under control, she jumped back onto the bed as Luna scooted close to the edge using Harry's body and placed their feet onto the floor. "Okay... now what?"

Deep inside their shared mindscape, Harry blinked and then mentally sighed. 'You stand up obviously.' Her reply asking how to do that caused him to mentally sigh even deeper. 'You push off the bed with my hands and then straighten your legs and back.'

The alicorn bit their lip before she took a breath. "Okay.. I can do this... I've seen you do this a thousand times before..." She then pushed off from the bed and stood up straight with an expression that turned triumphant...

And then turned to horror as she kept her forward momentum as she cartwheeled their arms. Nightmare just winced as she saw Luna fall on her face with a crash. "Ouch... that had to have hurt..."

She then began to laugh and fell over again as Luna growled at her. "Shut it." She then got on all fours and crawled to the bed and then climbed back up onto it. After several more tries, the possessed human glared at Nim while the plush continued to laugh as Luna's wings flared behind her. "It's harder then it looks!"

Inside her mind, Harry groaned. 'This is going to hurt tomorrow...' As she stumbled back onto their feet, she took a step and then began to fall once more as Harry shouted at her mentally. 'USE YOUR WINGS! USE YOUR WINGS NOW!'

As she cartwheeled her arms and flapped her wings desperately in an effort to try and balance, one of her legs stuck straight out as she rotated in place, Luna shouted. "I'M TRYING!" She then began to tip forward and squeezed their eyes shut. 'Not again!' However, Luna soon opened them as she fell against something softer. There, cushioning the body she was in, was none other then Nightmare in her larger, plush form. "Nightmare?"

The alicorn plush snorted and rolled her eyes. "It was funny the first few times, but I would rather that Harry wasn't harmed too badly." Her horn then glowed as she righted Harry's body and placed it back on two legs. "Now then... just lean against me and we'll work on this."

Luna nodded with a smile. "Okay." She then took a breath and nuzzled Nightmare as well as she could without tipping over. "And thanks."

While she looked away, Nim cleared her throat. "Yeah, yeah... whatever." Nightmare had to hold back a snort as she saw that Luna tried to take a step forward, a tongue poking out of her mouth as she concentrated...

After the day that she had, Nightmare grumbled as she woke up on the moon. "Finally... this horrible day is over..." She then felt Luna as the smaller alicorn stirred against her side. "Hap...py now?" The alicorn trailed off as she noticed that Luna's eyes instead of their normal teal color were instead more of a shocking emerald. "Ah, horsefeathers..."

"Luna" then spoke up with a flanged voice that leaned toward the more masculine of the spectrum. "Mmm? Nim?" She then stiffened before she looked down at her hooves. "Wait... where are my fingers...?"

As the alicorn began to hyperventilate, a voice deep inside it's mind spoke up and began to calm it. 'It's okay, Harry. I'm right here with you.'

After a few moments, Harry spoke up. "Lu...Luna? You're here?" He felt her nod mentally as well as being calm. "Are you... angry?"

A melodic laugh drifted up from the depths of his mind before he felt her shake her head. 'Not at all, Harry. Why?' She then figured it out and snorted again. 'Harry, listen to me. This is nothing like what happened with Nightmare, okay? Besides...' Harry could feel an amused smirk in his head from her. 'I suppose that it is only fair for you if you are in control of my body for a while since I was in control of yours.'

Having finally calmed down, Harry looked over toward Nim who watched him with one eyebrow raised as he felt his face heat up. "Sorry..."

She just waved him off though. "It is nothing to be sorry about, I suppose that something like this is rather... a large change." He then noticed that Nightmare's lips twitched. "Though this looks like it will be as amusing to watch you try to walk as it was for Luna..." She then tapped one wing which swiftly closed tightly against Harry's/Luna's body. "Not to mention you trying to learn how to fly..." A few minutes later, Nightmare leaned against one hoof as she watched Harry as "he" looked over his current body and then flushed deeply and groaned as he tried to cover his eye. "Oh, what is it now?"

With one hoof pulled away from his eye, Harry squeaked. "I'm naked!"

The large alicorn blinked and then snorted as she covered her eye with one forehoof. "Really!? Is that what you are so concerned about?!" At Harry's hesitant nod, she snickered. "Harry, that is nothing to be worried about." With a sweep of her foreleg, Nightmare gestured at herself. "Just look at me! I've been naked since day one besides my armor!"

Harry groaned and tried to settle even deeper into the lunar dust. "Not... Helping... Nim..."

Inside his head, Luna sighed. 'It is not a big deal Harry, truly.' She then mentally rolled her eyes. 'That nudity taboo that humans have is just too weird. Even after you explained it, it still makes no real sense.'

With a mutter, Harry shook his head. "But Luna..."

She gave him another mental eyeroll. 'We are a pony as of this moment, Harry. Things such as nudity really do not matter to ponies and should not matter as of this moment.' Luna then muttered herself, though he heard it. 'And besides, we have much more important things to worry about right now...'

Not having given it a thought, Harry leaped up and stood on his hind legs while he threw his forelegs out to the sides. "IT'S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE THING, LUNA!" He then suddenly blinked as he realized what he had done before he started to fall backwards. "GAH!" Wind milling his forelegs while also flapping his wings in a panic, Harry tilted back and forth as he stumbled and hopped around. But the result was the same as he finally fell onto his back and smacked his head into the ground. "Ow..." Nightmare just watched with a perfectly straight face, though for a brief second it screwed up as she let out a snerk. Harry, for his part, just raised a shaky hoof at her from where he laid on his back. "Don't... you... dare..."

And then Nightmare promptly fell over onto her back. "BWA HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Harry rolled over before he slowly raised his back legs and hindquarters up and smiled, only for that to be wiped away as he pushed up too fast only to do a summersault. "Ooof!"

From where she laid, Nightmare smirked. "Should have known that you would have... flipped."

A scowl crossed Harry's face as Nim used a spell to create the sound of drums and a cymbal. "Ha. Ha. It is to laugh."

Inside Harry's head, he could hear as Luna cheered him on as he made another attempt at being able to stand. 'Come on, Harry! You can do it!'

He slowly nodded as he slowly stood up. "I... can... do... this!" Harry grinned as he felt his legs straighten... only for his eyes to widen as he realized that only two on one side were safely on the ground before he tipped over. "Ugh..."

With a grin, Nightmare raised a hoof. "You know, if you were going to try and be bipedal while in that body, you really should stand on your back legs, not two legs on one side of your body! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

In return, she got a glare from the smaller alicorn...

As he concentrated, Harry ignored the snickers from Nim as he took a breath. "Right... this time I know that I can do this! I can feel that this will be the time!"

Having grinned, Nightmare waved a hoof around. "Well, I suppose that the one hundredth time is the charm after all..."

Shakingly he slowly stood up as he pointingly ignored Nightmare's comments and snickers, while inside his head Luna gave a mental blink. 'Why am I hearing "Eye of the Tiger" playing...? And where is it coming from...?'

Despite his legs having continued to tremble, Harry let out a breath as he straightened all four legs underneath him before he grinned widely. "YES! I did it!" He then turned as he heard Nightmare as she gave him slow applause, only to raise an eyebrow as she smirked. "... What is it now?"

Nightmare just cocked her head to the side with an odd smile. "Oh... just congratulating you on managing to stand..." She then chuckled as she looked away with an amused expression. "Now you just need to learn how to walk..."

The alicorn began to laugh her flank off as Harry shouted up at the stars above. "OH COME ON!"

Her laughter only increased as his shout caused him to tip over. After she stopped, Nightmare glanced over at where Harry laid in the dusty lunar soil only for him to give her a baleful glare. That, of course, set her off again. "I haven't had this much hilarity in years!"

Once more standing, Harry took a breath as he picked one shaky hoof up and then put it forward as Luna whispered to him in his head. 'That's it, Harry. Just like that.' She gave a mental nod. 'Just put one hoof in front of the other.'

Harry gave a nod. "Right... one hoof in front of the other..." He took a few more shaky steps before he tripped and began falling forward, though he kept stumbling as he tried not to fall. "No... no... no... NO... NO! NO! Gah!"

For her part, Nightmare looked down as Harry came to a stop just below her and in front, his muzzle partially buried into the lunar dust as he gave her an even look. "So, have a nice trip, see you next fall." His annoyed glare just set her off into gales of laughter once more. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAVE A NICE TRIP, SEE YOU NEXT FALL! GET IT?! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

As his eyebrows twitched, Harry snorted which sent a cloud of dust into the air. 'Once this is over with... I am going to so get back at her...'

Nightmare watched as Harry walked back and forth before he sped up into a trot and then full out gallop. "Ah, so nice of you to have finally gotten it." She ignored how he glared at her before she looked up at the sky. "And it took you what...? Almost all night to do it in?"

The smaller alicorn just continued to glare at her. "It would have helped is someone had lended a hoof and not just laughed her flank off!"

After she tapped her chin in thought, Nightmare shrugged. "Maybe..." She then grinned and leaned forward. "But it would not have been nearly as much fun as it was. Besides, you are an alicorn and therefore much tougher then a human." The alicorn then leaned back with a sigh. "And tomorrow night, assuming that you have not fixed the problem, looks to be even more hilarious." At his questioning look, she snickered. "Mainly because you'll be learning how to fly with those wings you have." She then waved a hoof around. "It should prove to be most amusing indeed if we do that."

Harry just gave her an even look, despite how his ear and eyebrows twitched. "Buck you."

With her head cocked to the side, she smirked. "Mmm... never knew that you were into that sort of thing, to be frank." Still with that smirk, Nightmare leaned in toward him as she made a motion with her hoof. "After all, Luna and I technically share blood and you're in her body... and that would make it..."

The boy turned female alicorn just sputtered with a completely red and heated face as he tried to come up with a response not that Luna was much better in their currently shared mindscape, though he soon scowled as Nim fell to the side and began to laugh again. Then it was time for them to wake up...

Having left Privet Drive for the day and with a thoughtful expression, Luna looked down at the flyers in her hand, the eyes in her current body going back and forth between them. "Hmm, these... 'Krav maga' lessons look to be most interesting, Harry. And since they're at the other end of Little Whinging, there is less chance of your relatives somehow finding out about them."

Inside their shared mindscape, Harry mentally shrugged. 'Sounds interesting, I guess. Though once we've solved our little issue we'll need to visit the library and do some research on it.'

Slowly, Luna nodded. "Sounds good."

A moment later though, Harry brought something else up as they walked through the outskirts of town. 'By the way... why did you grab the flyer information for the swimming lessons?'

Luna gave a soft smile which just looked odd on Harry's face as she looked around with their shared eyes. "Well... it would be an ability that could come in useful someday in the future, Harry and wouldn't hurt to learn. Besides, it's only a few days worth of lessons so it won't eat much time for such a useful subject."

There was a snort that drifted from the backpack and the two could hear Nightmare pipe up from in it. "Besides, a lot of ponies don't really learn how to swim." Having sensed the confusion that she knew was Harry's through her connection to Luna, Nightmare sighed. "A large number of ponies outside of some jobs such as fisherponies and crew on waterborne craft never learn how to swim. They just don't see a real reason why... hay, it took Luna and Celestia centuries before they decided to even bother to learn some other methods than paddling as best they could."

With a slight blush on her face, the currently human alicorn coughed. "Yes, well... just the same, it turned out many times to be very useful skill to have nonetheless. Hence why, now that we have some money, it's a skill that you should learn." After some thought, Harry decided to get one of his questions answered and asked why they were out and about. "Simple, the less time spent with your relatives or, really, anyone else that might know of us the better. And if we stuck around the house much longer then chances are that your aunt would give us chores."

All that got was a mental blink from Harry. 'Ah...' Suddenly, they entered a flat grassy area by a stream and Luna sat down on a rock as she began to pull off Harry's trainers 'Er, Luna? What are you doing?'

However, she just smiled as she pulled off the socks and placed them into the trainers and wiggled their toes. "It's something that I've always wanted to try ever since I saw it as a scene on the television..." She gave a look around and then slowly stood up. After a moment to make sure that her balance was still good, Luna grinned and held out her arms as she ran through the grass. Their feet were tickled by the blades of grass as underneath them, Luna could feel the warmth of the earth. "Whee!"

From her vantage point sticking her head out of the backpack, Nightmare raised one eyebrow as she stared as if her other half had gone insane. "What... are you doing?"

The Princess of the Night twirled around a bit and laughed gaily. "What does it look like? I'm having fuuuuunn! Oof!" As she winced from her fall, Luna rubbed her behind before she smiled. "I've always wondered about what it felt like to run through the grass without a care, the grass beneath my feet." With a sigh, Luna laid back and stared at the clouds as they drifted by and reached up with one hand. "No offense, Harry... but..."

A laugh sounded from her mindscape and a moment later she could hear Harry's voice. 'Don't worry about it, Luna. Have some fun with it like I've been having with your body on the moon.'

Both of the blinked before they turned to where it seemed like Nightmare was choking on something. After a few moments, the plush waved them off. "It's... nothing... nothing at all, just a thought that occurred to me is all..."

Having raised one eyebrow, Luna slowly nodded. "Ookay..." However, she soon shook it off and laid back. "Mmm... without fur you humans' skin is just so sensitive... I can feel the sun directly, feel the breeze on my bare skin, the grass underneath me... it's... amazing..." Inside of their head, Harry gave a nod before Luna opened her eyes with a bright smile. "Now for the next thing on my list!" She climbed to her feet and then pointed at a tree. "I am going to climb that tree!"

There was silence for a few moments as she stood in that pose before Harry commented. '...Really, Luna?'

With a snort, Luna nodded as she crossed Harry's forearms. "Yes, I'm serious, Harry!" Their head tilted back as she observed the lower branches before Luna flexed her fingers. "I've always wondered what it would be like to climb a tree... and now I'll know!" With a purposeful stride, Luna soon reached the tree she had chosen and reached up toward the lower branches. Her fingers closed around them before she slowly pulled herself up with her tongue sticking out between their lips. 'Just a bit more... there!'

Inside their shared mindscape, Harry watched as he could feel the sense of accomplishment as Luna made her way up the tree. 'So what are you going to do next, then?"

As she hummed, Luna lifted herself up onto a branch and looked down to see a full sized Nightmare looking up at her. "Whew... that's harder then it looks." After she wiped away some sweat, Luna decided to answer him. "Well... there's that stream nearby. I want to know what the water in it would feel like on bare feet and legs instead of hooves and fur."

Still with a raised eyebrow, Nightmare snorted. "Or... you could just take a bath or shower when we get home." She rolled her eyes as she noted the slight blush on Luna's face as well as the mortification that came from Harry. "Oh, get over yourself..."

Finally, after four days, whatever kept the two in the same body stopped and they woke up in Harry's world in their separate bodies. For a few moments the two laid there in bed as an amused Nightmare watched them before they patted themselves down. Then, Luna turned to Harry as he did the same as the human coughed. "Are we...?"

Slowly, Luna nodded. "I... think we are..." She moved around her hooves some as she stared at them as if they had been the most interesting thing that she had ever seen. A smile then broke out on her face. "We're... in our own bodies again..."

Both of them flopped back onto the bed before Harry shot a fist toward the ceiling. "YES!" More minutes passed as the two stared at the ceiling of the room before Harry spoke up. "At least we learned some things..."

With a hum, Luna just blinked. "Yes... We've learned that we can possess each other by cycling our magic between our bodies. I've learned both what it is like to be a human and a boy..."

Harry then finished the sentence. "And I've learned what it is like to be a female alicorn..."

The two of them then spoke at exactly the same moment. "Let us never speak of what has happened over this week ever again."

Meanwhile, Nightmare watched them as her expression only grew more amused. 'Mmm... yes, never speak of it again. That just makes it so much better for blackmail material when needed...'

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.

"Hello"-Normal Speaking
"Interesting..."- Nightmare Moon speaking.
'Huh'- Normal Thoughts.
'All mine...'-Nightmare Moon's thoughts

After she had set the sun and then raised the moon, Celestia slowly sipped at her tea. Several moments passed before she closed her eyes. "So then... What have you to report, Dream Weaver?"

There was a sigh before a unicorn stepped up beside her. "Your Highness, ten years ago, you created the Institute for the Study of Dreams... our duty was to study the dream realm and compile reports on dreams from all across Equestria and beyond. And over the past year, you have asked us to keep a look out for nightmares in particular..."

Although she didn't look, Celestia knew there was a suspicion in Dream Weaver's gaze. "I have my reasons in regards to why I wish to know which nightmares weigh upon the minds of my subjects, including yours."

With a sigh due to knowing he would not receive a better answer, Dream Weaver cleared his throat. "Ah, yes... well, in regards to that, there have been two types of dreams that beings all across Equis have had recently. The first was roughly four to five weeks ago. At that time, there was reported a nightmare of horrifying proportions. In the nightmare, the being would see somepony close to them being attacked by a horrifying being with two faces. The pony would fight back and their touch would burn the creature which would turn to ash from which a wraith would rise and then attack..."

For a moment, Celestia felt a shiver run up her back as she remembered her version before she took a sip of her tea. "Yes, then the being would attack the wraith..."

Slightly surprised, Dream Weaver nodded. "The other is rather... more odd." At the Princess' raised eyebrow, the unicorn coughed. "It's a dream in which the being dreaming it is suddenly stuck in a body of a different creature who is of the opposite sex.."

A blush rose on Celestia's face as she remembered how she had dreamed of being a male biped before she frowned. "I see... please keep me informed of what dreams seem to be the most common from nowhere... Now what else have you found out..." The Princess of the Day slowly tilted her head back as she looked at the moon, having given the doctor the usual half a ear as she continued to think. 'What is going on, Luna...? I had expected that most of Equestria or Equis would be crippled from nightmares, but there is none of that...' Her tea cup then came up to her own lips. 'Yes... most strange indeed...'

Harry slowly walked down the sidewalk with Luna beside him as he listened to his earphones and sang along a bit to the song on the walkman that he had found in serviceable condition in his bedroom. "... When the last moon is cast, over the last star of morning... and the future has passed without even a last desperate warning... Then look into the sky, where through the clouds a path is torn... Look and see her, how she sparkles..."

From her position, Luna hummed a bit along as she could just hear it. When he took off the earphones though, she raised an eyebrow some. "Yes, Harry? Is something the matter?"

As he scratched the back of his head, Harry frowned a bit. "Well... I'm just wondering what we're going shopping for is all. You two haven't told me much after all."

There was a sigh from inside his backpack before Nightmare spoke up. "Do you remember what we discussed before you left Platform 9 3/4? About what we were going to do this summer?"

With a frown, Harry nodded his head. "You both were talking about upping my training just in case we got into another situation like... what happened at the end of the year, why?" He blinked for a moment before he turned toward Luna. "Wait... you guys didn't just mean teaching me more magic for that?"

Luna shook her head and sighed before she ran a hoof through her mane. "In our original plan, such as it was, we were going to start you on more physical training once you reached fifteen years of age. But with what happened last year and a good chance that Voldemort will return, we're going to have to push our schedule forward and start this summer on physical training."

Now slightly confused, the wizard looked at her. "So... what are we doing exactly? Running and stuff?"

In the backpack, Nightmare chuckled. "While running will indeed be part of it, we will be doing more than that... But before you ask, we are not going to be buying a lot of equipment such as weights and so forth." The backpack shifted some. "We can modify one of Dudley's bikes into an exercise one with ease if we need to. The only other thing that we are going to be getting is material to make a chin up bar which you can use when at Hogwarts since here you can use tree branches."

That caused Harry to blink. "Wait, no weights? Or anything like that?"

A soft snort escaped from Luna. "Harry, we're not aiming to turn you into some muscle bound jock. Those two items along with pushups, running, and situps will be more then enough. Our plan has two separate goals. One is to make sure that you are healthy."

Then Nightmare spoke up. "The other is to build up your stamina so that you will not tire easily. That way if you do happen to get into a fight, you'll have the speed and endurance to easily outrun any one after you considering how little exercise and physical exertion it seems that most wizards see."

With a sigh as she watched Harry think it over, Luna continued her conversation with Nightmare. 'Of course, there's the third reason which we aren't telling him.'

Inside the backpack, Nim shrugged. 'We want him to live for as long as possible, Luna. Him being fit and physically active means that he should live a long and healthy life. You were the one who found those books in the library here in Little Whinging after all on how exercise helps one live longer. And that is our goal.'

Harry then unknowingly interrupted their mental conversation. "Huh, I thought that we were doing the other thing today."

While she shook her head, Luna turned toward him. "Actually, we're still doing that as well. Not like there's all that much to do as you've got nearly half your homework done." Suddenly, a smile crossed her face and she pointed at a shop. "And it looks like we're here."

The bell above the door rang as Harry walked into the second hand clothing store with a knapsack on his back. Beside him, Luna flew before she landed on the floor. Harry looked around before he noticed a teenage girl at the counter reading a book. "Um... Excuse me?"

The teen looked up and raised an eyebrow after a moment. "What is it, kid?"

Unfazed, Harry just gestured at his backpack. "Just wondering if I need to set it down by the counter is all."

All he got in reply was a snort. "Do you see a sign saying leave any bags there? No? There's your answer."

With that, the cashier turned back to her book. Having guessed that he would get no further help, Harry started to make his way toward the teen's section of the store. From his backpack though came a bunch of grumbles before Nightmare spoke up. "I fail to see why exactly you're not just going to buy properly new clothing."

As she sighed, Luna turned to the backpack. "We've been over this, Nim. Harry buying brand new clothing for the most part would just be the equivalent of waving a red flag in his relatives' faces. They would be wondering where exactly he got money from for new clothing."

Having been examining some jeans as he guessed his size, Harry frowned some as he nodded. "And it's not like I'm not getting some new clothes, I just can't wear them around the Dursleys which means this is the better idea. At least with second hand stuff I can say that my friends gave me some money for Christmas or as an early birthday gift which I spent on some clothes." He then frowned some. "Besides, as long as they actually fit and are comfortable? Then they'd already be far better then anything I already got."

Luna glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "You're still going to be using those household potions to clean them before you put any of them on, right?"

A soft smile crossed Harry's face as he nodded at her. "Yeah, I already ordered the ready made stain removing potion just in case as well as the heavy duty cleaning potion." Then he chuckled some. "At least I won't have to worry about the colors fading or getting washed out by the potions."

From his backpack came another grunt. "We're still getting you some proper items of clothing though. A nice pair of trainers for instance."

Giving a nod, Harry spied something. "Sounds good actually..." Reaching out, he pulled a jean jacket from the rack and held it in front of him. "What do you think, Luna?"

The alicorn examined it from different angles before she nodded. "Looks rather good actually." She then looked at the price and whistled. "And only 8 pounds... That's rather good. And it looks to be in good condition for second hand."

While he draped it over his arm, Harry nodded with a smile. "Well, that's one thing... Let's see what else we can find..."

In the backpack, Nim spoke up. "Remember, we also need to check out those martial art classes just in case as well..."

Harry was looking through the shirts on the rack so he hummed. "Can't wait actually..." A smile came over his face. "Should be rather fun..."

As they walked through the park path, Luna shivered some. "I really wish that we weren't coming back here, Harry... I really don't want to..."

The young wizard glanced back at her as they came upon some gates before the overgrown property deep inside the park. "You're not the only one, Luna. But I would really not like to tempt fate by putting it off..." One of his fingers tapped the hilt of the knife at his waist as he looked up at the sky abovee, the blue slowly darkening as the sun began to lower to the horizon. "No, no need to tempt fate at all..."

On his shoulder, Nim grumbled as she nervously looked around them. "I'll admit that I am surprised that Tonks did not ask why you needed what you asked for..."

With an explosive sigh, Harry shook his head. "All I had to do was promise her it was not for myself, she did accept that it was payment for something... though I don't think she knew it was for this." The backpack he had shifted a little, something inside having clinked which he winced at. "Anyways... Luna?"

Though she was rather frightened, Luna walked up to the old lock that kept the chains that sealed the gate shut in place. A moment later, her horn glowed softly. "Give me... a... moment..." Suddenly, with a click, the lock popped open and she nodded before she turned toward Harry. "There... done." As she licked her dry lips, Luna glanced around at the lengthening shadows before she shivered at the sight of the darkened windows of the decayed manor before them, each one like an eye that stared into her. "Why... are we doing this now?"

While he walked forward with more bravery then he actually felt, Harry glanced at the windows and shuddered at how the shadows inside seemed to shift. For a brief moment, his mind travelled back to that night almost two years before. A night where the three of them had ran through the manner chased by something from myth and legend as around them a gang of people screamed as they were slaughtered. That night and what had occurred were burned into his very mind along with Nim's and Luna's. "Because if I don't do this now... I might not be able to later on..."

Anxiousness and nervousness were visible in every move that Harry and the other two did as they crept across the grounds. What made it more disturbing to them was not a bit of a breeze brushed past them and any sounds were from outside the property and muffled. "Have I told you two how much I hate this place? Because I really hate this place..."

Slowly, Harry nodded as they reached the old kitchen door and he grasped the knob. "You're not the only one, Nim... you're not the only one..." The door creaked as it opened and Harry had to blink as a cold breeze drifted out. Within the air, there was the scent of mold and mildew as well as something else. A mustiness that dragged all three back to a journey that to this day they had tried to convince themselves was mostly in their heads. Memories of walking through the darkness with only a single torch as unknowable and terrifying beings waited for them just outside the small ring of light as they followed their guide...

******* Flashback to nearly two years earlier *********************

As they walked, the three could not help but wonder why it was taking so long to reach their destination. Surely the basement was not that large?! Were they going around in circles? How much time had past since they had begun? Less then an hour? Hours? Days? Or weeks...? The chill of fear had sunk deep within their bones, that and the ever present darkness distorting the passage of time around them. All they knew was that the omnipresent breeze always came from ahead, gusts of which pulled sparks from the torch like streams of fireflies and caused it to sputter which sent spikes of terror rippling through them. The light from the sparks as they died allowed the two Alicorns to partially see the things that lurked in the darkness. Nightmare's eyes suddenly jerked to the side after one such event as she caught a glimpse of something familiar, and yet twisted before it vanished. 'We should not be here... we do not belong here...'

While Luna's eyes darted around, and her breaths came quick, she felt some small relief that Harry could not see what she had... could not hear what horrors lay in wait just beyond the light of the flame...

Sense what frightening things that watched them as they laid in wait for the time when the flame might go out...

And, for a brief moment their worst fears came true as a sudden powerful gust of air, carrying with it the cloying scent of death, snuffed out their torch to nothing more than glowing embers as the darkness rushed in as if to strangle the life from them...

And then, just as fast, though to the three it seemed like an eternity, the torch burst into a flame brighter then it had been before from it's own dying embers. For a moment Harry stood there trembling in cold damp... sweat, yes, that was all it was he told himself. Sweat. Nightmare was just cold and that was why she shook and trembled, her eyes wide and unseeing as they sparkled in the torch light like her mane did on the moon. Why had it turned so cold suddenly down here? While his skin didn't feel it, it was as if something made of ice had caressed his liver, heart, stomach, and scar. But that was silly. Just as silly as the idea that in the moment that the light had gone out that Luna had let loose a strangled, high pitched whinny. Or the idea that she had begun near silently chanting her sister's name over and over as her wide eyes moved over every inch of darkness even faster then she had before as if to make up for Nightmare's unnatural stillness. Yup, it was all just imagined. And Luna was definitely not completely soaked with a cold sweat...

****************** Flashback End **************************************

Then, it was over with and they were back in the present. "Le-let's just get this o-over with..."

With a nod, Nim hopped off his shoulder and grew to the size of a normal pony so that she could better hold the door before she spoke in a strangled voice. "Just... just hurry it up..."

Quickly, Harry nodded and stepped around the suspicious dark spots on the floor as he walked toward the table. On his way, he also ignored a smashed flashlight that had a light coating of dust on it. "Okay..." Harry set down the backpack and opened it before he grabbed some cloths inside and slowly wiped down a place on a table while Luna went through a nearby cupboard. "Found anything yet?"

He nearly jumped as Luna flew over with a plate. "I found this, should it do?"

As he calmed down his heart, Harry nodded as he examined the silver plate. "This should do rather nicely..." It took enough time that the sun slowly sank past the horizon, but Harry was done with his preparations. The formerly dusty plate shone as Harry placed a slab of beef from the cooler bag he had it in alongside a loaf of freshly baked bread. Beside the plate, he set down the bottle of Guinness. Then as he lit the sticks of incense, Harry drew his Egyptian dagger. "Okay..." Harry took a deep breath and then began the chant he got from one of the books in Hogwarts. A chant that both Luna and Nim (from her spot holding the door) spoke at the same time.

"An offering given by the Wizard and the Princesses,
Anubis, he is who is in front of his divine booth, he who is on his mountain.
We give invocation offerings of bread, beef, beer. Everything good and pure thing that the sky gives, the earth creates, the river inundates, on which the god lives.
For Harry Potter, wizard in training, Luna, Princess and the ruler of the night in Equestria and she who guides the dreams, and Nightmare Moon, Lady of Nightmares. We give these in thanks for our lives."

Luna shivered a bit as the house seemed to turn darker and shadows began to gather. "Um... Harry? I really think that we should leave now..."

Having seen something in the long, dark hall, Harry hurriedly nodded as he slowly backed away. "Ye-yeah... good idea..."

Soon after, they backed out of the seemingly abandoned manor before they closed the door. A few minutes passed before a massive shape moved out of the shadows and a deep chuckle drifted through the room as a clawed hand reached out. The hand then grabbed the plate and the bottle of Guinness...

The three stood there as they watched the house before Harry leaned toward Luna. "Um... you think he's shown up yet and accepted the offering?"

A voice that did not belong to any of the three chose exactly that moment to speak up which caused them to let loose a strangled scream. "I do believe that he has indeed accepted your offering, my friends." There was a rich laugh as they turned around. "I am sorry, Little One, I did not mean to scare you."

Nightmare grunted some and looked away. "You didn't scare me."

With another laugh, the honey brown eyes of the Egyptian girl twinkled in the dusk. "Perhaps it is as you said." Then she smiled as Harry hugged her. "Still, it is good to see you my friends once again, though I am surprised as to why."

All Harry did was smile. "It's good to see you as well..." He trailed off as what she had said a few minutes before registered and a chill went down his back. "You said that he accepted it... how..." Upon having seen her quirk an eyebrow and look toward the house, Harry found himself turning before he looked in the same direction. What he saw caused him to shake some as there in the window was a vaguly humanoid shape much taller then a normal human. The fact that it had a canine shaped head let him know what it was before it vanished. "Tha-that was..."

Slowly, Amakirah just placed a hand on his shoulders and guided him away from the manor, both Luna and Nim closely following. "Yes, that was he. Though I think that he is most pleased with the offering. Not often that he gets to taste a drink from another land."

For a moment, each of the three considered asking her how she knew that, before they dismissed the thought. Instead, Luna glanced over at her with narrowed eyes. "Since you're here and I know that you can both see and hear me... about that knife that you gave Harry..." She got an interested glance from Amakirah. "Harry was attacked and used it..."

Her expression now serious, Amakirah frowned before she turned toward Harry. "Tell me what happened..." The apparently teenaged girl's expression barely changed as Harry told his tale with input from both Luna and Nim. She stopped before what had been a fountain on the property, but what was now a scum filled basin. "I knew of what effects the dagger would have on someone, yes. But I gave it to you, Harry, because it would give you a degree of protection from that which you may face on your path."

As the wizard mulled that over, Nim narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean... protection? From what?" Then she remembered something from the fight. "That wraith-like being... it tried to go after Harry but was repelled, is that..."

With a soft smile, Amakirah nodded. "The dagger provides some protection against beings such as that as it can harm them when used and they cannot touch one using the dagger to steal their lifeforce. It can also harm other beings who do not belong here on this plane. After all, the dagger is blessed by Anubis himself." Before they could say anything else, they had reached the gate and Amakirah shook her head before she gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. "Until next we meet..."

She began to walk back the way that they came as Harry stood there stunned. Then he whipped around. "Hey, wait, what did you mean by..." Only his eyes met the sight of the abandoned property as sand swirled down the garden path. "That..."

The plush blinked and looked around in confusion. "How the hay did she do that...?"

Luna frowned some. "I don't know..." She glanced at the manor and shivered some. "But just the same, I think that we should lock the gate again and leave..." After they shared a look, Nim and Harry agreed before the plush shrank down to her normal size and got into the backpack. Then they quickly, though not running, went through the gate and left the manor behind. Minutes after they were gone, a small breeze swept through which carried the soft laughter of Amakirah...

After a rough night where they had issues with falling asleep, the group walked down the length of Diagon with Harry grasping a bag. On his shoulder, Nim nodded to herself. "Good thing that Tonks and Neville explained how to use that Knight Bus thing..."

There was a grimace on Luna's face as she grumbled. "The ride though left much to be desired..."

With a nod, Harry looked at the list in his hands as he whispered just low enough for only her and Nim to hear. "You're not the only one who feels that way, Luna..." A frown then crossed his face as he glanced around the alley. "So... we got most of the items that we need for the summer... all that's left is the apothecary to get some ingredients to tie us over..."

Nim leapt from his shoulder and landed beside him on all four hooves as if she was some strange kind of cat. "What are we waiting for then?"

Soon, they reached the apothecary and Harry walked into it with a frown before he noticed the clerk behind the counter, her face hidden behind a copy of the Daily Prophet. "Er, hello?"

After a moment, the paper folded down to reveal what would have passed for a goth in the non-magical world with hair differently colored. For a moment, Harry blinked as her hair was in stripes of pink, purple, gold, and black with only the black seeming to be a dye job. Seeing who was in front of her, she raised one pierced eyebrow and waved at him. "Huh, Harry Potter, right?"

The young wizard nodded and took a look around. "Uh, yes?"

She jumped off the chair and walked around the table before she held out her hand to him as she popped some bubblegum. "Sweet, kind of always wanted to meet you." As he shook her hand she nodded. "Got to thank you for taking out Voldemort, lost a lot to the guy."

It was right then that Nightmare walked in and raised an eyebrow as she looked up. "Oh?"

For a moment, the woman blinked as she stared before she rubbed at her forehead, flashes of something going through her mind like a forgotten memory before she shook it off. "Yeah, I'm something of an orphan because of him and his goon squad. Was found in the ruins of a village that he attacked all alone and without any memories..." She grimaced but didn't finish the thought aloud. 'Or ability to use magic outside of potions...'

While he scratched his head, Harry looked around. "Um... you're welcome?"

The woman then leaned against the counter and crossed her arms under her chest as she shrugged. "Anyways, what can I do you for?"

After one final look around, Harry cleared his throat. "Well, I was wondering if you had anything here to practice potions with... like stuff easily supplied for one who lives in a muggle place?" At her cocked eyebrow, he flushed. "I live in a, er, muggle area and would like to practice potions so..."

She scratched her nose in thought, jiggling the ring there before she shrugged before she walked over to a shelf unit and pulled out a small booklet and handed it to Harry before she pulled out a book from another shelf and gave it to him. "The first is some relatively simple potions that can be made with readily gathered ingredients from around the house. The second is a guide to how to harvest potion ingredients from various things like beetle eyes, spider fangs, and so forth which are common." At his look, she smirked. "This is an apothecary, everything here would be far better harvested than what you can do, but the potions in the booklet are robust enough that even slightly damaged stuff will work."

Nightmare looked over the booklet, once more causing the woman to feel as if she was familiar before she frowned. "Shame that we can't get lessons in that..."

As they heard a snicker, they looked to see the woman grinning at them before she pointed at the bulletin board. "I hold lessons in basic potion ingredient harvesting here every Wednesday evening. Granted, I hardly ever have anyone as most are too lazy to bother learning." Suddenly, she smacked her forehead and held out her hand. "Where are my manners? The name's Scherzanda, but my friends call me Shezzy..."

Harry smiled as he shook the hand that was offered to him. "Thanks, Miss Scherzanda-"

He was cut off though as Shezzy shook her head. "Call me Shezzy, you of all people deserve that. Besides, 'Miss' makes me look around for some old woman." A thought then occurred to her as she sucked her teeth. "You want some simple potions to practice with, right? And since I read you went to Hogwarts, I'm guessing it's to try and get Severus Snape off your back?"

Slightly surprised, Harry nodded. "That would be kind of nice... And how did you know?"

The clerk just rolled her eyes. "If I had a Galleon for each time a student complains about the Hogwarts' potions professor, I would have opened an entire chain of apothecaries by now with those funds. Anyways..." She gestured for him to follow her as she opened the door to the backroom. "I do have something that might help you." Curious, the three friends followed her and found Shezzy as she opened a box and started to look through it bent over. "Now where is it...?"

As he gave a shrug to the other two (and not seeing how Nim examined the clerk), Harry was about to say something when his attention was grabbed by a triumphant shout. "Got something?"

Shezzy turned around with a box and grinned. "You bet ya I do."

When he was handed the box, Harry raised an eyebrow. "Mister Fizzles Junior Potions Kit?"

Though she snickered some, Shezzy tapped the box. "This is a potions kit for magical children just learning the ropes. Kind of like those chemistry sets that muggles give to their kids. As for the kit itself... It has instructions and a information booklet on potions themselves..." Despite the look she got, she shrugged. "It may be for kids, but it's useful for practice when you want to make potions that aren't dangerous even if you mess up. The most powerful one in there just creates a potion which can cause your robes to change color depending on your mood for a few days after spraying. Best part is that it can give you a base to build off of and you can experiment with what is in there since they're near impossible to dangerously screw up. Not to mention that the ingredients can be refilled with stuff from around the house, even a muggle one. Great if your a Muggleborn or Muggle-raised as the worst that might happen are some light burns which can be taken care as normal."

While he looked over the box, Harry slowly nodded. "Sounds... interesting." He then turned the box over in his hands. "I wonder why I haven't heard of them before though... the only potions kits that I have seen are for First Years and above..."

All Shezzy did was shrug before she shoved her hands into her pockets. "Well, it's mostly because mainly those who use them already know about them from catalogues and such. Also, you would be amazed at how many get annoyed when you ask if they want one, but you seem more even tempered so..."

Upon his shoulder, Nim nodded before Harry commented. "You... really seem to know your stuff."

Shrugging, Shezzy tilted her head to the side. "Well... let's just say that I've been learning about potions for a long time now. I'm aiming for a potions' mastery at some point so I need to know stuff like this as well and it helps working in a apothecary." When Harry asked her if she had any books, Shezzy frowned some. "I have a few that I can recommend to you... Come on, follow me."

When they got back to the desk, Shezzy pulled out a piece of parchment and started to write on it. A moment later she stopped at Harry's next words. "I do have a question..."

The witch looked up at him. "Go on."

Harry coughed into his fist as his cheeks reddened. "Well... It seems like you know a lot and you give lessons, so I was wondering if it was possible to contact you if I had questions..."

For two minutes the clerk stared at him before she grinned widely. "Heh, not a problem. I'll add my address to this so that you know it. And before you ask, I don't mind at all..." A flash of sadness went through her eyes. 'After all, I don't have many friends...' Over the next hour, Harry and Nim forged the beginnings of a friendship with Shezzy as they found her easier to talk to and ask questions about potions to than Snape...

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.

"Hello"-Normal Speaking
"Interesting..."- Nightmare Moon speaking.
'Huh'- Normal Thoughts.
'All mine...'-Nightmare Moon's thoughts

Having returned from spending the day out in the local sports center where the flyer for the Krav Maga lesson had lead them Harry laid on his back and stared at his ceiling as he sighed. "Well... at least the day ended on a rather nice note despite how it started."

From where she sat, Nightmare rolled her eyes. "Ugh... you're telling me. That Krav Maga lesson was a bust as it was only a single lesson and demonstration."

All Luna did was hum as she looked through the brochure that was in front of her. "Hmm... true enough. Though we did learn a few things from it. More importantly though, it turned out to be part of a group event with a number of the local martial arts groups there. That display about Pankration reminded me quite a bit of a style of fighting used by the minotaurs."

With a frown on his face as Harry scratched his chin. "I wish that I could have gotten a better look at the weapons one, they kind of looked cool..." Her eyebrows raised, Luna glanced at him and asked why he didn't which caused his expression to sour. "Dudley was there at the Stick Fighting display..."

Both Harry and Luna turned as Nim snickered. "He got kicked out not too long after due to being a bit too... enthusiastic when he volunteered."

Luna frowned at that before she shook it off. "Just the same, we managed to see a number and have a number of options since the Krav Maga idea fell through..." There was a smile on her face as she waved the brochure in the air. "For example, this Taekwondo school which you talked to the head of. He has no problem with us taking lessons over the summer as long as we practice at school during the year and test at the beginning of each summer."

Slowly, Nim nodded in agreement though she raised an eyebrow as Harry raised a single hand with his index finger extended. "Though why you also had me join that group for Tai Chi is beyond me..."

With a flap of her wings, Luna landed beside him on the bed with a smile. Then she gently tapped his forehead with her brochure. "Simple, it seems that it helps with meditation and clearing your mind. Something that you can always improve upon no matter what as control helps with your magic."

Amused, Harry rolled his eyes a bit. "I guess."

Suddenly, he winced and Luna's smile became a frown. "Are you okay, Harry?"

There was another wince from him before he sighed. "Yeah, I'm okay, just a bit sore from the workout that you put me through."

Nightmare glanced at Luna before she walked over and hopped up onto the bed. A moment later, she was about Luna's size as she gestured with one hoof. "Roll over." Having seen his confusion, she rolled her eyes. "I'll give you a bit of a massage for those muscles with the Lay on Hooves healing spell. That should take away the pain and help you recover quicker."

A grunt escaped him as he rolled over onto his front. Then Nightmare began to work as Harry sighed. "Does it ever get better?"

While she watched in interest, Luna nodded her head. "It does get better as time goes on. You're just working some muscles that normally you don't. Your body will get used to it after a little while and then you won't hurt nearly as much."

Humming, the now large plush frowned a bit. "Even though it is a sport, Quidditch does not work much more than the muscles in your arms, shoulders, and upper body. And even that is limited in how much it does."

Though he felt himself relax, Harry turned his head so that he could look at Luna. "There's just one thing that bothers me..." The alicorn gave him a nod to continue. "How am I going to keep up my practicing martial arts at Hogwarts? I don't think that anyone else there actually does martial arts as well."

To his surprise, Luna's smile widened some. "That is where Nim and I can come in handy." At his confusion, she chuckled some. "The two of us, me and you, give us two viewpoints of your lessons. Together, they will allow us to replay the classes in the dream realm. We could also use a variant of the Somnambulism spell to allow you to physically relive the lesson and practice the moves."

It took him a moment, but Harry recalled where he heard that word before. "Somnambulism? Isn't that another word for sleepwalking?"

Luna had a proud look on her face since he had remembered. "It is. The spell normally places a being in a state between wakefulness and sleep where they will act out what is happening in their minds and dreams. The variant that I am speaking of was used when we needed for someone to relive something that happened to them and to re-enact it. Usually, it was one of our Guards for when we might be doing an investigation. In your case, it will help you with learning and solidifying what you know of martial arts."

As his eyebrows furrowed in thought, Harry frowned. "And that will really help?"

The alicorn chuckled. "Yes, it could help quite a bit. For example, it might help with muscle memory at the least." With a thoughtful hum, Luna placed her chin on her forehooves. "Grant you, that's if it works..."

With a snort, Nightmare glanced over at her. "Too complicated and possible to actually cause him harm. No, easier to just teach him the moves in the dream realm and then have him practice them here in the physical realm. Both of us are on hoof to help him if he hurts himself..." A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "We could also use illusions to give him something to practice against. Another method is an illusion overlay so that we can place a 'Second body' over his own so that he can observe how he moves. If we also program it using the memories of the lessons..."

Having given her darker half a look of askance, Luna rolled her eyes before she turned back to Harry. "In regards to your lessons in martial arts, I'm actually rather excited myself since I'll be learning it alongside you as well, as will Nim unless I miss my guess?"

In return, she got a raised eyebrow from Nightmare who had shaken herself out of her thoughts as she continued to work the soreness out of Harry's back. "I would have thought that would have been quite obvious."

Confused, Harry looked between them the best that he could. "Wait... you'll be learning it as well? How the hay can you learn it since you're a pony and it's made for humans? Wouldn't the different body shapes make it unsuitable?"

To his surprise, Luna chuckled and shook her head. "Harry, I am centuries old with a lot of experience when it comes to combat. And if there's anything that I have learned in regards to that, it's how to adapt and modify as new knowledge comes along." The alicorn then laid down beside him on her side and propped herself up with one foreleg. "I actually modified a number of minotaur and diamond dog forms of combat for ponies so that they could be used by my Guard."

Now highly interested, Harry gave her his full attention. "Wait, how would you learn then? That still does not solve the problem that you're a pony and they're something different..."

If anything, that only caused Luna's smile to widen some as she shook her head with some fondness. "We have ways of getting around such issues."

Just as Harry was about to ask what she meant, a ghost rose up out of the floor. For a moment, Myrtle looked around until she spotted Harry and frowned as she floated over. She glanced over at Nightmare, but after the time she had already spent there, she was no longer surprised at her changing size. "Are you okay, Harry? Not hurt or anything...?"

Harry just chuckled and shook his head as Nim stopped her massage. "No, just some strained muscles is all." He then frowned a bit and looked at the clock. "Huh, I would have thought that you would have been back later, I thought that you wanted to go and explore the neighbourhood some more."

The ghost shrugged her shoulders as she leaned back in the air as if on a lounge. "Already explored most of the area... though!" Her face suddenly lit up. "I visited the local cinema! The movies now are so much more amazing then they were when I was alive!" She then twirled in mid air before she stopped facing him with her finger on her chin. "Though that Batman in the movie seemed different from what I have heard some of the muggleborn say he is like..."

Both Harry and Nim shared a look before they smiled back at her. "Well, I think that I speak for the both of us when I say that I am glad that you're enjoying yourself."

It was just as Myrtle was about to say something when she noticed that Harry glanced at where Hedwig sat on her perch. "Something the matter, Harry?"

With a frown, Nightmare looked at him and then shook her head. "He's just a bit saddened that he has not received any mail from any of our friends. For some odd reason, none of them have contacted us."

The frown that was on Myrtle's face only grew at that. "That does not make any sense... Both Neville and Tonks have access to owls they could use to send and Hermione could send hers through the non-magical world." Her eyes narrowed as behind them her mind ground away at the problem like the Ravenclaw she had been. "Anti-mail protections?" Just as Harry was about to ask, the ghost shook her head. "No, no, extremely doubtful as those only really work against owls, not normal mail. And even then, I can't see why you would try to aggravate someone who's going to be an Auror from someone. It wouldn't be very hard to tell who cast them... So what's left...?"

Now thoughtful, Nightmare turned to her friend and raised an eyebrow. "You think that someone is blocking his mail? Not that his friends simply are either too busy or have forgotten?"

A snort answered her as Myrtle continued to think and waved her hand. "No, after having been around those three, I doubt very much that they would not try to contact him after stating that they would do so..." Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Harry... do they know where you live?"

Confused, Harry just nodded. "Yeah, I've told them where I live a couple of times, why?"

Luna gasped and Nightmare's eyes widened. But before anything that Harry could ask them could escape from his mouth, Myrtle's expression grew grave. "Harry... if they were not getting an answer back from you, how do you think that they would react since they know where you live?"

Slowly, Harry blinked as he thought it over. "Well, I would think that they might come by for a... visit..." His own eyes widened as he stared at the ghost. "Do you think that something happened to them?!"

Once more, Myrtle shook her head. "No, I doubt that very much... You have someone heading into the Auror training course and you have the heir to one of the most prominent Pureblood families with another of them having connections through her mother. Doing away with them would cause such a massive investigation and manhunt... it's far from worth it. But redirecting them away whenever they try and come, that is something else... but who would do that and why?"

A voice then piped up. "I's be doing it to protect Mister Harry Potter Sir from danger." All four of them whipped around to see what looked like a small and deformed man with a long nose and large, tennis ball sized eyes. "Youse cannot come back to Hogwarts, Mister Harry Potter Sir, bad things are going to happen there."

Myrtle stared wide eyed as she looked at the being. "It's a house elf..." Her eyes then narrowed. "What are you doing here house elf? Did your master command you to be here?"

The being gulped a little. "N-no! Dobby's master not know what he be doing!" His eyes wide, Dobby placed his hands over his mouth. "Dobby give name! Dobby must punish self!"

He ran over to the chest of drawers and pulled one open and was about to slam it on his head when Harry stood up and held out his hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... Calm down there, you don't need to punish yourself. Now why don't you come over here and we can talk about this person to person, as a friend."

What Harry nor Luna or Nightmare expected was for the being's eyes to widen and tear up. "Oh! Dobby be hearing that Mister Harry Potter Sir be a truly great wizard! But Dobby not be knowing how great! Mister Harry Potter Sir wishes for for Dobby to sit beside and him and talk! As friends as if Dobby was his equal!"

Needless to say, the conversation went downhill as Harry, Myrtle, and Nim tried to wheedle out what the danger was, But to no avail as Dobby would not tell them, though Harry learned that he had a race of beings who apparently worshipped him to the point that some of the wizards and witches he met might think it much. Finally, Harry shook his head with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Dobby, but I have to go back to Hogwarts. If for no other reason than to protect my friends."

Dobby gripped his large ears and pulled them down. "Oh, Dobby was afraid that the great Mister Harry Potter Sir would say that, he really was. But Dobby must protect the great Mister Harry Potter Sir, even if Dobby will have to punish himself by shoving his head in an oven later."

Having seen the house elf raise his fingers, Myrtle's eyes widened as it clicked. "Harry! If he uses magic that means that you'll get in trouble and expelled!"

The shock of the ghost figuring out what he was about to do was enough that Dobby paused just enough for a white blur to streak out and smash into him. If there was one thing that Hedwig would not allow, it was for something to try and endanger her master. It was obvious that the house elf had not expected the snowy owl to attack him with such ferocity. A moment later, she actually grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted the struggling Dobby off the ground.

Then he disappeared and left Hedwig in midair searching for him. However, Harry could hear shouts downstairs and looked at Nim and Myrtle as he winced having remembered that his uncle had a prospective customer downstairs for dinner. "You two stay here, I'll handle this."

Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Vernon came into the hallway with a puce colored face. "Boy! What in the name of all that is holy was with that racket upstairs!?"

For a brief moment, Harry's mind worked before he came to a solution as Luna joined him. "A bird, Uncle Vernon. Flew in the open window upstairs and Hedwig tried to scare it off back outside."

Vernon's perspective customer glanced at him with a confused expression. "Hedwig?"

As he took note of the barely controlled expression on his uncle's face, Harry spoke the words that Luna whispered in his ear. "Hedwig's my owl, sir. I'm training to be a falconer with her. My relatives are very supportive as they see it as making something of myself."

The man was surprised for a moment as was his wife. "A falconer, you say? That is quite the hard, but respectable job." He then clapped Vernon on the shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me that your nephew was trying to become such a well, upstanding young man! Obviously trying to get away from his poor parents' fate."

Not caring that the smile on his nephew's face was rather brittle, and not having seen the thunderous expression on Luna's face as he could not see her, Vernon nodded. "Yes, well, we're doing the best that we can by the boy, you see. Being a falconer helps with his unfortunate anti-social behavior as well."

Tense, Luna growled under her breath. "How dare that fat fool say such things! I should..."

Despite that, Harry ignored his friend's undertones as the customer's wife walked up and glanced upstairs. "Could I see her? I've never seen a trained owl before."

Blinking, Harry just nodded a bit as he took in his aunt's pursed lips. "Um, sure... Hedwig!" A moment later, a white form flew down the stairwell and came to rest on his outstretched forearm. "Here she is."

The woman leaned in and cooed. "My word, she is just beautiful..."

With a laugh, the man clapped Vernon on the shoulder. "Good show! And you, Vernon, I must admit that I was not too sure. But now? Seeing as you are supporting your nephew learning a respectable skill and job? Ha! Congrats, old bean, you've convinced me. Come on, let's discuss this in the kitchen."

Surprised, Vernon nodded and followed the man into the kitchen. A few minutes later, the woman also left to join them which left just Harry and Petunia as the only two humans in the hallway. For a moment, she watched him with a glare before she cleared her throat and leaned in. "What really happened?"

Though he considered lying, he decided to shrug. "You know how some of those... um, like me, think of those without... that, right?"

His aunt just sneered a bit. "Yes, just like Lily's friend Severus."

Harry was a bit surprised and blinked. "Wait, Severus?"

Even though he had not answered her question, his aunt gave him a curt nod. "Yes, your mother was best friends with a freak like you and her by the name of Severus Snape. Was always looking down on me for not being a freak and doing things to torment me." She then sniffed. "But back to what happened."

It was with some effort that Harry decided not to push the subject and cleared his throat. "Um, yes, well... Hedwig stopped something from happening here which could cause trouble, so..."

With a frown, Petunia nodded. "I see..." She gave the bird a slightly narrowed gaze before she turned on her feet. "That will be all... And thank you."

All Harry could do was stand there as he stared at the spot where his aunt had been. "Did... did Aunt Petunia just thank me? And Hedwig?"

Luna was also confused at what had happened and blinked. "I... think so? I can't think of anything funny that I may have eaten in which case you would not have also seen and heard it... So, unbelievable as it may seem, it did happen?"

Needless to say, both what had happened and the news that Harry's mother had been best friends with a teacher who seemed to greatly dislike him gave both Luna and Harry a lot to think about. When he returned back to his room, Nightmare looked over from the conversation she had been having with Myrtle and frowned as she took in the look of stunned disbelief on Harry's face. "Did something bad happen downstairs?"

For her part, Luna was not much better then Harry as her mind was awhirl with possibilities. "Not... bad, per say, just something that was a rather unexpected shock..."

After he stumbled over, Harry collapsed back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment before he turned to look at Nim. "Snape... My aunt knew him when they were actually kids..." He took in her dropped jaw before continuing. "More then that, he was apparently my mum's best friend before Hogwarts..."

It was Myrtle who provided the next big shock. "Actually, they were still friends for their first few years at Hogwarts." All three whipped around to stare at the now self-conscious ghost. "I... didn't really know your parents, Harry, but one of the few things I could do was to wander the castle invisibly and watch people."

With a hungry look, Harry leaned forward. "What can you tell me about them, Myrtle? My parents?"

Myrtle frowned a bit in thought as she floated around. "Well... your father ran in a group of students. Real pranksters they were, like the Weasley twins but worse in some ways. Him and Severus hated each other of course, they were competing for your mother's attention. Your mother thought that your father was immature until his Sixth Year when he finally started to smarten up and mature. Though their relationship was helped because the friendship between your mother and Severus self-destructed rather spectacularly. Granted, it had been under a great deal of strain beforehand..."

That caused Harry to lean forward some. "What happened?"

For a few moments, Myrtle was quiet before she spoke in a soft voice. "I wasn't there you know, but I did hear what happened. A confrontation occurred between your father and Severus and Lily took Severus' side of things. He apparently took umbrage to her interfering and said words that could never be taken back. In the wake, it left behind a shattered friendship between the two. It had been strained before hand though because Severus had begun to hang out with some students in Slytherin who would go on to be Death Eaters, and so they had their opinions on Lily she found disgusting. Some of the rumours were that he was interested in some of the darker magics out there, which could not be helped."

Slowly, Nightmare raised her head as she watched Luna rub Harry's back some. "Could the fact that James got together with Lily the next year be part of why he hates Harry?"

As she leaned back, the ghost considered this. "Maybe? Though I will admit that Harry is more like his mother." Having seen Harry's expression, she floated in close and kneeled in front of him in mid-air. "Besides your mother's eyes, Harry, personality-wise you're quite a bit like her. Kind, gentle, willing to make friends as well as very smart. Also you both have tempers." Myrtle ignored the glare she got from him. "I'll also note that your mother's favorite dessert was treacle tart..." While the night slowly continued, Myrtle continued to tell some stories of Harry's mother who, it seemed, was rather kind to her while he was in school. Though eventually, Harry fell asleep with Nim curled up into his chest...

As he walked through the mists around him having fallen asleep what seemed for like a minute ago, Harry frowned a bit. "Luna? Nim? Where are you?" Having recognized it as being the dream realm, the wizard did not panic. "Hello?" It was then that he saw a equine shape slowly emerge out of the mist and walked toward it. "Luna?" To his surprise, the Luna he found was larger than he was used to with dark blue fur and a mane which seemed to be made out of the night sky like Nightmare's, though lighter. "What the...?"

There was laughter that he recognized as his friends' which caused him to turn as Luna's voice spoke up. "I'm afraid that the past version of myself cannot speak to you, Harry."

Whatever comment Harry was about to say died in his throat as he fully turned, Instead of the two alicorns he expected, there was instead two women there. Both looked to be in their late teens and sisters. One of them had light blue hair and the other's was more akin to a field of stars. "L-luna? Nim? Is that... you?"

The one with the night sky for her hair walked up with a sway in her hips. If Harry was older or more knowledgeable in such things, he would have described it as seductive. All the same though, when the woman reached him, she leaned down and with two finger gently closed his jaw as she looked at him with familiar, slit pupiled eyes. "Even though there are no flies here, best not get into the habit of giving them the ability to fly into your mouth, Harry." Nightmare then straightened and smiled at him. "I take it that you are surprised to see us in this manner then?"

After a few seconds as he shook off his shock, Harry nodded. "Well, yeah!' His finger then first pointed at Nim and the other woman who was obviously Luna. "How are you two humans!? Why is there another Luna!? What did you mean by the past you!?" It was then that his mind clued into something and there was just the slightest hint of red on his cheeks. "And why in the name of the Moon are you wearing that, Nightmare!?"

Nightmare just smirked as she flipped her hair over her shoulder with lidded eyes. "Your cousin's comic books and some of the fantasy books from the local library have given me a few ideas as to how one of my... attributes and personality as well as status should dress."

However, she was met by silence as Harry once more looked her over with a raised eyebrow. "Um... okay then..."

He ignored the smirk on Nightmare's face as he looked over at Luna who, to his surprise, was just dressed like a normal girl though she had a frumpy sweater on. With a smile on her face, Luna chuckled. "To answer your other questions, we're human because we decided to be so and the dream realm allows us to take these forms seeing as we're unable to access the necessary magic to perform the needed spells in reality." Having seen his confusion, she sat back on a chair that had not been there a moment earlier and motioned him over. A moment later, to Harry's confusion, he was sitting on her lap as she leaned against the back of the chair. "There are spells, Harry, that can be used to change one's species for a time. But only higher unicorns and alicorns can muster the magical power needed for them."

With a glance toward Nightmare who now lounged on what looked like a throne, Harry turned back to her. "So... why?"

After a glance to her darker half, Luna nodded. "When I... for lack of any better description, possessed you, I learned how a human body operated. That means that I can make for a better facsimile and share that experience with Nim so that she, too, can take such a form." She didn't bother to tell him that the two had visited the dreams of some of the women and female teens in the area. Dreams were built on actual experiences and memories which helped them learn how a female human moved, though they always made sure that the dreams were always the very best as a form of payment. Luna then cleared her throat. "Right, one reason why we're human is so that when you go through your dream lessons, both Nim and myself can learn right along beside you as humans. Then we can help you better in real life when you practice."

Then Nightmare took over. "You see, Harry, many centuries ago, Luna used to take the form of those beings that she wished to learn the fighting styles of. Diamond dog, minotaur, lizardfolk. All of them she has learned in that manner and then translated into forms that ponies could learn and use." With an interested look Harry looked up at Luna as Nightmare continued. "Therefore, we shall be learning human forms of fighting alongside you in these dreams and then we can better help you in the real world. At the same time, we will eventually be able to create pony based versions which others in Equestria could learn."

Luna then tapped him on the tip of his nose. "As to the last unanswered questions, this is a memory from a time when I watched some certain members of my Night Guard train... the non-pony members that is." She waved her hand and the rest of the mists dissipated to show several minotaurs. "While your bodies are not the same, some of the methods used can easily be altered into a form that you can use. Now, this memory is of when they began to teach the younger members of the Night Guard forms with weapons..."

The rest of the night passed in much the same manner with Luna and Nightmare showing Harry memories and then having him practice what they showed...

Early the next morning after he did a few chores and had breakfast, Harry left the Dursley household behind as he went out for the day on a route he had travelled many times before. Not too long after, as the breeze blew his hair around, Harry walked out from the stand of trees and into sight of a river. There was a smile on his face as he waved toward a horse on the other bank. "Hey there!"

He slipped down the bank and stepped on the first stone in the river to make his way across the river. Beside him, Luna hovered in the air as she glanced into the deep pools of either side of the small pathway of stones that crossed the river. "Careful now, Harry, you don't want to slip and fall in, both of those look quite deep."

Nightmare poked her head out of the backpack and looked down into them. "I actually checked it out on a map and these are just two of them, there's actually a couple in the river and around due to this area having been quarried for gravel, clay, and chert during both ancient and medieval times. About two centuries ago, the river was diverted a few hundred meters and started flowing across the old pits like the ones on either side. Which makes for some rather deep spots in the river bottom."

Since he reached the other side of the bank, Harry frowned a bit in thought. "Huh... I didn't know that..." The wizard in training climbed up the bank and walked over to the black horse that was just watching him calmly. With a smile, Harry slowly stroked it's neck. "Hey there girl, how's it going?" It seemed to lean into his touch some before he reached into his pocket and pulled out an apple. "Got a treat for you."

With more than a little gusto, the mare devoured the apple before it licked Harry across his head to his laughter. For a moment, it rubbed its snout through his hair before Harry pulled away with a grin. However, Nightmare just raised an eyebrow at it before she glanced at Luna. 'I'm telling you, something bothers me greatly about that horse...'

All Luna did was shrug before she sent back her thoughts. 'You're not the only one, Nightmare. But it has not seemed harmful for Harry despite that strange feeling we both get about it.' She then noticed that Harry had stopped petting it and smiled at him. "Are you ready to continue on, Harry?"

Having given it one last pat on the side, Harry and his friends continued on. After they had gone out of sight, the horse's ears flicked around. Then it shimmered and where it had been was now a beautiful woman with seaweed hair and a wet dress that clung to her. She smiled for a moment and twittered before she shimmered again. Now she was a horse like creature with seaweed for a mane and what looked like fins on it's legs and along its back. The creature gave a grin which showed its many sharp teeth before it turned and leapt into the pool of water with barely any ripples...

About fifteen minutes later, Harry walked into the clearing on top of the hill and set down his bag which Nightmare poked her head out of and then looked around. "Hmm... It seems that she's not around today..."

Both Harry and Luna nodded as they searched the small clearing as the small spring bubbled. Though Harry sighed in sadness. "I had been hoping that she would be around so that I could talk with her." Suddenly, they heard something and Harry started to turn. But he was not quick enough as a something jumped on his back and wrapped two long legs around his waist as he stumbled forward. "Oof!"

His vision was taken over by strands of nearly golden hair as two twinkling green eyes, not unlike his own when amused, stared into his own green eyes from upside down. "Harry, Harry, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?"

Harry just smiled. "Up and down and far beyond what a normal garden grows." A chuckle escaped him as the young woman on his back. "It's great to see you, Holly."

The now named Holly got off his back and twirled around before she leaned down and watched him with her hands behind her back as she spoke in that strangely musical tone of hers. "And it is good to see you again, Little One. Though I was saddened that you did not visit me for most of this year."

With a wince, Harry rubbed his neck as he looked away for a moment. "Sorry, I was away at boarding school for most of the year, Holly..."

He blinked a moment later as he felt something on his cheek and turned to see her gently touch his cheek with her fingertips. "It is of no worry to me, Little One. I hope though that your education has been most... magical."

Their eyes narrowing, the two alicorns watched her (though Nim had issues due to being within a backpack) as, not for the first time, Harry had to wonder exactly how much Holly knew. Despite the fact that Holly had never done anything harmful, Luna scowled. 'I don't trust her one little bit. If there was something possibly off about the horse, then there definitely is for her.'

Inside the backpack, Nim nodded. 'Agreed, but as always just watch her just in case.'

Apparently not knowing of the unheard conversation, though Harry had turned toward the two alicorns with an expression of puzzlement, Holly straightened a bit as her green dress fluttered some in the breeze and showed her bare feet. "So, Little One, why have you come to visit?"

Now slightly nervous, Harry walked over to his backpack as Holly watched and pulled out the flute that Hagrid gave him. "A friend gave me this for Christmas and, well, I remember that you play the flute." As he turned it over in his hands, Harry continued. "It's a bit different then a normal flute though..."

Holly practically danced as she made her way over and then looked down at the flute. "And how is it different?" When Harry told her that it sounded like an owl hooting, she smiled and held out her hand. Once he had given it to her, she rolled it around in her finger tips before she brought it to her lips and began a song. All three watched her as she played it expertly with the song, for some odd reason beyond them, making them think of Hedwig. After about a minute, she passed it back to Harry. "A most unique instrument... now show me what you know..."

Still slightly dazed from the song, Harry brought it up to his lips and did a small ditty though he winced as it did not sound anywhere near as good as when Holly had played it. Having finished it, he looked up and flushed some as Holly smiled at him with amusement in her eyes. "Yeah... not that good..."

When she giggled at him though, he blinked in confusion before his eyes crossed as she poked him in the nose. "Boop!" Holly then leaned in with a smile. "You did as well as expected Little One, though the kiss may have helped."

Confused, Harry stared at her uncomprehending. "Kiss?"

She smiled and nodded as she tilted her head. "Yes, kiss." With a smile, she leaned in. "After all, you did not clean or wipe the flute before I gave it back to you. It passed from my lips to yours as if it were a kiss." As Harry sputtered and turned completely red, Holly giggled gaily while both Luna and Nim facehoofed. He stopped though as she grasped his hand gently and pulled him over to the brook in the clearing. Still with a smile, Holly sat down and placed her feet into the stream. "Now, come and sit so that I can teach you how to play the flute, but not the lute."

A long time of exposure to her helped Harry get over his embarrassment as well as ignore some of her strangeness and so he took off his shoes and then sat down next to her on the bank. "So, now what?"

There was a soft smile on her face as her eyes twinkled before she reached into the robes of her dress and pulled out a flute that looked similar to Harry's. Holly brought it up to her mouth and blew a few strains of music before she pulled it away with the smile still on her face. "Now then, what you first should know about flutes..."

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.

"Hello"-Normal Speaking
"Interesting..."- Nightmare Moon speaking.
'Huh'- Normal Thoughts.
'All mine...'-Nightmare Moon's thoughts

Harry walked alongside Luna as they crossed the lunar surface. "Um, Luna? You said that you had planned something for tonight here along with Nightmare?"

With a soft expression, Luna nodded as she turned toward him. "We do have plans actually between the two of us..." The alicorn then tilted her head some and watched the stars high above the surface of the moon as they shone. "Harry, do you remember how Nightmare and myself stated that you are our Anam Chara? Our 'Soul friend'?"

Slowly, Harry nodded not quite sure where this conversation was heading, but more then willing to trust Luna and Nightmare. "Um, yeah? Just like how I said that you two are my Anam Chara... why?"

For several moments, Luna was silent before she turned her head back to him. "During the year while we were at Hogwarts, Nightmare decided to look up rituals. She found one similar to one that was sometimes used in Equestria during our time."

That caught Harry's attention big time. "Wait, rituals? Aren't most of those forbidden? I know that the familiar one isn't, but..."

A chuckle escaped from Luna as she laid a wing across his back, both of them enjoying the common gesture. "Almost all rituals are not forbidden besides the truly dark ones which require the sacrifice of a thinking being, Harry. And for the most part, rituals are not used simply because large, complicated and unwieldy rituals have been replaced by much simpler spells and potions. For example, once to levitate something akin to a large boulder would take three or four magic users chanting in a circle. Now, a normal wizard or witch can do it with a minimum of effort with the levitation spell. There's simply no need for most of them."

Thinking it over, Harry nodded. "Okay... I'm assuming that we're doing a ritual then?"

Luna smiled, once more thoughtful. "It's one that surprisingly enough has versions that are used in the non-magical world by those without magic and also has a version used in Equestria." She stared deep into his eyes as she walked alongside him. "It's often used to create a bond of sorts between two beings though sometimes more. It used to be used mainly between warriors who have been bloodied together to show themselves as equal to each other."

His eyes widening, Harry stopped and stared at Luna. "I... really?"

While she nodded, her smile widened some as they came to a crater's rim. "Really, and Nightmare and myself have decided to go through it with you." Suddenly, she stopped. "And we're here, Harry."

At the bottom of the crater, Nightmare opened her eyes and looked toward the rim with amusement on her face. "About time that you have arrived with him, Luna. I was getting a bit worried about the time."

With a scoff, Luna leapt over the crater's rim and drifted down with Harry's spirit form held in her magic. "We have plenty of time, Nightmare."

However there was a frown on Nightmare's muzzle as she looked upwards. "Not that much time, Luna. The witchery hour is nearly upon us and we need to be ready." The dark alicorn then turned toward a confused Harry. "Has she told you what we're going to do, Harry?" At his shaking head, she gave a frown toward Luna. "Of course... have you ever heard of blood brothers or blood sisters, Harry?"

Now that, Harry did know. "You mean where two people cut their fingers and press them together to share blood?" A moment later it clicked in his head. "Wait, that is actually a real ritual? I thought that you were kidding when you mentioned it at the end of the year along with how you wanted to perform it with me..."

The lighter of the two alicorns nodded. "We were not joking about any of it, Harry. It is actually a real ritual, though the wizarding version is a bit more complicated then what mundanes believe it to be." Seeing his interest, Luna continued. "For one thing, the people involved must cut themselves with a dagger made of a magical conductive substance such as silver within a simple circle carved into the ground. Then they press their wounds together to let the blood mix while making a simple vow to be eternal friends with the other."

Nightmare then took over. "While there is no real time given for the ritual, it is most effective when done during the hour halfway through the night when the old day has finished and the new is just beginning. Doing so symbolizes the beginning of a 'New day' as close friends."

Curious, Harry sat down on a rock and noticed a knife that glinted silver nearby. "Just a few questions... how can we even do this? I'm just a spirit right now after all."

Sitting down next to him, Luna shook her head as she answered his question. "If both Nightmare and myself channel our magic through you, it will make you much more solid and..." She shifted some where she sat. "Remember how last February, you were channeling magic through me while in your room and I flinched a bit?"

His eyes narrowed, Harry gave a nod. "Yes... what did you do?"

With a guilty look, Nightmare walked up and sat down. "We had need to test a theory at the time, so when you did so, I poked Luna with a sewing needle that I had gotten from the trunk. There was blood on it from her though within a minute it dissipated. So we know that this will work if we channel magic into you. And with you channeling magic into us." Already having guessed what his next question was, Nightmare shook her head. "We will get around the issue of you possessing us by making sure that we both channel magic into you as you channel magic into us and we do so with each other. By doing so, it will stabilize the flow and prevent that particular issue."

That answered, Harry looked toward the knife. "Okay... And the knife? Where did that come from?"

Leaning against him, Luna shook her head. "We forged it here on the moon." At his surprised look, her smile became a smirk. "There are some areas here on the moon where one can find silver. I have been so bored up here at times that I have located some deposits and we used some from them to forge a metal known as moonsilver and then make it into the blade. The hilt is meteoric iron and nickel as well forged into star metal. All told, it is just the blade that we needed."

Now that he felt much more at ease, Harry glanced between the two of them. "So... what exactly will this do?"

Both Nightmare and Luna shared a look before Nightmare turned to him. "Quite honestly, not much. If the ritual is successful, then it acts to give a bond between two people or beings. Not much of one, mind you. All it really does is give them a sense of understanding between them and an empathic bond. Though all that really translates into is a gut feeling as to what the other might be feeling or, if they're in danger, you'll be able to know that they are no matter how far away they are. You can even get an idea where they are in the stronger bonds."

The smaller alicorn nodded. "That was what attracted us to this, Harry. While the understanding bit is useful, the two of us will always know if you are in danger even if for some reason we were separated. In which case, we'll have a rough idea as to where you might be and head there right at that moment."

For almost a minute, Harry was silent as he thought about it. Then he spoke in a voice just barely above a whisper. "Y-you really do want to do this...?"

With identical smiles, both Luna and Nightmare walked up and nuzzled him softly as Luna spoke for the both of them. "Of course we do, Harry. And before you ask, it should not harm our bond with each other that is already there."

Once more there was silence before Harry looked at them both with a smile and nodded. "Okay then, let's do this."

It was only the work of moments for them to make a circle around them in the lunar dust as they described to him the vow that would need to be started off with. Then Luna lifted the knife over and held it. "Harry, if you're certain about this, then you need to know how this works." Confused, Harry nodded. "As neither myself nor Nightmare have fingers with which to cut, or palms for much the same thing, all three of us will need to make a cut on our lower forelimbs and then grasp them together in the old greeting."

All Harry did was shake his head. "I don't mind that."

He watched as Luna and Nim stretched out their wing tips to him and began to channel magic into him, which made him much more solid than normal. At the same time, he channeled magic back into them and could see that they were doing the same thing between them. With a soft sigh, Nim took the knife from Luna. "I came up with the idea, and so I shall go first."

Tossing her forelimb armor to the side, Nim made a slice along the bottom of the lower portion of her forelegs before she passed it to Luna who did much the same thing with barely a flinch herself. Harry then took it and with a grimace, made the cuts before he held out his forearms cuts facing upward before Nightmare and Luna reached out and grasped them with theirs. There was a slight heat where their cuts touched before the two alicorns then, much to his surprise, did the same with each other. After a moment, they began.

"We stand here in this circle of eternity upon the dying of one day and the beginning of a new day. To be united in friendship of the deepest form, bound in our blood together forever more. Three made one and one made three, the bonds of friendship never fade. Cast in iron and forged in blood, these bonds now shall be made unbreakable."

Both Harry and Luna turned to Nightmare who stared into Harry's eyes. "I, Nightmare Moon, hereby declare my undying friendship of the deepest and truest form to my Anam Chara, Harry James Potter. No matter the distance between or the time that may separate us, our friendship shall never fade forever more. This I swear. Do you, Harry James Potter, accept my undying bond of friendship now bound by the blood that flows twixt us and within us?"

Harry nodded and smiled as he felt a tingle. "I, Harry James Potter, accept Nightmare Moon's vow of the deepest and truest friendship, bound in blood that now flows twixt us and within us. I, Harry James Potter hereby declare my undying friendship of the deepest and truest form to my Anam Chara, Nightmare Moon. No matter the distance between or the time that may separate us, our friendship shall never fade forever more. This I swear. Do you, Nightmare Moon, accept my undying bond of friendship now bound by the blood that flows twixt us and within us?"

There was a smile on Nightmare's face as she nodded. "I do, now and forever more, so mote it be."

With a similar smile, Harry nodded. "So mote it be..." He then turned toward Luna. "I, Harry James Potter, hereby declare my undying friendship of the deepest and truest form to my Anam Chara, Luna Eveningstar. No matter the distance between or the time that may separate us, our friendship shall never fade forever more. This I swear. Do you, Luna Eveningstar, accept my undying bond of friendship now bound by the blood that flows twixt us and within us?"

Her eyes glistening, Luna took a breath as she felt the cuts between her and Harry tingle. "I, Luna Eveningstar, accept Harry James Potter's vow of the deepest and truest friendship, bound in blood that now flows twixt us and within us. I, Luna Eveningstar hereby declare my undying friendship of the deepest and truest form to my Anam Chara, Harry James Potter. No matter the distance between or the time that may separate us, our friendship shall never fade forever more. This I swear. Do you, Harry James Potter, accept my undying bond of friendship now bound by the blood that flows twixt us and within us?"

As his own eyes glistened, Harry nodded. "I do, now and forever more, so mote it be."

The Princess of the Night's smile widened. "So mote it be."

By this point, Harry was wondering if it was time to head to the next portion, only for his eyes to widen as Luna turned toward a surprised Nightmare. "I, Luna Eveningstar, hereby declare my undying friendship of the deepest and truest form to my blood sister, Nightmare Moon. No matter the distance between or the time that may separate us, our friendship shall never fade forever more. This I swear. Do you, Nightmare Moon, accept my undying bond of friendship now bound by the blood that flows twixt us and within us?"

For a few moments, Nightmare was speechless before she drew herself up some with emotions burning in her eyes as she blinked back tears. "I, Nightmare Moon, accept Luna Eveningstar's vow of the deepest and truest friendship, bound in blood that now flows twixt us and within us. I, Nightmare Moon hereby declare my undying friendship of the deepest and truest form to my Blood sister, Luna Eveningstar. No matter the distance between or the time that may separate us, our friendship shall never fade forever more. This I swear. Do you, Luna Eveningstar, accept my undying bond of friendship now bound by the blood that flows twixt us and within us?"

Luna let a tear slip out of her eye. "I do, now and forever more, so mote it be."

With a nod, Nightmare bowed her head. "So mote it be."

Then the three closed their eyes as a soft heat grew around their cuts and they leaned forward so that their foreheads touched. "Here we now stand here in this circle of eternity upon the dying of one day and the beginning of a new day. Finally united in friendship of the deepest form, now bound in our blood together forever more. Three made one and one made three, the bonds of our true friendship shall never fade. Now cast in iron and forged in blood, these bonds have now and forever more been made unbreakable."

None of the three noticed the glowing red bands that encompassed their forelimbs and then vanished in a flash of light as the glow faded from the circle as what seemed like a breeze flowed outward. They did however feel the heat around their cuts fade and being somewhat more drained. Finally, Harry cracked open one eye and looked around. "Um... is that it?"

Also cracking open one eye, Nightmare looked around. "I... think so?"

One of her own eyes open, Luna glanced around. "I do believe that was everything..."

Now with both eyes open, Harry looked into the eyes of his friends. "So... how do we know if it worked or not? Do we have to do any tests or such?"

However, the smaller of the two alicorns shook her head. "No, from the information we gathered if it worked, then the cuts on our forelimbs will be healed except for a small scar." Once more, they share a look and slowly unclasped their limbs and pulled away. Sure enough, all there was on Harry's arms at least was a thin, silver scar. "Well... seems that it was truly a success."

After he examined his arms, Harry looked around. "I was expecting, I don't know... something a bit more flashy?"

There was a shared look of amusement on both Nightmare's and Luna's faces as they shook their heads as the larger mare chuckled. "Not all magic is flashy and showy, Harry. Some are far more subtle..."

Harry just shrugged. "I know, still... I expected a bit more from this..."

Unknown to them, while they did not notice anything, others did...

Her horn jolted which caused Celestia to startle awake. For a few moments, the Sun Princess laid there in her bed as she tried to piece together what had just happened. Then her eyes widened as it all clicked and she rushed toward her balcony. "Luna!" However, her legs became entangled in the sheets and she smacked into the floor. It was only the work of a moment, but she got herself untangled and ran outside and stared at the moon. "What was that..."

A voice next to her nearly caused her to jump. "Your guess is as good as ours... we were in fact wondering if you could tell us."

One hoof against her barrel to calm her heart, Celestia turned a glare upon the ghostly draconic mare next to her. "I wish that you would not do that, Typhoon..." She then let out a breath. "As to your question... I do not know what it was... But it felt like the seal... shifted for a moment."

Typhoon took in Celestia's furrowed eyebrows before she also frowned. "That is because it did shift in some way, though not in a way to allow Our Lady and the Dark One to escape... Nor did it weaken it anymore then it has already..." For a moment, the old General considered not saying anything else, but then she shook her head. "Whatever it was, it somehow also affected the Elements..."

Now Celestia's mouth and throat went dry before she closed her eyes and examined the shredded and barely there link with the Elements of Harmony. What she found caused her to turn toward her former castle in the Everfree. "... You're right. For the briefest of moments, they activated. But... why and how? And what did it do?"

However, all the ghostly half-dragon did was shake her head. "Now that, I don't know... I can tell you though that while the... event involved Our Lady and Nightmare Moon, there was a third participant going by the magic."

That caused all thought to shutdown in Celestia's mind. "A third participant? You mean the Elements?"

With a frown, Typhoon shook her head. "No... it was some other being. We have sensed it from time to time, but it has been so weak that the signature was hard to find and until now we have never managed to get a clear reading. But that reading was only for a moment."

Intrigued, Celestia closed her eyes before she gently probed the connection she had with the moon. The moment after her consciousness and magic touched the magical field of the moon, she furrowed her eyebrows as she took in the rapidly dissipating magic. Many others who would have attempted such a feat would have failed, but due to her multi-millennia of experience, Celestia was able to pick out each of the three signatures and examine them. The first two were rather easy as she had spent the past thousand years keeping an eye on them and working to tell them apart despite their subtle differences. 'Hmm... Whatever happened involved Luna and the Nightmare... but how and why...'

When she began to examine the third magical signature, her frown became more pronounced. The signature was far weaker then the other two, though she could tell there were extremely faint traces across the moon which lit up briefly due to whatever had occurred. It took every single trick that she knew of, but she was able to disentangle it from the rest. 'Odd... something about this seems rather familiar... It's not a pony despite there being pony magic mixed in... Minotaur? No, no, too different. Somewhat chaotic in nature, so what am I reminded of...' Then, it came to her in a flash and her eyes flew open. 'It's almost... human!? But that's not right, it can't be! It's just not possible for there to be human magic there, especially as the last time that a human set foot in Equestria was just before...' For a moment, a barely healed scar on her heart tore open again and she was nearly overwhelmed by the emotional pain.

Before she could lock it away, the image unbidden of a ruined cottage with a pile of smouldering rubble where a crib once stood flashed across her mind. Almost taunting her with knowledge of her failure to keep a promise. Then, as swiftly as it came, the pain became a white hot anger. 'With the pony magic, this must be some sort of foul trick! Could she have somehow gotten the signature from... her? When she slept here? Or is there leakage... UGH! I hate this!' Promising herself to look more into the possibilities once she could think straight, Celestia turned her head back toward the moon as she held back a growl, almost imagining that Nightmare was mocking her and her pain as well as grief. Smoke began to drift from her mane as her gaze became a glare. 'I swear that I shall see you ended, Nightmare. Not just for what you have cost my sister and myself, but also for your attempt to tarnish their memories...'

A voice then started her out of her thoughts. "Your highness? Are you... okay?" Having noticed the expression of fury on Celestia's face, Typhoon frowned. "Your highness?"

The expression transformed into her usual mask she used to hide anger. "I am okay, Typhoon, there is no need to worry."

Her lips pulled down into a frown, the half-dragon only raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure, your highness? It seemed as if you recognized the signature..."

Celestia just let a breath escape her, though she glared up toward the moon. "No, I don't recognize the signature, most likely one of the Nightmare's tricks..."

Unsure, yet she was not willing to argue the point so Typhoon merely nodded before she returned to the other Stars...

Three cracks echoed down the lonely lane of Privet Drive before the lights along the street all went out. If there had been anyone out that night, they would have seen three people rushing down the street. But due to the thunderstorms earlier that evening, everyone was inside. For a moment, McGonagall looked around in slight nervousness. "Albus, has something happened to Mr. Potter?"

Scowling, Snape nodded from where he was attempting to keep up with the much older man. "Yes, Headmaster, has something happened to the Golden Boy?"

All the Headmaster did was frown. "I do not know, the device that I have used to monitor the protections around his relatives' house have began to react to something rather unusual." It was then that he heard a gasp as they got within sight of #4 and turned to see Snape clutch his arm in pain right where he knew the Dark Mark lay. "Severus?"

Pale-faced, the potion's professor moved back some. "It's the Dark Mark, Headmaster, it's reacting badly to something and..." He gasped for a moment. "I... I cannot stay here..."

While he watched Snape move back, Albus frowned for a moment. "Minerva, if you could check in on young Mister Potter using your animagus form. I do believe that you would be unharmed by this and I need to know how he is..."

Even though she was unsure, McGonagall nodded. "Of course."

A second later there was a tabby cat where she had stood which took off toward the house. Dumbledore, meanwhile, began to wave his wand in complicated patterns in front of him. "Curiouser and curiouser..."

It was several minutes later when McGonagall returned with a frown on her face as she took in the expression of interest and confusion on Dumbledore's face. "Albus?"

Jolted from his thoughts, the old wizard smiled. "Minerva, and how is Mister Potter?"

Raising an eyebrow, the cat animagus frowned. "He seems to be perfectly fine... despite his surroundings. I observed him sleeping in his room and returned as soon as I knew he was fine..." She then looked around in confusion. "What has happened here, Albus?"

For several moments, the Headmaster stood there silent and in contemplation before he gestured for her to follow him. They soon arrived where Snape was waiting for them and he took a breath. "It seems that something has happened to strengthen the protections around the Dursleys beyond what I had ever hoped for. What that something may be I do not currently know... But I believe that we can all breath a sigh of relief that Mister Potter is now far better protected then he had been before."

McGonagall shared a look with Snape as Dumbledore began to walk along an invisible line as he waved his wand, the two following him. "That is much better than what we had feared..."

There was a twinkle of curiosity in the old Headmaster's eyes as he encountered something new and strange. "Indeed... I do wonder what could have caused it though..." What he did not mention though was some of what he had found until he knew what he was dealing with. 'I wonder who the two other signatures were...? I could identify Harry's as well as what I believe to be Nightmare's, but the other... It seems so similar to the shade of Lily that has been following him around... hmm...'

Harry was jogging toward his evening Taekwondo class when he heard footsteps behind him. Before he could react, someone ruffled his hair before they stumbled into him. "Wotcher, Harry!"

For his part, much to Luna's amusement, Harry also stumbled forward before he managed to catch both himself and the woman next to him. A fond smile on his face, Harry rolled his eyes. "Hey there, Tonks."

The pink haired young woman grinned at him. "Been a bit!" She then frowned a bit as she rubbed the bottom of her chin. "You haven't answered any letters that we've sent you or sent us anything at all... we were getting worried."

Having blushed at the worry in her voice, Harry coughed into one hand. "Um, sorry about that.... but can I ask why none of you ever checked in on me?"

With a frown, Tonks opened her mouth to say something when she blinked and thought it over. "Actually... why didn't we ever come and check in on you... something isn't right here..."

Slowly, Harry nodded as he continued to jog next to her. "Well, I actually know why..." Knowing that he had caught her attention, he took a deep breath and explained things. "... And that was pretty much what happened."

Silence descended on them as Tonks digested what she had just been told as various things began to fit into place. "And all you know is that the house elf's name is 'Dobby'?" At his hesitant nod, she groaned and ran a hand through her shockingly pink hair. "Lovely, you just have all the luck, don't you Potter? I hope that you're going to tell someone about this soon. Even if the elf is nuttier then peanut butter, I wouldn't outright dismiss something like this."

All Harry did was shake his head. "I'm not, but I'm not doing anything until we get back at Hogwarts because I won't risk Hedwig just in case."

Tonks chuckled a bit and grinned over at him. "Don't worry about that, I can let someone know, maybe the Headmaster. Just check when you get back at Hogwarts to see if they got the message..." Her smile faded somewhat though as she realized that she would not be there that year before shaking it off. "Anyways, leaving that be for now, where are you running to?"

As he smiled at the subject change, Harry thought it over a bit before Luna leaned toward him. "Go ahead and tell her, Harry. Wouldn't hurt any."

For a moment, Tonks could have sworn that she saw his ear wiggle a bit before his untidy mop of hair covered it. Then he distracted her from the thoughts in her head as he shrugged. "Heading to one of my martial art lessons, pretty much."

Now that caused Tonks' eyebrows to raise in surprise. "Martial arts? You mean that muggle fighting stuff? Why would you need that?"

While he frowned, Harry slowed down and gave her a look. "At the end of the year when I faced Quirrel and Voldemort..." He licked his dry lips some as he was still not quite at peace for having taken a life. "He got my wand away from me and tried to choke me. So, being able to fight like a mundane would have been a pretty good help then..."

To his surprise, Tonks stopped in front of him and pulled the young wizard into a hug. "I'm sorry..." She then kissed him on the head before she pulled away some. "And you're right I guess, it would be useful in a situation like that. So..." Having seen his confusion, she smiled some. "Is your classes able to take anyone else on?"

Once more surprised, both Luna and Harry stared at her for a moment before he shook his head. "You want to join? It's not easy you know..."

As she chuckled, Tonks shrugged. "Well, there's only so much clubbing that a girl can do before she becomes bored. And it might help me when I go to become an Auror Cadet... besides, you do it, so how hard could it be?"

Harry stared at her for a moment before he began to darkly chuckle in a way that sent a shiver down Tonks' spine. "Go on and think that, Tonks... and I know who will be my sparring partner tonight if I get the chance..."

Several moments passed as Tonks stared at him before he began to jog again. "Harry? What was with that chuckle?" All she got was another dark chuckle before she began to run after him. "What was with that chuckle, Harry? Harry!?"

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.

"Hello"-Normal Speaking
"Interesting..."- Nightmare Moon speaking.
'Huh'- Normal Thoughts.
'All mine...'-Nightmare Moon's thoughts

Tonks winced a bit as she readjusted her position on Harry's back. "You Merlin damned bloody sadist... How in the bloody hell did you get so good?" Rolling her shoulder, Tonks winced a bit. While not as sore as she pretended to be, she still hurt a bit. 'I have really got to pick up on the physical training if I want to be an Auror...'

As he snorted, Harry looked at the young woman draped over his back as he ignored the whistles from his fellow male students and the snickers from the female ones as he began to walk away from the coffee shop they had gone to after the lesson. "Tonks, I've been going to these lessons for a few weeks now with at least four times a week. And before you say anything I'm not that high on the ability scale compared to the other students." He chuckled a bit. "In fact, I've got a ways before I can match any of them. There is a reason why I am only a Yellow Tip after all."

While she grimaced, Tonks shook her head. "No doubt about it, you have to be bloody insane, Potter."

Beside them unseen by Tonks, Luna giggled some. "Maybe, but it would be in a good way."

A laugh escaped from Harry both from what Tonks said as well as what Luna did. "Nah, I just like the good feeling I got from a workout, you should try it sometime." The only thing he got in reply from her was a grumble. "Anyways... mind explaining why exactly I'm am I stuck with carrying you out of sight so that you can summon this 'Knight Bus' thing?"

With a sigh, Tonks laid her head on top of his. "You mean besides the fact that it feels like my arms and legs are about to fall off and I'm hurting in places that I never knew could have existed before today...

Snorting, Harry grinned a little. "Well, yes, besides that." His tone then turned slightly dry. "Though in that case all you got to blame is yourself in the end. After all, it's your own fault that you signed up, not mine. Not to mention not doing all the cool down exercises like you were supposed to because you thought you didn't need them."

The Metamorph just stuck her tongue out which was now the size of a certain Rock singer's own, neither of the two noticing some people stumble having caught sight of it. Meanwhile Harry rolled his eyes before she sighed. "Well, besides that... you're the only one strong enough, somehow, to carry me who I also trust to get me to where I need to go." Then she became thoughtful with a teasing tone to her voice. "Though this does mean I can show off my apartment to you..."

With a perfectly false expression of shock on his face, Harry looked back at her. "But, Tonks! I'm only almost twelve, should you really be inviting me over alone to your apartment? Not to mention that it does make you sound like you're rather desparate..." Much to Luna's amusement, he winced as Tonks bopped him on the head. "Ow..."

As she gave him an imperial look, Tonks huffed as if he had given her the greatest insult possible. "You should be honored that I deign to show one such as yourself such a glorious sight as my apartment!" She then softly smiled. "Besides, I miss talking to you in person and letters just are not the same thing."

Due to her words, a smile broke out on Harry's face as he nodded. "Thanks." The wizard then chuckled some. "So then, coming back again next week?"

Tonks just smiled back and shook her head. "Nope!" She waited until his face fell before she continued. "Give me a day or two to rest up and then I'll be back. Who knows? Might come in handy some day." As they continued on, anyone who saw them mistook the two for siblings with how they teased each other and such...

Looking around the mist filled place, Harry raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the two alicorns who walked out from the mist. "So, we're in the Dream Realm again?"

Slowly, Nightmare nodded as she looked around. "Luna and myself have been feeling... much stronger. So we have made the decision to teach you some things tonight regarding the Dream Realm and the magics that involve sleep. Partially so that when we return to Equestria and we bring you there, you can aid us in our duties. But also so that you can protect yourself in such a place if need be from various creatures..."

As he continued to look around, Harry nodded. "Huh, sounds kind of neat actually." With a smile, Harry looked toward Nightmare and Luna. "So... what's first."

Luna only shook her head as she walked up beside him as Nightmare took position on his opposite side. "Well, Nightmare will carry you as we go through the Dream Realm, so that you can gain an appreciation for it and its mysteries."

There was a twinkle of excitement in Harry's eyes as he glanced to the side to see Nightmare already laid down enough that he could clamber onto her back. Something which he did. Once she stood back up, Harry looked around. "Man, I love riding you. Kind of wish that we could do it all night long."

Having heard what he said just as she was about to take off, Nightmare stumbled a bit. "Hurk!"

For her part, Luna's tone turned dry. "Phrasing."

Giving her a strange look, Harry turned back to Nightmare who had one hoof covering her eyes. "Er... did I say something wrong?"

With wide eyes, Nightmare waved her hooves in the air as she fought down her blush. "NO! No, you didn't say anything wrong." Seeing the smirk on Luna's face, Nim gave her a glare. "Shut it..."

All Luna did was give her an innocent look. "But I didn't say anything at all, Nimmy."

However, before Nightmare could comment on it, Luna let out a laugh and took off. Grumbling, the larger of the two alicorns took off after her. As they flew through the mists, Nim turned her head back to look at Harry. "Now then... look around you, what do you see?"

Still confused over what had happened, Harry did so and frowned. "I see a lot of... clouds? Smoke?"

While she nodded, Luna pulled up beside him. "That mist or clouds, are in fact dream stuff in it's most basic form. When a being falls asleep in the real world, their mind slips into here and forms their dreams from it. See those glowing spheres that look like soap bubbles?" Harry nodded and Luna's smile grew. "Those are dreams as they appear in this world."

Nightmare glanced at her other half and nodded as they flew up and stopped at one, not really looking at it and so missed Luna's face go red. "Now, we're not about to enter it, but note the brightness of the light as well as the color."

Leaning toward it, Harry frowned in thought "It's really bright and... pink?"

There was a blush on Nim's face as she realized what kind of dream it was. "Yes, well... it being so bright means that it's a really good dream... and the color denotes what kind of dream." Seeing that Harry was about to ask her about the color, Nim took off to the next dream which caused Harry to hang on else he would be thrown off. "Moving on... if a dream however is is dimly lit, then usually it's a bad dream. If it's black or a deep blood red, then you can be certain that it's a true nightmare with black being... well, a frightmare. In such cases, Luna or myself would awaken the dreamer before it can finish and lead to them dying."

The young wizard frowned a bit as he took that in before he noticed something. "Er... is it only dreams here? Or are there other things?"

As she shared a look with Nightmare, Luna cleared her throat. "Yes, there are in fact many different things within the Dream Realm. Things fantastic and terrible... why?"

His eyebrows furrowed, Harry pointed in one direction. "Just wondering why there would be a garden here..."

Following his finger, Luna raised an eyebrow at the sight of what looked like a gated garden that just floated around. "Ah... one of those." Before Harry could ask, Luna flew toward it. "It's best that you experience it first hand really..." Nightmare flew up and landed before the gates before they opened them and entered the garden. "Now then... feel anything, Harry?"

Harry glanced at her as he knew that she was trying to reveal something to him and looked around. The garden was a riot of color and life with the air filled with fragrences and smells that begged for him to get off Nightmare's back to better experience them. As well, he could feel a cool breeze that caressed his skin as the sounds soothed him. Just as he was about to answer, he noted the emotional state of his friends. Both Luna and Nightmare had alert postures as they kept an eye on the area around them and their ears were rotating in various directions. That was enough for him to frown and concentrate. 'Wait a second... something's not right here... Why is there the smell of rot...'

Suddenly, Luna and Nim stilled before they took off for the entrance of the garden which was not too far away. Much to Harry's surprise, he could feel Nightmare's magic sticking him to her back as they bolted. Surprised, Harry looked around to see what could have spooked them.

It was then that he saw it. At first, Harry took it to be a cloud or bank of fog, except it was blacker then night. Then he saw the red lightning that surged from it. Finally, he could sense the sheer malevolence of whatever it was. However, before it could reach them, all three had blasted out of the gates which slammed shut behind them. As he tried to get his heartbeat under control, Harry looked between Luna and Nim. "What was that!?"

With a sigh, Nightmare stopped and turned and to Harry's surprise, the garden was just the way it had been when he first sighted it. Seeing his confusion, Luna began. "One thing that you need to realize, Harry, is that humanity is not the oldest dreamers out there. Nor are ponies in Equestria. There are ancient things... primordial things, which to this day slumber away the centuries. Such beings construct vast worlds in the Dream Realm in which they amuse themselves. Mainly because the real world holds no interest, thus they create worlds that they can control, change, and manipulate to their design and interest. That garden was just such a world."

As she watched the garden seemingly drift off, Nightmare continued where Luna left off. "These beings are vast and powerful, not even Luna or myself would challenge them truly. Often, the unwary traveler in the Dream Realms might stumble onto such a place without realizing what they have entered and are caught unaware... never to be seen by mortal eyes again as their bodies die and decay in the real world. Or else they might awake, utterly mad." Nightmare turned toward him with a frown. "We went into that garden because we knew what it was and so that you would know what to look for and avoid. The two of us, Luna and myself, understood when it was coming and so we knew when to flee. While we were not in too much danger, we will not do such foolishness again."

Slowly nodding, Harry shivered a bit as he remembered the evil he felt from whatever it was before he shook his head. "So... what's next?"

Knowing that he wanted to be distracted, Luna shared a grin with Nightmare. "Well... time for an introduction to dream magic..." Six flat planes materialized around them and fit themselves together into a cube like shape. Her horn aglow, Nightmare set Harry down onto the floor as the inside of the cube became a classroom complete with a desk and an apple on it. With an amused look, Harry noted how on the chalkboard was written "Dream Magic 101: Introduction to Dream Magic". Just then, he heard Luna speak up. "Now then... let's begin."

Once he turned, Harry's jaw dropped at the sight of his now human friend. There was a smile on Luna's face as she looked over her red glasses as she leaned back against the desk. The lunar Princess wore her usual frumpy sweater, though along with her black slacks it gave her the look of a teacher. Meanwhile, Nim was beside her dressed, as usual, differently then her 'Sister'. In this case, that was a black glasses and a white, sleeveless buttoned blouse with the top buttons undone and a tight black bodice above a black pencil skirt. The pantyhose and black high heels completed the look.

For a few seconds Harry stared at them before he pointed toward his two friends. "What's with..."

Nightmare smirked as she took her glasses off revealing that they had a chain on them as she rested them against her chest. "Do you not like our outfits, Harry? We wished to for a more... teacher-like look, for this lesson." Seeing as Harry shook his head, Nightmare walked up to the board with a slight sway to her hips and began to write. "Now then, the very first form of dream magic is lucid dreaming, but before we get to that, we should teach you some of the basics. For example, how to recognize signs that you may be close to the territory of a Primordial..."

With a blink, Harry found himself at a desk in a school uniform much to his amusement before he gestured at the board. "Wait, lucid dreaming is a form of dream magic? I thought that anyone could teach themselves that?"

As she glanced at Nightmare, Luna slowly nodded. "You're right that lucid dreaming is a skill that many can learn with enough patience and practice, but as we said, it counts as dream magic, if extremely low level. In terms of dream magic, lucid dreaming is the equivalent of levitating a feather or creating a small light source. Simple and easy with it being a basic step toward learning more. Dream magic relies more on the will of the person to shape and manipulate the magic of the Dream Realm, hence having magic of your own only helps a bit..."

Flipping a pancake, Harry could hear the sound of Saturday morning cartoons in the other room. He glanced to the side and laughed at the hungry look on Luna's face before he gave her a knowing look. "So then... kind of strange that the Dursleys took off for the day... You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"

There was a completely innocent look on Luna's face as she shook her head. "Who, me? I had nothing to do with it."

In reply, Harry snorted as he put a pancake onto a plate. "Okay, then Nim had something to do with it." A glint of amusement was in his eye at Luna sticking her tongue out at him at which he shook his head. "Anyways, would it be possible to have a repeat this Friday?"

Curious, Luna cocked her head to the side as Harry switched to the frying pan that had cooking bacon in it. "Oh? Any particular reason for that?" Harry just looked from her to the calender which she followed until her mouth opened in realization. "Oooh! Right, your birthday is this Friday. We can do that."

Nodding with a smile, he took some of the bacon and put it onto one of the plates. "So, what sort of cake do you think we should get?"

Luna just raised an eyebrow at him and tried not to giggle. "Harry, it's your birthday you know. If anyone gets to decide on what we're going to have, it's you."

However, all Harry did was shrug noncommitively. "So? I'm sharing it with you... though I wish that I could also share it with Nim."

A moment later, Luna softly nuzzled the back of his neck as she levitated over some toast that just popped up. "And we both appreciate your thoughts on the matter, Harry." Spreading some Nutella onto the toast, the smell of which caused her to drool a little, Luna continued. "What type of cake do you want to try?"

There was a few seconds of silence as Harry gathered his thoughts before he pointed at the dessert cookbook propped up on the counter. Without touching it, the cookbook opened and the pages flipped until they stopped on one recipe. "I was thinking the Death by Chocolate one... never tried anything like it and I like chocolate..."

With a soft smile, Luna glanced over what was there and nodded. "We should have enough money to get the ingrediants..." Then her expression turned slightly giddy. "And if you're really wanting us to add to it, maybe some of that Nutella icing that's listed?"

Seeing her expression, Harry laughed a bit before he nodded. "Sure, I don't see an issue with that."

As she continued to lean against his back, she hummed a bit. "Are you still going ahead with the plan for after your birthday, Harry?"

Harry slowly nodded as he finished cooking breakfast. "I am... we'll head to Neville's for the rest of the summer. And his Gran according to his letters will tell me about my family and show me what they have for information on them..." He paused as he looked up at the ceiling. "I've always wondered about them..."

While his back was turned, Luna reached over and snatched one of his pieces of bacon before chewing it. Once she was done, she swallowed. "You also mentioned continuing your Taekwondo lessons if I remember correctly."

Having noticed that a piece of his bacon was gone, Harry gave the grinning Luna a suspicious look before he shook it off. "Yeah, got the test for my Yellow Belt in August. Once I have that, then I can work on getting my Green Tip by the time I return next year with maybe a Green Belt by the end of that Summer." At the raised eyebrow from Luna, he shrugged. "I can use the Knight Bus to get back and forth for my lessons from Neville's home. He already said he doesn't have an issue with it."

The alicorn slowly thought it over as she grabbed the pitcher of juice in her magic and began to walk toward the den from which they could still hear the noise of cartoons from. "That sounds good. Perhaps we should look into some more get togethers with that group of teens we came across. The ones who do that odd running sport where they bounce off walls and roll across things." A smile came to her face as she continued to nod. "Yes, and Nim and myself have already come up with a few ways to make it work."

Both of them entered the den to see Nightmare standing on the table watching a character with two long pigtails on the screen. Then both her and the character began to twirl as the character began to magically transform her clothing. What got both Luna and Harry's stares was that the same thing happened to Nightmare before she stopped and went into the same pose as the character. "In the name of the Moon, I shall punish you!"

It was then that she noticed Harry and Luna staring at her before Luna looked down at the plate of food in Harry's hand. "... Was there something in that bacon?"

Of course, Harry just glared at her. "So it was you who stole it..."