//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 // Story: The Wizard and the Lonely Princess // by Harry Leferts //------------------------------// 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 ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ As the month of November slowly became that of December, the weather where the castle was located became colder and colder. While this was not an issue in the Common Rooms or the Great Hall, what with the fires that roared in those places (literally in the Gryffindor House's case due to a prank done by Nightmare and Harry as part of a lesson on Equestrian magic which was blamed on the Twins). The corridors and hallways on the other hand were an entirely different issue. In such places, the true age of the school became apparent as they became bone chillingly cold from drafts as the bitter winter winds rattled the windows. Harry often times drew looks as he would shrug off his thick winter cloak and place it over Hermione's. and sometimes, Tonks', shoulders. When asked, he would simply shrug non-commentatively as he spoke. "It's the gentlemanly thing to do. Besides..." And here his lips always twitched though some could see the slight confusion and thought in his eyes. "The cold doesn't bother me as much as others." One time, Luna snarked at him as she hung off him, her wings wrapped around him to fend off the chill best that she could as she leaked some magic into him alongside Nightmare to keep him warm. "That might have to do with the fact that we're helping with that you know." Harry had just whispered out the side of his mouth. "For which I've thanked you every time." He then frowned. "Though oddly for some reason I know that the cold really doesn't bother me quite to the same extent as the others for some odd reason..." One morning in December, Harry walked around the Potion classroom as he handed out a pair of small wooden disks the size of dimes to everyone, Gryffindor and Slytherin alike. Having picked one up, Draco sneered at it. "And what, exactly, is this?" Harry looked over from where he had been handing two to Tracy. "They're charmed with a warming charm." He then gestured at Draco's gloves. "You place them into your gloves to help keep your hands warm." A silky voice then spoke up from near the door. "And why would that possibly matter Potter?" Harry shrugged as he was the only one in the class who hadn't jumped at the sound of Snape's voice, Luna having warned him. "By keeping their hands warm, it'll prevent them from getting numb. Less chance of an accident that way and helps them when doing things like cutting and so forth." Snape looked over Harry's face as he walked up. "Hmm... Two points from Gryffindor for not asking permission for this first." Just as he was going to pass Harry, he stopped. "Three points to Gryffindor however for showing that you have something besides empty space between your ears, despite how little there is in there." Harry just nodded, not rising to the bait. "Thank you Professor." Once the class got over with though and Harry's group entered the corridor near the Great Hall, they came across a strange sight even by Hogwarts standards. For a massive fir tree blocked the hall while Nightmare hung from the "top". As he felt a headache coming on, Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. "What are you doing Nightmare..." She just grinned at him as she stopped singing a rendition of 'Oh Christmas Tree'. "What else does it look like I'm doing Harry? I'm helping Hagrid get this into the Great Hall." The group (Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Luna) as one gave her a pointed look as they stared at where her hooves dangled several feet above the ground. Harry then snarked at her. "Ah yes, I see now." As he ignored her widened grin, Harry leaned to the side. "You want any help Hagrid?" After a moment, Hagrid answered back. "Nah, tha's all righ', 'Arry." Harry was about to say more when Malfoy bustled past with a sneer. It then turned into a smirk. "Oh Crabbe, I do so feel bad for all those who have to stay here at Hogwarts because no one wants them at home." On the outside, Harry didn't react past having shoved his hands into his pockets and raised an eyebrow. Unseen by everyone but Luna (the others having focused on Harry) was how a branch glowed softly was it was pulled back into the tree. It was only once the three Slytherins had brushed past where it was that it whipped back out and swatted them all on the behinds which caused them to tumble. Harry then just shook his head with a slight smile. "You should be more careful Malfoy. Those branches do get pretty whippy after coming in from the cold and warming up some." Draco just glared at him with his face flushed before he and his companions stormed off, laughter following in their wake. Luna just looked at him with the best disapproving look that she could manage, though it was ruined by her having to smother giggles. "Harry James Potter, that was mean of you!" Harry's lips twitched as he mumbled out the side of them. "And your point?" He then watched as the three disappeared around a corner as his thoughts took a depressing turn. 'They're right though...' That night Harry was laying back on his bed as one hand gently scratched a spot between Luna's wings as he stared at the ceiling. Luna looked over her shoulder with a slightly worried look as she asked him something. Harry shook his head and looked at her. "Sorry, what was that Luna?" The blue alicorn sighed with exasperation as she rolled over so she could look at him directly. "There's something bothering you Harry. And it's been going on all day, so what's the issue?" Harry sighed as he rolled over some. "It's nothing to worry about." A moment later he jerked as Luna jabbed him under the ribs with the tip of her hoof which caused him to hiss at her. "Luna! What the hay?!" She just gave him an even stare as Nightmare watched on in amusement. "You know that, that type of dismissal doesn't work on me, Harry." She then narrowed her eyes as she raised her hoof threateningly. "Now tell me... or else." The wizard gulped a little as he stared at her. "You wouldn't dare..." Luna then sighed as she lowered her hoof. "Such a shame that you called my bluff..." As he relaxed some, her face twisted into an evil smile. "That is... if it had been a bluff." Harry's eyes widened but before he could do anything, the hoof jabbed out once again, faster than a striking snake. As it dug in right under his ribs, Harry bit his lips as he tried to squirm away. "Now tell us what ails thyself so!" He was nearly out of her grasp when he noticed Nightmare on his other side just before she did the same thing as her counterpart. "Just give in and do as the Little Princess asked. It would be so much easier on you." It took several seconds of struggle before Harry answered. "O-okay! I give!" After they stopped and he caught his breath, Harry glared at them. "You two are bloody annoying at times, you know that?" The two alicorns just gave him identical smirks before they faded. Luna then placed a hoof gently on Harry's knee with a worried frown. "Now Harry, what's the problem?" Harry shifted a bit uncomfortably for a moment. "You know the recent taunts from Malfoy, right?" Puzzled, Luna nodded as she remembered the recent taunts from Draco after he failed to get a rise with stating how bad Harry was at flying. "Well, yes. But..." She then trailed off in realization as the pieces clicked before she gave him a sympathetic look. "Oh Harry..." He just looked away as he sighed. "I know, I know. It's stupid and I really should know better." Harry shifted a little as he frowned. "But... I still find myself wishing that I was wanted at home..." Nightmare grunted as she rolled her eyes. "You're still a colt, so it's not too surprising that you feel that way. And those foals you call relatives do not deserve to be even distantly related to you." Luna stared at her for a moment before she shook her it off. She then embraced Harry. "While I would have put it slightly differently, she's right." She then gave him a soft smile. "But the fact that you wish so and would be willing to forgive them is, to me anyways, one of your better qualities. One that makes you so much better of a person then any of them." Her head shook for a moment. "As to being home for the holidays, the human saying of 'Home is where you make it' is apt here." Harry raised an eyebrow at this. "Really now?" She just nodded. "Yes, Harry. It is." Luna then rolled until one of her wings covered her human friends torso. She then gestured around with her head. "Home could be at Privet Drive, here at Hogwarts, our trunk, or mother willing and we can bring you with us one day, Equestria itself. Any of those could be a home for you if you choose so. And you know something Harry?" Harry slowly smiled. "No, what?" Luna laid her forehoof on his chest as she smiled. "No matter what you chose in the end Harry, Nightmare and I shall be there right beside you for as long as you allow us to be. And we'll want you right there beside us." Nightmare snorted as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. What the Little Princess said." Harry shared an amused look with Luna before he grabbed the plush. "Aw, looks like someone just wants a hug." The alicorn struggled some in his grip. "I do not want or need a hug!" Her struggles turned out to be in vain though as Harry hugged her and Luna snickered. "There, better?" Having only received grumbles in return as Nightmare turned away and pouted, Harry leaned toward Luna questioningly. "So once most of the students leave tomorrow, what are we going to do?" Luna became thoughtful as she considered it. "Well, we could catch up with your Equestrian magical studies. You've been making good work on those, but it could be better." She then looked at him. "And it might also be a good idea for you to socialize with some of the other students staying. Who knows? You might find a friend or two that you hadn't noticed." Harry slowly nodded as he thought about it. "That does sound good." He then hummed a little. "I also have another chat over tea with Flitwick tomorrow." The young wizard then frowned a bit. "I think that I might ask him if he knows anything about possible other relatives that I might have." Luna smiled as she laid a hoof on his shoulder. "Well, even if there aren't any around anymore besides... them, you'll still learn some more about your family." She then frowned some. "We have also got to see the Deputy Headmistress about what we can do about shopping. While the catalogues are nice, it's not quite the same as actually going to the store, looking, and then buying." Luna then blushed a little. "I had been hoping that with the fact that wizards and witches don't seem to care about Nightmare shopping, that perhaps we could finally find you something for once." Harry chuckled as he reached out with the arm that wasn't holding Nightmare and pulled her close. "And what have I told you about that Luna? To me, having you and Nightmare here and being my friends are more then enough of a gift to last a thousand Christmases." He then smirked a little. "After all, isn't that not what Hearth's Warming is all about?" The blue maned alicorn gave a snort before she smiled in fond remembrance as both her and Nightmare gave Harry a nuzzle. "Remember the first time that you asked me to tell you the story behind Hearth's Warming, Harry? Harry nodded with a smile of his own before he nuzzled the two, the depressing feelings from before having melted away. "I do." He then shook his head. "You telling me it to me has become a favorite tradition of ours, hasn't it?" As Luna nodded, she softly chortled. "And one that I enjoy greatly." She then looked at Nightmare. "By the way, do you have any plans in particular for this holiday season?" The alicorn plush shrugged from where she was, having found herself in a comfortable position. "Well, due to me not being able to amuse myself like I have recently-" Harry snorted which caught her attention. "Nim, I don't think that having Hedwig transport you to the roof so that you can dump snow on people passing beneath is a normal form of amusement." Nim just smirked as she quipped. "It is for me!" She then rolled her eyes. "Anyways... I'm going to solve the greatest mystery of this school!" Luna shared a look with Harry before she raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what mystery is this now?" Nightmare pumped a forehoof into the air as she answered. "Who the hay is it that cleans up this place!" She grinned a little. "It can't be Flinch as he can't use magic, but whoever it is seems able to clean things within a minute and without being seen! I must find out who this is!" Having heard of her obsession before, the other two just groaned... ______________________________________________________________________ As they stood at the bottom of the stairs, Hermione looked at the clock before she glared up the stairs. "What is taking Nightmare so long?" She then rounded on a nonchalant Harry. "I thought that you said that she wanted to come with us to the train station?!" Harry stuck his hands in his pockets as he shrugged. "That's what she told me." A moment later, he heard the door open to the First Year Boy's Dormitories. "Ah, here she comes now." The blur that is Nightmare skidded down the stair banister before she jumped off and landed on Neville's head with her foreleg's held out. "10 Points!" She then faced the crowd of amused Gryffindors and bowed. "And the Gold Medalist of Downhill Banister Ski Jump of the 1991 Hogwarts Winter Olympic Games is none other then Nightmare Moon!" Hermione just placed her face in her hands as both Harry and Luna raised eyebrows at what she was wearing. After a moment, Harry chuckled. "A Missus Christmas outfit Nightmare? Really?" Nightmare snorted a bit as she leveled him a superior look from where she stood on Neville's head. "'Tis in the spirit of the season, is it not?" She then looked down at Neville who had been looking up at her and she mock gasped as she held one hoof against her chest. "NEVILLE! Don't be looking up my dress you naughty, naughty boy!" Equally amused and mortified, Neville looked at his other two friends with a slight pleading look. "Can we go now?" Harry chuckled as Nightmare leaped from Neville's head to her usual perch on her wizard's shoulder. "Yes, we can." The five left the Common Room and headed for where the carriages were parked. Along the way, Nightmare sung several carols and other Christmas songs (including "Grandma got run over by a reindeer" as they passed a group of teachers). However, once they got out, only Hermione didn't stop at the sight before them. "What the hay..." Hermione turned and gave Harry, Nightmare, and Neville an odd look as she saw the emotions on their faces. "Well? What is it?" Neville gulped before he shakily pointed at the empty space where normally a horse would have been attached to the carriage. "Wh-what are those things..." As she raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms, Hermione rolled her eyes with exasperation. "They're the horseless carriages you heard about from the older years talking about." Now it's Nightmare's turn to stare at her. "What!?" She then gestured at the spot that Neville had been pointing at. "While they maybe only somewhat like horses, whatever those are sure as hay are something to be even a little freaked at!" They turned as they heard chuckling to see Hagrid. "So yeh can see 'hem then?" Harry blinked before he looked at the nearly skeletal horse-like animals and their bat like wings. "Yeah, what are those Hagrid?" Luna shivered as one looked right at her as if it could see her. "I want to know the same thing..." She then frowned a bit. 'Though they kind of look like...' Hagrid smiled proudly. "Thems thestrals yeh see..." The Longbottom heir shivered suddenly. "I heard that it's bad luck to see them!" The Groundskeeper sighed as he shook his head having not noticed Harry walk forward. "Nah, tha's only a superstition and hearsay. Tha' came about because how they look and tha' yeh have ta have seen death an' accept it to see them." He blinked as he heard Harry speak up from behind. "Huh. Well, that's interesting. And they're certainly quite friendly if a little spooky looking I suppose." They all turned to look and saw Harry gently stroking the nose of a thestral (well, those who could see them as Hermione only saw empty space to her discomfort) as the other hand lightly patted it on the neck. The thestral then licked him which caused him to chuckle. "Hey! Watch that!" Neville backed away slightly from the sight. "Harry, those things are dangerous!" Hermione looked on with a disturbed expression from what she was seeing. "Neville's right Harry, thestrals are known wizard killers and quite deadly." Harry glanced at her with a raised eyebrow as he continued. "Well, they're being very gentle at the moment with me and they have apparently pulled these carriages for years without any incidents that I've heard of." The other thestral then bumped him with it's snout as Nightmare looked back and forth between them with a thoughtful expression. "Hey! I only got two hands you know!" While Hermione and Neville looked on in disbelief, Hagrid watched him thoughtfully as he considered the behavior he was seeing. 'They're not treatin' him like a human... they're treatin' him as if he was one O' them... I wonder why tha' is now?' After a few minutes, they got into the carriage and discussed what happened. First, Hermione turned to Neville. "So you can see them Neville?" He nodded a bit and spoke in a quiet voice. "I saw my grandfather die a few years back..." Harry just laid a hand on his friend's shoulders. "I'm sorry to hear that. Might not be worth much now, but you have my condolences." As Nightmare stated the same thing, Hermione turned to Harry. "So why do you see them Harry?" She watched as both him and Nightmare froze and shivered, pure horror on their faces (unknown to her the same thing occurred to Luna) before it disappeared as soon as it had appeared. 'What was...' Harry swallowed heavily as images from that night ran through his head. "Hermione, there are things that I will not talk about, even in the daytime. This... this is one of those." Neville and Hermione shared a look before they nodded as the bushy haired girl nodded and grasped Harry's hand. "Okay Harry. But you do realize that if you ever want, you can tell us." Harry just shook his head as he turned to look outside. "Not this Hermione... not this..." For a very brief moment the clouds had covered the sun outside causing the day to darken as he felt cold inside. He shook it off as the clouds moved away from the sun which turned it back into a bright, if very cold, day. "Anyways, I didn't ask you two anything, but do you have plans?" Hermione frowned for a moment but let the matter drop. "Well, my parents are talking me skiing in the Alps for the holidays. From their letter they're very happy about me returning home for the holidays and spending time with them." Nightmare smiled and nodded. "I must admit, now I wish that Harry and I could go with you instead of being here at Hogwarts." The witch looked thoughtful for a moment before she sighed. "Not now at least." At their looks, she shrugged and smiled. "But I'll make sure to bring you back souvenirs from my trip and see what I can send you." She blushed a little as she looked outside. "After all, the wizarding world from my reading barely has an idea as to what the word 'Customs' even means." The alicorn plush raised an eyebrow. "Trying to get around if not outright breaking international law?" Nightmare grinned as she wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. "Oh! I am so proud of you!" Hermione just gave the plush a blank look before she started to rub the bridge of her nose to ward off an incoming headache as the alicorn began to cackle. Harry just smiled as he turned to Neville. "And you?" Neville sighed as he leaned back into the seat. "Nothing quite as exciting as Hermione, but I'll be spending the holidays with Gran and my family." He then chuckled. "Apparently I've made her proud as she's heard how much I've accomplished. Especially my grades thanks to you and Hermione." The two other humans share a smile as they continued to chat. Soon, they're all standing on the platform for the train as they look at each other. Harry makes the first move as he holds out his hand to Neville. "I hope that you have a good trip and holidays Neville." As Neville shook his hand, Nightmare leapt over and ruffled the boy's hair as she gestured at Harry. "What he said." Neville looked between the two with a slight grin as he let go of Harry's hand. "Thanks you two, I hope the same for you." Harry then turned to Hermione, only to find himself being bear hugged by the bushy haired witch. He stiffened for a moment as he was still not used to physical contact outside of Nightmare and Luna before he slowly returned the hug. "I hope that you have happy holidays Harry." He then smiled as he fully returned the hug. "Same to you." The two separated as the train's whistle blew. After another short goodbye, the two heading out boarded the train and it soon left as Harry stood there and waved with Hermione and the other two doing the same. Once the train was out of sight, Luna smiled as she looked at her friend. "Well, time to head back." Harry grinned as he started to head back toward the carriages. "Yeah." He then took a deep breath as he let it out in a sigh. "For some reason I can't help but think that this will be the beginning of a series of great holidays..."