//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: WatLP: Chamber of Secrets // 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 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...