//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// 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



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..."