And I'm back folks. Sorry about taking so long as well as the fact that this chapter is mostly filler. Anyways, hope that you enjoy!

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

"Hello"-Normal Speaking

"Interesting..."-Nightmare Moon speaking

'Huh.' -Normal thoughts.

'All mine...' Nightmare Moon's thoughts

Pacing one of the study rooms just off from the Slytherin dorms, Draco snarls as he clenches his fist. "I can't believe that... that ragamuffin was Potter!" Stopping for a moment, he slams his palm down on a desk. Staring to pace once more, Draco bites his thumb. "The signs were all there and I missed it!" Stopping for a moment, Draco hisses. "The perfect opportunity and I missed it."

Standing near the door, Crabbe scratches his head in confusion. "I don't get it..."

Draco just rolls his eyes before waving him off. "It would have been a coup for our side if we brought him to our views." Frowning, Draco lets out a breath. "Thankfully Father should not be too displeased..."

**************Flashback*************

Walking into his father's office, Draco finds him standing in front of the fireplace. Once he's fully inside, he shuts the door and stands there while waiting for Lucius to acknowledge him, the only sounds being the crackling of the fire and the ticking of the mantel clock. Minutes pass until his father nods. "Very good Draco. Now then, take a seat. What I have to say to you is very important." Making his way over to the seat in front of Lucius' desk, Draco waits as his father stays near the fireplace. "Do you know why I sent for you Draco?"

Taking a breath to calm himself, Draco answers. "No Father, I don't."

After a moment, Lucius nods. "Hm... yes." Reaching over and grabbing a fire poker, Lucius stirs the glowing embers. "I was disappointed in you the other day Draco. Letting a stuffed toy rile you up as it did." Placing the poker back, Lucius sighs. "But I suppose that you're young yet. Still, do practice not letting such things faze you and act as befits a Malfoy. Or else I might become... annoyed."

Gulping, Draco nods as he grips the chairs armrests. "Of course Father."

Finally turning, Lucius nods as he looks at his son with a cold mask of indifference. "Good." Walking over, he stops in front of Draco as he lets a sigh escape his lips. "But that is not what I called you here for Draco." Waiting for a moment to see if his son would respond, he continues. "I have a... consider it your first mission for our side."

Clearing his throat, a house elf appears with a platter with a tea cup on it. Not even acknowledging the being's presence, the elder Malfoy takes the cup and brings it to his lips. Wetting his lips some as he watches his father, Draco takes note that he is to reply. "May I ask what mission Father?"

Pulling the cup away from his mouth, Lucius nods. "You may Draco. As you know, tomorrow you are to head to Hogwarts. I expect you to carry yourself as a Malfoy should. We are one of the Purest of the old Bloodlines after all." Taking another sip, the elder Malfoy notices the slight confusion on his son's face. 'More work to be done I think.' Once more taking the cup from his mouth, he sets it down on his desk. "All that you already know. But there is one last thing I wish for you to do." Another moment of silence passes. "And that is to become... friendly... with Harry Potter."

Draco's head shoots up at this. "But why Father! Because of him, our Lord is-" He suddenly freezes as he notices his father giving him a cold look. "I... am sorry Father for my unbefitting behavior. I was simply... shocked is all."

After a moment, Lucius nods. "I can understand that Draco." A moment later, he beings to explain. "You see Draco, we are now being presented with an opportunity we cannot waste." He starts to walk behind his desk. "The Potter child represents a rather large amount of political capital. However... he is also more than that,"

Seeing that it is his turn to speak, Draco does so. "How so Father?"

Stopping behind his chair, Lucius reaches out and grasps it as he looks at a painting. "I have a source in the Ministry that has told me that there has been a rather large number of magical surges wherever he is. Not enough if it continues to see him expelled for breaking the underage laws, but enough to show up. That shows that he might be quite powerful. And, more than that, he might hold the secret within himself as to how to defeat the Killing Curse. Listen close Draco, information is power. And the knowledge to defeat something unblockable would secure our Family's position among our... associates." He then looks on with a slight smirk. "And if we turn him to our side? All the better for us..."

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

Staring at the wall with his hands clasped behind his back, Draco lets out a sigh. 'At least Father should understand why I failed due to previous circumstances...'

Walking for the door, he places a haughty expression on his face . A moment later he's out the door and heading into the dorm. A few minutes pass when an eleven year old strawberry blond girl appears from a nearby alcove before she taps her ear, cancelling a spell. 'How intriguing. Seems that the Malfoy family wanted to draw Potter into their sphere of influence and failed. That knowledge might indeed be worth something to the right person...'

Making her way into the girls' dorm, she notices another girl leaning against the wall who's watching her with a smirk. "Well now Daphne. You certainly took a while."

Smirking, Daphne Greengrass shrugs. "Let's just say I found something profitable and leave it at that." Walking to her bed, Greengrass' smirk grows. 'Yes. Very profitable indeed...'

Slowly waking, Nightmare blinks as she takes note of the lunar landscape around her. 'Beautiful desolation indeed...' She then sighs as she starts to get up. 'But even this beauty gets old...' She grunts though as she finds herself stiff before pondering that for a moment. 'Hm... now that was different.' Soon she's walking across the shadowed landscape of Equestria's moon as she heads to the border between the dark side and the light side. Reaching it, she looks around for Harry and Luna only to find no one. 'Must be somewhere else...' Sighing she turns and is about to keep walking along the border when she stops as she could hear Harry shout her name and tell Luna to hurry it up causing her to sit and wait. Five minutes later Harry comes out from behind a boulder with a grin on his face as he's puffing for breath. "Took you long enough. I could hear you shout."

Harry gives her an odd look at this. "You heard me?"

Rolling her eyes as Luna lands, Nightmare sighs. "Of course I heard you." She shakes her head. "But I'll give you leeway as I barely heard it as is so you must have been quite a distance away."

But Luna and Harry give each other a confused look before shrugging. It's at this point that Luna notices that Nightmare is still sitting over the line separating the halves of the moon. "Any particular reason that you're still over there?"

Nightmare raises an eyebrow before smirking. "Well Little Princess, you don't come onto my side without asking first. So I suppose that I should offer you the same courtesy."

Luna's eyebrow twitches some as she was both complimented and insulted. "Do you mind not doing that...?"

Nightmare raises an eyebrow and tilts her head to the side in false confusion. "Do what Little Princess? Not ask for permission?"

Grinding her teeth together, Luna hisses. "Calling me 'Little Princess'." She then waves a hoof at an amused Harry. "You call him by his name now."

Nightmare just blinks while still having false confusion on her face. "But you are little. And a Princess." She then just waves a hoof. "Just calling it as I see it."

Her smirk fades a moment later as Luna shoots back. "We then, guess I should call you 'Moony' then."

Nightmare glares at her as neither notice the confused and disturbed look on Harry's face as face as he looks at the ground. 'Moony... why does that sound so familiar...'

Luna just snorts and holds her head high. "Very well, how about Ni? Or Moomoo?" Nightmare growls for a second. Smirking, Luna waves a hoof at her. "Something the matter?"

Nightmare just snarls. "Don't... call... me... that."

Luna's about to say something when she suddenly stops. "Oh... I forgot about that." Seeing Nightmare turn away, she sighs and walks up. "I'm sorry..."

Nightmare just nods. "Yes well...Anyways... may I?" Luna nods before looking down as Nightmare steps over the line. About to say something, Nightmare stops as she feels two arms wrap around her neck causing her to blink and look down to see Harry hugging her around her neck. "Harry?"

He just stays like that for a bit before sighing. "Just thought that you needed a hug."

Nightmare looks at him before nodding. "I did not, but I appreciate the thought all the same." She then watches his expression before sighing and looking into the starry night sky. "Go ahead."

Harry pulls away with a confused yet amused look. "Go ahead and what?"

Looking back at him, Nightmare's expression becomes deadpan. "I know that you thought up a nickname of your own. Go ahead and let it out now rather than later."

Harry's lips twitch as he holds his hands behind his head. "I was thinking... Nim."

Luna stares at him with a confused expression as does Nightmare. "Nim? What does that have to do with the moon or her name?"

Nightmare also nods as she wants to hear this as well. For his part, Harry rolls his eyes before kneeling down and writing "NmM" in the lunar dust. "Her initials of course. Nightmare Moon, N-M-M. Nim. See?"

Cocking her head to the side, Luna slowly nods. "Huh. That's interesting." She then gives the other two a smirk. "And she does have a secret or two."

Facehoofing, Nightmare groans. "That was bad Little Princess. Haven't I been punished enough as is?" That sets off a round of groans from both Luna and Harry. "Yes, I am a baaa-d mare who should feel sheepish about it all."

Luna just holds up her hooves in surrender. "Okay, okay. I give up. Enough with the puns already Nim!" Nightmare just gives her a deadpan look. "What?"

Nightmare just snorts. "You're not allowed to call me that Little Princess." She then gestures at Harry. "He's allowed though."

Luna's eyes widen for a moment before glaring. "What! You call me 'Little Princess' all the time! Why shouldn't I be allowed to call you that!"

Putting on a thoughtful expression, Nightmare smirks. "Well, for one thing I don't like it when you say it. For another, Harry created it. And last?" Nightmare shrugs and leans in close. "I just like him better then you." She smirks and ducks as a glowing ball of lunar dust flies past her head. "My, someone is a little testy today...

Ducking another, she gallops off with a chuckle as she's gotten on Luna's nerves again and "won". Luna growls and is about to take off after her when she hears a snort. She slowly turns to see a gulping Harry who gives her a sheepish grin. A moment later he takes off as "Dustballs" are also swung at him. "HARRY!"

Running, Harry just groans. "I should have known better... I really should... have..."

A laughing Nightmare Moon soon drops back so that she's right beside him. "Enjoying ourselves?"

Harry gives her a dry look between breaths before answering her in a voice just as dry as the dust around them. "Oh yes. Very much so."

Nightmare snorts as her grin widens. "Good then." She then looks back and chuckles. "The Little Princess is so easy to rile up at times isn't she? Almost takes the fun out of it at times." She then looks at Harry who's struggling to keep up. "Hm... perhaps we should leave the Little Princess time to cool off?"

Harry rolls his eyes for a moment as he answers, ducking under another dustball as more fly through the air. "You think?"

Snorting in amusement, Nightmare looks over her shoulder at the chasing Luna, taking note of the grin on her face. A moment later, she watches Harry out of the corner of her eye. "Do you trust me Harry?"

Harry just gives her an odd look. "Of course I do Nightmare, why wouldn't I?" Not hearing anything, he turns and is about to say something when he finds himself wrapped up in Nightmare's mane a moment before being deposited on her back. "Wha...!"

Nightmare just grins as her mane wraps around his wrists. "Oh, and please don't pull too much."

With that, and a flap of her wings, she goes airborne. Harry tightens his grip for a moment before it loosens as he looks around, the landscape passing below them along with Nightmare's shadow. Leaning forward, Harry grins as he speaks into the dark Alicorn's ear. "This is amazing Nightmare!"

She looks back at him with a small smile. "Glad that you think so." She then sees something that causes her to narrow her eyes and smirk. "And this is about to get slightly more exciting..."

Harry gives her a slightly confused look. "What?" A moment later he gets his answer as a dustball shoots past, and upon looking behind them finds Luna flying with several other dustballs following in her wake. "Aw... hay." What follows is an aerial chase across the face of the moon as Luna tries to pelt the two with dustballs while Nightmare dodges, ducks, and weaves. Harry spends the whole time holding on in adrenaline fueled excitement. After a while, the three land laughing (well, Harry and Luna are, Nightmare is giving off a chuckle). Stretching for a moment, Harry slowly gets off Nightmare's back and gives her a grin. "Well that was awesome." He then gives a sly look at Nightmare. "And you seemed to have enjoyed yourself for a change."

Nightmare blinks and Harry could swear that she was blushing. "Yes. well..." Seeing the amused looks the other two are giving her, she looks away while clearing her throat with a cough. "Got caught up in the moment there is all."

Luna just winks at a grinning Harry, her own nearly splitting her face in half. "Sure you did Nightmare... we believe you." Seeing Nightmare grumble makes the grin widen if it was possible. A moment later she frowns as she watches Nightmare rotate her wing joint with a slight wince. "You okay?"

Nightmare just grunts. "Yeah, fine." Noticing the concerned look from Luna, she grumbles. "It's nothing okay..." She trails off as she sees Harry crossing his arms and looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

Harry just gestures to the ground. "Now sit."

In response Nightmare narrows her eyes. "I am not a dog."

Harry gives her a look in reply. "Nightmare..."

Grumbling some, Nightmare turns away and slowly sits down with a scowl. "Better no-" She jerks a little as Harry walks up beside her and starts feeling where her wings join with the rest of her body. "What are you... uhhhh..."

What else she was going to say disappears into a groan as Harry begins to massage that area with his fingers. "Man you're tense. When was the last time you moved around like that?"

Slowly seemingly melting under his fingers (with sparks of magic coming from them), Nightmare murmurs. "Not for a long time..." Harry just rolls his eyes as she lays down, with him still working. "How *Oooo* did you get *Mmmm* so good *ahhh* at this...?"

Harry just snorts. "Luna. Sometimes she woke up stiff so I learned to help."

Seeing that Nightmare is giving her an inquiring look, Luna flushes deeply and looks away with a small grin. "What can I say? His fingers are excellent for this type of thing..." Her lips twitch a little. "One could say that he has...'Magic Hands'." Both Harry and Nightmare groan at that causing her to smirk. "It's the truth."

Nightmare just rolls her eyes as she sighs. "So how often...?"

Luna thinks it over for a moment before shrugging. "Not that often..." She gives Harry a playful glare a moment later as he snorts. "What?"

Harry just rolls his eyes as he moves on to one of Nightmare's wings causing her to coo. "I know that you weren't actually that stiff that often you know."

Once more Luna's flushes until she looks away with a huff. "Yes, well... those fingers of yours are quite useful."

Harry's lips twitch as he smirks before faking a sob. "I knew it! You only care for me for my fingers!"

Nightmare just lazily stretches out like a cat before mumbling. "Who cares. I'll have to come here more often just for this... and make you the Royal Massager..."

Her cat-like image is completed a moment later as she begins to purr like one causing Harry to raise an eyebrow. 'Okay... she really likes this...' After a while Harry finishes up and soon lies against the still deeply relaxed Nightmare. "So... now what do we do?"

Opening her eyes. Nightmare gives him a glance. "What do you and the Little Princess normally do here?"

Luna just shrugs. "Usually we just perform discussions on magical theory, Equestrian History, maths... stuff like that." Tapping her chin, Luna sighs. "Now what are we going to talk about tonight..." Her thoughts are interrupted by Nightmare clearing her throat. "Yes?"

Nightmare cracks her neck a little before answering. "I do believe that I should handle tonight then." She then raises an eyebrow at the astonished looks before grumbling. "I did say that I would help some."

Harry sits up and looks at her. "So what are you going to teach me Nightmare?"

She gives him a raised eyebrow. "Well, seeing as the Little Princess has been teaching you spells that can affect the physical world, I on the other hoof will teach you spells that affect that which is immaterial. The mind." Seeing Harry's wide eyes, she grins. "Yes. I shall teach you the magic of illusions." She then gives him a small smile. "Can you tell me what an illusion is Harry?"

Harry blinks at the odd question. "Uh, making people see things that aren't there?" Seeing Nightmare slowly shake her head, he frowns. "Am I wrong?"

She shakes her head again. "Not... fully." She crosses her forelegs before continuing. "While making people see things is part of it. That is all it is. Not the whole thing." She smirks. "A true illusionist can ensnare the mind and senses, or affect the senses individually. They can make one feel fear for no apparent reason. One can do many things with illusions. From something as flashy as a phantasm, to something as hidden as the feeling of being watched. All these can be considered illusions..." As the night moves on, Nightmare gives an overview of illusionary magic and before they know it, Harry starts feeling tired and they go to sleep. Once they wake up in Harry's world, Nightmare takes a peek out of the curtains and sees that the sun has barely risen yet. Lips twitching, she turns to a stretching Harry. "Well now, seems that we're in luck since it's still early so we can actually get some practice in."

Stopping for a moment, Harry frowns. "How? I'm the only one up right now." He then pokes his head out the bed's curtains and sighs. "You know, I get the feeling that I'm going to hate the fact that I'm so used to getting up early that I do so automatically..."

Luna just lays there with her head propped up on one hoof. "Actually, that might be a good thing." Seeing the looks, she shrugs. "Well, you won't ever have to worry about oversleeping and missing some appointment." She then cocks her head to the side. "Though you needing less sleep is surprising."

Harry just shrugs before turning back to Nightmare. "So how am I supposed to practice then? No one else is awake here after all."

Nightmare, for her part, rolls her eyes and taps her chest with her hoof. "I'm the one that you're going to test it on Harry." Seeing the shocked look on his face, she sighs. "Harry, no matter what, your illusions are not going to affect me to any great degree and even then, I'll be easily able to break free of them. Then, having gone through them, I'll be able to tell you how to improve upon them."

Harry just gives her a look. "Are you… sure about this?"

Rolling her eyes with another sigh, she gives him a deadpan expression. "Of course I am." She then clears her throat. "The one that I am going to teach you right now is of a group of spells. They're called 'Ghost Spells' or 'Stage Spells'." She adds the bit with hoof quotes. "These are relatively simple illusionary spells sometimes used in plays as a form of sound effects. They're also used quite often in pranking." At her chuckle, both Harry and Luna give her a deadpan look causing her to roll her eyes. "Anyways… The first one we're going to practice is one used to throw your voice making it seem to come from another direction from where you are entirely…" After explaining the spell, she closes her eyes and has him perform it before shaking her head. "Hm… not a bad try, but not quite there." She has him do it a few more times until she opens her eyes. "Harry, where are you concentrating your magic?"

Clearing his throat a little, Harry shrugs. "My voice box, why?"

Nightmare just facehoofs. "Harry, it's not your throat, but rather your lips that's where the magic is focused."

Slapping himself in the forehead, Harry sighs. "I should have guessed…" Trying it again, Harry watches Nightmare. "Better?"

Opening her eyes, she nods. "Much better. You sounded like you were about a foot to the right." Seeing Harry's disbelief, she chuckles. "That is in fact quite good Harry. For the amount of time you've spent on it that is." She then notes the sounds coming from the other beds. "Anyways, your room mates are waking so it is time to head down to breakfast…" Hopping onto Harry's shoulder, she taps the side of his head. "Well? Aren't we heading out now?" Shaking his head in amusement, Harry heads out of the dorm and towards the Great Hall for breakfast…

---

Grumbling from her spot on Tonks' shoulder, Nightmare snarls. "I can't believe that, that old hag is preventing me from going with Harry."

Hearing this, Tonks rolls her eyes before glancing at her. "She is doing it for a reason you know."

Glaring, Nightmare huffs at her. "And her reasoning is flawed as I do not see me as being disruptive in her classes." Her glare increases as she sees Tonks' amused look. "What?"

Lips twitching, Tonks shakes her head. "Nothing. Nothing at all." Tonks then rolls her eyes. "You're lucky that I'm heading this way anyways to my first class."

Nightmare raises an eyebrow. "You're first class?"

Tonks simply nods. "Yup. Ancient Runes. Don't really need it to be an Auror, but it should help if I ever need it."

Nightmare cocks her head to the side in confusion. "Auror? And by Runes I assume you mean those old ways of writing?"

Tonks chuckles a little. "Well, to answer your first question, Aurors are... well, magical policemen. They take care of Dark Wizards and criminals." She then waves her hand. "As for Runes, yes, they're old ways of writing, but they have uses." Giving Nightmare a smirk, she continues. "Have you ever heard the old saying 'Words contain power'?"

Nightmare nods. "I have. Certain phrases can cause powerful magic. But I'm assuming that it also counts for the written word then?"

Tonks taps her on the nose much to her annoyance. "Indeed." Ignoring her growling, she continues. "A single rune, such as the one for 'Fire' can create a magical effect. For example, the one I mentioned is used in magical lighters. And if you string out the right runes in the right pattern... the possibilities can be endless. You can create traps or break them. Create powerful wards... protection spells in other words, by inscribing them onto stones. However..." She becomes serious. "Messing them up the wrong way can also have dangerous effects for the user if anything happens at all."

Nightmare nods thoughtfully. "Interesting..."

Tonks gives her an odd look before shaking her head. "Anyways, we're here."

Seeing that she's right, Nightmare jumps off Tonks' shoulder. "Thanks Pinky." She opens the painting and looks back one final time. "Oh, and lay off the tissues."

Tonks blinks as the painting closes as she tries to piece together what she meant. Suddenly, she gets it and growls as her hair goes blood red and her eyes pitch black. Twitching, she grips her wand tightly enough that it's under quite a bit of strain. "That... damn... doll!" Punching a nearby suit of armor, she gains a nasty smirk. "One of these days doll... one of these days..."

Inside the Common room, Nightmare looks around but other than a few older students on their off periods, nothing catches her interest. Suddenly, she remembers the conversation with Tonks and heads upstairs before going into the trunk. She spends the next hour jumping from one book shelf to another as she looks them over before grabbing two books, a binder filled with loose-leaf, and a pencil. Settling into her chair, she places the open binder to one side before opening "Rune Dictionary" and "Beginners Guide to Runes: Grade 1". A moment later the whole trunk lapses into silence as she begins to read, only the scratching of the pencil against the paper and the flipping of pages breaking it...