Harry Potter was so tired. He was curled up in a ball in the darkness of his cupboard alone. He had been punished recently and he had cried softly to himself so his uncle did not notice him. 'So tired…' he thought. He wished to close his eyes but he was afraid. He had been punished for sleeping before and that one was incredibly painful.
'I wish…I wish I was loved…for someone to care for me…to not be a…freak." He thought before his eyes finally closed with tears still falling down his face. He was unaware however that this one night will change his life forever.
Harry Potter had entered the land of dreams.
The boy found himself in a flower field in the arms of someone. He looked up and saw a woman with red hair and emerald eyes staring down at him with warmth he looked over with wide eyes. Harry felt a bubbling of happiness for a moment. "Mommy…" he mumbled tears in his eyes as he smiled up at them.
"Who's my baby?" The woman asked sweetly rocking the boy. "Who's my special baby?"
Harry pointed at himself with a smile.
"Oh, honey that's so sweet, if you weren't a FREAK!" she bellowed suddenly. The flowers started to decay rapidly and the nice woman's once emerald eyes where now a scary red.
Harry's eyes widened then he screamed as he was suddenly dropped to the ground harshly. "No one cares about a freak like you, so just give up." She said coldly with a dark look on her face.
"But-Momm-"
"I'm not your mother brat!" she shouted loud causing the boy to flinch. "And you will never have one!"
Harry closed his eyes tight and griped his head and cried his heart out. He was devastated by this. His uncle was right; she would never love him…she doesn't want anything to do with him!
However, before the boy could fall totally into despair a soft melody played in the wind. It was soft, soothing and filled the child with a calmness he had never felt before. He looked around with wide eyes. 'Where is pretty music coming from?'
He then saw a figure off in the distance. The figure was tall, and feminine in appearance, wearing what appeared to be a jester hat.
NiGHTS had stumbled upon another nightmare. She was used to nightmares involving large monsters and whatnot...But this nightmare? This was some serious psychological damage done to this poor boy...
When she had first entered the dream, she had seen the child interacting with what was supposedly the dream version of his mother. It was cute...But the female jester knew, from the kind of dream she had entered, that is wasn't going to last.
And when she started to turn on the little boy, NiGHTS felt a pain in her chest so great, she felt sick.
And so, she stepped in to save the day.
Harry watched with wide eyes as what he could only describe as a jester, She was dressed in a purple striped jester hat, a magenta collared vest with red and gold accents encrusted with blue diamond shaped jewels and gold star shaped buttons and had a large red jewel on its chest, white long sleeves embedded with faint gray markings along with violet and gold patterned cuffs, a pair of white gloves and tight violet overalls around the feet up with magenta and gold coloring around the feet and legs and white runes or markings on their hips/thighs.
Her arms were crossed as she hovered before the woman and the little boy her blue cat like eyes narrowed slightly. The woman staggered back and hissed at the jester. "NiGHTS!" the voice was no longer that of the woman Harry once heard, but something far worse.
"What's the matter nightmare? Afraid of little old me?" she asked.
The woman charged yet the jester was ready. With a small smirk, the being lifted in the air and paralooped the woman leaving a trail of sparkling light. With that Harry was able briefly see that the woman was not human at all but a sort of black blob with sharp teeth. It vanished within the loop.
Harry stared up at the jester who seemed to lay in the sky with a satisfied smirk. "Are you an angel?
NiGHTS blinked in surprise as she turned to look at him. She gave him a small smirk as she floated down to his level.
"Well, you're too kind." She said, ruffling his hair. "But no. I'm not an angel. I'm just...a friend, let's say."
"A friend...? Really...?" NiGHTS nodded.
"Well of course. Now, seems you had a horrible nightmare there, hmm?" Harry looked down. "Oh, don't worry. I know your mother doesn't REALLY feel that way about you!"
"B-But what if she does...?"
"There's no chance she would."
Harry felt slightly better at that as he gave her a small smile witch the jester returned. "There you go. You need to smile more you know it will stop the bad dreams from coming." She said with a wink at the boy.
Harry blushed yet he nodded his head lightly. "I'll try Miss…uh…"
The jester giggled lightly at the boy as she flew around him. "My name is NiGHTS." She said with a bow that one would do after they performed in a show. "And yours?"
"Harry…Harry Potter." He said softly causing the jester to smirk lightly.
"Well it's fitting." She said messing his hair up causing the child to pout cutely.
Harry looked around his surroundings before looking back at NiGHTS. "Uh…where am I…?" he asked not sure if he was allowed to ask.
NiGHTS smiled and picked him up. "This, little fellow, is your dream." She explained.
"But...If this is my dream, what was that little black thing?"
"Ah, that. That was a nightmare. I'm afraid those awful things just LOVE to mess around with people's happy dreams." The girl winked. "But, that IS what I'm here for, after all. I take care of those nightmares all the time."
"Really?" Harry asked.
"Oh, yes, REALLY really."
"So you're like a superhero!"
NiGHTS smirked lightly as she hummed to herself. "I suppose you could call me that."
"Wow…"
The girl chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Well, looks like that was the only nightmare around here. So…how about we have a little fun?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"What fun…?"
"Oh all kinds!" she said missing the point of his questions. "We could fly around, chase octopaws, and maybe see more dreams." She said with an excited grin.
"All you have to do…is dualize with me." She said with a wink.
"Du…Duel…"
"Du-al-iz-e!" she said wile waging her finger around before poking him on the nose causing the boy to giggle softly.
"What will that do?" he asked.
"It will allow us to become one. So we can both experience the joys of flying around." She explained lightly.
Harry thought about it before giving a hesitant nod. "O-okay."
NiGHTS smiled wide and held out her hand palm out for the boy to mimic, "Touch my hand so we can start."
Harry nodded and slowly reached up and pressed his small hand into the larger gloved hand and he felt a warmth flow through him and closed his eyes.
The pare was surrounded in a bright light. When it dimmed only NiGHTS was visible but her once blue eyes now were an emerald green.
NiGHTS felt...different. Something about her personality felt off after fusing with the boy. But...well, she was never one to dwell on such things. "Well then, off we go!" She exclaimed before taking off.
Harry, within the young woman, felt awestruck as he felt himself flying through the sky. He began to smile.
NiGHTS smiled as well. 'Now THAT'S better.' She thought, relieved that those bad feelings were gone.
"Fun, isn't it?" She commented to the boy in her chest. He gave her a happy sound of acknowledgement and she smiled in content.
Soon enough, she touched down on the ground. She felt a bit more accomplished...but the bad feelings were back...
She then decided to get to the bottom of things: she was going to dig into the boy's memories.
NiGHTS closed her eyes and dived deep into the boy's memories. She soon found herself in what looked like a neighborhood. The jester frowned slightly at this before her eyes caught the attention of a small house down the way.
It looked no different than any of the other houses, but this house sent off a deep feeling inside NiGHTS, the same sort of feelings Wiseman gave off, it was evil. Her attention snapped however when a car parked into the driveway.
She watched curiously and almost broke down laughing as she saw a giant man step out of the car. He had a scowl on his face as he marched up the stairs and into the house. The jester held back a smirk and followed him inside easily fazing through the wall.
The house was…clean. The girl looked around with a raised brow at the interior of the house. 'He gets bad feelings from here?' she thought with a frown.
"BOY!" the man shouted causing the jester to jump in surprise. The girl spun around to give the man a dirty look only to pause as she saw the little boy walk out of a small door on a set of stairs. That alone sent a pained feeling through the jester. 'What…?'
"Did you do all your chores freak?" the man asked.
NiGHTS eyes narrowed at the man. 'A freak? There's nothing wrong with him!' she shouted mentally.
The boy hesitated before shaking his head no. NiGHTS whole world stopped when she saw the big man strike the child down.
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in stunned silence as the tiny boy hit the floor with a pained squeak.
"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Vernon roared. "HOW DARE YOU?! AFTER ALL I'VE DONE FOR YOU!"
"The house looks fine!" NiGHTS shouted, fists clenched in anger. "Leave him alone!"
But she knew it was pointless. She could only watch helplessly as the fat man picked the boy up and dragged him out of the room. 'Where are you taking him...?' She thought.
She looked into the room he dragged him in to see a kitchen. The stove was on, and the boy's hand was pressed firmly against the burners.
"You cook dinner, and YOU COOK IT RIGHT!" The fat man roared.
NiGHTS covered her mouth in shock her eyes wide and shaking. The big man let the kid go who jumped back from the burners clutching his burnt hand. The big man struck him again and walked out of the room. "NOT A SOUND OUT OF YOU TILL IT'S DONE!"
NiGHTS approached the child slowly. She hovered over him to see him holding his hand and whimpering. She tried to reach out for him but her hand passed right through. That alone struck her the hardest. She couldn't help him He was in pain and she could do nothing.
She shut her eyes tight as a strange feeling started to overcome the girl. Her chest hurt and it pained her greatly to see this child in pain. The sound of pots and pans moving made her open her eyes to see the child making dinner and it pained her once again to see this.
'This is wrong…this is wrong!'
On the outside tears dropped down the jester's eyes and the young boy could feel her sorrow over something. He did not know what but it made him sad to see his new friend sad. He felt a tug in his gut and the jester's eyes opened wide her eyes glowing brightly and soon they were both gone in a loud 'CRACK'
Suddenly, they found themselves in a dark space. NiGHTS tried to hover, only to hit her head against a ceiling. "Ouch!" She muttered.
"N-NiGHTS...?" She tensed up at the sound of Harry's voice.
"Harry? You're here?" She felt something move closer to her.
"Uh-huh..." Came his tiny, weak voice. She felt a small pair of arms wrap around her. "Don't be sad anymore...It makes me sad..."
The girl blinked in confusion for a second before the memories she saw from the boy returned full force and she smiled down sadly at the small boy. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. "Sorry Harry." She said softly in his ear.
The boy nuzzled into her arms and nodded. "It's okay." He mumbled softly.
NiGHTS leaned agents the wall of the small room they were in she looked around with a raised eyebrow. "Where are we?" she asked as she absently ran her gloved hand through the boy's hair.
"My cupboard." The boy whispered.
NiGHTS was confused at first before an image of the boy waking out of that little door under the stares flashed before her that she grew sad and angry.
"Your sad again." He said with a frown.
The jester looked down at the child and let out a soft sigh. "No…well that's not true is it." She mumbled to herself. "I'm upset that you are hurt Harry." She said with a frown.
Harry blinked at her and tilted his head. "Why…I'm supposed to get hurt."
NiGHTS felt that pain in her chest again and she held him closer to her. "No you don't."
Harry stared at her with confused eyes. "But I'm a-"
"An amazing little boy." She said softly.
Harry's eyes grew wide at that. "I…am?"
"I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO HERE ANY NOISE BOY!" a loud voice bellowed interrupting NiGHTS before could answer, causing the boy to stiffen in fear. The jester's eyes narrowed and started to bang on the side of the wall loudly causing the boy to stare at her with horror.
Vernon was livid as he heard loud pounding on the wall. 'So the freak is feeling rebellious huh?! I' LL SHOW HIM HIS PLACE!' The large man stomped his way over the cupboard and swung open the door.
Only to be kicked in the face!
"And how are we today, chunky?" NiGHTS asked smugly, floating out of the cupboard before standing on the obese man with her arms crossed. "Feeling a little down at the moment, are we?"
"W-What in blazes...?" Vernon grumbled, pushing himself up.
"Weren't expecting karma to come back and bite you, hmm?" NiGHTS said, tilting her head.
"What the bloody hell are you?!"
"Oh, that's not important." NiGHTS waved her hand dismissively. "What's important is that I give you what you deserve."
"What-" And she kicked him right where the sun don't shine.
"AHHHHHH." The men bellowed in soprano as he grabbed his lower region in pain.
NiGHTS smirked down at him. "Oh, did that hurt?" she asked in a fake sympathetic tone.
"You-Who-FREAK!" he bellowed his voice much lighter than before.
The jester's eyes narrowed slightly as she kicked him once more time sending him sliding down the hall and into a wall with a thud. "Let's have some fun chunky" she asked floating after him.
Harry watched with wide eyes. She was fighting his uncle. She was…doing what he did to him all the time. He frowned softly and ran after the colorful jester.
NiGHTS had got to the man and had lifted him up with surprising strength. She cocked her fist back and closed one eyes. 'Aiming…aiming…aiming.' She threw her fist and impacted the man hard sending him further into the house. "BULLSEYE!" she shouted with a cheer.
She followed where he landed to see a woman and a beach ball like boy standing over the down man. NiGHTS smirked and cracked her knuckles lightly getting the two's attention. Their eyes widened as the took a step back at the strange jester. "So…who's next?"
They would be saved however when Harry grabbed the girl by the soul of her foot and tugged it to get her attention. NiGHTS looked down with a cocked eyebrow. "Yes?"
"P-Please stop." He said softly.
NiGHTS tilted her head. "Stop? Oh, I'm not going to kill them! I'm just gonna...rough them up a little."
"But I don't want you to rough them up a little..." Harry insisted softly. NiGHTS frowned and touched down on the ground, kneeling to his level.
"You're sure? After all they did to you? You still care enough about them to not want me to give them what they've been asking for?"
"Th-They don't wanna be hurt...So please don't do it." NiGHTS' shoulders sagged. Then she smiled.
"Well, all right." She picked him up gently and held him out to the Dursleys. "You're seeing this, right?" She said sternly. "Even after all the rotten stuff you did to him, he STILL doesn't want me to hurt you! Do you still hate him? And don't you DARE lie to me!"
Petunia looked impassive as she stared at the boy who was flinching back at her look. "Does it matter?" she asked the jester. "A freak like him doesn't deserve love, he never doses and he never will." She said almost mimicking word for word what the child's nightmare said to him.
"He's doing his job." The big man said now standing up but was still out of breath. "The freak knows his place, he knows there's no one else that will ever take him in, no one that will help him. We provide shelter and the only family he has…he knows that there nowhere on this earth for a freak like him" The big man said back with a dark smirk.
The boy however looked thoughtful as he stared at Harry with wide eyes. He was raised to think of Harry as a freak of nature yet when he stood up to defend them from the actually cool looking jester he was having second thoughts.
"Why should we care for a piece of property?" Vernon continued. "No one cares about freaks anyway, and since we are a LOVING family we have taken it upon ourselves to beat the freakishness out of the brat."
"Now that we told you that out of the greatness of our own hearts, LET IT DOWN AND GET OUT!" he bellowed.
NiGHTS stared at the man, feeling ugly, horrible emotions she REALLY wanted to get off her chest. She looked to Harry pleadingly.
"PLEASE just ONE more?" She requested. Harry looked down in defeat.
"I...I...Okay..." NiGHTS smirked and kicked Vernon through a wall, before punching Petunia through the roof. She turned to Dudley and patted his head.
"Be a good boy, will you?" She said. "Don't take after your parents." She flew into the room Vernon had ended up in, hands on her hips. "So, no one will take him in, hmm?" She asked viciously. "Well, you know what? I think I'LL take him, thank you very much! And I'LL actually give him the treatment he DESERVES!" Vernon was too terrified to say anything more to the woman, backing up against the wall.
"Please...PLEASE go..."
NiGHTS smirked down at him and mocked bowed. "As you wish…monster." She said darkly. She floated back into the room and lifted up Harry and held him close in a hug. "Thank you!" she said with a grin.
Harry only nodded slightly not fully understanding why he was being thanked. NiGHTS smiled softly at him then turned to the other boy and frowned slightly at him.
"I can call the police…they take bad people away right?" he asked.
The woman smiled and nodded at the boy. "You do that. I'm taking this one home…home…ho-" The jesters eyes seemed to dilate as she finally realized exactly where she was. She was in the real world…she was not in a dream this was reality…
Harry and Dudley watched her with worried eyes as the woman seemed to stiffen slightly. "Ms. Nights?" he asked softly.
"Home…home…home…real…world…how…need…" she mumbled. Harry felt his concern grow as he jumped up and wrapped his arms around her neck. The girl staggered back spinning in the air before righting herself with swirly eyes. "Oh…why is the room spinning?" she asked.
"Ms. Nights?" the soft voice snapped the girl out of her dizziness as she looked down at him.
"Harry? Uh…I don't know how to get home."