Okay, If you have no idea what the story of The Nutcracker is, I suggest that you Google it right now other wise this chapter is going to seriously confuse you.

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING

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Another awkward Christmas Eve in my family had finally came and went. That was how my family usually was during Christmas, There was a ton of family chaos like you saw in Home Alone or something but without all the kids. I was the last kid left in the family, all of my cousins were in their 20's or 30's but I had no kids or teenagers to talk to at these family gatherings. It made pretty dull holidays.

It was nice to be given presents and to give them out but I would trade it all to have a decent holiday with my family for once. See all of them actually happy with themselves. I went to bed that night with thoughts of Danny in my head. I put on the qudditch shirt he got me. Having something special a person gave you was almost like having them close by. He was probably having a good time celebrating with his family and the boys right now. Picturing his smile made me happy as I drifted off to sleep...

In my dream I was at the Christmas Eve party again. I was surrounded with my family, but then again not. It was them alright, but a different version of them. They were all happy and smiling, and some of them looked younger too. They were all dancing and being lively. I even saw a bunch of children and teenagers that looked similar to me. "Look, its all my cousins!" I thought. The dream was starting to become a reality to me. The children were all paying games and sharing their new toys with each other. A group of female cousins approached me that were my age. When they each gave me a hug I noticed that they looked like me. "Oh, there they are. They're like sisters to me." We all began to chat up a storm. At the time, I didn't have a clue that all these people were fake and that most of these cousins weren't even real. "I love your dress!" One of them said. She looked like Mia. Looking back on it, it would be nice if she and I were related, we felt like sisters enough. I looked down and found I was wearing a dress with maroon fabric and gold detail. My shoes were gold ballet flats. It was as though my qudditch sweater had been transformed into a beautiful dress.

Uncle Richard entered the house and I went to greet him. He looked younger, healthier, and happier. "Merry Christmas!" I said to him. Across the room I saw Aunt Sohpie and Uncle Mike exchange a kiss. I never saw them do that in my entire life. "Why is this starting to feel strange to me?" I let the thought go. I just had to enjoy the night. "For you." Uncle Richard said. He handed me a plushie of a boy. "I crafted it myself." He said to me. The plushie was a boy with dark silky hair and piercing blue-green eyes. If they were any shinier, he would have to make the eyes from emeralds. The plushie boy wore a suit of armor with a shield and sword made from felt. He was my little knight in shinning armor. I thanked him for the doll. "Aren't I too old for dolls?" I thought. None of the family was scolding or teasing me for it. "Too old for dolls? Yeah right!"

I showed the other girls my gift. No one was jealous or mad that I got such a nice present. And for some reason it was another thing about the party I found peculiar. I took another look at the doll. It felt like...it was made after a person I knew. Before I could let it bother me too much I watched as Uncle Richard performed small magic tricks for the children and adults. He took a small break and brought out a few more dolls and placed them on the dinning table. These dolls were different from the one he gave me. They weren't plushies, they were made from metal, and worked like wind up toys. He turned the key of all four dolls and they began to dance around on the table. I had never seen such an interesting display before.

The next thing I knew the party was over and it was time for me to sleep. Everyone but the plushie and mechanical toys had suddenly disappeared. I layed down on the couch and curled up. I found it difficult to sleep at the time. After what felt like a few hours of trying to sleep I heard some squeaking noise. I looked over at the mechanical dolls to see if they started dancing again, but they all stayed still. I checked the sink to see if it was dripping, but the tap was off. When I went back to the living room I found the source of the noise on the floor. "Rat!" I almost screamed. I stood on the couch and waited for it too leave since I had nothing to kill or contain it in. I looked down at the rat, it was one of the ugliest rats I had ever seen. Way worse than a real rat. The clock on the wall rang because it was midnight. When the ringing started, the rat grew, and the furniture began to shrink. "Okay, I'm starting to think this is a dream." In most dreams I was usually aware of the fact that it was a dream, but until now I was oblivious. I watched as the couch I was standing on became as big as a house. I turned to the Christmas tree, which was getting bigger and bigger by the minute. "This is reminding me of some story."

When everything stopped changing in size, the tree was as large as a monument, and I was so small I could drown in a glass of water. I felt something hit the back of my head and since I was on the edge of the couch cushion, fell off. Landing on the ground wasn't hard since the carpet was soft. The object that hit me fell next to me. "A Christmas candy?" I looked up and saw the rat, the horrible rat with...multiple heads? No wonder it looked so ugly before. On top of the heads were a crown. I remembered what this story was now. I was in the Nutcracker, but this dream turned nightmare felt too real. The faces of these heads were quite familiar. Mike, Sophie, Samuel, Olivia, Stacy, Spencer, Heather, and Kate; the people who got in the way of my dreams were the Mouse King. The heads laughed as they pulled out a sword.

Before I was stabbed a knight in shining armor lifted his shield and blocked the attack. I looked over to where my plushie doll sat but it was gone. The knight turned to help me up. He had the same dark silky hair and piercing blue-green eyes. "Danny!" I said. "Run!" He shouted to me. We both took cover under the Christmas tree before getting hit by another candy. On the coffee table and shelves mice were shooting candy out of toy cannons and reloading from candy dishes. The living room started swarming with mice soldiers and began to march toward us. "Is there too many for you to fight off?" I asked Danny. He stepped forward with his sword ready. "Start climbing the branches." He said. I didn't want to leave him there but the mice were ready to attack us.

I heard another cannon shot, and this time a mouse soldier was hit. On the mantle of the fireplace were three toy soldiers with a toy cannon. They were Dougie, Tom, and Harry in toy soldier uniform. I started climbing up the first branch. I was still close by but hiding in the tree. While Danny started to battle the Mouse King one-on-one, Harry, Dougie, an Tom started firing the candy cannon at the mouse army. "Happy Christmas, you sneaky little f*cks!" Dougie yelled at them. The tree started shaking and I noticed that some rats were cutting the tree down! I clung to an ornament to keep myself from falling. This gave me the idea to start dropping ornaments on the mice. It was a little difficult to push off considering my new height but they managed to fall on each of the mouses' heads and shatter, leaving them knocked out.

I climb down the tree now that it's safe. There are more toy soldiers other than the three on the mantle. The living room is the battle field for a war between toys and mice. The mechanical dolls that danced at the party are bringing in more cannons. The mechanical dolls danced around the mice, dodging and avoiding every attack with a quick move. Now I was on the ground, and watched while my knight in shinning armor got weaker as the heads of the Mouse King all laughed. Instinctively, I took off one of my gold ballet slippers and threw it at the back of the Mouse King's head. "Don't you dare hurt him!" I said. The Mouse King turned to me and each of his heads gave me a nasty glare. It was the glare Stacy gave me in the hallways at school, the look Aunt Sophie and Uncle Mike gave me when I introduced Danny and the rest of the "Rat Pack," as Mike called it. And now that I thought about it, there was so much irony in that.

Danny took the chance while the Mouse King wasn't looking and stabbed him with his sword. As the Mouse King finally died he faded until he was no longer existing. The two armies quit fighting to witness the death of a leader. The rats began to retreat, leaving the living room until all that remained were us, the mechanical dolls, and the toy soldiers. The clock struck again and it was 1:00 o'clock. On the top of the clock stood Uncle Richard, and he was as tall as we were. "Congratulations, and Merry Christmas brave soldiers. Because of your efforts the Mouse King is dead and the mice are no longer a threat to us. Let us go to the Land of Sweets and tell our people we no longer have anything to fear." He stepped off the clock and clapped his hands three times. The living room was now a ballroom of a palace. He had transported us there by magic. The ballroom was filled with people who were dressed in outfits made of candy.

Standing near a throne was a girl dressed as a fairy. She looked a lot like Mia. "We have great news for the land your majesty." Uncle Richard said. Danny stepped forward. "Queen Sugar Plum, at midnight my army and I successfully defeated the Mouse King and his mice. Our kingdom is now safe from harm's way." The crowd of people began to cheer and applaud. "Today we feast and celebrate our Kingdom's victory and the holiday of Christmas. Good tidings to everyone." The Sugar Plum fairy said. Music began to play as people danced and entertained. I saw Harry and the Sugar Plum Fairy dance several times. If we weren't dancing we ate the best sweets you could imagine. Instead of music, I began to hear my phone ringing.

I finally woke up and my phone was ringing with a call from Danny. I answered it. "Merry Christmas, Love!" I heard him say. "Hey, Merry Christmas." I told him. "Did I just wake you up?" He asked. I sometimes forgot he was a few hours ahead of me. "Yeah, I was having a good dream but that's okay. You were in it actually." I said. "Okay, what was it about." I heard a hint of laughter in his voice. "You've heard of the nutcracker, right?" I asked him.

After explaining what happened in the dream, Danny seemed pretty amused. "So Richard was Dorisl, uh, Dorsal fin..." "Dorsselmeyer." I clarified. "That's quite a dream." He said. "How has Christmas for your family?" I asked him. "Good. I also got to see the guys yesterday." He told me.