A/N: 25 chapters! Hooray! And a significant chapter number deserves a longer chapter, so here it is!

Chapter 25: The Second Night of Fear

That night, everyone who had chosen Dimensional Magic cast the Mists of Morpheus on themselves. Everyone else queued up in the Great Hall and was given a dose of Dreamless Sleep by Madam Pomfrey, while Professor Heyerdahl brewed some more in a cauldron that could have easily doubled as a tea urn. Eventually, all the staff and students went to bed hoping for a peaceful night's rest. All except for Professor Strange.

Stephen was preparing for a fight. The last time he encountered Nightmare, he had crafted a spell that transferred the nightmares of the approximate four billion people sleeping on Earth at the time to himself, and survived them. There had been clowns. Lots and lots of clowns. But even the collective fears of half the world's population paled in comparison to the being that could trap you inside your own subconscious, and have you not even realise it. Even for him, it had taken the assistance of Wong and his one-time librarian Zelma dreaming themselves into his nightmare and altering it by their presence.

It was clear to Stephen that going to the Dream Dimension would be extremely dangerous. He couldn't exactly just sling ring there, given his current location. Even if he left Hogwarts, there was a chance he wouldn't be coming back. So he had to level the playing field a bit, or tilt it in his favour. If he couldn't go to Nightmare, Nightmare would come to him. Stephen was out in the cold and dark, on the Hogwarts lawn. He was building a trap, layering spells on top of physical glyphs he'd etched into the soil with a shovel. Crimson Bands of Cyttorak? Check. Nirvalonic Sphere? Check. Mandala of Dimensional Anchoring? Check. Verbal trigger? Check.

After a further twenty-five minutes of preparation, he was ready. Now came the hard part. Opening a sling portal to the Dream Dimension, Stephen projected his astral self, but modified it with a Kaballic Golem spell. The lumps of soil he'd dug out flew together and formed into a copy of his physical body. His astral form settled into the golem and walked it through the portal.

In the Dream Dimension, it did not take a long time to find Nightmare. But then, a "long time" isn't really applicable to a dimension which doesn't experience linear time as the material world does. Nightmare was astride his black unicorn, and bore an expression of fury upon his face. "As usual, it appears you do have a death wish, Doctor. In every single encounter we have had, you have employed trickery to escape my vengeance for intruding upon my realm. But this ends now. I have grown tired of pursuing you. Now, I simply wish you dead."

Stephen had been expecting this. "Never have I intruded upon your realm, Nightmare, save when it had been necessary to aid another. But I agree, our long standing conflict must come to an end. Therefore, I suggest we fight for the right of continued existence. However, you have thrown the first punch by attacking those I have a duty of care to. Or do you expect me to believe that four hundred children all had bad dreams on the same night, in the same location, by sheer coincidence?"

Stephen had been counting on his response to drive Nightmare over the edge, and from the foam frothing at his mouth, it appeared he had succeded. "Enough talk! This ends now, Doctor Strange!" Forming a wicked lance from the air, Nightmare spurred his steed into a charge. Stephen had planned for this - Nightmare's anger was clouding his perceptions: he had not noticed that Stephen was not truthfully physically in front of him. Assisted by the Cloak of Levitation, Stephen's golem flew back towards the sling portal. Glancing back occasionally, he saw that Nightmare was following him as per the plan.

On reaching the portal, the golem passed through it and Stephen vacated the golem in the middle of the trap, reverting it to a pile of soil. Now back in his true body, he was ready when Nightmare emerged from the portal, and he then spoke two words. "Night, night." Immediately, the portal snapped shut, and the dozens of spells Stephen had prepared activated, holding Nightmare in midair, his steed having disappeared.

Nightmare screamed in rage and frustration, but Stephen was having none of it. "Every time we've fought, Nighty, you've had the home field advantage. But no more. No dreams for you to access here, on my turf. Welcome to a dimension with linear time. Now you're going to get tired. Now you'll sleep. Now you'll have the nightmares. I wonder, what you'll dream about? Oh, that's right. ME. I'm Stephen Strange. I'm the Sorcerer Supreme. I'm your worst nightmare." Stephen treated Nightmare to the grin of one who knows his prisoner is utterly terrified of him, before whispering "Sweet dreams."

Nightmare's screams grew in volume and intensity, but eventually dwindled to nothing, as the last spell in the trap worked its effect on him. His body disintegrated into motes of dust, which merged with the pile of soil while keeping his mind intact. When Stephen was sure that the spell had finished, he picked up the shovel and transferred the dirt into a large jar. He then sealed the lid and cast a number of protective spells on the jar to prevent it breaking or being opened, and walked back into the castle singing a strange little song he'd heard in one of his rare glimpses of the future: "I've got a jar of dirt, I've got a jar of dirt, I've got a jar of dirt, and guess what's inside it!"

A/N 2: Thanks to all those lovely people who've suggested plot ideas! Now, I need your assistance again. Obviously, Sirius is going to get out of Azkaban at some point, but that will most likely be closer to a Hogwarts break. I plan for Stephen to be "tried" by the Wizengamot at some point as well, and a certain Mr Murdock will be involved.

A Mr Blaze might show up for a staring contest as well.

Now, what direction do you, my discerning readership, want me to take for the next few (or more!) chapters? Do you want me to:

Focus on Harry? Note: This will not involve him discovering the existence of girls. He's 12, he hasn't started thinking about that yet!

Focus on Dudley at Kamar-Taj?

Focus on Stephen?

Stop writing this story for a while and write "The Snake becomes a Lion", as I asked a couple of chapters ago?