Categories > Books > Harry Potter > The Nightmare Before Hogwarts
The Nightmare Before Hogwarts
By: USA Tiger
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling. The Nightmare Before Christmas is the property of Touchstone/Disney and Tim Burton. Corpse Bride is also the property of Tim Burton and Warner Bros. Pictures. /Beetlejuice /is also property of Tim Burton.
Edit 5-10-18: This chapter has now been betaed by The Patient One.
Chapter 4
“Stay here?” Harry repeated. Then he squeaked in surprise as Jack easily picked him up, holding him up with one skinny boney arm while the other wildly gestured. Harry clung to Jack as the Pumpkin King was very tall and he was very small and very far from the ground right now.
“Of course!” Jack said. “You’ll love it here. Helgamine and Zeldaborne agreed to teach you spells and the other children will show you all the best places to jump out and scare people!”
“Jack, I…” Sally started to protest but the words died in her throat as her heart and mind warred against each other. What she reasoned typically harmonized with what she felt, but this time, while the rational side of Sally knew they should find a way to send Harry home, something deep in Sally’s gut said that that was the wrong to do.
Sally was no expert on human children and had never claimed to be. She knew no more about them than anyone else in the town, maybe even less since she didn’t join in scaring humans. But she didn’t think humans were supposed to be skin and bones like Harry was. She could also see cuts and bruises on his arms, and his clothing was in such bad shape that no one in Halloween Town would wear them, not even the corpse family, and they were much too big on Harry to boot!
And then there was the comment Harry made about the cupboard… Sally bit her bottom lip in worry. Something wasn’t right, and that feeling was so strong that she couldn’t bring herself to disagree with Jack about having Harry live in Halloween Town…but at the same time, she was sure they weren’t the ones to try to raise him either.
She refocused on the others in the room; Jack was still telling Harry everything about Halloween Town, and Harry was listening intently, his eyes wide in shock, but also curiosity and even a little excitement. But as he yawned widely, one hand over his mouth, she could see how tired he was. Little children weren’t meant to stay up this late, she knew that much. This she could fix right now.
“Jack… maybe you should slow down for now,” Sally said as she plucked Harry from Jack’s arms. “I think he needs sleep more than he needs to hear your plans.”
Jack paused and took a good look at the tiny human. He saw immediately that Sally was right; the tiny human did look tired and there would be plenty of time later to introduce Harry to his new home.
“Put him in my bed then,” Jack nodded.
Harry laid his head on Sally’s shoulder as he was carried up a creaky spiral staircase and over to a black wire frame bed. Harry’s first thought was that the mattress was much softer than his thin one back in the cupboard. Zero curled up in his doggy bed by Jack’s bed, keeping watch over the tiny human as he drifted to sleep. Jack lit a fire going in the fireplace to keep Harry warm then followed Sally back downstairs.
As Harry’s eyes closed, he suddenly wondered if this was all just a strange dream.
“Jack, I don’t think you will be able to keep Harry,” Sally said her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself.
“Nonsense, Harry will fit in just fine. He’s a little witch, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t stay,” Jack said waving off her concerns. “Hmm… I wonder if male witches are still called witches?”
“He’s still a human, Jack!” Sally said. “What do we feed him? What do little human children need? I don’t think you thought this through; you’re not equipped to raise a human. I don’t think any of us in the town are.”
Jack gave a little sigh, he had promised himself he would listen more to Sally’s advise, the beautiful ragdoll always seem to have more sense than others.
“You don’t really want to send him back, do you?” Jack said. Sally gave a sigh of her own and sat down, her chin resting in her hands.
“That’s just it, Jack, I don’t think he should be sent back to his relatives… I got an awful feeling when he talked about them. He seemed scared of his aunt and uncle. And he’s so small and skinny, I don’t think humans are supposed to look like that.”
Then a thought popped into Sally’s head. While not all, a good portion of the citizens of Halloween Town had been humans once, Jack included. It had been a very long time ago, so long that she didn’t know of any that remembered their human lives. Sally wasn’t included in this as she was a creation of Dr. Finkelstein, the town’s mad scientist, so she had been ‘born’ in Halloween Town. But considering that…
“Jack, what about his parents?” Sally asked.
“What do you mean, Sally?” Jack asked in confusion.
“Harry told me his parents are dead,” Sally explained. “Do you think maybe they can be brought here? If anyone knows what Harry needs, it should be them, shouldn’t it?” Jack blinked his eye sockets then grinned widely.
“What an excellent idea, Sally!” Jack said as he turned to head out the door. “I bet Grim can take me to the Land of the Dead.”
“Jack!” Sally stood up and snagged his arm. Jack stopped and looked at her confused making Sally laugh softly. “Don’t you think you should wait? You don’t even know what his parents’ names are.”
“You have a point,” Jack agreed. “It can wait until tomorrow then.”
****
Meanwhile in the human world, Vernon and Petunia Dursley returned home with Dudley.
“Head upstairs, Popkins, and take off your costume,” Petunia said.
“I want to wear it to bed,” Dudley protested as he clutched his bag of candy close to his chest. Petunia sighed then smile.
“Alright, Dudders,” she cooed as she soothed back his hair. “You can wear it just for tonight. But you still need to head up to bed. You have school tomorrow.” Dudley didn’t argue further with his mother; all of that walking had tired him out, after all. He headed up the stairs, stopping in the middle to jump a couple of times and knock dust and maybe some spiders onto his freak of a cousin. Neither of his parents scolded or stopped him from doing this, and Dudley grinned at any misery he could give his cousin. He couldn’t wait to gloat about how much candy he got and how Harry wouldn’t get any!
Neither Vernon nor Petunia paid any attention to the cupboard under the stairs as they went about their night, as far as they were concerned the boy was locked away and wouldn’t cause any trouble. When they went to sleep that night they were perfectly at ease.
The next morning, Petunia woke before her husband and son, something she did every morning. She rose from her bed, entered the bathroom and took her morning shower. Afterward she got ready for the day, dressing in her simple, normal, yet smart-looking dress, applied a bit of makeup, and then headed downstairs to the kitchen.
She began to prepare breakfast for her beloved family, Dudley needed a large breakfast to grow into a strapping young man and Vernon would soon be down for his morning cup of coffee. After a few minutes, Petunia left pan on the stove heating up so she could go out into the entryway and unlock the cupboard door.
“Up, boy,” she said as she knocked against the door. “You’re to watch the bacon.” Petunia trusted her nephew to join her soon as she re-entered the kitchen. But after a few minutes Harry hadn’t appeared and Petunia frowned in anger.
“Boy!” Petunia snapped, stepping back out into the entryway and seeing the door on the cupboard still closed.
“What’s the matter Pet?” Vernon asked as he came down the stairs, his hands working on tying his tie.
“That lazy boy,” Petunia said as she stomped over to the cupboard, grabbing the handle and yanking the door open. Behind her Vernon’s face reddened in anger, and then paled as Petunia gasped.
“Vernon, he’s gone!”
By: USA Tiger
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling. The Nightmare Before Christmas is the property of Touchstone/Disney and Tim Burton. Corpse Bride is also the property of Tim Burton and Warner Bros. Pictures. /Beetlejuice /is also property of Tim Burton.
Edit 5-10-18: This chapter has now been betaed by The Patient One.
Chapter 4
“Stay here?” Harry repeated. Then he squeaked in surprise as Jack easily picked him up, holding him up with one skinny boney arm while the other wildly gestured. Harry clung to Jack as the Pumpkin King was very tall and he was very small and very far from the ground right now.
“Of course!” Jack said. “You’ll love it here. Helgamine and Zeldaborne agreed to teach you spells and the other children will show you all the best places to jump out and scare people!”
“Jack, I…” Sally started to protest but the words died in her throat as her heart and mind warred against each other. What she reasoned typically harmonized with what she felt, but this time, while the rational side of Sally knew they should find a way to send Harry home, something deep in Sally’s gut said that that was the wrong to do.
Sally was no expert on human children and had never claimed to be. She knew no more about them than anyone else in the town, maybe even less since she didn’t join in scaring humans. But she didn’t think humans were supposed to be skin and bones like Harry was. She could also see cuts and bruises on his arms, and his clothing was in such bad shape that no one in Halloween Town would wear them, not even the corpse family, and they were much too big on Harry to boot!
And then there was the comment Harry made about the cupboard… Sally bit her bottom lip in worry. Something wasn’t right, and that feeling was so strong that she couldn’t bring herself to disagree with Jack about having Harry live in Halloween Town…but at the same time, she was sure they weren’t the ones to try to raise him either.
She refocused on the others in the room; Jack was still telling Harry everything about Halloween Town, and Harry was listening intently, his eyes wide in shock, but also curiosity and even a little excitement. But as he yawned widely, one hand over his mouth, she could see how tired he was. Little children weren’t meant to stay up this late, she knew that much. This she could fix right now.
“Jack… maybe you should slow down for now,” Sally said as she plucked Harry from Jack’s arms. “I think he needs sleep more than he needs to hear your plans.”
Jack paused and took a good look at the tiny human. He saw immediately that Sally was right; the tiny human did look tired and there would be plenty of time later to introduce Harry to his new home.
“Put him in my bed then,” Jack nodded.
Harry laid his head on Sally’s shoulder as he was carried up a creaky spiral staircase and over to a black wire frame bed. Harry’s first thought was that the mattress was much softer than his thin one back in the cupboard. Zero curled up in his doggy bed by Jack’s bed, keeping watch over the tiny human as he drifted to sleep. Jack lit a fire going in the fireplace to keep Harry warm then followed Sally back downstairs.
As Harry’s eyes closed, he suddenly wondered if this was all just a strange dream.
“Jack, I don’t think you will be able to keep Harry,” Sally said her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself.
“Nonsense, Harry will fit in just fine. He’s a little witch, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t stay,” Jack said waving off her concerns. “Hmm… I wonder if male witches are still called witches?”
“He’s still a human, Jack!” Sally said. “What do we feed him? What do little human children need? I don’t think you thought this through; you’re not equipped to raise a human. I don’t think any of us in the town are.”
Jack gave a little sigh, he had promised himself he would listen more to Sally’s advise, the beautiful ragdoll always seem to have more sense than others.
“You don’t really want to send him back, do you?” Jack said. Sally gave a sigh of her own and sat down, her chin resting in her hands.
“That’s just it, Jack, I don’t think he should be sent back to his relatives… I got an awful feeling when he talked about them. He seemed scared of his aunt and uncle. And he’s so small and skinny, I don’t think humans are supposed to look like that.”
Then a thought popped into Sally’s head. While not all, a good portion of the citizens of Halloween Town had been humans once, Jack included. It had been a very long time ago, so long that she didn’t know of any that remembered their human lives. Sally wasn’t included in this as she was a creation of Dr. Finkelstein, the town’s mad scientist, so she had been ‘born’ in Halloween Town. But considering that…
“Jack, what about his parents?” Sally asked.
“What do you mean, Sally?” Jack asked in confusion.
“Harry told me his parents are dead,” Sally explained. “Do you think maybe they can be brought here? If anyone knows what Harry needs, it should be them, shouldn’t it?” Jack blinked his eye sockets then grinned widely.
“What an excellent idea, Sally!” Jack said as he turned to head out the door. “I bet Grim can take me to the Land of the Dead.”
“Jack!” Sally stood up and snagged his arm. Jack stopped and looked at her confused making Sally laugh softly. “Don’t you think you should wait? You don’t even know what his parents’ names are.”
“You have a point,” Jack agreed. “It can wait until tomorrow then.”
****
Meanwhile in the human world, Vernon and Petunia Dursley returned home with Dudley.
“Head upstairs, Popkins, and take off your costume,” Petunia said.
“I want to wear it to bed,” Dudley protested as he clutched his bag of candy close to his chest. Petunia sighed then smile.
“Alright, Dudders,” she cooed as she soothed back his hair. “You can wear it just for tonight. But you still need to head up to bed. You have school tomorrow.” Dudley didn’t argue further with his mother; all of that walking had tired him out, after all. He headed up the stairs, stopping in the middle to jump a couple of times and knock dust and maybe some spiders onto his freak of a cousin. Neither of his parents scolded or stopped him from doing this, and Dudley grinned at any misery he could give his cousin. He couldn’t wait to gloat about how much candy he got and how Harry wouldn’t get any!
Neither Vernon nor Petunia paid any attention to the cupboard under the stairs as they went about their night, as far as they were concerned the boy was locked away and wouldn’t cause any trouble. When they went to sleep that night they were perfectly at ease.
The next morning, Petunia woke before her husband and son, something she did every morning. She rose from her bed, entered the bathroom and took her morning shower. Afterward she got ready for the day, dressing in her simple, normal, yet smart-looking dress, applied a bit of makeup, and then headed downstairs to the kitchen.
She began to prepare breakfast for her beloved family, Dudley needed a large breakfast to grow into a strapping young man and Vernon would soon be down for his morning cup of coffee. After a few minutes, Petunia left pan on the stove heating up so she could go out into the entryway and unlock the cupboard door.
“Up, boy,” she said as she knocked against the door. “You’re to watch the bacon.” Petunia trusted her nephew to join her soon as she re-entered the kitchen. But after a few minutes Harry hadn’t appeared and Petunia frowned in anger.
“Boy!” Petunia snapped, stepping back out into the entryway and seeing the door on the cupboard still closed.
“What’s the matter Pet?” Vernon asked as he came down the stairs, his hands working on tying his tie.
“That lazy boy,” Petunia said as she stomped over to the cupboard, grabbing the handle and yanking the door open. Behind her Vernon’s face reddened in anger, and then paled as Petunia gasped.
“Vernon, he’s gone!”
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