The Nightmare Man

Chapter Two

It took a minute or two for the man to actually move from the stone chair, and then it was wobbly at best. The arms barely supported him and the legs nearly folded beneath his weight. He hadn't stood for so many years. Joints popped and burned as he began to move around. Numbness took over, pins and needles assaulting his fingers and legs. He shook and stretched the fingers and wriggled the toes.

Finally he stretched the whole body. It shuddered with cracks of unused bones and joints. Long forgotten muscles pulled and hurt in a good way and finally he stood still, upright. One last crack of his neck and then he said:

"That felt good."

Then he bent to scratch at his leg with a look of bliss overtaking his face.

"Oh, that's even better..."

The man flexed his fingers, caressed his face and chest, and frowned upon feeling the threadbare robe. He didn't have a mirror to inspect his image, but he pulled at the robe and swished it around so see as much of it as possible. He was not happy.

"I do not like these clothes," he informed the possessed guard. "Well, no matter. I'll just go home and change later. Now, let me have a look at you?"

"Who... what... are you?"

"Oh my. You can actually speak while I still possess you? Impressive. I'm the Nightmare Lord. A rather silly title, but I've gotten attached to it over the years."

"Your... name..." Blood began to drip from the guard's mouth.

"Oh, no, don't fight my control that hard, my dear. I can't have you dying on me right now." He tightened the control and stopped the bleeding the guard had caused for fighting the possession. "But I will answer you. I have no real name, not anymore. But I can't be called Nightmare Lord all the time. My name when it mattered... no, I can't use that. So how about... yes, I'm Harrison!"

That would be good enough. Harrison grinned. He liked to smile. Most people became terrified when he smiled, and that just made him smile even wider.

"Up we go," he said happily. "Take me to the Ministry, dear. From all that I've heard over the years it must be directly above us."

The guard wordlessly led the way to the elevator and stepped inside. Harrison followed and hummed as the elevator began to move upwards. It had been so long he had seen anything but the dark and the room, his prison for the last few centuries.

He was ready to let the world know who he was, and why people once had feared him.

"Get ready for a show," he whispered, "because ready or not, here I come."

-o-

It was late afternoon but a fair number of witches and wizards roamed the halls and corridors of the Ministry. They were finishing up for the day, some looking forward to go home and see their families. Others discussed having a drink with friends, and a few hurried as they were already late for meetings that had nothing to do with work. All their priorities changed though when an explosion wracked the whole place.

People fell to the floor or crashed into walls. Aurors had their wands out and others ran for the exits wherever they could find them. Many made their way to the atrium where they took the Floo out of there.

It all ended however when they heard a roar of fire. A sick-looking, green fire came into the atrium and swallowed several people. Screams began to rise within the fire and burning people ran out, towards those who stood still in terror. When the fire turned to them they began to move, running for their lives.