I don't own Harry Potter or Danny Phantom.
A cursed ritual. An evil reawakening. A future unwinding with the screams of the hundreds of innocents who's lives were snuffed out.
Clockwork watched it all, the entire history of the world within that branch playing out for him in the amount of time it would take most people to take in a breath. The ancient ghost continued to stare into the looking glass, long after the image of the man's face faded. If you could even call that a man's face.
Smooth white skin pulled so tot as to make you wonder if the skin was going to rip itself apart when he turned his head. There was no nose on the face, just two snake like slits for air to come in through. Hairless, noseless, cheekless; it was a hideous thing that didn't look human at all. For the owner had long since lost his humanity.
"Clockwork!" The ghost of time turned back around to find two large green blobs wearing fancy capes, one large eye in the upper center of their bodies was the only thing that could possibly be identified as a head. The two Observants drifted down towards Clockwork, the permanent looks of frustration burned onto their faces. "He actually did it. He has returned." One of the two said.
"Yes... I know." Clockwork said slowly turning away from the two. His body was old and crumpled, age beyond words seemed to press down on him. His purple cloak hung loosely around his sky blue skin and a tired, understanding expression emanated from his deep red eyes.
"He must be destroyed! This mockery of nature cannot be allowed to exist!" The second Observant shouted.
"For once we seem to be in agreement." Clockwork mumbled. Though he knew his reasons were different from the Observants. What was war to the Observants? Nothing. They only cared about the crimes against existence that the monster had commented. The crimes against the very nature of life and death, and the purity of the soul.
"What do you plan on doing about this, Clockwork?" The first Observant demanded.
"Of course, it is always my job to do things about it. You Observants only observe." A small smile passed over his lips as Clockwork's body changed. He rapidly shrank down to the size of a toddler, his skin becoming smooth as a baby's butt and a cunning smile passing over his face. "But do not worry. I already have plans. The stones are already moving. I will see to it that Tom is removed from his universe. This time, for good."
"You'd better, Clockwork. We will not accept another Dark Dan on this one." The second Observant said as the two began to fade out of existence, teleporting away.
Turning back to his looking glasses, Clockwork watched as the seen changed, to another tragedy, one that had just happened. The screams of pain coming from the small child strapped to an metal slab quickly echoed through the time ghost's clocktower, overshadowing all of the ticking of the clocks as it ripped at heart strings that usually remained so motionless inside of his chest.
He watched as Danielle Phantom was slowly ripped to pieces in what must have been one of the worst possible ways to go that the elder ghost had ever seen. "Dammit... Dammit..." Danny was shouting again and again as he struggled to remove the restraints, ignoring the way that they were burning his hands and sending waves of pain through his body as he attempted to release the girl.
"I... Can't hold on!" Danielle cried, her body was melting away, green steam coming from her skin as he started to turn into slush.
"Don't talk like that! I'll get you out of this!" Danny shouted though his voice was trembling.
The tiny body of the little girl was breaking down and starting to melt away. A half forced look of piece crossed her face as the pain became too great for her mind to bare any longer. "Goodbye... daddy..." The words had hardly finished passing through her lips when her body broke down completely into a puddle of vivid green goo, splashing across the floor and getting all over Danny's hands and legs.
Danny was trembling, the shock of it all to much for him to process at the moment. He looked down at his gloved hands, stained green with the life's blood of the child who was made from his own blood. "No..." He mumbled, shaking his head.
"Stop being such a drama queen, Daniel." Vlad Masters sneered as he watched the boy breaking down. "It was never real. Just a thing I made in my spare time down in the lab. So just get over it."
Danny's eyes and fists clenched shut as he began to shake. "You... You..." He shuddered, trying to force the words out between his shaking teeth. "You BASTARD!" The words erupted out of him along with a wave of emerald flames that smashed into the business man and holding him against the wall as wave after wave of sound hit him again and again.
Danny turned towards him, his eyes wide open and completely filled with the vivid green light. His mouth hung open and the sound of death pulsated out of his mouth, the power so great that it was tearing apart the entire building. Vlad couldn't even breath as he felt the power ripping his skin from his face, pressing through his body and burning him from the inside. His eyes started to bleed out and his eardrums were ripped into pieces.
By the time Danny's power ran dry, there was hardly anything left of the monster who had cost Danielle her life. Not that it was any comfort to anyone. Danny returned to his human form and fell to the floor and continued to weep for the little clone who had never had a chance to live free.
Clockwork moved his hand slightly and the looking glass moved away. As it did, Clockwork's own body changed yet again, aging until he was the size of a full grown man and he turned towards his front door with a look of pity on his face. "You've arrived right on time Daniel." He said as he looked down at the boy.
Danny's white hair was even more wild than normal, and his bright green eyes were blood shot from crying. His shoulders sagged, not giving the hero posture that the boy usually tried to carry while in his ghostly form. He looked tired. So very tired. He was moving into the second stage of dealing with death. Bartering. "Clockwork. Please send me back. I just needed a little more time. I'll save her." His voice was a little horse from all his crying and screaming, but he still sounded determined.
Clockwork looked down at the boy and shook his head. "You couldn't have saved her. Even if you got her out of the restraints, she didn't have much time life in this world. She was destabilizing." Clockwork said.
"No... I can fix it! Just give me a chance!" Danny shouted, begging the ghost of time with his eyes.
"There is no need Daniel." Clockwork said, shaking his head. His body began to shrink as he returned to the form of a crumpled old man. "I will cure her myself."
Danny blinked in surprise. "You... will?" He asked, not quite believing what he had heard.
Clockwork nodded. "I know of a way, and I will do it. But first, you must agree to assist me in a matter that has the Observant up in arms." Clockwork said. Danny nodded quickly, not caring what it was that Clockwork would ask of him, as long as he could save Danielle. "In another world, one parallel to your own, an individual has gone against the sanctity of the soul and performed crimes that have the Observant demanding that he be erased from existence. His name is Tom Riddle, though he goes by the handle of Voldemort. Considered to be the darkest wizard in the history of that world. A monster to equal Pariah's crimes." Clockwork said, waving his staff so that an image of the man appeared before Danny.
"Wow, talk about a face only a mother could love." Danny gagged at the sight of the serpent like face.
"He is a mass murder, and was killed thirteen years ago, but just a few minutes ago, he was brought back to life in a dark magic ritual." Clockwork said glancing down at Danny. "Which is why the Observant are so angry, but if left unchecked, he may very well be the root of the death of billions of innocent people. Your job will be to put a stop to him and bring him back with you. Dead or alive, it doesn't matter."
"Clockwork, I don't just kill people." Danny objected.
"Daniel, this is a monster who has personally killed hundreds of innocent people and has ripped apart his own soul. His crimes are numerous and he is beyond redemption. Far worse than Plasmius... I'm hoping you will make an exception." Clockwork said seriously. "Take him in alive if you wish, but his fate will remain the same."
Danny was silent for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. Clockwork gave a sad smile as he returned to the size of a small child. "Good. I will be sending you to his current location. It is difficult for me to get an accurate handle on the state of this other world, so I won't be able to track him for you. I only know where he his now because of the dark magic he used to return to life. So try to take him down before he every sets foot outside of that graveyard." Clockwork said before moving around his staff to form a portal. "But just in case he does manage to slip through your fingers, I have taken the liberty of calling one of your old friends to help you track him down."
Out of the portal appeared the head of a massive wolf quickly followed by a bright green hoodie that cover a body so big that it wouldn't fit through your standard doorway. Sharp green nails skidded against the stone ground as Wulf finished his entrance.
Danny blinked in surprise as Wulf grinned. "Bone Vidi Vin, Friend" (Good to see you, friend) Wulf said, his red eyes locking onto Danny's green.
"Good to see you too, Wulf." Danny said, reaching out and putting a hand on Wulf's elbow.
"Now, since time is of the essence, I suggest you get going." Clockwork said, returning to the form of an adult. "Good luck." He mumbled as Wulf ripped open a hole in space with his claws and rushed through it with Danny at his heels. "Now for me to work on my end of this deal."
So Danny and Wulf will be introduced to the world of Harry Potter by fighting Voldemort and his Death Eater, rather than through Dumbledore.
Seems like the fastest solution for Clockwork to use.