The Magical Phantom

Chapter Two: Wizarding Ghost-Boy

"Dammit Clockwork," Danny muttered to himself as he seemed to flash into this new place. "Should've known I wasn't gonna get any kind of a direct answer from him."

He sighed as he brushed himself off before looking up to check his surroundings. He found himself now in an old, beat up bar-type place with a long wooden table with more wooden chairs than it looked like the table itself could handle scattered throughout the place. Directly above the table was an old light fixture that gave the room old, rustic-type feels that wasn't helped by the square window cut out of the wall to his left, housing the presumable barkeep.

Unconsciously, Danny's eyes flashed green while he scanned the room. It was useful to do so, he had learned, to determine any possible threats or exits immediately. Even when it seemed there were none, it only took an instant for any kind of environment to turn into a battlefield and Danny's green eyes signified the use of his ghostly abilities helping him out, the ghost instincts inside of him much better at seizing up threats and movement patters than Danny's human side no matter how much better it had gotten over the last year.

They continued on, sweeping the room and sizing up everyone in it and determining their threat levels to him in an instant in addition to already having four different escape routes planned out before the man he had deemed the biggest threat in the room, a black-robed stranger, to move.

Now satisfied, Danny's eyes faded back to blue just in time for a familiar-yet-unfamiliar feeling to creep up his spine and snake its way from his mouth in a puff of air. Ghost Sense, his instincts told him, but it was different enough that his mind told him this was different, something else.

Ghost Sense was a bone-chilling feeling, cold enough to make even he, who had a natural body temperature of 74.8F in his human form and a lot colder in ghost form to feel the chill no matter what form he took. Ghost Sense always gave him the shivers, no matter how used to the feeling he was, his body always involuntarily shivered at the cold, numbing sensation the Ghost Sense drove up his spine.

This wasn't bone chilling; this was more of a… tingling sensation that gently crawled its way slowly up his spine and out his mouth as opposed to the body racking chill-feeling Ghost Sense gave him. This, too, came out of his mouth in a puff of mist but it wasn't the usual icy blue Danny was accustomed to seeing, further proving that this wasn't just his Ghost Sense. Instead, this seemed to be made up of a mess of colors, everything from whites, pinks, yellows and blues.

He managed to look past it, however, for the moment because more movement caught his eye. The man in black robes from before, who Danny had deemed the largest threat in the room, was approaching him. The mans black hair was just as black as his robes, making him ominous looking enough that Danny didn't fire a ghost ray at him out of pure curiosity. Danny even nodded to the man once he got close enough, although his guard was still up.

"Daniel Fenton?" The man asked him simply, his voice strict.

That didn't mean he wasn't an enemy, Danny knew, but he decided to believe this was the guide Clockwork had spoke up. He was still confident he could get away if he was wrong, so he went for a handshake as he replied.

"Yeah, that's me but call me Danny. And you are?" He replied.

"Severus Snape, your soon-to-be Professor at Hogwarts." Snape told him, his monotone in full effect. He seemed to glance down curiously at Danny's outstretched hand for a few seconds before deciding to shake it.

The grip was firm, Snape noticed, much too firm to be coming from an eleven year old kid, but he let it go for now. It probably wasn't any of his business.

Surprisingly enough, Clockwork had informed him that he'd be going to a Wizarding School. He hadn't mentioned the name of it or even the fact that a future teacher would be playing his guide, but he did tell him it was a school for wizards and witches so Clockwork, one and Danny, zip for now.

"So, are you going to show me the way to this school or am I just supposed to figure that out myself?" Danny asked after a few seconds of standing still. Snape scowled.

"No. I'm here to get you your supplies to prepare you for your first year." Snape told him, reaching into his robe and pulling out a rolled up piece of paper tied together with a blue ribbon.

Danny took it and gently undid the ribbon, letting the piece of parchment fall open to reveal the writing it had previously hidden. It seemed to be a list of some sort, he realized as he glared at it, realizing it was probably everything he needed for the dreaded school that he would be attending soon. But alas, he began to read through it.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter coat (black with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' tags should carry nametags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)

By Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic

By Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory

By Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration

By Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi

By Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions

By Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

By Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection

By Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl or a cat or a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Then, at the very bottom there was a signature that Danny didn't bother to read. He was still focused on the massive list of books he needed to barely start learning magic.

"Where can I even get all of this stuff? Isn't magic, like, a secret?" Danny asked incredulously. Snape only rolled his eyes.

"Diagon Ally. Where else?" Snape said it in a tone that implied it was the most obvious thing in the world.

And with that, the Potions Professor turned away and started walking deeper into the Leaky Cauldron, the name of the bar, which Danny had learned from the sign above the bar beside the menu at some point while Snape was talking earlier. Danny watched as Snape disappeared through another door before he supposed he should follow, lugging his suitcase after him and following Snape's path.

He arrived just in time to see Snape tap the wall twice with a stick and Danny presumed both that there was more to that sequence (at least he hoped, otherwise that was a really lame entry knock) and his wand (at least he hoped, otherwise that was a really lame entry key) and open a doorway in the wall. Snape turned to the boy with a sneer as Danny approached closer.

"There's no time for dilly-dallying, boy. Follow me." Snape reprimanded.

"Well, maybe if I was where we were going I would've been quicker to follow the stranger in a black cape into the back of a bar." Danny retorted.

"I thought you'd be bright enough to follow my lead." Snape glared back.

"I thought you professor types were bright enough to give proper instructions." Danny held his ground at Snape's glare.

Snape sighed, aggravated but he didn't reply. Whether it was because he simply didn't want to or because he thought Danny had a point was undetermined but they both let the subject drop as they crossed through the doorway and landed in a crowded ally. The minute he stepped through the doorway, the tingling sensation that crept up Danny's spine before had returned even stronger. Sure enough, the multi-colored mist came out of his mouth in a puff once more and Danny pretended to shiver reflexively, throwing off anyone who seemed to be paying attention.

"What was that?" His future professor asked.

Anyone who hadn't been close enough to see the strange colors, anyway. It appeared he'd underestimated his teachers' observatory skills this time. Danny made a note to himself to be extra careful around Snape in the future and put on his best-confused face.

"What was what?" Danny played dumb, putting on a show of looking around him.

Snape's eyes narrowed on the young boy but he didn't say anything else about the incident, choosing to focus on the large building in the center of a fork in the path instead. The words 'Gringotts Bank' were carved atop the large doors, causing Danny to grow uncomfortable.

"Why are we going to a bank?" Danny asked curiously.

"You've got to pay for your school supplies, don't you? Unless you already have wizarding money on your person, which I very much doubt, the bank is our first stop." Snape responded evenly.

Danny only nodded his reply, choosing to keep his mouth shut as they approached. He was secretly dreading the bank visit since he probably had no money whatsoever in his bank. Did Snape know that already? Or was he expecting him to already have an account? Maybe there was money in there given to him by the school Snape wanted him to withdrawal?

The American teen didn't get much more time to dwell on the matter. They walked through the doors and Danny did his thing again, scanning around the room for potential threats and exits. His green eyes dulled once again after plotting two primary and two secondary escape routes and re-establishing Snape as the biggest threat in the room and not a moment too soon since it seemed said biggest threat noticed the halfas rigid posture.

"They're not going to attack, Fenton. They may give you lip, but they're harmless." Snape told him, thinking he was on edge simply because the bank employees were Goblins rather than people.

Danny didn't bother correcting him that it was just a habit of his due to being constantly stalked, attacked and kidnapped by the souls of the deceased that now lived in an alternate dimension because he was technically not alive nor dead. Instead, he just nodded.

The two made their way up to the Goblin-like creature behind the tallest desk at the end of the hallway, where Danny assumed most- if not all- the transactions took place.

"Can I help you?" The goblin asked impatiently, as if he was annoyed he was disturbed from doing absolutely nothing. Danny glared.

"Probably not, but we'll ask anyway since you offered so nicely." Danny snarked. He noticed Snape smirk a little while the banker growled.

"Whaddaya want?" He asked harshly, his beady eyes staring at the Fenton boy sternly. Danny wasn't fazed.

"Mr. Fenton would like to make a withdrawal." Snape spoke up, trying to avoid another of Danny's snippy comebacks.

"That depends." The banking goblin said. No such luck on Snape's part.

"On what, how high you can count?" Danny quipped back.

Snape couldn't help the smirk he held as the goblin growled out a reply at the Fenton boy.

"Just give me your key." He said angrily. It appeared he had given up on trying to outwit the child already, much to Snape's relief.

Danny's eyes widened a little as he thought back to part of Clockwork's parting words. "When asked for your key check your back left pocket," The stopwatch had told him. Danny did as his mentor had instructed him, reaching down into his jean pocket to, sure enough, find a little golden key.

Clockwork, two and Danny, nada.

Danny handed the key over to the banking goblin who pulled at the paper tag attached to the back of the key, reading the vault number written on it in green ink.

"Let's go, you're marked down as Vault 412." The goblin said, walking away. Snape followed.

"Jeez, doesn't anybody give a simple 'follow me' anymore?" Danny muttered as he trudged behind the two.

Danny shook away the dizziness he felt after dismounting the ride contraption these goblins used to travel through the bank systems. Flying was one thing and that was another.

Still, he lagged behind the goblin and Snape as they approached a large vault door with the numbers on said door matching the ones the banking goblin read out earlier, 412.

The Fenton youth stood nervously by, expecting the goblin to open the vault and find nothing but spider webs inside. He was pleasantly confused, however, when there was stacks and piles of coins, both gold and silver sitting on the vaults floor.

"Take as much as you need." The goblin said waving his arm.

Danny, not daring to look at Snape and trying to pretend he knew how much he needed and how much this stuff was worth, stepped forward over to the small mountain of coins that was contained in the corner reached his waist. On top of the thing was an envelope with a neon green stamp. Upon opening it, he found it was written in glowing green ink as well and begun to read.

"Hello Daniel,

This vault holds what remains left of my old wizarding currency once upon a time. As that life is long since past me, you are welcome to use it how you see fit. The gold pieces are called Galleons while the silver pieces are called Sickles. There is a bronze piece also, called a Knut, but I spent the last of those centuries ago.

A few handfuls should suffice for you to pay for your school equipment, but you may want to take some extra just in case you get lonely.

A Timeless Fortune,

Charles Work."

Danny sighed, still hopelessly confused. Clockwork had once been a part of this world? Was that before or after he became a ghost? And how did he get all this money? The hybrid rolled his eyes, deciding he was okay with the fact he might never get answers and began to stuff handfuls of 'Galleons' or whatever into his pockets.

"He's a strange lad, isn't he?" He heard the goblin whisper to Snape.

He didn't hear Snape give an audible response, but it was very possible he only nodded his opinion. Danny had to bite his tongue not to reply, as a normal human wouldn't have heard him say that. Instead, he huffed as he turned back around as if he was tired from shoveling handfuls of currency into his pants.

"Where to next?" Danny asked casually, strolling past the two and back outside the vault while side-eyeing the goblin.

"You still need robes, books and a wand." Snape replied as the goblin shut the vault behind them.

Danny sighed, not bothering to wonder where the 'follow me' was anymore, and resigned himself to a day of shopping. At least he seemed to be able to quell his new 'power' down, he no longer felt uncomfortable with the constant tingle he felt on his spine, although he felt it grow more intense the closer he was to Snape.

They had almost gotten everything by now, clothes and equipment and most of his books were handled. All that was really left was two books and his wand. So, Danny tried to hurry through the bookstore they were in, Flourish and Blotts, to find the books he had left. Finally, after wandering down isles he seemed to find the book on Transfiguration, whatever that was.

However, once he located the book he saw it was already in another boy's hand. He turned to look at the shelf the blond boy was facing, but there were none left.

"Hey, do you know where I can get another one of those things?" Danny asked, pointing at the book the other boy was holding.

The boy seemed to look over him, grey eyes narrowing on his form before his face turned into a sneer, apparently concluding his dislike for the boy.

"Bugger off, I don't have time for filth." The blond boy snarled. Danny glared.

"I asked for your help, not your attitude." Danny replied. "Which, by the way, still isn't as sharp as your ears." He quipped back.

"Why you little-" The boy cut himself off, noticing Snape appear from around the corner behind Danny, but did little to indicate this. Danny, however, spoke again.

"Little? I'm only shorter than you because of that big head of yours-" Danny started, only to be cut off by Snape.

"What do you think your doing, Fenton? Picking on classmates already, are we?" Snape asked, moving past Danny to stand by the other boy. Danny glared at the self-satisfied look on his face.

"Hey, all I did was ask for help, he's the one who-" Danny started, only to be cut off again, and not by his future professor.

"Did nothing wrong, I'm sure." Another man said, entering the hallway. He was just as tall as Snape and with longer hair, but just as platinum blond as the kid. The brats' father, Danny figured.

Danny glared at nothing. This hallway between bookshelves was quickly becoming too crowded for his liking and while he was never one to back down from a fight, that rule was usually reserved for situations he could solve with a few Ecto-blasts. Otherwise, he had to turn the other cheek especially since it seemed Snape agreed with the two others.

"Yeah, and Stalin was sure he and Hitler had a deal but look where that got him." Danny muttered before turning around. "I'm gonna go look for another book on Transfiguration." He said, moving over to the next isle.

"Good idea." Snape agreed with him, turning to leave the isle the other way. "And your other remaining book should be this way."

Danny was certain the only reason Snape was helping him look for books rather than waiting outside was because it would cut about twenty minutes from the errand overall. He hadn't really done much of anything except show him where to go up until now. So, they both left the isle going in different directions and leaving the two others to their business. Unfortunately for them, Danny had enhanced hearing.

"Did he lay a hand on you, Draco?" The blond man's voice carried.

"No," The boy replied back. "He was all talk."

"Good, I don't need another reason to disagree with sending you to Hogwarts. As if it letting mudbloods in and being run by Albus Dumbledore wasn't enough, now they're going around accepting American wizards?" The man ranted and raved.

Danny could only wonder what he was going on about. What were a mudblood and a Dumbledore? He decided not to think too much off it, but he noted to himself to at least ask Snape about who they were after leaving.

Finally, Danny found another copy of the Transfiguration book he needed just seconds before Snape appeared with the other book still unchecked, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

"Who were they?" Danny asked once they stepped out of Flourish and Blotts.

"That was Lucius Malfoy and his son, Draco, who will be attending Hogwarts this year as a first year. It would do you well not to get any further on your bad side than you already have." Snape warned, not turning to look at him.

"The only reason I already have is because that snot-nosed brat-" Danny started, only for Snape to once again cut him off.

"Yes, well, you mess with that 'snot-nosed brat' and you get Lucius Malfoy and trust me, Fenton, you don't want to get Lucius Malfoy." Snape said simply. "He could have you buried alive."

"Been there, done that." Danny muttered quietly, opting to drop the problem for now as he and Snape continued on their not-so-merry way.

Everything had been acquired. Robes, books, whatever the hell a cauldron was, even the ridiculous pointy hat was bought and Danny couldn't picture himself wearing that anywhere, let alone often. It looked big enough to use as target practice, though. The only thing they had yet to get was, in typical Fenton fashion, also the most important thing; a wand.

As he and Snape were heading towards someplace called "Ollivander's" in order to get said wand, Danny saw a store that caught his attention; a pet store.

"Hey, can we go there first?" Danny asked, stopping in front of the store and peeking inside through the front window.

"Fine, but make it quick." Snape scowled at him, walking slowly behind the fast-paced Danny as they entered the shop.

Danny walked forward, leaving the doorway to be surrounded by cages on all sides. Even now, his eyes flashed green as they scanned the shop, addressing every animal as if they were first and foremost a threat. After hardly two seconds he went from objects to escape routes, planning out two primary and two backup exit strategies.

It was easier, mentally, to not worry about others escape routes. It was less worrying to not have to worry about bringing Tucker or Sam or Jazz out of harms way with him like the countless times he did at school or the mall. But that didn't mean he didn't instinctively start to do it every time. He ignored both the feeling of loneliness and the bell that chimed, signifying another's entry to the store until he felt his spine tingle more.

Not as much as it did around Snape, who Danny could still feel on the far side of the store, but still a presence reminiscent of when he had encountered the blond boy back at the bookstore. Danny decided to ignore it for now, opting to instead look out at all the animals in cages. Snakes, owls and toads all perked up when he passed by, like his arrival was the most exciting thing to happen all week.

He passed most of them without a second thought, hoping for something to stick out to him. He then got his wish in the form of a cat that was mostly black, but with white paws and a white-tipped tail. The feline's emerald green eyes locked with his blue one's as if they could see the otherworldly green just glowing beneath the surface. Neither pair of eyes moved away for almost a minute. Their staring contest was only broken by the cat, which flickered its eyes over Danny's shoulder instead in sync with the tingling feeling creeping up on him again.

Danny turned around, curious, and his eyes fell upon a girl. She looked to be about his age, but was a head taller thanks to her bushy brown hair. She was wearing a pair of black robes, the ones he had gotten earlier, and her brown eyes were set on the owl cage in front of her that held a large white but speckled owl.

He watched, confused, as she turned her head to the side and outstretched her arm to open the cage door. Ordinarily, Danny wouldn't pay any mind to such an action but the owl had signs of aggression that he had come to recognize in birds thanks to Vlad's stupid ghost-vulture henchmen being consistent in their kidnapping attempts a while back.

This owl in particular had those glazed over eyes with dilated, focused pupils, was leaning forward, had twitching talons and the feathers on its back were ruffled up just slightly. Danny knew it was ready to launch.

Danny cried out, "GET DOWN!" only seconds before the bird let out a loud "SQUAWK!" with both charging the brown-haired girl. Luckily for her, Danny had plenty of practice with knocking people out of the way of incoming projectiles and with a little help from his ghostly reflexes, he had tackled the girl to the ground just before the large owl flew past where her head would've been.

Danny lay there covering the girl with his body, holding her head in his hands while they pressed against the floor. After waiting a few moments to ensure the bird wouldn't turn around to target the girl, Danny got up from lying on the girl and into a standing position, holding his hand out to help her up as she rolled over, facing upwards. She took his outstretched hand with a smile.

"Thanks for your help back there. My head'd surely be owl food if you hadn't been here." She thanked him as he pulled her to her feet.

"No problem. Danny, Danny Fenton." Danny introduced himself. He moved to go for a handshake but then realized their hands were still clasped together. Instead, she shook their already conjoined hands as she smiled again.

"I'm Hermione Granger, pleasure to meet you." She said happily, their hands finally falling apart.

"Why'd you have that cage open, anyway? The sign out front says no handling without supervision." Danny asked curiously.

Her eyes nervously darted to the side, which made Danny think she was going to lie, before they moved again to look at him, but while her head was tilted downward. So she was sorry about it, Danny realized, figuring his first impression was correct, as his instincts were those of a honed-battler. She seemed like a rules oriented girl, judging by her proper posture combined with the fact she was already wearing her school uniform. The way she spoke gave it away and erased any doubt in Danny's mind; the eloquent, punctual and careful way she spoke reminded him entirely of Jazz.

"I just thought he needed a bit of company." Hermione began. "He was the only one in here who didn't seem excited I was in here, the poor thing. I thought if I showed him attention he'd be happier, he didn't look all that dangerous a minute ago. Guess I was wrong." She explained.

Well, not everyone could be expected to know the signs of a bird ready to attack so well, he supposed, so it seemed like fair reasoning. He was about to reply to tell her as much, but he was cut off buy what he couldn't help would become a familiar cry of,

"Fenton!" From Professor Snape.

The future student duo turned to see the robed man standing there with a stranger who was presumably the storeowner. The owner had in his hand a large carry-cage that now housed the large, speckled owl that Hermione had let loose a moment ago that was now seemingly glaring at them through the cage bars.

"I recognize you! You're Professor Snape from Hogwarts! I've read all about the classes we'll be having this year, you still teach Potions, right?" Hermione asked eagerly, practically bouncing on her heels.

However, instead of answering or even acknowledging the young girl, Snape continued to yell at Danny instead.

"What in Dumbledore's name possessed you to let this bird free? Did you even see the sign in the front of the store that clearly states not to handle the animals!" Snape continued on, glaring down at the Fenton boy.

Danny didn't reply at first, instead sneaking a glance over at Hermione. She looked scared out of her mind, the poor girl. Her fingers twitched, her feet shuffled, her eyes were bouncing all over the room and he could practically hear her teeth grinding together. She was probably dreading the punishment Snape would deal out to her after learning she was the one who set the bird free.

There was a sliver of him that wanted to rat her out and save his own ass from being on even worse terms with Snape before the school year had officially begun. But he knew he wouldn't do that. He'd rather run with it than throw her under that bus, she was obviously much more afraid of anything Snape could do than he was and run with it he did. Just in time, as it seemed like Hermione's nerves got the better of her and she opened her mouth to speak.

"I was thinking 'hey, maybe this'll get Snape angry'." Danny replied sarcastically, cutting Hermione off. "What do you think I was thinking? I wanted to pet it."

Hermione looked over at him, trying her hardest to clamp her jaw shut as if the truth would spill out once it opened again. Snape, for his part, only scowled harder at Danny.

"I'm sorry, okay? I've just never seen an owl that close before and it looked so cool." Danny tried to amend, at least a little. Snape glared for a few more seconds before he simply sighed.

"Ten points from-. Ten points from whatever house you end up in, Fenton." Snape settled on, before he waved his arm over to the bird still trapped in the carry-cage. "I suppose you'll take this one, then?"

Danny looked down at the bird in the cage, briefly thinking it over. The owl only seemed to glare as it let out a low, angry squawk. Danny glared back before his eyes drifted behind him as he was reminded of his final moments in Clockwork's tower.

Clockwork, three and Danny, zilch.

"Actually," Danny started, looking back to the cat's green eyes once more. They were focused on him right back and Danny knew he had found a new companion. "I'm more of a cat person."

Shade, Danny decided. That was his cats' name. Of course he had checked with the little guy first and it seemed like anything was a better alternative than 'Exhibit 14' for him, so Shade it was.

Meanwhile, Hermione had somehow convinced her parents, Alice and Walt, to finish their shopping alongside he and Snape since Ollivander's was the only place left that both grounds had to visit. Snape seemed to be answering the Grangers' questions in his own brief way while Danny and Hermione talked aimlessly until they wandered through the wand shops doors.

Both eleven year olds were stunned to silence at the sight of the inside. It didn't even seem like the place had walls, just boxes and boxes that each, assumingly, held a wand. The two parties stood in silence for a few moments, waiting, but Danny and Snape's patience quickly grew thin with them shouting out a "HELLO?" and an "OLLIVANDER!" respectively.

They were replied to with a few seconds of silence before a rolling ladder appeared from the infinite mass of boxes and a large man jumped down, happily greeting them all with a large smile.

"More first years, eh? I suppose you yearlings are lookin' for wands?" Ollivander asked.

"Yes, please." Hermione and her parents harmonized. Danny and Snape merely nodded.

"Which one of you wants to step up first?" He asked the future students.

Hermione turned to Danny with almost pleading puppy eyes. She wouldn't ask, he knew, but she wasn't above the shining eyes. He rolled his eyes as he stepped back, gesturing out with his hand in a 'ladies first' movement. He rolled his eyes at her delighted squeal in a friendly-mocking way, knowing that she was much more excited over this than he was.

"Raise your wand arm." He told Hermione.

After no more than two attempts, the wand she had in her hand glowed phenomenally bright and the glow seemed to dance down around the wand and reach her hand. Ollivander nodded his satisfaction, closing the box while Hermione beamed down at her new wand. The wand she ended up with was made from vine with a dragon heartstring core and measured in at ten and three quarter inches. Hermione was ecstatic even as she sat moved back to let Danny step forward next.

"You're up next, kid." Ollivander said happily. "Raise your wand arm."

He hesitated momentarily before raising his right arm. He was good with both hands, really, but that was because he had to learn to utilize his left hand as much as his right once he started fighting ghosts. That point was hammered into him hard when he ended up needing to fight handicapped for a week when Skulker once broke his right arm so bad that it healed wrong even with his enhanced healing. It was nearly a complete week later when he re-broke it to let it heal right and even after that it was extremely sore for days.

So, he had to effectively learn to do everything from holding a soda can to aiming an Ecto-blast with his left hand. Nevertheless, he still used his right hand more even if only instinctively so it would be more beneficial to have the wand suited to that arm. He stood still for a moment while Ollivander left to go get a wand for him to try. How long could it take, right?

Two hours.

Ollivander had been searching for Danny's wand for over two hours at this point, nearing the halfway point of the approaching third hour. Alice, Walt and Snape had all dozed off while sitting up in chairs somewhere around wand sixty-four while Danny was beginning to tire of waving his arm back and forth so much.

Thus far he had knocked over countless shelves, broke multiple glass frames, exploded three of the wood chairs in the room and one wand had even flat out refused him and floated out of his hand. Then of course there was the wand that was so charged full of energy it begun shooting magic blasts everywhere once he picked it up, including straight at Snape's head. Danny wasn't looking forward to that discussion later.

But both Ollivander and Hermione were still excited. Ollivander relished the 'challenge' Danny presented him with and Hermione was just excited to learn so much about the different wands, materials and their meanings. Ollivander gasped and snapped his fingers as if he came to a conclusion before he bolted away down an isle.

"Did he get the perfect wand idea or did he just give up and run away?" Danny asked Hermione, who only shrugged.

Danny's question was answered in the form of Ollivander returning carrying two boxes, one black and one white.

"These wands are like no others I have made and are a part of a set unlike no other. Instead of being made of one wood, they combine two. Wands made from two woods are rare, the practice was ended decades ago to limit the consumption of wand woods and we were almost out of several more rare materials. But, these were the only two wands I used that technique with and they haven't chosen a wizard or witch since." Ollivander said, setting them down.

He opened the black box first, pulling out a thin wand that had two woods coiling around each other but melded together to let the wand be flat. The wand had bubbles in it, the one closest to the bottom being clear and having a silver scale-type thing inside of it.

Danny nodded and picked it up, waving it around. It didn't explode or float away, so that was a good sign, but Ollivander shook his head.

"Close, but not quite." He took it back and put the white box on top. "Try this one." He prompted.

Danny opened the box himself and inside was a wand similar to the one he just put back. It also had light and dark woods coiling around each other, but more of a tan and obsidian than black and white. This wand was thicker towards the base, easily holding another scale in a bubble without bulging out of the wand but the point was narrow enough to fit between two of his teeth.

He picked it up and waved his aching arm, pleasantly surprised when green sparks of light came from the top. Ollivander nodded and sighed with relief that he had found a wand suited to someone as troublesome as Danny while Hermione beamed as Ollivander went into details about Danny's new wand.

"Both wands are dual-wood wands powered by Thestral scales and thirteen inches long, both utterly unyielding. But the other one's woods work in harmony together, Dogwood and Ebony. Yours, boy, yours is Blackthorn and Beech, quite strange for individual Blackthorn and Beech wands to get along let alone work together in harmony." Ollivander explained. "Quite the strange wand you matched with."

They left soon after; Danny and Hermione waking up the others. Not long after they left Hermione was brining with excitement to talk about Danny's wand with him, eager to show off what he had learned during the nearly three hour wand store trip.

"Blackthorn wand users are pretty rare, it seems. Most people don't even meet one." She started. "Having a blackthorn wand choose you means you're a warrior and the wands in general become pretty loyal. He did say yours was unyielding, that means it won't ever stop working for you. Beech, on the other hand, rarely chooses someone on the younger end but when it does it means the person it extremely wise well beyond their years." Hermione ranted.

That made enough sense, Danny thought. He could definitely be called a warrior, having had to fight for his half-life nearly every day for a year and a half. He was in constant battle, whether with ghosts like Undergrowth, Vortex and Nocturne or people like Dash and his parents. That wasn't even counting the weird dynamic he had with Valerie and none of it scratched the surface of his relationship with Vlad.

He shoved those feelings down, focusing on the Beech part of his wand. That made sense too when you took into account the things he's experienced. He was constantly worrying about things people didn't even realize existed whether it was ghosts, apocalypses or clones.

"What about this Thestral-thingy?" Danny asked, tapping the core.

"Well," She started uncertainly. "I know Thestral tail-hairs are the cores for the wands of those who have a connection to death. A Thestral scale, though, I'm not entirely sure. I didn't see any other wand core like it and it could be a totally different meaning in wands with more than one wood." She continued on, before pausing. "Do you have any connection to death?"

Danny held back a snort and a sob.

He was only half-dead himself, had powers of the dead, was enemies with a portion of dead souls, been to the realm of the dead more times than he could count, lost his entire family and both his best friends and even defeated the 'God of the Dead' in single combat. But, he couldn't go and tell her that.

"Sorta," Danny said instead, smiling mysteriously.

And scene!

Well, I certainly didn't expect so many people to be on board with this so quickly! It really means a lot that you guys still enjoy my writing and I'll do my best not to disappear on you all again!

That being said, can you see why I felt like I could do a better job with this story? I feel like my current writing style/process has changed too much and while I feel like it's better, you guys will be the best judges so be sure to review!

And to that one person who mentioned answering reviews was a cheap way to up my word count… well yeah, now that I think about it you're right. I don't want to be one of those people so disregard what I said last chapter but feel free to PM me if you'd like to have a discussion or want me to clear anything up for you.

I hope to see you all return next time for Chapter Three: Phantom's Sorting!