Disclaimer: Do I have to?
Note: A new version of Chapter 3, thanks to Michi G. Details are in Ch 1. Okay, for this one, Harry explains why exactly he's willing to be around everyone. :p Apparently that was the only major thing in this one.
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Chapter 3
A couple days after Danny's last day of school, Dumbledore was once more at his house. Danny looked at the old wizard in annoyance, not bothering to try to hide his dislike. "So you're here to take me wherever you want me to be for the summer, to 'catch up'?"
Dumbledore beamed at him. "Yes, that's right Mr. Fenton. Several of my students will use the summer to hit most of the high points in the earlier years, so that you will be reasonably caught up by the time the school year begins."
Danny gave him a mistrustful look and stepped to one side, leaving the door open as an unwilling invitation. Dumbledore ignored his unwillingness and simply walked past him.
Sam looked up when Dumbledore came in with Danny following him. "Hey, Danny, who was…it?" She trailed off as she saw Dumbledore and went to stand by her boyfriend in silent support. Tucker moved around to Danny's other side, keeping a watchful eye on Dumbledore.
Tucker raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you're supposed to leave now?"
Danny smirked. "Yep. Would you mind getting my parents and Jazz?" He never took his eyes off of Dumbledore, still not trusting the man. Tucker and Sam silently exchanged glances, knowing better than to argue. Danny had gone into a kind of 'protective mode' that he got whenever he fought one of the nastier ghosts. Sam went upstairs to get Jazz while Tucker went to the lab to get Danny's parents.
Dumbledore smiled slightly at Danny. "Would you mind telling me why you seem so distrustful of me, Mr. Fenton?"
Danny rolled his eyes slightly. "Oh, gee, let me think. Maybe it was the fact that you tried to invade my mind?"
Dumbledore gave him a knowing look. "You did not trust me before I became curious. That was why I tried to look in the first place."
Danny grinned as he heard Sam and Tucker coming back with his parents and sister. "I guess you'll have to live with your curiosity."
The next few minutes were busy, consisting of Jazz handing Danny his suitcase and backpack, his parents giving him another bag they said had some useful things in it, and everyone saying goodbye to Danny. Through the whole thing, Danny never turned his back on Dumbledore. Finally, Danny was ready to go. He had his backpack on his back, a large bag with a long strap slung over his shoulders, and his suitcase in one hand.
Dumbledore smiled when he saw that Danny was ready to go. "Well, then Mr. Fenton, take hold of my arm, and don't let go."
Danny silently did as he was told, and suddenly felt a feeling that was like teleportation, only not. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to keep his sudden vertigo under control. When he opened them, they were on an unfamiliar street.
Dumbledore smiled and handed Danny a scrap of paper. "Memorize that."
Danny cautiously took the paper and looked at it. The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London. Looking at Dumbledore, he raised an eyebrow. "Now what?"
Dumbledore smiled and calmly took the paper back and destroyed it. "Now, concentrate on what the paper said, but don't say it out loud."
Danny rolled his eyes but did as he was told. His eyes widened and he barely kept his jaw from dropping when he saw a house seeming almost to inflate between two houses where there had been nothing before, not even an empty lot.
Dumbledore calmly led the way, pleased at having shocked the boy. "This way, you must be introduced to everyone." Danny followed him with the feeling that it would be a long summer.
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Mrs. Weasley bustled around, gathering up her children as well as Harry and Hermione. "Come on, then. Dumbledore will be back with the new student any minute."
Harry rolled his eyes a bit, but did as he was told. Mrs. Weasley was one of the few people he didn't mind lately, so he didn't see any harm in following her direction. Hermione didn't seem to mind a bit.
Harry shook his head. He had started coming out of his room more, mostly after being bugged by Mrs. Weasley about it. He could try to ignore her, but she had had seven children to practice on. It hadn't taken long for her to get through his walls once she put her mind to it.
Harry suspected that Remus had told her to try. It was something that he wouldn't put past the werewolf. Besides, meditation had helped him a lot, not to mention hearing stories about his parents and Sirius while they were in school. He felt he knew them all much better than he'd ever had a chance to.
Coming back to the real world, Harry smirked when he noticed the way Hermione was bouncing slightly on her toes. "Why is there a new student coming now? And why should he be coming here, instead of simply going to Hogwarts at the beginning of the school year?"
Mrs. Weasley smiled slightly at the girl's enthusiasm. "He was actually supposed to go to Hogwarts from the beginning, but for some reason any records of it were misplaced. Professor McGonagall didn't know how when I asked her. I'm assuming he's here to get caught up on the material."
Harry rolled his eyes knowingly, exchanging an amused glance with a still-silent Ron when he saw Hermione's face light up. Ginny grinned from her place opposite Harry. "Gee, Hermione, looks like you're all set to help, and you haven't even met the guy."
Hermione flushed hotly and opened her mouth to retort, but the door opening interrupted her.
Danny followed Dumbledore into the house, for a moment obscured from view by the old man's robes. It was just enough time to get a glimpse of those waiting in the hall. 'Four teenagers, two girls and two guys, about my age, and a woman closer to my parents' age. By family resemblance, I'd say she's probably the mother of the two redheads.'
Mrs. Weasley swept forward as soon as Danny came into view. "Oh, you must be Daniel!" Looking him up and down, she pushed him toward the kitchen. "Oh, you're much too thin. Come on."
Danny didn't try to resist, recognizing that the woman was simply being a mother. He smiled slightly, though he did correct her. "Erm, thanks, I think. And it's Danny, not Daniel."
Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Of course, Danny. I'm Molly Weasley." She pushed him to the table and turned to make something. "And Harry, you'll get something too, you're still much too thin!"
Harry smiled. Mrs. Weasley had always acted a bit like a surrogate mother to him, especially once he became friends with Ron and his brothers. Turning to the slightly shell-shocked teen that hadn't even had time to put down his luggage, he grinned. "Don't mind Mrs. Weasley, that's normal for her."
Danny smiled slightly as he shook off his shock. "Thanks, I was wondering." He stood up and set his bags out of the way in a corner. "I'm Danny Fenton."
Harry grinned. He was still going to be cautious about Danny for a while, but he saw no reason not to be polite. "Harry Potter. That's Ron and Ginny Weasley, and Hermione Granger." He pointed to each in turn. Ron started to say something, but stopped when no sound came out, while Ginny just said a polite hello. Hermione was a whole other story.
Hermione smiled. "Hello. Do you know why you didn't come for first year? I've read in Hogwarts: A History that it's nearly impossible to be overlooked, and the teachers try to make sure every student who needs magical training at least has a chance to come."
Danny grinned and shook his head slightly. He could already guess who would help catch him up to the right year. "Well, my parents thought it was some kind of cruel joke at their expense, so they threw out the letter."
Hermione frowned, but Harry was the one who spoke, curious despite his caution. "Shouldn't you have gotten more letters? When I didn't get my first letter, they just sent more, and eventually Hagrid came to get me."
Danny gave a mischievous grin. "Let's just say a friend of mine knows what he's doing."
Hermione tried to ask more, but Danny simply refused to answer. Finally, Mrs. Weasley interrupted the discussion by putting a plate of cookies in the middle of the table. "Go on, eat up. You're much too thin, both of you." She turned and walked out of the room, muttering about clean-up duties.
Danny and Harry rolled their eyes nearly simultaneously, but obediently began eating cookies. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were happy to help, and they simply talked for a while. Danny told the four a bit about his hometown, his family, and his friends, while Hermione, Harry, and Ginny told him stuff about the Wizarding World. Ron was still unable to talk.
After a while, the plate of cookies was empty, and talking had mostly wound down. Then Snape stalked in, ignoring the way Harry glared at him. He silently made himself some tea and started to leave. Then he noticed Danny. He glared at Danny, then swept out of the room and left as silently as he had entered. Everyone but Danny was left blinking in surprise.
Ginny stared after the retreating professor. "Man, I've only seen him give glares that bad to Harry. What did you do, Danny?"
Danny grinned. "Are you sure you want to know?"
Hermione looked like she wanted to pounce on him. "Tell us!" The others nodded frantically in agreement.
Danny grinned. "Well, a few weeks ago, Snape and Dumbledore came to my house to tell me about how I was supposed to go to Hogwarts. Jazz was the one who met them first, and I got home a few minutes after they arrived. I got her to go get our parents, since I figured we needed some help there." He frowned slightly. "Dumbledore had the nerve to try to look in my mind." Eyes widened, nobody missing the 'try'.
"My parents came up, and they were really angry when they saw the letter. They still thought it was a cruel joke, and were about to go off on them, when I told them that Dumbledore had tried to invade my mind." He shook his head slightly.
"Dad pulled an ecto-blaster on Dumbledore, and Mom pulled one on Snape when it looked like he'd interfere. I noticed that Dumbledore was about to do the same thing on Dad that he did on me, and got ready to blast him in the spine if he tried anything. We were like this for a minute, and an old friend of mine pops in and tells us we should blindfold Dumbledore and take both his and Snape's wands."
By now, the other four were staring at him open-mouthed. Finally, Ginny spoke. "They let you? Is that why Snape's so annoyed with you?"
Danny shook his head. "If that was all, I don't think it would have been a big deal. He'd have been annoyed, but he'd probably put up with it." He considered it for a long moment. "I think it was my threat of giving him his very own blindfold that did it."
Harry gave him a strange look. "Why would a blindfold bother the greasy git?"
Danny smirked. "It might have been the color. After all, anyone who dresses like him will probably do just about anything to avoid hot pink."
All four stared, jaws dropped and eyes wide. Behind Danny, there was a sudden burst of laughter. Danny twisted around and saw a man with light brown hair touched with gray and light brown eyes, laughing.
Remus smiled. "Now why didn't we think of that one? It would have been the perfect prank, turning Snape pink!" He smiled slightly at Danny. "I'm Remus Lupin."
"Danny Fenton." Danny gave him a strange look. 'Weird, he kind of reminds me of Wulf.'
Remus noticed the look and raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?" he asked cautiously.
Danny shook his head. "Oh, sorry. No, nothing wrong, you just remind me of someone." He paused. "Which is weird cause you don't look at all like him and he doesn't speak too much English."
Harry looked between the two. "Who does he remind you of, then?"
Danny stood up and stretched. "A ghost who speaks mostly Esperanto named Wulf." He walked over to his bags and glanced up at them, ignoring their seeming shock. "Would someone mind telling me where I can put my stuff?"
Remus shook his head. "Come on, you're bunking with Harry and Ron." He led the way up the stairs, with all five teens following him. "We'd give everybody their own room, but we still haven't managed to clean out all of them, and we don't know which ones aren't safe."
Remus glanced at Danny, and decided to just ask what he was wondering about. "Why do you think it's so strange that I remind you of this ghost?"
Danny shrugged. "Like I said, he only speaks Esperanto and a little bit of English. Wulf considers me a friend, since I once helped free him from Walker." He shook his head slightly. "Anyway, it's a bit strange because he looks about like a wolf-man from the really bad horror movies."
Remus stopped short and stared. Danny got a few steps farther before he realized Remus wasn't moving anymore, and turned back. Remus wasn't the only one staring, the others were too. "Is something wrong?"
The four teens and Remus exchanged glances. While neither the Weasleys nor Remus really understood the reference, they had caught on that 'wolf-man' could easily be seen as 'werewolf'. Finally, Harry spoke. "You just caught us by surprise. What do you mean your friend looks like a 'wolf-man'?"
Danny shrugged. "Couple feet taller than I am, covered in dark fur, with a face that's almost like a wolf's. He walks upright, but he's also obviously wolf-like, especially his feet and hands. He's a nice guy, if he likes you. Last I heard from him, he can speak in English a bit better, but he still complains about the grammar. Not that I blame him."
Danny turned and walked up the stairs, ignoring the fact that the others still hadn't budged an inch. At the top of the stairs, he paused for a moment before turning left.
Harry frowned for a moment and followed him, with the others finally coming up behind him. Harry reached the top just in time to see Danny poke his head in a room for a moment before entering. Harry blinked as he realized that it was the room he and Ron shared. "Weird, how did he know which one?"
Ginny shrugged. "Guess you'll have to ask him."
Harry frowned but went over and walked into the room. Inside, Danny had set his stuff on the third bed that had been recently added.
Danny put his suitcase down at the end of the bed with his backpack on top of it and settled into a cross-legged position with the last bag, which his parents had given him. He ignored when Harry and the others came in, looking through the bag instead. 'Hmm, a couple thermoses, with a note to try and send them back when they get full. A couple Jack-o-nine-tails, the Fisher which dad finally untangled, a few blasters, and… whoa.'
Danny pulled out something that was simply a handle with a button on the side. He cautiously held it in front of him and pressed the button, not sure what to expect. What he got was a staff like the one his mother had used the time they were sent to Vlad's cabin. 'Now this is going to be useful.' He grinned and turned it off before sticking it back in his bag. 'Better not let everybody know what I have. I can check out the rest later.'
Harry blinked when the staff came to life, but decided to speak when Danny made it collapse and put it away before giving him an expectant look. "Erm, well, how did you know which room it was?"
Danny shrugged. "No dust on the floor to the left, while there was still some to the right. This door was open, and there was no dust on it, either. Besides, it's kind of obvious when it's a guys' room and there are three beds."
Dumbledore came into the room before Harry could think of an answer. Harry and Remus both gave him wary looks, but Harry was surprised to see the outright hostility on Danny's face. Dumbledore smiled, ignoring the looks. "Ah, I see you've already started to settle in," he commented to Danny. "I trust everything is to your liking?"
Danny nodded, keeping his eyes on Dumbledore. "Of course, everything is fine. Was there anything else, or were you hoping for another chance to invade somebody's mind? I'm sure you haven't had a chance recently."
Dumbledore ignored the comment. "Good, good. I just came to tell you that Severus will be taking you for your basic school supplies—robes, a wand, that sort of thing. He expects punctuality, so be ready to leave at nine tomorrow morning." Without another word, he turned and walked out.
Danny glared after the man, wishing so much that he could risk blasting the old man right then and there. Unfortunately he had witnesses. Speaking of…
Hermione blinked. "Why are you so hostile towards him? He just came up to make sure things were going smoothly."
Danny frowned. "I already said something about how he tried to invade my mind the first time we met. So far, he hasn't given me any reason to think any better of him."
Ginny frowned. "I can understand being angry about having your privacy invaded, but wasn't that a few weeks ago? Why is it still such a big deal?"
Danny gave the redhead a level look, almost seeming to judge her. Finally, he shook his head. "For one thing, it may have been a few weeks ago, but I won't forgive something like that so easily. Especially not when he hasn't bothered to apologize for it, and hasn't shown any sign that he ever will."
Remus frowned. "What's the second thing?"
Danny grinned, but there was no humor in it. "There are people who pretend to be your friend for some reason only to betray you. I know of at least one good situation right there, and Dumbledore reminds me far too much of Vlad.
"Besides that, Jazz was wary of him the first time she ever saw him. She studies a lot of psychology, and I trust her. Third thing? Snape may wear danger like a cloak, but Dumbledore was the one my instincts screamed at me not to turn my back on. I've learned to trust my instincts, they don't tend to steer me wrong."
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AN: Hope you like. I know Danny saying goodbye and leaving with Dumbledore may seem a bit rushed, but I wasn't sure how to put it, so I kinda cheated with that. Hermione may seem a little eager, especially when Danny asked if they wanted to know how he pissed off Snape, but think about it. She's the type of person who'd like to know everything. Plus, she's smart enough to figure out quite a bit, once she has the right clues. I figure secrets would drive her nuts, and someone asking if she really wanted to know something would be worse.
For those of you following Neko, don't worry. I haven't abandoned it or anything, and I think I might be able to get around the block soon. Unfortunately, I don't know when I'll put up another chapter.
