At Three, Everything Starts or Ends
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: Well, guess what, I don't own these two great creations.
Love-Song Weeds and Satiric Thorns
What has happened thus far:
The ecto-radio that the Fentons gave Harry for his birthday the year previous has received a recent upgrade. It is located next to the off button. Press the wrong button and the universes binding Harry Potter and Danny Fenton together separate back into their own timelines.
Luna Nightingale, Clockwork's mysterious apprentice, awakens Danny and takes him to the original world that Harry Potter came from and hopping to various points in the timestream, Danny has to convince Harry to return. Harry regains his memory of his adoptive family when they return home and are caught by Maddie down in the lab.
Meanwhile, a murderer named Sirius Black in on the loose and the Fentons receive an owl from the Headmaster to safeguard their sons. Jack has a discussion with his ancestor, John Fenton-Nightingale, about hiring a new House Elf. He returns home to find that two new animals have joined the Fenton menagerie: a large black lab that Harry names Sirius, after the Dog Star, and a ghostly canine that Danny has dubbed Cujo that keeps sneaking out of the Ghost Zone.
In the third chapter, Dobby the House Elf awakens Danny, who is floating near the ceiling, and inquires of the position of employment with House Nightingale. Danny is the Head of House and is the only one who can legally accept the House Elf's offer. While they are hammering out terms, another incident occurs with the ecto-radio and Harry. This time, Clockwork, fetches Danny himself and sends him forward ahead a year in his own original timeline to intercept Harry and Featherhead.
Danny tests Harry to make sure he is the 'real' Harry and they thoroughly manage to confuse the Fenton family of that timeline. Jack tests Harry's knowledge of the Fenton equipment.
Clockwork, then, transports Harry and Danny straight to the Hogwarts Express bypassing the time they would have spent at the Burrow. They land in the middle of a dementor searching the compartment and Harry is in the throws of a living memory of his parents' murder. Turns out, that they while they 'physically' lived the weeks they were in the alternate universe, they were 'spiritually' absent from their bodies, as the Parrot explained to Danny, who caught Draco in a private moment with Sam while searching for a new compartment to sit in.
Are y'all all caught up now? Okay, now let's join the Feast.
"What's the matter, Phantom?" Draco Malfoy asked, sitting down next to Danny as the Bloody Baron ghosted past and gave them a strange look in greeting.
Danny hissed and looked at him sharply. "Not out loud, idiot!" The Great Hall was filling with students and so far there were so signs of Sam, Hermione or Harry.
"Sam went to the infirmary," Draco said, guessing at one who Danny was looking for. "I tried to comfort her on the train when the dementors came in..." His voice trailed off as he realized something. "Ah, you saw that then?"
"Sorry," Danny apologized, then saw Professor Snape, their Head of House and the Potions Master, shoot a particularly nasty venomous glare at the shabbily dressed man from the train.
"Oh dear," Draco laughed, "Another year, another joke fostered onto us." He leaned into Danny and grinned evilly. "Is it true your brother screamed and fainted when the dementors paid a visit to your compartment?"
Danny's blue eyes flashed green in reply. Draco knew, then and there, that he'd just declared open season on himself. He gulped and began to pray.
"Were you able to get the cat to agree?" Sirius asked the ghost dog.
"Yes," the ghost dog replied. "Why do you want the kill the rat so badly?"
"He's no more a rat than I am a dog," Sirius answered.
Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet and announced the retirement of Professor Kettleburn and the appointments of Hagrid (to take his place) and Remus Lupin to the post of DADA. Everyone groaned. He watched Daniel Nightingale's green eyes light up with fury and Draco Malfoy jump out of his chair as something electric green whizzed past his ear. The Weasley twins were high-fiving each other, Miss Lovegood was staring off into space in Daniel Nightingale's direction, and the Golden Trio were whispering. Hagrid, behind him, was wiping his misty eyes with the tablecloth.
"Let the Feast begin!" he called, clapping his hands together.
"Harry seems sudbdued this evening," he whispered to Professor McGonagall, who nodded in agreement.
"He was screaming when the dementors searched his compartment," the Deputy Headmistress replied. "I fear he was reliving the night You-Know-Who killed his parents. Also, Professor Lupin and Miss Granger have told me that Potter and Nightingale acted like automatons up until that point."
"I've received reports of the same from Arthur Weasley," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Ah, here's this evening's entertainment."
Below the dias, a ghostly green dog with a red eyes and a black spiky collar sauntered into the Great Hall. All eyes focused on the Slytherin boy who was desperately trying not to turn invisible. A turquoise hand reached down and grabbed the dog by the collar.
"I would suggest you read that book, little badger," Plasmius murmured in his ear. "Class will resume on the morrow eve after your regular educational courses."
"Class?" Draco asked Danny, when Plasmius had left.
"Class," Danny confirmed. "Welcome to the flipside of Hogwarts."
"Where is Danny?" Sam asked, sliding into her usual place at the Gryffindor table. "I thought he was going to eat breakfast with us?"
"He's over there," Ron said, gesturing with his fork at the Ravenclaw table.
"That's Luna Lovegood," Harry added, before Sam's jealousy reared its ugly green head. "She's Clockwork's apprentice in this world. She is also the one who helped get me home when I had that incident with the ecto-radio."
"If she is just a friend, then why is she running her fingers through your brother's hair, mate?" Ron asked.
"And that's how you groom a fillilily's mane," Luna said, withdrawing her fingers from Danny's raven locks.
"You learned that well," Danny murmured, eyes half-shut in pleasure.
"Down boy," she laughed in that silvery tone of hers. "I learned that from my father. Your friends are waiting for you."
"Oh, yeah," Danny said, as she dumped him on the floor. He jumped to his feet and brushed himself off. Bowing to her in ghost fashion, he walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down in between Sam and Hermione.
"My lovely rossignol," he thought he heard Luna murmur in his direction. She smiled at him sweetly, when he glanced at her.
"Eyes front," Sam commanded, snapping her fingers. "So what was that all about?"
"No idea," Danny answered. "She just said she wanted to show me something."
"Uh-huh."
"Oi, Potter!" Draco Malfoy called out. "The dementors are coming."
"Shut up," Harry growled.
"Youngblood's working on it," Danny murmured.
Hermione's overloaded backpack brought the subject back around to their schedules. "It's impossible to be in three classes at once, Ron," she was saying. "I worked everything out with Professor McGonagall. Quit bothering me about it."
Harry rolled his eyes. "So what are you taking?" he asked Danny.
"Muggle Studies, an extra Herbology class, Care of Magical Creatures, and the usual," Danny said, handing over his schedule.
"Says here, that you've got Divination with the Gryffindors," Harry commented, handing back the time table to his brother.
"What? I know very well it said...Dang it! He did that on purpose," Danny fumed.
"At least none of your classes run together like Hermione's," Harry pointed out. "I have no idea how she's going to pull it off."
"You either," Danny said, smirking. "You've got Muggle Studies with me."
"What?" Harry exclaimed.
"Chill," Danny told him. "They're at different times, so we're not in a conflict or anything."
"He's still annoyed with us, I take?" Harry groaned.
"Yup," came the reply.
"Joy."
