Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom (or the Harry Potter books).


Chapter 4

"And then, as we were chasing him over the water, some shark leapt out of nowhere and tried to take a bite out of him!" Danny could hardly finish recounting his and Sam's rendezvous with the Box Ghost to Jazz while she drove them all to school Monday morning—he was laughing so hard. "And…and…!"

"Come on Danny, what happened?" asked an amused Jazz as she pulled into the school parking lot.

Sam chuckled as Danny held up a finger, pleading for a few breaths. "I'll finish it," she offered, leaning forward from the back-seat. "Anyways, the Box Ghost freaked out so badly he practically shoved himself inside the Fenton Thermos, all the while screaming like a girl."

"Yeah," added Danny between laughs, "He was all like 'I am the Box Ghost, not a dolphin!' It was the quickest ghost-catching experience ever! And I didn't even have to lay a finger on him!"

"Now if only every ghost could be as cooperative as him…" mused Sam.

"Then I would have more time for more important things…" Danny turned around in the passenger seat to face Sam and they both smiled goofily at each other.

Jazz sighed and shook her head at the two. "Ah, the beginning stages of love when dopamine and serotonin surge..."

"Hmm what did you say Jazz?" inquired Danny halfheartedly, still looking at Sam.

"Nothing," smiled Jazz. She parked the car and turned off the engine. "Anyways, I'll just leave you two alone. Don't do anything funny in the backseat!"

"Wow, Jazz, thanks," replied Danny sarcastically. He tore his eyes away from Sam and exited the car.

As Danny and Sam predicted, they were greeted with a wave of cheers and clapping as they entered the doors of Casper High. First to approach them were Dash, Paulina, and the rest of the A-listers.

"Well well," began Dash, with his arms crossed, "I guess I do owe you an apology, Fenturd—I mean, Fenton."

"Um, thanks?" replied Danny, still instinctually wary of the big football player.

"Fenton! You're the man!" cheered Kwan, slapping Danny on the back.

"But," continued Dash in a slightly aggravated tone, and Danny inwardly winced, "You are going to make my job of wailing on nerds harder now. For all I know, they all could be secret superheroes."

Paulina waltzed over and sidled between Danny and Sam, much to the latter girl's extreme ire. "Paulina Fenton! I like it!" Paulina clapped her hands together and leaned towards Danny with fluttering eyelashes, who, trapped between the girl and the wall of lockers, couldn't edge far enough from her.

"Back off Paulina." Sam forced herself in between the two, much to Danny's relief. "Danny's mine."

Paulina flipped her glossy chocolate hair. "I snatched him away from you once before, you know."

"Oh, I'd like to see you just try this time," growled Sam, her voice lined with jagged ice. Danny placed his hands on her hips, anchoring her. The last thing he wanted to do on a Monday morning was try to explain why Paulina was lying unconscious on the floor with an imprint of Sam's fist in her face.

Paulina scoffed, and with a last wink at Danny, stalked off, followed by Dash and company.

Before Sam could open her mouth to voice blatantly exactly what she thought about that shallow girl, Valerie appeared.

"Hi Danny," she said as she walked over, and then nodded at Sam, "Hi Sam."

"Hey Val, what's up?" replied Danny in a friendly tone.

"Um, well, I'm sorry, about—" Valerie paused, looking around at the hallway of people who were eying the exchange curiously, "—you know."

Danny smiled, understanding. "It's okay Val. You only did what you felt was right."

"Although I'm curious," she asked quietly, "Why you never told me? It would have saved us a lot of…bruises, and such."

"Well, um," Danny lowered his voice to a whisper, "I figured since you uh, were so bent on revenge on my ghost-half, you would have also hated my human-half…"

"I guess that makes sense… " Valerie's voice trailed and she looked at the ground, finding Danny's blue eyes too intense. She remembered regretfully how she had relinquished a relationship with him because she was afraid her ghost-hunting would injure him, when everything was just a tornado of irony. She looked back up at Danny, who had one of his arms wrapped tenderly around Sam. Valerie inwardly sighed and forced a smile.

"Anyways, let bygones be bygones?" she offered, extending her hand.

Danny smiled and took it. "Let bygone be bygones."

"Oh, and Sam," Valerie let go of Danny's hand and turned to the other girl, "I'm sorry too. You had all the right reasons to doubt me."

"It's okay Valerie," Sam grinned at Valerie, her eyes warm. "You're actually not that bad. You should hang out with us sometime."

Valerie's small smile grew bigger. She actually couldn't remember the last time anyone other than Danny had asked her to just 'hang out'. "Thanks Sam. You're not that bad either." She turned to walk away, but then paused, and said, "If you ever need help…you know…I'm more than happy." And with one last flash of her grin, she turned and walked down the hall to her locker.

However, before Danny and Sam could do the same thing, they were blocked by none other than Mr. Lancer.

What! It's like people are lining up to talk to us. Actually, I hope they're not… thought Danny.

"Ah, Daniel Fenton and Sam Manson, just the two people I'm looking for," the overweight teacher said with a knowing smile.

"Uh, hi Mr. Lancer," said the two lovebirds in sync.

"That reminds me, Tetslaff owes me twenty dollars…" His eyes glazed over, dreaming of the new back-shaver he would be able to buy now.

Danny and Sam looked at each other, rolling their eyes and both thinking the same thing. Just how many people were betting on our personal life?

"Anyways," Mr. Lancer yanked his mind back to reality, "I think I'm beginning to understand your lackluster grades and long record of unexcused tardiness and absences, Mr. Fenton, or should I say, Danny Phantom."

"Uh…" began Danny, unsure of what to say.

"Therefore," continued Mr. Lancer, "I will be willing to overlook all future tardiness or absences, provided that you have a justifiable reason for missing, aka, a ghost attack."

"Really? Whoohoo!" shouted Danny, almost leaping into the air.

"But as for your grades, well, I can only give you enough extra credit. I suggest you find a tutor. Perhaps your girlfriend? She has straight A's, by the way."

"Wait," Danny turned to Sam, "You have straight A's?" Sam merely smiled, and shrugged her shoulders apologetically as if saying oops, I guess I forgot to mention it…

"Anyways, I need to go collect my monetary reward from Tetslaff. I'll see you two lovebirds in class." Mr. Lancer walked away, singing joyfully to himself. "Oh I love, to shave my back! It's much better, than a snack!"

Sam visibly shuddered when she caught verses of Mr. Lancer's song. "You would think that being a Goth and fighting ghosts would desensitize me to all things strange…"

Sam and Danny continued on their way to their lockers, a task that would usually only take a minute or less. However, it was many more minutes and a dozen autographs and pictures later were they finally able to squeeze safely to them. Danny had always dreamed of being popular (quite literally, remembering his dream when Frightmare invaded Amity Park), but not this popular! And when he got to his locker, he discovered that someone had decorated it all over with Danny Phantom pictures and pink hearts. He raised an eyebrow at Sam, who just stared back, as if daring him to ask if she was responsible for this display of nauseating cuteness on pain of death.

"You know who would have enjoyed these mobs of girls?" asked Danny as he opened his locker gingerly, half expecting a wave of fan-mail to crash down.

"Tucker?" replied Sam, opening her (thankfully undecorated) locker next to his.

"Yeah." Danny paused. "It feels weird not having him around."

"I know," agreed Sam with downcast eyes, "I miss him."

"But I'm happy for him. He deserves it all," said Danny, shutting his locker and cheering up, "Anyways, so as your official boyfriend, how about I do something obnoxiously cheesy like carry all your books for you or walk you to class?" He held out his hand, grinning.

"Obnoxious is right!" laughed Sam, holding onto her books, "I've been possessed by an evil jungle plant, been in more than one near-death experience, and kicked villain butt pretty much on a daily basis, so therefore I think I can handle a paltry pile of books! But," Sam grabbed Danny's hand with a smile, "I'm not so tough that I need to decline a charming escort."


Valerie sighed. She was sitting alone in her first period before class started, and as she gazed out the classroom door window, she caught Danny pass by for a fleeting second. She leaned her head against her arm, and let me mind return back to those days when she and Danny briefly dated—their casual dinner turned spontaneously romantic, the baseball game, the Ferris wheel where they almost kissed…She had given up Danny Fenton because of her obsession with Danny Phantom, when in the end, they were one of the same, and she had been terribly wrong the entire time. Did her first impression of Danny Phantom destroying her dad's lab and essentially the life she knew really blind her to all the truths? Did her near-sighted fixation on revenge make her no different than a villain such as Vlad? Valerie tightly shut her eyes, trying to block out the answers. Danny knew her ghost-hunting secret all along though, and he was willing to risk danger just to be with her. He must have really liked me. And he did. And I really liked him. But now, all I can do is miss him, and dream about a world that could have been.


Vlad donned his Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage and headed for Clockwork's tower, expecting a struggle (that he would indisputably win). But he was pleasantly surprised by the greeting of emptiness. He stepped into the tower, and paused, raising an eyebrow. That's strange, no Clockwork? Shouldn't the fool know everything that's supposed to happen; shouldn't he have seen that I would have come here today to set Dan Phantom free? Maybe that meddler has meddled too much and lost his touch.

The heavy thuds of his boots on the stone floor mixed with the sharp ticking of the numerous intricate clock pieces in the tower as he walked towards the center where Clockwork viewed the flow of time through his three portals. They were blank today, showing nothing but lazily swirling gray smoke. Vlad regarded the largest one in the center with slight curiosity. The silver mist flickered slightly when he paused before it, but revealed nothing more. Vlad stepped away, uninterested, and headed for his original destination. The Fenton Thermos that held Dan Phantom was in an unguarded chamber, which was hardly even a joke of an obstacle for Vlad. He blasted through, and grabbed the thermos.

"Come out and play, my magical genie," said Vlad, twisting open the thermos cap. At once a wind rushed through the tower, and a tornado of pale green smoke rushed out of the thermos. From within came a sinister and thunderous laughter, and Dan Phantom materialized.

"Ah, Vlad Plasmius," spoke Dan, "The last time I saw you, you were cowering like a pathetic puppy in a corner." He threw back his head and laughed, baring his fangs. "Wouldn't you agree that I am a much improved version of yourself?"

"Not at all," replied Vlad, feigning boredom, "For starters, I've never had the pleasure of feeling what it's like to be trapped in a thermos."

Dan narrowed his eyes and descended to the ground in front of Vlad. "I suppose you want some sort of bargain from me?" he said haughtily, "Some payment you feel is due for my release?"

"Not quite. I just want you to do what you do best, and I'll go do what I do best."

Dan crossed his arms and waited.

"In other words," continued Vlad with a malicious grin, "You go seek revenge on your younger self; make him pay for what he's done."

Dan's arms remained crossed. "And I suppose what you do best is take over the world?"

"Well, sure, if that's what you really think I'm best at—"

"And," interrupted Dan, "after I rid you of that vermin Danny Phantom, you suppose I'm just going to bow down to you and be your worthless pawn?"

Vlad sneered. "I see that fusing with my ghost-half has at least given you more brains." He wrapped his cape around and disappeared, leaving behind only echoes of his maniacal laughter.

"I am no body's servant!" Dan snarled into the empty air.

Suddenly the three time portals flickered to life next to Dan, and colorful swirls slowly smoothed away to reveal their images hidden beneath. Dan looked around guardedly, but sensing no presence of Clockwork, walked curiously to the portals. On the first one was an image of Jack and Maddie Fenton, peering quizzically over a broken device in their basement. Dan looked away in abhorrence. The second portal showed Tucker, sitting in the mayor's chair and gazing out the window with a longing expression. Dan snorted at the sight, and focused his attention on the largest portal in the middle. It showed Danny and Sam talking in hallway of Casper High after class. Sam was standing with her back against her locker, facing Danny, who was leaning in on a raised arm. As Dan looked on with both rapt attention and blistering resentment, Danny closed the gap between them and for a brief moment, captured Sam's lips in his.

The image struck a match inside Dan, lighting a fiery rage that consumed him. It burned him painfully, and hungrily devoured his anguish as fuel. He violently clawed at the portal with a roar, destroying the image in a whirl of wind, but he could not forget the picture excruciatingly engraved into mind. Danny will die for this!


To say that lunch was uneventful for Danny and Sam would be a downright lie. Everyone wanted Danny to sit with them—everyone. At first Danny was flattered, but that soon morphed into sheer bewilderment.

"I just want to be alone," he whispered to Sam from the side of his mouth as they stood with their trays, scanning a crowd of "Danny-come-and-sit-with-us" people.

"Let's go outside," suggested Sam quickly.

Sometimes a suggestion is perfect in theory, but becomes the opposite in reality. Throngs of paparazzi and media reporters had arrived, all clamoring to get a glimpse of the world's savior's "normal life as a teenage boy". When Danny and Sam unknowingly stepped outside, a tidal wave of cameras rushed at them, blinding the unsuspecting couple with flashes and deafening them with a barrage of questions.

"Danny, how does it feel to be back at school after saving the world?" "Do you have any plans for college?" "Is that your girlfriend?" "Sam! Can you tell us something about yourself?" "How does it feel to be dating a superhero?" "Is it true you're an heiress to a multi-billion-dollar business?"

"Uh…" Danny and Sam didn't know what to do, or what do say. One-on-one interviews were one thing, but this rolling lava of media insanity was just terrifying. Thankfully, none other than Mr. Lancer came to their much-needed rescue.

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!" yelled the teacher, waving his arms, "Get off of school property you media mongrels!"

However, instead of leaving, the "media mongrels" turned their attention to Mr. Lancer and threw their questions at him.

"How long have you been Danny's teacher?" "Is Danny able to keep up with ghost-fighting as well as his grades?" "Were you ever curious about his multiple absences?" "Is Danny undoubtedly your favorite student?"

Danny and Sam took this brief distraction to slip back inside, leaving behind an extremely irritated (but secretly excited) Mr. Lancer to fend for himself in that feral world.

"I think I take facing our classmates over that mess any day," admitted Danny, as he and Sam rushed around a corner.

"Man!" exclaimed Sam, "Is it always going to be like this from now on?"

Danny looked over at her. She was trying her best to hide her emotions, but after eight years of being her best friend, he could sense she was truly vexed. He paused in the hallway and set his tray on the floor. "Hey," he said softly, grabbing Sam's hand. She turned around, puzzled. "Listen," he continued, "I'm really sorry for bringing you into all this…"

Sam's face softened. "It's okay Danny. I understand. Plus, I don't really mind it." She paused as Danny tiled his head down and stared deeper into her eyes. She looked away. "Okay, um, it is a bit annoying…but," her eyes slowly trailed their way back into those sky-blue orbs and she reached one hand to cup his face, "I wouldn't trade any of this for anything."

Danny tenderly touched Sam's hand and smiled. "Me neither." He slowly leaned down to kiss Sam, but then two things happened—a thin wisp of icy air rushed out of his lips, and they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Aw, I do apologize for interrupting such a tender and sweet moment."

Danny and Sam spun around, and saw, floating in the air, none other than-

"Vlad Plasmius!" growled Danny, quickly transforming into his phantom form and moving in front of Sam to shield her, "You have a lot of guts to show your face to the world."

"Oh well, just thought I'd stop by anyways," Vlad replied, shrugging indifferently.

"Then just grab your cat and go back to living in space because you're not welcome here."

"Oh yes, that does seem to be the problem," mused Vlad, slowly rotating around a guarded Danny and Sam, "But I don't think that should an issue for long!" He aimed a deep magenta ray at the two. Danny swiftly pushed Sam away, becoming trapped in the glowing orb himself. Sam fell to the floor and looked on with dismay as the ray refused to give way to Danny's own blasts of energy. Vlad laughed and brought Danny to eye-level.

"Tell me why you're here, Vlad!" yelled Danny, punching the orb to no avail.

"Ah-ah Daniel, what's the magic word?" asked Vlad in a sing-song voice.

Danny just glared back. "Die?"

"Mmm, close enough. Well if you must know, young Daniel, I am here to take over the world!" Vlad raised his arms into the air and released a thunderous and victorious laugh. When he finished, he was slightly flabbergasted and very much infuriated to find Danny also laughing—but at him and not with him.

"What, failing once isn't enough for you?" said Danny, snorting, "The entire world is against you now. What makes you think they'll submit to you?"

"Oh Daniel, you were never that observant. Do you not see what I'm wearing?" Vlad clenched his fist and the orb holding Danny released bolts of electricity at the halfa, who yelped in surprised pain, "Do you not feel how much stronger I am now?"

The flashes ceased, and Danny slumped to the bottom of his prison, clenching his jaw. He looked carefully at Vlad for the first time, and noticed he had donned the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage.

"And this time," Vlad summoned the ray towards him and stared menacingly into Danny's eyes, "I'm going to make sure you won't be able to thwart my plans."

Danny staggered as he stood up, but his voice was strong. "Oh yeah? You and what army?"

"Me," came a cavernous voice. Danny and Sam turned and simultaneously gasped. Danny felt his insides freeze. No…!

"Ah, Dan Phantom, perfect timing for you to join us," said Vlad gleefully. The rays surrounding Danny dissipated and Vlad hurled him across the hall, where he landed at Dan's feet with a sickening crunch. Danny painfully jerked his head up and found his ultimate enemy glowering at him with blazing crimson eyes.

"Toodles, children! I'd love to stay and enjoy the show, but I have a world to conquer!" With one last bark of wild laughter, Vlad disappeared in a swirl of magenta light.

Danny finally found his voice. "Sam!" he turned and stared into her distressed eyes, "Run!" Sam nodded and took off down the hallway. Dan's eyes followed her hungrily until his sight was blocked with Danny, standing up and clenching his glowing fists.

Danny's eyes flashed. "I don't care why Vlad let you out, but all I know is that you're going back!" He formed a ball of energy and threw it at Dan, who merely dodged out of the way with a snicker, before sending a more powerful one back at Danny. He gasped and raised a shield to block it, but the ray was too strong and broke through, sending Danny crashing into a row of lockers.

Dan grinned, and teleported away, only to appear in front of Sam at the end of the hallway. She skidded to a halt and inhaled sharply. "Hello Sammy," breathed Dan, flashing his fangs. Before Sam could turn around, he wrapped a large hand around her pale throat and rose into the air. Sam let out a silent scream, and tried with all her strength to pry Dan's iron-grip from her throat, but the more she fought the tighter he clamped down, until her head swam with agony from the lack of oxygen.

"NO!" shouted Danny, raising himself up from the icy floor, "LET HER GO!"

Far away, Sam could hear Danny's frantic cries, but his voice was growing softer, and the white lights of the school hallways were growing dimmer, and a numbing blackness was…slowly…taking…over…

"I will," sneered Dan, "If and when you find me." He then laughed—a roar that shattered the lights and windows all around them. He shot one final blood-red ray at the ceiling above Danny, and disappeared.

Danny cried out, and the last thing he could remember was a wall of blackness and pain crashing down on top of him, and the image of Sam's pale body dangling limply in Dan's hand.


I'm so sorry it took so long! It usually takes me a long time to type out a chapter because I like to slowly peck away at it, oftentimes just sitting back and thinking silently for a long time.

Also, I know this is a short chapter compared with the others, but I predict the next one is going to be super long, as it's going to be mainly interactions between Dan and Sam, and boy do they have a lot to catch up on.

Hmm you know what would be a fun fic to write next: some sort of love..square...thing with Danny, Sam, Valerie, and Paulina. Maybe that'll be my next one-shot in Puddles.

Please review! I love you guys for all the support! XOXO