Chapter Seven
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I screamed, slamming ectoblast after ectoblast at the looming oak tree in front of me. What kind of stupid loser decides to go hide out in some other country for a stupid bet that he barely even cares about? What, was I trying to prove myself? Surely a year of defeating Skulker was enough to do that. But no, I had to take him up on his stupid challenge. "Because I'm an idiot!" I felt my eyes burn a brighter green as I let go of a Ghostly Wail. The enormous tree lasted about ten seconds before it began to bend under the weight of the sudden gust. I didn't stop until it collapsed.
I gasped as all my energy sapped from my body. While the ability didn't weaken me as awfully as it used to, it still packed a punch, especially when I was already worn from the hours of flying I'd done. Since getting back from the meet and greet with the teachers, I'd spent the day testing the boundaries of that 'confinement spell' which had supposedly been cast on the school grounds to prevent me from escaping. The stupid thing worked. I tried the circumference of the grounds, going under the earth to see whether the spell only worked at land level. I even scoured the school for secret passages – the ones I did find sent me spiralling back to the other side of the castle in the same way the boundaries had. It was painful and embarrassing and degrading and actually terrifying. What confused me was that my ghost half's previous resistance to magic didn't seem to ease the load at all. The only conclusion that I could come to, was that the magic worked on my human half and since I was still lugging that around, I was still susceptible. It wasn't a comforting thought.
I allowed myself to drop to the floor, finding a large rock to perch on. I closed my eyes. The sun was starting to retreat, casting uneasy shadows across the already darkened Forbidden Forest. Before you go thinking that I'd suddenly become brave and decided to risk the murky depths of the Castle's resident spooky woodland, I was only on the outskirts where I hoped I'd be able to avoid attention from both the school and whatever creatures lurked between the trees.
The meeting with 'Diggory' had been horrific. As if Dumbledore hadn't taken it upon himself to scare me enough, Stubble felt the need to add just that little bit more dread.
"Amos! What a delight. Take a seat. Lemon sherbet?" Dumbledore held out a small tray of yellow sweets to the shorter man. I'd taken the same seat that I had earlier in the day and was attempting to put on my best 'I'm just a harmless teenager without an evil bone in my body' look. Amos grinned nervously as he shook his head.
"I'd best not, old chap, I'm watching my weight!" he patted his belly, almost jovially, causing a spark of irritation to flare up within me.
"It's wonderful to see you again, boy. You're looking healthier than you did yesterday!" He said it as though it was a compliment.
"Thanks, awesome to see you too." 'Keep a watch on your temper' – that's what Dumbledore had warned me beforehand. I don't normally get aggressive when I'm nervous, but this school was just messing with my head.
The man nodded, taking a seat opposite Dumbledore's desk. "Right! Well then. I'm here to discuss the board meeting. As I warned you this morning Dumbledore, they aren't entirely happy with what we've put in place here and they have requested that you consider giving up the burden you have taken upon yourself."
I glanced at Dumbledore. He'd been asked to give me up and he'd refused? The man ignored my questioning expression and popped a sherbet into his mouth.
"And as I told you this morning, we're more than happy to take up the challenge." If this wasn't a double ended statement, I didn't know what was.
"Yes. Yes you did." The man paused and scratched at his eyebrow. "So what we are left with, is a certain number of instructions in how we believe you could take care of the situation. The board reserves the right to withdraw this child from your care if you do not meet with their requirements."
Dumbledore simply nodded, nonchalantly, as though that wasn't the most unnerving thing he'd heard all day. "Do you, perchance, have a copy of these requirements?"
Stubble raised a finger in a signal to wait, as he dove his free hand into a miniature bag that was strapped to his belt. My jaw may have dropped a little as I watched him pull out a large roll of paper. There was no way that paper could have naturally fit into that fist-sized bag without having folded or creased. Catching myself, I quickly snapped my jaw shut and leaned back further in my chair, subconsciously pulling away from the magic trick. The man passed the roll to Dumbledore who pulled it open and stretched it out on the desk.
I watched intently as the guy read, his eyes skimming the sheet until he reached a particular line that made his brow crease. That didn't bode well.
"They are relatively reasonable, wouldn't you say?" Stubble quickly cut in, obviously finding the same sign of unhappiness in the older man as I had.
The headteacher didn't respond, finishing his reading before sitting back in his chair.
"Danny, could you wait outside a moment please?" he finally asked, refusing to catch my eye. I glanced down at the paper but before I could read any of it, the headteacher made the deliberate action of folding it. I frowned, unhappy about the sudden dismissal, but owing as much as I did to the guy, I decided it wouldn't be worth my time to try and fight it. So I grunted, and flew to the exit, trying not to let my pride sting me when the door was shut magically behind me.
I'm not going to lie and say that I wasn't at all tempted to turn invisible and spy on the conversation. Dumbledore seemed to have set up a soundproofing barrier on the door, which meant that a normal human being wouldn't have been able to hear a word that was being said. My enhanced hearing, however, meant that, while I couldn't hear clearly, I could still make out what was being said as though it were being whispered. So instead of spying, I simply eavesdropped.
"Amos, you know I can't condone this. He's fifteen."
"He may be fifteen, but he's a magical creature – one even the most senior of the department have never heard of. The board wants answers and they need to know how to handle any threat that the boy may pose. He's not human, he doesn't have the same rights as the rest of us."
"But experimentation? Even if we could find someone in this school willing to run the kind of tests you're asking for, what kind of impression would that give to him? What's to say that what you're asking wouldn't turn him against us anyway?"
My eyes widened in shock. 'I think you are incredibly lucky that we got to you first', 'imagine what uses they could find for a teenage boy with abilities that allow him to harm the country's strongest tracker force, without actually intending to.' Dumbledore's words resonated in my head as I forced myself to continue listening.
"You know I can't argue with them. I tried to fight your case, Dumbledore, but the board is determined that they should have him, rather than him being kept in the school. They'll find any excuse to pack him away and they're trying to push you. Going up against them would only make this worse for Danny."
There was a long pause as Dumbledore seemed to think this over. "I won't have him treated like an animal."
A few seconds later, the door swung back open, startling me into the air. Dumbledore looked grim as he gestured for me to enter. I bit my lip before making my way back into the room. I couldn't give any sign of having heard the conversation if I wanted to keep my advanced hearing secret. I'd already been accused of being a spy and I didn't want to make myself any more of a desirable target. But I'm not the best at shielding my emotions and I'm pretty sure my irritation and fear must have burned through. Instead of taking the seat again, I opted to float cross-legged – being slightly higher than those I was talking to might give me the false sense of invincibility that I needed right now.
Stubble was silent, unsure of how much Dumbledore was planning on telling me.
"How would you feel about doing a few tests for the Ministry?" The headteacher suddenly asked, turning to face me with those bright blue eyes of his. I was startled to see that their usual sparkle wasn't quite there. I gulped.
"What kind of tests?"
This time, Dumbledore nodded to Stubble. The younger man shuffled uncomfortably in his seat as he let his eyes fall on me.
"Well... nothing unreasonable... just a few things to see how far your abilities extend and the kind of spells that would or would not work on you..."
They wanted to know more about me so that they'd be better at controlling me. My eyes narrowed, despite my attempts to stop them.
"So you want to turn me into a lab rat," I responded dryly.
"No! Not at all!" the man exclaimed, although he seemed confused by my metaphor. "We just want to see how you work – you must understand, the natural powers that you have, they are inspiring and as to how you managed to become what you are – the formula that made you... well we wouldn't very well be the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures if we didn't understand the creatures we are sworn to... protect..."
Sworn to control more like. I folded my arms in protest, hoping to sign my discontent without actually verbally getting myself into trouble.
"So, what would these tests include?" I prompted further.
"Well..." He looked down at his feet awkwardly. "We'd put you through some obstacle tests – to see how well you fare with various different activities, and we'd have to test all of your abilities, invisibility and flight included... We'd obviously have to take some blood and-"
"No!" I cut in instantly, startling all three of us. I blinked, before coughing slightly as though to cover my slip up. "I... I can't do blood. I can't give you anything like that. It's just... uh... my... beliefs... I don't believe in giving any form of DNA for lab purposes..." Uh... what? I frowned momentarily, trying to work out what I'd just said. I seriously needed to work on my cover ups...
Obstacle tests I could manipulate, ability tests I could be selective about but genetics? What if they found out I wasn't all ghost? What if with their magic powers, they could do something with my DNA to clone or... control me? I might have just been paranoid, but I couldn't run the risk.
Dumbledore must have caught onto something in my voice because the slightest gleam returned to his eyes.
"Then no DNA will be taken," he stated. Stubble began to protest, but the headteacher shot him a look that instantly shut him up. "Your board has begun to test my limits, so naturally I must test theirs. If Danny feels that giving blood would be unreasonable, then we won't do it. And I believe and amendment can also be made to the testing of spells. You understand, of course, that some of the spells suggested are unethical and wouldn't be used in any natural circumstance."
Stubble shuffled more in his seat, as though he had more than a dozen things to say about that but knew he probably shouldn't. "I don't mean to sound... ungrateful. But I am not entirely sure my superiors would agree with you."
"Then I shall talk to them," Dumbledore answered, shortly, as though that was the solution to everything. Diggory's eyes travelled from the older man, to me – lingering before he awkwardly nodded.
"Of course."
The meeting had ended pretty swiftly after that. All that had been left to do was deal with some kind of message system in which Dumbledore would be able to send proof of his having met the 'requirements' and any results that may appear from the tests.
Tests. Even the word left a sour taste in my mouth. That was something else I seemed to have had to put up with since the accident. So many people threatening so many tests and experiments. I'd managed to avoid them for so long, and now I was just going to have to sit there and take it? Dumbledore assured me he wouldn't make me do anything I didn't feel comfortable with, but who was he kidding? If it was all left up to that, I wouldn't be doing anything, and then I'd just get 'packed away' by the Department of Creatures and Rules and Stuff and sent off to do something else, more painful and humiliating.
I was starting to wonder if these guys were actually planning on letting me go at all. Ever.
My eyes began to burn but I shook my head vehemently. I wasn't going to cry. I wasn't going to break. I was going stay in punishment for my idiocy and then when the month was up, I was going to break out. If these guys thought they could play me, if they could keep me forever, I was going to show them just how wrong they were. I don't like fighting the living, but if it came down to that, or enslavement, I wasn't going to be polite.
"Danny Phantom. Hogwarts' resident ghost pet."
I sighed before pulling myself up again. I had to calm down. I had to think this through.
"I swear, if Snape goes on about the importance of valerian sprigs in sleep potions one more time, I'm going to shove that stupid wand of his up his pompous backside."
I started as a voice sounded through the trees nearby. On instinct, I became invisible before lifting higher into the air to try and catch a glimpse of who'd spoken.
"Yes. That's lovely imagery, Ron. Thank you."
Ron? My eyes widened slightly as I realised I recognised those voices. Sure enough, a few seconds later a familiar trio of students entered the clearing. The three I'd met last night. What where they doing here? Didn't the words 'Forbidden Forest' mean anything to them? I held my breath as they came closer, before reminding myself that I was invisible and they couldn't possibly be able to see me.
My first thought was to get out of there. No students. I didn't want to get myself into any situations that could be detrimental to my own future.
But I held back. Not because I wanted to get into even more bother but because this was the Golden Rule and I was feeling hard done by enough that I wanted to rebel.
"Remind me why we're here?" Ron complained, looking nervous as the group neared the fallen tree.
"Because Hermione is convinced she heard something out here and she's obsessed with this white-haired kid."
"I'm not obsessed. Just curious. And I did hear something, you were just too immersed in your moaning about Potions to notice," the young witch retorted. "Hey, look at this." She quickly dashed over to the tree I'd killed minutes ago. I jumped back as she passed me, not wanting to get too close. The idea that she could be 'obsessed' or even 'curious' about me was relatively amusing. I guess she reminded me of Jazz in that respect.
Okay, I know I should have been spooked. Having these guys lurk around trying to solve the mystery that was me could only lead to trouble but I was so tired of being scared. It seemed to have been the most prominent emotion in my core since discovering the existence of magic and I was still feeling incredibly bitter, so walking on the edge of disaster was rather soothing.
So instead of fleeing, I hovered and watched as the girl knelt down beside the oak tree and ran her hand across its rough bark.
"It looks burned..." she murmured, more to herself than anyone else. Ron rolled his eyes and trotted over to squat next to her and the other kid... (Harry?) went to the other side. I floated a little closer.
"But only in the middle..." the spectacled boy added.
"So what knocked it over? It couldn't have been the wind otherwise there would be damage on more of the trees and this looks like the sole target."
So yeah, I beat up a tree with a concentrated vocal attack, was that so strange? I bit my lip, and sat on the tree beside Hermione. My overriding desire was to reveal myself. I hadn't had a conversation with people this close to my age since a few days ago when I left Sam and Tucker. But I knew that would be pushing my luck a little too much.
"Yup, that's great. We've found the knocked down tree and White-head is no where to be found. Can we head back now? This place gives me the creeps."
A frown made its way onto Hermione's face and she looked up. "I don't think it's the place... Do you feel that?"
Ron and Harry shot each other confused looks but the witch didn't take any notice.
"It's like... a cold spot..." She slowly lifted herself out of her crouch and stood above me. I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, so it didn't occur to me to move. Naturally, I was stunned when her hand started blindly advancing on my chest. I quickly checked my intangibility, afraid that if I moved, I'd make a sound or send a gust of air in her direction. Her hand passed straight through me causing her frown to deepen. "When I got close to that boy last night, there was a cold aura about him, kind of like when you go near a ghost. I'm getting the same feeling now."
She retracted her hand, staring at the space it had previously occupied. Both her friends shot up, startled.
"Does that mean he's here?" Ron blurted, glancing around him frantically. I was left wondering what on earth had possessed me to sit so close in the first place. I stared into the girl's eyes, willing her to ignore her senses. There was no way I was revealing myself now so she'd be waiting a long time if she expected me to.
"I... don't know..." She blinked a few times before shaking her head. "If he is, he obviously doesn't want us to see him."
She looked back down at the tree.
"I can see what got McGonagall afraid though. Whatever took this down was pretty powerful."
"Do you think he has anything to do with what happened at the World Cup?" Harry asked quietly, as though trying to hide what he was saying from the boy who may or may not have been invisibly eavesdropping.
Seriously, what was this World Cup everyone kept talking about? I was guessing it was something wizardy otherwise I would have heard of it before, especially if something horrific had happened there. And why was everyone coming to the conclusion that I was somehow involved?
"No, I don't think so. Why would he be at Hogwarts if he was that dangerous? McGonagall knew exactly what she was looking for, which means that she had to have known that he was in the school. That implies that he didn't just sneak in. Dumbledore wouldn't risk any of the students getting hurt... so I think we have to trust him."
"Dumbledore or White-head?" Ron asked, bewildered. I couldn't help but narrow my eyes at the tall boy. I'm usually the one that gives out the nicknames and I'm not always that fond of being on the receiving end of them. I think I preferred 'Invisobill'.
"Can't you think of something a little more creative than 'White-head'? It's positively juvenile." Hermione quickly bent down again, having spotted something on the ground. I finally picked up the courage to move and flew to the other side of her, far enough so she hopefully wouldn't find the 'cold spot' again. I was eager to find out what she'd discovered, wondering if I'd slipped up somewhere else.
Minuscule green embers burned on the ground beside the tree, possibly bits of bark that had fallen off when I'd been slaughtering it. I watched, cautiously, as the young witch prodded one with her finger. She instantly drew it back, hissing as the green substance singed her skin.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked, as Ron rushed around her, obscuring my view.
"I'm fine. It's just hot." The girl hesitated before standing upright again. "I think we should be heading back. It's getting dark and we don't want Filch to catch us."
The two boys nodded their agreement and I watched as the three of them retreated back through the forest. I willed myself visible again and looked down at the tree.
If I wanted to keep in hiding, then I'd have to refrain from leaving such glaringly obvious evidence in future.
On the other hand... I could always stretch this 'interaction' thing. I wasn't exactly interacting with the students if the students didn't know I was there. Maybe I could have a bit of fun with this. Maybe I could show magicians what happens when you shut a fifteen year-old half-ghost up in a castle and tell him he can't play. A mischievous smile wormed its way onto my face, as I glanced back in the direction the students had left.
"Let the games begin."
AN: And this is what happens when I get spur of the moment inspiration. I don't think I've written a chapter for Spellbound this quickly before, its staggering! Originally I was planning on keeping the trio out of the story for a while, just until Danny settles in a little... but then this happened and I liked it, so it stuck! I might come back and change little parts of this in the future, because I've never not planned for a chapter before, and despite my love for it now, I might decide that I hate it in future...
Hmmm... experimentation... I can't think of a single teacher that would be willing to participate in that... :)
I'm away all next week, so I won't be updating anything again for a while, but hold tight! I'm hoping this is a sign that writing for Spellbound is speeding up! (Sorry Diversity fans, I'm still facing a brick wall with chapter 26...)
~Mea
(I went back through this after adding it to the DOCs manager and it suddenly gained 200 words.. if you see anything that looks awfully out of place, let me know?)