Chapter 7 The Interview

Danny came down to breakfast with the dream vividly replaying itself in his head. He had to figure out what Miss Daily was talking about and more importantly what she did to him to have the dream in the first place.

He found Jazz downstairs fixing breakfast. "Morning, Danny How do you want your eggs?"

"Huh? Oh scrambled," he said absently.

Jazz cracked the eggs into the pan, and then looked at her brother. "Danny -"

"No I didn't go this morning. Happy?" Danny shot back and yawned.

Jazz frowned as she gave her brother some toast. "Jeeze If this is how you're gonna wake up maybe we should let your math teacher put you under her spell."

"I think I was under her spell already," Danny began then before she could demand an answer Danny asked. "Wait where are mom and dad?"

Jazz bit back her own impatience. "There was a ghost attack at the penitentiary this morning. You must have been really tired last night if they manage to get out of the house this morning without waking you."

"Wait the penitentiary? The prison?" Suddenly Danny was very nervous.

An enemy of yours just escaped prison, and he might be targeting you for revenge.

Jazz now looked at Danny worried. "Danny is something wrong?" Danny was about to tell Jasmine everything when the door burst open and Maddie and Jack Fenton entered the room.

"Well if she wasn't a ghost who was she?" Jack asked.

"I'm as confused about her as you are Jack." Maddie was answering him. "She's not the red hunter, and I've never seen a ghost hunter that uses magic. No modern ghost hunter uses magic anyway."

Magic? Danny choked on a bit of orange juice. Did they say a ghost hunter that uses magic?

"You okay there son?" Jack asked pounding on Danny's back.

Danny wasn't sure which was worse, the burning sensation in his throat or the pounding on his back. "Yeah. I...I'm okay dad. It just went down the wrong way."

"You didn't find the ghost mom?" Jazz asked.

"Well we did, but we couldn't catch her. She had all these bat and spider creatures that would fight for her."

Bat and spider creatures? Why does that sound vaguely familiar? Danny wondered to himself. He knew this had to do with that weird dream, but he couldn't put the pieces together. "So who did that ghost break out of jail?" He asked.

"Didn't see the guy," Danny's dad said. "But that magic ghost hunter wanted him more than she wanted that ghost."

Maddie nodded. "Hmmm you're right about that Jack. Whoever she was she didn't want that prisoner to escape."

"Why would a ghost break anyone out of prison in the first place?" Jazz asked.

"I don't know that answer to that one either, dear," Maddie said. "We're just going to have to wait until that ghost makes it's move again.

Danny finished his breakfast. "Jazz mind driving me to school today?" He asked innocently.

That wasn't a normal request for Danny. Jazz looked right at him shocked for a second then said evenly. "Sure Danny, no problem,"

Maddie smiled thinking her two children were simply getting along for a change. When Jazz and Danny got into the car Jazz said. "Okay spill it, what's wrong?"

"You know that new ghost hunter that Mom and Dad were talking about?" Danny asked warily.

"Yeah,"

"I think it's Miss Daily," Danny told her.

Jazz managed to keep the car steady. "How do you know?" She asked. "You said you didn't -"

"I didn't!" Danny snapped back harsher than he intended too. "I had this really weird dream where Miss Daily told me that an enemy of mine just escaped jail. She gave me some kind of weird pep talk and she gave me this." Danny held up the marble still glowing an iridescent green.

Jazz glanced at the glowing orb. "Danny is that -"

"Yep that's the marble I energized for her yesterday." Danny admitted. "She told me that you and Sam would probably feel better if we had it in our possession."

"She gave it to you?" Jazz asked clearly puzzled. "Danny I though you said it was a dream."

She gave it to me in the dream, and when I woke up it was in my hand." Danny said then slightly more sharply than he wanted. "Don't ask me how Jazz cuz I don't know!"

Jazz sighed and drove on silently for a few seconds. Danny instantly regretted snapping. "Jazz I'm-"

"It's okay Danny," Jazz said reassuringly. "Believe me you have every reason to be freaked out about this. This Math teacher of yours seems to get freakier every time you talk about her."

Jazz pulled into the school parking lot and looked at Danny with sympathy.

Danny sighed relieved Jazz wasn't mad at him. "Yeah, well I'd better catch up with Sam and Tucker. See you later Jazz."

"Bye Danny," Jazz said. "I'll drive you home later too."

Danny knew that Jazz was being overprotective, but he decided to indulge her since so many weird things were happening lately. "Okay," he said and ran off to find his two friends.

He found Tucker alone playing a game on his PDA. "Hey Danny," Tucker said absently. "Where's Sam?"

"Didn't she come to school with you?" Danny asked.

Tucker shook his head no. "Her parents said she left early. I thought she was with you."

"I rode in with Jazz this morning." Danny explained. He fidgeted nervously with the marble in his pocket. "I wonder what Sam is doing before school?"

"What's in your pocket Danny?" Tucker asked noticing the nervous gesture.

"Oh this," Danny showed Tucker the marble. "This is what Miss Daily had me charge for her the other day. I had the craziest dream about her last night. She told me an enemy of mine escaped from jail, and I had to be careful. She gave me this back in the dream, and when I woke up this morning it was in my hand."

Tucker looked at the marble amazed. "But Danny how could she-"

"I don't know Tuck!" Danny snapped not waiting for the question. "I don't know how she got in my dream. I don't know how I got the marble, and I don't know what she wants with me!"

Instantly Danny felt guilty. He was taking his frustration, his inability to get answers to satisfy himself on first Jazz and now Tucker, and neither one of them deserved it. "Tuck I'm sorry It's just this whole thing with Miss Daily has gotten me crazy."

When Tucker didn't answer Danny right away Danny looked up at him. Tucker didn't look angry. In fact it looked like his friend was in deep thought. "Tuck?" Danny asked putting an hand on his shoulder.

Tucker blinked and faced Danny. "Huh? Oh I was just thinking and I've got a theory about Miss Daily."

"You mean aside of the magic theory?" Danny asked. Tucker nodded.

"I'm starting to think she's genuinely trying to help you." Tucker said with a grin. Before Danny could argue Tucker continued. "She helps you sleep and do your work when you're tired. She also gave you that energy charge thing, she's helping you at math, and she's been giving you pretty good advice."

Danny considered what Tucker said. "It does make some bizarre kind of sense, but why? What if she's just trying to gain my trust so she can trap me or something?"

"Possible," Tucker acknowledge. "But as long as we keep looking for a trap hopefully we won't fall into it. Besides she could have trapped you the other day and all she did was make you stronger."

Again Danny had to admit Tucker was right. He had been completely helpless in Miss Daily's magic circle. He didn't want to move for a portion of that spell, and Miss Daily didn't do anything to harm him. "Sam is never going to believe it though," Danny said. Then a thought occurred to him. "You know it's almost time for class and neither one of us has seen Sam. You don't think..."

Tucker's eyes widened. "No way," he said. "After what Miss Daily did to Valerie Sam wouldn't be crazy enough to confront her."

For a few seconds both boys tried to convince themselves that their independent stubborn fearless friend, wasn't crazy enough to confront the strange mysterious sorcerous. Simultaneously they said, "We'd better go find Sam!"

"Come on," Tucker said pulling on Danny's arm. "I've got an idea." He dragged Danny to an open window on the north side of the building. "That's her office," Tucker whispered to him. Danny nodded then using Tucker and the hedges for cover transformed into ghost mode and floated up to the window.

Sure enough Sam was in there with Miss Daily, and Sam looked seriously angry. Danny went invisible floated down to get Tucker then turning him invisible and intangible they floated and phased into the room.

"And if you don't leave Danny alone I'm going to let Mr Lancer and the whole school board know that they hired a witch to teach math!"

Bad move Sam Danny thought. If speaking as if Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton were one person wasn't a dead giveaway the dream certainly was. Miss Daily knew exactly who and what he was. Who knew how long she had been sitting on that information. She knew enough to know that the Prison break was about one of his enemies. Still it bothered him that he couldn't figure out which of his enemies it was.

Miss Daily regarded Sam carefully. "If you think about it Sam you don't really want to do that. You have no idea what kind of can of worms you would open if you did. Even Danny would be smart enough not to threaten to tell anyone my secrets."

She's threatening to expose me, Danny thought, But I don't think she's really serious about it. She sounds too casual, like she's still being friendly. Sam doesn't trust her though, so Sam might believe she would. Danny was beginning to wonder how good Miss Daily was at chess.

Sam's eyes went wide. "You wouldn't dare!" Sam choked out between her fear and anger.

Miss Daily nodded still using that same casual friendly tone. "Actually you're right. I really don't want to hurt or betray Danny."

And she threw that in to keep Sam off balance. Danny had to give Miss Daily credit. She knew what she was doing even if the three of them didn't understand her motivations.

"You don't?" That puzzled Sam. "I don't understand. Who are you?"

Miss Daily didn't answer right away. She leaned back to reach an large book with a dingy brown leather cover. With deliberate slowness Miss Daily leaved though the book finding the pages she wanted.

"What do you know about King Arthur?" The teacher asked.

Sam frowned both at the change in subject as well as the fact that she didn't get any of her questions answered. "Lancer makes us read some of that stuff, and most if it is only legend. So what? "

Miss Daily raised an eyebrow, and gave a knowing smile to the girl. "Okay well lets suppose he was real. He was the illegitimate son of a local king who was basically sent away directly after birth to be raised by a minor noble. How did such a low class orphan become one of the greatest kings the world had ever seen?"

Sam looked cross. "How am I supposed to know? Even if he was real why would I even care about what happened to an ancient warmonger that set up a class system hundreds of years before I was born?"

"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, Sam." Miss Daily said unperturbed. "And to how this lesser noble, no older than you are now, became king of all Britain it was simple, because he had a powerful and honorable guardian who watched over him. "

Despite herself Sam was curious. "Who?"

Miss Daily smiled. "Merlin. He planned Arthur's rise to power. He prepared Arthur for it. Arthur had many special talents that between Merlin and Excaliber could be focused and honed to be tools to unite the warring tribes at the time."

Danny saw Sam frown in thought. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Sometimes power isn't obvious," Miss Daily explained putting down the ancient tome. "Sometimes it requires a focus object to activate. Arthur had special abilities, that only Merlin knew about. Merlin trained Arthur in the use of that power with Excaliber as the focus."

"It was never mentioned in any of the legends that King Arthur had any special powers." Sam pointed out.

Miss Daily nodded. "Of course all that we know about Arthur and Merlin is of legend and some people doubt that they were real at all. Then again some people doubt magic is real, or ghosts."

As she finished her statement Miss Daily held up a small silver ball. Suddenly it flared into a glowing orb twice it's size illuminating everything in the room.

Uh oh! Danny had a feeling that he knew what Miss Daily was up too. He looked at Tucker and saw that even invisible the bright light from the orb made him shimmer like sunlight on snow. It also sent prickles up and down Danny's skin.

It must have tickled Tucker as well because they both couldn't resist the urge to laugh. "Do you mind?" Danny said trying to control himself. "That tickles!" As the sensation passed Danny dropped the invisibility on himself and Tucker.

Sam gaped at the two boys in shock. "Danny? Tucker?"

"Hi Sam," Danny said sheepishly. Why do I have the feeling that Miss Daily knew Tuck and I were here the whole time?

Miss Daily greeted them as normally as if they had walked in the door. "Hello, Danny, Tucker, as you can see Sam is perfectly fine."

Yep she knew What Danny said out loud was, "Current company not withstanding." As much as he wanted to like Miss Daily she just showed how powerful she was. She not only knew he was there, but revealed him to Sam. Danny wasn't about to trust this power.

"Danny if I had wanted to harm you I could have done it the other morning." Miss Daily said calmly. "Since I didn't it stands to reason I won't."

"Unless you're trying to get Danny to trust you," Tucker answered leaning against the wall trying to look cool.

"And who was it less than an hour ago that told Danny I probably meant no harm?" Miss Daily fixed Tucker with a mischievous gleam.

"I dunno," Tucker said trying to look bored. From Sam's annoyed expression Danny could tell his friend wasn't pulling it off.

"Why are you here then?" Danny asked. "What do you want with me?"

Miss Daily smiled warmly. "Sam and I were just talking about that."

"No you weren't," Sam accused slightly. "You were talking about Merlin and King Arthur."

"So I was." Miss Daily replied still bright and cheerful. "Do you know who brought about Merlin's and Arthur's downfall?"

"Modred," Danny answered surprising both Sam and Tucker. His mother was either Morgause, or Morgan le Fay. Le Fay was the one who betray and sealed Merlin in the crystal cave, and Modred killed Arthur in an attempt to take over Camelot." When he saw Sam and Tucker looking at him puzzled Danny shrugged. "Jazz used to read that stuff to me when we were kids." Now Danny folded his arms and scowled at his teacher. "And I'd like to know how you knew that?"

"I didn't," Miss Daily said sounding impressed. "I used this analogy because it's usually the best one. You see what legend doesn't say is that Merlin did send a friend to Modred to keep Morgan from turning her son into Arthur's enemy."

Danny was intrigued despite himself. "Obviously it didn't work," he said.

Miss Daily shook her head no. "No it did not." She began to read from the book. "But Simon feared Morgan, and he fled less she destroy him. Thus his punishment fell not upon himself but on the whole of England. He saw Arthur taken away to his final rest, and he watched as the Lady of the Lake took Excaliber back lest it find its way into unfit hands. When Simon saw how England fared after Arthur he vowed to all benevolent forces within the world that he would never again leave someone who held power without a teacher of morality."

Danny wasn't sure what to think about this. He glanced at Sam and Tucker who were equally puzzled.

Before a question could form in their minds Miss Daily rose from her chair and placed the book on her desk. "Believe me I'd like to continue this conversation, but class is going to start in five minutes and I need to put something on the board. Think about what I said, but don't take too long."

"Do you mind putting your files away first so that they can't be seen by just anyone who walks in here?" Danny said tersely pointing out a folder that clearly had Danny Fenton written in black in and a "/Phantom" written next to it in silver ink.

Miss Daily looked at the file, looked back at Danny and laughed. "Before you think I'd be so careless ask your friends what they see there. Oh and Danny speaking of careless make sure you don't come to class looking like that."

Danny was about to ask, "Like what," when both Sam and Tucker giggled. Sam pointed to Danny's clothes revealing that he was still in ghost mode. "Oh," he said sheepishly changing back into his human mode. As he did so he noticed the sliver ink on the folder just disappeared.

"What the?" Danny picked up the folder and examined it carefully. There was no sign of the sliver inked "Phantom," anywhere.

"Danny what's wrong with that folder anyway. It just has your name on it." Tucker asked.

Danny heard Tucker, but he was thinking too hard to acknowledge him. That's not possible. Is it?

"Danny?" Tucker asked again worried.

"I wonder," Danny muttered to himself. Without warning Sam or Tucker Danny shifted back into ghost mode.

"Danny!" Sam exclaimed startled.

"Hang on," Danny said absently. He looked at the folder again, sure enough the silver inked writing was back.

"This is wild," Danny said amazed. "Guys there's writing here, but I can only see it in ghost mode."

"You can?" Sam exclaimed. Danny opened the folder and began scanning the information. The ordinary black ink showed common information. His name, his parents name, their occupation, Jazz's name, her classes, ordinary things that anyone knew, but all over the file the silver ink showed observations that pertained to his ghost powers.

Invisibility and intangibility seem to be escape behaviors. This may explain why one or the other tends to manifest when he's nervous. He wants to be elsewhere or invisible. "Oh," Danny muttered to himself. "I never would have thought about that."

"About what?" Tucker said.

"Hang on I wanna read this stuff," Danny answered. He began to read the notations by his families names. Jazz Fenton: Aware. Tries to be of assistance. Does best as emotional support. She allows Danny to take care of himself, but sometimes she tries to help too much. Danny had to chuckle at that. That was Jazz all right.

Maddie Fenton: Unaware, but a detailed observer. She has made comparisons of DF and DP, but hasn't gotten all of her ghosts in a row yet. "Remind me to be more careful around my mom," Danny said to Sam. "It says here she's noticing things."

Jack Fenton: Unaware. He tends to miss blatant hints of importance. A subtle message needs the force of a two-by-four to have any impact. NOTE: just met the father. I'll need a four-by- four.

"Danny what are you reading?" Sam asked looking over his shoulder.

"Danny now looked up from the folder. "Huh? Oh, All over the inside of this folder is that ghost ink or something. I know you guys only see the regular stuff, but when I'm ghost I can see this ink. She's got tons of notes and stuff that relate to me being Danny Phantom. When I change back the ink disappears"

"Why would Miss Daily write with an ink that a ghost can see?" Tucker asked. "She's a witch and a ghost?"

"She's not a ghost," Danny confirmed. "And I think she was just as surprised that I could see the sliver ink as we were. I'm guessing is that since she has magic she has another way to see it."

The bell rang ending any other speculation. Still before they went to rejoin the normal students of Casper High Sam said," Guys Miss Daily is getting weirder by the minute.

You have no idea. Danny said changing back into his human form. He wasn't sure why, and he was almost positive Sam wasn't aware of what she was doing, but he saw Sam pick up Miss Daily's book, and place it in her backpack. I don't think Sam knows she just did that. That means Miss Daily made her do that, but why? And if Miss Daily cast as spell on Sam, or the book how am I going to get her out of it?

Danny glanced at Tucker who nodded. He noticed what Sam did too. Sam walked to the door of the classroom and looked back over her shoulder at the pair. "You guys coming?"

Danny and Tucker looked at each other sighed and followed their friend into Miss Daily's classroom.

Despite what went on in the office, Miss Daily acted perfectly normal during class. For some reason she decided this was a day to push Danny, she usually only did that when he was perfectly rested. Now he thought she was trying to distract him. She doesn't want me to think about Sam and the book, but how can I not. Why does she want Sam to take her book?

Finally at one point Miss Daily looked right up at Danny and he heard her voice again in his mind. Danny relax! The book belongs to Sam now, so quit worrying about it!

The book BELONGS to Sam? Wait why?

Danny ENOUGH! Miss Daily thought loud enough to make him wince. Fortunately nobody noticed. Stop worrying about the book it's not going to hurt Sam in fact it's going to help all of you. This isn't as easy as it sounds, and if you keep stewing about it I'm gonna ask you the next question and I know you're not ready for it.

Danny gulped and tried to shut down his runaway thoughts. He couldn't shut down his emotions though, so even though he paid attention during math and managed to act normally he was still tired and stressed after the class.

At lunch it was Tucker who still tried to insist that Miss Daily meant no harm, but Danny wasn't so sure anymore. "I mean come on guys. It's obvious she doesn't want to hurt Danny. I mean why warn him about an enemy when she didn't have too?"

"Mind you she didn't tell me who it was, and even if she doesn't want to hurt me she did gave me that freaky dream, and why did she hex Sam or do what ever she did."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked. "Miss Daily didn't hex me or anything."

Danny glared at Tucker who sighed and said, "Sam take a look inside your backpack."

Frowning puzzled Sam did so and to her surprise pulled out Miss Daily's book.

"Tucker and I watched you put that in your bag after Miss Daily left the office," Danny said. "And when I was thinking about it in class she told me the book belonged to you now."

"She told you? During class?" Sam asked frowning.

"She said it in my head," Danny said with a frustrated sigh. "She told me the book was yours now, and I should stop worrying about it."

"Interesting," Tucker said. When Danny and Sam both glared at him Tucker explained. "She obviously did influence Sam to take the book, but she let both of us see you do it, and she was definitely in your head during class, and she didn't make you forget about she just asked you to. Wouldn't have it been easier for her to zap all three of us?"

Sam sighed. "The more we find out about Miss Daily the more questions we end up having, and she's not telling us anything."

"Not directly," Danny said thoughtfully. "It's as if she wants us to spy on her and figure things out on our own. Maybe Tucker's right she's not out to hurt me, but she does want me."

"For what?" Sam asked.

Danny shook his head "Not for anything, Sam. It was that King Arthur story that got me thinking. What if all that stuff was true. What if someone was supposed to keep Modred from becoming evil and he failed?"

"But Danny, what does that have to do with you?" Sam asked puzzled.

"She wants me to be Arthur," Danny said slowly as if testing the idea out. "Or at least not Modred. Like Tucker said all she's been doing it trying to make my life easier."

"But still why?" Sam asked. "And how did she find out about you in the first place?"

"Maybe the answers are in the book." Tucker said.

Sam and Danny looked at the book nervously, but Sam opened it anyway. Danny peered over her shoulder, wishing he could go ghost so he could see if any of that silver writing appeared here as well.

Sam leafed though the book stopping only on a few pages. "It's like a diary keep by different people over the centuries. There's one in here about an Egyptian prince who's supposedly descended from a god and could fly , This one is about a Greek priest of Helios protecting a boy who could set fires by thinking about it. A Chinese scholar who knew a girl who spoke to animals. Here's the king Arthur one. There's one about a regular magician who fell in with a family of gypsies who could summon and control ghosts, And this one is from this century. It's about a woman who found a girl who was afraid to speak because when she did men would fight over her."

"Maybe Danny's gonna be the next chapter," Tucker suggested.

"Or something close to it," Danny agreed. "But that still doesn't tell us who Miss Daily is or how she found out about me in the first place."

Tucker suddenly gave a mischievous smile. "I bet I know a way we can find out,"

"Oh?" Sam asked.

Tucker nodded. "Well in that dream he had Miss Daily told Danny she reset her wards to let Danny in. Lets take advantage of it." Sam and Danny continued to stare at him blankly. "Danny gets us in, and we take a look around Miss Daily's house and find out exactly what's she's up too."

Sam frowned instantly. "Tucker that was a bad idea when Danny had it, and he was found, and had a spell cast on him!"

Danny had to agree. "She's found me twice while I was still invisible Tuck. She's gonna know we're there."

Tucker was undaunted. "So you two go look, and I'll keep Miss Daily busy around here. I bet I could stall her for an hour or two. I'll just tell her I don't understand the homework."

Danny felt sorely tempted. He wanted to check out Miss Daily's house before. " I don't know. Sam, what do you think."

"I want to," Sam admitted. "I want to figure out what her angle is, but I keep feeling like we're walking into a trap. Why would she change her wards to let you in anyway?"

"I'm still not sure, unless we go back to the whole Arthur Modred thing," Danny admitted. "When I asked her she told me she knew I wasn't a threat, and that everyone needed a place they could just be. I'm still not sure what she meant by that."

"I think the only way you're going to find out is if you two go and take a look," Tucker said.

The three teens sat in silence weighing their options and silently gaging their friends emotions. None of them were happy with the idea, but they needed to know.

Coming Soon Chapter 8 the Invasion

"Wait a minute!" Danny read back over the beginning.

However if a human being is to acquire power in their lives not by inheritance, but by accident, fate, or divine will, 98 of those individuals will be between the ages of nine and twenty five.

between the ages of nine and twenty five.

acquire power in their lives not by inheritance, but by accident, fate, or divine will

"By accident. Oh man! This book is talking about me!"