Hello! I'm so so SO sorry that it took me this long to update! It was just school, family, combined with a mixture of sorrow, joy, and writer's block… it was all so very time consuming. But I am alive, don't worry. (I'm sure you all were panicking).
Like I said, this chapter starts the real plot, and finally breaks the repetitious drone of my first twelve chapters.
kittylover1890: I finally read the chapter you sent me! It was very good, and I even use some elements of it in this chapter! Of course, I had to adjust it to be my own and fit the story, but it was very helpful. Thanks!
Punker88: I took your suggestion when I wrote this chapter. I had the same idea in mind. But your review let it take action. Thank you!
Chapter Thirteen: Casper High
(Monday: 2 AM)
An alarm very similar to a fire truck siren blared in Danny's ears, causing him to snap up in bed. He blinked and watched as two very startled Europeans flailed out of their sleeping bags. A red light flashed in tempo with the alarm.
"What's 'appening?" cried Ron. "Are we under attack?"
"No," Danny replied, shaking his head. "But somebody else is." He stood and ran out of the room, nearly crashing into his parents.
"Danny!" his mother said hastily. "Something terrible's happened. Your school was under attack by a ghost and it's been burned to the ground."
"What!" Danny screamed, wide-eyed. "Who was it? What ghost did this?"
"No one's ever seen it before… the people who had even glimpsed it were only able to say it had white hair and maybe a cape… I'm so sorry Danny. At least no one was hurt." She turned to Jack. "Honey, turn off the alarm. There's nothing we can do now."
"But we need to hunt down that ghost!" Jack argued. By this time, everyone was out in the hall, eyes large like deer caught in a headlight. Sirius had his wand out, fingering it in case he would need it. Luckily, either no one recognized the stick-like object as a wand, or no one really care, for the action went without comment.
"Jack, the ghost will be long gone by the time we get there. But it's sure to make a second attack. We can start working on defense in the morning, and if he shows his ugly face again, it'll be the last." Maddie sighed and addressed the group. "Everyone, it's okay. Danny's school has just suffered a ghost attack, and was destroyed. But we will put the Ghost Shield up around the house tonight. Don't worry, you're safe here."
Maddie left, heading upstairs to the OP center, while Jack descended to the lab.
"Um, I think I need to go to the bathroom," Danny whispered and walked down the hall. He shut the bathroom door hard, leaving the foreigners to stare at each other.
"Mum, Dad; Harry, Ron, Sirius, and I need to have a little meeting. We still have a job to do." Hermione smiled at her parents, desperately wishing they weren't here. They had no way to defend themselves, and she couldn't stand to see them hurt, or even… dead.
"Harry," Sirius said once they were back in Danny's room. "You said you met a wizard earlier today. Gregston Piers; used to work for the Ministry?" Harry nodded. "You need him to contact all the wizards in the area and see what is known about fighting ghosts."
Harry sighed. "I have a feeling this prophecy is drawing close. But couldn't this just be another random ghost, like Skulker or Technus?" 'Maybe, maybe not. Why should I tell you?' said the cruel voice in his mind.
"It could be, Harry," said Hermione. "No one's ever seen him before, though. We shouldn't let our guard down."
"I think we should send an owl to Dumbledore," said Ron. "I bet he knows some good jinxes against ghosts."
"Yeah… Wait a second!" Harry suddenly had an idea, in the form of a memory. "Remember when the basilisk at Hogwarts attacked Nearly-Headless Nick? It petrified him, and he's a ghost!" 'Wow, good job. You actually thought something for once! Never saw it in ya.'
"You're right Harry. But Dumbledore said it took a really powerful wizard to petrify at that level," Hermione pointed out.
"Remus also said that it took a really powerful wizard to conjure such a Patronus as Harry's, at so young an age," Sirius said. "Harry is a really powerful wizard, he just needs to be shown the right spells."
There was a loud crash that could be heard through the walls of the room.
"Danny?" said Hermione, standing up. She, Ron, and Sirius ran out of the room, leaving Harry sitting on the bed.
He clutched his head and whispered, "Leave me alone…"
---
(Casper High)
Danny flew as quickly as he could to his school, or at least what was left of it. Three fire trucks were parked in front of Casper High's remains. The men were now at work putting up a perimeter, to keep the swelling crowd at a safe distance.
Danny floated above the school, invisible. He had no reason to let people think Danny Phantom had caused this. He stared at the rubble and suddenly realized something out of place.
The school was completely made of stone. It couldn't have caught on fire. It would've had to explode or something. Who would have the power to do that?
Danny tried to picture the vague description in his mind. Only one image came, but It couldn't be. He can't have escaped! Danny didn't know what to make of it.
Well, there's always the 'interrogate the Ghost Zone' method, thought Danny.
Danny then realized that he was supposed to be in the bathroom and zoomed away. When he got to his house, though, he cursed. The Ghost Shield was up.
He sighed, positioned himself above the bathroom, and turned back into his human form. It allowed him to fall right through the Ghost Shield, and sent him flying towards the brick roof. Gasping, he covered his head with his arms and turned intangible, falling though the wall and landing hard on the floor.
"Danny?" Hermione's voice came from the other side of the door and she began to knock furiously.
"What? I'm okay!" Danny threw the door open in mid-knock. "Can't a guy use the bathroom in peace?"
Hermione glanced at Sirius. "… You were seeing what happened at Casper High, weren't you?"
"What?"
"Danny, can I talk to you? I'm afraid we have some explaining to do…"
---
It was against Harry's wishes, but Hermione felt that the truth had to be known. She sat down on Danny's bed and looked up into his nervous, expecting eyes.
"We never told you the real reason we came to Amity Park. Yes, we did want to see ghosts, but not because we're nosy tourists. It's because we were sent here to save the Earth. I know it sounds crazy, but there is something we're calling the 'new evil', that is bent on taking over both our world and the spirit world. We're here to help you defeat it."
"I think I have to agree, it does sound crazy. So you've got this little group trying to save the earth? Where do I fit in?"
"We were sent here looking for the halfa." Danny, who had been twirling around in his computer chair, stopped instantly and stared at her. Hermione smiled; she finally had his attention. "There was a prophecy that our headmaster Dumbledore told us. He's the one who sent us here in the first place. The prophecy stated: 'In the land across the sea, a new power rises. A force greater than the Dark Lord, yet already dead; only the halfa, who dwells in each world, and his twin who has Lived and cheated death, can defeat this new evil and reunite the world in Amity.'"
Danny stared at the girl. "Who are you people? How do you know all of this?"
"Well, Danny, we're wizards. Everyone except my parents are magical beings, and we've been sent here to help you fight this enemy. We know you're the halfa and have known since the moment Harry saw you. We didn't tell you because Harry felt that it would be better if it was all kept secret… he's the Boy Who Lived, as the wizarding world calls him. He was the other person mentioned in the prophecy, but I don't think he's in his right mind at the moment. He keeps talking about hearing Voldemort in his head and-"
"Okay, stop one second!" Danny stood up. "I need a break. You're telling me, that you're wizards, and that whatever is happening now is because of this great evil that wants to destroy the earth. And that me and Harry, who is currently going fruitloopy on us, are supposed to vanquish it?" All the while he was pacing back and forth. "How I am supposed to believe you?"
Sirius stepped forward. He had been letting Hermione handle telling Danny, believing that he would take it better learning from someone his own age.
"You want proof, Danny? Please stand back." Hermione watched with mild interest as Sirius transformed into a large pitch-black dog.
Danny jumped. "Okay, weird! What just happened?"
"Sirius is an Animagus. That means he can turn into an animal, and for him, that animal is a dog." The dog was sniffing Danny's hand, and Danny looked nervous. "Danny, we're not going to hurt you. We told you, we're here to help."
Sirius transformed back into his human self and dusted his clothes off.
Danny swallowed. "Okay, I think I believe you now… One more thing. How did you know I was a halfa?"
"Well, the prophecy mentions Harry as your twin, and my godson and you look very much alike," Sirius explained.
"That was Harry's first clue. The rest we gathered from things your parents told us, like about the accident, and how you reacted when they talked about Phantom. There was also how you handled the Ghost Charade thing, and how you wanted to do a haunting the night we first got here."
"I never told anyone about that, except Tucker and Sam… You used your abra kadabra thing to listen in on us, didn't you?"
"Yes, sorry!" Hermione laughed. "It was absolutely necessary, believe me! Now, the last clue that points to you as the halfa, is how you told us just now."
Danny winced. "Heh, got me there… So, you're really serious, eh? I won't tell anyone, I promise; I'm all too experienced with keeping a secret. Thanks for telling me."
"No problem. The last thing we should do now is keeps secrets."
Now, I have some cleaning up to do. You're wondering, 'If the alarm just started going off, how do Maddie and Jack already know what's going on?' Well, here's the deal: Casper High was demolished, and people panicked, calling the police, the mayor, their local ghost hunters. And one finally decided to set off the ghost alarm. By that time, Danny's parents had already been filled in.
Second, 'Where was Ron and the Grangers while Hermione was telling Danny that they're wizards?' Ron was downstairs, not wanting Harry to get mad at them for going behind his back and telling Danny everything. He could easily say he wasn't involved and not be lying. The Grangers were with the Fentons, seeing what they could do to help.
I think that's it. Now, for my thank you's.
Thanks to: Nydmarie, weirdIT, Inumaru12, Missmeliss4251, kittylover1890, Shiva the Sarcastic, Justina Bubbles, cowgirl2, Halfa-NariMaruko, Punker88, and Yoshi.
Next update: 'Into the Ghost Zone' is my planned title. I will post it sometime in the future. Not the past, the future.