Academy of Witches
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Harry Potter.
Author's Note: We're getting closer to the end. Chapters will be shorter.
Butterfly Ash
"I'll use my invisibility cloak," Harry firmly replied.
The scene froze.
"Do you understand what you must do, Daniel?" Clockwork asked the young halfa.
"Help them get past the enchantments, but do not interfere or let them know I'm actually there," the boy replied. "Clockwork, Hermione, Ron, and Harry can do this without my help."
"Perhaps, perhaps not," Clockwork said. "Your dimension merged with Harry's the day your father was born. Before that, neither you nor your brother would have met, except through some weird quirk of time. He is ten years older than you after all. Do you understand?"
Danny nodded in agreement. "I think so," he replied.
"Take this medallion; it will bring you to the right point in time, where you need to be," the Master of Time said, putting a gold clock-shaped gear on a blue lanyard around his neck.
Danny bowed respectfully and vanished.
Clockwork sighed. "I can only hope he doesn't screw things up any worse than they already are."
"Danny wasn't at dinner," Sam said, crossing the Common Room. "Have you guys seen him?"
"Not since the Potions exam," Hermione answered, looking up from the list of spells she was studying.
"Probably hanging out with the lousy no-good snakes again," Ron chimed in.
I resemble that remark.
"It's 'resent', Featherhead, not 'resemble'," Harry corrected, without bothering to glance at the ghost python.
Ron rolled his eyes; he was used to this by now.
"Okay, then I'll try and catch him tomorrow," Sam grumbled. "Good night."
"Good night," the Golden Trio chorused.
After Sam left, Lee Jordan wasn't far behind her. Harry went upstairs, where he grabbed Hagrid's flute and his invisibility cloak.
"I hope it covers all of us," Harry said. "If Filch sees our feet-"
"We'll lose more than just House Points," Neville said, appearing around the corner of the armchair by the fire. "How can you do this to us, Harry? Haven't we lost enough, already?"
"Neville, you don't understand," Harry protested.
"No!" Neville hissed. "You do not understand. You could be expelled, Harry, or even killed. You are our savior. The only one who can defeat You-Know-Who."
"That's what we're trying to do," Ron exploded.
"Hermione, do something," Harry whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
"I won't let you do this," Neville said, pulling out his wand.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione called out, binding Neville's arms and feet to his trunk. He swayed back and forth a bit, then fell, rigid as a board. Only his eyes betrayed some form of movement.
"What was that?" Ron demanded.
"The Full Body-Bind," Hermione explained. "I'm really sorry about this, Neville, but you're interfering with our task. If we don't hurry, there may not be a Hogwarts to come back to next year."
Harry unfolded the cloak.
Danny stepped into time.
Just their rotten luck. On the staircase up to the third floor, the school poltergeist, Peeves, was loosening the carpet to trip up any wayward students.
"Who's there?" he demanded, eyes searching the dimly-lit shadows. "I can't sees ya, but I knows ya there."
"He's been hanging around Youngblood too much," Harry grumbled.
"So? Do your Bloody Baron impression," Ron suggested.
It worked like a charm. Even Danny was impressed with Harry's acting.
He flew after them as they pressed onwards.
Fluffy's door was ajar.
"Oh, no!" Ron exclaimed. "Snape's already gotten here first. We're too late."
"Never say never, Ron," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at his theatrics. "We can still catch him."
Danny's eyes perceived the Ghost Writer slumped over his keyboard, scorch marks from a fire spell had melted some of the keys. Warily, he entered the room with the Golden Trio.
The offspring of Cerberus was asleep; ghostly music was being played by a small harp in a corner of the room.
"This is not good," he silently murmured as the music suddenly stopped.
Fluffy twitched, his three nostrils flaring, a strange scent wafting over his noses.
"Harry, play something!" Ron shouted, upon seeing the dog open his eyes. "He's waking up."
Danny listened as The Ghost-Hunter's Lullaby emerged golden-toned from Harry's flute. There were facets to Harry's talents that he'd never noticed before. He didn't even know Harry could play a musical instrument. "Learn something new every day," he murmured to himself.
"We're going to have to drop down," Ron noted, once he had the trapdoor open.
Harry took the initiative and handed the flute to Hermione, who quickly picked up with Claire de Lune, catching Fluffy's attention, while Harry took a deep breath before plunging feet-first into the abyss.
"It's some kind of plant material," he called upwards.
Ron and Hermione joined him shortly.
"Where's the flute?" Harry asked her.
"It was grabbed out of my hand by an unseen force. A ghostly wind began playing it, I just narrowly missed having Fluffy bite my head off," she told him.
"Oh well," Harry shrugged. "I'll get it back later."
"Thanks, Plasmius," Danny said, breathing a sigh of relief. "They almost didn't make it."
"No problem, little badger," the Halved One replied. "Now, go quickly. There isn't much time left."
Danny nodded before phasing through the trapdoor which had closed behind the travellers before him.
