Danny slowly woke up. He felt horrible. Like he got run over by a train. With a hundred carriages. His arm felt heavy and trapped. It hurt to breathe. His face especially felt tender. Any movement ached. Even opening his eyes. In fact he couldn't even open his left eye. The first thing he saw when he woke up was a dimly lit ceiling with a few cracks. Then he heard voices.

"Professor, he's waking up," Snape whispered.

"Danny, it's alright. You're in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. How do you feel?" Dumbledore asked.

"Like crud," Danny croaked. The elderly wizard smirked.

"Do you remember what happened?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Yeah, Skulker led a group of ghosts to try and scare me off. Voldemort didn't like losing Vortex apparently," Danny answered hoarsely. His throat felt unbelievably dry.

Danny blinked slowly before he recalled Wulf getting knocked out.

"How did I get here? Where's Wulf?" Danny questioned starting to sit up, but groaned in discomfort from his chest exploding in pain. Dumbledore quickly pushed the teen back down.

"Wulf is here Danny. He's fine. He told me that he got you away from those ghosts and brought you here. I apologise for not being here when you needed me. But Severus covered for you, not to worry," Dumbledore soothed the halfa. Danny allowed himself to be pushed back on the pillows. He frowned, regretting such movement in his face.

"Severus? How did he know to…?" Danny began before suddenly understanding. He tugged a tuft of his hair into view and saw black locks instead of his ghostly white. He was human now. Snape must have seen him change.

"What…? How much have you told him?" Danny asked softly.

"I have only been here shortly Danny. Wulf has only just finished explaining what happened," Dumbledore admitted. Danny slowly moved his head and spotted Wulf's soft ghostly glow and worried face and Snape's dark figure beside Dumbledore. He nodded slowly.

"How long have I been here?" Danny inquired softly.

"A few hours. Just after lunchtime. It's late now. Past curfew," Snape answered. Danny nodded.

"Sorry for not following Draco," Danny mumbled.

"It's fine Danny. You're injured. Take your time and recover. We can handle everything while you heal," Dumbledore assured him. Danny nodded still disappointed in himself. He was outnumbered, yes, but he didn't even catch one ghost. If he had been faster, he mightn't have been thrown into that tree. If he had been faster, he might have dodged that punch from Kitty. If he'd been stronger, he might have been able to defend himself better.

"However, we both owe Severus an explanation," Dumbledore added. Danny blinked and nodded.

"Right. Yeah. Um, where should I start?" Danny agreed slowly, he still felt groggy and had a headache.

"Perhaps I'll start explaining and you can correct me if I should go wrong," Dumbledore suggested, taking pity on the disorientated teen. Danny nodded, happy not to have to explain everything.

"Danny is half-ghost Severus, and he's not a wizard. He's from an all muggle family in America, Amity Park to be exact," Dumbledore began, turning to Snape.

"Half-ghost? How is that possible?" Snape asked, unable to deny the news as he'd seen this teen both as a ghost and a living person.

"Danny's parents are inventors Severus and ghost hunters. A few years ago, Danny was involved in an accident in his parents' basement lab and, the running theory is that he was flushed with ecto-energy which bonded to his DNA as he was killed in the blast. The excess energy brought him back and with the fusion of ectoplasm, made him half-ghost, also known as a halfa," Dumbledore explained. Snape nodded slowly as he took in that information.

"How did you find him then? Is anything we heard about Phantom true?" Snape asked, a little angry at being fooled for so long and so completely.

"Almost all of it Severus. We mostly fabricated Danny's human reasons for being with the order. During the time between Phantom and Fenton being introduced to others in the order, myself and Remus taught Danny about our world. Danny has a wand without a core which I store spells onto for him so that he can blend in better," Dumbledore replied calmly. Snape glanced at Danny. It was only starting to sink in that everything Danny had done was in both forms. He swallowed a guilty lump. He'd shouted at a teenager that he didn't care about Dumbledore dying because he was already dead. No wonder it had caused such a reaction from the ghostly teen. Learning of Danny's human half, made Phantom so much more fragile and meaningful to the teacher. Snape turned to Dumbledore.

"Remus knows? Who else?" Snape inquired.

"Hagrid found out near the end of the last school year as Danny helped him to escape capture. Remus and I have known since the beginning as Danny informed us to help us understand what we were asking of him when I asked Phantom to join the order. Before that, neither of us knew. The ghosts are aware. But I don't believe anyone else out of Danny's circle of family and friends knows," Dumbledore answered.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Snape asked.

"It wasn't my place Severus. And it has played to our strengths already," Dumbledore retorted. Snape glanced at the teen in the bed, Danny seemed to be drifting off but staying as alert as possible for now. Snape nodded. He wasn't going to question the older wizard. He could see how having Danny's halfa status and utilising both halves could benefit. And really, the only way to ensure they kept that weapon, was to keep it secret.

"Why did he have Hufflepuff robes?" Snape questioned, it was the only thing he really couldn't understand. Why give Danny robes to a house not headed by an order member?

"Ah, it was a tactical move for last year. In order to protect Danny's secret, I thought it best to ensure both of Danny's halves fit in with the school, in case either turned up. Danny chose Hufflepuff as it would draw less attention than Slytherin and he wanted to put distance between himself and any qualities that could connect either half. So he decided against Gryffindor and thought it best to avoid Ravenclaw as he wouldn't be the most knowledgeable on our world. To be perfectly honest, I didn't foresee this situation. It was more for camouflage rather than a cover story in the event Danny ended up in here," Dumbledore confessed. Snape nodded in understanding.

"Do you have anything to add Danny?" Dumbledore inquired kindly. Danny blinked in surprise having been half-asleep.

"Uh, don't- don't think so," Danny answered tiredly.

"We'll let you rest then. I'll get you some replacement robes and I'll convince Poppy to let you go when you feel ready. Take it easy, alright. We want you to get better as quickly as possible," Dumbledore informed the teen soothingly. Danny nodded and soon fell asleep.

Danny woke late the next morning to find a glass of water beside him and a bowl of fruit. He drank the water gratefully and began to eat the fruit soon after, feeling exceptionally hungry. He felt a lot better this morning. He knew his cuts would be healing quickly as would his arm, which he found to be in a cast clearly broken. His face felt a lot less tender already. Madam Pomfrey soon noticed him awake and fussed over him, making sure he was comfortable and assuring him that Professor Sprout would inform his teachers what happened. It took a second for Danny to understand what the witch meant but the moment he did, he was quick to act the part. Thankfully his headache was gone and he could focus a lot better than he could the night before. Just before lunchtime, Dumbledore visited Danny to check how the halfa was doing. Danny, being a lot more focused, gave a more detailed recounting of what happened the previous day and once again apologised for not being able to fulfil his duties.

The elderly wizard handed Danny a change of clothes and then convinced Madam Pomfrey to release Danny stating that the teen merely needed rest. They then walked through the school to Danny's locked classroom, unseen by students due to lessons being conducted. Dumbledore soon left Danny to rest and recover in peace. Or at least that was the plan before Peeves dropped in for a visit. However the poltergeist was more concerned and chatty than boisterous, for once taking another's condition into consideration.

So Danny's on the mend.

Let me know what you guys think so far.

Don't forget to check out my website or facebook page.

There are links on both to each other. JBGilroy on facebook. website (remove spaces)

jbgilroy.

weebly.

com

Until the next chapter.