After the sudden (but not unexpected) departure of Fred and George, Danny spent quite a bit of time hanging around in his ghost form when he didn't have classes. Hiding Phantom had been an exercise in futility from the start, and it really was a lost cause now.
Besides, a ton of students were following the example set by the twins and pranking Umbridge. And, well. If Danny could prevent them from getting caught by Filch, then he should, right? A hero should prevent kids from getting whipped (literally!), and he was a hero.
He kept it fairly subtle, anyway. Most of the time he or Peeves would cause a distraction, so Filch would come after them instead of the regular students. In a few cases where it wasn't possible, he turned students invisible or intangible.
And, yes. It was a bit of a risk, considering that he didn't want word to get out about 'his' type of ghost. But all the students thought he was a poltergeist anyway, and he could blame his powers on that. When they asked why Peeves hadn't done it before, he would huff and tell them "yes, because Peeves is known for using his powers to help" which would shut them up pretty well.
Really, Danny was just glad that no one pointed out that Peeves could absolutely use these powers for pranking, if he had them. Steal items and phase them into walls? Dragging people through a wall and forcing them to make enormous detours? That was definitely something Peeves would do.
Danny knew this with certainty, because the poltergeist had told him so. Multiple times.
At least Peeves was fairly busy again. He had become something of a nuisance, but he was more than eager to follow the twins' last command and go wild with pranking again. Danny had nudged him a little, once or twice, to make sure none of the students would get hurt, but overall he seemed to have learned his lesson.
Good thing, too, because before they knew it June was upon them. And with June came the OWLs, the Wizarding exams.
Watching all the other students go crazy was, uh. It was certainly an experience. He, and Sam and Tucker, they hadn't really realized how serious the OWLs were. It was really kind of hard not to get caught up in all, well, that. The examinations likely weren't of any importance to them, since they didn't even know if they were gonna come back for the rest of the school years.
"Better not to risk it," Sam had eventually decided, and he and Tucker were quick to agree. Besides, after the DA was caught they had been using the RoR a lot less, and thus tended to get caught up in the larger study groups that formed under the stress of the upcoming OWLs.
The library often housed mingled groups of students working together; sometimes old members of the DA sticking together despite its dispersal, but sometimes they were just random housemates of Danny, Sam, and Tucker.
Turned out that the stress of examinations was better for house unification than the possible threat of Voldemort looming over them. Who would've thought?
Then suddenly McGonagall presented them the timetables – and details – for the examinations and, oh. They were starting that Monday. As in, after the weekend.
As in, they only had a few more days of studying. Oh boy.
The OWLs were spread over two weeks, of course. Only one subject a day forced it to be so. And they really could only do one subject a day, since they did the theory in the morning and the practical in the afternoon. The only exception was Astronomy, for obvious reasons.
Results would be sent to them via owl, somewhere in July. Danny wasn't sure if this was good or bad news. Neutral, maybe? It just was, really.
After this announcement, the weekend was suddenly crammed full of studying. In spite of his earlier insistence that his grades wouldn't matter all that much – he had no use for a magical degree – he couldn't help but feel nervous. It was infectious, really, the anxiety of literally every other fifth-year student in the school.
So come Monday, he and Sam and Tucker were fighting their way through breakfast like everyone else. The fifth and the seventh-years stuck around as the rest of the students left for their lessons. Not in the Great Hall itself, of course, but in the Entrance Hall. And finally, at half past nine, they were called back in, class by class.
The set-up was actually pretty bog-standard, Danny thought. The large house tables had been removed, replaced by many small desks for the students. The staff table had remained, with Professor McGonagall standing behind it. On it rested an enormous hourglass (and wow, what a piece of antiquated technology, that), and spare equipment, like quills, ink bottles, and parchment.
Once all students were seated, all facing the staff table, the professor had turned over the hourglass and announced that they could start.
Danny fought himself through the exam, and felt… pretty good about it, actually. Charms was not his best subject by any means, but it was one of those major ones that he and Sam and Tucker had focused on a lot. He'd grown up with it, really, even if he previously had had no way of actually making use of his knowledge. If he was going to fail, it would be during the next segment.
So during lunch, he could feel his nerves buzzing, still. The house tables had reappeared so everyone could eat, but afterwards they had been forced into a small chamber next to the Great Hall. And from there they were summoned in groups of four, in alphabetical order.
He and Tucker shared a nervous glance and something between a grin and a grimace. Fenton and Foley would be close enough to be summoned together, no? At least Danny wouldn't have to wait long alone afterwards, since Tucker would come right after him.
Overall, he didn't think he had done too badly. Oh, sure, he had screwed it up a few times, but overall it was pretty okay. Not much worse than some of the others, anyway, and no obvious signs of ecto-energy, which was of course his real fear.
Afterwards they had hung around until Sam had joined them, they had dinner, and then there was more studying. Transfiguration was next, and while it was Danny's best subject (besides Astronomy, of course) it was yet another of those tricky spell-based subjects.
Then after Transfiguration on Tuesday came Herbology on Wednesday, and Defense Against the Dark Arts on Thursday. All of which went surprisingly well, really. Danny had to commend Harry on his mentoring, because the training with the DA had definitely helped even beyond what he could've managed with Sam and Tucker.
Finally, to finish off the week, they had Muggle Studies. And really, what a joke that was! But then they had already known that, since the subject had been a laugh the whole year long. Which was why they had taken it, but still. They already knew how little wizards knew of Muggles, but this… oof. It was, uh.
At least it was an easy grade?
Monday started out pretty rough, again, with Potions. It was followed by Care of Magical Creatures (joy oh joy! Fire Crabs, Danny's favorite!), and then Astronomy on Wednesday morning – and then again, that night.
Despite his enthusiasm for the Astronomy OWL, Danny found that it didn't last. Partway through the examination the castle's front doors opened, and no less than six people walked out. And while the darkness would prevent others from identifying them, Danny's eyes were sharper thanks to his half-ghost nature.
And he really, really, couldn't think of any good reason why Umbridge would be outside this late in the night. He still kept working on his exam, of course, but he kept an ear out for any odd noises.
Sure enough, there was a knock, then the barking of a dog. The group of wizards, led by Umbridge, entered Hagrid's hut. Why?
He didn't have to wonder for long. A roar came from the cabin, echoing through the darkness all the way to the Astronomy Tower. Several of the other students noticed as well, now, peering in that direction.
"Try and concentrate, now, boys and girls," the supervising professor said, softly. Most people turned back to their telescopes, but Danny glanced over to see Sam and Tucker frown.
He wished, deeply, that he could send a duplicate to check it out. But despite his practicing, he still couldn't make an invisible duplicate, and the tower was too crowded to get away with forming a visible one.
Of course, this wasn't the end of it. A loud BANG sounded as the door swung open, Hagrid stumbling out, roaring and brandishing his fists. The six people from before whirled around him, threads of red light flowing from them and towards him – Stunning spells.
"No!" Hermione cried, and Danny could feel his fists ball even further. There was nothing- there was nothing he could do, now. Not while he was here, not in the middle of a crowded examination.
"My dear!" the supervising Professor Tofty said, scandalized. "This is an examination!"
Nobody paid attention to him, however. Everyone was looking at the spectacle, Hagrid fighting off the five attacking wizards, their Stunning spells somehow bouncing off of him. And boy was he making a show of it, roaring in fury. When his dog was hit and fell down, Stunned, Hagrid went so far as to pick up the attacker and threw him a solid ten feet away. The wizard didn't get up.
"Look!" a Gryffindor girl squealed, leaning over the parapet and pointing to the foot of the castle. The front doors opened again, a single person striding out. Professor McGonagall, Danny could tell. But what was she planning?
"Now, really!" Professor Tofty tried again, anxiously. "Only sixteen minutes left, you know!"
"How dare you!" McGonagall shouted as she ran. "How dare you!"
Then, again, "Leave him alone! Alone, I say!" Her voice cut through the darkness, clearly audible even as she rushed closer and closer. "On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such-"
Three of the girls on the Astronomy Tower screamed. The attacking wizards had shot four Stunners at Professor McGonagall, and halfway between the cabin and the castle they had collided with her.
For a moment, she looked luminous and glowed an eerie red, just like the spells. Then she lifted right off her feet, landed hard on her back, and moved no more.
"Galloping gargoyles!" Professor Tofty shouted, apparently also forgetting about the exam. "Not so much as a warning! Outrageous behavior!"
"Cowards!" Hagrid bellowed, his voice carrying back to the castle as more lights blinked on again. "Ruddy cowards! Have some o' that- an' that-"
Hermione gasped as Hagrid took two massive swipes at his closest attackers; a success, based on their immediate collapse. Hagrid ducked down, then straightened again with the limp body of his dog draped around his shoulders.
"Get him, get him!" Umbridge screamed, but only one helper remained, and he seemed rather reluctant to engage after the failure of his colleagues. He made a lackluster escape, and while Umbridge tried firing off a Stunner of her own, she missed miserably.
Hagrid disappeared through the gates and into the darkness beyond.
Silence fell as everyone gazed open-mouthed into the grounds. Then, feebly, Professor Tofty said, "Um… five minutes to go, everybody."
The last of the exam passed in a rush, everyone gathering at the stairs afterwards to talk excitedly – and loudly – about the events that had just transpired.
Danny shared a silent glance with Sam and Tucker, but they drifted off towards bed before sitting down to talk. There wasn't much of a point, and they were tired. There was just one exam left. They could talk afterwards.
The final OWL, History of Magic, broke the pattern because it lacked a practical aspect. Instead the theory was tested in the afternoon, giving everyone a chance to revise beforehand.
It was, like the lessons, unbelievably boring. As he was fighting off sleep, Danny couldn't help but wish for some excitement.
And then Harry screamed, fell off of his desk and onto the stone floor, and grasped for his scar. Danny watched as the boy was led out of the Great Hall.
He didn't come back. The Professor that had guided him out came back in, took the paper from Harry's desk, and turned it in. No word, except to coax them back to their own work.
With nothing better to do, and no way to track down Harry if he didn't want to be found, Danny turned back to his exam. He would have to try following Ron and Hermione afterwards, he supposed. If anybody could find Harry, it would be them.
It was just… from what Harry had told him, as Phantom, his scar hurting was related to Voldemort's trickery. And sure, Danny had taught him how to protect himself, but…
But had it worked? What if the weird scar-connection thing worked around it? No one had answered his question yet, in the Ghost Zone, and he hadn't been able to find anything via other routes, either. He had no way of knowing if his lessons would do anything for Harry.
The bell rang, the exam over, and he tried to rush after Ron and Hermione. They met Harry on the marble staircase, but the boy swept his friends into an empty classroom. Danny shared a glance with Sam and Tucker, then shifted into ghost mode and slipped in after them.
"Voldemort tried to trick me," Harry said, sweaty and pale and somewhat manic.
"What?"
"He showed me," Harry paused, briefly, to catch his breath properly. "He showed me a vision, of him with Sirius in the Department of Mysteries. A room full of shelves covered in these little glass balls and they're at the end of row ninety-seven. But I could tell that it was fake. He wants me to come, for some reason."
Harry's voice was shaking, and so were his knees. He moved over to a desk and sat down on it, as Ron and Hermione were processing the admission.
Danny was just glad to know that apparently his lessons had worked.
"How're we going to get there?" Harry asked his friends, suddenly, and Danny could feel himself tense up again.
"G-get there?" Ron asked, after a moment of silence.
"Get to the Department of Mysteries," Harry explained, loudly. "We need to catch him!"
"But- Harry…" Ron said, weakly.
"What? What?"
"Harry," Hermione said, her voice clearly frightened. "It's… it's clearly a trap. He didn't sneak in there, and we can't, either."
"Nonsense." Harry shook his head. "It's his trap, he'll be there to catch us. I need to know what he's after, and- and-"
"And what?" Ron snapped back, clearly frustrated and worried at the same time. "And then what? We catch Voldemort?"
"Well, yeah." Harry gestured impatiently. "We flip the ambush! He's expecting me, but no one else! We'll catch him off-guard, we'll bring the Order, and then it'll be over!"
Ron and Hermione shared a glance, making a few complicated faces as they tried to silently communicate.
"Harry," Hermione said, carefully. "Why do we need to do this? If you plan on sending the Order, can't you just not go? They're trained for this, aren't they?"
The boy in question shuffled a little, uncertainly. But Danny knew the look in his eyes, recognized it from himself; he was going to go, one way or the other.
He dipped out of the classroom, forming a duplicate to spy on the rest of the conversation while he landed back with Sam and Tucker.
Sam raised a questioning eyebrow, and Danny, blankly, said, "They're planning on ambushing Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries."
"Well." Tucker cleared his throat. "Uh, damn. No chance of stopping them?"
Danny thought back of the look in Harry's eyes, then shook his head. "No way. He looked like I do, when I've got a stupid idea about ghost fighting in my head."
His friends nodded understandingly.
"So… drum up as many reinforcements as possible?" Sam asked, leaning back against the wall. "And contacting the Order as Phantom, I'm guessing?"
"Best so," Danny agreed. "Come on, let's hurry. I've left a duplicate so we'll know when they're leaving, but I don't think they'll wait for long."
Short chapter, but a necessary transition for future stuff! Next few are going to be pretty long, so, yeah...
Last week I mentioned that I wasn't sure about Patronuses for Sam and Tucker, and you all gave some really brilliant ideas! They won't come up in the remainder of the story, but here's what I settled on for them: a dragon for Sam, and either a dog (probably a pharaoh hound) or a sphinx for Tucker. Thank you all for thinking along!
Next week, chapter 20: Dumbledore's Army