"We have to hurry," Danny hissed, dragging along Sam and Tucker. "They've assembled a whole dang group already, and they're about to leave."
"I thought they had no way of leaving?" Tucker asked, not fighting Danny's hands in any way.
"Yeah, but they're doing a dramatic thing about teaming up now." He made a face, trying to keep enough focus on flying the three of them invisibly towards his duplicate while also following the input from said duplicate. "And they're in the Forbidden Forest, with Thestrals nearby which they could take."
Sam scoffed. "Do they realize that they can take them, though? Last time I checked most of them were convinced those weren't real."
"No, but Luna Lovegood is there." Danny jerked as he had to turn them intangible as well, exiting the castle. "And she knows."
"No one ever believes Luna, though," Tucker pointed out. "She's smart, but everyone thinks she talks complete and utter nonsense."
Danny jostled them as he flew over the forest. "Shh, we're almost there. Here's my idea: we stumble out of the woods and tell them Phantom carried us. My duplicate can vouch for his presence, so no one will be confused if I help in my ghost form when we get there."
"Sounds good to me." Sam patted his arm in confirmation. Tucker nodded his approval as well, on his other side.
They landed quietly, Danny letting go of Sam and Tucker first. Still invisible he changed back to his human form, then let the power fade. They paused for a moment, listening to the heated conversation.
"-of course it wasn't," Harry's voice sounded, impatient.
"Then we should come too." Neville's, now. "We want to help."
"That's right," a third voice. Luna's, Danny thought.
They shared a glance between the three of them. Then a nod.
With more noise than necessary, they broke through the brush and joined the small group of students. As they perhaps should've expected, startling this small group of weary wizards was met with several raised wands, incantations ready.
Danny raised his hands placatingly. "Chill, we come in peace. We want to help too."
Harry shared a look with Ron. Danny, and Sam and Tucker, waited patiently. Or, well, he waited patiently. Tucker pretended he didn't care, and Sam had her arms crossed and was scowling at the six students already waiting.
"Well, it doesn't matter, anyway," Harry finally said, through gritted teeth. "Because we still don't know how to get there-"
"I thought we'd settled that." Luna cocked her head, eyes large and shiny. "We're flying!"
"Look." Ron stepped forward, clearly struggling to contain his anger. "You might be able to fly without a broomstick, but the rest of us can't sprout wings whenever we-"
Phantom cleared his throat, becoming visible above the group. "She's right, you know."
"How would you know?" Ron snapped at the duplicate. "You can fly on your own power, but we can't!"
"They can, though," Luna said, voice soft and dignified as she looked towards the trees. "And Hagrid says that they're very good at finding places their riders are looking for."
Danny turned to look in the direction she was staring into. And, indeed, between the trees stood two Thestrals. White eyes gleamed as they tossed their heads, throwing their long black manes back.
"Yes!" Harry whispered, moving closer to them. He patted the nearest one on its neck, ecstatic.
"Is it those mad horse things?" Ron asked uncertainly, staring in the right direction but missing the Thestrals. "Those ones you can't see unless you've watched someone snuff it?"
"Yeah," Harry confirmed for him.
"How many?"
"Just two."
"Well, we need three," Hermione said, looking a little shaken but determined all the same.
"No offense, dude, but I count nine." Tucker quirked a brow, unimpressed. "Ten, really, but Phantom doesn't need a Thestral."
"Don't be stupid, we can't all go!" Harry bit. "Look, you six- seven," he pointed at everyone but Ron and Hermione, correcting himself when he came across Phantom, "you're not involved in this, you're not-"
The other three all burst into protest. Danny, Sam, and Tucker just stood back. They would be going anyway, no need to fight about it. It was literally why they had been brought here. Or, well, why Danny was brought here, and where he goes, Sam and Tucker go.
"Okay, fine, it's your choice," Harry finally said, curtly. "But unless we can find more Thestrals you're not going to be able-"
"Oh, more of them will come," Ginny countered confidently. She, too, was squinting in the wrong direction, apparently also unable to see the horses.
"What makes you think that?"
"Because they're attracted to blood," Sam pointed out, rolling her eyes. "And you and Hermione are covered in it." Why they were, Danny didn't know, and he didn't think he wanted to know.
"More are on their way already, anyway." Phantom raised in the air slightly, peeking over the treetops. "See, there they come."
And, on his words, a pack of seven Thestrals broke through the trees. Their eyes gleamed in the darkness, and Danny could clearly see the great leather wings folded against their sides.
"All right," Harry said, still angry. "Pick one and get on, then."
Following his own command, Harry wound his hand in the mane of the Thestral nearest to him, scrambling onto its back. In response, the Thestral twisted its head around, attempting to lick his robes.
Neville and Luna were quick to follow as well, but Danny, Tucker, and Sam waited. And indeed, as they had expected, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny failed to follow the others.
"How're we supposed to get on?" Ron asked faintly, "when we can't see the things?"
Danny rolled his eyes, stepping forward. "Here, we'll help you. Sam, you get Ginny. Tucker, get Hermione."
"Hold on-" the boy protested, but Danny had already grabbed his hand and placed it on the neck of the nearest Thestral.
He wound the hand around the manes, then helped Ron clamber on. "See, not that hard."
The Gryffindor continued to grumble, but Danny ignored him. Tucker and Sam had been equally successful, it seemed. Thus accomplished, the three of them climbed onto Thestrals of their own.
"This is mad," Ron murmured, using his free hand to pat the neck of his horse. "Mad… if I could just see it-"
"You'd better hope it stays invisible," Harry countered darkly. "We all ready, then?"
Everyone nodded, although Danny couldn't help but notice how many of them seemed to suddenly have strong regrets. Harry looked down at his Thestral, then said, uncertainly, "Ministry of Magic, visitors' entrance, London, then. Er… if you know… where to go…"
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the wings of Harry's Thestral swept open. It crouched, then rocketed upwards, fast and steep.
Moments later, the other Thestrals followed suit. In the confusion, Danny let his duplicate dissipate. No one would notice, anyway.
The group streaked over the castle, then past the grounds and Hogsmeade, and further and further. Darkness fell around them, the wind sharp but pleasant in Danny's face; he hadn't realized how much he had missed flying, really flying, until now.
Suddenly the group dove, towards bright orange lights and paved streets. Harry landed first, near a vandalized telephone box, sliding off of the back of his Thestral.
Then one by one the rest of them landed, the Thestrals graceful and silent as they made contact. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville were all in various states of shaking or relief to be on the ground again. Luna seemed unbothered.
"I've had worse flights," Tucker said casually to him and Sam once he had hopped off. "Although it wasn't much better than during that country-wide chase."
"At least you didn't have to fly on your own power during that." Danny shook his head as they rejoined the group proper, where Harry was leading them towards the battered telephone box.
"Come on!" the boy urged, trying to get them inside. Ron and Ginny followed obediently, and Hermione, Neville, and Luna squashed themselves in after. His eyes settled on Danny, Sam, and Tucker, and he frowned.
"Phantom can turn us intangible?" Danny offered, pulling Sam and Tucker closer to himself so he could do so without needing a duplicate. "Since he came along?"
Harry eyed them for a moment longer, then nodded.
Danny turned the three of them intangible, phasing them through the other students, who grimaced at the feeling. Harry squished in after them. "Whoever's nearest the receiver, dial six two four four two!"
Ron did so, twisting his arm awkwardly to reach the dial. A cool female voice sounded in response.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."
Harry took a breath, then said, very quickly, "Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Danny Fenton, Tucker Foley, Sam Manson… we're here to save someone, unless your Ministry can do it first!"
"Thank you," the voice answered. "Visitors, please take your badges and attach them to the front of your robes."
Nine badges clattered out of a chute, and Hermione scooped them up and mutely handed them to Harry.
"You missed Phantom," Luna pointed out, serenely.
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the voice again. "Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wands for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."
"Fine!" he replied loudly. "Now can we move?"
The floor of the box shuddered as it started lowering itself, and Danny had to focus on keeping himself – and Sam and Tucker – on its floor without becoming tangible. With a dull grinding noise it lowered them all the way to the Ministry of Magic and its empty Atrium.
"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant evening," the woman's voice said, and then the door of box burst open.
Harry toppled out, followed by Neville and Luna. Danny pulled Sam and Tucker a few steps away before releasing his intangibility – and their clothes.
Everyone straightened themselves, then Harry whispered "Come on" and led them in a sprint down the hall.
They passed a fountain and a desk, then came to a halt in front of some golden gates. Danny wondered if it was supposed to be this quiet at this time of night. Probably not, if Voldemort was here. He must've taken out the security.
Harry jammed the button to lead them down to the right floor, then through a corridor and towards a plain black door. He stopped some feet away from the door, turning around.
"Okay, listen. Maybe… maybe a couple of people should stay here as a- as a lookout, and-"
"And how're we going to let you know something's coming?" Ginny asked, eyebrows raised. "You could be miles away."
"We're coming with you, Harry," Neville said.
"Let's get on with it," Ron agreed, firmly.
The boy seemed reluctant, but turned back towards the door and opened it. They followed him in, the room circular and all black. Identical, unmarked, and handle-less doors were set at intervals in the walls. Candles with blue flames sat between them, their light reflected on the shiny marble floor.
"Someone shut the door," Harry muttered, and Neville obeyed. The room became so dark that Danny doubted anyone but him could see, and he reached out to Sam and Tucker by reflex.
They stood there in silence, waiting for Harry to make the next move. But before he could, a great rumbling sound could be made out, and… the wall started moving.
It sped around so quickly that no details could be made out, too fast to track. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the wall ground to a halt again.
"What was that about?" Ron whispered, fear lacing his voice.
"I think it was to stop us knowing which door we came in through," Ginny replied, voice just as hushed.
"How're we going to get back out?" Neville asked, uncomfortable.
"Well, that doesn't matter now," Harry said forcefully. "We won't need to get out till we've dealt with Voldemort."
"Where do we go, then, Harry?" Ron turned to look at their impromptu leader.
"I don't-" Harry swallowed. "In the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room – that's the one – and then I went through another door into a room that kind of… glitters. We should try a few doors," he added hastily, "I'll know the right way when I see it. C'mon."
Under his lead, they tried several doors with… questionable contents. Then, finally…
"This is it!"
Onward they went, through that room and meeting another door. They stopped here, everyone readying their wands, suddenly serious and anxious.
Danny only hoped that he could get a moment during the fight where he could slip away and into his ghost form.
The door swung open, and they entered a whole new room. Enormously high, and filled with towering shelves covered in small, dusty glass orbs, glimmering dully in the light of the candle-brackets.
Harry peered down one of the shadowy aisles between rows of shelves. But even Danny, with his superhuman senses, could not hear or see any movement.
"You said it was row ninety-seven," Hermione whispered.
"Yeah." Harry looked up, as did Danny. Row fifty-three, the silver numbering read.
"We need to go right, I think." Hermione turned her head, squinting in the darkness. "Yes… that's fifty-four…"
"Keep your wands ready," Harry said softly, unnecessarily.
As a single unit, they crept forward. Occasional glances were thrown back from where they'd come. Then they reached row ninety-seven, gazing down the alley beside it.
There was nobody there.
"He has to be here." Harry started leading them between the towering rows of glass balls, some of which glowed softly as they passed. "Anywhere here… really close…"
They reached the end of the row, emerging into more dim candlelight. Still nobody was there.
Harry started wandering about, like Voldemort might've been hiding in one of the nearby isles. Danny shook his head, then shared a glance with Sam and Tucker, all wondering the same thing: now what?
"Harry?" Ron called, standing in the row and staring at one of the glass spheres. "Have you seen this?"
"What?" the boy replied, glumly, joining them.
"It's- It's got your name on."
"My name?" Harry said, blankly. Then he stepped forward, craning his neck to read the label.
"What is it?" Ron asked, increasingly unnerved. "What's your name doing down here?"
The boy glanced along the other labels. "I'm not here. None of the rest of us are here."
"Harry, I don't think you should touch it," Hermione said sharply, seeing the same thing as Danny: Harry reaching for the ball.
"Why not? It's something to do with me, isn't it?"
"Don't, Harry," Neville said suddenly.
"It's got my name on," Harry repeated, stubbornly. Then he closed his fingers around the ball, and lifted it from the shelf.
Nothing happened.
Danny shared a glance with Sam and Tucker, and saw his own curiosity reflected in their eyes. Their eyes, and those of everyone else that had come along. They crowded in closer, all gazing at the orb as Harry brushed it free of dust.
He'd been so occupied with the strange orb that he hadn't even heard the quiet footsteps of someone approaching. Not until they said, voice drawling, "Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."
Suddenly black shapes were emerging out of thin air all around them. Hoods up, with eyes barely glinting through, and blocking their way on the left and the right. A dozen wand tips were lit and pointed right at them. Ginny gasped, somewhere in the center of their crowd of students.
"To me, Potter," repeated the drawling voice, one man holding out his hand, palm up.
"To me," the man repeated once more, more patient than Danny had expected these Death Eaters to be. Because that's what they were, right? Why had no one bothered to describe them to him, anyway? Too afraid he might go out looking to fight them?
"Where is he?" Harry asked.
A number of the Death Eaters laughed. One voice, harsh and female, triumphantly said, "The Dark Lord always knows!"
"Always," the first voice echoed softly. "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter."
"I want to know where he is!"
"I want to know where he is!" the woman mimicked. She, and her fellows, had closed in so that they were mere feet away from the group, the light of their wands blinding in the darkness.
"He's here. I know he is."
"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," the woman said, her voice twisted in a horrible mock baby voice.
Ron stirred in their group, and Harry muttered, "Don't do anything. Not yet-"
Now the woman laughed, a loud raucous scream of laughter. "You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"
"Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix," the man said softly. "He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."
"I know he's here," Harry repeated once more. "He has to be!"
Again, the Death Eaters laughed, Bellatrix the loudest of them all. Danny felt his fists clench in anger. Had Harry really led them to this confrontation, hoping to fight a man that wasn't even here?
"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter." The man eyed them up. "Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."
"Go on, then." Harry raised his own wand to chest height. In response, so did the rest of their group. Even Danny, who was really hoping to rely on his ghost powers instead of the wand, followed suit.
The Death Eaters didn't move.
"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt," the man said again, coolly.
"Yeah, right!" Harry laughed. "I give you this- prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?"
He had barely finished his words when Bellatrix shrieked, "Accio proph-"
"Protego!" Harry shouted back, barely holding on to the ball.
They wanted the ball, for some reason. Whether it was a real prophesy or not, whatever it contained, it didn't matter. This was their only protection against their enemies, their only way of getting out untouched.
"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter," Bellatrix said, her eyes staring through the slits in her hood. "Very well, then-"
"I told you, no!" the first man roared back. "If you smash it-!"
The woman stepped forward, away from the other Death Eaters, and pulled off her hood. Her face was gaunt and skull-like, but alive with a fanatical glow. Bellatrix Lestrange, Danny thought; she'd been in the newspaper for breaking out of Azkaban during the school year.
"You need more persuasion?" she asked, breathing rapidly. "Very well- take the smallest one," she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. "Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I'll do it."
The group drew closer around Ginny in response. Harry stepped sideways until he was right in front of her, the prophecy clutched to his chest.
"You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us," he told them. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?"
Bellatrix did not move. She simply stared at them – at Harry.
"So," the boy said, conversationally, "what kind of prophecy are we talking about, anyway?"
Was he… trying to buy time? A valid tactic, but Danny honestly couldn't think of a way to get out either, not with this many people. He could form a shield, but that would just nail them to one spot, even ignoring the fact that he didn't want his powers linked to his human form.
"What kind of prophecy?" Bellatrix repeated, grin fading from her face. "You jest, Harry Potter."
"Nope, not jesting." Harry's eyes darted around, and Danny's did the same. No obvious weaknesses in the lineup, no open space to escape through. "How come Voldemort wants it?"
Several Death Eaters hissed, low.
"You dare speak his name?" Bellatrix whispered.
"Yeah." Harry was clutched the ball so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "Yeah, I've got no problem with saying Vol-"
"Shut your mouth!" she shrieked. "You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you dare-"
"Did you know he's a half-blood too?" Harry asked recklessly. In their crowd, Hermione moaned. "Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle- or has he been telling you lot he's pure-blood?"
"Stupef-"
"No!"
A jet of red light had shot from Bellatrix' wand, but the first man had deflected it with a spell of his own. Instead it hit the shelf a foot or so to the left of their group, shattering a number of the glass orbs.
Two figures, pearly-white and smoke-like, unfurled themselves from the shards of glass. They spoke, voices layered over each other, making it almost impossible to distinguish them, especially with the shouting of the Death Eaters behind them.
Danny nudged Sam and Tucker, next to him, eyes on the figures that now melted back into nothingness. The shine in their eyes suggested that they had the same idea as him.
"You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over," Harry said, clearly still playing for time. His foot started wandering, like he was searching for someone else. Had he had the same idea as them?
"Do not play games with us, Potter."
"I'm not playing games." Harry's foot found Hermione's, and she gasped.
"Dumbledore never told you the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?" the man sneered.
"I- what? What about my scar?"
"What?" Hermione whispered, urgently.
"Can this be?" The man sounded maliciously delighted, and several Death Eaters were laughing again.
Under this cover, Harry hissed to Hermione, "Smash shelves-" confirming for Danny that he had had the same idea, indeed.
"Dumbledore never told you? Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why-"
"-when I say now-" Harry continued, so soft that only Hermione should be able to hear him. Her, and Danny, thanks to his superhuman hearing.
"-you didn't come running when he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording…"
"Did he? So he wanted me to come and get it, did he? Why?"
Hermione shifted, minutely, to start passing the message. Danny nudged Sam and Tucker again, cocking his head and whispering the message to them as well.
"Why?" The man sounded incredulous and delighted at the same time. "Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him."
Danny blocked out the conversation, instead focusing his hearing on their group to make sure the message had passed them all. He only needed to hear Harry's signal. The wand in his hand was growing increasingly warm from his own heat, and that of those crowded tightly around him.
"Now!" Harry yelled.
And, in almost perfect sync, eight voices bellowed, "Reducto!"
The curses hit in different places, the shelves exploding as they landed. The towering structure swayed, hundreds of its spheres bursting, the figures unfurling and floating and echoing their voices. Crashing glass and splintered wood rained down upon them.
"Run!" Harry's voice commanded, more of the shelves swaying and more glass spheres falling.
Danny grabbed onto Sam and Tucker by their upper arms – making sure not to block their wand movements – and started dragging them away. Despite the circumstances, not wanting to be seen, he couldn't help the occasional flicker of intangibility as splinters and glass crashed upon them.
They managed to duck into a dark corner, and Danny tugged on his invisibility. A group of Death Eaters, right on their tail, passed them by without even noticing them.
"Holy shit," Tucker whispered, so quiet he could barely be heard. "This has gone all kinds of wrong."
Danny let go of both of them, keeping himself invisible so he could shift without the bright light alerting anyone. The moment he had transformed he grabbed both of his friends again, fading them out of view in case anyone else came this way.
"What now?" he asked, voice low. "The Order is coming, but now there are Death Eaters hunting all six of the others."
"Let's move towards the exit, but along the same way as they might take," Sam suggested. "We might run into them along the way."
"And what if they ask where Danny went?"
She scowled. "We'll figure that out if it comes to that."
"Right."
As it turned out, their impromptu hiding sessions had put them behind the others. When they found their way back to the spinning room, all six others were already there.
Harry looked scuffed up, but no clear injuries. Hermione was knocked out, Neville was pale and bleeding from his nose, and Ron was in a similar state; pale, but with something dark trickling from the corner of his mouth, and delirious on top of that. Ginny sat against the wall, holding her ankle. Only Luna seemed in a mostly fine condition.
Sam leaned in closer, then whispered, so quiet that only they could hear, "Let's burst out of one of these doors as well, so they won't question us."
"Or we-"
Tucker didn't get to finish his sentence as one of the doors burst open, three Death Eaters joining the room, led by Bellatrix Lestrange.
The three of them shared a glance, then saw the group fleeing through one of the doors and followed, invisible and intangible.
But they made it hard to follow them; good against the Death Eaters, but also against their unseen allies. The three of them caught up with some of the scattered students, but Harry and Neville were missing.
"Should we-"
"No." Danny stared in the direction where he could hear Harry's voice – and Neville's. "The Order is coming. We should help Harry."
"Right," the other boy said, and then they were off again. They reached the other room just in time to see Harry holding out the sphere, and then-
Two more doors burst open, five people sprinting into the room, all Order members: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley.
"There's our cover," Danny whispered, flying them down and away from the chaos as much as possible. "Let's see if we can help. Drag out Harry, or something."
They snuck in, watching the scrambled fight, trying to find a point to help. But Harry seemed to be surrounded by constant chaos, changing too quickly for them to jump in.
Danny's eye caught on the opening door, and now Dumbledore stood there as well. He shoved Sam and Tucker forward. "You two see if you can help Harry get Neville out, I'll join Dumbles."
They nodded and snuck away, and he floated up, invisible. Right as he passed by the arch with the tattered veil, he saw Sirius get blasted towards him – towards it.
The man flew in a graceful arc, his eyes wide in shock, and laughter dying on his face.
Ice cold arms enclosed around his chest. The man disappeared as if he'd gone through, while Danny jerked the both of them upwards and away from the object.
Somewhere in the room, Bellatrix screamed triumphantly, and Harry yelled, distraught, "Sirius!"
In Danny's arms, the man gasped, clutching onto his arms. "Holy shit," he whispered, breathless, "holy shit."
"I've got you," Danny assured him, zipping back down. "I'm gonna put you down next to Harry, okay?"
"Yes, yes." Sirius jerked in his arms, slipping away before they had even properly reached the ground. He landed awkwardly, scrambling over to catch Harry in his arms as the boy attempted to sprint towards the dais.
"It's okay," he assured the boy, who had stiffened immediately. "Phantom caught me, I'm here, I'm okay."
Sirius started dragging the boy away from the chaos, and Danny saw that Sam and Tucker had gotten to Neville as well, calming his legs and separating him from the fight.
Lupin joined the three students, caught sight of Sam and Tucker without him, and then started looking around the room like he could find Danny.
He glanced back at Dumbledore, decided the man seemed to be doing fine, and flew towards Lupin.
"Looking for me?" he asked when he was close enough to be overheard.
"Where are the others?" Lupin turned to Neville to ask, but he must've wanted Danny here, too. Or at least be assured that he was okay, too.
"Back in the other room," Sam answered for Neville, seeing his bleeding nose. "Ron got attacked by something, and the others are unconscious or injured, but they were somewhat okay when we passed by them."
Lupin nodded, then twisted his head to look in a random direction – probably where he thought Danny was. "Phantom, stay with Harry and Sirius. Neville, Sam, Tucker, with me. We're going back to the other room and getting the others out."
A loud bang distracted them; Bellatrix Lestrange turned tail and ran from the room, deflecting a spell from Dumbledore as she ran.
Sirius growled under his breath, then chased after her. Before Danny knew it Harry had followed. Cursing both of them he sped up and flew after them.
They came to a halt back in the Atrium, Sirius and Harry both crouched behind the enormous fountain and its golden statues. He hovered over them, listening along; no footsteps, so Bellatrix must've stopped too.
"Potter, I'm going to give you one chance!" Bellatrix shouted, her voice echoing through the room. "Give me the prophecy – roll it out towards me now – and I may spare your life!"
"Well, you're going to have to kill me, because it's gone!" Harry roared back. Then he flinched, his free hand clawing over his scar. "And he knows! Your dear old mate Voldemort knows it's gone! He's not going to be happy with you, is he?"
"What? What do you mean?" she cried back, fear in her voice.
"The prophecy smashed when I was trying to get Neville up the steps! What do you think Voldemort'll say about that, then?"
Sirius swatted at Harry, seemingly caught somewhere between getting him to shut up and thrilled at the taunting.
"Liar!" Terror underlied her anger as she shrieked. "You've got it, Potter, and you will give it to me! Accio prophecy! Accio prophecy!"
Harry laughed, almost maniacally. "Nothing there! Nothing to summon! It smashed and nobody heard what it said, tell your boss that!"
"No!" she screamed back. "It isn't true, you're lying! Master, I tried, I tried- Do not punish me-"
"Don't waste your breath!" Harry's eyes were screwed close, expression clearly pained. Sirius hovered over him uncertainly, unsure of how to help. Danny knew the feeling. "He can't hear you from here!"
"Can't I, Potter?" asked a new voice, high and cold.
Harry's eyes burst open, and Danny leaned over the statues to see the newcomer. Tall, thin, and wearing a black hood as well, he stood in the middle of the hall. His face was white, gaunt, and snake-like, and his scarlet slit-pupiled eyes were probably scary to someone not used to ghosts with exactly the same kind of face. His wand was pointed straight at Harry.
"So, you smashed my prophecy?" the man said, softly, staring at Harry. The man who must be Voldemort, the reason why Danny was here, the man responsible for such terror. "No, Bella, he is not lying… I see the truth looking at me from within in worthless mind… months of preparation, months of effort… and my Death Eaters have let Harry Potter thwart me again…"
"Master, I am sorry, I knew not, I was fighting the Animagus Black," Bellatrix sobbed, flinging herself at Voldemort's feet. "Master, you should know-"
"Be quiet, Bella. I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry of Magic to hear your sniveling apologies?"
"But Master- he is here- he is below-"
Voldemort paid her no attention. His wand was aimed at Harry, still. "I have nothing more to say to you, Potter. You have irked me too often, for too long. Avada Kedavra!"
The bright green spell shot from his wand, and before Danny could even think to shield Harry, it was too late; one of the golden statues had sprung from its place, landing on the floor between the two wizards, deflecting the spell.
"What-?" Voldemort glanced around, then breathed, "Dumbledore!"
Both powerful wizards started firing spells at each other, and Danny lowered himself back to Harry and Sirius. All three were watching the two fight, scurrying away at the same time.
Then Voldemort was- he was gone. Defeated?
Harry stood up, as if he wanted to come closer, but Dumbledore bellowed out, "Stay where you are, Harry!"
The boy halted. For a moment, nothing happened, and then he crumpled in on himself, clutching at his scar and screaming in pain.
As soon as it had started, it ended. Voldemort was expelled from Harry's body – when he had entered it, Danny didn't know – and faltered. The man clearly hadn't expected to find the boy ready to fight off possession.
Before Voldemort could make his getaway, the fireplaces lit in bright green, wizards streaming into the hall. Dumbledore spat out a spell, and the evil wizard was restrained, held back, chained up.
Sirius bent low over Harry, who sat on the floor, blinking numbly. "Are you okay, Harry?"
"Yes," Harry said, shaking a little. "Yeah, I'm… okay. Thanks to Phantom."
Sirius laughed, softly, shaking his head. "Good, good." Then he started eyeing up the gathering wizards, and, quietly, asked, "Phantom, you here?"
"Yep," Danny confirmed, hovering right over the two of them. "Why?"
"Any chance you could… get me out?" Sirius shifted where he hovered over Harry. "Dumbledore's got Voldie under control, and I'm not jumping to get back to Azkaban, if you know what I mean."
"Uh, yeah." Danny laid one hand on Sirius's shoulder, not letting his invisibility spread just yet. "You'll need to guide me to Grimmauld Place, then."
"No need, just get me out of here."
"Alright." He turned Sirius invisible, then said to Harry, "Sorry to steal him away from you like this."
"That's okay," the boy said, still looking in the right direction. "Just get him safe."
Danny hummed, then flew off with Sirius in his arms.
To be fair to Sirius, it was a good chance to rejoin the others in his human form, afterwards.
The last of the meaty super long chapters, here's number 20! Just 7000 words (and two chapters) short of the end, now.
As for this chapter, well... I admittedly had some trouble fitting the Amity Trio into this one. I wanted to delay them joining the others during the fight itself, because they would've needed to separate to give Danny a chance to go ghost, but after that the action was so tightly packed that I had trouble finding a good moment for them to interfere. And tbh I'm not very good at writing fights so, y'know, that also influenced this chapter a little. I hope it wasn't (too) disappointing! And, besides, we're not done just yet.
On a final (FFN-exclusive) note, I would like to apologize if I don't seem very communicative. I really appreciate every single comment I receive, especially the ones with (constructive) feedback in them, but DMing a reply seems... idk, overly personal? So I don't usually leave any kind of reply/acknowledgement. And since this entire story was pre-written, it might seem like I'm ignoring useful advice, but I'm not! I'm keeping it all in mind for future stories. Even stuff that's directly related to crossovers like Weirdward is useful, because I'm (sorta kinda) planning a different HPxDP crossover already. (but don't get too hyped, because it'll be a good while before I get around to that - I'm writing Absurdism first)
Next week, chapter 21: Observe the End