Finding Sam and Tucker had been surprisingly easy, Danny found. His magic sense responded to pretty much the entire building, sure, but he could tell their specific magic apart from the rest of it.

The wizards of the Ministry were already hard at work arresting Death Eaters and straightening things up when he entered the right room. Thankfully there was still enough chaos for him to slip back in, and as he sat down with Sam and Tucker, they smiled at him, bright and knowing.

"We covered for you," Tucker assured him, nodding at some of the wizards further in the room. "Said that you were hanging out somewhere and that you would probably find your way back without problems."

"Thanks." Danny glanced at the others, then leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice. "I brought Sirius away so he won't get arrested, and Voldemort's been caught, too. Just clean-up left, I think."

Sam hummed, thoughtfully. "What about that link between Harry and Voldie? Is that something we need to deal with?"

"Probably, yeah. I dunno how it works, exactly, but…" he darted a look at the others again, before continuing, convinced they wouldn't be overheard, "Voldemort tried possessing him during the fight. I think it only works over close distance, and Harry shook it off almost immediately, but…"

"A human tried to possess another human?" Tucker clicked his tongue. "That's not… that shouldn't be possible. Right? What the hell did he do?"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." Danny shot a smile at the wizard who turned to look at them, assuring the man that they weren't up to anything. When he seemed content and turned away, he said to Sam and Tucker, "I was already waiting to hear back from some of the others in the Zone. If they don't know anything yet, I bet this'll help with the search."

Sam opened her mouth to reply, but the wizard came back and cleared his throat. "Kids, come along."

"Coming already," she grunted back, pulling herself to her feet. "We going back to school?"

He squinted at her, then shifted his eyes to look over the rest of them. "We're gathering all the students in one place for easier transportation. You are Hogwarts students, yes?"

Tucker gestured at their robes, with their Hogwarts insignia still on them. "Uh, yeah? You asking just because we're American, or…?"

"It is rather unconventional." The man straightened his spine with a huff, like he was disgruntled at being sassed at by teenagers. "Come now, let us go."

The wizard led them back to the elevator, which they took back to the Atrium. Their fellow Hogwarts students were already there, several other wizards and witches stationed around them to keep an eye on them. A few were crouched over the more injured of the students – making sure they were okay, Danny assumed.

"These the last ones?" their escort asked as they joined the group.

The witch he asked looked up from her clipboard, her eyes coasting over the three of them. Then she nodded at him. "Yes, that should be the last of them. The American students, yes?"

"That's us." Tucker shot her a grin which would've been charming if he hadn't been 1. covered in dust, and 2. barely 16 years old. Also if it had been, in any way, serious. "You looking for us?"

She rolled her eyes, then made shooing gestures at them. "Go join the others. We'll be right back with transportation." She swept off before any of them comment, including the wizard who had brought them.

The man huffed. "Not sure how you kids got here, anyway. School's all the way in Scotland, isn't it?"

"Thestrals are good flyers," Sam said, casually, not looking at him. She was inspecting the other kids, Danny knew.

Their escort grunted, but turned around to join the ring of watching wizards. Danny nudged Sam, and the three of them moved closer to the other teens.

"Danny!" Neville said, moving closer now that he'd spotted them. "You're okay! I was worried when Sam and Tucker came to help me, y'know, without you? But they said you were fine. Where were you?"

"Ran a different way." He shrugged, the lie slipping out smoothly. "Figured it would be safer to rejoin later, when you guys were less inclined to shoot anyone who startled you."

"That's fair." Neville patted him on the shoulder. "You made it out okay, then?"

"Guess I wasn't a very alluring target." His eyes rested on the group of injured students. "Are they… gonna be okay?"

Neville followed his gaze, eyes softening. "They think so, yeah. Straight to Madam Pomfrey, of course, and she should be able to fix them up fine."

"Good, good. I'm glad to hear so."

The boy turned slightly, clearly eyeing up Danny without looking directly at him. "You're… really different for a Slytherin."

"Or maybe the other Slytherins are too afraid to stand out like I do?" Danny sighed, then turned to face Neville properly. "There are plenty of rude Slytherins, don't take me wrong, but those people exist in all houses. But Slytherin's reputation has turned into something of a vicious circle; people expect Slytherin students to be mean and evil, and so they can't be anything but mean and evil. I thought it was worth standing out, but then I already had friends in Sam and Tucker, and we always were the odd ones out. Other Slytherin students might not have this, and thus not do the same."

"Oh." Neville tugged on the edge of his sleeve, letting the silence drag on for a bit. "I guess that that… makes sense. I understand, sort of. People expect Gryffindors to be courageous and brave, but…"

"But you don't really meet that either. And that's okay." Danny blew out a breath, his eyes wandering over to Sam and Tucker, who were talking with the others. "I – We, really, all three of us – always thought the house system was kinda dumb. People change, and they should change. It's a good thing. The only thing the houses do is divide the students and encourage in-fighting."

"But what about classes, then? Housing and common rooms and… How do you guys do it?"

Danny shrugged, one hand raising to the back of his neck to rub it. "I mean, we didn't… The three of us, we never went to a magic school, or a boarding school? So we were just with our parents. As for classes, they're not… set? Just like your classes are taught with two houses together, and the set-up differs between class and year? Except all the students are individuals, so the entire composition could change. There is no guarantee that you'll share all your classes with certain others."

"Huh. But then what about competition and games? Is there any bullying if there are no houses to squabble?"

Danny huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, unfortunately. Sports are usually played between schools, so we've got our school team against teams from other schools. Bullying is based on social cred, so for example the top athletes and popular kids got to do all the bullying, and the rest of us just kind of had to take it."

Neville made a face. "I don't know if that's any better than this, actually."

"Pros and cons, really." Danny's eye caught on the circle of wizards shifting. "Looks like we're going to have to wrap up this conversation for the moment. I think our ride is here."

Just as he said it, the witch with the clipboard stepped forward. She cleared her throat, waiting a moment for them all to turn towards her.

"Kids. We are ready to send you all back to your school. You will all take the fireplaces back; we prepared one at Hogwarts for you all to arrive from. Simply take the Floo powder and ask to be transported to the Hogwarts Medical Wing. Failure to comply will be punished, of course. Do you all understand?"

"What about students who can't walk or speak clearly?" Sam asked, crouched near Ron, who still seemed out of it.

"They will go paired with students who can stand and speak." The witch narrowed her eyes at Sam, with very little effect. "Any other questions?"

Danny looked around the group, then shrugged. "I think we've got it. Did you have an order or grouping in mind, or…?"

"Yes. We will call your names, and you will step forward to the indicated fireplaces. One of us will stand nearby with the powder." Her eyes darted down to her clipboard, and she cleared her throat. "If that was all, we will be starting with Mr. Fenton and Miss Granger. Mr. Fenton, we can carry her to the fireplace, you will only need to support her for the transportation itself."

"That's… fine." He glanced over to where one of the adults picked Hermione up. She was knocked out, limp like a rag. "Madam Pomfrey knows we're coming, right?"

"Indeed. She will be ready to take her from you once you arrive." The witch gestured at one of the empty fireplaces nearby, where the other wizard stood with Hermione. "The Ministry has taken all the necessary steps, Mr. Fenton."

Danny barely bit down his sarcastic reply. Because sure they did, just like they were oh so prepared for Voldemort.

He stepped up to the fireplace, taking the Floo powder in one hand before wrapping an arm around Hermione's shoulders. His enhanced strength allowed him to easily carry her, but he didn't want to stand out too much. This way it wouldn't be too suspicious.

Taking a deep steadying breath, he threw down the powder, yelled his destination, and stepped inside the flaring green fire.

Danny met Sam's eyes from the other side of the room, briefly flashing his eyes green. She gave him a curt nod of understanding, not even blinking when he faded from sight.

He phased through the wall he'd been leaning against, shifting to his ghost form in the same moment. The classroom on the other side was empty of life.

It wasn't empty of un-life, however. Clockwork hung there, patient as ever, surrounded by a small crowd of far less patient Observants.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. What's up?" Danny asked, floating up to roughly eye-level.

"Earlier this year, you inquired about a magical… possession… affecting a young wizard," one of the Observants said, voice halting around the word 'possession'. "This inquiry, of course, was not aimed at us. Regardless, we have been involved, and are here to answer."

Danny nodded. "That bad, huh?"

"There are no words for it, young halfling." The second Observant spoke with clear distaste, but for once it didn't seem aimed at Danny. "This type of magic is looked down upon even by mankind. It is foul and dark beyond words according to them. To us, it is worse."

An involuntary whistle escaped from him. "That bad, huh?"

A third Observant picked up where the other two had left off. "The wizard responsible, Tom Riddle, also known as Voldemort, has cast a terrible spell. The link, which you asked about, was the side-effect of him misfiring this spell. When we looked into it, however…" The Observant fell silent, sharing a look with the other two.

"We discovered this wasn't the only time he used the spell," the first explained. "In total, he has used it seven times."

"Okay?" Danny frowned, considering this. "So… what did it do, then, if it was so terrible? And can we undo the side-effect so it won't affect Harry anymore?"

The Observants shifted, the movement strangely aggravated. "What it did," the second Observant bit out, "was split his soul. It was designed by foolish wizards who were so frightened of death that they would rather risk a permanent existence in limbo than die."

Danny felt his eyes grow wide. "Oh."

"Indeed, young Phantom." Clockwork's smile was kind, but sad. "The spell leaves behind part of the caster's soul in a receptacle, to protect it. Voldemort's failed casting left that shard in Harry's body, hence the link between them."

"So can it be fixed? Without damaging Harry's own soul?" Danny's eyes darted between Clockwork and the Observants. "Or killing him?"

"If you would ask a wizard, they would tell you that this is impossible." The Observant, the first that had spoken, straightened up under Danny's gaze. "But of course, we are not wizards. They only know how to destroy these Horcruxes, which destroys the soul piece left inside. As you know, there are ways for us ghosts to remove souls layered over one another in one body, or to remove souls from non-living objects."

"I can remove the shard like an overshadowing ghost?" Danny asked. "Just like that?"

The second Observant nodded. "Of course, you cannot allow these shards to stray. They will need to be captured and brought in, so we can assure that they are destroyed correctly. Without them, the husk of a man that is left will regain his mortality."

"Right, of course." Then Danny paused, running over this last bit again. "Sorry, the shards, as in, plural? I thought there was only one in Harry?"

"Well, yes." The third Observant shifted, clearing their throat. "But these other Horcruxes cannot be left to their own devices. One has already been destroyed, and one is with your… friend… But five others remain, and this cannot be allowed."

"And I need to be the one to collect them?" Danny frowned, looking over the Observants and then at Clockwork. "Isn't there someone better?"

"You are not expected to do this alone, of course," the Observant quickly spoke up, drawing Danny's attention back to their group. "But these are Wizarding objects, hidden deep inside the Magical world. We cannot risk, of course, the exposure of our kind of ghosts. We have been told that you understand this, yes?"

Danny huffed out a deep sigh, then nodded. "Yeah, I get it. I've been trying to be careful about it too. Sure, I mean… Can't leave those out there to do all kinds of damage, right?"

"You can wait until school lets out to find them. Research will tide you over until then." Clockwork's mystic smile twisted into something closer to a smirk. "I will provide you with a list of the items. It will be up to you to find their hiding places and how to get to them."

"Great. Thanks, Clockwork." Danny heaved out another sigh, then straightened up. "Wait, but I don't have to wait, right? I can go take care of Harry's Horcrux already, right?"

"As long as you have a way to capture the soul piece." Clockwork folded his hands together, clearly knowing that Danny did. "You are free to go, young Phantom."

"Alright, thanks!" Danny turned to the Observants, waving them goodbye too. "You guys, thank you too! I'll take care of it."

"Very good," the first Observant said, neutrally. "We will see you when you have succeeded, then."

Danny nodded, then tugged on his intangibility and sped towards the Ravenclaw Tower. Harry was in Dumbledore's office, he was pretty sure, so going to his own room would be a huge detour. But Tucker, Danny knew, had a Thermos as well.

With an empty Fenton Thermos clenched in his gloved fist, Danny hovered outside Dumbledore's room. He didn't want to interrupt any conversation that might be happening, but… it seemed silent inside. His magic sense detected both wizards there, though, so…

He knocked, dropping his invisibility.

Silence for a moment longer. Then, hesitantly, Dumbledore called out, "Come in!"

Danny phased through the door, immediately spotting Dumbledore behind the desk, and Harry sitting in front of it.

"Sorry," he said, raising his empty hand to his neck. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"That's quite alright, Phantom," Dumbledore assured him, looking somewhat intrigued at his presence. "How can I help you?"

"Ah, it's… It's not how you can help me, but how I can help you." He grinned somewhat uncertainly, suddenly awkward. How are you supposed to tell a person that they've got a piece of someone's soul in them, and that you need to remove it?

"Yes, I've understood that you helped us in the Ministry today." Dumbledore folded his hands together, nodding slowly. "Your help was much appreciated, even if we hadn't had a chance to ask your presence. I am sorry that you had to wait so long for so little, however."

"Ah, it's, uh, no trouble." Danny continued to rub the back of his neck, his eyes slowly shifting from Dumbledore to Harry. "But I uh, discovered that there's something else I can do? To help, I mean. With, uh, Voldemort."

"Like what?" Harry frowned, clearly noticing Danny's eyes on him. "What's it got to do with me?"

Danny made a face, then landed so he stood next to the desk. "It's, uh, related to the lessons we've been doing? Remember that I compared Legillimens to ghostly possession? Apparently the, uh, link Voldemort has with you was closer than I thought, back then."

"How so?" Dumbledore asked, apparently willing to dismiss the admission that it was Phantom who had taught Harry instead of Snape to focus on the matter at hand. "And how have you discovered this?"

"Ah. I, uh, asked some of the other ghosts." Danny fidgeted with the Thermos, feeling the slowly rising tension. "It seemed odd to me, the possession thing, since that's not how Legillimency works. I just heard back from my, uh, contacts, I guess you could call them? And they told me how to fix it."

He huffed. "Actually they kind of ordered me to fix it. Apparently the guy went and split his soul into seven parts and went and stuck it in a bunch of objects. So I gotta go and take care of those for the Observants."

"Horcruxes?" Dumbledore's voice was quiet, almost impossible even for Danny to hear. His eyes turned to Harry, then back to Danny. "And you are… sure?"

"Very. That's why they asked me to deal with it. Us ghosts, we can remove the pieces like an overshadowing ghost. We don't have to destroy the receptacle, like a wizard would."

"Destroy?" Harry repeated, slowly. "As in… kill?"

"Well, the receptacles are generally kind of… supposed to be inanimate objects?" Danny shrugged, trying to keep the air somewhat light. "The intention is that as long as the receptacles are fine and still hold the soul pieces, the wizard they belong to can't die. So picking something that can die just as easily as you kind of defeats the purpose."

"So then why…"

"Apparently it was an accident?" Danny scratched his cheek, shooting Harry an apologetic look. "We can't know without asking Voldemort, of course, but apparently the spell was a misfire, hence the link. But yeah, uh. You're a Horcrux, apparently. Got a piece of Voldemort's soul stuck in your head."

Writing Clockwork is always tricky business, and the Observants weren't any better. I think I did a pretty good job with their voices, though! As for the rest of the chapter, we're setting up for the end of the story, and rounding off storylines.

Next week, the final chapter of Weirdward: Chapter 22 - Hunt the Horcruxes