The morning after was spent in lazy awakenings, moaning about how early it was, and getting pushed off the bed by a certain dragon.

"How are you not tired?" Danny groaned, throwing a pillow at the other boy.

Jake shrugged. His hair was tousled, sticking upwards and sideways and not at all in the careful style it was done in yesterday. He wore a white pajama shirt and red boxers. "I'm exhausted, actually. Gramps usually makes me get up early, but jet lag is a bitch." A tired grin. "Besides, I'm pretty sure we're late to breakfast. Might as well show up sometime. I'm already on Minerva's bad side."

Danny groaned again. He disentangled himself from the sheets and rolled off the bed, lying on the floor for a second before getting up and grabbing a hoodie from his open luggage. It was maybe three sizes too large, hanging off his body like a giant blue parka. His shorts were completely hidden, as the hoodie nearly came up to his knees.

Danny trudged across the room and to the "cabinet area," as Jake had dubbed it. The little counter sticking out of the wall was cool to the touch, and he leaned into it in the hopes of waking himself up a bit. He started opening and closing random cupboards, looking for anything worth eating. To his right, he heard Jake rummaging around as well.

He ended up opening the cabinet that was supposed to house the ground coffee beans, only to gaze in horror at the package as he read the label. "Oh, I'm in hell."

Jake snorted. "Figured that already."

"No, no, I mean..." Danny made a whine of distress, shoving the pack in Jake's face. "Look. It's decaf."

He raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So?" Danny blinked at him. Did this kid not drink coffee? "So there's no caffeine in it. No rejuvenation. No salvation. No healing. Jake, I can't survive on decaf."

Jake pushed the pack away from him, using his other hand to wave dismissively. "Get a soda. That has caffeine."

"It's not the same!"

"Wow. Okay. You're whiny in the morning."

Danny glared at him. Jake grinned back, poking him on the shoulder. "Chill," he said to the ghost. "I'll ask the wizards for some. They're bound to at least have caffeine at their disposal."

Danny huffed, staring accusingly at the bag of false coffee as if it were the root of all that was evil in the world. "I thought this room catered to our needs."

"You asked for a hotel room."

"A hotel room still has coffee!"

Jake started laughing then, clutching his stomach as he wheezed and cackled, walking away from the stunned boy still complaining about not being able to properly energize.

Danny didn't bother getting dressed; the hoodie was warm, and it smelled good; and to be honest, he just didn't really want to rummage through his things right now. Jake was a different story; he spent maybe a full fifteen minutes on his hair, gelling it to get the usual spiky style Danny had first seen him in. He went to throw on some sweatpants and a clean shirt, wearing a dull red sweater on top with the words, "I survived Death Valley" printed in an ominous black font.

"Road trip," Jake told Danny after noticing his questioning stare.

The boys each grabbed a pop tart on their way out - it tasted like cardboard, Danny didn't know how people could enjoy it - and watched as the door to the room disappeared when they exited. Jake assured Danny that their belongings were not lost; they needed only ask for the same room when they returned.

Chatting amiably with each other as they attempted to navigate the labyrinth of a school, Danny allowed himself to relax for the first time he'd arrived. The beds were comfortable, but it felt so foreign, so unlike home, and it left him wondering just how Amity Park was faring without him. His phone still worked, thank Clockwork - there had been a mention of technology not working in the school as it was so drenched in magic. Danny hypothesized that because his phone had been exposed to ectoplasm for so long, it would counteract any effects.

Jake's phone, on the other hand, didn't work as well. It was able to function properly, but ran out of batteries too soon and didn't have very good service. "I'm around a lot of magic, so the phone was designed to have some resistance to it," he explained. "But there's so much here that even my phone can't work around it."

They weren't in much of a hurry to get down; there was no set time for them to arrive, but seeing as how this was a school, breakfast was probably served early. The time was around ten a.m., so there'd be hell to pay when Minerva found them.

For now, though, they were content with exploring.

Hogwarts castle was lit by candles and lanterns, walls full of moving paintings (rather rude to the newcomers, too), and so medieval looking that Danny had a hard time imagining many students coming here. They ran into a few ghosts (wizard ghosts; intangible and harmless, Jake assured him) who greeted them warmly, some even going so far as to bow.

"We're honored to have you here, Masters," a rather heavyset ghost rumbled, bowing so low Danny was worried he'd topple over. "Please, if you have any concerns, just ask."

"Yo, thanks, uh..." Jake trailed off.

The ghost rose, beaming. "The Fat Friar, Lord," he said excitedly. "And, I must say, I've never met a Draco before, so I'm especially excited to learn about you and your kind-"

"That's great," Jake interrupted. "Really. And I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to catch up soon..."

"We've gotta get to the cafeteria soon," Danny took over.

"Do you mean the Great Hall? Or the kitchens?"

"Uh... wherever you eat, I guess."

The Fat Friar nodded. "Yes, that would be the Great Hall. And, Sir Phantom, it's an honor to meet you as well! I've heard tale of many of your quests."

Danny blinked, a bit surprised at the title. Dora had knighted him a while back, but he didn't know other ghosts knew about it as well. "Thanks? Please, you can call me Danny. I'm not really known as 'Sir Phantom' outside of Dora's kingdom."

The ghost bobbed his head again, practically radiating excitement. "Yes, yes, very well. Danny. I can show you to the Great Hall, if you'd like."

"Do we really need to go now?" Jake complained under his breath. Danny kicked him in the shin.

The ghost showed them about six floors down ("Stairs," Jake declared. "I've decided I hate them.") to the hallway from which they had first entered the night before. With a couple more bows and farewells, the Fat Friar finally left them alone in front of the large double doors.

Once the spirit had rounded the corner, Jake turned to Danny with a self-satisfied grin on his face. "Lord, huh?" he mused. "Man, I could get used to that."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Careful, Long. They don't know how much of an ass you are yet."

Jake made a show of looking around for listeners before putting a finger to his lips. "Shh," he whispered theatrically. "Don't blow my cover."

Danny entered the Great Hall first, pushing the heavy doors open and holding them for Jake, who was muttering on about "crazy ass wizards and their stupid ass moving staircases."

The two stopped a few feet into the room, each letting out a woah as they took everything in.

The room was enormous; Danny imagined he could fit all of Casper High inside it. Four long tables were placed along the length of the room, another smaller table at the far side - a golden throne-like chair sat in the middle, and Danny wondered who was important enough to sit there.

"Danny," Jake said in a hushed voice. "Look up."

Danny did as he was told, and froze.

For one, there were the candles. Thousands of them floated several feet above the tables, lighting the room in a warm glow and making the temperature a little toasty, but not uncomfortably so. Distantly, he wondered if wax ever dripped down.

The ceiling was a different matter entirely. It reflected the sky, which was sunny and full of endless blue, a few clouds dotting the atmosphere. He felt like he was falling into it; rather ironic, considering it was the sky.

"Fuckin' enchantments," Jake muttered. "Okay, this is pretty cool. The Am-Drag approves."

Danny let out a breathy laugh, unable to look away. the sun, still in the process of making its way to its highest point, was beginning to hurt his eyes. He forced himself to look back at the tables, wondering just how many students it allowed.

"Wicked-lookin' chair up at front," Jake said. "You think we'd get to sit in there?" A toothy grin. "I mean. We are 'Masters.'"

Danny tried to imagine a tiny Jake sitting in the chair, head barely peeking over the top of the table, and had to reign in his laughter.

"The chair is for the headmaster of Hogwarts," a voice behind them snapped. "And you're far from being Masters."

They whirled around simultaneously to see Minerva McGonagall standing in the doorway, a curt frown on her face. Her hair was pulled back in much the same way it was yesterday; she wore emerald green robes, her hands folded in front of her. Danny noticed how she seemed to have slight bags underneath her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well last night.

Jake placed a hand over his heart. "Jesus, woman, ya nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Oh, don't be dramatic," Minerva scoffed. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she spoke again, her tone was considerably softer. "If you've had breakfast already, Albus wants to meet you in his office soon."

Danny and Jake shared a look. They had the pop tarts, but to be honest, that wasn't exactly a filling breakfast. Plus, Danny was still missing his caffeine.

"We'll have breakfast first," Danny said. "And, uh, is there coffee here?"

"There was only decaf in the room and he won't stop complaining about it," Jake chimed it. Danny glared at him.

Minerva nodded. "Very well. I'll send for Argus to come get you when you're ready. As for the coffee, the house elves should prepare some for you."

Danny thanked her, and before long they were seated at one of the tables. Jake had wanted to sit at the throne, but one withering look from the witch convinced him otherwise. They sat at the table on the left side of the room, closest to the window. Goblets, plates, and silverware lay on the surface of the table, appearing sometime after they had sat down.

Jake had the same pained look on his face as last night when the house elves were mentioned. He became unnaturally quiet, tapping on the surface of the table next to Danny as they waited for their food. The air was thick with tension, the dragon's eyes seeming to burn holes into the table.

"Jake-"

"Wizards," he spat before Danny could ask. "I can't believe they're still using house elves." He clenched his fists and raised his head to look at Danny, eyes alight with red fire. "Did you know they don't even get paid? The house elves say they enjoy it, sure, but it's still so wrong. They deserve to at least get paid, not be treated as slaves by people who barely even know they exist."

Danny stayed silent.

Jake was practically shaking with fury. "Gee told me about them. It's totally whack, and they're barely recognized for their work, and..." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "I hate it. I hate it. I hate that they don't get treated in the best possible way. They deserve to be treated with respect, and instead they're usually stuck with magical families who abuse them because they know the poor things can't actually leave. Because they're bound to them." His voice was thick with venom, and when he growled, it sounded animalistic and vicious. "Can you imagine, Fenton? Being kept as a slave and having to enjoy it because you've never actually known freedom? Considering being free a dishonor because your entire family has always known nothing but servitude?"

"No," Danny said softly. He couldn't imagine not having the freedom Phantom provided, being able to escape his parents if needed be, always having a home in the Ghost Zone if it became too dangerous. He always had a plan to fall back on, and his friends would always be there for him.

Jake's shoulders slumped. "I hate wizards," he said in a tired voice. "I hate them for doing this."

They sat in silence for a few minutes longer until the food appeared on the table in a wide assortment of sweets, fruit, bacon, sausage, and eggs; Danny's goblet indeed filled up with coffee, and Jake's included some strong-smelling tea.

After Jake's rant, Danny felt a little bad about the thought of eating - then his stomach growled, and the other had boy had looked at him with an amused expression, saying, "It's okay, yo. Better appreciate the food they made. It'd be more rude not to eat it."

Despite his words, Jake didn't eat as much as Danny, who'd piled his plate high with bacon and pastries. The coffee was bitter and woke him up instantly, just the right temperature without burning his tongue. Meanwhile, Jake enjoyed his tea ("Green tea is okay," he said. "Gramps makes me drink it every morning to help my fire breathing glands. Used to be chamomile, but that's too sweet for me."), then nibbled on some sausage and a pancake.

The Great Hall, though beautiful, was almost too silent when there were only to people in it. Danny tried to imagine hundreds of students seated at the tables, divided up into cliques, chatting about magic and potions and whatever else it was wizards talked about. He wondered if the house elves would serve the food themselves, but with the way Jake talked about them, it seemed like they were never seen around the school.

A heavy sigh. Jake let his fork fall with a clatter, then turned to Danny. "I'm bored," he huffed. "Let's play a game."

"A game?"

"Yeah. Like... twenty questions!"

"Twenty questions," Danny deadpanned.

Jake shrugged, then took another sip of his tea. "Dude, we're gonna be livin' together for a year. I'd like to know a bit more about you."

Danny thought for a moment, drumming his fingers on his goblet. "Alright," he relented. "You go first."

Jake shot him a quick grin. "Any siblings?"

"One. An older sister." He laughed. "She likes to psychoanalyze me. Wants to become a psychologist, and I'm her favorite patient."

"She knows about you being half ghost?"

"It's not your turn," Danny pointed out. "But, yeah. She's been a huge help, covering for me. My parents don't know. What about you? Do your parents know?"

Jake nodded. "My mom's a dragon, so that's kind of a given. The powers skipped her generation, though, so she's stuck in her human form. My dad's human, and he found out a few weeks ago. I got a little sister, Haley - kind of a know-it-all, likes to rub it in my face that she matured faster." He rolled his eyes.

Danny laughed. He knew what it was like to have overbearing siblings.

"What's your favorite color?"

Danny groaned. "That's such a boring question," he complained. "It's blue, though."

Jake snorted. "Really? Wouldn't have guessed," he said slyly, eyeing Danny's sweater. The halfa poked his shoulder.

"Whatever, Long." He thought for a moment. "Uh. Okay. Play any instruments?"

"I used to play violin," Jake said. "But, uh, dragon duties got in the way. I still know a little. Haley can play it way better." He tapped his chin. "Though I've always liked the drums. Bet I'd be great at it."

"Cocky, aren't we?"

"You want a piece of this, Casper? Bet ya I could smack your ass all the way back into the afterlife."

The twenty questions were up within minutes, many of them being little things about hobbies, interests, and generally nothing too personal. It turned out that Jake's favorite color was red, he was a Pisces, and he liked to skateboard. He could draw with his feet but not as well with his hands, and his favorite dragon power was his fire breathing. He loved Halloween because it allowed him to roam freely as a dragon and pass it off as a costume.

Danny talked about Sam and Tucker, the ghost friends he'd made, and how good the Nasty Burgers were. Jake had acted surprised when he'd mentioned learning the ukulele for Sam's birthday song a few years back ("She wanted to see how goth I could make it," he explained. "Honestly? I think I did a pretty good job."), but, like the dragon, he barely had time for the instrument anyway. Danny liked to doodle the different ghosts he'd seen, but it never really went further than a simple sketch.

"NASA, huh?" Jake mused after he'd mentioned his dream of being as astronaut. "Dude, I'm gonna be honest - if you're serious about doing that, then you shouldn't give up just because of ghost hunting. Your grades can be brought up and you'll only get better at balancing your double life as time goes on. And, yo, don't forget to take a break every once in a while."

Danny beamed at him. Jake was probably the first person to say he had a chance at working at NASA, and coming from the secret dragon, it gave him a little more hope for the future.

Their talking had become more personal after that, leaving Jake venting about Rotwood and Danny confessing his fears of putting too much pressure on his friends. It was strange, confiding in someone they'd only known for about a day, but the things they had in common - having to hide a part of themselves, putting up with those who hated them, and getting dragged by their throats to fulfill a destiny neither had ever wanted in the first place - connected them in a way which made Danny feel like he could trust Jake, that he'd understand what he was going through.

"Your parents," Jake started suddenly. Danny had been sipping at his coffee as he listened to Jake talk about the Dragon Council and the different laws pertaining to his race. "They're ghost hunters, right? The Fentons. I think I've heard of them online somewhere."

"Yeah," Danny said tentatively. As approachable as Jake was, he wasn't entirely hung up on the idea of discussing his home life.

Jake stared at him curiously, barely moving. Then he smiled and raised his goblet. "You're gonna do great things, man. Don't let the haters get you down."

For the first time in a while, Danny felt at home.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

"Next time, we eat in the room," Jake threw over his shoulder. "They've got pop tarts, I'm sure there're other stuff there, too."

Danny caught up with him, falling in step beside the dragon as they exited the Great Hall. "Are you sure? We'll be eating with the students."

"Yo, I ain't getting up at seven every morning," Jake snorted. Danny laughed beside him.

They leaned against the wall outside, occasionally chatting about a music group or what they planned to do over the course of the year. Jake was not ashamed to admit that most of the options included pranks.

Danny himself wasn't as talkative as Jake, but his mood seemed to swing violently from joy to sadness to total apathy, making him hard to read. He had a lot of pressure on him, that was for sure; what with ghost hunting parents, high school, and being half dead, Jake didn't blame him. It was kind of refreshing to find someone who could understand the pressures of keeping a double life.

The kid was so cynical, though, more cynical than Jake; he didn't have high hopes for his own future and believed he wouldn't ever make it very far in life (afterlife, whatever). He had such a low opinion of himself, it made Jake want to hug the crap out of him.

A gaunt, sickly-looking man with greasy gray hair and a cat trailing behind him came to pick them up; he introduced himself as Argus Filch in a gruff and monotonous voice, then motioned for them to follow him to the headmaster's office.

They walked for what seemed like hours, up several flights of stairs and stopping in front of a large gargoyle, reminiscent of a griffin, towering several feet over the troop. "Lemon drops," Filch told the statue. His cat meowed in affirmation.

The gargoyle rumbled, rising to show stairs ascending into the tower above. Filch ushered Danny and Jake onto the stone, then was off into the corridor, muttering to himself.

Danny looked up as they rose. "It's like a wizard elevator," he told Jake.

They eventually reached the top. Another door awaited them, and Jake hesitated only for a moment before beginning to bang on the door.

"Jake! What are you-"

"It's music, baby," Jake yelled, drumming a beat onto the wooden surface. He grinned. "C'mon, Bumblebee deserves it."

"Bumble... what?"

The door flew open.

Minerva stood there, an extremely irritated expression on her face, eyes travelling down to look at Danny and Jake. Her mouth twisted in an exasperated expression.

Jake grinned at her. "Hey," he said cheerfully.

She sighed, opening the door fully to allow them to enter.

The first thing Jake noticed was how... odd everything was. The room was circular, and paintings of past headmasters hung on the walls. Shelves housed strange instruments, jars full of things that probably belonged on the black market, little trinkets whistling and flitting around the room. A large, silver bowl was pushed up against the wall; an old hat collected dust atop a high shelf; stranger still, Jake could see a large, red bird perched next to the desk in the center of the room. A phoenix?

The man sitting at the desk was clearly stifling laughter; blue eyes crinkled behind a pair of half moon spectacles, mouth twitching underneath a long, white beard. He wore blue robes imprinted with little yellow stars, and a light blue wizard's hat sat atop his head.

Danny stared at him. "Gandalf?"

"Bumblebee," Jake said.

Minerva looked like she wanted to strangle him, her fingers twitching at her sides.

The old man laughed. "My name is Albus Dumbledore," he said in a voice dripping with mirth. "But both of those mistakes have been made."

Danny's cheeks were colored green. Jake bit his lip to keep from snorting. This guy, he could get used to.

"Jake and Danny, I presume?" Albus continued. When both of them nodded, he smiled. "Excellent! Please, sit. We have much to discuss."

The chairs were comfortable, not at all like the hard torture devices at school, and Jake immediately let himself slouch into it, gaining a twinge of satisfaction as Minerva's mouth pursed further.

Albus steepled his fingers, leaning forward in the desk. "Minerva, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside."

Minerva bowed her head, turned, and briskly left the office.

The old wizard stared at each of them, eyes seeming to see right through them. Jake held his gaze, defiantly raising his chin. Albus smiled at bit at the motion.

"You're both aware of what your task here is, no?" he asked.

"I'm, uh, supposed to make allies," Danny said. "And protect the students if anything goes wrong, right?"

"Precisely," Albus answered with a satisfied nod. "The Ghost Zone especially houses many powerful entities, and it would be unwise not to have a backup plan in case Hogwarts becomes entirely unsafe. I understand Clockwork was not able to come himself, and I appreciate him sending over his apprentice."

Danny muttered something about not having any lessons, then nodded. "I'll try my best," he said resolutely.

"I would appreciate it if you became more acquainted with the ghosts as well," Albus added. "They don't interact much with the students, and I was hoping you could rekindle that relationship by talking about ghosts around those who may be interested?" Danny nodded, and Albus beamed. "Brilliant!" he exclaimed. Turning to Jake, he said, "You're more our offense, as I've gathered. You're not the only dragon that has been sent to a school?"

"Nah," Jake said. "A few others have been sent all over the world. Sorry y'all didn't get the 'Dragon Master' you'd sent for, by the way."

"Nonsense." Albus waved his hand in the air. "As long as you're well-versed in how to fight properly, I won't complain about your status. What I do want to talk about-" he leaned even further across the desk, narrowing his eyes, "-is how well you'd fare around so many wizards."

"I, ah." Jake gulped, slouching down even further. Danny snickered. "Shut it, Casper. Uh, listen, yo - I've got my own beef with wizards." he wrung his hands together. "I'm not exactly the best diplomat you could've gotten, but, no offense... this school ain't exactly-" He made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. "We drew straws," he said finally, feeling stupid.

Albus' expression softened. "Hogwarts isn't the ideal place for you to be, I understand," he began. "But, Jake, you have to understand that you'll need to make allies. Not many of the students know of the Dragons of Draco Isle, so you need to show you're not a threat." Finally, he leaned back a bit.

"The wizarding world still isn't completely convinced of Voldemort's return, but after the events of the Triwizard Tournament, many believe something terrible has happened. The other schools are not naive. I may have had a hand, but in the end... it was their decision to have help in keeping the school safe.

"You're in charge of observing the students, making friends, and being the primary watch for the unusual. Danny's responsibility is bridging the gap between students and ghosts, and - Ancients forbid - watching out for less obvious signs of danger."

"Like spies?" Danny suggested.

Albus scowled. "Yes. I do hope it won't come to that, but... yes."

Jake sighed. "Fine, I'll try to be diplomatic - I'm all over it. But I've got my eye on y'all."

His scowl quickly returned back to its former smile. "Thank you. I would expect nothing less." Albus flattened his palms on the table. "The reason we have both you and Danny, while the other schools have only one dragon protector, is mostly because I'm afraid Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it used to be. Closing the school would be a last resort, and I must do everything in my power to keep them safe."

If there's a literal war going on, Jake thought, shouldn't the best course of action be closing the school? Seriously, how jacked up are these guys?

"Your schedules will be mostly free for you to move around the school as you wish," he continued. "However, I ask that you observe at least three classes each day, excluding the weekends. You may observe them together or apart, as long as you do not disrupt the class." His eyes twinkled again, and Jake realized how much he reminded him of Sun. And Gramps. If they had a child, then - oh, okay, fuck no-

"Other than that," Albus said, interrupting his less-than-savory thoughts, "I'm assuming you both go to muggle schools?"

The two nodded, equal expressions of displeasure upon their faces. "I'll be entering high school," Jake said.

"Then I'd dare say you have Danny here at an advantage," Albus replied. "He will be able to help you with some material, as he is a year older."

The slightly panicked look on Danny's face did not soothe Jake in the slightest.

"I will arrange for your studying material to be sent to you so you may work on it during the year," Albus continued. "I'd hate for you to fall behind and be stressed after arriving back at home next summer." His lips stretched into a cheery smile, blue eyes twinkling. "I believe those are all the technicalities out of the way. Please enjoy your stay; we won't be starting the school year for another two weeks or so, but I do want to give you enough time to get acquainted. You'll have noticed we had no set time for you to eat breakfast."

At that comment, both boys flushed and spluttered out unintelligible replies.

Albus chuckled. "That's quite all right. Any questions?"

"Just one," Danny said. "What kind of bird is that?" He pointed towards the phoenix.

"That would be my dear friend, Fawkes," Albus replied happily. The bird squawked a greeting. "He's a phoenix, and maturing quite nicely."

"A... okay." Danny stared at the bird. Jake snorted at his expression.

"You should see the griffins in New York," he told the flabbergasted boy.

Albus chuckled. "I assure you, there are many strange things in the magical world. It can be exciting at times, or frightening, but I'm sure you'll find yourself enjoying the many wonders of Hogwarts." He finished that statement with his arms outstretched as if the entire magical world was encompassed inside his office.

The silence stretched on, growing a little awkward as Danny continued to stare at him. Jake coughed.

Albus lowered his arms. "There are some more details we have to work out," he said. "Minerva and I spoke last night, and we've come to the agreement to introduce you into the Order of the Phoenix. It's an organization dedicated to fighting Voldemort, and I believe you'll find your jobs much easier if you have a cause to report back to."

Danny nodded. "That makes sense. Where is the Order?"

"It resides in Islington," Albus replied. At their confused looks, he added, "London." He shifted in his seat, turning his head to the side slightly to look at Fawkes. "We will depart this evening-"

"Hold up, yo," Jake interrupted. "This evening? Are you crazy? We just got here, and we're still getting used to the jet lag because the States are really far away, if you haven't noticed, and now you're makin' us go to London for some whack Order?" He huffed, crossing his arms. "No offense, dude, but... no."

"I agree with Jake," Danny chimed in. "We should've just gone to the Order first. We haven't completely adjusted to this school yet, especially me." His icy blue eyes flared. "I didn't even know magic existed until about two months ago."

The headmaster pondered their statements for a moment, stroking his beard in a thoughtful manner that practically screamed wizened old mentor. Danny wasn't far off with his Gandalf comment. After a few moments, Albus let down his hand and moved away from his chair to his door. "I will speak to Minerva about your arrangements," he said, opening the door to reveal the witch still standing outside patiently. "It will only take a moment."

The door swung closed behind him.

Danny stared at the door, then sighed, crossing his arms. "Unbelievable."

Jake rolled his eyes, cupping a hand to his ear. "Ear of the Dragon," he mumbled, and his human ear stretched to grow into its dragon counterpart. Sneaking a glance at Danny, he smirked at his expression and said, "Like it? I've got several neat tricks up my sleeve. Or, in this case-" he laughed a little, "-up my ear."

Danny shook his head. "Your puns are absolutely horrible."

"Yeah, you'd know about that, Invisobill."

Ignoring the halfa's cries of outrage, Jake focused his hearing towards the door. He could make out every individual sound in the room: the instruments playing soft music, the portraits talking amongst themselves, Fawkes' heartbeat, and Danny's... there was a hum there, not exactly a heartbeat, but close to his chest and definitely pulsing. Jake shrugged, choosing to ignore the strange noise, trying to pinpoint the voices outside.

There must've been some sort of ward against dragon hearing because the voices were still muffled, no matter how hard he listened. Minerva's voice raised a little and was able to make out a, "...sure they can be trusted?" before one of the portraits swore particularly loudly, jolting Jake out of his reverie and causing him to slap his hand over his ears at the sudden cacophony of noises. Glaring at the general direction of the portrait, he allowed his ear to shrink back to a normal size and shook his head at Danny's questioning stare.

The silence between the two was not uncomfortable; despite the way Jake had started to relax in his seat as he waited for the older man to return, Danny chose to break the quiet with a load groan. "I can't believe this," he bemoaned, pulling at his still-messy black hair. "We're having a meeting with the principal of the school and I still haven't gotten ready, and-" his eyes blew wide as he tugged at the single sweatshirt he wore, pajama shorts not even visible underneath. "Oh, Ancients, I just - I look - damn, I definitely don't look like a 'representative' or whatever-"

Jake started to laugh, loud guffaws escaping his mouth as he listened to the stressed teenager. "Chill," he managed to gasp. "Fenton. Fenton, it's - oh, haha, I can't - at least you're not wearing robes. And, like, - pfft - you've totally got the 'space art hoe' aesthetic goin' on." Another bout of laughter.

"Space art hoe? I take offense to that, Long-"

At that point, the door to the office opened yet again and both professors stepped through. Albus Dumbledore smiled at the two boys in their chairs, mouth twitching as he looked at the still-laughing Jake and how Danny quickly crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to hide the sweater. Even Minerva looked placated for once.

"Congratulations," Albus said cheerfully. "You get the castle mostly to yourselves for another week before we depart to London. Minerva has graciously allowed you full access to anywhere in the building except for offices and House common rooms so that you may familiarize yourself with what you'll be protecting over the year." He turned to the witch beside him. "Anything to add, professor?"

Minerva McGonagall fixed Jake and Danny, whose faces had shifted to equal amounts of excitement, with a heavy stare. "Do try not to break anything," she said finally. "I'd like Hogwarts - and yourselves - in one piece before the school year starts."

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

The week passed by in a blur. Between the corridors, classrooms, secret passages, grounds, lake, and forest, Danny and Jake soaked up as much of Hogwarts as they could to get ready for when the students arrived. They spent a lot of their time exploring the gigantic castle, learning to navigate the many stairwells and hallways that seemed to interconnect in a labyrinth almost impossible to memorize.

The outside harbored a lot of fun for the two representatives; they roamed around the terrain and ventured into the forest, admiring the mountainous land around them. The Black Lake was cold, colder than they were accustomed to, but they set aside the temperature to enjoy a few hours in the water, shouting in glee and splashing one another with the water.

(That is, until Filch had come running up to the shore yelling about some giant squid. They didn't stay long after that.)

Despite how many lessons Jake had been given on the magical underworld, even he hadn't recognized many of the odd plants residing in the greenhouses for Herbology. Danny was acutely reminded of Sam's brief reign with Undergrowth as he stared at the multicolored - and probably dangerous - foliage.

They learned of the creatures inside the Forbidden Forest from the ghosts. A herd of centaurs, thestrals, rumors of gigantic spiders crawling beneath the ground...

Jake had heard of clans outside of the Council's jurisdiction; creatures that rejected the help from their protectors and struck out on their own, creating strict laws reliant on loyalty towards one another that ensured their survival without the scaled beasts. He wasn't entirely sure if it was wise to visit them if they were so intent on being left alone, but he supposed he'd cross that bridge when it came to it.

Danny found a way to get "real coffee" into the Room of Requirement and was in a much better mood because of it - if you could call it better. He was always either humming a tune or talking about space, and it grated on Jake's nerves like nothing else.

Despite all this, the two grew considerably closer over the week they spent at the castle. The vast expanse of land to roam led to many games, one of the more popular being a competition to see who could find the most hidden passages. Danny had a record of over seventeen small ones found, which Jake found highly unfair seeing as he could literally walk through walls.

They made fun of the paintings and pointed out as many flaws in the wizard's architecture as they could; they tried to locate most of the classroom's they'd be observing in but stopped once Jake found the Divination classroom and wasn't able to get the smell out of his nose the rest of the day.

Jake took some of the time to teach Danny about magical creatures, knowing the poor kid hadn't grown around anything wilder than muggle ghosts. He complained about his training but spared him the details of medication, and talked about what exactly his job as the American Dragon entailed ("So you're basically a magic cop," Danny said). The halfa was an avid listener, nodding along to Jake's explanations with wide, starry eyes.

As they walked back to the Room of Requirement on the last night of their stay, Danny told stories about the Ghost Zone and the inhabitants he'd met inside. "There's this huge land of ice called the Far Frozen," he said excitedly. "The ghosts there look like yetis - one of them, Frostbite, helped me with my ice powers and had healed me more times than I can count-"

"You have ice powers?" Jake interjected.

Danny nodded, holding his hand open. His eyes flashed a brighter, electric blue and the temperature around them dropped several degrees. The veins on his wrist glowed bright with ice as a crystal began to form in his palm. Jake watched, mesmerized, as the crystal formed into a sphere and dropped into Danny's hand.

"It won't melt," he said, handing the sphere to Jake, "since it's made with ectoplasmic energy.

The crystal was cold to the touch, sending shivers up Jake's spine. "So it's ice?"

Danny grinned at him. "Cool, huh? I've got an ice core."

"How do you get a core? Like... what determines it?" Jake mused as he turned the sphere over in his palm.

Danny furrowed his brows, stopping in front of the tapestry that was near the door to their room. "I don't know? 'Cause, like, I sorta died of electrocution, so it can't be that..."

"I dunno, dude. You smell like ozone."

"I do?"

Jake shrugged, beginning to pace up and down the corridor. "Sometimes. Usually when your emotions get high. It's kinda freaky, actually. Your hair stands up." He grinned at him and shot over his shoulder, "Maybe you'll learn how to control weather!"

"Been there, done that," Danny muttered. "Not fun."

The two stayed up a little longer, talking through the classes they wanted to observe the most. Danny was excited for Astronomy, and Jake was curious about Care of Magical Creatures. Both agreed on the fact that Defense Against the Dark Arts would be one of the more interesting ones.

They fell asleep quickly, the night blessing them with a dreamless few hours before the sun rose and Danny's alarm on his phone went off to warn them of the journey ahead. After a quick breakfast of pop tarts, coffee, and bananas, the two packed up their things and trudged to the headmaster's office, where Albus and Minerva waited. The witch was holding an old, dilapidated boot, and waved it around when they entered, telling them to hold on to the object.

"Aw, man," Jake whined, coming forward. "Not another portkey."

Ignoring Danny's confused glances, Albus gathered them around the old boot, bid them farewell, and gave Minerva a nod.

"Any second now," Albus told them. "Brace yourselves, and remember: the most trustworthy person you'll find in your stay throughout the year will be Minerva."

With that statement, Jake barely having time to send a skeptical glance his way, the portkey activated. Something tugged at their navels and then suddenly they were airborne, spinning around and around until Hogwarts was far behind, the only things on Danny and Jake's minds being just what mess they'd gotten themselves into.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

hey! sorry for the wait. i meant to put up a chapter a day but never got around to it

does anyone know if there's a way to publish chapters by copy/paste where it keeps the italics? cause it always takes so long to edit uhghgg

have a lovely day, everyone!