King's Cross station was bustling with activity, every corner packed with families carrying carts and luggages around. Muggle business men stepped out of the way of the children with disgruntled looks on their faces, and all around, staff members attempted to calm down the chaos.
One family, made mostly of redheads but also accompanied by three black-haired boys, one girl with bushy curls, and a shaggy black dog, stood in front of the brick wall separating platform 9¾.
Danny stared at Molly. "You want us to what?"
"Okay," Jake muttered, "okay okay okay okay okay-"
"Run at the wall if you're nervous," Harry advised. "Gets it over with quickly."
They were given no other warning; the Weasleys went first, then Harry was coaxed forward by Hermione, who went in after him.
Jake sighed. "Well, here goes nothing. Abyss beyond the brick walls, here I come."
"Mood," Danny sighed, watching as Jake let loose a scream while barreling towards the wall, promptly disappearing through it like the rest had done.
He only hesitated a moment before following close behind.
There was a sensation of falling; darkness pressed around him until suddenly he found himself stumbling out the other side of the wall, into a mirror image of King's Cross - but this one was filled with witches and wizards, their carts holding owls, adults with their wands out as they levitated their trunks above the crowd. The swish of robes resounded throughout the room, though not as loud as the voices chattering on about the new school year.
Molly quickly gathered them together in front of the large, red train parked at the rails, the words HOGWARTS EXPRESS printed on the front and sides in large, bold letters. "Quickly, now!" she called. "Have everything? Where's Ron - ah, yes, dear, do you have your broomstick - Harry, dear, remember to stay out of trouble, and Hermione, I trust you to keep an eye on them… oh, Padfoot, come on, stay close!" She let out a breath, turning to Danny and Jake. "You two - have a wonderful year! I know you're still adjusting, but Hogwarts really is wonderful-"
"Write to us!" Arthur added with a big grin.
"'Course, dawg," Jake said cheerfully, raising his hand for a fist bump.
"Now, kids," Molly reminded them, "Alastor asked me to tell you not to write to the Order during the year. Everything must stay secretive. Remember, Professors McGonagall and Snape are there for you to talk to."
"Right, like we'll talk to Snape," Ron muttered under his breath.
Still overwhelmed at all the people around, Danny let himself be pulled up on the train behind Jake. He saw other kids leaning out of the windows to wave to tearful parents, all with bright, excited smiles on their faces. The air was thick with joy at the prospect of leaving for the magical school.
They quickly scampered through the tight hallways of the train (and really, if Danny said he didn't use a little intangibility to make moving around easier, he'd be lying to himself) and found a relatively empty compartment, save for two other people, one of which looked oddly familiar.
"Er, Harry," Hermione started from behind them.
"Yes?" Harry asked.
Danny noticed the guilty looks on Ron and Hermione's faces. Waving at Jake, he moved into the compartment, not wanting to be a part of any drama that would occur.
Evidently, Jake had the same idea. He whispered, "Three… two… one…"
"Fine," Harry said with barely concealed sorrow. "That's fine. I get it. You two go to, er, wherever it is Prefects go."
"We'll be back soon, Harry," Hermione promised.
"Yeah," Ron assured him, patting his friend on the shoulder as they turned around to leave.
Ginny was already sitting in the compartment, chatting with one of the people in the room - a small girl with silvery blond hair and a far-away look in her eyes. She held a magazine upside down as she nodded along to whatever the youngest Weasley was saying.
Danny took a seat next to a boy around his age, smiling briefly at him before being hit with a wave of recognition.
"Danny, right?" the kid said with a shy grin.
"Yeah," Danny replied.
His thoughts must've shown on his face, because the boy introduced himself as Neville again. Neville Longbottom, apparently. Danny nodded at him, immensely glad that he didn't have to ask his name when they'd met only yesterday.
Jake plopped down on Danny's lap, only to grumble, "Fuck, you're cold," and slide off into the seat next to him. He looked up at the two new people in the room and waved. "Yo."
"Danny, Jake, Harry, this is Luna Lovegood," Ginny said, gesturing to the blond girl, who had her eyes fixed on Jake.
"You feel funny," Luna told him dreamily, sticking her nose back into her book.
"Uh…" Jake looked down at himself as if to search for a spot. "Okay?"
"And this is Neville." Harry nodded at the boy sitting next to Danny.
"Yeah, we met at Diagon Alley," Danny said. "How's your toad, by the way?"
"Oh, he's doing splendidly!" Neville smiled brightly. "Are you two going to be in fifth year?"
"We aren't in any years," Jake answered. "Danny and I are, uh, free range. We'll be sitting in some classes and not in others."
Neville cocked his head. "Oh. Is that how transfers work? Seems a little odd…"
Danny shook his head. "We're not transfer students, actually. We, uh…" he sneaked a glance at Jake, who snorted at him.
"Don't look at me," the dragon snarked. "I don't care what you tell 'im, I'm not in charge or anything."
"You're the expert in the magical world, though," Danny protested.
To his surprise, Jake actually let out a laugh. "Oh! Oh, man, that's rich. Please tell my gramps that, holy shit. Nah, dude, I'm definitely not an expert. I know the basics and a little more than that, but I've still got a while. I'm only on my second year of training." He slapped his knee. "Expert! Casper, I'm flattered!"
Danny grumbled out a half-hearted complaint, cuffing his friend over the back of the head.
Neville frowned, looking to Harry for support, who simply shrugged. Ginny gave them a small grin, and Luna continued to be immersed in her book. "Am I missing something here?" Neville asked.
Jake was still in stitches, so Danny answered for him. "Probably. It's a long story. Basically, neither of us are wizards - Jake's a dragon, and I'm, uh… I'm half-ghost. We were picked by Dumbledore-"
"You don't look like a dragon," Luna interrupted softly.
Jake, finally over his snickering, shot her a grin. "Oh, I'm a dragon. You might know me as a Draco, though, and I'm technically a shape-shifter."
Here we go with the long-ass explanations, Danny thought as he watched Neville's face fall into more confusion.
Jake took the time to demonstrate his powers; just a simply shifting of his hand, flames dancing over his skin for a moment as he allowed his dragon form to rise to the surface. After some time, he eventually managed to get Danny to change into Phantom, but switched back almost immediately once he realized how cold it would be in a room as small as the one they were in.
They didn't share many specifics; everything would be explained to the students at the beginning of term, anyway, so Danny didn't waste his breath. Besides. He liked giving the wizards anticipation. By the time the train had started moving and King's Cross was but a speck in the horizon, Neville and Luna had been caught up on the existence of muggle ghosts and the ancient Draco race.
The topic switched to what was done over the summer, thought Harry didn't seem particularly excited to share much about it. He and Neville seemed to know each other well, though, comfortable in each other's presence as they talked about homework and the teachers at school. Danny found himself in a conversation with Jake and Ginny about Amity Park, both of whom wanted to know more about the strange place in Illinois where magic seemingly didn't exist. ("Hermione told me about a book she read on magical cancellation," Ginny said. "There are only a few spells that can actually diminish one's magic, but it's impossible to stop it completely. So ectoplasm is quite a foreign and, to be honest, slightly terrifying idea. You could drain all our magical energy just by extending a ghostly aura.") Luna, too, joined in eventually, fascinated by the prospect of the Ghost Zone and all the adventures Danny had.
"You catch ghosts with what?" Ginny exclaimed incredulously.
"A thermos," Danny replied, decidedly ignoring Jake's snickering beside him. Harry looked equal parts flabbergasted, and poor Neville looked just plain confused, while Luna continued to stare in fascination. It was rather odd explaining his ghost hunting process to people who he'd already lived with for a week, but for some reason, the subject had never come up; sure, the Order had definitely been interested in what he could do and how he planned on keeping them in contact with the ghost zone, but the more technical tidbits, like who his enemies were and how he fought them, were only just touched upon. And the other kids didn't even know the full extent of his powers yet, either. Not even Jake knew about his Wail. "Yeah, it's kind of what you'd expect from my parents," he continued, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "They went through this phase where everything had to be disguised as 'everyday items.' It gets annoying when guns disguised as soda cans still pop up. Now, all their stuff just looks like something out of a sci-fi movie."
They didn't know what a sci-fi movie was, either (save for Harry).
Actually, now that Danny thought about it, that may have been the most mind-boggling thing he'd come across ever since learning about the wizarding world a few months back. Even though moving paintings and flying broomsticks and love potions were absolutely insane, they all fell under the category of magic. But this… this total apathy towards learning about the muggle world, which was, last time Danny had checked, the majority of civilization, happened for no reason other than "we don't really care about staying in touch with anything non-magical."
And it blew his mind, considering they lived in muggle communities. Hell, even some of the kids didn't always get a normal education before being whisked off to Hogwarts.
You'd think... you'd think they'd at least know how a cell phone worked. Or what Jeopardy was. Kahoot. Bill Nye.
"You guys don't have math at Hogwarts?" Danny had spluttered at one point in the evening while sitting in Ron and Harry's room, discussing the Hogwarts experience together while Jake dealt with some more Council stuff downstairs. "Or English Lit? Not even gym class?"
"Dunno what to tell you, mate." Ron shrugged.
"Arithmetic is an elective," Hermione chimed in. "And Charms class could be considered a branch of English since we study the prefixes and roots of different spells-"
"No! No, it's not a branch of English! It's in Latin! And you can make stuff float!"
"So can you," Harry pointed out.
Danny waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, but we don't have a class on that."
"We have flying class," Ron supplied. "Would that be gym class?"
"Not if you don't have to do the Pacer."
Hermione cocked her head to the side. "What's the Pacer? Is it an American thing, or something that you do later on in muggle schools?"
"You run until you die," Danny had replied flatly. He let out a breath he didn't need, leaning back in the bed. "Ancients. I can't believe you guys. I have to study geometry all year."
Ron, though he didn't understand the exact subject of geometry, let out a laugh. "Sucks to be you, mate."
"Honestly, Ron, try to hold a little more sympathy," Hermione chastised. To Danny, she said, "We understand the circumstances aren't exactly ideal. You'll be away from home for an entire year! We're glad you decided to come, though."
Danny had smiled at her, hoping it didn't come out as a grimace. It was nice of her to say that, really, but the realization that Amity Park would be alone for so long hit him with the force of a bus. Sure, he'd spent many nights thinking about all the possible outcomes of him not being there to protect it; ghosts running rampart, Sam and Tucker failing in class because he wasn't there to take care of things himself, Vlad inevitably figuring out he was gone and trying to cause trouble… there were plenty of setbacks to the situation.
Danny trusted Clockwork. He knew that the old ghost couldn't interfere too much with time, and he was also aware of the hold the Observants had on him, but surely Clockwork wouldn't let everything go down in flames too quickly, right? Even if he hadn't heard from him in a while.
Sam and Tucker were keeping him updated on what was going on back in Amity, and things seemed to be going smoothly for the most part. He'd demanded a picture of the newspaper every now and again to make sure they weren't glossing over things to keep him from dropping everything and coming home again; to his delight, the most noteworthy thing to happen was Danielle and the Red Huntress seen teaming up together, an unusual instance to humans but something that Danny had anticipated for a while.
So, yes, he'd thought of Amity Park before; but maybe it was the fact that he hadn't realized just how long a year was, away from home and his family and that fact that his phone was dying, even with a longer battery life, and soon he'd have to find some way to charge it up again if he didn't want to lose contact with his family. Oh, and his parents would be due for a phone call any day now, too. He'd have to come up with a convincing story to tell them that would ensure they wouldn't worry about him being on the "totally real and incredibly inexpensive year-long NASA internship that doesn't pay but makes a great learning experience - by the way, you won't find it anywhere online because Tucker made it up, but it's not like we'd ever tell you that since you wouldn't believe the truth."
But, hey, if things went South, he could always get a plane ticket from the money Sam had given him to get back to Amity. Or even ask Jake to carry him back. Danny was sure the dragon was just as anxious to get this mission over with.
Point being: wizards were weird. And now, having to explain what a soup thermos was to Neville only reinforced that idea.
It was maybe three hours later, when Danny became tired of the conversations and entertained himself with watching the countryside fly past through the window, that Hermione and Ron returned. Room was made for them as they made to sit down, and introductions began all over again. The atmosphere became awkward for a second as Hermione made a rather insensitive comment on The Quibbler - the magazine Luna was reading, which her father apparently was the editor for - but normalcy returned quickly enough as Luna waved her off, saying it was fine.
"Guess who else was made a Prefect," Ron announced after he'd settled down.
"Not anyone good, I presume," Harry commented dryly.
"Malfoy," Ron moaned dramatically. "Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson."
Neville grimaced, and Jake, ever the curious one, piped up to say, "Wow, okay, 'Draco Malfoy' sounds posh and snobby and kind of funny considering the circumstances, and now I'm demanding an explanation."
Harry laughed at the remark and dove into a long-winded conversation on who exactly Draco Malfoy was and why he was such a "bloody git and a pain in the arse," according to Ron. Hermione rolled her eyes but didn't disagree. By the end of it, Jake was squinting angrily at his lap, muttering, "Should've left him as a ferret."
The trolley cart for sweets came by, and Harry treated everyone to a couple candies; Jake amused himself with the chocolate frogs, dangling the moving candy over Danny's face and cackling. "America blows, y'all," he laughed as the ghost leaned back (it reminded Danny too much of many Thanksgivings gone wrong). "We got Jolly Ranchers and guns. Meanwhile Europe is over here with their Kinder Surprise Eggs and moving Chocolate Frogs."
They spent a little longer in more of a comfortable silence, save for the "Golden Trio" (dubbed by the school - Harry, Ron, and Hermione were pretty famous, it seemed), who caught up on the last few hours.
Jake talked to Danny about the ghosts at the school and when he planned to give lessons to the students on them. "I'm not really sure?" Danny ran a hand through his dark hair. "We'll need to find a time when a large number of students will be able to be there, like the weekend, or we'll have to ask a teacher if we can do it during a class."
"What about Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Hermione suggested. "Or, even better, Care of Magical Creatures. I'm sure Hagrid would be happy to let you teach a class."
The halfa nodded. "That sounds good."
By this time the sun had begun to set and the lights of the city were nonexistent as the train continued to trek out into the mountains, Jake had fallen asleep on Danny's shoulder (the two had stayed up late experimenting with the candy from the joke shop, and poor Jake, who had eaten the majority, ended up awake much later than Danny), who continued to stare out the window with nervous anticipation. His eyelids grew heavier with each passing second, but the ghost just couldn't fall asleep with the knowledge of what was ahead. After today, there was no going back; he'd be kept in Hogwarts for the remainder of the year to fulfill his duty to Clockwork, keeping the students safe and stopping what could be the most violent war in wizarding history.
The Order of the Phoenix knew the dangers, they knew what they'd have to face, and damn, were they protective. Danny remembered the first meeting he and Jake had gone to and how all the adults had argued for a good ten minutes on whether they should really allow them into the organization, being kids and all.
He'd introduced himself as Danny Phantom and demonstrated some of his powers, including his invisibility, intangibility, flight, and ecto-rays. He preferred to keep the rest of it hidden for now; there was no telling when this whole operation could go south. Jake seemed to have a similar idea, refusing to change into his dragon form and waving it off as simply not having enough space when Danny knew full well that he wasn't that large.
If something went so wrong that they'd have to flee the wizarding world, it would be best to keep hidden as much as possible, from their strengths to their weaknesses.
Though, in the long run, there was really only one man Danny was the most worried about; Moody's eye seemed to be able to follow him even when he used his invisibility, making Danny wonder just how far his ability to stop magical energy reached out. Maybe it was a thermal reader?
Even so. The idea of someone being able to see him while invisible, even if it was just intuition or a thermal reading and not actual sight, made him deeply uncomfortable and worried about pissing these people off.
(Well, any more than usual. Danny was well aware of him and Jake's equal knack for getting into all sorts of trouble with authority figures. Their conversations about what to do at Hogwarts if boredom decided to strike was evidence enough.)
Danny was pulled out of his thoughts by the compartment door opening rather loudly. A few sets of voices, equal parts annoyed and tired, reached his ears. He turned his head and accidentally shrugged Jake off his shoulders, waking the boy in the process.
"Dude," Jake groaned. Danny ignored him.
The boy standing in the doorway of the apartment reminded Danny of the white licorice his father had brought home one day: stringy, pale, and most definitely gross. His platinum-blond hair was pulled back from his head, his long, pointed nose turned upwards as he looked inside the compartment with cold, gray eyes. He wore long, black robes, a snake's crest on his chest and a Prefect's badge underneath. Behind him stood two stocky boys with facial expressions that suggested they had no real idea of what they were doing there but would endure it for Probably Snob's sake.
"Malfoy," Ron snarled. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"
Definitely Snob.
Draco Malfoy sneered at Ron. "Don't think you and I are equals just because you have a fancy badge like me, Weasley. Same to you, Granger-" his eyes flitted to Harry, "-and Potty, you must feel absolutely awful. The Boy-Who-Lived can't even be a Prefect! What'd you do to screw that up?"
Harry looked just about ready to pounce, with Ginny laying a hand on Luna's arm, and Neville tensed up and staring at his shoes. A burst of anger flew through Danny; he was reminded to the gibes Dash used to throw at him before his abuse had become physical, remembered the look in the jock's eyes as he took pleasure in picking on those weaker than him.
This was a bully, and if there was one thing Danny hated, it was bullies.
To his surprise, however, before he could say anything (read: shoot an ectoblast), Jake barked a mirthless laugh.
"Potty? Weasel?" Jake shook his head. "You can't come up with something more clever than that? Honestly, you bullies are losing your touch. No creativity."
Draco's eyes flashed dangerously. "And who are you supposed to be?"
To Danny's utter confusion, Jake actually stood up from his seat, walked over to the door, and held out a hand. "Jake Long," he said, flashing his fangs. "And you're Draco Malfoy. I've heard loads about you."
Oh, he's dead meat, was Danny's only thought. He wasn't quite sure if it would be Jake or Draco.
The blond wizard guffawed, taking his hand and shaking it quickly before snapping it back to his side. "Well, Long, my family is quite well-known - tell me, why is it you're hanging out with the mudblood and freaks? You seem well educated, are you a pureblood?"
"Okay," Jake said slowly, "I don't know what a mudblood is, but seeing as how you coupled it with the word freak, I don't think it's any good. Also, if by pureblood you mean me having two wizard parents, then no. My dad's human."
"Halfblood," Draco said with an air of disdain. "Good enough, I suppose."
"The little-" Ron began to rapidly swear under his breath, but no one made a move as they continued to watch Jake. Even Danny stayed where he was, immensely curious to see where this would lead.
"My mom's not a wizard," Jake continued, eyes glinting gleefully as Draco's expression darkened.
"So you're a mudblood too, then?" Draco's lip curled.
Jake sighed dramatically. "Gee, no idea. Say, y'all, is that a wizard term?"
Hermione nodded, mouth a thin line. "Yes-"
"And it's not good," Harry growled, glaring intently at Draco.
"In that case," Jake announced, tone dripping with false cheerfulness, "I am not. Since, y'know, I'm not a wizard."
Danny wanted to laugh at Malfoy's expression of total confusion.
"I am, however," Jake continued, "fully capable of taking you on. I could kick your ass all the way back to whichever large mansion you and your selfish, rich, snobby family came from."
Draco's eyebrows shot up. "How dare you-"
"Unfortunately," Jake said in a louder voice, talking over him, "I'm not allowed to attack any students, and have been asked to be a diplomat. Which is why I'm telling you, diplomatically, that if you ever bother us again, you'd better be ready for a smack down, Draco to Draco, in which I will win because I have fire breathing and know Kung-Fu, and you, sadly, just have a fancy stick and look like half an Oreo cookie." He bowed deeply, stepping back. "Good day, Mr. Ferret."
The room was filled with a stunned silence, broken as Draco, fuming, whirled around and took a step out the door. He looked back at Harry for a second and said in a cool voice, almost as an afterthought, "I hope you and your friends have fun dogging around this year, Potter."
The door shut with a bang.
"Bloody hell," Ron swore. "That was brilliant, Long."
Jake waved his hand in the air dismissively. "I have my moments. Now, what did that word mean?"
"It's an awful insult towards muggleborns," Hermione muttered. "Means 'dirty blood.'"
Jake let out an animalistic growl. "And I let him off that easy? Aw, hell no, c'mon, Danny, we're going back to kick his butt-"
"It's okay, Jake," Hermione hastily reassured him.
"Yeah, mate." Neville stared at him with wonder. "That was amazing."
"Right," Ginny agreed. Luna just smiled dreamily at him.
Harry glared at the door. "I should've punched him."
Hermione looked aghast. "Harry, you don't want to get in trouble before the year even starts!"
Danny sighed. "She's right, dude. As rude as Draco was, I think Jake handled him nicely. Dude backed off and no one got hurt."
Jake snorted. "Eh, the guy could've gone with a crooked nose."
"I wouldn't mess with him too much," Hermione cautioned. "What you said to him was much appreciated, Jake, but Malfoy's got powerful connections. If he takes what you said as a threat, you could get into serious trouble."
Jake yawned. "Worth it. 'Half an Oreo cookie' was fuckin' genius."
"I was thinking of white licorice," Danny said with a slight smile.
"Dude, that's a thing? Isn't black licorice bad enough?"
"Harry, mate?" Ron said to Harry quietly, just loud enough for Danny's ears to pick up. "Everything alright? It's just Malfoy, you know-"
"'Dogging around,'" Harry murmured. "You don't think he knows about…"
Hermione's expression shifted into one of alarm. "He couldn't. No one knows about… Padfoot. No one who hasn't been to Grimmauld Place."
Danny bit his lip. If someone as powerful as the Malfoys got ahold of sensitive information like that, things could get… bad. Draco looked greasy enough to blab to the wrong people, and if enough information got around, then him and Jake could potentially be found out by the dark side. Their roles were supposed to be kept mostly secret from those outside of the Order, at least until they were in Hogwarts. After that, letters containing information about them would be intercepted so as no one outside of the school knew too much about them. Even during the year, they wouldn't be showing off too much so as not to create too much of an interest. After all, school holidays were a thing.
He thought back to Clockwork's promise of protection. The Ghost Zone would always be a safe haven for him to go back to, but what about Jake? There weren't many Dracos in the world, at least, not as many as there were wizards. Even if they held power over most of the magical kingdom, rebellions could easily break out. And Voldemort was a prime example of someone who'd like to get their hands on several powerful, ancient shape-shifters.
Then he remembered the fire in his friend's eyes, the strength with which he fought and the passion with which he spoke, and nearly laughed at the thought of some overconfident guy with a stick trying to bring Jake down.
Let them try, Danny thought, focusing on the icy touch of his powers, the ectoplasm flowing through his veins. Let them try to take us down, to hurt the people around us. They have no idea what they're in for.
It would take more than a few magic spells to take down a halfa and a dragon.
The Hogwarts Express stopped sometime around nine at night, when the sky had long since disappeared and the moon shone brightly in the clear night sky. Jake could see the lights of the castle up ahead as they stepped off the train amidst all the other students, from terrified first years to older, more comfortable teenagers. He held onto Danny's hand tightly so as not to get lost in the crowd.
Everyone had changed into their robes not too long before they'd stepped off the train, leaving Jake and Danny feeling severely underdressed in their casual jeans and t-shirts. The air was cool, and coupled with Danny's unnaturally cold skin, Jake could hardly suppress the light shivers that racked his body. His chi expanded in his chest, tendrils of warmth making their way throughout his body in an effort to keep a high temperature.
Jake could hear the voice of whoever was leading the first years somewhere up ahead, but he never got a chance to make his way over there as Danny pulled him along after Harry and the others. Evidently he wanted to go in the same way as the students; not that Jake minded either way, seeing as how they'd be dining together anyway.
The dragon yawned. It'd been a long couple of days; after all of the research, teaching himself of wizard lore and their laws, sending reports to the Dragon Council, not to mention his attempts at being diplomatic and making friends and trying his hardest to look past years of racism and violence against other magicals… it was, in short, incredibly draining. He couldn't even begin to understand how Danny was feeling; whereas Jake had years of preparation, Danny only had a few months, most of which were spent in a place far off magical radar.
Well, they had all year now. Best to start as soon as possible, right?
Jake yawned again as he stumbled out into a clearing after Danny, registering a moment later the line of students climbing into carriages. He squinted against the wind peppering his face, almost missing Harry's comment about the creatures pulling the carriages.
"What are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione asked. "There's nothing there. The carriages are being pulled by magic, just as they've always been."
"You can't see them?" Harry asked incredulously. "They're - but I - look, they're massive!"
"'Mione's right, mate, nothing's there," Ron chimed in. "Are you feeling alright?"
"They're big," Danny muttered next to Jake. "Like skeletal horses."
Jake whipped his head around to stare at the half ghost. "Woah, you can see them?" As far as he could tell, the only thing pulling the carriages was empty air.
Danny nodded, eyes glinting eerily in the dim light.
They eventually snagged a carriage and fit everyone onto it; albeit a bit cramped. Jake, sandwiched between Ginny and Neville, peered at the empty space in front of the carriage, squinting as if that would allow him to see whatever was there. And there did seem to be a magical presence, he realized now, reaching out with his chi… but it could simply be mistaken for a spell or whatever it was that held the carriages upright.
"It's okay," Luna piped up in her usual soft voice, "you're not mad. I can see them, too."
"You can?" Harry's voice dripped with surprise.
Luna nodded. "I've been able to see them since my first year."
"I don't like them," Danny muttered, eyes fixed on a point in front of the carriage. "They feel like death."
Jake immediately pulled his chi back into his body, suddenly very glad he couldn't see the creatures.
The ride to the castle was decidedly much more comfortable when they didn't have to carry their luggage and walk there on their own; and though he and Danny carried their own bags, seeing as how they'd have to be dropped off in the Room of Requirement, somewhere house elves couldn't always get to, Jake couldn't help but feel a twinge of gratefulness towards the little guys for doing so much on their own.
Soon enough, they'd arrived at the castle and were brought through the doors inside. Jake took a moment to admire the lights from inside, the chatter of students as they entered the building, the way the clear night sky showed stars sparkling like billions of tiny diamonds. He could hear Danny humming next to him, and knew the space nerd was probably craning his neck up to stare at the constellations up above.
Then they cleared the threshold and found themselves surrounded by cool gray stone, the flickering oil lamps the only thing lighting their way.
The walk into the Great Hall blurred by in a mess of colors and laughter and magic swimming in the air. Jake took a deep breath and tried to get used to the energy buzzing in the air, his chi curling around in his chest as it tried to make sense of the amount of magic making its way around him. He'd never been around so many people with magic at once; not even the Magus Bazaar housed so many different of his kind at once. But here, hundreds of wizards would surround him constantly (or, at least, for the year he'd be staying). It felt almost surreal.
"I hate that people are staring," Danny murmured into Jake's ear as they followed the Golden Trio to the Gryffindor table. "What, have they never seen someone not wearing those god-awful robes?"
Jake snorted. "Half these people here don't know what a cell phone is. I wouldn't put it past them."
Danny was right, though; the looks they were getting from passerby, whispers thrown their way, was enough to make anxiety bubble up inside Jake's stomach. He set a glare on his face, jutting his jaw out, hoping it'd discourage any confrontation.
Ginny made room for them at the table as they approached, and Jake noticed Luna separating herself from the crowd towards the Ravenclaw table. Danny shoved him to the side as he prepared to sit down, laughing at Jake's mock outraged expression.
"Ah, forget you," Jake declared, plopping down next to his friend, taking his bag off his shoulder and stuffing it underneath his portion of the bench. He looked around the table and grinned at the people looking at him, well aware that it probably looked forced and more than a little unsettling given his fangs. Next to him, Danny cleared his throat and looked down at his empty plate.
"Goddammit," Danny swore softly. "Where's a Master's table when you need one?"
Jake began to laugh, running a hand through his green-dipped hair. "Sons of bitches didn't even give us pillows to sit on!"
Danny waved a gold-plated fork in the air. "Atrocious!"
Before they could grab any more of the wizards' attention, a hush fell over the room as Minerva McGonagall called for silence. Jake and Danny turned around with the rest of the house to face the entrance to the Great Hall, where an old wizard's hat was being placed on a stool.
"What's with the hat?" Jake asked in confusion. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as the hat began to sing.
A slit opened in the middle of the… pointy bit, forming a sort of mouth, allowing for a melody to flow out in what was a surprisingly nice voice. The hat sang of a number of things; while Jake was mesmerized by the movements of the magical fabric, he was able to catch some verses about banding together in what could become a hard time for magickind, to find friends where one would previously never look, to heed the warnings in the air. By the end of the song, a heavy sort of discomfort hung in the air.
The Great Hall immediately broke up into whispers by the end of the song, the "mouth" sealing shut again, and Jake forced himself to pay attention to the conversations around him.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron hissed.
"A warning," Hermione muttered, sending Harry a look of concern, who was staring intently at his plate, brows furrowed in worry.
Jake met Danny's gaze. The halfa bit his lip, shrugging. "We were brought here to keep everyone safe," Danny said in a low voice so as not to attract the attention of the students. "Maybe the hat knows what kind of dangers we'd be facing, and decided a warning was a good idea."
Jake pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's a hat. A magic hat, but still. If a hat knows something, then this year might be more stressful than we first thought."
Danny looked like he wanted to say something else, but never got the change to; the room was once again brought to silence as one of the staff hushed everyone once again.
"What's happening now?" Jake wondered out loud.
Hermione gave him a look of surprise. "Have you not been informed about this? It's the Sorting Ceremony. First years get their houses picked for them."
"Ah." Jake nodded, remembering a conversation with Minerva from when he and Danny had stayed at the castle. "Yeah, someone might've mentioned it."
"I still don't get the houses," Danny sighed. "Why separate everyone?"
"Quiet," Ron whispered. "It's starting."
"Stevenson, Sierra," McGonagall read from a large scroll.
From a group of first years, which Jake hadn't noticed walk in, a small girl shuffled forward, nervousness written across her face. She took a seat upon the stool and allowed Minerva to place the Sorting Hat over her head, the large thing draping over her eyes. There were a few moments of tense silence, until suddenly, a slit opened in the hat's fabric again and it announced in a booming voice, "RAVENCLAW!"
The girl, Sierra, let out a palpable sigh of relief and hurried over to the table currently cheering and clapping for her. Jake cocked and eyebrow. "How does the hat sort?"
"It looks into your head," Neville answered. "Sorts through your best qualities, your past experiences, and puts you in the house you'd be best fit for. Ravenclaw for the wise, Gryffindor for the brave, Slytherin for the cunning, and Hufflepuff for the just."
"Slytherin for the gits, you mean," Ron muttered.
Danny's face whitened. "It looks into your head? Your memories?"
"Everything the Hat sees is confidential," Hermione quickly assured him. "And I wouldn't worry, anyway, since you aren't getting Sorted."
Danny flicked his eyes around the room, staring at the different banners. His hands clenched the edge of the table nervously. "I guess I just don't really like the idea of some magical, sentient hat rifling through my memories."
Jake punched his arm lightly. In an attempt to lighten the mood, he said, "It's okay, dude, we won't be getting Sorted! Hey, though, what house do ya think I'd get into? Ravenclaw, maybe? Think I'm wise?"
Danny's lips twitched. "You? You're reckless and don't really think before you speak. I'd say Gryffindor."
"He is really good at gathering information for the wizarding world, though," Hermione piped in. "I wouldn't say either houses are too far off."
Harry shrugged. "Eh. You can be curious and still be Sorted into Gryffindor. I mean, Hermione, you're really smart, but you weren't put in Ravenclaw."
"Alas, we may never know," Jake sighed dramatically. "And you, Fenton? Where would we place you?" He leaned back to look at the other tables. "Slytherin, for the green?"
Danny laughed. "I don't think colors have anything to do with it."
"Besides," Ron said flippantly, "you wouldn't want to get into Slytherin. Blood purists and arrogant pricks, the whole lot of them."
Hermione frowned. "I don't think that's really fair, Ron. Not everyone in Slytherin is evil."
Ron looked like he wanted to argue, but Harry cut him off. "Pay attention to the Sorting, they're almost done!"
He was right. Only a handful of students remained, the Sorting Hat continuing to yell out different houses over their hushed conversation. Jake watched as cheers erupted from whichever house gained a new member, Gryffindor greeting a fair number themselves. The Weasley twins, a few people down the row of benches, cheered the loudest, whooping and slamming their fists on the table excitedly.
Eventually the cheers died down as the last of the first years were Sorted, and Albus Dumbledore himself stood up from the front of the room in preparation for a speech. He spread his arms wide, a broad grin on his face. "Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts! And to the first years: We hope you immensely enjoy your experience here!"
Cheers around the room.
"I trust most of you know the rules already," Albus said. "No magic in the hallways, especially dueling, no going into another house's common room, and - though some of you seem to forget this - no going into the Forbidden Forest. It's called Forbidden for a reason."
The Trio shared a Look. Jake had to keep himself from loudly snorting.
"Well, I shan't keep you waiting any longer," Albus said cheerfully. "Enjoy the feast!"
Food appeared on their plates; gasps could be heard from the first years, and even Jake had to take a moment to appreciate the amount of food being served to them, despite the knowledge it came from the house elves, who he suspected were rarely ever thanked. Chicken, mashed potatoes, pastries, anything you could get your hands on - it sat right in front of them.
Stomach rumbling loudly, he dug in.
Danny and him joined in on some of the conversation around them, deflecting the questions on who they were and why they weren't wearing robes; Jake suspected they'd be introduced later anyway, so who was he to take away from the suspense? Besides, he wasn't really in the mood for an interrogation. Eventually, those around him dropped the topic, and he contented himself with laughing along to the jokes told and the stories shared. Miraculously, Harry's past year didn't come up, avoiding any conflict.
About an hour later and with full stomachs all around, the food disappeared and the headmaster prepared to continue his speech.
"I have some important announcements," Albus boomed. "For one, as you may have noticed, Professor Hagrid is currently absent; until he returns, Care of Magical Creatures will be taught by Professor Grubbly-Plank. We also have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Umbridge, who has come straight from the Ministry of Magic and graciously agreed to teach all you fabulous students!"
"That's the woman from my hearing," Harry said in surprise.
"I hope you all have a fantastic year," Albus continued, "and make many wonderful memories! While I know last year was difficult for some people, I believe we can move forward and continue to prepare-"
"Hem, hem."
The noise came from the staff table, a few chairs down from where Albus was standing; it took a few moments, but Jake was eventually able to pick out a stout woman, draped in awful shades of pink, standing up from her chair and looking expectantly at the headmaster.
Professor Umbridge.
"Did she-" Ron sputtered, "Did she just interrupt him?"
Albus narrowed his eyes for a moment, but smoothed his expression over almost immediately. "Yes, well, as I was saying… We need to prepare for any possible-"
"Hem, hem."
"Dude," Jake muttered. "Again?"
Don't get him wrong: Bumblebee wasn't his favorite person in the world, but he certainly sympathized with him in this moment. Being cut off like that, twice, must've been infuriating.
Nevertheless, Albus sat down, nodding at the woman and allowing her to speak.
She gave the students a tight-lipped smile, something Jake assumed was meant to be warm and friendly but instead gave him an intense need to throw up.
That pink was fucking awful.
"I am so glad to be working here this year with all you wonderful children," she began, her voice high and tinny and not at all what Jake had expected from someone who reminded him so much of a toad. "I'm sure we'll all become such good friends!"
Judging from the expressions around him, no one was particularly excited to "become such good friends."
To his right, Danny muttered, "Oh God no," which summed up Jake's thoughts pretty well.
The woman launched into a speech - if it was possible to launch into something so utterly boring that most of the Great Hall had resorted to chatting with one another after the first ten minutes. Jake himself got lost in the talking around him, tuning out her simpering voice as he listened to whatever it was the Weasley twins had to say (something about their joke shop, presumably, but the terms were so beyond him that he had little hope of understanding anything).
Danny, on the other hand, seemed to be trying his best to listen intently, as was Hermione. Though the witch did a better job at actually seeming interested, Jake could see with a few glances the ghost's way that whatever it was the lady was saying worried him to some degree.
Inwardly, he shrugged. He could ask Danny about it later.
"And so," Umbridge said at last, "I hope we all have a wonderful time together at Hogwarts! I'm immensely excited to begin teaching all you bright, wonderful children!"
Jesus, it sounds like she's reading off a paper, Jake thought, glaring at her despite knowing there was no way she'd be able to see him.
The murmuring, which had died down a bit as students realized she was finally finished with her speech, picked up again as she sat herself back down with a self-satisfied smirk.
"What could it mean?" Hermione questioned out loud.
Ron looked at her in surprise. "You were actually listening? Harry?" He turned to his friend.
Harry shook his head. "I zoned out maybe five minutes in. Hey, when do you think they'll be introducing Danny and Jake?"
Hermione made a show of rolling her eyes back further than should've been humanly possible. "Honestly. You didn't listen at all?"
Jake shrugged. Danny, on the other hand, chimed in with, "I didn't really get all of it, but she spoke a bunch about the Ministry of Magic, and was really… condescending about it? Like, worryingly so?"
Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "She seemed very adamant about 'adhering to the Ministry's wishes.' I think…" She bit her lip.
"What, Hermione?" Harry prompted.
Hermione sighed, meeting everyone's eyes with a hard, level gaze. "It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts."
A moment of silence, broken by Danny asking, "Couldn't that be a good thing, though? I mean, judging by all the shit that went down last year, wouldn't it be high time that you guys got some extra protection?"
Jake sighed. "Maybe. But honestly, when has direct government interference, at a school no less, ever only been a good thing?"
They didn't have time to sit on that statement, as Dumbledore chose that moment to grab the students' attention again. He clinked his fork against his goblet, waiting as shushes washed across the room, until everyone's attention fell on the headmaster again.
"Thank you, Dolores, for that enlightening speech," Albus said to Umbridge, and only a few people would recognize the underlying tone of irritation. As the toad-woman sat back down, he fixed his gaze on the Gryffindor table, and Jake swore he met both his and Danny's eyes respectively. "Before we go off to bed, as I know it's been a long day, I have one more exciting announcement to make. I'm sure some of you we have two new young gentlemen with us today, currently sitting at the Gryffindor table."
Students from around the Great Hall craned their necks towards said table to try and catch a glimpse of Jake and Danny. The dragon stubbornly ignored the stares of those who found them. Beside him, Danny fixed his gaze on the front, where Dumbledore continued to speak.
"I have asked some powerful allies for assistance this year," the headmaster said. "One of them you may know, while the other keeps mostly to themselves. "Jake Long and Danny Fenton are both representatives of such allies, and have been placed here this year to help scout out any dangers, teach you of their worlds, and give us a plan to fall back on should Hogwarts fail to stay the safe haven it is supposed to be."
A ripple of alarm coursed through the student body.
"I will not lie to you." Albus fixed the room with a deadly stare. "We are going through hard times. I know there is much controversy on what happened last year at the Triwizard Tournament, and I would appreciate it if students did not lash out at one another for personal opinions. The Ministry of Magic has agreed to allow us these representatives as long as they, too, can dispatch one of their own, and I know we can and will live together in harmony."
"Dude, check out Umbridge," Danny murmured into Jake's ear.
The dragon flicked his eyes towards the woman sitting at the staff table and tried his hardest to contain a snort. The professor's entire demeanor screamed discomfort, from her clenched fists to her steadily reddening face. It was clear that whatever arrangement Albus had come up with, she had not been happy with it.
"Jake is part of an ancient race called the Dracos," Albus continued. "While he and his kind call themselves dragons, we, as wizards, have given feral dragons that title, and see him as more of a shapeshifter. He has the ability to assume both a human and dragon form, drawing energy from his chi, where his magic resides, much like the much more spread out magical core wizards have pulsing in their bodies.
"The Dracos have been around for thousands of years, the most powerful magical force to exist and, up until now, have left us to our own devices, since we've been registered as Independent for some time now. If you're not sure what that means, I'm sure a quick trip to the library could help." Albus gave the silent students some time to process, and after a quick nod, said, "Jake is here to collect information on our status and firepower, and will grant his own help in fighting back against whatever may threaten us. He reports whatever he deems important back to the Dragon Council, but do not let that stop you from becoming friends. He is here as a diplomat, first and foremost, and is required to learn as much about our culture as he can."
Was that an attack? Jake wondered. It sounded like an attack.
"Danny Fenton is the representative of the world beyond the Veil," Albus said after a beat. "Dubbed by his town as the 'Ghost Zone,' he belongs to a group of corporeal, muggle ghosts that are much more powerful than the ghosts we have here and could serve as great allies. A good friend of mine, Clockwork, Master of Time, has agreed to let his apprentice stay with us. Danny isn't completely a ghost; rather, he is a sort of hybrid, one who walks the line between life and death, with both the powers of any muggle ghost but also the form of a human body. He is here to assure safe passage into the Ghost Zone, if the need may arise, and to offer knowledge of his kind.
"I believe we are severely unknowledgeable when it come to our ghosts," Albus said, voice rising slightly, "and could benefit from someone like Danny to teach us all which we do not know. Being infused with ectoplasm, he has power our magic cannot touch, and therefore has not interacted with the wizarding world much, either, so it would be much appreciated if some of you chose to help him learn about our culture, as well.
"Both Jake and Danny are here as friends, as allies. I believe we could all benefit from some of those in trying times such as these. Both will be sitting in some classes throughout the day, as well as roaming the halls, so if you ever need them, just ask around, and I'm sure you'll find them eventually." The corners of his blue, blue eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Now, I know it's late! I believe you all have classes to attend tomorrow. Professor McGonagall should've handed out your timetables already. Please enjoy the rest of the evening, but do not leave your common rooms, as curfew has been set. Get some rest and have fun this school year!"
The headmaster sat down, and chaos erupted in the Great Hall.
Jake and Danny were bombarded with questions from every side, so many sentences jumbled together at such high volumes that it send sharp spikes of pain through Jake's head, enhanced senses being taken over by his chi and drawn away in an effort to protect him. He felt Danny tap his shoulder and looked up to see the halfa clutching his head, blinking rapidly, mouthing, Let's go.
Didn't have to tell him twice.
Jake grabbed onto Danny's sleeve as he slipped intangibly through the crowd, causing even more of an uproar. Intangibility felt strange enough when being made so, and no doubt the students could feel the two passing through them as they made their way out of the Great Hall amidst the others trying to get to their dorms (or, in the Gryffindors' cases, just trying to get ahold of the two representatives).
Ghost powers were a damn useful thing, though.
Pretty soon they'd made it out of the thickest parts of the crowd, and Danny managed to find them a corridor to duck into so that he could change into Phantom unbothered. "It's easier for me to carry you in ghost form, since I have more access to all my strength, and everything's somehow lighter when I touch it as a ghost, too," Danny explained.
"Woah, wait, what do you mean, carry me?" Jake backed up against the wall, holding his hands out in front of him, trying to ignore the cold seeping into his bones from Danny's aura.
Phantom rolled his toxic green eyes, sighing in an exaggerated way despite Jake knowing the little shit had no need to. "Do you want to get to our room without getting mobbed or no?"
Jake narrowed his eyes at him. "Make it quick. You're really cold."
Phantom gave him a lopsided grin. "I'm a ghost. Being cold kinda comes with the package."
Jake didn't have time for a retort before the ghost had swooped in on him, grabbed him from under the arms, and shot straight up into the ceiling. The dragon's loud swearing would follow the students as they walked up the stairs while Danny simply flew up invisibly through all solid objects.
"Live a little, Jake!" Danny laughed as they reached the corridor before the Room of Requirement. "We've got all year to do whatever we want in this school!"
Jake lightly shoved the halfa away, an equally bright grin on his face. "Well, I don't know about living on both our ends, realistically. But, hey, in a much more abstract sense-"
"Fuck you," Danny snickered, changing back into his human form.
Jake threw a hand around Danny's shoulders and guided them both up and down the hallway to open the door to their room. "We should get to bed soon. Long day of classes ahead."
"Only after I kick your ass at a sparring match," Danny declared, making his way through the door that had appeared.
"Oh, Casper, you are so on."
hope y'all have been having a good day! :)
one more chapter is going up before i'll be posting in time with ao3 updates. good news is, im about halfway done with chapter 7 already!