Sally went to Annie's house to bake an apple tomato pie. The pie called for twenty apples and ten tomatoes. Annie already had a dozen apples and three tomatoes, and asked Sally to bring the rest of the ingredients. How many apples and tomatoes did Sally bring?
Danny grumbled as he wrote the problem down on his answer sheet. Who would even eat an apple and tomato pie? he scoffed to himself. He began writing out the amounts, pausing to huff at the ridiculous amount of fruit the recipe called for.
Three more problems till a work-free weekend, he sighed, repositioning himself on the living room floor. The end of the year was just around the corner and Danny was feeling the pressure of his ever-increasing homework load as the final weeks drew closer. He had promised his friends that he'd complete all his work on Friday so that they could hangout over the weekend.
Bob and Dash went on a cross country trip to Louisiana…
Danny snorted, If only. He'd just seen the jock during PE this afternoon. Danny winced and rubbed his bruised cheek at the memory. They were playing dodgeball, and Dash made sure that every ball he threw hit Danny, whether he was on the court or off on the sidelines.
…. But Darryl and Karen decided to travel to London…
Harry doesn't have to deal with math problems, Danny inwardly groaned. All he's graded on is how well he can wave a stick in the air and shout gibberish. Danny knew that wasn't true, but griping made him feel better.
Ring!
"Danny, can you get the door, sweetie?" called Maddie's voice from the lab. Danny stood up from his place in the living room, and walked over to see who had decided to stop for a visit. Answering the door, he found a peculiar old man. He was wearing colorful wizard robes, half-moon spectacles, and a long pearly beard that was tucked into his belt. Danny gave the man a funny look.
"Can I help you?" he asked uncertainly. The man smiled with a twinkle in his eye.
"You must be Daniel Fenton," the man said cheerfully. Danny was startled that the man knew his name. The stranger glanced inside the house. "Are your parents home?"
"They're busy," Danny replied suspiciously. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" He didn't trust the man and was wary of letting an unknown wizard into their home.
"I am Harry's headmaster, Professor Dumbledore," the man replied calmly. "I would like to speak to your parents about an incident that occured at school."
Danny widened his eyes. "This isn't about the hotdog incident is it? Because I swear I meant no disrespect," he stammered nervously. He thought Harry was joking around when he said that Dumbledore had taken note of his actions.
Dumbledore merely chuckled. "No, no - though it did cause quite the commotion - no harm was done." Danny sighed with relief. "No, Harry's curiosity and admirable show of bravery got him caught up in a quarrel between man and immortality."
"Is he okay?" Danny asked with concern. He opened the door further to let the professor inside. Dumbledore walked in and gave Danny an appreciative smile.
"Yes, Harry is safe. However, I would like to discuss the details with your parents." Danny nodded and offered the headmaster an armchair in the living room while he waited for Danny to grab his mother from the lab.
"Mom, there's a man from Harry's school that wants to talk to you," he told her, as he walked down the basement steps.
Maddie was busy using a welder inside the giant hole in the wall. She looked up at her son with her goggles on. "Sorry Danny, can you tell him to come tomorrow?" Not waiting for a reply, she returned to her welding.
Danny furrowed his brow. "He said that Harry was in some sort of accident, it could be important," he insisted firmly.
"That's nice dear," Maddie replied distractedly. Danny huffed in frustration.
"Did you even hear me? Harry could have gotten hurt!" He cried indignantly, throwing his arms in the air.
His mother sighed, but continued working. "Oh alright, tell the man I'll be up in a moment. I just need to recalibrate the ectoplasmic receptors and then I can spare a moment. Why don't you keep our guest company in the meantime."
Danny grumbled incoherently and trudged back upstairs. He glanced at Dumbledore, sighed, and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Mom'll be ready to talk in a couple of minutes," he stated awkwardly. Dumbledore merely nodded and silence fell between the pair. Dumbledore took the time to look around the room, taking interest in his father's recent needlepoint project, while Danny sat in the armchair across from him.
He was silently fuming at his mother's nonchalance. Harry could've died, and she wouldn't care, he thought bitterly. He slumped in his chair, and the silence continued.
Stupid ghost portal. Would they still act this way when they find a ghost? If they did see one, maybe they would learn that there are more important things in life than ghosts. An idea formed in his head and Danny looked over at the headmaster curiously, "Are there really ghosts at Hogwarts?"
Dumbledore smiled kindly. "Yes of course," he said pleasantly. "We have plenty of ghosts at Hogwarts. Why, a new one just arrived the other day who claimed to want to encourage personal growth and intelligence of the students at Hogwarts. Though, I have a sneaking suspicion that he would rather use the school to relive the glory days of his youth." Dumbledore sat back. "But alas, we can only wait and find out."
Danny let the information sink in. Finally he spoke up, "Mom and Dad are making a portal to the ghost world so that they can catch one. Do you think they can come to Hogwarts and meet your ghosts instead? It would help their research and maybe satisfy their curiosity…." Danny trailed when he saw Dumbledore's sympathetic expression.
"Daniel, I don't think meeting a ghost would change your parents' actions," he admitted sadly, causing Danny's hopeful expression to deflate. "Their motivation and drive in the face of opposition, however, is quite admirable. If used properly it could change the course and mindsets of people all around us. It's a trait I often see in Harry, and I'm sure you have it too." Danny looked up at this, and saw that Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling again.
"Thanks," Danny mumbled unconvinced. Deciding to change the topic, he shifted in his seat. "Professor, I just turned 11 last month, is there any way I could start learning magic?" Dumbledore smiled sadly.
"I'm afraid, Daniel, that you do not have magic abilities like your brother." Danny looked down in disappointment, and Dumbledore turned his gaze towards the window.
"While having strange powers and abilities can give one a feeling of strength and brilliance, it can also make one feel wealthy with untold fortune. Like one who can overcome death with their powers." Dumbledore's eyes clouded. "But it can also be distracting from the things that are more important. Often, it deludes the user into thinking that there is nothing better than that power. That one should do everything in their power to keep it. Sometimes, it's better not to have wielded that power in the first place. For there are much better things in life than having magic powers." Danny looked at Dumbledore in confusion, until a tapping sound on the window caught his attention. Sam and Tucker were standing outside waving for Danny to join them. Danny grinned widely at their goofy expressions.
"Go, Daniel, I can keep myself company until your parents are finished," Dumbledore said, the twinkle returning in his eyes.
Danny looked at Dumbledore uncertainly. "Are you sure?"
"Of course! Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders looks quite fascinating," he said, picking up Jazz's psychology book. Unconvinced, but taking the offered out, Danny stood up.
"And you promise that Harry's safe?" he asked firmly.
"Absolutely! Nothing a bit of rest could not remedy."
Satisfied with his answer, Danny sighed with relief. "Thanks for the chat, professor. It was nice meeting you," he smiled, offering a hand. Dumbledore stood up, taking the hand and shaking it.
"The pleasure is all mine, Daniel. It was nice to finally meet the infamous hotdog prankster." Danny grinned.
"You can call me Danny, and tell Harry I said hi." He waved before joining his friends outside. With a brief greeting they laughed and walked down the street. Dumbledore watched the group with a bittersweet smile, thinking of better days with Grindelwald and Ariana. He sighed, flipping the pages of the DSM and stopping at narcissism. He settled in his armchair and began reading.
Harry rubbed his groggy eyes as he trudged behind Danny with a disgruntled expression. "Why are we up at this ungodly hour?"
Danny walked ahead with a bounce in his step. "I told you, we're helping Sam plant some trees in Amity's Community Garden. The group wanted to start early before the heat got worse," he replied brightly, taking a swift turn down a dirt path.
"Looks like the heat is already here," Harry grumbled, wiping sweat from his forehead. The sun was barely poking above the rolling hills and the humid air was already attempting to suffocate him in its warm grip.
Danny shrugged lightly. "You're the one who wanted to meet Sam and Tucker. What better way than by offering free manual labor?" Seeing Harry's unamused expression, he added, "Come on, Harry, cheer up! Sam's in charge today, and she's been looking forward to this ever since she signed up to help. If she's up at this hour, you know it's important to her."
"And because it's important to her, that makes it important to you?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
Danny smiled. "Of course. Sam really cares about things that most people ignore, and she'll stick with an alternative way of doing things whether it's cool or not. She's great that way. She cares a whole lot about the environment and doesn't care what other people think about her. Last week she snuck into the school so that..." Danny trailed off from his excited explanation to look confusedly at his brother's wide smirk. "What?"
Harry shook his head and put on a neutral expression. "No reason. It looks like you really care about her, that's all."
"Yeah… like I said, she's great…" Realization hit Dany and he turned pink. "Wait! You don't think that I-"
"Danny! You came!" Sam exclaimed, happily hugging Danny who sputtered and flushed deeper. Harry snickered at his brother and looked around the garden. There were a couple of adults weeding nearby vegetable patches, and harvesting honey from a beehive. Sam had shovels in one hand and a bag of mulch over her shoulder before she dropped when she hugged Danny. She turned her amethyst eyes to Harry and looked at him, puzzled. Realization dawned as she asked, "Is this the famous Harry Potter?"
Harry inwardly cringed but forced a smile. In the wizarding world her question would have been said seriously either with a tone of awe or a sneer. Sam had no idea the depth of her inquiry, so Harry refused to let it bother him. He knew Danny kept Harry's life a secret, though he desperately wanted to tell his friends all about Hogwarts, magic, and the like.
Sticking out a hand, Harry relaxed and replied, "You must be the fabulous Sam I've heard all about." Danny, who was still red with embarrassment, elbowed Harry. Harry smirked at him, as Sam gave Danny a playful shove. He could see that they both had a growing crush on each other, though they were too clueless to notice themselves. Harry decided not to push the topic unless they became unbearable.
"Indeed," Sam said evenly. Taking an authoritative stance, she clapped her garden-gloved hands together and gave the boys a once over. "Alright! You boys look like you're ready for some hard work! Which is good, because it looks like our techno geek stayed up late doing who knows what with his PDAs." Danny snorted and Sam smirked. "Today we're gonna plant apple trees!" She gestured to the piles of unplanted trees and mulch. Harry and Danny glanced at each other then back at the massive workload they had ahead of them and gulped in unison.
"Well," Harry began shakily, "no time like the present."
They started their endeavor by digging evenly spaced holes in the ground near the trees.
"So Harry, what's Hogwarts like?" Sam asked curiously, lifting a shovel full of dirt out of the first hole.
Harry paused and looked at Danny who refused to make eye contact. When Danny had first learned that his brother was leaving Amity, he refused to call the school by its real name and stuck with monikers like 'Pigzits' and 'Boarhearts'. The only way Sam would know his school's name is if Danny told her.
His unfaltering gaze was successful and Danny looked up to glare at Harry. "Don't look at me, I've never been to Swineboils." Sam laughed.
"Your school does have an odd name," she said with mirth
This brought Harry out of his stupor. He shifted his feet and mentally prepared himself with the answers he, Jazz, and Danny came up with at the beginning of the summer.
He smiled. "It's great! The school is a big castle in Scotland."
"Sounds magical," Danny said grinning.
Harry refused to acknowledge the pun, which caused Danny's smirk to widen. Harry quickly moved on. "The classes are smaller so we all know each other pretty well."
"That must be nice and awful at the same time. I swear Casper tries to see how many students they can shove in each class without getting caught. How are the teachers? Do they treat you fairly?"
"Most do, but some can be vindictive. My … uh... chemistry teacher, Snape, knew my biological dad and hated him. So naturally he tries to make my life miserable any chance he can get. One time during our uh, lab, I got the reaction so perfectly, I thought there was no way he could take points off. He failed me for taking off my gloves too early even though I was already finished and had turned my concoction in."
"That's uncalled for! Did you do anything?" Sam exclaimed, angry on Harry's behalf.
Harry threw some dirt out of his hole with extra vigor. "Yeah, I talked to my head of house and she told me to keep my head down and do the best I can. It's so unfair!"
The trio continue to dig their respective holes in mild anger at the injustice.
"Danny, while I'm glad you don't go to Hogwarts, I don't get why you and Jazz are not attending there as well." Sam said suddenly, in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Harry's biological parents requested that Harry go there when he turned eleven. No offense, Harry, but I think I'd rather be here in Illinois' muggy weather than Scotland's dreary one," Danny said, sticking out his tongue at Harry. Harry scowled and flung dirt over his shoulder in Danny's direction, smirking when he heard an indignant yelp from the adjacent hole Danny was digging in.
"This means war, Scarface!" Danny yelled, throwing dirt toward Harry. Only, his aim was off and it flew to an unassuming figure on Harry's right who squealed and fell when the dirt made contact with his face.
"Bleh! Danny! What was that for?" Tucker's voice rang out.
"Sorry, man!" Danny exclaimed, hopping out of his hole. He pulled his friend upright. "I was aiming for Harry, but it looks like you got caught in the crossfire," he grinned. "I hope you didn't soil yourself from the scare!" Tucker chuckled in response.
"Well I think the chicks will dig the dirty look. What do you think, Sam?" Tucker replied, flexing his scrawny biceps seductively.
Sam rolled her eyes at her friends and Harry cringed. He looked over at Sam. "I thought Danny was bad enough, but there's two of them," he said sympathetically.
Sam wiped a hand down her face. "Harry, you have no idea."
Tucker perked up. "Did you say 'Harry'?!" He looked at Harry then gave Danny a shove. "Dude! You didn't tell me your brother was home!"
Danny shrugged. "He came home during our finals week. You know, when you insisted that we could only speak using historical facts and math formulas. I'm never doing that again by the way."
Tucker ignored him and turned to Harry. "I'm Foley, Tucker Foley, but you can call me T.F. as in Too Fine," he beamed.
"Er… I think I'll just go with Tucker if that's fine with you," Harry hesitantly said.
"Good choice," Sam smirked. "Now let's move some trees."
The group continued to work well into the afternoon. After planting a total of 14 trees, they celebrated their efforts with milkshakes at Nasty Burgers and spent the rest of the day playing video games at Tucker's house. When the moon rose in the evening, Harry and Danny returned to Fentonworks satisfied.
"I like your friends, Danny," Harry said with a smile as they entered their house. "I'm really glad you found them."
Danny gave a smile himself. "Yeah, they're great."
"They're also crazy good at DOOM," Harry added uneasily. He didn't like how quickly he was defeated on each level.
"That's because you haven't played in a year," Danny pointed out. He then turned smug. "Don't worry, Harry, your very talented brother will get you up to speed soon enough."
Harry rolled his eyes. "My savior," he said sarcastically. His thoughts turned to his friends back at Hogwarts. He had sent a few letters their way but he still hadn't received any in return. He wondered whether they were reaching Ron and Hermione, or if they were too busy to answer him.
A/N - So I just realized today that my italics were not showing up the last few chapters. Hopefully you can see them now. Thank you all for your comments and follows! We have some fan favorites making an appearance next chapter ;)