With lungs full of smoke, Harry coughed as he stumbled into the haphazardly furnished living room. Seeing no one there to welcome him, he gave a small "Hello?"
"In here, Harry!" came Jazz's voice from the kitchen. Harry moved towards the sound, spotting how the sink was filled with messy dishes that overflowed onto the counter, how pots and pans were left abandoned on the stove, and how the table had a giant scorch mark on its center. Grocery bags littered the floor as Jazz fished around the open fridge door.
"What happened here?" Harry asked, taking in the mess before him. This elicited a sigh from his sister.
"We have a lot to catch up on, brother," she stated with slight frustration. "Long story short, the ghost portal is working now and Mom and Dad have gone crazier than normal."
Harry looked at her in shock. "It worked?! I didn't think it could..."
"Well it did," Jazz replied flatly. Her usual light tone was missing in her voice.
"Where's Danny?" Harry asked to get her mind off of their parents.
This only caused her brow to furrow deeper. "When we got home, he claimed to go to the bathroom, but it's been 20 minutes now, and IT SHOULDN'T BE TAKING HIM THIS LONG!" she ended by shouting in the direction of the stairs.
There was no response.
"Maybe he fell in?" Harry commented lightly.
Jazz snorted and shrugged. They continued to unpack the food until a loud crash sounded from the basement.
"How's the Santa Debacle going this year? Have the police been called over yet?" Harry asked, expecting Jazz to vent out her emotions.
"Actually, it hasn't happened yet," she said calmly. "The portal has been taking up all their time. I'm not even sure if they know it's December." She looked at Harry seriously. "You should probably start preparing yourself for them forgetting about Christmas again. I've been trying to talk to them about it, but I've had better luck talking to a wall."
Harry nodded sympathetically to his sister, and began helping her unpack.
Meanwhile-
Danny swore as he applied more pressure to the makeshift gauze. Steady ectoplasm flowed from the gaping gash on the body of the whimpering blob of a ghost. Splatters of ectoplasm covered the bathroom walls, but Danny didn't dwell on the stains. He was just thankful he had gotten there before they did anything worse to the small ghost. Writhing in pain, the ghost tried to cry out, but it sounded more like a gurgle.
"Shhh, they're still downstairs," Danny whispered urgently. His hands shook as he began wrapping the wound with a dirty shirt he found in the hamper. He was sure the wound needed stitches, but besides the basic first aid training he'd learned in health class, he had no experience in the matter. To make things worse, the Fentons didn't own a proper first aid kit, since his father had mistaken the bandages for toilet paper and never bothered to replace the material.
Danny knew this was way out of his league, and couldn't help feeling like a fish out of water. He did his best to stave off the ectoplasm loss by keeping pressure on the wound, which turned out to be the right thing to do and the ghost's aura began to calm down. Sitting back, Danny leaned on the wall and let his head fall against it. He calmed his nerves by taking deep, even breaths. The ghost was still in distress, but it was no longer at the point of dying. Not like the first one, Danny shuddered.
He felt his raging emotions retreat to the back of his mind, but knew they would attack again when he was most vulnerable. With grim resolve, Danny began cleaning what little he could of the bathroom. It was well known in the paranormal community that ectoplasm was hard to wash off, and no amount of bleach could fix it. That's why the Fenton parents wore hazmat suits in the first place. Danny scrubbed the tiled walls and floor until his arms were sore. His efforts barely made a difference. Granted, the stains were reduced to a lighter shade of green, but the sight would not go unnoticed by Jazz, let alone a visitor.
Moving to the sink, Danny washed off his gloved hands and transformed into Fenton. Pulling out the Fenton thermos, he told the ghost, "It'll be a little cramped, but the thermos is the safest place I know until I can get you back to the zone," The ghost didn't move or protest, looking too tired to respond. Danny took it as silent consent and captured the ghost in the blue glowing lights of the thermos.
Hiding the thermos within the walls of the bathroom, Danny noticed that his ghost sense didn't quite leave with the ghost. It was as if it wanted to leave, but was lodged in his throat. Following the sense out of the bathroom, he had found his way to the kitchen where his brother was chatting away with Jazz. Danny grew excited at the thought that maybe he could also sense wizards as well as ghosts.
"Harry!" Danny exclaimed, racing in to hug his brother.
"There you are, Danny! We were about to send a search party," Harry joked, returning the hug.
Danny gave a shaky laugh. "Yeah, uh, there was an issue with the bathroom. I think Mom and Dad used it for an experiment. There's, uh, ectoplasm, like everywhere. I tried to clean it up, but you know how it is."
"Bleh! That cannot be sanitary!" Jazz exclaimed in frustration.
Danny released a breath he didn't know he was holding. Sure, he felt a little bad for blaming his parents for the ectoplasm, but it was their fault he had had to hide the bloody ghost there in the first place.
"My sentiments exactly," he muttered bitterly.
He looked over at Harry and grimaced. "I hate to say it, Harry, but you look terrible. Can Floo travel make you sick? Or do the flames just make you hot-headed?"
"Funny," Harry grumbled, taking a seat on the scorched kitchen table. "Honestly, the last few days have been awful." He sighed, expressing all his stress, exhaustion, and fear in the single breath.
Jazz looked at him concerned. "I'll make us some hot cocoa," she said encouragingly.
"Thanks," Harry mumbled. He furrowed his brow and continued, "Another student was attacked yesterday. A first year bloke who didn't stand a chance."
Danny looked at Harry, alarmed. "Is he okay?"
"He was petrified like the rest of them," Harry replied. "And at the rate the mandrakes are growing, it'll still be months before they can make the cure."
"That's horrible!" Jazz exclaimed. "Has the school found any leads?"
Harry scowled. "Besides the fact that the Heir of Slytherin spoke to snakes and so can I? No." He grabbed a mug from Jazz and nursed it in his hands. "Colin, one of the victims, took a picture of his attacker, but when Dumbledore opened the camera, the film disintegrated. Whoever's doing this knows how to cover their tracks."
"How many people have been attacked?" she asked solemnly.
"Four," he replied, and silence fell on the group. Harry's thoughts were on the poor eager first year student, whose only mistake was wanting to help his idol. A simple mistake that almost killed him. He didn't want to see any more innocent lives harmed from this monster, and he'd never felt more lost or confused.
Danny's core stirred uneasily. Talking about death and near misses always did that, but Harry's concern for his fellow classmates made the tug much stronger. Wanting to make his brother feel better, he decided the three needed a change in topic.
"You can talk to snakes?" he asked suddenly.
Stirred out of his thoughts, Harry frowned. "Yeah," he said crossly, while holding back his frustration. He didn't like talking about this new development since it freaked a lot of people out. Even Ron was scared when he found out! He barely mentioned it any more since it set people on edge.
Danny's eyes, however, lit up. "Then what does this mean - hssshhsshhshshshsss?"
Harry couldn't hold back a smirk. "Gibberish, and you sound like a moron," he retorted. The smile didn't last long, however, and Harry found his gloomy mood returning.
"We need to go to the zoo. I want to have a conversation with a snake," Danny responded firmly.
Jazz snorted. "Like you can afford to go anywhere that isn't on the value menu at Nasties."
That didn't deter the boy, and he reworked his plan. "Fine, we'll go digging in the bushes outside. There's always a garter snake chilling out."
"Don't you know anything about hibernation?"
Danny looked at her longingly. "Only that I wish I could hibernate for months at a time," he said wistfully.
Jazz rolled her eyes. "What would a snake even say? They aren't smart and most of them stay within a mile radius of their dens."
"Who cares? They're snakes! Their very presence is cool," Danny retorted.
The pair continued to argue as a warm feeling crept through Harry. He felt a deeper appreciation for his siblings as he watched Jazz flail her arms exasperatingly and Danny cross his arms smugly. There was no judgement whatsoever. He just told them that he had a creepy power that even wizards feared, and they took it in stride.
"Jazz, you're wrong. We all knew it would happen someday, and it's finally here. Talking to a snake would be awesome. Period," Danny said with finality. Before she could retort, Danny turned to Harry and asked, "What do you think, Harry? Want to try your snake powers out at the zoo?"
Harry smirked, "Powers? You make me sound like a superhero."
Danny shifted uneasily at the familiar statement. Hadn't he and Tucker just had a similar exchange during his accident? He shrugged half heartedly. "Why not? You could order snakes to attack the robbers, and save the damsels by tying the baddies with scaley ropes." Harry chuckled lightly, but stopped when Danny looked at him seriously, a grim expression splayed across his face. "Look, I need to tell you something too." He glanced at Jazz. "Both of you."
Jazz perked up at this and looked intently at her brother. It was as if she'd been waiting for him to confess something for weeks. Her strange behavior caused Harry to scrutinize his brother. He hadn't noticed it before, but Danny was sporting his own set of bags under his eyes, and he looked a little rough for the wear.
"What is it, Danny?" Jazz prompted. He opened his mouth to respond when Jack and Maddie trudged in. Their gloomy demeanor permeated the room, suffocating the pleasant vibes. Danny quickly clamped his mouth shut and eyed his parents warily. He tried to not draw attention to himself as the attention turned from him to his parents.
Harry looked at his parents with a smile. "Mom, Dad, what's got you down?"
"The ghost we captured vanished when we left the operation table to find an ectoranium scalpel. This is the fourth ghost we've caught that escaped!" Maddie exclaimed sullenly. She didn't even acknowledge that Harry was home.
"Not only that, but the spook destroyed our core extrapolator prototype! We were going to test it today to see if it would work on a real ghost," Jack lamented. He looked like a kicked puppy.
"It even had the nerve to take the blueprints for the device as well," Maddie added angrily.
Danny chose that moment to speak up. "Wow, s-sounds like the ghost had some intelligence. M-Maybe it didn't want to be experimented on." He could still hear the pained whimpers of the blob ghost he had rescued. He had to reason with his parents to stop their inhumane research. "If it has intelligence, wouldn't that make them sentient, too?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Danny," Maddie chided. "Ghosts are consciousness manifested. They don't have a neural construct."
Danny opened his mouth to argue, but Harry cut him off.
"Mom's right, Danny. Nearly Headless Nick said that he and the other ghosts couldn't feel anything. I went to his deathday party earlier this year and they brought piles of spoiled food, just on the off chance that he could maybe taste something if it was potent enough. It was kind of sad to watch… and disgusting."
Danny looked unsure at his brother. The Lunch Lady had always tested her food before forcefully shoving it down his classmates' throats, and last week he solved the case of the missing box lunches by busting in on the Box Ghost stuffing his face.
"You went to a ghost's deathday party?" Maddie asked curiously, with a hungry gaze.
Danny didn't want them to stray off on a tangent and interjected. "But, aren't your ghosts some sort of subspecies? T-That doesn't mean other ghosts couldn't feel," he said uncertainly.
Maddie smiled sweetly, glad that her children were finally showing an interest in her work. "The only difference is corporeality, hon. The ghosts we have here are corporeal versions of the ones at Harry's school. They don't have any feelings; Only the drive to cause destruction," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
Danny opened his mouth to protest, but remembered the damage he caused to his school that very morning. Had he not thrown a ghost through the gym wall? Sure, he was aiming for the open doors, but could his destructive ghost mind have caused him to miss on purpose? Did his ghost side want to create a giant hole just to show off his power and make people scared?
His thoughts then went to his thermos shoved in the wall. Was that small ghost he rescued really just a destructive force that would wreak havoc when it healed?
Harry suddenly spoke up. "I don't think that's true….. But then again, the only corporeal ghost at Hogwarts does cause a lot of trouble…" Harry trailed off. He looked over at Danny who looked upset and lost at the same time. The hurt in his dim gaze unnerved him, and Harry turned to give Jazz a questioning look. She was always the voice of reason in the family.
Seeing his puzzled look, Jazz let out an exasperated breath. "Leave me out of this. I will not entertain their obsession."
Maddie snorted. "Only ghosts have obsessions, Jazz," she commented. "Just take a look at that Invisobill punk." Danny winced, but it wasn't from the cringy name the citizens had given him. He was anticipating where this conversation was going. "He parades around like a town hero, but it's all just a ruse. His obsession drives him to fight other ghosts, and he doesn't care who he hurts in the process. Every time, he ends up causing more damage than he's worth." There it was. Danny had been hoping they could talk without bringing up his alter ego, but luck was never on his side. He felt his core throb painfully and placed a hand on his chest.
"Yeah," Jack agreed bitterly. "He's got the whole town fooled that he wants to help people, but he doesn't have us fooled. We know the kind of scum he is. All ghosts are evil, and I can't wait to tear that spook apart, molecule by molecule."
Those words stung harder than he thought they would, and Danny suddenly couldn't take it anymore. He stood sharply. "I forgot my homework at Sam's," he stammered quickly, not meeting anyone's eyes. He didn't want to see the disappointment in Jazz's face that usually came with his frequent evasions. Nor did he want his parents to see through him and realize that he'd been lying to them, and that he was the reason they had no ghosts to research. He was afraid of them realizing that he was the mindless creature that they hunted, and he wasn't sure if he was driven by secret destructive desires. He refused to acknowledge Harry's confused gaze. He didn't need to realize that Danny had been slowly falling apart for weeks.
Danny shook his head. "I-I have to go." With that, he scrambled out of the house.
Harry watched his brother all but run out of the house with confusion. What was that all about? He saw his parents turning to leave and tried to stop them by resuming their argument. "Ghosts are not evil, Dad. Nick was a nobleman before his untimely death. He still remains noble to this day."
"That's what he wants you to think, sweetie. Ghosts are excellent deceivors. They appear unassuming so that you won't fight back when they get violent," Maddie explained.
"Nick is not like that. I don't think any of the Hogwarts ghosts are like that. Moaning Myrtle is an eleven-year-old girl who lives in the girls' bathroom, and granted she can have a tantrum occasionally, but it's a perfectly human reaction when someone bullies you," Harry argued. "It's not like she's out to destroy all the humans of the world."
"Oh honey, you're just too young to understand," Maddie said, ruffling his hair. Harry moved her hand out of the way.
"Are you even listening to me?"
"I am, Harry, but it's just too silly of a concept. When you're older you'll understand," she stated. She left to the basement with Jack quickly following behind. They both were eager to get back to work.
"No, I will not," Harry responded to the practically empty kitchen. Jazz stood up from her seat and took his now empty mug.
"Welcome home, Harry," she said sarcastically.
Danny fell, screaming as he crashed into a dumpster. Sam and Tucker ran toward their fallen friend.
"Dude, we have to work on your landing," Tucker commented dryly. Sam shot him a glare.
"What I need-" Danny began as he popped his head out of the dumpster with a banana peel clinging to his head. "-is to land a solid hit." He glared up at his opponent. "Oi! Ironman reject! Go back to the junkyard you came from!"
"I'm not the one sitting in a dumpster," the ghost pointed out. Danny growled and flew out of the container with glowing fists. He threw the ectoblast at the metallic ghost who responded simply by turning intangible as he yawned. The ectoblast passed through the seemingly robotic ghost and dissipated against the brick wall behind him.
"Oh come on!" Danny yelled in frustration.
"If you want to land a hit, it would help if your opponent was solid!" Tucker called up. Danny sent him a glare only to receive a face full of a glowing net. With a yelp he fell to the ground. Tucker ran over to help release his friend from the meshy trap while Sam threw pieces of garbage at the floating ghost to distract him. The ghost seemed to be in no hurry with his prey and lazily dodged the collection of junk sent his way.
Danny thrashed fruitlessly in the net. "I'm getting my butt royally handed to me, and he's just toying with us!" he cried angrily.
The robotic ghost chuckled. "Does that mean you have given up, ghost child?"
Finally freeing himself from the glowing trap, Danny narrowed his eyes. "Never," he spat. "Who are you anyway? Why are you here?"
The ghost widened his smirk. "I like your spirit, welp! I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter, and I have come to the realm of the living to collect a rare and unique creature known as a halfa, the half-ghost and half-human hybrid. It is said to be a fierce and formidable being." He looked at Danny with disappointment. "Though I have to admit, I am unimpressed."
Danny grit his teeth and opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by a miffed Tucker. "Hey! He's still recovering! He just got his powers a couple of weeks ago, and he's doing the best he can! He's allowed to suck at first."
Danny gave an indignant, "Hey!" but yelped suddenly when Sam shoved him aside with a fiery gaze at the hunter.
"Oh yeah? I bet in a month he'd be able to beat your ass without breaking a sweat!" she sneered.
"Uh, Sam-" Danny weakly tried to interject, but the goth forged on.
"Do you really want to lose a fight with a 'formidable' opponent because he never had time to regain his strength? You'd be missing out on a fight of a lifetime!" Danny sputtered next to her. Regain? I had no strength to begin with! he thought. Sam's eyes blazed. "And where is your honor? As a hunter, you should be embarrassed to capture prey that's already been injured!" Danny looked over at the ghost and saw that he was seething.
He sent a pleading look at Sam to stop her, but she ignored him. She looked at the ghost hunter and smirked, crossing her arms. "Oh, I get it. You're afraid the halfa would be too much for you if you fought fairly. You're a coward!"
Skulker boiled over. "You impudent child!" he seethed. "I am no coward!"
"Then give Danny a month. He'll heal his wounds and be ready for your fight."
"Yeah, he'll kick your butt!" Tucker shouted from behind Sam.
Sam raised a challenging eyebrow at the ghost. "Well, what do you say?"
Skulker's feral face turned contemplative. He wanted to show off the half-ghost and boast about his capture to his fellow hunter friends, but it wouldn't be much of a tale if he took him now. He looked down at the ghost boy sizing him up. He was scrawny and clumsy looking, but his gaze held a fire that couldn't be tamed. The boy knew it was futile to fight back, but had fought with all his might to retrieve his friends after the hunter had taken them. He placed himself between Skulker and his friends to protect them. This boy is a fighter, Skulker concluded with a predatorial smirk.
"I will come back in one month's time, young halfa. Prepare yourself wisely, for I will not show mercy a second time."
The three preteens let out a breath of relief, causing the hunter to chuckle. Danny glared at the ghost hunter, and when their gazes met, he let out a cocky smirk. "You're gonna regret that decision," he boldly challenged.
Skulker let out a boisterous laugh. "I like you, welp. Keep that fire while you still can." He looked down at his watch and entered some coordinates. "But a fair warning, my weaponry will be upgraded during the annual ghost truce." He looked up and smirked evilly at Danny. "When I'm gutting my next prey, I'll be thinking of you." Danny couldn't hold back the shiver down his spine as the ghost left.
Danny turned to his friends. "What do you think this 'ghost truce' is?"
His friends looked as clueless as he was.
Sinking on top of a crate, Danny leaned his head on the grimy wall behind him. "Well, it looks like I'll have a month to set my affairs in order." He gestured in the direction that Skulker flew off in. "Then crazy comes back to take my pelt."
Tucker shuddered. "That was close. Too close."
Sam absentmindedly rubbed her burnt arms to control her shaking hands. Skulker had surprised them all when he attacked Sam and Tucker first to distract Danny. They were banged up pretty bad, but Sam tried not to let it get to her. Panicking wasn't going to help. "Danny, are you alright?" she asked her friend. Part of it was out of concern, but another part wanted to keep herself in the present.
Danny's eyes looked distant and grim, until he turned to Sam and gave her a crooked smile. The smirk didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, thanks to you. Seriously Sam, you were amazing! I don't know how I would have dealt with this without you."
You wouldn't have to deal with this if it wasn't for me, Sam wanted to retort. Her coaxing Danny into the portal that fateful night, had caused nothing but sleepless nights and living nightmares. Instead, she smiled back and said, "It was lucky he bought it. Given your unlucky track record, I thought you were dead for sure."
Danny smiled. "I'll admit, it was a ghost of a chance, but it worked."
Sam smirked and sat down on an upturned trash bin. She then gave the boys a serious look and said, "We need a plan."
"You're telling me! No offense, dude, but if you're gonna win, you're gonna need to shape up," Tucker stated while poking a forming bruise on Danny's face. Danny shoved him off and winced, rubbing his cheek. Skulker had roughed him up pretty good. Tucker shrugged and found a rotting stool to sit on.
"Tuck, I don't know if I can survive this, let alone win. He had powers and gadgets that I had never seen before. It was like I was the ant and he was the boot." His parents' words from that morning surfaced. If I am evil, then maybe I should let him take me, he thought hopelessly. Danny shook his head, refusing to acknowledge the dark thoughts. He looked at his friends forlornly. "Let's face it, guys - I'm a goner."
Sam frowned. "Danny, I wasn't lying when I told Skulker you could beat him. You have learned so much in these past two weeks alone. At the rate you're going, you'll be able to hold your own against that horrible ghost without breaking a sweat."
"And you're not alone either," Tucker said with a gleam of determination. "Skulker isn't the only one who will be upgrading. Before he flew off, I was able to hack into his peripheral equipment and it looks like they're all connected together by a mainframe. With this, I can start learning the language of his software," he smiled confidently. "Next time he comes, he won't know what hit him."
"And I can help you train. We'll create a workout schedule and work on improving your powers. We'll start with defensive maneuvering and then move onto offense. We can use my mattress for throw downs," Sam added.
Danny couldn't help but feel a deep warmth from his friends' unwavering support. They refused to give up on him, even when he thought it was pointless. Their determination to help him through this situation made him realize that his friends were good people, and they wouldn't be there for him if they thought he was evil. Danny broadened his shoulders with confidence. He was still scared that he might inevitably turn into a destructive and mindless ghost, but until then, he was there to help people.
Danny quickly deflated when he thought of his family. "Wait, this isn't gonna work. How am I gonna fit in the time to train now that Harry's home?"
"Weren't you gonna tell him and Jazz when he came home?"
Danny had fully intended to tell Jazz and Harry. He knew that Jazz was suspicious and had been fielding calls from the school about his dwindling work ethic. She had even cornered him a few times to try to force the truth out of him. But everytime he tried to tell her, he froze with fear. What if she hated ghosts, too?
What if she hated him for turning into their parents' next obsession?
"That was before Harry told me that there's a serial killer at his school and everyone suspects him. He has enough stress as it is."
"Wow, that's heavy," Tucker commented in a small voice.
Sam looked at her friend insistently. "Danny, I think he could help us."
Danny looked down at his hands. "Harry's helped me through a lot. I mean, without him I wouldn't have met either of you two. I just don't want him thinking that my problems are more important than his. We are already having a hard time relating since his school is like a whole different world compared to Amity, and I can only talk to him through ow- er, snail mail." He looked at his friends. "I just want to be there for him like he was for me, and I don't want him worrying about me."
A hand touched his shoulder, and he looked up at Sam. She smiled encouragingly. "Well, if you're not gonna tell him, then we'll have to work around that."
"We can sneak out at night and train when everyone is sleeping. No one will even notice," Danny decided.
"Just don't get caught. I don't think you'd survive a second death," Tucker chimed in.
"Don't worry," Danny said with determination. "I'll be as silent as a ghost."
"Something's wrong with Danny," Harry stated when he found Jazz in the kitchen. She was sitting at the table chewing on a piece of toast. At Harry's statement, her eyes widened and she quickly swallowed.
"Finally! I've been trying to tell Mom and Dad this for weeks! They have less observation skills than a doormat!" she exclaimed indignantly. "And the attention spans of goldfish!" She gave Harry a curious look. "What made you notice?"
"He seems a little more skittish, and whenever I bring it up, he panics. Has Dash amped up his antics?"
Jazz shook her head. "Not anymore than usual. Though, it might be finally getting to him. I've always been surprised at how well he's handled the jock's bullying."
Harry grabbed a slice of bread and placed it in the toaster. Pressing the lever down he continued, "He looks exhausted, but he goes to the bed at the same time that I do."
Jazz furrowed her brow. "Do you think he's having nightmares?"
"Maybe... I did wake up one night from him shouting. I couldn't find him at first, but he was cursing under his bed," he stated, still puzzled by the spectacle. "He was talking to himself and saying something about his stupid irritability….. no, entanglement…. tangerines?" Harry shook his head. "Ugh, whatever it was, it made no sense. Jazz, should we be concerned?"
"I think the best we can do is try to get him to talk to us," she said evenly.
"I've tried, but whenever I do, he deflects to my issues at Hogwarts," Harry grumbled in frustration.
"Speaking of…" Jazz began, a worried expression filling her face. "You've been doing your own deflection, Harry. Shouldn't you be thinking about whether or not you should return to Hogwarts?"
Harry slumped. "Not you too," he grumbled. He knew it was a mistake bringing Hogwarts up. Ever since he sent his letter home to Danny and Jazz, he's been hearing their nonstop concerns over him returning.
"I'm worried about you, Harry. You said that people there were getting hurt. What if the heir comes after you?" Jazz asked.
Harry didn't want to admit it, but it was refreshing to have someone worrying for Harry, instead of accusing him of murder. "I'm a half-blood, so they wouldn't attack me. They're only attacking people who are born from a muggle family."
"That's horrible, why would they do that?"
Harry frowned, thinking about Malfoy. "A lot of pureblood wizards think that they don't deserve to have magic since they're from muggle families. They think they should be muggles instead."
"What about being raised by muggles?" Jazz asked skeptically. "And aren't you famous which would make you a more desirable target?"
"Jazz, I promise I'm fine. And plus, the culprit is using me to cover their tracks."
"But eventually they'll get tired of going unnoticed. There's a chance they'll try to take you out in order to regain credit," Jazz reasoned.
Before Harry could retort, Danny trudged into the kitchen, not noticing the pair at the table. His pale shade and heavy bags under his eyes exuded exhaustion. Silently, they watched as their brother warily opened the fridge, instantly taking a defensive stance. Seeing no contaminated food jumping out at him, he relaxed and pulled out a carton of milk. Closing the fridge, he went to grab a bowl when suddenly he shuddered. Stiffening in panic, he spun toward the lab only to see his siblings staring at him curiously. His eyes widened at the pair, but he quickly schooled his expression to appear at ease. His look would've worked, but the movement of his hand to the back of his neck gave away his nervousness.
"Hi guys, didn't see you there," he smiled. Shuddering again, he quickly glanced at the lab and added, "I'm gonna check if Mom and Dad want any food." Skirting away from his siblings, Danny practically ran toward the lab.
"That wasn't strange at all," Harry commented sarcastically. "Seriously, what is his deal?"
"You should talk to him. He's been avoiding me for weeks and every time I get him alone, he shuts down and uses his anger and sarcasm to hide behind. I've even tried getting Mom and Dad involved, but any mention of him, and they start ranting about their precious portal. They're too happy that he got the portal working to worry about whether he's alright," she grumbled.
"Danny got the portal working? How'd he do that?" Harry asked.
"Who knows, he doesn't tell me anything anymore," Jazz shrugged, a downcast expression spreading over her face. Suddenly she looked up with resolve. "But if anyone's gonna get it out of him, it's you."
"Me?!" Harry began just as Danny barged in the kitchen out of breath. If possible, he looked worse than when he left. His clothes were rumpled and his hair looked like it was caught in a tornado. Cautiously, he evened his breathing and took in his surroundings.
Seeing his siblings staring at him with alarm, he simply stated, "They weren't there," and proceeded to grab his breakfast like nothing was wrong.
"Oooookay, well I'll be spending my day helping old man Jenkins down the road, so that I can earn enough to buy Penelope Spectra's new book, Harnessing the Adolescent Mind. I heard that she was hired as the new counselor starting in January, and I can't wait to share my thesis with her." Before she left she gave Harry a pointed look, causing him to shift uneasily. "You guys have fun today."
Danny sat at the table and wrinkled his nose at Harry's toast. Turning away, he began scarfing down his cereal with gusto.
Harry watched him eat, trying to form a game plan for cracking his brother. Not that his plans ever worked anyway.
"So what do you want to do today?" Danny asked hesitantly.
"Are you seriously pretending that everything is alright?!" Harry said incredulously. Any hope Danny had that Harry was going to ignore what just happened with the lab went out the window. "Danny what happened in the lab? You look like you've been caught in a nest of pixies!"
Danny flinched, but waved his hand dismissively. "I just tripped on my way downstairs. It's not that uncommon for me to do." It was an obvious lie, but before Harry could call him out on it, Danny quickly asked, "What are pixies? They sound nasty."
"You wouldn't understand," Harry replied, taking a bite of his toast bitterly. He was tired of trying to explain magical quirkiness only to receive blank stares.
Danny deadpanned. "I saw mom and dad tackle a glowing green eel with eight eyes and a moustache made of tire irons. He called himself the 'ghost of automobeels.'"
"Seriously?" Harry snorted. "Fine, pixies look like the offspring of the Blue Man Group and a fairy troll doll. They are really loud and cause havoc by leaving people in high unreachable places."
Danny laughed. "Did you learn this from experience or your studies?" he asked.
"My dolt of a professor let a whole cageful loose on us. If it wasn't for Hermione, I'm not sure where they would've left Neville. They had him hanging by his ears!" Harry complained. Danny laughed harder.
"Man, your school is crazy! Wish Lancer would do something crazy like that. Instead, we get swears in the form of book titles."
The boys continued their discussion of their teachers and professors, trading stories of mishaps, unfairness, and pranks. It wasn't until Harry went to bed that night that he realized Danny had played him. Not only had he successfully deflected Harry's concerns, but he did it so effortlessly that Harry hadn't noticed until now.
Sure, Harry had seen him do this plenty of times with their parents, but it was the first time it worked on him. Damn, he's getting good, Harry thought. He looked over at his brother sleeping in the bed across from him as a dark feeling took over. Or I'm just not used to his antics anymore.
It had been hard to keep in contact with his family back at home, especially since the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Owlpost was not the best mode of communication and he'd been noticing the disconnect between him and his family for a while now. Granted, it had been nice to talk about his life at school with Danny that afternoon, but he had to face the truth that it was superficial. Danny steered clear of whatever was causing him trouble, and Harry refused to bring up his issues at school. Originally, he thought that it was better to keep the Chamber of Secrets to himself, so as not to make them worry, but he realized that the lack of communication was distancing himself from his family more than ever. It was like he was losing his family all over again.
"Danny, don't leave me, too," he whispered in the dark.