AN: Hey everyone, I'd like to apologize about the lack of updates. I'm in my last year of college, moved, work full time.. It's been a really busy few years. However, I'm determined to say I've finished at least one story, so here's to continuing! Also, in regards to the fight/argument with Danny, Sam, and Tuck- I don't intend for any major breaking up of the trio, but I do need to establish a weakening in their friendship due to plot reasons.
Also, thank you for all of the lovely reviews, favorites, and follows!
Chapter Four: Joy Shrouded in Darkness
"Dora?"
With that single word, from the voice of a friend lost so long ago, Dorathea's eyes welled with tears. She smiled and nodded, and then turned slightly to where Sir Nick had floated to ask him for some privacy. It seemed he had understood without her having to say anything, as his spot was already vacated.
"Hello Helena, it's been a while." Dora spoke with a tear choked voice, struggling to crack her pitiful attempt at a joke to ease the tension. Laughter fell from their voices as easily as the tears gliding past their cheeks. They both flew towards one another, and Dora never even registered the fact that she felt cool solid contact from her hug as strange. At least she didn't until she heard Helena gasp in shock.
"D-Dora you're tangible!?" A stricken look passed over Dora's features, and she internally cursed herself for losing focus on maintaining intangibility so soon after telling herself how important it was. Pulling back from Helena she smiled sheepishly and shrugged, and then proceeded to answer Helena's imploring eyes.
"I think there's a lot for us to catch up on…" Helena's wide opaque eyes bore into Dorathea's now glistening crimson ones. She reached a translucent hand out towards her old friend, and lightly pushed against Dora's arm.
Rather than the feeling of nothing but shivers, she felt the soft delicate fabric of Dora's elegant gown. The shock seemed to have overwhelmed the magical ghost, and she slowly drifted away to her previous perch upon the towers railing in a daze. Staring at the stars appearing faintly as the light continued to fade from the horizon, she voiced one of the questions running through her mind.
"Dora… What are you?" At last she turned to peer over her shoulder at her past playmate. Dora lightly dropped out of her hover and slowly walked towards the railing, ignoring Helena's still flabbergasted face as she made physical contact with the floor. Taking a seat next to her on the railing, and actually sitting on it rather than hovering over like her friend, she answered.
"I'm a ghost, but my creation was a bit different than yours I assume. I'm not sure why I appeared where I did and you remained on this plane of existence, but I can merely ponder the possibilities. The solution I assume is most likely is because perhaps your magic rooted you to this world, while my lack of natural power left me free to drift off and appear elsewhere after my passing."
The studious ghost nodded, her darker curls swaying in a light eerie breeze as they framed her elfin face. If Dora knew her friend as well as she hoped she did, then she was positive that there were many more questions running rampant through her mind.
"There are so many questions I can think of, but I know neither of us will be privy to the truth. I won't even bother asking some, but this one I hope you can answer. How did you find me, find Hogwarts?" Dora let a small smile shine upon her face, the joy of seeing her father again still abundant in her heart.
"The portrait of my Father that your mother had a hand in making, It was lost in the walls of our castle, but I uncovered it recently. He had many tales to share, and mentioned that I may find you here. It took much searching, but with his direction I was able to find this school fairly quickly." Helena smiled slightly, as she was quite familiar with the portrait of her friend's father.
"I keep him company sometimes, although the children are always more than happy to talk with him once they discover his frame. It's not often that a portrait be as curious or interactive with the physical world as he is. Any time he sees a student with something he doesn't recognize he calls out to them and asks them to explain. Most students know him as 'The Inquisitive King'."
A laugh fell from Dora's lips, as the name suited her father perfectly. As she relaxed further into the railing and leaned up against the edge of the wall, she tried to ignore Helena's intense gaze. As the laughter faded and a slightly awkward silence took its place she began to pester the hem of her sleeve in a small show of anxiety.
"Would you rather I not be tangible?" Her question seemed to shock Helena out of her staring, and a darker hint upon her cheeks gave her blush away.
"I'm sorry, I'm still quite astounded actually. However, it may be for the best if you do return to intangibility. If someone were to see you I would be unable to stop them from anything they may attempt to do." Crimson eyes widening Dora immediately returned to the shade like state.
"You're right, sorry, I completely forgot, I always have been a bit ditsy haven't I?" Helena's face split into a wide grin as a wicked gleam shone in her eyes.
"Oh Dora if you knew the many tales of your legendary ditsy-ness I had recalled to the students of these halls you would dematerialize in a plume of embarrassment on the very spot you float."
With a laugh of shock the awkward air was gone completely. Helena and Dorathea relaxed into one another's company. After so many years locked away from the familiarities of past friendships they embraced the coming times with a new vigor, and began sharing stories to fill the void of centuries.
The school bell rang a final time and Danny sighed in relief as he slung his bag over his shoulder and wove his way through the crowded classroom and hall. Bursting free from the educational hell hole, he stopped on the school's bottom step and scanned the crowd for Sam and Tucker.
The red beret was a vibrant sign indicating pure techno geek twenty feet or so to his left. Heading in that direction he waved slightly as Tuck noticed him.
"Any sign of Sam?" Tucker rolled his eyes as he replied.
"Nah, she probably got detention for passing love notes to Vict- OW!" A rock smacking into Tuckers head with a resounding thunk halted his statement abruptly. "What gives Sam! I need these precious braincells to start a multi-billion dollar company!"
"Psh, as if you even had any to lose to begin with." Sam popped up from just around the corner and made her way over to the two boys. Danny smirked.
"Love notes huh Sam? I never thought you would be so mushy." Expecting his friend to deny anything of the sort and possibly lash out at him with the intent to cause severe physical damage, he was horribly thrown off when she merely shoved his shoulder and turned her head in a poor attempt to hide a blush instead.
Danny took a moment to process the twinge of what must be jealousy as he imagined Sam flirting with a guy. Surely he would have known if she had a crush on someone… right? He thought they had still been having the occasional blushy moment, but perhaps she still didn't feel the same? Maybe he was completely clueless.
"Oh yeah, Sam won't stop talking to Victor. He's that new guy that came a few weeks ago, he's in the Pre-Cal course we take, y'know, while you have double Chem." Sam shot Tucker a baleful glare.
"Why don't you mind your own business for once Tucker." With that, she turned and hurried away, headed in the direction of her house rather than the Nasty Burger as per their usual after school plans.
Muttering something about hormonal women under his breath Tucker rolled his eyes, shrugging as he noticed Danny's incredulous stare focused on him.
"What? She could at least try and be inconspicuous about it." Danny was still stuck on the fact that Sam had a crush.
"Sooo… Who's Victor?" At the slightly hurt look in the Halfa's eyes, Tucker finally realized his mistake of even mentioning anything in the first place.
"Aw shit man, I know you like Sam, but she's just really been talking to the new guy a lot these past few days. I didn't really think anything of it until today, but I guess they sort of like each other…" Tucker gave him a guilty look and cleaned his glasses, a nervous habit of his. Taking a deep breath Danny tried to let the tightness in his chest loosen up a bit before replying.
"It's fine, it's not like Sam and I are a couple or anything, besides, she… I… I doubt she'd ever like me like that. Not with how much 'baggage' I have with all of the ghost stuff." Tucker put a hand on Danny's shoulder and patted it a few times for good measure.
'Man, chicks are weird, Sam included. Screw the usual plans and binge play Doom?" Danny felt a grin threaten to show. Tucker may be a social idiot at times, but when it came down to it he really was a great friend.
"Your place, mine smells like mutant hotdogs." Tucker wrinkled his nose as the two teens began the short trek to the techno geeks house.
"Gross, your parent's made more of those things?"
"Nope, these are the ones left over from 3 months ago." Tucker gagged and the two degraded into fits of laughter as they continued on their way.
"Man, your life is crazy."
"Tell me something I don't know Tuck."
Helena finished telling Dora of the time she actually assisted the school poltergeist with a prank, and the two ghosts had to take a moment to breathe, regardless of the fact that they didn't actually need to, as they clutched at their sides and wiped tears of mirth from their eyes.
"Oh I can just imagine the look on your mother's face if she had been around for that! 'Helena how dare you further the mischief making capabilities of that wretched poltergeist!' Oh how wonderful would that be!" Helena cackled as Dorathea did her best impression of her mother, and both girls nearly fell off of the railing they were floating above as their laughter tripled.
A light warm chuckle sounded from the other side of the room, and both girls jolted upright in shock as they noticed the newcomer.
"How wonderful it is to see joy in these troubled times." A man that looked old enough to be Merlin himself smoothed his waist length silver beard as grandfatherly eyes peered past a pair of half moon spectacles.
Helena floated herself off of the balcony railing and aligned herself to be drifting a mere inch off of the floor before speaking.
"Professor Dumbledore, I'm sorry I didn't see you enter!" Helena gave a slight bow to show respect to the headmaster of her school, which Dumbledore quickly waved off.
"No need to respect me dear Helena, it is I who should respect my elders and not intrude upon what seems to be a happy reunion." Helena gave a wry smile at the Headmasters wit.
"It is a happy reunion indeed, a childhood friend has found her way to me. Although her journey to find me and ability to do so is cause for sadness, this resolution is not." Dumbledore gave a friendly smile before turning his powerful azure gaze to Dora.
"Forgive me for my rudeness, I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, lover of lemon drops. Welcome to Hogwarts Miss … ?" Dora blushed as she too stood from the railing. Giving a formal curtsy of greeting from her era she introduced herself.
"I am Princess Dorathea of Mattingly, pleased to make your acquaintance Mister Dumbledore." The Headmaster smiled and returned a slight bow, the tip of his beard dangling near his knees for a moment.
"I can't recall the last time we had royalty within our school's walls. You know my dear, you quite remind me of a rather jolly portrait I've come across in my time here." Dora's face lit up, the mere act of being compared to her father by someone was something she hadn't experienced since becoming a ghost.
"That would be my father Sir, my godmother Rowena placed a copy of his portrait here long ago. I only recently discovered my own copy of it in the halls of my castle, it is he who has guided me here so I may rekindle my friendship with Helena."
"That's quite a lovely story indeed. For future reference if you choose to visit again, you will be able to see the school as you've been introduced to the wards and accepted. Next time the gates shall open to you, I can't imagine plunging through hundreds of layers of ancient magics was pleasant. It surely gave this old man quite the shock." Eyes widening in realization she quickly made to apologize.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't even thinking! I assure you, I mean absolutely no harm to any of your students or your school! I shou-" Dumbledore quickly cut her off as a spark of mischief danced in his cobalt gaze.
"My dear, if you meant any harm to this castle or her inhabitants, the wards wouldn't have allowed you within a dozen meters of them. Now, I wish you and Helena well with your reunion, this old sod needs to get back to the wondrous joys of an ample stack of paperwork and a hot cup of tea." With a nod to the two women and a knowing gleam in his eyes the old wizard turned from the polite company and began to descend the winding steps of the tower.
Dumbledore was many things, but a fool was not one of them. He had felt the ghost's presence the moment she came into contact with the wards. With a powerful shockwave of ancient magic he had felt the castle accept her through them and deem her a defender.
Not for the last time Albus wished that art of legilimency was capable of being used to peer into the minds of ghosts, but alas, the secrets of the dead remained so. Even without the advantage of peeking into her mind, however, the aged wizard knew that there was far more to her being than a mere shade- but the extent of her existence remained a mystery to him.
Just as he had waited decades for many plans of his own to come to fruition, he could just as well wait for the unknown to unravel itself to him. After all, what use is being wise if one cannot be patient as well?
With that end to his curious musings his mind turned to much more rampant thoughts, which even he struggled to sometimes keep organized and under their calm confines. The War was on the brink of tearing apart the wizarding world once more with the return of Voldemort this past summer, and he had far more to worry about than the mysteries of the dead. With that in mind he pushed the ghosts in the tower above completely from his mind and quickened his pace to his office, thoughts of warm socks and a nice cuppa his new focus.
Still where the musing wizard had left them, the two friends turned towards each other to resume their discussions. All that they discussed was lighthearted in nature, and neither came anywhere near approaching the topics of how they had actually died. This was a time of joy, not meant to be clouded by heavy conversation.
They went over first crushes and loves of teen years. Helena told years and years worth of stories regarding the antics of the students she watched over, from the goofiest clowns to even Merlin himself, who apparently had quite the pranking streak as well. Dorathea told stories of ghostly Christmas parties, where all foes turned friends for a night. She regaled the tales of Sir Phantom, the protector of both ghost and human alike, and Helena listened with rapt attention only to share the tales of Harry Potter, the boy who lived, but there was no resolution, and the story nagged on the back of Dorathea's mind for a few minutes as their small talk continued before she could no longer hold in her curiosity.
"How did Harry Potter's tale end? You said he was to fight the dark wizard, but you never said who won." With a single glance at the dark look that clouded Helena's eyes Dora immediately regretted her choice to sate her inquisitive mind. The Ravenclaw ghost sighed and looked slightly away before replying.
"It hasn't ended Dora." The draconian ghost cringed slightly, knowing that lighthearted conversation was over for now due to her overzealous hunger for stories.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize… So your world is at war?" Looking down both girls re-lived their own memories of what war was for a moment, neither of them were unfamiliar with it's cold grasp upon societies.
"It is. Professor Dumbledore has told all of us of a ghostly persuasion here at Hogwarts of his return. We are to be on the highest alert as long as Harry Potter remains here for the rest of the term. I still do not understand how he managed to revive himself. Voldemort has done dark horrible things to preserve his hold on the land of the living, in fact I shan't even consider him alive. I fear that we may lose all we hold dear to our society should he strike now before Harry is truly old enough to fight, or before the rest of the wizarding world works past their arrogance to accept that he has managed to evade death."
Dora's frown deepened and she grasped at Helena's hand, letting out a small frustrated sigh as it merely tingled and slipped through her hand rather than making contact. Taking a small risk she allowed her hand to regain tangibility in order to offer her friend a small ounce of physical solace that she had gone so long without. The small touch nearly startled the magic out of Helena, but she latched onto it like a lifeline.
"From what you told me, he has faced down this Voldemort many times even from a young age… How is it that he has lived this long? How old is he?"
"Luck, Fate, and Chance all must have played their parts in Harry's survival… and he is a mere fourteen." Dora gasped, now knowing for certain that these stories that she had thought ancient mere moments ago were in fact happenings of the present.
"But he's hardly more than a child! Surely not all of your society places this burdensome weight of responsibility upon such young shoulders." Looking imploringly into Helena's sad eyes Dora was slightly aghast to see that that was the case. Standing abruptly Dorathea pulled Helena off of the railing as well, startling her out of her melancholy.
It was a very faint idea that passed through Dora's mind, and it pained her to imagine placing any more of a burden upon Sir Daniel's shoulders, but if the case here was so fraught with hopelessness, it was surely worth at least asking the Halfa if he could lend any aid.
"I shall ask Sir Phantom if he may lend a hand to your world's cause. I cannot guarantee his assistance, but he is kind of heart and unfalteringly brave." Helena shook her head slightly, the hopelessness she felt hardly faltering.
"What is it that a mere ghost could do Dora? The specter's you know may have physical form, but a ghost could never be a match for the Dark Lord." Dorathea scoffed at her friend and shook her head in disappointment.
"Have you not listened to a single story of my tales? Sir Phantom has defeated Pariah Dark, the king of all ghosts, he has saved countless lives within the human realm, and he possesses a strength far greater than most humans, and, dare I say it, wizards." With Helena's still skeptical gaze, Dora continued. "Allow me to at least ask, if he agrees then I'm sure your people could find some way for him to assist. I will supply to you some of my knights as well. Although they are not as strong as Sir Phantom by any means, I have a large number of them and they are quite capable."
After a long pause in which you could nearly see the gears turning within Helena's mind, she let out a long sigh of defeat and offered the enthusiastic ghost a small smile.
"Very well, but I implore you not to pressure him into anything he does not desire. We will surely face many battles ahead, but not all hope is lost. Assistance would be quite nice though."
With a renewed energy and desire to return to Amity Park, Dora released her intangibility long enough to give her friend a powerful hug.
"Allow me to leave right away then. I shall send word of my discussion with Sir Phantom by way of my fathers portrait…. It has been great to see you Helena, I'm sorry for darkening the mood." Pulling herself further into Dora's embrace Helena shook her head.
"Do not worry yourself with such trifles. You have offered my people a great gift with your aid. Safe travels Dorathea, I shall await news from your Father." With one last squeeze the girls separated, and rather than making a show of things, Dora faded from the visible spectrum and took off from the balcony, soaring into the sky.
Once she felt the now much less resistant border of the wards, she quickly passed them. Only then did she allow her draconian form to break free, and with a mighty roar that would make some of the residents of a nearby sleepy village rave about 'Dragons' for weeks to come, she put on a burst of speed that had her rocketing through the early morning night sky.
Danny smiled as the wind whipped his white bangs straight back. He pushed himself in his flight, soaring straight up into the sky, enjoying the endless stars that glinted and glowed blocked only by the occasional wispy cloud. It was a perfect night in his opinion, hardly a single ghostly occurrence besides the Box Ghost trying to steal someone's old shoe boxes. He and Tucker had even had a chance to really unwind and just have some one on one boy time. The techno geek hadn't stood a chance in a full on Doom dungeon duel against the halfa.
They had also taken the time to talk a bit about Sam. Danny admitted that he was a bit hurt by her apparent interest in Victor, and Tucker had expressed his sympathies. Essentially, from what Tucker had observed, they had only just begun talking but Sam did seem to enjoy the attention. Victor was apparently 'her type'. Dark and a bit broody with an artistic environmentalist twist. Danny couldn't blame her for liking the attention, especially since he couldn't imagine asking her to become more involved with his crazy ghost filled shamble of a life.
The evening had felt natural and carefree, and his happiness came through in loops that he made through the sky, miles above the ground. Amity park was a mere sparkle upon the distant darkness that was the ground. Letting gravity take hold, the halfa free-fell, the sinking sensation sending jitters all through his stomach. With a gasp his ghost sense triggered, the cold mist bubbling up and past his lips. He instantly stopped falling and stuck it to gravity, floating and looking everywhere for his potential foe.
A warm puff of breath fluffed the back of his hair and had him reeling to turn and ready an ecto-blast. It was only the briefest glimpse of Dora's dragon form and the realization that she wasn't even prepared to attack that had the neon green blast sizzle back into non-existence a mere millisecond before it would have fired. With a swarm of bluebell flames the dragon disappeared to reveal the young princess, A smile lit up her face as she gazed upon him.
"Sir Phantom! Such a wonderful convenience to find you on my return. If you are free I would love to speak with you in regards to my travels, as well as to discuss the Knights positioning upon the outside of your portal." The last of his adrenaline fizzled out and a bit of his happy calm mood came back. A quick glance at the clock tower near the center of town confirmed that it was only a little past eight in the evening, and his parents had given up on him having a curfew long ago.
"I have some time, where did you want to talk?" Her shoulders relaxed further and her smile only brightened.
"If it is not too much trouble, my kingdom possesses a key portion of the story I wish to tell you, as well as a chance for you to interview the Knights that have volunteered to aid your guarding of this land." It was still a good thirty minute flight or so to make it to Dora's realm, but with his joyful mood the halfa didn't mind, especially at the chance to further a friendship that offered him assistance in protecting Amity Park.
"That sounds fine to me." With a nod Dora took off, soaring towards Fenton Works, as she neared the rooftops of the buildings below she left the visible spectrum, and Danny did as well. Intangibly swooping through the walls and ground of his childhood home they both swept through the open portal, continuing their journey in the visible spectrum with a pace just as quick.
As they approached Danny noticed the massive changes to the kingdom- when Aragon had been ruling it the land was dark and twisted with gnarled trees and sickly clouds, but as they neared they brushed past rich fields of purple wheat being tended by ghosts here and there. They swept over a forest of brightly colored trees and swept through the gates of the castle. Even the bricks seemed to be repaired and glistening- no longer cracked and neglected. Life seemed to be flourishing in this little corner of the Ghost Zone.
It felt like mere moments after his impromptu meeting and journey that they touched down in the courtyard of Dora's kingdom. They were instantly surrounded by both knights and peasants alike, all of varying viridian, aqua, and the occasional amethyst hue. In unison every one of them knelt and bowed to both Dorathea and Danny. With a blush the halfa rubbed at the back of his neck, made uncomfortable by the show of respect. With a smile and a wave, Dora expressed her desire for her people to rise.
"Thank you for such a kind greeting my friends, but please do remember that you may bow only if you wish. I am not my brother- the choice is yours." A few of the ghosts smiled and one Knight called out.
"It is because of you that we bow Milady, for yourself and Sir Phantom are deserving of the respect that your brother sought to force." A darkening of the pale green skin of her cheeks was the only response Dora sought to give. With a smile she waved a hand to suggest that Danny follow her. As they passed the crowd, a small ghostly girl with pale lilac skin ran up to Danny and thrust out a slightly wilted purple flower towards him.
"This is for you Sir Phantom! Thank you for all you have done for us!" It was odd to Danny, to see the vibrant colorings and unearthly glow upon a ghost so human. She had darker flecks of purple that showed what would have been freckles in life, with a still missing tooth and dimples in her smile. Her bright green eyes were just a shade yellower than his own. Orange hair similar to Jazz's struck a sharp contrast to her coloration.
"Thank you… What's your name?" With an odd flutter in his chest the ghost teen felt compelled to kneel down to be on eye level with the small girl. He took the flower from her grasp and gave it a slight twirl. It was one he had never seen before, and pretty as far as flowers go.
"Isabelle!" She blinked up at him, childlike glee in her eyes. She seemed so untouched by the idea that she was dead. So unlike many of the angry spirits he had come across. A slight idea crossed his mind and he put it into motion. With a tiny puff of frigid air and a flash of icy blue in his eyes the flower froze solid with the thinnest layer of ghostly ice giving it a gemstone like sheen. He handed the flower back to the mesmerized girl and she cradled it like she was terrified it would shatter.
"Why don't you keep that safe for me? It looks much prettier when you hold it. It will never melt or break, that ice will last forever." Tears shone in her eyes and she clutched the icy treasure. With a nod she gave him a watery smile and ran away, over to a ghostly woman that had the same lilac skin and ginger hair. The girl quickly began regaling her mother with the story of what the woman had surely just witnessed herself. With a kind smile his way, Danny straightened and blushed as he noticed Dora had stopped to watch the encounter with a gleeful grin of her own.
The two continued on in the direction of the castle, ready to discuss matters of protection and friendship. Danny had never felt more welcome in the Ghost Zone.
AN: As always I hope you all enjoyed, drop a review with any comments and ideas you have! They always make my day 3