Okay, since I'm not sure where I'm going to go with "Danny in Jump City" so I may as well work on this. However, before I start the chapter, there's something I'm wondering.

I've watched some of the arguments in the Danny Phantom and I'm wondering: Why do people give a crap who ends up with who? I've seen it get to a near-fanatical level, usually leaning towards Danny/Sam. What exactly is the big deal about that?

Not only that, but many romance stories are cliche, though I've read a few that break away from it, at least somewhat. Someone on gave a pretty good overview of the basic roles in something like this, though it's little I didn't know. It seems to be like it's simply the same thing. Man loves woman, but is attracted to someone else. After a lot of soul-searching, he finally admits it and it turns out she feels the same way. Then there's a misunderstanding when someone else makes a move on either one of them, causing a big fight. After a while, they apologize and fall in each other's arms again to face a great danger (E.G. Vlad) and live happily ever after for the rest of their lives. These are basically the roles the DP character play in most romance stories:

The hero (Danny): The star of the show. Generally, he's the one who's selfless, and will do anything to protect his loved ones. (Anyone notice he sounds like Spiderman?) However, there's always some other girl they're attracted to. (Trixie, Paulina, Cho, etc.) However, in the end, he always gets the girl. Also, there are times when the hero falls into depression or darkness and it's the "Only true love can save him" BS.

The Heroine (Sam): There are various versions of her, ranging from a girl in a dire situation who needs a guy to save her to the one who's pining for him from afar. It still seems to be the same thing, though, being extremely beautiful or at least revealing herself to be so when trying to win over the hero. Let's not forget a surprise meeting one night that turns out to be love at first sight. (Lust at first sight would be more realistic)

Condfiant (Usually Jazz): This is generally the person either the hero or heroine confess their feelings to and tries to get them together. She is always understanding and sometimes the one who mediates things when a fight occurs.

Rival (Paulina or Valerie): They are the ones pining over the hero, or in Paulina's case simply try to break them up. Sometimes it's also the hero's best friend, who tries to deny this because he doesn't want to ruin their friendship. (When this happens, it's usually in the Harry Potter section) However, they eventually make up and accept the fact that the hero and heroine are together, though it's not always forgiven in the heroine's (Sam) case. (Note: To all of you Fanfiction writers out there, I highly doubt Paulina would try to break them up. She's likely simply make fun of them for being "losers". Paulina would think it beneath her to like Danny (Fenton), even pretending.)

Evil (Vlad, Dan, or any one of Danny's enemies): They are the ones who uses their love to trap the hero. Then they make an offer, such as "Join me or she dies". The heroine will be begging her love to forget her, not to do what he wants. Obviously, the hero will join with the villain, and then free the heroine; that is, if she doesn't get out herself. After that, they defeat the villain and live happily ever after. (Note: For those Danny Phantom stories where they end up having sex, it's not especially realistic. At least 98, maybe more, of teenagers do not have the maturity necessary for it. I'll grant some lenience to ones that have Danny and Sam as adults)

I may as well give my preference out of the options: Danny/Valerie. Think about it; it wouldn't be all that surprising. In Sam's case, while a friendship may sometimes be a good basis for a romantic relationship, when you've known each other as long as they appear to have had, it could make the relationship very awkward, particularly when they break up. (It's very rare for couples in high school to end up marrying one another) However, in Valerie's case, Danny does not have to worry about that, at least not as much because they don't have that long of a history. (Let's just keep Danny's secret out of it for now.)

And I have no doubt in my mind that this will end up pissing off at least a few people. I'm sure I'll get some "Interesting" replies. For people who do write romance stories, try to veer away from the cliches, though I will admit that it's difficult, but at least try. There's going to be a little romance in this story, however, and I'll be working on making it somewhat orginal myself. However, an OC would probably work best, even if it does annoy a lot of people.

And now to the chapter (at last):

It had been 3 days and Danny could still hardly believe that wizards actually existed. Oh, he knew they were watching him through an "Invisibility cloak", but it appeared that his half-ghost status allowed him to see through it in ghost form.

Jazz was currently sitting on the dining room table, furiously reporting a report she had to do for psychology class. She had been like this ever since it was revealed that Travis had beaten her on the C.A.T. score. (He still could hardly believe it) For some reason, she also believed he had some kind of disorder. That was obvious to him as well, but he decided not to pry into it.

He walked down into the lab, since his parents were at city hall, offering a ghost hunting class. It made him nervous, but if he could handle his parents and Valerie, he could handle amateurs. He transformed into Danny Phantom and started to work on his powers. To be honest with himself, he prefered to do this alone, as he did not want to show any weakness, even in front of his friends.

He was able to hold intangibility and invisibility for at least a minute at this point in time. His ecto-blasts were becoming more accurate and he was able to conjure up a shield with more speed. He didn't dare try as ghostly wail, as he'd probably destroy everything within 250 feet of himself. (which was why he didn't use it in the last battle) As of yet, he was still unable to master duplication, though he was now able to split at the waist and there wasn't a whole bunch of other duplicated body parts.

Danny had to admit, he was extremely bored. The order members who watched him rarely talked to him, save Ron and Tonks, and even they were reserved.

I ought to find out a little more about this magical world. Danny thought. But where could I find that information? I'm sure the libraries don't have anything and the explanation I got from Miss Granger isn't nearly enough. Jeez, I wonder why she and Ron aren't married yet.

And more importantly, why do ghosts hate them as much as they do? Walker was attacking them until I showed up, not to mention Skulker and Ember helped when I fought those things during the summer. Wait a minute, could they have been ghosts of wizards? The more I think about this, the more confused I become.

He transformed yet again and decided to fly around in order to clear his thoughts. Danny only hoped he did not run into any stray ghosts, as he was in no mood for them.

Valerie was cruising around on jet sled, looking for ghosts as she always did. The only one she had found so far was the annoying box ghost, who was taken down in about 15 seconds. She was in a similar situation but thinking out someone else: her opinion of Danny Phantom.

Is he good or evil? thought Valerie. I still can't make up my mind. He kidnapped the mayor and robbed banks along with other ghosts. Then he ends up helping me beat this ghost named Skulker. He also helped me against the ghost invasion, and then turns around and reveal my indentity to Dad. I don't know what the hell to think!

However, until he proved otherwise beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was on their side, Valerie would continue to hunt him. Secretly, she hoped that he was evil, because if he wasn't... what would she be? Valerie knew she started hunting ghosts out of revenge, but it was more than that now. She didn't care about that anymore, and in a way, the incident helped her become a better person instead of the stuck-up broad she once was.

What about Vlad? Why did he give her the ghost weapons? Valerie no longer believed what he had told her during the ghost invasion and was a little suspicious of him. He seemed to want her to hunt Danny Phantom more than any other. Did he have something personal against him, and if so, what?

However, that wasn't all on her mind. Valerie's thoughts wondered over to her half-brother, William. He was beginning to find out what Casper High was like and would stay closer to Travis than ever. She admired his protective nature, but Travis was the same age as them and he wouldn't always be there to protect him.

She supposed that the incident with him had really drawn them close. However, there was more to it. Ever since then, he had never been the same and his darkest personality was sure to come out very soon now that he knew that Casper High was a jackass-infested hellhole.

"So is Jazz still furious at Travis beating her?" asked Sam.

"Yep. It's kind of funny to watch." said Danny. "I swear, any day now, her head's going to explode."

"She's not used to being beaten, is she?" asked Tucker, tinkering with his PDA. He had recently bought the upgraded version and was taking full advantage of its additional memory.

"Think it's the first time its ever happened." said Danny. "I heard she tried to take it again, but Lancer wouldn't let her."

"Talking about me, Danny?" Jazz whispered in his ear, startling him.

"Oh, just making fun of you, as I always do." said Danny, trying to regain his dignity. In his opinion, this was a strange reminder of what Miss Granger told him when she was around Jazz's age.

"He's right about one thing: you are taking this too seriously." said Sam. "No matter who you are, there will always be someone better than you."

"If you don't succeed, try again." said Jazz. "I think you're right; I am taking this too seriously. I just can't believe it."

"At least there's finally someone better than you, Jazz." said Danny. "Now you can't say you always know best."

"IF YOU TOUCH HIM AGAIN, I'LL RIP YOUR BALLS OFF AND FEED THEM TO THE DOGS!" The voice startled the whole group, who turned around and saw William standing over somebody. He had apparently been bulling some poor unpopular kid and William decided to get involved.

"Don't worry, he always does this." said Travis.

"When did you get here?" asked Tucker.

"Eight seconds ago." replied Travis, shrugging.

"So this wouldn't be the first time your cousin's done this?" asked Jazz, interested.

"He's been like this since 7th grade when... sorry, he made me promise not to tell." Travis said, nervous about the slip-up.

"You can tell me, Travis." said Jazz. "We can go away from them if you want."

"I can't let him down."

"Travis, you don't have to follow him." said Sam. "You're your on man. William doesn't have any control over you."

"I can't let him down." said Travis and they eventually gave up trying to get him to talk, though Jazz promised to herself to continue asking later. Maybe William did something to him. He seems like a nice person, but so do sociopaths. I just hope I'm wrong about this.

"Hey, guys." said William. "What's up?"

"What the hell was that all about?" asked Sam.

"I don't care much for bullies and it would be nice if the teachers actually did something at this school instead of looking the other way." said William. "Particularly when dealing with football players like 'Jackass Baxter'."

"I hope this doesn't happen again..." Valerie muttered to herself but nobody heard her speak.

"Oh, Jasmine, congratulations on your new boyfriend." said Travis.

"How did you know about that?" asked Jazz, then covered her mouth.

"It's simple." replied Travis. "You're wearing red lipstick, right? I saw a vague outline of lipstick on a guy about 10 minutes ago. I also saw you talking to him this morning. I simply put two and two together."

"Jazz has a boyfriend, Jazz has a boyfriend!" Tucker taunted.

"At least she's had some luck." said Valerie. "How were you rejected today?"

"Val, you don't want to know." Danny said, chuckling.

"Guys, break it up before a fight starts, huh?" said Sam.

"Where are you going, William?" asked Travis.

"I got to go do something, Travis." William. "I'll see you later." Hopefully, now he could do what he had to do in this school. So it was a repeat of last year. Apparently the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

"Who is that guy coming up to the Fenton's house?" asked Ron. He and Hermione had watch duty for the day. A few others were watching as well, though they were the closest and the ones who warned the others if they had any problems. The man was obviously wealthy, as he arrived in a limo. He was dressed in a black suit and had white hair.

"His name's Vlad Masters." said Hermione. "He's got his hand in electronics everywhere from Alaska to China. In our world, it would be very difficult not to hear of him."

"I have a nervous feeling about him." said Ron. "Didn't Danny say something about a man named Masters as his enemy? Could he be working with Potter?"

"Ron, I doubt it. From what we've heard of him, I don't think he would bow before anyone. I just wonder what he's doing here."

"Does he know of our world?" He abruptly fell silent when Masters looked their direction. He gave a simple smirk and started knocking on the door.

"That's a definite yes, or at the very least he suspects. Now how much he knows of us is another matter entirely. It's obvious he can see or at least sense us under the invisibility cloak so we have to be cautious. That means no hexes, Ron."

"I'm no longer the implusive teenager you knew in school. Don't worry, I'll be quiet."

"V-man, how great to see you again!" Jack exclaimed, hugging Vlad tightly. Vlad was having some difficulty breathing. "So what brings you here?"

"Do I need any excuse to visit my best friends, Jack?" asked Vlad. "Maddie, I'm glad to see you. So how has the ghost business going?"

"We've had a few problems, but it's really picking up." said Maddie. "We've sold several hundred weapons to the local authorities."

"Come on, let me show you our new invention, the Fenton Spectral disruptor!" said Jack. With that, they went in, and from Vlad's body language, he was rolling his eyes.

"This definitely isn't good." said Hermione. "We've got more than just Potter to worry about."

"Not to mention that Hogwarts was destroyed by an unknown force." said Ron. He had been getting the daily prophet all the way from Britain, though even the American magical world had news on it. At first, it was thought to be the work of shadows, but almost 100 of them were found dead and all their equipment destroyed.

Danny and his friends were walking towards the house, deeply engrossed in conversation. Ron and Hermione could barely make out what they were saying because it seemed like all of them were talking at once. However, they knew that it wasn't exactly going to be a pleasant arrival once they learned that Vlad was there.

"Oh, great, Plasmius is here!" exclaimed Danny. "I'm betting he is going to try yet again to kill Dad and marry Mom. Just the thought of it makes me sick!"

They went inside the house and they decided to follow. They talked it over for a couple of minutes and decided on a plan to make sure Danny was unharmed. They walked up to the front door and knocked.

"Yes, what is it?" asked Maddie.

"Mrs. Fenton, we've got a bit of a problem." said Ron. "I think there are ghosts in the woods where we were camping."

"Ron, ghosts do not exist." said Hermione. "More likely it was simply an optical illusion or someone pulling a prank."

"I know what I saw!" exclaimed Ron. "You're known to be the best ghost hunters in the town. Can you at least check it out?"

"Of course we will!" said Jack. "Come on Maddie, let's go get the equipment!" In Batman fashion, the two sped towards the lab and ran to the assault vehicle as if rabid animals were chasing them.

"Very amusing, Daniel." said Vlad. "These are allies of yours, I assume?"

"You still haven't told me why you're here, Masters." said Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Jazmine ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

"So impatient, Daniel." said Vlad. "You'll have to learn one day. In any case, believe it or not. I've come to warn you. There is a master of magic terrorizing wizarding Britain-I happen to know they belong to this world- and there have been mysterious disappearances in the ghost zone and I have come to believe that this new dark lord- the boy who lived, I believe- will be after you. One of my minions mentioned a prophecy and seems to believe if refers to you. In any case, the dark lord knows of you and will soon be arriving. I hope you and your little friends are prepared."

"How do you know what we were?" Ron asked.

Vlad showed the newcomers a device, looking much like a remote. "This is the Dalv revealer. It shows anything of supernatural origin, including wizards. It was obvious you're not ghosts, and you were also hiding under an-I think your kind call it an invisibility cloak- something of magical design, it was quite obvious."

"How do we know you're not working with them to kill Danny?" Jazz demanded, taking out the Fenton Peeler.

"Please, like of your father's inventions could hurt me?" He sneered. Jazz fired it and he fell, stilfling a scream. "I stand corrected. Besides, I do not want my future son killed."

"I will never join you!" Danny exclaimed.

"We'll see, Danny, we'll see." With that, Vlad retreated to the couch, watching Jasmine warily.

"Your enemy, I assume?" asked Hermione.

"He wants to kill my Dad and marry my Mom." Danny replied, shuddering at the thought.

"I can hear you, you know." Vlad replied.

"That's the point." said Danny.

"So he's coming here?" Tucker asked. "Are we going to be able to stop him?"

"We're not sure." said Ron. "Potter is very powerful and even the greatest wizard of our age fell before him. (This is AU as of Half-blood prince) I've got no doubt in my mind that he's coming after you and will be here soon."

"So why exactly are you letting Masters listen in?" Danny asked with a degree of anger.

"He's in danger as well." said Hermione. "So is everyone in Amity. Do you think your parent's weapons can hurt wizards?"

"Allow me to take care of that, Miss Granger." said Vlad. She looked at him in confusion. "You're famous in the magical and my contacts have informed me about you. I've built a few weapons against them, although untested."

He turned to Danny. "My boy, I know you despise me, but we'll have to form a truce, at least for now. From what I have heard, Potter hates non-magical people and that includes Maddie. Will you agree to a cease-fire?"

Danny thought about it for several long minutes. Finally, he said: "I've got a few conditions. One: you do not make ay sort of move toward my mom. Two: Do not touch my dad or my friends or anyone else. And if you break our agreement, I'll..."

"Blast me into oblivion, or worse. I know your mindset, Daniel. Don't worry, I accept, son."

"Don't call me son!"

With that, he retreated to the guest room. Hermione and Ron did a few scanning charms and concluded he truthfully did so. "There's also something worse." said Hermione. "In Britain, there's a monster that's striking down wizards, including the Shadows, Potter's servants. There's little known about him, but a survivor stated that he saw a "D" on his chest. Does that mean anything to you?"

A flash of horror entered Danny's mind. He knew what that meant. For several minutes, he could not speak out of fear. He sat down on the couch and tried to compose himself. Finally, he said: "It's my evil, future self. He's what I could have become; I'm not going into any more detail. Just hope he doesn't get his hands on you."

They decided to let it go. "So how much time do we have?" asked Sam. "That is, assuming we can trust you."

"Hey, we did heal your friend when he was on the brink of death." Ron argued.

"I'll have to agree with him." replied Jazz, speaking up. "Rest assured, I will be keeping my eye on you two."

"I don't care what you think of us." said Hermione. "We're here to make sure he's safe and to prepare for Potter's attack. That will likely be within a few days, so be ready."

"So his enemies have arrived?" Skulker asked, making sure he had heard Vlad right.

"Yes and this means we have to prepare." replied Vlad. "We've got to get as much information as we possibly can. Fright Knight, your job is to protect Maddie at all costs. Technus, you will assist him."

"Do not fear, Plasmius, for I Technus, will use my skill with technology to destroy our enemies!" Technus shouted. "Magic is a speck compared to the power of science!"

"Do not worry, Vlad." said the Fright Knight. "I will see to it that she is protected. And what about Jack Fenton?"

"I care little for his fate." Vlad said, dismissing his statement. "Nonetheless, I cannot strike against him for the moment. I have currently formed a truce with Daniel. We have other things to worry about."

"This will be enjoying!" exclaimed Skulker. "I have always wanted to hunt a wizard and this one will be worthy of my skills."

"I too will enjoy experimenting with the possibilites of magic!" said Technus, and Fright Knight immediately cuffed him around the head for shouting.

"You all know what to do." said Vlad. "I will return to my castle and obtain these weapons in addition to my other servants. Well, Fright Knight and Skulker technically are not, but that is what I consider you, nothing more."

Vlad grinned. He did not need to break his truce with Daniel. All he had to do was get his idiot father into danger he could not defeat and appear to save Maddie. If he played his cards right, everything he wanted would be his, including the Packers.

Meanwhile, someone was in Casper High, sneaking around. There was nobody else there, but it was a simple matter to dodge security. He put anonymous boxes into several lockers and grinned as he knew what the results would be.

Well, plans, plans and more plans. Sorry I'm not more diligent at updating, but I want to be careful about where I want this story to go. Anyway, I got a feeling that any replies I get will be because of my rant earlier and not the story. That's the way it is. If you must flame, at least do it intelligently.

I've also heard some questions about why Harry turned evil. You won't find that out for quite some time, though I assure you, you will get an answer.