Saturday morning dawned bright and cold. Not that he was bothered by the cold, but since it was the morning of the first Quidditch match of the season, he figured weather conditions would play an important part in a sport played in the open air.
On brooms.
That flew.
Magic school is awesome.
To say that Danny was excited for the match would be understating it, but he could tell that the excitement he had for the upcoming match was nothing compared to the rest of the student body.
It was almost scary, how much everyone was anticipating the match. Even the teachers were invested! McGonagall had apparently held off on homework for her transfiguration class according to the trio, and Snape had been extra mean to the Gryffindors in Potions, (barring himself, which was weird.)
It wasn't just Snape being nasty though, there was open jeering in the halls between Gryffindor and Slytherin students, Ron and Harry earning their fair share as players on the team. But it had escalated so much that by Thursday afternoon there were attacks on the players in an attempt to keep them from playing! He thought this was just a game?
Apparently not, as he'd needed to protect Alicia Spinnet in the Entrance hall from a blast of magic that had been aimed at her unprotected back. After dissipating his quickly constructed shield, he hadn't noticed the hall going quiet at his display since he was too busy making sure Alicia was alright and adding surrounding and situational awareness training to the DA lessons in his head.
Finally, mercifully, it was the morning of the match. When he woke up he found that Harry and Ron were already awake, Ron looking distinctly pale and nervous.
They eventually made it down and met up with Hermione and made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, Ron looking closer and closer to all out panic with every step he took.
When they made it into the Hall, there was a rousing sound of applause from the Gryffindor table and further boo's and jeers from the Slytherin table; which he supposed was par for the course on game days, but again, this seemed like a bit much for a school sporting event.
He did notice that some of the green clad students were wearing some kind of silver badge shaped like a crown pinned to their shirts. What is that about?
"I can't so this." Ron's shaky voice brought him back to their little group. "Why did I think I could play quidditch? I must have been mental."
"Don't be thick, you're just nervous. I'm nervous too." Harry said bracingly.
"You don't look it." Ron accused.
"I'm a good actor, plus I'm used to it." Harry clapped a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Come on Ron! You'll do great! In practice yesterday you did brilliant! Even Fred and George were impressed!"
That was true, he'd been there waiting for practice to end so that he could fly with Harry and Ron afterwards. Ron had done a great job through practice and only fumbled two plays out of the dozens the team had gone through.
"Just a fluke." Ron toned out, eyes blank.
"Just eat something, you'll feel better once we get down to the pitch." Harry said while not eating anything himself.
He turned to Hermione who was sitting next to him.
"Are quidditch games always this… intense? I though this was just a school sport?"
"Well," Hermione began, "It's like I said before; Quidditch is a very big deal to the Wizarding community. But it is also a relatively dangerous sport, so it's understandable to be nervous." She finished, glancing at Ron.
"Dangerous?" He began, but was then interrupted by a snide tone that belonged to a pug faced Slytherin girl, flanked by the cronies that he had seen following Draco around.
"Oooh, so dangerous. Are you sure you'll be able to handle it you muggle mongrel?"
"Back off Parkinson." Hermione said angrily.
"Make me Granger. And anyway I didn't come over here to fraternize with muggles or mudbloods." She said in disgust as she turned to Ron and Harry who both had looks of intense anger distorting their features.
"No," she said sweetly, "I came to pay respects to the king!"
"What are you on about?" Ron asked hotly, beginning to rise from his chair.
"Oh, you haven't had a chance to see them yet?" The Parkinson girl flashed her silver crown badge so that it caught the light and they were able to read what was inscribed.
'Weasley is our King'
What the?
"We just wanted to give you the proper recognition you so rightly deserve Weasley, since you'll be the one to let Slytherin win today! All hail the King!" She shrieked in laughter and then flounced away, followed by the two boys who had done nothing but flex their muscles and grunt in laughter.
"Don't listen to Pansy, Ron. You are an excellent Keeper and you'll do great today." Hermione quickly tried to reassure the redhead, but by the crumpled look on Ron's face, Danny knew that Ron was letting the whole thing get to him.
It was then that the blond girl from Ravenclaw that was friends with Ginny walked up. He thinks her name is Luna.
"Hello." She said dreamily. "I'll be supporting Gryffindor." She said unnecessarily gesturing to her hat. And what a hat it was.
It was a hyper-realistic lion head that was the cause of much pointing and gawking from many of the other students.
"Wow! I like your hat!" He said smiling.
"Thank you. Look at what it does…" And with that, she tapped the lion head with her wand, and the feline's mouth opened wide and gave such a ground shaking roar that the entire hall was spooked into momentary silence.
"Wow." He breathed, unable to think of anything else appropriate in the face of such flawless headgear. She stared long at him, her wide eyes seeming to strip his soul bare.
Then she smiled. "Thank you Danny! I hope you enjoy the match! And good luck to you Harry and Ronald!" With that said, she drifted away. It took a moment for them to recover from the interaction.
"No. That's it. I'm resigning after today. I'm just bringing the whole team down." Ron moaned.
"Don't talk like that! They're just trying to get into your head!" Harry exclaimed.
"Ron, I think you're overthinking this a bit." He broke in. "I mean, I get why you're nervous and what those Slytherins with the badges are doing is downright bad sportsmanship, but let me tell you this-" He paused to pin Ron with a steady gaze. "If you can go up against giant spiders and alleged mass murderers and come out on top; you've got nothing to worry about, dude. You've got this."
Harry and Hermione were grinning at him appreciatively as a little bit of pride snuck into Ron's morose expression.
"Plus, this is a great opportunity to show the people wearing those badges that your'e not their King, but ours!" Danny smiled at the quidditch player. "You're the Keeper right? So go out there and protect your kingdom!"
Hermione burst into a fit of laughter, which was understandable because he'd just been unbelievably cheesy, but it was worth it. Ron didn't look as close to a panic attack anymore and looked closer to smiling than he had all morning.
Harry was smiling too, but he could feel the nervous fear that was increasing with every minute they came closer to the beginning of the match. It seemed nerves were not something experience could make disappear.
Soon enough, they left the school to walk down to the pitch, everyone bedecked in hats and scarves to stave off the cold morning. He and Hermione wished Harry and Ron luck, then split off from them to go find seats while the boys went to get changed into their uniforms with the rest of the Gryffindor team.
As he was walking with Hermione into the stands, she turned an appreciative eye on him.
"Thank you for cheering Ron up this morning. He's really quiet nervous about performing well in front of the school."
"Ah, it was no trouble. I've been there. It's not easy being in the spotlight when there's a chance of letting people down. Hopefully, he'll do really well and won't have to get used to the feeling of disappointing everyone." He said in an offhand voice.
"Speaking from experience?" Hermione pressed gently as they climbed the stairs into rapidly filling stands.
He huffed a laugh at that, as he remembered a time, not so long ago, that he'd tried to be a town hero, but was just seen as a menace and a monster. Thankfully, Ron wouldn't have to go through that; this was just a game after all.
"Actually, what you said about kings and kingdoms made me think of a question I've been meaning to ask you." Hermione told him as they finally found seats next to Neville, Dean and Seamus, awaiting the start of the match.
"Sure, what's on your mind?"
"How are your classes with the Hogwarts ghosts going? Are you learning loads about the Infinite Realms and what it means to be proclaimed their King? Or… Prince? They called you the heir apparent that night, so you're not the King yet?"
"And hopefully never will be." He said, sighing slightly. "But yes, just yesterday we went over the whole prince/king of the Realms thing. It… wasn't what I was expecting, that's for sure."
"Really?" Hermione asked, fascinated. "What did you learn?"
Hmm. What to say.
He honestly wasn't sure how much he truly believed what he'd been told of the whole ghostly royalty business. He wouldn't be forgetting the lesson though, primarily due to the unexpected guest speaker who'd given him most of his information.
.
Friday was finally beginning to wind down, and while he enjoyed the Hogwarts ghosts company, he was ready for the weekend and the highly anticipated quidditch match the next morning.
"Hey guys?" He ventured, after sitting by and witnessing a ten minute long debate on how one was meant to address royalty properly.
"While finding out how to be polite is super important, is it really so important to keep me here through dinner?"
The slightly embarrassed ghosts seemed to realize how long they'd been distracted and finally decided it was time to end the ghostly lesson for the day.
"Did you have any more questions before you leave, Sir Phantom?" Sir Nick asked as Danny began to float towards the door of the History of Magic classroom.
"Actually, I did." The ghosts looked at him expectantly.
"I just wanted to ask, well… It's been really interesting learning all of this stuff about the Realms and I get now why you think I'm the Prince or heir apparent or whatever, but we haven't gone over why I'm still the Prince if Pariah isn't the King anymore. What does it take to be considered the King?" And how can he avoid doing that at all costs?
The ghosts took a moment to glance at one another, as if waiting for someone else to answer him.
"Wait… you don't know?" He asked incredulously.
"Well, we aren't of the Realms, you know." Myrtle began defensively. "We weren't given all the innate knowledge that full bodied ghosts get when they are made."
"Then how do you know all this stuff you're teaching me? And why don't I have innate knowledge?"
"Ah! I actually have a theory!" Professor Binns began quickly. "While you were obviously made by the Realm's energy, you didn't become a fully fledged ghost in the most traditional sense. While you did die, you are still partially alive, which is why I believe you don't possess the same innate knowledge of the Infinite Realms as the rest of the Realm's born ghosts. As for how we know as much as we do…"
"When we died, we managed to obtain a small amount of dimensional energy which is how we have maintained our forms." Lady Ravenclaw said quietly, surprising everyone, as she hardly ever spoke. "With that energy came pieces of knowledge. So, knowing our individual knowledge was fairly incomplete, we pooled our understanding of the Realms, which is why we are all here to teach you and answer any questions to the best of our ability."
"Okay," He sighed and turned away as he digested the new information. "Thank you for that, and everything you guys are doing to help me, but I still want to know more about this whole Ghost Prince nonsense."
Waiting for the reprimand that being ghostly royalty is not nonsense, he was surprised when he heard nothing at all. Turning quickly, he found that all the Hogwarts ghosts were floating in place, movements halted and expressions frozen. Almost as if…
"Hello Daniel."
He sighed as his ghost sense curled in front of him and he noticed the silk strap around his neck, holding the bronze gear medallion.
"Clockwork." He bit out.
He didn't turn around. While this visit was a surprise, he did want answers; but he didn't know if he could face the Master of Time without getting angry. So, it was with great restraint and force of will that he turned slowly and blankly looked upon the floating specter, purple hooded cloak and red glowing eyes just as he remembered.
"How are you here? I thought you couldn't open portals around this much magic?" He was forcefully keeping his tone calm, but he could feel his own anger pulsing beneath his skin, no doubt making his aura and eyes brighter than normal.
"I am merely a duplicate, sent here in the time before the Founders were even born and this land was free of magic. While the world today may not have a viable place for dimensional portals to exist anymore, I have my ways around that. I've been waiting here for you." Clockwork explained matter of fact. But he paused a second to consider him.
"You're angry with me."
He closed his eyes and breathed deep, unable to answer what clearly wasn't a question.
"I'm sorry about your family-"
"DON'T!"
Whatever tenuous hold on his anger he had, he lost it then.
"YOU DON'T GET TO TALK ABOUT THEM!" He raged at the elder Time Master. "You're always saying you know everything! Can see all and know all! You sent a duplicate to the middle of nowhere centuries ago to talk to me, but when I needed you-!"
His voice broke, a traitorous heat behind his eyes.
"You helped them before! Saved them before! What happened to second chances?! Why didn't they get theirs?!" The last word was broken with a sob, tears streaming down his cheeks and blurring his vision. It was several moments before Clockwork spoke again.
"Daniel, I-" Clockwork actually paused, remorse coloring his tone. "I couldn't interfere."
He… he knew that. He knew Clockwork had other responsibilities. Things he could and couldn't do to protect time and reality as he knew it. So, in the place of all his anger came the hollowing sadness.
"They were everything to me, Clockwork." He whispered into the silence of frozen time. "I made another stupid mistake and lost them all over again. And I tried so.. hard to make sure I didn't fulfill an inevitable future. I still do. But… I was alone. You're my mentor and my friend… and you left me all alone…" His voice cracked and he broke down in earnest then, sobs shaking his form so badly that he crumpled to the floor.
Months of pushing down his grief in the face of being hunted. Months of constantly looking over his shoulder, never saying more than a few words to strangers and running at the mere whisper of a white suit. Months of never feeling safe, constantly afraid. No one to talk to. No one to help.
He was enveloped in a chilly, but strong embrace and he buried himself in the Time Master's chest and clutched the deep purple cape with everything he had.
And there they stayed, huddled on the stone floor, Danny crying his eyes out, and Clockwork giving him silent but gentle support. He didn't know how long it took for him to calm down in the timeless plane they resided in, but eventually his tears dried and his breathing evened out.
"Daniel," Clockwork began, "I have no excuses. I care for you dearly and still did nothing to help you. I truly wish I could have prevented you from experiencing this fate, but this time I could do nothing."
"But why? You saved them before?" His voice was raw, but he needed to know.
"In the instance with your dark future self, the Observants felt it would benefit them if they manipulated the time line in small ways that would change your future so drastically that I would be forced to eradicate you. They were threatened by you, you see."
"Threatened?"
"Yes. While you may have only just found out about your status as the Infinite Realm's heir apparent, (the first we've had in several millennium), the Observants knew from the moment you defeated Pariah Dark in single combat. They saw you; a young, not even a year dead, child that risked everything to protect those he loved, and they feared what you would become. They looked for a future where you would destroy the world and showed that to me with the knowledge that I would take care of the threat; inadvertently setting you on that path of destruction themselves. But I never stopped at just that future, Daniel. I saw all of them. Striking and vibrant, and yet ever changing. There were so many more futures where you would benefit the world in ways even I couldn't fathom. I saved your family then because I knew you would make the right choice without the Observants meddling. I couldn't save them this time because it wasn't any choice of yours that affected their future." Clockwork paused to pin him with a steady yet gentle gaze. "It wasn't your fault, Daniel. You did everything you could."
He looked away, not wanting to accept Clockwork's words, a heavy weight in his chest. Done with the topic he searched for a new one.
"You didn't wait here for hundreds of years just to tell me that, did you?"
Clockwork gave him a small smile of understanding, before answering.
"No, I did not; but it was no less important than the rest of what I must tell you."
Danny huffed as he and Clockwork rose from the ground. "And what else do you want to tell me?" He asked dryly, scrubbing at his eyes.
"You wished to know what it takes to graduate from the Realm's Prince to the High Ghost King."
"You know what I would have to do to become the King?" He asked. "Is there anyway I can abstain? Or… or just not be the King or the Prince or any of that? I never wanted this Clockwork, I was just trying to protect my family!"
"I am well aware, Daniel. But there is nothing you can do to avoid this. You are the only qualified being in any Realm that can claim the High King title, and therefore, you are the heir apparent. The Realm's Prince."
"But-"
"While it is exceedingly rare for the current High King to be dethroned and a new Prince chosen, it is even rarer an occurrence when the Realms accepts the Prince as the new King."
"Wait… the Realms accepts? You mean the Realms, as in the Infinite Realms? It's sentient?"
"Not within the scope of our understanding. All I, or any other ancient knows is that the Realms is responsible for the choice of accepting a High King."
"So… You don't know if I'll ever become the King or if I'll stay the Prince forever?" He didn't know how to feel about that. Was it a good thing to know that it hardly ever happened or a bad thing to not know how to stop it?
"I'm afraid no one does." Clockwork confirmed.
"Not even you?"
"Not even me." Clockwork said wryly. "I may be all knowing, but your futures have always been fleeting and changing so quickly; it is a miracle that this moment in time was clear enough for me to plan to speak to you now. The decision of the Realms is for no one else to know until the Realms makes it."
"But if the Realms chooses the King, why Pariah Dark?" At the mention of the previous King, Clockwork's expression darkened.
"Pariah Dark was not chosen, but blinded enough by his ego and greed to think that he was. He seized control and power, and given enough time, everyone but me could no longer remember a time that was free from his oppression. Did you ever wonder who the contingent of Ancients were who forced Pariah into the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep the first time?"
Danny shook his head, because it had never occurred to him to ask.
"Neither do I." Came Clockwork's admission.
"Wait, but… what?" He was shocked. Clockwork not knowing his future was one thing, he knew he was weird; but for Clockwork not to think about a group of ghosts who affected the Realm's history in a such a drastic way?
"The knowledge was never allowed to stay with us, Daniel. I, alone, can tell you that they were not normal ghosts, but manifestations of the Realm's will. Pariah was a false King, and the Realms proved it, making an example of him. But when Vladimir released Pariah, and you took on the job of locking Pariah away for good, you claimed your rightful place as the Realm's Prince. The entire Infinite Realms felt the shift of energy and power when you defeated Pariah. There hasn't been a High King in eons Daniel, and the Realms and the dimensions it connects with have suffered for it over time. For you to be recognized as the Prince... the Realms have been benefiting from your reign already. The lives you have touched and the futures you are now a part of have already been made brighter." Clockwork finished his tale with a gleam of pride in his red eyes, and he slowly began to float away.
"Wait! Clockwork! I still don't understand! You're saying that I have to… to win the favor of an entire dimension that may or may not be sentient to become the King? Even if I don't want to be the King? And what about my being summoned here? What… what am even supposed to do?" He was getting a little frantic, because he knew Clockwork was leaving. He may have been angry at first, but it was nice to see someone from before. Before suits and summonings and schools of magic.
Clockwork merely turned and gave him another smile.
"Do what you think is right, Daniel. You have made good friends here that will help you, just as you will help them." Clockwork finally raised his staff, and Danny felt the medallion around his neck begin to rise. "Goodbye Daniel. May the Realms favor you again, as it has once before."
Before Danny could say another word, the Master of Time's duplicate dispelled along with the medallion, with a final whispered 'Time In.'
.
"Danny?" Hermione's voice brought him back to the present.
"Oh. Sorry, Hermione, I got lost in thought I guess." He sheepishly rubbed at his neck again. He really had to work on that.
"It's alright. Is what you learned about being the ghost Prince that interesting?" She asked eagerly.
"I guess you could say that." He said, and was then interrupted by a swell of noise coming from the stands around them.
The quidditch match was about to begin.
As the two teams with their brooms in hand walked out onto the field, the stands erupted with tumultuous cheers. The team captains shook hands, and the referee brought out a case that she placed in the center of the field.
The players got into ready stances as the ref put a whistle to her lips. She kicked open the case, releasing two cannon balls, the bludgers, and what he could only assume was the golden snitch Harry had told him about.
The whistle sounded, and the players mounted their brooms and rose swiftly into the cold morning air, the crowd going wild with excitement. Ron streaked off towards the goal hoops, while Harry rose quickly, trying to spot the golden glimmer that he saw darting around the top of the teacher's stands.
"And they're off! Gryffindor's Alicia Spinnet in possession of the quaffle!" Fred and George's friend Lee Jordan said gleefully, voice magically magnified to be heard over the crowd.
"The lions are flying like a dream this morning, just look at them go! But the snakes aren't going down without a fight!"
It was like nothing Danny had ever seen. The Gryffindor chasers bobbed and weaved and passed to each other seamlessly, the twins effectively closing any gaps in their defense by providing some violent offense by directing the bludgers against the other team with viscous accuracy. The Slytherin team seemed to prefer the more traditional show of strength in having their offense be their defense. It reminded him of the offensive lines of American football teams in that way.
It was incredible to watch. But Lee Jordan really sold it with his commentary.
"Oooh! That's got to hurt! Fred or George, can't tell from up here, went and smashed the quaffle out of Montague's hands with a very well aimed bludger! And now Katie Bell of Gryffindor has got it! She's really moving- Oh! And passed it to Angelina Johnson, and Johnson passes to Spinnet! Look at them go!"
The crowd was going wild for the chasers acrobatics around the Slytherin team, but he noticed that Harry and Draco were still circling the match from above, searching for the snitch.
As a bludger whistled past, he shuddered at the thought of those things actually hitting someone. He was slowly losing his mind at how close they had come to hitting players straight on, and he'd needed to exercise incredible self control not shoot and destroy them before one of them knocks a player out of the sky.
"She shoots! Aaaand she misses… awe." There was a massive groan that echoed into the grounds as Gryffindor lost possession.
"Warrington of Slytherin catches the quaffle and is now barreling through the Gryffindor defenses; dodged a bludger there, close one! And here he comes, getting ready to make a shot! Stop him Ron! The crowd is- what's that their singing?" Lee paused a moment to listen and the singing coming from a section of the green clad supporters, all wearing those silver pins, that had gotten louder and louder the closer the quaffle came to the Gryffindor goal posts was now able to be heard loud and clear.
'Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That's why Slytherin's all sing:
Weasley is our King!'
'Weasley was born in a bin,
He always lets the Quaffle in,
Weasley will make sure we win,
Weasley is our King!'
Lee quickly began commentating again to drown out the horrible song, but as the quaffle neared the Gryffindor goalpost, Warrington tossed the large red ball as hard as he could at the hoops, and Ron dove at it... missing it by an inch! The loud groan of disappointment was far overshadowed by the cheers of the Slytherin supporters, who's team had just won the first point of the match.
Which then prompted the resurgence of the singing.
He could only sigh in disappointment. What a rotten thing to do, putting someone down just to win a game.
True, he did something similar when he punned at his enemies during fights so much that they got mad and messed up so it was easier for him to shove them into the Fenton thermos and toss them back through the portal. But that was fighting ghosts with plans of world domination and attention issues, not school sports teams. It was totally different.
It didn't take long for the Gryffindor supporters to find their spirit once again, as the team made a spectacular maneuver, including Fred and George distracting the Slytherin chasers as the three chasers dipped and weaved and tossed the quaffle between them, making it all the way to the goalposts, and scoring a spectacular goal that had the fans raving.
When the ball neared Ron and the Gryffindor goalposts again, tensions were high, the pressure was on, and he could practically see Ron stealing himself to make the save no matter what.
"Montague dodges a bludger, dodges Bell, and shoots! -AND RON SAVES IT! WHAT AN AMAZING PLAY BY THE GRYFFINDOR KEEPER!" Lee had to shout to be heard over the tremendous roar of the crowd. Hermione was jumping up and down in excitement, and he saw Harry do a loop-the-loop quickly before going back to circling the game from above.
The match continued, and he was having a blast watching the game. The score was close, with Gryffindor just edging Slytherin out at seventy to sixty points.
The crowd seemed to unconsciously keep a wary on on the two seekers, knowing that this match was so close that the winner would be ultimately decided by who caught the golden snitch.
"Why doesn't Harry just catch the snitch now? The game only ends when the thing is caught, right?" He asked Hermione when there was a lull in the game, but Seamus answered before Hermione could.
"You can't just decide to catch the snitch Danny. The thing is almost impossible to see while you're in the air!"
"But it's right over there?" He pointed out to the ground near the middle of the pitch. Dean, Seamus, Neville and Hermione all squint down at where he pointed, and their eyes widened when they spotted the tiny speck of glittering gold.
"How'd you-?"
They were cut off from questioning him on his inhuman eyesight when the entire crowd gasped as one.
Harry and Draco had plummeted into a steep dive, aimed right at the snitch that he had pointed out to the three beside him. Right as they were about to reach it, the snitch darted off in a different direction, forcing the Seekers to sharply turn, chasing after it.
They were neck and neck, arms outstretched and reaching, the crowd going wild! Harry began to edge out Draco and made a grab for the small golden ball, just barely snatching the win!
The Gryffindor supporters roared with approval as Harry rose up, arm raised in victory.
"Harry Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor takes the win! What a match! It was-"
Danny couldn't hear the rest. He blocked all noise around him the moment he saw one of the Slytherin beaters pull his arm back and take aim right at Harry's back.
"No!" He shouted, as Hermione gasped beside him. They could only watch as the bludger was shot at Harry, colliding with his back and propelling him off of his broom. He fell. Far. Too far. He crashed hard to the ground, and to Danny's terror didn't make a move to get up.
He looked desperately at Hermione, who looked just as shocked and afraid as he felt, and held out a hand. She took it without hesitation and his transformation rushed over him as they both jumped off the side of the stands and flew down towards their friend.
He ignored the noise of the crowd and the continued commentary, and landed with Hermione at Harry's side, who was thankfully still conscious.
"Harry!" Hermione knelt next to him, quickly taking in the pained expression on the pale face.
Ron quickly landed beside them, Draco landing a few paces away right after, staring, face pale, at him and Harry.
"I'm… alright 'Mione." Harry gritted out, clutching at his leg and wincing with every movement. "Just landed… weird. Hurt… my leg."
A blatant understatement if Danny had ever heard one. By the look of it, Harry had broken his thigh bone and possibly his hip too. He knew how bad that hurt.
"Is there anything we can do?" Ron asked, voice frantic, as more players landed and began surrounding them. The referee was still dealing with the Slytherin beater who caused this mess, and the other teachers in the stands didn't seem to know how hurt Harry was.
"I can help." He flew in close to Harry's side, and pulled on the energy of his core.
"Harry, I'm going to ice your leg, it'll help reduce any swelling and help with the pain." He felt his eyes flare their fractal blue; Harry could only nod, eyes pained.
Floating closer, he pooled his energy into his hands, and gently applied pressure to Harry's outer thigh and hip. A thin sheen of frost covered Harry's quidditch robes, and Harry gritted his teeth for a moment, but soon the pained expression receded.
Danny, breathing out frost bitten air of the excess energy of his core, put a huge amount of effort into making sure that he didn't freeze Harry solid.
"Danny!" Hermione said urgently, "You have to get him up to the Hospital Wing! Madame Pomfrey can take care of him! We'll go and get Professor McGonagall to tell her what happened!" Ron nodded, face grim but determined, the other Gryffindor team players following his example.
"Alright. We'll see you up there." Still keeping his hand in place, he phased his arm through and under Harry's legs and put the other one behind Harry's back to lift him up. With that he flew up above the accumulated crowd to find the castle.
Once again ignoring the gasps and noise from the people around him, whether it was from seeing Harry hurt or seeing him in ghost form, he had more important things to worry about.
Spotting the castle, he quickly flew out of the stadium as fast as he dared, careful to keep Harry's injury cool enough to numb the pain.
Phasing through the walls along a path he barely remembered, he finally came to the Hospital Wing and flew through the doors.
"Madame Pomfrey?!"
"Oh! What in-?"
"Please, Harry's hurt! I'm only icing it, I can't do anything else to help!" He was getting panicky again, core thrumming erratically at the fact that Harry didn't seem to be aware of what was going on anymore.
"Put him down here." Madame Pomfrey instructed crisply, coming back to herself after his unexpected entrance.
Placing Harry, who was now unconscious, down onto the cot gently, he backed away as the matron waved her wand over Harry, muttering under her breath.
She quickly zeroed in on his injured leg and hip. With a flash of bright light accompanied by a wave of magical energy that washed over his senses, she stepped back and breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to him and gave him a gentle smile that eased his worry a bit.
"He'll be alright now." She assured him. "It was good that you got him here so quickly. His femur was shattered and his pelvis was broken and bruised. His spine had taken a hard hit as well. He was going into shock from the pain."
He stuttered on a breath he didn't need. "Was? He's still hurt really badly, right?"
"No, no, I've fixed him up now." Madame Promfrey assured, fixing him with a confused squint before realization took it's place. "I can fix broken bones in an instant, but if he'd gone into shock then that would have been much trickier to deal with. Thank you for numbing the pain by keeping him cool; Mr. Fenton?"
She said his name as if she was unsure, and he remembered that he was still in ghost form, and not many besides his friends and those who'd caught a glimpse of him in the castle or the few times he'd transformed in his classes had seen him up close like this.
"Oh. Yeah, it's me. Thank you for fixing Harry up so quickly." He sighed in relief. "When will he wake up?"
"Is Harry gonna be alright?!"
Hermione and Ron burst through the doors panting, Professor McGonagall hot on their heels. Ron was still in his Quidditch uniform and Hermione and the Professor were sporting their Gryffindor scarves and hats.
Hermione and Ron rushed to Harry's side, and they quickly began throwing questions at him and Madame Pomfrey. The matron took it upon herself to calm them down and assure them that Harry was going to be fine and would wake up very soon. He took the few moments to calm himself down from his panic.
It was then that he realized that Professor McGonagall hadn't moved from the doorway and was completely silent. Staring right at him. "Mr. …. Fenton?"
"Ah, hi Professor. Sorry for spiriting Harry away like that, but he was really hurt and I was worried." He drifted upwards, hunching his shoulders a bit.
"Professor, come to check on Mr. Potter, yes?" Madame Pomfrey broke in, having finally reassured Ron and Hermione. "Well, he'll be just fine, but it was a close thing. If Mr. Fenton hadn't iced the wound and kept it from swelling, I would have had my work cut out for me."
"Oh. Thank you Poppy. But," she turned a questioning and astonished eye on him once again, "how did you ice Mr. Potter's injury?"
"Oh. Umm. I have ice powers. Can create and control ice with special properties. But I only use them while in this form." He finished sheepishly, remembering that he'd neglected to tell the adults he'd just met all of the powers he possessed. (Possessed. Ha.)
"Incredible." McGonagall breathed.
"Hem hem."
Everyone spun towards the still open doors, and there stood the last person any of them wanted to see.
Dolores Umbridge had a look of utmost disgust and yet vindictive triumph as she looked up at him.
"I believe what you meant to say, Minerva, is how dare you take advantage of the magical hospitality you were offered, while still withholding information of your abilities." She said in a forced tone of sickly sweetness. "As such, you will be suitably punished for such a massive breach-"
"Punished! Danny didn't do anything wrong!" Ron interrupted angrily.
"He helped Harry when he was really hurt!" Hermione added with a dark glare.
"I must agree with Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger, Mrs. Umbridge." McGonagall spoke up with a glare of her own. "Mr. Fenton committed no punishable offense, and he is further protected from the Ministry's prosecution while on Hogwarts grounds, as you well know!" Sparks could have been flying from the Professor's eyes.
He was filled with overwhelming respect for the Professor as she defended him so fiercely. But he knew Umbridge wasn't done yet, if the nearly overwhelming sense of fear and disgust he could feel directed towards him was any indication.
"I'm afraid, Minerva, you misunderstand me." Umbridge simpered. "This may not be a transgression worthy of Ministry intervention," her tone bled disbelief and he knew a threat when he heard one, "but I think it is still serious enough to warrant a punishment. After all, we are supposed to treat… him… like any of our other students, yes? And students mustn't lie."
Professor McGonagall straightened to her considerable height, her barely restrained anger terrible to behold. Not that Hermione, Ron or Madame Pomfrey were doing much to restrain theirs.
"Even if Mr. Fenton did do something that was a punishable offense, which, I may add, omitting personal information when speaking to complete strangers is not; he is in my House, and as such, I am primarily responsible for him. You have no say in any major punishments he receives."
"Ah, I think you'll find that I do 'have a say,' Minerva." The toad's wide mouth stretched into a horrible smile. "Now where did I put it- Ah! Here it is!" She pulled a parchment from her cloak pocket, unfolding it with the utmost care.
"Cornelius, or- I'm sorry," she tittered horribly, "The Minister of Magic just sent it. Educational Decree Number Twenty-five."
"Not another one!" McGonagall shouts violently, stunning the students and matron present.
"Oh yes, Minerva. It was actually you who showed me that this new decree was absolutely necessary. You see, when you overrode my authority when I was unwilling to allow the Gryffindor quidditch team to reform by bringing the issue to Dumbledore, I wrote to the Minister at once. He quite agreed with me that the High Inquisitor should have the power to strip students of privileges, or she -that is to say, I- would have less authority than a common Professor. And you see now how I was right to not want the team reformed, Minerva? No sense of safety, falling off of brooms and getting flown by a ghost, of all things, away from competent faculty that could have provided much safer first aid." She smirked meanly at him, daring him to say something, but he bit his tongue. He knew it wouldn't do anything, but he felt the anger towards the Ministry official in the room intensify as she spoke. He looked and saw that the living occupants of the room were seething, murder in their eyes.
"And now, according to this Ministry sanctioned decree, I have the supreme authority over all punishments, sanctions and removal of privileges pertaining to the students of Hogwarts. As such, I think it would be appropriate to strip Fenton of his privilege to use his unnatural abilities. Indefinitely."
Silence.
"You… You're banning me from using my powers?"
"Oh, but I am not unreasonable," she said, completely ignoring him. "The ghost may use it's, oh, I'm sorry, his abilities with my express permission."
"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." They all jumped at Harry's scathing voice.
"Harry!"
"Ah, Mr. Potter. So glad that you are alright. Although, I do not appreciate your tone. My authority is absolute, despite what you think." Umbridge said smugly. "If you were not already hurt, I may have taken what you said as an insult worthy of punishment. You wouldn't want another detention would you? After all, you know how much I hate it when children tell lies."
As Harry balled his fist, the scars standing out on the back of his hand, he knew he needed to stop this mess. He wouldn't let Harry go through literal torture just for trying to protect him.
"No. It's alright." He dropped to the ground and pulled the warmth of his human form to the surface. "If I ever need to use my powers, I'll be sure to come find you Mrs. Umbridge. Sorry for not being transparent to you and the other Professors about everything I can and can't do." And with that he turned his back on the toad and forcefully put an end to the conversation. His friends, along with Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall, were too shocked too speak as he settled near Harry's bed.
"Yes. Well… be sure that you learn your lesson!" Umbridge sounded confused, but no less smug as she finally, -finally-, left the Hospital Wing.
"Mr. Fenton…"
"Danny, why did you…?"
Before he could even begin to explain himself, the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team burst into the room.
"Harry! You're alright!" Fred and George said happily, bright grins lit up their faces.
Harry gave him a quick side glance, their eyes met and he nodded to say that he was alright. It was another quick moment before Harry was relaxing and smiling with his teammates. The team quickly began celebrating their win once they found that Harry had been treated and would be leaving the Hospital Wing shortly. As the rowdy athletes began plans for a celebration in the Common Room, he was pushed closer to Hermione and Professor McGonagall.
The two women were clearly not ready to drop the subject of Umbridge's ridiculous attempt at controlling him.
"Danny, it's not fair to you that you're not allowed to use your powers! It's utterly ridiculous!"
"Ms. Granger is right, I will be taking this up with the Headmaster. She can't do this to you, I won't allow it!"
"Thank you both, you don't know how much it means to have you support me like this." He spoke appreciatively before smiling ruefully at them. "But it's okay. I've had a lot of practice hiding my ghost half, you know."
"You were found out." Hermione deadpanned.
"After two years."
"But…"
"Really Hermione, it'll be alright. Just don't rat me out if I slip up and use my powers accidentally, alright?" He grinned.
She gave him a look, highly unamused, and McGonagall huffed in disapproval. Both women were far from alright with Umbridge's treatment of him, but they let the matter rest. For now.
He was thankful.
Because he… had a plan.
Oh! The Plan! What is Danny thinking? No one knows! HaHa!
Also, Clockwork makes an appearance, and I had a lot of fun with the ghost King lore!
Gonna be honest, the quidditch game gave me some trouble. I'm going to have to practice action scenes and stuff.
More fun stuff to come! Hope you enjoyed!