Danny, Sam and Tucker were sitting on the curb outside the hotel Lupin was staying in. Danny was back in his human guise. Finding Lupin hadn't been too difficult. Tucker searched for all the hotels in Amity Park and Sam went inside and asked if there were any guests called Lupin. It helped that she could slip a twenty dollar bill on the counter if the receptionist wasn't particularly helpful. The hardest part was to find a quiet spot nearby that they could utilise to talk to Lupin.

"Danny are you sure? We could take Mr Lupin and this Dumbledore guy somewhere else where we'd have the advantage," Sam suggested.

"And we should tell Jazz. What if these guys are with that Lord Voldemort and they decide to kidnap you," Tucker added.

"Guys, I don't think Mr Lupin was lying. He helped me last night. And he has been really understanding too," Danny retorted. They'd been having the conversation since Lupin left to get Dumbledore.

"Danny, what if this is all a trick!? Mr Lupin could have sent those dementor things after you. If you ask me those ghosts sound like Nocturne's sleepwalkers or Walker's guards," Sam inquired. Danny shuddered at the memory of the dementors.

"Sam, I may not know exactly what those things were last night. But I know they weren't ghosts. They didn't activate my ghost sense. They didn't glow and they felt… being near them… they felt like something worse. I felt cold guys. I never feel cold! And weak," Danny replied and shook his head as he fell silent. Sam and Tucker glanced at each other worriedly. They'd been worried about their friend ever since they saw his face on the CCTV footage. He had been terrified. After so long ghost hunting, that wasn't an expression they were used to seeing on Danny's face. Not genuine fear. He acted scared in front of crowds or his parents to protect his secret. But they could tell, Danny wasn't acting on that camera.

"Danny, are you sure you're alright? It's okay if you're not," Sam muttered with concern. Danny sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine. Just… worried about those things coming back," Danny answered softly. Tucker and Sam frowned. They could tell that Danny was hiding something. He wasn't acting fine. He was acting extremely upset. They'd only seen Danny like this once before. Almost a year ago, after they met Clockwork for the first time and took the CATs. The first couple of ghost fights after that in between their test and his make-up test, he'd been overly protective and distant. After he took the test and did relatively well, those insecurities seemed to fade. Jazz guessed that something happened in the future when Danny was trapped there. But he got over it. Or so it seemed.

"Danny talk to us man. That's what we're here for," Tucker pleaded gently. Danny shook his head.

"I'm fine. It's nothing. But I want to talk with Mr Lupin and Dumbledore alone," Danny replied.

"Alone?!" Sam exclaimed. Danny nodded.

"You guys didn't see the dementors. And Voldemort wants me. I want to keep you out of this as much as possible," Danny explained.

"Stop protecting us dude! You're our friend. That involves us," Tucker snapped. Danny glanced at his friend.

"You need back-up Danny. I don't trust Mr Lupin. I'm surprised that you do," Sam added. Danny sighed loudly.

"I don't trust him. But I'm willing to listen to him. He saved me from those dementors. I think that deserves a chance to explain himself. Besides they seem to know why Voldemort wants me," Danny reasoned.

"Danny we don't know for certain he did save you," Sam interjected and the conversation came full circle. It had been the same since last night after Danny had finally calmed down enough to talk to them. It took a lot of chocolate.

"Sam. I know Mr Lupin saved me. Alright," Danny retorted sharply. There was one thing he knew. Those dementors would have killed him or kissed him if that light hadn't appeared. And the only person around at the time was Lupin. Therefore Lupin made the light and saved him. It was the one thing he was certain of about Lupin. He'd considered the situation a lot and the more he thought about it, the more he was sure.

Sam scowled and opened her mouth to argue.

"Excuse me!? Sorry to interrupt, but would you be able to contact Phantom?" Lupin called as he approached, a tall elderly man wearing strange flowing clothes and a pointed hat following him. Danny gulped down his fear. If Lupin had heard that last comment, they were in trouble. His secret would be gone.

"Er…" Tucker replied intelligently.

"I'm sure he's around Mr Lupin. Probably waiting until you're in private," Danny interjected. Lupin blinked.

"My parents may think Phantom's bad, but most people think otherwise," Danny added with a small smile, hiding his nervousness well.

Lupin smiled.

"Well if you spot him, he's welcome to come to my hotel room," Lupin concluded and the three teens nodded as the grown men entered the hotel.

"Danny, I'd feel better if we were with you," Sam muttered as Danny stood up.

"I know but I think I should do this alone," Danny replied with a reassuring smile before walking into a nearby alleyway to change into Phantom and flew, invisible and intangible, towards Lupin's hotel room, knowing where it was thanks to his best friends.

Danny stopped outside the wizard's hotel door and dropped his invisibility and intangibility. With a steadying breath he knocked on the door, hoping he wasn't making a mistake to trust Lupin this much.

"Come in," Lupin called. Danny tried the door, deciding that walking through intangibly was rude and unnecessary. He pushed the door open and rubbed his neck nervously as he stepped into the room.

"Phantom, thank you for coming. I realise we've never actually been formally introduced. Remus Lupin. And this is Albus Dumbledore," Lupin greeted the ghostly teen and held out a hand, much to Dumbledore's intrigue. Danny took the hand.

"Danny Phantom. And I should thank you for getting here so quick. But I can't help but wonder how? Was Mr Dumbledore already in Amity Park?" Danny replied.

"No, we used a magical method of travel to bring Professor Dumbledore here," Lupin answered, the correction not missed by Danny.

"Pleasure to meet you my boy," Dumbledore interjected and held out his own hand for Danny to shake. He seemed almost excited at the chance to touch the ghost. Danny pushed away the surprise. He was considered a celebrity by a large number of Amity Park citizens. The excitement in shaking his hand wasn't too puzzling or shocking. He shook the elderly man's hand, taken back by the strength and firmness of it, expecting the man to have been frail.

"Now, would you mind telling me how you were approached by Death Eaters?" Dumbledore requested, gesturing to a chair beside him as Lupin perched on his bed.

"Death Eaters?" Danny repeated in confusion.

"Voldemort's followers. They tend to wear black robes and wear masks," Dumbledore clarified. Danny hummed in understanding and explained the conversation he'd had, leaving out that he eavesdropped first. Dumbledore listened carefully.

"Are these ghosts Voldemort has already recruited dangerous?" Dumbledore asked. Danny see-sawed his hand.

"It depends on which you're talking about. The Box Ghost. No. But Technus or Ember, very," Danny answered.

"What is your type of ghost capable of?" Dumbledore asked.

"Tons. Every ghost I know can turn invisible and intangible. Fly. A lot of them have a ghost ray too. I also have ice powers and a ghost sense. I… I also have something called a ghostly wail. A scream powerful enough to take down a building," Danny listed, keeping his ability to duplicate to himself. He didn't want to tell them everything in case he needed to fight them. Dumbledore nodded seriously.

"I assume there are other abilities that some of the recruited ghosts have," Dumbledore commented. Danny nodded.

"Ember can use music to hypnotise crowds. Technus can control technology. I know two ghosts that can turn into dragons when angry and wearing an amulet. Another can control weather," Danny confirmed.

Dumbledore frowned thoughtfully.

"Who is Voldemort? I get he's bad, but I don't understand why exactly. And until today, I had no idea wizards were real," Danny inquired, taking the pause in Dumbledore's questions as an opening for his own. Dumbledore looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"You hadn't. Then you must be a muggle ghost," Dumbledore realised out loud. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Non-magic. Yes. So mind explaining what's going on for me?" Danny asked haughtily. It was getting annoying how all these so called wizards assumed he knew everything already.

Dumbledore nodded and pulled out his wand and began to explain what being a wizard meant, having had plenty of experience explaining to muggle-borns over the years before they attended Hogwarts. He told Danny about Hogwarts and finally told the story of Harry Potter and Voldemort's reign of terror and fall.

"And so during a competition last school year, Harry and Cedric Diggory went missing and reappeared some time later, Cedric dead and Harry hurt and hysterical. He told me Voldemort performed a ritual to return himself to a corporeal body and attempted to murder Harry. Cedric was unfortunately not as fortunate. That was only a few weeks ago," Dumbledore concluded. Danny was silent for a few minutes as he absorbed this new knowledge. It was a lot to take in and yet… it wasn't unbelievable.

"Okay… how do I fit in?" Danny eventually asked.

"I fear Voldemort sees you as a weapon to utilise, very much like dementors and giants. If you refuse to follow him, I'm afraid Voldemort would see you as an enemy and will try to… kill? Destroy? I'm not sure of the term for a ghost," Dumbledore answered. Danny frowned. Kill worked. He was still half-living. He largely believed he could die. He couldn't be certain, but he wasn't going to test that.

"Which comes to what I'd like to ask you. Voldemort is not one to give up after one failed attempt. I'd like for you to return to England with me and the order can protect you. I would like for you to join the order also, but that is your choice. This isn't your war to fight, I understand, but your help would be appreciated," Dumbledore revealed.

What will be Danny's answer!? It mightn't be what you expect…

Let me know what you guys think so far.

Until the next chapter.