Danny phased his invisible head through the door and spotted Snape at his desk writing something. Danny then phased his head out and checked that there was no one watching. He turned himself visible and changed into his human form. He put a finger to his lips.
"Not a word Peeves. And wait out here for me, please," Danny ordered softly. Peeves nodded and floated into a dark, hidden alcove. Danny took a steadying breath and knocked on the door.
"Come in," Snape drawled. Danny entered.
Snape looked up in a bored manner before jerking upright.
"Merlin's beard! What are you doing here!?" Snape hissed and got out of his chair.
"Relax, no one saw me. I'm pretty good at sneaking into places. I need your help. You know that Arthur got bitten by a snake right?" Danny began. Snape nodded.
"Well, I tried to catch that snake and got bitten as well. Problem is, the venom makes it impossible to stop the bleeding. As I can't tell anyone how I got bitten, I can't go to St. Mungo's. I need to ask you to make blood-replenishing potions for me, until an antidote is found," Danny explained.
Snape blinked in surprise and nodded.
"How often do you need them?" Snape asked.
"Well, I got one dose when I was forced to go to a healer. Don't worry, I lied about how I got bitten. He gave me one dose anyway of blood-replenishing potion to have there and another to take with me. I had half last night and half this morning. I don't think I'm as bad as Arthur because I only got bitten once and the snake bit Arthur before me. Must have had less venom in its fangs. Also, I used some muggle medicine my dad taught me to get most of the venom out," Danny replied, leaving out that he bled slower due to having a slower heart and healed faster due to his ghost half.
Snape nodded slowly before grabbing a quill and parchment. He quickly did some maths and then grabbed a cauldron and ingredients.
"The potion takes an hour to brew. You're welcome to wait here if you wish," Snape informed the halfa. Danny shook his head.
"I should let Dumbledore know what happened. I don't know if he knows everything that's going on in London right now," Danny replied calmly.
"Don't get seen," Snape called after Danny as he left the office. Danny gave a curt nod before stepping out and checked that the coast was clear before changing back to his ghost form and turning invisible.
Danny, followed by Peeves, then went to Dumbledore's office. He checked that the headmaster was alone before knocking.
"Come in!" a voice called through the door.
"Wait here Peeves. I won't be long," Danny ordered the poltergeist. Peeves obediently nodded and floated back a little to give the halfa some privacy. Danny then phased through the door.
"Hey, Professor," Danny greeted the elderly wizard.
"Danny, do you wish to use Fawkes to head home for the holidays?" Dumbledore offered, confirming Danny's suspicions. Danny shook his head.
"No. I think I should stay close to the order and Arthur right now. But would you mind sending a letter or something to let them know I'll be here for Christmas?" Danny answered.
Dumbledore nodded, frowning slightly in concern.
"I checked on the prophecy the other night. It's still there. But I also went after the snake. It got away but unfortunately I wasn't fast enough and I got bitten," Danny reported.
"What!? Danny, you should be in St. Mungo's!" Dumbledore exclaimed.
"I'm fine Professor. Just can't stop the bleeding. I got bitten by a ghost snake a few months ago so I knew what muggle medicine to use. I just asked Severus to make me blood-replenishing potion, he's brewing it as we speak. And I asked Arthur to tell me when they find an antidote for him. I'll get some with some Phantom help when they do," Danny assured the wizard. Dumbledore bit his lip worriedly but nodded.
"But until then, I have to stay here. And I'd rather not worry my family and friends when I have this under control. But I thought I ought to inform you of that," Danny concluded.
Once Dumbledore was content that he knew what happened and that, apart from the blood loss, Danny was fine, Danny was excused. Danny returned to his locked classroom and Peeves informed the halfa of everything he missed, mostly the pranks he played on Umbridge as revenge for attacking Danny while the halfa packed some clothes for his stay at headquarters. Danny then returned to Snape's office and collected a number of pre-measured doses of blood-replenishing potion to be taken when needed. Danny thanked the potions master, bide Peeves farewell and teleported back to Grimmauld Place just in time for lunch.
Danny was getting worried about Harry, very much like the others. He refused to come downstairs for meals and remained hidden all day. That evening Hermione arrived, causing Mrs Black's painting to scream insults. Mrs Weasley lit a fire in the second floor bedroom and took up a plate of sandwiches for the teens. Hermione then went up to Sirius's mother's room, where Buckbeak the Hippogriff was living and where they all suspected Harry was hiding.
Danny sat in the kitchen with Sirius and Mrs Weasley talking calmly. An hour later, Harry ventured downstairs.
"Nice to see you Harry," Danny joked, but secretly meaning it full-heartedly. Harry smiled nervously and sat down at the table and started a normal conversation.
Over the next few days, Danny took to always carrying a dose of blood-replenishing potion with him. But despite usually being a grouch around Christmas, Sirius's good mood was infectious. Danny sent a long letter home to each of his friends and family members, apologising for not being there for Christmas and wishing them well. Christmas morning, Danny had managed to buy a few generic presents, such as sweets and school supplies for the students, for everyone present in Grimmauld Place that day. He received a few presents in kind, much to his surprise. Dumbledore had even managed to send gifts from Amity Park to Danny. Jazz sent a bundle of pens and a book which she asked Danny to write in so that she could read everything he was up to and feeling. Sam and Tucker sent him a joke present of a toy badger as well as a few pictures of themselves fooling around. His parents sent Danny a modified music device that ran on ectoplasm, already containing most of his favourite bands. Mrs Weasley actually made him a knitted jumper, completely red with some white stripes on the arms.
That morning, Danny took his blood-replenishing potion before going downstairs to see Lupin comforting Mrs Weasley. The witch brushed the man away before getting up to start Christmas lunch. Lupin then took Danny for a walk to check on how the halfa was doing, explaining that Percy had sent his Christmas gift back without even a note. After Christmas lunch, Mundungus picked everyone up in a magically enhanced, likely stolen car. They went to St. Mungo's and visited Mr Weasley. Lupin went to talk to another wizard in Mr Weasley's ward that had been bitten by a werewolf. The others quickly ran off as Mrs Weasley saw that her husband's bandages had been changed early and that he'd experimented with stitches. Danny watched the exchange with a smirk, helping Mr Weasley to explain what stitches did and then admitting that he didn't use them himself because he couldn't do it himself and the bandages worked well enough.
They returned back to Grimmauld Place. Danny frequently visited St. Mungo's to check on Mr Weasley and the progress on the cure. He also regularly visited Hogwarts to restock on blood-replenishing potions from Snape.
A few days after Christmas, Danny was sitting in the kitchen, having just taken a blood-replenishing potion and was waiting for it to take effect. Harry, Ron and Hermione came in.
"Hey Danny. Are you alright? You look a little pale," Hermione asked. Danny smiled.
"I'm fine, just took a blood-replenishing potion, that's all. What's up?" Danny answered.
"I still don't get why you don't go to St. Mungo's," Ron muttered and shook his head.
"Because if I tell anyone outside the order how I got bitten, I'll end up in Azkaban," Danny retorted.
"Why?" Harry interjected.
"Because I was somewhere I wasn't meant to be legally speaking. Dumbledore covered for Arthur, but he wouldn't be able to cover for me," Danny explained.
"Well, we wanted to ask you something else. There's a ghost at Hogwarts called Phantom," Hermione began. Danny expertly hid his panic.
"We were wondering if he's part of the order," Hermione resumed not aware that Danny's heart was thumping in his chest. He laughed as convincingly as possible.
"A ghost? What can a ghost do for the order? Most can't even touch stuff," Danny chuckled.
"Well, this one is different. Phantom shook hands with us all. And he can make some green energy stuff. Looks destructive," Ron reasoned defensively. Danny raised an eyebrow.
"I could suggest to the others for him to join, but I doubt it'll go anywhere," Danny offered, with clear amusement. Harry frowned.
"So he isn't in the order?" Harry inquired. Danny smirked.
"I haven't heard he is and I work pretty close to Dumbledore sending messages. I would think if anyone knows, it'll be me," Danny confirmed. Danny then scowled.
"You haven't asked him, have you? Because that would-" Danny began to reprimand.
"No. We didn't. He mightn't even be at Hogwarts anymore. But we just thought it was a coincidence that Phantom came to Hogwarts when Voldemort came back," Harry interrupted and Danny gave a slight flinch. He had to feign discomfort at the name to maintain his cover.
"Well, maybe this Phantom guy got run out of his previous haunt by You Know Who. Did you think of that? It might be linked, but he isn't in the order," Danny suggested, lying easily.
It wasn't until the last few days of the Christmas break before the healers at St. Mungo's found a cure for the snake venom. Danny invisibly stole some and Mr Weasley was released a day or so later. With the bleeding stopped, Danny's wound finally started to heal properly. On the last day of the Christmas break, Snape came around before Mr Weasley returned to inform Harry that the potions master would be teaching him occulmency. The next day, Danny returned to Hogwarts as Lupin and Tonks used the Knight bus to guide the other teens to the school.
Christmas break done and the snake bite resolved. Also Danny covering for his ghost half with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Let me know what you guys think so far.
Until the next chapter.
