The next day, Danny returned to his previous routine. He got up and dressed in his Hufflepuff uniform. He changed into his ghost form and invisibly made his way to the kitchens. He ate and then located Malfoy in the Great Hall. Snape came down the table and handed out timetables.
"Here you are Draco, well done in potions. And I look forward to seeing you in Defence Against the Dark Arts," Snape muttered to the teen with a smirk. Malfoy returned the smile and took his timetable. He had a free period first thing.
Malfoy returned to the Slytherin common room and Danny decided to employ the same amount of privacy for Malfoy as he did Harry. He would only enter the common room if he felt the need to. So instead, he floated off down the corridor and turned visible a short time later. Without Umbridge around, Danny didn't need to be careful. He was a recognised face in Hogwarts as well. It was a nice feeling. Being able to float peacefully down the corridor without having to watch his back. He couldn't do that anywhere else. Amity Park, while it was his home and his parents no longer hunted him, wasn't the same. Fans chased him in ridiculously large groups. Ghost hunters travelled to the town in the hope of catching a ghost, and while they'd never admit it to the public as Danny was widely seen as a hero, Danny was the prize they sought. Danny Phantom was a well-known, powerful and elusive ghost any hunter would feel pride in catching.
Danny arrived invisibly at the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom a few minutes before it started. He smiled as he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione present. Malfoy was also present in the queue. They didn't need to wait long before Snape opened the door and the students filed in. Snape then began his lesson and Danny, floating above, noticed a tension between Snape and Harry. Snape made certain to gaze longer than everyone else at Harry, and Harry returned the favour by glaring hatefully at the teacher. Danny sighed softly. It was going to be the occlumency lessons all over again.
Malfoy, as usual, enjoyed any cruel comments made against Harry or his friends, sniggering loudly from his seat in the corner. Danny rolled his eyes at the veiled snide remarks at Harry. It was like watching him and Vlad interact. The class then split into pairs as they attempted to duel without uttering the spells they were using. Hermione quickly succeeded, a fact Snape ignored. Then things got even worse. Harry and Ron were partnered but were incapable at the moment to silently cast spells.
"Pathetic, Weasley. Here, let me show you-" Snape drawled and cast a wordless jinx at Harry. Harry reacted instinctively and bellowed the spell to protect himself. Danny face palmed himself invisibly. Snape was knocked off balance and the class all turned to watch the exchange. Snape recovered quickly and turned to Harry.
"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?" Snape asked with a scowl.
"Yes," Harry answered stiffly. Danny shook his head. The two wizards just couldn't get on.
"Yes, sir," Snape corrected.
"There's no need to call me "sir", Professor," Harry growled quickly. Danny bit back a smirk. It was a perfect quip. One he'd be proud of himself. But this was not the right place or time to be snarky with the teacher.
"Detention, Saturday night, my office. I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter… not even the Chosen One," Snape retorted.
Danny glanced at Malfoy to see the blonde grinning at the news of Harry's punishment. Harry fumed as Snape moved on and turned back to Ron, once again trying to cast spells silently, clearly too angry to even give his all now. Not too long later, the lesson ended and Malfoy went with his friends, Crabbe and Goyle, to spend the break in the Great Hall. Danny had never heard their first names and even Malfoy used their surnames. They spent the break sniggering with a group of Slytherins as Malfoy recounted the lesson to a few of the other Slytherins who weren't present. Then Danny followed Malfoy as he made his way alone down to the dungeons for potions. He was early and as he waited, he fell deep in thought.
"Draco! Hey, why did you leave so early?" a Slytherin boy called to Malfoy as the other students gathered.
"Oh, just wanted to get here early. Never hurts to be friendly with the teacher you know," Malfoy answered with an easy smirk. The Slytherin boy nodded.
"You're not upset still right? About Slughorn inviting me to his compartment on the train," the boy ventured. Malfoy shook his head.
"Of course not Blaise. Slughorn probably just forgot to invite me or something. I'm sure when he meets me, that misunderstanding will clear itself up," Malfoy replied pompously. The boy gave a nervous nod.
The door opened shortly afterwards. Slughorn stepped out and invited the class in.
"Harry! Good to see you again m'boy. And Zabini! Come in, come in," Slughorn greeted happily. Malfoy paused slightly as he passed Slughorn, but the teacher didn't remark. Malfoy frowned as he made his way to a table with the four Slytherins in the class. Danny floated above the class and drifted close to a golden potion filled cauldron beside Ron, Hermione, Harry and an old member of the DA Danny didn't know the name of. The potion smelt delightful. Cookies, a perfume he couldn't place and a damp night's air.
With a jolt he suddenly recognised the perfume. It was the perfume Sam wore to the dance a few years ago when they'd danced together. The dance itself had been a disaster. He'd given Paulina, the most beautiful girl in the school, an amulet he found in his backpack. He later learned it was ghostly in nature and transformed the wearer into a ferocious dragon when angered. Paulina had agreed to go to the dance with Danny and then got angry when Danny attempted to get it back by saying it was Sam's. The whole evening wasn't helped by the fact that his parents were chaperoning and he'd overshadowed his dad for a parent-teacher meeting and had to keep it secret. But despite all that, the last song, Danny and Sam danced together. Sam had worn her favourite perfume that night and they had been close enough for Danny to smell it and for long enough to commit it to memory.
Danny's thoughts were interrupted as the lesson began and Harry informed the teacher that he and Ron weren't equipped as they hadn't realised that they could take the class. Slughorn gladly handed the boys a couple of second-hand books and scales. Slughorn resumed his lesson by informing the class what each of the four present potion filled cauldrons contained. The closest potion to the Slytherins was a potion that looked like water which was identified as veritaserum by Hermione. A truth evoking potion that Umbridge reportedly attempted to utilise in questioning Harry the previous year. The next was a mud-like potion which was identified as polyjuice potion by Hermione again. A potion capable of disguising a person as another, although it only worked for humans. Then Slughorn reached the potion the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuff were closest to. The great smelling potion was identified, once again by Hermione, as Amortentia, a powerful love potion.
"Quite right! You recognised it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?" Slughorn inquired excitedly.
"And the steam rising in characteristic spirals. And it's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and-" Hermione explained, equally excited before breaking off in embarrassment. Danny blinked in shock. The potion smelt of what attracted him? But he smelt Sam's perfume. Danny suddenly recalled the dream Nocturne had forced on him over a month before he left to join the order. He and Sam had been a couple. And Sam had had the exact same dream! Did this mean that Danny liked Sam? Like, really liked her? Danny shook the thought out of his head and glanced at Malfoy as Hermione was awarded twenty house points. He looked shocked and slightly outraged.
Danny frowned in thought. Perhaps Malfoy had hoped for a second Snape to teach potions. Hoping that the fact that Hermione was a muggle-born know-it-all would be repulsive to the teacher. However, that was not the case. Slughorn went on to state that the love potion wasn't able to replicate love but would make the drinker obsessively drawn to the user. Danny was strongly reminded of the spell Ember cast on him. Yeah, that had gotten dangerous. He'd accidently caused Sam to fall off a building in trying to get closer. He could completely understand, however Malfoy and another Slytherin smirked sceptically at the teacher not believing in the danger of such a potion when Slughorn warned the class.
Slughorn then made to move on with the lesson before being reminded of the fourth potion. A potion revealed to be felix felicis. Liquid luck. Danny noticed Malfoy visibly perk up. He was listening attentively now and Danny knew why. A lucky potion would make sure his plans to kill Dumbledore worked. Then the teacher put the class to work on a potion, the draught of living death, and the best potion would be awarded a phial of liquid luck. Danny's eyes widened in alarm. Malfoy could not win that potion. Danny zoomed over to Malfoy and waited for his chance to sabotage the student. He felt terrible having to resort to such actions but this was important. Dumbledore was as good as dead if Malfoy got that potion.
Malfoy was paying close attention though. Exceptionally close attention. If Danny attempted anything, he'd get spotted. And Malfoy was reading and rereading every step, making sure to do everything perfectly. But Danny's chance came by sheer luck when Slughorn came close to the Slytherin table and Malfoy decided to bring attention to himself.
"Sir, I think you knew my grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy?" Malfoy called hopefully. Slughorn nodded slowly.
Danny grinned and took his chance to wreak havoc. He wouldn't have to do anything too drastic, potions were finicky and exact so the smallest interference would be enough. He cooled the potion with his ice powers and burned the bean Malfoy was about to cut up with a discrete ghost ray, drying the bean out as it was the juice that was needed. He even went as far as adding a couple of stirs to the potion and added an extra entire valerian root.
"Yes. I was sorry to hear he had died, although dragon pox at his age…" Slughorn answered before walking away towards the Ravenclaw table.
Malfoy's hopeful smile fell and he scowled at the sopophorous bean as he picked up his knife. With difficulty, Malfoy cut up the bean and frowned.
"Blaise, did your bean ooze any liquid?" Malfoy asked, clearly noticing that the bean was drier than it was meant to be. The boy shrugged.
"Didn't notice Draco," he admitted. Malfoy scowled and turned to the boy beside him.
"What about you Theodore?" Malfoy inquired.
"I'm not there yet," he answered. Malfoy sighed and dropped the cut up bean into his potion. The potion turned dark purple.
"Huh? It's meant to be lilac," Malfoy whispered as he scanned the instructions.
Then Malfoy stirred the potion feverishly and it slowly began to grow paler, unknowingly hindered by the fact that the liquid was colder than it should be. Danny gave a small sigh of relief as he scanned the rest of the class, Harry's potion was stunningly pale. Clearly not having Snape breathing down his neck was helping. His looked even better than Hermione's. And much better than Malfoy's. Slughorn called time. Malfoy's ended up being a very pale pink and got a mere sniff of unimpressed indifference from the teacher. Danny smiled as Harry was named the winner and awarded the phial of felix felicis, loudly stating he got lucky when Malfoy attempted to eavesdrop.
So, Danny sabotaged Malfoy. Imagine if Malfoy had won the competition!
Like I've said before, this is Danny's journey so if you want to know why Harry won the competition, you can refer to the books.
Let me know what you guys think of the story so far.
Until the next chapter
