The next day, Danny gave Dumbledore a progress report and returned to his usual duties, making sure to keep an eye on Malfoy. Myrtle reported to him a few times that Malfoy had confided in her. She mentioned that Malfoy was afraid of letting his father down and failing at his job. She didn't know what the job was but she had taken pity on the boy and made sure to be there for him when he needed it. Danny made sure to visit Ron also which the recovering teen was grateful for. They spoke for a little while and Ron mentioned that Harry thought Malfoy was up to something and he was worried for his friend as he was getting obsessed.
The next Quidditch match came, Gryffindor forced to use a temporary keeper for the game. As Malfoy was in the Room of Requirement, Danny decided to watch the match invisibly. It was a fiasco. McLaggen, the temporary keeper, attempted to lecture the team on how they were playing and even went so far to take a beater's bat and accidently hit a bludger, straight at Harry who was attempting to reprimand the player. Even after Harry was taken off the pitch with a cracked skull, McLaggen didn't stop. Ginny screamed angrily at the keeper to stop halfway through after he let in at least the twentieth goal in a row. McLaggen merely retorted by saying he was taking over for Harry as captain. When Danny left to return to following Malfoy he was certain that the obviously ex-keeper would have to watch his back for the next few days. If not from Harry, then the rest of the team and maybe the rest of the house too. Danny made sure to visit before both boys were excused the following Monday.
Over the next few days, Danny noticed that both Dobby and Kreacher weren't in the kitchens anymore. Poor Winky had no one to look out for her anymore and she had progressively gotten worse with her drinking. Danny had attempted to stop the house elf himself but she only became more depressed. The only time she was quiet was when she was drunk and she only stopped crying when she had passed out. It was heart wrenching to watch. But fortunately a week later the two house elves returned to their duties in the kitchen.
Danny visited Amity Park once a week, usually at the weekend. He spent at least an hour in Vlad's company. The first time had been unbelievably uncomfortable. But the next time, Vlad organised an outing to an amusement park. While being half-ghost meant that rollercoasters didn't give the adrenaline boost it did for normal people, it was an oddly enjoyable couple of hours. And they only argued twice and it was over normal menial things like which food truck to go to or which ride to line up for next.
Wulf visited regularly but there was no sign of Voldemort's ghostly army. Malfoy slipped into the Room of Requirement every opportunity he got. Danny was getting a lot more school work from Miss Fisher in preparation for him graduating from high school. Danny wasn't completely certain how that would work. Was he going to have to go back to Casper High to get his certificate or would it be issued in the post? He'd have to check that with Dumbledore. Danny also made sure to visit Grawp in the nearby mountains regularly and check in with Hagrid. Apparently an old pet turned friend, Aragog, an acromantula was sick and likely to die. Hagrid was devastated. Peeves was his usual self too, although he had developed a particular anger towards Harry after the teen cast a spell on him when he was urging a couple of house elves to fight. That got Danny thinking and he had asked both Kreacher and Dobby about it but both refused to say anything on the matter. But Danny suspected that Kreacher had been given an order by Harry and Danny could guess it would have involved Draco Malfoy.
On the day of Ron and Hermione's apparation practice test, Danny was floating outside the Room of Requirement. To his surprise, one of the disguised lookouts, either Crabbe or Goyle screamed and ran away. Half an hour later, Harry cried out in pain after kicking the wall and his invisibility cloak fell off him. Danny bit back a loud gasp of surprise and then a soft growl of annoyance. Harry was getting annoying at this point. He was sticking his nose, exactly where he shouldn't. One wrong move, and Harry could ruin all Dumbledore's plans. But to Danny surprise, Tonks appeared and started asking Harry if he was in contact with any of the order. She left looking exceptionally upset. Danny rushed after her. It was the first time he'd seen her in a long time. She looked worried sick over something.
"Hey Tonks," Danny called once he was certain Harry wasn't in earshot, turning visible. Tonks squeaked in surprise and turned to Danny.
"Oh, Phantom. Hi. Haven't seen you in a while. How's the arm?" Tonks greeted. Danny blinked before recalling that the last time she'd seen Phantom, he'd been hit by an ectoplasm cleaning spell.
"Oh, fine. You alright? You look kind of down in the dumps," Danny inquired. Tonks sighed.
"I'm worried about… about Remus. You wouldn't happen to know when Dumbledore will be back. There's been a lot of deaths recently and I haven't heard from Remus in months," Tonks explained. Danny hummed in thought.
"Where can I find you? I'll look into it for you. Dumbledore's hard to pin down to be honest. And I have my ways," Danny offered. Tonks instantly brightened.
"You will! Oh wonderful," she cheered softly and told him where to find her cubicle in the Ministry.
The next time Wulf visited, which incidentally was a couple of days later, Danny asked the ghost to track down Lupin. Within a week Wulf had tracked down the werewolf. Danny scanned the dark dreary camp invisibly. He frowned slightly. He was in human form with a big hood he could use to hide his face. Just in case he was spotted. His ghost form was too conspicuous and would easily blow Lupin's cover. He sighed. He couldn't even be sure that Lupin was going by the same name in order for him to ask. Wulf was nearby but invisible but if people started hearing disembodied voices talking in Esperanto, it could ruin everything. Danny bit his lip and walked as quietly as possible through the shabby tents. He felt terrible for these witches and wizards. He knew it wasn't their fault what they were. Often it wasn't even the werewolf who bit them at fault. Danny felt terrible for every single person in these camps.
Danny bit back a cheer as he spotted one shabby, tired-looking wizard he recognised. He crept by the numerous werewolves around his friend and gently tapped the man on the shoulder. As he suspected, Lupin passed it off as a fly and waved his hand in the direction he was touched.
"Can we talk?" Danny breathed in his ear. Lupin choked on his own breath in shock.
"You alright?" a wizard asked.
"Fly. Sorry," Lupin answered and feigned a coughing fit.
"Excuse me," he muttered and stepped out of eye sight.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Lupin hissed, knowing that Danny would have followed. Danny turned himself visible.
"Tonks was worried. I offered to check in with you. So, any messages for her?" Danny replied softly.
"Danny, do you know how dangerous it is for you here?" Lupin retorted. Danny shrugged.
"About as dangerous as it is for you I'm guessing. You're forgetting, I can turn intangible if anyone takes a swipe. And I was careful," Danny assured him.
Lupin put a hand to his forehead and worriedly looked back to the campsite behind him.
"Still. Tell Tonks I'm fine," Lupin decided. Danny nodded.
"Alright. Anything I should know about? None of the other order members are checking with each other," Danny remarked with a raised eyebrow. The look Tonks had given him was a little like how his parents looked when they asked for him while he was invisible.
"Tonks wants us to get married. We've… well, we're in a relationship but I'm a werewolf. I'm no good for her," Lupin admitted. Danny nodded.
"I can see what you mean. But… remember in the summer when we were all at the Burrow. You mentioned that everyone is speeding up their plans because of the war. Why not follow their example Remus? You can't avoid living because of what you are," Danny replied. Lupin frowned.
"Just think about it. Forget about being a werewolf and think about how you feel about Tonks," Danny offered. Lupin sighed and nodded.
"Alright. I suppose of anyone, you do know what it's like. Now go before we both get caught," Lupin concluded. Danny grinned and turned invisible.
"See ya around Remus. Sure you don't have anything else for me to say to Tonks?" Danny asked. Lupin scowled at the voice.
"No. Just leave," Lupin retorted and returned to the camp, feigning soft coughs and assuring his fellow werewolves he'd be fine.
Not much happened I know. But it's been a while since we've seen Lupin.
Let me know what you think.
Until the next chapter.
