Danny returned to the Astronomy tower. The order and DA members were gathering themselves and going to the hospital wing.
"Where did you go Phantom?" Tonks called once she noticed the now visible ghostly teen.
"Tried to chase down some of those Death Eaters. Tried to get the drop on them by phasing through a couple of walls and lost 'em. Sorry," Danny lied, swallowing away the lump in his throat. It was weird, with Dumbledore dead and Snape gone, he felt alone. He suddenly felt like he was among strangers despite having known these people for a couple of years by now. He wanted to be alone, but he also wanted to be with company. Maybe it was the fact that he was grieving, or that he'd lost the companionship of two friends. He didn't know. But he guessed, him acting a little weird would be excused for the following few days due to everyone's grief at losing Dumbledore. He just had to wait for the right moment to start his next step.
Danny floated into the room and saw Bill on a bed, with numerous scratches on his face. Neville was on a bed too, injured by a shield-like spell he ran into. Professor Flitwick left the room unsteadily once he was certain Luna was fine. On a far bed, probably because they had no other place to put him, was a dead Death Eater. Madam Pomfrey was dabbing Bill's numerous wounds with a rag soaked with green ointment that Danny could smell on the other side of the room. Danny backed into a quiet corner, not wanting to intrude. Lupin was assuring Ron that his brother shouldn't become a werewolf, although Bill may develop some wolf-like tendencies like preferring raw meat to cooked. Harry walked in with Ginny. Danny went unseen, despite being fully visible. He watched with detached sadness as the others learned of Dumbledore's death.
He listened to Harry tell the order and DA members present that Snape killed Dumbledore. Madam Pomfrey burst into tears at the news. Suddenly a beautiful song filled the air as Fawkes circled the school, singing his mournful cry. It soothed the people in the hospital wing. It filled Danny with a sense that everything would be alright. Dumbledore was dying a slow, probably painful death due to the curse in his hand. Snape's killing curse… was a mercy. Especially as Harry told them all that Dumbledore was ill and weak. Dumbledore had planned for this. So Danny should honour his memory and wishes and fulfil his part of Dumbledore's last plan.
The plan that hopefully Harry would survive. Dumbledore had confirmation of the horcruxes, so he was confident that his hunch that Voldemort's actions two years ago would save Harry when the teen faced the wizard. He took a deep breath and nodded to himself. He had to stay strong and help the order through this tragedy. He had had time to come to terms with this truth before it happened, almost a year. It wasn't a shock. Not at all. He, unlike the others, had got to say goodbye to the wizard. He wiped away a single tear before squaring his shoulders and setting his jaw. He'd make sure he wasn't needed here before going to the castle ghosts and breaking the news. He was their king. He needed to act like one.
The spell of the Phoenix's call only broke when McGonagall came into the room and announced that Mr and Mrs Weasley were on their way. Danny listened from his corner as Harry told McGonagall that Snape killed Dumbledore and they all discussed how shocking that was. They believed Dumbledore when he swore that Snape changed his ways but they all felt that Snape wouldn't have cared about James Potter dying. Silently Danny agreed, Snape had hated James Potter but Harry was dead wrong about Snape not caring for Lily Evans, Lily Potter after marriage.
Then they began to recount what happened. Malfoy came out of the Room of Requirement with his Hand of Glory, which gave light only the holder could use to see, and threw down some Peruvian Instant Darkness powder, available at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and causing complete darkness in that area. Then, Malfoy must have guided the Death Eaters out of the Room of Requirement. After that, Ron, Ginny and Neville, who under Harry's orders were watching the magical room, ran into Lupin and they quickly found the Death Eaters in the Astronomy tower.
Hermione and Luna were watching Snape's office. Danny listened as Hermione said that the two girls cared for Flitwick who had collapsed while Snape ran off to join the fight. Apparently Snape stupefied Flitwick in his office. Danny repressed the urge to say it was a smart move. Snape must have spotted his guards and set a distraction in place after McGonagall alerted him to the Death Eaters. Danny couldn't be sure that Snape had been quite as ignorant to the invasion as the others believed, surely Dumbledore warned him. Danny hadn't said anything because he thought Dumbledore did. Unless Dumbledore expected Danny to notify Snape. Then the order and DA members explained, through the confusion of the fight, they just let Snape through.
The room fell silent again, listening to Fawkes who was still singing, until Mr and Mrs Weasley rushed in with Fleur. Danny watched sadly as the trio fussed over Bill and learned the news. Fleur announced that she didn't care how Bill looked and the marriage would go ahead. Tonks then took her moment to confront Lupin. Danny smirked at the werewolf as he fought a losing battle. Everyone ganging up on him that looks, half-breed and money didn't matter to Tonks. Hagrid came in and informed them that he moved Dumbledore's body and that the students had been returned to their common rooms. The house heads and Ministry had been informed also. McGonagall then took Harry out of the room to talk.
"Do you think they'll close the school?" Hermione whispered once Harry and McGonagall were gone.
"They might. Losing… losing Dumbledore will affect a lot of things," Lupin muttered. Danny nodded slowly. He hoped Hogwarts stayed open but he knew that Lupin was right.
"Phantom, could you... you know eavesdrop for us?" Ron requested noticing the halfa. Danny blinked and shrugged.
"I could, but I should probably gather the ghosts. Just wanted to make sure you didn't need me," Danny admitted. He could see an opening to leave and he really should use it.
"Why?" Ginny asked.
"Well, I guess I should probably let you know. Dumbledore and I were keeping it quiet until I stopped Voldemort using ghosts for his own purposes, which I have done by the way. I'm the new Ghost King," Danny announced. The room froze for a spilt second.
"What? How-how did that happen?" Tonks gasped.
"Old laws and because I defeated Pariah Dark. Took me a while to find the crown and get it. Only been king for less than a month. I don't even think all the ghosts know yet. Voldemort does. He kind of spotted me when I ordered the ghosts he recruited to leave his side. But I should probably explain what happened to the castle ghosts," Danny explained.
"Bloody hell," Ron muttered. Danny smirked.
"I'll be back in a bit," Danny concluded and phased out of the room.
It took about half an hour to gather all the ghosts in the deserted Great Hall. Danny then told the ghosts what had happened making sure to inform the ghosts that he didn't want any of them to seek revenge. Dumbledore wouldn't want that. Danny didn't tell them of the plan, only he and Snape were to know that. He phased down to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee, there were only a handful of the hundreds of house elves working. He then returned to the hospital wing. He was informed that there would be a meeting in the next few hours. Danny decided to take the time to get a few hours sleep.
So the order knows of King Phantom now and this brings us nearing the end of the sixth book.
Let me know what you guys think so far.
This is now leading into the third section of the story. This next section will loosely follow the book but Harry will be rarely seen.
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Until the next chapter.
