Danny teleported to Hogwarts. His first port of call was Winky. Dobby had taken it upon himself to care for the alcoholic house elf. He phased down to the kitchens, ignoring any students or teachers that he passed. In the corner, almost invisible in a large armchair, surrounded by butterbeer bottles was Winky. The other house elves were busy at work. Cleaning dishes and making meals. But Winky sat by the fire forgotten, no… ignored. Danny sighed sadly and walked over to Winky. Kreacher hadn't been seen for months. Dobby was gone. Winky was the only house elf Danny was on a first name basis with now.

"Winky? Hey," Danny called softly, perching on the armchair next to her. She lifted her head off her chest before dropping her chin back down and clumsily taking another swig from her bottle. Danny watched the elf sadly.

"Winky, I don't know if you know but… Dobby's gone. He… died but I'm going to try and be around for you. When I can. But… Dobby didn't like you getting so drunk. Maybe you could… drink less. For him," Danny suggested. Winky shook her head, swaying dangerously to the side. Danny steadied her and sighed in disappointment. Winky only listened to Dobby. Without him, Danny had to accept that Winky was heading down a one-way track. Drinking so much so regularly couldn't be good for her.

"Okay Winky. Just an idea. I'll see you later," Danny muttered. He left the fireside and interrupted a house elf carrying a tower of precarious dirty dishes.

"Sorry. Dobby isn't going to be coming back. Can you just keep an eye on Winky for him? Make sure she doesn't get into trouble," Danny requested.

"Sorry sir, we are very busy," the house elf squeaked.

"Look I'm not asking for you guys to sit beside her all day. Just keep an eye on her. I'd do it myself but I have important obligations. For Dobby. Please. I'm not ordering you, I'm asking you," Danny retorted, stepping in front of the elf and grabbing the dishes. The house elf glanced at Winky.

"Dobby promised to care for Winky," the elf muttered.

"Dobby's dead," Danny informed the elf. The house elf blinked its large orb-like eyes in surprise before glancing at Winky again.

"Alright. We'll keep an eye on Winky. Now please sir, return those dishes," the house elf relented. Danny handed the dishes back to the house elf and phased out of the kitchens.

He found a quiet dark corner and teleported to Shell Cottage. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Luna answered the door.

"Oh, hello Danny. Are you going to rush off again without saying goodbye?" Luna asked, somehow not sounding angry or stern, just curious.

"Sorry about that. As far as I know, that shouldn't happen," Danny replied, blushing light green in embarrassment. Luna smiled serenely and let Danny in.

"Harry, Ron and Hermione are upstairs talking to Griphook. They've been doing that a lot," Luna informed him. Danny smiled gratefully.

"Who was at the door Luna?" Fleur called.

"Danny," Luna answered. Fleur stepped out of the kitchen and paused before smiling at Danny welcomingly.

"Hey Fleur, sorry about the other day," Danny muttered. Fleur shook her head, her silvery hair swaying behind her.

"There's no need," Fleur assured him.

Danny followed Fleur upstairs a few minutes later as she showed him to Ollivander's room.

"Mr Ollivander. You have a visitor," Fleur called softly, poking her head around the door. Ollivander blinked and turned expectantly to the door. Danny floated in and smiled at the wizard.

"Mr Ollivander. King Danny Phantom. I was investigating your disappearance and I wish to offer you an official apology on behalf of the ghost responsible for what happened," Danny greeted, giving an apologetic nod and smile. Ollivander blinked in astonishment.

"Thank you," he rasped softly.

"It won't happen again. Your abduction was prior to my coronation. It is now illegal for a ghost to harm a human," Danny added. Ollivander smiled at the halfa and nodded.

"It is very kind of you to come in person for that," Ollivander remarked. Danny shrugged.

"It's the very least I could do Mr Ollivander. If I can do anything for your recovery, name it and I'll do my very best to provide it," Danny offered.

"I'll bring you your lunch in a few minutes Mr Ollivander," Fleur promised and they left the wizard alone. Fleur knocked on another door and slipped her head inside.

"Lunch is nearly ready," she informed the room before resuming downstairs.

"Would you like to join us Danny?" Fleur offered.

"Best not Fleur. I need to keep being a halfa secret. Ghosts aren't meant to eat right?" Danny decided, smiling in gratitude despite declining. Fleur nodded.

"Bill's doing something for the order today. He'll be back later," Fleur told him.

"That's fine. I'm not going to stick around for long. Gonna visit Remus after this," Danny assured her calmly.

"You seem much better Danny. Less stressed," Fleur commented. Danny smiled.

"Thanks. Spent a couple of days back home. Haven't had a day off since the beginning of the summer," Danny admitted. Fleur glanced at him.

"I wasn't aware of… your dedication. I'm glad that you had a few days to yourself. Especially after what happened," Fleur remarked. Danny smirked, understanding what Fleur meant. So much of what Danny did was behind the scenes, very few in the order actually realised how much he worked.

Danny floated in a cross-legged seated position beside the table as Luna and Dean settled down to their lunch. A hearty stew with French influence. Fresh homemade bread was on the table beside some butter. A few minutes later, Harry, Ron, Hermione and the goblin from Malfoy Mansion arrived, dropping into seats distractedly. Ron reached out for some bread, muttering a soft thanks to Fleur as she placed a bowl in front of him. His gaze lifted from the table and saw Danny looking out the window at the bleak sea nearby.

"Danny?" Ron exclaimed. Danny turned back to him and smiled.

"Hey Ron. Good to see you three are alright. Griphook wasn't it?" Danny greeted calmly. The goblin narrowed its dark beady eyes and nodded quietly as Fleur placed his meal in front of him.

"It's not polite to not introduce yourself," the goblin muttered.

"King Danny Phantom, current Ghost King," Danny supplied with a slight incline of his head. Griphook's eyes widened.

"Apologies," the goblin offered, suddenly realising he was in the presence of royalty. Danny smirked.

"No harm done Griphook," Danny assured.

Fleur excused herself to take a tray of food upstairs for Ollivander.

"Why are you here?" Harry ventured carefully.

"Relax Harry. I came to issue a formal apology to Mr Ollivander. Despite his kidnapping being before my reign, it is my duty to correct that wrong," Danny replied, knowing that the wizard feared being found.

"Your duty?" Dean repeated in confusion.

"Mr Ollivander was kidnapped by ghosts Dean. Making it my responsibility," Danny elaborated with a shrug. The kitchen was silent apart from soft clanging of cutlery and sounds of eating. Danny wasn't sure if he should bring up Dobby or not. He wanted to talk about it. But he wasn't sure if it was Phantom's place to do so. He also didn't know how Harry and his friends felt about Phantom knowing where they were. It was never his intention to put them in a difficult position.

"What have you been up to since Dumbledore's funeral Danny?" Hermione finally asked. Danny turned away from the window he'd been absently staring out of.

"Oh this and that. Not much to be honest. The order's gone mostly underground. Been trying to keep contact with most of them but so many are in hiding and constantly moving or being watched, it's not easy to keep up to date with everyone. Been at Hogwarts or in the Ghost Zone mostly. Arrested a bunch of snatchers actually a few days ago. Walker's watching them for me," Danny answered. He couldn't be honest with them. Most of what he'd done was keeping his cover with Voldemort.

"How are things there, Hogwarts I mean?" Harry inquired, worry clear in his voice.

"Been better. You Know Who's put a few Death Eaters there as teachers. One as the Muggle Studies teacher. Charity Burbage, the previous teacher, was killed a few months ago," Danny told them. The trio and Dean lowered their gaze slightly as that news sank in. Luna trained her gaze on her stew and ate measured spoonfuls quietly.

"If you're a king, why do you haunt Hogwarts?" Griphook wondered. Danny turned to the goblin.

"I liked it and I started hanging around there before I was crowned. Besides, I like keeping informed. You'd be surprised what you hear about in a school," Danny replied.

"Danny, this might be a weird request but… there are house elves in the kitchens. We knew one of them, Dobby-" Hermione began softly, glancing at Harry.

"I'm aware. I've already been to the kitchens and informed the house elves. They'll watch out for Winky. And I'll check in when I can," Danny interrupted. Harry blinked and looked up in surprise.

"You have?" he exclaimed softly, incredulous.

"I knew Dobby. We were friends. He, on Dumbledore's orders, cared for me while I recovered when I was injured. I'm sure you can recall the time I mean," Danny told them.

"He did?" Ron gasped. Danny nodded.

"He did. He was very fond of you Harry. Told me how you freed him from service to the Malfoy family," Danny confirmed, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly.

"How can a ghost be injured?" Dean interjected.

"My kind of ghost is corporeal Dean. I was injured in an ambush by a number of ghosts like myself. Luckily Wulf was there and saved me from anything more serious. Some spells can hurt me too," Danny explained.

Fleur returned to the kitchen and settled down at the table with her own portion of stew.

"What are you gonna do with those snatchers?" Ron asked. Fleur looked up, curious herself.

"I'll keep them captive in Walker's prison for now. I can't release them until I can be sure they don't join You Know Who. They won't escape. Don't worry. They're being kept in specialised cells and their wands were confiscated. Walker runs a tight ship and the Lunch Lady has already been brought in to feed them," Danny answered.

"You're not going to kill them," Griphook pointed out, clearly thinking that Danny should. Danny frowned.

"Not my style Griphook. Besides, I made it illegal for ghosts to hurt humans. I can't disregard that order myself," Danny replied firmly.

Danny said his farewells after they had finished their meal, Griphook, Harry, Ron and Hermione disappearing upstairs together. Fleur handed Danny a small package discretely whispering that they were some sandwiches she made for him. He accepted them with a grateful smile before teleporting to Tonks' parents' house to visit Lupin and Tonks. Both were happy to see the teen. Tonks was heavily pregnant and Lupin asked Danny to sit in on a radio broadcast in the next couple of weeks. Danny learned that Ted Tonks had been found dead.

Back to work for Danny.

Let me know what you think so far.

Until the next chapter.