The following weeks were uneventful. Voldemort lounged around Malfoy Mansion, being waited on hand and foot. Hurting Narcissa or Lucius whenever they displeased him. Voldemort utilised Danny as a messenger for his forces meaning that Danny met a lot of Death Eaters. Voldemort had a lot of followers. More than the order had dared to even think about. Draco returned to Hogwarts but things had clearly changed. Crabbe and Goyle, without Draco, had moved on and become almost feared figures in the school. Both taking pleasure in serving the Carrows. Draco was often openly mocked in class by both Death Eaters. McGonagall, the only order member left in Hogwarts other than Danny, openly regarded the teen with disgust and anger. Hagrid had been forced into hiding after he held a party just before Christmas to show support for Harry in his cabin.
Winky had deteriorated more than Danny realised she would. She was usually either so drunk she couldn't speak or sit up properly or passed out, often in a puddle of her own filth. The house elves, true to their word, did try to watch out for her. Cleaning up her mess. Making her as comfortable as possible. But none tried to force her to do things or to stop drinking. Without Ginny and Luna, Neville led Dumbledore's army by himself and as the sole leader, he was the brunt of many punishments or made example of by the Carrows and sometimes Snape when the headmaster managed to get there first.
Danny split his time between checking up on Winky, the snatchers in Walker's prison, Lupin and Tonks, Voldemort, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy and Shell Cottage. He made sure to also check in with Peeves as regularly as he could and Snape. Grawp was with Hagrid, having rescued the half giant before he was arrested by Death Eaters. Peeves had reduced his pranks a lot since Dumbledore died. He rarely pranked students anymore, making exceptions for the occasional Slytherin. Danny had stopped Peeves from pranking the Carrows as the Death Eaters threatened to cast ectoplasm cleaning spells at the poltergeist as well as at Danny himself whenever they spotted him. He chanced a visit to Ron's Aunt Muriel's and assured Mr and Mrs Weasley that Ron, Harry and Hermione were safe for the time being. Mr Weasley could no longer go to work in order to protect his whereabouts from Death Eaters. Fred and George were with them, leaving their assistant to run their joke shop. Ollivander joined them a few weeks later.
The first bit of news that Danny heard was when Tonks gave birth to a baby boy. Danny teleported to the Tonks' house and Tonks let him in, where he quickly shifted forms.
"You heard?" she asked, grinning happily. Danny smiled.
"I did. I was at Shell Cottage a couple of days ago. Bill told me the news. Congratulations," Danny replied.
"Danny! Good to see you. Come and meet Teddy," Lupin boomed happily, gesturing to a bundle in his arms. Danny grinned and stepped closer to see a sleeping baby with a tuft of soft wispy brown hair. Lupin gently handed the baby to Danny.
"Harry's the godfather. I thought it best to have a wizarding godparent," Lupin muttered.
"Good idea Remus. But if you or Teddy ever need anything, you only have to ask. You have my word on that," Danny vowed, glancing meaningfully at Tonks, making sure she knew that she was included in the offer as well. Lupin smiled and nodded in recognition.
"Thank you Danny. You are too kind. How are you doing?" Lupin inquired.
Danny nodded, smoothing a crease out of the blanket Teddy was wrapped in.
"I'm fine Remus. You Know Who's pretty quiet right now. Living it up at Malfoy Mansion to be honest. Narcissa, Lucius and Bellatrix are under house arrest, serving him like servants, last I checked, without wands. I'm being a messenger boy. Mostly watch out for Harry," Danny answered. Lupin nodded in understanding.
The next day, Danny was in his human form in his room at Hogwarts when he heard a loud shout from his pocket. He started and pulled his twin mirror out of his pocket.
"Finally! Danny, I just got news through the portraits that the Dark Lord is on the move. And Potter broke into Gringotts," Snape informed him, a grave expression on his face. Danny gasped.
"Harry found another horcrux. I'm going to go to the Ghost Zone, gather as many ghosts as possible to be ready. Then I'll go to Malfoy Mansion," Danny replied. Snape nodded seriously and the mirror cleared. Danny stared at his own face for a few moments. The final fight was on the way. He knew it. Dumbledore's last orders would finally take effect.
Danny shifted his forms and took one last look at himself, readying himself for the coming hardships. He teleported to Fenton Works. He didn't even check for his family in the kitchen, he just stepped through the portal. He flew to Walker's prison.
"Walker, can you spare many guards?" Danny asked. Walker gave a stiff bow before gathering twenty guards together.
"Spread the word. Be ready for war and I need volunteers to fight with me. Gather them here," Danny instructed. He then flew to the Far Frozen. He borrowed the Infi-map to locate Wulf and then instructed the ghost to wait with the ghosts gathered at Walker's prison, ready to open a portal to Hogwarts. Danny would give the word when he needed them.
Danny then returned to Fenton Works to teleport back to Britain. He froze when he saw his sister sitting at one of the cluttered desks, arms folded, patiently waiting.
"Why didn't you say hello before going in there?" she asked, a stern tone to her voice. Danny debated whether or not to play the bratty younger brother and tell her it was none of her business. But he decided against it. Jazz only meant well.
"I think the war is going to be ended very soon. I needed to ready the ghosts. Being king, I can offer aid to the order. You Know Who's armies are massive," Danny informed her. Jazz blinked.
"But you can't tell anyone Jazz. I only know that because of some things Dumbledore told me and by what I've learned being a spy. Me and Severus are the only two people with that knowledge. And you," Danny added. Jazz pursed her lips and nodded. Danny gave her a curt nod before teleporting to Lupin and warning him that Voldemort was on the move, repeating the warning at Shell Cottage and Aunt Muriel's.
He then teleported to Malfoy Mansion, quickly shifting forms before entering.
"Hey, I got word from Severus that Potter broke into Gringotts. Where's the Dark Lord?" Danny told Narcissa as she used a scrubbing brush to clean the wooden floor of the newly rebuilt drawing room.
"He left about an hour ago Danny. Said something about checking on something," Narcissa replied distractedly. Danny hummed softly in disappointed understanding.
"Any idea where? I might be able to get word to him," Danny asked.
"He already knows Fenton. A goblin came by and reported it. Cissy's cleaning up the mess left behind," Bellatrix interjected, absently twirling her new wand. Danny soundlessly mouthed, "oh".
"Want me to help?" he offered. Narcissa shook her head as she stood up.
"I've finished now. At least, as much as I can without magic," Narcissa decided, wiping her brow with the back of her hand.
An hour later, Danny heard a voice hiss his name in his pocket. He excused himself from the Malfoy's company and pulled out the mirror.
"Potter is in Hogwarts right now. The other faculty have subdued the Carrow siblings and run me out of the castle. Danny, this is it. What we've been waiting for," Snape informed him quickly. Danny swallowed down his concerns and nodded.
"Then… good luck Severus. I'll see you on the other side of this war. I have a ghost army waiting in the Ghost Zone. I don't know numbers just yet since I sent a few of Walker's guards out to spread the word. But hopefully enough to turn the tide of the war," Danny replied quietly. Snape nodded seriously.
"Good thinking. From now on, we should avoid contacting each other, other than when absolutely necessary. And Danny… thank you for joining me on this side. It has made these last few months easier having a friend. The first in a very long time," Snape muttered. Danny smiled carefully. He knew what Snape was doing. He was saying goodbye in case they didn't see each other again.
"Thanks for helping me pull it off. And thanks for helping me understand Vlad and everything. You're a good friend to have Severus," Danny returned. Snape and Danny stood, looking into their respective mirrors for a minute before Snape nodded once and the mirror cleared.
"Fenton! Get down here! We're all being summoned to Hogwarts!" Bellatrix shouted. Danny slipped the mirror into his pocket and squared his shoulders. Hopefully, by the end of the night, Harry will have defeated Voldemort. Danny thought about Dumbledore's plan for the first time in months. He hoped it worked like the wizard thought it would. He pushed open the door and stepped out. This was it. The reason he left home and joined the order. These past years. All the hardship. All the blood, sweat and tears. The lies and deceit. It was all leading up to this night. Tonight, there would be a winner and Danny knew it had to be Harry. If Harry didn't win tonight, Danny would be dead. Voldemort would kill him and his family. Because he knew, soon if not by the end of the night, he would have to throw away his carefully laid out cover story. Tonight… was the last phase of the war.
Once again, this is Danny's journey. But the final fight is coming.
Let me know what you guys think so far of the story.
Until the next chapter.
