Danny's eyes fluttered open. It was dark. He vaguely remembered Harry talking to him and a blue sky. But that was it. He was on a bed. Not buried in rubble, struggling to breathe, in agony. He had a throbbing headache and his leg felt uncomfortably hot. It hurt to breathe but not nearly as bad as it had earlier. The last time he felt like this was when Wulf accidently led him into an ambush. He was staring at a cracked ceiling, soft, warm light flooded the edge of his vision. He attempted to turn over to see where he was and what the light was but his chest erupted in agony. He whimpered softly, unable to keep entirely silent and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Did you hear that?" Ron hissed.
"Yeah," Harry confirmed.
"Danny, are you awake?" Hermione called gently. Danny nodded stiffly, still recovering from the burst of pure pain. Three gasps and rushed footsteps entered his hearing, light pressed on his closed eyelids.
"Are you alright?" Ron mumbled, concern tracing his tone.
"Yeah. Just-just in agony," Danny grunted. A set of footsteps echoed away before returning, pressing a cup to his pursed lips.
"Drink this. It'll take the pain away," Hermione encouraged. Danny obeyed. The promise of lessening his pain overrode his common sense to remain wary of the trio for now. He couldn't be sure what they knew. They might still think he was a traitor.
"Better?" Hermione asked kindly.
"A bit. Thanks," Danny mumbled honestly, the drink already taking effect. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that a lamp beside him had been lit. Harry, Ron and Hermione were gathered around him. All three looked exhausted and filthy.
"What time is it?" Danny wondered. The trio smiled.
"Nine at night. You've been pretty out of it all day. You missed all the celebrations downstairs. Almost everyone is either gone or in bed, sleeping bags were handed out to anyone that wanted one," Harry informed him. Danny nodded in understanding.
"Why are you three here? You look tired," Danny inquired.
"We wanted to make sure you were okay," Hermione told him.
Danny raised an eyebrow.
"You know the truth then?" he ventured.
"That you were a spy? Yeah. McGonagall told us," Ron confirmed.
"How much did she tell you?" Danny asked, nervousness creeping in. He wasn't sure if he wanted them to know everything.
"That's it. McGonagall said that she'd let you explain when you could," Harry admitted. Danny hummed in understanding. They were still here because they wanted answers. He bit his lip lightly in thought.
"Alright, I'll answer your questions tomorrow. But if Severus is still up, mind sending him my way?" Danny requested. Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a sad knowing look.
"What?" Danny prompted.
"We thought you knew," Hermione whispered.
"Knew what?" Danny pressed, growing concerned.
"Severus is dead Danny. Voldemort killed him before he ordered that hour break in the fighting," Harry revealed gently.
Danny blinked in stunned silence. Snape was dead. Danny couldn't stop himself. The flood of grief exploded through him. Winky, Lupin, Tonks, one of the Weasleys, and Snape. He shut his eyes and shook his head.
"Danny we're really sorry," Hermione mumbled, putting a consoling hand on his shoulder. He had to know.
"Ron, I saw that you lost someone but I don't know who," he mentioned quietly, his voice shook visibly with grief. Ron swallowed thickly.
"Fred," he managed. Danny nodded.
"I'm sorry for your loss," he muttered.
"You know about… about Remus then," Harry ventured. Danny nodded.
"Yeah," he croaked.
Hermione glanced at Ron and Harry, silently they understood that Danny needed some time alone to come to terms with those losses.
"We'll let you rest Danny," Harry informed the halfa.
"Before you go, anyone… anyone else I should know about?" Danny inquired.
"I don't think so," Harry replied, Danny had been informed of enough losses right now. He didn't know if Danny knew of Tonks, but he could guess that if Danny knew of Lupin, he'd know of Tonks. Although, he was curious how Danny knew of their deaths and not Fred or Snape. As the trio quietly left the hospital wing, they flinched as they heard Danny give a strangled sob, half grief-stricken, half agony.
Danny lay in the dim light, crying for Snape. His friend. His very brave friend who had supported him through the last difficult months selflessly. For Fred. A friend and colleague to both of his halves. He cried for George, the remaining twin. For Winky. A drunk who had relied on Dobby to stop her drinking herself to death. Despite their conversations being one-sided for the most part, Danny cared for her. For Lupin. The man who saved him from the dementors in Amity Park. The man that had introduced him to the wizarding world. For Tonks. The clumsy, lovable auror. For Teddy, an orphan before he could even get to know his parents. He cried and sobbed and wept for a long time. Gasping in pain as each sob hurt his injured ribs. His headache intensified. His eyes were puffy red and exhausted from the tears. He didn't remember falling asleep.
The next time he opened his eyes it was early morning. Madam Pomfrey was in her office. The lamps had been extinguished. He felt a lot better than he had the previous day. He still felt the grief from the last couple of days. But it wasn't quite as raw as it had been. He lay still as he considered what he wanted to tell Harry and his friends. He knew he could probably keep his secret, but he was sick of hiding from them. He no longer needed to. He didn't need to hide it from Harry to keep his cover or to protect his family from Voldemort. The war was over. He sighed, wincing as his ribs protested. He would tell Harry and his friends the full truth.
It didn't take long for Madam Pomfrey to notice that he was awake and give him something to eat. Danny realised with a jolt that he hadn't eaten a thing the previous day and very little the day before, making him very hungry now. Thirty minutes later, the door opened and Harry, Ron and Hermione walked in. They all looked well rested and a lot cleaner in fresh clothes.
"You look a lot better," Ron remarked. Danny smiled and nodded.
"Thanks. You three do too," Danny replied.
"Uh uh! Visiting times are later!" Madam Pomfrey interjected sternly.
"It's alright Madam Pomfrey. I asked them to come today. I'm fine," Danny assured the woman. Madam Pomfrey sniffed in disagreement and annoyance but didn't say anything further.
Harry and Ron grabbed three seats and set them beside Danny's bed. Danny groaned in discomfort as he sat up. Hermione rushed forward to help him but he waved her off.
"Not my first broken rib. I'll be fine," Danny assured them. He settled back on to his pillow breathing a long, slow breath.
"Okay. Tell me what you know," Danny requested. He wanted to get a basic idea of how much they knew before he started to tell them the full truth.
"You're a spy," Harry offered. Danny chuckled, grimacing in discomfort and put a hand to his ribs.
"Not what I meant. Before you learned I was a spy. What did you think I'd done?" Danny corrected.
The trio glanced at each other. They hadn't had a very good opinion of Danny recently.
"We… at first, before you "left" the order. We thought you were really nice. Honest. Dedicated," Hermione began. Danny nodded. That was nice to hear. He had wanted to give that impression.
"Then when you left the order, we kind of felt sorry for you. I mean, it sounded like Moody thought you were being childish or something," Ron resumed. Danny nodded again. Again, what he had been going for. It made the argument believable.
"But when Ron told us he saw you with the Death Eaters. That you tried to kill Tonks and him and got knocked off your broom… We were confused, angry and worried," Harry admitted. Danny nodded.
"If it helps, I knew Tonks would hit me long before I could hit her. I took myself out of the fight on purpose," Danny reassured them.
"We thought you died," Hermione muttered. Danny smiled.
"I got hurt but I was fine. Managed to get Sev- I managed to get Severus to come and get me," Danny informed them, his dead friend's name catching in his throat. They nodded.
"Then we saw you outside Grimmauld place with other Death Eaters. So we knew you weren't dead but we didn't understand why you were there. But we knew that you had swapped sides," Harry added.
"We hadn't heard much about you really after that," Ron concluded with a shrug.
"Well, I didn't expect you to have heard so little to be honest. I was there the night you three got caught. Voldemort was so angry I thought he was gonna kill us all. I was part of the raid on Bill and Fleur's wedding too," Danny remarked. The trio shared surprised glances.
"But I've decided to tell you three the whole truth. Even though I probably don't need to, I think you deserve it after so much has happened. I'm not a wizard. I'm what Umbridge might call a half-breed. Half muggle and half… ghost. I'm what is known as a halfa," Danny began.
"What? Danny you hit your head pretty hard yesterday," Ron started sceptically. Danny smirked. He shook his head.
"No. This is the truth. It was why I was so valuable to the order. How I was able to keep on Voldemort's good side, well not bad side. I can prove that I'm not a wizard. Hand me your wand," Danny retorted calmly, and held out a hand.
"What happened to yours?" Hermione interjected.
"I snapped it because I didn't need it anymore. It was a special gift from Dumbledore, a wand without a core able to store certain spells for later use by myself. It was enough to keep my cover," Danny answered easily, still holding out his right hand, his left arm immobilised in a cast. Ron nervously handed Danny his wand. Danny flicked the wand randomly a few times and nothing happened. The trio scowled in confusion as Danny returned the wand to Ron.
"Only a wizard can use a proper wand. I'm not a wizard. And this is my ghost form," Danny reminded them and a band of white light appeared around his waist and swept across his body, changing ripped, stained, ruined dark Death Eater robes into a skin-tight black and white jumpsuit. His eyes changed to neon green and his black hair turned pure white, a flaming green crown nestled among the locks of hair.
The trio gaped openly at Danny as he gave them a little wave.
"Hey," he greeted them unnecessarily.
"How is that possible?!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Simple. My muggle parents are ghost hunters and scientists. They built this machine that could open a gateway into the Ghost Zone, ghost dimension. Apparently in the first designs it was slimmer but they changed it because it needed more wires and stuff, forgetting to move the on switch so it ended up on the inside. They plugged it in. Didn't work. I checked it out and accidentally pressed the on button. The ghost portal powered up and I got flushed with ectoplasm, which revived me halfway as I died. Not pleasant and I'll spare you the details. But that's how I became half-ghost," Danny recounted for them.
"That sounds painful," Harry muttered. Danny nodded sagely.
"It was. Imagine getting hit by lightning and then the cruciatus curse on top. Times ten. You're pretty close then," Danny confirmed softly.
"How do you know what the cruciatus curse feels like?" Hermione inquired.
"Voldemort used it on me a few times," Danny admitted.
"Why didn't he kill you if you angered him that much?" Harry interjected curiously.
"Because I was useful. I made sure of it. I was constantly leaking information on the order to Voldemort that the order didn't mind losing, especially early on. And Severus taught me how to fake memories and Dumbledore taught me occlumency right at the start," Danny explained.
"So now that you bring it up… how did you get involved with the order?" Ron wondered.
"I told you. Voldemort tried to recruit me. Well, Phantom. No one knew I was a halfa. I refused, threatened his Death Eaters and a few days later Remus met my human half, purely by chance. I got worried and looked out for trouble that night, got attacked by dementors. I was in a bad way that night so I met up with Remus the next day, with my friends, Sam and Tucker to back me up. Remus explained what I'd gotten myself into and I asked to speak with Dumbledore, who explained the rest. Including what the wizarding world was. They wanted me to join but my parents didn't know my secret back then. I couldn't disappear off to another country without telling them. So I told Remus and Dumbledore the truth, about what I am. I was given an option. Tell me parents and join the order. Or don't. Either way Dumbledore would protect me and my loved ones," Danny recalled. It seemed so long ago now.
"You chose to tell your parents and join," Hermione muttered. Danny nodded.
"Dumbledore decided to keep my secret and introduced Phantom and Fenton separately, letting Remus teach me about your world in between and Dumbledore taught me occlumency to protect my secret. Then I got to work. I was sent to watch over you Harry after that dementor attack. Dumbledore was worried about Voldemort sending ghosts after you too. Which meant I was the best option. I also kept the Dursleys busy while the advanced guard got you to Grimmauld Place. Then Phantom watched out for changes to your hearing at the ministry, tipping off Tonks when I found out the change. Phantom watched Harry over the school year and Fenton guarded the prophecy," Danny explained, it hurt to realise that he'd never speak to Lupin again but he was able to keep the grief out of his voice while he recounted everything.
Harry, Ron and Hermione listened in stunned silence as Danny told them exactly what he'd done for the order, in both his forms and how he used his secret to become a spy. He even told them how he knew Dumbledore's plan and planned death as he had been present when Dumbledore put on that cursed ring. Once Danny had finished, the hospital wing was silent. Madam Pomfrey had kept her distance, busying herself in her office. Danny changed back to human at some point in his recollection of the last three years or so.
"We had no idea," Hermione whispered finally. Danny smirked.
"It was kind of the point. I wanted to stick to the shadows so that I could do what I had to. Although, I should probably reassure Hagrid that I didn't turn cold-hearted and let Harry sacrifice himself. He wasn't happy with me," Danny commented. Suddenly the door swung open to reveal Vlad Plasmius. He blinked in surprise before glaring angrily at Danny, charging his hands with ghost energy.
What's going to happen!?
Well Harry, Ron and Hermione now know the whole truth.
Let me know what you guys think so far.
Until the next chapter.
