"Vlad?! What are you still doing here? I told you to go home," Danny exclaimed, recovering first. Vlad's red eyes flashed dangerously and he fired a ghost ray at Danny, missing by nearly a foot, destroying the bedside oil lamp.
"Where have you been!? I have searched this blasted castle inside out since yesterday morning!" Vlad shouted.
"Under rubble and then here," Danny admitted with a confused frown. Vlad stormed across the room towards Danny, Harry and Ron got to their feet and readied their wands.
"You didn't think to inform us you were alive then," Vlad growled.
"Vlad I've been either unconscious or busy. You were meant to be back in Amity Park. And… what do you mean us?" Danny retorted, frowning with confusion.
"Danielle!" Vlad called angrily.
"Yeah? Danny!" Danielle Phantom popped her head into the room and cheered. She darted across the room and hugged Danny. Danny cried out in alarm and pain as his clone crushed his chest in a tight embrace. Danielle quickly withdrew, muttering numerous apologies.
"Danielle!? I told you both to go! No, I ordered you as king! Why didn't you go!?" Danny demanded once he recovered.
"Daniel, your mother would never forgive me if I left here without you," Vlad pointed out. Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Ignore that. We were worried. We all had faced those dementors and then you disappeared, ordering all the ghosts to return to the Ghost Zone," Danielle interjected. Danny frowned.
"I told you to go home," Danny grumbled.
"Yeah well, we're not obligated to obey you," Danielle retorted. Danny huffed in annoyance.
"So Daniel, how did you manage to get yourself in this state?" Vlad pressed with stern curiosity. Danny glared at both halfas.
"If you must know. I confronted Voldemort and got buried alive by rubble caused by giants wrestling each other. Give me a few days and I'll be back to normal," Danny informed them grumpily. Vlad folded his arms and raised a doubtful eyebrow.
"Have you seen yourself Daniel? You're a mess. And what on earth are you wearing?" Vlad remarked. Danny sighed, wincing as his ribs protested.
"Go home. I'm ordering you," Danny commanded, annoyance clear in his voice.
"No can do. Wulf left and we can't teleport that far alone," Danielle replied. Danny groaned.
"Alright. Fine! Let me finish up here and I'll teleport you both," Danny offered.
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just sore right now," Danny assured them.
"Daniel, don't be ridiculous. You are in no condition to leave this room," Vlad scoffed. Danny raised an eyebrow and shuffled to the edge of the bed.
"Daniel!" Vlad warned.
"Buzz off cheesehead. I'm fine," Danny growled in annoyance.
"Where are you going!?" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed.
"To get a change of clothes," Danny replied shortly. He hissed as he put his weight on his injured leg.
"Danny, maybe you should take it easy. You are still badly hurt," Hermione suggested worriedly.
"Honestly, I just want to go to my room and get changed," Danny sighed. Danny hobbled a few steps before his injured leg collapsed on him. Ron and Harry ran forward and grabbed the halfa's arms before he hit the floor.
Danny grunted as they pressed on his bruises and tender cuts on his arms. They supported him as he led the way through the castle, ignoring Madam Pomfrey's protests. He led Ron, Harry, Hermione, Vlad and Danielle through a dusty, quiet castle to his classroom door on the fifth floor.
"Why are we here?" Ron wondered out loud.
"Dumbledore was kind enough to sort out long-term accommodation for me here," Danny told them. Hermione rushed forward to helpfully open the door but found it to be locked. She whipped out her wand and attempted to unlock it.
"Dumbledore made sure I had privacy," Danny commented with a slightly pained smirk.
"Vlad help Hermione through," Danny requested and turned himself, Harry and Ron intangible. The two wizards gasped in alarm.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt. Just walk straight through," Danny reassured. Harry and Ron glanced at each other nervously but obeyed reluctantly.
They stepped through the door and entered the abandoned classroom, a thin layer of dust was starting to form on the disused tables and chairs, the house elves had either been given time off or were busy cleaning elsewhere to worry about a mostly unused room.
"Welcome to my classroom. Help me into the bedroom please," Danny muttered and nudged the two wizards forward. They complied and they blinked in surprise at Danny's room. Danny pushed away from them and hobbled over to his dresser, pulling out some clothes before disappearing into the adjoining bathroom. Hermione, Danielle and Vlad entered the bedroom.
"You've been living here? In the castle?" Hermione remarked.
"When I wasn't working, yeah! Although I haven't been here much this year. Split my time between Hogwarts and the Malfoys' place," Danny called back as he painfully pulled off his ruined Death Eater robes. He turned to the mirror over the sink and grimaced at how dirty he was. He turned on the shower and turned his left arm and right leg intangible to protect the dressings and cast, his ribs were bare for now. He carefully stepped into the shower and gently scrubbed off all the grime and dried blood left behind from being buried in rubble. A few minutes later, Danny dried himself off using his intangibility and carefully stepped out again, pulling on clean underwear, loose-fitting jeans and a plain t-shirt. He breathed a long sigh of the hot steamy bathroom air before hobbling out into the bedroom.
The trio had sat down on his bed or his desk chair, while Vlad and Danielle were patiently floating in mid-air.
"Feel better?" Hermione inquired kindly. Danny smiled and nodded.
"Much. Always hated those robes," Danny remarked.
"Sorry but er we saw those Hufflepuff robes. Why do you have them?" Harry admitted nervously, nodding to Danny's old Hufflepuff robes draped over his desk chair.
"Camouflage. It was really for when Umbridge was around. In case I had to change to human here. It would be better to be wearing school uniform and look like I belonged than my normal clothes. But in your sixth year, they came in handy. When I got hurt and passed out Severus was able to protect who I was by going along with my uniform. But this last year, there was no point. It was more suspicious if I wore them than if I didn't," Danny explained, his heart clenched at the mention of his friend.
"Wow, you really took it seriously," Ron muttered. Danny snorted.
"Ron, it was take it seriously or get killed or get my family killed," Danny retorted. Ron blinked in stunned surprise. Danny shrugged and scanned the room. He no longer needed this room. The war was over and the order no longer needed. He could go home. Not for a visit. For good this time.
"Danny?" Harry called, the halfa had zoned out, leaning against a wall comfortably to take the weight off his leg. Danny blinked out of his thoughts and turned to Harry.
"Are you okay? You don't seem yourself," Harry asked. Danny smiled.
"Just thinking. I probably won't need this room again. I can go home now," Danny explained. The trio shared bewildered looks, they had just learned the truth. But they knew he was right. Danny could go back to America now without the war to fight in Britain. He left to join the order's struggle to stop Voldemort, Voldemort was gone.
"Daniel, I don't think you should be teleporting in your condition," Vlad reminded the teen.
"Vlad, I'm fine. Besides, I kind of told Jazz that the war was about to end. She's gonna be worried. And she knows I was a spy," Danny confessed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"What are you talking about?" Vlad grumbled.
"I'll explain later. It's a long story," Danny replied dismissively. Vlad scowled.
"I'll get you two home, reassure my sister and then I'll come back here," Danny decided. He transformed into his ghost form, startling the trio. He floated into the air towards Vlad and Danielle.
"Wait, did you say sister?" Ron called. Danny nodded.
"That's right. Jazz is my older sister," Danny confirmed before grabbing Danielle and Vlad's wrists. He then focused on Fenton Works and teleported the three halfas.
Danny yelped in pain as he lost his footing on his injured leg and fell to the ground, hitting against a lab stool on the way, jarring his ribs. Vlad and Danielle rushed to his side.
"I told you, you shouldn't be teleporting like this," Vlad hissed. Danny groaned and gritted his teeth against the nauseating waves of agony pulsing through his body.
"Danny? Are you okay?" Danielle whispered fearfully. Danny shook his head. He was not alright. He could really really use a pain-relieving potion right now. But he was at home. Not Hogwarts. Over the counter painkillers would have to make do.
"What's going on down he- Danny!?" Jack grumbled before noticing his son as he investigated the noise in the lab. He ran to his son's side, Danny was curled protectively around his injured arm and painful ribs, his leg outstretched to avoid aggravating the serious burn under the bandages.
Jack turned to Vlad and Danielle. He knew Vlad's secret and he'd met Danielle before.
"What happened to him?" Jack demanded. They glanced worried at each other.
"There was a fight. Daniel asked for ghosts to volunteer to help fight. We volunteered," Vlad began.
"After the fight we couldn't find him, so we looked. We found him in some hospital place today, like this," Danielle resumed.
"His explanation was something along the lines of confronted Voldemort and then got buried alive due to some giants wrestling with each other," Vlad helpfully added. Jack glanced worriedly at his son who was gradually getting over the shock of falling and recovering from the immense pang of agony from his numerous wounds and bruises.
Jack hovered an uncertain hand over his son. He wasn't sure how he could help his son who was clearly in a lot of pain.
"I'm-I'm okay. It-it was just a shock. The fall I mean," Danny muttered. Jack breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do you need help?" Jack whispered with concern. Danny slowly unfurled his aching limbs and carefully sat up.
"Please. My leg's pretty weak right now," Danny replied eventually, holding out a hand for his father to grab. Jack obliged and as gently as possible heaved Danny up to his feet, supporting his son as he teetered uncertainly.
"You okay?" Jack asked. Danny grunted.
"Come on, let's get you upstairs," Jack suggested, guiding his son towards the stairs, Vlad and Danielle changed forms and followed.
Danny's home!
Not much to say really.
Let me know what you guys think so far.
Until the next chapter.
