A/N: I'm still ALIVE. ::gasp:: I KNOW. I'm just as excited as you are! Sort of. OO
Anyhoo! I think you might have guessed already that this will move at a slower pace than maybe most of you are used to. I do that to keep a clean flow with continuity.
WARNING: LONG CHAPPIE! I think that this chapter has less dialogue and more explanation, and I hope you'll forgive me…I like explaining things. Less ghostly stuff—but the next chapter is chock full of it, so be patient pretty please::hug:: And Lupin didn't forget about Phantom! You'll see….
And I need to um, well, bow and scrape in a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed! Seriously, I'm still in shock…50 reviews? For TWO chapters::dies of happiness::
The continuation of this really spontaneous story is thanks to….
Sweeteen19
PotterPhan21
Shiva the Sarcastic
ShiroAndFubuki
HikaruOfArrow
Lunargurl101
Phantom of a Rose
Robobunnie
Blaidd Drwg
Sasia
Nobody Famous
Just A Thinker
Allison
Horselvr4evr123
SevenStar
Quacked Lurker
gecko-grl-2
Rebecca The Animorph
raveninflight
silverrayne03
PlaneThalia
PhantomInvader
Nonasuki-chan
twilight101
alicat
alicat54
dragon-game
Linda
And again, feel free to ask me any questions, and let me know when I've made a mistake! I'll reply to you in private (especially if I have the same questions P). Thanks!
Disclaimer: ….::shifty glance:: DISCLAIMED::runs off before getting bricked::
Phasmatis Cruor
Chapter Three: Magic
::--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------::
Danny never ever wanted to experience that feeling again.
And judging by the groans and moans next to him, Sam and Tucker didn't either.
"Are you three alright?" came the now familiar calming voice of Remus Lupin. "I apologize for not warning you of the swirling sensation."
"Oh no," Sam replied, the sound of her words muffled by her luggage. "It was fun."
"Ah, Remus," another voice resounded around them. "I am pleased to see you."
"Albus," Remus said, bowing his head. "Sorry for the sudden intrusion. I used the Emergency Floo System."
Danny looked up and shook his head, regaining his balance.
He was greeted by the sight of a strange old man, dressed in extravagant robes with a moon and stars design. A long white beard adorned his face, accompanied by another waterfall of white hair that flowed down his back. He wore half-moon glasses, and his eyes seemed to sparkle a bright icy blue. Danny blinked in surprise, nudging Sam and Tucker to get their bearings so they could see the old man as he did.
"And these are the children," the old man spoke once more, smiling kindly down at the three 'children' sprawled out on the floor.
"Ah yes," Remus answered for them. "If they could stand, I'm sure they would greet you," he added with a wry grin.
"Er, hello," Danny fumbled over his words slightly, feeling a strange pressure on his mind. "I'm Danny Fenton." Frowning slightly, he responded to the weird heaviness in his head by pressuring back in an almost automatic defense.
He blinked. The feeling was gone in an instant. It must've worked….
"Albus Dumbledore," the old man introduced himself formally, looking at Danny with great interest…Danny wasn't sure if that was good or bad. "Headmaster of Hogwarts. It is a pleasure to meet you…and…?"
Sam immediately stood up, trying to drag Tucker with her. "Sam Manson," she said by way of preamble. "And this lug here is Tucker Foley."
"I can tell him my name on my own Sam," Tucker grumbled. He stood up straight and wiped himself clean of soot. "Pleasure to meet you too, sir," he said in a lofty voice, which caused Danny to snort and Sam to muffle her laughter.
Dumbledore merely smiled. "I am glad we have this unique opportunity to talk," he said as he drew up a few chairs. Literally. "Remus was fortunate to locate you while you still had time to learn a few things about your own talents."
"If you don't mind me asking," Danny interrupted guiltily as he stood and fumbled his way into a chair. "Where are we, exactly?"
"A small part of Scotland that few venture to," Dumbledore replied. "This is Hogwarts, your future place of learning."
Sam looked severely interested as she sat as well, Tucker following her. "This place looks like it could be part of a castle made in the early middle ages." Danny blinked at her. He never knew she had any knowledge of architecture.
Dumbledore smiled. "A little earlier in fact, but you are correct, Ms. Manson."
The girl grinned, a small embarrassed expression that made her look vaguely not-Goth.
"So we'll be living in this castle?" Tucker exclaimed happily. "Where do you guys get electricity and running water all the way out here? I mean, you've gotta be a long ways out from any city, right?"
Danny silenced the amused sigh that threatened to escape his throat. Of course it had to be Tucker to ask all the practical, technologically inclined questions.
"Actually, Mr. Foley, we have no such thing as electricity here," the old man said with a secret smile. "But there is plenty of running water."
Danny's eyes widened. He quickly looked at Tucker, only to find a blank expression. Sam eyed her friend as well, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tuck, you okay?" she asked, her expression wary.
"N-no electricity?" Tucker said faintly, ignoring Sam. "Nothing at all?"
The Headmaster nodded. "We do not have electricity at Hogwarts because magic interferes with it; it does not allow electricity to work. Two vastly different types of energy do not mix well together." Lupin looked vaguely confused as to why this would be such a travesty.
Danny merely sighed. "I don't think he knows how to survive without technology," he explained briefly with an unnoticeable roll of his eyes.
Dumbledore glanced at the shocked Tucker and blinked. "Forgive me Mr. Foley," he said, still smiling that strange half-smile. "But is that strange device in your pocket still operational?"
There was a pause when Tucker took his ever-present PDA out of his pocket and stared at its still-lit screen. "Yeah…?" he answered with an unspoken question. Danny looked at Lupin and saw his expression go rather wide-eyed.
"That's not—how can it possibly work?" Lupin said in a rather stunned voice.
In Danny's brain, something clicked. "Wait, Tuck, wasn't that the PDA that Skul—that hunter ghost put in his armor? And wasn't it used by Tech—that other ghost too?"
Tucker seemed to wake from his trauma-induced stupor. "Yeah! It was!"
Dumbledore looked to Tucker with bemused interest. "A ghost was able to integrate that piece of muggle technology?" he asked curiously.
Danny nodded. "Yeah, it's been weird since."
"That doesn't surprise me," Lupin said in a muffled, but astonished voice.
"It has been magically tampered with," Dumbledore seemed to settle on that particular explanation. "Thus its continuous existence becomes clear." The old man smiled with a mysterious air.
Sam groaned as Tucker started to look exceedingly smug. "We are never going to here the end of this are we?" she asked Danny under her breath.
Danny merely snickered. "I doubt it."
As Tucker gleefully tinkered with the only operational PDA he had left, Dumbledore stepped forward, a reassuring smile on his face.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," he said at last.
And thus, they were bombarded with facts and history. Dumbledore covered the basic current situation of the Wizarding world at large today. He spoke of the Dark Lord, who name was Voldemort, and the visages of the three Americans darkened, especially Danny's, as he knew he would be hearing a lot more about the dark wizard soon.
The most interesting bit in this crash course was the background information concerning the four houses of Hogwarts. Danny hadn't expected it to be this selective, but the houses of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin were rather fitting; each one having their own favored personality traits made it easier to classify.
Sam had an expression on her face which made Danny believe that she was a more opposing of the idea of such classification. Later, she had told Danny that the system was much like making houses for geeks, jocks, preps, and Goths. Rationally, Danny had to agree, although he thought Sam was taking it a step further then it really was.
It was when Dumbledore explained how each child was sorted into their respective houses that Danny blinked in true surprise. "You let a hat choose?" he asked, for once skeptical.
"Indeed. It was imbued with the power to select students by the original founders of the school," Dumbledore explained. He took a bedraggled looking pointy hat off of one of the nearby shelves. "I will let you three be sorted in privacy; Remus, may I speak with you?" he asked the younger man, who started and nodded, leading the way out of Dumbledore's office.
He thought he was going first, assuming that they were going to go in alphabetical order according to some list. Thankfully, Professor Dumbledore was not inclined to follow the typical. Danny volunteered to go last, so he just sat patiently and waited.
Tucker, surprisingly, was the first to go in and put on the Sorting Hat. He was in there for scarce a minute before he came out, beaming.
"Ravenclaw," he announced proudly, sitting down next to his friend. "Apparently, it's the smart house."
Danny tried to smile, but managed a half-grimace instead. Tucker noticed this and quietly silenced himself. He knew his friend was prone to anxiety fits, and by now he there was a palpable taste of apprehension in the air. He smiled in an encouraging manner and thought it best not to say a word.
Next went Sam, who looked thrilled to the put the moth-eaten rag on her head. After a minute, she came out with a small smile on her face.
"Gryffindor," she answered the unasked question with a bit of surprise in her voice. "I guess we won't be in the same house together," she added apologetically to Tucker, who merely shrugged. She didn't sound disappointed, but she looked a bit nervous at the idea nonetheless.
Danny stood up and entered the room feeling his legs wobble significantly. The Hat sat on the desk, looking completely innocuous. Danny knew better, and he sat down on the provided chair, grabbing the Hat roughly and shoving it on his head.
Oh? Now this is interesting.
Danny nearly fell off the chair. Who are you?
I'm the Sorting Hat, of course. And you are Daniel Fenton, correct?
Danny thought of nothing and instinctively tried to close off any and all thoughts that could be… possibly condemning evidence.
Do not fear, the Hat chuckled. All of our little conversations are confidential. My eyes are far too prying to allow me to spread such information freely. Although your… condition is interesting.
For some reason, Danny relaxed. Right…so, what are you going to do?
I'm just here to see what house suits you best. That is what a Sorting Hat does.
Danny huffed silently, keeping to his own thoughts for the moment, allowing the Hat to think.
A few seconds passed before…You have intelligence, but you are not adapt to using it often.
Hey!
Oh, but you are not afraid to admit it, are you?
...No.
Good, then your lack of experience will diminish quickly.
I'm overjoyed.
Ah, sarcasm. You have a cynical side, yes? There's certainly a dark side of your mind, a side which you swear you will never unleash again.
Danny's expression darkened instinctually. Yes.
The darkness within is not necessarily evil. It is most likely misunderstood.
Not mine, Danny warned, his own thoughts reverberating regret.
Yours most of all, Daniel. You must learn to understand it before you condemn it…I see a house where you can learn to do just that.
Really?
Indeed. You are smart enough for Ravenclaw and loyal enough for Hufflepuff. Certainly brave enough for Gryffindor, and I am severely tempted to place you there…however….
Danny sighed. What? He asked this with a flat tone of one who has heard this sort of stalling device before.
It seemed that the hat was pausing to ponder its next bit of information. The darkness you have seen within yourself distances you from normal Gryffindor traits.
There was nothing Danny could add to that statement. He only wondered if the Hat was right. It didn't feel like a happy thought.
The Hat continued. In Gryffindor, you would learn how to gain mastery over others, which would undoubtedly give you strength. In Slytherin, however, you would gain mastery over yourself, and that, Daniel, would make you fearless.
Danny blinked at this. His apprehension seemed to be fading, the Hat's words rolling over in his head. After a few minutes of complete silence, Danny decided.
So…Slytherin?
"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the Hat in response. Danny, who was grinning slightly as he took off the enchanted Hat, swore he heard the piece of patched cloth chuckle out loud.
:----------:
"Slytherin?" asked Sam curiously as her friend walked back over to them.
"Yup." Danny felt quite pleased with himself, for some reason. "The Hat pretty much had me on that one."
"I see it talked to you too," Sam muttered. "That was slightly disturbing."
"Well, we may all be in different houses, but that doesn't mean we can't still hang out, right?" Tucker looked at his friends with a nervous grin.
"Are you kidding?" Danny asked with incredulity. "Who else can I talk to about…stuff?" There was a tone to the word 'stuff' that made other people in the room give Danny curious looks.
"I see you have found your houses," Dumbledore interrupted kindly, making his reentry into the room more obvious, Remus following behind him.
He had their attention, and the three of them nodded. "Gryffindor," Sam said simply.
"Ravenclaw," Tucker grinned.
"Slytherin," Danny responded in turn.
Remus' expression turned curious as he eyed Danny from behind Dumbledore, the headmaster also bit perturbed. Danny felt he like a goldfish for a moment, stuck in a glass bowl with all eyes on him.
The scrutiny dissipated as soon as he had felt it appear
"Congratulations!" Dumbledore announced brightly, the ever-present twinkle still in his eye. "I am sure, by now, you are all wondering where you shall be staying during your time here."
The old man gestured towards Remus. "Mr. Lupin will continue chaperoning you for the day at least. You will need supplies for the coming year, as well as funds for such supplies." Dumbledore moved closer to his desk, nearing an empty perch. "A visit to Gringotts would be in order, in addition to a quick trip down Diagon Alley," he said in Remus' direction. Remus merely nodded.
"Uh," Danny suddenly remembered. "Where will we be staying?" he asked.
"I took it upon myself to owl Miss Hermione Granger, a soon-to-be-fellow student—and fellow housemate to you, Miss Manson. She shall take you in for the next month until term starts," he explained.
"Are you sure we aren't imposing?" Sam immediately asked, her worry clearly evident.
Dumbledore shook his head. "Her parents thought it would be an investment for them as much as Miss Granger did."
As Sam appeared mollified, Tucker poked his head back into the conversation. "Do they have a 'No Tech' rule too?" he asked, his tone accusatory.
Dumbledore chuckled. "I am quite sure that they do not, Mr. Foley. They are muggles, quite like what you three assumed you were up until yesterday."
Danny was smiling until he gasped, a small amount of blue mist escaping his mouth. He immediately closed it, but not before the two adults gave him an odd look.
Sam took this as a cue to stake her claim in a different conversation. "Sir," she began respectfully, "We come from a place where ghosts are, well, everywhere. Are there any ghosts in the castle?" she asked, a completely innocent expression on her face.
"After Remus explained that this Phantom ghost originated in your town, I was wondering when you would ask that question," Dumbledore replied smiling. "To that, I answer, yes. We have many ghosts here, all non-threatening, I assure you. Except maybe Peeves, our resident poltergeist."
Remus had an expression of exasperation on his face that said it all, really.
"Is Danny Phantom gonna be staying at the castle?" Tucker asked, interrupting.
Dumbledore looked to Remus, who was startled by the question. "I was under the impression that he might not join us," the Headmaster said curiously. "Remus?"
Sam indirectly smacked Tucker on the back of the head. Her glare kept him from yelling. Remus simply looked contemplative. "The answer he gave me was inconclusive, but," he looked to Tucker, who regained his composure gracefully. "They have known the ghost for longer than I, perhaps they know his actions better."
Sam grinned weakly, "Heh, yeah. He's all for the good and light and all that," she said, all the while hoping that Danny would start breathing again.
Remus looked happier at that. "Then there's more of a chance that he'll join us," the man stated.
Danny inhaled and exhaled once, and then grinned in a shaky manner.
Tucker and his mouth….
"I think that is enough for today; your brains must be swimming with new information," Dumbledore said decisively. "Remus? Take the Floo to The Leaky Cauldron; you can enter the Alley from there."
Remus nodded once and gestured for the three to stand and follow him.
"It was a pleasure to meet you sir," Sam said with a polite nod. Danny and Tucker quickly nodded as well.
Their new Headmaster merely smiled once again, his eyes allowing his merriment to come to the surface. "The pleasure was mine Miss Manson, Mssrs. Fenton and Foley," he said in a warm, grand fatherly voice. "We will meet again."
A flash of now familiar emerald green grabbed the teens' attentions. They waved back to Dumbledore and disappeared after Remus, leaving a troubled old man frowning in thought.
-+-+-+-+-
Diagon Alley was fantastic.
Not in the typical sense of the word; it was truly fantastical. Everything seemed to be in constant motion, and the eccentric crowd only made it more exotic and magical.
Danny wanted to be everywhere at once, and he silently bemoaned the fact that he couldn't just duplicate himself in broad daylight. His mind was racing excitedly as he eyed various knick-knacks that lined the small crooked street. He swore he had passed a shop that had a floating book or two, along with a strange assortment of plants and animals he had never seen before, even in the ghost zone. …And were those brooms?
Sam and Tucker seemed to want to follow suit, as there were far too many things to explore then was possible in the allotted time they had here in the Alley. Remus was walking behind the three of them, smiling in an almost indulgent manner as they abandoned their hardened teenaged exteriors and felt free to immerse themselves in a new and strange culture.
Strange didn't even begin to describe Gringotts.
Both Tucker and Danny yelped in surprise at the goblins, while Sam frowned in suspicion. "Are they getting paid? Were they forced to do this?" she asked as one goblin marched by with an impressively large stack of paper.
"Paid? Oh yes," Remus said pleasantly. "Goblins are exceptionally crafty, shrewd, and have been discovered to be excellent businessmen. They were the ones who helped establish wizarding economics and trade from the very beginning." He grinned. "Even if they weren't getting paid, they would do this anyway."
Sam nodded, looking satisfied, while Danny tried not to stare at the diminutive, but dangerous looking creatures.
Remus was a different person when dealing with the goblins; rational and formal, he was hardly the warm and friendly man they had come to know. The goblins apparently found this incredibly polite and treated him great courtesy. He opened new vaults for the three of them, and asked for a transfer of funds, a.k.a their scholarships, from Vault 4 to their respective accounts. According to the Ministry of Magic, they were still minors. That meant that they were under the care of Hogwarts and its entire staff. It would have been too complicated to have one person take the three of them into custody, as they did have legal and binding ties to their parents, who were also in America.
To add to the strangeness, Remus, with a letter of permission from Dumbledore, announced that he needed to get money from the Hogwarts Vault (number four) in order to pay for the supplies they had to buy that very day. Danny expected a simple wait, maybe even a walk to the vault, not a dizzying journey to the center of the earth via something that, in the right light, looked suspiciously like a hand basket.
Even as they watched the goblin stretch out a finger and somehow open the solid metal door, the three teens felt so unbalanced that they couldn't even gasp in surprise.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Tucker mumbled, holding his stomach.
Danny never thought he'd be happier to see the sky, especially when he heard one of the goblins asking each other whether or not they had remembered to feed the dragon on level seven.
After that ordeal, Remus suggested that they gather their robes and essentials first. Danny and Tucker looked dismayed; robes weren't exactly their idea of a fashion 'do.' Sam was simply excited about being able to wear black all the time and not getting harassed by those who didn't seem to separate the concept of liking the color black, and being Goth.
So off they went. Getting fitted for robes at Madam Malkin's was only slightly mortifying; the woman kept going on and on about his eyes and how pretty a blue they were…and soon Danny was being stuffed into clothes he wouldn't even wish on Dash. As his friends were too busy laughing, Remus stepped in to rescue him, but Madam Malkin refused to let him leave without buying this one very elegant black and blue outfit. She protested that 'the boy' needed dress robes, while Remus was insistent that they had little time to waste on this argument. Danny just muttered that he wouldn't wear anything with the word 'dress' in the title ever again. Remus paused in surprise at the word 'again,' but eventually sighed and settled on buying the fancy robes, if only to let Danny escape.
Tucker and Sam slipped by this ordeal without incident. Danny swore to himself that he wouldn't be the only one humiliated today.
As soon as they got their robes, they went to buy potions ingredients. Danny was all over the store, asking questions that made him look rather silly by wizarding standards, but Remus seemed mildly impressed. Sam looked disgusted at the display of 'fermented' animals, but after Remus said that she wouldn't be able to pass the class without the ingredients, she reluctantly bought them without much protest. Tucker smirked at her the whole time, which didn't help her keep her mouth shut. After one particularly gross purchase (a vial full of strange formerly furry creatures), she stepped on his foot when he started nudging her in the ribs. Danny did look a little smug, but he was still bitter about the Malkin's Incident, so Sam forgave him. A bit.
A little while after the apothecary visit, and after they bought parchment and ink (which Tucker seemed extremely distressed about), they visited the bookstore.
Book buying was an almost mind-blowing experience. Danny was suspiciously hovering near the magical creatures section before sidling over to look at the books focused mostly on ghosts and the afterlife. Remus merely arched an eyebrow, before steering him and his friends (Sam was eyeing the dark arts selections, while Tucker had taken a liking to the muggle vs. wizard section of the shop) to the counter to request all the books they would need to start the fifth year.
"Won't we need the books from the previous years?" asked Sam curiously as the man behind the counter rung up their purchase.
Remus shook his head. "Miss Granger will provide you with all past materials; I see no reason to buy new books."
"She still has them?" Danny asked in surprise.
The man smiled in a knowing manner as he handed over a few galleons or so. "Hermione Granger would never sacrifice a book, no matter how inconsequential."
The three eyed each other and shrugged. Sam's expression suggested that she wanted to meet this Hermione Granger person, and Danny was unsurprised.
When they had learned that they were allowed pets, Tucker immediately shook his head. "I had a cactus once, and it died. It died," he stressed. "I'm less nurturing then a desert. What makes you think I can handle a living breathing creature?"
Sam had thought about it, but she said she decide later. "I'm not sure how to take care of an owl…and frogs are slightly useless," she admitted. "A cat? Maybe—but I think I'll wait until after we get our wands."
Danny had practically leapt for joy. "Is there a place nearby where we can get one?" he asked eagerly. He knew that dogs weren't allowed, but there was a good chance he could get something else.
Remus tried not to laugh, but nodded and took them to the Magical Menagerie. Inside, they found another large assortment of animals and objects they had never seen.
Danny zipped around the store like…like Tucker at a Best Buy. Sam couldn't help it. She laughed hysterically and had to be taken outside so she could giggle without fear of retribution.
Their chaperon for the day had mentioned something earlier about owls and how they would deliver messages. So Danny, feeling practical, eventually came to look at the various species of owl that were available.
Most of the animals were calm around him, but one owl in particular kept staring at him. It was predominantly black, covered from wing to beak in white and grey spots. Danny stared back for a moment before grinning.
:---:
"Wow, he's beautiful Danny!" cried Sam when Danny exited the Menagerie with an Eagle Owl perched on his shoulder, the pet's cage in his arms. She reached a few fingers to scratch the owl's head. "What's its name?"
"I'm not sure yet," he admitted. "But he deserves something cool." Tucker tentatively touched the owl on its head, and was relieved when the thing didn't bite back. Danny looked at Remus, who was checking a small pouch for remaining coins. "Thanks…really," he said to the man, who looked up at him once he realized Danny wasn't talking to the air.
Remus gave a modest grin. "Don't thank me Danny," he insisted. "Thank Dumbledore and several strict rules concerning under-privileged students."
"Name him something cool Danny," Sam insisted seriously. "Like Spooky!"
Danny grimaced. "Oh no…come on Sam," he said, pained. "How about…."
"Gadget?" suggested Tucker with a smarmy grin.
The pale boy actually made a face at that one. "I think I like—,"
"Draco?" suggested Sam, still scratching at the Owl's head. "He looks regal enough," she said sheepishly as the owl gave her a look.
Danny grinned. "Yeah! I always liked that constellation."
The newly christened 'Draco' nibbled at Danny's fingers affectionately.
Remus' inner thoughts consisted mainly of laughing loudly at the irony. He did his best not to connect the young Malfoy child to the owl on Danny's shoulder.
::----::
Finally, they came to get their wands.
Remus insisted that he would wait outside, as he needed to check on something anyway.
Ollivander's was by far the spookiest place Danny had ever entered. This, as most of us know, was saying quite a lot.
"Hello?" the boy called out, putting down his bags on the wooden floor.
"Maybe he's not here," Sam said, a little on edge. "This place gives me the creeps."
"Hello."
The voice appeared right next to Danny's ear and he yelped, jumping backwards into Sam, who screamed and bumped into Tucker, who simply fell over.
Breathing heavily, and blushing bright red, Danny turned to look at the person who had startled him so badly while his friends sheepishly helped each other up off the floor.
"I'm sorry to have startled you so," the somewhat otherworldly voice said again, and came out of the shadows. The most interesting thing Danny noticed first was that the man's eyes were something like mother of pearl; shiny smooth and glass like, with a sheen to them that made shivers go up Danny's spine.
"It's ok," he managed to what was obviously the shopkeeper. "Um, we're here for wands?"
"Ah yes," the shopkeeper smiled at the three. "The Americans?" he asked, turning his back on them as he went to rummage for some of his equipment.
"Heh, right," Danny said with relief, the shaky feeling in his limbs fading. Nobody had startled him that badly for quite some time now.
"Dumbledore sent word to me of your impending arrival," he explained. He faced them once more, holding what looked like a tape measure. "I am Mr. Ollivander," the man introduced himself. "And you shall find only the finest unicorn, phoenix, and dragon cores here."
The three teens looked mildly confused, and Danny wondered what Ollivander meant by 'cores.'
There was pause before Ollivander took another step forward, a mild look of amusement on his face. "Who shall be the first?"
Danny and Tucker both took a step back, leaving Sam on her own. She blinked and then turned to glare at them ferociously. Both boys grimaced. That was going to come back to bite them. Hard.
"Miss…?"
"Sam Manson," she said, gritting her teeth at her friends' simultaneous betrayal.
The man gestured at her slightly. "Which arm is your wand arm?"
Sam looked puzzled, and slowly held out her left arm with unsure hesitance.
Immediately, the tape measure leapt out of Mr. Ollivander's hands and began to measure her arm, height, finger length…and other random parts of anatomy.
Danny hoped she hadn't heard his snickering.
A few seconds later and Sam was busy waving wands around in a similar manner to the way Lupin had first tested them for magic. Side effects included two broken vases, five disarrayed bookshelves, a tiny black kitten, and a small burst of fireworks. The fireworks were a strange mix of black and purple and they had danced around Sam in a wonderful display of light and dark sparks.
Apparently, this was a sign that she had picked the right one.
Ollivander looked pleased. "It is not often that I have the pleasure of selling my more interesting wands." He held up Sam's wand and eyed the kitten, which was clinging to Sam's leg protectively, with amused curiosity. "9 ½ inches, hair of a Dryad, and an interesting mixture of wood…lignum vine, rosewood, and black palm…very diversified Miss Manson, an exceptional wand for divination and charms."
Sam beamed and tried to pry the small black cat off her leg. "I like the sound of that." She watched as Ollivander packaged her wand and held up the cat.
"It's a girl," she said as she looked to her friends. Danny was smiling at her apparent enthusiasm and Tucker was snickering.
"I can't believe you made a cat," he said smirking. "First baby chickens and now a kitten? You must be more of a sentimentalist than I thought."
Sam made a face. "I said I didn't like humans; doesn't mean I can't like animals. I am a vegetarian you know." The kitten in her arms purred happily and made to perch on her shoulder. Sam laughed and plucked the hyper kitten off, and tried to hand her to Tucker, who had been looking at the creature with great interest.
The kitten hissed and her paws tried to swipe at Tucker and instead, it leapt out of Sam's hands to land on Danny.
Danny froze; the cat had almost perforated Tuck's hands. He didn't want to endanger himself.
"That thing's a menace!" cried Tucker, glaring at Sam.
"Maybe it can sense that you're a carnivore," she suggested in a meaningful tone.
"Guys…."
"Oh yeah sure, nice defense Sam," Tucker muttered. "You aren't seriously thinking about keeping it, are you?"
"Guys?"
Sam glared and huffed. "So what if I am? You got a problem with that?"
"Guys!"
"What?!" came the two annoyed voices. Abruptly, the anger in the room evaporated as Sam and Tucker simultaneously dissolved into snickers.
The cat had nestled itself into Danny's arms, as he had had them crossed just before the feline landed. It was fast asleep and looked plenty comfortable.
"I'm going to not say anything," Danny grumbled as he gently placed the still sleeping kitten in Sam's open arms. "Just let me get my wand. This place still gives me the creeps."
Tucker was still snickering. He opened his mouth to say something when Sam gave him the evil eye. He quickly shut his mouth. There were some things better left unsaid; especially when said things would cause damage that no amount of medicine could heal.
Mr. Ollivander came out from the back room and handed Sam her wand. Danny walked over with a small smile.
"And you are…?"
"Danny Fenton," he replied with a nervous nod. Needing no prompting, he held out his right hand.
Ollivander raised an eyebrow and the tape measure leapt into action once more.
"Here," the old man said as he the tape measure disappeared. There was a dark red wood wand in his hand. "Try this one. Holly 9 ½ inches, dragon heartstring."
Danny picked the wand out of his hands and waved it, as he had watched Sam's demonstration and knew what to do. He barely got the stick half-way up in the air before it was snatched back.
"No no no, no good at all. Here, rosewood and maple, 11 inches, unicorn hair."
And so on and so forth. Danny had thought waiting for Sam to find her own wand was a tedious experience; it was nothing compared to his own search. Another strange fact was that there were no side-effects: no flying books or magically appearing cats…nothing. Ollivander didn't look perturbed until they reached his 22nd wand, when once again, nothing happened.
Maybe there's been a mistake, Danny wondered, fretting. Maybe I don't really have magic. He felt his heart sink a little.
"Alright, Mr. Fenton," Ollivander proclaimed, and handed him another wand. "Not to worry, there's a wand for every wizard." He gave Danny a small mysterious glance. "11 ¾ inches, bloodwood, yew and ebony with the fang of a Shi Zi Gou…that's an extremely powerful and exotic mixture, Mr. Fenton."
Before he took the wand, Danny looked confused. "What's a -?"
"Shi Zi Gou? Ah, the Chinese Lion Dog. Powerful and rare creatures they are," Ollivander replied. "They are able to walk the mortal and spiritual planes as a medium and protector."
Danny looked curious, but said nothing. He gripped the wand in his hand and waved it, this time feeling a strange cold tingling in his fingers. As soon as it was above his head, the wand exploded in a bright green, almost white light. He squinted before the light died down, leaving him seeing spots.
Ollivander smiled in satisfaction. "There, you see?" he said before snatching the wand from his still fingers to pack it for him and heading off to the back room, giving Danny a shrewd, calculating look as he went. Curious….
Danny shook his head and focused on the wall in front of him, trying to see straight.
"Hey Danny, what was that light?" came Tucker's voice ahead of him. Danny took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A second later, and he was face to face with both his friends, and their concerned faces.
"What is it?" he asked, still feeling light headed.
Sam put a hand on his forehead. "Your eyes went green," she said in a low undertone. "That Ollivander guy didn't see it because of your wand. You sure you're okay?"
Danny nodded uncertainly. "I suppose," he answered. Both Sam and Tucker exchanged glances, but let it slide.
It was a few seconds later that Ollivander came out to hand him his now boxed wand. Tucker patted him reassuringly on the shoulder as he went up to get his own magical bit of wood. Danny merely smiled and followed Sam and her cat to wait in the lobby.
Tucker only spent a few minutes of experimental wand-waving before he came back out, with a 10 ¼ inches, kingwood and walnut, with the talon of a sphinx, which was supposedly good for transfiguration or something like that. He had a self-satisfied expression on his face, and Danny suddenly wanted something embarrassing to happen to him. Sam smiled and held up her kitten, nuzzling noses with it even as it squirmed.
"Don't worry," she said sympathetically. "He'll get his turn…eventually." She smiled at him, and suddenly, Danny felt a lot better.
----------::
Apparition, the art of instant transportation, wasn't exactly an easy bit of magic to do when you had three other people to take along with you. Remus explained that side-along, apparition with extra people, would be a bit tiresome and possibly detrimental.
"What would be detrimental?" Sam asked curiously.
Remus gave Sam a pained look. "Sometimes, when apparating for the first time or going side-along with too many others, you can get splinched."
Danny didn't like the sound of the word, and according to his friends' expressions, neither did they. "What does 'splinched' mean?" Danny asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
Remus winced. "It happens with beginners mostly," he said, "but 'splinching' is where you apparate and lose…bits along the way."
Danny looked slightly disturbed, but it wasn't anything he hadn't experienced already when he was experimenting with duplication. Sam and Tucker, however, looked rather ill.
The man waved a hand. "As I said, we won't be doing any of that just yet," he said reassuringly. "We'll be going to a muggle residence that's not on the Floo Network. Therefore…," he explained, and held out his wand in the air.
There was a loud snapping sound as a large, purple, triple-decker bus appeared from what looked like thin air. Tucker screamed like a girl and hopped backward from the curb they were standing on. Danny snorted with laughter as Sam, the sounds of a giggle escaping her lips even as she helped Tucker off the ground. Revenge was sweet indeed.
Remus blinked in bemused surprise at Tucker's outburst and continued, "…We'll be taking the Knight Bus."
Danny hadn't experienced so many twists and turns before in his life. On the ground, that is—oh, and when his dad was driving. So far, this was the third time they had been taken on a trip which involved death-defying speeds, and strange-looking transport devices on this day alone. The halfa suddenly felt very much at home.
The bus took a turn which, if Danny remembered his physics, broke a few laws concerning gravity. He felt his stomach turn and he grimaced as his friends mimicked his motions; he decided not to move unless it was absolutely necessary, clutching the handle bar nearest to him with clear desperation.
When they arrived, Tucker leapt from the bus in exultation, yelling "LAND!" while Danny and Sam clutched each other, laughing at the sight. It was darker outside than before; the time changes had finally caught up to the three teens, and they felt more like falling over and crashing…which, as Remus soon assured them, was an option that was rapidly approaching.
The Granger residence wasn't large, nor was it small, by any means. It had the comfortable look of an above middle class family of three.
Lupin had shrunk their entire luggage and had put the now miniature suitcases into a small box (much earlier than mentioned, actually). Tucker had shuddered at the thought of his poor technology, most of which was now partially obsolete. Sam had patted him on the shoulder with sympathy and said that he could at least put them up in this dorm room as trophies. He had made a friendly swipe at her shoulder, which she had dodged while laughing.
"The Grangers are a muggle family, and Hermione Granger is currently a student at Hogwarts. She's one of the brightest in the school, so she will also help tutor you in addition to myself." Remus had explained himself earlier before they left Diagon Alley. "I will also teaching you in between my various tasks. Between the two of us, Dumbledore, and yourselves, provided you study, you should be able to comprehend most of the fifth year curriculum before you enter Hogwarts. There will of course be extra tutoring during the coming school year, but that is to be expected…you only have a month to learn the basics after all."
The idea of a girl their own age teaching them anything was an alien thought; none of them had ever had a peer tutor.
When they reached the front door, Remus knocked swiftly.
They heard muffled sounds of voices from inside the house, and a few quick footsteps in quick succession.
A second later, and the door opened.
"Professor Lupin!" a feminine voice exclaimed. All three Americans stretched their necks to peer over Remus' shoulder.
"Hermione," Remus smiled. "It's very nice to see you again."
As a courtesy to his curious charges, Remus stepped a bit to the left. The feminine voice had obviously come from the girl at the front door. Bushy brown hair and an expression which denoted a higher level of intelligence; such traits suggested she had scholarly habits by appearance alone.
"Danny, Sam, Tucker?" Remus introduced, "This is Hermione Granger. Fellow classmate, and soon to be tutor. Hermione? These are the American transfers, Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, and Tucker Foley."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Hermione said kindly. "I can imagine this must be quite a lot to take in at once," she said in an understanding voice. "But I promise to help as much as I can." The firm tone she carried reminded Danny heavily of Jazz.
Danny smiled. She didn't seem too bad. "Thanks," he spoke up first. "For letting us stay for a month; we'll try our best not to free-load," he added with an apologetic smirk.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, thanks a lot," she said in earnest.
Tucker, who had sworn to himself not to be awkward, nodded fervently.
"We are happy to have you," a masculine voice responded. Danny and his friends snapped their gazes upward.
"I'm sorry mum, dad," Hermione said in a laughing voice. "These are the exchange students!"
"I gathered as much," Mrs. Granger said in a warm voice. The lady nodded her head in Remus' direction. "I appreciate your help in getting them here," she said. "Hermione has been nagging us to get registered with the Floo Network, and we never listened—,"
"I suppose now you will?" Hermione interjected with a smug look. Mr. Granger rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Hermione, you win," he said kindly. "Shall we let our guests wait out in the night air, or are we going to let them in?" he asked amused.
Everyone chuckled at this, and Remus moved aside to gather the additional luggage they had acquired earlier in the day as the others moved inside.
The only thought that was going through Danny's tired, drained, but happy brain, was:
This is going to be an interesting year….