A/N: Hey everyone! I apologize for the long wait – things…like life…came up suddenly and abruptly. I had to deal with a few family members dying at the same time and, obviously, that didn't exactly inspire creativity. But I warn you that this chapter's a long one, chock full of back story. ….Really. If you get bored, just think of this as filling in some plot holes, and pretend that they know everything already. Hehehe.

I want to thank the ENORMOUS amount of reviews I received for the third chapter alone! I can't even list you all, because that would only make this chapter longer, if such a thing is possible. HOLY. CRUD. 98 reviews for a meager three chapters? Methinks its time to step it up!

And thus, I present to you the FOURTH chapter, Shiva be praised. Enjoy!

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Phasmatis Cruor

Chapter Four: Meetings in the Dark

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Vlad Masters wasn't a patient man.

He pretended he was, but it was merely a farce he maintained in order to get what he wanted.

There hadn't been any sign of Daniel for about two weeks. He had been monitoring Miss Grey's equipment, and though there had been the usual daily bombardment of ghosts, there had been no Daniel blustering his way into the fight.

He didn't underestimate the boy; Vlad had learned that lesson when they first met. But the absence of "Phantom's" presence in Amity Park had become unsettling, not only to him, but to just about everyone else in the small city.

The plebeians don't understand how much he does for this pathetic little town, Vlad thought in disgust. Of course Daniel, being the heroic fool he was, had stated many times that their waxing and waning faith in him was inconsequential. Vlad was beginning to wonder if he should just kidnap the boy and force him into an apprenticeship with the serious threat of blackmail or framing. There was so much he could teach him….

So, for lack of digital evidence, Vlad made a little trip to the Fenton family homestead.

"Vladdy my man! It's great to see you!"

Vlad struggled within an iron-grip of a hug. "Always…" he gritted out, annoyance sliding beneath his words as he slipped out of Jack's over enthusiastic grasp.

"It's a pleasure to see you here," Maddie said sweetly as she gestured him inside.

"Yes," Vlad said warmly, his disposition changing swiftly, "And it is always a pleasure to see you Maddie."

"Won't you come in?" she gestured towards the couch. Vlad nodded, and swiftly made his way over to the sofa, sitting with as much regality as possible without putting anyone off.

"Thank you for having me," Vlad said in a silky manner. "I know it is a bit abrupt of me to do so without so much as calling you before hand."

"Oh no, it's perfectly alright," Maddie smiled, sitting down next to Jack. "I know I've had misgivings about you," she said in a fairly pointed manner that Jack didn't seem to acknowledge (whether that was pure stupidity or ignorance, Vlad wasn't entirely sure). "But after that whole business with the ghost invasion – you finding our Danny and all – you will always be welcome in our home."

"Thank you," Vlad said, voice grateful, yet not at the same time. "Actually, my visit regards young Daniel." His fingers absently tapped the couch where he was sitting; for some reason his patience was almost non-existent today – he was already dismissing pleasantries. "Is he here?"

Maddie and Jack looked at him with surprise. "Danny? Oh…no! No, he isn't here at the moment – as a matter of fact, he'll be away until next summer."

Vlad's expression froze. "Pardon?"

Jack grinned proudly. "He got accepted into an overseas school."

"It was the best we could hope for," Maddie stood up, a bit surprised at the look of shock on Vlad's face. "With his grades and all," she said dryly. "Would you like something to drink?"

It took a brief moment to recollect himself in order to respond. "Oh yes, of course, thank you. Tea?"

"As always," Maddie remembered, wandering into the kitchen.

Being left alone with Jack to talk to, and no hidden agenda to further at the moment, Vlad floundered for a moment. "Jack, tell me, what sort of school?"

"It's a private school," the larger man said avidly. "They only take the special kids."

Special?

"I assume this program is costly." It wasn't a question.

Jack winced, but quickly recovered. "Well, he was offered a scholarship too."

This made Vlad raise both eyebrows in surprise. It was highly unlikely that this was true – Daniel, though intelligent, was not very school-friendly. His study habits left quite a lot to be desired, and horrible grades were the result.

He apparently hadn't learned how to cheat yet. How unfortunate.

"Of course," Vlad said smoothly. "It is a wonderful opportunity to be awarded such a privilege," he added just as Maddie reentered the room.

"True," she said, smiling as she handed out the tea. Vlad noticed a small hesitance in her expression and took the opportunity to dig deeper.

"What's the school's name?" he asked innocently.

"Oh it's not that special," Maddie hastily interrupted, as Jack was about to say something. "It's just this small place in Great Britain where they specialize in honing certain abilities that improve a child's study habits."

Vlad raised another eyebrow. "Is Jasmine there as well?"

"Oh no, she wasn't accepted," Maddie said sadly. "But she took it in stride and wished her brother good luck. I swear, they seem to have gotten closer this year – more so than ever," she trailed off thoughtfully.

If the whole scholarship nonsense wasn't enough to trigger doubt, Jasmine's non-acceptance was the clincher. No school would say no to those grades.

Jasmine and Daniel are only closer because she knows his secret; I wonder if he would be worse off if she didn't….Hmm.

"Why on earth wasn't Jasmine invited?" Vlad put just enough incredulous sincerity into his tone. "Not to offend Daniel, but she is quite the little" –meddling– "genius."

Maddie and Jack both, instead of smiling proudly, grinned uneasily. "The school is for students with brilliant potential, but lacking in the discipline to get through regular school," Maddie said quickly while Jack nodded.

Vlad couldn't believe it. They were hiding something!

"Ah, I see," he said slowly. "Well, do tell Daniel I wish him the best."

They both seemed to sag in relief. Vlad's brain churned.

It couldn't be his secret; otherwise they wouldn't let him go anywhere. It has to be something else…but what on earth could it be?

"What was the name of the school again?" he asked, trying to pry it out of them once more.

"Hogwarts –" Jack began.
"School for Students of Excellence," finished Maddie hurriedly. "It's really hard to find," she insisted. "But if you wish to contact Danny, just give us your mail!" she said brightly.

Vlad resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Jack had been honest about the name – who could lie about a name like that? And Maddie insisting on written letters as opposed to e-mail….Yes. They were hiding something about the school, not necessarily Daniel himself.

"Oh, would you look at the time!" Maddie said, standing up in shock. "Jack and I have a very important meeting to attend to tonight, and it's in Washington D.C! We better get packing, right Jack?" Maddie practically shouted the last bit of the sentence. Jack sat bewildered before getting up at the look of urgency on his wife's face, and heading to the lab at top speed.

Before Vlad could say anything, Maddie had wished him good day and left him on the doorstep, frustrated and confused.

He turned his back and walked back to his personal limo, glaring the entire way.

If Daniel doesn't want to be found, then I will find him. He can't hide forever…and I will discover his new secret. …Whether Maddie likes it or not.

-+-+-+-+-

Two weeks had passed in rapid time.

In the intervening period, Danny, Tucker, and Sam had practiced basic magic in all its shapes and forms from dawn to dusk every day. Hermione had grilled them on facts and procedures, mostly theory work, making sure they had the details. Meanwhile, Remus made a conscious effort to pop in every once in a while, assessing their practical skills to balance it out.

Hermione had been trusted to teach four years worth of curriculum in two month's. She had been extremely reluctant at first, dubious as to the reason why Dumbledore would choose her of all people. When she had begun to mention the situation to her parents, they had smiled at her.

"Hermione, dear," her mother interjected. "You are one of the brightest witches in Hogwarts; I'm not saying that because I'm your mother, I'm saying it because your grades and test scores…and survival, have proved that fact."

Her father nodded. "Plus, it'll be nice to have some one your age over for a visit. They are, what was the term…ah, muggleborn as well, are they not?"

Hermione had a secret suspicion that her parents believed she didn't have many friends, thus their insistence on letting the Americans stay. She felt like protesting that idea, but she let herself give in to her parents' presumption. She had friends, it was simply the fact that they didn't visit (or in Harry's case, couldn't visit).

It was strange, but the three exchange students were more than just simple muggleborns. The fact that they were aware of ghosts before they learned they were magically inclined surprised her greatly. When she asked how that was possible, Danny gave her a pained look and told her to sit down.

"It's a long story…" he had begun.

So Amity Park had a 'ghost portal.' He was a bit evasive about who owned said portal, but what ever bit of knowledge he did relinquish astounded her, and made her more interested in muggle technology than ever before. She asked the poor boy so many questions, that Saman— oh…right, Sam, put a hand on her shoulder and asked her politely to stop, or Danny's brain might explode.

Hermione had felt at first that she would be polite and congenial, and then even if Sam, Tucker, or Danny were not pleasant, she wouldn't be affected even if she was teaching them. But after the first few days of their company, she found that they were just as fun and exciting to be around as Ron or Harry and possibly the Weasley twins (she only said 'possibly' because the Americans were almost as mischievous as they…when the three were in the mood).

She was also glad that they weren't foolish. And by foolish, she meant thick. It was hard enough to teach so much in so little time, but if she had to deal with a bunch of dunderheads she might have politely asked Dumbledore to let someone else take them for tutoring.

The amount of revision, and this type of revision was not just for their benefit; Hermione had planned to do this before term began in preparation for the O.W.Ls, but having a few new friends made the relearning experience more interesting. After all, new minds included new perspectives, and Hermione was always looking for different perspectives.

The most interesting bit of information she discovered revealed itself on the second day they were there. She had asked if they had been sorted yet at breakfast, and was happy to hear that Sam, the most sarcastic one of the group (which was saying something), was placed in Gryffindor. Tucker, the most technologically inclined person she had ever met, had been sorted into Ravenclaw. Hermione was curious; her first impression of the African-American boy was one of great uncertainty—she had thought him rather lazy. But after a few days of teaching them, she discovered that he was brilliant at his theory…when you sat him down and made him revise.

Danny had been a bit of a conundrum. Hermione had guessed Hufflepuff, or maybe Gryffindor, when she asked him where he had been placed. The raven-haired boy shook his head with a polite smile and said, as if he had been talking about the weather, that he had been sorted into Slytherin.

Hermione had never thought that the Sorting Hat would be wrong, but in this case she was baffled by its choice. First of all, Danny, for all intensive purposes, was a muggle-born. What little she knew of Slytherin compounded the fact that most of the students in the house of snakes were of pureblood wizarding families. She had never heard of a half-blood in Slytherin, let alone a muggle-born. But then, she thought, if she truly believed that a pureblood made a Slytherin that would make her no better then those she accused.

Danny simply seemed far too kind, too loyal, too brash to be Slytherin, but Hermione was aware that she didn't know him well enough to judge him on face value; there was far more to Danny then she could see, that much she gathered. She made sure to be a little more cautious around him, if only for the fact that he would be in a position to tell of her habits to other, less … favorable people. In the end, her views on Slytherin had to be readjusted to fit Danny's profile. Maybe, she thought hopefully, Maybe there are more like him in Slytherin than we suspect….

"Swish and flick, Tucker," Hermione insisted. "And don't forget to accent the 'gar' and 'o' in Wingardium Leviosa."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Yes mom," he said tiredly as he prodded the quill he was trying to levitate once more.

Hermione eyed Sam, who was currently trying to turn a goblet into a bird. "And make sure you have the picture of your animal perfectly in mind – muscles and bones and all. It'll turn into something quite different if you imagine the bird as a goblet and not the other way around."

Sam nodded seriously. "You have any more books on the transfiguration of larger animals and people?" she asked, setting down her wand for the moment. "There's something I want to check out."

Hermione smiled happily, eager to share the knowledge, and pleased to have someone else just as interested in books as she was. "Of course! I'll have to dig it out. I'll be just a moment," she called as she left the room to go find the book.

Danny looked up from sorting out a few potion ingredients. "Hermione?" he asked, catching her before she left.

"Yes?" she responded.

"Uh, I was wondering," Danny walked beside her as they left the room. "You have any information about ghosts?" he blurted out.

Hermione looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "Why do you ask?"

"I haven't exactly told you what my parents do, have I?" he asked, the slight wince not escaping Hermione.

She shook her head. Danny's expression was pained, but he managed an amused smile.

"I guess I should tell you, I mean," he stuttered a bit and then shook his head. "You would have found out eventually," he added coming to a stop at the edge of the stairs.

Hermione gave him a blank look. "Yes?" she encouraged when he went silent.

"Myparentsareghosthunters," he said, not looking at her in the eye.

She stared at him and tilted her head. "Sorry?" she said slowly. "I didn't quite…"

He took a deep breath. "My parents are ghost hunters," he said, this time annunciating clearly.

Hermione blinked slowly. "Why?" she asked in confusion, and then blushed. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean – "

Danny smiled weakly. "Well, it is a legitimate question," he admitted. "No worries," he waved off her frantic apologies. "Anyway, that's why I ask about the ghost stuff – I thought it might help them with their research."

Hermione was still puzzled over the fact that anyone would actually hunt ghosts in the first place, but she wisely kept that opinion to herself.

"I personally don't have anything that could help, but Hogwarts has an extensive library and I'm sure you could find what you're looking for there."

Danny looked over his shoulder and then back to her. He nodded in response to her answer and then grinned. "I take it you really like Hogwarts then?"

Hermione looked proud. "It's my second home. I can't really explain it."

"You don't really have to." Danny twiddled with his wand and blushed lightly.

Before Hermione could respond, there was a great explosion from where Tucker and Sam were practicing.

"Help!" Tucker's panicked tones carried into the hallway where the two of them were standing. "The rug's on fire!"

"Are you a wizard or aren't you?" Sam's exasperated voice quickly followed, also slightly frantic. "Put it out! Or didn't you learn the water spells?"

There was a moment's pause before Tucker and Sam screamed: "…HERMIONE!"

"I think I better go help them." Hermione said, her lip twitching despite the urgency; Sam's comment about being a wizard or not reminded her of her own First Year.

Danny's face was trying to decide whether or not to break out into a laughing grin, or an expression of horror. "Yeah," he said quickly, eyeing the smoke that was starting to billow out of the room nervously.

Hermione bit down a smile and ran to help her friends.

-------

It was a minor fire, really, compared to others Hermione had seen before (most came from poor Neville, unfortunately; Potions was really not his best class). She enforced more water-related spells, as well as the precise incantation to put out a fire. Sam and Tucker both got to work on those, bickering the whole time. Hermione was strongly reminded of herself and Ron; though she admitted, blushing, that she bickered with him on purpose.

Danny had made himself scarce, though Hermione swore he must have made himself invisible. She had looked up and down for him, relentlessly searching the house and even the yard outside.

It was odd – he tended to do this often, with little effort on his part. Hermione swore she would find out how he did it, if not just for the sake of finding him easier.

She was walking down the hall when she blinked.

Danny was standing on the steps leading up to her bedroom, and their respective rooms (Sam had bunked with her and the guest room had been selected by Danny and Tucker as their sanctuary). The only reason this struck Hermione as odd was the fact that he hadn't been there a millisecond ago. It was like he had suddenly appeared there…but she knew Danny didn't know Apparition—and even if he did, he wasn't allowed! She shook her head and eyed him curiously as the boy headed up the stairs, following him. She assured herself that she was merely going to get her book, not shadowing a friend.

"Hey Draco," she heard him say after he entered his room.

Hermione started in surprise. She put an ear to his door.

"And who's this? A friend?" he continued after a long rustling silence.

By this point, Hermione looked completely confused. She knocked rapidly on the door. "Danny? Are you there?" she asked.

"Yeah, hang on a sec," he responded. There were muffled footsteps heard until the door swung open.

Hermione had insisted that they try to wear robes for most of their work, just so they could get used to wearing them. Danny had changed out of them already, but was most certainly not in his regular clothes.

"…Danny, are those your dress robes?" Hermione asked faintly.

Danny merely blinked at her and then blushed. "Oh. Uh yeah, I hadn't really tried them on before so I thought that maybe I could—," he cut himself off and took a breath. "Madame Malkin wouldn't let me leave without buying this stupid thing," he grumbled, obviously embarrassed.

It was a strange sight, to see the normally humble looking Danny in garb so…formal and regal. The outfit was spectacular, and Hermione predicted that someone had paid quite a lot for such a set of robes. There were silver inlaid on the cuffs, twirling so that the curves looked like tiny dragons. The pants were long and baggy, but they fell elegantly to touch the floor; a flame-like design flowing up from the hem. It had a high collar, and the entire outfit looked like something out of an old pureblood collection – or perhaps a commission.

After an embarrassing silence where Danny avoided her disbelieving gaze, Hermione took a look around and confirmed that there were no hidden Malfoys in the room. "Who were you talking to?" she asked in confusion. She thought to add the mysterious appearance on the stairs to the List of Questions She Would Ask Later.

"Oh," he answered, the blush deepening. "Just my owl…and another random one that just showed up out of the blue," he gestured to the window.

"You're owl's name is Draco…?" Hermione's eyes followed his outstretched finger and saw a dark owl, and another, who was carrying a small parchment inked with elegant green lines.

"Oh!" she cried before Danny could answer her, running to the windowsill and taking the small message in the small owl's beak with gentle hands. She handed a small treat to the brown white barn owl, who hooted happily as Draco the owl nudged it in a pseudo-friendly manner – the dark owl was aiming for the treat.

"What is it?" Danny asked in a slightly bewildered voice. Hermione suddenly remembered that Danny had never seen Owl Post before.

"It's a letter from Hogwarts…I think," she said after a moment, looking at the sender's name. "No, it's from Dumbledore!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What on earth could he want?" she added, flipping open the letter with practiced ease.

Danny puzzled over the name. "Dumbledore…that's Remus' boss, right?" he asked out loud to himself.

Hermione responded with a strange look. "In a sense; Remus used to be a professor."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Danny muttered. "It's why you called him 'professor' when we first got here."

She didn't respond, reading the elegant text on the page with fervent eyes. Looking over to see Danny's confused expression, she took a deep breath.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"I have to go – go help my Headmaster with an important issue," Hermione said, most certainly not really lying; she didn't have the heart to do it to Danny for some reason. "It will probably take the rest of summer Holidays," she said, a part of her heart plummeting.

Danny nodded; he kept his suspicions, if he had any, to himself. There was a lot she wasn't telling him, he could tell just by looking at her eyes. He hoped he might find out a bit more about what was going on when he met this Dumbledore person once more…as Phantom.

Hermione sighed again and rolled up the letter in her hand, crinkling it slightly. "I better go tell mum and dad," she murmured and, with one last puzzlingly sad look at her new friend, she strode out of the room, leaving Danny to ponder.

-------

"So I'll be with Ron and his family," she was explaining to her mother and father. "And Harry will be with us as well after he finishes with his dealings in the Ministry."

Mary Granger exchanged a worried look with her husband, John. "This is serious, isn't it?" she asked her daughter.

Hermione gave a tiny nod. "I am worried," she admitted. "A real trial…over self-defense of all things!" she exclaimed, her worry turning into anger. "Of all the stupid incidents to try and pin him for, they go for the least plausible case! It makes me wonder if someone outside the ministry is meddling…." Her worry was showing on her face once more.

"Harry attracts this sort of attention all the time, though," John said in an even tone. "Do you think he'll be able to handle it?"

Hermione looked at her father and tried her best not to cry. "I don't know daddy." Her voice was going wobbly and the floor was starting to look fuzzy. "I don't know."

-+-+-+-+-

The week after Hermione left passed in a dark and solemn mood.

Danny had no idea why, but even he felt strangely apprehensive. He didn't like being in a position of ignorance, and neither did Sam or Tucker. And he was getting tired of it.

Hermione's parents were very kind, and they helped the three Americans study as much as they could with the knowledge their daughter had given them. Remus also stopped by more often now, as Hermione had been called away.

Sam had drawn Tucker and himself into a huddle one evening, however, and expressed her irritation at the lack of knowledge they had at the moment.

"It's getting ridiculous," she said frowning, her wand glowing in the darkness of the basement where they had hidden. "Her parent's are worried, and that worry is spreading around us like a disease. We know Hermione's involved in Headmaster Dumbledore's plans, but we, as we are now, are in no position to ask. I want to know what's going on, and Danny," she paused here. "You're in the best position to figure it out."

Danny had seen this coming. "I was a bit fuzzy about whether or not I'd be here…maybe I should actually get around to meeting Remus and Dumbledore – officially this time."

"How do we explain Danny's absence?" Sam muttered to herself. "It's not like we can tell the Granger's he just decided to go for a stroll."

The three of them pondered for a moment. "Well, you could always say you're sick – we could stand watch and everything." Tucker quickly rummaged in his bag and took out a certain modified iPod. "Remember this?" he said impishly.

Danny almost laughed, but smothered it in his need to be secretive. "Perfect. Just make sure they don't search the room either." His eyes lit up. "Sam?" he wheedled. "Make me soup?"

Sam glared at him for a long minute, and Danny wondered if he had pushed his luck. Then she smiled. "Of course, even if it's only to keep Mrs. Granger from coming upstairs."

Danny and Tucker cringed; her smile was one of pure evil.

"Remember to tell us everything," Tucker reminded him as he and Sam headed back upstairs, preparing the story for Danny's disappearance.

Danny shook his head and for the first time in a long while, went ghost, turned invisible, and flew upwards through the house.

-------

Remus had come over for a quick review of their Defense against the Dark Arts, as well as Charms and Transfiguration. So, really, it wasn't exactly supposed to be a quick review.

But they had finished much earlier than anticipated, and Remus had stayed for some tea and sympathy, chatting with the Grangers. He had been subtly interrogated about how Hermione was faring, and also, surprisingly, if Harry was alright. Remus was pleased to hear that they cared, and was wholly willing to tell them that both were alive and well.

Remus was also surprised to hear them talk about the three new students. He, himself, had been pleased to note that all of them were rather intelligent and easy to teach – excusing the bad study habits that seemed crop up around Danny at time. Sam was already pretty adapt at magic, her skills quickly progressing from amateur to intermediate in rapid time. Tucker followed quickly behind in his abilities. Danny was still struggling with some of the more simple aspects of subjects; he was decidedly an enigma, trading from being excellent with one spell and horrible with another – even if the two were related. Remus had yet to understand how his magic fluctuated in such a polarizing manner. It was something they had to work on, for certain.

He excused himself to go wash the dishes – he had insisted. It was when he was in the kitchen, alone, that a shiver ran down his spine.

"Psst!"

Remus stilled. He could have sworn someone had whispered.

"Remus?" the voice came again. Remus turned his head around in surprise, and saw a familiar face floating above the floor.

"Danny Phantom?" he said bewildered. "You actually came?"

The ghost grinned. "I said I'd see you again, didn't I?"

Remus nervous anticipation collapsed into sweet relief. "I…I wasn't sure."

The apparition nodded and landed silently on the linoleum floor. "Sorry to startle you. I wanted to talk about what you wanted me to do…I'm sort of in the dark. Did I mention it took forever to find you?" He looked vaguely sheepish at his own tone. "I mean, I wasn't sure on how to contact you, so…."

"It's nothing – I am relieved to find you here. I take it you would like to know what I was talking about when we first met." Remus set his cup and small plate in the sink.

"Yeah, actually. If I'm going to be helping you like I think I'm going to help you, then you need to tell me everything."

Remus looked into the glowing green eyes of the young-looking ghost and sighed. "Even I don't know everything. I think it's best if you met Dumbledore."

"The guy who found me?"

"Precisely," Remus said. "He is essentially the one in charge." He frowned suddenly. "You can come to me for the more puzzling bits, in case Dumbledore sounds like he is evading something. Also, the Dark Lord has just recently returned, and there have been…conflicting viewpoints between Albus Dumbledore and our Minister, Cornelius Fudge." Remus winced inwardly at this. "The reason this amount of secrecy is necessary is to keep the ministry from interfering and preventing sufficient defenses and potential offense to be made." There was a moment of silence where he let Phantom understand the information.

Phantom stared at him. "So…has anyone actually have any proof that this Lord Voldemort is back?" he asked, confused.

"The only proof we have is the word of one boy," Remus said tiredly. "And I believe him – if anyone would know if the Dark Lord had returned, he would."

"That's…Harry Potter, right?" Danny asked uncertainly – he had heard Hermione mention him before with great familiarity. Did she know him personally?

Remus looked at him and refrained from blinking in surprise. "Yes. He was the one who, in essence, defeated the Dark Lord about 15 years ago. Threw off the Killing Curse…and he was only a baby." Remus stopped. The memories were starting to flood back and he didn't feel comfortable explaining more. "In any case, it's early in the afternoon. I think we'll be able to meet Dumbledore before he goes out anywhere."

Danny Phantom nodded again. "Alright, I guess. I just don't want to be lied to about anything – that wouldn't be cool…or helpful."

Colloquialism aside, Remus conceded his point; there was no reason to lie. "Just let me clean up here, and we will leave immediately –," he stopped abruptly. "Oh dear."

"What is it?" Danny asked. The worried look on Remus' face made him nervous.

The man looked to him in dismay. "I'm not sure if you we can transport you there." A few dishes clattered and chinked together in the sink as he washed them, a focused look on his face. "I know of know transportation device or maneuver that works with incorporeal beings such as spirits or ghosts."

"Can't you use – I mean I'm not incorporeal; I can hold onto things as easily as the next living person…unless you have to be alive when you use, er, whatever you use."

Remus started and then gave a short laugh. "I honestly forgot – I'm still not sure what would happen though, you understand. I don't think anyone has ever had a solid spiritual mass to experiment with."

Phantom shrugged and grinned slightly. "I'll take my chances."

-------

Danny circled the house outside, invisible, waiting for Remus to make his appearance. Remus had insisted on keeping him a secret from the Granger's, at least, for the time being. They never knew who was watching or listening, for that matter.

After a few minutes, he watched Remus exit the house, waving good day to Hermione's mom and dad. Danny trailed him for a few minutes until Remus made a small gesture and turned into a nearby alleyway.

Turning visible, he followed him. "So…how are we doing this?" he asked, touching down on the asphalt.

Remus took a mitten out of his pocket. "This is a portkey – it will take us directly to where we should be. If it doesn't work, and you are left here, don't move," he instructed. "I will apparate back, and we will find alternate transportation."

Danny nodded in acknowledgment. "Right."

Remus eyed a small device that was almost a watch on his left wrist. "Alright, on the count of three, touch the mitten."

Inwardly, Danny was trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. A mitten, of all things?

"Three, two, one!"

It was the oddest feeling, being yanked backward suddenly. Danny held back his first, immediate reaction, which was to turn around and blast the offending force. Instead, he concentrated on not throwing up.

In what felt like a split second of extreme vertigo, the two of them landed; Remus was mildly brushing himself off, and Danny landed butt-first on the stone riddled steps of Hogwarts. He hadn't ever seen the place from the outside, and after Danny was done not falling over, he gave the place an impressed glance. Sam was really going to love this place.

As they went inside, the large gates opening with an ancient groan, Danny quickly smothered the three or four ghost senses that went off at almost the same time. Remus stared at him as he hiccupped.

"Um, sorry," he said, getting a deep breath. "It's just something that happens when I get near a ghost." Or like, 500 of them at once, apparently. "Don't worry about it—"

"Well hello there!"

Danny looked around for the voice until Remus spoke. "Hello Sir Nicholas."

A grey-ish colored semi-transparent ghost floated in the middle of the wall. Danny only knew one ghost that was lacking in color, and Pointdexter wasn't nearly as old as this 'Sir Nicholas' spirit.

"It's been a while since we've seen you," the apparition said kindly.

Remus chuckled. "I have been out of school for quite some time. But it is nice to see you once again."

"I thought something powerful and possibly bad was nearby, but if that was true, we wouldn't be speaking like this, I suppose," the ghost said to Remus, frowning in thought. Then his eyes found Danny.

It took a moment, but a second later, Sir Nicholas did the biggest double-take. "My word," he breathed, still staring at Danny, who was beginning to squirm. "It's you."

Remus looked extremely interested. "You two know each other?" he prompted with not a little eagerness.

"Not personally no," Sir Nicholas said before Danny could speak. "But I certainly have heard of him."

"Sorry," Danny said quickly. "But I'm not sure we've ever, er, that is…um." He stopped and blushed terribly. "I'm not sure I've ever heard of you," he pulled together at last.

The other ghost practically guffawed. "Oh no! I'm not nearly as famous as you, dear boy. The only half—,"

"Really?" Danny interrupted frantically, his voice trying to be as casual as possible. "I didn't know I was known here in England."

Sir Nicholas didn't look particularly upset at being cut off. "Oh yes. All over the ethereal plane, I believe. You're quite well-known." He gave a slight bow to the both of them and smiled widely. "I must tell the others. Are you going to be staying long?"

Danny looked to Remus who put a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be with us for quite some time, I believe," the man answered for him, hiding a smile.

"Oh marvelous! I will take my leave now. Be seeing you, Danny Phantom," he said graciously, and slipped through the nearest wall, disappearing.

"Not that famous, indeed." Remus grinned at him and continued his walk. Danny groaned inaudibly and levitated, floating behind him.

He was going to have to tell all the ghosts in this castle to keep their respective mouths shut about his 'condition'. Danny wasn't looking forward to it, especially if any of them were like the ghosts back home.

-------

Danny reacted surprised and amazed, even though he had already been in Headmaster Dumbledore's office before. "Nice," he said aloud.

"Thank you," came a familiar old voice. "I happen to think it needs more blue, myself."

Albus Dumbledore, decked out in a bright royal blue and golden star ensemble, was smiling in his direction. "I don't believe we have had the pleasure of a formal meeting," he continued. "I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

Danny blinked.

Dumbledore grinned. "You may call me Albus."

Danny refrained from breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm Danny Phantom, ghostly ghost hunter extraordinaire," he said dryly. "Remus tells me that you're the one who's going to tell me what it is you want me to do."

"Correct," Albus said, nodding. "Please sit. I'm afraid that this explanation will be a rather long one."

He was right about that. Danny had to stand up a few times to make sure his arms and legs were still working; to Remus' curious look, he merely said that he often paced to think things over.

Dumbledore told him quite a lot, which was probably the biggest understatement of the year. Starting with the rise of Lord Voldemort, otherwise known as Tom Riddle, he described the war that rose with him; all of history was important enough to be described in great detail. He told him of the Death Eaters, and of their mission to eliminate muggles and muggleborns. Danny gulped internally: that meant him and his friends, as well as his family.

Suddenly, it got personal.

There were a few trips taken into a large stone bowl that was filled with a mercurial silvery substance. He didn't know how it worked, but Albus explained that the liquid-air bits in the bowl were memories made physical, and the bowl itself was called a Pensieve. In it he watched different trials, condemning different criminals. He saw a few that related to Voldemort directly, and some that were suspicious enough to possibly be related at all. He told the story of the Boy Who Lived, a Harry Potter, and how he stopped Voldemort, practically killing him by rebounding the Killing Curse

Then, Albus spoke of The Order of the Phoenix.

"We are a secret group dedicated to stopping Tom at all costs," he explained. "And, simply put, I would like to make you a member."

Danny's ears had been ringing with all the information, and until now, he had been mostly on auto-pilot. When he registered this new bit, he started in surprise. "Me?" he half-squeaked. Embarrassed, he coughed. "Um, I'm not sure why…."

"Because you seem to be oddly powerful and on the side of Light," Albus said seriously. "And in these desperate times, I find that rare enough to commend you for it." His mouth crinkled into a small smile. "Plus, I believe we need all the help we can acquire," the old man said simply.

Danny was completely blown away. After all he had learned about the war previously fought to stop Voldemort, it was rare to involve anyone under the age of 20. Of course, they didn't know how old he really was, so accepting him, as a ghost, was no big deal. "Well, I don't think I could say no, even if I tried," he said after a pregnant pause.

Dumbledore smiled gratefully. "I would be the first to give you our thanks, and deep appreciation," he said truthfully. "There will be much we can learn from each other, of that I am sure."

"I'm not sure how much use I'll be though – I'm not that, er, experienced with war, really." Danny was questioning their motives than his own. That and he was nervous; sure he'd fought one on one before, but not a battle or any thing remotely like what he'd been shown. Nor had he really fought a human who could fight back (excluding Valerie, Vlad, and his parents…sort of) – well, nobody who was capable of truly killing someone in cold blood. As annoying and bad Vlad may be, Danny didn't really think the older halfa could do murder.

Albus raised an amused eyebrow. "I didn't recall asking you to fight; I had understood that you were capable of invisibility and intangibility. Can you really engage in battle?" he asked in a wondering voice.

Danny grinned, feeling like this more his area. "Sure. Do you want me to prove it?"

-------

After Danny was finished demonstrating his abilities, there was a charred patch of land about 300 feet in diameter. He had pretty much shown the two wizards his entire arsenal of offensive and defensive abilities. When he had asked them to throw curses at a shield he had made around himself, Remus had hesitated, but Dumbledore coerced him into trying a few stunning spells. They all were successfully deflected.

"That's why I thought you were asking me to fight," he concluded, feeling a little bad for the destruction.

Albus and Remus both stared at the amount of space Danny had cleared; Dumbledore looked on with extreme curiosity while Remus did his best to hide a dumb-founded expression.

"Interesting," Dumbledore said, an amused tone creeping into his words. "Well, if anything, you have demonstrated that you are fully capable of defending yourself, as well as others. I am very impressed." The old man walked across disintegrated grass particles and shook Danny's hand. "I believe we are lucky to have you on our side," he said warmly.

Danny shook back firmly, a smile on his face. "Glad to help, honestly," he said in return. It was a strange feeling – Albus was treating him more like an adult, rather than the …younger person he really was. Maybe he thought that power was equivalent with age. Danny snorted inwardly.

"We must discuss your origins at some point," Albus said with purely intellectual curiosity.

"Right," Danny said nervously. "Someday."

"Remus, I believe it is far too late to continue this conversation," Albus said, directing his attention to the other man. "Perhaps you should take Phantom to Grimmauld," he added, a twinkle in his eye before he handed the still shell-shocked Remus a small pocket watch. "Welcome to the Order," he said kindly to Danny. With a little head bob, Albus swept up and strode back towards Hogwarts.

A few moments of quiet reigned until Remus took a deep breath.

"Well then," he said, running a hand through his hair. "We should be heading off."

"Is that another one of those transporter things?" Danny asked suspiciously, pointing at the small watch.

Remus grinned shakily. "A Portkey? Yes, I'm afraid so." The older man shook his head. "I'm sorry, it's just – I've never seen that much spiritual power projected at once and in such a short time." 'By such a young-looking creature' seemed to be left hanging, unsaid, at the end of the sentence. Danny saw his discomfort and straightened.

"It's just what I do," he said simply. Then he groaned. "I'm not looking forward to the trip."

Remus laughed, his discomfort ebbing at the sight of Danny's pained expression. "Surely it's not that bad!"

Danny winced as Remus started counting down. Apparently, I'm just a wimp for twisty, upside down, upchuck-inducing tail spin, instantaneous travel. Lucky me.

-+-+-+-+-

Harry had been trying to sleep for the past hour or so. Unfortunately for him, Voldemort was easily excitable, which gave him splitting headaches.

It hadn't even been a week since he had been whisked off to Grimmauld Place, and he was still exhausted, vestiges of anger still lingering from his outburst when he had arrived seven days earlier.

He felt terrible about it, actually; both the trial and the Argument. Even though the fact that he had been kept in the dark still made him furious, he shouldn't have taken it out his own friends; friends that had stuck by him when no one else did. He related quite readily to Sirius, who had also been caged for most of the summer, and took it as a good sign that his Godfather related to him as well.

Harry shifted around in his blankets and then sat up, rubbing his forehead tiredly. It was a second later that he heard Molly Weasley's voice.

"…appropriate? To be dealing with a ghost of all creatures…."

Harry raised an eyebrow, extremely curious.

"He's perfectly safe Molly," Remus' familiar voice was muffled by the door. "Dumbledore wouldn't have approved of it if he wasn't."

"But should we be involving Harry again?" asked Mrs. Weasley in a firm tone. "He shouldn't have to be so mixed up in all this," she whispered, and Harry had to press his ear to the door in order to hear her.

"Yes," Remus responded in a weary tone. "He deserves to know the war we are involving ourselves in, if not simply because the Dark Lord tried to kill him, then because he has seen one of his comrades die."

Harry leaned away from his door in shock.

"That sort of thing gives people a more mature outlook on life." He heard Remus pause for a moment before continuing. "I could continue to list the poor boy's exploits, but I think you know them all already," Remus added with a smile in his voice.

Said boy responded to the comments with a hidden, somber smile…which soon disappeared when he realized that the voices and footsteps were heading in his direction.

Quickly, he scrambled back into bed and pretended to be asleep, ignoring Ron's snores.

The door creaked open, and Harry sat up, acting like he had been sleeping the entire time.

"Sorry to bother you so late Harry," Remus said quietly, casting a Silencio over the room to prevent Ron from waking. "But it's urgent that you come downstairs." He smiled. "There's a new member of the Order we'd like you to meet."

-------

Danny floated, invisible, waiting for Remus to come back downstairs and announce him. It wasn't that he wanted to make a big entrance or anything, but he felt awkward if it was just him and whole bunch of people he didn't know.

"A ghost?" a black-haired man growled, entering into the room where Danny floated. Danny was startled enough to fall a foot out of the air, but thankfully, not turn visible. "Dumbledore's teaming up with a ghost of all things?" he asked again, louder this time – to the point of yelling.

"Sirius, please, don't shout," pleaded the next voice, which turned out to be a young woman with shockingly pink hair. "You'll wake everyone up."

"I'm right here, Tonks!" he yelled again, crossing his arms. "He could let me help," he muttered, now more sullen than furious.

"You know you can't," 'Tonks' said stubbornly. "Like it or not, Dumbledore's right in keeping you here…we can't have you getting arrested or anything else."

The bedraggled looking man sighed in a rush of air that sounded tired and angry at the same time. "You think I don't know that Tonks?"

The woman put a hand on 'Sirius's' head and shuffled his lank hair playfully. "I never said you didn't. And this whole ghost business is rather exciting, I think. Aren't you even interested?"

"I am interested," Sirius muttered mutinously. "But it's not fair," he said the last words in a drawled out whine, which made Danny hide a snort of laughter.

"Padfoot? Was that you howling around down here?" Danny heard Remus' voice and saw him come down the stairs, followed closely by a young boy about his own age and the red-haired woman from earlier.

"Moony you do the howling, remember?" the man named Sirius asked, a mischievous smile on his face. "Good morning Harry!" he called to what Danny assumed was the boy with Remus.

'Harry' grinned tiredly. "This is hardly morning," he said in a voice that told the others he was trying desperately not to yawn. "Now who's this new Order member?" he asked, obviously wanting to get to the point.

Remus smiled and nodded. "Molly, Tonks, Harry, Sirius? I'm pleased to introduce our new member…" he looked around, unsure for a moment before gesturing slightly.

Danny took this as his cue and quickly appeared, landing directly in front of Remus.

A few startled, cut-off exclamations later and Danny coughed. "Uh, hi. I'm Danny Phantom…but I'd prefer if you just called me Phantom."

He looked at everyone's faces and saw incredulity, amazement, and curiosity. As well as a heaping pile of mistrust.

"Are you really a ghost?" asked the red-haired woman, the one Remus had gestured to as 'Molly.' She sounded horribly sad, and Danny wasn't sure why until she uttered, "But you're so young…."

Danny gulped and nodded, unsure; he felt strangely guilty letting her believe he was really dead.

Harry stared at him the longest – it wasn't exactly a warm, friendly gaze. Danny hadn't been sure before, but according to Remus' and Dumbledore's descriptions, this Harry must be that Harry Potter.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you," Tonks said loudly, breaking the awkward silence that had developed with a blinding grin. "You've gotta be powerful if you're corporeal and all."

Danny fought the flush that was crawling across his face. "Eh, well I don't think so. I mean," he paused. "Power's not all it's cracked up to be," he said, his voice tinged with remorse.

"How old, er," Harry blurted out suddenly and looked awkward. "Uh, sorry," he said quickly, "Not to be rude, but how old were you when, um," he stopped and looked ashamed.

Danny blinked. Then he started to laugh a little, startling the small group. "I was fourteen," he admitted smiling. "Don't worry! Dying is the last thing I have to worry about…and once you're dead, your death isn't that big of a deal."

"Unless you celebrate your deathday," Sirius finally spoke up, an interested expression on his face, his eyes going to Harry, who returned the look with a hidden smile.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Deathday?" he asked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's a long story," he said simply, seeming to put his suspicions aside for the memory.

"So," Remus interjected, getting back on topic. "Phantom here will be at Hogwarts, sifting through the students to find anything of interest. He'll probably be going on some of the more stealthy, or life-threatening missions," at this Remus smiled apologetically. "After all, it's not truly life-threatening when you're already dead."

The others frowned at this, a statement they thought might anger the ghost. But Danny grinned. "True, that," he said simply. "I heard about this supposed Mouldevort person, and he sounds like a jerk." There were snorts about the room, but nobody shivered at the name. Nor did they bother to correct him.

"Understatement," Harry added soullessly. Danny felt bad for saying something that probably (make that obviously) hit close to home. He tried a small amused smirk Harry shrugged, eyes pained, but a smile lit his face nonetheless.

"Remus said you were powerful. What did he mean by that?" Sirius asked plainly. Tonks pouted, as if she wanted to be the one to ask the question.

Danny shrunk a little. "Well, I suppose I can do something to show you," he said slowly.

Remus quickly sent everyone a Look, as if warning them to stand back.

Danny grinned slightly. "I'm not gonna do anything drastic here," he assured Remus, who relaxed. "Is there something you don't want anymore?" Danny threw over his shoulder as he stood up straight with his back towards them.

Sirius, who had been staring at him with suspicious interest the entire time, snapped his gaze upward…and just grinned.

-------

"Filthy blood traitors! Scum! Mudblood lovers!"

Danny looked at the painting in shock as the old woman in the picture screamed at the top of her lungs. His ears were ringing and he turned to look at Sirius. "No wonder you want this thing destroyed!" he practically yelled over the tumultuous screeching.

Harry had a bored look on his face that made Danny want to snicker. Sirius, nodded, holding his hands over his ears. "She's something else, huh?" he called back.

"You said it!" Danny said as loudly as he could over the cacophonous noise. He raised a hand and glared at the woman, and she finally trained her gaze on him.

If possible, she screamed even louder, eye widening with madness, and a hint of what looked like recognition. "Scum! Traitorous FILTH! Get out of my house, you waste of flesh and blood!" Danny frowned, the words finally reaching his ears.

"Oh shut up," he grumbled to himself. There was a small flicker of white in his glowing eyes when his hand shone a bright sickly green and shot out a beam of ectoplasmic energy.

The woman in the painting screamed in shock as the green fire-like energy burned through her canvas and ate away the oil paint. In seconds, she was gone, only the back of the painting and frame remaining.

There was a deafening silence before Danny wiped his hands and turned to look at the four shocked faces. "That do anything for you?" he asked, satisfied that it was at least quiet now.

A whoop of happiness resounded from Sirius and the tall man hit him on the back, only blinking once in surprise when his hand didn't go straight through. "Finally! Rid of that useless piece of rubbish!" he exclaimed happily, throwing Danny off; it was strange to have someone be wary of you and then suddenly switch to generous gratitude in a matter of seconds.

Harry glanced at Danny with a small grin, and Danny sighed an internal breath of relief.

"Now all we have to do is go to bed," Molly stressed. Danny started, even as Sirius was still hitting him on the back. She had been quiet ever since their first meeting, and he had been worried that he had disturbed her.

"Not me," he said happily, "But you all should."

Harry snorted at his words. "No worries, mum," he said snarkily. Danny held back laughter and instead smiled in a smug manner.

"Hey! I may look young, but I could be older than all of you put together," he said in a spooky voice. He grinned at their perturbed expressions. "It's good to be working with people who have a sense of humor…well, some of you." Nodding to Remus, who nodded back with a warm smile, Danny lifted off the ground and waved. "Be seeing you!" he caroled before going invisible and shooting through the ceiling. He snickered openly at the shocked looks they had on when they saw him levitate.

It was a strange welcoming ceremony, he thought. Most of them, excusing Remus and Molly Weasley seemed not to trust him. He was used to this, thankfully, and so he had decided to take it stride, rather than confronting them about it. It was uncannily sneaky of him to use humor in place of possible suspicion; they all reacted well to his mauling of the name Voldemort. And he had done something right when he destroyed that nasty painting.

He let go of a breath he hadn't known he was holding. It helped that this Harry Potter guy knew how to take a joke, bad as it may be, with his temper and situation against him.

If anything, Danny knew a thing or two about keeping a cool head…or rather, not keeping a cool head at times.

After all, I have Vlad to keep me on my toes. He pisses me off like no one else…except maybe my 'self'.

Danny knew Remus was heading to the Granger's house to go over some new information for Hermione's parents, so he sped up. Getting back before Remus was imperative—imperative? Yikes…he was really spending too much time around Remus…and Hermione.

-+-+-+-+-

He spilled everything he knew to Sam and Tucker as soon as he got back. All the information from Dumbledore made everything fit into place and when he finished, the three of them sat back, suddenly exhausted.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Sam asked quietly, breaking the silence.

"One thing's for sure, Danny," Tucker said seriously. "We're all gonna have to watch each other's backs for real." His almost-turquoise eyes shimmered in the dim lamplight. "People have died because of this guy…and he's no ghost."

"Even though he deserves death more than anything," Danny said tiredly. "I know. I almost had second thoughts about this whole thing."

"But we can't just leave," Sam said sadly. "This is like a responsibility; once you hear what's going on you can't just not help."

"Plus, we really do have magical talent," Tucker added. "It would be good to train ourselves – if nothing more than to help you out once in a while," he said sheepishly to Danny, who grinned back.

"Yeah, that would be helpful."

Sam punched him on the shoulder. "Thanks a lot," she said huffily. "That's all we get for saving your butt? Multiple times?"

The three of them laughed, easing the tension away.

"I guess that means Danny Phantom will be in England for a while," Danny muttered as he heard the front door open and Remus' familiar voice float upstairs. "Let's go see Remus," he suggested, changing the subject.

Tucker and Sam looked at each other and nodded at him, standing, and understanding. Together they walked out and down the stairs

-------

"…and so Hermione will be staying at the safe house for the rest of the summer, if not for Harry's sake. We thought he might need all the friends he could get at this point." Remus was actually pointing out his own opinion, but it was probably the right response to the worried pair in front of him.

Mr. Granger snorted. "Sounds like your ministry officials are almost as bollocksed as ours."

"Oh I don't think it's so bad here," an amused young voice echoed from the stairs.

Remus' gaze was pulled upward and his lips twitched. Saman—Sam was jogging down the steps, followed quickly by Danny and Tucker.

"Danny!" exclaimed Mrs. Granger. "You look much better!"

The boy stopped on the stairs suddenly and reminded Remus of a deer in headlights. He stammered for a moment before smiling weakly. "Aheh, yeah," he said finally, nervous cracking evident in his voice. "Must have been one of those 24 hour bugs."

Mr. Granger, as well as Remus lifted an eyebrow simultaneously, but said nothing in response. Mrs. Granger, however, checked his forehead the minute he hit the credenza.

"Nice to see you three," Remus said in greeting. "Actually, it's good you came down," he said, remembering his private conversation with Dumbledore from the day before. "I have something to tell you."

Sam and Tucker both glanced at Danny for a split second before all three grinned eagerly. "Good news, right?" Tucker asked innocently.

Remus shrugged, and smothered a grin. "It's both good and bad. As you may or may not have guessed, we had planned for some sort of test to officially declare you fifth year students. The Headmistress McGonagall, Dumbledore, with a bit of input from me, decided that this cumulative test would be held two days before the Hogwarts Express leaves for school. That would give you about a week and one month to finish up the third and fourth year curriculum."

All of the people in the room sans Remus himself winced – the three young teens froze in what looked like ill-concealed terror. Mr. Granger smiled weakly.

"You won't be obsessive, like Hermione, will you? She sometimes scares me when she's studying for a big test," he said, though the last part was almost inaudible.

"And you will eat and sleep. Hermione is our daughter," Mrs. Granger said sternly, "so obviously, we have absolutely no control over her actions." She cracked a grin at the smothered snickers – nervous ones from the children. "But you are under our custody, so we will take it upon ourselves to make sure you don't wear yourselves silly." Her expression was stern, but her voice was full of honest concern.

Remus nodded. "And I, of course, will be here most of the time to help. You will excuse the occasional absence, I hope – I am rather busy." He paused for thought. "Also, we will have the teaching staff prepared to give you both written and practical exams, so that everything will be as official as we can manage at the last minute."

The three students stood still, struck dumb by this new hurdle as the three adults proceeded to smother grins of knowing.

"Great," Tucker groaned, summing up everyone's thoughts. "We're all going to die."