Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Danny Phantom and the Magic of Ages

By WarriorLoverInc

Chapter 3: Ghosts

Everyone was excited for the Triwizard Tournament, yet outraged at the age restriction. Harry couldn't help but notice Danny seemed to take all this in with gusto. He immediately became friends with Fred and George after meeting them in the hall, and he could see them muttering mutinously to each other, that did nothing for his nerves.

"I just hope against hope that Danny doesn't turn out to be too much like Fred and George." Hermione sighed.

At the sound of a small explosion, Harry turned to see the trio—Fred, George, and Danny—snickering at a dazed looking first year leaning against a wall.

Lavender and Parvati walked by them, glancing quickly at Danny and then hurrying off, heads bent together, giggling.

Hermione crossed her arms and huffed, "I don't see how scars would make anyone more desirable."

Harry cocked his head, "Who said that?" he unconsciously rubbed his own.

"Lavender and Parvati," Hermione watched their retreating backs, "I heard them talking at the feast."

"Well, a scarred up face would be a big improvement of Malfoy's, I'll tell you that." Ron laughed.

Harry grinned, then frowned, remembering something, "Speaking of scars, you saw the new Professor, Moody?"

"Obviously." Hermione blew some bushy brunette hair out of her face.

"He knows how to make an entrance." Ron admitted.

The image flashed across Harry's mind, long, grizzled dark gray hair, heavily limping on his carved and clawed wooden leg, his small beady black eye and his large unblinking magic eye going up and down and side to side… and his face was just covered in scars. He had the look of a hardened warrior. According to the rumors and his own nickname, he was much too eccentric as well.

"He is an ex-Auror, maybe he'll make one of the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers we've ever had." Hermione reasoned as if she heard Harry's last thought.

"Nobody's a chance against Lupin." Harry declared.

"Aye," Ron agreed.

Harry jumped at a tap on his shoulder, it was Danny. He had left Fred and George to the river of people and stopped him.

"Which way's the Gryffindor tower?" he asked.

Harry pointed out to him the correct course wondering why Danny wanted to know this when he was walking along the path towards it. If he just stayed with the crowd like everyone else he'd be lead there eventually.

Danny thanked him and walked off in the opposite direction. Out of pure curiosity, he didn't call out to the boy and watched as he met with Nearly Headless Nick halfway down the hall and turned out of sight. A few moments later, the Fat Friar and the Grey Lady disappeared in a hurry in the same direction. Surprisingly enough, the Bloody Baron phased through the floor above and followed them. Harry was about to turn away to catch up with Hermione and Ron to tell them the strange actions of the ghosts and Danny when Moaning Myrtle appeared before him.

"It's you." She said in an annoyingly high pitched voice in what was a very conspicuous pout.

"Y-yeah…" Harry replied lamely.

"You said you'd visit me."

"D… did I?"

"You did…" silvery tears began filling the eyes behind her glasses, "but I haven't seen you since three years ago!" she started wailing.

Harry panicked, "Uhm…! Well… It's been busy and all… and it just kinda'…"

"Slipped your mind?"

"Yeah…"

Apparently that wasn't the right thing to say. Moaning Myrtle flew bawling off after the other ghosts and left Harry standing bewildered in the middle of the hall. "Girls are weird…" he muttered before he ran off towards the Gryffindor common room.

…

Nearly Headless Nick was at a loss for words. The Bloody Baron, however, found some of his, "You can't tell us anything?" his voice was rough and quiet from disuse.

"No."

"Why not?" asked the Fat Friar. "If you're suspicious, we won't tell anyone else."

"That's still not it."

Silence filled the room as the crowd of ghosts around the one living being in the room puzzled over his words. Without a sound, he left. The kids would be missing "Danny" soon.

…

"The ghosts were what?" Hermione asked, incredulous.

"Following Danny." Harry repeated, "I've explained it a million times already."

"That's not normal, mate." Ron told him.

"I think we've established that, thanks." Harry replied.

"I read in Hogwarts: A History that the ghosts greet and help those of their respective houses when they run into them, but you told me Nearly Headless Nick and a bunch of other ghosts followed him?"

Harry's only reply was an exasperated sigh.

From their spots on the various plush chairs in the red-and-gold Gryffindor common room, they heard noises outside the portrait hole.

"…but I'm in the Gryffindor House! I need to get in; this is where I'll be living for the next year or so!"

"No password, no admittance!" the Fat Lady was adamant.

"Balderdash!" Danny spat at it, crossing his arms.

"Correct." And the painting swung open.

Despite the suspicious gloom that had fallen over the trio after Harry's strange news, they couldn't help but laugh as he stood there dumbstruck outside the portrait hole. He turned to them, jaw hanging limp, "But then… that was the… I was only gonna'…" Abandoning his line of thought, he crawled through the hole and into the common room.

Ron grabbed his hand and dragged him over to a chair, grinning from ear to ear, "If you leave your mouth like that much longer you'll catch more flies than Neville's toad."

There was a shuffling of feet as Neville fled the room with his fat toad Trevor. The slam of the boys' dormitory heavy wood door echoed about the common room as the Golden Trio examined Danny, and Danny examined the Golden Trio.

Finally, he spoke, "About that thing at the feast… the Killing Curse? I've decided it couldn't have been that, I would have died. I mean… no one's survived it before, have they?"

His posed question received bemused stares.

"Harry Potter," said Ron.

"Excuse me?" Danny didn't get what he meant.

"Harry Potter survived the Killing Curse fourteen years ago." Hermione informed him.

"Really?" Danny raised an eyebrow, "He must've been some powerful wizard."

More stares, "I was a baby."

Danny turned a puzzled gaze on Harry, "You did?"

Nodding, he indicated his lightning shaped scar, "Lord Voldemort"—Ron and Danny shivered—"tried to kill me with the Killing Curse when I was a baby, but couldn't. It left me with this."

A gleam appeared in Danny's eyes, "Oh? Why couldn't he kill you?"

Shrugging, Harry sighed, "I wish I knew."

"Oh," the gleam flickered then faded.

For some reason Danny was more interested in why he couldn't be killed than why he was still alive, or that Harry had even been attacked at all. Hermione eyed him nervously, he was staring into the fire, rubbing his scar and seemingly deep in thought.

Harry cleared his throat, "Anyway, enough about me, what about you?"

"Yeah," Ron ganged up on him, "You still haven't finished your story."

Danny glanced up at them, then at his fascinating shoes. "I told you how I got my scar and that's all you asked to know about." Before anyone could catch him, he was up the stairs and in the boys' dormitory.

"But you didn't tell us who pushed you out of the way. Or exactly how you got your scar. Or why you're still alive…" Ron mumbled uselessly after him.

"Well… I'm sure we've much more secrets than him. He can have some of his own, especially if they're personal." Harry sighed and made to go to the dormitories too.

Hermione had loads for her mind to chew on that night, especially that gleam. The gleam that most certainly didn't belong in Danny's friendly blue eyes.

…

Authors Note: It's done! *Collapses* Oh how I hate homework! *Shakes fist* and slow computers.

Thanks to all my awesome reviewers! And anyone who's +Fav'd it or +Story Alert'd it! *Hugs everybody*

Review please it keeps me sane.