A/N: yeah. School, golf, Science Fair, and ACTs got in the way. Not necesarily in that order.
Chapter 3: "The way to a guy's heart is though his stomach"
Harry gently released the white mouse into Fred's cage. Downstairs, Harry heard the door shut. Their friends were over…again. It seemed like Sam and Tucker spent more time at Fenton!Works than at their own homes.
Danny came walking into Harry's room without knocking. "So, are you ready?" Danny asked. He was dressed in one of his parent's jumpsuits. The smiling face of Jack Fenton grinned from the front of the mostly-white outfit. "This is going to be the last year we can go trick-or-treating without looking like total idiots at school."
"At school, we already look like total idiots. That outfit isn't helping either."
"Are you dissin' your own family?" Danny asked.
"No. I'm dissin' that outfit. Get dad's head off of your chest."
"No. I won't" Danny shot back. "Why aren't you dressed?" He asked. "We'll be leaving in, like, five minutes."
Harry reached behind himself to retrieve a wad of red cloth. "I am ready. I'm going as the Flash." Harry placed the slightly crumpled mask on his head and his blue-green eyes sparkled as he walked out of the room and downstairs. Danny followed.
Tucker was resplendent in his princely outfit. Sam was dressed in a pink sparkly dress. Danny blinked in surprise then looked closer. The dress was ripped and stained by fake blood. That was more like his friend.
Sam glared at Danny's outfit. "Get your dad's face off your chest," she said. When Danny made no motion to do what she said, Sam stalked up to Danny and ripped the sticker off of the rubber-coated cloth. "That's better."
After a night of complete idiocy and chocolate the foursome retreated to Fenton!Works where they divided up the night's haul.
"I got four milk chocolate Hershey bars." Sam called.
"Trade you for Mrs. Anderson's peanut butter balls." Danny countered.
"Dark chocolate covered?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I checked. No milk products involved."
Tucker snickered. God, the two could be so oblivious.
Sam nodded and the two switched bags. "So what have your parents been inventing, lately?" Sam asked as she once again, rooted around the paper sack.
"Some ghost portal thingy." Danny replied. "It doesn't work."
"Cool. Lets go see it." The four tramped downstairs to the basement.
Harry pointed to the back wall. "That's it."
Tucker leaned over to Danny. "Dude, go in there." Danny shook his head no.
"Come on!" Sam said. When Danny still said no, Sam had to resort to drastic measures. "I have one chocolate bar left. You go in, you get it."
"What kind?" Danny asked, intrigued.
"Cookies and cream." Sam said. She whipped the bar out of her bag and wafted it gently beneath Danny's nose.
Danny's mouth began to water. "Ok. I'll do it. Give me the chocolate."
Sam handed Danny the chocolate and in two swift motions, one of peeling the wrapper off and one of shoving the entire bar into his mouth, it was gone. He swallowed loudly and, with a salute, marched into the giant metal maw.
His footsteps sounded with dull metallic thuds, echoing down the tunnel. "Dude, what's it look like?" Tucker called.
"A big metal tunnel." Danny said. "There's nothi-" Danny tripped over a cord and shot out an arm to stop his fall. Uh-oh, He thought as his hand pressed a button. He crumpled to the ground.
The tunnel started lighting up. "Danny!" his brother called. "What happened?"
Danny didn't answer. He was frozen in fear. "Danny?" Harry called again. No answer.
Harry ran into the tunnel and started dragging his brother out of there. A swirling green vortex of terror rushed out from the generator at the tunnel back. Harry turned and judged the distance between the green vortex and himself and Danny. So close, too close. "Sorry bro." He said quietly as he dropped Danny and leaped towards the exit. He came up short.
Harry realized that only his torso was out of the portal before green enveloped his vision. The green stung, then faded to black.
Far away in Okeechobee, Florida, a magic book stirred. The pages flipped as if from an unseen wind then stopped on page 4247. An unseen hand began a new entry at the top of the page Harold James Fenton, Amity Park, Oklahoma. The book closed. On the ancient cover was embossed: Magical Births. The Wizarding World had found The-Boy-Who-Vanished.
