A hearty thank you to all who reviewed and put me and this fic on your alert and favorites list!

Alas! I have come to the end of what I have prewritten. I intend to update, but unlike "A Ghost in Middle-earth," I didn't finish writing THIS from start to finish before I started posting it. I hope to be able to update later this week, but make no promises other than I'll do my best.

Disclaimer: I do not own either Danny Phantom or Harry Potter.

Chapter 4

Both Danny and Vlad landed unceremoniously in Professor Dumbledore's office. The professor offered them seats and then excused himself for a moment. Looking around at their new location, Danny took note of the large, circular room with books lining the shelves nearest the walls. Small whirring noises drew Danny's attention to various silver instruments on tables with spindly legs. On the walls were portraits of people who were…snoring? Near the desk stood a perch with a gorgeous red bird that appeared to study the new comers. Danny decided that his day couldn't get any weirder.

His ghost sense informed him that ghosts were in close proximity. As Danny perked up to look for them, Professor Dumbledore returned with a stern looking man and woman, and four ghosts. These ghosts, however, looked different than any ghosts he had ever seen. All four looked human, but they were translucent and wearing clothes reminiscent of centuries gone by. Their faces beamed with pride and joy at him. He noted that they drifted towards him and gave Vlad wary glances. Vlad raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing.

Professor Dumbledore said, "After today's very trying day, both of you deserve well-needed rest. We need to figure out where you will stay. The dormitories for both the professors and the students are located in the arrangement of four Houses, named after the four Founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. Here with me are Professor Minerva McGonagall, the Head of House for Gryffindor and Deputy Headmistress and Professor Severus Snape, the Head of House for Slytherin and Potions Master. The four House Ghosts are Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington of Gryffindor, and as they choose to be known, the Bloody Baron of Slytherin, the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw, and the Fat Friar of Hufflepuff. They are present at every Sorting, and you need to be Sorted into which House you shall be staying."

Professor McGonagall took the Sorting Hat from its shelf and put it on the desk. Danny looked on curiously, and Vlad looked in disdain at the old, worn hat, until it began to sing.

"Professor and student, brought in the dead of night

Both need to find the places that for them the fit is right.

Perhaps you go to Gryffindor, who are of a bold sort

With bravery and chivalry as their way to comport.

Or maybe in Slytherin is where you find your friends

Driven with ambition until your goal has reached its end.

Ravenclaw is where you'll be if you're particularly clever

For you and your fellows shall slack in your studies – never.

Or, still yet in Hufflepuff, where words and deeds are loyal

And your Housemates, with good cheer, are not afraid of toil.

So put me on, and I will think and delve into your mind

And tell you where you best belong to be with your own kind."

Danny and Vlad looked at each other, partially in shared shock of watching an article of clothing sing, and partially to size each other up and guess in which House the other would land. Professor McGonagall remarked, "You, Mr. Masters, would be the second Hogwarts professor in several centuries who was not first a student here before he was a professor. The first would be Firenze, the centaur who is one of our two professors of Divination." She sniffed disdainfully at the mention of the subject that was one of the fuzzier branches of magic. Shaking herself briefly out of the moment, she offered the Hat to Vlad.

Glancing at it distastefully, Vlad said, "You mean every one of you has worn this thing?"

Professor Snape clucked his tongue, but said in a silky voice, "Indeed, every one of us. We have all been blessed with magical ability, and were students here ourselves, many years ago. Now, if you please, let the Hat Sort you. I don't know what time it was where you are from, but it is 2:30 in the morning, here." Snape was not happy that he was passed over yet again for the position of the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts to be given, this time, to a half-ghost with NO magical talent.

Vlad narrowed his eyes at this professor. He didn't trust Professor Snape, as he deemed the professor untrustworthy. He knew the type, being such a character himself. Nonetheless, Snape spoke the truth. It was late here, and both he and Danny had a long and difficult day that would only end once they could go to sleep. And that could only happen, so it seemed, if he wore this battered, old hat and allowed himself to be Sorted.

He sighed, shook his head, took the proffered hat, and put it on. His eyes widened as it spoke to him, reading his and expressing its own thoughts.

'Ambitious, very ambitious, with a serious dark side. Not much stops you from attaining your goals.'

'Except for Daniel,' Vlad thought.

'Indeed,' replied the Hat.

'I am not interested in revealing this "ambition" to these… wizards. I have enough to figure out without advertising myself to them further. They already know too much about me.'

'Your ambition would have been learned, regardless of your placement,' the Hat explained. 'Nevertheless, at your request, you will not go to Slytherin. You have a brilliance and flare for studying, especially when it comes to things that interest and benefit you. You would fit right into RAVENCLAW.' The last word was spoken aloud, such that the others present in the office heard.

The Grey Lady nodded, saying, "Very good. Very interesting…"

Danny looked at Vlad, surprised that he didn't end up in the House defined by ambition. But with a thought, painful though it was, he had to admit that Vlad was good at improving the technology and weaponry he stole from Danny's parents. That human-ghost shield that trapped Jazz and him a few months ago… It hurt to be flung into it so often, as it shocked him every time he came into contact with it, but blocking humans was a clever feature that his parents never thought of. Of course, his parents never sought to imprison humans, either…

A throat cleared, and Danny's attention snapped back to the present. Danny looked at Professor Dumbledore, who nodded encouragingly. His face shone with eager curiosity, as this appeared to be a "once in a lifetime" experience. Professor McGonagall placed the Hat on his head in a well-practiced move. She must have done this countless times. The Hat slipped down over his eyes so that all he could see was the inside of the hat.

'Interesting. Very interesting. Now, where shall I put you? You have a good deal of intelligence, but left to your own devices, you would choose not to study. You are loyal, extremely so, and you can work hard – when properly motivated. And oh, my, yes – you have courage. You have performed many deeds of valour and courage, despite the lack of appreciation others might have had for you and your deeds. But you also have a very strong thirst to prove yourself.'

'I have to,' Danny defended. 'If I don't do certain things, who will?'

'Your strength of determination speaks well for you, though it sometimes leads you to use unorthodox methods to accomplish your goals.'

Danny thought briefly of the time Dash shoved him into a locker, and then Danny overshadowed him, embarrassing Dash in front of Paulina. The memory brought a smile to his lips. 'Yeah, sometimes unorthodox.' But then, just as briefly, he thought about his evil future self and shivered. 'But I won't use it for evil.'

'Of course you won't. Based on where your strengths lie, I say you are cut out for SLYTHERIN.'

Everyone but the Bloody Baron started in surprise at the Sorting Hat's selection for Danny, who said, "Yes, I thought that might be the case. We will settle up later, Sir Nicholas. But for now, we will show our new Housemates to their assorted rooms."

The two younger professors and the four House Ghosts left the headmaster's office, leading Danny and Vlad down a circular staircase that moved of its own accord, not unlike an escalator, but in a spiral. Once at the bottom, the wall sealed itself and a stone gargoyle jumped in front of the place where the door should have been. Both Danny and Vlad started at the sudden movement of what they assumed was an inanimate object that was not obviously possessed by ghosts.

"Oh, have no fear," Sir Nicholas soothed. "Magic has infused itself into the castle for over a thousand years, and some items are spelled to move as they do. Lots of things Muggles are used to being stationary often have lives of their own, so to speak. Staircases move regularly, doors change places, and the subjects of portraits talk, move, and visit each other. These are only a few examples, but you get used to it. The Muggle-born witches and wizards always do.

"Perhaps tomorrow, after you purchase your robes, supplies, books, and wands, we'll give young Daniel the ten Knut tour of Hogwarts. Professor Masters, you might prefer a more sedate tour of the faculty facilities that will end in a tour of the rest of the castle."

Danny was flattered at the attention he was being shown by these ghosts. He couldn't recall a ghostly encounter this friendly since Clockwork, or the Christmas party in the Ghost Zone. Well, maybe Dora… When Danny first met Dora, she and Prince Aragon's henchmen distracted him with bows and arrows and battle-axes. He and Dora got along far better later in the adventure. But these ghosts reminded him of Clockwork, he decided, as they were genuinely friendly with him from start to finish. The ghosts at the Christmas party were friendly enough, but he could tell that they were itching to "resume their hostility." No such feeling came from these ghosts. Unlike the other encounters, Clockwork only had Danny's welfare in mind. That is the impression he got from the House Ghosts.

Vlad was pleased with the deference Sir Nicholas and the other much older ghosts accorded to him as a professor, and he hadn't even learned anything about this Wizarding World or about the Dark Arts and the defenses against them yet. But he had noticed their zeal to spend time with Daniel and their polite reluctance to extend the same courtesy to him. He rolled his eyes, but saw the sense in the separate explorations of their new residence. The ghosts offered to entertain the boy, while he would be treated to a far more dignified situation.

Danny asked, "Why will we need wands? Mr. … um, Professor Dumbledore said that I can't do any wandwork."

Vlad was about to snap back with an answer, but Professor McGonagall got there first. "Mr. Fenton, in order to protect your secret, you and Professor Masters will be required to carry 'wands' at all times. Professor Dumbledore explained that none but the Heads of Houses, the ghosts, and select professors (besides the other members of the Order) should know of your half-ghost status as a safety measure, and this was one method to keep that secret that was decided upon. Perhaps tomorrow or later this week you will meet Professor Flitwick, Head of House for Ravenclaw and professor of Charms. He needs to – and therefore does – know why you will fail to produce any results, despite your best efforts." Danny grimaced. He could see the sense of it.

In the Main Hall, Professor McGonagall and Sir Nicholas headed for one set of stairs. The Fat Friar took off for patrolling duties. The Grey Lady started to lead Vlad to a different staircase while Professor Snape and the Bloody Baron started to lead Danny off to the dungeons. "Wait!" Vlad shouted. He had just taken guardianship of Daniel, and he felt discomfited as he watched a man he didn't trust and a strange ghost begin to lead the boy out of his sight.

Professor Snape and the Bloody Baron stopped and turned to him. "Can I help you?" Snape asked.

"Where are you taking him?" Vlad demanded.

The professor smirked. "The Slytherin dormitories are in the dungeon. Everything is in order." Vlad and Professor Snape stared at each other. Snape could tell, but wasn't exactly sure why, that 'possession' of his newest student was important to this man. As such, he found that it delighted him to show attention to this new Slytherin, as nothing would annoy the older half-ghost more than sending him into a harmless fit of jealousy. "You will see him in the morning at breakfast. Come, Daniel, let me show you to your room."

Danny looked at the two men. He wasn't sure what was going on yet, but it involved Professor Snape and the lack of frission with Vlad. He knew he should be grateful, but it was hard to shift his way of thinking about his arch-enemy. Or, former arch-enemy, at this reckoning. Still, he owed Vlad big time for all that he did today.

He smiled and waved. "Don't worry, Uncle Vlad. I'll be fine," he assured sincerely. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night!" He was far too chipper about this for the addressed man's taste. With that, the professor, student, and ghost turned and descended to the dungeons, leaving a fuming Vlad in their wake to ascend with the Grey Lady.

"Wait!" Both of them stopped on the step they were on. A second or two later, Danny reappeared, puffing slightly and holding his small bundle of night things in one hand, and his dufflebag in the other. Danny ran up the stairs. "Um, Vlad?" Danny started tentatively. Vlad looked at him curiously. "Could you… hold onto this for me? I just… I don't know. The things here are too valuable to me, and I don't know about the other students. I know they're not here yet, but…"

The man stared, touched. The boy, whatever else he might say or think of him, was handing him his bag of treasured memories, for safekeeping. He could understand that children could be cruel, and pranks could be pulled… But Daniel voluntarily parted with all that meant something to him in this world, and handed it to HIM.

Vlad held up a hand, cutting off Danny's babble. "Not to worry. I'll take care of it. Maybe tomorrow, I'll show you where I will put it."

Danny sighed gratefully. "Thanks." The Bloody Baron came out of the floor to collect him. "I have to go. Good night."

Vlad put a hand on his shoulder. "Go ahead, little badger. Good night." Danny went ghost to join the Bloody Baron as they sank through the floor, back into the dungeon. Vlad continued up the stairs with the Grey Lady, his thoughts on this last exchange.

6