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

Chapter 5

Morning came far too early. Still, Professor Snape knocked on Danny's door. The professor led him up the stairs to the Great Hall, which was just off the Main Hall. The room was huge, but there was only one table down the middle. When Danny looked up, he saw the sun blazing in the East, and the sky was a shade of blue that matched his eyes. "The ceiling of the Great Hall is spelled to look like the sky. You would appreciate it on a clear night, I'm sure, but it is interesting to look at during the rain or snow," the professor explained.

Presently, they joined Vlad, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and a few more people Danny hadn't met yet. Professor McGonagall handed a list to Danny. "While it is true that you were not here to take the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams, all of the courses you will take will be rather intense. As such, you may choose to take a total of up to eight courses. Professor Dumbledore has determined that for you, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions will be mandatory. You can choose up to five more. Due to circumstances, Transfigurations, the class I teach, has been left off the list."

Looking over the list, Danny saw some things that looked familiar, other things that didn't, and things he wasn't sure he wanted to get involved in. He chose Astronomy with no hesitation. Thinking a little of Sam, he decided to take Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. Vlad pressed him to fill all eight classes, so he filled the other two slots with Muggle Studies and History of Magic. Just the name Arithmancy made Danny shudder. Satisfied as he was going to be, Danny handed the list back to Professor McGonagall.

Danny said to her, "I don't mean to ask the obvious, but I'm five years of lessons behind everyone in my year. How am I going to catch up?"

"This is a problem. You will need to read the textbooks for each year of the past. (It is a good thing that the books in Defense Against the Dark Arts from what would have been your Second and Fifth years are not at all necessary.) I suppose that for a week, we can call back the professors to help you on your studies." With a smirk at Professor Snape, she continued, "I believe after a week, we will call in some students who need extra credit to help tutor you."

Danny had a chance to meet Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout, the other two Heads of House and his professors in Charms and Herbology, respectively. The other two professors present, Professor Hagrid and Firenze, were deep in discussion with Professor Dumbledore. As eager as Danny was to make a good impression, he was still uncomfortable with all the attention focused on him. He appreciated what was being done on his behalf, or at least he hoped he did, but dealing with teachers who lived in a school year 'round was still a bit beyond him.

Breakfast was soon over, and Vlad was anxious to head to London. While Daniel went over his class list with Professor McGonagall, the older half-ghost put together a few thoughts of his own for Daniel's education. (He knew he wanted custody of Danny, but the concept of his whole world revolving around the boy began to fray his nerves. He wondered if Daniel had any appreciation of what was to happen on his behalf.)

Hagrid, who – when he stood – seemed too big to be allowed, came to Danny and Vlad's end of the table. "Good to meet yer, Danny, Professor Masters. It's my job to take you to London today. I hear it'll be yer first glimpse of Diagon Alley. I think you'll like it, Danny. Come to think of it, the last student I brought there was young Harry."

Danny looked curious. "Harry who?"

"Why, Harry Potter, of course! Everyone in the Wizarding World knows of Harry Potter, who defeated You-Know-Who." Vlad crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, but you'll learn of him, and a good deal else, I reckon, before the start of the new term. But now we're off to Hogsmeade."

With incredulous indignation, Vlad said, "Hogsmeade? I thought you said we were off to London!"

Patiently, Hagrid explained, "We are off to London. But unless we take the Hogwarts Express, which takes the better part of the day, we need to go to Hogsmeade to get to London by Floo."

Danny shook his head, trying to make sure he heard right. "By flu?"

"Floo powder. There's a fireplace in Hogsmeade that goes straight to Diagon Alley." A fireplace? Confused, Danny said nothing. He wondered when things would feel like they started to make sense, but he was sure that today wasn't the day.

"Hogsmeade is the only town in all of England that is entirely populated by witches and wizards. Students Third year and older who get permission from their parents or guardians get to go on various occasions during the school year. The fireplace we want is in the Three Broomsticks, a pub run by Madam Rosmerta." Vlad and Danny let Hagrid go on about Hogsmeade and things related as they walked. They weren't going to understand what he said, but he didn't seem to notice.

Hagrid reminded Vlad irritatingly of Jack. He rolled his eyes at this realization, but let him go on. At least he didn't have to pretend to be friends with the overgrown oaf.

When they got to Hogsmeade, Danny decided that it resembled something from out of the Renaissance. Nothing was powered by electricity, but no one seemed to notice the lack of modernity. Most of the shops had shingles hanging outside. Lots of stores were boarded up, but the Three Broomsticks seemed busy enough.

"Since You-Know-Who's been back, lots of people have gone missing. Others just don't feel safe. It's a shame. You might've liked Zonko's Joke Shop." Hagrid sighed, looking at Danny. He nodded in appreciation. Danny guessed that this mysterious "You-Know-Who" person was Voldemort. From the little he knew of him, Danny didn't have any problem envisioning Voldemort being scary enough to warrant people being afraid to even say his name. Not the HE would stand with such silliness… But it made him sad to think about it.

Hagrid walked over to the main fireplace, took what appeared to be a flowerpot from the mantle, and offered the dirt inside to Danny and Vlad. "Go on, then." Danny and Vlad shared a glance.

"What are we supposed to do?" Danny asked.

Shaking his head, Hagrid apologized. "You've never done this before, have ya? Right then. Take a handful of Floo Powder and throw it into the fireplace."

Danny shrugged, took a handful of what looked like ash, and threw it into the fireplace. Nothing happened. "Now what?"

Hagrid grimaced. "But that's not… Galloping gargoyles! Ya can't take anything for granted! I forgot," he lowered his tone considerably, "that yer aren't wizards. Here, I'll get it started for ya." Hagrid took a pinch of Floo Powder – with hands the size of garbage can lids, a whole handful would be overkill if he took it – and threw it into the fireplace. With satisfaction, he smiled as the powder burst into green flames, reminding Danny of Skulker's hair. "Now, step into the flames – don't worry, it won't hurt ya – and say 'Diagon Alley,' slowly and clearly. It'll take ya to the Leaky Cauldron. This bit is voice activated: it should work whether you're wizards or not."

Danny went intangible as he stepped into the flames; Hagrid said that they wouldn't hurt him, but dealing with real magic performed by humans was a little frightening, not to mention seriously counter-intuitive. He took a breath and stated, "Diagon Alley!" He felt himself sucked into a swirling whirlwind, as glimpses into other fireplaces flew by. Onward he was hurled until he hit the ground. Much like the place he left, Danny found himself in an old-fashioned inn. He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked around. The lighting was darker than in the Three Broomsticks. Out of sorts, he stared at the fireplace, waiting for Vlad and Hagrid to emerge.

Soon enough, Vlad showed up, not at all happy with the uncomfortable swirling. With his talent of teleportation, it was unnecessary, but at least he was in the right place. Hagrid joined them.

"Now to Gringotts!" Hagrid announced.

Vlad rolled his eyes. "No. The weirdness of the Wizarding World will have to wait. I'm going to Lloyds of London so that I can take out what we need. Further, while I appreciate the need for robes and magical accoutrements, Daniel and I need some normal clothes and whatnot. It may have escaped your attention that we came to England with nothing but the clothes on our backs, but we will be properly outfitted and taken care of." With that, he oriented himself, spun on his heel, and headed to the street.

Danny was taken aback. Vlad meant what he said when he told him that he would take care of Danny's expenses. Danny's emotions roiled within him. He wasn't sure what to make of Vlad's generosity. An arch-enemy, a guardian, a benefactor… His head spun with the role shift. Two days ago was one thing. Even yesterday was different; Vlad could receive public recognition even as he helped Danny. But this act of true kindness from Vlad unnerved him. He was so dazed by his own torrent of emotion that he failed to notice the grandeur of one of the most famous banks (and insurance syndicates) in the world.

Distances meant nothing, if you knew your way around and could teleport. Grasping Danny's shoulder, Vlad arrived at a mall. After going to the bank and withdrawing what he'd need and want to deposit in this mysterious "Gringotts," Vlad felt more in his own element. He sighed and turned to Danny. "Look, Daniel. I have a date with a haberdashery and a few errands to take care of. Go where you like and pick out what you want. In an hour, I'll call you."

'Butter biscuits!' he thought. 'Roaming charges!' Working out cell phones on a British plan was simple enough to do, but it temporarily slipped his mind.

"The only thing I will insist on is that you get at least two dark formal suits. When this insanity is over, you will need to dress appropriately for job interviews." Danny jerked his head at this, but Vlad ignored him. "Now go. You have an hour." And with that, Vlad disappeared in a whirl of mist. How he managed to do this when no one noticed mystified Danny, but Vlad DID have more than 20 years experience with this sort of thing.

Job interviews? They weren't immediate in Danny's thoughts, but it made sense. He would want to be independent at some point, and his guardian WAS a businessman, no matter how many deals were not at all above board. These were thoughts for another day, he decided.

Vlad might have put financial resources beyond measure at Danny's disposal, but he remained the same kid he always was. It didn't take Danny long to find a store that carried clothes not unlike those he had at home. He was pretty sure this wouldn't take him a whole hour. Once he figured out the British sizing system. He sighed. This WOULD take a while.

As good as his word, Vlad called him one hour later. (He wasn't sure how Vlad had his number, but Danny couldn't be bothered to care.) Vlad found Danny at his department store of choice, his selections filling a cart. Still unencumbered by clothing purchases, the billionaire paid for Danny's things with pounds and pence out of pocket. What Danny DID notice Vlad had, were two large bags from Barnes and Noble. Danny couldn't help but wonder. "Where's your things?"

"I'll pick them up later. They already have my specifications. Don't worry about it." Duh, Danny thought to himself. Vlad is an international businessman – VladCo was recognized all over the world. Either he's been to London to buy clothes (apparently tailor-made) before, or he gets them from a company with an outlet that could send the pertinent information to the London branch. "Now to get back to that…inn."

Danny took hold of the bags of his new things and Vlad touched his arm. They disappeared and rematerialized in an alley not far from where they began their London trip. Both Vlad and Danny were good at noticing landmarks – this skill kept them on target when flying. What disconcerted both of them is that the Leaky Cauldron disappeared. There was no sign of it. Vlad swore under his breath. How could a whole storefront DISAPPEAR?

Danny was torn between being concerned about returning to the Wizarding World and being amused as Vlad's temper turned him different colors. Still determined not to draw Vlad's anger quite yet, Danny suggested, "Maybe Hagrid will come and get us. And if not… it's not like we couldn't walk through the wall to try and find that inn." Vlad stopped to consider when Hagrid appeared from a door that was not there until he opened it. Vlad thought, it was like Hagrid opened a portal. But how…

"Knew you'd be back soon. I looked out for you every 15 minutes. The Leaky Cauldron is spelled to be invisible to Muggles. You wouldn't be able to get back in on your own. Unless, of course, you operated like ghosts and walked through the wall." Danny smirked. He was right!

"Wait a minute!" Vlad growled.

"Let's get in first," Hagrid said simply. Vlad's eyes flashed red and Danny gasped. Vlad could be quite scary when he set his mind to it, and it was moments like now that usually portended a sneak move and a lot of pain for him, when HE was the target of such anger. Was he that angry with Hagrid?

Slamming the door shut behind him, Vlad, in his anger, caught Hagrid's attention. He held a large hand up, catching the furious half-ghost off-guard. "Gimme a minute. Tom!"

A man from behind the bar greeted him. "Hagrid! Do you want your…Is that Harry?"

"Not today. But we do need a private room, and a round of drinks."

"Right this way." Tom led the trio up some stairs and into a room away from other patrons. There was one table and three seats.

Looking at Vlad and Danny, Hagrid said, "Thanks, Tom. I think two firewhiskeys and one butterbeer will do the trick." Tom nodded and left to fill their order. "As you were sayin'…"

Hagrid invited Vlad to continue his rant? There was something wrong with this picture, Danny concluded.

Vlad exploded. "How many of you professors know of our being half-ghosts? I thought that Dumbledore said our secret was safe!"

Frowning at the almost disparaging comment about Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid hissed, "Don't speak against the Headmaster! A better man than Dumbledore you'll never find!"

Vlad still fumed, but he felt a power shift. It wasn't as dramatic as it was with Dumbledore. He calculated that in a pinch, he could take down this large man. But now he was curious. It wouldn't do to take out the man with the answers to your questions. In a much more dangerous whisper than his previous outburst, Vlad asked, "Then how do you know?"

Hagrid sat back, unconcerned. "Of the living professors, no one knows but Dumbledore, the four Heads of House, Firenze, and me."

"And how did you and the centaur get to be so lucky?"

Hagrid sighed. "Because like you, we are also half-breeds and can help you relate to the Wizarding World from that perspective. My mother was a giant, so I'm a half-giant. You kin figure out Firenze on your own." He turned from Vlad to Danny. "So how did you guys become half-ghosts, anyway?"

A small smile came to Danny's lips. "A lab accident with my parents' Ghost Portal. For Uncle Vlad, it happened in college. For me, it happened in my parents' basement lab. My friends kinda encouraged me… but I was curious, anyway. Getting shocked by the non-functioning portal and having ectoplasm bond to my DNA wasn't a part of the equation I counted on."

Oddly, the words 'Uncle Vlad' seemed to calm the man more than anything. 'I can get used to that. Especially when he says it so sincerely and frankly,' he thought. The three of them fell silent when Tom knocked on the door and brought them their drinks.

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