Thank you to all who reviewed. Over the holiday month or so, lots of people reviewed, added this to their alert and favorite lists, and added me to their favorite author list. I am duly honored, and I thank you kindly.

For the record, I thank you for your patience. Since Chapter 4, I've been out of prewritten chapters, so I update as soon as I come up with the chapter, type it, review it a few times, and then post. I realize that this one was long in coming, but I've worked steadily. I hope you enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it.

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

Chapter 15

At breakfast, Draco determined to figure out the new student. He didn't operate like any other Slytherin he knew, but that might be because of the fact he came from America, as Danny said. Draco spoke to Professor Burbage. Apparently, there was some Muggle fuss about taxes and representation in the late 1700s. It really had nothing to do with the Wizarding World, but according to Burbage, even the Wizards in America (if Danny was any indication) seemed to care a lot about the separation between England and the United States.

With all this talk about equality, there didn't seem to be a hierarchy between pure-bloods and Muggle-borns there. Professor Masters was also from America, he realized. Maybe that was where his unnatural attention to the affairs of non-humans came from. Were non-humans also equal in the weird American society? He wasn't sure, but for some reason, this was really important to Danny and Professor Masters. He would make an effort to steer clear of this topic of conversation with Danny until he could figure this out.

Draco decided that if Danny was anything, he was considerate. With all the attention he gave Danny, Draco almost neglected his other friends. The fact that Danny reminded him of this fact only showed how valuable a friend Danny could be. Besides getting closer to Professor Masters and figuring out the mysteries surrounding the new student and professor, Danny might be worthwhile to have as a friend…just because. This was a novel idea to Draco.

Once he made his intentions known that he wanted to get to know the new student better, the other Slytherins kept a seat open near Danny for him. Being a prefect had its privileges, after all. And one topic was always fair game: Quidditch. Turning to Danny, he asked, "So, are you going to try out for the House Quidditch team? You've an excellent build for a Seeker."

Danny seemed focused on something else. "Sure, more pancakes, please."

Draco shook Danny's shoulder. "Danny, are you okay? I asked about Quidditch."

Danny took a second to take in his surroundings. "Oh, sorry. Quidditch. It sounds like fun, but I don't think I'll have the time. I'm taking seven normal classes, and my Uncle Vlad has me taking three special classes with him. I have a LOT of reading to do. Like I told Harry, I'll be glad if I can watch the games, but I'll make it my business to try to come."

Draco grimaced at Harry's name, but he didn't say anything nasty. He schooled his features back to a pleasant expression and asked, "Oh? When did you tell him?"

Danny thought about how to answer. "My uncle and I came to Hogwarts after my family was killed. My magical education in America was behind Hogwarts' standards, so Harry came to tutor me, to catch me up. Professor Snape is pleased with the progress we made." He paused for a second. "Please don't tell anyone I needed tutoring. It would make the schools in America look bad, and I'm already so different from the other students, seeing as I'm about five years late." Danny smiled. He was proud of his cover story, and he didn't actually lie to tell it.

Draco also smiled. So that's what Professor Snape meant when he said they worked so well together. "Not to worry. Your secret is safe with me." For now.

"Thanks." Danny's eyes unfocussed again. Draco was concerned. Something wasn't right. He only knew him for a couple of days, but from what he could tell, Danny normally stayed on target, sometimes noticing far more in a conversation than was convenient. But spacing out like this didn't seem like him. Maybe Professor Snape would know what to do. Draco resolved to talk to the professor in the break after Herbology.

In Herbology, Professor Sprout had Danny partner with Neville Longbottom. Although that lout seemed hopeless in just about everything, he seemed to truly excel in Herbology. And if Danny was behind in classes, it made sense to partner him with a student who knew what he was talking about.

He might forgive Neville, but he would still punish Potter. Oh, the things he had planned!

After Herbology, Danny headed to Professor Flitwick's office while Draco went to see Professor Snape. Draco knocked on the door, and the professor bade, "Come in." He entered. "Draco. What a pleasant surprise this morning! What brings you here?"

"Professor, I'm worried about Danny."

"Mr. Fenton?" Draco nodded. "What's wrong?"

"That's just it, Professor. I don't know. His mind was a million miles away at breakfast. Normally, he's sharp as a tack, but he couldn't seem to focus this morning." He thought for a moment. "But in Herbology, he was attentive, as if his life depended on it."

Professor Snape murmured to himself, "Did he? Good for him!" But in a full voice, he told Draco, "Thank you. You have been a help. I'll see what I can do to fix the problem. I'd like you to see me at a later break and tell me if things have improved." Draco smiled. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he could count on Professor Snape to help a Slytherin in need.

In Professor Flitwick's office, Danny demonstrated his duplication. He was still very proud that he could make four of himself. Professor Flitwick was impressed, although he was sure there was no way to categorize this talent. It wasn't an illusion of being in more than one place, or a duplication of an object. It was an honest duplication of himself. And the different duplicates had a separate consciousness each, almost as if they were separate people, although all were controlled by the original.

When a knock came at the door, Danny absorbed all three duplicates back into himself to the tiny professor's amazement. Danny turned human before Professor Flitwick invited whoever it was to come in. Both professor and student were surprised when Professor Snape entered Professor Flitwick's office.

"Forgive me for interrupting your meeting, but it has come to my attention that something untoward is going on with Daniel." Professor Flitwick looked concerned, and Danny looked away.

Professor Snape turned to Danny and asked in a gentle tone, "Are you concerned about last night's lesson?"

Danny's head snapped in Snape's direction. "Yes, sir," he said quietly.

Professor Snape put his hands on Danny's shoulders and turned him to face him squarely. "Daniel, you have done nothing wrong. You need to understand that first and foremost."

With a grimace, he continued. "Regardless of your uncle's feelings against or intentions toward me, he is teaching you a very valuable skill." He looked to Professor Flitwick. "Professor Masters has asked that this skill be kept secret until such a time as he feels it is appropriate to reveal it. For now, suffice it to say that this skill replicates and goes beyond some advanced magical skill. It will be duly impressive when it is indeed revealed.

"But as far as you are concerned, Daniel, I have deemed this a very worthy and valuable skill. I have agreed to do what is necessary to help you master this skill. Do you understand?"

Danny nodded. "I think so, sir."

"Good. As such, you have no need to worry about propriety, as everything is in order. You will do what your uncle directs, and you will not hesitate to comply with whatever he demands.

"You are doing nothing Dark or untoward. I cannot stress this enough."

Danny slowly started to allow relief to filter into him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. And you will continue to do so for as long as it takes." Professor Snape answered. He felt the tension leave the boy's shoulders.

"Thank you, sir."

"You are quite welcome. I'll see you in Potions this afternoon. But for now, carry on with whatever Professor Flitwick is having you do. Thank you for your time, Professor."

After Transfigurations on Tuesday morning, Draco noticed that Professor Snape was coming towards him down the next hall. He decided it was perfect for his plan. Draco was alone with Potter and his friends. It was now or never. "Oh, Potter!" he called out.

The dark-haired boy turned in annoyance. "What is it now, Malfoy?"

Draco grinned. "I hear you're tutoring Danny in Potions, and have been since the summer holidays."

Potter frowned in confusion. "How is that your business?"

Draco's smile broadened. "It isn't. I'm just thinking that it means that you didn't get an 'O' on your OWL. What might the rest of the class say if they knew someone didn't get an 'O' and still got into the class?"

Harry's green eyes narrowed. He drew his wand from his robes as his friends glared angrily at Draco.

At that moment, Professor Snape strode down their section of corridor, and stopped when he saw the four students, Harry with his wand pointed at Draco. "What are you doing, Potter?" he asked threateningly.

Before Harry could answer, Draco cut in. "I was just talking about Potions, sir, and suggested what we might do next in class. That was when he drew his wand on me."

Ignoring Ron and Hermione's protests that there was more to the story, Snape turned to Harry. "Fifteen points from Gryffindor, Potter," he said in a silky voice, "for using magic in the halls."

Harry had an indignant expression on his face, but a new voice intruded on the conversation. "You know, I just remembered something," Professor Masters, who had arrived on the scene unnoticed, interrupted smoothly. He turned to Harry. "I'm rather new to the point system here, so I didn't think of it until now. Your answer to my question in class yesterday was particularly insightful. I think you deserve eighteen points for Gryffindor." Harry was stunned.

Snape glared daggers at Professor Masters, who looked like a cat that had stolen a fish from its tank. Snape swept off angrily, and satisfied, Professor Masters left in the opposite direction. Draco turned furiously to Harry. "This isn't over, Potter." With that, he, too, left.

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione in confusion. "What just happened?" Ron shrugged.

Hermione shook her head in exasperation. "Honestly. Snape and Professor Masters don't seem to get along with each other. It's nothing compared to how much Snape hated Lupin, but they really don't like each other."

Harry sighed. "Great. And I'm in the middle of it, now."

Ron patted him on the shoulder. "Bad luck, mate. Come on – we don't want to be late to Charms."

Draco was annoyed that Professor Masters had managed to come along at that precise moment. The professor had ruined his plan! Now he'd have to come up with something else. He thought it over on his way to Charms, but had not come up with anything viable by the time he got there. All thoughts of his revenge on Potter flew out of his mind when he saw Danny waiting for him. The dark-haired Slytherin seemed much more cheerful than he had been in Herbology.

Danny's good mood persisted through the rest of the day, and Draco told Professor Snape as much during the afternoon break. In Potions, Professor Snape was particularly kind to Danny, and even more vicious than usual to Harry. While it was probably partially due to Professor Masters' interference earlier, Draco was pleased at Potter's public degradation.

Ron was annoyed that his friend was being treated so harshly. "Harry gets paired with the new student, and all he gets from Snape is grief," he complained to Hermione.

Hermione looked up from her potion, perfectly brewed as usual. "Snape is always horrible to Harry."

Ron scowled as he struggled with his own potion. "It's only been two days, but since Snape made him work with Danny, it's been ten times worse than usual. I know it's not Danny's fault," he said hurriedly, "but you've got to admit that Snape's being worse than ever."

Hermione nodded. "He is being worse today, but I think it's because of what happened earlier today. After all, Professor Masters did give Harry more points than Snape took away immediately before. He probably feels embarrassed, and he's taking it out on Harry." Ron agreed, but he was angry that he was powerless to do anything to stop the situation.

Across the dungeon, Harry and Danny were working quietly. Danny's assistance kept Harry on track with every ingredient and stir of the potion. Snape walked past the two dark-haired students and stopped to watch Harry and Danny work. Noting Harry's near-slip in reading a line of instructions, Snape smirked. "Careful, Potter. You may have found favor with Professor Masters, but you won't be so lucky with me if you keep up such sloppy work in Potions."

Harry glowered, but said nothing. He knew that Snape liked to bait him. If he responded, he could end up in serious trouble. Danny was confused. When Snape moved on, he asked Harry, "What was that about?"

Harry glared after Snape. "Malfoy threatened to tell everyone that I'm tutoring a student. He wouldn't give away your secret, but he has no problem with humiliating me. I pulled my wand out to jinx him into next week, and Snape came along. He took 15 points from my House for attempting to use magic in the halls, and then your uncle showed up. Professor Masters gave me 18 points for my House for my answer to his question in class yesterday."

Danny got a strange look on his face. Concerned, Harry asked, "Is something wrong, Danny?"

Danny shook his head. "Welcome to my world. I'm not sure why Professor Snape and Uncle Vlad don't get along, but their feud seemed to focus on me. And now you are a new target in their fuss. I'm so sorry, but at least you aren't alone in this."

In his Power Training session, Danny specifically noticed the by-play between Professor Snape and Vlad. Danny was still uncomfortable, but Snape shook his head. "What did I tell you?"

Danny winced. "You said to do whatever was necessary."

Carelessly, Vlad said, "It's nice to know you agree with me, Professor. Now, Daniel, we're working on gags." Professor Snape sighed and nodded.

It was Wednesday and in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Vlad collected the letters. The scrolls of parchment were different than the typed reports he was used to reading, or even the loose-leaf pages on which he saw Daniel's work before. A foot was about the length of a page, but the fact that every student handed him a scroll set him temporarily off-balance, not that he would show this to the class.

In his lecture, he discussed various humanoid creatures that the Ministry of Magic classified as Beings. He mentioned house-elves, goblins, vampires, hags, and others. When he got to ghosts, he rolled his eyes and then smirked.

"The Ministry classifies ghosts as Beings, but the local ghosts objected, wishing rather to be classified as Has-Beens." Danny huffed indignantly. Professor Masters grinned at this and continued. The class didn't understand Professor Masters' amusement, and Danny's reaction confused them, but neither uncle nor nephew said a word on the matter.

"Years ago, the centaurs and merpeople were offended when human wizards unthinkingly classified them as Beasts and not Beings. When the wizards tried to correct their oversight and resort them, the centaurs and merpeople took umbrage. Out of an understandable objection to humans having authority over them, the centaurs and merpeople opted to keep their status as Beasts. They preferred not to share a categorization with humans as Beings, also rejecting sharing status with vampires and hags."

When Professor Masters reached werewolves, however, a quiet anger could be heard in his voice as he described how werewolves were shunted between the categories of Beings and Beasts. "Werewolf Support is in the Being Division, but the Werewolf Registry, the Capture Unit, and the Discipline and Disposal Units," the third category made Vlad shudder, "are in the Beast Division. Unlike the courtesy extended to the centaurs and merpeople, no one asked the werewolves' opinion on the matter. These supposed Dark creatures, who started as human as everyone in this class, were denied the acknowledgement of their humanity because of an accident caused by someone else, over which they had no control."

Danny glared at Professor Masters when he said this. With a pointed look at Danny, Professor Masters shrugged. Students near Danny didn't understand what was going on. This was the first of many in class communications Professor Masters had with Danny that no one else was privy to. They shared something besides a familial tie, and they kept it to themselves. This deepened the mystery surrounding them.

When Harry met Danny in Potions, Danny had a happy, dreamy look in his eyes. Harry said, "It's good to see you so happy. What happened?"

Danny practically glowed with pleasure. "My first Astronomy lecture."

Harry blinked. "Astronomy lecture?"

Danny explained, "Tonight will be the practical class on the Astronomy Tower. Even with a telescope, there is only so much you can see if you don't know what you're looking for. In the lecture, we discussed quasars and other recent discoveries from NASA, and how to plot them on our star charts this evening." He grinned. "I discovered that there are witches and wizards who work at NASA."

"Really?"

Danny's grin broadened. "Yup. Now I have no problem telling you that I've wanted to be an astronaut for as long as I can remember." Harry and Danny finished setting up for Potions. Once Professor Snape began, that was the end of their discussion.

Harry noticed that one major benefit of working so closely on Potions with Danny was that he was more focused on his work. Danny's focus was so intense, Harry couldn't help but start to focus himself. Once, he almost thought he saw Professor Snape nod appreciatively at him, until he noticed Harry's glance. Then, Snape glared hostilely at him, like normal, as there wasn't much to complain about in his actual potion making.

Still, he had a lot of thoughts to share with Ron and Hermione. He decided that dinner was too public a place to share such thoughts. After finishing his homework, Harry found Ron soundly defeating Hermione at chess in the Common Room, at their regular place by the fire.

"I think I've made an interesting discovery about Danny, but I'm not sure what to make of it, yet."

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry. Ron asked, "What?"

Harry returned the look. "Danny seems to be of a decent sort, so we should keep it to ourselves. He's been a bit distracted today. In Potions, he was happier than I've seen him since he got an 'O' on his NEWT. He was excited about Astronomy."

Hermione said, "He should be. He's better at it than Seventh Years."

Harry nodded. "This is true. He's wanted to be an astronaut for a long time."

Hermione was impressed. Ron was confused. "What's an astronaut?"

Hermione sighed. "An astronaut goes up into outer space to explore the moon, and planets we've put on our star charts and you've made such a fuss over in Divination." She rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of them, Ron."

Ron blushed. "It's not a thing I've heard wizards do."

Harry shrugged. "Danny said that in the Astronomy lecture (his class before Potions on Wednesday) he discovered that witches and wizards were among the many people working…" Realizing that Ron wouldn't recognize the acronym NASA, he changed his mind on his choice of words, "in the Space Program." Ron still looked confused. "They're people who do advanced research in Astronomy." Ron nodded in understanding.

"What surprised me isn't that he wanted to be an astronaut, as someone as interested in Astronomy as he is might choose to do that sort of thing, but that he said, 'Now he has no problem telling us.' That's a curious choice of words."

Hermione looked thoughtful. "That is a weird way of saying it. It's almost like… no, that can't be right."

Ron and Harry looked at each other and then back at her. "What can't be right?" Ron asked.

Hermione furrowed her brows. "It's almost like he's saying…he's not a wizard. But that can't be right. Someone who isn't a witch or wizard can't see Hogwarts." She thought a second more. "Or a Squib. But Squibs can't be students here, or Mr. Filch might not be as bitter as he is. Further, the castle is spelled so that Muggles wouldn't be able to come here. But more to the point, we've seen him do magic. He has to be a wizard.

"Though it is bizarre… With some spells, Danny seems positively hopeless. With others, he seems advanced. He can do Summoning Charms, Levitating Charms, that visible shield. He flies almost as well as you do, Harry. But Disarming Charms, jinxes, and some of the simpler counter-curses we've worked on are completely beyond him."

The three of them sat in thought. Finally, Ron said, "This is weird, but Harry is right. We should keep this to ourselves."

Thursday morning at breakfast, Professor Snape came to Danny, who stiffened at the professor's approach. Last night, Danny perfected the elasticity of his bonds, and per instructions, they were tighter than comfortable. Vlad was pleased, but Professor Snape winced in discomfort, and Danny was worried.

Professor Snape was perfectly congenial, as he said, "Daniel, I need to see you in my office in your morning free period. And before you think about it, this has nothing to do with last night." Danny sighed in relief. The professor nodded and moved away.

Draco looked at Danny. "What happened last night?"

Danny shrugged. "Since Monday, Uncle Vlad asked Professor Snape to join us in our extra Defense Against the Dark Arts sessions. Some of the defensive activity I learned last night was more painful than I intended."

Draco cocked his head. "What kind of things are you learning in those special sessions?"

Danny thought about this. "Uncle Vlad has wanted to adopt me for a while, and he's been mentoring me in some special skills." He sighed. "It's part of 'special alone time' with Uncle Vlad."

"He's wanted to adopt you?" Draco tried not to show his excitement. "Why would he do that? Was there something wrong with your parents?"

Danny's face darkened. "There was nothing wrong with my parents, thank you. More than that, you don't need to know." He got up and left for Herbology.

Draco clenched his fists and thought, 'This is more about him than he's let me know since I met him. I will find out his secrets.'

After Herbology, Danny came to Professor Snape's office. "Ah, Daniel, have a seat." Danny sat. He had no idea what to expect, but at least he knew that this professor wasn't angry with him.

"Since Sunday, you know of the effects of different spells on half-ghosts. Your uncle and I worked hard to determine which spells can harm you in either form. At another time, your uncle will review our findings with you again, to make certain that you are sure of the results. However, with all of our work, there is no way for us to know the results of one very important spell.

"Of all the spells and jinxes available in the Wizarding World, three are considered Unforgivable: the Killing Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Imperius Curse. They are considered unforgivable because there is no way for a wizard to defend himself against them other than dodging out of the way. You already know that the Killing Curse can't hurt you beyond a sharp, stinging sensation. The Cruciatus Curse would indeed torture you as it would an average human, but you could avoid it by turning intangible.

"The only one we can't be sure of is the Imperius Curse, as it affects each person differently. The idea is that the caster of this spell attempts to control the victim's mind." Danny's eyes went wide. "The way this spell works, a command enters the victim's head. If a person has a good deal of strength of mind and will, he can resist."

Scenes of Freakshow flashed through Danny's mind. "I, um…"

"If it makes you feel better, both your uncle and Potter are able to resist it. If you concentrate, you should be able to as well."

"Okay," Danny said uncertainly.

"This is one of the most common curses the Dark Lord uses. People with less strength of mind have been made to do unconscionable things against their will." Danny shuddered. "The prospect bothers you almost as much as 'using your powers against humans.' Why does this trouble you?"

Danny shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "A few months ago, a man called Freakshow brought Circus Gothica into Amity Park. He had a staff with a crystal ball. With it, he controlled a handful of ghosts. Generations of his family enslaved ghosts, and used them to entertain the masses. Freakshow decided that the money of the audiences wasn't enough. He started using ghosts to rob banks and jewelry shops. I stopped a heist or two, but then he got control of me.

"Half-ghosts are more powerful than most other ghosts, and" he downcast his eyes, "I was made to 'supervise' the other ghosts on the thieving missions, torturing them if they didn't move fast enough. Apparently, Freakshow set off my natural 'dark side'." He turned away from Professor Snape. "That was pretty bad, but worse, he had me attempt to kill my best friends. It almost worked." Professor Snape came around his desk and put a comforting hand on Danny's back. "I fought the influence of the mind control, but I failed in all instances except when Sam's life was truly on the line, twice. I saved her from plummeting to her death." He closed his eyes. "But I'm the one who caused her to fall."

Professor Snape stood in silence for a few moments. "You know you are not at fault here."

Danny shrugged, eyes still closed. "If I was stronger, this never would have happened."

Those were the words Snape wanted to hear. "Then we will work to make you stronger." Danny opened his eyes and looked up. "We will work to train your resistance to mind control. Whether it comes in the form of evil wizards or unscrupulous ringmasters, mind control can be defeated, if you build the mental strength to stop it completely. Shall we?" Danny nodded uncertainly.

"Right, then." He had Danny stand away from the desk, closer to the center of the room. "No matter what you hear, or however pleasant acquiescence may feel, resist. This is the prime directive. Understood?" Danny nodded again. "Imperio!"

Danny felt all his cares drift away. Turn ghost, the command came. He thought about it, but thought back, 'No.' The command came stronger. Turn ghost. The pleasant feeling came in fuller force than before. Still, he stayed where he was. Do it NOW! It felt like all the world's ills would disappear if he obeyed. He turned ghost.

The command left him, and he looked at himself. He hung his head and closed his eyes in defeat.

"Alright," said Professor Snape. "We'll have to work on this."

Friday morning, Vlad discussed the corrected homework before passing it back to the students. "Most of you did creditable jobs, and I may ask you for a corrected or updated copy of your letters in a letter-writing campaign organized by people interested in halting Voldemort's progress. Everyone in Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor will take ten points each for their assorted Houses, except for Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. For a truly outstanding letter that not only empathized with the werewolves' general plight, but used insight gained from personal conversations with Mr. Lupin (and correctly citing said discussions as a source), Mr. Potter may take twenty points for Gryffindor.

"Miss Granger's letter, while doing precisely that, is so well researched and cited, I could honestly say that it rivals proposals I've seen drawn up by Muggle lawyers. I'm convinced that Miss Granger is destined to become an advocate for the disenfranchised." Hermione glowed with pride. "On your behalf, I award Gryffindor another twenty points."

Vlad sighed. "Slytherin. Mr. Fenton is the only one among you who understood the assignment. For a brilliant use of logic and persuasion, as well as displaying a true understanding of the perspective of a partial human (perhaps with an unfair advantage, but I wouldn't have it any other way), I also award you twenty points for your House." The class puzzled over the meaning of this comment, for which Danny blushed and smiled.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and Mr. Fenton, with your permission, I will pass your letters along directly to Professor Dumbledore, who will know how to put said letters to the greatest use." The addressed students nodded their consent. The Slytherin students cheered for the fact that a Housemate was awarded at least as many points and as much attention as Harry Potter, and were glad that he was praised for making use of an unfair advantage, though they couldn't dream of what it would be.

"Unfortunately, all other Slytherin students have disappointed me. I would have imagined that students who are used to being unfairly vilified would have attempted to feel sympathy, if not empathy, for people in a similar situation. Instead, every letter besides Mr. Fenton's was condescending, asking the unknown werewolf in so many words to bow to the supposed superiority of full humans and wizards by dint of the fact that full humans have graciously allowed said werewolf to live. To your credit, not one of you mentioned Ministry retribution. But still, for some reason, my carefully worded instructions explicitly stating that you were to appeal to the werewolf's humanity, attempting to seek some sort of commonality with this person, were completely ignored.

"Some of you were creative and innovative in your use of Hairy Snout, Human Heart, citing it properly, but you used the author's own words as weapons against werewolves, or any creature who dares to exist in the Wizarding World and challenge the authority of trained Wizards. The invectives used against people 'whose bloodlines have been tainted' were truly inspired, I'm sure.

"For your creativity, I will be lenient. Instead of the full measure of points I would have taken for the offense against werewolves, making a shameful example of how low humans can stoop to denigrate people unfortunate enough to have found themselves not only at the receiving end of a curse with no cure but also of venom from students' quills, I will only deduct a total of 50 points from Slytherin. Consider it a gift. Don't expect me to be as generous next time my directions are expressly ignored."

Draco wanted to grouse about the unfair treatment of Slytherin students besides Professor Masters' own nephew, but Professor Masters' logic was inescapable. If Danny's letter was good enough to be presented to Professor Dumbledore to stop the Dark Lord, he might have something good going on.

But Potter and that Granger Mudblood! They were called out for distinction. At least Weasley was considered average from that little group. Draco decided that he truly needed to get points back for Slytherin. With the net loss of 30 points, there had to be something he could do. And, of course, he had to humiliate Potter in the works.

Potter somehow won Professor Masters' favor. The plot would have to be in Potions, as in the halls it would have been too risky to have Professor Masters undo whatever damage Professor Snape might attribute to Potter. But it would have to be in such a way as not to offend Danny… he would have to work on it.

Professor Snape still wanted Danny during his morning break for whatever reason, as Danny didn't care to explain it. Putting together the few facts he could, so far Draco pieced together that Danny's uncle wanted to adopt him, but he was so sensitive about his family, he wouldn't say why. Regardless, his uncle taught him extra Defense Against the Dark Arts. Also, Danny could truly understand the plight of "partial humans" with an unfair advantage. At present, he was as confused about this as anyone else in the class.

From his earlier discussions, he knew that Danny was sensitive to werewolves, ghosts, Muggle-borns… What goes on in the American Wizarding World? Almost disgusted, Draco thought that Danny might also be concerned about the slavery of house-elves, too.

Regardless, talking to Danny was always a surprise. He never knew what nuggets of secrets he could worm out of him. At the same time, he had to be careful. Maybe it was because Danny was recently orphaned, or because he was from America, or whatever, but some topics of conversation were sticky. It was a fascinating puzzle. Danny was clever, and even though he was a Slytherin, professors seemed to genuinely like him. He was unassuming, and more pleasant company than many of his friends. He had the rest of the free period to figure out a new conversation gambit for Charms.

In Charms, Danny met Draco, who waited for him. Professor Flitwick had the class start conjuring teacups from mid-air. Danny had no hope of conjuring anything unless it was some form of ectoplasm, so he half-heartedly listened to the list of things that could and couldn't be successfully conjured. He went through the motions fruitlessly, as he knew he must, and then watched Draco for a bit. Draco was good at this. Soon, he not only had teacups, but he successfully conjured a full tea service for four, including saucers, spoons, a tray, a teapot, and water. The leaves and sugar counted as food, and couldn't be conjured.

Danny's lack of persistence in this gave Draco an inspiration. "You know, you can't very well succeed at everything, Danny."

Danny shrugged. "I know. Trust me, I know."

"Today, however, you were brilliant in your uncle's class."

With a broken smile, Danny said, "So it would seem. That's what he said."

This wasn't going the way Draco intended it. "What do you think of our loss of House points?"

Danny shook his head. "Look – I'll work hard not to lose points, as it seems to be a big deal, here. Right now, I have other things to focus on, like my family and best friends not being alive. I'm adjusting to a new school, and for some reason, I think the importance of House points gets lost in the grand scheme of things. What do you think of the loss of House points?"

"Well, first I thought it was glorious that you got at least as many points as Potter. Lots of professors find reasons to give him points. Last year, it got ridiculous! At least Professor Umbridge tried to put a stop to all that."

"Professor Um… Are you serious? Professor Umbrage?"

"Yes. Professor Dolores Umbridge, who usually serves as an undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, was our professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts. As a teacher she was useless, but she was a witch who knew how to acquire power."

Danny winced at the horrible pun in her name, but then sat back and listened. "Really?"

"All the professors despised her, including Professor Snape, but the one thing she was brilliant at was discrediting Potter. Of course, it turns out that he was right about the Dark Lord returning…

"But it was a thing of beauty to watch how every freedom Potter had disappeared. The detentions she gave… And when Potter formed a club called the DA, or Dumbledore's Army, of all things, she disbanded all clubs, only allowing those she specifically approved of.

"Because she worked for the Ministry, she made all kinds of school rules that had the force of Ministry decreed laws. She declared herself Hogwarts High Inquisitor, and took it upon herself to see that all the professors were all acting according to Ministry regulations. Some of the rules she made were a pain, but all were designed to take power for herself and ultimately make Potter miserable.

"She set a handful of Slytherin students up as an Inquisitorial Squad. For the time we had those powers until she lost her influence in the school, the members of the Inquisitorial Squad could give or take points from whomever we saw fit."

Danny piped up, "And I bet you took great pleasure in taking points from Harry and his friends."

Draco smiled. "Of course! But that wasn't the most delicious part of this moment. That happened when we were sent to expose Potter and the students in the DA."

"What was the DA for?"

Draco looked thoughtful. "To be honest, we never knew. What we did know is that it was subversive and otherwise unauthorized by Professor Umbridge. It was a sincere pleasure surprising Potter with a simple Trip Jinx, and then watching Umbridge frog-march him to the Headmaster's office. The Inquisitorial Squad was sent to search for other members, but we found out later that Professor Dumbledore was temporarily removed as Headmaster, and Professor Umbridge installed herself as Headmistress for a time.

"The Weasley twins led a full-scale rebellion. They set off fireworks, turned the majority of the fifth floor into a swamp," Danny remembered that the ghosts thought of this moment fondly, "and a few other things before they were caught by Mr. Filch. They managed to escape punishment by leaving the school."

"They opened their own shop," Danny offered helpfully.

"Yes, well… one of the best moments came when Potter used the Floo from Umbridge's office. It was the only fireplace in the school that wasn't being monitored. At that point, Warrington, Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, a current Seventh Year girl I don't know if you met yet, and I caught Potter, Granger, Weasley, his sister, Longbottom, and that bizarre misfit Loony Lovegood and held them captive as Umbridge figured out what to do with them.

"Umbridge planned to use the Cruciatus Curse on Potter, but… Granger became pathetic, and told Umbridge of a weapon Dumbledore had stashed in the Forbidden Forest. The usual know-it-all actually didn't know how to use the weapon, and suggested that all students should find out about it and use it on her. I was all set to go to learn about this weapon, when Umbridge changed her mind, and only took Potter and Granger with her."

"What happened then?"

Draco looked down. "I guess we were too distracted by the thought of not going to check out this weapon. Once Potter and Granger went with Umbridge, the others managed to break free. That Weasley girl has a vicious Bat-Bogey Hex she let loose on me. I had my own problems to deal with. Once the Hex finished playing out," he winced at the memory, "they were gone. We never did find out about that weapon.

"But Potter managed to get his little crew to the Ministry of Magic, where the Dark Lord was waiting for him." Draco got quiet and looked away. "A lot of Death Eaters got arrested that evening."

Danny sifted through this emotional change of Draco's quickly. Putting his revulsion of the idea aside for the moment, he asked gently, "Someone close to you got arrested?"

Draco closed his eyes. "My father." Danny's eyes widened, but he said nothing as Draco's eyes were still closed. "I'm going to get Potter for that, if it's the last thing I do."

'That explains a lot,' thought Danny. "Okay…" he said slowly. "You might want to practice that conjuring thing some more, as Professor Flitwick is coming back in this direction."

As announced, Professor Flitwick approached and acknowledged Draco's tea set as very good work. He nodded at Danny. "Keep trying," he said, but winked. Danny nodded back in response. Draco puffed with pride at the professor's praise, and looked to see how Harry was doing. Harry had a few cups in front of him. Draco decided to focus on Harry to be able to more effectively taunt and torment him later.

This gave Danny a moment to himself to think. In July, Harry told Danny about the club he started in Defense Against the Dark Arts to shore up the students' learning, due to the complications of an incompetent teacher. Now he knew her name: Dolores Umbridge. The name made him wince to think about it. He also knew that the club was a secret one called "Dumbledore's Army," or DA for short.

Apparently, this professor and her Inquisitorial Squad were out to get Harry, and Draco and his friends were part of it, and not part of this club. Draco didn't even know the purpose of the club. Harry told Danny that he would start teaching him Defense Against the Dark Arts based on how he taught the people in the club. This was an interesting dynamic.

At present, this gave Danny two ideas. He would have to talk to Harry about one of them later in Potions. The other was disconcerting, as he realized that Vlad would be proud of his coming up with it, but he still didn't like it. He discovered that Draco's father was a Death Eater. This meant Draco might know more about what his father did. If he could get Draco to discuss it, he could tell Professor Snape about it, and they could work on defense against whatever attacks Draco knew his father and compatriots used. This meant that Danny now had a use for Draco's "friendship," which – heretofore – he wasn't sure was a good idea.

It was the idea of using a friendship of convenience for an agenda, no matter how worthy, that bothered him. He was sure Vlad would be thrilled with the idea, if Danny told him about it. Danny was still out of sorts with the idea that he wouldn't be able to make close friends here. The closest he could come, among the humans, was Harry, and perhaps Ron and Hermione. He couldn't tell them everything, but he knew them the longest and he felt that Harry was trustworthy, as far as he could tell.

Among the ghosts, he had any number of friends, advisors, and counselors. And fans. Danny sighed. He could tell them anything he liked. But he couldn't spend too much time with them, as almost all the time he had needed to be devoted to schoolwork and dealing with the students around him. At home, he always had time for ghosts. If he thought about it, he realized that he would have to make time here, too. Life was so complicated! But he knew he could count on his ghostly friends, here.

After lunch, he had History of Magic. As in Care of Magical Creatures, only a few other students cared to continue NEWT level. Lisa Turpin, Michael Corner, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Terry Boot, all Ravenclaws, took it with Danny. Danny was glad they all knew each other and ignored him when his ghost sense went off, signaling Professor Binns' imminent arrival. He wondered how long he could continue in this class before someone noticed a blue mist escaping his lips before the professor entered the classroom. Part of him thought that no one in Casper High noticed for a year and a half. If he concentrated and didn't gasp when his ghost sense went off, maybe no one would notice here, either.

When the class was over, the students took a moment or two before packing up and moving on to their next class. Terry said, "You know, after the first five years, I never thought we'd live to see the day Professor Binns changed his teaching style." The other three students nodded in agreement as Danny looked puzzled.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Terry furrowed his brows. "Professor Binns usually drones on, not really caring if we actually absorbed what he taught. Luckily, most Ravenclaw students penetrated his monotone to get the underlying lessons, but most others prefer to take our lessons from more interesting sources. That's why there are only four of us here. But this year, besides the two major battles we discussed, he mentioned a few famous ghosts who were created when they died in battle. He's never done that before."

Mandy added, "And he's never gotten anyone's name straight since his last class roster when he still lived. But he called you 'Mr. Fenton' every time he mentioned you."

Danny blushed. "I don't know what to tell you."

Lisa thought for a moment. "Maybe he just likes you. But why single you out?"

Danny knew why he was singled out – all ghosts knew him, and Professor Binns was no exception. But he couldn't tell his classmates that. "Maybe it's because I'm the only student in the class who isn't from Ravenclaw."

The others studied him for a moment. Michael said, "That is logical enough. I'm not sure if it answers all the oddities here, but it makes a lot of sense."

In Potions, as Danny and Harry set up, Danny said, "Harry, can I ask you something?"

Curious, Harry answered, "Sure. What's on your mind?"

"You told me about the DA, the club for Defense Against the Dark Arts you had last year. Where did you meet?"

Harry blinked and said, "It's complicated to explain off the cuff, but…" He shook his head. "Why do you want to know?"

Danny smiled. "You know that Uncle Vlad and I have extra sessions in Defense Against the Dark Arts, right?" Harry nodded. "Well, there might come a time we need a more 'out of the way' location to practice, and if the place you used for the DA worked for you and remained a secret until the last moment, it could work for Uncle Vlad and me."

Harry smiled in return. "That works. The Room of Requirement is on the Seventh Floor, on the wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet."

Danny shook his head. "What?"

Harry chuckled. "Plus there's a trick to get in. If you like, I'll show you after breakfast tomorrow."

"That would be great. Thanks." With that, they finished setting up for Potions.

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