Again, I thank you all who have read and reviewed. I see more people have added this fic and me to your lists of all sorts and I thank you all for this.

For folks who have expressed concern about the characterization of Professor Snape and Draco, I suggest that you keep in mind that the general point of view we see of them from J.K. Rowling's works is Harry's. Both characters have been nothing but horrible to Harry for most of the entire run of the series. However, if you think of them as people, they have to be something besides miserable human beings sometimes. People are multi-dimensional, and even nasty people have soft sides to their personalities, sometimes despite themselves. Draco seems to be popular among the Slytherins. He can't be, if he is only always a jerk. Professor Snape is beloved by almost all of the Slytherins. He can't be if he didn't show some kindness to them. It might be well hidden from everyone else, but he has something good going on with the Slytherin students.

Lots of things in this upcoming chapter have been planned for months. Part of this chapter, while mostly dreamed up by me months ago, was also inspired by shadowarwen's "Somewhere I Belong" series. For those who are addicted to angst, Harry Potter, and/or a combination thereof, I highly recommend this series. (It's a trilogy.)

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

Chapter 21

The rest of the month was relatively uneventful. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Vlad finished their unit on vampires and moved on to hags. On Monday morning, Professor Snape told Danny about the spells Death Eaters often use, but the professor was a bit subdued. Danny asked what was wrong, and Professor Snape explained that he and Vlad were experimenting again. For now, he would explain the results to Danny. Confused about Professor Snape's change in disposition, Danny just nodded and accepted the new information.

During Danny's afternoon breaks, Professor Flitwick had Danny create all kinds of things out of ectoplasm and ice. They experimented with textures and thickness of ice, and of the combination of ectoplasm and ice. Danny decided that this week was the first time he fully appreciated Professor Flitwick's whimsical sense of humor and had fun in Charms during his afternoon breaks.

Vlad also had Danny work with ice. They worked on accuracy with aim with both Danny's hands and eyes. They focused on both larger and smaller blasts of different concentrations of power, and how to combine the ice and ectoplasm in various attacks. Vlad bound Danny with ectoplasmic restraints, and Danny froze them and destroyed them. The more Vlad had Danny work with this power, the more seriously impressed he was with the boy.

The weekend after the Slytherin Quidditch try-outs, Draco asked Danny for help with understanding Martin Luther King's speech. Taken by surprise by Draco's lack of arrogance over the Muggles involved, Danny was more than happy to give Draco a quick lesson in American history. They spoke about events mentioned in the earlier pages of the speech, general race relations in the 1960s, and other events and thoughts mentioned.

Draco had trouble understanding why skin color mattered to these Muggles, but he realized that Danny (and Professor Masters) had difficulty understanding his own prejudices against Muggles, Muggle-borns, and hybrids. Draco still had a paper or two he owed Professor Masters on this topic. He might not have changed his mind about the value of Muggles and Muggle-borns, but Draco decided that – at the very least – he would keep his thoughts on the matter to himself around Professor Masters. Or anywhere outside his Common Room. Or in front of Danny.

On October 1, Danny met Vlad in the Room of Requirement after dinner, as usual. Vlad said, "Your progress with your cryokinetics is nothing short of amazing. Alas, my creativity in figuring out what you can do with this, both offensively and defensively, is at an end for now. Although, I understand that Professor Flitwick never seems to run out of ideas."

Danny smiled. "At first, we worked on weapons, like swords and things, and figured out how strong and how sharp the ice had to be in order to be useful. Still, one of my favorite exercises he had me do was to create a mug solid, hard, and cold enough that it could actually withstand a steaming cup of hot chocolate." He licked his lips in the memory of the chocolate he had that afternoon.

Vlad smiled and shook his head, amused. "Only you, Daniel. Only you." Refocusing, he looked at Danny seriously. "Now we are up to Part Two of my overshadowing project."

Danny shifted uncomfortably. "Please, Vlad, no. I already overshadowed someone. I did it for a full hour and a quarter. Please don't make me do it again."

No longer looking at Danny, Vlad was almost lost in his thoughts. "The first part of the project was simply overshadowing someone, which you have demonstrated you can do at long last. But now…" He looked in Danny's eyes. "Remember when you told me that there was magic that terrified you because there was no defense against it but a magical defense?" Danny nodded and shivered as he thought of that conversation he had with Professor Dumbledore nearly a month ago.

"Now imagine what you could do if you had access to that magic."

Looking at Vlad oddly, Danny said, "But Desiree's not here. Professor Dumbledore said that 'no amount of wishing' could change me from a Muggle to a wizard, and I told him that Desiree could arrange it, if she wanted to, or actually heard a wish like that." He made an unpleasant face. "Somehow, I think she would refrain from giving me even more power than I already have, if she had any say about it."

Vlad was astonished. Daniel had indeed thought of acquiring magic, and even came up with a legitimate avenue of getting it, even though he was sure it would never become available. This was not a direction Vlad would ever have thought of, as long as there was a way to attain what he desired on his own. He decided that he should consult the boy if he ever truly wished to 'think outside the box.'

"Very good, Daniel. I'm impressed at how thoroughly you thought this through. But that wasn't what I meant."

Danny was confused. "Then what…?"

Cutting in, Vlad answered, "You will overshadow a wizard and use his magic, using his mouth to say incantations, his wand to cast spells."

Danny's eyes widened in horror. "Vlad, no. It's one thing to take over a person's body to help them with something you sympathize or empathize with. But this is just plain wrong. It violates a magical person's very being. It's worse than the Imperius Curse because they can't fight it. There are so many ways this is just wrong. No."

A wicked smile crossed Vlad's lips. "Ah, yes. The Imperius Curse. It was used by a wizard on a boy he knew had no magic."

"Vlad! He taught me to fight mind control. Whether it's from an evil wizard, or someone like Freakshow, my mind is stronger. I can fight it, now."

"But with this, you would have every ghost power accessible to you in your human form, as well as whatever power your target has with magic. Think of the possibilities!"

Danny trembled. Vlad was serious about this. "Vlad, no! I can't…"

"Of course you can. Not only can you do it, you will do it!"

"Vlad, please! No…"

"Remember what I told you last time you tried to defy me," Vlad growled as his eyes glowed red.

Danny thought back. Vlad as good as promised that next time, he would use his powers to hurt Danny, and there was no one to stop him. Vlad would torture him if he objected, but this went against every moral fiber of his being. Clockwork said he always had a choice. He knew which one he would take.

Vlad lunged to grab Danny, but Danny evaporated in a puff of green mist. "Daniel…" Shaken to his core, Vlad realized he had pushed Danny too far. Further, the boy could be anywhere. He waved a chair into existence and dropped into it. Closing his eyes, he put his head in his hands. "Sugar cookies. What have I done?"

Danny rematerialized invisibly in Professor Snape's office, as he finished a conference with another Slytherin student.

"…So Millicent, remember what we discussed, and you should be fine. It is the safest option, but ultimately, the choice is yours." Millicent Bulstrode nodded and looked comforted. Danny had no idea what issues she would have, but he knew that whatever they were, the situation was probably as difficult for her as this was for him.

Before she opened the door to leave, Professor Snape cleared his throat. Millicent looked back at him, her expression turning cold and disinterested. Professor Snape smiled. "That's my girl." She smiled back briefly, ready to take on the world.

When the door closed behind her, Danny released his invisibility. "Daniel!" Professor Snape was surprised to say the least. "Don't you belong in class with your uncle?"

Trembling with the thought of what Vlad wanted him to do, Danny said, "Professor, you have to help me!"

Sliding out from behind his desk to put a comforting arm around the terrified teen, Professor Snape said, "Of course. What's wrong, Daniel?"

Danny cried, "I can't do what Vlad wants me to do! It's wrong beyond all reason, and he'll hurt me if I don't. He said he would!" Tears slid down his cheeks.

"Uncle Vlad, Daniel," Snape gently corrected.

"That evil Froot-Loop is not my uncle!"

Professor Snape was taken aback. "Then what is he?"

"He was my arch-enemy for over a year and a half! When I first met him, he captured me in a box that neutralized my ghost powers. He told me then that he wanted to adopt me, but first I would have to renounce my father!"

This was a lot of information to absorb, but this would be easier if he had a few more details. "Daniel, why would he want you to do that?" he asked gently.

Danny shook his head bitterly. "Vlad was friends with both of my parents in college. He was going to tell my mom about his interest in her on the day of his accident that turned him half-ghost." This is a part of Professor Masters' history Snape had never heard.

"With the ghost powers came a disfiguring case of Ecto-Acne, because Dad accidentally poured diet cola when he should have used ecto-filtrator purifier." These words held little meaning to the Potions Master, but he could fully appreciate the effects of a mishap due to a wrong ingredient.

"Dad said that the Ecto-Acne killed Vlad's social life in college. But at the 20th year reunion, Vlad made his intentions clear to me: He had no problem hurting, or even killing, my father, as long as he could have my mother, his long-time love interest, and me – the only other half-ghost in existence – as his son. My sister was kind of a bonus, either way, but for the longest time he had all kinds of weird schemes to get me and Mom, but mostly me. See, there are all kinds of creative ways to catch and capture ghosts that simply don't work on humans. Couple that with the fact that most people hated ghosts (me in particular – my ghostly enemies didn't mind causing all kinds of property damage and stuff for which I'd get blamed, and framing me for crimes I didn't commit, so I was Public Ghost Enemy Number One for a while), it was a LOT easier for him to attack me.

"Once, Vlad put a million dollar bounty on my head, and the best known ghost hunters (including a federal agency that's never forgotten about me) tried to capture me so that he could take over my Dad's Ghost Portal.

"Vlad's done lots of awful things to me, but most of them were bizarre efforts to get me to join him. I didn't want to, because first, he wanted me to renounce my father, and second, he made it sound like he wanted to turn me into an evil apprentice." Now Snape understood the resistance the boy put up when he had trouble seeing positive benefits in what Masters taught him.

"But when my parents died, and my whole world collapsed, he was the only one left who I knew who cared about me. I didn't really see any options left, so I went to the man – hated though he was – because he said he wanted to adopt me. I didn't think I had anywhere else to go." He blushed. "I do have an Aunt Alicia who lives in Spittoon, Arkansas, but I'm not sure she actually likes kids. Besides, I kind of feel closer to Vlad. It feels so wrong, but that's how it is."

Professor Snape drew Danny into a comforting hug. He thought about the boy's words and realized how startlingly similar his relationship with Harry Potter was to Vlad Masters' relationship to Daniel Fenton. The primary difference is that Vlad actively wanted Daniel. The professor might have to think and rethink a few of his thoughts on the Potter boy.

When Danny pulled away, Snape looked at him critically. He looked miserable, still distraught about what Masters wanted him to do next. Taking the boy's hands in his own, Snape asked, "What does… Vlad want you to do?"

First Danny flushed in anger, and then he paled in horror. "He…wants me to… overshadow someone…"

Snape shook his head. "What does that mean?"

Danny raised his eyebrows in surprise. "When a ghost overshadows someone, it means a ghost takes possession of a person. The ghost enters the person and controls that person's every word and action. There is no defense against this possession, without one of my parents' inventions, the Specter Deflector." He shivered. "It shocks a ghost who tries to touch the wearer of the Specter Deflector, causing severe pain. The human wearing it feels nothing but the weight of the belt. It even affects Vlad and me when we're in our human forms. And it hurts us to wear it, as long as we have access to our powers.

"The only human I've seen who almost had success fighting this possession was my father. Vlad overshadowed him to discredit him, but my Dad was able to stop for long enough to warn my mother that he was being overshadowed by a malicious ghost. I haven't seen anyone able to fight that before or since."

Professor Snape was in awe of his student. The things he was capable of boggled his mind. "Daniel, have you ever overshadowed anyone?"

Danny shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Yes. There were a few times I did it in Amity Park. The first time was almost an accident, but weird things always happen when I discover a new power." Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. "For example, it took me a while to control my intangibility. I had such problems, at the time, that I've been permanently banned from handling glass and other delicate equipment at Casper High."

Professor Snape smiled in amusement, and Danny sighed. It was kind of funny, thinking back on it from a distance. Still, Danny wasn't done talking. "After the first time, I explored the overshadowing talent. I discovered early on that it was not a good idea to use my powers to get back at people. One time, I overshadowed a bully I was having problems with and humiliated him. A ghost who haunted one of the lockers at my school was bullied so much during his life that he decided to spend his afterlife protecting as many bully victims as he could. That ghost decided that I was the bully, and Dash was the victim, even though it was the other way around. Still, I shouldn't have used my powers quite like that.

"Sydney Poindexter – the other ghost – overshadowed ME. It is an entirely different sensation when a human is overshadowed than when a ghost is overshadowed. From my experience and observation, humans rarely feel it or are slightly surprised when it happens but more rarely even know or remember they were ever overshadowed. When a ghost overshadows a ghost, it causes severe pain and discomfort. When Sydney overshadowed me, my entire consciousness was forced out of my body, and I was trapped in his section of the Ghost Zone in his form until he tried to do it again. Then, even though it hurt, I got my body back and broke the mirror he used as a portal to get into my high school.

"I resolved not to overshadow anybody again, and it mostly worked for a while. Dash, the bully who used to beat me up at the slightest (or no) provocation was a sore temptation, and the one time I did it again, Vlad was there – long story – and told me that I was becoming more like him. I denied it, but I realized that on one level, he was right. When that general crisis was over, I apologized. Dash made sure that the acceptance of my apology was painful, but I figured I deserved whatever I got."

Professor Snape was unsure of what to think. His student just admitted not only having but using a power comparable to the Imperius Curse, and this ghost form of it could not be countered by any means he could think of in the Wizarding World. He contemplated being afraid, but he still had to hear Danny out. "Daniel, have you used this power here in Hogwarts?"

Danny looked down and nodded. "Yes. Once, for an hour and fifteen minutes. It was after the Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs."

The professor thought about the events of three weeks ago. "It was this that brought about the fight that Melissa Spradt observed."

Danny said, "Yeah, it was. From that Tuesday night to Friday night, I observed my 'target,' his habits, his friends, his duties, and everything else about him for at least three hours a night, practicing invisibility and intangibility all the while."

Snape cocked his head. "Who was your target?"

Danny blushed. "Ron Weasley."

Professor Snape chuckled. "What did you make him do?"

Danny eyed his professor cautiously. "For the most part, I had him talk to Harry and Hermione, had him beat Harry in a game and a half of chess, and pushed him to make a move on Hermione. He's wanted to forever now, and I read his mind and saw how clueless he was being. So I gave him a gentle but forceful nudge in a direction he's wanted to go for years now."

The professor raised both eyebrows. "How difficult is it for you to overshadow someone?"

Danny shrugged. "It's as easy as touching him."

"Let me get this straight. This is a power you have had for longer than you have been here, and the only time you used it here is that one time, under your uncle's direction?"

Danny winced as the professor called Vlad his uncle, but said, "Yes."

"That shows incredible force of will, Daniel. Not everyone who has such powerful talents would refrain from using them, especially if a person thought it was in their interests to do so."

"Tell me about it," Danny muttered. Snape stared. "Walker, a corrupt ghost sheriff of the Ghost Zone, decided to punish me for escaping from him – another long story – by having a massive ghost invasion. Some of the more interesting complications of the incident happened because Walker and his goons overshadowed all kinds of people. At one point, Walker overshadowed the mayor, grabbed my arms (when I was in ghost form) and in the doorway to City Hall, shouted 'Help, help me!' while I was draped over him. There are people in Amity Park who never forgave me for that. Not being able to escape the grasp of Walker, I was accused of kidnapping the mayor." Danny shook his head at the injustice.

This was a fascinating peek into his half-ghost student's history. All of this story-telling had significantly calmed Daniel out of his panic. Professor Snape asked, "Daniel, what did Vlad want you to do that so upset you?"

Danny shuddered. "He wants me to overshadow someone again. But this time, he wants me to see if I can use the overshadowed wizard's magic, using his mouth and wand to cast spells." He shuddered more violently. "By doing that, I would violate the wizard's essence. It would, in effect, be using a wizard's own magic against him, and there would be nothing he could do to stop me."

Professor Snape said, "I see. I think it is time for me to have a talk with your uncle. Stay here. We will have a workable solution when I return, and you won't have to fear him hurting you again."

In the Room of Requirement, Vlad was lost and forlorn. When a knock came at the door, he called out hopefully, "Daniel?"

"Not exactly." Looking up, Vlad saw Professor Snape. Snape thought about taking a swing at Vlad for the emotional damage he caused Danny, but decided against it. It wouldn't be professional, however satisfying it might be.

Pleading desperately, Vlad asked, "Have you seen Daniel?"

Coldly, Snape responded, "Yes, I have. He is safe."

"Where…?"

"Away from you, for the moment." Considering the last conversation he had with Daniel, Vlad couldn't argue. Professor Snape said, "You have some nerve. You, Daniel's most trusted guardian and lifeline to his past, were set to cause bodily harm to him because you were ready to force him to act against his morals. Which, by the way, seem to be far better than yours and mine put together." Vlad furrowed his brows, but cocked his head to the side. "Daniel told me everything. If he couldn't trust you to protect his interests, he had to trust someone. And that is me.

"There is no one in this school who knows where you are coming from more than me. Daily, I also have to face the child of the woman who spurned my love and attention for my most hated rival. And I've had far more reason to hate the boy's father than you have. You have anger issues with Daniel's father because of an accident, in addition to your jealousy for his mother's attentions. Harry Potter's father and his gang of marauders singled me out for torment during our years of school here, and while I was indeed jealous of Potter's mother's attentions, I also know what I did that caused me to lose her love irretrievably.

"If you wish to be an evil bastard, do so on your own time. You are currently the guardian of a teenager. You will act in his interest for his safety, and otherwise work on his behalf. If I find out that you in any way abused him or threatened him with harm again, I will act to have you removed as his guardian, legally and permanently, within both Wizard and Muggle law.

"He does have other options besides you: his Aunt Alicia in Arkansas, the bereft parents of his friends, other legal authorities ready to act on behalf of an orphaned minor. But for reasons beyond my comprehension, he decided to bypass every other option, and instead, he sought refuge with his arch-nemesis, of all people. He says that he somehow feels closer to you, in some way." Snape rolled his eyes. Vlad remained silent, as the good professor spoke nothing but truth.

"After the discussion Daniel and I had, I've had to rethink my relationship with the Potter boy. With the exception of his eyes, which are from his mother, Harry is the spitting image of his accursed father James. I admit that I have often confused the son for the father, and I'll have to work to fix that. Even so, if the boy considered me his enemy, I wouldn't be surprised. (I could never claim to be his arch-nemesis, as that position is taken by the Dark Lord.) I have hated him, and he has hated me. But the fact is he has people who love him.

"His aunt and uncle, with whom he lives, are questionable, but he has people who love and support him. Most noticeable among them are the Weasley clan (with the exception of Percy, but that's another story), but he has other friends and other supporters, including Remus Lupin.

"If, heaven forfend, he lost everyone he loves, everyone in his support team the same way Daniel has, neither of us would be happy with it at first, but if it came down to it, I would take Harry in, if only because he is Lily's son.

"Like you, my history is spotty at best. I have done many things I'm not proud of, including my treatment of the Potter boy, particularly last year. But I have bent over backwards, sometimes literally, to get the children who pass through my care and tutelage to find their way to the path of law and order, and light. The students in my House have a more difficult time finding that path than others do, but I do my best.

"As I've said before, if you want to be an evil bastard, do it on your own time. But I will not permit you to purposefully corrupt one of my students."

Vlad listened carefully to Severus' rant and accepted the remonstration as much as he expected the wizard before him to accept his words of two short weeks ago: completely. He discovered that Severus Snape had much in common with him, and realized how very right he was on every point he touched on. He lowered his gaze in reflection.

A broken Vlad looked up at the irate professor. "You are correct in everything you've said. I pushed Daniel too hard, too far, and entirely the wrong way." Snape watched the man collect his thoughts. Each man knew that Vlad would not see Danny again until Snape was completely certain the boy would be safe in his presence.

"I did mean this to be a larger exercise in defense. I'm not at all sure of the limits of magic, but I do know that if magical means were unexpectedly available to a person known to be a Muggle, a dangerous wizard would be seriously thrown off balance."

Professor Snape raised his eyebrows. "That is an intriguing proposition. Considering that the Darkest wizard of our era has young Daniel in his sights as Prime Target Number Two, the ability to throw this enemy off balance is a useful tool to have. At this point, I agree with your assessment. I have the ability to help a lesson plan of this sort move forward.

"However, the one you must convince is not me, but Daniel. If you can prevail upon his sense of right and wrong using the same logic and gentle tone to explain this to him, he might even agree with us. If you can't, let it go. I say that we have more highly developed senses of strategy, but oddly enough for a teenager, he has a more highly developed sense of morals.

"If he doesn't want to do this, don't force his hand. He works so hard to please you and make you proud. Surely you must have noticed how he pushes himself past exhaustion to finish whatever inane assignment you set for him. Every student has the capacity to be lazy, but he doesn't when it comes to you. I'm sure he means to impress you if he can.

"Take note of this. Foster this. Or you will lose him."

Vlad spluttered. "Lose him? Surely you can't…"

Snape held up a hand. "Not of my doing. You would lose him by his choice. You upset him so greatly, he rejected you as an uncle for the larger part of our discussion. I worked to change that. You may not deserve him, but he deserves to have you if he in fact chooses to have you."

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