Welcome back, one and all! With great thanks to all who read, reviewed, and added this fic (and me) to your assorted lists, I offer you cheesecake of your favorite variety.
I wanted to give a small note to the many who expressed concern with Harry and Ginny's budding relationship. This is NOT a romance fic. Between Ron and Hermione and Harry and Ginny, they have merely acknowledged the fact that they are aware of each other and their feelings towards each other, and not much else. Folks who are not fond of these combinations, please be aware that you blessedly won't see too much of them.
Back to more fun facts: this chapter came mainly as a surprise to me. It started because I thought to indulge a whim of my friend and collaborator, Cynthia. As I set the stage, the characters ran away from me, and took off in a direction I didn't expect. Many of the scenes I actually had in mind will have to wait for a later chapter. I hope you like the development, in any event.
From time to time, I get asked about the numbers that show up at the bottom of some chapters. Sometimes, when a chapter gets uploaded, a bug in the program sometimes produces a little visual feedback, i.e. things I didn't write, but managed to make their way onto the screen. (Or, at least it did at the time it showed up in those chapters.) As such, one of the neat features of the feedback is that it often prints the number of pages each chapter has when I type it in MS Word. I don't intend for it to be there, but if it shows up, I see no need to correct it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Harry Potter, or Midsummer Night's Dream.
Chapter 29
After his math lesson on Friday, Danny said, "Uncle Vlad? Can I have an envelope?"
Vlad looked at Danny. "You wrote the letter. Let me… no. You make the Room call one up for you."
Danny blinked. "But…"
"Daniel, we only came up with the idea of your letter writing last week. I can stop off at a stationery store tomorrow. I still need to get a post office box when I get back to London. Also…" Vlad smirked. "I'm curious to see what kind of an envelope the Room would give you."
Danny shrugged, closed his eyes, and an envelope appeared on his desk. It was made of a cream colored parchment. Vlad's eyes twinkled. "Beautiful! It isn't of a standard business variety, but it is perfect for the personal stationery of my son."
Danny jerked his head. "Your what?"
Vlad stopped and thought of his last words. Blast it! He hoped… "My charge. It is perfectly fitting for one who is known to be in my care."
Was Daniel as careless in listening to him as Maddie had been? Over a year ago, during his 'DALV' plot to get Daniel and Maddie, he ordered some of his ghost monstrosities to kill Jack. Maddie overheard, and he clarified that he prepared flapjacks for them. Maddie, his brilliant love, was easily fooled. Daniel, however… He was nowhere near as clever as his mother or sister, but he was usually far more observant than anyone else in his family. Did he catch Vlad's slip of the tongue this time?
Danny eyed him warily. "Your charge or your son?" Baklava! He caught it.
"Well… is there really a difference?"
That gave Danny pause for thought. Was there a practical difference? This was the question of the hour. He furrowed his brows until he came to a decision. "Yes. How I feel about it."
A half a year ago, Vlad had no problem saying, 'Who cares what you think?' But now… He promised to keep it as a dream in his heart until Daniel changed his mind. "And how do you feel about it?"
Danny hadn't really thought about it. The whole 'Uncle Vlad' thing happened because of his attentiveness to Danny's needs. What would make the difference between making this thing with Vlad an uncle/nephew relationship and a father/son relationship? He wasn't certain, but he was pretty sure they weren't at the father/son stage.
"We can work to that, Vlad. But I don't think I'm ready for that yet."
Vlad frowned. Every cell in his body wanted to grab Danny and force him into submission. But that almost made him lose Daniel permanently. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Daniel might be ready to think of him as a father when Vlad stopped thinking of Daniel as a prized possession and started thinking of him as a sacred personality. Apparently, Vlad wasn't ready for that, either.
He opened his hope-lit eyes and asked the boy, "Maybe someday?"
Danny was discomfited by Vlad's expression. Whatever Vlad was thinking, Danny couldn't handle being his son right now. "Maybe."
Vlad took in Danny's nervous expression. Pushing too hard would push him away, and Vlad couldn't afford that. This vague not-quite-promise for future development would have to do. "Fair enough. Do you have Valerie's address?"
"Yes, but I'll need the ZIP code for Elmerton."
"Not a problem. I'll give it to you when you're ready. Be sure to write 'U.S.A.' on the line after the ZIP code, and Par Avion anywhere on the front of the envelope."
Danny looked puzzled. "Par Avion? What's that for?"
Vlad rolled his eyes. "Air Mail, Daniel."
Danny glared. As if he wasn't familiar with every Latin-based word referring to flight! "I know that! But why do we need to say it in French? This is England. Why not write 'Air Mail' in English?"
Covering his eyes with a hand, Vlad said, "Just do it, Daniel." He would explain the concept of Lingua Franca later. However, Daniel's logic wasn't bad…
"You will walk silently through the halls until we exit the castle," Vlad instructed. "Then you may speak amongst yourselves until we get to Hagrid's home." He eyed the assembled students before him, glaring pointedly at expected troublemakers. "Understood?"
The class responded by nodding at him. Vlad snapped his fingers and led the class down the stairs and towards the exit. Danny felt like he was walking to the electives in elementary school, but Vlad did seem to have control of the class.
Not wanting to draw the wrath of Professor Masters, especially this early on a Wednesday morning that was impossible to get out of, the Sixth Year DADA class obediently followed Vlad. In the Entrance Hall, Peeves took a walking stick and played a tonal percussion on the House hourglasses. Vlad raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat.
Peeves spun in the air to see who made the noise. "Professor Masters!" he squeaked, and flew at top speed into the Great Hall. Danny smirked, but the other students couldn't do anything but wonder. Once they exited the castle, a few students whispered, but no one was courageous enough to ask the professor about the encounter.
Both Ron and Draco fell in line with Danny. "What just happened?" Draco asked.
Danny's smirk turned into a grin. "Uncle Vlad's reputation precedes him. Let's just say it's better for everyone this way."
Terry, Michael, Lisa, Mandy, and Ernie thought hard about this. They knew that Danny – and by extension, Professor Masters – was not entirely human. Still, it wasn't clear whether what frightened Peeves was that non-human quality or their Wizarding ability. Terry thought again over his conversation with the good professor about Danny, and he remembered the mention of the Auror training in the Spirit Division.
Wait. He would ask Professor Flitwick later if partial humans were permitted to become Aurors. Professor Masters went on and on about anti-werewolf legislation, but were other hybrids and half-humans permitted to work in the Ministry?
Professor Binns made his class promise not to figure out what else Danny and Professor Masters were, but Terry didn't think that asking about a potential job in the Ministry was out of bounds. All it would do is possibly clarify why Peeves respected Danny and was terrified by Professor Masters.
Other students were just curious if Professor Masters' harsh dealings with miscreant students were sufficient to scare a poltergeist. Yet others considered that a wizard powerful enough and willing to kill a Boggart the way Professor Masters did might be able to do something painful to Peeves.
Harry told Danny about the time when Professor Lupin used a spell to force the gum Peeves was using to stopper a lock up Peeves' nose. Danny laughed as they came to a clearing near Hagrid's house.
"Pr'fessor Masters! It's good to see ya with this lot."
Vlad smiled. "It's good to see you, too, Hagrid. Thank you for the opportunity to share some knowledge with my upper classes."
"A right pleasant time we've had, too. This is… Harry!"
Harry blushed for being singled out, but smiled. "Hi, Hagrid."
"And it's good ta see ya twice in a day, Danny!"
Danny smiled shyly. "Hey, Hagrid."
Vlad cleared his throat. "Yes, well… Hagrid, why don't you tell us a bit about giants?"
Hagrid nodded. As much as he wanted to meet and greet the students he developed friendships with, this was a class, even though it didn't feel like it. It was a social call, of sorts, but it was to introduce the students to Grawp. However, that would come later.
Hagrid smiled. "One time, there used to be tribes of giants all over the world, hundreds of 'em roamin' free. Ya see, most giants like their space, and are mostly loners, livin' as a couple and a kid or two. But since the Statute of Secrecy, wizards forced most of 'em onto reservations of sorts. It keeps 'em outta sight from Muggles, ya see."
He frowned. "That's no good for 'em. Without space to roam, hunt, and be free, they turned mean, and started killin' each other off. Out of the hundreds o' tribes there used to be, when I visited the last living tribe in Europe last year (north of Poland, mind), there were about 80 of 'em left, besides Grawpy."
Draco asked, "What were you doing in Eastern Europe last year?" Other students fondly remembered Professor Grubbly-Plank's lessons from the beginning of Fifth Year and murmured their curiosity.
"That, Mr. Malfoy, is not the point of today's lesson, now is it?" Vlad asked. Hagrid grunted with a nod of approval. The purpose of his trip was strictly Order business, and most of the students here had no need to know.
Harry flashed Hagrid an encouraging smile. Hagrid winked and continued. "As a rule, giants aren't too keen on humans, particularly wizards. They weren't happy about bein' forced into colonies, and they don't forget a slight. Oddly enough, they like magic, especially when it's not bein' used against them."
Danny had trouble processing this. "Um, Hagrid?"
The big man smiled. "Yes, Danny?"
"If giants don't… like humans, how did your parents…um…"
"Good question, lad. To be honest, I'm not really sure. Me mum left when I was only three, an' me dad didn't talk about 'er much."
Vlad smiled proudly at Danny, but asked, "What else can you tell us about the remaining tribe of giants, Hagrid?"
Hagrid thought for a moment. "They call the chief of their tribe 'Gurg.' The title's usually held by the biggest, ugliest, laziest, an' meanest of the lot. Since they're not built for socializin', they don' understand finer points o' society. Complex and abstract thoughts are beyond 'em. Durin' me visit, I had ta talk slow and simple. Otherwise they mighta killed me out o' frustration."
He sighed. "For the most part, they're not like us. For the most part, humans try to do what's best for the greater good. In the tribe, they only care about what's best for the Gurg." Pausing for a moment, Hagrid stroked his beard and said, "Huh. I didn't think of it 'til now, but it just dawned on me how similar giants usually are to the followers of You-Know-Who. O' course, he would say what they've done is fer the good o' society, but they're no better'n the giants I visited last year."
Most of the students stared in horror, but what Hagrid said made perfect sense. Death Eaters had no problem torturing or killing people with any number of hexes and curses, and the giants had no problem dismembering anyone who crossed them manually. The result was exactly the same: a painful torture and/or death of their victims, mostly for the pleasure of their bloodthirsty leader.
Anthony asked, "Hagrid, what language do they speak?"
Tilting his head to the side, he answered, "That's another good question. Neither me nor Madame Maxime (the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy in France, if you remember, who went with me) could figure it out. It weren't English or French, but there were one or two who knew enough to translate for us. It was enough for me ta learn, among other things, that I got a kid half-brother, Grawp. You'll meet him soon.
"When I found him, he wasn't doin' well – he was small, as giants go, and he kept gettin' picked on an' bullied. Family's important, so when I found him and we finished our visit, I brought 'im home. I've bin teachin' him English, an' what it means to be a family. Together, we've done better than he ever had with Mum. At least I had Dad to learn from for a while."
Vlad crossed his arms as he surveyed his class. Some of the students were dazed by the realization that Hagrid had a family; even if they didn't ask too deeply about Fridwulfa or John Hagrid, Rubeus and Grawp were indeed brothers. The students learned that their school's Keeper of the Grounds and Keys and professor in Care of Magical Creatures – and fellow wizard – had a younger brother who was a giant that was picked on and bullied. Further, Hagrid spent time teaching and civilizing this brother, treating Grawp's brutishness as a full-blooded giant as if it were a developmental disability in a human.
While this spoke more of Hagrid's quality of character than anything, it also spoke well of Grawp, if Hagrid was at all successful. Even though Grawp wasn't at all human, hopefully the students realized that Grawp – and by extension, all giants – is a thinking, feeling being who deserves to be thought of as such. Then, and only then, would students be able to appreciate learning of giants' motivations.
Hagrid eyed the class. "Looks like ya got 25 students here. Best not to overwhelm the lad. Perhaps meetin' him five students at a time… Small groups worked with the Fifth Years, too. Five groups of five would work." He furrowed his brows. "I'm not sure he'll remember 'em all, mind, but I think that'd be best."
The students looked at each other and started moving into groups until Hagrid said, "Let's start with what's familiar. It makes 'im more comfortable. Hmm… For this class, the first group should be a few who met him already – he'll know they're safe, and it'll make him look forward to meetin' more people. Let's start with Harry and Hermione, who met him last year, with Ron, Danny, and Neville. While we're visitin' Grawp, you can make the other groups, Professor. Come with me, now."
As Danny followed Hagrid deeper into the Forbidden Forest, he realized how much Hagrid really cared about his brother. From the beginning of this 'field trip' project, Danny didn't really think about how all of this meeting and greeting would affect the giant they were going to be introduced to. But Hagrid didn't think of him that way – Grawp was just his brother, and Hagrid did his best to keep his kid brother safe. Just like Jazz.
Jazz didn't treat Danny like an unlovable freak, like Spectra said. She loved him and tried to protect him. Sometimes the results were annoying, like when she tried to be too helpful with the Thermos, but she truly always meant well. A flush of affection for Hagrid surged through Danny as he realized how similar Hagrid and Jazz were. Well, kind of.
Danny remembered the first time he saw Grawp. Danny explored the Forbidden Forest in July, in preparation to take a guided tour with the Bloody Baron. Sir Nicholas mentioned the giant spiders and centaurs, and Danny decided to see them for himself. But Grawp was more interesting, even than the centaurs, who had their own community.
Grawp was sixteen feet tall, which was not only bigger than Hagrid, it was bigger than Pariah Dark. Still, he watched Hagrid talking to him. Danny drifted closer, and heard him say, "Hey, Grawpy! I missed ya last night. Yesterday, I introduced Danny to Buckbeak and Tenebrus, and I met Harry, Hermione, an' Ron in Diagon Alley. You remember Harry and Hermy, right?"
The giant's eyes lit up. "Hermy! Where Hermy?"
Hagrid smiled. "Aw, you remembered. Hermy's up at the castle now, Grawp."
"Hermy and Harry… at castle?"
"That's right."
Danny listened for a while. It sounded like Hagrid was talking to either a very slow learner or a very young child. Hagrid was patient as he explained things to Grawp. Danny decided to wait to meet him until Hagrid introduced them, but it might be interesting to meet him, either way.
It was clear to Danny that Hagrid took his responsibilities seriously. He loved the animals he cared for. He really liked Danny, Harry and his friends, and he loved his brother. It was beautiful to behold.
On the way, Neville asked, "Hagrid, you said something about Grawp feeling safe. Why wouldn't he feel safe?"
Hagrid sighed. "Well… it's more like if he knows people, he'll be more ready to meet ya. The centaurs told me how he attacked them…"
Hermione huffed and said, "If the centaurs wouldn't have attacked Harry and me, and then shot Grawp, he wouldn't have hurt anyone!" Ron turned pale, and Harry nodded.
Neville asked, "When was that?"
Harry shivered, but Hermione answered. "When Umbridge forced us into the forest after she caught us in her office."
Neville looked down. "Right." It wasn't one of the most fun moments last year.
Danny thought about this. "Draco told me you showed her a weapon. Did you?"
Hermione turned red and spat, "Malfoy would remember that!" Danny flinched. This was one witch he didn't want to cross. She noticed and soothed, "Not your fault, Danny. No, there was no weapon. It was a ruse. I figured that if she took us to the forest, at least one or more of the creatures living here would object to her presence and save us."
Harry said quietly, "You could have been a bit more diplomatic with that." Hermione blanched.
Danny asked, "Did it work?"
Neither Harry nor Hermione wanted to answer the question. Ron, however, had no problem. Still, he stayed quiet. "Yeah. The centaurs weren't happy with her. The way I heard it, the hag said something nasty about half-breeds and they were insulted. They carted her off somewhere, and they only gave her back because Dumbledore asked them to." He grinned conspiratorially. "No one knows what they did to her, but if you cluck your tongue to sound like hoof-beats…"
"Ron!" Hermione glowered, but the effect was ruined when the other boys laughed in response.
Hagrid smiled. "Well, safety is a good thing to have all around. If he's happy, everyone else'll be safe. Here we are."
The small band stopped in a clearing near a tree. Grawp sat on the ground, still taller than everything around him, except that one tree. He waved a sapling he'd uprooted earlier like a baton, mostly out of range of the people who came to see him.
"Mornin', Grawpy! I've brought more visitors to see ya today."
On their way back to where the rest of the class was waiting, Harry said, "You know, Hagrid, Grawp's much better this year than last year."
Hagrid beamed. "I know. Between just talkin' and takin' care of 'im, he's getting' the idea of family."
Ron asked, "What do you mean?"
Hagrid shook his head. "Don't worry about it. He meant nothin' by it. He was only beginning to adjust."
Harry sighed. Danny looked questioningly at Hermione, who whispered to him and Neville, "When Hagrid came back last year, he was bruised and bloodied. Grawp was not…gentle with his older brother, even as Hagrid protected him from the other giants. The centaurs warned Hagrid of the futility of trying to tame a giant, but Hagrid is a true Gryffindor and insanely persistent." Neville grinned and Danny looked thoughtful.
Neville told Hagrid, "It's good that Grawp remembered Harry and Hermione."
Hagrid joyfully replied, "He's bin lookin' forward to seein' 'em again since the summer. An' now that he's met a good group, I think he'll like meetin' the rest of the class." His face darkened. "I'm not sure of Malfoy, though."
Ron piped up, "Professor Masters is taking care of it. He already warned Malfoy about 'pulling nonsense' like he did in Third Year with Buckbeak. Somehow, crossing Professor Masters is scarier than upsetting Professor Snape, and that's saying something."
Danny chuckled to himself and muttered, "You have no idea…"
Once they got back to Hagrid's hut, the next group went. This time it was Parvati and Padma Patil, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbot, and Anthony Goldstein. Draco waved Danny closer, as the other students sat in the grass with no discernable order. Harry followed Danny, as did the rest of their group. Draco frowned, but between his new understanding with Harry and Professor Masters' ever-watchful eye, Draco said nothing untoward.
"Danny, besides your group which was handpicked by Hagrid, your uncle arranged us so that at least three Houses would be represented in each group"
Ron snorted. Danny said, "I guess that would help to keep people on their best behavior. I mean, if anyone was disrespectful in a small, varied group, it would reflect badly on their House." He shook his head. "Uncle Vlad and his strategies…"
Draco rolled his eyes, but he saw the sense in Danny's words. It was a pain to deal with, as he would rather have given Hagrid a hard time, especially if he was flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, but Masters knew what they were about. Draco's own group did include Crabbe, but Dean, Seamus, and Ernie would be with them. Goyle's own group would have students from all four Houses: Terry, Michael, Susan, and Lavender. Further, his lovely Pansy would visit Grawp with Blaise, Mandy, Lisa, and Zacharias Smith.
Professor Masters seemed to be far more aware of student interactions than most other teachers. Draco wondered whether this was because his nephew was a student, or because he was from America and not as aware of the general House biases of the Hogwarts system. If Draco thought about it, Masters was just as, if not more, fair than McGonagall, although his punishments were far more vindictive and memorable. Because of Masters' exacting nature, he was more fearsome than Professor Moody, who had it in for anyone after Harry. Draco just decided to work his hardest to get on Professor Masters' good side. This would be tricky, but he hoped it would be doable.
Terry and Ernie found Danny and joined the growing group. Terry asked, "So Danny, what did you think?"
Danny took a moment to collect his thoughts. Terry and Ernie were among those who figured out that Danny was not entirely human. They were also in his Care of Magical Creatures class, and the three of them had an interesting bond with Hagrid. Danny focused on the second idea, because that was much more crowd-friendly.
"I say that Hagrid's done a great job with his brother. It probably wasn't easy for Hagrid to get Grawp used to the human way of dealing with people, but he's done it. Mostly." He looked up. "I'm serious, Draco – don't provoke him." Draco raised his eyebrows. Since Professor Masters' warning, he had no intention to. But with Danny's added warning… Danny might take it personally if Draco did. What was it with Danny and these non-humans?
Danny furrowed his brows. "Hagrid said that the reasoning and thought process of giants is different than that of humans. I've wondered about that since Uncle Vlad mentioned it last Friday."
Terry asked, "How do you mean?"
Rubbing the back of his neck, Danny answered, "Well… since I met Hagrid, I've known he was a good guy. He's a patient teacher and a great friend." Harry, Ron, and Hermione smiled broadly. "So when Uncle Vlad first mentioned that giant logic doesn't work the same way, I was curious how this affected Hagrid.
"When we were coming back to the group, it hit me. Ron told me about some of the more interesting creatures Hagrid likes. Acromantulas, hippogriffs, dragons, a Cerberus, something called Blast-Ended Skrewts…"
"Don't remind me," Draco growled.
Danny continued, "It sounds like that is where the giant-like violence comes in. Hagrid's not violent, but he likes big creatures that are. And he has no problem caring for them, any more than if they were as gentle as kittens."
Ron shook his head. "Let me get this straight. You're saying that Hagrid is nutters for dangerous animals because he's half-giant?"
Danny shrugged. "It's possible."
The audience made up of students from all four Houses stopped. No one really thought to figure out why Hagrid felt as he did for the monsters he loved. If Hagrid sublimated his violent tendencies into caring for these animals, but otherwise was as gentle as the kitten Danny mentioned, that took a LOT more self-control than anyone gave Hagrid credit for. Everyone present (even Draco) thought of Hagrid with a bit more respect.
Ernie studied Danny for a moment. "If that's what Hagrid does, what about you?"
Danny whipped his head around. "What about me?"
Terry smacked Ernie in the back of the head. "Nothing, Danny. However, we might ask a question or two in Care of Magical Creatures. All this talk about Hagrid and creatures might make our class a bit more interesting later." He glared at Ernie. Ernie might be a Hufflepuff, but Terry was sure he had more sense than that.
Ernie blushed. "Sorry, Danny."
Danny looked at Terry and Ernie. He had a clue about what Ernie's question might really be. Still, this was getting too close for comfort. He covered his eyes and shook his head.
Draco and Ernie's group was called next. Danny took a moment and walked away from the group. He would have to talk to Hagrid later about this whole half-breed business. Maybe he would have some suggestions about how to deal with the six students who discovered he was not-quite-human. If Vlad found out, Danny decided he just didn't want to know.
In any event, it cheered Danny to know that his new friends were protective of his secrets. Terry smacked Ernie much like Sam might smack Tucker. But Sir Nicholas was right – the students here in Hogwarts were far more observant than anyone in Casper High. Except for Paulina. She was gorgeous, she was shallow, and she figured out that 'the ghost boy shows up wherever you do.' Despite this observation, Paulina was about as bright as Dash. Terry is from a House that is devoted to brilliance and cleverness. How Ernie got involved, he wasn't sure. But Danny could tell he meant well.
Oy. Now what? Danny found Buckbeak's pen, bowed in greeting, and stroked his feathers. He didn't know what to do if his secrets were made public. For now, his plan was to talk to Hagrid. He might need to talk to Professor Snape or even Vlad (which he was dreading) later, but one step at a time.
Hermione asked Terry, "What was Ernie on about?"
He looked at her, Harry, and Ron. Terry needed to say something. "We found out something private about Danny and Professor Masters. Danny wouldn't appreciate us talking about it. Professor Masters would really be unhappy if we discussed it."
Professor Masters' displeasure flipped a switch that even Professor Snape could not. Perhaps it was because the students respected him; Professor Masters was fair to a fault. Maybe it was that Danny would be unhappy if his secrets were known; after all, Danny didn't know that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco knew that he was afraid of turning Dark, and they weren't about to tell Danny's secret.
It was frustrating, because Hermione would love to know more about Danny, but unlike Harry and Draco's discussion of Danny's private moments, a discussion with Terry about him would not accomplish anything for their American friend's benefit and would only be an invasion of his heavily guarded privacy. She sighed and said, "Understood, Terry."
Vlad noticed the contemplative faces of the students who finished visiting with Grawp. This was good – it means they were thinking. He might give them points for that.
This moment out of a classroom setting gave Vlad a chance to watch student interaction in its most pure form (within reason). While they waited for their group to be called, they milled about as they chose. He watched Draco wave over Danny, and the group he was with went with him. The arrogant blond was not happy, but Draco made eye contact with Vlad, and Draco's annoyed look melted into resignation.
Daniel seemed to be the center of attention. Fascinating. At home, he was practically invisible, except for his closest friends. Here… well, he knew that Daniel was charming, but no one warmed up to him in the quasi-romantic teenage fashion. Instead, they looked interested in what he had to say. Mr. Boot and Mr. Macmillan joined the growing group. What could Daniel say that was so captivating? He might ask Daniel later.
Daniel whirled towards Ernie, and Terry smacked the Hufflepuff. This looked interesting. After Hagrid came back to return the current group and Vlad deployed Malfoy's group, Daniel broke away to spend time alone with the hippogriff. Right now, the boy was safe, so there was no need to be concerned, but they would certainly have a conversation about this before their classes this evening. Maybe he would have Daniel meet him for office hours. The afternoon break would serve nicely.
The other students spoke quietly amongst themselves. They seemed to behave. Vlad would get a full report from Hagrid later. So far, his plan looked to be successful.
Danny came to Care of Magical Creatures with the same enthusiasm as a condemned man headed to his sentence. Terry still glared at Ernie, who was very red, but too proud to apologize again. Hagrid noticed the three ill at ease.
"Boys, what seems to be the problem?"
Danny raised his eyes. With a resigned sigh, he said, "Terry, Ernie, and my History class figured out that I'm not fully human." Both of the other students stared at him with wide eyes. "What? Professor Binns told you that some professors know my secret."
Hagrid flashed a grin. "Well, that was right clever of 'em." Then he frowned. "But yer not ta talk about it. It's Danny's secret."
Ernie was more persistent than Terry expected. "But after meeting Grawp this morning, I had a couple of questions."
Hagrid was annoyed, but looked at Danny. He was the one most affected. Hagrid would take his cue from Danny.
Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "This is the first time anyone's discovered my secret…well, part of it, anyway, without me having my life in immediate danger." 'Well… besides my sister and my best friends,' he thought to himself. And the professors. He wasn't sure where Vlad fit in the scheme of things. He cared about Danny now, but there were times… "This is kinda new ground."
He was a hero, and his professor wouldn't let them dissect him. He could do this. Maybe. "How about this… you can ask what you want, and I'll answer questions that I'm comfortable answering. And I won't answer anything that would be a security risk." He looked to Hagrid.
Hagrid said, "That's fair enough. But ya better tell Pr'fessor Masters about this later. He'll…"
"But Uncle Vlad will kill me!" Unlike anyone else here, he's seen Vlad in a towering rage.
Hagrid put a gentle hand on Danny's shoulder. "I highly doubt that. 'Sides, after they ask their questions, you get to ask as many questions as ya like about how they figured it out. I'm sure yer uncle would be glad to know such things."
Terry and Ernie began to look nervous. This conversation would get back to Professor Masters?
Hagrid asked, "Do ya still want to ask your questions?"
Ernie steeled himself. "Yes. I don't mean to harm you, Danny. But I still want to know a few things." Terry stared. He was never one to shy away from learning something new, especially about the mysterious Slytherin. Still, as curious as he was, he wasn't sure this information was worth Professor Masters' ire.
Terry, worried for Ernie's sense of self-preservation, asked, "Are you sure?"
Ernie rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. Danny, I thought about what you said about…" He had to word this in a way that wouldn't embarrass Danny in front of Hagrid. "Well… your observation this morning made me think. How does your non-human half affect your human self?"
"Besides the need to keep secrets?" Danny asked darkly. Ernie winced and nodded. "My senses are heightened. I can hear things and see things more sharply than…" Was he really about to say this? What would Jazz say? He swallowed. "An average human. There's more to it than that, but…"
Terry decided that if Ernie could ask a question, so could he. After all, if Professor Masters was going to be notified in any event, it should be worth both of their whiles. "What is that blue mist?" Both Hagrid and Ernie looked curious, as neither had seen this phenomenon.
Danny ran his hands through his hair. "It's my ghost sense. I can tell when," he refused to say other, "ghosts are near."
"So that's why…"
"Yes." Danny didn't want more known than he could possibly help. He rubbed his temples. "Is there anything else?"
Ernie shook his head. Terry looked thoughtful. "I've got one more question. Professor Masters said something about you becoming an Auror in the Spirit Division of the Ministry. Is that what you are working to become?"
Danny smiled. This was close to a normal question: what did he want to be when he grew up? "No, although I've gotten good at stopping and capturing renegade ghosts." That's how he got to be a hero. "I really want to become an astronaut."
Hagrid smiled. Danny acquitted himself nicely. "Good job, Danny! But that's enough. Now I'm sure you've got questions."
Terry gulped. He thought of Danny's eyes. Then he realized that Danny was as brave as Harry Potter, the quintessential Gryffindor, for telling them this much, when it was clear how desperately Danny didn't want to talk about his non-human side. If Danny could answer questions like that, surely he could do the same. It was the least he could do.
Danny knocked on the door. He didn't know who wanted this conversation more.
Vlad said, "Come in, Daniel." Danny sighed and took a seat. Vlad studied him for a moment. Daniel was attentive, expectant. He looked simultaneously as though he wanted to say something and that he would rather not. His boy intrigued him. "I realize this is not our usual time, but I needed to discuss this morning's class with you."
Danny had many thoughts about this morning's class. "I like the idea of the Thank You letter to Hagrid and Grawp. The part where we have to say what we learned is kind of hokey, though. I see your point, but… Is there a way to write it so it doesn't sound cheesy?"
Vlad grinned. "Indeed. Unlike when you were trying to convince people not to join Voldemort, you would have to explain… hmm. Have you never taken a field trip to explore a different culture before?"
Danny gave Vlad a sardonic look. "We went to a museum to study ancient Egypt. Does that sphinx I mentioned ring a bell? A mummy ghost from the exhibit tried (and actually succeeded for a bit) to corrupt Tucker. Hotep-Ra and his staff…" He shivered. "In that one day, all of us got more exposure to ancient Egypt than any archeologist would want to know."
Vlad planted a hand over his face for a moment. "Daniel, I'm referring to a living culture."
"No." After the adventure with the Ghost Catcher the first time Danny and Tucker met Desiree, they were too embarrassed to tell Sam about Tucker's wish and stint with ghost powers. But when Danny used it to separate his two halves, "fun human" and "hero ghost," she decided it was time to look into Native American dream catchers to see if there was any correlation with how or why they worked. (Wait. How come the Ghost Catcher separation didn't turn him evil, but the modified Ghost Gauntlets did? Or did it have more to do with unabated grief and dealing with Vlad? This was definitely a discussion for a different day.)
Still… After Danny looked stuff up online, Sam wanted to visit the nearest Native American reservation. It sounded like a cool idea, until his parents mentioned hunting for ghosts near a sacred burial site. Danny, Sam, and Tucker summarily decided the idea was no longer cool, and visiting the huge meteor crater in Arizona would be just as educational and would not violate the sanctity of the spirit world in someone else's culture. Danny's father was depressed for days, but Maddie distracted him with some other invention they could find parts for in Arizona.
Vlad sighed. He muttered, "You're in eleventh grade, and I can't believe you haven't…" Shaking his head, Vlad said, "Look. In this type of thank you note, you take as much as you remember learning and you show you understood the experience by comparing and contrasting it in some way with your own culture or experience. Done correctly, such a thing could easily be over ten pages long. I only assigned a minimum of two feet."
Vlad sneered, "Let's see if your Housemates can write letters expressing gratitude without mortally offending Hagrid and Grawp." Resting a hand on his chin, he smirked. "Now that I think about it, I'm almost looking forward. I have such plans for a punitive secondary assignment."
Danny recognized that gleam in Vlad's eyes and decided that he really didn't want to know, and he hoped for the sake of his Housemates that he didn't have to find out.
Vlad liked Danny, and even hoped to love him some day, but old thought patterns are hard to change, and the older half-ghost felt an obscene thrill of pleasure seeing Danny shiver with discomfort. But this wasn't his reason for calling Daniel to his office.
"Daniel, after your visit with Grawp, I noticed you were temporarily in a spotlight of sorts, but something happened and you walked away. What happened?"
Danny wasn't sure if he should get angry with Vlad for noticing every last detail or if he should be pleased that Vlad cared. "You were spying on me?"
Vlad smirked again. "Since you've known me, when have I not?" Danny growled, which made the billionaire chuckle. "But more to the point, I did my job supervising the class, making sure no one got too far out of line." His face became grim. "You became agitated, and spent time with that… thing so you could cool down. What happened to get you upset?"
Danny felt trapped. How much did Vlad already know? He pursed his lips as he tried to figure out what to say. Telling Vlad was part of his intention, since he started thinking about it and Hagrid mentioned that he should tell his guardian about their revelation. But Vlad was… back to being Vlad.
He realized there was nothing to gain by dithering, and maybe Vlad could help him deal with it if he explained. Besides, he probably already knew. "Six students figured out that we're only half-human."
Vlad was temporarily speechless. Whatever he expected Daniel to say, that wasn't it. Danny might have laughed at Vlad's expression if he wasn't so worried.
Alright. Who knew, and who did he have to kill to make sure their secret stayed secret? "When did this happen? How did this happen? How much do they know?" Danny hadn't seen Vlad get this mad since Hagrid revealed that he knew they were half-ghosts. The last thing they needed was for the villainous ghost to kill his classmates in a murderous rage. Could Danny talk him down from this?
"First, they don't know what the other half is. Both Professor Binns and Hagrid told them not to try to figure it out for safety reasons." He looked into Vlad's eyes. "My safety." Vlad rolled his eyes.
"Second, they've picked up on clues all year. Well… since the beginning of September. Also…" Danny lowered his voice, knowing that this bit was Danny and Vlad's fault, and not likely to make his guardian happy. "Since our first fight here, when Melissa Spradt saw our eyes in their ghostly colors, some students got curious, not least of all, Melissa."
Vlad drummed his fingers on his desk, internally counting to ten in at least four different languages a few times until he felt the anger starting to dissipate. After all, that fight was his own fault. "Apparently, the students at Hogwarts are more clever than students in Casper High."
Danny shrugged. He knew that already. "Yeah. That, and they are more willing to believe in things that are partially human. It's part of how their world works. At home, it took Walker's massive invasion for most people to realize that ghosts are real."
Damage control. Vlad decided that if he found out who knew and how reliable they were, he might not need to kill anyone. For now. "So which students have made the wonderful discovery that we are only partially human?"
Danny eyed Vlad. He started to calm down, but that never stopped him from trying to kill his father before. "I'm not going to tell you, if you plan on hurting them." It was better to have Vlad angry with him rather than them. While getting beaten up by the older half-ghost wasn't fun, he lived through it, and probably could again, if necessary. He wasn't sure the same could be said for his classmates.
Vlad rolled his eyes. Daniel was playing the hero again. This was something he promised himself to encourage in his charge after he painstakingly expressed his worst fears. "No, Daniel. I don't intend to do anything to them. They are students, and my responsibility to protect." Oh, almond brownies, he as good as promised, despite his better judgment! Now, he'd have to stick to that in order to keep Daniel's trust. He drummed his fingers harder.
Vlad sighed, leaving his fingers alone. "I gather that Miss Spradt is one of the six."
Danny raised his eyebrows. Vlad looked like he was serious about not hurting anyone. "Yeah. There's Melissa, the four Ravenclaw students in my History of Magic class, and Ernie Macmillan."
Vlad smiled. "Hmm… Your friend Mr. Boot had asked about you. He was concerned about you when you had a darker mood swing. He's a good friend to have. If he convinces your history classmates of the logistics in not telling our secret, they are good. Mr. Macmillan likes you, and it would probably be a matter of personal pride as well as House pride to be loyal enough not to tell anyone. Further, both he and Miss Spradt are prefects. I wonder how that plays into this."
Danny looked uncertain. "Yeah, well… Professor Snape says that lots of students are good at 'ferreting out' mysteries. And because we're new and no one knows our background, we are this year's mysteries. Right now, these six have come the closest to figuring out what exactly we are. Everyone in our Defense class saw that you were part of my greatest fear, so it isn't a great leap for them to figure out that we didn't always get along. I'm not sure if anyone's guessed…well, that I'm a Muggle. They have no reason to think that you are. At the very least, no one at all has figured out that Danny Phantom is the same as Danny Fenton."
Vlad sighed again. He was used to people simply taking him for what he seemed to be. Now, just because they were new, they were under suspicion for being different, or at least other than how they presented themselves. "Well, thank heavens for small favors. So how is your paper on 'Midsummer Night's Dream' coming?"
Danny smiled. The conversation moved away from the disturbing topics. "I finished the outline. It's hard for me to believe that people like Puck."
An amused grin crossed Vlad's lips. "Oh, what fools these mortals be!"
Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Not impressed. But I think I've got a handle on the characters."
"We shall see, now won't we? I look forward to reading it later. Friday, right?"
"Yeah."
Vlad nodded. "Very good. Thank you for coming. Now, I do believe you have Astronomy. See you this evening."
It was late in October, but Draco decided to start thinking about Christmas. He remembered that when he spoke to Danny about the wedding in America, Danny got upset. Regardless of the specific reason, Draco understood that this would be the first year Danny would be without his family, besides his uncle. If he could arrange things, maybe Danny (and Professor Masters) might like to spend Christmas with his family.
This was also going to be the first Christmas without his father. He wanted to curse Harry, but his heart wasn't in it, and his father was a Death Eater. During his prolonged detention with Professor Masters, Draco asked about the Nazis, the ignorance of whom so upset Danny. Draco was beyond horrified to learn of the death of millions of innocents at their hands. Professor Masters explained the concepts of genocide and 'ethnic cleansing,' and this whole 'master race' thing didn't sound different than the pureblood superiority thing.
And yesterday, Hagrid compared the Death Eaters to the giants. The message was further brought home for Draco. This time, he was sure the assigned letter he would write would satisfy Professor Masters. He smiled as he thought about Danny and his letter. Even though the assignment was only two feet, Danny took it as a personal challenge to write at least ten. Professor Masters must have said something…
How had Danny known that the Dark Lord potentially offered Draco a 'chance to redeem his family,' or anything else for that matter? He said that Professor Masters mentioned something about how the Dark Lord might get new followers. How did Professor Masters know these things? Maybe it came from knowing about history. Still, it was unnerving to know that Danny guessed that much about him.
Shaking off his feeling, it was up to him to check with his mother about holiday plans. Let's see…
Dear Mother,
I hope you are well. Thank you for the last package. My friends and I enjoyed everything you sent. It gives that touch of making here home. I miss that more this year than ever.
The Veritaserum I'm brewing with Blaise is coming along nicely. After all the legal niceties have been followed, I wonder if Professor Snape will let us keep any of it to use.
Draco thought, 'Right now, my own relationship with Harry is changing. I wonder what is going on with him and Professor Snape. THAT is one major change, but I don't think I could describe it without going into my own relationship… Harry's going to be the death of me! But Harry's working with Danny. Hmm…'
This year, our Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor brought his nephew, who is the newest addition to my year in Slytherin House. He is an interesting person. Even though he's in Slytherin, the professors (besides Professor Snape and his uncle) genuinely like him. You can tell they don't favor him because of his uncle. His own personality inspires loyalty, though he would never think about it if you asked him.
Danny Fenton and his uncle, Professor Vlad Masters, are from America. Last summer, Danny became an orphan, and his only living family is his uncle. This will be his first Christmas without his family, and I wanted to know if we could have Danny and his uncle over for at least that part of the holiday. I know we are going to America for the wedding, but since we are only going for the second week of the holidays, I thought it might be good to bring my new friend (and his uncle) home for the holiday.
I miss you and I hope to hear from you soon.
Love always,
Draco
Friday was a good day. Danny's letter was twelve feet long. (Ha! He knew he could do it!) Hermione's was longer, but that was to be expected. For the first time in History of Magic, he sat up and didn't worry when his ghost sense went off, and after a few expressions of wonderment at it, they were able to go straight to the lesson. The Wolfsbane Potion was doing well, and it should be ready by Halloween.
That reminded him… what is Halloween like, here? It was one thing at home to create a haunted mansion (reminding himself to never make bets he would detest making book on. Dash's underwear still haunted his nightmares, although not often. Anymore…). But 'dressing up like a witch' has a very different meaning, here. He dressed like a wizard every day. He should pay Myrtle a visit after classes with Vlad.
Classes with Vlad were pretty good, too. Since they found the Diadem of Ravenclaw (and no one found the need to explain why it screamed and bled to him or Vlad), there were no further unusual incidents while Danny practiced using his Ghostly Wail. At this point, he could use it for different lengths of time and at different strengths without needing to turn human to recuperate. Vlad wanted to see if he could get a bit more powerful. Maybe some time next week, they would move on to a different power. Vlad had a neat trick that Danny wanted to learn: he could catch Danny's ectoblast, infuse it with his own ecto-energy, and throw it back at Danny (or anywhere else he pleased).
In English, Danny was happy that the essay didn't have to have anywhere as much connectivity as his letter in Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was one page, single-spaced on college ruled lined paper, written with a ballpoint pen. It felt like a normal English essay. The fact that he wrote it for Vlad didn't bother him any more. Mr. Lancer always wanted him to appreciate the literature, using critical thinking. Vlad managed to enforce critical thinking, but the lessons were so personalized that there was no reason Danny couldn't get what Vlad explained.
Danny managed to accomplish whatever Vlad made him do in math, too. It still wasn't his favorite subject, but even then, Vlad managed to make it interesting. One time, Vlad showed Danny the payroll for VladCo. The dollar amounts were in the millions, if not billions. And then, he told Danny to think of the distances between known stars and planets. All of a sudden, the concept of the mathematics involved became relevant. Danny understood the concepts, and now it felt more important. This was the magic of Vlad as an educator.
After Danny came back to the Common Room, he greeted Draco and pals, but headed to his room for an early evening. It didn't happen often, but even on a weekend, a person couldn't be 'on' all the time, either. Sometimes, he actually did have nights when he went to sleep early. Tonight, however, he just needed an excuse to be out of circulation while he paid Myrtle a visit.
He changed into his pajamas before he turned ghost and teleported outside of Myrtle's bathroom and knocked.
She poked her head out the door. "Who is it? Danny!" She hugged him. Danny opened his eyes wide as he returned it.
"Hey there, Myrtle."
Myrtle released him and smoothed out her robes. "It's been a while. What brings you here?" She was bursting with pleasure and she had no concentration to be as formal as she wanted to be.
Danny smiled. It was good to be able to have someone with whom to speak without worrying about secrets being revealed. "I wanted to ask you a question. Afterwards, we can just hang out, if you like."
"Can we play ball again?"
"Sure. But for now, can we go to the Great Hall?" Danny was curious about the nightscape in the Great Hall. Professor Snape mentioned it, and he was too distracted when he came to the last Ghost Council to notice it.
"Absolutely! And there's plenty of room to play, there."
Myrtle was very sweet. Together, they drifted in. There were far fewer candles than there were during mealtime, so it was easier to view the facsimile of the nighttime sky. It was amazing to behold. After an appreciative sigh at the sight above him, Danny floated between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. "Myrtle, what is Halloween like here? You know I'm a Muggle. I can tell you what my Halloweens were like before."
"Danny… I was a Muggle-born. Your Halloweens probably weren't too different than mine."
He smirked. "True. But my parents were ghost hunters. It made Trick-or-Treating an adventure for the kids who came to my house." Myrtle giggled. That would have been different. "But before I get into that, what is Halloween like, here?"
Myrtle looked almost as proud as she did when she told the tale of how she died. "Most of the day is a normal class day. But at dinner, it is a real feast. There are streamers everywhere. Hagrid brings in a whole bunch of bats and displays huge pumpkins. Of course, some of them are used by the house-elves to make more pumpkin juice, pies, and all kinds of things. They bring in all kinds of entertainment. One year, a crew of skeletons was invited to juggle and perform acrobatics. A few years ago, the ghosts got together to stage a reenactment of Sir Nicholas's botched beheading."
Danny started. "What?"
Myrtle shrugged. "It happened before the Statute of Secrecy, and the story deals with palace intrigue, and someone got jealous of him, and blamed something or other on him because he was a wizard. They took away his wand and his other weapons, so he had no way to protect himself. Professor Dumbledore calls it 'a cautionary tale,' but I know that Muggles aren't necessarily bad. My family wasn't. I think it's more of… what I used to think of as a 'ghost story'."
It took Danny a bit to center himself. He realized that 'ghost stories' for Muggles outside of Amity Park would be different than his own experiences. Scary stories might have been more interesting if his parents didn't take them as seriously as they did. Danny smiled. He probably had as much experience with ghosts (kind of) as wizards who spent a long time in the Wizarding World.
Still, Danny could appreciate the spooky stories Sam liked and was generally into as a Goth. After all, Sam knew about the Fright Knight and all kinds of other things long before Danny had a clue about the backgrounds of individual ghosts.
Danny laughed. "I think 'ghost stories' meant something different for me growing up than it might have been for you. Whenever my parents heard of a ghost sighting, they would travel far and wide to find the ghost to see if they could capture it and study it. But then again, where I'm from, ghosts do different things than they do here in the Wizarding World."
Myrtle considered this seriously. "If your parents met me, would they try to hurt me?"
Danny thought about this. "No. I don't think so. While it's true that you are made up of ectoplasm like I am in ghost form, you have no physical substance. They might have been able to capture you, but you don't have the capability of being tangible, so they would have had great difficulty doing anything.
"Me, on the other hand… I became their favorite target. Then again, my natural state is tangible. They had lots of tools and weapons to keep a ghost from turning intangible, but that only has real meaning if a ghost can be tangible to start with. I think."
Myrtle stared. "But why would they target you? You're a hero!"
Giving a half-smile, Danny said, "My parents considered all ghosts evil. Most of the ghosts who come to Amity Park were, so they had a lot to substantiate that claim. The idea that there could be tangible ghosts who were not 'spectral malefactors' was just not a concept they understood." He thought for a second before continuing. "You know, before the Ghost King incident, I was Public Ghost Enemy Number One for a while. (Between Walker and Plasmius, my reputation was shot.) After returning Amity Park to the Real World, the news said I had a 64 percent approval rating. Or something like that."
She considered Danny gravely for a while. "I guess the fact that they didn't like you but you kept doing the right thing only made you a greater hero."
Danny blushed. "I guess. Here… let's play catch!" Myrtle clapped her hands, and Danny inwardly sighed with relief. He successfully distracted her.