I want to thank each and every one of you who read, reviewed, and placed this story (and me) on your assorted lists. Last chapter has one of the highest number of reviews of all of them. So far, only two other chapters have more, and one other has the same number. Thank you for all of your support. I wish to offer you all caramel apples and pumpkin Frappuccinos. (Starbucks comes up with some interesting drinks.)

Of the many reviewers, six of you took up my challenge to find the transposed quote from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. FantomoDrako, Embers of Inspiration, , aryaneragon4ever, and lydia all get chocolate donuts for correctly identifying it as: "I knew I could do it this time because I'd already done it. Does that make sense?" Harry told Hermione that he could cast a Patronus, and that was why he had the confidence that he could indeed do it. Danny told Vlad he could open the portal, and had the exact same reason for his confidence.

AlexiaStorm guessed that my reference was to Remus's 'furry little problem.' That was actually mentioned by Remus at Christmas time in Half-Blood Prince. It was a good guess, and a good catch. You get six chocolate doughnut holes for playing.

Cynthia wrote the initial scene at Malfoy Manor. I rewrote it, but she deserves credit for giving me something to work with.

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

Chapter 38

Vlad and Danny showed up in Vlad's rooms, depositing their packages on a table in the sitting room. Vlad started to pace. "We need to talk to the Headmaster. What do we tell him?"

Danny took a seat in one of the chairs and watched Vlad. "We tell him the truth. It wasn't intended, but you killed a Death Eater."

Vlad stopped for a moment to consider. "Yes, I did, didn't I?"

"Professor Dumbledore seems to know more about these people…"

Vlad sneered. "If your favorite professor is to be believed, he knows more about Voldemort and his Death Eaters than anyone."

Danny thought about this. "Professor Snape might know more stuff about the Death Eaters, but Professor Dumbledore is head of the Order, the organization built to take Voldemort down."

"You're right, I suppose. Let's surprise him. Come."

Danny shook his head. "Wait a minute. We don't know if he's in his office. Today is a Hogsmeade day. Maybe we should talk to the gargoyle." He stopped. "Man, that sounds weird."

"Alright. Come and turn invisible." Danny did as Vlad instructed. Vlad put an arm around his shoulder and they teleported to the gargoyle.

When they turned visible, the gargoyle exclaimed, "Hello, now! What is this? Where did you come from?"

Vlad peaked his eyebrows. The idea of speaking to a statue was still a bit beyond him. "That's not important. What is important is knowing whether the Headmaster is in his office. Is he?"

The gargoyle grumbled. "Didn't answer my question. Yeah, he's in. But you have to guess the password."

Rolling his eyes, Vlad said, "Enough toying with inanimate objects. Daniel, we have places to go and people to see."

The gargoyle began to object. "Not if you don't… Hey!" It exclaimed indignant imprecations when Vlad turned himself and Danny invisible and intangible, and they walked through the wall behind the gargoyle.

Danny almost told Vlad that what he did wasn't very nice, but he suspected that Vlad already knew that and simply didn't care. They flew to the top of the spiral staircase. Vlad knocked.

"Please come in." Professor Dumbledore knew it was either Vlad or Danny. Peeves would never come to his office.

Vlad and Danny entered. Danny looked shaken, but took a seat. Vlad sat next to him, laying one hand over Danny's. "Professor. We've been to Hogsmeade today."

Professor Dumbledore took in this fact. It could have interesting implications, but at present, he nodded for Vlad to continue.

"While visiting the Three Broomsticks, hmm." How did he continue this? "I do believe I told you of my intention to join your effort to destroy Voldemort."

Albus said, "You did."

"I unwittingly gave my opening salvo." Vlad sniffed imperiously. "I was offended by a rat. After I killed it, I discovered it was Voldemort's pet Animagus."

Albus raised his eyebrows. "Indeed." He took a deep breath. "That is an interesting development. I will have people to inform." His mind raced as he thought about the consequences. The Order will have to know. The Aurors will have to be informed. Harry and Remus will especially appreciate knowing. There were more dangerous Death Eaters at large, but not so many carried this much personal baggage. Poor Peter.

Danny, however, was absolutely distraught. This, Albus determined, took precedence. "Danny, what's wrong?"

Danny turned pale. "Vlad… killed… a human."

Vlad was taken aback. "I didn't intend to. You knew that, and you said so yourself. You saw, as I did, a rat on the floor of the pub. I did a little pest control, and ended up killing a Death Eater. Which amounts to the same thing, really."

Danny gripped the arms of his chair so hard, his knuckles turned white. "You've threatened, you've planned, and sometimes you almost but didn't quite succeed in killing… people.

"I've fought ghosts, and some of the mindless ones disappeared into the ether. But of all the humans, or even sentient ghosts, I've ever fought, death was never an outcome. Obviously, I wouldn't hurt my parents. But between Valerie, the Guys in White, even Freakshow… Dude, even my most fearsome enemy wasn't killed. I captured him, and Clockwork has him stored in a Thermos somewhere. But even when they were hurt, I never hurt a human badly. You… killed… a… human." Danny trembled.

Vlad looked helplessly at Professor Dumbledore. There was nothing he could say to make this better. The wizard got up from his desk and hugged Danny. "Listen to me, Danny. The Wizarding World is at war. Unfortunately, there are casualties."

"But I never…"

"Danny, listen. The Death Eaters who massacred your hometown didn't care who they killed."

"They didn't. But I don't want to be like them. I hate this! I don't want to have anything to do with this!"

Professor Dumbledore stood up from where he had knelt. He needed to think. Turning to a painting, he said, "Professor Dippet? Could you ask Severus and Harry to come here?"

"Of course. At once." With that, he left his frame.

Albus turned back to Danny and tried again. "Danny, would it help if I told you the man your uncle killed was actually a mass murderer, who killed twelve innocent people, who revealed the secret of where the Potters were in hiding, purposefully bringing about the murders of Harry's parents, and who knows how many other atrocities in the service of Voldemort?"

"I don't know!" Danny looked around the room wildly. There was no where for him to go. He couldn't escape this nightmare.

Vlad got up and put a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Daniel, Death Eaters are the people who killed your family and friends. Apparently, they've killed many other people. They are the reason we are in hiding."

"Yeah, but…"

"Daniel, stop a moment. Remember on September 2, when we practiced with Professor Snape? You objected to using your powers against humans, but Professor Snape agreed with me."

"What did I agree to?" Professor Snape and Harry entered Dumbledore's office.

Vlad jerked his head, and remembering that Danny didn't yet know that Harry knew his secret, he had to word his response accordingly. Daniel was in enough distress. Discovering that Harry and his friends figured out his secret would present far too much stress for the boy to handle currently. "That when you helped Daniel in one of our specialized sessions, you told him that his talents were worthy, particularly when used in defense against Dark wizards. Even when said talents were particularly destructive to life and limb of the enemy."

Professor Snape raised his eyebrows. So we are still pretending Harry doesn't know about Daniel, are we? So be it. "Your guardian is absolutely correct, Daniel. You would do well to remember that this enemy seeks to destroy you. Even if the temporary plan of which ever Death Eater wasn't slated to be fatal, it is not unfair or unwise to think of the situation as a 'kill or be killed' circumstance." He did hope to be better informed soon. All he was working with was Professor Dippet's sputtering that Daniel was devastated when Professor Masters inadvertently killed a Death Eater.

Danny sat miserably, though he stopped shaking. At this point, tears streamed down his face. The three adults he currently trusted most were trying to convince him that killing humans was okay. He wasn't having it.

Harry looked at Danny. "Hey. What happened?"

Vlad was about to explain, when Severus put a hand on his arm, shaking his head and mouthing, 'No.' Vlad cocked his head and watched the two boys interact.

Danny took a breath. "Uncle Vlad killed the rat Animagus."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Professor Masters killed Wormtail? Wow. Sirius would have been glad to know about that. He wanted to do it himself, you know. Actually, Remus really will be glad."

Danny took a few deep breaths and tried to process this. "How can you say that, Harry?"

Harry put what he intended to be a comforting hand on Danny's arm. "Look – this is hard, and it only gets harder. I don't know what dangers you faced at home, Danny. But let me tell you a bit about this war against Voldemort.

"When I was in First Year, a professor tried to kill me at Voldemort's behest, at least twice. In the end, he was killed. I'm not entirely sure how, as I was unconscious at the time. But one of us was slated to die that day. I'm glad it wasn't me.

"In Second Year, Voldemort managed to possess Ginny Weasley." Danny's eyes flew wide open. "It was a nasty bit of magic that leeched her soul from her into an enchanted diary. If I didn't kill the soul piece of Voldemort from the diary, Ginny would have died. Considering that Voldemort just sicced a Basilisk on me and nearly killed me, I wasn't too bothered by the fact that I destroyed the diary with a piece of Voldemort's soul in it.

"Third Year, so far, was the only year of school that I wasn't actually attacked by Voldemort in one way or another. But that year, I learned that Wormtail, the man Professor Masters killed, actually murdered twelve Muggles in cold blood. There was no reason for that. That insane amount of murder was meant as a mere distraction for Sirius from accosting him for having betrayed me and my parents by telling Voldemort our location. That… piece of filth is why I have no parents. Sirius and Remus wanted to kill him, but…" Harry sighed. "I told them not to. They were going to bring him to the castle so that Aurors could arrest him, and let the Dementors take care of him. I didn't think my parents would approve of two of their best friends killing the third, even if he did betray us.

"Fourth Year was the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Part of the story I didn't tell you (or much of anyone, really) was that at the end of the third task, Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion, and I took the cup that was a trophy at the same time. It turns out that another evil professor (we've had at least three of those, but only two were Death Eaters in disguise) turned the cup into a Portkey that brought us to Voldemort.

"Wormtail killed Cedric. True, Voldemort told him to do it, and it still haunts my nightmares. Voldemort told him to 'kill the spare.' They needed me – well, my blood – to get Voldemort properly reborn. Wormtail killed Cedric for no reason, other than Cedric was superfluous for Voldemort's purposes.

"While I don't think I would have been able to do it myself, I won't lose any sleep over the death of Wormtail. You shouldn't, either."

Danny wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I've never killed anyone. I don't want to."

Harry gave a half-smile. "That's good. But this is war. Bad things happen, and people die." He looked up at Professor Dumbledore and then back at Danny. "There is a prophecy that says that I have to kill Voldemort, or he has to kill me. I'm not looking forward to it, but I do know that after all the things he's done, I can't let him win."

Danny nodded, and Harry continued. "I don't know what you will end up doing. All I know is that you are as much a target for Voldemort as I am. Right now, your job, like mine, is to stay safe. If that happens to change, know that you're not alone." Harry looked up and smiled at Professor Snape. "It's taken me a long time to learn that, but you need to know that now."

Danny smiled. "Thanks, Harry. But what if…"

Harry held up a hand. "Don't worry about what if. Just do your best, and do what you need to do to protect people." Harry sighed. "Now if I can only take my own advice…"

Danny asked, "How did you get to be so insightful?"

Harry smiled ruefully. "Practice, Danny. Practice."

Voldemort stood at the window in the Malfoys' sitting room. The window gave a magnificent view of the rolling lawns, fields, and orchards of the grounds, with an occasional albino peacock to break the monotony when the view of green became too overwhelming. The Death Eaters behind him stood in silence, awaiting his attention or pleasure.

A knock interrupted the silence. "Come," Voldmort commanded as he turned towards the door. The door opened to admit Thorfinn Rowle, one of the British Death Eaters involved in the attack in America. The large blond radiated his excitement. "What news do you bring me, Rowle?"

Thorfinn bowed. "My Lord, I have seen the boy. There was no mistaking it. Further, this boy is young Malfoy's friend Daniel."

The Dark Lord raised a finger to his lips. "Daniel Fenton?"

The blond wizard answered, "He didn't say his last name, but he was with his Uncle Vlad."

Bellatrix rubbed her hands. "Then Draco has made a useful connection. We had suspected, but now it is certain. Danny Fenton is the nephew, and Vlad Masters is the uncle."

Voldemort smiled. He had the beginning of a plan, but he knew that with patience, all would be revealed. "Good work, Rowle. I will think up a suitable reward at a later time."

"I am duly honored, my Lord." He beamed. This could only be for the good.

"So tell me. What does this uncle look like?"

Rowle furrowed his brows. "He is about your height, my Lord, and he has white hair pulled into a full, shoulder-length ponytail. His eyes are blue, and he has an aristocratic air about him."

Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "Indeed. This Vlad Masters is the current professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Some of the children of my servants have reported that he does not teach spells. I wonder…"

Rowle bowed again, and asked, "My Lord, a question. The raid on Amity Park was done with the understanding that there are no witches and wizards present, not even Mudbloods. If Daniel is from Amity Park, he has to be a Muggle. How is it possible for a Muggle to be a student at Hogwarts? How is it possible for a Muggle to have lived through Avada Kedavra?"

Bellatrix perked up. "How is it possible for a Muggle to be in Slytherin?"

Voldemort countered, "How can we be so sure that there were no witches and wizards in that town?"

Thorfinn said, "My Lord, the American Death Eaters were in contact with their Ministry. There were no Traces of underage magic. There were no sales of wands; there is no record of Disillusionment Charms of magical creatures, plants, or anything like that. There are no Obliviations on record for magic done in front of Muggles. There are ghosts, but there is no attempt of any Ministry to hide them from Muggles."

"Is it possible that Mr. Fenton is Muggle-born?"

"Anything is possible, my Lord. But bursts of underage magic would have been detected by someone. Furthermore, at his age, this… Fenton boy should have been contacted by a magic school."

Voldemort stared at Thorfinn, who felt his skin crawl. "You just discovered the boy's name for certain. Have you checked his name against the more local American schools?"

The blond trembled. "Not yet, my Lord. But I will get on it. Immediately."

"Be sure that you do, Rowle. Your news has pleased me. Don't let me down."

"As you wish, my Lord." He was not yet dismissed, so Rowle stayed where he was.

Voldemort did a quick headcount of the Death Eaters present. "Where is Wormtail?"

Rowle blushed furiously. "He is dead, my Lord. Masters wandlessly killed the rat."

The Dark Lord chuckled. "Did he? Pity. Wormtail was useful. But the cowardly rodent won't be widely missed. It is a waste. But now… I'll have to focus more attention on the Malfoy boy. I'll have to think on it." He nodded at the big wizard. "You have served me well, Rowle. For now, that will be all."

Sunday afternoon, students started to gather once again in the Great Hall for the DA. Harry nodded to Professors Flitwick and Masters, who sat in armchairs around a card table. Both professors had short stacks of parchment in front of them – during a lull in the action, there were papers to be marked.

Today, there were even more students than there were last week. Excitement regarding Harry Potter leading this Club spread like wildfire. The entirety of the House of Gryffindor turned out. Almost as many Ravenclaw students came – for or against Harry, an opportunity to learn was never something to pass up. Among the Hufflepuffs, there were more than last week, but there were some students who didn't return. Slytherin was the only House where the number of students was static, but there was a reshuffling of which students came and didn't come.

Draco was determined to become at least as good if not better than Harry. He may or may not succeed, but he would put in his best effort. Crabbe and Goyle agreed with Professor Snape that this Club could do wonders for practicing for their upcoming Defense OWLs. However, Draco couldn't seem to find a certain dark-haired Slytherin.

Walking up to Harry, Draco demanded, "Where is Danny?"

Professor Masters informed Harry that Danny would be about and taking in the lessons. But Draco had no need to know this. "Danny's not a part of the Club." Harry smirked. "It was actually quite Slytherin of him."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Meaning?"

"Danny supported my leadership, for which I thank him. But he never actually said he wanted to come. He explained why I would be a useful leader, not whether he would choose to be led by me. He's got his reasons." Draco's jaw dropped. "You're his partner in Charms. You know of his sketchy spellwork. It's all very logical why he would choose not to be here. He told me during the week."

Draco didn't think of that. He just figured that Danny would want to spend time with his assorted friends. Wait a minute. Danny told Harry he wouldn't come to this meeting of the DA, but he didn't tell Draco? "Bloody…" He pointed at Harry accusingly. "You… you… Gryffindor!"

Harry smirked again. "Thank you for noticing. I didn't know you cared." Harry looked to the professors' table, where Vlad nodded at him. "Seamus, if you would…" Seamus whistled the piercing whistle that got everyone's attention again. "Thanks. Last week, we covered Disarming and Shield Charms, and by the end of the session, just about everyone got it. We'll take the first fifteen minutes to review and help out our newcomers. Then we'll move on to Stupefy and Impedimenta, and the releasing and reviving spells."

Draco glared at Zacharias, and thrilled when he blasted the Hufflepuff to the pillows. If he wasn't keenly aware of the professors at the head of the Hall, Draco might have used the opposite of a Cushioning Charm on the pillows near by, and told his partner as much. Zacharias sighed. This would be a long DA meeting.

Professor Flitwick watched the students. "They certainly are enthusiastic. Many students seem to work harder here than in Charms."

Vlad said, "They can see the practical application immediately. Levitating a feather is whimsical, and the skill demonstrated is useful, I'm sure. But when you take a threat seriously and you have a way to learn Defense against it… It's logical."

Danny drifted invisibly between them. "How come some spells are ended by a Finite Incantatem and others are released by an Ennervate?"

The tiny wizard squeaked in surprise, but looked towards Vlad. Vlad smiled. "Apparently, I forgot to inform you that Daniel was coming. Address your answer to me, and the students won't have a clue of his presence."

Professor Flitwick got over his surprise and clapped in delight. "Good show!" His eyes twinkled. "Nicely done, Mr. Thomas!" Dean turned to smile at the Charms professor. And in a much lower tone, Flitwick said, "And good work, Danny. I remember working with you on some of your impressive talents, though I had forgotten about your invisibility." After looking out at the students gathered for the Club, Filius turned back to Vlad. "As for the answer to your excellent question…"

Pansy and Tracey were partnered and practicing, after Anthony Goldstein gave them a few pointers. He watched them until he was sure they were capable of firing all four spells, the new jinxes and their counter curses, before he praised them and moved on. Tracey asked Pansy, "So, have you seen Danny?"

Pansy stopped aiming for a moment. "I asked Draco, and Harry told him Danny wasn't coming." She ran a hand through her hair. "That's at least an hour and a half they are apart."

Tracey successfully cast Stupefy, and after reviving Pansy, Tracey asked, "Why does that matter so much to you? Danny's not in Transfigurations, he has extra lessons with Professor Masters every night, he doesn't go to Quidditch practice. Why does it bother you that Danny's Draco's friend?"

Pansy aimed an Impediment Curse at Tracey, who blocked it with a Shield Charm. Pansy swore under her breath. "Draco doesn't have friends. He has bodyguards, he has connections, he has acquaintances, he has rivals, he has enemies, and he has me. Draco spends time with me, and Crabbe and Goyle, sure. But when that Potter look-alike enters a room, Draco forgets I'm there."

Pansy cast something, but Tracey simply dodged out of the way. Pansy huffed, "This is ridiculous!" She crossed her arms and dropped onto a pillow to sit. Inwardly, Tracey smirked – she was much better at this than Pansy. She joined Pansy on the floor.

The jealous girl spat, "Professor Masters is fair to a fault, so Danny is worthless as a connection. He's a foreign student, so Danny isn't even useful as a rung on the social ladder. He has no apparent value, except as Harry's friend, and I hear he has passable skills in Quidditch. But otherwise, nothing. What else could Draco want from him?"

Tracey ran her fingers on the material of her pillow. "I'm not thrilled with the Fenton-Potter connection, but that is more of an anti-Potter thing. But whatever else you say about him, Danny has integrity. He won't cheat, and he won't tolerate anyone around him who cheats."

"And so where is he? He turned all eyes to Harry for leadership and then he didn't bother to come. He stuck us with Saint Potter and left us to him. That is cheating."

Tracey shook her head. "I'm with you on that last bit, but that's not cheating. He tricked us, and it's worth being annoyed at him for it, but the DA voted for Harry fair and square."

Pansy growled. She was about to spout something back until Lavender Brown stood over them. "Hey, are you okay?"

Pansy tightened her folded arms and looked away. Figuring that Lavender wouldn't appreciate the whole truth, Tracey smirked. "She's mad because I'm better at this than she is."

Lavender offered a hand to help them up. "Everyone develops at a different rate. Anthony told me…"

Pansy pushed off the floor, yelling, "Shut up! I had enough! Just… Arg! I'm out of here!" She stalked off and out of the Great Hall.

Tracey took pity on the puzzled Gryffindor, who only came to be helpful. "I'd better check on her. I'll be back on a different day, though." With that, she bolted after Pansy.

Vlad noticed the two girls who ran from the Great Hall. "What was that?"

Professor Flitwick saw the student teacher shake her head in confusion. "We'll ask Miss Brown when this session is over, or if she passes in this direction again."

Observing the students' progress, Vlad asked, "How common is it that younger students perform as well as older students?"

Filius thought for a moment, watching a pair of First Years exchange a volley of spells. "Older students usually have more patience, and have a better grasp of the theory behind it. But if they are taught well, or are properly motivated, younger students have as good a chance to know and use the spells as well as older students do." He smiled in memory. "Younger students who are skilled and motivated enough use what they know in innovative ways. I heard that in his First Year, young Mr. Weasley helped to defeat a fully-grown mountain troll by levitating its club above its head and dropping the club on him, knocking it out. Professional troll-handlers have other ways of doing things, but I had just taught the students Wingardium Leviosa that day."

Vlad turned fully to Flitwick. "Ron fought a mountain troll? What in blazes was a troll doing in the school?"

Filius shivered at the faculty betrayal. "Quirinus Quirrell was a professor who was dedicated to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, not to the safety of the students and staff of the school. During the Halloween Feast, Quirrell let a troll into the dungeon." Anger flashed in his eyes. "He tried to kill Harry Potter! Honestly, if Mr. Potter were any less of a person, it wouldn't have been unreasonable for him to fear for his safety each year, based on what he's been through."

Vlad quirked an eyebrow at him. It wouldn't have been unreasonable for anyone to fear for his or her safety with what Harry explained had happened to him. Especially Harry.

Vlad looked out at the students, his eyes falling on Harry. He patiently worked with a pair of Fourth Years, comforting the younger boy who wasn't as successful as his partner. Harry truly was an extraordinary young man. "How is it that students fought that mountain troll?"

Filius frowned. "To be honest, I don't believe I have the right of it. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, and Miss Granger were found in a girls' bathroom. Miss Granger is reported to have said that she tried to go after the troll on her own. Considering the company she keeps ever after, it wasn't an unreasonable excuse. But Miss Granger wasn't at the Gryffindor table at the start of the Feast. She wasn't present to hear the announcement about the troll."

"From what I've seen, Harry doesn't look for trouble. He spends time defusing it, if possible."

Professor Flitwick sighed. "It isn't that Harry looks for trouble. It's more that trouble looks for him. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the Death Eaters have been after him. And if that's not bad enough, last year the Ministry refused to believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back and did all it could to discredit the Headmaster and Harry." He huffed indignantly. "Rather than face You-Know-Who, they set a full Wizengamot trial against Harry for use of underage magic when the boy defended himself and his Muggle cousin from Dementors. Really! And last year was truly untenable. Remind me to tell you about the horrors that Dolores Umbridge perpetrated against Harry and the rest of the school."

Flitwick stared at the students in an effort to calm himself. "The DA was started by Harry last year because in some misguided measure to avoid dealing with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the fear his return would bring, that Umbridge hag didn't bother to teach anything but Ministry pap and propaganda." He fumed. "Imagine – the whole Ministry set against one fifteen-year-old boy!"

Vlad could imagine it all too well. He winced as he thought of all the trouble he caused for Danny.

Flitwick watched the students again, and continued speaking. "The only year besides this year that Harry hasn't had to deal with some form of You-Know-Who was his Third Year. And then, he had to deal with Sirius Black."

Vlad stared at him. "I beg your pardon?"

The wizard answered, "Sirius Black, an accused (and posthumously exonerated) mass murderer stirred some trouble in the Gryffindor dorm. At the time, everyone thought he was there to harm Harry, but the one he was after was Peter Pettigrew. I understand you took care of that quite handily, though Professor Dumbledore only informed the Order that Pettigrew was dead."

Vlad wasn't sure how to respond, when Filius continued. "It can't be easy for Harry to be the Boy Who Lived. He was famous before he could put complicated sentences together. But he keeps defeating You-Know-Who, year after year. He's earned his reputation many times over."

The half-ghost was reminded of Harry's lament that he longed to be normal, and realized that Professor Flitwick probably didn't intend to be, but he was one of the many fans who thought of young Harry as a hero, forgetting he was a child. He shook his head and sighed.

Vlad sucked air through his teeth as he saw a particularly big Seventh Year fall, unconscious. He didn't notice his tablemate studying him. Filius asked, "Professor, how would these spells affect you as a half-ghost?"

Whipping his head to glare at the tiny wizard, Vlad demanded, "Why do you want to know?"

Holding his empty hands up, Flitwick answered, "Simple curiosity. I know that Danny – and by extension, you – has a myriad of talents, many of which are heretofore unknown by the Wizarding World. I only know of the talents you've let him show me, and I know nothing of how either he or you would respond to these jinxes, curses, or cures."

Vlad considered. It wouldn't do to let wizards in general know his and Daniel's boundaries. It was bad enough that Severus knew. One or two facts probably couldn't hurt, however. Lowering his voice, Vlad murmured, "When we're intangible, neither of these spells can affect us. When we're tangible, we can be caught by these spells, like anyone else. But turning intangible will nullify the Impediment Curse."

Flitwick nodded. "That makes sense. And how is Danny doing?"

Beaming, Vlad answered, "He is far more talented and powerful than even I anticipated. And he shall only become more so with practice and training."

Professor Flitwick smiled. "Like these students."

Vlad closed his eyes and nodded in pride and pleasure. "Indeed. But you will forgive me – I have no intention of cataloguing the full extent of our strengths and weaknesses for the sole purpose of learning and filling idle curiosity. Professor Snape, who is Daniel's Head of House, has all kinds of need to know. And therefore, he does." His expression turned hard. "Don't ask."

Taken aback by Vlad's sudden ferocity, Filius simply stared. "As you wish."

It took about an hour for Tracey to calm down Pansy, who filled that hour with invective against Danny, Potter, and males in general. They sat together in the empty classroom they found. While Professor Snape probably wouldn't mind their messing about with a Hufflepuff who abused Slytherins (already punished though said Hufflepuff might be), the professor almost certainly wouldn't approve of their railing and subsequent scheming against Danny.

A thought came to Pansy. "I think I've got it. I know what we can do. It will upset Harry and get Danny out of the way. And no one will be the worse for the wear, but Harry and Danny. Particularly Danny."

Relieved that her friend wasn't about to start a new tirade, Tracey asked, "What do you have in mind?"

Pansy ran a hand through her hair as she thought this through. "Harry keeps fighting the Dark Lord, and saving any number of people in the process. It would hurt Harry most if you hurt someone he cares about."

Tracey nodded. "And Danny is really close to Harry. But so is Ron and Hermione."

Pansy drawled. "Yes, they are. But the other members of the Golden Trio are almost as good at Defense as Harry is. Danny, on the other hand, can't cast spells worth beans. Draco's noted as much before. Further, Danny admitted as much to the entire DA last week."

Tracey's eyes widened. "What are you thinking?"

Pansy shrugged. "Oh, we won't hurt Danny. Much. It's more along the lines of rendering him helpless and putting him somewhere he won't be found."

Tracey began to have second thoughts about this. "Pansy, I thought this would be a prank that would humiliate Danny. What you are saying sounds dangerous."

Standing akimbo, Pansy demanded, "Do you want a fair prank, or one that will work?"

"I want it to work, obviously, but it sounds like…"

Pansy looked askance. "You don't know what it sounds like, because I haven't told you the details. But I know what timing would be perfect."

Tracey sighed. She wasn't sure she wanted to do this anymore, but she was intrigued. "What's on your mind?"

"Getting Smith and letting him know we have use of him. If any of us will know enough spells that won't specifically hurt Danny, but… he would."

They headed back to the Great Hall, where the majority of students left, but the student teachers, last year's DA members, were held for a meeting to discuss progress, student development, and thoughts for the next meeting, as well as whatever the professors had in mind. When this smaller meeting broke, the students broke into more intimate groupings as they walked away from the Great Hall. Zacharias Smith went his own way, and the scheming Slytherin girls collared him.

"Smith, we've come up with a plan." Tracey's eyes went wide again, but only for a moment. Pansy was accrediting the cleverness of the plan to both of them. Or, she was sharing the blame if the plan went south.

Zacharias slumped, feeling put upon. "Please tell me that whatever you have cooked up isn't scheduled for today." Draco was much better at DADA than Zacharias was aware of, and Professor Snape was clear – today he would not act as a leader, but as a student like anyone else. Next session… well, he was on probation. Zacharias was soundly thrashed magically by one Slytherin, and he wasn't prepared to deal with these two at present.

Pansy raised an eyebrow, and was tempted to tell him today was the day, just to increase his anguish, but that would be counterproductive. "What's the matter, Smith? Draco bested you during practice, didn't he?"

Zacharias put a hand on his pounding head. "We practiced all the spells from both this week and last week. Apparently, Professor Snape gave Draco express permission to test my Shield Charm with other spells. When I objected, and Professor Masters stepped in to correct the situation, Draco announced that Professor Snape said 'I deserved what I got.' Professor Masters agreed, but told Draco not to do anything that couldn't be healed in time for class tomorrow."

The two girls fell into helpless peals of laughter. When Tracey caught her breath, she asked, "What did Draco do to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it. If it means so much to you, ask him later."

Pansy's eyes teared with mirth. "Will do. But for now, we have a plan."

Zacharias looked up. "What is it?"

A gleam in Pansy's eyes danced. It would have been a pretty effect if Zacharias didn't feel he was in imminent danger. "That all depends. What type of spells can you do to incapacitate, but not harm someone?"

"Well…" The boy considered. "There is everything we worked on today and last week. There is a Binding Spell that creates physical, tangible restraints…"

"Good. That type of thing should work nicely. And would you know of a place to put something you don't want found?"

The boy was surprised not only by the question but also with the girls' different reactions. Tracey looked nervous, but Pansy looked almost hungry. "Yes. I know of such a place."

Pansy clapped. "Very good! You are far more useful than I thought. And now the timing."

"But what are we doing?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? I'll tell you when we get closer to the actual time, which will be before the DA meeting when we get back from Christmas Break."

Tracey looked at her. "Really?"

Pansy explained, "No one will expect it, and it will take some time before anyone realizes he's missing."

Zacharias felt ill. "I'm not sure…"

"Don't worry about 'being sure.' You just leave the thinking to me. Show some of that Hufflepuff loyalty. You signed onto this. You're in for the long haul."

Zacharias felt trapped by his sense of pride: pride in himself, pride in his House… And he couldn't tell anybody, because he didn't really know what the plan was. "I guess I am."