There was a loud knocking on the door of Dumbledore's quarters. The sun had not yet peeked over the horizon, though some of its light brightened the sky from black to grey. Outside the castle the grounds and forests lightly slept, knowing they would wake up soon. Inside the castle most of the staff slept, enjoying their summer holiday. It was only Snape who was roused at that hour, awake and trying to talk to his boss.
"Will you open up, you senile old frog!" Snape bellowed, pounding his fists against the door to Dumbledore's quarters. "This is important!"
"Severus, my dear boy," came Albus's voice from behind the Potion's Master. "Why are you attacking my door? Has it offended you in some manner?"
Snape stifled a growl. It would do no good to get angry with a wizard several orders of magnitude more powerful than himself.
He held up a piece of parchment. On it was a crude map of Europe, with some areas shaded green. Within the green areas there were a couple areas of shifting, glowing, red.
"Interesting," Dumbledore observed. "You managed to reproduce your schoolmate's accomplishments in cartography."
"I talked with the werewolf at the start of this business," Severus replied. "But that's not important. After the last operation I took the liberty of placing some enchantments on some of the Death Eater's equipment that was to be shipped out to foreign locations. I keyed the spells to this map, to let keep me informed of their locations and to let me know when there was any circular concentration of gold, silver, and mercury."
"Looking for more of those strange circles," Albus mused. "I take it they picked up something?"
"Yes, but I'm unsure of their exact location," Snape replied.
"And we need to verify which circles we can move against without compromising your activities," Dumbledore added, staring at the map. "My office should have some equipment that would help."
Delicate silver instruments whirred, wands were waved, maps consulted, and tea was consumed as the old wizard and the spy went about their work. Snape's parchment was was hooked up to a larger enchanted map by gossamer golden spell lines. Dumbledore was consulting the Order's own sensing spells, using a scrying bowl, and an enchanted mirror to see across the lands.
"The circles in Germany are out of our reach," the old wizard concluded, "and the ones in Belgium would give away your status. We're left with with two in France, and one in Turkey, by the Anzac Cove. Why has Voldemort expanded his operation so? What are the circles to be used for? What is the significance of these locations?"
"It is something the Dark Lord is playing very close to his chest," Snape responded. "He has said no word about any of this to his inner circle. Only those responsible for the project have any knowledge on it. Any progress on deciphering the circle the werewolf copied down?"
"Very little," the aging headmaster answered. "I'm reasonably sure that all of it is written in various obscure dialects, making the translation process even more difficult. It has given me more reason to lament the path Tom has chosen. If he had decided to turn his talents towards something constructive..."
"It would be a hypothetical possibility that has little to no bearing on the subject at hand," Snape interrupted. "Now is the time we must decide on our course of action."
"There is always time to reflect on the paths lives might have taken," Dumbledore replied solemnly. "We must do so to remind ourselves why all life is valuable."
"I'm sure the Dark Lord will stop and give you the time to ponder such things," Snape snapped back. "Before he kills you, the other teachers, and every muggle-born in the school."
Albus sighed.
"If you must be so impatient," he replied. "One team this time. We have a good fix on the exact location of the circle in Turkey, we'll send an assault team after that one. The location of the French circles are more vague, we can't afford to waste resources going after them, they'll have noticed our scrying and will be preparing to evacuate. I'll gather the Order at once. We'll meet at half past seven this morning. You go rouse the Fentons and see if Phantom is at Grimmauld place, before I try and contact him. All might be needed for this."
Danny groaned as something shook him.
"Dude, you have to get up," he heard a male voice hiss in his ear. Danny groggily groaned, and opened one eye.
Tucker was kneeling by the bed, shaking the halfa.
"Snape's here," the dark skinned boy told his friend. "He's looking for Phantom. There's something big going down."
"Ask them to postpone the war, would you?" Danny muttered, glaring out of one sleepy eye. "Some of us need to sleep."
"No can do," Tucker replied. "Just duplicate and transform already."
Danny's blue eyed glared turned into a glowing green one before he sat up and threw off his covers. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. A ring of light went up and a ring of light went down, resulting in Danny Phantom standing where Danny Fenton once stood.
The halfa then became two halfas, one of whom transformed back into Danny Fenton.
"I'm going back to bed," the duplicate declared. "Don't get yourself killed."
"Nice to see that you're so worried about yourself," Danny replied to his duplicate. "Good thing Jazz wasn't here to see this, I don't know what sort of mental problems she'd think I have."
"Snape's in the kitchen, having some tea for now," Tucker informed his friend. "You might want to go see him before he starts ransacking the house."
"On it," Phantom replied. He went intangible and sank through the floor. He half heartedly flew to the kitchen before becoming solid once more. Snape idly glanced up when the ghost boy appeared, from his seat at the table with a warm cup of tea in hand.
"Phantom," Snape said, looking around to make sure there were no unwelcome visitors, "we've located another one of those circles. We're preparing to attack."
"Where?" Danny asked, fighting grogginess.
"Anzac Cove, in Turkey," answered the Potion's Master. "Be sure to be here in two hours, when we go over the final plans and mobilize."
"Got it," the halfa replied, suppressing a yawn. "What do we know about the situation so far?"
"Not much," Snape replied. "Only that it is more likely to be more heavily guarded than the last."
"Figures," Danny muttered. "I'll be there when you need me."
"What's going on?" Sam hissed to Danny as she, him, Tucker, and Jazz sat around one of the clean spare bedrooms. "What did Snape want?"
"Battle," Danny told her wearily. "Another circle. Two hours... actually one hour and forty five minutes now. Let me get a bit more sleep, okay?" The currently blue eyed boy let his head fall onto the soft pillow.
"Where?" Tucker asked, bringing up a map program on his hand held electronic device.
"Turkey. Some cove." Danny muttered, wrapping himself in a blanket and turning over. "Anz- something or other."
"Anzac?" Tucker asked. "The place where the Australian and New Zealand forces invaded the Ottoman Empire?"
Danny growled and pulled the blankets up to ear level.
"I don't think he would know if even if he wasn't half asleep. You know how much attention he pays during history class," Sam told Tucker. "Is that important?"
"Maybe," Tucker replied. "If nothing else it would be nice to check up on the terrain."
"I'm sure the Order's already doing that," Jazz told Tucker. "I don't think there's a lot we can do that they aren't already doing right now."
"We should try and do something," Sam protested, making sure to keep her voice to a whisper. "We can't just-"
"Sam, this is one of those hard lessons I've had to learn myself," Jazz told her quietly. "But sometimes there's nothing one can do. Let's just let him sleep and wake him up when it's time for him to get going, okay?"
"You're the one suggesting this?" Sam asked incredulously, even as she and Tucker began to head to the door.
"Hey," Jazz returned, "everybody learns eventually."
"Sorry I'm late," Lupin called out as he rushed into the meeting room. "It took me a while to find everything I needed."
"Such as new patches for your clothes?" Snape sneered.
Dumbledore sighed and ignored the Potions Master. Like usual he sat at the head of the table, with the usual Order members seated at it, leaning on the walls around it, or, in one case, floating above it.
"We have discovered another one of the spell circles that Remus, Sirius, and, Phantom found during their last raid," the elderly wizard said to the assembled magic users and spirits. "It is located in Turkey, at a place called Anzac Cove. Our intelligence suggests that it will be under much heavier guard this time."
He tapped one finger on the table and called forth the image of the geography he had been referring to, projecting it on the air above the table.
The cove was covered in trees, with the occasional small group of muggle buildings scattered throughout its expanse. The area was hilly as well, creating swells of green and brownish yellow. A grey ocean licked at the bases of the hills, lapping over smooth beaches.
"However we are unsure of the exact strength and nature of these defenses," the silver bearded wizard continued. "If you would all look closely here..." The image zoomed in on a wooded area that held no sign of muggle development. When it did so, the picture became blurry. "They have anti-scrying enchantments, and numerous other spells to keep both muggles and wizards away."
"The plan, Professor Snape, Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and I came up with," Albus continued, "is unfortunately simple. No doubt they will be aware that we have found this location and are preparing to move the circle as we speak. It goes thus."
He tapped one finger again and the blurry cove became a map. A red circle surrounded the area that the Death Eaters occupied, with muggle towns represented by black dots and names.
"Phantom will fly through each of these towns, preferably shouting something about chasing a ghost," Dumbledore explained, a yellow arrow appearing on the map, crossing each of the names that represented a town or village. "This will eliminate most of the need to keep the battle secret, the muggles will assume it to be phenomena related to the Amity Park spirits."
"While he was doing this, three groups of five and a group of two will Apparate in around the borders of the enchanted area," the headmaster continued. Three green rectangles and a small blue square appeared around the red circle. "When Phantom is done with his flight he will join the group of two. At that time all wizards present will attempt to cast a mass Finite Incantatem on the first layer of defenses. All groups are to then move in and attempt to either retrieve or destroy the circle. Alastor, Kingsley, and Minerva will lead the three groups."
"Does anyone have any questions or suggestions?" Dumbledore asked the room at large.
"What equipment will the team be bringing?" A witch asked.
"The usual, although I had hoped that the Fentons might have something..." Albus answered, turning to Jack and Maddie.
"Well..." Maddie began, "We've got some experimental stuff. None of it's properly tested, so in good conscious I couldn't let you use most of it. However we have some magic disrupting grenades in the testing area currently- well they'll disrupt any complex field not just magic, but that's all you'll need to worry about now- that are relatively safe for use."
"We've got two down in the lab," Jack added, his usual boisterous manner not diminished by the early hour. "Don't worry about using them all, they're a cinch to make."
"Very good," Dumbledore said in a pleased tone, clapping his hands together. "Anything else?"
Nobody raised a point or suggestion.
"Then I shall ask for volunteers now," the old man continued. "I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, not this operation. It's too far out and you're still acclimatizing yourself to the magical world."
"But I wanted to kick evil butt," Jack said despondently. He sighed. "Oh well, more time to work on the Fenton-Ecto-Minature Security Camera!"
About half the room volunteered, more than the number required. Dumbledore mostly chose the most experienced wizards and witches, those who had fought in the last war and the more senior Aurors. But, for some reason, he included Tonks in the group.
"Remus, Sirius," the old man told the two after organizing the rest. "You two will be with Phantom again, having worked well together before. I trust that there will be no objections to this arrangement?"
"I'm fine with it," the only surviving Black replied.
"It will be a pleasure," the werewolf answered.
"Good with me," the halfa added.
"Maddie, Jack, I trust you have no objection to letting Phantom borrow your equipment for this operation?"
Maddie turned her nose up at the thought.
"He can steal it like he usually does if he wants any," the ghost hunting mother replied.
"Considering your lab is unguarded, you've told everyone where the 'grenades' are, and he can get there faster than you, I'll take that as a face saving affirmative," Dumbledore seemed somewhat amused by her answer.
"Dibs!" Danny shouted before turning intangible and speeding off towards the lab.
Jack and Maddie grinned evilly at each other and then turned to Dumbledore.
"Undefended you say? I guess we forgot to turn on Ghost-Dissuasion Field." Maddie said.
"No we didn't!" Jack said triumphantly, completely missing the point of his wife's remark. "Come on let's listen for the scream!"
They put their hands up to their ears for a moment.
No scream sounded from the lab.
"You don't think we actually forgot to turn it on, do you?" Maddie asked Jack, a little worried.
Phantom reappeared behind them, two grenades on his belt.
"Ha, your little security field thing sucks!" The halfa said, blowing a raspberry at the ghost hunters before speeding off again.
Jack and Maddie stared off after him.
"Do you have the dissection table ready?" Maddie asked Jack without looking.
"Yeah. Ready to take him apart molecule by molecule?"
"Just remember to accidently lose the anesthetic first."
"Don't think you'll get away from me that easily!" Danny Phantom shouted, blazing through the small Turkish town. Due to time zone differences it was mid to late morning in the country, compared to early morning Britain. The halfa sped under a bright sun, tail streamlined behind him, as he chased a non-existent foe. People on the streets looked up, pointing and whispering among themselves as the infamous ghost boy of Amity Park flew overhead.
Danny, Lupin, and Sirius had portkeyed in ten minutes earlier. When they had arrived Danny had felt his ghost sense stir, but it didn't activate, just like during the last mission. He would have to talk to Sam, Tucker and Jazz about that.
The wizards started to set up a forward base of operations and Phantom started to buzz the local populace. He flew through the summer air, over the relatively short tree tops on the hills jutting out into the sea. The air was warm and dry, but the heat had not had chance to build up, and the sun was still rising, so it was bearable.
After ten to fifteen minutes of buzzing muggles Danny flew back to Sirius and Lupin. His tail reverted to legs and he skidded to a stop next to the wizards.
"Alright, hopefully they'll blame whatever happens next on me and some crazy ghost," the spirit boy said to the two wizards.
"Hopefully it won't come to that," Lupin replied as he surveyed the soon to be battlefield. "But preliminary sensing spells have revealed that a large numbers of enchantments have been placed on this land. This could be messy."
"How long until we move out?" Danny asked the former teacher.
"Whenever you're ready," Remus replied. "Sirius will give the signal."
Danny took a look at the area. It was a small hill in the relatively rugged terrain, covered in trees. He couldn't see any signs of magic and he didn't feel like trying to sense any either.
"I'm good," the halfa told the werewolf and the animagus. "Let's go."
Sirius grinned, put his wand to his throat, threw back his head, and appeared to let loose a silent howl. A silver flare flew out of his mouth instead of sound. It ascended about one hundred feet before exploding in a flash of silver and a wild sounding howl.
"One, two, three! Finite Incantatem!" Wolf and hound cast the spell in unison. At the same time the other teams must have done so as well, because Danny could feel clash of magics. The spells here were much greater than the ones at the farm. To Danny's limited senses they seemed to be rooted into the land itself. To him the clash felt like watching an earthquake, watching hills and mountains quiver.
"First layer down!" Sirius shouted. "Time to move in!"
"In a flash!" Phantom shouted, legs turning into a ghostly tail. He shot forth, accelerating wildly, fast as lightning.
Well, no actually. Nowhere near as fast lightning, particularly the red bolt that sprang out of the ground and hit him in the chest. The halfa cried out as the electric power coursed through him, burning everywhere it went, and hurled him back like a rag doll. The halfa hit the ground, hard, knocking the breath out of his lungs, his body quivering from the impact even as he bounced once. He then skidded on the ground, digging a small furrow as he went.
"Well, that was a bit of a shock," he said absentmindedly when he had stopped and recovered his breath.
"You can say that again," Sirius said, hurrying over to check on the spirit. "You alright mate?"
"Well, that was a bit of a shock," Danny repeated, making Sirius roll his eyes. "It hurt, but I've had worse."
"Good," Sirius turned his eyes back to the hill. A whirring sound started to emanate from the minor height and four large red ring, about the size of two men laying head to head, rose from the hill. Each ring contained five red globes connected by rune covered bars. An even larger disc rose from the top identical to the others in every respect but its size. The other four rings began to orbit it, making it hard to get a good look at any of them. They produced a low key humming sound as they went.
"Those are Malfoy's work," Sirius said glaring at the devices. "That family started to specialized in lighting magics during recent generations; there was even some talk of changing their crest to a lightning struck tower."
"Do you know how to take them down?" Danny asked. Getting hit by electricity was never fun. He considered going intangible to deal with the issue, but considering the electricity itself was clearly magical by its odd color, it might actually make things worse.
"It depends on what else they've got there," the last Black answered. "Reducto!"
The blasting curse streaked towards one of the rings. It vanished about ten feet away, disappearing into a green glow.
"They've got it shielded," Sirius explained. "And-"
He was interrupted by three yellow jets of light shooting out from wooded hill. He yelped and jumped out of the way. Danny followed suit and rolled out of the way. The ground that was hit by the spells melted as if it the spells had been acid.
"Can't get close, and they can shoot at us from behind their shields," Sirius muttered. "This is so unfair."
"What about another mass Finite Incantatem?" Danny asked. He held one hand down low, like he was about to throw underhand. Green ectoplasm gathered, glowing, flowing, roiling as Phantom shaped it into sphere. He hurled it at the disks. It exploded against the shield, forcing a patch about the size of a single story house to light up.
On instinct the ghost boy called up his translucent green shield, just in time to catch three curses.
"Won't work on a shield like that," Sirius told him. Back on the hill electricity crackled and lashed out into forest around it's base.
"That'll be the others," Sirius explained. "They must have seen what happened to you and decided to move in slower. I hope their protections hold against this thing."
From three locations around the hill a turquoise light began to shine. A blue-green substance that resembled mist began to swirl around each of the locations, gathering into a fuzzy mass. And then the swirling became spinning and the mass swirled into a lance. Three drills of the mist like substance began to grind into the shield, forcing large patches to light up the air. Danny could hear the grinding noise from the clash, as if the bones of the earth were grinding together. Lightning and curses were launched in response, aiming for the base of the drilling spells. Danny hoped that the other wizards had their own shields up.
"It'll take too long to bring down the shield using that spell," said Sirius as they watched. "I know that, Lupin knows that, everybody knows that. We've as good as lost."
The wizard kicked at the ground.
"Dammit! Where are they getting the power for all of this?" He glared at the hill. "We're not near a ley line or anything..."
"Isn't there something we can do?" Phantom asked. "I've got a couple of things I can hit it with."
"I'm not going to stop you," Sirius responded. "But I am going to warn you that they might have some nasty surprises waiting."
"Phantom," Lupin's voice called out before the halfa could do anything. Danny turned to see him hurry over to him and Sirius in that odd crouched manner people used under fire. "Those anti-magic grenades. Do you think you could use them to get through the shield?"
"No clue," the halfa told the werewolf. "Get your wands out and we'll find out."
Sirius and Lupin complied, readying curses to strike down the lightning generators hovering over the hill. Phantom took one of the grenades, flicked a switch, pulled the pin, and threw it.
Before it could reach the shield it was struck by a whip of electricity. It exploded, sending small pieces of red hot metal flying.
"Okay, here's the plan," Sirius said, keeping his eyes on the hill. "We need to find some way of getting that grenade close to the shield."
"I could cover it in ice," Danny suggested.
"I don't think that'll work," Lupin replied. "Unless... Phantom how many projectiles can you produce at once?"
"Ummm... I never really counted," the ghost said. "I just throw a bunch of ice spikes for stuff like that."
"Phantom, what's your maximum lifting capacity?" The Black heir asked the ghost.
"Ten or thirty tons," Phantom answered. "Why?"
"Because the best way to deal with electricity is to be well grounded," Sirius replied. "We're going to put a boulder around your grenade and you're going to throw it."
"Yes, yes that could work," said Lupin. "How does that device know when to blow up?"
"It's got a timer," Danny answered. "How long do you want me to set it for?"
"What's the longest time?" The werewolf tilted his head as he examined the device at the spirit's waist.
"Thirty seconds I think."
"Sirius you keep count," the werewolf said to his friend. "Phantom turn it on and put it on the ground."
The ghost boy complied. Sirius began to count down and Lupin waved his wand once. The earth beneath the weapon shifted and rose up around it. Ten seconds later there was a mid sized boulder where it used to be.
"Eighteen, seventeen," Sirius counted. Phantom didn't need to be told time was running out. The halfa grabbed the large rock in both hands, flew up, waited a couple seconds, and heaved. Red electricity lashed out, utterly destroying the boulder. The rock was reduced to large pieces of rubble that bounced off the shield. None of them made the shield give off so much as a spark of light. Not even the one spherical metallic piece of rubble.
There was a flash of rainbow light and then the space was distorted. There was no other way to describe it. Images viewed through that area were either larger or smaller than how they should appear, as light went through lenses of twisted air. Colors were off, either becoming redder or bluer.
And where the distortion touched the shield green light shone and then cracks of black light seeped through it. The tendrils spread, lighting up the shield as they went. A few seconds after the detonation the whole shield was glowing green with tendrils of black light intertwined within it, like cracks in a breaking window. Then everything flared and disappeared.
Without any resistance to hold them back the three drill spells shot forward. Each spell speared through one of the lesser disks that maintained the electric defense. The hit disks were reduced to slag that was sucked up by the spiral of the drills.
"Reducto Maximus!" Remus shouted right after the shield fell. A blast of blue light lept from his wand and landed on one of the untouched discs. Like a baseball bat hitting a fine piece of china, the curse shattered the enchanted metal.
"Ignus Flatus!" Sirius shouted, jabbing his wand forward. A small globe of orange light shot forth. It streaked into the remaining disc. The globe never touched the disc; the metal glowed red hot and then melted before the globe got close enough. Sirius's spell cut the disc in half, each piece wobbling in the air before crashing to the ground.
"My turn!" Phantom cried out. He held his arms out, hands up, and gathered ectoplasm into two green discs of his own, about the size of saw blades. With a small effort he had them start to spin, thinning them out, making them sharper. He swung his hands down and back and then hurled the two discs forward. They buzzed through the air and cut into the large disc with a screech. With another small effort of will Danny had them explode. The last piece of the lightning defense slowly fell to pieces.
"Move in!" The shout came from everywhere at once; it must have been from some sort of communication spell, cast by Moody from the sound of it. Lupin and Sirius charged forward; Phantom flew in at top speed.
On the hilltop he could make out a small clearing. One aristocratic looking man in black robes and a mask, with long blonde hair, was shouting at two other men doing something to what looked like the magic circle that the Order wanted to capture. Three other men, in black robes but without masks, were pointing their wands down the hill, looking for Order members to target.
Danny increased his speed, hoping to catch the dark wizards off guard. But one managed to catch a glimpse of the speeding ghost boy and shouted a warning to the others. One was quick enough on the draw to get off a curse. A bolt of yellow-green light shone from a wand. One of the halfa's hand's glowed green and he swatted the curse upward.
The aristocratic man turned towards the rapidly approaching threat and slashed downward with his wand. There was a silver flash and Danny felt something like a sledgehammer hit him between the shoulder blades. The speeding halfa was knocked out of the sky, his forward momentum carrying him several trees before losing enough kinetic energy to slam into a branch without it breaking.
It wasn't a particularly bad blow for the halfa; most of the fights during the middle of his career had him taking worse hits on a regular basis. But it took him out of the fight for a couple crucial seconds. Danny shook twigs and leaves out of his hair and then looked up from the branch he was draped over.
All the dark wizards had gathered around the magic circle. Everything was glowing. The mask man looked at the circle, nodded, and then turned to the halfa.
"You won't be interfering with our Lord's designs today spirit!" The man shouted to Danny. "You've thrown your lot in with the wrong side. If you join us now the Dark Lord may be merciful."
"Stuff it!" Danny shouted. He brought a hand up, preparing to blast the circle. But the blonde man was faster. The tree Phantom was lying in exploded. Danny went intangible on instinct, catching himself in mid fall as wooden shrapnel flew through him, arms crossed over his face. When he lowered them he could see the dark wizards without masks smirking as they and the circle began to fade.
It was-
"Bugger off Malfoy!" Sirius's voice called out. A jet of black light scored across the circle even as it faded away, leaving a small scratch along its diameter. The masked man snarled and then everything vanished.
"How'd you get here so fast?" Phantom said, turning to the animagus.
"Turned into a dog," Sirius replied. "And I may have had Remus launch me part of the way. It was worth it though, the thought of Malfoy having to explain this failure to Voldie will warm my heart for years to come."
"But they got away-" Phantom returned. "We didn't capture the circle, we only scratched it, and they-"
"Something like that circle, something as complex and finely tuned as that, a small scratch can completely ruin it," Sirius told the ghost boy. "And I'm betting each one of them is highly expensive and difficult to make. Trust me, this definitely wasn't a success for them."
"This operation was not a success for us," Dumbledore stated gravely, hands steeped together in front of him. Once more the Order had convened at Grimauld place, this time for the debriefing. Everyone had taken their usual positions around the table. "But it was also not a failure. Even if we didn't get another circle to analyze we at least denied use of it to Voldemort. But this operation has raised many questions. Where were the Death Eaters getting the power for their defenses? Phantom, can you sense other spirits when they are sealed?"
"I don't actually know," Danny answered. "I felt something there, but I also felt it in France during that last mission."
"But there were no extraordinary defenses there," Dumbledore said, thinking aloud. He sighed. "It may be a coincidence. Or it may have something to do with the circles themselves. Or they had a sealed spirit hidden somewhere on the farm. Too many mysteries, too few clues."
"I will keep my ear to the ground," Snape said. "If he's using sealed spirits-"
"Excuse me, where did you say this was occurring? Anzac Cove, wasn't it? " Maddie interrupted. "Because if we're fast enough with the Fenton Finder we might be able to tell find out right away."
"You have a device that can locate spirits that far away?" Lupin asked incredulously.
"Sort of," Jack replied. "We have to piggyback it off some GPS satellites and we have to deal with the natural background radiation, but we can use the Fenton Finder to get a good idea if there's a spirit there or not."
"Then by all means use your device," Albus told the two ghost hunters. "We will wait until you have some results."
Jack and Maddie nodded and then took off for their lab.
Ten minutes later they returned with glum expressions on their faces.
"No good. The background radiation is too high for confirm or deny the existence of a ghost in that location," Maddie told the Order.
"That place was radioactive!" Danny Phantom's voice rose a few octaves. "Crap crap crap crap crap crap-"
"It wasn't that sort of radiation," Maddie told him, deadpan, "and even it it had been, the levels weren't high enough to be dangerous. Also, you're a ghost. I doubt you have to worry about radiation."
"Oh," Danny said, one hand on the back of his head, fighting an embarrassed blush. "Heh, heh."
"And you're the ghostly defender of Amity Park," Maddie muttered in a disgusted tone. "It's a miracle we lasted this long."
"Maddie," Albus spoke up. "What do you mean the background radiation was too high?"
"Right, sorry," it was Jack who answered. "The Fenton Finder works by analyzing the energy in a given area. If the energy is fluctuating in certain ways it means there's a ghost there."
"Couldn't you just search for ectoplasmic energy?" The headmaster asked the ghost hunter.
"That's one of the things we do look at," Jack replied. "But you have to understand that there'a a very low level field of ectoplasmic energy covering the Earth. It's not uniform either, so we can't just look for any discrepancies. We have to see how other things, heat, light, alpha, beta, and other radiations are acting too. For example, Invisible-Bill here-"
"Hey!"
"-can be tracked via thermal fluctuations," Jack continued, smirking. "Wherever he goes he pushes the heat away and concentrates the ectoplasmic energy. But the problems is, say we're looking for him in the Arctic or Antarctic. It would be harder for us to detect the changes in thermal radiation and he could hide in the natural ectoplasmic fluctuations. And he's a spirit where we know what we're looking for. For Anzac Cove the natural ectoplasmic radiation is unusually high-"
Dumbledore's eyes lit up.
"And at the French farmhouse?" He asked. "Mr and Mrs. Fenton, I have a favor to ask of you two. Can you two prepare a report on the two locations, with emphasis on their magical and spiritual properties."
"Sure," Maddie replied, looking puzzled. "May I ask why?"
Dumbledore hesitated for a second, debating on whether or not he should share his suspicions. It seemed harmless enough to do so, but Dumbledore knew that one should always take at least a second to think on such things. Things that were said could not be easily unsaid.
In the end he decided that this bit of information was best shared.
"From what little I've been able to decipher from the first circle, the function of the enchantments has something to do with the land," Albus told the two ghost hunters and the room at large. "I dismissed it at first; without any other information it could have been any number of things. But if there was something special about both locations..."
"Then it could be a clue to what the circle's supposed to do!" Sirius exclaimed.
"I see," Maddie replied. "I think we can put one together by the day after tomorrow."
"Excellent," Dumbledore said, steeping his fingers once more, his eyes twinkling merrily. His old student couldn't hide his nefarious activities for much longer!
"Anything?" Harry asked Fred and George. They were hanging about the second story landing.
"Nothing yet," George replied, fingering the flesh like attachment that connected the Extendable Ear to him. "And Tucker doesn't have his bug working yet, so we're out of luck. Maybe you can get something out of Phantom later."
"I doubt it," Harry said. "He's pretty tight lipped about what he does for the Order."
"Great," Fred sighed. "Maybe they won't keep whatever happened today a secret."
"I doubt that," Harry returned. "Secret seems to be the word of the season. Everyone and their mum is keeping secrets."
"Well they're propriety information about our inventions," Fred said, faking a hurt look. "We can't just go around telling people about them, they'll steal our ideas."
"And you don't know how many people are after some of our mother's recipes," George added grinning. "She can't just talk 'bout them willy nilly either."
Harry mock scowled at them.
"You know, as the primary investor in your shop I should be privy to your secrets, and free to sell them off," Harry told the twins with a wicked grin. "And I could probably weasel those recipes out of your mother."
"You wouldn't!" The twins exclaimed as one.
"You want to bet on that?" Harry said still grinning. "This round is mine. Tell me if you find out anything." He turned around and headed up towards the third story.
"We'll concede this round, but mark my words Potter," George called out to Harry.
"-the next round will," Fred continued, "be - Ow! Damn your draw is fast."
"Could your ghost sense be reacting to the ectoplasmic radiations your parents mentioned?" Sam asked Danny. The usual group was sitting around a third floor bedroom. Danny sat on the floor leaning against a bed, Sam sat on the bed right next to him. Jazz was sitting on a makeup table and Tucker was sitting backwards on the only chair in the room, arms over the back, fiddling with his device.
"I don't think so," Danny said. "I mean Amity Park has got to be alive with the stuff and my ghost sense doesn't react like that there."
"Then what's so special about a French farmhouse and a Turkish cove?" Jazz asked. "What are we missing?"
"Anzac Cove was the site of some fighting in World War One," Tucker responded. "But I don't know anything about the farmhouse."
"Actually, there were old shells everywhere," Danny told the room. "And the house looked like it had been hit by some artillery."
"Dumbledore said the circles had something to do with the land," Sam tapped her chin as she thought. "Maybe the land has special properties. Something that drew the soldiers there... I'll have to see if I can't find something about magical land in our textbooks."
"Like the land creates conflicts or death?" Jazz asked, also deep in thought. "Voldemort might be trying to harness its power. Maybe that's part of how he's keeping the Ministry of Magic off of his back; he's using the lands to create a conflict between them and Dumbledore."
"Seems a bit convoluted," Tucker replied. "From what we've heard that wouldn't actually be necessary with the Ministry being as corrupt as it is."
"And I don't think the land merely being magical would do anything to my ghost sense," said Danny. He shook his head. "Argh. I don't want to be thinking right now. I'm tired and even though it's healed by now, my shoulder is killing me."
"It's probably because you're low on energy," his sister told him. "You probably didn't actually heal up all the way before reverting to human form and what was left of the injury came with. You're going to need to ask for a week off soon or it might get to dangerous to let you go on more missions."
"I'll be fine as long as I use duplication," Danny responded, narrowing his eyes a bit. "Designating one the 'original' only matters in terms of energy and information flow. It's still me no matter which one is left at the end of the day, I just won't have as good of an idea of what I'm up too."
"But if you use up too much power, whichever one of you is the 'original' might dispel the other you," Jazz shot back. "That's happened once or twice as I recall."
"I wasn't expecting them to make a 'Best Couple' competition out of that fight," Danny replied, grimacing at the memory with so many of his foes. "And that was more of a danger to my secret identity than anything else."
"But my point remains," Jazz pressed forward. "Nothing too strenuous for a week, until you've recovered some energy."
"Fine," Danny sighed. "Maybe I can figure out way my Impedimentia makes things hover and then shoot forward." His shoulder twinged. "Ow. I'm going to get that blonde jerk for this."
"Here," Sam said, tongue sticking out of the corner of her lip as she gently pushed Danny forward a bit. "Maybe this will help." She began to gently knead his back.
Danny went red as a tomato, while Tucker and Jazz sniggered.
"Please?" Harry asked. "Won't you tell me? Ven Flatus!"
The fist of wind hit the ball of goey ectopasm and sent it back into the halfa's face.
"Ack!" Danny flailed about, wiping the goo out of his eyes. "You're asking me to spill these secrets as you're pelting me with spells?"
"Of course," Harry replied. "Depulso!"
Phantom was sent flying back by the banishing spell. He managed to catch himself before hitting the wall and retaliated with a small spark. Harry dodged and shot a Stunner which Phantom deflected.
"I know you're not at the top of your game tonight," Harry continued. "Aqua Flatus!"
A globe of water half-heartedly sailed across the room. Phantom lazy sidestepped it and watched as it pathetically splashed over the wall.
"Having trouble with that spell still?" Phantom asked. "And how do you know what the top of my game is? We've done this once before." He used some cryogensis to create a pair of snow balls.
"Depulso! Imepdimentia!" Harry shouted, stopping both snowballs. "I've seen some of your fights. Professor Binns has had a couple of classes on you. He somehow managed to bring in muggle videos and a TV."
"What does he teach?" Danny asked. He soared forward, preparing to land a mock blow on the boy-who-lived. He swung at real combat speeds, without pulling the punch any, but turned his fist and arm intangible.
"History of Magic and Modern Magical History," Harry replied, throwing himself out of the way. He still wasn't used to Phantom's speed, the blow would have clipped him and taken him out of the fight had it been for real. "It depends on the day."
"Doesn't it work that way with most teachers?" The halfa asked, continuing his physical assault.
"Ven Flatus!" Harry knocked him away with a whirlwind bullet. "Yes, but he really can't teach one course or the other on any given day. You see he's a halfa; a spirit who's more than one type." He added the explanation when he caught Phantom's strange expression. "He's a shade half the time, when he teaches History of Magic, and some sort of knowledge spirit the other half, when he teaches Modern Magical History. History of Magic is the most boring class in the curriculum because of him, but Modern Magical History is one of the most engaging also because of him."
"So half the time he's stuck in the past," Danny said as he escaped the whirlwind, "and the other half he's normal."
"Pretty much," Harry shrugged, before dodging another ball of ectoplasm. "Although he can change forms at will if he's excited enough. Do you know if you'll be staying at Hogwarts at all?"
"It's pretty likely," Danny confirmed. He held forth one hand and called forth a hail of mushy ice pellets. Harry rolled out of the way and leveled his wand at the spirit.
"Ven Flatus!" He made a slashing motion with his wand and an invisible crescent of bruising air flew forth. Danny called up a shield and was surprised when he felt it shudder. The crescent was deflected upwards, smashing into the ceiling and leaving a gash. "He'll probably start gushing over you then."
"You're pretty good with this spell," Danny told the wizard boy. "Didn't you just learn it?"
"Two days ago," Harry replied proudly. He face then fell right after. "That's what makes the water blasting spell all the more frustrating. Why can I get the wind one, but not the water one?"
"Maybe you're just better with wind?" Danny suggested.
"Maybe," Harry replied. "I"m an excellent Quidditch player after all. Hmm..." That gave him an idea for a spell he'd have to work on. He'd have to talk it over with Hermione in the morning. "But you still haven't said anything about not being at the top of your game today!"
"Well, I will admit to seeing combat, but only because you could probably piece that together by yourself," Phantom confessed. "And I will admit to being electrocuted, smashed into the ground, and hit through a couple of trees. The last one done by a blonde haired jerk."
"Lucious Malfoy," Harry said sagely. "He once let a basilisk loose in the school."
"What's a basilisk?" Danny asked.
"Giant venomous snake that can kill you with it's eyes if you look right into them," Harry answered, "or petrify you if you look into them indirectly."
"And he let that loose in a castle full of children?" Phantom's eyes flashed.
"Well, in his defense, he didn't exactly know what he was unleashing," Harry replied. "But he was hoping it would kill some muggleborns and give him the chance to kick Dumbledore out. Nearly worked if it hadn't been for a phoneix and a house elf."
"That sounds like quite a story," said Danny. "Care to tell it?"
"Sure," Harry replied. "Stupify!"
Danny put his hands together and summoned his reflective shield. The spell bounced right off and Harry was forced to duck to avoid being knocked out by his own spell.
"Well it started back in Diagon Alley-" Harry told the story while sparing with Phantom, who occasionally interrupted with a question or comment. If one was merely listening to their conversation it would have been hard to tell that they were fighting.
"It sounds more like it was thanks to you that Lucious's plan didn't work," Danny said when Harry had finished his story.
"I did a little," Harry admitted. "But in the end Fawkes did most of the heavy lifting."
"You stabbed the thing in the freaking mouth," Danny shot back. "And you found that stupid chamber in the first place."
"I'm pretty sure Dumbledore actually knew where it was," Harry replied. "He just didn't know how to open it. I mean, without Parseltounge it's supposed to be impossible to get into."
"Then why didn't he try block it up or anything?"
"It was blocked, in a manner of speaking" Harry replied. "I don't know all the details, but a giant snake moving through the plumbing still seems sort of far fetched."
"Well, whatever," Phantom said. "You're still selling yourself short. I mean, most people would be bragging about an accomplishment like that."
"I'm proud that I was able to save Ginny," Harry replied. "But as I said I didn't do that much. I probably did more in my first year, stopping Quirell from getting the Philosopher's Stone-"
"I'm betting there's another story there."
"-or even in my third year, where I had to save Sirius from an army of Dementors," Harry continued.
"And another story,' Danny rolled his eyes. "You really seem to be selling yourself short here."
"I haven't mentioned those events before," Harry said, puzzled. "What do you mean I'm selling myself short."
"Well, with the public opinion of the wizarding world against you like it is, after doing all that, I'd have guessed that you'd be carrying yourself differently," Phantom answered. "More... mayrty?"
"Is that even a world?"
"No clue," Danny said. "But still, you'd think you'd be acting differently."
"Like you're one to criticize," Harry shot back. "Mr, 'I Save Towns on a Weekly Basis', Mr 'I Beat a Bloody God Once'."
"Hey I only managed to do the Pariah Dark thing with the help of my enemies and the Fenton's Ecto-Skeleton," Danny protested. "And I've had some help behind the scenes with protecting the town."
"Still, beating a god, and keeping the place with the most spiritual activity on Earth safe," Harry returned. "If you're complaining about me selling myself short somehow, then you're a hypocrite."
Harry yawned.
"Well, I should be off to bed," the dark haired boy told the white haired one. "Thanks for the match. Same place, same time tomorrow?"
"Sure why not?" Danny suppressed a yawn of his own. He turned intangible and flew through the floor. He soared into his bed, reverted to his human form, and nearly fell asleep before his head settled into to his pillow.
AN: Sorry about the delay. I've had to balance projects, homework, essays, and then writer's block. Hopefully I should get back to my usual informal update schedule.