Opening the doors of the school, Jazz breathed in the refreshing summer air. The afternoon storm had long since passed, leaving behind small puddles and the pleasant scent of rainfall. Wildflowers adorned the surrounding fields in colorful hues. Jazz paused to take in the scene, enjoying their bright display before walking down the concrete steps to where a dark haired boy sat sullenly. Crouching down to his level, Jazz waited patiently for Danny to speak first.

Danny couldn't bring himself to look up at his sister. Everything hurt. His muscles were sore from overuse while his head throbbed from a concussion. These recover by the end of the day, but his aching core still pulsed with a vengeance. His obsession had come so close to breaking today which sent his core into a frenzy. It felt as though it had been iced over to protect itself. His focus was not on the pain, however. It was on the day's events, which were permanently ingrained in his head.

"How long have you known?" he finally asked quietly, not meeting his sister's eyes.

Jazz feigned ignorance. "Know what?" she asked.

Without looking at her, Danny held up the object in his hands. The boooomerang glistened in the sunlight for Jazz to see, a teal headband wrapped tightly around it. "Your headband, your note," he replied simply.

Letting out a sigh, Jazz sat down next to him. "Since Spirit Week in January. I saw you transform behind Nasty Burgers when Spectra was still around," she answered. "I didn't want to tell you because I wanted you to feel comfortable enough to come to me yourself. I've been trying to help by covering for you with Mom and Dad."

Danny smiled sardonically. "All this time I thought I was protecting you by keeping my secret, when it was you who was protecting me."

"Danny…" she began carefully, but Danny didn't let her finish.

"If it wasn't for you and Clockwork, my secret would have killed everyone - heck, even Mr. Lancer!" he cried out desperately. He looked down at his hands. "It would've been my fault, and by my hands."

"Danny, that wasn't you," Jazz stated softly.

Danny gave her a dark look. "It was me, Jazz. Before all this, I chose to cheat on Lancer's final," he spat. "With all this power, my decisions have fatal consequences. Anything I do has the potential to come back and destroy everything I love." His voice broke, but he continued, "Even a choice as stupid as cheating on a middle school test."

Jazz's gaze softened and she wrapped an arm around her gloomy brother. "Everyone messes up, Danny. It's human nature. Your mistakes help you grow. This time around, the stakes were high, but you learned from your misstep and managed to keep everyone safe. What you've taken from this experience will help you make better decisions in the future." She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Danny's mood didn't sway. "I just wanted to be the smart one for once," he admitted. "Mom and Dad already think of me as a lazy freeloader." He looked down at his hands. "I just wanted to prove them wrong."

"But you are smart!" Jazz started, eliciting a frown from Danny. She ignored it and continued, "Being able to read a room and make a quick judgement call is not something you can find in a textbook. Your resourcefulness and ability to change the tide of a fight is something most people can only dream of. And I've seen Phantom give wounded people first aid. I bet they're pretty thankful you left class to help them. That is more important than receiving an A for knowing the process of cell division." Danny felt her words spread through him, slowly thawing the icy cage that surrounded his core. The pain slowly began to recede.

"Not to mention you could go toe-to-toe with any NASA employee you meet," she added with a smile.

Danny gave her an uneasy look. "But why aren't you more upset? You've been helping me study for weeks now, and all I have to show for it are failed tests. I mean, the only reason I stole Lancer's answer sheet was because he told me I'd already failed 2 other tests and if I didn't pass this one, I wouldn't pass the 6th grade." He looked down and continued, "I didn't want you to be disappointed in me."

"Danny, I put a lot of pressure on you about this test because I wanted you to see what I see everyday. What you refuse to see yourself." She moved her head in front of Danny to force him to look at her. "Danny, when you put your heart into something, there is nothing you can't do."

A silence fell between the pair, as Danny took a few steadying breaths. The past few months had been rough. He had been holding himself together by a thread, and couldn't take it any longer. The stress of school and lack of sleep was building too high, and Dan's appearance was the last straw. He had been bursting at the seams, and letting himself unravel now with Jazz felt good - right, even. He needed someone to anchor him to reality. Someone to know his secret and still stand by him.

"Well, it looks like I'm finally going to know the secret recipe to Nasty's special sauce," he joked. Seeing Jazz raise a curious brow he continued. "Lancer said that with the grades I have, I'm going to be the next Nasty Burgers manager."

Jazz rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You're only in 6th grade! As much as Mr. Lancer harps, your test scores do not determine your future. He's just concerned that you're not taking school as seriously as you could." She gave him a critical look. "You know, he has no clue what you're going through and will probably continue to expect more than you can give him if you don't tell him the truth."

Danny shifted uneasily, not liking where the conversation was heading. "What are you trying to say?" he asked hesitantly.

"I think that you've sunk yourself so deep in lies and secrecy that you don't know how to pull yourself out. You're in over your head and you need help." Danny couldn't help but agree with her. "There's a whole support system that you are missing out on because you haven't told anyone that you go out daily saving random strangers."

"You want me to tell Mom and Dad about my powers?" he asked skeptically.

Jazz thought long and hard about Danny's question. "No," she finally said. Seeing Danny's downcast expression, she continued, "Not yet, anyway. We'll have to work on building their ghost tolerance a little more before you come out."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Well, if I tell Lancer, he'll go straight to Mom and Dad."

Jazz's resolve wavered. She took a moment to think through the problem. "Then let's start small. You can tell Harry when he comes home tonight. You know, he's been worried about you. We all have."

"Geez, make me feel worse, why don't you," Danny grumbled.

"I didn't say that to make you feel bad, Danny. I said it to let you know that people care about you, and we're here to help. Harry loves you. He'll accept you regardless of his or Mom and Dad's beliefs about ghosts."

Danny stood up and stretched. "Fine, you're right. Ugh, just saying that leaves a bad taste. I'll tell Harry. He deserves to know."

Jazz beamed. "That's the spirit, Danny!"

Danny smirked at her unintentional pun. "Let's meet up with Sam and Tucker. We have much to catch you up on."

"Shouldn't we go home? I'm sure Mom and Dad will want to talk to you about your final…" Jazz trailed.

Danny's face fell. "Think they'll make me repeat 6th grade?"

Jazz shook her head. "No, but they'll probably make you go to summer school to fix your grades."

Danny ran a hand down his face. "Yay, more school," he grumbled sarcastically.


Finding the rusted tire iron had been easy. Just a quick turn down the alley hugging King's Cross, and Harry had easily spotted the bent metal atop a trash bin. All he had to do was wait a minute or so for the portkey to activate, and he'd be on his way home.

Harry felt a mixture of excitement and gloom at the thought of returning home. While he missed Danny and Jazz, and couldn't wait to see them, he wouldn't be able to use magic at home. Staving off magic last summer had been hard, and doing it again did not sound appealing to Harry. He hated it! And to make matters worse, he wouldn't be able to see Ron and Hermione until the summer was over. Harry lamented his predicament as he waited patiently with his luggage for the tire iron to take on the familiar glow. When the portkey finally began to glimmer, Harry closed his eyes to stop himself from getting dizzy as the portkey took him away from England and towards the Land of the Free.

The trip didn't take long, and soon his knees buckled in the soft grass of Fentonworks' backyard. The smell of freshly mowed sod was in the air, which confused Harry as he gazed at the tall, proud blades stretching into the sky. The lawn, if you could call it that, showed off its wild untamed mane, punctuated by abandoned gadgets scattering the field like garden gnomes protecting their land. Harry figured the pleasant smell came from a neighbor's yard and began dragging his trunk inside, when Jazz appeared at the door.

"Harry!" she shouted, squeezing her brother to death. "I've missed you so much!"

"Jazz, your hugs are becoming like Dad's," Harry commented as he struggled to breathe.

"Yours would, too, if you had the semester I've had," she mumbled. Harry wanted to ask her more about it, but Jazz moved on before he could open his mouth. "Did you enjoy your last couple of weeks of school?"

Harry beamed. "It was great. They cancelled all our exams! We got to hang out instead of studying."

"Doesn't sound very educational," Jazz mused, helping Harry pull his luggage into the living room.

Harry shrugged. "After the year I've had, I'd say we deserved the break."

"I'm just glad your home safe," she stated as angry voices drifted in from the kitchen.

Harry gave Jazz a puzzled look, which turned into a wince when he recognized the voices. "Ouch, what did Danny do this time?" he asked, not envying his brother's predicament.

Jazz frowned. "Didn't he tell you anything in his letters?" she asked. She knew that Danny was avoiding revealing his powers to Harry, but she had hoped he at least divulged the issues he was having that were not related to ghosts. Disappointment crept through as Harry shook his head.

"He only talked about how much he hated Vlad, and how he couldn't believe he was the new mayor," Harry explained. "He also mentioned something about a circus coming to town."

"Well, you already know that Vlad is a creep…" she began before gnawing on her bottom lip. "You probably shouldn't mention the circus to Danny…. He, uh, didn't really have a good time."

Harry cringed. "Yeah, clowns aren't my thing either." His stomach rumbled ferociously, causing Jazz to smirk.

"I'm hungry, too. Let's get some food," she said, moving towards the kitchen.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Harry asked, not wanting to interrupt his parent's tirade and risk having it turned on him.

Jazz paused for a moment. "Yes, Danny could use some friendly faces," she explained without really explaining anything. The voices became louder and clearer the closer they got.

"-and if you don't shape up, you won't be able to graduate. Then where will you be?" Harry heard his mother exclaim.

"Fentons are geniuses, son. They aren't dummies," his father proclaimed.

"I'm trying my hardest!" Danny's indignant voice cried out.

"Four Fs and sixty skipped classes do not tell me you are trying," Maddie retorted, revealing to Harry what the argument was about. He rounded the corner to see Maddie and Jack hovering over Danny. Report cards and school letters were strewn across the kitchen table.

"Harry!" Danny shouted happily, spotting his brother and trying to use him as a distraction. He stood up to go in for a hug, but was pushed back into his seat by his mother.

"Not so fast, mister!" Maddie glared. She glanced pleasantly at Harry and Jazz before she continued her rant. "Your sister and brother are both doing well in school." She deflated a little. "I just don't understand what's going on with you."

"That's not even fair!" Danny proclaimed. "Harry doesn't even take math anymore! Heck, I probably know more math than he does at this point."

"Harry's learning about things you can only imagine, Danny," Maddie replied sharply. "He's trying his hardest in his field, which is a lot more than you can say."

Danny crossed his arms. "Well I'd rather be studying magic than math. Why can't I go to Hogwarts, too?"

"Danny, we've been through this."

"What? That Harry gets to learn how to magically change a mouse into a teacup while I'm stuck at home fighting gh-" Danny stopped with a choked sound. "uh - grades?"

"Smooth," Jazz commented. Danny sent her a glare which she shrugged off. Digging through the fridge, she began pulling out sandwich ingredients, passing a few slices of bread to Harry so that he could help.

Danny slumped. "The only magic math teaches me is how to turn a letter into a number," he grumbled. "Who even needs that?"

"Math aside, it says here you've been skipping school? Care to explain?" Maddie asked sternly.

Danny hesitated. "No?" Seeing the crease in his mother's brow deepen, he stiffened and quickly corrected himself by spouting, "I mean, what can I say? With all the ghost attacks, it's hard to get back to class." Jazz looked at him with alarm, but the honest response had already been said.

"What do you mean?" Maddie asked with concern.

"N-Nothing!" Danny stammered. Seeing Maddie's unconvinced face, he knew he needed to throw her a bone. "The ghosts just like to pick on me, that's all." Wrong bone! The words spewed from his mouth before he had time to stop them. Jazz was shaking her head violently to try to get him to stop, but he couldn't. He needed to save the situation before they started wondering why the ghosts targeted him instead of some other poor student. "You know…. Cause you're hunters and all. That's why they target me." A small slap was heard and Danny looked across the kitchen to see Jazz's hand on her forehead. He'd facepalm, too, if all the focus wasn't currently on him.

Harry gave his sister a questioning look, but she ignored him. With Danny's word vomit, their parents would be more vigilant in not only ghost hunting, but updating their house defenses. Danny would be in for some troubling times if he planned on concealing his powers with the new anti-ghost tech they'd inevitably invent.

Jack and Maddie looked at their son with worry. They didn't like the idea of their ghost hunting antics negatively impacting their children. "We had no idea, Dann-o," Jack stated with guilt.

"We'll make sure no ghost will harm you anymore," Maddie promised. Danny choked down a snort while she turned to Jack. "We can talk to the school about adding some extra protection. Maybe we can get Vlad to approve giving teachers ectoguns."

"That's a great idea, Mads! I'll call Vladdie tonight!"

Danny smirked at the thought of Vlad answering the phone, thinking it was Maddie, only to hear Jack's boisterous voice on the other end of the line. He was still bitter about the impromptu trip to the Rockies that Vlad had tricked him and Maddie into taking.

His smirked faltered at the thought of why his dad was calling. What would Vlad do when he found out that his parents thought ghosts were targeting him? Nothing good, that was for sure. He'd probably ensure that there was heavier security at school to make it more difficult for Danny to go ghost. It would be a lot harder helping out when a ghost attacked.

Danny's core throbbed and he rubbed it absentmindedly. After his rooftop discussion with Skulker, Danny's instincts and reactions had made a lot more sense. His core tended to flare when he thought about not completing his obsession.

"Maybe he can approve it before next week!" Jack exclaimed.

"What's next week?" Danny asked apprehensively.

"That's when summer school starts, sweetie. You'll need to go if you want to move up to 7th grade next year," Maddie stated in a matter of fact tone. Danny slumped gloomily. Jazz had mentioned summer school before, but he had hoped that she was just being dramatic.

"Yippee," he spat sarcastically.

"Don't give me that, mister. You're lucky they're even offering summer school as an option," Maddie scolded. Her frown turned thoughtful as she looked through the school papers on the table. Meanwhile, Jazz handed Danny a sandwich and pulled out the seat next to him. Harry followed suit, but just as he opened his mouth to take a bite of his own sandwich, Maddie suddenly spoke up. "Jack, Danny has a point about Harry's education."

"What?!" Harry and Danny indignantly exclaimed in unison. Harry frowned as he noticed that the paper she was holding was his report card.

"It doesn't look like Hogwarts teaches you any of the core subjects," she said, scanning the document. "What a disservice to the students to not offer basic subjects like math and English," she said critically.

"I don't need math!" Harry stated indignantly.

"Neither do I!" Danny chimed in. He was silenced with glares from everyone.

"You both do! How do you think your father and I became such successful scientists and inventors without a solid foundation in math?"

"No place better to learn than in summer school, son," Jack reasoned.

"What?!" Harry cried.

"Harry, you need to know these things for after your school years," Maddie explained with concern. "Regardless of what you end up doing," she added, seeing Harry open his mouth to argue. "You should at least know math and science. Maybe English, too, so that you'll sound intelligent when you write," she mused. "I'll call the school office tomorrow. They'll probably need to give you a test to see where your academic level is. I'll make sure you're all set for Monday."

"I don't believe this!" Harry exclaimed, seeing his summer metaphorically go down the drain.


The dreadful Monday came, and Harry stormed out of the house with his backpack and school supplies. The bright morning sun and the playful birds tried to lighten his mood, but nothing could sway his ire.

Harry heard the sound of the door opening and someone running behind him. He didn't break his stride.

"Jazz gave me the specter deflector's spare key so we could take them off after Mom and Dad are out of sight," Danny huffed as he caught up. The sound of clicking metal drew Harry's eyes as Danny unclipped the metal contraption around his waist. Letting out a breath of relief, Danny relaxed and held the key up for Harry to take.

Instead, Harry frowned at his brother and quickened his pace.

"Look, the last time I wore the specter deflector to school, I was made fun of for weeks. You really should take it off," Danny pressed as he struggled to keep up with Harry's brisk gait.

"I'd rather take my chances," Harry replied stubbornly. He kicked a rock angrily down the street. "I can't believe this!"

"Hey, I don't want to be here either!" Danny complained.

"I don't even want to go into some stupid muggle job when I finish school. This is pointless," Harry continued as if he hadn't heard Danny.

"Muggles aren't stupid!" Danny retorted.

Harry suddenly rounded on Danny with a glare. "No, just you, Mr. I'm-too-lazy-to-even-complete-the-bare-minimum-to-pass-a-class. This is all your fault!" he growled. He resumed his angry rampage down the street, passing a few pedestrians who gave him reproachful looks. "I don't even get how you failed art - it's an easy A!"

Danny frowned. "Oh, you would know," he raised his hands up in mock quotes, "'Mr. I-haven't-taken-a-real-class-in-two- years-but-still-think-I-know-more-than-you!' With your dumb unused brain, you'll probably be in the same class as me!" The brain part was a little unnecessary, but Danny didn't care. Harry had been blaming Danny all week for his parents' decision, and he was sick of it.

"You better hope not," Harry threatened. He had a placement test scheduled before school started which would determine which classes he would attend. Danny had art before Harry's test which was why he had decided to walk with his brother. He regretted this decision since all he was getting was grief, and gave a silent plea that this wouldn't last the rest of the summer.

Trying to lighten the mood, Danny changed the topic. "I hear that Venus will transit across the sun in July. It only happens once every hundred years!" he said excitedly.

"Sounds fun. Too bad we'll be in school during the day," came a curt reply.

Danny tried to ignore the accusatory tone Harry's voice gave and continued, "It'll cross after school. They say if you use solar-filtered glasses, you can see it without a telescope, but it'd be cooler if you use one. Do you know of anyone who would have a sun telescope?"

Harry sent him a glare. "Danny, I don't know anyone here anymore. All my friends lived in the UK. Plus, why would I help you find anything?"

Danny sighed in exasperation. "You can't be mad at me forever, Harry. Cheer up! This could be fun if you let it. We're going to school together again and it could be just like old times! I'll even write you some notes in the sanctum again." The thought made Danny excited. He'd been using the sanctum to store his ghost hunting supplies, but it wouldn't be a problem keeping them there after Danny told Harry about his alter ego. He had been trying to find a good time to tell him, but Harry had been too upset about summer school to hear him out.

"Anything with the word 'school' in it is not fun," Harry shot back.

Danny would not give up. "You like Hogbutts," he reasoned with a smirk.

Harry spun around and jabbed a finger in Danny's chest, causing him to wince. "It's Hog warts . I'm done with you mocking it. Get the name right."

Danny stopped to let his brother walk ahead. The realization that Harry attending school with him wouldn't be enjoyable finally sank in, and Danny could help the sigh of defeat that left him.


Harry glared at his test results which placed him in the intervention range. How could one stupid test determine someone's whole summer? Shouldn't a person's abilities be measured by more than a single score on a test written by some narrow-minded highly ranked education board members? If they could only glimpse that there was more to the world than they could comprehend, they might not ruin someone's time off like this. Still, humiliation clouded his thoughts. How was he so bad in math and english? He had begged the office to keep him in the 7th grade classes, but they refused, telling him that they were placing him in the 6th grade to start him off. Harry dropped his head on the desk as he waited for Lancer's class to start, hating the fact that he was joining Danny's class.

"Pothead? What are you doing here?" came a voice Harry was happy he hadn't heard for two years. He looked up to see blonde tapered hair, and cruel blue eyes glint maliciously.

"Lay off, Dash," Harry replied angrily.

Dash's grin widened. "Why are you in the 6th grade summer class? Were you not good enough to pass at your fancy boarding school?" The jock had grown over the years and towered over Harry. "Or is your pathetic school not really a school but a crackpot house for psychos?"

Harry's anger boiled over and he stood up with a glare. "Shut up, Dash, or you'll regret it."

"Yeah? What is your scrawny butt gonna do?" Dash asked threateningly. At Hogwarts, Harry would've hexed Dash right then and there. No teacher had arrived yet. It would've been easy. Harry clenched a hand around his wand in his jacket, but didn't make a move. Underage magic had some dire consequences, and as much as Harry wanted to, he wasn't willing to go that far.

"That's what I thought," Dash smirked at Harry's silence. Lancer walked into the classroom and called the class to order. "See you in the halls, Crackpot," he muttered threateningly before sitting at the desk behind him.

Harry sat down and felt Dash roughly kick his chair. Not wanting to endure the bully's antics for the rest of the period, he turned to send a glare at the jock, but was interrupted.

"Mr. Potter, I know it's been a while since you've been to Casper, but the front of the class is this way," Lancer stated, eliciting a few chuckles from the students present.

Harry winced. "Sorry, Professor," he mumbled, surprising Lancer with the unusual title. The rest of the class, however, burst into laughter.

"Professor? Who even says that?" Dash mocked, speaking to his jock buddy next to him. Harry turned red with embarrassment as he pushed down his anger.

"Mr. Lancer will do, Mr. Potter," Lancer offered a bit flustered. "I have Mr. Fenton on the roster as well. Would you be able to tell me where he might be?"

Harry frowned as the anger began to push back. Danny was the whole reason why he was there in the first place. He couldn't even be present for the first day of school? Harry shook his head.

"If Fentina needs summer school, too, then stupidity must run in the family," Dash murmured so that only Harry could hear. Harry tried not to react, but could feel himself shaking angrily.

Lancer sighed. "Well, let's get on with class. I hope for his sake he turns up."

As if on cue, Danny burst through the door out of breath. "Sorry, Mr. Lancer, I-"

Lancer held up a hand. "Save it, Mr. Fenton. I'm sure it's a regaling excuse, but the fact is you're late for class, and are now causing a disruption. Please see me after class."

Danny slumped. "Yes, sir."

He looked around to find a spot to sit. His face perked up when he spotted Harry sitting in the front of the class, but his smile faltered when he saw the resentful look Harry was giving him. Seeing no other place to sit, Danny unwillingly took the desk next to his brother.

Harry watched as Danny sank into his seat, noticing the darkening of skin around his cheek. Reluctantly, Harry tapped Danny's shoulder, who winced as if a jolt of electricity shot through him. Danny glared at Harry.

"What?" he hissed.

"What happened to you?" Harry whispered, pointing at his face.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Why do you care?" he retorted.

Harry frowned. "I don't," he snapped back, turning his attention back toward Mr. Lancer. If Danny didn't want to talk, then that was fine by him.


When the final bell rang, Harry all but sprinted out of the classroom. As he quickly made his escape, Harry felt the eyes of his peers boring into his back. He tried to hold off his raging emotions, but it was like Hagrid keeping the giant spiders at bay - a fruitless endeavor. Frustration and anger flared first, starting at the thought of having to deal with this nonsense again , after he had just gotten everyone off his case at Hogwarts. Humiliation came next, filling the air with her toxicity while suffocating Harry's fortitude. He hated that everyone thought he was dumb for taking 6th grade courses, and made fun of him for his accent and weird phrases. Their whispers and jeers echoed in his head as Harry quickened his pace to exit the school. A loud bang of something hitting the lockers drew his attention away from his departure. He was met with an old but familiar sight.

"Fentoenail, it's been a while," Dash sneered. His fist clenched Danny's shirt tightly so that he couldn't move. Harry expected his brother to be shaking in fear, but was surprised to see Danny staring at his adversary with mild annoyance.

"You did this yesterday at Nasties, Dash," Danny stated with a scowl. Harry frowned, remembering that Danny had told his parents that he was going to the library. He had thought at the time that Danny was using any reason to leave the house to avoid Harry, but now he realized it was all a farce to hang out with his friends. Or at least to try to hang out with his friends, Harry thought as he looked at his brother shoved against the lockers.

"Semantics," Dash replied. Harry was impressed the jock knew such a big word, even if he didn't know how to use it correctly. "Looks like you and I will be spending the summer together, so let's get reacquainted." He buried a fist in Danny's stomach, causing the teen to bend over choking. Danny gasped, clenching his stomach as he tried to reclaim the forced-out air.

"Oi, Dash!" Harry yelled, drawing the jock's attention.

Dash's grin widened. "Looks like it's a two-for-one sale in the freak department."

"You've had your fun; now leave him alone," Harry stated, walking up to the pair. Danny righted himself and gave Harry an exasperated look.

"Go away, Harry," he stated firmly.

"Fentina over here has some lost time to make up for," Dash stated, before socking Danny in the face. Unprepared, Danny fell to the ground, clutching his sore cheek.

Harry moved to punch Dash, but his hand was easily caught. The jock laughed. "You call that a punch?" He threw the fist aside. " This is a punch." Winding a fist back, Dash moved in for the assault, only to trip over a pair of legs.

Dash looked ferociously at Danny, who was tucking his legs back in. Harry spoke before the jock could take his revenge. "Go home, Dash. It isn't worth it," Harry told him.

"I don't think so, nerd," Dash replied, standing up. He leered over Harry as he added, "Though, I guess 'nerd' isn't the right word, since you're here for remedial english." Harry turned red.

"And why are you here, Dash?" Danny piped up. "Didn't you fail English, too? Or did your parents want to use any excuse to get rid of you?"

Dash gave Danny a fiery look and clenched his fists. "You're dead, Fenton," he spat darkly. Danny met his glare with fierce determination.

"Baxter!" Tetslaff's voice suddenly boomed down the hall. Dash looked up as his coach nervously. "You're late again! You'll be doing laps for the rest of practice!"

She grabbed him roughly by his shirt and started hauling him away. Dash sputtered behind her. "Sorry, Coach, I didn't realize the time!"

Danny and Harry stared as Dash was dragged away. A silence grew between the pair.

Harry was bewildered. Why did Danny egg Dash on? Did he want to get punched? The jock had mentioned not seeing Danny since yesterday. If that was the case, then who bruised his jaw this morning? Harry narrowed his eyes, trying to spot the mark. It had been so obvious during English, so why couldn't he find it now?

"You put concealer on," Harry concluded out loud, causing Danny to look at him with confusion. "During your ridiculously long bathroom break in Math class. You used it to hide your bruise."

Danny's confusion turned to shock. "Yep!" he said in a high voice. "You got me!"

Harry shook his head and offered his brother a hand.

Danny glanced down at Harry's waist, and looked back up at his face with a smirk. "He didn't hit me hard. I can help myself up," he said, using the locker to pull himself up.

Harry's expression faltered and he dropped his hand. "Why were you egging Dash on? He looked like he wanted to murder you."

Danny winced as he rubbed his cheek. "It seemed like a good idea at the time?" he asked rather than stated. He didn't want to tell Harry that he was trying to lure Dash's attention away from his brother. He didn't want the jock's harsh words to get to Harry when he was already bitter about going to school during the summer. Seeing Harry's unconvinced face, he opened his mouth to spout some lame excuse only to let out a cold breath of air.

"What the-?" Harry began, seeing the air condense.

"I gotta go!" Danny shouted before sprinting down the hall.

Harry debated following him, but decided not to. He didn't have the energy to deal with his brother's weird antics. He thought of Hogwarts and how he'd rather be there for the summer.

"Me, too," Harry said before continuing outside.

A/N - Really tapped into Harry's inner angst for this one lol. Hope you enjoyed!