Chapter 10 - Doubts Arise

When Danny came to, it seemed only seconds since he had passed out. Yet as he reluctantly opened his eyes he felt a tingling in his numb arm. Stretching, he rubbed the sleep from his eyelids, feeling muscles complain from the odd angle he had slept in. Twisting into a more comfortable position and a glance at his watch confirmed that he had only been asleep for three hours. Groaning at the meagre time Danny curled up again and tried to will himself back to sleep. But no matter how long he lay there he found he couldn't doze off. Something in the back of his mind was telling him he was forgetting something. Something important. Finally giving up he sighed in frustration, rolling onto his side to look around the dark room.

He was about to try one last attempt to sleep until he realised that he wasn't alone. Freezing in shock, everything that had happened last night returned smashing into his head. How could he have forgotten all about Plasmius? Wary now that he remembered his archenemy was here, Danny gradually sat up, trying to make as little noise as possible.

At some point, Vlad had made his way to Danny's desk, where he now sat pouring over the notes that littered the table. Drawers had been opened, and all papers were now dumped on the desk into random piles; papers Danny realized with a start were his notes on Hogwarts, Harry, and his mission. He couldn't help feeling annoyed catching him reading his private notes. But then the Fruitloop just loved sticking his nose into other people's business for weaknesses. Finding out he'd read through his stuff shouldn't be surprising. Though whatever Plasmius was reading must have been giving him quite the headache, as Danny saw he was clutching his head with his hand, leaning heavily on his elbow in frustration. That at least made Danny feel better.

The idea formed to rush up and snatch the papers out of his hand before he could react, thinking up some choice words to call him out for catching him snooping. However just as Danny was about to spring up he stopped. Making Plasmius mad was probably the worst move right now. This was a seriously delicate subject, one that was affecting the timeline.

Crossing his legs Danny watched him, pondering on what he should do. Last night he had told a lot of stuff, things that he shouldn't have known. Things that Plasmius himself didn't know yet. It had been a huge mistake, one that the stupid concussion had caused. Thankfully in the confusion, he hadn't told him his name or who he was. He could only imagine how angry Vlad would be if he found out he was a Fenton. He wouldn't work out that Jack was his dad. But knowing how Plasmius hated him, Danny knew the very thought he could be related would make him enraged enough.

Biting his lip, he remembered it wasn't all good news. He had told him his name was Phantom. And not to mention he had shown him multiple times that he was a half ghost too. No matter how much he kept a secret about himself now, him just knowing about Phantom years before Danny was even born would have thrown the whole timeline out of order. Everything was turning into one giant mess.

That was even more of a reason that he needed to find Clockwork as soon as possible. With his time powers, he could easily send Vlad back to where he belonged, even fix the blunder in the timeline before it got worse. Though it begged the question as to why Clockwork hadn't appeared yet to scold him on his slip-up. He was expecting the Time Master to teleport to him and declare he'd just ruined everything, that he'd failed big time and only made his job worst. Yet he had yet to show.

Unless… Clockwork was the one that sent Plasmius to him. But that was insane! Not only did that go against everything Clockwork stood for, but he knew how much Danny disliked the older half ghost! Plasmius would never help him, he'd probably end up making his mission a living hell! Not that he would let Plasmius help him in the first place. He wouldn't trust this man in the same room as Harry, let alone let him near Voldemort! Knowing him, he'd probably end up teaming up, double-crossing to get what he wants.

He frowned at the puzzling thoughts. Whatever the reason he planned on fixing it and quickly. He needed to kick Plasmius out of Hogwarts as fast as he could. Luckily, it would be hours till the school started waking up, so that gave him plenty of time to search the Ghost Zone for Clockwork's lair.

Danny had become so lost in his thoughts that he lost all concentration on the present. So when Vlad abruptly sighed he jolted back. The papers tumbled out of his hand, shoulders slumping as he had given up with his investigations. At the sight Danny swung his legs over the side of the bed, ready to jump up and confront the problem head-on. But he froze when the half ghost suddenly buried his head in his hands. It was such a defeated pose that it left him feeling somewhat unnerved, unsure now what to do next.

Eventually, Vlad regained his composure. Leaning back onto the chair he took a deep breath, pulling himself back together. Slowly he turned his gaze towards Danny, freezing in shock when he realized that he was no longer asleep. Both stared at each other, neither wanting to speak first. Danny had no idea what to do, the weight of the situation crashing down on him as he understood one wrong word could destroy everything. Thankfully for him, Plasmius dropped his gaze from Danny first, staring listlessly at the floor as he spoke.

"This…is a long dream."

Danny lightly stepped over the broken bits of glass from the sleeping potion. "You still think all of this is in your head?"

"I hope so…"

Walking over he looked down at the mess that was now his desk. By the looks of it, Vlad had gone through almost all his stuff, and not just his notes. Books were laid out around the table, some half open and others dumped onto the surrounding floor. He was annoyed as he had written about Hogwarts and the wizarding world in them, the books filled with his scribbles. His thoughts on Harry and his friends, his plans on stopping Voldemort and information about the ghosts of Hogwarts were all in there. Danny was suddenly glad he hadn't written anything about himself and his family in them.

"Had fun snooping through my stuff?" He crouched down to the floor and began picking up the books.

"None of it… of this," He gestured vaguely to the notes and Danny. "Can be real. I can't… it's just ridiculous!"

"Well, thanks." Danny walked to the bookshelf, filling up the gaps. "I already know my life is full of crazy stuff, you don't have to point that out further."

Vlad ignored his comment and snorted, running his hand through his now short hair. "No, ridiculous isn't even the right word for this. Inexplicable is more like it. All this about magic and witches, what nonsense! And… what was that book again?"

He rustled through the mess and pulled out a heavy book, quickly reading the title out loud. " The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts"? A guide for Hinkypunks, Grindylows and Kappas? Is this some kind of sick joke?" Danny briefly saw a flicker of moving images as Vlad flicked through the pages before he snapped it shut and banged it back onto the table.

"But no, that's not even the best one, Oh no!" He reached for a slim green book and pull it across for Danny to see, voice rising in both anger and panic. ", "Moronic Muggles". I like this one. It's funny. Get this; it's all about a political treatise between non-magic folk and wizard-kind for decades. What's best about it is how it goes on and on about how intelligent and inferior wizards are to us normal people. Like normal people are a stupid simpleminded race who can't think for themselves compared to these… things!?"

Vlad slammed the book on top of the other with more force than necessary, making Danny flinch. Twisting round to the stunned teen he all but growled. "These supernatural writings take themselves way too seriously to just be some New Age junk. And if I didn't just enter that… place and…sink into the floor then I wouldn't have believed a word of it."

"I tried telling you all that last night Vlad, but you wouldn't listen, remember?"

The half ghost's eyes narrowed. "You said it again! How do you know my name? Who the hell are you, and what?"

Danny sighed, walking over to where he had kicked his shoes earlier. He stepped over the broken glass, nudging them into a pile as he went. He wasn't in the mood for this. "It's… Okay, it's got to be a lot to take in. But to say it simply… I'm a half ghost, you're a half ghost and you've ended up in a place that teaches magic to kids. Everything you've just read is sadly a hundred per cent true for this place. You're not going any more insane than you already are."

But Vlad merely laughed at that. "Oh really! The boy who claims he's a ghost is telling me I'm not insane? That makes me feel so much better."

He scowled and sat on the floor, tying his shoelaces. "This ghost boy is about to find someone to help you. So shut it."

As Danny stood he could literally feel the glare Plasmius was giving him. "Help me?"

"Yes, even though you don't deserve it. I've can't have you hanging around here. I've got…a friend who can send you back to that hospital you talked about." He glanced at his watch. "I'll be a while. A few hours, if I'm lucky."

Vlad stood, clearly not believing a word he said. "How do I know you're not double-crossing me? For all I know your "friend" is someone I don't want to meet. And frankly, the fact that you kept avoiding my questions doesn't make me trust you one bit either."

"I don't need you to trust me Cheesehead! I want you gone so I can have my room back!" Danny stormed off towards the door, going ghost as he went. Opening it he turned, pointing to the floor. "Stay. Here."

"Whatever you say, Phantom."

Danny winced at how Plasmius spat his ghost name, obviously still not accepting that he really was called that. Hastily Danny slammed the door shut and made his way to the grand staircase, pushing his frustration aside.

Once there he phased straight down, till he entered the room with the ghost portal. Without stopping Danny shot through into the aqua haze and flew off into the Zone. He decided just to head straight, hoping to see something familiar to pinpoint where he was.

But as he flew past purple doors and strange towering buildings, Danny began to have doubts about his plan. Other than the time with his future self and when Clockwork sent him to Hogwarts, Danny had never been to the lair before directly. All he was going on was a memory and hoping he would just stumble across it. Frowning he pushed away his worries and sped up.

Three hours later Danny still had no clue as to what part of the Ghost Zone he was in. Forget about finding Clockwork's lair, he couldn't even find anything familiar to him. It suddenly dawned on him that because the portal was in was on the other side of the world, he must be in a whole new part of the Zone. It was even possible he was miles, if not weeks away from familiar territory.

He stopped, twisting around in a circle to survey his surroundings, the same purple doors and odd buildings floating around him. He gulped, gripping his hair as the panic started to rise with every turn.

If he couldn't find Clockwork, then he had no way of getting rid of Plasmius.

"Oh man, I'm screwed…"

He changed his left arm back to normal, checking the time. It was just about to turn six in the morning. The castle would be waking and he needed to get back before then.

With a sigh of defeat, he flew back in the direction of the portal. If he couldn't get help from Clockwork, then who else? Albus maybe? He seemed to be quite a powerful wizard and Danny didn't know the limitations of what magic could do. If it could make shapeshifting rooms then surely it could teleport people places?

As the portal came into view, Danny was surprised when a large, transparent ghost appeared from Hogwarts's side. Despite his troubles, he couldn't help but smile when the ghost caught sight of him and waved merrily.

"Phantom! A very good morning to you!"

"You too, Friar."

On his first week at the school he had bumped into the Fat Friar, a jolly, cheerful ghost that Danny had immediately taken a liking to. As he floated over to him the ghost chuckled, tucking his habit back into his belt rope "It is good to see you're still with us! We were all beginning to think you had completed your task."

Danny frowned. "Why is that?"

"Why, we tried to find you last night! Yet you weren't in any of your normal haunts!" The Fat Friar shook his head, then beamed. "Sir Nicholas wanted badly to invite you to his Death Day party, mostly I think to give a good word about him to Sir Patrick. The old goat is still determined to join that Headless Hun of his."

"That sounds like something he'd do."

The Fat Friar sighed without air, his chins wobbling. "Such a shame you couldn't join us. I invited Peeves in the hope he would finally get along with the others. However, I didn't count that the Baron wouldn't show."

Danny cringed, remembering that Nicholas told him that the Baron was the only other ghost who could control the trickster. "Geeze… I bet he had fun."

The ghost bellowed. "That's an understatement! The little trickster kept pranking the guests, blowing raspberries nonstop and threatening to fill the chamber with water! Ah, it would have been nice to have your presence. I doubt Peeves wouldn't have bothered us so if a ghost stronger than him was there."

"Sorry." Danny couldn't focus much on the conversation. He was more worried about how he was going to ask Albus to help him and deal with his own problems.

Suddenly the Friar reached up and gripped his shoulder, making Danny jump. "There is no need to apologize child. It is fine that you couldn't attend, such a party might be boring to you anyway. Besides, there's is always next year!"

"Y-yeah." He secretly prayed that there wouldn't be a "next year".

"I just had hoped I could have finally gotten the others to accept Peeves. I've been trying for years, yet none of the others wishes to deal with him!"

Danny chuckled, crossing his arms. "Well… he is hard to handle, though. You can't blame the others for not getting on with him."

"That's because he's misunderstood! Of course Peeves would cause trouble since he is disregarded so. He loves the attention his troublemaking brings. If only the others would see this, we are all deceased in this after all!"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck suddenly uncomfortable with the grim subject and the jolly ghost blinked, realizing what he had just said.

"Forgive me Phantom. It is easy to forget that you are only half with us."

"I don't mind."

"Ah, It's just I cannot understand that if the Hogwarts ghosts can easily accept your halfness, how can they not preach the same with Peeves?"

"I don't go around throwing chalk at people."

The Fat Friar chuckled. "Good point."

With a bow of farewell and pat on Danny's shoulder, he drifted off into the Ghost zone. "I won't bore you any longer with my talk. I can see in your eyes there is something you must do."

Danny remembered something when he heard those words. "Could you tell the other ghosts that they can stop looking for the shade?"

"You've found it?"

"Yeah."

The Fat Friar beamed. "Wonderful! I presume you've told the Headmaster of your find?"

"Yes," Danny remembered that Severus had already told Albus about it all, about Quirrell, about everything. So he wasn't lying that the Headmaster already knew.

"It eases my soul knowing the students are now safe. The others will be too! But does that mean you'll depart from the school soon?"

"Not till the shade's gone for good. But yeah, maybe soon."

The ghost smiled sadly. "Then don't forget to say goodbye before you go eh? A lot of us have grown quite fond of you these past months. Till then, farewell for now."

Danny nodded, watching the ghost disappear into the Zone.

"Sorry Friar, I can't promise that." He muttered softly, returning to the school.

Once he made it to the entrance hall he transformed back, staring at the great heavy doors. Albus was his last option, but he couldn't just barge into his office. The headmaster was a busy man running this school. And now that he knew about Voldemort, he couldn't believe the wizard would just sit back and do nothing. As much as he wanted to go see him now, he needed to wait till tonight.

Rubbing the back of his neck he debated on whether to keep an eye on Harry today. Nothing ever happened to the kid anyways, he just did the same boring student tasks. What was even the point of watching him every single day? He sighed again. Now he was starting to get sick of all this waiting and watching. He just wanted this all over so he could go home.

Seeing that it was still early Danny walked up the stairs instead of flying. He couldn't keep abusing his ghost powers as he had, his physical form was just as important. Lost in thought Danny didn't see the figure that suddenly joined him on the stairwell above. Nor did he notice when they turned and saw him, stopping.

"Danny?"

He jumped at the sound of his name, looking up to see a familiar witch above.

"Hermione? What are you doing up this early?"

She reddened softly, hugging a large leather-bound book to her chest. "I was just heading to the library for some quick reading…"

Danny smiled at that. Of course she would be. After watching Harry's friends he'd seen how dedicated Hermione was to her studies. She was a lot like Jazz in that way. She spent every moment of her free time studying, her hand always raised in class. His sister was like that. There had been so many times he'd return home from ghost hunting to sneak into his room, only to find Jazz wide awake buried in her books.

He strolled up to her, talking as he went. "So… doing some early-morning homework, right?"

"Yes… I thought I would brush up on Astronomy since it was cancelled last night." She fidgeted, not looking at Danny.

"Because of that troll?"

"Yes. You heard about that?"

"More like saw. Everyone was in a panic yelling about some troll breaking into the school."

"It was…exciting…"

She looked at him, looking like she wanted to say something. He waited, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Finally sighing and letting the book drop in her arms she spoke. "Danny, about what I asked you that morning…about how you died. I'm sorry."

Danny smiled again. Man, she still was thinking about that? "It's okay."

"No. I shouldn't have asked. It was a personal question and I was demanding too much from you. Everyone's right… I'm too nosy for my own good. So I apologise."

He laughed, raising his hands in a mock defeat, not understanding why she was suddenly apologizing to him. "Seriously, it's not a big deal. You just took me by surprise that's all."

Her face broke into amazement. "You're not angry with me?"

"Course not. You kids at this school seem to be nosy by default! Besides, I told you guys I'm half ghost, so of course you'd want to know. I should've realized that. If it bothers you that much not knowing, I got electrocuted in a freak portal accident. So, um..."

His words faded as Hermione's eyes widen. "You- were electrocuted!? I… I'm so sorry Danny, if I'd known that's what happened to you I never would have asked-"

"-But you didn't, so no harm was done. It's fine Hermione, it's all in the past now." He shrugged, secretly not wanting to go into the details. So he changed the subject. "Getting shocked is probably a lot nicer than what Sir Nicholas went through. Getting beheaded? Ugh, I heard you can still see and feel for a while after you're disconnected."

He touched his neck and made a face, making Hermione laugh faintly. "I… don't think that's true. Maybe for a few seconds, but I don't think you live long without your body. It's mostly muscle spasms."

"Yeah well as curious as it is, I'm not going to test that. Half ghost or not I don't think I'd live long without my head. Maybe I should ask Sir Nicholas about it one day? Does he talk much about his death to you students?"

"No, none of the ghosts do."

They were silent for a moment before Danny had enough of the awkwardness and began stepping around her. However, he'd only taken a few steps before she blocked him, using her book like a shield.

"I'm still curious as to why you're here. You don't have any reason to haunt here like the other ghosts, since you're not a passed student. And I can tell you're not from Europe at all since your accent is American. I thought you might have come to Hogwarts to learn about another magic school, but Ron and Harry tell me you told them you were a Muggle before you…died. So, well I just wondered..."

Danny regarded her curiously as she strummed the pages of her book through her fingers. What should he tell her? And how much? He looked at his watch, seeing how close it was to breakfast. Other students will be starting to wake up and walk about the hallways soon. He just couldn't afford to be seen after all that had happened.

"I just like this school. The magic's here pretty amazing." He spoke bluntly and from how Hermione looked away he knew she didn't believe him.

He walked past, heading up to the seventh floor. "See you later then."

"Bye…"

Danny shook his head at how hurt she sounded. He was doing the right thing by keeping these kids in the dark. Imagine how panicked Harry would be finding out the wizard who killed his parents was teaching him defensive magic! It was comical at how stupid it sounded. Until the event happened Harry had to know nothing. And after all the muck-ups that happen so far, he was determined to make sure it stayed that way.

As he walked upstairs he unexpectedly heard Hermione gasp. "D-Danny!"

He stopped, turning around to see her gaping at him, suddenly pale. Confused at the look, he nervously chuckled. "Yeah?"

"Y-your back! It's-,"

Curious as to why Hermione was so freaked out Danny twisted around, pulling up his shirt as he did- only to pale at the sight of his back. His white shirt was covered with a trail of dark red. No wonder last night his sweater stuck to his back when he took it off! The blood from the head graze must have run down his back, leaving a gory mess behind. He mentally cursed himself for not changing his shirt this morning. Dammit, Vlad had mucked him up again!

"You…got into another fight..."

He whipped up, watching the gears in her mind turn. Oh no, she would start connecting dots.

"Hermione." He spoke sharply, making her jump from her thoughts. "Look. Just drop it. Don't even ponder it. You, Ron and Harry, shouldn't get involved in what I'm doing. Just focus on getting your homework done on time."

He gave a small smile that felt pathetic even to him. "Know I just don't want you kids getting hurt."

With that, he went invisible. Hermione yelped in alarm when he suddenly vanished, leaving her alone.

###

For the first time since he had arrived at Hogwarts, Danny slacked off on his mission. He just wasn't in the mood to follow Harry around all day, not after what had happened. Yet he didn't want to spend too much time in his room if Plasmius was stuck there. After making sure the other half ghost hadn't destroyed his room he perched himself on the rooftop above, reading. After he got bored with that he dropped it through the roof, watching the clouds as night came.

On and off during the day, he checked up on the half ghost. Much to his disbelief Vlad was now outright ignoring him. He had moved himself to the armchair by the fire, eyes closed as he appeared to be deep in thought. That was what worried Danny the most. If Plasmius was thinking when he was most certainly scheming. And whatever it was it couldn't be good.

So, Danny prayed that Albus would have a way to send him back home. But as the sun set over the forest he began to wonder what would happen if he didn't. What if he was stuck with Vlad? The teen doubted he would last the month.

But at least Plasmius couldn't control his powers. On one of his hourly checks, Vlad's arm had gone invisible unwillingly. After he had glared at the spot for a few minutes it returned, only for his other arm to disappear.

Danny sighed and sat up on the roof, gazing at his hand. As entertaining as it was to watch him struggle, Vlad had glared daggers at him when he laughed. Though he knew he shouldn't laugh when he too was struggling for control.

These strange cold attacks were new. He grimaced touching his chest, recalling how the ice had started crushing his body. He didn't know what was normal for a ghost, but he positively knew that his temperature shouldn't drop so quickly. It wasn't something normal ghosts did. And what worried him the most was that meant something was wrong with his core. But whatever Luna had done to stop it had worked, all that Danny could feel now was a dull ache in his centre.

He stood, swaying a little. By now the sun had set over the horizon, the sky a bright orangey-blue. It should be late enough that Albus would have finished with his daily tasks. And fewer chances someone else was talking to him. Going ghost, he floated down the seventh floor, returning to the central staircase. This time he made sure to keep himself unseen. He didn't want a repeat from this morning. However, as he walked down the steps he caught the sound of something below him. Something that sounded like ragged breathing.

He soon found the source. Leaning heavily on the banister was Severus, gripping his leg in pain. Danny appeared and turned back to normal, noting how he didn't even detect the light. He walked calmly down, moving softly so as not to alert the wizard.

"You alright Severus? You look a bit pale."

Severus twisted up an angry snarl on his face. His face didn't soften when he caught sight of Danny.

"Of course, it has to be the ghost boy…"

"Dan-ny." He spoke each syllable clearly, a grin appearing on his face. "Man, when are you going to remember it?"

The wizard hissed and tried to stand up straight, only to wince as he leaned too heavily on his wounded leg. "Insolent boy! Do you take pleasure in disrespecting your elders?"

"Hey, I just asking if you're okay! No need to get snappy with me."

Severus's glare turned cold. "Oh, how I do wish you were a student. Then I could give you the proper punishment you deserve. "

Danny raised an eyebrow. "You'd have to catch me first."

The wizard went to walk up the stairs but his leg buckled, sending him tumbling onto the step. Danny instinctively reached out and grabbed his arm, to pull him back to his feet. But Severus shoved the teen away, hissing again.

"Do not touch me."

Danny silently raised his hands in peace as Severus lent heavily on the railing, sweat dripping from his forehead. He frowned, was the wound getting infected? Who knows what magical creatures could do. For all Danny knew Fluffy could have poisonous fangs.

"Severus, your scratch looks like it's getting infected."

"It is nothing." Severus gasped as he stepped forward with the leg, obviously in a lot more pain than he was letting on. Danny sighed and levelled himself with the wizard, bending his shoulder down.

"Come on, lean on me. I'll help you to your office or whatever."

The wizard glowered at Danny, clearly debating on whether to accept his offer or keep his pride. Finally with a sigh, he grabbed onto his shoulder. The teen easily took his full weight, turning them to head down.

"Okay. Where to?"

"To… the staffroom, it's the closest place with medical supplies. I assume you know where it is?"

Danny nodded, shifting himself so Sevuers could walk easier. With a quick check to make sure the wizard wasn't about to pass out both made their way down to the ground floor.

###

Harry found himself becoming more restless as the afternoon wore on. He was in the common room, waiting for Hermione to finish editing his charms homework. Ron was madly trying to finish his, earning a sour look now and again from the witch. He stared dully out the window watching as heavy rain rolled in and began hitting the window. Now and again Harry would keep imagining how tomorrow's Quidditch match would go.

It was to be his first match, against Slytherin of all houses. Even though his friends kept assuring him that everything would be fine, the thought of him failing fantastically kept appearing in his mind.

If only Snape hadn't taken his Quidditch Through the Ages this morning! It would help ease his mind and nerves by reading tips he could use tomorrow. But of course, Snape just happened to walk by when they had looked suspicious. The Potion's master just couldn't help making his life more miserable. He didn't even know why he hated him so much, Harry couldn't remember doing anything to him.

It's all because of this scar and what it means, Harry thought angrily, rubbing his forehead. Suddenly Harry had enough of Snape harassing him. He stood, turning to Ron and Hermione.

"I'm getting my book back."

They both stopped what they were doing and looked at Harry, eyebrows rising high. "Better you than me." They both said together.

Harry smirked and headed towards the portal, a plan forming in his mind. Snape might bully him in class and on the school grounds. But he wouldn't do it in the presence of other teachers. Quickly he headed to the staffroom, rehearsing in his mind what he was going to say to Snape.

Once there he knocked, only for his smile to fade when no one answered. He knocked again, listening for anything behind the door. But the door remains closed.

He frowned, his plan vanishing from his mind. Maybe Snape had left the book in there? There had to be a place where all the confiscated items were kept. He was about to push the door open when a muffled laugh sounded behind it. He paused, it sounded…familiar. Slowly Harry pushed the door ajar a crack- only for his jaw to drop at the sight in front of him.

Snape was sitting in a chair, holding his robe above his knees. Harry saw in horror that one of his legs was covered in blood, the skin mangled in deep cuts. Beside him was Filch, handing Snape bandages out of a small metal box.

But what shocked Harry the most was that sitting on top of one of the tables was Danny, his legs swinging as he playfully chuckled at Snape.

"Here you are, Professor," Muttered Filch, flashing a hateful look at Danny, which the teen merely shrugged off.

Snape began to wash the wound, only to scrunch his face in pain. "Blasted thing!" He gave up on cleaning the wound and grabbed the bandages, wrapping them tightly around his limb. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"

Danny snickered, resting back on his arm. "If you hadn't been so focused on unlocking the door, you might have seen it charging at you in time."

"Not all of us are graced with the ability to fade from existence!"

To Harry's astonishment, Danny stuck his tongue out at Snape. "And not all of us can make magic with just a stick."

Filch shifted, obviously uncomfortable with the discussion. He moved away towards the back of the room, Miss Norris trotting lazily behind. Harry waited for Snape to snap at Danny, to insult him as he did with him. But the wizard merely glared at the teen and went back to his leg.

"That tongue of yours will get you into trouble one day." Snape finished with the bandage and took out his wand, making the blood vanish with a flick.

"I've made it this far. Besides Severus, you're the one with the mean tongue. You should hear what the students say behind your back."

Filch returned to the two marching up to Danny, practically spitting on him. "Mind your tongue or I'll cut it out! The nerve of you, speaking to a Professor like this. Why I ought to hang you in the dungeon by your-"

"-Ignore him, Argus," Snape groaned and returned his wand to his pocket. "There's no point wasting your anger on a ghost."

Suddenly the staffroom grew cold. Danny glared across the room to Snape, his eyes now glowing that sickly green. Miss Norris hissed and Filch scooped her up into his arms, backing off in fear. Harry shivered as icy air drifted through the crack of the door.

"Just a ghost, huh? Funny. This ghost basically saved your life." Danny replied flatly. While Filch cringed away at the tone Snape held the teen's glare, his eyes narrowing. Harry saw Snape's hand move back to his wand pocket and Danny tensed as if to leap off the table.

Quickly feeling the growing tension in the room, Harry realized that he really shouldn't be seeing this. He edged back, trying to shut the door quietly, but as he pulled it back the hinge creaked ever so softly. He was so sure they couldn't have heard. But to his dismay Danny whipped around. Harry gasped as a wave of cold washed over him, his breath fogging in the air. The sudden movement caused Snape to turn as well, his face twisted into fury at the sight of him.

"POTTER!"

Harry gulped, opening the door a fraction more. "I just wondered if I could have my book back-"

Snape leapt out of the chair, his wand in his hand. "GET OUT! OUT!"

Danny slid down from the table and took a step towards him. But Harry didn't want to hang around any longer. He quickly shut the door and bolted away, sprinting up the stairs back to the Gryffindor common room. His mind was racing with what he had just seen.

When he re-joined his friends he quickly sat back down, catching his breath.

Ron leaned forward. "Did you get it? …Wait, what's the matter?"

Harry pulled his armchair closer to them, looking around to make sure none of the other students was listening.

"You'll never guess I saw! I went to the staffroom to ask Snape for my book back. But Snape wasn't the only one there."

"What do you mean?" Hermione frowned, lowering her quill.

"Danny was with him, and Filch as well."

"Danny?" Immediately their interest was spiked, huddling closer to Harry.

"What's Danny doing talking with Snape?" Ron whispered, frowning at him.

"That's what I thought, so I spied on them. Snape was wounded, that's why we saw him limping early! He's got these massive scratches on his leg."

His friend whistled, gleeful at the news. "Glad to see I was right when I said I hope it hurts."

"Ron!" Hermione hissed.

Harry pushed his glasses up, lowering his voice further when he saw Dean and Seamus looking their way. "They were talking about the three-headed dog from the third floor! And by the sounds of it, both Danny and Snape ran into it not too long ago."

"What!" Ron leaned closer. "You mean that-"

"-Yes! And you know what this means right?" Harry cut in. "Both of them must have tried to get past it on Halloween! That's where Snape was going when we saw him – he must have met up with Danny on the way and gone after whatever it's guarding!" He paused then, frowning at a thought. "And I'd bet my broomstick they let that troll in, to make a diversion!"

Hermione's eyes went wide. "No- they wouldn't. I know Professor Snape's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe. And Danny…no, I can't imagine him trying to steal from Dumbledore either."

"Honestly Hermione, Not everyone's a saint." Ron snorted. "Danny's a ghost. Why wouldn't he try and steal it? It would be child's play for him. Besides, think about it. He just pops up at Hogwarts out of nowhere just when Dumbledore hides something important in the school."

"And remember when we talked to him that morning, after the night with the dog," Harry muttered, everything starting to connect. "You weren't there Hermione, but Danny told us he had something important to do, something dangerous. Then that night he fights another ghost. I saw them fighting that night, they were both arguing about something. And Danny attacked her first."

Harry leaned back against the armchair and shivered. "When I spied on them, both started bickering. Danny… got really angry at Snape. You guys should have seen him, Danny was terrifying. All glowing eyes and the room going cold. Even Filch and Miss Norris were petrified of him. Before they saw me I'm sure those two were about to attack each other. "

"No way," Ron gawked, pushing his homework away. "Danny was going to take on Snape?"

Harry nodded. "I know. He was teasing Snape earlier too, and Snape didn't even backhand him like he does all the time with us."

"I would've loved to see that! Someone standing up to Snape! But, you said they both went to the third floor? Why would they be there together?"

"I bet they've teamed up to steal what the dog's guarding. Snape probably couldn't do it alone so he got Danny-"

"-Oh, stop it you two! Do you hear yourselves?" Hermione scowled at them both. "I doubt they even know about it! And it's-"

"-But they do know about it!" Harry grinned when he found a way to convince her. "Not only did Danny find out about the dog, but we talked about the trapdoor in front of him! He probably was pretending to be asleep so we'd talk about it in front of him. Then when he said he had something to do that morning he went to tell Snape he knew where the hiding spot was!"

Ron nodded, continuing. "So, then they started planning a way to try and steal it! That's why we hadn't seen Danny for two whole months. Maybe he was finding the troll to use as a distraction!"

"But it backfired. Even with their planning, they couldn't get past it and Snape got hurt-"

"-That's why they're both angry with each other! They screwed up and are starting to blame one another!"

Hermione listened as the two kept listing reasons for how Danny and Snape were working together. Hearing Danny's name she remembered her talk with him that today. She didn't believe that the teen could be working with Snape to steal from Professor Dumbledore. But no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop thinking of the blood on his back. She went back to her homework, tapping her quill gently on the table.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

She bit her lip, she didn't want to fuel their speculations further, but she couldn't let this go.

"Today, I spoke with Danny…"

"You talked to him? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't think much of it! Besides, I wanted to apologize to him. But… he had blood on the back of his shirt. He did get annoyed when I mention it to him." Hermione paused, recalling what he said to her. "He told me we shouldn't get involved, and that he didn't want us getting hurt."

Harry grinned. "That confirms it! Danny must have gotten injured by the dog as well. We saw he could take it on easily, but maybe he got hurt protecting Snape!"

"I don't know Harry…maybe he just fought that ghost again? We can't just immediately say that both the Professor and Danny are doing something dodgy. We don't even have any real proof."

Ron shook his head. "Sorry Hermione, but I'm with Harry here. I wouldn't put anything past Snape, and Danny's just too suspicious. But then that makes you think. What are they after? What's that dog guarding that's so special that they'd want it?"

They fell into silence, the three of them deep in thought. After a time, they agreed to keep it quiet. Though the boys were sure that Danny and Snape were working together, both knew Hermione was right. They had no evidence that they were.

As the common room emptied they decided to go to bed. After all, it was Harry's big moment tomorrow morning. However, sleep refused to come to Harry, his mind buzzing with questions and theories. As the night wore on, Harry tossed and turned, Snape's expression when he saw his and Danny's upsetting green eyes stuck in his mind…