Time Shift Woe

by Genko-Yoru

When Clockwork notices someone has changed the past and in turn destroyed the future, he turns to the only ghost hero who can help. Danny Phantom is sent back twenty years into the past to correct the timeline and save Harry Potter from being killed. However, Danny soon finds out his mission might be harder than even Clockwork thought.

12. Serpent Is My Second Name

Chapter 12: Serpent Is My Second Name

Over time the buzz from the Quidditch match and Harry's remarkable win faded as school's break loomed closer. November seemed to fly away until the only talk that filled the halls was about last minute homework. Those who had not been wise were suddenly faced with mountains of overdue work. And with Christmas coming, most ended up huddled in the library. Trying to finish as much as they could before the holidays.

Like the other students, Harry and his friends had begun spending their free time in the library, fenced by piles of books and parchment as they worked. On the weekend they arrive at the crack of dawn, staying late into the evening until Madam Pince shooed them out. But unlike the others, they were not always there to study. After Hagrid's slip up on Nicolas Flamel, they had searched every book they could find hoping to glimpse his name across the pages. But to their dismay, he wasn't in any of them. Hermione was so sure that he would be listed as a famous wizard. After all, he was friends with Dumbledore. He had to be somewhere, even if just was a single sentence.

Early Saturday morning, Harry was in the library with Ron, trying to multitask his potions homework with a search through Hogwarts, a history. Yet like with every other book searched, he was turning up fruitless in both tasks.

"He's not in here either," grumbled Ron, snapping Notable Magical Names of Our Time closed. Placing the book on their growing reject pile he grabbed the next heavy volume. Just a few page-flips later he groaned, getting more frustrated with their hunting. "Maybe it's time we ask Madam Pince? I bet she could find his name in this mess in a second."

Harry sighed as he struggled to explain all the uses of Goosegrass in potion-making. "You know we can't do that. She might know something hiding in the school for Flamel. We can't risk any of the Professors finding out were looking for him. If they find out, Snape will find out."

"We don't have to say it's for personal research! We… could say Professor Binns mentioned him in one of his boring lectures! How Binns rambles on it wouldn't be unbelievable. And we would be done with all this boring slog."

As much as he wanted to, Harry shook his head. It wasn't worth taking the chance in case Snape found out what they were doing. He hated to think what the potion master would do if he learned they had caught onto his scheme. He'd already tried to kill him at the Quidditch match, next time they might not be so lucky.

He tried again at his essay, giving up when he realised it was pointless. Might as well accept the five points now than suffer from his potions homework. Rolling up the parchment carefully he placed it with the other undone essays. Focusing now on Hogwarts, a history fully he smiled at Ron.

"We've just got to keep searching."

"Yeah, and by the time we do find out who Flamel is, Snape and Danny will be far away with whatever's hidden under that monster dog."

They both knew deep down Ron was right. They were wasting time randomly browsing through all these books. Hogwarts library was filled with hundreds, if not thousands of books on every subject thinkable, from magical to muggle. It would take them more than their entire schooling to read every single one. But right now, they didn't have a choice. Their only hope was that Harry remembered where he'd heard that name from, and soon.

When the history book was finished without success Harry added it to the pile, the tower was beginning to wobble. Out of nowhere, Hermione appeared at their table, arms piled high with more thick dusty volumes. Gasping under their weight she dumped them onto the tabletop, the books thudding loudly. Brushing dust from her hands she looked down at the boys, a disproving scowl crossing her face at their abandoned work.

"Have you two even started your essays yet?"

Both ignored her comment, Ron snorting in amusement as he grabbed the top book from Hermione's pile.

"Honestly! How do you even hope to pass if you don't do the work!" Her lips pursed as she glared down at them like a scolding parent. "You should have been almost done with them by now."

"Done by now!?" Ron couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Hermione, our essays are four thousand words long! They're going to take weeks to finish!"

"That's no excuse. I have already finished all four three days ago! If you just put the effort in as well, you'll be finished in no time!"

"Course you have, this work is just too easy for you."

Harry was about to cut in before Ron ended up upsetting her again, but Hermione seemed to push aside the comment herself. She sat down beside them, pushing the pile of books aside to create a shield from prying eyes.

"Anyway, even though I shouldn't encourage it, I'll help you two later since you are searching. There's something I've got to tell you."

"Is it about Flamel?" Harry whispered, both boys bending their heads closer together.

The witch shook her head. "No, I still can't seem to find anything about him… it's weird though," Frowning she pushed a curl out of her face, staring at their reject pile. "He should be in something, even just a mentioned next to Dumbledore. But he's not within any of the famous wizard's articles or lists. That means he might be unknown to the main wizarding community, or an unfamiliar study field."

"So…" Harry muttered. "Flamel might not even be in any of these books at all?"

"It's possible…"

Her words made Ron groan, running his hand through his hair. "So we might be doing this all for nothing!?"

"We don't know that yet. He might be famous in a different field than Dumbledore altogether." Hermione sighed, sharing their frustration. "I've gotten off track. What I wanted to say was that earlier I remembered something I forgot to look up weeks ago. We've been so busy searching about Flamel that we forgot to look up information about ghosts! Just now I was speaking to Madam Pince, mostly about irrelevant things like the school's archive system- "

"Oh get to the point Hermione!" Ron cut in. "Just tell us what you found!"

She huffed but continued slowly. " I was small-talking to her so I could casually ask her if the library had any books about spirits, mostly poltergeists. First years don't study things like that till at least the fourth year, so I needed to calmly breach the subject without her getting suspicious of me! Anyway, the moment I asked she got so red-faced that I thought she was about to curse me."

The boys blinked back their surprise. "Why would she do that? She's a bit crazy about her books, but that's strange even for her."

"That's what I first thought too. However, she started ranting off that all the main volumes by spirits had disappeared weeks ago! Five volumes to be exact. She started yelling that whoever had taken them without her permission she would have expelled in a second, not before she dealt with them. Frightened everyone, especially when she started waving her wand around."

"Danny." The boys both said in unison. There was no one else who would dare take out books without having signed permission from Madam Pince. And the Quidditch match had been three weeks ago, the timing fits perfectly. Hermione looked pained when they mention their further suspicions about Danny, but she couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Yes… I think Danny might have taken them. I mean… being able to turn invisible would certainly help. He could have done it in the middle of the day and no one would have known."

"Damn! He must have known we'd try to find some way to defeat him. He took our only source of information! Great, what are we going to do now?" Ron's anger came out loudly, causing Madam Pince to glare their way.

"Maybe…" Hermione bit her lip, twirling her quill between her fingers. "It's possible that's why."

"You still think Danny's innocent?" Harry shot back to her. He couldn't believe after all that had happened she still thought the half ghost wasn't working with Snape.

"Oh, I don't know! After talking to him… I just can't see him helping Snape steal from Dumbledore. I agreed that Snape tried to hurt you, Harry, I'm not defending him anymore. But Danny… he didn't seem evil when we talked, just a bit too intense. Maybe he is here just because of that other ghost? He got into another fight that night, so maybe we're thinking too much about it. I mean we don't… we don't know what ghosts actually do."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you saw him in the staff room. Face it, he admitted that both went together to the third corridor that night. You can't overlook that Hermione."

"But that doesn't make any sense either!" She debated softly. "Why would they be arguing with each other if they were both working together on the same goal? Maybe they did go to Fluffy on Halloween, but what if it was just a coincidence? Danny looked like he got badly wounded and we know it couldn't have been Fluffy that hurt him, because we saw him easily deal with Fluffy the night he saved us, remember? It's possible he just bumped into Snape after a ghost fight. It's also possible Danny doesn't even know Snape's after what's hidden under the school!"

"They probably were bickering about who'd get it." Ron whispered to Harry, leaving the young witch bristling." Whatever's down that trap door must be valuable if Dumbledore wanted to hide it close to him. Could be that they both want to use it for different things and that they're getting tense because the plan with the troll failed."

"Did you two even listen to what I just said!"

Harry nodded at Ron, looking sadly back at her. " I know you're defending him, but Danny has a part in this, I know it. And I know he was helping when Snape was trying to knock me off my broomstick. He was right there, even if I couldn't see him."

Hermione fell silent at that, obviously not wanting to continue the subject. But Harry knew sooner or later she would see that he and Ron were right. It was only a matter of time before Danny did something that showed that he was partners with Snape. They needed to find a way to stop him, just like they needed to find out what the potion's master was after.

"Would there be any other books about ghosts here?"

"Maybe… Like with Flamel there might only be a few mentions in other books. There could be something on spirits or Flamel in the restricted section. But we can't get in there without a permission note. And I doubt a professor would just give one to us first years for personal study."

"So we have to find another way to get information."

Hermione bit her lip again but didn't speak, returning to her work. For now it seemed they were truly stuck in their investigations. While the others carried on Harry began to think of another way they could get information. He remembered that spell Dumbledore had used on the other ghost, but he couldn't ask the Headmaster about it; it would leave too many questions. And he doubted any of the Hogwarts ghosts would want to share knowledge on defeating another ghost.

Besides, Harry thought as he gathered his homework together, Nick had been there with Danny. So they were on good terms with each other. And if Danny knew Nick, then he might be friends with all the others as well. If the ghosts realized that they were trying to find a way to stop the half ghost, they might tell Danny. No, the best bet would be to ask Hagrid about it. The man knew a lot about magical creatures, so there was a chance he might know a way. If ghosts even fell into that category.

Knowing it was pointless to stay he stood, leaving his homework to collect later. "I'm going to ask Hagrid about ghosts. He might know something that could help us."

"I'll come with you." Ron quickly rose, jumping at the chance to ditch his homework. "I think I'll be sick if I have to look through another one of these dreary books."

Hermione only nodded, eyes never leaving her work. But the look on her face told the boys she wasn't happy about this. Shrugging they made their way out of the library, not without showing Madam Pince that they weren't trying to steal any of her books.

With Christmas on the way, the halls were beginning to be filled with decorations. Floating candles had been added to the almost even hallway, and the sweet smell of nutmeg seemed to permeant the air. Even small pine trees had been placed by the doors, yet they hadn't been decorated quite yet.

Harry couldn't help the excitement build every time he saw these small changes. This would be the first time in his life that he was celebrating the holiday away from the Dursleys. No more would he spend Christmas dinner hidden away in his cupboard. And to make the holiday even better, Ron had said he and his family would be staying at Hogwarts this year since his parents were going to visit his brother in Romania. For once he might actually enjoy himself.

The moment they left the warmth of the entrance hall they were hit with a chill. It had not yet started snowing, but the ground was beginning to be covered in frost. And the heavy grey clouds hinted that snow wasn't too far away. Shivering they wrapped their arms around themselves, quickly making their way down the path.

"Do we need to go to Hagrid's right now?" Ron shivered, his breath misting instantly. They were now heading carefully down the slope. Their feet slipped on the grass and they had to grab each other before they tumbled down.

"If there's anyone that knows about strange mythical creatures, it's him. At least he might know the name of that spell Dumbledore shot the other one with."

"That's the one that can blow a hole right through a ghost, right?"

"Yes, that one."

Ron chuckled. "As cool as that would be to know, I don't think that's a first-year level spell. It's probably in the restricted section along with Flamel." He sighed, drawing his robe closer. "Well, let's hurry because I can't feel my toes anymore."

Harry laughed, rubbing the frost from his glasses. "That makes two of us."

When Hagrid's small hut finally came into view the boys quickened their step. The house looked inviting with the steady trail of smoke from its chimney. And the thought of some hot tea also sounded like heaven. However, they froze when they heard a large splash, followed by the unmistakable sound of laughter.

"What was that?" Ron whipped around, trying to pinpoint the noise.

"Trouble," Harry said bluntly. He had spotted three figures standing at the bank of the Black Lake, and it didn't take him long to figure out who it was.

Draco Malfoy, along with his bodyguard friends Crabbe and Goyle were cackling along with him. Next to them, the lake rippled before another boy sputtered to the surface. They swam towards the shallows, coughing the water from their lungs. The Slytherins only laughed harder at the sight, Goyle pointing to say something cruel.

Ron edged closer. "Malfoy," He spat the boy's name darkly. "What's he up to- Wait, isn't that?"

Harry's eyes widen when he recognized the boy struggling to rise in the lake.

"Neville!"

Swiftly the two boys rushed down the slope, heading to their friends' rescue. Malfoy must have heard their approach as he turned towards them, his smirk only growing larger at the sight of his two favourite targets.

"Oh, if it isn't Potter and Weasley." He laughed and turned to Neville. "Guess you are lucky after all, Longbottom."

Harry and Ron splashed into the shallows, placing themselves between the bullies. The water was freezing on their legs, and already Neville was trembling from his wet clothes.

"Get lost Malfoy," Ron growled as Harry helped the boy back onto his feet. Neville clung to him, scanning the dark water.

"Trevor!" He gasped. "They threw Trevor in the lake! I've got to find him! or Gran… Gran's will kill me!"

"We were just putting that fat thing back where it belonged. Practically flew out of my hands." Malfoy smugly crossed his arms as his friends chuckled. "It's not my fault Longbottom's got clumsy feet."

"You pushed him and you know it!" Ron was starting to shake with rage, making Harry worry that he might start a fight. Though he didn't care to give Malfoy what he rightly deserved, he picked Crabbe and Goyle for a reason. If they did start brawling, the Gryffindors wouldn't win.

Malfoy sneered back. "There's no proof that I pushed him, Weasley."

"Oh? I think being an annoying git is more than enough proof!"

Harry moved to his friend's side when the Slytherins tensed, their smiles vanishing into dark looks. A cough from the drowned boy reminded him that they needed to get Neville dry before he got sick.

"Just drop it, Ron." Harry gripped his friend's shoulder, earning an annoyed look.

Malfoy seemed to love it that Harry didn't want to fight. "Look who's acting so high and mighty! Think because you got lucky at one Quidditch match that you're so great now?"

Ever since Gryffindor's win against Slytherin, Malfoy's teasing had only gotten worse. Every chance he got he would pick on the team, mostly focusing on Harry. What made him even worse was when Malfoy noticed that no one laughed back at his remarks. Even some of the other Slytherins had been impressed that Harry had held onto his bucking broom. So, he began going back to his typical, annoying ways.

"Whatever Malfoy." Harry did his best to ignore Malfoy, trying to show how little he cared for his words. But the blond-haired boy wasn't backing down so easily.

"I guess you must love all the attention Potter, and you too Weasley. Must be nice for once to be friends with someone famous. Maybe people will start giving you and your family handouts."

Harry tightened his grip on Ron's robe as he sprung forward. " Let me go, Harry! I'm going to finally wipe that smile off his spoiled little face!"

"Don't Ron. That's just what he wants you to do!"

"I don't care!"

Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward as Malfoy snorted. "Oh please do Weasley, I'll- "

"TREVOR!" Everyone jumped when Neville suddenly yelled out. Out of the dark water, a large wart-covered toad jumped into the boy's outstretched hands. He clutched the toad to his chest as it croaked softly, almost seeming content if that was possible. The sudden appearance of the toad made the Slytherins howl with laughter, and Malfoy began his next verbal attack.

"You know Potter, I bet Longbottom would be better on a broom than you. Who knows? Maybe in the next match, they'll replace you with him."

Harry remained silent. He knew the boy was trying to bait him again, and he wasn't about to let Malfoy win with it. But his lack of response seemed to encourage him further.

"Though this Christmas break, I guess you'll have plenty of time to practice. After all, you don't have a family that wants you, don't you?"

Harry felt his ears being burned, his anger building. Malfoy edged closer, knowing he'd hit his mark.

"Of course, you could go live in that pigsty of a house Weasley calls a house. I'm sure they could squeeze you in somewhere."

"That's IT!" Ron snarled as his freckles disappeared. Ripping out of Harry's grip he jumped at the Slytherins without hesitation. Crabbe and Goyle raised their fists and Harry reached for his wand.

But to everyone's surprise, just as Ron was about to punch his nose, a purple shield appeared in front of him, blocking his path. The redhead bounced off it, falling back on his backside into the cold water. Nobody moved as all six of them tried to work out what had happened. Harry thought that maybe Malfoy had cast some sort of spell, but the boy's face was just as stunned.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you that violence never solves anything?"

They all jumped when a voice seemed to echo around them. The shield faded and before Harry could speak a figure materialised out of nowhere behind the three Slytherins. Slowly, the three turned around, faces turning stark white at the sight.

Harry couldn't believe it. It was the other ghost, the one that had fought Danny months ago. Neville squeaked in terror and Ron hurried to his feet, rushing back to Harry's side. The ghost abruptly raised her hands, hair whipping wildly around her head and broke into a vicious fanged grin.

"Boo!"

The Slytherins screamed in terror. In a tumble of limbs and robes, they bolted back towards the castle with an amazing burst of speed. The ghost watched them run before sighing, hand on her hip.

"Tsk, Typical."

Harry felt Neville's trembling hand on his arm and for a moment like the Slytherins, the three boys prepared to run as fast as they could. He remembered what Danny had told him about this ghost, and the memory of that night came back to his mind. But a suddenly crazy idea came to him and he gently removed Neville's hand. Danny had said that this ghost was evil, but after all that had happened, maybe… that was a lie.

"Y-You're the ghost who fought Danny, right?"

"Harry!?" Shrilled Ron in horror, neither of the other boys could believe Harry wanted to talk to it! The ghost turned her pupilless gaze to Harry, eyebrows raising.

"Oh? Finally a kid with backbone!" She smiled, this time her fangs hidden. "Your correct, kiddo."

Harry blinked. Though his heart was racing in fear, she actually answered him! The confident building he stood straighter, taking a deep breath as he stepped closer. "Why were you two fighting?"

The ghost tilted her head, regarding him. Harry paled, suddenly worried he'd made a big mistake. Ron seemed to think so too and began edging around, back onto the bank, Neville following close at his heels. But suddenly she laughed, raising her palms.

"Easy there kids, I'm not going to hurt you! I might look quite freaky, but I'm just your everyday old spook." She smirked. "Well, that might not be completely true. But I'm not about to blast you. Here, let me."

To Ron and Neville's horror she walked over to them, and before they could run, touched their shoulders. With a shiver they gasped when the water dropped off them, falling into a puddle at their feet. With a chuckle, the ghost removed her hands.

"One of the best things about being a ghost is the intangibility. Wonderful for stuff like this."

The two boys touched their robes. "W-wow…" Ron sputtered. "They're dry!"

She chuckled again before looking at Harry. "You might want to get out of the water. I doubt you want to spend your Christmas with a cold."

"Oh..." With a start Harry splashed to the bank. He jumped when he felt a strange, cold tingle as the water drop not off him, but through him. Looking at the ghost he couldn't help but feel a burst of excitement. Maybe, she could help them. After all, she had fought him. But the half ghost's words about running crept back into his mind. Yet she didn't seem all that bad. But then, so had Danny.

She gasped suddenly, stepping back from him. "Goodness where are my manners! You don't even know who I am, and I'm certain Danny didn't tell you."

"No, he didn't. He… said we should stay away from you."

The ghost scowled, looking at the castle. "Course he would, the little troublemaker." Shaking her head, they were all surprised when she unexpectedly bowed. "Well Harry Potter, it's an honour to finally meet you face to face. The name's Lucrezia," Looking back up at the speechless boys she smiled. "But please, I'd prefer it if you called me Luna right now, everybody does."

"You know me?" Harry was stunned, feeling his ears burn at the bow.

"Why of course! Who doesn't in the magical world know about Harry Potter, vanquisher of the Dark Lord? Even in the world of the dead, you're quite the celebrity." Luna broke into an abrupt frown, gaze turning to the ground. "…Indeed."

Harry flushed with embarrassment, noting Ron and Neville's stares. He was never going to get used to the praise and fame. Without meaning to he touched his scar. "It's alright… I'm not that special."

"Oh, but you are! Very much so." Breaking the bow Luna crossed her arms. "Anyways, you ask why I was fighting the young Halfa?"

He nodded, curious at the name she called him.

"Simple. I was trying to stop him."

"Stop him?" It was Ron who spoke. He was still nervous like Harry, but so far the ghost didn't seem like it was going to attack them. "Why were you doing that?"

"Hmm," She tapped a finger on her arm. "I'm guessing you kids know why Danny's here right? Well, obviously I know too. Ever since he arrived at Hogwarts I've been trying to stop the Halfa before he and his sneaky associate succeed in their plans."

Harry and Ron stilled. Could it be that had they been right all along? "You mean Danny is here at Hogwarts because he's after what's hidden under the school?"

"Of course. Why'd else would he be here, right? Hidden within the school is something tremendously powerful, something that in the wrong hands could be catastrophic! And I'm being serious! Once I found out Danny was sent here because of it, I knew I had to come too."

The boys shared a look. So it was true, Danny and Snape were trying to steal from Dumbledore!

"What is it? What's hidden under the school?" Harry asked the ghost hopefully, but Luna pretended to zip her mouth.

"Sorry kiddo, that's top-secret. Can't spill all of Flamel's secrets now, can I?"

"Flamel! You know who Nicolas Flamel is!?" They rushed up, all but forgetting she was a ghost. Finally, there was someone else that knew about Flamel. This was their chance to find out who this wizard was.

"Well, yeah. Everyone in the wizarding world has at least heard of him. He's famous for his work. When I learned his item was hidden was here I just had to come." She winced, rubbing her ears. "Didn't know it was going to be this bloody painful though. Can still hear ringing in my ears!"

"Can you tell us who he is? We've been looking for his name non-stop, but nothing's come up!"

Luna gave them a soft smile. "Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't. I'm not about to speak secrets, even for you Harry. Though, Flamel's pretty famous. It shouldn't be too hard to find out."

"But we have tried! There's nothing!" Harry felt uncomfortable at how desperate he sounded, but this name had been haunting him for weeks, and he needed to know. But the ghost only shook her head. Feeling his frustrations rise Harry tried something else.

"Well, can you tell us how to stop a ghost instead?"

She sputtered in shock, almost seeming to trip for a second. "You… kids want to know how to stop a ghost?"

They nodded. "Look, Danny's tried to stop us a few times, even tried throwing me off my broom! We need to know how to protect ourselves, but he's taken all the information about ghosts! But you…you've fought him before, so you've got to know how!"

She frowned, shifting nervously. "I don't- I'm not really comfortable with the idea of telling humans how to stop us. After all, I'm a ghost! It's like telling your enemy how to stop yourself!"

She caught their faces and sighed. " All ghosts have weaknesses, yes, but different ghosts have got different weak spots! Halfa's… well I can't say what would work since they're a little… altered compared to us full ghosts. If I tell you something that could end up hurting me, it might not hurt Danny, you follow?"

"But there's still a chance it might work, right?" Ron questioned and Harry nodded in agreement.

"True but," She gave them a strange look. "Just because I dislike the little fool; doesn't mean I want him dead. Fully dead, I mean. There might be other ghost's out there that wouldn't hesitate to kill Phantom, but I'm not one of them. Besides, I've already ticked off Danny's mentor, don't want to put another reason to be in his bad books."

"Danny's… mentor?" Harry queried.

"Yeah. Did you boys really think Danny was here just because he wanted to? He's doing this for his mentor and you don't want to get on that ghost's bad side!" She seemed to huff. "Danny's pretty special due to his… Ah, "condition". And even though he's got lots of enemies, he's also got some powerful allies. You kids might tick off a couple of ghosts if you mess with him."

Neville gulped, still silently watching with terror. Ron's eyes narrowed. "You mean he's special because he's a half ghost?"

Luna chuckled almost darkly. "Never underestimate one of the dead, kiddo. Especially an irregular one. They're crafty."

"Then that's why you should help us!" Ron seemed furious that the ghost wasn't helping. Harry noticed that she suddenly seemed uncomfortable as if she didn't want to discuss it further. Just when Harry was about to say she didn't need to, she replied.

"Look, kid. It's not normal for someone to be only half dead. The wizarding world is full of crazy things, but that's easily one of the more peculiar ones." Shaking her head Luna surprised them when she floated in the air, sitting cross-legged. "Even us ghosts don't know what to think of them. No… I'm going to stay firmly in my decision. You kids can find out how to beat a ghost elsewhere. I'm not betraying my kind, even if he's only half."

"What!? But… aren't you two enemies! What would it matter if you told us how?"

"Hey, I got standards. Even I've got a heart. Well, I remember what it's like having a heart. But you get the idea."

"But! - "

"It's okay Ron, drop it." Harry cut his surprised friend off, giving an apologetic smile to the ghost. "I'm sorry that I asked you that. It… was a bad question and I understand why you don't want to answer. Thank you though, for telling us what you can."

The ghost stared back dumbfounded as Harry pulled his friends along, heading back up the hill. He knew Ron was going to be angry that they didn't get anything. But he didn't want to push the ghost into a topic she didn't want to talk about. He was sure no ghost would like to talk about ways that could hurt them. They would just have to find another way-

"-Harry, wait."

The three looked back at the ghost. Neville gripped Harry's robe again as Luna walked up to them. Once there she placed her hands on her hips, scowling.

"You're too innocent for your own good, you know that right?" Not waiting for him to reply she sighed. "Alright. I'm still not telling you, but I hate seeing you so upset. So, how about this instead." She dug into her pocket, taking out a small object. "Here, take this."

Curious, Harry held out his hand as Luna dropped a small black whistle into his palm. Tied to a matching string the whistle felt strange and rolling it in his hand confirmed it. The whistle wasn't made of metal, it was like it was made of light wood, warm to the touch. Even the string was made of the same material.

"Um, thanks?" He didn't know what to make of it.

Luna grinned. "That isn't a toy Harry. That whistle's special. Very special. You blow that and no matter where you are or I am, I'll come to you."

Harry's eyes widened as he looked closer at the whistle. Even Ron peered down at it curiously.

"So if you ever feel in danger or Danny tries something, you call me. It might not be a spell to defeat ghosts, but you can be at ease knowing you got yourself a ghostly ally!"

"…Thank you," He found himself astonished. "But, is this really alright with you? I don't- "

"I've got a bone to pick with that kid, so I don't mind. It would make me happy knowing I have a way to quickly get to you if something does happen. After all, it's going to be near impossible for me to talk to you like this soon. It's a miracle I can now."

"What… do you mean by that?" Harry couldn't help a feeling of worry creep into his voice. The way Luna said that… it didn't sound good. The ghost grabbed the collar of her jacket, a puzzled frown covering her face.

"Danny's been watching you like a hawk for months. Morning, noon and night. Thankfully the arrival of the other half ghost has him side-tracked enough that I can talk to you." She glanced around. "If Danny catches me hanging around you he'd kick my ar- I mean behind." Luna blushed a shade of blue and stuffed her hands into her pockets. "You just keep that whistle close, alright kiddo?"

He paled at the thought. So Danny had been watching him. Suddenly he recalled all those times he had suddenly felt cold. How many of those times had that been Danny spying on him? He clutched the whistle tightly, swiftly feeling happy that he had it. However to everyone's surprise Neville finally spoke, picking up something that went right over their heads.

"W-what do you m-mean…other half ghost?" He squeaked behind Harry. Luna studied the timid boy for a moment, before nodding.

"That's right. It was a fluke that we bumped into him in the Ghost Zone. Just my luck when I was fighting Danny we bumped into the other one. I got out of there, but I know that half ghost is now hiding in Hogwarts as well. So you kids stay away if you see anyone else with Danny. Especially if it's another ghost like me. The older ones got a bothersome personality you don't want to mess with." She scowled darkly up at the castle.

"Is the other one… dangerous?" Harry was beginning to feel more anxious by the second. Suddenly Hermione's idea of going to Dumbledore didn't seem all that silly.

"Hm, maybe not at the moment. Those two always bump heads with each other, so I doubt right now you've got anything to worry about. They're not really "team players" if you get my drift. Though, the older one is way more erratic than Danny." Reaching up she put a cold, strangely damp hand on his shoulder. " Just call. Alright?"

Harry nodded, placing the whistle in his pocket. Luna gave his shoulder a soft squeeze and nodded back, before turning to float back down the hill. Over her shoulder, she bid them a quick farewell, before disappearing into the lake.

"You're crazy, you know that Harry?" Ron muttered, running a hand through his red hair. "Why did you speak to it?"

"I'm happy I did. Look what we found out!" He shuddered from a sudden coldness. Was it merely the winter air or an invisible ghost? With a final look at the lake, he sighed. "Come on, let's head back."

Neville quickly parted ways when they returned to the Gryffindor common room. The boy had told them he wanted nothing more to do with this ghost business. And with a quick apology, he rushed up to their dorm without another word. Harry wasn't worried about Neville. If he had the choice, he would want nothing to do with this either.

When Hermione joined them in front of the fire, she had been horrified to learn they had spoken to that ghost. After repeatedly telling them how foolish they had been, Harry and Ron shared what Luna had told them. Unlike them, however, Hermione didn't believe a word of it.

"Get rid of it! And go straight to Dumbledore Harry!" She had been so disgruntled she had refused to edit their essays. " For all we know that object could be made of Dark magic. It might hurt you! Dumbledore must know about this at once!"

Later that night Harry twired the strange whistle in his hand now as he lay in bed. It still was oddly warm hours later. He was tempted to test it, but he suspected the ghost wouldn't be happy to be summoned without a reason. Even though Hermione had distrusted the ghost, Harry couldn't help feeling relieved that Luna had offered to help him. If Danny was spying on him, it would be nice to have a backup to call upon if something happened again.

With one final twirl, he sighed, grabbing the string in his hands. Looping the whistle around his neck he hid it under his shirt. For a second, Harry thought the whistle hummed.