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.

20. A Night in Your Skin

Chapter 20: A Night In Your Skin

Danny peered over the edge of the wooden bridge to study the sharp ravine below. It dawned on him how quickly time was moving. The days blurred together as the school rushed towards its final weeks. It alarmed him how it seemed to slip away. The lake gently unthawed, the snow melting into the soggy earth. The air still held its winter chill, but rain and mist had slowly taken over the school grounds. And through all of this, Danny annoyingly waited for the time event to happen.

After Voldemort's attack, things had settled into an odd calm. It almost seemed too good to be true. With how this mission was turning out, Danny worried about why something hadn't happened. Hogwarts had almost become "normal", in its weird magical way.

Shaking himself back to the present, Danny pushed away to fix his gaze on the end of the bridge, the moonlight shrouding it in an eerie stillness. He paused, tensing to prepare himself, counting down with a deep breath. Abruptly he bolted, sprinting down the wooden bridge as fast as he could. The beams underneath drummed from his steps, as he tried to silence his footing by treading lighter without losing speed. Faster he ran until he burst out into the courtyard. Quickly he twisted, digging his heels to come to a complete stop, panting from the sudden rush of energy.

"How was that!"

Sitting against the low courtyard wall Vlad squinted up at him in the dim light, the ghostly book in his hands creating a greenish glow. "Hmm?"

"Seriously. You're supposed to be timing me."

"You were faster that time." Vlad smoothed down the pages, frowning at the mass of symbols floating on the pages. It still bugged Danny how he refused to transform to read them. It was stupid that he was still struggling with something that would take seconds to solve.

"But we don't know exactly how fast, that's why I asked you to time me." Danny paced about the small courtyard, stretching his legs as he went. "How am I going to get better if I don't know how fast I'm improving? If I don't there's no way I'll be able to ambush the shade quick enough."

"Why do you want to ambush it like that? Wouldn't your… ghost form be better?"

"I can't always be in my ghost form all the time." Pausing Danny frowned, gaze finding itself wandering to the Black lake. " Ghosts can…feel each other when they're close. Like a sixth sense, I guess. But there's always the chance that Voldemort can sense me coming too. Obviously, Luna can. And if she's guarding him she'd know when I'm coming a mile away."

You plan to sneak attack them as a human to take them by surprise… smart."

"Yeah, that's part one of my plan. But it won't work if I can't keep up the pace. I'm getting rusty from the lack of ghost hunting, so I need to catch up if I want to match them in a fight."

Vlad didn't answer, returning to the book. He had been like this recently. Every time Danny mentioned fighting or battling anything he ignored him, pretending that it never happened. Vlad might not want to talk about it but the more Danny thought, the more it made sense for Plasmius to be the one to face her. The Plasmius he knew had a mean electric stinger that he had the lucky privilege of experiencing. If Luna's main power was water-based… well, it would be child's play for him.

But Vlad never tried to transform, the random power mishaps also completely disappeared with it. Danny was baffled at how he did it; he always felt an itch if he didn't transform in a few days. It had become worse while at Hogwarts, the lack of constant ghost threats disappearing completely adding to that feeling. How Vlad was managing to push that all down for weeks, he had no idea.

Humming Danny crouched down, rolling on the balls of his feet. "You know… you should be trying this too. Getting faster in both your normal form and ghost form."

"I'm fine as I am."

"Well, if you don't try and get better you'll get fat."

Vlad chuckled, flicking over to the next page. " Considering how underweight I was when I arrived here, that's probably a good thing."

Danny grumbled; once again he'd shut down his jab with a remark he couldn't counter without sounding like a huge jerk. He was starting to see that Vlad was doing that more often, picking up a new way to annoy him.

"What did you mean before, about a ghost sense?" Vlad dismissed the remark and returned to the first conversation. "Do you have one?"

"Of course I do! I told you about it before. When a ghost is nearby I start spewing mist," He scowled. "It's honestly super annoying, hiding it is difficult when you're surrounded by people. If I try to stop it coming out of my mouth it just shoots out of my nose…" He drifted off, an idea coming to him. " Do you have a ghost sense, Vlad?"

Vlad finally looked up and frowned in thought. Danny straightened. "Wait, you really do have a ghost sense!?"

He had always wondered if Plasmius actually could sense ghosts the same way he did. After all, he always seemed to know when he was coming, freakishly so. But he had never shown any sign that he could, physically at least. Genuine curiosity bubbled in Danny, as Vlad was troubled by his question.

"…Maybe."

"You can't just say maybe!? You either have one or you don't!" To make a point Danny summoned his rings and let them pass over. He watched Vlad closely for any change and notice that for a fraction of a second he grimaced. " How about now, did that cause anything?"

"I suppose… I did get a burning feeling at the back of my throat. A burnt taste."

"Dammit, if that's all then you lucked out. I suggest you pay attention to it, that ability is handy in knowing if danger is coming-"

Almost as if on cue, a thin trail of blue mist snaked out of his mouth, Danny pausing to watch it drift up and disappear. He grinned at Vlad's reaction as he too watched the mist, tensing as probably his own sense went off. " Like that, for example…"

Though Danny wasn't worried, the feeling was too weak to be even Peeves. Floating slowly through the stone floor appeared Sir Nicholas, his translucent face breaking into a warm smile when he spotted Danny. "There you are Phantom! I was hoping to find you haunting about our school tonight!"

"Hey Nicholas," he smiled up at the jolly ghost, holding back the cringe when his head wobbled sickly. "What's up?"

"Well, I have some news that I believe might prove to be of importance to you-" As the Gryffindor ghost was straightening his collar, he must have caught sight of Vlad. He jolted a little in surprise." Oh, pardon me! I did not realise you had company, Phantom."

Throughout the whole exchange, Vlad hadn't moved, staring blankly at the transparent ghost. With a grin, Danny noticed his hand was still frozen mid-page turn.

"Yeah, that's Vlad. Don't worry about talking about ghosts. He's… the same as me."

The news of another half ghost seemed to brighten the old ghost, who promptly drifted over. "Why I do believe we've not met! My name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower and hopefully soon-to-be-member of The Headless hunt! It is a pleasure to meet you!"

Sir Nicholas held out his hand to shake, but Vlad moved slightly away from the offer instead of accepting it. The ghost's smile slowly shifted into hesitation, peering back at Danny.

"Don't worry about it. He's just new to the whole "ghost" thing."

"What?… Oh! I see! Apologies if I've frightened you, I'm quite harmless!" After sending a friendly smile to Vlad; which appeared grimly on his hollow face, Nicholas drifted back to Danny.

"What kind of news do you have for me?"

"Ah yes! That! Just like I promised, I have been listening for any strange rumours about the school. Yet while I was doing so I have come upon some dreadful news."

"That can't be good…" Worry flickered in Danny's mind, fears that his enemies had made a move.

His worry only worsened when Sir Nicholas's expression twisted in pain. " We have lost the lead in the house cup! A hundred and fifty points gone in a single night! Dreadful tidings, just dreadful!"

"Oh… that's terrible." He relaxed when he heard the news. Honestly, Danny didn't care about this house cup thing. But it seemed to everyone else, even the Hogwarts ghosts that it was the greatest achievement of the century.

"But that is not all!" In an exciting jump, the ghost leaned in closer. " I was discussing the matter with Lady Grey only mere moments ago. And I nearly died again when she told me it was due to students being out of bed! As you can imagine Phantom, with a potential shade lurking it is frightening news. From what the Lady heard was that they were caught up in the Owlery far past midnight. There's even talk of a dragon involved, though I say hogwash to that!"

"You're kidding?" That was new to him. He had been following Albus's promise, turning his attention elsewhere. But like Nicholas, he was nervous at the idea of students running about when Voldemort might be out of his host.

Nicholas nodded sombrely, which threaten to throw his head. " It was quite a few days ago, so the details might be a bit exaggerated. I was most upset and went to consult with Minvera about the topic. Well! She told me that the punishment for said students was being held tonight, in the Forbidden Forest of all dreadful places!

Now that caught Danny's attention. Sending a bunch of students into the woods this late in the evening was strange, not to mention dangerous. But before he could ask more Sir Nicholas cut in.

"But I am forgetting the most important thing! Why I went to seek you in the first place! As we discussed the dentition it came to my knowledge that Harry Potter is one of the students involved!"

Danny nearly fell through the floor. "W-what!? What do you mean by involved!? Y-you don't mean-

"-I'm afraid I do Phantom. It appears that four students from my house- as well as one from Slytherin, were caught together. Though I can't for the death of me understand why they would break the rules!"

But Danny didn't quite care much for rules at that moment, his mind was starting to slowly freak out. "Are you telling me, that right now, Harry is in those woods?"

"Yes," The ghost looked at him sadly. "I thought you might like to know."

"Yeah, I would!" He was reeling. Why the hell would Albus even allow this!? The headmaster knew that Voldemort had been sighted in the woods. He would know that Luna could be out there, waiting for a moment just like this. All at once, he remembered the deer lying on the forest floor, and his heart caught in his mouth.

"But not to worry Phantom! I believe Hagrid is with them. If the groundkeeper is their guide, then the students are quite safe!"

"That's great…" He replied weakly. Recalling the haunting shade leering down at him didn't leave him all that confident that the giant guy would have a chance.

"Why of course! Hagrid is an expert when it comes to the creatures of the Forbidden Forest! They are in good hands, I assure you. Now, I won't disturb you two any longer" He half-bowed in a farewell, floating back through the floor.

"What... was that?" Danny jolted when Vlad's whisper cut through the silence, reminding him that he was still there. Without a word he flew over to the edge of the courtyard, peering over the short stone wall to the forest beyond. How much time did he have left? Did he have any time left!?

"School ghost. Friendly…" he muttered vaguely, searching the dark form of the Forbidden Forest. It looked normal, with no bright flashing lights or loud noises. But that didn't mean that Harry wasn't out there walking into grave danger.

His breath caught in his throat; was this the moment? Was this the time event that he had been waiting all this time to prevent? The thought that it was oddly didn't bring with it excitement; only rising anxiety. This could be his chance to stop the shade, yet it also might be too late.

"Danny?" Vlad's words cut through his thoughts, breaking his focus from the trees to the half ghost. Much sooner than Danny had expected they were going to put his plan to the test. And see just how strong Plasmius was in a fight.

"Looks like it's showtime." He said grimly, readying himself to bolt into action.

"What?" Annoyingly it seemed that Vlad wasn't getting it. Hiding his unease Danny rolled his eyes.

"I mean it's time for some ghost-hunting action. So you better transform quick."

At the mention of fighting, Vlad looked at him in horror. It didn't make Danny feel any better about the situation, but the Cheesehead couldn't hide from it this time. But like the stubborn guy he was, Vlad made no move to transform.

" Wait, just wait! You can't be seriously thinking of just rushing out there-"

"-Harry's out there right now. And in case you forgot, Luna's out there in those woods! He's a sitting duck against her!"

With that statement, anger grew in his chest, breath frosting at the chill. He had decided to take Albus's advice, trusting his safety to him. It was why he had stopped watching the kid. So to learn that the wizard had basically thrown him to the enemy infuriated him. His doubts about the plan had been right all along!

Panic once again hit him. Seeing as Vlad wasn't making a move, Danny took measures into his own hands.

Without waiting Danny grabbed the man's arm and shot off towards the forest, turning them invisible in the process. His eyes spotted the dark form of the groundkeeper's house and swiftly flew over it. Zipping through the trees Danny paused when he recalled the whole point of the ambush plan, dropping lightly to the ground. With a flash he shifted back, hoping that he still had the element of surprise.

The moment he transformed however, Danny almost fell when Vlad pushed angrily from his grip. " Are you out of your mind!?"

"Keep it down! This is the whole point of why I'm here. If Nicholas is right, the shade might try to use this to get Harry out of the way. I can't just sit back at let him kill that kid!"

Ignoring the glare, Danny stormed his way through the gloomy woods, but he abruptly jolted to a stop when Vlad grabbed his arm.

"Danny stop! Think for a moment. You can't run off in there alone! You should go to get help-"

"-and by the time I'd do that Harry could be dead!" Phasing his arm out of Vlad's hand he continued to walk. " Look; I can handle this quicker than Albus could get here. Besides, it's two against two."

He heard Vlad's frustrated growl as he matched up to his speed. " I keep trying to tell you that I can't do what you ask! I meant what I said that I'm not like you! We're talking about people's lives here!"

"The only reason you can't fight is that you keep telling yourself you can't. I know you can!" While arguing Danny was madly searching the forest for anything. But the woods were quiet, still. There were no traces of anyone.

Vlad had caught up to him. "You're unbelievable! Of all the- I've never met anyone so stubborn and thick-headed as you! Can't it even cross your mind that what you're asking of me isn't what a normal person says!"

Normally Danny would have snapped back, especially considering that Vlad's eyes had changed to a deep red. But his mind was elsewhere, and panic was starting to become almost unbearable. The Forbidden Forest was huge, with twisting hills and hidden paths. How was he going to locate anything in this maze?

"Are you even listening to me!" Vlad snapped as Danny stopped, frowning.

"Shh."

"What!-"

"-Be quiet for a second!" Ignoring him Danny shut his eyes, cupping his hands behind his ears. Concentrating on his core he enhanced his senses, allowing his hearing range to expand. But there was nothing but silence. Wherever Harry and the others were they must be deep in the forest. Or even…

"I can't hear anything..." His fear finally came out in his voice. Vlad was still fuming, but Danny could see that his eyes had returned to their shade of blue. Things were serious, and Danny was aware of how few options he had. He'd mucked up.

"This… this could be it, Vlad. My entire mission. I can't fail! There's just so much riding on me succeeding that I can't just let Luna and Voldemort win." Taking a deep breath he tried to focus again. Maybe he was missing something. Some sort of sign or light source that he hadn't picked up on.

He bit his lip. Was this why Luna had told him she'd already won? She must have known Harry would be out here tonight. If she had told the shade... then they might have been here hours before.

"We... we should split up. That way we can cover more ground."

"No." Taken aback Danny looked back, not quite able to believe what he'd heard.

"Why not?" His voice was getting more panicked, and Vlad's sudden refusal wasn't helping the matter. He looked conflicted about something, whether that was about Danny running off or something else he didn't know.

Danny felt his old suspicions return and was about to demand an answer when a high-pitched sound cut him off. Both of them winced, the shrill sharply piercing their ears. As quickly as it appeared it faded away, leaving a ringing behind.

They both didn't move, waiting to see the aftermath. Danny stared over to where he thought the noise had come from, mind reeling as the echo vanished. It had sounded close.

If there was anything weird in these woods, it was like a neon sign towards his enemies. And without any other clues, it was the best chance he had.

Ignoring the outcry from Vlad, Danny sped off in the direction of the noise, putting all that training earlier to good use. He swore that he heard a faint scream, a barking snapping after it. But he couldn't tell whether that was his mind playing tricks.

He jumped lightly over a tangled mound of roots, bolting up to the top. Once there he froze, taking in the sight below him.

Below there stood Harry. The boy was staring up at him in shock, a hand pressed firmly to his forehead. Alive. Seeing him alive relieved the tension in Danny, almost to the point he felt light-headed. But as his gaze wandered he caught sight of a cloaked figure lurking not too far from where Harry was. At once he recognised the sickly smell, the host pausing when he noticed Danny had arrived. In the dim moonlight, he caught sight of the teacher's pale face, a weird silvery liquid oozing from his mouth.

Danny prepared to go ghost, turning back to Harry. Just as he opened his mouth to tell him everything was going to be okay a blur slammed into him, sending them flying backwards. His delayed ghost sense finally spewed out, Danny gritting his teeth as he knew at once who tackling him.

"Luna!-"

The words were halted when he was slammed hard into the ground. Soft dirt and leaves flew into the air, breath pushed out of his lungs as he was momentarily winded. The ghost pinning him down grinned, fangs flashing.

"Hey there kiddo!"

He instantly transformed, firing off a pair of thin rays from his eyes. But Luna had already jumped laughing away, his attack burning into the trees surrounding them. Launching himself up he readied for battle, his mind jumbled at how fast things were moving. There seemed to be a thundering in the earth, before the shade's host stalked through the trees, his cloaked form difficult to spot. At seeing the two ghosts Quirrell paused, hand hovering to his chest.

"Go, I'll deal with this." Luna's voice dropped into a humourless tone, violet orbs appearing on the tips of her fingers.

Danny growled in frustration. "I think you've got it the wrong way round!" Quickly he fired two blasts from each hand, which she deflected with a strong shield. The purple spheres were flung towards him, Danny turning intangible to avoid the flames. Dashing forward he prepared to land a good punch to the jaw, but like normal her shield held strong.

Without warning Luna's barrier vanished and a fist smashed into his chest, a blast hidden within her palm. With a yell, he was sent tumbling off into the woods. Her attack burned, all too familiar to the very first attack she'd hit him with. With a wince he slammed into a tree, quickly flopping onto his knees as pain flashed through his body. He almost laughed when it dawned on him he was once again being thrown like a rag doll.

A noise crashed through the trees, Danny whirling around just in time to see Vlad catching up. He jolted to a stop when he spotted him, worry crossing his face when he saw that he was crouching there.

"Change of plans Vlad. Scrap the ambush, we're going for a full-frontal attack!"

Vlad wasn't happy with the news, and annoying still hadn't transformed. Every sense Danny had was on high alert. Luna could come from any angle, strike at them without being seen. He had to be ready for anything.

However Luna didn't rush at him, nor try to sneak up to attack from the shadows. She merely drifted through the trees, gripping onto one of the gnarly trunks. There was no longer any humour to her expression, pupil-less eyes wandering between the two of them.

"I'm afraid there's no Christmas truce protecting you now." Her fingernails dug into the bark, black hair whipped wildly around her face in an attempt to appear threatening.

Danny just smirked, shifting into his fighter's stance. "That also means that there's nothing to protect you either. And I hate to break it to you, but you're forgetting something."

"Oh?"

"It's two against one. Since Voldy seems too focused on saving his own skin, I guess that means you're on your own."

Luna chuckled darkly in return, her smirk appearing across her face. "Two against one, is it?" At his glare, her laughter only increased, and a flicker of worry coursed through him. Was he wrong about the shade? Had he not left and instead was rushing back to Harry?

Madly he dismissed that idea. No; Luna was just trying to trick him. If anything Voldemort would be high-tailing it out of here. With the amount of light their attacks were giving, it would alert anyone in the woods that they were there from miles away.

Confidently Danny raised his hands higher. "Smirk all you want, but I bet you won't feel so smug when you finally get your butt kicked. You ready Vlad?" He looked over his shoulder, expecting to see those black rings. But Vlad wasn't moving, just staring at the laughing ghost. One look at Vlad's face and Danny understood what Luna meant, and his own eyes widened as the situation dawned on him.

Vlad was terrified. The last thing on his mind was transforming; rooted to the spot. Frozen at the idea of the murderous ghost floating in front of them.

Danny turned back, scowling when it was clear Luna knew the same thing. This ghost was strong. Danny could barely hold his own against her and her powerful strikes. He could try all his might to fight her off by himself, but there would be nothing he could do to stop her from going after Vlad. Despite everything, Vlad wouldn't… didn't know how to fight a ghost like this.

The elderly Lunch Lady had been a hard enough first real ghost encounter. Luna… was a time travelling, basically insane and unpredictable ghost. Plasmius could have easily taken her on. But Plasmius wasn't here.

But at the same time, he didn't just want to retreat! A chance to stop her couldn't slip through his fingers. But as he slowly took a step back and Luna edged forward with energy growing, he knew he didn't have much of a choice. There was no way he could just force Vlad to fight her-

Suddenly he was struck with the stupidest idea ever. Danny gasped at the insane plan coming to him. No… no way would that work! He would have never dared to back home; not unless he had a death wish! But… maybe it could work? Vlad was weakened, and inexperienced. It was possible, even for a short time…

Danny grimaced, still moving away from her. Who was he even kidding? He was supposed to be staying away from Vlad! His plot almost made him feel ill. But he had done it before, and nothing bad had happened those times with Mr Lancer and Dad. Though neither of them could waste him on the spot if he made a mistake.

Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, he mentally composed himself. If anything else Luna would never see it coming in a million years. If she thought she had all the knowledge of how to defeat him, then doing something insane might work.

Twisting around to fully face Vlad, he gave him the most apologetic look he could muster. "Sorry for this in advance."

Vlad jolted. "What-"

Without another word, Danny sped towards Vlad and phased into him.

He had never liked overshadowing. The feeling of wearing another's body felt unbelievably wrong, especially from people he knew. All the times he had overshadowed it had felt weird as their consciousness fell into a dream-like daze as he dove into what felt like a cool pool.

Vlad however, was like diving into a pool of molten lava. The energy was almost unbearable, his strong-willed mind slamming into his own. For a moment Danny feared that he would be overwhelmed, all of Vlad's emotions crashing into him. There was no calm, no moment where Danny's powers dazed the mind. The ghost side must have resisted the effects. It took all of Danny's willpower to wrestle control, kicking Vlad's back.

With a gasp Danny buckled, struggling to hold on as his powers surged. Luna looked equally confused, her usually wild hair dropping into loose, wet strands. Quickly she snapped out of the shock, attack flaring into her hands. Seeing the danger he squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on where Vlad's core should be. Just like he did, Danny transformed by reaching out to that energy. He felt the rings appear, raising his hands to summon a ghost shield.

He made it just in time. Danny felt Luna's blast slam into his defence and thankfully it held. Opening his eyes he saw a large green shield before him. It faded as he took a deep breath, flexing his fingers.

"Man I knew you were powerful, but this is crazy."

Vlad's ghost form was insane. The raw energy it created was nothing like his own. It seemed to thrum with power. His own ghost core struggled to handle it, aching till it almost burned. However, Danny knew that Vlad was still conscious of him, just dazed and confused as to what had happened. Unlike a normal overshadowing, Danny knew he wouldn't have much time until the half ghost fought back. Sooner or later, he was going to break out of that daze, and then a very hostile half ghost would strike back.

The effect on Luna was apparent, almost seeming to recoil. " Impossible…"

Danny grinned. Or really Plasmius grinned if he thought about it. Seeing that Luna was still rattled he used that to his advantage. Swiftly he bolted forward to strike. Just as he was about to land his hit, Luna snapped out of her shock, twisting sharply as his fist slammed into the tree trunk. He didn't dare stop, phasing through to loop around. She was ready for him, a counter-attack already forming in her palm.

Dodging the purple blast he charged, but he couldn't get close. Her shield was raised incredibly fast, Luna struggling to keep as much distance between them as she could. The fact that she was trying to avoid any form of physical contact confirmed Danny's suspicions. She knew about Plasmius's lightning ability. That she was wary. Grim determination set in for Danny, he couldn't waste this chance!

Once again he sent a strong emerald blast her way, the light flashing brightly through the wood. But the energy bounced harmlessly off the square barrier surrounding her. With a swipe of her hand Luna lowered the shield with a sneer, fingertips flaring into life. "You aren't fooling me Danny, I know it's still you!"

Danny paused for a moment. She was right. Despite overshadowing Vlad he was only able to use the powers he knew. Thinking of that fact reminded him that at any moment Vlad would snap out of his confusion and break free. Somehow he needed to trick her into lowering that defence again.

Readying a green ball of ectoplasm in his hand he flew towards her again. Before he was close to her he chuckled, turning invisible. Luna hissed in anger, surrounding herself in a dome while she worked out where he was. Hoping to take her off guard Danny flew under, wondering whether her shield would be weaker there.

Luna seemed to know exactly where he was and kick off into the air. As she kicked the barrier was sent hurtling down towards him. This close it was too fast for him to evade, so instead he created his own. The force of the two shields sent him crashing to the ground.

"Ow…" Danny gruntled, the aftershock coursing through him. Before he could rise back into the air he was overcome with searing pain, sending him to his knees. Vlad was finally fighting back for control, the burning pressure in his head taking him off-guard. For a moment they battled in that mental struggle, Danny almost getting physically kicked out.

"Come on Cheesehead, this isn't the best time!" He muttered through gritted teeth. With a final tug, he pushed Vlad back, just in time to raise a shield to deflect a powerful blast. The purple ball burst into flames, Danny grunting under the force. Swiftly he copied Luna's move and threw his shield towards her. As she blasted it away he lunged, fist missing her by mere centimetres.

By this point they were moving fast through the trees, all thoughts of Voldemort or Harry disappeared as Danny focused only on his enemy. Using the trees to his benefit he used them to block himself from view, then invisible try to get close enough to strike. Luna herself angrily kept up with his attacks, that annoying shield blocking everything he sent her. But it was clear that she was progressively becoming more cautious, his constant barrage keeping her on her toes.

"What's the matter, Luna? Where's all that bravo you had before? I was so sure by now you'll be trying to drown me with those cheap water tricks. Realised that I'm more of a threat than you first thought?"

Luna gritted her teeth in rage, firing a thick ray his way. "Don't push me kiddo!"

Shifting underneath the attack Danny pushed forwards, fist slamming into the shield. This close to her he grinned, which probably looked as sinister as it felt. "Perhaps you're afraid I'll shock you more."

Her face twisted, disbelief of his bluff and the slight fear that it might not be. His remark earned him a kick to the stomach before she dashed off into the trees. Danny had no intentions of losing her and immediately followed. He was faster than her, but her defence was impossible to shatter.

Luna however had led him deliberately through the forest and suddenly the protecting shapes of the trees disappeared. As Danny flew forward, he panicked when he saw below him nothing but the dark waters of the Black lake. Luna rotated around to smirk at him, diving back into the murky depths.

Oh Crud. Expecting any moment a wall of water coming his way, Danny shot towards the bank. He landed heavily on the stony shore, arms raised at the ready. Now that he had stopped moving he found that he was out of breath from their fight. Ears ringing from the abrupt silence he stood panting, watching the lake for Luna's next surprise. But the ripples of her dive slowly faded and nothing else rose from the lake. She had fled.

Danny sighed, his stance dropping as the adrenaline left him. Her sudden disappearance almost put him in a foul mood. He was sure if he kept going he might have worn down her defence, figured out a weakness he could use. But Luna's retreat into the lake was a clear test of his bluff. Danny had no idea how Plasmius created the electric bolts, and even attempting to recreate them probably wasn't the smartest idea.

Suddenly he was overcome with exhaustion, the drain of overshadowing a strong ghost and confronting Luna all rushed onto him in a tidal wave. It took all his strength to remain on his feet, shocked at how quickly he had tired after such a short fight. He'd assumed to struggle a little for the lack of ghost hunting, but hadn't expected it to be this bad.

Concerned Danny paused to cautiously reach back into his core, all too aware that an angry Vlad might be waiting. But he relaxed when he sensed little response. Maybe when he kicked Vlad out the last time he'd successfully overshadowed him, and hopefully just like the others, he wouldn't remember what happened-

"-Skurge!"

As a bright blue flash rushed towards him in the dark and Danny instinctively reacted. With astonishing speed, he created the strongest dome shield he could muster. The spell slammed into the barrier with a sickly thud, and he yelped as his defence dissolved. A small chunk of the blue light brushed against his fingertips, Plasmius's gloves disintegrating away. Searching immediately for the caster he spotted a furious headmaster, wearing a large white nightcap and wand already raised for the second spell.

"Whoa, wait Albus it's me!" Danny quickly yelled out with his hands in the air. Then he remembered that he was still overshadowing. Quickly wrenched away from Plasmius to drift into the air above. "It's Danny!"

The wizard froze and Danny almost laughed at the bewildered stare he gave him. As he was about to start explaining what was going on, he jumped as a bright light blinded him. Just in time, he was able to see the last of Vlad's black rings fade away. He swayed, eyes rolling back and collapsed to the ground.

"Oh Crud!" Danny whispered, utter terror rushing through him. Had he gone too far? He'd never attempted to overshadow a ghost before, maybe there was a good reason why. It hadn't even crossed his mind that it could hurt him. Drifting closer he studied for any signs of trouble, his fears of the alternative timeline starting to resurface as it dawned on him what could have happened. Of how stupid he'd been.

By this point Albus had moved to his side, looking puzzled at what he had witnessed. Starting to freak out Danny stared at the wizard. " He's…Vlad's not dead, is he?"

After studying the still form, the headmaster carefully replaced his wand with his dressing gown. "While I'm no trained doctor, I believe he appears to be just passed out."

Danny sighed with relief, slumping to the ground. For a moment he'd worried he'd pushed things too far. Now that he calmed down a new thought filled his head, quickly glared at where the wizard was. After Albus had given him his word that he'd protect Harry, he had just broken that by sending him into the most dangerous place he could be.

Sensing the coming storm Albus swiftly held up a hand, halting Danny just as he was about to voice his anger.

"First of all Danny; I was aware that Harry was to be in the forest tonight. However, I failed to learn the task which Hagrid had given him only a few minutes ago. Had I known that it was to hunt the unicorns that were appearing dead, I would have never allowed any of my students within. Second; while unfortunate, Harry was quite safe. Even without knowledge of the danger I was aware an old friend was watching him, a friend who has returned Harry safely back. I understand that you are angry with me, but I promise you that I never intended to deliberately put him in danger."

The anger in Danny's chest deflated a little, glumly staring at Vlad. "You forgot all about Luna. It's lucky that-"

"-That dear Sir Nicholas reported to you of the detention where he did." Albus winked at him. "It must have been luck that I ran into Lady Grey at dinnertime, and that she was able to inform him."

"Then you should have just told me yourself days ago…" Danny grumbled, but instead of apologising, the wizard merely sighed.

"Perhaps once this whole drama is over I can explain my reasonings to you in detail. But for now, I beg of you to trust me."

The words left Danny curiously; wondering whether the old wizard knew far more about his mission than he led on. Yet he did not push it. He was the last person he wanted to make mad. The faint tingle in his fingertips was a clear reminder of how powerful this guy was.

"Now," Albus cheerily stated, "Why don't we head back to my office to see if we can help your companion here? I would ask for Severus's help but… ah, I'm afraid he's quite busy with other tasks at the moment." He paused, stroking his beard in thought. "Yes… I should have some left. Do you need my help carrying him?"

"I'm fine." Pushing down the tiredness he felt Danny pick Vlad up and half-carried him over his shoulder. It was a bit awkward from the size difference, but he had no problem with the weight. It seemed to amuse Albus, over what he didn't know. But before he could query the wizard turned on his heels and strolled towards the school's entrance, Danny struggling matching to his long strides.

Their journey to the headmaster's office was thankfully uneventful and unseen. Danny carefully made his way through the office door as Albus shut it behind them.

"Place him on the couch, Danny." Quickly the headmaster strolled to his desk, pulling open the top draw. Danny did what he asked, laying him down on the padded seat. Vlad was still out cold, though now he could thankfully see him breathing deeply. He bit his lip, wondering whether he had done any further damage. His core felt fine, though his energy was drained from the sheer amount of power he'd used up-

Danny smacked his forehead when he realised why Vlad was unconscious. Plasmius just didn't have the stamina Phantom had yet. Danny had passed out numerous times ghost-fighting in the early months of his powers. It made sense that Vlad would be the same too. The only way Vlad had stayed in his ghost form for so long had probably been due to Phantom's stamina holding him together. Once he'd left Vlad's body all the effort must have crashed back onto him. Wincing he could only imagine how exhausted Vlad was going to feel when he came to.

"Ah, there it is!" Albus abruptly called out in triumph, holding in his hands a small, sea-green bottle. Catching Danny's curious look he smiled, hurrying over to them. " Sometimes, I find myself bombarded with a mountain of paperwork that sadly no amount of magic can hasten -that calls for a little bit of a boost of energy to get me through the night. Which is where this little vial of Wideye is most helpful. No matter how sleepy you are, it will hold back sleep stronger than any coffee!"

Carefully Albus allowed only the smallest amount of the clear liquid to drop into Vlad's mouth, before returning the cork to the lid.

"There, that should help. Though… honestly we'll have to wait and see if it works in the same way that it does with me."

Danny nodded, suddenly hoping that Vlad would wake up while Albus was in the room. Hopefully, his anger would be mellow thanks to the headmaster's presence. Watching as the wizard returned the bottle to his desk before he came back to sit on the opposite couch. Danny just stood, leaning slightly against the armrest, unsure where to place himself.

"So this is the other half ghost you've told me some much about."

"Yeah."

"I knew it was unavoidable that we would meet at some point, but I did not expect it would be of me apologising."

When Danny gave him a strange look Albus smiled, removing the nightcap to reveal a mess of wispy white hair. " It is fortunate that you raised that shield in time. I confess that at first sight, I believed it was another enemy of yours. The concept that it might be Vlad did not cross my mind. If my spell had hit full-on… I dread to think of the effects it would have on a half ghost."

Recalling that time Luna had been hit with that spell, a hole cleanly blasted through, Danny shivered. He could only imagine the damage it would make to their normal form. "If you don't mind me asking, what is that spell anyway?"

"Skurge? It's normally a simple charm that is used to clean up ectoplasm. Most of our students are taught the spell in their second year. Ectoplasm can be quite dangerous to the touch, so that spell is handy when Peeves is up to no good." Albus's smile faded a little. "Yet it can be used as an attack or scare for ghosts. An average skilled witch or wizard casting it onto a spirit would… probably only cause a mild graze or irritation- and a grumpy ghost! But if used by a particularly strong caster who can centre all their willpower into the spell…well, you've seen the results."

"I'll make sure to remember that. Don't suppose Voldemort would happen to know that spell too?"

"Certainly. But luckily in his current form he wouldn't have the ability to cast it. Quirrell will know, but I highly doubt he can cast the spell with the strength that I can. Casting Skurge in the middle of a battle would be dangerous to the caster. If he is achieving his role as a host, it would be unwise for him to do so."

Danny frowned. "Why?"

"For the reason that you saw tonight! Skurge is a spell that is not used in duelling, it is a charm that in its basic form is to remove ectoplasm. In the middle of combat against a powerful being such as yourself, it would be difficult to cast Skurge if the ghost was aware of it like you are now. You would only need to cast a shield or dodge the incoming ray. In truth- it is only useful when the ghost doesn't know it's coming."

Leaning more heavily onto the armrest, Danny crossed his arms. It was somewhat of a relief that he could dodge it. But it still concerned him. There might be other spells out there that could hurt or hinder him. But despite how open Albus was, he wasn't keen on talking about the topic. Discussing ghosts would reveal more about himself, and his weaknesses too.

Instead, he returned to the main reason he was annoyed with the wizard. "Why did you let Harry go into the forest? Yeah- I know you told me you'd tell me later… But seriously, wasn't that a bit stupid handing him to the bad guys?"

Albus pondered his question for a moment. " I'm afraid that I really cannot state my reason quite yet. It is only a theory that has crossed my mind of late, but I must allow myself to confirm my suspicions first."

Danny huffed. "Well, you at least should have chosen a safer location for detention. Where I'm from we don't just dump kids into dangerous, monster-filled woods in the middle of the night. Lines are bad enough."

"Perhaps it is fate that led him there?"

"Or maybe it was Voldemort wanting to drain him dry," Danny mumbled, absentmindedly rubbing his shoulder blade. " You said something earlier about unicorns. You… weren't being serious, right?"

The humour in Albus's face changed, more to a sombre look as he lent back into the cushions. "I'm afraid not. I didn't think Hagrid would involve the students in his search. Our Forbidden Forest houses a small herd of unicorns, one of the few left in Europe. When Firenze told me dead unicorns were being found, I urged Hagrid to locate the creature before it struck again. Though now it appears things were more serious than I first thought."

"Voldemort's probably draining their life force to keep himself going. Like he's been doing with other animals in the woods." Danny stated it dryly, catching the astonished look that crossed the wizard's brow. At his news, Albus lent forward, entwining his fingers together.

"If what you say is true… then Voldemort must be becoming desperate. His host must be weakening. But to draw upon unicorn blood- why, he must be on the verge of panic to risk the curse of it."

The wizard's words brought Danny's mind back to his fight with the shade, the crazy words he had sneered at him as he pinned him to the stone floor. "He's probably feeling weak after trying to mess with me."

"Pardon?"

Despite the shock in the headmaster's voice, he shrugged. "Let's just say… I think Voldy already tried the same thing with me, and it backfired for him. He underestimated me and paid for it. If he needs power it's probably due to that."

He knew that Albus was staring at him speechlessly, most likely thinking that his advice to not show the shade weakness wouldn't be something he would actually do. Danny couldn't help but feel a bit smug at stunning the wizard. Finally, he showed that he wasn't a pushover. After thinking over what he had told him Albus dug for more information.

"Do you mean Quirrell attacked you directly?"

"Nope. Voldemort left his host. Seemed to drain everything out of him though."

"And you took on a shade all by yourself?"

Danny shrugged again. " Kind of. Peeves helped me fend him off in the end."

"But I… don't quite understand when you mean it backfired. Do you mean that you stop him draining your life force?"

"Turns out us half ghosts taste terrible. Apparently-" he paused to yawn, feeling his battle with Luna catching up to him. "-Like Death himself or whatever."

It was clear Albus was examining him, maybe seeing him in a new light that he hadn't before. Whatever the case or whatever he wanted to ask, it was broken when a groan sounded out. All the smugness that Danny had been feeling disappeared as dread replaced it. Plasmius was finally waking up.

It seemed that even with the potion to help, Vlad was drained from tonight. Slowly he seemed to fully awaken, abruptly raising his hands to push his palms into his eyes as if to shield them from the light. For a while they let him slowly come too, Danny waiting for the inevitable shouting match that would be coming his way. After a few grumpy forehead rubs Vlad froze, removing his hands just enough to spot Danny.

Nervously Danny cleared his throat, planting a smile. "Hey…"

In response, Vlad merely covered his face again with a huff, his voice betraying his feelings. " There's a part of me that doesn't even want to ask what happened…"

"Sorry…" Quickly he decided that the sleeping paintings lining the walls were far more interesting. " I… Look I was kind of freaking out with Luna and all that. I didn't think it would knock you out cold-"

"-Because you don't think," Vlad grumbled, Danny pushing down his snarky comment.

"I just... overshadowed you. It's… well it's something I don't normally do. But, considering that there was an evil ghost about to try and waste us I didn't have much choice-"

"-Danny." There was something in the way he spoke that made Danny still. Once again Vlad removed his hands so he could lock eyes with him. But this time his eyes were glowing red, filled with an emotion he'd never seen Vlad give him, that he couldn't read. "Never do that again."

He physically gulped as he wiggled on top of the armrest. " Y-you got it!" Danny looked away to stare at the plush carpet floor. Something about the fact Vlad calmly threatened him freaked him out more than the idea of him yelling. He knew he had it coming; he probably would be furious if Plasmius had tried the same thing on him. But he could hear the malice behind his words, and he knew he would be an idiot to try and talk his way out of this one. For the first time since they'd been stuck together at Hogwarts, Vlad was royally furious with him.

Thankfully Albus cut into the exchange, breaking the growing tension. " Why you must be the other half ghost that Danny's told me all about!"

Stopping Vlad slowly turned to look at the wizard, his gaze finally searching their surroundings. He must have assumed they were in the magical room, and seeing that they weren't the red faded from his eyes. He seemed to scrutinise the ancient-looking man sitting across from him. Gradually Vlad pulled himself up with a wince, surveying the strange office with interest.

"I believe it was Vlad if I am remembering correctly. I am Albus Dumbledore; Headmaster of Hogwarts."

Rather than relying Vlad just hummed tersely, focused on a cabinet filled with bizarre-looking objects. Abruptly he paused, licking his lips in puzzlement. Straightening he looked back to the wizard with a scowl. "What did you give me?"

Even under the half ghost's stare, Albus continued his smile. "Just a little pick me up to help you recover quicker. However, I do warn that you might have quite a bit of a… "crash" later. The potion only holds off the effects, not make them go away completely."

To Danny's amazement, Vlad narrowed his eyes. Worried that the potion might have given him enough energy to transform he hurried into the conversation. "Albus was just helping out, all right? You collapsed from the sheer amount of power I used-"

"-And whose's fault was that!" Finally, he returned his attention to Danny. "I warned you it was foolish to charge off alone. And look what happened!? I understand that your childish mind has trouble comprehending reality. But maybe for once you take what I say to heart before blindly running off into danger?"

"Hey! I was trying to save your butt-"

"-You almost got me killed!"

"Now, now," Albus cut it, waving his hands up to bring the two half ghosts back to him. " Let's calm down and discuss this. It's been a long and exhausting night for all. Fighting over what has happened won't help in the matter at present." The headmaster took out his wand, waving it over the table with a fancy swish before three steaming mugs appeared out of thin air. Danny instantly recognised the light brown liquid and grabbed one of the mugs, taking a grateful gulp of the sweet drink. Albus took his own and drank but Vlad only stared at the remaining mug, making no move to take it.

"It's only a nice warm cup of hot cocoa. Or maybe considering how you're feeling you would prefer something stronger?"

Vlad looked up at the wizard, the scowl on his face still there. " Only an idiot would accept a drink from someone like you."

Danny froze mid-mouthful, looking quickly between the two of them. If Albus was offended by his statement he didn't show it. "I apologise for giving you the potion against your knowledge. But I assure you I have no intention of poisoning you."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but after everything that's happened to me over these past months, I think I have the right to be suspicious. Especially as your appearance doesn't exactly… speak of someone of a sane mind."

Albus laughed warmly. "I cannot argue with that! I imagine for a Muggle such as yourself our school of magic would appear quite uncanny!"

Leaning back Vlad scoffed. " Magic…"

"Oh? Is it possible that you don't believe in our magic even after being within Hogwarts for all this time?"

"I'm.. a man of reason. Magic is only called magic because it hasn't been explained yet."

Albus smiled, taking a small sip of the hot cocoa. " I find that statement amusing coming from a half ghost like yourself."

For a second Vlad's eyebrow twitched. "Because it's true. Even that can be explained as a corruption of DNA. Ectoplasm is a toxic element as you so elegantly put it earlier."

At that the wizard's smile grew into a grin, still showing no signs of being ruffled with the attitude Vlad was giving him. Danny didn't know what to do, finally swallowing the drink he'd been holding. Here he was thinking that he was going to be the target of Vlad's temper, but he had been completely taken off guard when he started taking it out on the headmaster.

Albus however calmly put his wand away, dismissing the last comment. "As dangerous as ectoplasm can be, it's nothing that we professors can't handle. Peeves have certainly made us quite skilled in removing them for the safety of our students. So it is not a relatively new thing for us to deal with."

"I'm sure. Though it's clear to me that trying to explain my thinking to someone like you would be pointless."

"I wouldn't say that! It is rare to be able to discuss the topic with a non-magical individual. Dismissing the ghost aspect of course. I find your reaction to our world interesting. When most Muggles discover our existence they are usually shocked or terrified. Your frustration is curious to me."

"I wouldn't call it frustration…" Vlad grumbled, seemly on the defensive. Something about the wizard must be annoying him, though Danny didn't have the faintest clue what that was.

"Well, as the headmaster of this school I'd like to confirm to you that the magic here is quite safe. Despite the current problem that we have, this school is a haven for magical teaching and developing young minds. And I, its headmaster, make sure it stays that way."

Vlad fell silent after that, the grumpiness still etched onto his face. Danny stepped in, placing his mug down. "What's gotten into you?"

He expected the half ghost to snap at him. But instead, he merely sighed. "Nothing." Before Danny could respond Vlad stood, without a backwards glance strolled to the door they'd come from. "Let's go."

Without checking that he was following Vlad left the room. After everything that had just happened Danny found himself deeply confused, feeling like something had been missed in translation.

"Best you go after him Danny, we'll discuss tonight later. For now, I suggest getting a good night's sleep."

Danny nodded, making his way to the entrance. Before he shut the door he sent the wizard an apologetic look, which Albus returned with a warm smile. Returning into the moonlit hallway he spotted Vlad waiting, arms crossed and refusing to look at him.

"I hope you know the way back…" Vlad muttered, earning him a roll of his eyes. Carefully stepping past the half ghost Danny made his way through the quiet school. Wanting to avoid any risk of meeting a patrolling teacher he decided it would be safer to climb the astrometry tower. The narrow, winding staircase would take them right back to the linking bridge, and the seventh floor. Climbing up he could already feel the rising tension of what was to come, knowing that there was no way he could avoid it once they were back in the room. He decided to deal with it now, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

" I am sorry about what happened in the woods. Overshadowing you was dumb and risky and I was an idiot thinking that it would work. I swear that I'll never try and do that again. Not like I would want to do it again anyway-"

"-That's not why I'm angry."

Danny paused, finally looking at him. Vlad narrowed his gaze when he spotted the surprise on his face. "That doesn't mean I'm not livid at… whatever you did. I meant it when I said never do that again Danny, don't ever do that again! But that's what I'm angry about; that I told you I couldn't fight that ghost and yet you refused to listen."

"Well, I see that now-"

"-So it took you almost getting us killed to believe what I told you?"

Danny scowled. " Look I panicked, okay? I thought that maybe this was a chance to end this mission once and for all. I thought that Voldemort was about to kill Harry! You know that I can't let that happen, everything is riding on me to win this. What did you want me to do? Just sit back and let the bad guys win?"

"I want you to listen." Vlad moved closer up the stairs, making sure his voice still came out at almost a low whisper. " I might not know much about this place, and ghosts or whatever else it's about. But even I can see that things are extremely dangerous. These ghosts, this shade thing… this isn't something one person can handle on their own. Part of our deal was for me to help you, and I can help you, just not in the way you want me to."

Danny was struggling to keep his emotions in check. Once again he was almost tempted to tell Vlad the truth, about the future and the real reasons behind Luna's involvement. Yet he regained control of himself. Tonight had only made him panic. For a horrid moment in that forest, Danny had thought it was over. That he had lost.

"It's the only way I know how to. You might think I am, but I'm not an idiot Vlad. I just… I'm just completely out of my element in this school."

Vlad only nodded, which only bugged Danny more. "So what can you do then?"

"Well… I can be the rational thinker of this operation." At seeing the grumpy look Danny gave him, he quickly continued. " You shouldn't always solve problems by trying to tackle them headfirst. Sometimes a new outside opinion can be useful. Just because I can't punch my way out of a problem doesn't mean I'm useless. After all, there was a reason I was chosen to study ectoplasmic elements in the first place."

Danny grumbled, but annoyingly he understood what he was saying. Albus had basically told him the same thing when he had advised him on dealing with Voldemort. Plasmius was great at coming up with multi-layered plots. Who better foil a villain than another villain? But recalling that memory drew another question into his mind. Peering around to make sure they were alone, he looked at Vlad curiously.

"Why were you acting like that with Albus? I mean I know that guy's weird and a little loony around the edges. But I don't understand why you were so crabby with him."

Vlad's brow furrowed. "I don't trust him."

He made no effort to hide his surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yes. And considering how mysterious this whole place is I would advise not to trust anyone at all."

"Oh really Vlad, that's your great wisdom to me? Wouldn't that also mean I shouldn't trust you too?"

The half ghost sighed, refusing to bite his jab. "Something about that guy doesn't seem right. While he acts like he's friendly - and weird, there's something about his actions that just doesn't seem sincere."

"Albus has helped me. He's the one that showed me the magical room, the one that told me so much information about Voldemort. Hell, forgetting his mistake tonight he's the one that's been looking after Harry when I hadn't been able to. If there's anyone that I should trust here, it's him."

"That's the point."

"Huh? Normally when someone tries to help you out it's because they trust you. Albus is the one that's got an evil shade luring about his school. If it wasn't for me he might not have found out until the stone got stolen. Maybe this is just his way of paying me back."

Vlad was still frowning, like Danny before he looked around them before continuing. " Yes, you're right that he's helped you, but doesn't that puzzle you as to why? What his reasons behind helping you are? If we're being serious about this from his point of view wouldn't you be just as much of a threat as the others?"

"Excuse me?"

"Take it from the perspective of someone that has never met a ghost before. Or in your case, half ghost. You stumble across a being that is far more powerful than you. Can turn invisible, fly, and shoot a beam of energy so hot that it burns into the wood like it was already paper. That's an unpredictable threat. Now… dealing with a threat like that you've got two options; you either deal with the problem before it gets out of hand, or you decide to use that threat to your advantage. Fight fire with fire. It would make sense to befriend you as it helps deal with Lucrezia without him having to deal with it."

"I think you're reading way too much into this," Danny scoffed, not liking the way Vlad was talking about him and Luna being the same.

"Better to read too much than read too little."

"There's nothing to read with Albus because you're being crazy!"

At that Vlad smirked, leaning in closer to him. "You didn't see what I saw then."

"And what's that, Vlad?"

"When we were bickering, that man had his hand tucked in his pocket. That same hand removed that wand later on. I assure you Danny that whole time he was ready to defend with force if we got out of hand."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Didn't you find the way he spoke of how he protected the safety of his school strange? How did he keep reminding me that he could easily deal with ectoplasm if needed to? Those were threats, Danny. He was warning me that if I threaten the safety of this school he would easily deal with me."

Danny rolled his eyes again to show Vlad that he thought he was being Fruitloopish. Though a slight weight settled at the bottom of his stomach. " If that's what you want to think then go right ahead. But Albus has helped me up till now, so I'm going to roll with that until the end of this mission. If Albus wanted either of us out of his school he would have done it already. He has the power to."

Vlad shrugged. "Just giving my opinion. Never mentioned that you had to take it, not as you have until now." When he spotted the furious look from Danny, who was threatening to snap back the smirk faded. "Besides, your right that he isn't the biggest threat right now." With a groan, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. " Though I have a feeling that he was telling the truth about a crash. I feel like I've been hit in the head with a baseball bat…"

"That's probably half my fault."

Straightening Vlad glared at him, and Danny waited for the argument to begin. Abruptly though the man smirked, raising his empty hands. " Well, if that's the case then I won't be able to help you find that book. When you decided to fly off into the forest I accidentally dropped it. I hope that wasn't too important to you."

"What do you mean?- Terrific…" Danny sighed when he remembered that the book Vlad had been reading was one of the ghostly books. If Ghostwriter found out he had treated one of his creations like that he was going to waste him on the spot.

Huffing his long hair out of his eyes Danny resumed his way up the stairs; knowing now that once he dumped the Cheesehead back into the room he had a long night ahead of him.