Chapter 24: Judgement

Danny just stared at the guy next to the host. He didn't know what to say, feeling his mouth slacking a little. Madly he tried to remember where he'd seen him before, who this guy could be. But in his shock, nothing came. Behind him he felt Harry let go of his hand, taking a step to join him at his side. Yet Danny didn't even warn him to stay back, his mind reeling at what this meant. Could… could Luna really be a half ghost?

Standing next to the unknown man Quirrell scowled, his face twisting into displeasure at seeing the half ghost floating there. Any form of his stutter or twitching disappeared, dropping the act. " I thought you said that you would handle this mess, Tam? So what is that?"

"Tam," Danny jolted with a start, the name immediately rekindling a memory. He didn't recognise him at first because he wasn't in that warm, cozy setting he'd met him. That time long ago when he had visited Hogsmeade, talked to the two men in that cramped back kitchen. The one who had told him of the Shrieking Shack. Tam. The one he had sat shouldered to shoulder next to, talking about shades!?

"A miscalculation on my part. These things happened when it comes to these Halfas." The guy shrugged at the host, grin widening as it darkened. " Don't worry. We've got this."

At those words, Danny's ghost sense exploded out of his mouth. He gasped in horror, turning just in time to see Luna's form looming out of the charcoal flames. Her hands quickly reached towards him and in old habit he moved to protect Harry, fearing that she was trying to strike him down. Luna however ignored the boy, grabbing the front of his suit instead. Danny had little time to react as the ghost threw him back towards the wall of fire, throwing him through it.

With only seconds left he turned intangible, not risking the chance that flame wouldn't hurt him. There was a moment of darkness until he found himself flying through the air of the other chamber. Unable to stop his fall Danny grunted when he slammed down, breaking the potion's table at the impact. The bottles flew in all directions, smashing into the stone. Danny hissed at the pain jolting down his spine, but knew he didn't have time to stay lying down.

Jumping back upright he raised his fists at the ready, knowing they were coming. The wall of flames flickered violently as a shadow drifted through, the pair stepping unharmed from the fire. The guy walked casually through the enchanted barrier, Luna's arm wrapped loosely around his shoulder. Tensing Danny drifted to his feet, ready for anything. She must have passed on her intangibility to him.

"Sorry for the rough handling kiddo, but I think those three need some… alone time, don't you?"

Danny scowled in answer, watching this new threat carefully. The guy, this Tam had dug into his jacket, taking out a long wand hidden within. Seeing the weapon Danny readied to make a shield to stop any spells that might be coming. Great, he just had to be a wizard too.

Luna let go to hover beside him, her hair swaying in its normal underwater current. Danny noted then her eyes were now as violet as her shields were. Where the whites should be was nothing but deep borders of black. Vlad had been right, there were two ghosts at play here. But where was the other one?

"What's this? Too surprised to speak eh? Suppose you'd be confused about what's going on with us. What was Plasmius's theory, by the way? Or didn't you believe him?"

"Oh, he told me there were two of you. Didn't think you'd be human though."

Tam smirked, clearly enjoying his reaction. Shaking his head he grabbed the edge of his glasses. " Yeah… I guessed that would be your biggest question. You must have thought up some wild ideas, I'm sure." He closed his eyes and removed his glasses to fold them neatly into his jacket pocket. As he did the air seemed to ripple around his face, before he slowly opened them.

His pupils were amber. Glowing in a soft light, just the same colour as Luna's. "There's a little ghost in me. Just a touch."

Danny frowned, not understanding how that was even possible. Surely if that was the case he would have sensed him when he'd bumped into him at the village.

Seeing his confusion Tam continued, strolling down to him. " I'm not a ghost, obviously. No ghost core and I can't do anything ghost related in my body. But this," He pointed glumly at his eyes. " Is a problem of the influence. The eyes are the window into the soul. You can tell a lot about a person from them. As you notice here, my soul's quite twisted. Ah! Not saying your soul's twisted Lu, you've got a beautiful soul." He looked back at the ghost, his smirk softening in warmth. The corner of her mouth faintly twitched up, though her left eyebrow curled slightly.

"No matter what I do, I can't change these eyes back. Thankfully it's easy to hide them with the right charm. But these sadly are a dead giveaway to our…condition." By this point Tam had stopped not far from him, studying the half ghost with amusement. To Danny's amazement he lowered his hand, the wand held loosely in his grip. " Don't look so surprised. Why should I be worried when I know you're not feeling your best."

"Because you got Harry to poison me?"

"I didn't do anything of the sort! Harry was already distrustful of anyone when it came to the stone. All I did was talk with the kid! It was him that decided to poison you, not me."

Danny glared at him, madly plotting a way to get back to Harry. Briefly, he tested his core, the stinging ache answering him. This was going to be difficult to get passed these two by himself.

Buying himself some time to work out a plan he stalled them. "So you swayed Harry's mind with your manipulation to believe what you wanted. I'm guessing that whistle you also gave him helped with your plans too?"

Chuckling Tam inched closer. " That device did exactly what I told Harry. If one blew into it, it will make a noise that only ghosts can hear. But… it did have a few other enchantments- one key one is that I could hear what Harry was saying. And track where he was. It never was to hurt him, Danny, never. But it was useful to know when you talked to him. Easier to keep track of my trap."

Drifting back to keep the distance between them Danny scoffed. " Your trap, huh? Like the same trap you tried to get me to fall for at Christmas. What else of your evil plan are you going to reveal to me? That you brainwashed the entire village so that you could misguide me to the Shrieking Shack? To keep me away from the Black Lake by making me think Luna was in town?"

The wizard gave him amused smile, head tilting to the side. " Ah Danny, you forget that I can travel throughout time. I've been planning this far longer than you think. While you came here nine months ago, I have been existing down in Hogsmeade for two whole years."

When he saw Danny's shock his smirk returned. " See, I know you, Danny. I knew your sharp, suspicious self would question if someone new just waltzed into town at the same time you arrived. Wonder why I was there. Instead, I made myself a part of it. So…when you eventually strolled into Hogsmeade you wouldn't question my place there."

He leaned down closer, a mad glint in his eyes. "I've got all the patience in the world Danny. Even if it takes forever, I will get what I want."

This revelation reminded Danny that this guy was still powerful, still a threat to time. The level of detail he'd put into this plan… What else was there now that he didn't know of?

Seeing Danny's defences rise again Tam started to walk to the side, playfully waving his wand in the air. " I'd be careful about what you decide to do. You might be able to defeat me as I am now - you are much stronger than me after all- but Lu… She's awfully protective of me. Think twice about attacking me, kiddo."

Drawing his gaze away from Tam he looked over at Luna, no… Lucrezia. She was staring unblinkingly at him, purple eyes boring into him with an almost predator intensity. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. Now that was more like the ghosts he dealt with. That was a real ghost.

Not wanting to show his nervousness Danny returned to glare at the wizard. " You're an idiot if you think I'm going to sit back at let Voldemort kill Harry. Just because we're now two to one I'm not as weakened by the Blood blossoms as you think I am."

"Oh really?" His eyebrow curled, smirking.

"Sure! All I need is my ghost form to blast you all away with my Ghostly wail." In the corner of his vision he spotted Lucrezia tense, hands raising. Tam himself paused, his grin faltering.

"You wouldn't."

" You think you know me, but really you don't. I don't know if you noticed, but you've just thankfully moved to stand on the opposite side to where Harry is. Perfect position for me to unleash it without having to worry about him."

Tam tilted his head to one side, brow creasing. " No… Don't Lu. He's just bluffing. I know you'd never risk that. The force of that attack could cave in the entire passageway. And," He pointed to the ceiling. "We're still above the school. You wouldn't dare risk the lives of others, would you?"

Danny's hands balled into fists, he hated that they knew about his strongest move. Pushing down his foul mood he sent his own smirk. " Damn, you caught me. I might not be able to use my wail here. But I've still got plenty of other moves to use on you!" He lunged, summoning a beam and ignoring the tightness in his chest it caused. He lifted his hand to send it off- and slammed into a purple barrier.

Quickly launching away from the shield he turned back to Lucrezia. Both hands now raised high she still had him locked in her gaze, preparing for his next move. Swiftly he fired two blasts at the ghost, and once she moved to protect herself he used her distraction. Danny tried to bolt around the shield to his right, but suddenly the whole middle of the room was barred by her protection, splitting the wizard from the two of them.

"You will not harm him." Her voice had an echoing ring to it. But it was firm, final. Danny glowered at her, building a ray.

"Why are you working with these jerks? You don't seem the type of ghost to team up with idiots. Or is that wizard controlling you?"

She frowned, a pout crossing her face as her hands dropped slightly. Yet she didn't answer, only made sure that he didn't leave her sight as he drifted away from the barrier. Behind he heard a clanging thump, the wizard yelling at her to put the shield down. But Danny didn't let his gaze leave her.

In truth, he was nervous to fight her. By this point he was so used to fighting Luna, but this was a different ghost. Her powers might be used in a completely different way than Luna did. Behind her the black flames crackled smokeless, telling him he needed to get back to Harry, quickly.

Immediately he lunged forward, hands still glowing in attack. Danny had thought she would strike back with her purple blasts. Yet instead she yelped, squeezing her eyes shut as a dome barrier surrounded her. Her shield made it easy for him to duck under and avoided it altogether. Not wasting the opportunity Danny made his spectral tail and dashed off as fast as he could to the wall of flame.

Abruptly there was an audible Crack! before Tam teleported without warning to block his path to Harry. With a few wobbly steps, the wizard straighten and flung his wand down in a graceful arch.

"Vermillious!" From his wand tip a stream of red sparks rocketed towards him. Danny quickly made a shield, the sparks bouncing off the surface. No way was he going to risk getting hit by any magic in his state. Keeping the shield up he looked over his shoulder to Lucrezia, her dome vanishing as her palms fired a ray at him. Danny shifted out of its way, sending the leftovers of his barrier spinning at her like a disc.

As she blasted it away Danny flinched, the use of power was causing spiking pins of pain down his arm. The Blood blossoms effects were coming back stronger now, returning with each strengthening attack. He had to end this fast. Joining his hands together he sent a strong ball of green at her. Twisting around Danny returned his attention to his other threat, readying a blast at him too.

The wizard already had his wand moving. "Aqua Eructo!"

A jet of water streamed from his wand, the beam heading straight for him. Dodging underneath it with ease Danny prepared his ray attack at Tam- and froze in horror. Oh crud. Water!?

He was just in time to see Lucrezia loop the stream of water around her body, taking control of the liquid immediately before she sent it back. Unlike when it had come from the wand it now thundered towards him, far stronger and faster than the wizard had. Danny had no time to react, no time to defend himself as the mass of water sledgehammered into him.

"Wrong wa-" Was all he heard as the water surrounded him, its rumbling all he could hear as he tried to focus on regaining control of his flight. He was thrown backwards, not able to stop the momentum. There was a flash of darkness before he became aware that he was back in the mirror chamber. Making a green shield he pushed the water away, only for his back to collide with something hard. There was an almighty clatter, a shattering as Danny fell to the ground, a crunching underneath him. Quickly he rose to his knees and saw what he had hit.

It was the Mirror of Erised, now broken under his hands. The shining pieces reflected Phantom's panicked face back to him. And in that moment, almost like a trick of the firelight it was replaced with Harry's fearful face. Harry!?

Promptly Danny searched for him, finding his frozen form standing off to the side. Ignoring the burning in his shoulder he flew over to the boy, landing heavily in front of Harry. At once he had his palms raised to protect, all too aware there was another set of enemies he needed to worry about.

Standing near where the mirror had stood was the host. Yet oddly Quirrell was turned back to them. The wizard had taken off his large turban and Danny blinked for a moment to figure out what on earth he was looking at. On the back of Quirrell's head was a mass of wrinkled flesh, flesh that seemed to take the form of a face. Red eyes gazed at him on a palish, sickly skin, the eyes of the shade. Danny could feel his nose crease in his disgust at the ghastly thing before it faded quickly into a smirk.

"Hello Voldemort."

The shade's face flickered briefly in fury before a thin, pale smile crossed his lips. "Ah… It's the ghost child…"

His voice was just like it had been in his mind, though raspy from weakness. Behind him Danny felt Harry grip the back of his suit, whispered words trembling. "D-Danny… the stone, it's-"

"-I have to say, I think your shade form fits your villain profile better. Now you're just plain ugly." Pushing Harry further back his mind raced, taking stock of the situation. Danny's core was burning again, sweat starting to build on his brow. Voldemort would be weakened in this state; the fact he hadn't left his host was proof of that. But the teacher he possessed might not be. And it was only a matter of time until the others joined in…

Instead of being angry Voldemort chuckled, a choking hiss. " Still so brave… Still on that foolish quest to stop me… Shame to see such potential, such power…wasted."

"Can't take a hint, can you? I already told you I'm not joining your little club."

Quirrell seemed to be growing annoyed at their talk, briefly peering over his shoulder to scowl at him. Suddenly he began shuffling backwards so that the shade move forward. "Master, we must hurry-"

"-Don't move one more step to Harry!" Danny suddenly snapped and summoned his blasts. Dark green ectoplasm burning in his hands, the dips hissing to the stone floor. His panic was making him angry, knowing he had only a few shots left until the Blood blossoms reverted him to normal. He needed an opening. An opening to get Harry out of here.

"Don't underestimate him!" At the loud yell, Danny whipped his gaze over to the flame entrance. His other foes had finally made it through, Tam's wand pointed at him as he frowned at the shade and host. "He might be weakened, but he still could send this entire chamber on our heads. It's as they say; back a dog in a corner and it's going to bite."

Scowling Danny prepared to send his blast at the host, but was torn. Harry's life was key to saving time, his main focus needed to be getting him out of there. But he didn't want to risk Voldemort getting the stone either. His eyes fell onto the broken mirror, recalling Albus's plot to hide the stone within it. He needed to somehow get it. Then he remembered the means of getting it, and Harry's attempt to speak to him.

And at that moment, Danny made a grave mistake.

He turned to look at Harry. Behind him the kid peered up in terror. Held close to his side was a ruby gem, shimmering in his hand as he tried to hide it from the others. The stone. At that moment Danny realized in horror why Harry's life was to be in danger during the time event. It wasn't just the fact he had come down here. He had the stone! And now would be the sole focus of Voldemort's desire to get it. In that realisation Danny made to grab the kid, to fly him out of there and to safety. Get him and the stone away from the shade. But a loud Crack! made him freeze.

There was an explosion of purple mist around them until Danny was ripped away from Harry. Lucrezia used the opportunity when his attention turned to grab him, separating the two. He didn't have time to react as he was slammed face-first into the far wall, pinned hard against the cool marble. She didn't give him any chance, seizing both his arms and holding them tight against his back. As Danny tried to go intangible she countered him at once, ramming her weight onto him so that he couldn't move. A curled shield surrounded them to block any attack he tried to send to the others, as well as stop him from escaping her.

Both infuriated and freaking out, Danny tried to break free of the hold. As he did so, the purple barrier suddenly seemed to mist over, appearing to take on a pearly sheen. Twisting around as much as he could he spotted Tam, his wand emitting a thin mist of blue that connected to her barrier. When he turned and spoke to the host Danny was surprised that he only heard mumbling, unable to clearly hear his words. With shock he realized that the guy was strengthening Lucrezia's shield with his magic, making it far thicker than it normally was.

His struggling intensified, her hold on him not weakening. Lucrezia's voice reverberated in the space, muffled by the barrier. " Danny… Calm down… It is all right."

He only grunted in response, trying to wiggle his wrist out of her grasp. Things were totally not all right! Even from his spot he could still see Harry, who saw that he was trapped and attempted to run to the exit. The host lurched after him, grabbing his arm as he passed and pinned him to the ground. Then suddenly there was a yell that was loud enough for Danny to hear clearly through the thickened shield.

Danny froze, that yell had not been Harry's. Instead, Quirrell stepped away from the boy, clutching his face. Something must have happened as the shade on his head was twisted in agony, shrieking commands to his host. Then, to Danny's amazement, Harry ran at the wizard and wrapped his grip around the man's right arm.

The effect was instant. Quirrell screamed, going rigid as whatever Harry was causing burned the host. The wizard tried to pull him off, but every touch, every try seared him till his flesh smoked. Danny was utterly stunned, only faintly aware that Lucrezia too was still watching the scene unfold. Harry suddenly fell, landing heavily on the floor as he appeared to have passed out. But Quirrell was still in pain, pulling at the burns as if it would stop them.

Then the shade came. Like smoke, he pulled himself from its host, but this time it took everything with it. Quirrell's cries turned into a choke as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. The shade ripped himself from the wizard, taking all the life that he had left in his rage. The dark mass of smoke hissed above the boy, red eyes glaring down at Harry. Skeletal hands reached to grab him. And then the shade reeled back with a shriek.

Voldemort's hands were melting, dissolving into nothing as he tried to hurt Harry. He could not touch him, the unconscious boy unaware of the horror above trying to end him. The shade turned to face them, sunken, twisted stare locking onto where Danny was. It seemed to move towards them, vapour form struggling to hold itself together. When suddenly with an ear-splitting screech of anger and agony the shade was gone; flying in a gust of darkness through the black flames.

The silence after was heavy. Danny only came out of his shock when the purple barrier around them lost its pearl hue, causing him to focus clearly on his surroundings again. Tam had lowered his wand, ending his spell as he stared at Harry. They all were, the boy unmoving on the stone floor. But thankfully he was breathing. Alive.

Slowly, it was like time was starting again. The understanding of what had happened and what was happening returned. Danny remembered his position, trapped under the ghost's hold and saw the danger Harry was in. Likely Tam had figured that same conclusion too, and he started to stroll toward the boy.

"No!" Immediately Danny tried to break out, using all the strength his beat-up core would allow. She fought him, nullifying each intangibility attempt.

"Stop!" Lucrezia tried to get him to listen, but Danny was beyond that now. He was panicked, furious and terrified that he was about to fail the mission. A wave of all his emotions crashed onto him as he struggled to break free. Harry couldn't die! Not after everything, he couldn't lose the kid now! He wasn't going to lose his family a second time because of his failure. In a desperate tug, he twisted the angle of his hand to face outwards and forgetting his injured core shot out the strongest ray he could make.

Yet instead of the green blast, ice exploded from his hand. At once Danny felt the surge of energy, needle spikes of blue ice fanning out in all directions. They shattered what remained of Lucrezia's barrier, easily piercing holes in the defence. The agonising searing of the Blood blossoms roared back into his chest, along with a new crushing pain that bolted from his back to his stomach. As a wave of dizziness washed over Danny and he felt his rings appear uninvited around him, parting to change him back. In his normal form, the chill of his ice was more intense than he expected, shuddering as the creaking of the spikes slowed as they stopped growing.

"Lu!" The yell caused Danny to turn his neck back to gaze over his shoulder and froze. Behind him the ghost was surrounded by straight lines of ice, most he saw in alarm had run her clean through. Lucrezia's eyes widened, a shudder coursing through her form as the full extent of the damage he caused set in. Squeezing her eyes shut she let out a small whimper as her ectoplasm began to leak.

In the corner of his vision Danny spotted Tam, readying himself like he was about to sprint over. Without warning he suddenly fell forward, crumbling to the floor in a rag-dolled heap. As Danny tried to figure out what had happened a hand grabbed his head and pinned it forcefully back to the stone.

" You shouldn't have done that kiddo," At the threatening tone Danny looked back at the ghost, watching as Lucrezia opened her eyes to glare at him. Glare at him now with pupilless, amber eyes. " No, you really shouldn't have done that!"

Right then Danny suddenly understood what was happening with Luna. On the floor Tam rose, gripping his chest as he gasped loudly. Looking over at them in worry Danny saw that his eyes now glowed purple, the same as Lucrezia's.

The fingers holding his head tightened. "Lu! Go grab the kid and get us out of here!"

"R-right!" Standing on shaky legs Tam's body lurched towards where Harry lay. Fighting off his dizziness and pain Danny resumed his escape. Abruptly his ghost sense went off. Both he and Luna froze as the mist faded away, just as someone shot through the flame entrance and entered the chamber to join them.

With a slight clumsy landing- and an almost complete loss of balance Vlad stopped to crouch beside Harry, arms raised at the ready.

While Luna inhaled sharply Danny was hit with an overwhelming feeling of joy. He'd come back! Which meant they still had a chance to make sure the timeline didn't collapse! Then his joy turned to dread, Crud. Vlad was going to get himself killed!

At the half ghost's arrival the other backed away, taking out Tam's wand in the process. " T-Tam! We've g-got trouble!"

Not wasting time, Danny twisted in the grip and grabbed onto the ghost. He hoped that despite the agony his movement gave his stomach, he was strong enough to stop her. "Vlad! Get Harry out of here!"

The half ghost looked frantically between him and the wizard, clearly freaking out about what to do. Abruptly Luna began to chuckle and from the dark sound of it, Danny didn't like it.

" Once again you prove to me you're either brave or utterly stupid! Quite the problem you've fallen into, isn't it Vlad?" Luna pushed Danny further into the wall, smirking. "Go ahead and take Harry, but think carefully about what that means for Danny here-"

"-Forget about me! You've got to get Harry out of here and somewhere safe!"

"-But then if you then try to rescue him here, I'll just go over there to take Harry. Quite the puzzle, isn't it?"

Danny was glaring at the half ghost to move, he was wasting time that these two could use to plot something! But as Vlad looked between the two enemies he paused, staring at the floor. He didn't respond to either of their demands, silent.

" I guess it really depends on who's more important to you, huh?"

"Vlad GO!"

Still, the half ghost didn't answer. Danny was becoming more panicked by the second. Why wasn't he doing anything!? He followed Vlad's gaze to figure out why he was just doing nothing- only for his pulse to thunder in his ears when he saw what he was looking at. It was the shards of the mirror he was staring at, the silver pieces gleaming in the torchlight. Vlad was just looking at them, completely still. And Danny knew then that he could see something. Something was reflecting back in them. Something that if Albus had been telling the truth might trap a person in their hold forever.

Abruptly Vlad jolted, blinking as he tore his gaze away from the floor. "Why…" He spoke hesitantly, swallowing as he angled himself closer to Harry. " Why would he be important to me?"

The weight of what he had said hung in the air, the half ghost took a breath that seemed to grow his confidence. " After everything that Danny's put me through. After all this nightmarish place has caused me, why would I risk my life when he's never listened to me?" Vlad looked at him then, eyes narrowing. "I already gave my answer before and I mean the same now. Do what you want. I don't care anymore."

He stared at Danny for a fraction longer, before leaning down to grab Harry. Quickly picking him up he bolted back to the exit, stumbling at first from the unusual lack of gravity. With that he and the kid were gone, leaving just the three of them behind.

Danny was left stunned, both from the shock of Vlad's admission and the relief that Harry was no longer here. He'd done it; Harry had survived the time event. At that moment it didn't matter about him now. With the kid alive then the timeline was going to be okay. His family were going to be okay.

A chuckle broke him out of his thoughts. " Seems you were wrong Danny. We do know what Plasmius will do. Even in the end he's still the same old Vlad."

"But the timeline's safe from you… You failed." Even as he spoke, his throat felt thick from exhaustion, weary from the rush that the mission was done.

"If that's what you want to think, go ahead." Luna smirked at him, wincing as his ice spikes hurt her as she moved closer. " But you and I still have unfinished business. Don't we?"

Danny glared at the ghost, but he wasn't able to summon the energy to transform. There was a pressure building in his stomach, a pain that was becoming difficult to ignore. The effort of forcing his powers beyond the poison was catching up. Even though he'd won- disaster diverted- he knew that for him, he'd lost.

The chamber seemed to blur then, that pressure in his gut growing. Luna's smirk widened. "Let's go."

Faintly, almost too soft for him to hear, Danny heard a strange noise. It took a moment for him to recognise it, but it was the unmistakable sound of the ticking of a clock, a ticking that was growing louder.

Then his ghost sense when off.

Both froze, Danny having a fleeting thought that Clockwork had finally come. Luna must have thought the same thing, sharply turning to gaze around the room for the cause. The ticking faded, yet no ghost appeared in the chamber. Puzzled Luna studied the fire that sealed the entrance- just as something grabbed Danny and roughly pulled him through the wall.

He just caught sight of Luna's dumbfounded face when she saw what was happening, until there was nothing but blackness. There was a crushing feeling in his lungs. The feeling that always came with going intangible through objects in his normal form, threatened to pass him out. They were moving at an insane speed through solid stone until the darkness abruptly vanished.

Immediately there was a boom like thunder, their speed stopping as the intangibility dropped and the water slammed into him. He let his haze overcome him for a moment, feeling the weightless unconsciousness slowly start to hit him. Until Danny felt himself being jerked upwards.

The moment he broke out of the water and into the chilly air, it snapped Danny out of his daze. Kicking to keep afloat he spat the water that had gone up his nose out, and they swam their way back to shore. Once the solid ground was under his sneakers Danny waded out of the lake, falling to his hands and knees to cough the rest of the water he'd swallowed.

He didn't have time to rest. A hand grasped his shoulder, tugging at him to rise. "Come on! I don't think we should be here when those two arrive. Get up!"

Shaking the wet hair from his eyes Danny peered up at an equally drenched Plasmius, who pulled at him more sharply. He just stared at the half ghost, confused as to what had happened, why was he here? Why his stomach was tightening? At seeing his lack of response Vlad scowled, dragging him up the bank.

" Look I'll explain later, we need to get back to Albus. Come on Danny! Move!"

But Danny was too preoccupied with other things. Looking down at his torso he placed his hand over his stomach, instantly flinching at the pain the touch brought to it. He already suspected what had happened. After all… he had felt something like this before. Removing his hand he looked at the dark liquid on his palm. And that definitely wasn't water from the Black lake.

With a huff of amusement Danny smirked over to Vlad, who had just noticed his hand. "I just knew… that one of those ice spikes got me…"

He didn't get to say anymore, the wave of dizziness completely overcoming him. He fell back towards the sandy bank, not remembering when he hit it.

AN: Finally made it to the time event... It's been a long journey to get to it. On and off, I really went through stages where I thought my story sucked, I think a part of me still thinks that. It's really stupid, but I lost a lot of steam for this story around Chapter 12. Not just because my life was crazy, But when the Cursed Child came out with all its time-travelling foolery made me lose enjoyment in updating for a long time. Thought I'd share that, though it's silly. But I promised that I would finish this story, and now I'm more sure than ever that I'm going to! I'm enjoying writing again.

Thank you again for reading, whether you're happy with the confrontation or whether you want to strangle me, I'll see you in the next chapter!