Chapter 26: What have you done?
With school classes finally at their end, the days flew by fast. Suddenly the students of Hogwarts were faced with their exam results, some with ecstatic cheers and others with disappointed groans. Now no longer burdened under the weight of homework, an excitement lingered in the halls of Hogwarts. All too quickly it was time to return home, everyone was in a collective chatter of plans and the promise to send letters to friends.
The final day rolled up almost too quickly. With bags packed and stored away, the students were preparing to leave. They grouped in the cavernous entryway of the castle, spilling out into the grounds. The hum of voices and laughter echoed throughout the halls. Yet watching the growing crowd floors above, Danny wasn't sharing their joy. Instead, he leaned over the open windowsill, head resting on his crossed arms as he watched them start to file out with a harrowing dread.
For Clockwork still hadn't appeared.
It had been growing over the past week, the nervous, ill feeling settling in the bottom of his stomach. At first, Danny hadn't been worried, just relieved that he and Harry had finally cleared up their misunderstandings. They had spoken a lot over the last few days, and he and his friends were now on good terms again. The kid had recovered well from his confrontation with the shade and thankfully had avoided any repercussions to his studies. Apparently saving the school from Voldemort was enough for them to pass his missing exams.
The time event was over, Harry's life was safe and the shade had lost his chance of getting the stone forever; now that Albus had destroyed it. Everything seemed to fall into a peaceful quietness, with no signs of a vengeful pair rushing in to end Harry's life. Yet as the days passed on, Danny worried about why he had seen no signs of the Time ghost. Why hadn't he appeared yet? The time event had happened, his mission was over. And now soon the entire castle would be empty, leaving for the end of the year. So then why hadn't he sent him back yet?
Below more and more students started to stream out of the enormous oak doors, spilling out onto the grass. Danny lightly bit the inside of his cheek, feeling his unease grow a little more.
"Something's wrong, isn't it?"
Danny drew his gaze back to the half ghost beside him. He kept forgetting that Vlad was there. With the threat of Luna gone, he had no quarrels coming with him now. The fact that all his foes had left the school seemed to remove any hesitation to stay in the magical room.
"Nothing's wrong." He responded with a smile, which earned him a long stare from the half ghost.
When he seemed to get what he was looking for Vlad nodded, peering down at the crowd. "Yep. Something is definitely wrong. What is it now?"
With a defeated sigh, Danny leaned more heavily against the stone. Was he really that easy to read? " It's true. Nothing's wrong. It's just… it's hard to imagine that this mission is finally over so suddenly. I'm having a hard time believing it."
"And?"
"ʼ…And, I'm just worrying about home. Going back after all this time here."
They fell back into silence to watch the students, before Vlad hummed in agreement. "After all that stress and obsessing over that mission of yours, it would be hard to imagine that it's over."
Danny rolled his eyes at his jab. "Yeah. I never dreamed in my entire life that I would miss not having homework. I'm dreading how much I have to catch up on when I barely remember what my assignments were in the first place."
" I think those homework deadlines of yours would have well and truly passed by now."
"Oh," Blinking he gave a nervous smile, knowing that for him that wasn't quite true. " I… I didn't think of that. Guess the main thing is that I can't wait to get back to normal. Well, what's normal in my life. Suppose it all hasn't hit me yet. That it's over."
" True, it's bizarre to think of returning after all this time." Vlad joined him to rest against the wall, nodding as he crossed his arms over the stone. " Just to think that soon I'll be going home… I hope that it's all still there in one piece."
"I'm sure the country hasn't blown up since we've been here."
Vlad chuckled. " I meant my apartment, my job. Everything. It's been a strange… vacation being here. Not something I would have chosen to do willingly, no offence. Just thinking about the mess it might be in after more than a year away," He abruptly shuddered, expression falling into worry. "I just hope that in some miracle she's okay…"
Danny felt oddly conflicted when he said that. There was still the fact that when Vlad returned he would learn of what happened with his parents. There was no telling how he would react even after being at Hogwarts. He assumed that Vlad's concern was about his mother, Maddie. But when the half ghost caught his strained look his humour returned.
" Ah… I'm talking about my cat."
At the mention, Danny stood up straight as if he'd just been zapped. "You… you have a cat?"
He couldn't help the smirk twitch on the corner of his mouth, and Vlad sent his own one back. " Sure. Is there something wrong with me having a cat?"
"Oh no! Just… didn't know you had one." He couldn't believe that after all his taunts of the Fruitloop getting a cat had held truth in it. Well, maybe in the past it had held some truth. Vlad seemed confused with his reaction, yet it dropped as the topic returned.
" I've had her since I was a kid. Dinah. She was… she's a solely indoor cat. If my flat is still there and my stuff hasn't been thrown out, I… I hope I don't find her in there when I return."
Abruptly Vlad fell silent, the full weight of what he was saying hanging unsaid. It honestly surprised him, the half ghost's sudden show of anxiousness. It was rare for him to let down his barriers, in both past and future. Danny could tell that this obviously meant a lot to him, knowing that after so much time there was a high chance none of that was there anymore.
" Maybe… someone found her and took her to a shelter?"
" That's likely not any better. Dinah would be fourteen years old now. People don't often adopt pets like her." There was a bitterness in his voice, a bitterness that rang with history. He turned away to stare at the woods beyond, hiding whatever expression he had from him. It was moments like these that made Danny realise there was a lot still that he didn't know about Vlad. After all this time at Hogwarts, stuck with the guy for months, there was little that he personally knew about him. With everything that was happening with his mission, he hadn't seen chatting of random, risky timeline things important. He had never noticed it before, but Vlad never seemed to share much of his private life with him, just as he hadn't.
It seemed that Vlad noticed that he hadn't spoken in a while, flicking his glance back to him. With a deep inhale he pushed himself away from the windowsill, slapping the stone wall as he went. " Well, that's a gloomy problem I'll deal with later. Now it's the problem of getting back to the other side of the world alive. Though, we might get to test that crazy theory of yours after all."
" My theory?"
" Your insane plan of sneaking onto a plane, remember? You now will have the chance to prove that theory is as easy as you say it is."
"Right." Danny had completely forgotten his plane plan when he wanted Vlad gone, though recalling it made his heart sink. He could sneak onto all the planes he wanted, but none of them would take him home.
Vlad seemed oblivious to his concern and instead peered around the sunlit hall. He must have decided on something as he began to walk down the hallway, talking as he went. " Since this place is now empty of everything that can kill me and there's time till Albus's meeting, I think I'm going to use this chance to explore." He twisted back, smirking. "If I don't turn up, then I'm lost within this labyrinth forever."
Danny snorted, rolling his eyes. " Vlad, you can't get lost inside a building. You're half ghost, remember?"
His statement made Vlad pause at the door, deliberating over what he'd said. " Huh. I guess you're right." With a huff of bemusement, he disappeared into the next hallway, leaving Danny alone.
Huffing his long hair to the side, Danny watched the group of students start their trek through the grounds, heading towards their train out of there. The sun was surprisingly warm, a lazy wind drifting through the window hinting of summer. Leaning out further from the opening he studied the grassy hills, seeing the last of the students disappear into the Forbidden forest. A glint of shine caught the corner of his vision, and he found himself gazing out at the Black Lake. In the sun it shimmered like dark gemstones, peacefully nestled amongst the landscape. Spotting something Danny sighed dejectedly, and began to make his way down the opposite end of the hall.
Moving through the quiet, empty halls of the school, he soon made his way outside. Passing through the courtyard he headed down a narrow set of steps, making his way down the hill towards the waiting lake. There came into view his reasonings to venture here, what he had spotted from high above.
At the sound of his approach, the ghost turned to face him. She was kneeling on the banks of the lake, almost in the exact spot he had first met her long ago. Her long hair drifted slowly away from her face and catching sight of him, she smiled gently. Instead of feeling angry or wanting to blast her at first sight, Danny found himself immensely tired. All the will of fighting had drained out of him once he knew Harry was safe.
The ghost patted the ground next to her, a gesture for him to join. Before he never would have done it in a million years, yet reluctantly he flopped down next to her. It felt strange, to sit next to the coldness pouring off her ghost form. But from one glance at her Danny knew she was different, not the Luna he knew.
"I believe this is the first time we have met." Her voice rang out softly, echoing as the ghost placed a hand over her chest. "Lucrezia." Bowing her head she smiled again, purple eyes glistening in their pools of nothing.
"So where's your friend?"
" He is resigning." Seeing his confused look she giggled, folding her hands into her lap. " Tam did love working with Duncan and the others. He is upset to leave that place. But we cannot stay."
Danny studied Lucrezia beside him, and his questions must have been read on his face. "Why do I help him?"
"Obviously. You don't seem the type of ghost that would want to ruin time. And I've met a lot of ghosts that would."
" It is because of us. Together." The smile faded, her black hair suddenly dropping flat to drape over her shoulders in wet strands. " Thomas and I are bonded together. You could say we share each other's souls. A piece of me is within him, and him within me. We can switch between each other, our minds forever linked. And sometimes… we can share the same body."
"Luna."
"Yes, Luna. Tam is more comfortable fighting than me. I have never taken to it. So he takes full control of the body while I become an observer. He is the attacker, and I am the protector. That is Luna."
Lucrezia's face fell, a worried crease on her brow. "But such things are dangerous. When he and I share form, his human body is… lifeless. Empty. We are both Unborn, no longer affected by time, but the strain it puts on his soul is great. Switching back and forth into an empty body is… crippling to him. But leaving his body in a defenceless state is also dangerous. It is why in the chamber you saw us switch, me entering Tam's body as he took on my pain. I could not leave him unprotected. Not with the others nearby."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Why not? It is over, and we have lost. Though we tried to win, we still failed. And with the truth, I can speak to you as me. Anything you wish to know Danny, ask me. I will tell you what I know."
" You guys promised me that at Christmas too, and you tricked me then. Why should I believe a word you say now?" He muttered sourly, crossing his legs into a more comfortable position on the sand. She shook her head.
" Everything Tam spoke of was truthful. He did not lie, and never lies."
"Oh really? Then why all this, huh? If he really didn't want to kill Harry and had another reason of as you guys put it," fixing" time, I'd like to know about it."
The ghost paused as if to regain her thoughts together. " To understand, you must know about us. As we have said, we are unborn to the timestream. Non-existence." Lucrezia raised her hands, studying the palish blue skin. " I was once alive. Not this. Yet… tragedy fell onto me. Thomas attempted to save me from the grasp of death but did not understand the gravity of the magic he cast. The price of it. It failed and we were torn from time. Lost everything."
Hands dropping back down she looked out onto the lake before she gave Danny a rueful smile. " You would think it would be wonderful. He and I are almost immortal. But when time moves and you cannot… over and over without purpose…It is not worth losing everything for that."
On her face Danny could tell there was a lot more grief behind what she'd told him. After a time she continued. " We tried everything. Magical, ghostly. But nothing worked. It did not help that in the future the world was in pieces. Destroyed beyond recognition. Until… until one day it changed. Like a switch being flicked, the future changed into something different. Everything had been repaired."
"That was when I confronted my evil future, wasn't it? When I change my timeline." He spoke almost in a whisper, understanding where this was going. The ghost nodded with a sad smile, leaning down closer to his face.
" We knew whoever had done it must be powerful. Perhaps held powers like us. When a timeline changes Danny, those bound to time alter to fit into the new existence. It is why we remember. Our powers are nothing like Clockworks. We move through time like never-ending doors, freely opening where we want to go into that current timeline. Yet when we imprint ourselves into those moments, those doors lock behind us, and we cannot return through them. If a new timeline forms then those doors reopen, allowing new imprints to our will. We knew then whoever had altered time likely remembered the future like us. Someone like that could help."
"So… you found me in that future?"
"Yes. The half ghost who-" She stopped herself quickly, huffing in secret amusement. " …Tam spoke to you first. We worried your ghost-hunting history would… be a threat to me. But once we explained, you became extremely interested in our condition. Wanted to help us."
"I did?" Considering everything that had happened at Hogwarts, it seemed bizarre that any version of himself would ever want to help them. From her soft laugh, she could tell that he was shocked at the news.
" You might be surprised, but you and Tam once got on quite well. It was you who told us about Clockwork, about his time powers. But we could not find him. No matter how much we searched the Ghost Zone, he would not reveal himself to us. Even so, you still wanted to help."
Her mood shifted then, a frown appearing as she watched a flock of geese land on the glossy water. " You had an idea. A theory that might cure our Unborness. If your powers allowed you to travel between living and dead, then maybe we could travel between existence. Even if to tether us only briefly, using something like your rings might buy us enough time to fix our time."
"But something must have gone wrong. If it worked you never would have ended up here." Danny tensed as to where this was heading, not liking the concept of his ghost powers getting involved or how that was even possible.
" The problem was you didn't know the internal workings of your powers. Your parent's technology only knew so much. But there was one person that knew everything. Vlad Plasmius. And his knowledge was well hidden."
He leant back, scoffing. "Let me guess; on a computer that I apparently knew the password to?"
"Yes. When Tam asked for a truce at Hogsmeade, that was the one. We learned that Plasmius's systems were highly protected, but had a weakness. Underneath his basic security, he had a… I think it was something like a genetics password, that would allow only him to access his deepest secrets. Yet we learned he had included yours into it as well."
Danny jolted back upright. "Excuse me, what?"
" …You told us it was because he schemed to get you to join his side. I don't know everything, but he had a collection of passwords that took us months to crack before we reached his research. Plasmius likely assumed you would never make it that far on your own. You half ghosts have unique blood, a unique genetics code so that only a half ghost could read that knowledge. You believed that in the unlikely event Plasmius succeeded in his plots with your parents and you joined him, he would have allowed you access to it."
" And Vlad just casually and welcomely let you spend months in his house to break into his computer?"
"I… I probably shouldn't say too much on the topic, in case I risk the future again."
A slight unease filled Danny. There was no way that the Fruitloop would have allowed that to happen in his mansion. He couldn't even step a toe into that place without the half ghost kicking him out. Which left the only reason he could think of, that Plasmius wasn't there in the future. Had something happened?
When he saw she would not answer, he asked another question. " Then why didn't you get the information? What happened?"
"Things… Did not go to plan. We were close. Very close. Reading through all his research took time, but we almost had what we needed. But… tragedy struck, and the plan fell to pieces… I do not want to talk of such things anymore." Lucrezia bowed her head with eyes closed, hair falling over her face. Knowing he was pushing his luck with the information he'd gotten so far, Danny didn't ask for more.
Instead, they sat on the bank for a time, the midday sun slowly started to change into afternoon. Danny pondered what Lucrezia had said. There were still things missing, things that she was hiding from him. But talking of futures and pasts bought with it a new piece of information. Suddenly one of the biggest puzzle pieces he had fell into place. It all made sense now.
"It was you two, wasn't it? You're the ones that brought Vlad to Hogwarts."
" It was Tam's idea. I did not approve of it." Lucrezia let her hair drift back into the air, annoyance pulling up her lip. " We always knew there was a chance you would win. Was in your nature, to be unpredictable. If we lost and wanted to open the doors into a future, we needed to warp time so badly it would change. What better corruption than the two half ghost meetings before they should? It meant our old plan could be returned to, and Tam wanted revenge."
"What?" Of all the reasons Danny wondered, that hadn't been one of them.
" When… after our first attempt failed, we still knew Plasmius had the knowledge we sought. We knew you had a… rocky relationship with the other, history that we could use. We then moved through time and Tam approached him with an offer; information on you and the future for his research on Half ghosts. But Plasmius did not trust us and attacked instead. We barely got out of there in one piece… Well, I almost didn't…"
She shivered, and Danny cringed. He knew Plasmius's powers could be brutal, and his electric attacks would have been agony to a ghost that controls water.
" The attack angered Tam. He is also… very protective of me. On the night Tam confronted you inside the castle, I was in Tam's body where Plasmius was in the hospital. I… I healed him and swapped bodies again. When you entered the Ghost Zone it was me there, waiting for Tam. Before your ice powers went out of control. The moment you blasted me away, Tam and I joined together so you wouldn't notice. Plasmius was in the Ghost Zone by then…"
"…How did you make a ghost portal?"
" We didn't. Tam is skilled in illusions. Charms are one of his only strengths. When Vlad awoke, Tam cast a charm onto him. While Plasmius saw a swirling ghost portal, Tam stood waiting to grab him. And when he did, he apparated him not just through location, but through time. Only by a few minutes, as travel with Tam can give one connected to time terrible sickness, unlike by me."
Danny shuffled around again, and a smirk crept onto his face. " Then you brought him to me, so I would run into him. All so you could ruin your plans?"
"Never did we think you would become allies!" Lucrezia bubbled into laughter, it ringing like a chime. " Our plan was for you to meet. That is all. Once you both had enough of each other, we knew Vlad would try to leave. Or you would kick him out! I threatened him, hoping it would cement that. Then… Tam would wait at Hogsmeade for him to stumble into town, where he would… strike him down. But he never came."
It was Danny's turn to shudder. If Vlad had decided to leave that night, he would have fallen into a deadly trap. And there was no way with how weak and unskilled he was that Vlad could have held his own against the wizard. It seemed when he accepted the truce with the half ghost, he had ended up saving more lives than just Harry's.
The ghost let out a deep, mournful sigh. " It ruined our plans and enraged Tam. We hoped that it might open the gate to our old plan. In truth… Harry was never really our real target. Neither was it you. We wanted Clockwork. If we ruined the future, the Time ghost would have to reveal himself to us. Instead… he sent you. And changed everything."
" Are you telling me, you did all of this just to get Clockwork's attention?" His anger built at that revelation, eyes flickering green. If that was true, then how dare they do this!
She shook her head. " Harry is special. You could say, he is very much like me and Tam. He and Voldemort. Gaining Clockwork's attention was the main goal, but was not all of it. In our desperation for a cure, we learned of Harry's history and his reasons for being tied to the Dark Lord. Their prophecy. They both might be the only others like us to exist, yet they were still connected to time. Perhaps… the dark magic that made Harry what he was could be studied, used to help us. I suppose… saying that we were not after Harry is not quite true after all…"
Danny balled his hands into fists, moving onto his knees. " That's no excuse to destroy the timeline! Cause the deaths of hundreds, if not more for your mission! Harry isn't some tool you can use when you want to, none of us are. You're psychopathic if you think what both of you are doing is fixing anything!"
Lucrezia grew in panic, hair twirling up into the air into its normal underwater state. " You must understand Danny, that Thomas is obsessed! He is desperate to save our time and restore us to the timestream. To you, it seems wrong, But to him, it seems the only way! He will not stop, he will keep going and going and going until he gets what he wants. No matter what he destroys along the way."
"You seriously don't-"
"-TIME OUT!"
Abruptly, time froze. The lake stilled and the flock of geese froze in the mid-flight. The trees became immobilised, and the wind died to nothing. Behind the pair Clockwork hovered just above the ground, his time staff swaying gently in his hand. As he suspected, Lucrezia turned her gaze to him, no signs of his pause affecting her. Any of the panic she had shown Danny had all but vanished. Now nothing but cold indifference was in her stare as she studied him. After all, she probably expected that he would come sooner or later.
" So… we finally meet." Lucrezia drifted up into the air, purple eyes locked onto his adult form. Clockwork didn't respond at first. He didn't need to. The Time Master had heard everything she had told Danny, using his timeline to view her. It had taken some digging to learn about these two, but asking him had confirmed it. He had found the fractured, broken remains of their old timeline, so long lost he hadn't noticed when it snuffed out.
"What makes you think that I would want to see you? You both ended up wasting my time."
"For good reason, Time Master. You would not have come all this way just for nothing."
"Oh?" Shifting to his elder form, Clockwork remained as calm as possible. It was so rare to not know the outcome of an event. "What is it that you think I am here for?"
"To fulfil a simple request. One that I suspect only you can do." She glided over to him, face emotionless as her hands moved up to her chest. He watched, already suspecting what he was about to find as the energy of it pulsed in the air. With a slightly mocking smile, the ghost dug her fingers into her chest, the clothes and skin turning translucent as her fingertips dug deeper. Clockwork couldn't hold back his frown when instead of where her ghost core should be, was a time medallion.
Though to say it was like his own was not the truth. It was one of his older models, one that had fallen into the hands of mortals. One that should have been broken like all his medallions were to become in the future. It was now twisted into something else, something foul. It was spinning constantly, twitching and jolting back and forth as the ticking now hummed out. Now and again it seemed to blur, convulsing in whatever Dark arts was holding it together, groaning under its almighty strain.
"I believe this Time turner is yours." Her voice remained even as she continued to show her weakness. Clockwork transformed into his child form, watching the medallion twirl.
"And what do you expect me to do about it?"
"You know what I want. I want you to take it from me. Destroy it. Surely you have the power to do so?"
For the first time in their meeting, Clockwork grinned. "You know the cost of altering one's time. It is their responsibility if they wreck their time, not mine. Or did you not even bother reading the warning I carved onto my medallions for you magic folk? "I mark the hours, every one. Nor have I yet outrun the sun. My use and value, unto you, are gauged by what you have to do!"
Lucrezia bristled, hands recoiling from her torso. " So you would have time to stay damaged? How amusing that the Master of time will let it rot. All of the future woes could be ended if you destroy what is within me. Without it, Thomas cannot travel through time. It would protect your precious future from ruin and you would be a fool not to do it."
"It is not my duty to intrude with matters of time." He shifted back to his adult form, pointing his staff towards her. The Time Master's mood changed, darkening as his voice boomed like thunder, the pendulum in his chest swinging faster. "People can change their future, yet it is not up to me to do it for them. To ask me to fix your broken time makes you nothing better than a spoiled child, begging for their mistakes to go away. I do not let children command me. If you truly desired to destroy my medallion, you would have done it yourself. Do not dare think you can speak to me so Witch, to the Father of all Time!"
The sudden stillness of his echoing words enveloped them, neither moving nor continuing their discussion. Clockwork waited, knowing with patience he would have his answer.
"You are cruel. Having the power to save lives yet do not."
"I am neutral. I do not take sides."
Lucrezia scoffed, her calmness dropping for a second before she turned back to study the un-moving half ghost. " I wonder about that…"
With a sudden Crack!- and with a puff of purple smoke, she was gone. Exhaling his tension Clockwork let his pose relax, his pendulum slowing to its normal rhythm. He was happy that the confrontation had ended well. It was strange for him to not know what will happen, an odd thrill of the unknown that he rarely had. But it had to be done. If he had done what she asked of him, then the ripple effect it would have on time would have been far worse than letting it continue. He was not falling for her ruse.
Now he returned to Danny, the young half ghost still paused mid-word. As he drifted over he couldn't hold back the smile, he had done well. Though, he should have expected nothing less of Phantom. Reaching into his cloak Clockwork took out his own time medallion, unfurling the ribbon. Carefully he dropped it around the teen's neck, waiting for time to start again.
"- that I'd b-believe!" Danny jumped as the mist burst from his mouth, freezing once he spotted that she was now gone. Cautiously he surveyed his surroundings until he saw the ghost floating next to him.
"Clockwork?… Clockwork!" In a burst of joy, Danny bolted up and in his uncontrolled excitement crushed the Time ghost in a hug. The ghost chuckled at the tight embrace yet made no move to avoid it; he knew it had been coming.
It took only a moment for Danny to realise what he was doing before he lurched away quickly, the tips of his ears reddening. " Sorry! I-I didn't mean to do that! I… don't know what came over me…" Rubbing the back of his neck furiously, he tried to look anywhere but at the ghost. " I just-"
"-Thought that you might not see me again?"
The teen winced, pushing down the guilt he felt for thinking such a thing. " Yeah… I was starting to worry a little that you'd left me here in the past forever."
Clockwork nodded sombrely, shifting to his older body. " I apologise Danny. It was important for me not to meddle and rile up the Observants more than I already had. You could say… we were both being watched closely."
When the Time ghost winked at him, Danny smiled warmly back. It was such a relief to see him again. The buzz of excitement, the one he felt once he learned Harry was safely burned back into his chest. Happily, he lifted the heavy medallion to look at it closer.
"So, the timeline's safe now, right?"
"For now."
Seeing his worried frown, Clockwork laughed. "And when is time ever safe? As long as there are those with a choice, it will always be threatened. But yes, the time event was saved from heading down a road it shouldn't have been on. You acted as my catalyst wonderfully. You have my thanks, Phantom."
Danny felt a flush of pride at his words. All his hard work had paid off. Even if no one knew what he had done completely here, the fact that Clockwork was grateful for his help was enough.
"Now," With a glance to the castle behind them, Clockwork rose his staff higher. " It is time to get you back to your time." The ghost held out his other hand, and Danny quickly went ghost, blinking from the bright flash. "Unless…" The Time Master paused, his red gaze studying him emotionlessly. "Unless you wish to stay?"
Danny snorted with laughter. " Are you kidding me? Why ask when you know what my answer is?"
"Just giving you a choice."
As Danny was about to take the ghost's hand, he paused. A choice. Was Clockwork warning him of something when he told him that? Was he advising him that he shouldn't go home? But if that was the case the ghost didn't show any signs of it, only curling his eyebrow in amusement.
Taking a deep breath, Danny took hold of his outstretched hand, and with a nod let the ghost teleport him away to his lair.
Like before Danny instantly shuddered from entering the Ghost Zone so abruptly. Looking around at the mass of ticking clocks, he wondered whether they still were in the past or back in the future. Clockwork let go of his gloved palm, gliding over to his waiting mirror. With a twirl of his staff, the surface blurred and morphed into a familiar image, and Danny was immediately filled with an ache of homesickness at the sight of his classroom.
With a gesture of his head, Clockwork let him enter the mirror first. Danny floated through the glassy barrier, returning to the still-frozen classroom. He paused to take it all in, the faces of his classmates, Mr Lancer posed at the ready to explain the next step. Immediately he sought out his friends, grinning at the sight of Sam's boring scowl and Tucker leaning over to point into empty air. It was just as he had left it, still the same as it had been months ago. He drifted over to where his desk sat like a stranger, feeling weirdly out of place in the setting.
As he turned to see Clockwork join him his gaze fell onto the whiteboard, the sight of the writings jogging his memory. " That's right… it was math class. Calculus…" It was strange, having to think hard to remember something that had been a part of his daily life. For so long he had wanted to be back in this moment, to be back home. But it was odd how much he had forgotten of it. With a flash he transformed back, fingers lightly running along the edge of his desk. "Tucker was about to poke me in the back, right?"
The Time ghost nodded though his smile had softened a fraction. Without a word he pointed his staff to him, the gears glowing a deep purple as they started moving. Danny felt a tingle course through his body, his head suddenly itched crazily before the feeling ebbed away. Blinking in surprise he looked down to see that his clothes had changed back to what he had worn before his mission. And running a hand through his hair confirmed that it was now shorter.
"There… that's better. It would be quite a wonder if you were to change your clothes in a mere second. Though it is only in surface appearances. Everything you have experienced, including your newly formed ice powers, is still there."
"Don't suppose you also know how I could learn to control those ice powers?" At the knowing smirk from the ghost, Danny rolled his eyes. Of course. "Let me guess; all in good time?"
"Indeed." Clockwork chuckled as the teen scowled, sitting back down at his desk. Danny's eyes skimmed over his notes, but whatever he had been trying to write was lost to him. Catching up on his mountain of homework was going to be even more of a pain if he couldn't remember what he had.
"Danny," The serious tone from the ghost drew his attention back to him, the concerned frown on his face catching him off-guard. "There is one final thing I must say. Though you must already know, the timeline has been altered to what it was. We are on… a new path, so to speak."
"Because I know about the magic world now?"
"Yes, but there is more," Clockwork leaned closer, and Danny was suddenly hit with a sense of deja-vu. The ghost had loomed over him the same way when he gave him his mission. " I cannot meddle too much, it isn't in my laws to do so. But all I can say is what I have said to you before. Advice that I heed you now to understand its truths."
Gently, Clockwork grabbed his medallion, a pained look breaking under his hood as he lifted it. "Don't repeat the future."
"What-"
"-TIME IN!"
Danny quickly shut his mouth, the ghost now gone. Instead, Mr Lancer was now speaking in his monotone voice, the sounds of bored and fidgeting students returning. He sat upright in his chair, heart racing as he processed what Clockwork had told him. Suddenly there was pressure in his back, Tucker's poke finally landing its mark. But Danny didn't respond, only wondering the meaning of what his warning meant with dread.
For a moment his eyes locked with Mr Lancer, the teacher immediately seemed to sense that something was wrong when his forehead creased. Danny swiftly lowered his head to his notes, trying to blend back into normality. Making sure Lancer was no longer staring at him, he finally twisted around to see what Tucker wanted. Once his best friend saw he had his attention, he waved a small piece of torn paper at him.
Danny just stared, unable to believe that in a matter of minutes he had gone from sitting on the banks of the Black Lake to being home. Casually, he snuck his hand under his other arm, taking the paper. With a quick check of the front, he unfolded the note to read the messy writing.
Are you up to Nasty Burger after? U in? P.S pass to Sam.
He read those words again and smiled.
###
"Are you… sure you're okay Dude?"
Danny nodded with a grin, all the while stuffing his face with more fries. The moment school had ended he'd been bursting with new-found energy and joy, so much so that even Paulina and Dash's taunting didn't sour it. He had laughed at the bewildered faces of his friends, just so unbelievably happy to be in Amity Park. Once they were away from the school grounds and prying eyes he crushed them into a hug, then freaked them both out when he transformed and flew them to the burger joint. The day had gotten better when he remembered it was Friday, which meant the whole weekend to hang out with his friends at all their favourite haunts.
Across from him Sam and Tucker shared a look. Sam had barely eaten any of her veggie burger as she studied him with concern. Danny still caught himself just staring at them, worried that soon he would wake up back in the magic room at any moment.
Sam curled her violet-nailed fingers together, squinting at him. "We know what happened was …stressful for you Danny… But are you sure you're not having a mental breakdown?"
"After what?" He paused, hand hovering over his soda. "Oh! That. Yeah, it was a bit freaky meeting an evil version of myself. But come on guys, I'm fine now!"
He knew something was up due to the fact Tucker hadn't touched any of his burger. And for Tucker, that never happened. "Dude; this morning you were saying this was heading to be the worst day of your life, remember? Right before Dash threw you in your locker again."
"Huh." It took him a moment to recall. Now that he thought about it, he did have a horrible morning. Both the Box ghost and Ember had kept him up all night long, only giving him an hour of sleep. Then Dash had done his usual morning bullying. Through all the panic of the mission, he'd forgotten.
Seeing both of their worried looks Danny shrugged it off. Nothing was going to burst this delight of being home. He wanted to tell both of them everything about his mission, and he would. Later. But for now, he just wanted to enjoy his Nasty Burger and be happy being back to his somewhat normal half ghost life.
Thinking about half ghosts, it dawned on him about Vlad. That must have been what Clockwork had warned him, the timeline had changed because of meeting him. He was going to have to check up on that later, see what his time at Hogwarts had done to this new timeline. And whether Luna- no, Lucrezia and Tam were finally out of his life for good.
"There you are!"
They all jolted as a shadow fell over their booth. Danny immediately spotted the bright reddish hair, his sister glaring down her nose at him.
" I just knew you would be hiding here!"
"Jazz…" He felt the fries slip from his fingers. It had been forever since he'd seen her, worried that he might never see his grumpy know-it-all sister ever again. Even as her scowl deepened, the happiness he felt grew and Danny grinned.
Scoffing she placed her hands on her hips. "Don't try to smile your way out of it, Little bro. You were supposed to meet me by the car!"
For a moment Danny was confused. So much of this day was lost to him. He couldn't remember promising his sister anything. Normally if he wasn't grounded he would hang out with his friends or fly home on Friday. The fact he couldn't remember probably meant he had planned to ignore her in the first place.
He shrugged. " Sorry, I forgot."
" I think you've forgotten everything," Sam muttered and Danny felt his ears burn, knowing that she was referring to how he'd forgotten which class they had after Maths. Of course, none of them knew yet he'd been gone from Amity Park for almost a whole year.
"You sure you're Danny? Not some imposter looking like him?" Tucker leaned closer to study him, scowling through his glasses. Danny raised his hands in frustration, glaring at the two of them.
"Come on guys, I'm fine. Never better. Not having a mental breakdown, not an imposter. I was just thinking about my crummy life in maths and just worked things out. Is it so weird that I'm happy?"
"Totally Dude."
"Yeah, it's pretty weird."
"Seriously!?"
Jazz sighed and before he could stop her picked up his bag. " You and I need to talk. I'm concerned about how your…"outside activities" is affecting your studies. We need to discuss how I can help you with that."
Danny stood slowly, taking his soda cup with him. The humour he'd felt vanished at the thought of her prying into his ghost-hunting. "You're not getting involved in my "outside activities". That's something between me, Sam and Tucker to deal with, not you."
"I-" His sister abruptly stopped, blinking at him for a moment. Whatever it was she quickly shook it off to continue. " You can't keep me in the dark anymore Danny, I want to help you."
He scowled back. Wonderful; heading out of one mess and into another. He'd totally forgotten that confronting his alternative future had revealed that his sister had known all about his secret. Her nosiness and overprotectiveness were rushing back to be a pain.
Suddenly she rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, dragging him away. Immediately he remembered his friends and his mood switched quickly as he looked back at them.
"Talk to you guys later. Tomorrow! At the mall, usual spot!"
He let Jazz drag him away, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to weasel himself out of this one. Not that he was that upset, he was still happy. Danny knew he had plenty of time to discuss Hogwarts with his friends, but now as they stepped out into the car park he drew his eyes back to Jazz. Even as they walked his sister was looking at him with a strange side-eye.
Once they had pulled up in Jazz's beat-up old vehicle, they started their journey back home. All the while they drove he watched as the familiar streets passed by, wondering who was the next ghost he'd be fighting. Yeah, it was good to be home.
"You know..." Her puzzled voice broke him out of his thoughts. She was frowning, her eyes still focused on the road. " I know you weren't exactly happy with me knowing your half ghost secret. But Danny, you're acting… a little bit weird."
He just shrugged. He didn't know what else to say to that. He recalled that Jazz had been trying to insert herself into their ghost-hunting routines. It was likely now his newest "mission". He was going to have to deal with the repercussion of her knowing.
"I completely understand after that well… psychological event that we all would be feeling a little bit bizarre. I mean, I am still feeling a little bit weirded out about that ghost. I can only imagine how you felt being in such a stressful situation. And there's nothing wrong with stress. Stress can be good! But that… that wasn't the good kind of stress. But Danny... you sure you don't want to talk about it with me? It will be good to get it off your chest, good therapy to get your worries off your mind."
"No, I don't want to talk about it. Look Jazz, I'm fine. Everything that happened with… You know, I'm not bothered about it anymore. It's all in the past now. Literally. I just feel extremely happy today. Mainly because I haven't been beaten up by a ghost in a while, kind of." He cringed, hand brushing his stomach. " I'm okay now."
It sounded like a lame attempt even for him and from Jazz's glance, it looked like she didn't believe him too. He didn't care to explain more, twisting his torso away from her to stare out the window.
"Danny, I want to help you. Believe that. You can't just run off ghost-hunting in the middle of the night by yourself. And like Dad said I can handle ghosts, I've got the experience."
He huffed in amusement, resting his cheek on his hand. " I appreciate the offer Sis, but I'm fine taking them on myself. Besides, I have Sam and Tucker helping me. They're way more experienced at ghost fighting than you."
" You might get hurt-"
"-I've already been hurt. And I'll likely get hurt again. But that's normal fighting ghosts, and thankfully the healing that ghosts have crossed over to half ghost too." He turned back to her, sending a stern look at him. " Just drop this Jazz. You can't change my mind about this. I'm not endangering your life so that you can make yourself a target for my enemies. If you want to truly be helpful to me you can help by making sure Mom and Dad never find out."
As they pulled up to the front of their house Jazz stopped, staring at him oddly. Danny didn't know what kind of look she was giving him. What she was thinking. After milling something over she sighed, shoulders dropping a little.
"Okay… But this isn't the end of it! Now I know why your grades are falling to dreadful levels! We've got a lot of catching up to do to get you back into the A's!"
He groaned, kicking the door open as he slid out. There go his peaceful nights of tiny sleep. But the moment he saw his house all those negative thoughts vanished.
The Fenton works were exactly as it was before. But of course it would be. The operations centre gleamed in the afternoon light, thankfully turned off due to no ghostly activity. Seeing that Jazz was still eyeing him weirdly he scooped up his bag, looping it over his shoulder and strolled to the front door.
The moment he got his first view inside, he couldn't help but pause. His living room waited for him, and the familiar chilling thrum of the ghost portal greeted him as he passed the threshold. At once he heard that someone was in the kitchen, the frantic clatter of plates and cups told him it was Mom. Danny grinned and knowing that it was so unlike him, he still did it anyway.
"We're home!" He called out, dropping his bag by the door. Feeling giddy he entered the family kitchen, spotting his mother for the first time in forever. She had been surprised by his callout, normally he slunk away to his room in invisible silence when he came home. Pulling her goggles up to her forehead Maddie blinked in confusion as he entered, before giving him a cheerful smile.
"Welcome home sweety, you're back early!"
For a second Danny took in every detail of her, mainly to make sure she didn't have the Specter Deflector locked around her waist. Then he moved quickly around the table to her and embraced her tightly.
Immediately he felt her tense, " Danny!? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," he muttered as he held her tighter. "Just remembered how much I love you, Mom."
He heard her make a soft choke before she return his hug with a firm squeeze. " Aw, sweetheart! You haven't said that to me since you were little! I love you too, my little guy!" Danny let her fuss and nag over him, brushing his hair back and asking if he'd been sleeping well. Normally he never allow the embarrassment to last this long, but he revelled in affection now. Honestly, he felt a bit bad. After his ghost powers had developed he had avoided his mother the most, her sharp wit making him afraid she'll figure out his secret. Seeing the happiness on her face, eyes shining, made him realize she had been missing him too.
Finally he wormed out of her clutches, though his mother now moved about the kitchen with a spring in her step. As Danny walked back to the living room he spotted Jazz on the flight above. His sister was staring at him with a look of utter disbelief, clearly trying to figure out what on earth was going on with him. He just smiled back smugly, and she slowly retreated into her room. He was wondering whether he should tell his sister about the mission, but he'd wait until his friends found out first.
Instead, he headed down to the lab, knowing that the final member of their family was likely tinkering below. Jumping down the last few steps he spotted Dad, Jack peering up from his soldering work to pause.
His first words were muffled until he lifted the protector helmet away from his face. " Hey, Danny-o! Back from school already?! No spooks out there causing trouble!?"
"No, it's all quiet up top." Carefully Danny stepped around the piles of scrap metal and discarded prototypes. Whatever new device he was inventing was going to be big. Despite the concern he had for Phantom, he pushed that worry aside to join him at the workbench. " What are you working on Dad?"
It took a moment for Jack to figure out that his son was actually interested in his ghostly inventions for once. When he did, he beamed like Christmas had come early. Placing the torch down he gestured for Danny to come closer, grinning in delight. " Well son, this here's going to be my best invention yet; I call it, the Fenton Crammer! Don't tell your mother that! She still hasn't come around to the name yet. But I'll get her!"
"Oh, yeah? What's it do?" Danny leaned against the cold metal table to listen, both amused and slightly worried when Dad enthusiastically explained the purpose of his new crazy idea…
###
The evening moved in a blur for Danny, a warm blur of spending time with his family. Dad had spent hours explaining his work, and dinner had been filled with talk and laughter. Though Jazz had fallen oddly silent, he could tell his parents welcomed the mood change, especially his mom. She had been gushing with pride at dinner, thrilled at Danny's questions about her projects and more than happy to share. Strange, that it took spending time away at Hogwarts, worried that he never would return to see what he'd been missing. It seemed now so silly, staying away from his parents as he had.
Finally, he retreated to his room, flopping down onto his bed. Sure the magic room had been awesome, but it couldn't beat his. Within the house, he could hear the sounds of his family preparing for sleep, the void of chill telling him Mom had locked the portal for tonight.
Lying on his soft duvet, he felt something dig into his leg and fishing for it reveal it was his phone. The battery was long dead, the only reminder of his time away. Quickly he padded over to his desk, returning it to its rightful charger. A flicker of guilt crossed over Danny, his friends were probably worried to death about him, maybe trying to message him without an answer. Already he'd freaked them out with his strange behaviour, he needed to at least let them know he'd explain everything tomorrow.
As he swung back and forth on his desk chair, waiting for his phone to turn on, his ghost sense went off.
Danny watched the blue mist rise into the air, feeling the icy chill react in his core. He grinned, a wave of exhilaration washing over him at the thought of a ghost fight. It caused him to laugh, pushing his wheeled chair out into the middle of his room. When did he become happy for the ghosts to annoy him? But he was, ready to flex old muscles that he hadn't used in ages.
"Going ghost!" Smirking he summoned his rings, and in one fluid motion flew threw his roof and up into the night sky. Twisting to survey his surroundings, he debated who it could be. Maybe the Box ghost again? Or Skulker, Technus; perhaps even Walker, he hadn't seen that guy in a while. Yet as Danny stared out at Amity Park, he didn't spot the tell-tale glow of an approaching ghost. Strange, usually they would have boomed their threats to him already-
-Without warning something slammed into him, sending him flying through the air. Danny could feel the burn of the blast dig into his back, wincing as he tried to stop his momentum from crashing himself into the opposite building. He half made it, catching himself from slamming into the roof but still ended up hitting it, skidding along the tiles with a painful thud.
Using his feet he stopped himself from going over the edge, he was relieved that other than the burning sensation he wasn't injured.
"Oh isn't this a surprise? And here I was enjoying a nice, peaceful night of scheming when you just had to show up to ruin it."
Danny instantly froze, a pit of dread settling in his gut. He knew that voice anywhere, yet it couldn't be. Slowly he sat up but made no move to get up. "Vlad…"
It was him, the same Vlad Plasmius that had been in the future. The half ghost jeered at him exactly like the future Plasmius always did. His appearance was now the same as he remembered before he went into the past, his cape billowing around him in the night wind. When he saw that Danny was speechlessly staring at him, Plasmius crooked an eyebrow, fangs flashing.
"What's this? No witty banter tonight? Or perhaps I've caught you at a bad, yet opportune time?"
Danny swallowed, carefully kneeling on the loose tiles. This didn't make sense, wasn't his meeting with the half ghost in the past supposed to change this future? Wasn't his truce supposed to save Vlad's future from their conflict? " I don't understand…"
"No, of course you wouldn't Daniel," Plasmius flexed his fingers with a chuckle, probably preparing to fire again. " The word "opportune" is probably too big of a word-"
"-No," Cutting him off sharply Danny stood, frowning in confusion. " I don't understand why your being like this, Vlad. I thought after everything… after what happened at Hogwarts I thought you would be-"
He stopped talking when his mentioning of Hogwarts sent an instant change to the half ghost. Plasmius froze, the smirk vanishing from his face at once. His red eyes widened, all posture of hostility disappeared from the guy as his hand dropped limply to his side. Over time a frown fell onto his stare, gaze dropping to the streets below.
"Ah… I see…"
Suddenly he vanished in a puff of pink smoke.
Danny knew it was coming, knew he wasn't fast enough to dodge him. In a flash, Plasmius appeared next to him, grip latching onto the front of his suit. Before he could react the half ghost teleported them again, the crushing squeeze of moving from one place to the other cutting off his air supply. They popped back into the new location, Danny briefly catching sight of the buildings of Amity Park's docks before he was pinned hard against a wall. Grunting from the blow he found he couldn't move, Vlad holding him firmly.
"So. It seems that your amnesia has finally lifted. Or perhaps you just got tired of pretending." Vlad leaned in closer, and Danny could see that the half ghost was trying very hard to hold down his rage. "Now, you're going to explain everything to me. Everything! You're not leaving this spot alive until you tell me what in blazes is going on, Danny Phantom!"
Plasmius hissed his name out venomously, his fury pouring over Danny. He swallowed against the forearm pinning him, realising right then why Vlad was so enraged at him. Why Clockwork had warned him.
Oh Crud...
AN: It's finally here... The end of Arc 1! I've had parts of this ending on my computer for so long, that it's weird finally posting it! Of course, things couldn't go that easy for Danny... Heh.
A massive thank you to you for reading this! When I first started re-posting, I thought I would just end up in this fic here. I had never planned this to be the ending, of course, but I thought I would hate writing again. But writing again has been so much fun! Even if there are only a few readers, I'm still going to write this story! There were whole chapters that I cut from this arc that I want to explore again. In saying that, I'm going to take a little break in updates for a while to bank-up drafts so I can upload them on a schedule, as I have now. Only for a few weeks, I reckon. I have Arc 2 all outlined and it's not going to be as long as this one is chapter-wise, but the first few chapters need some fleshing out. And, I need to re-read the Harry Potter book to fact-check some things. Which book it will be... you'll have to wait and see.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!