Ghost Hour at Hogwarts

Harry woke up the next morning with worry coursing through his heart. He remembered Danny mentioning a Skulker a few times. To see the hunter as Voldemort’s prisoner was very disturbing and he couldn’t help but wonder what they should do now. Voldemort knew of Phantom. He seemed obsessed with him, even. The young wizard swallowed harshly, he knew what it’s like to have the madman obsessed with you and he didn’t wish it on anyone.

He glanced to the bed that held his, probably still slumbering, twin and promised himself that they would deal with it. Danny was powerful, Voldemort wouldn’t be able to do much. Especially not at Hogwarts. 

Standing up, he stretched and acknowledged his perfect eye sight, which has become a daily ritual. It certainly was a game changer to not have to put on glasses first thing in the morning. He washed up, put on his uniform and grabbed his school bag. With a pang he remembered that he would have Umbridge as his Defence professor. His favourite subject sullied by someone who can only be associated with a toad. 

As Harry made his way down to the common room, several other early risers quietened down the moment he entered. Some looked uncomfortable and even scooted away from him, while others seemed angry or even disgusted. Sighing inwardly, Harry raised a brow

“Does anyone have anything to say to me?” 

Most of them broke eye contact but Seamus walked up to him, pointing his finger at Harry threateningly 

“I almost wasn’t allowed to come, you know? Me mum reads the Daily Prophet. They’re saying ye’re a liar. You-Know-Who can’t be back and I find it very disgusting of you, that you’re using your name to pretend otherwise!”

Several students nodded their heads in support and Harry could feel his emotions starting to boil over. Flashes of the graveyard and Cedric’s lifeless eyes appeared before him, the laughter of the Death Eaters as he was being tortured and terrified for his life ringing in his ears. He looked at the students and saw the youth in their eyes, their innocence. Of course they’d rather believe their parents and the official news paper. Even though they all saw the dead Cedric and a screaming, crying and bleeding Harry just four months ago. 

It didn’t make it hurt any less and the shadows started to rise in the hidden corners of the room. Before Harry could answer, he felt a questioning impulse that his twin sent through their bond, along with some calmsafecalm.

Danny came down the stairs soon after and stopped right next to him. Harry felt him taking in the scene in front of them and then placed a comforting hand on his shoulder in support. The other students looked from one Potter to the other, as if they were a ping pong game. Straightening up, Harry took a step forward and said loudly

“Believe what you want, I told you the truth and if you’re all too scared to see that, then it’s your fault. Cedric didn’t just die- he was murdered. By Voldemort and I saw him. It was horrible and I’d rather it was all a lie but it’s the cold and harsh reality. So either leave me alone or accept that I’m saying the truth!” 

Most kids now seemed to be at least a little ashamed but like Seamus, all of them looked away and didn’t seek more confrontation, pretending like he and his brother weren’t standing there. Their answer was obvious. Shaking his head, Harry tucked Danny along out the door and towards the Great Hall for a much needed breakfast. 

When they arrived, Hermione was already sitting at the Gryffindor table, her nose in a book. A couple seventh years were also cluttered around, sleepily eating their breakfast. Without really thinking about it, Harry sat down opposite Hermione, Danny next to him. He grabbed an apple and a ladle of scrambled eggs with a bit of bacon. His twin did the same and they laughed seeing their similar tastes.

Their laughter alarmed Hermione who looked up and smiled shyly at them but otherwise said nothing. They spend their breakfast in comfortable silence and ignored the many students trickling in over the next thirty minutes. Most of them stared at least once very obviously at the twins, talking in hushed tones to their friends and pointing at them. Others glared at Harry and took a wide berth around him. All in all, if Danny and later on Neville and Ginny hadn’t been there, Harry would’ve run out of the hall the minute he arrived, it was just a bit too much.

They all got their timetables twenty minutes before their first class and Harry groaned when he saw he had History, Potions and Defence all on the same day. Danny showed him his to compare and fortunately they were pretty similar, except Danny’s Runes classes were held when Harry had Divination. The twins decided to head to History early on, so they wouldn’t be swept up in the throng of rushing students later on. 

When they arrived at the closed door to History of Magic, Danny noticeably shuddered and coughed into his hand. It looked painful but Danny just seemed a bit confused and looked around, as if he was expecting someone to show up. Before Harry could ask, several ghosts emerged from the door, one even flew right through Harry, giving him the feeling of a cold shower from the inside. At once, all the ghosts stopped what they were doing and even turned around to stare at Danny. 

His brother waved halfheartedly and Sir Nicholas spluttered and went into a deep bow

“Heavens me, it is the king!” 

The other ghosts followed suit, even the Bloody Baron. Danny was very obviously uncomfortable but sighed and spoke up

“Hi guys. Nice to meet you. I know, the Realm’s ruler isn’t usually around magical ghosts but don’t worry, I don’t intend to harm you or force you away.” 

Harry wasn’t sure why he said that but all the ghosts seemed to be relieved, the teen furrowed his brows and looked at Danny

“How do they even recognise you?”

His brother sighed and watched the ghosts retreat while answering

“Magical ghosts aren’t as used to feeling ectoplasm as no-maj ones. Even in my human form they are able to tell I’m oozing ectoplasm. It’s probably a shock for them to feel so much at once. Even though I’m not yet crowned- nor even officially named the Crown Prince, ever since the Infinite Realms have accepted me as heir, I have a distinct air around me, I’ve been told. Not many ghosts that are constantly around ectoplasm would notice it but these ones? They do.”

He looked Harry up and down and smirked 

“They will probably treat you differently as well, seeing as you’re my brother. Give it a week and they’ll follow you everywhere.”

Harry shuddered and shook himself 

“No, thank you. I prefer my shadows.”, he twisted the ring on his finger and smiled when the shadows started whispering in anticipation. He let go of his hold over them when Professor Binns opened the classroom door. The ghost blinked owlishly at Danny and seemed unsure as to what to do. Danny waved to him as well and simply said

“Don’t worry, I’m just a student who wants to learn. So long as the class isn’t boring, I’ll be happy.”

Binns continued to blink and Harry sighed, a fun history class would be a miracle. They chose seats near the back and waited until all the other students were seated. 

To their surprise, Binns actually made the class interesting. He used his limited ability to interact with his environment and kept his student’s attention on him. His voice wasn’t droning on and on and instead captured the students, that hadn’t immediately face planted onto their desks to sleep, with a powerful and strong voice. The professor talked about the interconnection of magic and the evolution of mankind. How different societies formed and how humanity was aware of magic up until the Dark Ages, when wizard-kind decided to hide after muggles started to hunt them out of fear. 

The class as a whole was confused but also excited at the end of the lesson. It was the first time they felt like they actually learnt something and they looked forward to the next history lesson. Danny threw a ‘thank you’ at Binns when they left for Potions. Harry was still bewildered with what he had just experienced and continued to walk behind his twin until they were inside the classroom. 

Old fumes and other peculiar smells forced him back to reality. They once again sat next to each other, without needing to question it.

Another surprising thing happened: Snape completely ignored the twins. Which meant they were able to focus on the potion they had to do. A simple one from the previous year, manageable within two hours. This time, Harry didn’t have the Triwizard Tournament to worry about and Snape wasn’t honing in on any perceived wrongdoings on his part. He could concentrate on the potion in peace and he worked insanely well with Danny. It was as if they were one. Danny gave him what he needed the moment he wanted to ask for it and the other way around. At the end of class, they had a nearly perfect and completed potion.

Snape didn’t say anything but he did make a face as if he’d bitten into an especially bitter lemon. A win in Harry’s books.

Divination was weird only in so far that Professor Trelawney seemingly didn’t even notice him much. There were no ‘prophecies’ at all and she just droned on about several things with no apparent connection. Honestly, what did tea leaves have to do with a Minotaur in Ancient Greece? Nothing, as far as he could tell. Harry only hoped Danny had more fun with his Runes class.

………

Danny did indeed have fun. Although he wasn’t the type of guy who found interpreting a single rune for over an hour exciting, it was still fascinating to learn how one rune can have dozens of different meanings and uses. 

He even got some praise from his teacher- a rarity in Amity Park! The young ghost never thought he’d continue to get praised away from Grimmauld Place. Sure, the professors who ensured he was up to date didn’t hide their fascination with him but that was there and now he was in a freaking magic school where he couldn’t expect to be treated differently.

Although, if he wanted to be just one of many, he shouldn’t have Harry Potter for a brother. The poor teen couldn’t do anything without getting backlash or criticism. If it were up to Danny, he would kidnap his twin and take him to the US. He would be much safer there, not perfectly safe but safe enough…

Within the blink of an eye, the class was over and Danny and Harry met up for Defense. They sat next to each other once again and waited for Umbridge to grace them with her overly pink presence. 

The other students continued their chattering and many didn’t even notice their new professor entering until a high pitched ‘eh-hem’ sounded. The last teens quieted down and within seconds everyone was looking up at her.

The woman in question smiled at them, it wasn’t a nice smile. It seemed too sweet, too superior. When her gaze met Harry’s, her lips thinned and she cocked her head in silent wonder.

“You, dear children, are the future of our wonderful wizarding world. It is my job as your educator and elder to ensure a sensible understanding of possible dangers that you will hopefully never experience.” 

She paused, as if she expected some sort of reaction yet all she got were blank and confused stares. 

With another high pitched sound, she continued 

“The way to do so is through strict discipline, respect and, if necessary, punishments. The Ministry believes that in the face of recent events, it is paramount to clear your heads and be mindful of your situation. I understand many of you have been lead to believe in lies and rumours. Let me assure you now: all of them are simply that, lies. You-Know-Who isn’t back and dear Mr Diggory’s death was a very unfortunate accident. There is nothing for you to worry about.”

Now the students started to react, quiet whispers broke out and people shared meaningful glances. Many pointedly looked at Harry. The boy in question would like to do nothing more than to punch the woman’s face. He could feel the simmering anger in him rising and just as the Boy-Who-Lived was about to say something scathing, Danny bumped his shoulder with his. 

Harry felt his eye twitch but took a calming breath when he saw Danny shaking his head minutely. It was probably the right call, if it were up to this woman, he would have had his wand snapped and gotten expelled already. Harry was glad Danny didn’t try to calm his emotions, he could feel his twin was just as angry as him, so it would only fuel his anger. If he looked closely, he could even see Danny’s eyes glow a bit green.

With an annoying giggle, Umbridge ordered the students to calm down once more and finally started class- if one could call it that.

It was worse than History. They had to just read. Three chapters for the whole class. Nothing else, nothing magical. Questions about how to actually use the spells or wards were ignored or ridiculed. Near the end of class, everyone, even the non-believers of Voldemort’s return, were fed-up. 

Hermione raised her hand for the nth time and waited impatiently to be called upon. Umbridge ignored her for long enough that she spoke up anyways

“Professor, this is the Defence class, are we gonna learn how to properly use the spells in the book? If we don’t, how will we pass the practical part of our OWLs this year?”

The glare she received for speaking unprompted would have anyone shivering.

“Students raise their hands in my class. However, since the lesson is almost over I will give you this one pass, Miss Granger. As I already mentioned, you will not be needing any wands in this class. There is no threat to worry about, hence the more theoretical approach. After all, why try and fight ghosts that you can’t even harm?”

A laugh quickly disguised as coughing interrupted Umbridge’s speech. Her head snapped to Danny and everyone could see the annoyance flashing over her face

“Something funny, Mr… Potter?”

Danny rubbed his neck nervously and probably wished he could turn intangible right about now. Instead he shook his head and mumbled

“Nothing, really. It’s just a weird concept for me. I had the impression that we are supposed to be taught magic at Hogwarts and how to wield it. Reading dry texts isn’t gonna help that, so I’m not sure if you are going to be a good teacher…”

The boy’s eyes grew wide when his mind caught up with what he just said and Harry could feel the mild panic in their connection. Without thinking, Harry blurted out 

“I agree. You denying the truth isn’t gonna protect us from Voldemort and his forces. You want us to sit there like cornered ducks? I say no, you’re the adult and we are now your responsibility. When the Death Eaters kill us and we can’t defend ourselves, that’ll be on you.” 

Secretly, Harry was very proud of giving an adult a piece of his mind, he probably should have chosen a less dangerous one to go off on- like Snape- but oh well. 

The professor’s face went a bright red and she whisper yelled, with a shaking finger pointed at Harry

“Detention at 8 pm tonight, Mr Potter! How dare you! I see you have been raised with no respect for your elders. But not to worry, we will have ample time to correct your manners.”

Looking at the class at large, she said once more

“You-Know-Who is not back. Trust us, the Ministry, that we only have the very best for you in mind. You are all dismissed for today.”

Everyone fled the room. Outside, Danny jokingly flicked Harry’s forehead

“You’re a reckless idiot. I’m sure she would have given me detention. Now you’ll be stuck with her even more! She is also definitely targeting you.”

Harry rubbed his forehead, annoyance quickly fading and replaced with dry humour

“You think? Wouldn’t be the first Defence Professor. Oh well, how bad can it be. Nothing beats signing fan-mail for Lockhart for literal hours. So don’t worry about me. It wouldn’t do for the new student to immediately get detention, you know.”

Danny conceded the point and sighed. 

The two joined the throng of students to the Great Hall for some much needed dinner.

…………..

While Harry had to go to detention after an hour of down time, Danny decided it was high time to call his friends and family.

Although his call to his parents didn’t go through (They were probably working on some new invention, they were fine!), Danny did send them a message with a couple pictures from his dorm room. 

The call with Jazz was very short, after all, she was still getting used to Harvard and her new environment but she did encourage him to call anytime or to at least message her every other day

“You’re not the only one who worries, little brother.”, with such nice parting words, she laughed and hung up, leaving Danny to huff at her antiques. He then decided to call his girlfriend. 

Sam answered after the second ring 

“Finally! I was beginning to wonder if you’ve already destroyed your phone, Danny.”

With an eye roll, Danny laid down on his comfortable bed and answered dryly 

“Your faith in me is so amazing, I’m truly blessed.” 

“Hmph, someone has to stay just that bit pessimistic, to counterpoint Tuck’s optimism. Speaking of, that idiot tried to flirt with Paulina’s cousin- yeah I’m surprised she has one, too. Anyways, she is in Amity for some family visit and that girl actually laughed in his face. No mean comment or anything, not even a nice or mean rejection: simple laughter. I fear his pride has taken a heavy blow. He has eaten three burgers, Danny. Three! And that was just for his afternoon snack. I can’t.”, her annoyance and mild glee were very obvious and Danny could perfectly imagine Sam’s face right now. 

A little scrunched up and many, many cute eye rolls. 

“I really hope you’re doing much better in your magic world. Though it’s actually really calm here. No ghosts. Even those weird costumed guys haven’t shown up again… 

“I’m bored out of my mind, Danny! My parents are bugging me about galas and how I should start to show initiative. I don’t care for any of that. Why don’t they get me? Urgh, I wish I was a witch, then I could join you.”

Danny allowed a smile to grace his face. He imagined Sam with a black cat on her shoulders, a broom in one hand and a wand in the other

“You would certainly rock the clothes.”, he begins

“And you would make a bad-ass witch, let me tell you... everything here is mostly fine. Some teachers are very annoying and one of them I’m pretty sure shouldn’t even be allowed to teach- but guess what! One of my teachers is a ghost! He is much better that GhostWriter. At least Binns doesn’t force me to only speak in rhymes when I can’t immediately recite the Vow of Celluntri in Death Language.”

He sighed 

“I’m sorry about your parents. But you’re of age soon-ish and just imagine how much you will be able to do with so much money. How much good you can do. Help people and animals… Right now you can practice by patting Tuck’s back. Poor dude.”

Sam snorted in answer

“Yeah, poor dude. Don’t worry, that dummy probably learned his lesson. Paulina and family are a big NO.”

He could hear a muffled groan in the background and smirked

“Don’t tell me Tucker has been there the whole time?”

“Oh yes, he has. But he is too miserable to do more than groan and pout at me. He said he needed the comfort of my beanbags- his own fault for not realizing that it gives me the privilege to make fun of him.

“Oh, he is waving, I guess he’s saying ‘hi’. Don’t expect much from him right now. But I’m positive he’ll be his usual annoying self tomorrow.”

“That’s good to hear. Hi from me too. Besides that, there really isn’t anything going on? Remember, I just need to make a few portals and I’ll be back!”

“We know Danny. But don’t worry. Everything really is fine. Even our fruitloopy mayor isn’t doing anything suspicious. Just relax, enjoy school- never thought I’d say that- and don’t let asshole teachers get to ya.” 

“Thanks Sam. It was nice talking to you. I miss you guys. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Danny. Now go and haunt that big castle!”

After the call, Danny remained in his comfortable position on the bed a bit longer. His friends and family knew exactly how to cheer him up. It felt good to know that he had people to return to if it came down to it. He thought of Harry and how their connection was weirdly tense. He couldn’t feel much and that worried him. Harry was a well of emotions. There was always something and right now- barely anything. 

If Umbridge dared to do something to his twin, he would set a ghost from the Zone on her! Or maybe Phantom himself would give her a visit. Speaking of Phantom, he should probably get back to scouring the isles and look for captive ghosts. Maybe he’ll even return to London for the night. He’s already found several ghosts there, maybe there will be more… 

With that plan in mind, he quickly went to the owlery to give some treats to Hedwig and Ari (Harry wouldn’t mind) and cuddled them for a bit before returning to his dorm.

Before he could get there, a full body chill went through him and he choked on his ghost sense. It was worse than when a no-maj ghost was nearby but nowhere close to a Zone one. He warily looked around, his body tense and ready to jump into action. Nothing. With another glance around, Danny was about to move on, when water splashed him in the face. A shrill laugh made him shiver- more than the cool water did. 

A ghost, albeit a rather weird one, was dance-floating above him. Annoyed, Danny phased the water off him and flew up to meet his attacker eye to eye. The ghost immediately stopped laughing and his eyes literally popped out of their sockets. The halfa made a face, he may witness many abnormal things, but eyes should always stay where they belong. 

The colorful ghost looked him up and down, circled him in thought and finally cocked his head to the side

“Aren’t you a weird one.”

Danny huffed a laugh and shook his head

“Thanks, I also say that to my prank victims. The name is Danny, by the way.”

The weirdo tittered and stuck out his hand

“Name’s Peeves. You may call me ‘Prankster Extraordinaire’. I live to please and I please to make everyone’s day just a liiiittle bit more unpredictable.”

Danny shook his hand and was pleasantly surprised that he didn’t have to go intangible to touch him. It felt a bit like trying to grab water. 

“So you are the local prankster? Do you know the Weasley twins?”

Peeves threw his head back and laughed, the candles in the hallway flickered at his amusement and Danny quickly landed back on the ground, just in case someone overheard and decided to check out the noise.

“Do I know them? Matey, I taught them some of my awesomest tricks! They are my proud apprentices. And I so love keeping them on their toes- not even Gred and Forge are safe from me! I am the most powerful because no teacher can ever get rid of me.”

The young wizard smirked

“Seems like you’ve met your match. I could make your afterlife better, or let you know what a thermos looks like from the inside.”

The other ghost squinted at him in confusion

“Whatever do you mean? If you are threatening me, you will not be able to walk two steps in this place without having to worry about me, hehe.”

“I’m a halfa, dude. I can also create portals to the Infinite Realms. I’m sure a ghost of your… uniqueness would love to see the death plane. However, if you overdo it with your pranks on the students, I’ll have to stop you.”

Peeves’ eyes became huge like saucers when the halfa mentioned the Realms

“You can do that? I haven’t felt the force of the Realms in so long! I fled from there when the King wanted to erase me for being a bad jester. Not my fault he has no humour. I then went from place to place until a couple centuries later these wizards and witches made a school and called it Hogwarts. All these itty bitty children, so much fun to scare them. Good times.”

Danny had to blink a couple of times to take all of that in

“You… met Pariah Dark? Are you a Never-Born?”

Usually, Danny could instinctually tell wether a ghost was born in the Zone, created by the Zone herself or used to be a human. Peeves just felt weird. There and not but definitely a ghost.

“Yes. Bad king but then, when is there ever a good one? Even this Arthur guy had his bad moments. And no, I was born to two wonderful parents. They were servants of the King and erased because they stood a bit too close to His Majesty’s throne one time. Made me realize you were never safe from him. And my jests became more… aggressive.”

He grinned devilishly and Danny could understand the sentiment. Peeves continued

“I am called a ‘poltergeist’ by the people because I can do more than the non-magical ghosts but not as much as the ones that can freely recharge in the Realms. 

“I have been cut off the Infinite Realms for thousands of years, kid. Thanks to being a Natural-Born, I can’t just cease to exist or become as powerless as the boring ghosts around me.” 

“So, if you were to return, you’d basically recharge? Do you want to? I’m kinda on the way somewhere else but say the words and I can take you along the next time I go there.”

Peeves didn’t seem very convinced

“I prefer it here. The kiddies aren’t scared of me but they still laugh or get annoyed at my pranks. It’s a lot of fun. I also wouldn’t like to get back to the King.”

“Well, Pariah has been defeated for quite some time, so no worries there. He won’t ever be able to return. But I get it. Hogwarts is sorta your haunt, I take it?”

The ghost’s head made a 360 degree turn in surprise to Danny’s news and the halfa flinched at the sight.

“Pariah Dark? GonE? DeFEateD? Ahhhh- What WONDERFUL NEWS! I hope he suffered! So joyous! I shall prepare many water balloons for the boring adults tomorrow morning! We shall all have something to laugh about!”

Danny smiled at his enthusiasm and nodded along 

“Maybe add some coloring? Or glitter, to make it more obvious and then you hit them tomorrow at breakfast! Especially Umbridge- the pink one.”

Peeves quieted down in his celebrations and made a face

“I do not like her. She is worse worse worse than the bat professor. But yes, good idea, glitter bombs. I shall do so.”

With a plan in mind, Peeves was about to leave and start on his preparations, when he turned around and bowed deeply, albeit mockingly

“It is now understandable why you feel like the king. You must have bested him. I shall not annoy you too much. Come to me when you want some advise on pranks”, he waved cheekily and said “Have a pleasant evening, princeling.” 

Danny rolled his eyes fondly and watched Peeves leave through a wall. 

Noticing the time, he hurried up and managed to get to his dorm just in time to see Harry return as well. Shortly before curfew began. He’d bet his favourite picture of Sam snorting ice cream through her nose (perfect blackmail material) that Umbridge kept Harry for as long as she could. 

His twin was very quiet and their connection was thrumming with confusion, hurt and bitterness. The halfa wasn’t sure what to do, so he nudged some loving and warm emotions toward Harry. A slight smile passed his lips but besides that his brother didn’t react, just shook his head silently and closed the drapes of his four-poster bed. 

With nothing else to do. Danny closed his own drapes, making it seem like he was asleep, created a low-effort duplicate just in case and left the castle’s grounds. 

……….

The London air was distinctly worse and less fresh than Hogwarts’. Not that it bothered him much, he didn’t need to breathe but it was still something to point out. 

He flew around aimlessly for a while, watching people walking or driving around. Some were sitting or sleeping on benches, others seemed to be in a hurry, even though it was already pretty late. 

The sky was filled with heavy and dark clouds, making everything even creepier and depressing than it could be. At least it wasn’t raining. He hovered a bit in front of Grimmauld but decided not to visit Sirius or check if Remus was back. Tonight he’d focus on his main task. 

Though as the hours passed, nothing noteworthy happened. Until his ghost sense tried to react. It didn’t fully and for a second he believed a magical ghost was nearby. 

A loud ‘boo’ from right in front of his face quickly changed that thought. With a shocked yelp, Phantom skidded back a bit, regaining his balance in the air before a disbelieving laugh escaped his lips.

“Ellie! What are you doing here? You almost scared me to death!” 

His CloneCousinSister giggled gleefully and turned visible. She floated crosslegged in the air and stuck out her tongue

“You are already dead, Danny.”

“Not completely.”, he mumbled, mostly to himself 

Ellie shrugged her shoulder, conceding the point

“Any-way, I saw you flying around on your lonesome and away from your haunt, so I thought I should say hi. Besides, I’m bored now that Val is back in school. We didn’t even get to visit Nepal yet! School is really stupid, you know.” 

Danny just nodded along, still elated to see Ellie after so many weeks of radio silence

“Well, you can always enroll in Casper High. Now that you’ve grown to look my age, you could be in the same class as Valerie. Mom and Dad would love to take you in. You could pretend to be my cousin…”

Ellie was already shaking her head, looking a bit abashed

“That’s kind of you. And I really appreciate it. But I don’t care for all that. I’m a free spirit, pun intended, and I can’t give up on travel. Val said we could spend the Christmas holidays together and she will introduce me to her dad then. I’m a bit nervous about that. But I’m sure it will be fine. Plus, Vlad is still the mayor, he would have much easier access to me if he decided he wanted to restart his experiments and I’m in Amity right there for grabs.”

“I would never allow for that to happen- remember, you have a special status as my sister in the Zone and if Vlad tried anything funny, I would ban him to the Darquness for a couple decades.

“But I understand. I’m really glad you can do what you love. And remember, I’ll always be there if you need me.”

Ellie smiled softly at his declaration and put her head on his shoulder. The two were now sitting next to each other on some rooftop, looking over London, the Thames in the far distance. 

“Thanks, Danny. Now tell me why you are in London of all places. How are you even functioning so far away from your haunt?”

With a small snicker, Danny launched into everything that has happened so far. He told her about the medication his parents provided for him, their twin, how he was a wizard, the wizarding world (she actually already knew about it, that menace) and how there were dark powers scheming in the background and keeping ghosts captive, as well as threatening his brother.

When he told her about the ghosts, she became very still and thoughtful

“I’ve actually met one. Three weeks ago in Ireland. He was a Dead-Born and couldn’t talk or do anything, unless this wizard guy told him to do something. I was so mad, I punched the guy in the face and forced him to free the ghost. The wizard had no idea what he’d done, I think. He was just happy to have a powerful and mindless slave around. I hate controlling assholes. They all deserve to rot. The worst? After Lorcan came to, he almost didn’t leave me alone. He was like a teddy bear! So clingy.

“I was super lucky when a natural portal to the GZ opened about a week ago. I chucked him inside. Haven’t heard from him since”

She grinned evilly and Danny scooted a bit away from her in jest.

“It’s still good that you helped him. Many wizards and witches that enslave ghosts do it on accident. Some free them but many use them however they want. Even for nefarious plans. The Zone is in disarray, they can feel evil looming and they don’t want to be anywhere near it. I can feel it too. Promise me that you are especially careful, yeah? Don’t get too close to any wizarding folk.”

Ellie gave him a noncommittal hum and Danny reiterated 

“I mean it. I couldn’t bear to see you hurt. Maybe consider leaving Europe? How about visiting Asia? Oceania?”

His clone’s eyes lit up- literally 

“Oh yeah! I meant to go there soon, anyway. Technically with Val but I guess she doesn’t have to tag along all the time. What do you think: China or Mongolia first?”, noticing Danny’s broody mood she shoved him playfully

“Don’t worry about me, Cuz. I’ll be fine, I promise. No one will get to me, they can try but they’re gonna run away and cry for their mommies.”

“That’s what I want to hear. Okay, I think I should head back. Without fights I may not need as much sleep but a couple of hours would still be nice. Plus, Harry shouldn’t be too far away from me. He gets these weird and painful nightmares when my ectoplasm doesn’t intercept it.”

Ellie frowned at that, which, yeah, was probably a logical reaction

“That doesn’t sound good. Poor kid. I’m looking forward to meeting him! Who would have guessed that you’d have an actual twin? And such a famous one at that.”

“Yeah, the world is weird like that, I guess. At least we aren’t the only ones with titles now.”

Danny watched Ellie shudder und suppressed a smile while she shook her head in denial

“I’ll run away for the rest of time- heck, I’ll run away from Time before someone makes me a princess! You may be fine with it but I didn’t even exist when you fought the previous king.”

“Sucks to be you, then. You get as much a choice as I did. Which is none. And Harry, too. He hasn’t completely grasped it yet, I think but he’ll realize he is an actual prince when I take him to the Zone at some point.” 

“Have fun with that. I’m off and I’ll keep a look out for other captured ghosts”, she leaned down and kissed his cheek before floating up and waving cheekily “see you soon!”

Danny grinned to himself. It was always fun to chat with Ellie. She was able to do whatever she wanted. Unlike normal beings with a ghost core, she didn’t have an obsession. Yes, she loved traveling but that’s because Vlad was a manipulative bastard who didn’t give her any freedoms while she was in his ‘care’ and after she had escaped she almost died because she was destabilizing. She loves being free because of her traumatic experiences and Danny couldn’t begrudge her that. 

Hearing a nearby church bell chime 3 am, Danny decided it was high time to return. With one last glance around, he opened a portal to the- hopefully empty- common room and stepped through. 

As the portal closed behind him, Phantom changed back into Fenton-Potter and with a small gasp, he almost stumbled when he noticed Hermione and Ron sitting next to each other on a couch in the common room. Fortunately, they were asleep. Hermione breathing softly and Ron snoring like he was trying to win some wood chopping competition. What exactly they were doing here he didn’t know nor cared to know but he silently hoped Harry and his friends would make up soon. 

Within a few minutes, he was ready for bed and immediately fell into a restful sleep. 

……………….

It was still nighttime when Voldemort finally managed to get some satisfying answers out of this Skulker ghost. The being was not very forthcoming and was already grating on his nerves. 

But if there was one thing Voldemort was known for, it was his superior intellect. And that meant he could be very patient and even indulgent at times. Especially since he couldn’t torture the ghost. 

However, threatening him with complete and utter control had Skulker cave in and finally crack. He told Voldemort about the Ghost Zone, also known as the Infinite Realms and the differences between Dead-Born, also known as re-born ghosts, Never-Born and Natural-Born ghosts. A whole new and undiscovered world had just opened up for the dark wizard and his excitement was palpable. 

Ghosts were immune to all types of magic except special controlling magic. It was extremely rare to find an artifact that was both magical and infused with ectoplasm, so that ghosts could use it as well. 

Wizards and witches on the other hand, were pretty much helpless when it came to ghosts, since most of their magic was useless. 

Especially magics that were considered ‘light’. The dark lord fortunately wasn’t too keen on using light spells either and the more he learnt the more he realized that having a ghost army by his side was a safe way to ensure victory. 

Skulker even mentioned that the Realms were a monarchy but didn’t have a king currently. Maybe he could crown himself Emperor of the Ghosts and Wizardkind. 

However, when it came to this Phantom, Skulker only said that he was annoyingly powerful and didn’t have the decency to let himself get captured and skinned for his pelt. Not as much information as he had hoped but Voldemort could tell the ghost was still keeping secrets. Deciding to leave Skulker trapped in the binding spell for now (he would need to find a better solution next time, maybe body control), he ventured upstairs to his rooms.

Still giddy and his mind swirling with endless possibilities, Voldemort sat down on his favourite chair in front of a large fire place. A glass of red wine popped up next to him courtesy of a house elf and he allowed himself a sip or two, until he felt Nagini slither into view. His familiar and darling horcrux. He scratched her head after she climbed up to his shoulders and she hissed in relaxation.

You smell weird, she said and her Lord chuckled, taking another sip

Do I, now? Of what, may I ask?

Nagini tasted the air again and responded

Of death. I don’t like it. You should shed to get rid of it.

I shall try but it is not going to work. I have a new guest, as you know, and he is very pungent. I am going to see him again tomorrow. Would you like to come along?

No, his snake hissed in mild disgust I only like fresh meat. This smells too old. It’s bad. 

Noted. However, if all goes well and my servants get their act together and can follow basic instructions from now on, we may interact with many more of these ‘rotten’ beings. They are going to help me accomplish my goals and no one, not even Dumbledore can do anything about it.

What about the green-eyed boy? 

He is no threat. Yes, he has evaded me time and time again but it is purely because of his luck. He still needs to die, so I can ensure the prophecy will not come to pass but until I know the full wording, I can’t chance attacking him again. I know he is at Hogwarts at the moment and if I so desire, I can get him. 

He is weird, master. He smells of magic and terror and anger but he also smells of you. 

Potter does? It might be because of the prophecy or our connected wands. I will not rush things this time. However, next time we see each other, he will definitely die. 

……….

- He will definitely die.

Harry gasped as he watched the scene play out in front of him. Ever since he woke up in this strange room and witnessed Voldemort getting cuddly with his 12 feet long snake, he tried to stay as silent as possible on the off chance, that he could be heard. 

As he heard Voldemort planning his death, he couldn’t help but react. Of course he knew that was the monster’s goal but to witness it in such a comfortable setting where Voldemort almost acted… human was still a shock. 

After his gasp, Voldemort stared up in shock and their eyes met. Harry stood stock-still and he couldn’t do anything even f he tried. This was new. This wasn’t a different perspective or the dark hallways he has recently been shown, this was direct contact.

Voldemort’s eyes squinted at him and Harry could see him thinking. A curious glint appeared in the man’s eyes and the younger wizard flinched backwards

“What a surprise. Harry Potter. Appearing right in front of me. Anything you want to say, boy?”

Without a word, the world around Harry went dark, the room vanished and he fell into a deep, black pit.

While every other student was fast asleep, Harry Potter was thrashing around in his bed. His scar was inflamed and bleeding and soft gasps escaped his lips, not knowing that everything would change now.