"I hate you with passion."
"Now, now, Sev, no need to react like that. It's a celebration, so let's celebrate!" Danny exclaimed, blowing on a party horn.
"How much times I warned you about eating too much sugar?" Severus rubbed his temples.
"Hey, I can't get drunk, so let me at least get diabete. Oh, wait, I can't get even it. That sucks," Snape facepalmed. "What? Illness makes life interesting!"
"So you say."
Severus was able to understand his friend's happy attitude. He was getting married, after all, he probably would have felt the same way, just not so overemotionally like Danny always reacted. Honestly, he never looked like the man who suffered a lot in his life. He was like your distant relative who makes things awkward for everyone around. Thank Merlin that Phantom was merciful enough to let Severus wear wizarding robes and not that choking muggle costumes.
Danny has already brought him to some questionable places. He called this a 'Traditional boys' day out'. A very strange tradition, he had to admit. They had the most weird drinks English capital could offer. As Danny bluntly put it, English food can kill and pubs can bring back to life. Some of those cocktails costed more than the whole Severus' apartments. He didn't question how Phantom acquired so much money, because he had a feeling that he didn't want to know.
"Aanyyways," Danny said longingly, "Em gives concert in the evening and until then we can do whatever we wish. Any offers, hmm?"
He made a gulp of his drink. Severus sometimes wondered why he was still friends with this eccentric, if a slightly insane, man. Maybe because opposites attract. And Danny was also a good specimen for new potions, since negative effects somewhat didn't work. Moral says that he shouldn't do this, but Daniel never complained, completely opposite, he was eager to learn if something could harm him. That sounds disturbing when Severus thinks of it.
Despite the fact that Snape has no liking of muggles, Phantom managed to bring him on public. He didn't like all the stares, hypocritical, in Severus opinion, they were wearing clothes even more strange.
"I don't know," he answered. He really didn't, muggle world was something unknown to him, just as their customs.
"Hmm," Danny rubbed his chin. "Very well, do you know any WIZARDING activity?"
"I'm not the kind of man to answer that," Severus deadpanned.
"Yes, I guess you are," Danny said bluntly and thoughtfully, before raising a coke can.
Severus snatched the can. "Enough. You drank ten already."
Danny pouted, crossing his hands. "Fine! But can I..."
"No."
"Ugh, you no fun, man."
Danny was such a child sometimes, then again, he was still on sugar highs. Severus was also disappointed that he can't drink something strong. At least one of them needs to have a clear head or they could do something they both might regret later. Danny was babbling excitedly about some muggle stuff, and in the unstoppable flow of words Severus had a hard time to understand everything. But Daniel always listened what Snape had to say, so it was fair to return the favor. But their conversation was interrupted by the familiar voice and not in a good way.
"Oh, I just can't believe how small this world is."
'Merlin, no,' Severus mentally groaned, while Danny just raised his eyebrow and tilted his head at the newcomers.
There were two of them. The first guy had shaggy black hair and gray eyes, while the second one had light brown hair and green eyes.
"What do you want, Black?" Severus asked the 'shaggy hair'.
"Nothing much, just seeing old friend Snivelus. How are you doing?"
Severus glared at the young man. "Much better before you appeared. Without your leader for once? I'm actually surprised."
Now Sirius glared.
"And you are with your Death Eater friend?" He looked at Danny, who crossed his hands and narrowed his eyes in response.
"Don't Death Eaters wear dark robes and lame masks? I certainly don't wear any," Phantom smirked, pointing at his white and red T-shirt and blue jeans.
"Sirius, maybe we should go?" The second guy asked his friend.
"Wait, Remus, I am now very curious," Sirius answered.
"We should go," Remus whispered, completely unaware that Phantom could hear him properly. "We are on the order mission, you can't talk with a Death Eater!"
Danny only now noticed something...strange about Remus. This nervousness, attitude like he drank too much coffee and then watched horror movie without sleeping, and finally this weird animalistic vibe his ghost half smelt.
'Looks like we are dealing with a werewolf,' Danny thought.
"Maybe..." Sirius said longingly, before smirking. "Hey, Snivelus, have you heard that Evans and James are getting married?"
That was it. Severus took out his wand and pointed it at Sirius' throat.
"You seem to have lost the feeling of self preservation, Black. You know perfectly well I'm out of your league. So get lost before I turned you into a frog."
"Oh, we will see about that," Sirius took out his own wand.
Danny looked at Remus, who was watching the scene with wide eyes.
"I propose to stop them from killing each other, what do you think?"
Remus nodded. "I agree."
Danny looked around for any crowd, and finding none, he swiped his hands and two wizards were pushed in opposite directions. Remus and Sirius stared at him with a mixture of shock, awe and worry.
"Who the heck are you?" Sirius asked.
"Daniel Phantom, Count of Aragon, Duke of Camelot, Lord of...nevermind that one, need I go on?" A list of paper was summoned. "Because the list is pretty big."
"My apologies, oh mighty pureblood," Sirius said sarcastically. "Now get lost and let me kill this..."
"Oh, I doubt it," Danny's eyes glowed with deathly green light. "You better leave my friend alone. After all, I can kill YOU even without a wand. Consider it wisely."
"We were just going to go," Remus said, moving his friend out of danger and giving a small thankful look to Danny. With that they were gone.
"Dirty cowards," Severus spat, lowering his weapon.
"I can recognize coward everywhere, but they don't seem like that," Danny shrugged. "Most probably they know that they don't stand a chance against two of us and don't want to take chances," he gave his mark carefree grin, patting his friend on a shoulder.
At that Severus smiled slightly.
-Present-
Snape walked through the corridors of Hogwarts castle with only one thought in mind: 'What did he do this time?'
It was obvious for him that the one who caused all of this mess was sitting in his cabinet right now. Despite the fact that Phantom was a damn half-ghost, who can become invisible whenever he wanted, he barely could be called stealthy.
And as if it wasn't what Severus wondered about, he thought about his friend. It was true they hadn't seen each other for eleven years. And there were reasons for that. He was ashamed for the mistakes he made. Danny kept telling him that keeping anger for Marauders won't get him anywhere, and that it will only make matters worse. In example he showed himself. Despite how parents treated him, he tried to get on good terms with them, even if it was always fruitless. Severus thought it was stupid, they didn't deserve forgiveness, just like Marauders.
He thought that Danny was too naive if he thought that people like them can change. But then Severus had to admit that this childish man was wiser than he looked. Snape has done horrible things, he didn't want his only friend to know about them.
In his thoughts he hadn't noticed how he got to the gargoyle corridor. Severus said the password and walked upstairs. Inside the Headmaster's room were already standing the Heads of the Houses, along with Dumbledore himself.
"Ah, Severus, here you are," he said with a usual twinkle in his eyes. "Now when everyone is here, we may begin."
"Professor Dumbledore, what's the reason of this meeting?" McGonagall asked. "Lessons are about to begin."
"I assure you, there is a very important matter we must discuss. There is a trespasser on Hogwarts grounds."
Of all the professors, Severus was the only one who wasn't shocked. But since he always kept a neutral face, no one paid attention to it.
"There is no way of knowing how and who exactly has trespassed, but we need to stay on guard."
"Maybe we should tell other teachers?" Professor Flitwick squeaked.
Severus remembered Danny's words, and since he also had suspicions of his own, he decided to intervene.
"That will not make any good," Snape said, confusing everyone besides the Headmaster, "The less people know, the better. The more people know, the possibility that the trespasser learns about us acknowledging his presence is higher."
"Are you suggesting that one of the professors has something to do with this?" Mcgonagall asked incredulously.
"What I'm saying is that once the word reaches out of this room, it will spread. If the trespasser won't be too cautious, it will be easier for us to capture him."
"I agree with Severus," Dumbledore responded. "For now let's keep it in secret, I want you to watch over anything suspicious. But before you go, does anyone want a lemon drop? I have just recieved plenty."
-Later-
"Alright, Daniel, I waited enough and you better explain this."
Severus stomped into his room, but didn't see anyone in there. He looked around, before hearing a voice above his head.
"Up here!"
Severus looked up and saw that his friend was hanging under the ceiling.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing there?" He sighed, rubbing his temples. He received only shrug.
"Dunno, I guess I was bored. But you want answers," he hopped on the ground without making a sound, "So I'll give you them. Where should I start, though..." he hummed, tapping on his chin. "Well, I've learned about a few ancient laws of the Ghost Zone. I won't go into details about how political system works in there. Just the fact that the Ghost Zone is ruled by both the King and the council. And both must be present, the first one to hold the entire dimension from falling apart, and the second one to assist to rule a state this dimension has become."
"So you became a politician," Snape came to the conclusion.
"Yeah, I became a politician," Danny deadpanned, rolling his eyes.
"I never took you for a type."
"Yeah, I was surprised when I heard it, too. I don't look much like a royalty, am I?"
"You."
"Yes."
"A King."
"You are completely right."
"You aren't the most mature type."
"I heard that so many times," Danny rolled his eyes. "Severus, I can be mature when needed. I simply don't see the need to be oh so serious when I'm with my family or friends."
Severus sighed.
"Guess that explains why the ghosts are ready to faint at your sight."
"Ghosts cannot faint, dear Severus. You may outsmart me in potion making and defeat me in a duel once, but leave everything concerning my subjects to me. You don't seem surprised at all, why so?"
"You surprised me so many times that I got used to this. I take it that you found out about your ancestors?"
"Not yet, not yet," Danny mumbled, drumming on the hands of the chair with his fingers. "I became the King by a right of conquest. I didn't know I could do that, but not knowing the laws doesn't free me from them. So, I either become a ruler of the entire race or doom it into oblivion. My decision was obvious."
Before Severus could say something else, his eyes fell on the clocks. The lesson was about to start.
"This conversation isn't over, Daniel, but I need to return to my duties," Snape got up.
"That's fine. Meanwhile I'll start searching for anything that seems out of place. By the way, do you know where my kids are now?"
"First year slytherins have transfiguration right now. And your son...Merlin, it will take some time getting used to."
"Sev, please don't make me start on this again. I'm just asking you not to be so harsh on Harry. Me and Ember raised him like he is our own, and Harry is nothing like James, I'm sure of that. I look at him and see my younger self..."
"The world won't bare two of you," Severus said sarcastically, but with a slight smirk on his face. "He is at Quidditch practice. You won't miss the stadium."
Danny laughed fullheartedly after the first remark. "Oh, just get lost, you bookworm."
Severus went out of the room, hiding his amused expression. What he missed the most was their constant banter.
Once he was gone, Danny got up from his seat, before becoming invisible. He flew up from the room and got to the surface. The first thing he noticed was the climate. Wet and muddy environment was a constant reminder about yesterday rain. Danny himself was fine with it, he didn't feel any cold since his core had developed. But Harry was affected by this, and as every parent Danny was worried about his son's health. If by any chance he has a conversation with Dumbledore, Phantom will 'ask' him about this, namely demand answers.
That's why Danny disliked most of the wizards, with Severus being a rare exception. Their foolish arrogance annoyed him beyond measure. Even the brightest and most 'tolerant' ones think that the magic can solve every problem. Flash news, it cannot. Wizards may had had an advantage in the past, against swords, bows and even muskets, but now muggles have created a weapon which can turn the entire world into dust, completely losing the feel of self preservation in the process.
Even if you know how to heal the plague, it doesn't mean you should just walk in there and catch it. Danny also didn't understand why muggles organized sport matches when a rain was pouring down at them. Phantom finally got to the stadium, before sitting on one of the tribunes, invisibly, of course, eagerly looking at the Griffindor Quidditch practice. He never was a fan of the game, but if Harry was training, then he would watch.
It was hard to find him in a mess of yellow and red, but Phantom eventually found his son. Much to his pride, Harry really was natural at this. Danny remembered how Harry envied his sister that she could fly. Now he had a way to fly as well. Not as thrilling as floating on your own, but it was still a flight.
'That's my boy,' Danny grinned, leaning back on his seat.
"Would you stop messing around?" Some serious looking guy shouted. Danny caught what he said only because of his sensitive hearing. He got a feeling that that was a captain.
"That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"
George Weasley fell off his broom at these words. Danny meanwhile narrowed his eyes.
"Snape's refereeing?" George spluttered through a mouthful of mud. "When's he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin."
The rest of the team landed next to George to complain, too.
"It's not my fault," said Wood. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape doesn't get an excuse to pick on us."
'Severus never was the one to care about his reputation,' Danny shook his head, before getting up.
He would have watched over Ellie if not for one fact - she had a ghost sense. Untrained and unrefined, but she still could make out what ghost exactly was following her if given enough time. That's why he asked the other ghosts to watch from the distance. Now it was time to spy on the teachers. He was actually eager to do that. He was interested in British teaching methods.
-Later-
"I think it's a bad idea," Harry said grimly.
"Hey, don't worry, lil bro," Ellie grinned and enveloped him in a bear hug, "You'll do great, just play as you usually do."
"I guess I'll try," Harry sighed. "Wait...how did you get in here?"
Ellie giggled nervously, before perking at the sound of someone's approach and becoming invisible.
"Good luck," she whispered, before phasing out of the Griffindor changing room.
Immediately, Wood came from behind the corner.
"Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favour Hufflepuff too much."
"The whole school's out there!" said Fred, peering out of the door. "Even, blimey, Dumbledore's come to watch!"
Harry's heart did a somersault.
"Dumbledore?" he said, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred was right. There was only one other person with such a beard, and Clockwork couldn't be there for obvious reasons.
Harry sighed in relief.
Meanwhile in the special judge room Snape was conversing with his friend.
"Yeesh, Sev, if you keep fuming like that you will melt the wall," Danny said, before sipping a coffee from his cup.
"Well, how am I SUPPOSED to feel? I'm being interrupted from my researches only to be a judge in the game I never cared for."
"The Old man is probably worried that something happens again."
"But you aren't," Snape stated the fact.
"That's because I'm certain that our suspect, whoever he or she is, is not THAT stupid to do the same trick again. And if something happens, I'll sue this school in such a hellhole that it won't be able to crawl out from it," Danny made another gulp of coffee nonchalantly.
Snape was actually shocked at that.
"You wouldn't," he said.
"Oh, I will, dear Severus, and I'll do a favor for everyone. I already saw a lot of things which can kill the students and no one does a single thing about it. But, that's the most drastical decision, I'm sure you will be able to do something. Plus, I also will be here in case something actually happens."
Severus went out of the room without response.
Ellie and her friends situated on the seats by now. By a mere coincidence, they got the seats near Ron, the fact which made Hermione less than happy. But the ghost girl, being a manipulative and sneaky little thing, made her friend sit right beside the redhead. Because holding a grudge for several months was unhealthy. If someone could read her thoughts at the moment then he would have heard only evil laughter. Sadly, they didn't talk with each other.
"Ouch!"
Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.
"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there."
Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle.
"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"
Ron stayed silent. Ellie would have said something snarky, but she was looking at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.
"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for seemingly no reason at all.
"It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."
Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.
"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.
Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."
"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."
"That's why you need so much money, Draco?" Ellie said, finally looking away from the game and narrowing her eyes at him. "So no one will notice your lack of brains?"
"Ellie, look!" Hermione turned her friend's attention back to the game.
Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd and streaked towards the ground like a bullet.
"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.
Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.
"Come on, Harry!" Ellie screamed, leaping on to her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape - she didn't pay attention to Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe and Goyle, or Hermione's attempts to stop them all.
Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches - next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.
The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.
-Later-
"So...Quirell?" Danny asked Severus, rubbing his chin.
"I believe so, DADA teacher is being changed every year, except that there aren't any changes in the staff for plenty of years," Snape responded, sitting in his chair.
They were back in his cabinet, discussing what they had found. Not much on Danny's side, he spent the entire day looking for anything suspicious, but without success. And he was NOT going to spy at night after a bunch of elederly men and women. That thought alone made him shudder in horror.
"Is that the only thing which makes you suspect him?" Phantom continued.
"I'm saying that he must be the first one on the list of suspects, that's all," Severus waved his hand nonchalantly.
He then smirked. "That's why I arranged a meeting in the forest."
"One step ahead, eh?" Danny deadpanned. "I'm tagging along, then."
"Have it your way, just make sure no one notices."
Some time later they went to the meeting place, with Phantom invisibly floating behind. They walked out of the Hogwarts grounds and deeper into the forest. Danny heard a lot of concerning sounds, which obviously didn't belong to the normal animals. He started to watch for some animals desiring to eat them. How the founders of that school came to decision to build it near the dangerous forest full of beasts? That was beyond the ghost king's understanding. British didn't seem to care about their safety at all.
They found Quirell under one of the trees, looking, as always, a nervous wreck. He noticed Severus, when the potions teacher approached him.
"I d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus ..." he stammered.
"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy.
Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.
"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"
Danny raised his eyebrow. Severus hadn't told him anything about any beasts.
"B-b-but Severus, I..."
"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step towards him.
"I-I don-t know what you..."
"You know perfectly well what I mean. The Philosopher stone, you seem to be more interested in it than needed. You are doing more than Dumbledore ordered, you have done your little bit of hocus pocus. I'm waiting."
Danny perked up at the sound of moving leaves. He looked up but saw nothing. Actually, he didn't have time to look throughly, because he heard something else. It sounded like hooves hitting the ground. It was far enough, but he had to warn his friend. Danny tapped Severus on shoulder.
"Centaurs are coming," he whispered so Quirell couldn't hear.
"B-but I d-d-don't..."
"Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."
He turned around and walked back to the castle.
"Hm, that wasn't very informative," Danny commented. "I guess I'll have to watch him more closely."