Chapter 17: Haunting Past

I'm finally back with another chapter! I took a break to get settled in with my first semester of college but then I got slammed with so many essays that I kind of lost my motivation to write for a while. Now I'm fired up and ready to write again.

-PotC-

Previously:

Draco smirked, "Trust me for now, there's more to him than meets the eye and I intend to find out what. Besides, why would a Masters adopt a mere nobody as his heir? There has to be something special about him."

-PotC-

Danny couldn't see where he was going. Inky darkness was all that surrounded him as he walked in a seemingly random direction. A low hum droned, breaking the hanging silence. Danny glanced around to find the source of the noise, but it was impossible for him to tell. He couldn't pinpoint the exact direction it came from as the sound seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.

Deciding to ignore the humming sound for now, he continued on his way. It got slightly brighter the farther he went, he could now see that he was in some sort of tunnel. A metallic clank echoed with every step he took, whatever he was in must be man-made.

Blindly groping around for his surroundings, he settled his palm against what he thought was a wall. He breathed a small sigh of relief and relaxed as he found his bearing and leaned his weight against it. His hand felt a slight shift beneath it and the distinct CLK made him tense with dread.

His unease heightened when the continuous humming suddenly switched to a high-pitched whine, quickly building in intensity.

Before he could even make a move to run, there was a flash of blinding light, screams tore from his throat, then a rush of pain, pain, pain, painpainpainPainPainPainPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAIN!

-PotC-

Danny pulled himself up with a gasp. Rapidly blinking his eyes in an effort to comfort his fear-raddled mind, he tried to recognize where he was. His frantic beating heart finally calmed when he saw that he wasn't trapped in the metal portal anymore. Seeing the room he was in, he finally registered where he was: in the bedroom of his Hogwarts dorm.

Releasing his vice grip hold on his covers, he reached a trembling hand to his head and let out a shaky breath. "Get a hold of yourself, it was just a nightmare. I'm not trapped in the Ghost portal anymore."

He shivered as he could still vividly recall the immense pain he felt when the volts of electricity coursed through his body. It was a memory of the moment when he half-killed himself and the day he lost everything. What a great way to start the first day of class.

"You're mine now, Ghost-child!" The ever-annoying clock violently shook on the bedside dresser, screaming loudly for his attention.

"Again? I swear I left it behind! This is going to get old soon..." He glared at the screeching clock on his desk, he was so not in the mood to deal with Vlad's pranks today.

Deciding to go for a more permanent solution to get rid of the clock and vent out his current stress, he pointed a finger at the device and blew it to bits with a well-aimed ectobeam. He sighed tiredly at the scorch mark, the dark splotch was a clearly noticeable contrast to the reddish-brown mahogany wood, knowing that it will most likely be a permanent addition to his desk. "Freakin Vlad…"

He reasoned that he might as well get out of bed and dressed since there's no way he would be getting any more sleep. He didn't want to risk another nightmare, not with the dreaded memory of the accident lingering in his mind. He pulled himself out of bed, making sure to take his sweet time.

Surprisingly, the monotony of his morning routine did wonders on calming him down. By the time he left his room, his mood was mildly uplifted and he had a slight smile on his face. He had to make sure there was no trace on his expression to give away the fact that he just had a nightmare. Danny knew that with the slightest slip, Vlad would be onto him instantly and would kick into overprotective father mode.

Danny walked out of the common room and saw a figure waiting for him. No prize for guessing who it was.

"Are you ready for the first day of class, Daniel?" His father was proudly dressed in the green and gold teaching robes he had bought from Madam Malkin's.

Danny gave him an unimpressed look. "Did you sneak into my room last night?"

Not abashed at all, the older halfa gave a large grin. "I believe I mentioned specifically that I will resume my early morning paybacks once you were settled in." He replied smugly.

"How did you even get in? Wait, you have intangibility... Forget I even asked." Danny grumbled and made a move to walk away.

"For your information, I used the door this time," Vlad called, causing Danny to pause in his step.

"Wait, the Vlad Masters actually used the door for once?" Danny said incredulously. He laughed, then frowned. "I thought I set a password on the door."

"Jazz." Vlad simply stated.

"Wha- How did you know!?" Danny jolted back, afraid that Vlad somehow managed to become a mind reader overnight.

"If it's anything like the passwords you use for your laptop at home, it is fairly easy to guess. Seriously Daniel, cujo8u?"

Danny crossed his arms with a frown. "It's funny. Besides, you're one to talk Mr. MaddieMasters for his work computer. By the way, eww." Danny shuddered to emphasize his point.

Vlad actually had the decency to blush. "I will have you know my personal computer is much more secure."

Danny gave Vlad a deadpan expression, "Let me guess, DanielMasters?"

.

.

.

They stared at each other for a moment. Without a word, Vlad turned sharply on his heels and stalked out.

"Hey! Did I get it right?" Danny called after him, only to cause the man to angrily quicken his pace. The younger halfa dissolved into laughter. Another point for him on the Danny VS Vlad PWNAGE board.

This was the scene Draco walked into as he made his way to breakfast: Danny leaning himself up against the wall as he laughed hysterically with not another person in sight.

"Did I miss something?"

-PotC-

Since they were heading to the same place anyway, Danny and Draco walked through the dungeons together and up the stone staircase to the Great Hall. Danny caught a glimpse of a familiar trio heading in their direction. "Can you go on ahead? I will meet you there later."

"Sure, I will save you a seat."

"Thanks." Draco simply grunted and headed inside the door.

Danny didn't have to wait long before Hermione spotted him, Harry and Ron soon followed her.

Danny gave a friendly smile to the group and a nod of greeting to Hermione. He was not surprised to see that she was carrying a copy of their assigned book for DADA, Voyages with Vampires, most likely to read during breakfast. "I didn't see you guys at the Sorting, but I'm glad you were able to make it."

"Yeah, it's been kind of hectic," Harry replied.

Ron was strangely silent, his friends turned to see what was wrong. He was staring holes at Danny's uniform, or the green and silver colors to be more exact.

"So, you're a Slytherin," Ron stated flatly with a frown of distaste.

"That's what the hat decided was best. Vlad seemed pretty happy about it though." The halfa shrugged. "You're not going to stop hanging out with me just because I'm a Slytherin right?" Danny asked tentatively, remembering Harry and Ron's negative opinion of the House.

"O-of course not!" Harry and Hermione instantly exclaimed, though Harry seemed less sure than Hermione, who was more offended by the question.

"As long as you are not friends with Malfoy, you're fine," Ron said hotly.

"What's with you guys and Draco?"

"We just never got along since our first meeting," Harry said vaguely.

"Wait did you just call him Draco? You're already on a first name basis with that snake!" Ron almost shouted. Hermione was the only one who wasn't surprised by the revelation as she saw their interaction during the Sorting.

"Well, he's not that bad once you get to know him. Yeah, his attitude could use some work but if you look past it, he can be pretty considerate." Ron looked at Danny as though he was mental.

"Draco-Considerate? Not as likely as Snape becoming charitable." Harry scoffed darkly. Ron nodded in agreement.

Not liking where this was heading, Danny decided to end the conversation before things escalated any further. "Think what you will but he really isn't all that bad. He's been kindly showing me the ropes around here. You guys should give him a chance." Danny left the trio with that.

The Gryffindors watched the Slytherin leave. "Well it was nice knowing him but he's a lost cause," Ron said mournfully. "He's practically one of them now. The snakes tainted him." Hermione jabbed Ron harshly in the ribs with her elbow.

"Bloody hell!" Ron yelped, rubbing the sore spot, "What was that for?"

"You deserve it." She sniffed, walking ahead of them to the Great Hall. Harry simply shrugged at Ron and followed after her.

"Are you still mad about the flying car?"

-PotC-

Danny roughly sat down in his seat at the Slytherin table, Draco raised an eyebrow at his sudden change in attitude but luckily, he didn't feel the need to comment on it.

After the meeting with the three Gryffindors, Danny's foul mood from the earlier nightmare returned. Looking back, he probably ruined the tentative friendship he had with them. Today really wasn't his day.

That's what you deserve for having expectations.

Danny chose to ignore the voice, refusing to react to the mocking taunt. He was not going to have a mental break down in the Great Hall where everyone could see.

He found himself tracking Hermione's path to the Gryffindor table. She found an empty seat and opened her book in front of her as soon as she sat down, it was as if she was erecting a barrier to separate herself from the rest of her housemates. Harry and Ron placed themselves next to her.

Maybe with some effort on his part, he could salvage his friendship with the trio, but was it really worth the effort? He wasn't so sure anymore. With Hermione, she seemed the most accepting of him. Harry appeared more guarded and unsure. And Ron...well he definitely showed his dislike for him. Biased git.

He was willing to give another go at winning their acceptance, but ultimately decided he will not hold out high hopes of it lasting.

It's not like he wasn't used to losing friends.

Danny sighed miserably and looked up at the enchanted ceiling which reflected his current mood accurately: it was a somber, cloudy grey.

Draco looked up from his plate. "Aren't you going to eat."

Danny glanced at the food in front of him. Despite the many appetizing assortments of dishes laid out, he only grabbed a single piece of toast from the pile. He wasn't that hungry anyway; his current gloomy mood had ruined his appetite. He bit a small bite at the corner of his toast, nibbling thoughtfully at the edge.

"Had a rough night?" Draco asked, still wondering where the laughing boy from earlier went.

"You can say that," Danny said glumly.

Draco was having a hard time figuring the new student out. Not that he had trouble reading the other's emotions (he displayed that openly enough). From what he gathered, the boy was constantly shifting from one emotion to the next, he would go from cheerful and friendly one minute and somber and depressed the next. It made him wonder how Danny got sorted in Slytherin if he couldn't keep an impassive poker-face. Perhaps he was using this as a cover for something more, a distraction to deflect away from his true skills… or maybe he was overestimating the transfer.

Either way, Draco resolved to continue studying the new student until he could uncover what the boy was hiding because if there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that Slytherins were always hiding something.

A screech called overhead, announcing the arrival of several hundred owls that descended into the Great Hall. Letters and packages dropped down from the owl's talons to the children below.

Danny watched the other children receive mail from their owls, he half hoped he would receive one too. His spirits rose when he caught sight of his owl flying towards him. But it wasn't until Zaqar came closer did he see that the owl was empty-handed.

The owl landed gracefully on the table and hopped toward him. As if sensing his owner's depressed state, Zaqar gave a low hoot and rubbed affectionately against Danny's hand. Danny gave a soft smile at the owl and allowed it to have the rest of his toast.

Danny mentally scolded himself for being childish. Of course, he's not going to have mail, he has no family or friends to talk to after what he did. Wow, wasn't that was a sobering thought.

Why would anyone give you mail? Someone scoffed.

You have no friends- since you KILLED them all. It laughed. With a brief pause, the speaker changed into one he could distinctly recognize.

Murderer! Screamed a shrill voice of a woman.

Give me back my daughter! Mrs. Manson wailed accusingly at him. Danny somehow managed to restrain himself from jumping out of his seat, silently enduring the brunt of the voices latest attack.

After all the time that has passed, Mrs. Manson's words were still fresh in his mind. They wouldn't let him forget.

-PotC-

Two years ago:

"What happened here?"

"Officer Kennedy." The fireman acknowledged the policemen. "We got a call in that there was a large explosion from the Fenton building. As you can see, it caused the whole structure to collapse. Luckily, we were able to contain the damage and keep the fire from spreading."

"Were there anyone inside?"

"We dug out five bodies, 2 adults, and 3 children."

"Any survivors?"

"We found none so far."

There was a commotion from the rubble, "We have a survivor over here!" A fireman was carrying what seemed like a small child. The paramedics rushed over to the man, "It's faint but he's breathing."

Officer Kennedy tipped his hat over his eyes. "Poor kid." He murmured.

.

.

.

Groggy eyes slowly opened, he blinked in confusion as to where he was. Was his room always this white? He felt something in his nose and lightly touching his mouth. He tried to move his arm to pull the thing away but saw that he couldn't. His arm was bound in place. It was then that Danny finally saw the light blue gown and the numerous gauze, cast, and bandages on him. He was in a hospital!

Why was he here?

The last thing he remembered was going into the basement with Sam and Tucker to see the Ghost Portal… The Portal! It wasn't working right so he went inside and accidentally pressed a button. It started up with him trapped in it-

Sam! Tucker! They were still there with him when it happened. Were they okay? Where is everyone!?

A door creaked open. The unexpected noise startled him, Danny stared wide-eyed as a nurse stepped in. She looked up from her clipboard and paused, she seemed surprised to see him awake but smiled kindly at him.

"I am glad to see that you are finally up. Excuse me, I will be right back to let the doctor know you are awake. I'm sure you have plenty of questions, the doctor will be able to answer them for you when he arrives." Without waiting for his reply, she stepped out again closing the door behind her.

A few seconds later, he heard sounds of a scuffle from outside the door.

"Ma'am! Ma'am! Stop, you are not allowed in there! You mustn't go in! MA'AM! Someone stop her!"

The door was roughly slammed open and Mrs. Manson came barreling in. As she panted harshly at the doorway, Danny could see that her hair was in a disarray and her eyes were puffy, red, and blood-shot. Her eyes locked onto his. "Give her back!" She screamed and rushed to him, causing him to flinch back against the headboard.

Before he could get a word in, she grabbed the collar of his hospital gown and roughly dragged him up toward her face, her sharp painted nails dug painfully into his skin drawing a pained groan from the boy. The woman ignored him, callously giving no sympathy to the now orphaned child, as she gave a harder squeeze in response.

"How could you steal her from me!" She shouted hysterically. She gave him a firm shake, her spit splattering against his face as she continued to scream at him. "Give me back my daughter!"

Mr. Manson came in and tried to pry his wife away from the terrified child. She kicked out at him and refused to let go, not until she made the boy feel her agony. The spiteful and bitter woman wanted to inflict vengeance on the boy, she wanted retribution for his crime. She needed him to suffer as she could never bring herself to forgive him, the one who caused her only daughter to lose her life.

She knew from the start that the boy was trouble, especially with his freaks of parents. If Samantha was never friends with the Fenton boy, she would still be here. She wanted him to regret his actions and never forget. After all, it was only right that she made him miserable- it was all his fault.

As if a puppet cut from its strings, she finally let go and collapsed bonelessly on her knees. "Why did she have to die…" She moaned into her hands.

She glared back at Danny accusingly, "It's all your fault, you murderer!" She spat, "If she wasn't with you she will still be here now. It's not fair! Why couldn't you have died instead? WHY!"

-PotC-

"Would you look at that, Weasley got himself a Howler!" Draco's voice snapped Danny back to reality.

The Slytherins snickered in amusement and Danny turned to see what all the ruckus was about. It appeared that he was not the only one who was curious as the whole student body seemed to be staring at the Gryffindor table in anticipation.

What was odd was that some of the Gryffindors who were sitting closest to the redhead were trying (and failing) to casually scoot away from the boy as fast as they could, they were leaning themselves awkwardly back as far as they could possibly go without tipping over their chair.

The redhead in question looked as though all color had been drained out of him. An owl laid unconscious on the table, its feet sticking straight out into the air.

Rather than being concerned about his poor owl, Ron was staring petrified at a bright, red envelope that was grasped innocently in the bird's beak. Hermione prodded the owl as if to confirm if it was still amongst the living. Ron gesture wildly at the envelope with his finger and a round-faced boy gave him a sympathetic glance. Throughout the entire exchange, Harry was the only one who voiced the same question as to what Danny had in mind, "What's a Howler?"

Ron didn't answer as he was too busy watching the envelope which started to leak smoke. The round-faced boy's eyes widened in horror and he urged Ron to hurry and open it. With unhidden dread, Ron paled and gulped audibly, with a shaky hand he grabbed the red envelope and opened it.

In a split second, Danny stiffened as he felt everyone brace themselves for impact. A couple of the people managed to stuff their fingers into their ears before a blast of sound exploded across the hall. The entire room seemed to shake, or maybe it did, as the dust was being shaken out of the ceiling in copious quantities.

Danny somehow managed to clasp his hand over his ears as the shrill yell of an angry woman boomed and echoed off the walls, the deafening voice caused the silverware on the table to rattle. Danny was surprised that none of the glass had shattered yet!

"-STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE-"

Throughout the yells, Harry and Ron sank lower and lower into the seats, Ron's face had turned into a crimson shade from both embarrassment and fear.

"-LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED- ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED -YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME." By the time the tirade was done, Danny's poor sensitive ears were left ringing, giving him a deep, throbbing headache.

As its message was received and its task now finished, the howler ripped itself to shreds and burst into a small ball of flames, its ash scattering across the tabletop. With the loud shouts finally quieted, the hall fell into a noticeable silence before chatter finally resumed amongst the tables.

The Howler did a rather impressive job in cowing the two Gryffindors, but it brutalized Danny more than it did them as the howler's voice was magnified to torturous levels. When Danny unclasped his ears, he saw his hands had a faint amount of blood smeared on it from where his ears had bled.

Danny grimaced at the sight. Wonderful, the thing ruptured his eardrums. Granted it would heal soon for him (Thank Clockwork for his healing factor), but he will still have to suffer with it for the rest of the day. It was times like these that he hated the enhanced hearing that came with being a halfa.

Thankfully his housemates did not notice the blood as he had subtly wiped it onto the napkin on his lap.

"About time the Golden Trio got some punishment." Draco scoffed. "They should have been expelled for that stunt they pulled."

"What exactly did they do?" Danny found himself asking, he was rather curious to know what the Howler was yelling about.

"You didn't hear?" Blaise asked surprised. Danny shook his head. "Oh yeah, you weren't in the common room when it happened."

Pansy eagerly joined the conversation, she was always willing to gossip. "Apparently Potter and Weasley stole a flying car to get to Hogwarts!"

"I heard they crashed it into the Whomping Willow!" Theodore added.

"Professor Snape caught them trying to sneak inside. He will ensure that they get properly punished, not just let off with a simple slap on the wrist." Draco said proudly.

"At least we can rely on Professor Snape to have our backs," Blaise said, and everyone nodded in agreement. It became apparent to Danny that the Slytherins held a lot of respect for the Professor.

"You guys really don't get along," Danny remarked.

"With the Gryffindors, not at all." Theodore agreed.

"I used to think people were over exaggerating when they described the rivalry between the Slytherins and Gryffindors."

"Well, it wouldn't be so bad if the Gryffindors weren't so blatantly favored by the Headmaster." Blaise acknowledged.

"It's so unfair how they can bend so many rules and get off the hook for just about anything!" Pansy whined.

"Especially Saint Potter," Draco said snidely, "He and his followers act as though the rules don't apply to them."

"Remember last year with the House Cup?" Blaise asked the group, everyone (except Danny who was clueless to the reference) groaned in response.

"Ugh, that made me so mad when it happened!" Theodore exclaimed with frustration.

Knowing that Danny was going to ask, Draco explained to him, "Last year the Slytherins worked hard to win the House Cup. During the final feast, the Gryffindors stole it from us with their last-minute points they somehow managed to get from vague circumstances." Danny could sympathize with the Slytherins as he would have been upset too if someone stole his hard-earned victory from under his nose.

They watched as Professor Snape headed in their direction passing out the course schedules. Danny made sure to thank the man when he was handed his schedule. Breakfast was almost over and the Slytherins were gathering their supplies to leave for their first class.

Danny was still reading his schedule as he followed the others out, Danny barely sensed Vlad's approach before a hand snaked out and snatched his schedule from him. Vlad scanned the sheet and returned it to Danny once he had it memorized, he gave a small pat on the boy's shoulder and strolled away without a word.

Danny briefly caught a sly smile on the man as he left. Why was he smiling? Danny didn't have a clue, but he knew it wasn't going to be anything good. Danny recognized that smile as the one Vlad wore when he was plotting something devious. However unlikely, Danny hoped that whatever his father had planned wouldn't involve him.

-PotC-

I was asked a question as to why Vlad is a lot less "Fruit Loopy" and evil-minded than in the show. I apologize if Vlad appears OOC to some of you, but I assure you that I do have a method to my madness.

When I saw the end of the show, I felt pity for his ending, everyone else got a happily-ever-after except for him. I felt that he deserved some form of happiness too. So that made me think, "If Vlad was able to get a little of what he was after and if he had some love in his life, would he have become as evil?" I guess that's the real reason on why I created this story, as a redemption for Vlad. I made a story where Vlad was able to obtain one of his goals: to have Danny as his son. The reason why he's not as crazy or evil is that he is spending most of his time and energy ensuring Danny's happiness and safety rather than cooking up schemes of world domination. I didn't want to totally change his character, but I toned him down a little.

In my portrayal, Vlad is not evil per say, more along the lines of misguided. He does bad things with what he sees as good intentions (which is really his and Danny's well-being, he doesn't really give a crap about anyone else). I chose to portray him as more of a man who believes, "you can't do what needs to be done without getting your hands dirty."

I hope this helped provide some insight into my thought process