A.N. Okay, guys, I want to make one thing clear. If something contradicts, take the fact mentioned here. As I said, I'm polishing the rough edges here.

"Alright, who said the phrase 'There is nothing to fear but the fear itself'?"

Harry rubbed his face, getting under his glasses and sighed. "Roosevelt?"

"Good one, Your Highness, can you please clarify?"

"Theodor?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. It was Franklin Roosevelt."

The teen groaned and hit the table with his head. He was a black-haired, bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time. His real health had nothing to do with this, he had just hit his growing spurt, much to his father's delight. They were inside Harry's room within the Palace. It was much bigger than that in their family house in London. In the world where Lord Phantom was the Ghost King, living space was of no problem, or unliving, to be exact.

Harry wasn't concerned at all that his tutor was a ghost. Socrates was more interesting than Professor Binns, however philosophy was not something the teen would like to do, especially during the summer. The green skinned being of immense knowledge throughout the ages, who used to be one of the most famous philosophers of Greece, was a great tutor. Drinking a vial with horrid poison was a ticket to agony and becoming a ghost. The philosopher sighed, rubbing his short beard.

"You aren't interested in my subject, are you, young one?"

"No offense, Socrates. It's just...not my thing. Besides, I have tons of Hogwarts homework to do."

"I understand. Your father wanted you to gain knowledge of all aspects, not just magic, young prince. He is very wise."

"But if I won't need it?"

"Philosophy is not something to be taken lightly. It affects our morals and what we do in our lives. But I think you shall discuss your further education with your parent."

Suddenly the door swung open. A teenage girl ran inside. She was about the same age as Harry, but her pearly white locks could catch someone unaware. Her neon green eyes were shining brightly, reflecting off her mid tanned skin. She looked quite attractive for many in the school, not that Harry was happy about the latter thing. The girl was wearing blue hoodie and jeans, along with sneakers and red cap. No one would have guessed that she was the princess of the enormous state.

"Oh, I thought you are done already," she said.

Socrates smiled, packing his things. "Don't worry, Your Highness, we just lingered. Farewell, prince, princess," he nodded to each other respectfully and left the room.

Harry sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Is there a reason for you to barge in like that, Ellie?"

The princess shrugged and sat near him. "Well, I just had an idea...wanna tag along?"

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Harry deadpanned.

"Oh, don't be a scaredy cat. I just thought that you needed to go for a walk, in a human world, of course."

Harry briefly looked out of the window, seeing pitch black sky, with swirling waves of green and purple.

"You DO remember that Dad wanted us to stay here with Voldemort around?"

He expected at least some self preservation from his older sister, but Ellie was just as daring as their father during his childhood. Still, after the incident with the Goblet of Fire last year she could be more careful. They both almost died in the graveyard during the Tri-Wizard tournament. Both kids were participating, despite their young age. While Harry was there because of the scheme, Ellie wanted to take part. She overstepped the protection simply, but nevertheless ingenious. She tied the piece of parchment with her name to the stone, threw it inside the Goblet, which decided to make her participant. Dumbledore had to increase protection as many other students tried to repeat her action, although he was amused by the girl's resourcefulness.

Despite two Hogwarts champions causing an uproar, everyone had to agree. However, the competition was not an obstacle to the siblings. Their opposing houses tried to instigate the rivalry, hence the badges 'Potter stinks', but it was pointless. Harry understood that Ellie had nothing to do with this. They helped each other, warning about dragons in Harry's case, Ellie helped him to find a way of breathing underwater, since she could hold breath for hours. Together they took the prize in the third trial.

The Dark Lord had come up with a scheme by turning the final prize into the Portkey. Ellie being half-ghost had a stunning effect. It would have been amusing to watch how Harry tried to fake being terrified when she was 'killed' if you knew what was going on in reality. Voldemort resurrected and dueled the teen. While no one was watching, Ellie scooped the Goblet in the right moment and they both got back to Hogwarts.

Of course, Danny believed what his children said, so did Dumbledore. The latter insisted that Harry should be moved to Dursleys, just like he often did. The old man said that protective charms could protect The Boy Who Lived, but the Ghost King declared that it was going to happen over his dead body, and that's what brought Harry in that castle, not their posh house in a world of the living. No Death Eater, not even Mr.Wallplug, as Phantom came to call the most horrible Dark Lord in history, could get Harry in another world.

The castle was much more luxurious, but communicating was more complicated. The owls just flew to their normal address, where Phantom picked them up and took home. But they were so vague, all Harry knew about the ongoing events was that Hermione was staying at the same place as Ron. The teen asked his father about it, but Danny only shrugged, saying that he wasn't really close to the others as his children were. Sure, they met a few times, Phantom even visited Weasleys' house once, during the second year, which gave them a heart attack. At the first glance they thought that Lucius Malfoy came to them. There were many similarities, surprisingly. Despite bidding farewells on friendly terms, going together to the Quidditch match, Danny wasn't exactly BFF, but the relationship was sympathetic.

"Oh, relax, it's just for half an hour. Dad shouldn't be here for long."

"Doesn't mean that we should just go despite what he said."

"C'mon, Harry, no one will find out. It's just a short walk. It will be good for your health, the Ghost Zone isn't exactly a place for humans."

Harry didn't complain about being there, the Ghost Zone was his home, just as much as for the other denizens of the realm. He had all entertainment he could wish for, they even could go swimming in the nearby lake. It was easier for Harry to travel now, once he got a broom during the first year of studying. Of course, it broke later, and Phantom got him the newest model, but it still allowed to move between chunks of land.

Sighing, the teen leaned back in his chair, dropping his pen. "What exactly do you offer?"

"Just a short walk near our home. Dad won't notice. He went to FarFrozen to do stuff."

There WAS a considerable distance, Harry had to admit. And for them it was simple to get into the human world through the portal. Deciding that he really needed a break from the studying, it was summer, after all, the teen got up from his seat and followed Ellie out of the room, putting a sweatshirt above his T. It should have been evening, and they were known to be quite chilly in London. Two siblings went through the vast corridors of their home.

The teens didn't have a chance to see the castle during the previous king's rule. It was one of their favorite night stories when they were little, about how their father became the Slayer of Pariah and therefore claimed the throne. The children only saw the castle with Phantom's personal touch. The King didn't need that Keep, whose insides were filled with labyrinthine corridors, full of traps the paranoidal monarch had put, not to mention the horrid look of the castle itself. Fully remodeled, it was a beautiful marble structure, more of a palace than a castle, and it was harder to get lost, even if there was about hundred rooms. Despite the appearance, all modern technologies were present.

Going through the corridors, walking on the red carpet and passing the iron suits of armor, the children entered the throne room. It wasn't big, the most pompous thing was probably the tall pitch black throne. But the children paid no attention to the room and went to the opposite door, closing it once they went through. They then went down the spiral staircase. Phantom liked to keep everything in close proximity to himself, including the gateway between two worlds. The small room had only one distinct feature - the hexagonal metal structure, which was closed at the moment.

Smirking, Ellie approached the control panel, cracking her hands. "Give me a sec."

She looked at one of the lower panels, covered by a small cap. The girl removed it, but saw a yellow sticky note.

"Fat chance," she read with a deadpan expression.

"Looks like Dad has found out you have similar fingerprints," Harry said with amusement at his father's reaction.

Ellie's lips thinned as she looked at where the finger scanner used to be. Yes, instead of scolding, Phantom just made a laugh out of them. He was either the best or the worst father there was. But Danny didn't take into account his daughter's stubbornness. Ellie kneeled near the panel and phased off the wall, taking a look at the insides. Harry blinked.

"You aren't serious, right?"

"Have I ever failed you, bro?" The girl asked, rummaging through the wires.

"Well, I do remember one time we got caught because of you."

"Oh, common, are you still sore about this?"

"You don't know how it feels to sign Lockheart's photos for a few hours. You got a slack off."

Ellie snickered. "Okay, you got me. It seems that Dad has removed the scanner but not the wiring...if I reconnect these two..."

She finished her work and, with a zap, the metal doors slid open, revealing the swirling black and green vortex.

"See? And you said that that club was pointless," the girl nudged her brother with a smirk.

"Wait, are they actually teaching breaking into control systems?!" Harry asked, rubbing his hand.

"Nah, just...side sources. Anyways, let's go already."

The raven haired teen was definitely going to ask his sister more. The kids went through the portal with no effort, exiting in a room with metal walls and furniture. It was full of different beakers and scrap pieces. Fiddling with ectoplasmic technologies was Phantom's favorite hobby, he liked to invent different things, studying the properties of the liquid flowing through his veins. The generator of his own creation was serving the entire neighborhood, making the neighbors wonder why their bills were so little.

The children went upstairs, to what seemed like a usual household. Because it was, something else would have looked unusual among the fancy, but lookalike houses of Kensington. Ellie helped her brother to phase through the door by turning them both intangible. They didn't have the keys from the door. The streets of that prestigious district were not devoid of people, moreover, there were tourists among the passer byes. Nevertheless, no one spotted two kids coming out of nowhere.

"So, where to?" Harry asked.

"You'll see," Ellie grinned, continuing to walk forward.

The boy made no further attempt to pry. He just took a look around, taking a deep breath. Harry wanted to be angry with his father for putting him on what reminded house arrest, when everything he had done was telling that Voldemort was alive. And his reward was to be stuck in the Ghost Zone for four solid weeks, completely cut off from the magical world, reduced to wandering among the almost empty palace! How could Dumbledore have forgotten him so easily? Why had Ron and Hermione got together without inviting him along, too? How much longer was he supposed to endure Sirius telling him to sit tight and be a good boy; or resist the temptation to write to the stupid Daily Prophet and point out that Voldemort had returned? Not that he received any newspapers.

Yet, Harry couldn't bring himself to be angry. Deep within he understood that Phantom was trying to protect him. Ron and Hermione could write to him more, Sirius could tell his godson something more than to stay put, or how he didn't trust Danny. But the ghost was keeping his children company as much as he could. They even spent entire evenings playing videogames. How come he was so good was beyond their knowledge. His attention made Harry bare that lockdown easier, but the teen still thought that Phantom was being too overprotective.

Once Harry snapped out of his thoughts, he noticed that they were not on the pavement anymore. It was a pathway of the park. A place which he knew really well, for their family visited the place a lot, because it was really close to their home. The teen blinked in realization and looked at his sister in surprise.

"Hyde Park?" He asked.

Ellie turned around and smiled broadly. "Well, yes," she made a pause.

They were surrounded by thick trees and bright green lawns. The wind was slowly blowing, and the nearest person was about thirty meters away. The girl kept smiling, wondering if her brother could figure everything out by himself.

"It's been ten years," Ellie added.

Harry then understood. "I met Dad here."

"That's why I thought it would be nice to come here...It was Dad's idea, he was really sad that he couldn't do that."

"Why have I not seen this?"

"Because it was supposed to be a surprise," Ellie shrugged at such an obvious thing.

She then hugged Harry tightly. "It's awesome to have you around, lil bro, even if you have a habit of getting us in trouble. It would have been boring without ya."

The boy was touched by her words. He hugged his sister in return. His foster family were the closest people in his life, more than his cousin's ever was. He was lucky to meet someone so kind as Phantom. For all he knew, a small child on a cold night could meet someone cruel, or worse, meet the policemen who would return him back to Dursleys. Both alternatives were horrible, but the little boy didn't think two steps ahead. He just wanted to get away from the abusive family. But he was loved in his new family, it was weird in many aspects, but he wasn't 'normal' either.

"Thank you, sis. I needed this," Harry said.

"No kidding," Ellie beamed at him. "Let's go now, we have plenty of time and I have plenty of pocket money. I really need ice-cream right now."

The raven haired boy laughed. "Alright, if you say so."

They went to the nearest stand and got themselves a treat. Muggle and Magic sweets alike were unique in their own way. The latter lacked many sorts of ice-cream. Ellie payed for everything, saying that that was to celebrate the anniversary. Harry had his own money, he was, in reality, immensely rich and without his parent's wealth. But those were Wizarding coins, besides, going to Gringotts was not an option. He could withdraw money whenever he wanted, Danny said as such, trusting his son's responsibility.

The children just enjoyed the ice-cream, walking down the stone path. Harry wandered off to his thoughts, but Ellie yet again snapped him out of his thoughts.

"I can't believe you made it all the way here," she said.

"What do you mean?"

Ellie turned her neon green eyes at him. "It's really far from Little Whinging. And for five years old to go so far..."

"I didn't think back then," Harry mumbled. "I just remember being really exhausted. And hungry."

The girl chuckled. "Ah, little human. Getting hungry so quickly."

"You are half human, too," Harry nudged her with amused expression, before they laughed.

"Look, Harry, I wanted to ask you something. You seem thoughtful lately. Is everything alright?" Ellie asked with sudden serious expression.

"Yeah...I guess."

"That didn't sound really convincing," The ghost girl said dryly.

"Okay, I just...I'm tired of not knowing anything going on. Ron and Hermione have fun in the Burrow, while I'm stuck here, studying during my holidays. Voldemort could be hiding in that bush, but I wouldn't know that, because no one cared to tell me. What's the point in hiding, if I don't even know where he is!" He exploded.

"I know no more than you, bro. But maybe that's because they don't know anything as well?"

"Are we talking about Dad? The one whose spies can turn invisible and overhear every conversation?"

"To send someone to spy, you need to know where to send them."

Harry became quiet. Ellie got a point. "I guess you are right...It's not like Voldemort would like to show his pretty face to everyone."

"See?" The girl smirked. "Sirius is wanted, he can't just send letters around. I don't like what he says about Dad, though. But his face once he realized we are siblings was priceless."

The young wizard remembered that moment during the third year. He didn't know the reason why Sirius and Danny hated each other. Because it started long before his birth. Although, Phantom didn't show this at all, the ghost treated the escaped 'criminal' like he was not even there. That's why housing Black at their home was out of question. Danny probably remained calm with him just for Harry's sake. After all, that man was his foster son's only tie to his real family. But Sirius was terrified once he found out.

"It's a bit chilly, don't you think?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, and it's getting dark...wait a second...YOU are COLD?!"

The girl came to the same realization. She couldn't just feel the low temperatures caused by weather, the ice core protected her. The nearest lantern flickered. It was surprisingly empty, and the remaining people felt the cold, too, thinking that they should go somewhere to the warmer place. Two kids looked at each other.

"We've got to get out of here!" Harry exclaimed.

"To where? These things can fly, let me remind you!" Ellie responded, still following her brother on a quick pace.

"We must find some crowdy area, they won't dare to go there."

"They are invisible to muggles! Why should the Dementors care?"

"They don't, but their bosses will!"

At this moment Ellie wondered why her brother was in Griffndor. He probably got such way of thinking from Danny. But as if the Dementors knew about the maneuver, there was not a single sole around. How was that even possible? How did they find them so soon and why did they even pursue them? They hadn't done anything illegal. Oh, it just had to be the only day Harry stepped out of their home. The Dementors must have been patrolling. Specifically for them.

They got to the iron fence. Behind the outside bushes they could see the moving lights of passing cars. Ellie was about to phase them through. The cold was so intense they were shivering all over; goose bumps had erupted up their arms and the hairs on the back of their necks were standing up. At the same moment, Harry felt a creeping chill behind him that could mean only one thing. They were close. When the girl grabbed his hand, they heard something in the place apart from themselves, something that was drawing long, hoarse, rattling breaths. Harry And Ellie felt horrible jolts of dread as they stood trembling in the freezing air.

"Well, are you going to do anything?" The boy exclaimed, snapping his sister out of her trance.

Ellie nodded and was about to jump through the wall, when something cut them off from retreat. There was a hovering dark figure, dressed in torn robes covering the entirety of its body, but the gray, slimy hands. It threateningly approached them. The kids retreated, preparing to kick that thing into oblivion it came from. Harry brandished his black wand, and Ellie's hand flowed with deathly green color. The blasts couldn't harm the foul apparitions, but they could give Harry enough time to concentrate.

Dementors were kind of a bother to such things. The feeling of dread was already overfilling their stomachs. Ellie's signal was a shot she made, but not at the one in front, at the one who tried to crawl behind them.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry exclaimed.

An enormous silver stag erupted from the tip of Harry's wand; it's antlers caught the Dementor in the place where the heart should have been; it was thrown backwards, weightless as darkness, and as the stag charged, the Dementor swooped away, bat-like and defeated. Harry then turned around, only to find Dementor mere inches from his face. He was saved by a green beam sending the creature away. He snapped back from the near-death trance.

"Get it!" He commanded to his stag patronus. It hit Dementor in the chest, and the creature flew off like its comrade.

Ellie extinguished the green flicker in her palm, swiping her blue hoodie. She only looked at her brother grimly.

"We've got to go home."

"Yeah...nice idea. I need chocolate," Harry rubbed his eyes.

They went in direction of the house. With the Dementors away, the lights returned and the weather became better. No one said anything on their way. The children were still affected by what the foul creatures had done, feeling sad and nasty. They had lost the track of time, forgetting how they got to the house. Ellie phased them in, before finally being able to say anything.

"Dad has to know about this," she mumbled. "We have to tell him."

"No kidding. We are going to be in a lot of trouble."

"Oh, I think you already are," a low voice sounded from the living room.

Their heads snapped in the direction of the sound, making their already pale faces white as paper sheets. Against the doorway was standing a man, leaning against the wall. He was tall, with burly build and firm traits of the face. He looked to be around thirty, with spiky stark white hair, neon eyes, which glowed brightly in the half lit room, giving an ominous feeling, and were reduced to slits as Phantom narrowed them.

"What an interesting day you must have had," he commented sarcastically, standing away from the wall. "May I ask, why do I come home, only to find out that my children are gone and that my portal is hijacked? Furthermore, why do I receive a Howler?" Phantom held a letter with his middle and pointing fingers. "And look at the stamp. It is from the Ministry."