A/N: Hello kids! My muses have whipped me into submission, and as well as Gender Benders, I have decided to do a decent rendition of the infamous cross-over: Danny Phantom/Harry Potter.

Why is no one killing me yet? I mean it, seriously. Why?

-sigh- ANYWAY. This is another experiment. If you like, gimmee reviews. If you don't, give me reviews telling me I suck and I need to have my head examined. Either way, REVIEW.

And Yes! I am working on the third chapter for Gender Benders as we speak, so nobody get all huffy or anything….

…God help me…I'll need it where I'm going.

P.S. I got the incantation from a real book, The Spells of Seven. Give them credit for the English version, as I translated the Latin version myself.

(())

Phasmatis Cruor

Chapter One: Atypical Revelations

--

Remus sat down and heaved a sigh.

It had been a long day. Most of his days were like that now, but just because he was subjected to such days didn't mean he had to like them.

He walked over to his cupboard and pulled out a small glass, and a bottle of Firewhisky, assuring himself that he needed it. He moved the chair with his foot and sat himself down once more, this time at his own barren dining table.

His house was not large; he could not afford it to be. But his bare essentials were adequate enough to help him survive. He took a sip of the burning liquid and looked towards the ceiling.

This had been a year of trial and much error. The blasted Triwizard tournament had thrown Remus for a loop, as it had for Sirius and Dumbledore and damn near everyone else in the wizarding world. Many, as Remus had expected, took it in very much the wrong light.

He sighed once more. Poor Cedric. Poor Harry. Remus strongly believed that the boy had a magnet somewhere in his body that called to trouble, and it went by the name of Voldemort.

To be truthful, Sirius, Remus' own personal trouble magnet, wasn't much better.

Dumbledore had suggested that selected members of the Order would pick Harry up near the end of the summer. Remus would be among them, and he was secretly very excited and worried at the same time. He knew the Dursleys, and he remembered how much he had disliked Petunia. Harry's descriptions of the family currently didn't give Remus any motivation to warm up to them.

He was about to take another sip of alcohol when his fire erupted in a small burst of green flame and Albus Dumbledore stepped out of his hearth.

"Albus!" Remus exclaimed, upsetting his drink and his chair as he stood up hastily. "What on earth- I'm sorry," he stopped and collected himself. "What brings you to my humble abode?" he asked his previous Headmaster. There was a slight trace of sardonic tone laced between the last two words of his sentence, but if you didn't know Remus, it would have been missed completely.

"I am sorry to trouble you so late," Albus said in his usual pleasant tone. "But something of deep interest has come to my attention, and I wish very much to discuss it with you." His twinkling ice blue eyes shone even in the half-light of the now dying fire, "And I'm glad you weren't at Grimmauld Place tonight, as this was a private matter." Remus blinked in surprise while his face allowed nothing.

"Of course," he said courteously, and waved a hand in the direction of the seat in front of him. "Please have a seat," he continued, waving a wand to clean away his glass and right the chair he had previously toppled.

Dumbledore merely nodded and made his way over to sit. Remus had remembered discussing with Sirius on a night not too long ago, how much they could love and hate a man such as Albus Dumbledore. Sirius had needed to vent about his practical entrapment inside a house he had hoped to never see again, and Remus was somewhat disturbed by Dumbledore's actions towards Harry. The old wizard was acting like there was something to hide, and Remus had learned by now to trust his instincts.

"What is it you wanted to speak to me about?" Remus asked as he sat down himself, shaking his head slightly to clear it of worries.

"How much do you know of ghosts?" Dumbledore asked in a gentle voice.

Remus paused and then smiled wearily. "Metaphorical or literal?" he asked in return.

Dumbledore's eyes seemed to be full of understanding, but he smiled. "Literal, in this case."

"Then I have to say that I know only what I have been taught," Remus told him, his voice warmer than it had been before. "That they are manifestations of post-human consciousness and soul, fueled by their very human need to finish what they started." He paused to think and continued after a beat. "They are also mostly made of substance called phasmatis cruor or 'ectoplasm' by muggles, which is also a substance that is found, untapped, in a living human body. I confess to having read muggle works on the subject, albeit infrequently." He paused once more and then tilted his head. "Why ask me? I'm not exactly an expert."

Albus merely nodded and smiled. "I believe we may have found a ghost that is as strong as any powerful wizard, and certainly more powerful than the common spirit," he said, avoiding Remus' question with practiced ease.

Remus raised a solitary eyebrow. "A ghost as powerful in spirit as any wizard?"

"Indeed," Albus confirmed.

"And is he malevolent?" asked Remus, his voice betraying his curiosity.

"Not that my sources have been able to tell," Albus said with a calm sober voice.

Remus was still confused. "Forgive me Albus," he said, "I'm still slightly at a loss to understand why you have contacted me, of all people."

Albus simply smiled in an enigmatic manner. "I need you to go find him."

Remus felt his brain stumble a bit before he collected what had spilled out and readjusted himself. "Pardon?" he asked his pitch incredulous.

"I know you feel you are needed here," Dumbledore continued seriously, "and I know that Sirius feels the same way. But you are the only man I know who would find this task vital and treat it as such." He looked at Remus' disbelieving expression and sighed, finding it difficult to pull him away from the Order's main objective as well. "And I know Harry means quite a lot to you, especially now…but you must understand. This ghost may help us, and its connection to the spirit world may aid us in our battles to come."

Feeling pole-axed, Remus slumped into his chair. "This is quite a difficult task Albus," he said at last. "Where would I find a wandering spirit, and since when do ghosts help the living?"

Dumbledore was silent for a long moment. "I have the strong suspicion that this ghost may be able to recreate a completely solid form in the living realm."

Remus stilled at this. He looked Dumbledore in the eye. "I thought that was a trait singled out for the most malevolent," he paused, thinking of Peeves, "or the most stubborn and annoying of ghosts."

"Perhaps," Dumbledore responded mysteriously. "I know of no other Order member for this task," he said, changing track, "And any other that could take your place would be noticed missing from the ranks of the Ministry."

Remus nodded after what seemed like an eternity. "Mundungus certainly wouldn't find this to be in his usual tastes, as far as missions go," he said at last, allowing himself a tired grin. It didn't last long as his features fell into a frown. "I still don't know where I would start to look, Albus."

"That is one trouble you won't have to worry about my friend," Albus said, smiling in what looked like relief, although with the old man, you would never be able to tell.

"You already know where he resides?" asked Remus in surprise.

"I have wonderfully reliable sources," Dumbledore said, the familiar twinkle appearing in his eyes.

Remus stood and paced over to his sink. He turned around and smiled back, not really being able to help himself. "Where?" he asked.

"In America," said Dumbledore, his own quiet incredulity surfacing a little. "In retrospect, I must admit my regrets in not visiting the country as much as I should have," he said as if speaking his thoughts aloud.

America! Remus reflected to himself. "I have never been there myself," said Remus, doubt starting to creep back into his voice. "I honestly don't know anything about their magical system or their etiquette."

"It is much like ours," Albus assured before a frown crept onto his ancient features. "However, they are much more selective about distribution of power."

"How so?" Remus questioned.

"Young witches or wizards sometimes stay undiscovered, usually due to the fact that their talents may remain undetected due to a supposed 'lack' of potential power. Unfortunately, they are left untaught and untrained for quite a long time, sometimes forever."

Remus could only blink furiously. "How do they get away with such neglect?" he asked, a bit angry at this.

Albus sighed and looked more like the old man he was. "As I said, the American equivalent of our own Ministry only considers a child a witch or wizard if their power levels reach their standards." He shook his head. "Anything below that standard is considered irrelevant, and quite frankly, useless to them."

Remus was surprised to hear that their system of discovering new witches and wizards was so archaic, not to mention disastrously bigoted.

"That is really the only difference, though its singularity does not outweigh its potential consequences," Albus continued. "I urge you to help me in this Remus," Dumbledore stood as he said this, and moved toward the fire place. "You may find more than we were looking for, and as such we may be able to help rather than hurt."

Remus heard Albus with great clarity. "I understand," he voiced into the ringing silence. Albus turned to look Remus in the eye and smiled sincerely as he put a foot into the hearth.

"I am glad."

--:

Getting over to the United States was not exactly as easy as he had hoped.

With the wards ensuring a mandatory customs check, which was a security measure that the British Ministry had also employed, American borders seemed very secure. But the Americans turned out to be quite paranoid. They had searched him over and over, checking for potential spells and other potions that could possibly be set off once on American soil. They hardly noticed that Lupin himself was a potential disaster on a full moon. When he did mention it, as he felt obligated to warn them, they waved it off. Remus was surprised at that.

"It hardly counts…everyone knows that werewolves can't help it," said the sympathetic lady officer he met after he had Apparated into the American Government of Sorcery's international visitor section. "If we considered them a threat, we would have depleted and alienated a large group of our own citizens, and how does that help us?"

"Not at all," Remus supplied as he gathered his robe and his small batch of luggage.

"Right," she said smiling. "You're clear to go Mr. Lupin."

"Thank you," he said in return, his smile visible to most anyone who had eyes.

As he walked out of the building and into the humid heat of Washington D.C.'s air, Lupin contemplated his mission for what seemed like the thousandth time. He remembered Sirius' reaction and winced. It wasn't an explosive protest, which he had feared it might have been. It was more of a defeated sulk, which still left Remus feeling even more guilty than usual.

Dumbledore had given him a small book before he left. Called The Lost Spells of Domesius, it was a collection of ancient incantations; very old magic that needed the user to go through a series of movements and required a strong focus over their wandless, or natural, magic. It was raw and sometimes dangerous, as the consequences of ill-use were either disastrous or lethal. Remus had been perplexed at such a gift, but Albus continued on to warn him that America was a land of tradition (they were still playing catch up, in some ways), and as such, magic followed. The most influential and powerful spells were still to this day, incantations. Not many used them anymore, Dumbledore admitted that much, but there were a few that would undoubtedly come in use. And they would be the most effective.

Remus immediately found a spot in a nearby park to read the small book. He flipped through the pages, feeling his more scholarly instincts take over with unrestrained glee. It was very old, and most of the incantations were faded, albeit still readable. All of them were in Latin, and thankfully, unlike the muggles of the world, Remus knew the dead language wasn't really dead in the wizarding world.

Most of the incantations were truly old magic, probably too powerful to use for the simple doings of day to day life, or at least the temporary. After a thorough search, Remus eventually found what he was looking for.

--:

He found himself standing inside a dark room at a small motel on the city limits. The sun had set just previously, and the last tendrils of twilight clung desperately to the horizon. Remus found no shame in going to a Safeway and buying candles for a serious magical event, although he knew that if anyone found out, he would be laughed out of a room.

He had found what was simply called A Finding Spell or in Latin, Reperio Incantate. It was very much like a Point Me spell that one often did with a wand, but much more powerful. Unfortunately for Remus, he didn't know what his quarry looked like, much less who it was, or what its personality was like. A Point Me spell required all of the above, and Remus quietly realized why Albus had given him the book in the first place.

He had set up the seven candles in what seemed like a triangle with a square inside of it. He focused on what Albus had told him, concentrating on the ghost he was trying to find and pulling out adjectives that he had heard the old wizard use: extremely powerful, skilled, ghost, spirit, unique, magic, and various other synonyms. Drawing a circle within the square, and feeling incredibly old-fashioned, he lit the candles and held out the book to read from.

"Incendia undaeque exurent,
(Fire burn and water run,)
sub luna, sol subter,
('neath the moon and 'neath the sun,)
Questens , quaerens, gere ut invenire,
(Seeking, searching, bear to find,)
In pectus et per mens.
(In the heart and through the mind.)"

The room seemed to darken and warp a bit, and Remus kept his focus, feeling sweat begin to form on his forehead. When he finished reciting, the candles went out as one, and the smoke twisted above his head to form two words:

Amity Park.

…Which wasn't, as it turned out, that far away.

Finding Amity Park on a map was difficult, merely because of its small size. But Remus didn't need to use a map.

Amity Park was the center of spiritual activity in the U.S, and every muggle from coast to coast knew it.

Remus' elation of finding the place was dwarfed by his shock that everyone in the United States knew about ghosts. What's more, they knew the name of one in particular.

To himself, Remus wondered if some deity was helping him out of pity.

A ghost that went by the obvious pseudonym Danny Phantom roamed the city of Amity Park on a frequent basis and had reportedly saved said town from destruction no less than three or ten times (depending on who you talked to). It was the most promising lead he had gotten. When he had asked a random shopkeeper about the incidents in Amity and the man was more of an expert on it that Remus was, it was only slightly mortifying.

Remus absently thought the name was a bit funny for a ghost, but then remembered Nearly Headless Nick and forgot all about it.

He saw a picture of Amity Park's main hub, busy streets with a calm park in the background. Making sure no one saw him, Remus slipped behind the store to concentrate.

In the blink of an eye, Remus disappeared from view.

--:

He arrived with little flourish in the middle of a deserted street. It was at least 9:30 in the evening, Central. Remus, who was still suffering from the severe time difference in minute ways, yawned expansively.

He looked around and found that it looked relatively calm, especially for a town that was supposed to be terrorized by malevolent spirits on a regular basis.

Remus swallowed and started categorizing the different areas in which he felt strong spiritual signatures. Then he stopped.

He vaguely remembered something from the book. There was an incantation he had come across that allowed for some sort of summoning, but he couldn't remember exactly what it was. Remus frowned as he pulled out the small book and searched for the incantation; which turned out to be called the Accerso Phasmatis Nox Noctis Incantate: the Incantation for Conjuring the Spirits of the Night.

Remus paused.

Maybe it was too soon to use something that powerful. There was also a high possibility that it would most-likely call all sorts of different creatures, in addition to the more malevolent spirits that roamed this town.

He flipped the pages to find the Reperio Incantate. He would try the finding spell one more time, but this time he would add a certain ghost's name to his list.

--:

Danny was busy not fighting ghosts, and he was extremely grateful for it.

Actually he was with Sam and Tucker and they were sitting at a table, completely immersed in their current school project. It was a Lancer Special, which meant that they would only get a day or two after getting back into school to finish it. Sam had been at their necks all week, egging them on to get the damn thing done as soon as possible. Both Tucker and Danny complained that it was summer, and after the whole debacle with Freakshow at the end of the school year, they were entitled to some well-earned rest. Sam had countered with the fact that she knew if they didn't start it now, in August, then they would probably never would.

"Are you kidding Tucker?" Sam said in disbelief. "It's amazing that you can understand the most complicated technology, but Shakespeare is still beyond you."

"I resent that!" Tucker pouted across the table. "I can read his stuff online, and it makes sense there!"

Sam groaned audibly. "That's because it's the Spark Notes version…it's in simple English," she explained as if talking to a slower than average koala.

Tucker huffed in indignation. Danny was trying not to laugh; no really, he was.

"Why'd we have to get stuck with A Midsummer Night's Dream?" asked Tucker no one in particular.

"Because it rocks," Sam said matter-of-factly. "And I picked it."

Danny quickly gave Tucker a warning look that practically shouted, No! Don't say anything, are you crazy?

Tucker, per usual, ignored the look. "Why?" he cried, half-sobbing into his shirt.

Sam glared pointedly, and Danny shrugged to himself. He had tried.

They had situated themselves in the kitchen, comfortably snacking on some food as they analyzed quotes, uncovered centuries old metaphors within metaphors, and some other stuff. Most of the analyzing had been done by Sam, who was so insistent on doing it the right way that she had wrestled the job from Tucker and added it to her workload. She left Danny alone, as he had already proven to be a good enough writer to save his own butt in occasions such as these.

It was a few seconds later that the doorbell rung.

"I'll get it!" called Maddie Fenton, reaching the door first and opening it quickly. She opened her mouth to say hello, but stopped.

The man in front of her looked exhausted and visibly drained. He was wearing what looked like dirty beaten robes, and he was carrying a small suitcase in one hand and a small book in the other.

Maddie frowned at his scruffiness. "This is the Fenton residence. I am Maddie Fenton…may I help you?" she asked in a slightly low voice, as if warning the man that any action that even hinted at being reprehensible was punishable by a door in the face.

"Yes," said the man as he stood straighter, and Maddie heard a sophisticated London accent in his voice, which surprised her further, as it did not match his unkempt appearance. "I'm afraid to ask this, but do you perchance know of the," he paused for a moment, before continuing with a gentle smile, "Danny Phantom ghost?"

Maddie blinked in surprise. "Of course we do!" she exclaimed, pleased (but still in defense mode). "We are the first and best ghost hunters in Amity Park."

The man wore a confused expression. "You hunt ghosts?"

Maddie nodded with a considerable amount of pride. "Yes," she tells him enthusiastically. "We wish to study them, and hunting them takes the more dangerous ghosts out of the picture!" She grinned at this.

The man gave her a strange look before shaking his head. "Yes, well, I have great reason to believe that this Danny Phantom spirit resides here. May I come in?" he asked, his voice indicating that she might as well. He wasn't going to leave otherwise.

Maddie, her curiosity already piqued, stepped forward. "Are you saying he's inside our house?" she asked incredulous. "That isn't possible!"

"It is entirely possible," the man said firmly. "It is also of utmost importance that I find this spirit and talk to him."

Maddie backed down for a moment. "Why?" she asked simply, frowning in suspicion.

"I have other information that might be considered useful to you regarding these malevolent spirits," he said quickly. "Please," he said after Maddie didn't respond, "I must do this."

Maddie regarded the man on her front steps once more. Tempted by the thought of information and an explanation regarding his ridiculous comment about the ghost boy living in their house of all things….

"Alright," she said in a firm manner. "But this better be good."

--:

The man Remus came know as Jack had come down soon after Madeline allowed the strange man inside. He was grinning in an incredibly enthusiastic manner. "Maddie! Is this the man I can blather on about ghosts to?"

Madeline managed a sweet smile. "Of course Jack," she said and took out a small cookie. "Have a cookie first."

Jack immediately snatched the cookie, inadvertently silencing him for a brief moment. Maddie looked at her husband with a mixture of exasperation and affection. She turned back to the stranger on the couch.

"Now Mr.…."

"Lupin," he said apologetically, "Remus if you please."

Madeline raised and eyebrow and Jack blinked. "Alright. Remus. What on earth do you mean the ghost boy is here in our house?" asked Maddie with great annoyance.

There was a loud splashing sound from the kitchen, followed by a severe bout of coughing and a "Eew! Jeez Danny watch it!" from what sounded like Sam. Maddie frowned.

"Kids?" she called out, and watched as Remus' expression went from apprehensive to curious. "I know you three are listening, so come on out!"

A few seconds later, two boys and a girl appeared, one of the boys still coughing slightly. The girl was wiping her sleeve with a towel, a slightly disgusted look on her face.

Maddie looked at her son strangely before turning back to Remus. "Well?"

Remus tore his eyes away from the children. "Yes. Well," he began, taking out his wand and drawing a few diagrams in the air, "This place is a remarkable hotspot for ghostly activity, which is strange, but easily explainable. I have made use of a strong locater spell to find the ghost…and, forgive me, but it's quite difficult to miss your home." He moved his wand in the air, creating a couple of different diagrams before he noticed the intense silence that was now permeating the room.

All of them were staring at him like had grown two heads and a five extra arms. Remus realized he had made a grave mistake.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, standing. "Apparently I was-"

"What was that?" asked the girl in a quiet but strangely formidable voice. The boys next to her weren't nearly as composed, as they were gaping right along with the adults.

Remus sighed in frustration, mostly due to his own severe carelessness. "There must be some mistake," he said, hoping against hope that there might be a solution to this dilemma. "I know for a fact that there are a few wizards or witches in this house. I can…feel them," he said slowly, his words edited slightly as he didn't really want to explain how he could 'smell' natural magic.

"Witches?" the red-headed woman echoed. "Wizards?"

"What are you?" the boy in the red and white shirt said, his voice quite serious for someone his age.

Remus had half a mind to Obliviate them, but stopped himself short. He still needed information about this Danny Phantom, and the Finding Spell had led him straight to this house. Plus, there was now an additional confusion; he had only done magic in front of these folks because he had been sure they were magically inclined. He stood and looked the woman straight in the eye. "Is there a Danny Fenton who lives here?" he asked, throwing precaution to the four winds.

The red and white shirted boy started in surprise, and to Remus' surprise, not a little fear. "I'm Danny," he said, putting a hand to his chest as if to emphasize this statement. His voice was calm, but there was an underlying danger that Remus' more animalistic side recognized as a warning signal. How curious.

Remus opened his mouth to say something when he felt a surge of magic and the vase next to his elbow shattered.

Everyone in the room blinked. Remus looked as if a light bulb had gone off. All of the strangeness finally started to make sense as he remembered Dumbledore's advice.

"I understand," he said after a minute. "At least one of you has a natural magical ability." He looked the lot of them in the eye, "Because I did not shatter that vase."

Danny blinked in surprise and stared at his hand for a moment, before turning around and looking at the girl next to him, who was, if it was possible, even more shocked.

"Did you do that?" asked Danny in a small voice, his words directed at the black-haired girl. The other boy started to edge away, which would have comical if not for the current situation.

"Uh…" the girl blinked. She looked at Danny before glancing at Remus. Her eyes were wide and fearful.

Remus held out a hand, as if to ward off any negative emotions. "Please," he said abandoning his usual gentle voice and settling for a more firm manner. "Sit. All of you."

Everyone sat promptly, all too much at a loss of what to do.

"Now," he began. "I shall reintroduce myself." Remus sat down as well, moving a chair over with his hands instead of his wand. "I am Remus Lupin. I was sent here on a, well, a mission if you will. Your town may be home to a spirit of extraordinary power, and while there may be quite a few of those here, this one is of unique importance primarily because of his benevolence."

He paused to watch their expressions and saw that they were slightly confused; which might or might not have been an understatement. "The more powerful a ghost," he started to explain, "The more malevolent they become. It is highly unusual to find a 'good' ghost with the same amount of power." They began to look less confused and Remus got back on track. He missed Danny's muted expression of worry.

"I am from England," he said smiling a bit once more, as he realized that he might not have to Obliviate anyone after all. "And we have a very sensitive system used to discover who is born imbued with natural magic. In America, I'm afraid that they look for a specific level of power, which is unusually high a standard to set, and also, rather dangerous." He eyed the girl with a small reassuring grin, and she returned the smile warily. "You see if a person's power goes on unchecked and untrained, said person may, depending on their own personal level of control, lose their mind or waste away very slowly."

He saw their various expressions of distress and hastily reassured them. "But that's only if their power is above the norm, or at least, above the lesser average norm. Usually they may live their lives accordingly, albeit a bit curiously, considering accidents like the vase incident may often occur no matter what level of control they have." He paused and looked at them with a mixture of relief and worry. "I'm relieved to have found this household, no matter what information I may receive" he said honestly. "There are young untrained witches or wizards here, and I might be able to give you the chance to finally have solid control over your power, strong or not."

He seemed to have captivated the room. The adults were looking slightly skeptical, but it was fading fast as they calculated the facts in their head. Danny, and what Remus assumed were his friends, looked hooked on the idea, although Danny had a strange unreadable emotion on his face, making him stand out from everyone else.

"What did you want with Danny Phantom anyway?" he asked at last, breaking the silence. Remus looked at him in quiet surprise, but answered his question.

"I need to speak with him," he said simply, "If I can, I might be able to persuade him to join us, and possibly help us."

"With what?" he countered quickly. Remus paused, his expression troubled.

"There is something of a danger coming to Britain and entering the wizarding world at this time," he confessed, noting how Danny's expression switched from the defensive to apprehension. "Though most do not believe this is true, a dark evil has resurfaced in our lands. A wizard, a dark wizard, once held us in terror, killing many in his rise to power and purification."

The girl frowned immediately at this. "Purification?" she echoed, her expression denoting the slow horror of understanding. "What do you mean by that?"

"He tortured and killed both muggles and muggleborns," Remus said in a hollow voice. "He believed he was purifying our own kind, purging the dirty or unworthy from our ranks. This might have been his agenda, but his true aim was power," he sighed, "and immortality."

The girl's face darkened and she looked absolutely furious, and Danny looked no angrier than his friend. But it was the other boy who spoke up, looking silently incensed. "Just like Hitler…or the KKK," he said quietly.

Remus nodded, not relatively sure what the young boy meant, but was certain that he understood.

"What's a muggle?" asked Jack, looking incredibly down-to-earth compared to Remus' first impression

"A non-magical person," Remus said, shaking himself out of his small slump. "Muggleborns are those who were born into a completely muggle lineage, but have magical abilities." He smiled, glancing at the girl on the couch. "Like the young girl, I believe."

She blushed and smiled worriedly.

"But there is an easy way to test for natural magic," Remus said, his tone mild. He took out his wand again, and was relieved to see that no one flinched or jumped out any windows. He held it out to the young girl and smiled. "What's your name?" he asked.

She blinked and carefully took Remus' wand. "Sam Manson," she said as she grasped the innocent piece of wood. She looked to Remus, a quizzical expression on her face. "What am I supposed to do with it?" she asked.

"Give it a wave," Remus said, smiling inwardly at how much like Ollivander he had sounded.

Sam nodded and raised the wand, waving it awkwardly.

Her friends immediately ducked as a wave of small birds dropped in from the ceiling with a loud crack.

Remus couldn't help but chuckle. He watched as Sam fished her way out of the small chirping pile and practically threw the wand back at Remus. He caught it, and really tried not to say anything incriminating. She looked absolutely gob smacked, not to mention her friends.

"That was a positive," Remus managed, trying to stave off a bout of laughter at the poor girl's expense. Madeline and Jack immediately jumped out of their seats and ran over to examine the birds, catching them even as they tried to fly away. Danny and his friend shot Sam identical dirty looks. She shrugged, smiling apologetically.

"Yeah, that solved that riddle," Danny managed in a slightly sarcastic manner, shaking his head at his parents.

Remus turned to look at the other boy who had managed to finally dislodge himself from the pile. He waved the birds out of existence, startling both Madeline and Jack. He handed his wand to the boy, who looked warily at the ceiling.

"Birds aren't gonna fall and smother me too are they?" he asked nervously, and Sam shot him a glare.

"Every magical reaction is different," Remus said, feeling more at ease as he fell into the role of mentor. He studied the boy before asking, "And you are?"

"Tucker," he said staring at the wand in his hand as if it was highly unstable chemical. "Tucker Foley."

"Go ahead," Remus urged him, a weird and wonderful excitement coursing through his veins. It occurred to him that he was discovering new magic, and that gave him a strange sense of accomplishment.

Tucker gulped audibly and waved it in a jerky motion.

There was another quick dash as loud snap accompanied by a slew of flying books leapt off the shelves nearby. Sam and Danny managed to stifle their mirth, even as Tucker got buried. Sam walked over to help her friend with a knowing look on her face, and Danny clutched the couch, his hand smothering any hint of laughter. Madeline was now looking mildly annoyed, even though Jack was trying not to laugh along with them.

"Is the testing going to continue destroying my living room?" she asked curtly, sounding less shocked and more like a mother as Tucker's head resurfaced, shame-faced. He handed Remus back his wand, and Remus took it back, having the courtesy to look apologetic.

"Hopefully not," Remus said smiling, "Although, if this was done outside it would probably cause more damage." He looked to Danny. "And no doubt it would attract more attention."

Danny saw that the attention was on him and he sobered quickly.

Remus merely smiled and held out his wand. "Your two friends are officially one witch and one wizard," he said in a gentle tone. "I am very sure you are as well."

Looking quickly at his friends and his parents, who all seemed to radiate support, Danny took the wand with the same hesitancy as Tucker. His hands were shaking slightly, and Remus put a steady hand on the young boy's shoulders, as if to reassure him.

Danny waved the wand with sudden determination.

At first, nothing happened. Remus blinked in surprise. He had been sure….

Then, the wand glowed a strange green color shooting out an almost firework-like display of green light.

Remus heard Madeline gasp in delight while Jack muttered a proud, "Well that settles that…."

As for Danny, he merely stood stock still, eyes wide and not a bit enchanted by the sight. He still looked anxious, but his expression had moved from fear to happiness. His friends had cheered considerably, no longer worried about whether their friend could join them in their own elation, and had immediately run over to congratulate him as soon as he had handed the wand back to Remus.

"I suppose that does settle that," Remus said, enjoying himself a little. "Maddie and Jack," he said in a firm, but at the same time welcoming manner. "I would like to invite these children to join us for further training," he announced, receiving many shocked glances around the room. "I assume at least one of them belongs to you."

"Where?" asked Madeline as she ignored his last question, looking faint.

"In England," Remus responded. "If that's alright with you," he added.

Remus glanced a bit nervously at Madeline's expression.

This does not bode well.