Chapter 13: Heritage
Previously:
"That is acceptable. Please wait here while I bring Daniel."
-PotC-
Danny was currently in the training room practicing his meditation and breathing exercises he learned from Frostbite.
He had been introduced to the denizens of the Far Frozen the day before and was a little overwhelmed with all the attention and praise they gave him. Although he felt honored by the yeti-like ghosts, he was honestly uncomfortable with being revered and called the "Great One" by so many ghosts. Heck, they even had an entire cave made depicting all his heroic actions he had accomplished.
Of course, the Fruitloop greatly enjoyed his discomfort at the situation and leaped at the chance to tease and poke fun at his reactions. It wasn't until Vlad annoyed him enough and Danny's eyes glowed a fierce green (in what Vlad later dubbed 'the scary eyes') did the older halfa finally stop in his mocking jest. But not without a final, "Okay I will stop, Great One." Danny could only mumble an exasperated retort back.
He had a good time in the Ghost Zone, even if the last conversation he had with Frostbite was unsettling.
-PotC-
"Great One, are you truly happy being under the tutelage of Plasmius?" Frostbite suddenly asked Danny. Danny was currently sparring with the larger ghost (he was restricted in only being allowed to use his new ice abilities until he became more accustomed to releasing his ecto-ice reflexively) and was caught off guard by the sudden question. He was slammed with a powerful blast to the gut and fell into the soft snow drift, creating a humanoid indention in the snow. Frostbite helped pull him back to his feet.
"Yeah, he may look all 'villainy' and evil at first, but he really is a nice guy. I mean he took me in and everything when I had nothing left after losing my family. I guess you can say he is the best thing that ever happened to me since the accident. Why do you ask?" Danny brushed off the snow in his hair before looking back up at the large yeti ghost.
"I see. It is just that I wanted to warn you that Plasmius is more than he seems and is hiding plenty of secrets. But it seems to me that I have nothing to worry about."
"Thanks for the thought but you have no need to worry. Right now, it's more to the point that Vlad is being unreasonable with his over protectiveness. He won't even let me leave the mansion unless it's for training or if I'm with him. Besides, everyone keeps secrets and more importantly, I trust Vlad. I guess it would be more accurate to say, he's the only one I can trust. What brought this on, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Seeing you and Plasmius interact is really heartwarming to see. It relieves me to know that he was being truthful when he said that the Great One was truly staying with him willingly as his son. When your father first came to us seeking our help, I didn't know what to think at first. Honestly, I thought for sure he was another ghost after the Infi-map. He is known throughout the ghost zone for having a massive following of ghosts under his service-"
"Daniel! Come on, it's time for us to leave." Vlad called.
"Coming!" Danny shouted out. Danny turned back to Frostbite, "It was nice talking with you, Frostbite, but I have to go now before the Cheesehead blows a gasket, him being all uptight with his schedule and all."
Frostbite chuckled at the young halfa, "Well we can't have that. I enjoyed your company too, Great One. Let me escort you back to your ward."
-PotC-
Danny shook his head, mentally berating himself for losing his focus. He breathed deeply in through his nose and resumed his meditation.
He was in the middle of training his mind. Without constant, unwavering vigilance and iron control over his emotions, his hold over his ghost core would become unstable. Which will then cause his ice powers to leak and act out sporadically.
When he was first introduced to Frostbite and his people, they had sent him into the medical chamber for a quick check-up. Vlad's institution was proven correct in that Danny had an ice core and that was what caused the emergence of his new ice abilities which froze Spectra. His core had finally matured enough for him to manifest his inner ice physically. Apparently, his chilly, unique ghost-sense was also another byproduct of his ice core too. It explained why his breath will come out in cold wisps whenever he was in the presence of another ghost.
He was lucky in that he was able to find a mentor early on to help coach him on using his budding powers properly. If left to his own devices, he was told that his icy core would have fluctuated and caused him innumerable amounts of problems, ranging from intense cold flashes, random frost build-up on his body, freezing his surroundings (including other living beings), to even causing small snow storms and blizzards in his vicinity. In order to prevent any chance of this happening, Danny was dedicating himself to his practice exercises.
While he was shaping a small piece of ice into several different and complex forms, he felt a sudden presence appear behind him.
Startled, he gave a small shriek. Dropping the delicately figured sculpture, it shattered into several tiny fragments onto the hard floor. A deep, baritone laugh could be heard. Danny glared at his father angrily, flashing his 'scary eyes' to show the man that he was not amused. He had worked hard on that ice sculpture, finally managing to shape it into a beautiful rose. The Cheesehead had definitely done surprised him on purpose!
"Did you really have to teleport in here? Can't you use the door like a normal person?" The younger halfa grumbled.
"No, that would be impractical. Why should I not use my superior abilities whenever I please?"
"Hmm, I don't know, maybe it can be considered as abusing your powers."
Vlad gave Danny a mock look of aghast, "Nonsense, why should I condemn myself to the likes of the lower class?"
"No Father, that's called being a human."
Vlad grinned, "We are not human, though."
Danny slapped a palm on his face and groaned, "I apologize if the concept of conserving your powers is too hard for you to wrap your inflated ego around. It must truly be painful for you to lower yourself to human standards. Please forgive my audacity, my apparent better." He gave an exaggerated bow to the older halfa.
Vlad frowned while Danny grinned victoriously. "Enough with the banter, I need you to come with me. I have some important business that I need to discuss with you upstairs."
"So you didn't come here to chat with little ol' me?" Danny said cheekily. Vlad ignored him and proceeded to walk out the room. Turning off the lights to the training room, Danny trailed after him.
When they came upon the study, Vlad glanced down at the boy. "There are some guests that I want you to meet." He then pushed open the door.
Danny blinked, then blinked again. There sitting comfortably on the chesterfield sofa were two "wizards" (or what he assumed from their odd clothing style. They had the robes and wands, all they were missing was the pointy wizard's hat to finish the picture). The darker man had sickly, pale pallor with greasy, black hair, while the other guest differed greatly by wearing a robe that had two very loud, contrasting colors of neon orange and green. The peculiar combination was so revolting, it should have made Vlad gag in disgust. Why would Vlad allow wizards into the mansion, it wasn't like he was hosting a child's birthday party today.
Did he miss something important or was Vlad pulling his leg? The boy was utterly confused.
Danny rubbed his eyes in case his mind was playing tricks on him. When nothing changed, he pointed a finger at the ridiculously costumed pair and opened his mouth to speak. Unable to form the right words to even describe his greatly confused mind state nor the myriad of questions he had, he paused a moment to gather his scattered thoughts and resumed to ask Vlad, in the most intelligent way he could muster. "Um, who are they?"
"They are Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Potion Master Severus Snape from Hogwarts." The two mentioned rose to their feet.
The grandfatherly man smiled kindly at Danny, "Ah, you must be Daniel. I have heard so much about you, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," he greeted with twinkling eyes.
"Uh, hi? P-please, call me Danny." Danny stammered back, still unsure of their purpose to why they were here. How did they know of him and what is their relation with Vlad?
"What's with the getup?" He asked it was hard not to overlook the skepticism in his voice. He did not miss the scolding glare Vlad sent his way for the blatantly rude question.
Dumbledore was not bothered, for the child was young and is it not in their nature to be curious. "We are dressed this way because my companion and I are wizards. We come from a wizardry school, known as Hogwarts, and it is our duty to teach the young new witches and wizards magic."
Danny's eyes bugged in disbelief. Okay then... How exactly was he supposed to react to that? What in the world is going on? It's not every day he had random people coming up to him announcing that they are wizards and that magic is apparently real!
"So you're wizards and magic exists?" He said dubiously, "You're kidding right? Is this a joke? Did Vlad hire you?" When no one answered back, Danny turned to Vlad, "You don't expect me to believe this, do you?"
"No, they are not joking and what they say is true. You will be enrolling in Hogwarts as a second year." His father stoically replied.
"Perhaps, this will help." Headmaster Dumbledore pulled out an envelope and handed it to Danny.
It read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Nightingale,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Another sheet of parchment read:
UNIFORM
All students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide of similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
COURSE BOOKS
Second-year students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk
Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart
Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
"Wait, wait, wait. Backup. Now you're telling me that I'm a wizard." Danny stepped back from the group. "There's got to be a mistake, I can't be a wizard."
"I can assure you that there is no mistake," Snape answered, his tone irate at the child's refusal to see the truth.
"Usually we would know when a child is a wizard before the age of 11 when they first use accidental magic, but in your case, you had your magic suppressed due to your ghost powers. That is why we did not know you were a wizard until now." Dumbledore explained to the shaking child.
Danny flinched. They knew about his powers! They knew he was part-ghost! As if reading his thoughts, Vlad nodded his head in confirmation.
"Father, please tell them to leave." Danny pleaded, Please tell me this isn't true. When Vlad refused to budge in his stance and made no move to send the men away, Danny bowed his head in resignation.
"You are aware that your family was called another name before taking the muggle title 'Fenton'."
"Nightingale..." Danny breathed out, having no clue on why his last name was relevant to their current topic. He then realized something odd with the man's word choice. "Muggle?"
"Muggle is the term used to describe nonmagic people."
Danny took in a sharp intake of air as his eyes widened with dawning comprehension, "You don't mean to say..."
"Your parents were also wizards, Daniel." Dumbledore finished for him.
"Why wasn't I told this before?" Danny asked.
"That's something you should be asking your guardian." Snape drawled, glancing in Vlad's direction. The older halfa's eyelid twitched in irritation at the unappreciated comment, which was something Daniel did not need to know.
Seeing the boy's confusion, Vlad decided to take it upon himself to rectify the matter. "I believe it would be in our best interest for me to clarify. I will tell you the true tale of the Nightingales, not the biased trash those ignorant fools concocted." He said while sending a meaningful look at the other wizards to stay silent.
He did not need them telling Daniel the lies that the wizardry community created. He will tell the boy the true story of his family. One that he had learned from Maddie when they were children and she has finally trusted him enough to open up and impart on him the tale.
Dumbledore and Snape were interested in what the man had to say, so they also listened with rapt attention.
"You are the descendant of noble German pure-blooded wizard family who immigrated to North America. The early Nightingales were renowned Scourers in the early 1600s."
"Scourers?"
"They were bounty hunters," Snape answered.
"Yes, the Nightingales were Scourers who practiced the Dark Arts. What made the Nightingales the most feared is that they were Dark wizards who were proficient in Soul magic and they had a unique skill to tame and control wild dark creatures, those of which were considered highly dangerous and impossible to tame. They have invented many atrocious Dark spells, some of which rivaled those created by the vile Herpo the Foul."
"But that isn't to say the Nightingales were evil, they experimented with the Dark Arts in order to learn from it, in doing so, they had managed to create many new counter spells." He sent a dark glare at Snape. Snape seemed non-repulsed at the accusatory glare and merely urged Vlad to continue with a raised eyebrow.
"Sadly, the Nightingales' Dark spells were leaked to unknown sources and were abused and used with malicious intent. Many innocent wizards were harmed and killed by the spells they had created. By that time, Scourers started to lose their good reputation in the North American Wizardry community as more and more of them became corrupt and cruel. Several Scourers became drunk with their unmatched authority and power, they started hunting down other wizards besides criminals for profit, to the point of selling off their fellow magical beings in wizard trafficking."
"Although the Nightingales did not participate in the crimes of wizard trafficking nor perform torture like the other Scourers, they were still a Dark family and considered a menace, causing them to be discriminated by the other wizards in Salem, Massachusetts."
"When the Magical Congress of the United States of America (or MACUSA) was formed, people falsely blamed the Nightingales for crimes they didn't commit. Crimes their invented spells had caused. When your parents were in their late teens, the Nightingales were put to trial and exiled to Amity Park, Illinois."
"By then, many of the Nightingales were killed off due to the revenge-seeking vigilantes till only your parents were left. When they were exiled, they changed their name from 'Nightingale' to 'Fenton'. Amity Park was considered as a 'No Man's Land' of the Wizarding World due to it being the most haunted place in the world as it had the largest concentration of spirits, shades, specters, and revenants. More specifically, it was known for the special breed of violent ghosts that inhabited there. These ghostly entities are unusually powerful, uniquely physical, and highly dangerous, causing even muggles to be able to see them."
"But this did nothing to deter the Fentons from their research, in fact, it sparked an intense interest to study these unique beings. Moving away from their current studies on creating new dark spells, the Fentons have decided to turn their focus onto Soul magic. They were recently striving to create a manmade portal to the Land of the Dead or "Ghost Zone" as they had called it until their death two years ago from an accidental explosion in their lab." Vlad finished solemnly.
Danny finally understood why Altair had made such a big deal about killing him. He shivered slightly as he recalled how close he was to a complete death. He snapped out of his thoughts when Dumbledore clapped his hands together.
"My boy, while that was enlightening to hear, are you excited to go to school now that you have confirmed that you are indeed a wizard?"
Instead of being excited at the prospect of being a wizard, the boy was ashamed and revolted. When he became a halfa, he was comforted by the fact that he was at least part human. He felt miserable that he became more of a monster now that he had lost the last sense of normalcy he had left. His human half wasn't normal at all. I'm more of a freak than I thought I was! Is that the reason why the man was so intent on torturing me!
"Excited?" Danny repeated, "Why should I be excited?"
Dumbledore was the only one who seemed genuinely shocked at the boy's reaction. "What do you mean?"
Snape rolled his eyes, it should be fairly obvious why. The boy just recently discovered the reason why he is hunted down, and let's not also forget his parents and his guardian has been lying to him all these years.
"You think I am happy to have my whole world turned upside down. My relatively peaceful life, that I have finally managed to get after my family's death, is now a downhill spiral. My hometown has been burned down and brutally massacred, a homicidal maniac tried to torture me to death because of my name. He freakin branded me! Now I have random people parading into my home declaring that I'm not even human, but a wizard. That being said, I'm considered evil by something I have no control over other than whose blood I share and what abilities I possibly may or may not have. So no, I am not excited. I refuse to go to a school full of the beings that were the cause of my family being hunted down and exiled." Danny ranted, all his earlier frustrations pouring out with his statement.
"That's the thing, Daniel," Vlad interjected. "You have no choice in the matter."
"What do you mean, I have no choice," Danny growled.
"That man who tortured you, he and his men are still after you. You are in more danger than we anticipated."
"What does that have anything..." Danny groaned in defeat, "Don't tell me, they were wizards too?!"
"Indeed." Dumbledore replied, "The group who attacked you are known as Death Eaters. They are a group of loyalists serving under the Dark Lord, Voldemort."
"Pfft, Voldy-what? What kind of ridiculous name is that?! They seriously work under a man named Moldymort?" Danny laughed.
"Voldemort." Vlad corrected.
"Ehh, whatever. Moldymort sounds better." He shrugged, not really bothering to care to learn the most feared wizard's name.
Snape grimaced at the flippant way the boy insulted the Dark Lord. Either the boy was extremely courageous or he had a death wish. Not that he cared...
Dumbledore cleared his throat to regain the boy's straying attention. "Most of the Death Eaters have been rounded up and sent to Azkaban by the Aurors. The aurors has also performed memory charms on the surviving civilians of Amity Park to maintain the status of secrecy. Erasing all the memories involving the existence of magic or their confrontation with the Death Eaters."
"So that's why the people on the news believed they were attacked by ghosts! Was one of the Death Eaters you guys captured named Altair?" Hey, a halfa could hope.
"I do not recall a man by that name."
Danny frowned, well darn.
"Daniel, if I could, I would much rather have you homeschooled than forcing you to go to a school against your will. Unfortunately, my hands are tied and we are out of options. Hogwarts is the only place safe from Voldemort and his men." Vlad acknowledged.
Danny sighed. Guess there is nothing else he could do. "Fine... Can I at least go by 'Masters' instead of 'Nightingale'? I'd rather not have anyone trying to kill me on my first day."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled gleefully, "That can be easily managed. You do not need to worry, your father has already asked this of us. All that's left for us to do is to have Mr. Masters sorted into his house."
"Me too?" Danny asked.
"You will be sorted at the start of the term with the first-years."
Danny gulped, he had to be sorted in front of the entire school?!
The elderly man summoned an old, ratty hat out of seeming nowhere, the hat was battered, frayed, and had a mass of patches covering the dusty, brown fabric. Rather than being awed at the use of magic, Danny could only think, there's the missing wizard's hat, called it!
"Hogwarts is separated into four houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. The Sorting Hat will decide based on your character which house you shall be staying in."
Vlad spluttered in disdain, "You have a hat decide one of the most critically important deciding factors of a student's school life. Besides which, at such a young age their personality is not set in stone, a child's current character doesn't reflect on their potential to change. What's to say their personality won't be altered later on?"
"Are you going to put the hat on anytime soon? Some of us haven't got all day." Professor Snape snapped at Vlad, his patience already wearing thin.
Narrowing his eyes at Snape, Vlad roughly grabbed the hat out of Dumbledore's hand. Upon closer examination, his nose furrowed, "Has this thing even been washed? Look at the amount of dirt accumulated on this thing, and you expect me to place this on my head?" He then continued to grumble about lice and hygiene as he placed the hat on his head. Danny giggled at Vlad's antics.
Danny jolted in surprise when the hat suddenly moved. A seam ripped open along the brim and a new voice came out from the mouth-like tear. "My, my. Aren't you a rude one?"
The hat was talking. Okay, who snuck the ghost mushrooms into his morning tea. Great, if a hat can talk, what's next? A talking portrait?
Although Vlad stiffened at the intrusive presence in his head, he was otherwise not surprised. Unlike Daniel, he lived his entire childhood within the wizardry community and these strange occurrences were not uncommon.
A soft voice whispered at a volume only he could hear, "Hmm. Interesting... A shrewd schemer, very good at manipulating others to do your bidding. Excellent at planning strategies, has an immense talent at leading, and perhaps teaching. Not above using cutthroat tactics, unethical practices, and illegal operations to maintain success. Oh ho, so you overshadowed other businessmen to kick start your business."
"Don't you dare-" Vlad threatened.
"You do not need to worry, I am not at liberty to disclose any information I may gather from your mind. It's strictly confidential... But still, if the boy were to know how you amassed a fortune, I doubt he would still think highly of you anymore." The hat groused.
"Shut up."
"You know, it's a pretty dick move to try and steal your best friend's wife."
"Screw you, I loved Maddie first. Even before that idiot realized how he felt about her."
"Ah huh, says the man who proceeded to stalk the women for the next decade." The hat deadpanned.
"How dare you! I will burn you!" Vlad screeched in rage. He threw the hat onto the ground and proceeded to make a move to stomp on it. He had to be restrained by both Dumbledore and Snape to prevent him from damaging their precious property.
"There's no doubt, better be SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted with finality.
"Rather fitting." Professor Snape griped. Once the enraged halfa calmed down, the two released his arms. Danny picked up the fallen hat, dusted it off, and handed it back to Headmaster Dumbledore.
"You will be in the same house as Professor Snape. I hope you two will get along splendidly for the school year." Not likely. Vlad muttered heatedly, he was not fond of being in the same house as Snape. He still held a grudge on the man for helping the elder wizard push his hand. Just because the two promised to keep Daniel's and his halfa status a secret, doesn't mean he liked the idea that they know of it in the first place.
"If you have any future questions, feel free to ask him if I am unavailable. It's about time we make our leave." Dumbledore announced, walking past Danny and Vlad to the door with Snape following behind him.
Vlad grumbled quietly how the two had overstayed their welcome, luckily only Danny heard. The boy was about to elbow the man in the gut before he felt someone touch his shoulder. "I will see you in class," Snape told his farewell to the boy.
"Goodbye professor," Danny answered back politely.
Before Danny could say anything else, Vlad had to butt in with his 2 cents. "Don't touch my son so casually. And what do you mean 'see you in class'? You haven't even seen his schedule yet!"
Danny groaned, of all times why does Vlad's possessiveness have to kick in now, at his teacher too! It was like the man always had to one up his opponents, whether it be his enemies, business partners, or even his son's teachers.
To the man's credit, Snape wasn't deterred in the slightest at Vlad's open hostility. Instead, he smirked. "Why I thought you knew. Every second-year student at Hogwarts is required to take potions, so it's not strange to assume that I will be seeing him again. I might even be his Head of House if he is sorted into Slytherin. Besides... If I'm not correct, Daniel will not be in any of your classes since Muggle Studies are for third-years and up." He triumphantly informed Vlad, relishing in the slightly panicked look that flickered across the other man's face.
"I wasn't aware that Muggle Studies are not for second-years! You know what, I change my mind, I demand an alternate teaching position. Maybe Defense Against the Dark Arts or History of Magic."
Dumbledore decided it was about time for him to get between the bickering two and quickly diffuse the situation before it could escalate into something worse. He had finally gotten Mr. Masters to agree on letting his son attend Hogwarts, he didn't need for him to change his mind now. "I sincerely apologize Mr. Masters, but DADA has already been assigned with a suitable teacher and our resident ghost, Mr. Binns, has been teaching History of Magic wonderfully for many years."
"How about a side position in-"
"Besides you have already been sorted so there is no going back now. Goodbye." With that said, Dumbledore grabbed Professor Snape's arm and swiftly apparated away with a small 'pop'.
Danny sweat dropped at how quickly the two wizards had fled the scene, he thought Vlad would be upset at their sudden departure (most likely to prevent Vlad from going back on his word) but his father instead was rubbing his chin in a pensive manner. By the expression, Danny knew that the man wasn't planning anything good.
Vlad hummed thoughtfully. A ghost huh, it won't be too hard to persuade it to allow another co-teacher to teach his class, if not, I can always convince it to retire early... Nothing says I can't teach more than one curriculum.
"Before you go, Vlad, can I have a moment?"
"What is it, Daniel?"
"I didn't bring this up earlier because we had company, so I waited till after they had left... You knew all this time and you didn't tell me?" Vlad flinched at the intense amount of hurt and betrayal that could be heard in the boy's tone.
"Yes, I knew the entire time." He confessed quietly.
"Why, though? Why did you hide this from me?"
"Maddie... your parents raised you and your sister as muggles because they didn't want to burden you with the truth. They were ostracized by the wizardry community for their magic. They wanted their children to retain their innocence and enjoy the childhood they could not have. Your parents tried to protect you from the pain that knowing your heritage would give you. Other wizards would claim you dangerous and will hunt you down in droves, for many feared the Nightingales and their magic. Rather than give society another reason to scorn their children, they chose to isolate themselves away from the wizards. Hiding in plain sight as muggles and passing themselves off as crazy ghost hunters to avoid suspicion, it was all done to protect you. I couldn't bring myself to destroy their efforts, so I continued their wish for them."
Tears welled as Danny finally understood the reason for all the suffering his parents had to endure at Amity. He reflected on how whenever he had asked them why they did nothing to stop the snide remarks, to prove to the others that their inventions worked, and they were not frauds, they would just smile and say "Leave them be, Danny. It's fine as long as we are working for what we love." He had believed they meant their love of ghosts, but he was wrong.
All that hate and spite that his parents were burdened with, they did it all for him.
"I understand. I am willing to forgive you but I'm not going to forget anytime soon. It still hurts to know that you have been lying to me constantly for 2 years. I will put this behind me if you can promise me one thing. Promise me, that there will be no more secrets between us."
Vlad raised his head sharply in surprise, he opened his mouth to demand that he did not owe the boy anything, but with one look at the child, the half-formed words died in his throat. "...I promise."
Danny gave Vlad a small hug, "And Daniel." The boy looked up, "If it helps, I'm sorry... for everything I have done. I was only trying to protect you, but I apologize that I only managed to hurt you instead."
Danny smiled sadly at Vlad, "Me too." Vlad blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry you had to go through all this for me." With that said, Danny walked out the room.
Vlad remained standing where he was. In the soft light of the fireplace, a lone tear can be seen trailing down. Once he made sure that the child was out of earshot, he spoke out loud.
"I'm sorry Daniel, but that's the only promise I can't keep... since I haven't stopped lying to you. I have not told you everything yet, and I probably never will. For if I did, you'll leave me and I can't have that."
-PotC-
Author's Note 12:
So if you guys are wondering why it took me so long to update, it is literally due to the massive size of this chapter. This is almost triple the size of my usual chapters, to the point that I was contemplating on whether to cut this off into separate parts or not. But I decided not to torture my dear readers with the wait on revealing the backstory behind the Nightingales.
How was it by the way? It took me a lot of time to research everything for this chapter but I hoped it made things more interesting to y'all. Yes, I admit that I altered some things for my story, but hey, it's fanfiction.
Vlad has got to be my favorite character. I love writing him and it's so fun! XD
So I really love and enjoy reading everyone's theories for this story. It's interesting to hear how you think this story will go. While I already have every chapter planned (it's now only a matter of fleshing everything out) I enjoy seeing who guessed right or who was close. Now although I'm not going to announce whose theory was right, I encourage you all to continue theorizing! Also, Danny's house has already been chosen, but feel free to shout out where you think he would be put in.
Till next time~
(last edited: 3/20/17)