Between Magic and Mount Justice HP/Young Justice Xover

[MrRigger2]

Part Twelve!

Spoiler: show

Harry looked up in awe at the ceiling as he and the rest of the First Years entered the Hall. He heard one of the other students mention that it was enchanted to show the sky outside. However it was done, it was amazing. Maybe one of the Professors knew how it was done.

Professor McGonagall led the line of First Years to a stop at the head of the room. She placed a frayed, patched, ugly hat on a three-legged stool. Just as Harry was wondering what was going on, the Hat began singing.

After the song ended, Harry breathed out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t really believed it when Fred and George told him that he would have to fight off a giant, he knew they were joking, they were self-admitted pranksters, but they had been so convincing…

The Sorting started with the A’s and Harry watched as the line of students dwindled down as each one was Sorted into their new House. Each student was cheered by their new Housemates, though Harry found it interesting that each student spent a different amount of time under the Hat.

After Sally-Anne Perks traipsed off to Hufflepuff, McGonagall called out, “Potter, Harry!”

Whispers broke out all over the hall, and Harry ignored them. He’d had people whisper about his presence for years (not everybody believed Bruce had taken in Dick and him out of the kindness of his heart), he wouldn’t let a bunch of schoolchildren get to him.

As the Hat slipped down over his eyes, he heard a voice buzz in his ears. “Very interesting, very interesting indeed. Quite the extracurricular activities you’ve involved yourself in.” Harry tried to engage some of the mental defenses Batman had taught him. “Ohoho, singing a song won’t be enough to keep me out, Mr. Potter. But don’t worry, I am bound to keep the secrets I find secret.

“But where to begin? You’re more than brave enough for Gryffindor, but that’s not the case for you. And you may have Slytherin’s own cunning and ruthlessness, but if I put you there, you’d either be dead or running the house inside a week. I’m tempted to put you in there just to see what happens, but no.”

“Just put me where I can learn. Where I can make a difference.”

“If learning is what you desire, Ravenclaw will help you along your path, but if you want to make a difference, there’s only one place for you. You’ll find what you’re looking for in HUFFLEPUFF!”

The Hufflepuff table erupted in cheers and McGonagall gave him a little push in that direction. Harry walked over to the table and was met with handshakes and backslaps and congratulations. He was plopped down in the middle of the rest of the First Years and watched as the last few students were Sorted.

Finally, after Blaise Zabini was sent into Slytherin, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up and smiled out at the students. “Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!”

Harry stared at the Headmaster as he sat back down. “Well, that was unusual.”

“Oh, not so unusual. I hear that the Headmaster before Dumbledore used to make these big long speeches and it took forever for the food to be served,” the girl sitting next to Harry said. “Eat up.”

Harry looked back at the table, and where the dishes had been empty before, it was now covered in all sorts of foods; if you went hungry here, it was your own fault.

The presentation could use a little work, but Harry was pretty sure that was just due to years of living with Alfred’s high standards.

Most of the conversation was light and sparse as everyone fell upon their food, eating until they were stuffed. After the dessert arrived, conversation picked up.

“So it was a huge surprise when we found out I was a wizard. My parents had me down for Eton, but we decided in the end that I’d come here. I’m glad of it, to be honest. Learning magic sounds like the best, doesn’t it?” Justin Finch-Fletchley asked.

“Of course it’s the best, and even more so cause you’re at Hogwarts,” Ernie Macmillan agreed. “Don’t you agree, Susan?”

Susan Bones nodded. “Auntie Amelia wouldn’t have me anywhere else. Said Hogwarts is the best place to get an education in Europe.”

Hannah Abbot shrugged. “My parents had a big row over whether they were going to send me here or to Beauxbatons. Said it would be easier with all the business they do in France, but Daddy said he wanted me to have the same education he got. I think Mommy’s still upset with him.”

“Of course he wanted to send you here, it’s the best school around. Beauxbatons is second rate at best compared to Hogwarts,” Zacharias Smith said arrogantly.

“I’m just worried I won’t be able to do any of this,” Sally-Anne Perks murmured. “I know Professor Flitwick said I was a witch, but it’s just so unbelievable…”

“You’ll do fine,” Leanne Spinks reassured her new Housemate. “Muggleborns come to Hogwarts every year, and they all do just fine. You won’t be any different.”

“And if you do have a few problems, we’ll be right there to help you,” Megan Jones added. “We’re Hufflepuff, we’ve got to stick together.”

“What about you, Harry?” Susan asked. “You’ve been awfully quiet over there.”

“It’s just a lot to take in, I think,” Harry said.

“Well, where have you been for the past decade?” Zacharias probed. “Nobody seems to know what happened to you after you beat You-Know-Who.”

“I went to live with my family on my mom’s side, and stayed with them until I was seven. They ended up getting killed when we were on a business trip to America, and after that I was taken in by Bruce Wayne.”

The rest of the group all gasped in shock at Harry’s blunt admittance of what happened. “Oh, Harry, I’m so sorry,” Sally said as she grabbed onto his hand.

“Don’t worry, I’m pretty much over it. It happened four years ago, and Bruce has been a great help.”

“Wait a second. You don’t mean The Bruce Wayne, do you? Head of Wayne Enterprises?” Justin asked.

“I just call him Bruce, but yeah, that’s him.”

“Who is he?” Ernie asked, looking irritated that he’s in the dark on something.

“He’s only the head of one of the biggest companies in the world, and one of the richest men on the planet,” Justin explained breathlessly. “I mean, I always thought my family was well-off, but Bruce Wayne is on another level altogether.”

“Is this true?” Zacharias demanded.

Harry shrugged. “I think Lex Luthor is still richer, but Bruce isn’t a corrupt jerk with no morals who will sacrifice anything for another dollar.”

Sally reddened. “Hey, my mom works for LexTech London!”

“And I’m sure she’s a good person. But trust me, Lex Luthor is corrupt, no matter what his publicist says.”

There was an awkward silence as no one was quite sure how to react to that, then Ernie asked Susan about how her family was doing, and the subject was neatly changed.

0oOo0

Harry brushed off his robes as he was led into the Hufflepuff Common Room. It was full of plants, some singing and dancing, and there were plenty of comfy-looking armchairs and sofas. As the rest of the First Years found their way into a rough circle, the Prefect who led them to the Common Room started talking.

“Congratulations! I’m Prefect Gabriel Truman, and I’m delighted to welcome you to Hufflepuff House. Our emblem is the badger, an animal that is often underestimated, because it lives quietly until attacked, but which, when provoked, can fight off animals much larger than itself, including wolves.”

Harry listened as Gabriel went on to explain Hufflepuff’s history, naming famous Hufflepuffs from years past, though the names didn’t mean much to Harry. Then he went into what was expected of them as members of Hufflepuff, and that if they needed help with anything, they just had to ask.

“Now then, it’s getting late, and I’m sure you’re all exhausted from today’s long journey. Get to bed, and be ready for things to start in the morning.”

Harry followed Gabriel as he showed them the way to the boy’s dormitory. “Remember, the boys you’re sharing your dorm with will be with you for the rest of your time here at Hogwarts, so I suggest you make friends with each other. Nothing’s worse than having to sleep in the same room as someone you don’t get along with.”

All the First Years nodded, but rather than stay up half the night talking and getting to know one another, they all fell asleep almost the instant they chose their bed.

MrRigger

[MrRigger2]

Part Thirteen! (Wow, 15000 words already, what am I doing?)

Spoiler: show

Harry’s first class was Herbology with the Gryffindors, and Harry had the chance to meet with Professor Sprout. She was a plump, jolly witch with an obvious love for her subject. She spent the majority of the period introducing the class to some of the more animated magical plants they would be working with during their time at Hogwarts, ranging from the harmless to the deadly.

The introduction merely reinforced Harry’s belief that Poison Ivy should be kept away from any and all magical plants. However, he decided he liked Professor Sprout. Anyone so passionate about their subject almost had to be a good teacher.

Harry stuck around after the class ended and the rest of the students filed out of the greenhouse.

“Hello there, Mr. Potter! How are you finding Hogwarts so far?” Professor Sprout asked once she noticed that Harry wasn’t leaving for his next class.

“It’s pretty good so far, but there was something I wanted to ask you about.”

“Well ask away! That’s what I’m here for.”

“I tried to use my cell phone to call home before breakfast this morning, but it didn’t work. It didn’t even turn on, and it’s supposed to be one of the most reliable phones in the world, able to get a signal anywhere.”

Sprout’s face softened. “Oh dear, I’m sorry. I try to make sure all the incoming students, especially the muggle-raised, know this beforehand, but frankly, all of us are so used to it that most don’t think of it. Electronic devices don’t work around Hogwarts.”

Harry furrowed his brows. “Why not?”

“It has to do with where Hogwarts was built. Professor Sinistra would be the best person to explain this to you, but Hogwarts was built on an intersection of four major leylines.”

“Leylines?”

“Think of them as blood vessels for the planet’s magic. It’s not the best comparison, but it should serve for our purposes. Now, most magic doesn’t interact with leylines nowadays, in fact, it takes specialized training to interact directly with leylines at all. Magical creatures and plants tend to be attracted to leylines, and even more so to leyline intersections. It’s why the Forbidden Forest is so populated by magical creatures. The Founders picked their spot carefully when they decided to build Hogwarts here. Because of intersection of leylines, it’s easier for young witches and wizards to use their magic, and so it’s easier for them to learn.

“Unfortunately, this same intersection of leylines interferes with electrical devices. You’ve probably heard of it and never even knew of it, The Bermuda Triangle. Muggle ships have been getting lost and sinking there for years. Still, it hasn’t been such an inconvenience here at Hogwarts until recent years, when the muggle-raised began trying to bring those phone devices and whatnot. It’s unfortunate, and I believe there’s some recent graduates working on fixing the issue, but right now, the only way you’ll be able to contact your guardian will be through owl post.”

“I don’t have an owl.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, dear, most First Years don’t have an owl of their own. Feel free to use one of the school owls for any letters you need to send. You might want to bribe them with some bacon if you’re going to send them all the way to the Americas, but they’re all good, reliable owls.

“But look at the time, you’re going to be late for your next class! I’ll write you a note to Professor Flitwick, but hurry along. And if you happen to have any more questions like this, feel free to ask.”

0oOo0

Bruce, Dick, and Alfred-

Hogwarts is interesting. Electronics apparently don’t work here, so we’re going to have to communicate by letter until we figure something else out. Apparently the effect is a similar but more powerful effect as the Bermuda Triangle, so maybe look at some of the studies on that?

I asked around about the effect, and one of the older students said that it was just an area-based effect, and fortunately wouldn’t be permanent, so my equipment won’t be damaged once I leave.

The layout of the school is going to be hard to get used to. Staircases move, doors aren’t always where they’re supposed to be, and secret passageways are everywhere. It’ll take me a while to figure out where everything’s supposed to be.

I’ve been Sorted into Hufflepuff House, and Professor Sprout is the Head. She seems nice so far, and she was the one who told me about how the communication problems worked.

I’m a little curious about the groundskeeper, a man named Hagrid. He’s easily the size of Bane while he’s using Venom. He seems harmless, but people don’t get that big naturally.

Other than Herbology with Professor Sprout, the only other class I’ve had so far is Charms with Professor Flitwick. The first class was all introduction to the course, and I suspect the rest of my classes will be much the same for now.

I’m sharing a dorm with three other boys. Justin seems easy to get along with, and Ernie is a little full of himself, but I think he’ll get over it. Zacharias is pretty arrogant, but no worse than the society brats from the yearly parties.

There’s not too much else to tell you, since I wanted to let you know the communication situation as soon as possible, but I’ll let you all know the situation as soon as I can.

The owl likes bacon, if you have any on hand. If you have a response, tell the owl to wait, if not, I’ll write again at the end of the week.

Harry

0oOo0

Bruce handed the letter to Dick as they ate breakfast. He looked at the barn owl who was eyeing his plate. “I won’t have a response, go back.”

The owl hopped from leg to leg, clearly waiting for something. Dick tossed the owl a piece of sausage as he finished the letter and handed it off to Alfred. The owl gulped down the food and flew out the open window.

Alfred took a moment longer to read the letter. “Well, it sounds like Master Harry has had a good start to school. I’m sure he’ll do fine, though it is disappointing we won’t be able to talk to him. Might I suggest you brush up on your letter writing skills, Master Bruce?”

Bruce grunted, but otherwise just sank deeper into thought. Dick spoke up. “Let me guess, you don’t like it. You don’t want your contact to be limited to whenever Harry decides to send us a letter, and then however long it takes for the owl to fly back across the Atlantic Ocean, and I can’t believe I just said that seriously.”

“I’ll ask Zatara what he knows about leylines and interference with technology. Maybe I can develop some kind of magical shielding to get a communicator to work…” Bruce muttered to himself as he got up and headed for the Batcave.

Alfred sighed. “I suppose I shall call the office and tell them to reschedule his meetings for the day.”

MrRigger

[gman391]

You are doing awesome!
Kind of surprised Bruce took being out of contact so well but eh.

[MrRigger2]

He's not one for big emotional displays. He's not happy about it, and sees it as a problem to be overcome, but he's not going to smash something out of rage.

MrRigger

[MrRigger2]

Part Fourteen!

Spoiler: show

Friday afternoon brought double Potions class with the Ravenclaws. The classroom went silent as Professor Snape glided in without saying a word. He paused at Harry’s name. “Ah, yes. Harry Potter. Our new – celebrity.”

Harry just shrugged. He was used to people treating him differently because of Bruce. He didn’t know how Dick could stand it at Gotham Academy.

Snape finished calling roll and looked up at the class. He spoke very softly, but nobody had to struggle to hear him, he had everyone’s undivided attention.

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

Nearly all of the Ravenclaws sat up straighter, eager to prove that they were no dunderheads, though some of Harry’s Housemates were looking at each other nervously.

“Potter!” Snape said suddenly. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”

Harry wracked his brain, trying to remember what he had read over the summer. “I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be a sleeping potion, but I don’t know what it’s called.”

“The Draught of Living Death, Potter. Potion making requires precision. You won’t be able to slide through this class with half-right answers. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?”

Several Ravenclaws raised their hands, but Harry shook his head. “I’m not sure, Professor.”

“Turpin, would you care to enlighten your classmate?”

Lisa Turpin nodded. “Bezoars are most often found in the stomachs of goats.”

“Correct. One last chance to redeem yourself, Potter. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?”

Harry smiled as he remembered eight months ago when Riddler and Poison Ivy teamed up. “The only difference is the name. They’re actually the same plant.”

“It also goes by the name aconite, but your answer is… satisfactory. Well? Why aren’t you all writing this down?”

The class scrambled for their quills and parchment. After a brief lecture, Professor Snape paired up the students and set them to making a simple potion to cure boils.

As Harry and Ernie began working on their potion, Snape stalked through the classroom, managing to find criticism with every pair. By the end of class, everybody was sweating and nervous, jumping as Snape swept around to their table.

“To think, not a single one of you has managed to brew a satisfactory boil remover. I suppose I should count myself lucky that no one melted their cauldron! I expect each one of you to examine what mistakes you made and fix them if you even dream of passing this class. Dismissed.”

0oOo0

“Morning Harry,” Susan yawned. “How are you so awake this early?”

Harry shrugged, but Justin laughed. “Are you kidding? Haven’t you noticed that Harry’s been up at six every day so far?”

Susan blinked. “What?”

“Oh yeah, he’s been up before the sun every day since we got here. It’s freaky.”

“What in the world are you doing getting up so early? On a Saturday?”

“Dick was an acrobat in the circus before Bruce took him in, and Dick tried to teach me how to do it, so I guess I just got used to staying in shape. Early morning is the best time for me to do it, since I don’t have to worry about missing class.”

“I guess…” Susan shook her head. “Pass the eggs, please.”

Harry pushed the serving plate over towards Susan. “So, what are you guys planning on doing today?”

“Maybe work on figuring out what I did wrong in Potions class. Why, do you have a plan?” Justin asked.

“I was thinking we could wander around Hogwarts a while. I mean, I barely know where all our classrooms are, and that doesn’t begin to cover how big this castle is. Who knows what there is to find in here?”

“Well, I suppose that could be fun, but can we wait until after breakfast at least?” Susan reasoned.

“I’m already done with breakfast, but I guess I can wait.”

“What about the rest of the guys? Should we wait for everybody else? Ernie and them?” Justin asked.

Harry sighed. “I kind of wanted to get on this sooner rather than later… but I also wanted to start at the Common Room, so we can ask them.”

0oOo0

Susan and Justin took their time eating, but the rest of the Hufflepuff First Years were just waking up when they made their way back to the Common Room. They were unsure about the idea at first, but were convinced when they were given the sandwiches Harry, Susan, and Justin had made up.

Still, it was decided that a group of nine was a bit much for exploring, and more groups could cover more ground.

Harry, Ernie, Susan, and Hannah went in one group, turning right out of the Hufflepuff Common Room, and Zacharias, Leanne, Megan, Justin, and Sally-Anne went left.

“Why are we doing this again?” Ernie asked as they walked down the hall.

“So we don’t end up getting lost when the castle decides to change,” Harry said. “And because a place this old has to have some secrets. Can you imagine how many secret passageways a castle like this has? And all we have to do is find them.”

“How do you expect us to find them?” Hannah piped up. “I mean, if they’re secret passageways.”

“No, Auntie told me there were shortcuts through the castle that all the students end up learning. She said that plenty of them were only kind of hidden, so we should be able to find them pretty easy.”

“And if they aren’t easy to find, that just means it’ll take a little longer,” Harry declared. “So let’s get to it.”

“Well, I suppose it will be nice to know more about the castle than any of the other First Years. Then what are we waiting for? That tapestry looks suspicious…”

MrRigger

[MrRigger2]

Part Fifteen!

Spoiler: show

“What are you working on? It’s not one of our class books.”

Harry looked up from his math textbook. A First Year with bushy brown hair was standing over the library table he was working at. Hermione Granger, he remembered, from their shared Herbology class. “It’s one of mine. My guardian said that if I wanted to come to Hogwarts, I’d have to keep up with my regular schooling as well. So I’m doing my math homework right now, and I’ve still got an English essay to write for Alfred later, so I don’t really have too much time to talk.”

“I didn’t even know that was an option!” the girl exclaimed. She looked irritated and thoughtful at the same time.

“Well, I was homeschooled when I was younger, and since I obviously won’t be going to Gotham Academy this year, Bruce decided that I could just do that again if I wanted to come here.”

“That’s a great idea! I wish I had thought of that with my parents. That’s brilliant, I’m going to have to write my parents right away!”

Harry watched as she sped out of the library like she was on fire. He blinked. “She didn’t even introduce herself.”

0oOo0

Harry lined up with the other Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws as Madam Hooch called the class to order. “Stick your right hand out over the broom and say ‘Up!’”

“UP!”

Harry’s broom smacked against his palm, one of maybe a quarter of the brooms that did. Once that all the brooms were in hand, Madam Hooch began walking up and down the line, correcting hand placement and demonstrating how to avoid falling off the end.

Finally, Madam Hooch decided it was time to actually take to the air. The class was only allowed to fly a few feet into the air at first, but soon they were slowly doing laps around the field. At the end of the class, Madam Hooch had the class run a simple obstacle course consisting of several turns and rings.

“Excellent work, all of you,” Madam Hooch said. “Keep practicing, and perhaps some of you will be able to try out for your House Quidditch Teams.”

0oOo0

Flying class had been informative, but it hadn’t been exhilarating like Harry had expected it to be. His favorite part about being Harrier was always the opportunity to grapple from roof to roof, the next best thing to flying. At least, it should have been.

But flying on the old, tattered, and half-destroyed school brooms wasn’t what Harry had been expecting. He’d been expecting speed, maneuverability, and a hundred other things described in Quidditch Throughout the Ages. What he had gotten was something that barely satisfied the definition of “Flight”.

So Harry felt he could hardly be blamed for approaching Professor McGonagall the next time he saw her and convincing her to let him borrow the Nimbus Two Thousand.

Sure, she insisted on joining him to start out with, but after he showed her that he wasn’t about to fall off the first time he went more than twenty feet up, she left, claiming she had homework to grade.

Once he was sure McGonagall had left, Harry smirked. There was no way she would let him try what he really wanted to do, it wouldn’t be responsible. But if he was going to be responsible, he wouldn’t have become a costumed vigilante at age eight.

Harry kicked the broom into high gear, spiraling higher and higher in the sky, up past the elevated stands, up past the point of good sense.

He waited there for a heartbeat.

Two.

Three.

He pitched the broom forward, diving almost straight down, the ground racing towards him. Harry pressed tighter to the broom, flattening his profile as much as possible.

Harry pulled up hard on the broom, missing the ground by inches, and then he yanked it to the right as he realized he was about to crash into one of the supports holding up the stands.

He spun off into a tailspin, bleeding speed and nearly flying off the broom as he did so. Harry shook himself, making sure he was still all there.

Then he grinned like a madman and shot forward, accelerating as fast as the broom would go.

He slalomed through the stands, even threading the needle through the supports.

He dove from dizzying heights, teasing the ground.

He even slowed down, flying simple laps around the Quidditch Stadium, enjoying the wind in his face.

Finally, after the sun had disappeared behind the mountains and he’d had to slow down because McGonagall had come out to make sure he hadn’t killed himself, Harry touched the ground again.

“Most impressive, Mr. Potter. Only one class with Madam Hooch and already you’re flying like a natural. If you were in Gryffindor, I might have to see about stretching the rules to get you on the Quidditch Team. I’ll have to warn Mr. Wood about you next year. I doubt that Professor Sprout will let you sit on the sideline for long once you’re eligible.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Harry said sheepishly. “Here’s your broom back.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Potter. Now hurry along, I’d hate to have to give you detention for being out after curfew. And I expect that your schoolwork won’t fall off now that you’ve found out how fun flying can be.”

“Of course not, I’m supposed to be a hard worker, remember?”

“As you say, Mr. Potter. Tell that to the Hufflepuffs over the years who have ‘forgotten’ their Transfiguration homework, or ‘had their Potions project dissolve it’.”

0oOo0

“I want to say thank you.”

Harry looked up from his Potions text and saw Hermione Granger standing next to his library table again. “Huh?”

“For giving me the idea! I don’t know why I never thought about homeschooling and mailing my work in,” she said quickly as she sat down. “Now I get to learn magic and my parents don’t have to worry about me not being able to attend university after I graduate! I might not have as much time to get ahead in my studies, but I should be able to keep up, don’t you think? I’ll just have to set up a schedule to pace myself to make sure I don’t get behind on anything.”

She looked ready to keep going, but Harry cut her off. “You know, you still haven’t introduced yourself.”

Hermione blushed. “Oh, I’m Hermione Granger, and you’re Harry Potter, obviously, everyone knows who you are. Wait, don’t you remember me from class? We share-”

“I am Harry Potter, and yes, I do remember you from our classes, but we’ve never actually talked before, apart from the other day. So you can’t exactly say we’ve been introduced, even though we both know who the other is.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “So anyway…”

As she started in on schedules and lesson plans and subjects, Harry decided he would have to do more studying in the Common Room, singing plants or no.

MrRigger

[MrRigger2]

Part Sixteen!

Spoiler: show

“Are we going to be doing this every weekend?” Ernie asked. “I mean, I’m not complaining, but I’ll need to know for my study habits.”

“We’ve still got plenty of castle to explore,” Harry said. “And you don’t have to help if you don’t want to.”

“I think that’s code for ‘shut up and keep walking, Macmillan’,” Susan quipped. “Besides, I think it’s good to be able to forget about our schoolwork for a little while and just have fun looking around.”

“Well, exercise and occasional breaks are supposed to make studying more effective, or so I’ve heard,” Ernie said.

“Whatever you say, Ernie,” Susan said, rolling her eyes. Then she looked around, and noticed Harry was back at the last landing. “What are you doing back there, Harry?”

Harry laughed sheepishly. “Heh. I had to tie my shoes again. Tripping and falling on a stone staircase isn’t my idea of a good time, y’know?”

“Well hurry up!”

Harry switched position and began retying his other shoe, but the staircase connecting the two landings started to swing. “Harry! Now you’re stuck over there,” Susan complained.

Harry waved it off. “Don’t worry, I’ll circle around and catch up with you. Go on, I’ll be fine.”

Susan shifted from foot to foot nervously. “…If you say so. We’ll go slow so you can catch up, right Ernie?”

“I guess so.”

Susan and Ernie disappeared into the next corridor, and Harry looked around, making sure he was actually alone.

Instead of going up the staircase to circle around, Harry slid into the hallway and tried the door.

Locked.

No problem, it was expected. Any hallway that promised a very painful death in the middle of a school needed the bare minimum of security.

Bare minimum, because Harry picked the lock with ease. Harry opened the door cautiously and slipped in.

“Well now, you’re a big fellow,” Harry remarked as he took in the enormous three-headed dog. “You must be Very Painful Death.”

The dog’s three heads snarled and barked, but didn’t lunge for Harry. He pressed himself against the wall, glancing around the sparse room for anything he could use. Nothing immediately useful.

With one last inspection, Harry dashed out of the room. He started up the staircase, tracking down where his friends had ended up. But there was still one question on his mind.

What could be at a school that would need a giant three-headed dog to protect it?

0oOo0

Bruce, Dick, and Alfred,

Life at Hogwarts is going fine. Classes are interesting, for the most part, if a little slow paced for my tastes. Fortunately, that means I’ve been able to stay current on all my work, and do some exploring as well.

Which brings me to the point of this letter. How would you get past a Cerberus? I did a little research, and that’s the proper name. Not the full on mythological beast of legend, but still a three-headed dog several times my size with an attitude to match. The strange thing was that it seemed to be all bark and no bite. Plenty of noise, but it never actually went for me. It was more interested in standing guard over a trapdoor in the middle of the floor, but I don’t know what it could be guarding.

We’re going to have to think about how a broomstick will affect my gear, because actually flying is awesome. Grapples don’t come close to the sheer awesomeness of real flight, just letting you know.

My homework for Alfred is attached, and apparently I’m not going to be the only student doing a double course load here at Hogwarts. One of the other First Years saw me working on my math assignment and decided taking on double the work sounded like the best idea ever. I guess what they say about Gryffindor bravery is true, if she just charged ahead like that.

The other kids in my year are still fine, though Zacharias continues to be a jerk. He’s smart enough to frame it like he’s trying to be helpful but accidentally insensitive, but he’s too consistent for it to be quite real. He likes what he’s doing, and if he keeps it up, I’m going to have to figure out some way to correct his behavior without being obvious.

Though at least he’s not being obvious about it. Another student, Draco Malfoy, seems to hate me for some reason, and keeps trying to start something. However, he managed to irritate a pair of older students on the train in, and they have taken special glee in pranking him. They haven’t crossed any lines yet, but I’m keeping an eye on them. They seem to take a little too much pleasure in humiliating others, and aren’t particularly concerned with the consequences.

It’s strange, not having to worry that every incident is a Rogue lashing out or setting up for a crime spree. A little refreshing, too, but there's something about this place that seems to invite trouble.

Harry

MrRigger

[Bezzerker]

Oh Harry, if only you knew....

[MrRigger2]

Part Seventeen!

Spoiler: show

Draco saw his target come around the corner, surrounded by Mudbloods, as usual. “Potter!” he snapped as he stepped out of the side hallway.

Potter glanced around before seeing Draco. Then, he burst out laughing, and so did the Mudbloods.

Draco looked down, and saw someone had charmed his robes to a shockingly bright pink, with daisy patterns sketched across it.

Crabbe was in neon blue robes with bright yellow canaries all over them.

Goyle was in a terrible mishmash of tie-die colors, every color of the rainbow represented in eye-searing shades.

Draco growled in irritation and stomped away indigently, Crabbe and Goyle right on his heels. Of course they were right on his heels, they hardly ever left him alone. He had to order them away to get any sort of privacy, even in the bathroom. Honestly, he knew they weren’t the brightest wizards around, but even Mudbloods would know enough to leave him alone in the shower!

As Draco stalked off in the direction of the Slytherin Dorm, he caught sight of those damned Weasley Twins, looking for all the world like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths. Draco knew better.

Draco had been plagued by pranks ever since he’d been Sorted. He’d lost more points for being out of uniform than he had thought possible. He’d been hexed, jinxed, and cursed. He had ended up in Charms one day with every word he spoke coming out as gibberish. He had gone to dinner one night with his skin dyed blue like a filthy Scotsman. He’d even walked into Potions class with a twitching, animated monkey’s tail!

The teachers were of no use, of course. Professor Snape and that idiot Filch were the only ones interested in hearing about the Weasley Morons, any of the others didn’t seem interested unless he had somebody else who was willing to come forward as a witness, or if his tormentors were dumb enough to prank him right in front of their faces. Fortunately, they were that dumb on occasion, but to his astonishment, they hardly seemed to care when they got in trouble!

The worst part of it was that Father seemed to have no sympathy for his situation. Draco had written home after his first week, complaining about how he was being unfairly targeted. Father had told him that if he couldn’t deal with two idiotic blood traitors, perhaps Draco wasn’t the heir he thought he was. It was the biggest humiliation Draco had ever felt, and he vowed to change it.

He’d make those damned Weasleys pay, and prove to Father that he was the heir the Malfoy family deserved. No matter what.

0oOo0

Harry reflected on the past two months as he picked at the Halloween feast in front of him.

Classes were still going slow, but he was learning quickly despite how the lessons were presented. Given how the teachers were reacting, Harry suspected that it was the unspoken method of seeing who had the right kind of work ethic. The Professors taught the theory and gave demonstration, but it was up to the students to make it practical.

Harry couldn’t think of any reason why he would need to turn a match into a needle, but he could think of plenty uses for transfiguring wood into metal. It was a bit harder to reshape the object, but he was able to change a good-sized block of wood to metal and back already.

Snape was apparently the king of this method of self-study. His classes were filled with insults and lengthy diatribes, but if you were listening, you could pick out the parts where he was actually correcting mistakes. Harry still thought it was a terrible way to teach, but if you were careful, and you did a lot of outside study, you could learn. Besides, Snape still wasn’t the worst teacher.

No, Snape may have been a terrible teacher, but he still taught. The title of worst teacher in the school went to Professor Binns. He didn’t teach at all. Harry had initially thought that it would be a boon to learn from a ghost, learn from a spirit who had actually lived through the events it was teaching, but no. Harry wasn’t even sure Binns was aware he was actually teaching. The other ghosts in the castle seemed self-aware and independent, but Binns followed the same routine. According to the older Hufflepuffs Harry had questioned, Binns’ class hadn’t changed since they had arrived. He floated in through the blackboard and started droning on about Goblin Rebellions. He didn’t ask questions, he didn’t even call roll. Harry doubted Binns would do anything different if the entire class failed to show up. At this point, Harry had decided to use History of Magic to catch up on his other classes. He was learning more that way.

Harry looked up and saw Zacharias explaining the wizarding history of Halloween to Sally and Justin, who had spent all day telling Ernie and Susan about how Halloween worked in the muggle world. Harry wouldn’t have minded learning more, except Zacharias was being as condescending as possible.

“Honestly Sally, I’m not sure how you aren’t getting this,” Zacharias said. “And I don’t understand where on earth your Muggle traditions came from. They seem ridiculous, and I’m not sure how any sensible person could enjoy them.”

Zacharias kept going, and Sally kept getting redder, clearly embarrassed. Finally, Sally stood up and huffed, walking away as fast as she could without looking like she was fleeing.

Harry pushed his plate away and pinned Zacharias with a glare. “You know what your problem is, Zacharias? You’re a jerk, and you don’t even have an excuse for it. I don’t know if you think you’re being funny or clever, but all you’re doing is making yourself look like an ass. Everybody else has been too nice to say anything so far, but if you keep it up, I’m gonna call you on it. Or is it really too hard for you to be civil to people you’re going to be living with? Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go track down Sally and make sure she’s alright. You know, like a decent human being. See you guys back at the Common Room later.”

Harry stalked out of the Great Hall, shaking his head. As he started jogging after where he thought Sally might have gone, he saw Professor Quirrell running for the Great Hall, and Harry rolled his eyes. Whatever Quirrell was running from didn’t have anything to do with consoling Sally.

MrRigger

[Bezzerker]

...Did Harry just tempt Fate? Harry should know by now to never tempt Fate, for she has good aim and likes to think she has a sense of humor.

[jgkitarel]

No, Harry is not tempting Fate, she is busy with being tempted by someone else right now.

And of course she has a sense of humor, though you wouldn't know with how quiet and shy she tends to be.


Ok, back on topic.

So, the troll incident is now a go, though Zacharias is a bit of an ass and he is about to learn that Harry will only tolerate so much shit from him before doing something about it. He's already given him the warning, but with Sally's life now in danger, he is going to tear the boy a new one by letting him know that he had played an, admittedly unintentional, role in endangering one of his housemates.

[MrRigger2]

Part Eighteen!

Spoiler: show

“Sally! Sally, wait up!” Harry called as he caught up with Sally at the top of the stairs, where she was turning down a corridor, probably for the girls’ bathroom.

“I just want to be alone right now, Harry,” Sally said.

Harry grabbed her shoulder and Sally turned around to face him. It was obvious she had been crying, but was trying to hold it together. “Sally, you can’t get upset over that guy. Zacharias is a jerk, and you shouldn’t pay any attention to him.”

Sally sniffed. “He just… he makes me feel so stupid, like I don’t know anything about anything…”

“That’s just how he makes himself feel better about himself. He hurts other people’s feelings to prove to himself that he’s better than them, because otherwise he doesn’t have anything going for him. The only thing he’s got going for him is his pure-blood lineage, and based on his work in class, he never even took advantage of that.”

“So? I’m not doing any better than he is.”

“Actually, since you just found out about magic recently, and he’s been living around it his entire life, I’d say you’re doing better than he is, wouldn’t you? And if you’re that worried about it, just work a little harder and do better than him in class.”

“…I guess…”

“Come on, let’s get out of-“ A terrible smell hit Harry’s nose. “What in the world is that smell?”

“I don’t – oh god, I smell it too, that’s disgusting,” Sally said.

Then they heard it, heavy thumps, footsteps, Harry realized. Something that made that kind of noise had to be big, bigger than Killer Croc, probably.

Sally saw it first, and screamed. Twelve feet tall and skin like granite, with a too big body and too small head, dragging a thick wooden club along the floor behind it. Harry tried to stop Sally’s scream, but the troll had already looked in their direction.

The troll’s ears wiggled as he realized what he was looking at, then started lumbering in their direction.

Harry’s training took over. He grabbed Sally’s hand and started to pull her away. “Sally? Run.”

“What?”

“Run!”

Harry was a lot faster than Sally, and she wasn’t used to running. She really wasn’t used to running from a troll while utterly panic-stricken.

Harry spotted their salvation up ahead. “Come on, Sally, just a little further!” He reached the door first, and yanked it open. “Get in!”

“What? A broom closet isn’t going to protect us from that monster! We’ve got to keep going!”

“No, but it will hide you while I distract it and lead it away. Now get in!” Harry didn’t wait for a response and shoved Sally inside, slamming the door shut behind her.

Harry whirled around. “Hey ugly! Over here!” he shouted, waving his arms to get the troll’s attention.

The troll’s beady eyes narrowed as it focused in on Harry, and picked up speed. Harry sprinted in the other direction, happy that he no longer had to deal with a panicking Sally.

“Run, run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” Harry taunted, and the troll bellowed in anger.

Harry paused at the next intersection and blew a raspberry at the troll, before running down the left hallway. Exploring the castle every weekend had paid off, he knew right where he could lead the troll.

The troll rounded the corner and bellowed at Harry again before charging as fast as he could, club raised over his head.

Harry held his position until there was just a few feet between him and the troll. Then he dove out of the way, floating the tapestry he peeled off the wall in front of him. “Ole!”

The troll never had a chance to slow down, and it ran right into the tapestry and through it. The cloth wrapped around the troll and tangled it up as it kept going, straight down the set of stairs Harry had been waiting in front of. The troll crashed down on the stairs, sliding down and cracking its head on the waiting stones of the Entrance Hall.

Harry slid down the banister to the groggy troll, landing a few feet to the right of it. “Og otni a peed peels!”

The troll relaxed and collapsed against the floor, out cold. Harry took a few steps away from the creature and caught his breath, breathing through his mouth to avoid smelling any more of the troll’s stench than he absolutely had to.

Less than a minute later, Harry heard the pounding of multiple footsteps coming towards him. Headmaster Dumbledore and Professors Sprout and Sinistra came bounding out of the hallway leading to the dungeons. “Mr. Potter! What on earth happened here?” Professor Sprout gasped, taking in the situation.

Harry laughed sheepishly. “Would you believe me if I told you it was all a freak accident?”

“Mr. Potter.” Professor Sinestra didn’t sound amused.

“Okay, here’s the thing. None of this was my fault. I didn’t even know that there was a troll in the castle. Why was there a troll in the castle?”

“Now that the danger has been neutralized, the staff will investigate how a troll gained entry,” Headmaster Dumbledore said. “But please, Mr. Potter, tell us what happened.”

“Alright. Zacharias was picking on Sally at the feast, and she got upset enough that she walked out. I didn’t want her to be all alone, so I followed after her. We had just finished talking when the troll found us. We ran away, and I told Sally to hide in a broom closet while I distracted the troll, and once it left her alone, I tried to get away by levitating a tapestry in front of it to make sure it couldn’t see where I was going. I guess it was going too fast to stop and knocked itself out when it fell down the stairs. And that’s really all that happened, I swear.”

The professors were silent for a moment. “Oh, and Sally should still be in the broom closet upstairs, I think,” Harry added.

“So you two didn’t hear Professor Quirrell’s warning?” Professor Sinestra asked.

Harry shrugged. “I thought I saw him running past me, but he didn’t say anything to me about a troll.”

“I see,” the headmaster said. “Well, let us go fetch Ms. Perks and take a visit to the hospital wing, just to make sure that neither of you were hurt during your little adventure. Professor Sprout, if you could, Professor Sinestra and I shall take care of our visitor.”

Harry nodded and allowed Professor Sprout to lead him back up the stairs. “You know, it takes a great deal of loyalty to put your friend’s safety above your own, Mr. Potter. Fifty points for being a true Hufflepuff. But don’t take this to mean you can go doing this again. I don’t want you putting yourself in harms way.”

MrRigger

[MrRigger2]

Part Nineteen!

Spoiler: show

After Madam Pomfrey gave both Harry and Sally clean bills of health, along with lectures on not putting themselves in danger like that, Professor Sprout guided them back to the Hufflepuff Common Room.

Harry and Sally were rushed by half the House, all clamoring to find out what happened, why they weren’t with them when they were sent back to the Common Room. They were guided over to the fireplace and pushed into the comfiest, squishiest armchairs the Common Room had.

“Alright you two,” a seventh year with spiky pink hair said. “Talk.”

“Yeah, why weren’t you two at the feast when everyone heard about the troll?” Gabriel Truman asked.

“Zach said some things that upset me, and Harry ran after me to make sure I was alright,” Sally started.

Harry let Sally do most of the talking. He already had more of the spotlight than was strictly safe for a costumed hero, even if most witches and wizards had never heard of the Justice League, much less Harrier.

The fact that the Wizarding World didn’t know anything about the world’s heroes was baffling to Harry. Sure, he hadn’t been expecting them to have the extensive knowledge some people had, none of the Justice League members were based out of England, but the majority of the students here hadn’t even heard of Superman. Superman! Sure, Batman stayed local to Gotham as much as possible, and stayed out of the limelight, but Superman stopped tsunamis and volcanoes and all kinds of natural disasters all over the world, practically every day. Everybody had heard of Superman.

But apparently not here. Here, superheroes were something out of fantasy. Harry remembered Justin telling Ernie about the Man of Steel, and Ernie told him that everyone knew man couldn’t fly, it was why wizards had made brooms.

That had led to Justin, Sally, and Harry trying to educate the other Hufflepuff First Years on the world of superheroes. Harry was careful to not accidentally let anything privileged slip, but surprisingly, he didn’t need to worry. Justin was a hero fanboy, and Sally apparently had a crush on Superman, and had a collection of Superman articles that had been reprinted in the England papers.

But even with the backup, the pureblood students were reluctant to believe what Harry and the others were telling them.

It was strange, Harry decided. They lived in a world of magic, grew up surrounded by amazing things, able to change their world with a few words and a wand, but they were also some of the most close-minded and unimaginative people Harry had ever seen. Magic could do anything, except what it couldn’t, and nothing could change their minds of it. Aliens were absurd, and the idea that science could give people powers beyond even the most gifted wizard was ludicrous.

It was like they didn’t want to believe.

Harry heard Sally finish up her side of the story, and knew he wouldn’t be going anywhere until he told the rest of the Hufflepuffs his side of the story.

“Well, Harry, what happened after that?” Gabriel asked. The rest of the house leaned in anxiously.

“Sally already told you guys most of it. After I shoved her in the closet, I took off running, and got the troll to follow me. It wasn’t very bright, and it charged me when I was at the top of a staircase. I levitated a tapestry in front of it and it got all tangled up and knocked himself out falling down the staircase. That’s really it.”

“Weren’t you scared?” a voice Harry didn’t recognize came from the crowd.

Harry snorted. “You try running away from a big monster troll and not be scared! But it’s not like I had a choice.”

“Scared or not, it’s the first time I’ve heard of a troll being beaten with a Levitation Charm,” the pink-haired seventh year said. “I’d like to see the rest of the school call us a bunch of duffers now, huh? When even our firsties can beat trolls!”

“Yeah!” the assembled Hufflepuffs cheered. From there, order gave way to adolescence, and the group broke up as people started talking amongst themselves.

0oOo0

Over the next few days, Harry was treated as some sort of conquering hero. Students he had never even seen before were slapping him on the back and congratulating him, apparently having heard one of the numerous rumors floating around school. Most of them were relatively true, with only minor errors, but some were outlandish. Harry’s favorite was the one where he had faced down the troll with nothing but a sword in the middle of the Entrance Hall.

Of course, there were also rumors that Harry wasn’t the one to beat the troll at all, and Sally was the one to do so, and Harry was just stealing her thunder. Given that Sally was still gushing to everyone who would listen about how brave he was; Harry had no idea how that rumor kept persisting.

Then there was Zacharias Smith. The rest of the Hufflepuffs weren’t particularly happy with him, and weren’t afraid of letting him know it. Sure, they weren’t necessarily the big happy family the rest of Hogwarts thought they were, with plenty of cliques and groups throughout the House, but nobody was willing to let Zacharias get away with putting one of their own in danger.

Nothing overt, exactly, but Smith was definitely being shunned. None of the rest of the First Years were volunteering to study with him, and the upper Years that had always been willing to check over the firsties homework suddenly had more important things to do when he asked for their help. Nobody spoke to him at meals, and his favorite dishes were always curiously empty by the time they were passed down to him. If he was going to leave a fellow Hufflepuff out in the cold, he could expect the same, at least for the moment. Harry didn’t exactly agree with how they were going about things, but maybe it would finally make Smith get his head out of his ass.

Then again, none of this mattered, as five days after Halloween, another event shook Hogwarts to its core. Just before midnight, all the adults in the school disappeared.

So sorry I broke my record of one a day updates, but the Mass Effect Trilogy has sucked me in, as well as work. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.

MrRigger

[Bezzerker]

...Well, that is quite a change from cannon! I wonder how the rest of the student body is going to react to that. I would expect that Harry will end up bringing a semi-stable level of order for the everyone, possibly with the back up of the higher years.

(Note: I already know that there would be changes from cannon, but the normal course for stories like this, is for the changes to not be readily apparent until much further into the story.)

Is this event the result of the two separate continuities mixing beyond simply 'Harry was trained by Batman'? If so, I applaud you, good sir. Far too many people ignore the full potential of stories that use the same premise as yours.

[MrRigger2]

This is the result of the events from episode 19 of the first season of Young Justice, Misplaced. So it's canon, just not from HP canon. I'll give more details in the story, obviously, for those that haven't seen it, but for those who are interested, here is the Young Justice Wiki article on the episode. I'll be altering the timeline a bit, as fair warning.

MrRigger

[MrRigger2]

Part Twenty! We're into Misplaced now, and will be for the next few updates. This will also be a major divergence for the world, just because of what's happening. Also, I'm stretching the timeline. Originally, the core events of Misplaced happened over the course of about five or six hours, and with the time difference, that means Harry and the rest of England was going to sleep through the world being divided in two, and where's the excitement in that? So Misplaced is getting dragged out to happening over about twenty-four hours, not six.

Spoiler: show

Harry woke up early that morning, before his normal six a.m. The Common Room was as quiet as always, not many people in the castle seemed aware that there was a six a.m., much less be up and awake at that time.

Harry kept his exit quiet, out of courtesy for the others, and headed for the lake. It was getting colder, almost too cold for early morning runs, but Harry figured he still had a week or two before he had to move his exercise inside. He just hoped nobody would give him any grief over it.

He made good time around the lake, and he made sure to push himself to make sure the cold wasn’t slowing him down. Harry started his cool down exercises and realized he hadn’t seen Hagrid yet. Normally, Hagrid was out and working by now, taking care of the creatures found around the grounds.

Harry shook it off. Hagrid wasn’t his responsibility, and he was probably just sleeping off a bender from down in Hogsmeade. It wouldn’t be the first time, though Hagrid normally waited until the weekend.

Once Harry was done with his exercises, he looked over at Hagrid’s hut. He still hadn’t shown himself. Definitely a bender. But there was a trio of creatures pawing at the ground outside his hut.

Harry would call them horses, except they clearly weren’t. A little bigger than a young pony, they were black, skeletal, and winged. Harry couldn’t pick them out at the distance, but he knew they had reptilian features instead of a normal horse’s face.

The creatures, thestrals, weren’t usually seen outside of the Forbidden Forest, and if they were wandering the grounds, Hagrid ought to know about it, hangover or no.

Harry jogged down to Hagrid’s hut and knocked on the door, quietly at first, but getting louder as he didn’t hear an answer. Finally, he sighed. “Hagrid, it’s Harry Potter! There’s some animals out here that need your attention, and I’m coming in, okay?”

Harry tried the knob, and the door swung open. He expected to see Hagrid snoring in the bed or maybe passed out at the table, but he was nowhere to be found. “Huh.”

He looked around the hut briefly, making sure Hagrid wasn’t hiding in a corner or something, but it looked like he really was nowhere to be found. It was late enough that at least Professor Flitwick or Sprout should be at breakfast. They were both fairly early risers.

After a brief jog up to the castle, Harry walked into the Great Hall, only to find it lacking the Professors Harry expected. In fact, there was only a few students in there, the first ones down to breakfast, it looked like.

Harry marched over to the Gryffindor table, since it had the only Prefect in attendance. “Have you seen any of the Professors? Normally they’re down by now.”

The redhead shook his head. One of Fred and George’s brothers, Harry was pretty sure. “I’m afraid I haven’t.” The prefect checked his watch. “It’s not quite seven, I’m sure they’re just running a tad behind this morning,” he said, yawning.

“I suppose,” Harry agreed, but he wasn’t convinced. He had found that the staff made a point of having at least one member supervising all the mealtimes, and they hadn’t missed a day so far, though not all the same Professors always supervised.

Harry grabbed a few pieces of fruit and headed for the Professor’s Quarters. Strictly speaking, he wasn’t supposed to know where they were, but that never stopped him before, and wandering the castle every weekend had more advantages than just what he had told the other First Years.

He knocked at Professor Sprout’s door, and didn’t get an answer. It wasn’t out of the question that she had already risen and was out doing some time-sensitive plant handling (which there was a surprising amount of, Harry had learned), so he moved to Professor McGonagall’s door. She had a regular schedule of arriving at breakfast promptly at five after seven, so she should still be in her quarters.

After half a minute of knocking, Harry knew there was something wrong. Popping open the hallway window, he slipped out onto the ledge. There was little chance that Dick was going to be dethroned as the master acrobat, but the day Harry couldn’t walk a twelve-foot stone ledge was the day he quit being a superhero.

Harry made his way over to McGonagall’s window and peered through it. It didn’t look like anyone was inside, and if there was, Harry could apologize and make up a story later. He grunted as he pushed the stiff window open and slid inside.

“Professor McGonagall? Are you here?” he called, just to make sure. At this point, he would have been more surprised if he received an answer.

Harry looked around and found the Nimbus Two Thousand that was kind of his. He flew out the window and checked the other Professors’ rooms. He found what he expected, nothing. No Professors, and no trace of where they disappeared to, either.

Harry flew off in the direction of Hogsmeade. He hadn’t been there yet, not having found a good way out of the castle, but he wasn’t worried about being caught today.

Touching down in Hogsmeade, Harry didn’t find anything. Or rather, he didn’t find any adults. There was a few sleeping children, and several of the buildings were in disarray, especially the bars, as if they had been suddenly abandoned all at once. But again, there were no tracks showing where the adults disappeared to, just like at Hogwarts. That indicated that it wasn’t an attack against Hogwarts itself, and that was good enough for Harry. He sped back to the Hogwarts ground before pulling the emergency Portkey from within his robes and speaking the activation phrase. “There’s no place like home.”

With a yank behind his navel, Harry disappeared.

So, there's no more adults, and Harry's decided to figure out what exactly is going on, but what's going to happen with Hogwarts in the meantime? And how are the teachers going to react?

Honestly, how are the teachers going to react? Poorly is a good descriptor, but also rather vague, so I'm looking for ideas and input. What do you guys think?

MrRigger

[Bezzerker]

I would think a good portion of the teachers will simply freak out, mostly because most of the teachers went both unnamed and unseen in the books. Since I have nothing from cannon to form judgments on, I can't come up with anything specific, despite the fact there are likely a lot more teachers than we've seen.

Dumbledore would probably drop the act of being slightly crazy and senile, reminding everyone in the process that he is still considered the greatest wizard in the entire wizarding world (at least as far as they are concerned). He would attempt to discover the source of the disappearance to the best of his ability while keeping the rest of the staff calm by keeping them as busy as he can. If and when he learns what caused the students to disappear, he would attempt to coordinate the staff in an attempt to undo the spell. If he finds out that there are others who are also trying to end the spell, he would be one of the first to suggest an alliance.

McGonagall would be visibly worried about the well-being of the students, but would at least try and channel that worry into her efforts to discover what happened. Of all of the teachers, I would think she is the most likely to find out what actually happened. This is mostly due to the fact that she is the only person to have had contact with Bruce Wayne, and might possibly seek out his help. Especially since as a 'muggle', Bruce was able to find a magical tutor for Harry.

Sprout would be absolutely beside herself with worry over the disappearance, and would constantly hope that where ever the children are, the Hufflepuffs would be able to care for one another until they could be rescued.

Flitwick would probably start trying to solve the disappearance even before Dumbledore could order him to, practically locking himself away in a room attempting everything he can think of to discover the cause. It is highly likely that he would end up so focused that he would likely forget to eat and rest in his single-minded drive to ensure the safety of his students.

Snape would actually be very likely to be overtly worried as well. He would likely stay very close to Dumbledore, ready to jump and do whatever the headmaster needs him to do. Of all of the teachers, he is the least likely to accept 'busy' work, although passing messages around wouldn't be.

Hagrid would likely be both distraught by the disappearance, and earnest in his attempts to help. He is the most likely to receive 'busy' work from Dumbledore, and the most likely to be grateful for it since he probably knows he would only get in the way at the moment.

Quirrell is the most likely to appear suspicious of all of the staff. While he most likely will act very distraught, several of the teachers will probably notice that his act seems somewhat forced and insincere. Snape definitely will notice, with Mcgonagall and/or Sprout possibly noticing as well.

-----
This is how I think most of the teachers would react to the discovery of the missing students. I think the most surprising thing for everyone, both in-universe and possibly out, is how Snape reacts. (Except for Dumbledore, of course)

[MrRigger2]

Part Twenty-One!

Spoiler: show

Harrier hit the ground running, noticing that despite the fact that it was after three in the morning at the Cave, it was fully powered up and in service. Harrier let out a sigh of relief when he saw Robin working at the holographic display, then quirked an eyebrow the unfamiliar girl beside him. The letters he had gotten back hadn’t included anything about a new female member of the Team.

Of course, since it was a covert operation, there wasn’t really anything regarding the Team in the letters from home.

Still, he expected Dick would have found some way to mention it.

“Harrier, you’re here,” Robin said, half-surprised, half-relieved, half-confused.

…He was magic, he could have three halves if he wanted to.

Robin looked like he wanted to run over and grab Harrier in a hug, but he also looked dead on his feet. Not that he was showing it to anybody other than someone who had grown up with him.

“Yeah, I figured when all the Professors at school and all the adults from the town down the road were gone without a trace, I better find out what was going on. So…what’s going on?”

Robin sighed. “Everyone over the age of eighteen has disappeared. There’s no trace of them anywhere. Miss Martian, Kid Flash, Superboy, and Artemis are out rounding up kids and taking them to the high school. Aqualad is trying to get in contact with Atlantis to see if the effect has spread that far.”

“Do we know who’s behind it?”

The girl shook her head. “No, but sorcery on this level? Scary big.”

“No kidding. What are you two doing?”

“Zatanna and I are coordinating teen heroes across the globe for the moment, and trying to keep the public from panicking,” Robin said.

“Conventional media is down, but kids all over are on the internet, looking for answers,” Zatanna explained. “We’re trying to help them find some.”

“I hacked Justice League systems and used them to put out a message to the rest of the world, telling everybody not to freak out. Wait, do people freak in?” Robin shook it off. “But I think I’ve found the answer. Zatanna, I’ve found footage of your dad helping us locate Wotan and the Injustice League last month. We need you to cast that spell to track down whoever is doing this.”

Zatanna and Harrier watched the video of Zatara casting the spell. “Robin, I… it’s not just the words, there’s training, and experience, and I don’t know if I can. And even if I was sure, I’m exhausted. I wouldn’t trust any results I got even if it did work.”

Robin nodded. “Then go rest, and do what you need to try it. This is our best chance right now. Harrier can take over for you.”

“Yeah, I’m fully rested. You sleep.” Harrier walked over to the holographic console Zatanna had been using and started scanning through the information displayed.

Zatanna hesitated, but then nodded and walked off. After she had disappeared, Harrier spoke up. “You know, she’s not the only one that’s tired. You should get some sleep too,” he said, not looking at Robin.

“It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet, and kids are dying out there. Hospitals are in chaos, planes have been dropping out of the sky for hours, and there’s worldwide panic. Kids are dying, and I’m not going to slack off doing everything I can to save them just because I’m a little tired. I’ll sleep when this is all over.”

Harrier grunted. “And if it doesn’t end soon?”

“That’s not going to happen. Stay traught until we fix this. Because we will fix this.”

0oOo0

After a few more hours of online coordination, and after Harrier had slipped a sleeping pill into Robin’s drink and put him to bed on the Cave’s couch, Harrier closed the windows he was working with and drew up the footage Robin had found earlier.

The rest of the Team had returned in the wee hours of the morning and were all dead on their feet. They were all curled up in various places around the Cave, none of them really willing to sleep, but none of them able to keep moving any longer. With all of them asleep, none of them were there to stop him from what he was about to do.

Robin was right. They needed to find out where this attack originated from, and if they didn’t, more kids were going to die. Harrier wasn’t willing to have that on his conscience.

He pulled up the global map and centered himself, as Kent Nelson had taught him years ago. After a moment, his eyes snapped open. “Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!”

Harrier felt the magical energy leave him, and he fell to one knee as images assaulted him. He tried to sort the information, but it was too much, too fast, and he had no way to process it.

It was like a switch was flipped as the spell completed and the images stopped, but the damage was already done. Harrier blacked out.

0oOo0

“Harrier, wake up.”

Someone was shaking him, and the voice sounded familiar. “What happened?” he mumbled.

“That is what I would like to know,” the voice said, and Harrier recognized it as Aqualad.

Harrier tried to open his eyes, but the light poured in and made his splitting headache even worse. “Gah…” he moaned as he covered his eyes with his arm.

“Harrier, you need to wake up and tell me what happened. You have blood around your nose and mouth. Were you attacked? Has the Cave been infiltrated?”

Harrier shook his head. “Not that I know of. I tried to find out what was causing all this. I guess it didn’t work.”

“Sphere, go alert the others. We’ve rested long enough.” Superboy’s alien ally beeped and rolled out of the room. “I am going to get you some water, try to stay conscious while I am gone.”

Aqualad left the room and Harrier tried to sit up. “Oh god, that hurts,” he muttered, rubbing his face. “Okay, it’s just dried blood, I’m not still bleeding. That’s promising.”

Aqualad returned, Robin right behind him. “Harrier, what did you do to yourself?” Robin demanded, rushing over to him.

“I’m okay, I’m okay.” He sighed. “I tried Zatara’s locater spell. It was supposed to ‘Locate epicenter of sorcery’, but instead of finding out where this spell originated, I think I found all the epicenters of sorcery. It was too much, and I blacked out.”

“Wait, all of them? In the world?” Robin asked.

“Just the big ones, I think. But yeah.”

“Why did you attempt the spell without supervision?” Aqualad asked. “I know you know the proper procedures for attempting new spells.”

“Because I knew you guys would try to stop me, and because I knew I had to do it. It’s like you said, Robin, people are dying out there, and you can’t sit around doing nothing. So I cast the spell.”

“Your actions were reckless, Harrier,” Aqualad admonished him, and Robin nodded in agreement.

“Maybe. But if you can tell me you two would have done anything different in my position, I’ll eat my mask.”

Robin laughed. “Heh, he’s got us there, Kaldur. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up before anyone else sees you.”

“Huh?”

“We still need Zatanna to cast the spell. She’s got more training than you, so she might be able to pull it off. But if she sees you like this, her confidence will be shaken, and we can’t afford that. The world can’t afford that.”

Harrier nodded. “Okay, yeah. Where’re the showers in here?”

“I’ll show you. Aqualad, can you get the rest of the Team together? I think we’re running out of time.”

Aqualad nodded. "I fear you may be right."

MrRigger

[MrRigger2]

Part Twenty-Two!

Spoiler: show

Harrier listened to the discussion, watching Billy Batson/Captain Marvel switch between worlds as the Team and the available Justice League coordinated their plans.

Zatanna had cast the locator spell, and unlike his attempt, it worked perfectly. They were going to Roanoke, Virginia. They didn’t know much more than that, but it would have to be enough. With simultaneous assaults from both the kid world and adult world, they should be able to disrupt the spell keeping the worlds apart.

They all loaded up into Miss Martian’s Bioship, and Harrier couldn’t help but wonder how things were going back at Hogwarts. He knew he had a responsibility to the world at large, but he still worried about his friends.

0oOo0

The school was assembled in the Great Hall. The Head Boy and Girl had kept them all there after none of the Professors had showed up for breakfast. The Prefects were in charge of maintaining order, and nearly every set of Gobstones, Exploding Snap, and Wizarding Chess had been pulled out to keep the students occupied.

“What do you think is going on?” Justin asked. “Where could the teachers be?”

Ernie shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

Susan sighed. “I wish the Prefects would let me floo Auntie Amelia. I’m sure she would know what’s going on.”

“Why’s that?” Sally asked.

“Don’t you remember, Sally?” Hannah asked. “Her aunt is the Head of Magical Law Enforcement.”

“Yeah, if something’s happened to the teachers, the Aurors’ll have to know,” Megan reasoned.

Someone cleared their throat from behind the group.

“What do you want, Zacharias?” Justin demanded.

“I just wanted to let you know. I overheard one of the Prefects talking. The Head Boy just got back from Hogsmeade. He said there weren’t any adults down there.”

“None?” Hannah gasped.

“None. Some of the Seventh-Years are going to go and bring the kids up here so they aren’t alone down there. That’s what I heard anyways.”

Zacharias turned around and started to walk away slowly. He knew where he wasn’t wanted.

The rest of the First-Years glanced at each other and nodded. “Zacharias, wait,” Ernie called.

Zacharias stopped, but didn’t turn around.

“You’ve been listening around, you said?”

“Of course I have. Since nobody’s willing to talk with me normally, I’ve had to just to find out what’s happening.”

“Have…have you heard anything about Harry? We haven’t seen him,” Sally said nervously.

Zacharias walked back over to the table where Ernie and Justin scooted apart to make room for him to sit.

“This is just what I’ve heard, but that Gryffindor Prefect, Weasley? He said he saw Harry here earlier, but he disappeared after asking about the teachers. So he was here this morning, but as far as anyone can tell, he’s not in Hogwarts anymore.”

“What do you mean? Where would he go?” Susan asked.

Sally nodded. “Yeah, he’s probably just somewhere they haven’t looked yet. He’s probably just wandering around the school like usual, right?”

“Yeah, he’s always looking for someplace new he hasn’t found before,” Hannah agreed, though she didn’t sound so sure herself.

The First-Years were grasping at straws and they knew it. All of them knew about Harry’s emergency Portkey necklace, and all of the Hogwarts Professors disappearing without a trace certainly counted as an emergency. He was probably safe and sound over in the Americas.

0oOo0

“What do we do next, Albus?” Minerva asked, worry written across her face.

“We keep doing what we have been doing. I still have two Locator Spells we haven’t tried yet, but I need you and the others to cast them. I haven’t been responding to Cornelius’s firecalls, and he’s beginning to get desperate.”

“Not that I blame him, the parents must be going out of their mind not knowing where their children are.”

“That is true. But I have my responsibilities. I will try to return as quickly as possible. Goodbye, Minerva.”

0oOo0

Albus Dumbledore walked past the Minister’s secretary and into his office without slowing down. She had graduated twelve years ago, middle of the class, a Gryffindor if he remembered correctly. Not the best student, but quite organized.

“You’ve firecalled me six times in the last hour, Cornelius,” Albus said by way of greeting.

“Of course I have, Dumbledore, an emergency session of the Wizengamot has been called, and as Head Warlock, your presence is needed!” Minister Fudge screeched.

“Why? All that we will do is argue with each other and come to the decision that we need to do everything we can to find the children, which I have already been doing, without wasting several hours, Cornelius. The finest minds in Britain are already working on the problem, do not delay me any longer.”

“Now see here, Dumbledore, I’m the Minister of Magic, you can’t speak to me that way!” Fudge bellowed and puffed himself up.

Albus narrowed his eyes at one of his early students. “Cornelius, normally I am more than willing to play this game with you, but right now, the lives of every magical child in Britain are in danger, and the longer we stand here and talk about what we need to do instead of actually doing it, the chances that even one of them will be harmed increases. Now, I have confidence that the oldest children among them will do what they can to protect the younger ones, but I am not willing to risk any additional delays. So, Cornelius, if you would stop distracting me, I shall return to my efforts to actually save our children. I suggest you do the same.”

Minister Fudge tried to bluster as Albus spun on his heel and walked out of his office, but Albus had already moved back onto the problem of his misplaced students, and where they could be.

I swear there will be a fight scene next time, I just have to figure it out, and I have work for the next few days, so don't get your hopes up for a few days.

MrRigger

[MrRigger2]

Part Twenty-Three!

Spoiler: show

Harrier dropped out of the Bioship and started flying below the treeline on the Nimbus, circling around the target. He was on backup duty, since he hadn’t trained with the Team and wasn’t integrated into their tactics. He had tried to say that he knew how to fight, and never had trouble fighting with Batman and Robin in Gotham, but Robin gave him a weird look and said that things were different on the Team.

There was a story there, and Harry was going to get it, but the mission took precedence. He could get Kid Flash to tell him, Harry was sure of it.

Harrier moved to within sight of Klarion and pressed up into the treetop. Klarion was in the middle of wide glowing sigil, presumably the focus of the spell. He was tempted to do what he could to disrupt the circle, either blow up the ground or slice up the runes, but Kent’s voice stopped him.

Destroying magical script might stop whatever it’s doing, but it might also blow the whole thing up in your darn face, so don’t do it if you don’t know what you’re doing, kid.

Given that Harrier didn’t recognize even a fraction of the sigils, and the scope of the spell being cast, that was the potential for a very big boom indeed.

Harrier forced himself to stay still as Artemis and Robin attacked Klarion from the rear. Klarion shielded easily and retaliated with some kind of red lightning. Harrier knew Klarion was strong, but that kind of raw energy manipulation was crazy.

Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Superboy rushed Klarion all at once, but a hemisphere of energy surrounded Klarion and the circle, and the trio was blasted back. Zatanna tried breaking the shield, but Klarion just sent her flying with a careless spell of his own.

Harrier tensed around his broom and dropped out of his cover, but Miss Martian’s telepathic voice stopped him. “Hold your position, Harrier, we’ve got this.”

“If you’re not going to let me help, why bring me along?” he grumbled over the link, but stayed put.

Harrier’s eyes widened as Klarion rebuffed another one of Artemis’s attacks and did something to cause his cat to grow to the size of a sabertooth tiger and smack Superboy silly. At least that was something Harrier recognized. Magic users had been coming up with spells to enhance their familiars since the first familiar. Unfortunately, without knowing exactly what spell Klarion used, he couldn’t counter it. The link between caster and familiar was too strong.

“Superboy needs help, I’m going in.”

“I’ll be fine, I’m invulnerable, this thing isn’t going to be able to hurt me,” Superboy responded tersely.

Harrier snorted. “Says you. Superman is vulnerable to magic, you have the same powers as Superman. And that supped up pussycat is a magical creature. Wanna take bets on whether or not he can claw you to pieces?”

Without waiting for an answer, Harrier dove in low and hit Klarion’s familiar with a levitated rock about a foot across. Teekl and Superboy were knocked apart, but Teekl didn’t look any worse for the hit. That wasn’t promising.

Harrier tossed in a few exploding discs that chewed up the ground at Teekl’s feet as Superboy rushed the enhanced familiar. Then there was screaming from behind them, and Harrier caught sight of Klarion attacking Aqualad with lightning streaming from the circle’s center gem.

Billy Batson’s voice cut in over the telepathic link. The adults must have figured something out. “That’s so cool! I mean, it’s the gem! At the center of the pentagram! Destroy it, and we win!”

A crash of lightning and thunder split the air, and the feeling coming from Zatanna’s end of the mindlink… changed.

“Zatanna, no!” Aqualad shouted, and Harrier watched as she transformed, her magician’s outfit changing to a blue and gold suit of armor.

She floated upwards, a glowing golden anhk appearing behind her, the Symbol of Doctor Fate. “Klarion!” Zatanna/Doctor Fate bellowed in an overlapping double voice. “This ends now!”

Harrier heard Miss Martian order Billy back to the adult world, but found himself distracted by Teekl again. The sabertoothed familiar had pounced on Superboy once more, and his teeth were getting dangerously close to his throat…

“Lufecaf fo tsud!” A stinging blast of sand and grit blasted Klarion’s familiar in the face, sinking into the cat’s eyes, nose, and mouth.

Superboy punched Teekl off of him before jumping after him. As he crashed down, Harrier heard him mutter, “Why do I always get the animals…?”

Harrier watched as Klarion and Doctor Fate traded magical blows. It was crazy, magical combat on a level he’d never seen in person. He knew he had a lot to learn, but this…

Miss Martian’s voice shocked him out of his amazement. “Harrier, come cover Robin and Artemis. They’re still out from Klarion’s attack.”

“Affirmative.” Orders. Orders he could do. Even if they were coming from a pretty female Martian and not Batman.

Harrier flew over to their position and touched down, checking their vitals. They seemed stable, but their muscles were still twitching as he touched them. Still, they looked like they were coming around.

He pulled the smelling salts from his utility belt and waved them under Robin and Artemis’s noses. “Come on guys, the battlefield is no place for sleeping.”

A wave of magic floored him, and by the time he could force his eyes open again, Klarion was disappearing through a red rift in space, laughing maniacally.

“Aren’t you going to try to stop him?” Kid Flash demanded, looking up at the floating Doctor Fate.

“To what end? Klarion is chaos personified, he cannot be contained,” Doctor Fate’s reverberating double voice proclaimed.

“What, and that means you don’t even try to stop him?” Harrier shouted. “You just let him go?”

Doctor Fate ignored Harrier’s question and regarded the magician on the ground walking toward him.

“Fate!” Zatara cried. “Great Nabu, release my daughter,” he pleaded.

Doctor Fate paused. “…No. Witness the havoc rise in these hours. The world needs Doctor Fate, and the girl’s affinity for the mystic arts makes her the perfect candidate.”

“You can’t do that!” Artemis shouted.

“She has her own life to live!” Robin yelled.

“Kent would never allow you to-” Kid Flash started to say, but Doctor Fate cut him off.

“Kent Nelson did object, strenuously, so I released his soul into the afterlife. He is gone.”

“Take me instead,” Zatara tried. “My skills are already at their peak, my body is physically stronger, better able to withstand the strain of your power.”

“All true,” Doctor Fate allowed. “But if I remove the helmet, what guarantee have I you will don it?”

“You don’t, and that’s the point!” Harrier spat, pushing forward past the Team.

Doctor Fate pinned him with a glare. “Who are you to speak to me in such a manner?”

“I’m Kent Nelson’s last student, and he told me all about you, Nabu!” Harrier pointed an accusing finger at Doctor Fate. “Your influence on the mortal plane is supposed to be a transitive one, that’s why your anchor is the Helmet of Fate! You need a willing mortal host to manifest, if you wanted a permanent presence on this plane, you should have chosen a different anchor.”

“Harrier, be quiet!” Zatara hissed. “I am willing to do anything to save my daughter.”

“But you shouldn’t have to make this sacrifice, not if Nabu acts the way he should,” Harrier shot back, half at Zatara, half at Doctor Fate.

“For too long, Chaos has been allowed free reign over this plane of existence. Doctor Fate’s place is no longer a temporary one.”

“So that means you get to hold a mortal against their will? You’re going to force Zatara to choose between his life and his daughter? That’s something Klarion would do, and you know it, Nabu.”

“My actions are nothing like his!” Doctor Fate thundered, and the group tensed, wondering if they would have to take action against an ally.

“Then prove it,” Harrier said, leaning forward. “Zatara is willing to be your host. Don’t make him sacrifice his entire life to do it. Give him equal time to live his life.”

“This world has been without the presence of Order for sixty-five years. By your suggestion, I am owed an equivalent amount of time.”

Zatara stepped forward and in front of Harrier, effectively forcing him out of the conversation. “One day, great Nabu. Give me one day each month to spend with my daughter, and I shall work with you willingly the rest of the time.”

Harrier side-stepped around Zatara. “Come on, which do you think would be a better host? A talented magician who works with you willingly, or a reluctant father who only helps you to save his daughter?”

Doctor Fate floated down to stand in front of Zatara. “Swear that you will abide to these terms.”

Zatara nodded. “I evig uoy ym drow.”

Doctor Fate said nothing else as he reached up and removed the Helmet of Fate, the armor fading as Zatanna regained herself.

“Dad!”

“Zatanna!”

The two embraced in a hug, and Harrier backed up, bumping into Batman, knowing he had done all he could.

They stayed that way for a long moment before breaking apart. “Remember, I love you. Things will work out as they should.” Zatara leaned down and kissed Zatanna on the forehead before looking at Batman. “Take care of my girl.”

“You have my word,” Batman promised gravely.

Zatara nodded and stepped back from Zatanna. As he placed the Helmet of Fate on his head, Zatanna broke down in tears, and Robin and Artemis moved to her side.

“He’s not going away forever,” Artemis whispered soothingly.

“We’ll make sure of it,” Robin agreed.

MrRigger

[MrRigger2]

Part Twenty-Four!

Spoiler: show

After an exhausted ride on the Bioship to the closest Zeta Tube, the Bat clan ended up at the Batcave, foregoing any visit to Mount Justice. There would be time for debriefing in the morning. Batman wanted the Team’s report, but he knew he would have better luck letting all of them see their families again beforehand. He would make due with Robin and Harrier’s reports until morning.

“So, your magic school didn’t have any defenses against Klarion’s spell?” Batman asked.

Harrier shrugged and pulled off his cowl. “Maybe, maybe not. I don’t really know what kind of wards or defenses they have, but I know people call it the safest place in Britain, so they’re protected one way or another. But apparently not well enough.”

“Given the effect spread across the entire world, and was powered by five of the most powerful magical villains currently known, it’s hardly surprising,” Batman reasoned. “Go on.”

“With the time difference, I didn’t even know anything had happened until I woke up, and even then it took me a while to realize there was anything wrong. There’re only so many adults at Hogwarts, and early morning isn’t the best time to find them. But once I figured out the scope of the problem, I Portkeyed back here and then hightailed it to the Cave. Then I helped coordinate everything from there until it was time to attack at Roanoke.”

“That’s not all you did,” Robin called from the changing room.

Harry grimaced. “I may have also attempted Zatara’s locator spell in an effort to locate the epicenter of the spell.”

“And?” Batman prompted, knowing there was more to the story.

“It’s possible I may have screwed up the spell, overloaded my brain with information, and passed out in the floor of the Cave.”

“That was reckless.”

“I had the opportunity to try, and we were getting desperate. The other option was the Helmet of Fate, and I wasn’t willing to go that far at that point. Given how Nabu reacted to Zatanna wearing the Helmet, it’s good I didn’t.”

“What were you thinking when you jumped all over him with that, by the way?” Dick asked as he came out in civilian clothes. “I thought for a second you were going to get blasted back to the Stone Age.”

“Nabu shouldn’t have reacted like that in the first place. You heard what I told him, do I really need to rehash it here?”

Batman shook his head. “No, you were clear enough, but I want a summary of everything you know about Nabu and the Helmet of Fate. If he’s going to be a member of the League, I want to know about any traps we should be on watch for.”

Harry nodded. “I’ll need a few days to make sure I don’t forget anything.”

“Very well. While you took unnecessary risks, you had reason to believe they were the best course of action at the time. And I want to commend you. You kept Zatanna from losing her father forever, and that’s something to be proud of. You did a good job out there. Both of you. Though I’ll need to upgrade the Justice League emergency systems if you can hack them so easily, Robin.”

“Thank you,” Harry said sincerely. Then he yawned.

“You’ve had a long day, and you still need to get back to your school. Do what you need to do and head back.”

Harry started heading for the changing room before pausing. “Have you figured out anything about getting a communicator to work at Hogwarts?”

“Not yet. Without access to the site, we can’t replicate the effect, which is making testing difficult, and as we’ve already seen, conventional hardening is ineffective. We’re working on the problem, I’ll let you know when we have something.”

0oOo0

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he crawled into the Hufflepuff Common Room. It had taken all his stealth to sneak through the hallways without alerting the numerous paintings and suits of armor, and there had been a few close calls, but he had made it back without incident.

The fireplace had burned low, and the Common Room was empty. Everyone was most likely asleep, or close to it. It was after midnight on this side of the Atlantic, after all.

He slipped silently into his dorm and none of his roommates stirred. He flopped into bed and was asleep within minutes.

0oOo0

“What happened here Amelia?” Minister Fudge demanded. “People are two steps away from rioting in the streets, and they’re crying for my head! Was this the declaration of some new Dark Lord?”

“I know what they’re crying for, Minister, they’re blaming me just as much as you. And I’m not sure I blame them, my niece disappeared along with every other child, or have you forgotten that parents work in this Ministry as well?”

“Of course I haven’t, Amelia. But this was a major attack against Britain, we can’t afford to have the Head of Magical Law Enforcement distracted!”

Amelia narrowed her eyes. “I’ve been the best DMLE Head in the past century, and you know it, Minister. Don’t accuse me of being distracted, or I may just find something else to occupy my time. Would you like to try finding my replacement in the current political climate?”

“Just tell me what you know,” Fudge spat. He knew he couldn’t afford to lose Amelia Bones at the moment, and worse, she knew he knew as well.

“It came from the Americas, I know that for certain.”

“What? Now we have to deal with the Americans? I didn’t know they were organized enough to wipe their own arse, much less an attack of this scale!”

Amelia shook her head. “No, they’re still spread out to the point of uselessness. But it wasn’t the Americans, it just came from the Americas. And I have a bit more information, but it came from some of my contacts on the Muggle side.”

Fudge sighed. “At this point, I’ll take whatever answers I can get.”

“From what I’ve been able to find, it was a group of five magic using supervillains, stopped by the Justice League.”

“Who on earth are you talking about?”

“The Justice League, I’ve sent briefings out about them. We don’t have much information on them, but in this case, they saved the lives of our children from Dark Magic users we didn’t even know existed.”

“Fine. Just tell me what I need to know.”

“I already have. There’s nothing we can do about it, unless you’re willing to bring Wizarding Britain into the public eye. The criminals responsible have been stopped, and are facing justice. We just need to make sure the public knows this, and knows we aren’t responsible for what happened. We can’t enforce what happens in America, the Americans can barely enforce what happens in America.”

“Alright. Tell me everything we know about the situation, and get some people on finding out exactly what happened over there. Then we can figure out what we’re going to tell the public.

MrRigger

[gman391]

Good show, I actually really like the subversion of
AMERICUH **** YEAH that I usually see in Harry Potter.

[Bezzerker]

I agree with Gman, I really liked the ending piece. It makes the story feel like it's taking place in an actual world, and not some backdrop for the characters to act in front of.

The only question I would have is if Amelia Bones will find out that Harry Portkeyed over to the Americas? Not that I think she would think Harry had anything to do with the situation per se, but Harry might have more information regarding what went on over there.

This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite fanfics I have ever read. Thank you for sharing this masterpiece with us.

[MrRigger2]

Hey, you guys keep reading, I'll keep writing. And feedback helps me write, so if you guys have any comments or suggestions, by all means, leave them here. Given I have a five year gap to fill on the Young Justice side, I've got plenty of room for ideas.

MrRigger

[jgkitarel]

I agree with Gman as well on your subverting the America $%^& YEAH! thing.