Warlock Begins

Chapter 1: Where the Ivy Blooms

A Harry Potter/DC Universe Crossover

By: Legato Deathscythe

Disclaimer: Don't own anything else but the idea. I know a lot of folk have tried it but fact is they don't take into account several things. Dick Grayson is older the Harry. Barbara Gordon is Older then Harry. Jason Todd was Robin from 1983 to 1988 when he was killed off by the Joker. The Harry Potter Series takes place Starting Oct 31, 1981 and picks back up in 1991. It is my intent to try this story and keep it in line with both series timelines. Enjoy.

The cold and rain soaked through the small boy. It was a sad commentary for the short life of Harry Potter that this was not as bad as things could be. In five years of life the child had known nothing but hardship and pain. The only reason he even knew his own name was because of having to start school. The rest of the time he was called boy or freak. He had never known a moment of care or concern from the people who were supposed to be responsible for his welfare.

His Uncle Vernon had been sent to Gotham City to secure a major account with Wayne Enterprises. While Vernon Dursley left much to be desired when it came to caring for anyone but himself and his wife and son, he was quite simply brilliant at his job. He hated anything however that didn't fit into his narrow view of the world. He was not a compassionate man, nor a charitable one.

When he had been told about this business trip to the states however, he saw an opportunity. Gotham City, in spite being home to one of the worlds largest International Mega-corporations was also full of freaks, drunks, drains on society, and everything else Vernon hated. It was also easy for one to lose something unwanted and uncared for. It was for this reason he had taken Harry with him to Gotham City. He didn't bother to tell Petunia what he was planning, and had made sure she and Dudley were with his sister Marge visiting.

Let it never be said that Vernon was a dumb man. He knew all about plausible dependability, and figured if his plan turned bad on him his wife and son would be protected from his actions. Still, this was their best shot to be rid of the freakish boy. After tonight he would never have to deal with those freaks again. So what if it was raining. Best to do this quick and fast. So he drove the rental car to the entrance of Robinson Park, and shoved Harry out at the gate. Without a parting word, Vernon drove off.

This is how Harry came to be soaked and shivering as he walked deeper into the darkness of a park that had been practically abandoned by the citizens of Gotham. No one set foot in this park after dark for some very good reasons. Reasons the little five year old had no way of knowing. As he walked further in it was almost as if the very trees welcomed him in their presence. A canopy of branches and leaves seemed to form above him.

As Harry Potter took his small steps along a path laid out by the earth herself, he could not imagine the life and events he would find himself living through.

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It was almost a week later when Vernon returned from Gotham that the monitors in Albus Dumbledore's office started screaming at the old wizard. The blood wards he had erected there for Harry's protection were irrevocably failing. He immediately left his office, grabbed Severus Snape on his way out, and left Professor McGonagal in charge. What they found when they arrived almost stopped Albus' heart. Number 4 Privet Drive was in flames, the fire completely gutting the house as the firefighters were trying to ensure it didn't spread to the other houses. Albus let out a breathe when he saw the Dursley's standing in front of what used to be their home safe and sound. His relief was short lived however when he noticed Harry was no where to be seen.

"Severus, see if you can't find any information out from the muggles trying to stop the blaze. I'll speak with Petunia and try to find out where Harry is," Albus said. Snape nodded and went on his way to gather information.

Albus made sure to cast some privacy charms around himself and the Dursley's. No one noticed the old man or the anger Vernon displayed, "This is your fault! You and all the rest of you freaks! Can't abide normal folk so you just go and randomly destroy my home!"

Albus simply looked at Vernon, "Magic was not involved here, I would have felt it had there been any used aside from the protections I personally put in place. Now where is Harry Potter?"

"That ungrateful boy is gone! And I am glad he's gone!" Vernon spat at the old wizard. Petunia simply looked on in distaste, tears falling as she watched the home she put her soul into burn.

Albus knew that the word gone could have had multiple meanings. Considering the situation he had no problems using a passive Legellimency scan on Vernon. What he saw disgusted him.

"You abandoned him in a foreign country with no means or hope of ever surviving, to say nothing for getting home!" Albus accused.

"So what if I did. We never wanted him or your worthless kind anywhere near us. The whole lot of you should be wiped out, none of you deserve to live off normal peoples hard work! If he was so important to you, you should have paid for him to stay here!"

"I sent you a monthly stipend to cover his expenses."

The images Albus saw when Vernon thoughts were brought around to Harry's care disgusted him. Every cent that had been sent to help pay for Harry's needs had been stolen and used for only Vernon and Petunia Dursley's desires.

"Doesn't matter now does it. You want him, you can go find him yourself! And don't bother trying to bring him back to us. He is not welcome in our family!" Petunia said, her voice full of hate.

Albus was disgusted, the thoughts of what had become of Harry Potter cutting much too close to home. He couldn't help but remember how Tom Riddle had started out, or what had happened to his own sister Ariana. He turned, noticing Severus approaching him.

The dark man came up to Albus side and said, "The firefighters belief that the cause was electrical. They aren't certain though and have had the gas company shut down the lines to the entire neighborhood as a precaution. I detected no spells or dark magic anywhere within the area."

Albus nodded, "Vernon abandoned the boy in the United States. There's nothing more we can do here. We'll leave them to their fate, whatever that maybe."

With a nod from the younger man the two retreated to a safe distance before apparating away.

–

"I TOLD YOU THEY WERE THE WORST KIND OF MUGGLES!"

Severus was a Slytherin for a reason. Not because he was a dark wizard, not because he was as ambitious as someone like Lucius Malfoy, nor because he was as cunning as the Dark Lord himself. No, he was a Slytherin because he was a survivor. Because he understood when he should make his presence known, and when he should throw someone else into the line of fire. In this case, all he had to do was to stand off to the side and let Minerva do the work. The fact that he completely agreed with her, and felt the old man had brought this on himself helped.

"I understand your upset Minerva. I also have many reservations over what has occurred to Harry. I thought I had covered every possibility, but obviously I hadn't."

"I've noticed that you seem to have at least this much in common at times with the Dark Lord, Headmaster. As you so like to put it he is incapable of even conceiving the power of emotions such as love. You seem incapable of understanding or even conceiving the power of emotions such as hate, especially towards your own," Severus added. He was intimately familiar with how someone could actually hate their own children.

Albus shrank a little at the comparison but could not refute it.

Harry had kept walking through the park until he came across an old abandoned green house. The plants and trees all beckoned him towards the structure. When he stepped inside he was thankful for it. The inside of the greenhouse, though moist, was much warmer then he had any reason to expect. He walked through, the vines pushing him along towards a desk deep within. Harry took a look at all the plants, and for a moment could swear they were trying to tell him something.

"Do you need me to help you?" Harry asked. To his shock, every plant in the greenhouse seemed to shudder in understanding. Harry smiled, he was always good at gardening. So he started working on the plants. Ensuring they were fed, watered, and pruned as needed. He was amazed to see the giant Venus fly-trap in the back, and found some notes that mentioned it needed ground meat for food. Harry did as he could and used the supplies around the greenhouse for weeks. He even found some cash stored in a box and went and bought food for himself and the rest of the plants. It was during this time that he came to an understanding.

The plants would offer him fruits and vegetables as he worked with them. They would offer him books to read and learn from, and helped him stay warm and sleep at night. All in return for his work caring for them. Harry understood one thing from all this. That everything around him was precious, that the lives of these plants were depending on him as he did on them. Harry and the plants settled into what could only be called a symbiotic relationship.

When Harry caught the flu, the plants took a syringe they knew their former mistress had used on others to help them and injected Harry with it. Not only did Harry recover much quicker then he would have normally, he now seemed to be much stronger then a child of his size had any right to be. He simply wrote it off to all the work he did and the food the plants offered him. Harry took to talking to the plants. They seemed to understand him, and would communicate to him in their own way.

Things went on like this for months, and there was no real problem with how things were. Though Harry never noticed, the plants he cared for had started acting as they had for their former mistress. He was kind of worried after that shot they gave him when his skin turned green, but he was also able to understand his first friends much more clearly now. He didn't notice however that when the money box would start to get low, or when his clothes needed washing that the plants had started going out to get things.

And they did so as they had always been told to by their former mistress. They broke into stores, stole what they needed, and left. The plants would take the money from the safes and registers as well as clothing in the right sizes for their little gardener. They also had broken in to a few schools, stealing text books and other materials. This of course did not go unnoticed by the authorities. The modus operendi of course was not lost on one person most of all.

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