Um…hi, everyone. I'm sorry for disappearing off the planet like that, but I'm back! I apologize for deleting a few of my stories, but I had absolutely no inspiration at all to continue them, and I'd like to focus on this story right now.
Disclaimer: If you think I own Teen Titans or Harry Potter, then you are on something. And I want some. Sharing is caring, after all.
Raven couldn't sleep.
This in itself wasn't unusual. Many times, Raven had stayed up to ungodly hours of the night, kept awake by her tea and chronic insomnia.
Her tea couldn't be blamed for her sleeplessness tonight, though. Raven, endowed with the gift of foresight, could feel it—the strained tension in the air, the overwhelming pressure, the crackles of electricity jumping down her spine…
Something—or, perhaps, someone is coming, Raven thought to herself. She went to sit on the couch in the living room, staring out the window at the bay pensively.
And then the doorbell rang.
We have a doorbell? Raven thought to herself sarcastically. Usually, people never bothered with the doorbell. The other Honorary Titans usually invited themselves in, and villains never even bothered to knock—unless, of course, with explosives. Hell, even fans didn't bother with the doorbell, like that one time the obsessive fangirl had somehow bypassed Cyborg's security system and stolen a pair of Robin's boxers…Starfire hadn't been very pleased about that, as the fangirl soon found out.
The doorbell's chiming rang out loudly, echoing in the front hall. Raven lifted herself up from the couch, gliding to the tower entrance. Her hand hovered above the button that opened the door, then pressed it down indecisively.
Surprisingly, the person on the other side seemed normal, as far as human appearances went. It was an old, prim-looking woman, at least in her seventies, dressed in a pitch-black cloak. The edges seemed frayed and worn, and the woman looked haggard and overworked. The wrinkles on her face were accented by the dark shadows and bags under her eyes. Her hair, pulled back in a tight bun, was gray.
"Yes?" Raven asked monotonously, as if people coming to the tower at two in the morning were perfectly normal. The sorceress was cautious however, because, as every superhero knew, appearances could be very deceiving.
"I've come for…help," the woman said hesitantly. Her voice was weary, carrying the tone of someone who had gone through one too many calamities. However, with the way she carried herself, and the expression in her voice, Raven felt she, at one time, had been sharp, strict, prim…like an old-fashioned schoolmistress, perhaps.
"You've come to the right place, then," Raven answered coolly as she opened the door another inch, although making no move to invite her inside. The strange woman stepped forward, her foot quivering on the threshold of the entryway.
"May I come in?" she finally asked after a long pause.
"You haven't introduced yourself yet," Raven responded. As if years of fighting crime hadn't taught her not to invite random strangers into the tower…
"Minerva McGonagall."
Raven was silent and didn't answer, opting to allow the door to slide open fully instead. She stepped back, allowing McGonagall into the tower.
"Thank you," she said, nodding towards the girl. Raven led her into the tower, taking her straight to the living room.
There she found Robin sitting at the counter, picking apart an Oreo cookie.
"Robin, you're up," Raven said, surprised. Then, "You…you wear yellow ducky pajamas?"
Robin choked on an Oreo. "It—Starfire bought them for me, okay? And…well, they're really soft and comfortable…" He glanced around the room, clearly embarrassed, before his eyes landed on the person standing on Raven's right.
"I thought I heard you open the door," he said. "Care for an introduction?"
"This is Minerva McGonagall," said Raven. She paused, clearly meaning for McGonagall to finish.
"This…may come a bit unexpected," the woman said, glancing from the two Titans. "But it's a desperate situation, and we're on the end of the line here, trying to decide what to do." Now that she had spoken more than a few words, Raven realized that she had a British accent. Maybe this woman was from England, but why would someone from so far away travel here?
"Before I keep going, I need to ask something of you," she said. "I request that you please mention what I say here to none but the most trusted of people."
Raven frowned, and Robin stood up. "I'll get the rest of the team," he said, gliding out the door.
"I apologize if I said anything wrong," McGonagall said stiffly.
"No," Raven answered. "You said not to mention anything you will say here except to the most trusted of people. The Titans are a team—a family first and foremost. Whatever you say will be heard by all of us, and decided and acted upon by us as one." She seated herself on a stool by the counter after her short speech, motioning for Minerva McGonagall to sit down as well.
Soon, Robin strode back in, the rest of the team trailing sleepily behind him. Starfire, floating in the air and gazing at the scene curiously, landed and leaned on the counter. Beast Boy clambered onto a stool and slumped down, staring blearily at McGonagall. Robin sat on the newcomer's right, as Cyborg planted himself across from her.
McGonagall looked up, straight into every person's eyes. "Do you believe in magic?" she asked suddenly, pursing her lips.
There was an uncertain silence.
"What is this, a Disney movie?" Beast Boy finally blurted out, disbelief coloring his tone. Raven scowled, flicking the back of his head.
"Humor me," McGonagall said. She reached inside her cloak and drew out what seemed to be a long, thin stick. She twirled it around experimentally a few times, then aimed it at Beast Boy.
"Silencio."
Beast Boy opened his mouth to yelp…but no sound came out. His eyes widened as he waved his arms around frantically, pointing at his mouth in panic.
The corners of Robin's mouth twitched, but he managed to stop laughing. Then he fully realized what had just happened and stared at McGonagall. "You…how did you do that?" he asked, clutching the edges of the counter. Behind him, Starfire laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Magic," McGonagall said simply. "Do you believe me now?" she asked Beast Boy. He nodded frantically—but silently—and pointed at his mouth again. McGonagall understood his motions and lifted the spell.
"Don't do that again," Beast Boy pleaded, pulling at his mouth worriedly. Minerva allowed herself a small smirk.
"Are you…a meta-human?" Robin questioned uncertainly.
"No," McGonagall said crisply. "At least…not the sort of 'meta-human' you've ever met.
"You see, I am a witch."
Another shocked pause followed this statement, somewhat ruined when Starfire sneezed.
"Sorry," she sniffled apologetically, reaching under the counter for a box of tissues.
"Explain," Raven demanded, trying not to seem too eager. She had had bad experiences with the word 'witch'…but for someone to call themselves that so candidly? Unconsciously, she leaned closer, intrigued.
"What…I'm about to tell you might come as a shock," McGonagall said slowly.
"Try us."
"There are more people like me," the elderly witch admitted. "Thousands, all over the world." She waited for a reaction, but received none. "Seventeen years ago, a powerful Dark wizard was at the height of his power. He tried to kill a young boy and failed, losing his power in the process…we all thought he was dead, until the last few years.
"He's back. And now our world is at the brink of war, and—"Robin interrupted this. "A war? Ms. McGonagall, I—if a war is what you need our assistance on, then I'm afraid we can only help you so much there. We can fight, but a war…I'm afraid even that is out of our hands."
Minerva McGonagall looked at Robin sharply, confused, then realized what he meant. "Oh, I'm not asking you to participate in a war, boy. Fortunately, it hasn't come to that yet, although we are approaching rather frighteningly close…" Her eyes glazed over, as if reliving memories. She snapped out of it, resuming in a new, brisk tone, "No, I've come for help because I require…guards, if you will. I am the headmistress of a wizarding school, Hogwarts, after the…death of the previous headmaster. I'm afraid my powers never could measure up to Albus's, and I'm not sure that the Ministry can afford extra people, as harried as they are now."
She reached into her cloak, pulling out a photograph, and slid it into the middle of the counter. The Titans leaned in for a closer look.
"Cool…" Beast Boy breathed, his eyes the size of saucers, as the picture moved in its frame. The photo was one of a teenage boy, glasses framing his green eyes. His hair stood in practically every direction, as if he had played with an electrical socket when he was a child and only bothered to smooth a couple parts of his hair out.
"This is Harry Potter," McGonagall explained. "He was the one who vanquished the Dark Lord seventeen years ago. He's been a magnet for trouble ever since he's arrived at this school, and when—if you choose to accept this assignment, I would like you to keep an extra eye out for him."
"This school…where is it?"
"England," the witch answered promptly.
"And how long would this guard thing last?" Robin asked.
"About nine months, the average school year."
Robin's face clouded. "I don't think we can afford to leave Jump City that long…" he said hesitantly.
"We can always get the Titans East to fill in for us," Cyborg interrupted suddenly. "Bumblebee told me their crime rates have been dropping lately. Besides, nothing too eventful happened when we were hunting the Brotherhood of Evil."
Robin mulled over it for a second, before leaning back. "I accept, then," he finally answered. McGonagall looked triumphant.
"Very good, you cannot believe how grateful I am to hear that," she said, relieved. "Now, I think it would be best if you went undercover as students. It wouldn't be preferable for you to attract attention, plus, the other students would not take you seriously because of…your age." McGonagall paused, looking at each of them carefully. "I have to say, even I believed you five were young for this…"
"Can anyone do this magic of yours?" Starfire asked. Through the whole conversation she had remained silent, taking everything in.
McGonagall suddenly looked perplexed. "I…I haven't given that much thought…" she finally confessed. "That was…rash of me. I had expected that with your abilities, you would have magic that was just shown in a different way. Here—" She placed her wand in Starfire's hand. "Take it and wave it around a bit to see what happens."
Looking dubious, but too polite to refuse, Starfire took the wooden wand, raised it above her head, and swished it down. Nothing happened.
"Oh…" she said, disappointed. McGonagall seemed troubled by this. "I should've been able to foresee this…" she muttered. She saw Raven out of the corner of her eye and handed her the wand. "Here, perhaps you should try, just in case."
Raven took the wand, marveling at the cool, smooth touch. Her eyes traveled down its length, then raised it up, swishing it around a bit idly. Was it just her, or did the wand suddenly feel warm to her touch? She lifted her arm, then in one quick motion, quickly swept the wand down in a long stroke.
Something large and black erupted out of the end—a dark raven, rising up majestically, letting out one long shriek before dispersing in the air. Everyone stared at it, shocked.
"You have magic," McGonagall marveled. Raven shrugged, returning the wand. McGonagall handed it to each of the other Titans, hoping for a similar reaction. As expected, the wand did not respond to them.
"This isn't good," she said grimly. "Out of all five of you, only one has the skills to blend in with the students." She sighed, rubbing her temples. "I don't know—"
"I know what we can do," Raven interrupted. "I have an idea. It should work…theoretically." She turned towards her team. "Do you remember when…Trigon…came?" she asked, letting no hint of uncertainty enter her voice. Each of them nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "I embedded a bit of myself, a bit of my magic, in each one of you. I think that if I did something similar to that now, you could all have magic, at least temporarily." Raven eyed them carefully, then turned to McGonagall. "It won't hurt to try, right?"
Robin nodded curtly, giving his permission.
Raven took a deep breath, focusing on her power. Her brows furrowed as she felt for the magic inside of her, concentrating it into a little ball inside of her.
"Azareth…Metrion…" she breathed slowly, drawing her energy out. A small, compacted ball of shimmering black light formed between her hands. Raven bit her lip, keeping a tight hold on the orb of dark magic.
"Zinthos." She quickly divided the sphere into four parts and shot them out into each of her teammates. Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy each took a step back as the four small jet of light shot towards them, rocketing into their chest. Black sparks played across their body, then disappeared as the magic was absorbed.
"Now give it a try," Raven said, panting slightly with exhaustion. "May I…?" She reached out for McGonagall's wand and handed it to Beast Boy.
He frowned. "Raven, did you divide up all your magic and give it to us?" he asked.
Raven smiled wryly. "Don't worry. I saved half of my energy for myself, then split the other half into fourths. I should be okay, provided I can reabsorb the energy back in nine months."
He nodded, then took the wand. "Here goes…" Feeling like a fairy, he brandished the wand a few times like a sword.
To everyone's surprise, the wand practically spat out a flurry of bright orange sparks. One actually landed on the hem of Starfire's skirt, setting it on fire. With a startled shriek, she quickly put it out. Robin glared at Beast Boy, who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"I guess that works, then…" Beast Boy said nervously, practically shoving the thin wooden stick into Cyborg's hands. The others tried the wand, all finding that it worked. Nothing else caught on fire, although Cyborg did blow one of the cabinet doors off its hinges.
"Very good," McGonagall said, smiling thinly. "If it is all right with you, I will come by tomorrow morning at ten o'clock to take you to Diagon Alley, where you will get your supplies for Hogwarts. Term starts in three weeks. I hope that will be sufficient time to sort out everything."
And with that, she swept out, leaving behind a very contemplative group of Titans. This was amazing…Imagine, finding out about a new world of magic, completely hidden for years, on the brink of war. It was absolutely thrilling, a new experience, and—
Beast Boy suddenly stiffened. "Wait a minute, we're going to have to go to school?"
Reviews are greatly appreciated. :-) Please tell me if I'm doing anything wrong, or anything you liked!
