Midnight. Romantics call it twilight. Whatever it was, it's always been the perfect time to commit something out of sight. On this specific occasion, crime.
"Give me a hand with this wall, Gaz." A furious whisper called.
"On my way."
"Will you bloody keep it down, you nonce?" Chad hissed. "D'you want the Caterwauling charm to wail us out?"
"Relax." Duncan grinned. "House has been deserted for ages. The whole family's outside holidaying. Easy pickings for the lot."
"You reckon they keep their gold in here?" Gaz asked.
"What?" Chad said in disbelief. "Gold? What are they, goblins?"
"If everyone can keep their traps shut now please." Duncan said before pointing at the wall and muttering under his breath.
"How long is it going ta take?" Gaz whispered not seconds after Duncan started.
"The more you start chatting, the more I regret bringing you along. Now shut up!" Growled Chad.
A square chunk of the wall floated out. Duncan looked delighted as he removed the debris. "There, you see? Now we figure out where the loot's kept, drop it in the bags, leg it outside the gates and Apparate." He snapped his fingers. "Bob's your uncle."
They squeezed through the hole, which only permitted one person at once across. Once inside, Gaz sneezed.
"Bless you." Duncan said absently.
Chad's eyes frantically searched for whether an alarm was set off. When it didn't he looked furious. "Gaz you blithering idiot!"
"Don't worry too much Chad." Duncan smirked. "The alarm's for the gardens, not inside the house." He paused. "Too dark in here. Lumos." Bright light shone through his wand. He stopped Gaz before he could light his wand. "Best if we keep the show dimmed a little, mate."
"Alohomora." Gaz said pointing at the wooden door, to a derisive snort from Chad.
"There's no way that'll work-" he said, then was promptly surprised when the door creaked open.
"Blimey, that was quick." Duncan chortled. "It's always the simple things that matter Chad." They marched out into the house.
It was dark, gloomy and foreboding. Chad was not comfortable about this place. Duncan noticed it and ribbed him.
"Scared, Fenwick?"
"You wish, Fletcher." He shot back, but his nerves betrayed his words. Something was off about this house. It felt like they were heading up to something, but what it was he was not sure.
"I just saw something move." Gaz said suddenly. Chad froze.
"Probably a rat or something." Duncan dismissed. They were searching for the stairs. "You're buying into this story as well Gaz?"
"I swear I just saw something." Gaz grumbled. They found out that it split into 3 levels.
"That's a lot of floors to look at." Gaz murmured.
"Right then," Duncan rubbed his hands. "We'll split up and search for stuff. I'll take top floor, Gaz can meander in the middle and Chad you keep looking around here. Holler if you find something bangin'." They both ambled up to the upper floors, leaving Chad to search by himself.
He wasn't being stupid. He knew that. Duncan was a ponce who thinks coming up with the plan makes him right everytime. Well, he's not!
The cupboard behind him thudded. He whipped around and poured light ahead of him.
Nothing. Just a dusty cupboard. That sent his heart racing. An empty cupboard wouldn't make that noise. This house was bloody cursed.
Finding nothing of value in his search, a disgusted Chad went back to the bottom of the staircase and waited for the other two to show up.
"Gaz!" Duncan yelled not caring about keeping his voice down. "Anything good?"
"Yeah," Gaz's voice rang out, "I've found-" Then there was a bang, and silence.
"Gaz?" Chad's heart pumped faster as he sprinted upstairs and he could hear footsteps ahead of him. He whipped his wand ahead of him, curses ready on his lips.
Wand light shone on him. "Oh, it's you." Duncan said disgusted. "Where's Gaz?"
Chad paused for a moment, thinking. "He sounded like he was over there." Duncan looked grim.
"Idiot probably tripped himself." He muttered, but even Chad knew that wasn't true. They walked softly, swiveling around to cover all angles.
Chad's back shivered when he heard a groan. "It's bloody Gaz!"
It felt like he was there with them, but out of sight and out of mind.
"Chad," Duncan's voice shook. "I found him."
Chad rushed to where Duncan was, only to realise in horror that Gaz was hung from the chandelier.
"How the eff did he land there?"
"There's someone here!" Chad shouted. "How else is he gonna get there?"
Duncan's face twisted. "It's a ghoul." He said, eyebrows raised in anger. "I know just the spell."
Chad gulped nervously. "We should stick together. If any one of us see it, it's getting dead. Permanently."
A shadow flitted past and Chad had no hesitation in shooting a spell and watching the wall catch on fire.
"Back to back." Duncan ordered. "It doesn't stand a chance."
Something flashed, and Chad could not hear anything. All he could see was grey. He choked on fumes before wildly flinging hexes.
"Duncan!" He cried but he could not even hear his own screams for help. And that's when he saw it.
It was a creature, hellish and silent. It just stood there, waiting. Watching. With its eyes. Eyes that burned.
He fired another Incendio, and another one. On and on he went, not caring that the house might burn down, not caring that he might die but he never stopped until he ran out of breath.
The flames obscured his vision, but they flickered to and fro. And it was still there.
Without a word, it crossed the fires, hot flames licking it completely, unnerving. Chad would believe it was the Devil himself and he was burning too.
A blink and he was up against the wall, neck slowly being strangled. He could barely say anything, do anything. Anything but this. He could feel its long ears cast a shadow over him. Oblivion beckoned.
"Please." He whispered, shrinking at those eyes burning into him.
And then he knew nothing.
X
Notes:
A superhero among wizards. Completely ridiculous, yes. But that's not why I go through this. Yes, I'm indicting myself. It doesn't matter who I am. It shouldn't when blood purity counts so goddamn much in this world and I'm a social pariah in the establishment's eyes.
I will begin by saying this-I fundamentally believe the Ministry does the right thing. Not always, that is true, but they cannot police everybody. Emphasis on everybody.
The policing structure includes law enforcement with DMLE and Aurors, legislation with the Wizengamot and the research nook, generally hushed Department of Mysteries. Notice how only one of these bodies is an enforcer? No military, no hit squad?
Bottom line: Aurors are already pressured with cases that present themselves in the UK. They operate only when it concerns magical crime, and only if the perpetrators are known associates of the toppled Death Eaters. Mostly.
Criminals are not daft. They know this and they go through a wide market that's already available-the bridge between Muggles and magical beings. They rub coins and are able to con the majority of the population. But what some of them do is far more dangerous. I only have the bare details regarding this and investigation is pending. For now.
Updates on practical work-Progress in the field is halting. The armour fits well and does not pinch skin or limbs. Vision is not impaired, although I've noticed that at work it tends to malfunction and phase between filters. Adjustments pending as and when I get parts necessary.
For the most part, this entry is for my eyes only. I would be mad to justify myself to an imaginary reader but I suppose there is a certain amount of hypocrisy in this. By breaking the law as a vigilante I aim to help them. Understand that my undertaking is not for the greater good of society. I have no noble intentions of bettering society when it wedges itself into a corner and refuses to see solutions. I simply stand guard and watch.
As for the costume-there is an already existing wealth of comic book knowledge, ones that I've read since childhood. It was ridiculously easy to imagine how I could be one of these superheroes. I cannot lift boulders but I can be the one mortal being that frightens fantasy villains: The Batman.
Money becomes an obvious hindrance. I cannot frolick at night wishing to nab thieves without funds to acquire the tools required. I will work towards that. I do have magic.
A wand is a focus point, but it makes for an easy target. Disarm and wizards and witches can only defend without their wands, never attack. Sure they can Apparate or use wandless magic, but the number of wizards who could use it effectively in a combat situation? Hardly anyone left. Perhaps Dumbledore could have done it wandless, who knows. That is their weakness, but not their only one.
That is what I am. Not what I will be, or what I had been. I see no point in pretending to be a superhero or imagine the good that will come out of it. Do the job and the result will follow. And I intend to have my dinner before getting to the bottom of what the hell the criminal underground is planning.
X
CRACK!
He stumbled but caught himself before any embarrassment. Wouldn't be wise for a "celebrity" to make an arse of himself, he thought dryly.
"Morning gentlemen." He said to the group of wizards sorting the rubble who all stiffened and greeted him. "How far does the damage go?"
"Most of the lower floors sir," one piped up. "The ones above just got a lotta soot on them."
"So by your estimates this would have taken place a day ago?"
"That's right sir." The oldest looking one spoke.
"Was the family notified?"
"Dunno gaffer," the one caked in dirt responded. "Why, there's someone coming right now."
"Sir?" Said a nervous voice, and Harry turned around to see a trainee.
Harry pinched his nose. Of course Thomas would bring an inexperienced rookie to the field. Another one of his rituals to prepare the "kids" for a tough life.
"Yes, Rachel?"
"Auror Grant has just finished her analysis of the scene."
"Lead the way." Harry extended his arm in a gesture of guidance and Rachel obliged. They walked past the rubble and the charred remains of the house.
The inside smelled terrible. It was smoked in, almost collapsed and held precariously by the support beams. Harry found Grant waiting for him.
"Head Auror." She greeted. "I've just finished my report."
"I heard." Harry said tersely. "Three juveniles, oldest named Duncan and youngest named Gaz. Are they related?"
"No sir." Grant shook her head. "They're friends, just graduated from Hogwarts.
Merlin. Harry ran a hand through his hair. They were kids. Barely graduated and they wanted to steal. "What did you pick up?"
"Well we examined the wands of our knocked out assailants and they did not cause the fire because they felt like it." Grant explained. "We found lots of curses on Duncan Fletcher's wand, and the Incendios came 8 times from Chad Fenwick's wand."
"An argument between them is unlikely." Harry mused. "Was there another one?"
"Looks likely sir but we only tracked 3 sets of footprints, not 4." Grant said. "We checked to see if someone tried to cover their steps but spell checks revealed nothing."
"They did find something." A voice rang out. "But Grant likes to be theatrical, doesn't she?"
"No sir," Grant hastily said.
"Relax," Dean Thomas said, a drink in hand. "Not alcohol," to Harry's raised eyebrows. "Head Auror Potter."
"Dean if you're calling me that one more time, I'm assigning you to battle man eating toilets."
"I thought those went out of style 20 years ago."
"Thought it would work a trick," Harry chuckled. "How do you even have an appetite at an investigation?"
Dean shrugged. "It was just a house burnt down, not a person."
Rachel turned slightly green. "Chin up recruit," Dean barked suddenly. "There's much worse things and being in the department is not for the faint of heart! Now I want a report on whatever you just heard in my office, got that?"
Rachel nodded.
"Run along now. You have an hour." She left the scene looking utterly bemused.
"How's the impression?" Dean asked Harry.
"You're just missing a magical eye." Harry replied, beckoning to Grant to walk beside them. "Back to the subject, what did you find?"
"I didn't really believe what I saw." Dean started. "But we found a potion expeller of some kind. That's not even the strangest part." He pointed to the gleaming component on the floor. See for yourself."
Looking at Dean, Harry sceptically bent to pick up the object. He turned it around in his gloved hand, feeling for some sort of print. And he found one covered in dust. He wiped it off only to find-
"A bat."
"You're not shocked." Dean noted. "I really was."
"I'm more confused." Harry admitted. "I don't know why but it seems familiar..."
Dean laughed. "Of course it's familiar. It's a comic book character, a superhero."
Harry frowned. "So we have a delusional assailant who thinks he's above society and the law. Sounds like he's going to keep doing this." He turned to Dean. "You sound too enthusiastic about this."
Dean shrugged. "Can you blame me? There's finally excitement in an investigation. We have a superhero."
"Would you like an autograph?" Harry said gruffly. "He's still on the loose and has assault and arson charges." His eyes found Grant. "What about the three?"
"We have visual confirmation from Chad. He says," Grant looked sheepish for phrasing this. "He says that he saw the Devil."
Harry sighed. "God's sake, let's just get this over with."
They met a nervous wreck of a man. Hardly a man, with that youthful face. He had a blanket on him, trying to make himself look pitiful, but Harry had experience in dealing with this. He put his best face on and asked.
"You are Chad Fenwick, correct?"
A mute nod. He was avoiding Harry's eyes. That won't do.
Dean felt the same. "Look at him when he's speaking to you!" He shouted.
Chad looked startled but did not say anything. But he was rattled. That was all he needed. Harry leaned in.
"You'd be doing yourself a favour the sooner you say something." He murmured quietly. "Azkaban isn't what it used to be, but I don't want a kid like you ending up there."
"I saw what I saw." Chad said softly. "Fire did nothing to it, and its eyes were-" He paused. "It didn't say a thing."
"But it didn't kill you." Harry said. "It didn't kill any of you."
"Batman doesn't kill." Dean said helpfully at this point.
Harry narrowed his eyes at Dean. "I knew that." He motioned to another Auror on the scene. "Get him to one of the rooms. You know which one that is."
A nod was all he needed. Work was mostly done, and his mind was still fixated on the mystery assailant.
"Grant," he turned to his assistant, "see if you can pull up any incidents where this Bat could have been involved." He smiled. "Have a bit of lunch before work, keeps the mind focused." And Grant disappeared too.
"So Harry," Dean walked up smiling. "I never see you inviting me over to your place."
Harry buried a laugh. "That did not sound right Dean."
"I meant," Dean said spluttering. "The missus has been on my case about meeting Ginny." He looked nervous all of a sudden. "Probably shouldn't bring up the fact that we dated right?"
Harry narrowed his eyes. "Do you feel lucky about that?"
"Nah mate," Dean walked to the Apparation point. "I'm taking the safe route in this one." He waved before spinning and twisting into thin air with a bang.
Harry was left alone. He turned over the symbol in his palm. For a moment he just stared, mind flying to a dozen thoughts. But they ultimately settled on one thing.
"Why bats?"
So...that's a one shot about wizard Batman and "Commissioner" Potter. That happened. Hint: The word count is significant, but why?