Chapter 1

The man strode forward, his footsteps silent upon the pavement under his feet. His movements were graceful and elegant, those of a dancer – or a fighter. If any of the residents of Privet Drive had happened to still be awake at this hour of the night and had decided to look out the window, they probably would have thought him strange for a variety of reasons.

Perhaps it might have been the fact that he appeared to be foreign in a neighbourhood that was undeniably British. Maybe if they had been more perceptive it might have been the way he walked, appearing relaxed, yet with every muscle was coiled as though he was prepared to go into combat at any time. It could have been the way his green eyes glowed slightly, the only sign of the unnatural power that dwelled within him.

In all likelihood, the first thing to make them mark him as odd and maybe cause them to call the police would be the scimitar sheathed upon his left hip, an ornate golden hilt peaking from the top of a black scabbard.

But no, the man knew that none were awake, else he would be concealed in the shadows with the rest of the people that were with him. A rustle too loud to be any animal that lived in a suburban environment sounded from a bush a few metres away, and he silently noted to ensure that the source of the noise was punished later. The League of Shadows would not tolerate such clumsiness under his rule, but much more important matters were currently at hand and he couldn't afford to be distracted for even a moment.

He had dealt with wizardkind in the past and was aware that being caught off-guard could result in the fall of even the greatest man. That was why he himself was the one walking out in the open, drawing in any ambush. Being caught off-guard was not something he had done since his infancy.

The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood as a slight tingle ran over his skin. Whilst he himself was not magic, an excess of seven centuries walking this Earth and the repeated touch of the Lazarus Pit had left him able to detect certain supernatural forces – in this case, wards.

This situation was quite urgent, though he was not one to act rashly. Over the past few days, he had ordered the League to merely observe the area. From what they had seen, these wards were most likely only able to act against wizards. Even those who had bore ill-intentions against their target had remained unharmed. It was because of this that he continued walking, stepping across the protections without even the slightest hesitance.

As predicted, he remained intact. Face blank as ever, he turned and began down the path of a house. It was almost indistinguishable to the others of Privet Drive, with its perfectly-manicured garden and identical architecture, though he knew it was where his target resided. He did not make mistakes.

An alarm sat high upon the wall, but it would not stand a chance against someone of his skills. Even if it did manage to detect him – a nigh-on impossible task, but the League covered every possibility – it had long since been seen to that the alert wouldn't reach the police.

He dropped to one knee, slightly dirtying his otherwise impeccable armour. Lockpicking tools were suddenly in his hand, seemingly taken from mid-air. The doors locks were taken care of with great ease, and there did not appear to be any traps. He entered silently, listening for anything within the house.

The only sound proved to be the ticking of a clock, and he moved onwards.

His search of the ground floor proved fruitless, and he made his way towards the stairs. Suddenly, he paused. The cupboard under the stairs was locked from the outside. The League's observations had shown that the target's guardians didn't care for him, but this? His green eyes narrowed, and he moved forward, silently unlatching the door and pulling it open.

Curled up inside, laying upon a small and stained mattress, was the target. A cold rage settled upon his mind for what must have been the first time in decades. He had seen worse than this done a thousand times before. He had done worse than this a thousand times before, but this was different. The boy was a mere child now, but his destiny was great.

The man had learnt of many prophecies spoken about the boy, each telling of different futures. What was certain was that the child would slay dark lords, and could purge the wizarding world of evil. But the man knew that he had the potential to do so much more. He could cure not only the world of magic, but the whole world. If the man had his way, Harry Potter would be his successor. He would be the next Head of the Demon, and the League of Shadows would prosper and grow under his rule.

With gentleness one would not associate with the leader of the League of Shadows, the man lifted the boy in his arms, prompting him to stir.

"Hello, child," he murmured. "I am Ra's al Ghul."

To his great confusion, Harry awoke to find himself being carried – something he had no living memory of ever happening to him. That puzzlement was not lessened any as he came to realise he was not in the arms of Petunia or Vernon, but rather a man that he didn't recognize. His first thought was that this man might be his father, coming to rescue him. This was provoked by the man's black hair, green eyes and the fact he appeared to be in his early forties, easily old enough to have a child.

There was also the fact that the man appeared to be foreign, his features slightly reminding Harry of one of those "bloody Arabs" that Vernon was always ranting about. Perhaps that was why they said his parent were freaks? Petunia and Vernon were always going on about how different Harry's parents were, and Vernon was always going on about how different foreigners were.

That hopeful thought was cast away as the man spoke, saying, "Hello, child. I am Ra's al Ghul."

Whilst Harry was only six, he was intelligent enough to know that his fathers name had certainly not been whatever the man had just said. A sudden fear came over him as he remembered school's "stranger danger" lessons. This fear was only heightened as he realized the man was wearing armour, carrying a sword, and had probably just broken into the house.

Not knowing what else to do, Harry let out a scream, rapidly cut off as Ra's clapped a hand over his mouth.

Ra's sighed, what had he really been expecting from a child? From the moving about upstairs, he concluded that someone had been awoken. Briefly, he contemplated killing the people who had dared treat Harry like this, but he rapidly decided against it. It would serve no real purpose and ran the risk of alerting whoever held the wards that something was afoot.

Turning to the shadows in the corner of the room, he shook his head at them, ordering his almost-invisible warriors to stand down before looking back to the boy attempting to struggle out of his grasp.

"Harry," he chided softly. "Do not fear. I come not to harm, but to rescue you. I can teach you – make it so no one can ever harm you again. You are special, and that is not a bad thing. I am not a wizard like you, but I can train you to be the greatest man to ever walk this Earth. I can make you my son, my heir. I can give you power. I can give you immortality."

This part might be essential. While the wards had not reacted to non-magicals previously, that might change if he attempted to remove the boy without his consent.

Emotions ran through Harry, turbulent and forceful. Something bubbled up within his gut, but it moved back down as he calmed slightly. Was this man telling the truth? Was he a wizard? That might explain some of the unusual things that tended to occur around him. This man, Ra's, said that he could be a father to him – a father who could supposedly make him the greatest person ever as well as giving him immortality. It seemed like a lie, but when Harry looked upon the man's face he saw nothing but sincerity.

Perhaps going with him wouldn't be the wisest choice, but what could be worse than living with the Dursleys? The ones who were so cruel to him and belittled him day after day. Besides, the man could have just taken him if he wanted to. Harry wasn't even as strong as Dudley, let alone a fully grown man who was fitter than any other he had ever seen.

If this man was telling the truth, Dudley and his friends would never be able to hurt him again. One day he would be so strong that no one would ever be able to hurt him again. Harry bit his lip. Was it worth the risk? Eventually he decided that yes, it was.

He nodded timidly and opened his mouth to speak, but Ra's interrupted him. "We must go, it would not do for us to have to harm the Dursleys," he said, casting his gaze back upon the stairs.

But I want to hurt them, Harry wanted to protest, but remained silent as Ra's shushed him. Ra's turned towards the door and Harry blinked as three previously unsee people in ninja outfits peeled from the darkness of the room's corners. One walked behind them, whilst one walked on either side.

Harry cast one last look at the interior of number four Privet Drive before the door was clicked close dbehind them and Ra's took off at a jog, leading a rhombus formation as he moved towards the perimeter of the wards. Precisely as he reached it, a black van smoothly pulled out in front of them, seemingly appearing from nowhere and slowing to a roll with its back doors open, its engine almost silent. It didn't even need to stop moving before Ra's had loaded Harry in and climbed in after him, the ninjas leaping in as it began to speed up again.

And then the doors were closed and the League of Shadows were heading towards a private airport from which they would travel to their headquarters, safe in the knowledge that no occupant of Privet Drive would ever know of their operation.

"So," Harry asked, finally finding his voice as he looked arround. "Who are you?"

As had happened for the rest of the journey, the ninjas remained in a silence that made Harry slightly uncomfortable, Ra's being the only one to answer.

"As I told you, I am Ra's al Ghul, which means the Demon's Head in Arabic," he began, then paused, contemplating how much to reveal to the child, a potential security risk at such a young age. "I am the leader of a group of warriors known by many names, the primary one being the League of Shadows."

Harry frowned, wondering if they were like MI6. "I've never heard of you, are you like secret spies or something?"

Ra's chuckled. "As your name implies, yes, we do tend to operate in secret, any act we do being credited to something else. Spies, however, we are usually not. Whilst we do have our agents operating undercover all over the world, we are primarily assassins."

"You kill people?" asked Harry, his eyes widening as he decided that maybe this hadn't been too smart after all.

"Yes, child, but primarily the" – he resisted the urge to frown – "baddies."

Harry blinked. "Like criminals? Don't they have to go to jail?"

"What, so they can escape again?" Ra's asked, raising an eyebrow. "Whilst that is the law, many manage to escape justice time after time. Even if they are imprisoned, this does not cure them. Sometimes, if you wish to solve corruption and act for the greater good, the only way to is to replace evil with death, even if the sacrifices of good people must be made to do that – this is what the League does."

"But why have you come for me?" Harry asked, still slightly confused as to why the man had chosen a six year old to become an assassin.

Ra's smirked. "Because, child, I was not lying. From the prophecies I have heard, you can become even greater than I. Your potential is not limited by any mundane means. Magic flows through your veins, and combined with my teaching, when I pass on, you shall inherit my title, my name. And then you shall be Ra's al Ghul, and all evil will cower before you."

A/N: I have not yet decided which, if any, superheroes or supervillains will be in this. All that is cetain is the League as well as characters from Harry Potter. Anyway, thanks for reading, tell me what you thought.