Thanks to your votes and input, I've got decided on a pairing for Harry. I'm not going to tell you guys who it is just yet, but I will tell you it will an AWESOME and unusual pairing! I really think you guys are going to LOVE it.
I am sorry to say that Harry will not be in a slash pairing. He'll be paired with a female from the DC universe. SORRY!
Also, Joker is already paired with Harley, and I will be playing with them a lot. I LOVE this crazy couple. They are perfect for one another! They are the type of couple that will go from lovey-dovey to tearing one another into pieces, And wake up in the hospital ward the next morning having totally forgot what they where fighting about to begin with…
I'm SOO excited about this, you guys have no idea! So, onto the story!
Ron and Hermione;
I'm sending this letter to the Burrow in hopes that one or both of you are there.. I really hope you get this. I'm sending Hedwig out right as we're leaving, so I won't be able to contact you again until she finds me..
I really don't know how long that will be..
As I wrote in my previous letter, I'm going to the Americas with the Dursleys. Yes, I know, odd isn't it?…
I don't know why we're going, or what they are up to… but they have been acting weird lately. It's creepy, and to be honest they are actually beginning to scare me. It's like second year all over again. I just wanted you guys to know just in case something happens or, hopefully, so that you guys can come and snatch me away from them..
I don't want to be with them any longer then I have to be. I'll be in Gotham, and will hopefully be back home soon.
-Harry.
P.s: PLEASE write and let me know that you got this letter. I want to know that at least one person cares about where I am…
Ron read the letter as he was ate at the breakfast table with Hermione and Ginny. He had read so many of these letters now, he was kind of desensitized to the whole thing. After all, how many letters could you read from the same person saying the same things without getting bored? He'd figure that Harry would have gotten the point after the first few weeks… Dumbledore told them not to write.
Ron knew that it was wrong of him, but Dumbledore had made it nearly impossible and his mother had jumped on the bandwagon as well. She been watching the owls like a hawk lately. Ron hadn't even been able to sneak off a note to let his best mate know that Hermione was at the Burrow now… Which, luckily, Harry had guessed on his own.
He handed over the letter over to Hermione after he finished with it, then she jumped into it as well.
"They took him to America?…" Hermione said, with a smile. "I've been there before, it's quite nice… Though I think writing the location down in a letter wasn't very smart of him.. He knows the ministry will be watching. And what if a Death Eater got a hold of it? They would know right where he was…"
Ron shrugged as he stuffed his face.
"I don't know.. It IS vague, so it should be fine. What I'm more worried about is how we're going to make it up to Harry when he DOES come back. You remember how angry he was when we didn't fill him in last summer? I can only imagine how mad he'll be now that we haven't written to him at all." Ron said, throwing a cross look to his mother's back.
"I just hope Dumbledore goes and picks him up soon." Ginny sighed, as she poked her eggs with her fork, looking extremely bored. "It's unbelievably dull around here right now. It'd be nice to have someone else to liven the place up a bit..."
"You're only saying that because you fancy him." Ron smirked with half his mouth full. Hermione gave him a disgusted look. Ginny blushed.
"Still.. I am a bit worried about what he said about the Dursleys.." Hermione commented, trying to sound off hand as she folded up the letter neatly and placed in down beside her on the table. Ron just shrugged at her again.
"Why? Dumbledore said he would be fine, and he has the blood protection to see him through."
"I know that... But I'm still worried, though." Hermione stated as she picked her fork back up, and grabbed another bite of sausage. "You remember second year?.. The bars on his window?"
"Of course I remember second year. The twins and me are the ones that got him out.." Ron spat angrily. "If Fred and George hadn't used the Ton-tongue toffee, I would have gotten after them myself! Bloody Prats…"
"That's my point.. What if they really are up to something?…" Ron and Ginny both paled as they looked to Hermione. They hated to admit it, but she had a point.
Molly Weasley turned on them quickly after Hermione spoke, brandishing her skillet at the small group as she worked over her stove.
"I HOPE you three aren't planning on doing something unbelievably stupid again like you did second year… Or first year, before that…. OR third year, after that… OR fourth year AND a few weeks ago at the Ministry!" She shrieked, looking infuriated.
"I've had quite enough of you lot running off and putting yourself in harms way… Harry included!"
"No, Mum.." was chorused quietly from the two red heads as Hermione blinked at them all. Were they actually considering LEAVING Harry alone with the Dursleys this Summer? Surely not…
"Good… Dumbledore said to let Harry be this summer. So you're going to do just that… Let-Him-Be!" Molly said with a powerful nod, as she turned back to cooking with her skillet.
"But what if he really is in danger?… We can't just leave him there, Half-way across the world!"
"He'll be safer over there then he will over here. There aren't any Death eaters in the Americas. Not yet, anyway…"
"BUT-" Hermione started, as Molly quickly turned a glare on her.
"BUT Nothing, young lady!" Molly said, swooping back around to face the teenager. "If Harry and his family are going on holiday, I'm sure it's for a good reason. If Dumbledore believes that Harry needs some time to himself, and we're going to give it to him… and THAT is THAT!"
"BUT HARRY-" Hermione yelled, getting to her feet.
"BUT NOTHING! I'm sure the Dursleys and Dumbledore know what they're doing… Leave it alone, Hermione. And I mean it." Molly ended in a voice that left no room for argument.
Hermione looked to Ron. Ron looked back to her. Both sharing a wary look. Maybe they didn't have a reason to worry about Dumbledore…. But the Dursleys? They are another matter entirely.
Gotham - Just outside Arkham Island
Harry sat frozen as his eyes followed the two roads signs. The car kept on driving, and soon passed them by, but Harry couldn't move a muscle.
He knew now what the Dursleys where up to. It was obvious now what they had been planning the past few weeks. He had no clue just how in the world they could do this to him, or how then even came up with the idea. He knew that they never loved him, but did that really hate him so much that they where just going to dropped him off at a Nutter House?
"What in the bloody hell is going on?" Harry yelled from the back seat, startling Petunia.
"What ever do you mean? There is nothing going on." came Mr. Dursley guarded voice from the front seat.
"What I mean is, Why are we headed off to an Asylum?…"
The car went deathly silent after that. Vernon almost looked ashamed, more then likely from being caught then actually feeling ashamed. Dudley looked at Harry with a harsh, hateful look. Petunia looked stricken sick.
"What ever made you think we're going to a place like that?" Aunt Petunia asked. It was obviously not the first question that came to mind, but the one that sounded the best. She might as well of asked, 'What gave us away?'
"It's the visions!" Dudley pointing an accusing finger at Harry. "He's getting those weirdo visions again. Just like the one that got his godfather killed! They are telling him things!"
Harry's jaw dropped as his eyes widened. He was struck dumb at Dudley's remark. How in the HELL did he know that? He hadn't said anything to the Dursleys about Sirius dying, OR the visions he was getting from Voldemort! How in the world did they know? Vernon and Petunia went wide-eyed with fright at the idea. Harry knew that if he didn't address this soon, he was going to get a face full of fist from his uncle.
"It wasn't a vision, it was the bloody ROAD SIGN! It said 'Arkham Asylum', clear as day!" Harry looked to Vernon. "You're driving, you saw the sign, too. It was on the left of the road."
Harry inwardly pleaded for his uncle to let it go. Since he had been in good spirits for a while, he might just let the matter go. Like he did with the flying motorcycle dream, or the shrunken sweater…
Petunia looked to Vernon, as if waiting for his verdict. This was one of the things Harry hated about his aunt. She blindly followed his uncle on every matter. She's jump off a bridge, provided he jumped first. She was weak-willed and always caved to his wants… As a matter of fact, she caved to Dudley's wants as well.
Harry knew his aunt wasn't going to speak up for him, in any shape or form. So he turned his attention to Vernon, and waited. Vernon seemed to be thinking things over. Considering his lack of brain power, they might arrive at the asylum before he made up his mind… But Vernon just seemed to huff loudly, and start one of his self-important speeches. Out side of the car, Harry saw then they where now on a bridge leading over water. The bridge was dark brown, and even the water looked filthy. But you could see clear across to a Island that lead off the end of the bridge, and in the distance, a old-looking bell tower. Like one you would see on old Manors and Villas over in England. Harry could only wonder in passing why a Asylum on a small island would be in need of a bell tower…
"Visions! Wands! Owls! Those horrible people you choose to surround yourself with! Ma.. Mag.. Those FREAKY things you do!" Vernon spat hatefully. Harry had to bite his tongue at the comment. His own temper was rising quickly, and he didn't trust himself to open his mouth.
"We TRIED to bring you up right! Away from all that.. Unnatural stuff! Your aunt and i TRIED to fix you! We tried to start you off young, to see if there was ANY chance for you… And we had hope for you, you know. After you got accepted to Stonewall." Harry raised an eyebrow at that. Harry doubted that Vernon ever had even an ounce of hope for him in his entire obese body…
"We thought, in just a few weeks, you would be fine! That you would go off to secondary school. maybe a community college after that, if they took you… Live a peaceful life. For just a moment, it seemed that we had beaten your… Disgusting inborn nature. That you would be NORMAL! But, no… Oh, No… The old fool had to send that.. That… worthless MONSTER of a man to take you to that school-"
"HAGRID!" Harry burst. He was unable to hold his tongue anymore. Glaring hatefully at his uncle. "His name is HAGRID!"
"-That MAN that took you off to that school, despite our wishes!" Vernon burst back, the vein in his forehead looking close to exploding. Petunia nodded wisely at her husband as she hung onto his every word. Harry felt sickened. But he kept his mouth closed. One outburst would be screamed over, a second outburst would get him hit… He knew that all to well.
"That SCHOOL that put all those ideas in your head! Those IDEAS that you fostered, and used against us! Those people.. Trying to… To… TRAP you in that dirty, filthy world!"
The car then gave a jolt, and Harry hear two load THUMPS. They had driven off the metal bridge, and where traveling on an old brick road. There where trees, Bushes, and thickets all around them now. It was obvious they had drove right into a thick patch of woods. But there where no flowers, no orange or red leaves, not even weeds. There was no sense of color at all. Harry's heart dropped. Even the out side of the place was depressing! How could they think of leaving him here?
"Vernon, we're almost there… Get to the point quickly, dear."
"The point is that we could of.. Broken you from all that unnaturalness! But before we got the chance, they snatched you up and took off with you. So now, We're taking you back." Vernon said, nodding his head powerfully.
"Taking me back, by dropping me off at an ASYLUM?." Harry screamed getting a reaction from no one.
"We have to get you AWAY from those people and there ideals if you're any chance of being cured… Dr. Cassidy said so herself." Vernon turned and looked at Harry through the rear view mirror. "So that's what we're doing!"
"Wait, wait, wait… So you're taking me back by locking me away from the Wizarding world? RIGHT in the MIDDLE of a BLOODY WAR? Do you know how many people could DIE because of this? What bloody right do you have-"
With that, Vernon threw back his fist, and punched Harry squarely on the side of the jaw. Just like Harry thought he would. Harry's small frame was tossed back into the flat of his seat. Harry's hand went to his jaw after he got his bearings back. He wasn't 'seeing stars', but he definitely felt off-kilter from the punch. Harry then glared at his uncle.
"WE are your legal guardians! We can do whatever the hell we want with you… and there is nothing any of those freaks can do about it!"
His cousin suddenly started laughing at him from the next seat. Harry turned his glare at him. Oh, yeah. This situation was SOO funny. Harry could hardly contain himself…
"Just get the shirt on him!" Vernon then barked from the drivers seat. "We're pulling up to the gate now!"
Dudley pulled out a powder blue shirt from his travel bag he had brought with him, and tossed it to Harry.
"Get it on! NOW!" Dudley ordered. He shoved Harry's shoulder into the car door. Harry inwardly growled at his cousin as he slipped the shirt over the tee that he already had on… He'd be damned before he took a shirt OFF in front of the Dursleys…
After the collar of his new shirt went on, He looked forward. He saw a old stone wall with a large gate right in the middle. The doors where large metal monsters, that towered over the stoned wall. On top of the metal gates where two words; 'Arkham Asylum'.
Another thing that caught his eye as well. On both sides of the gate doors where two large stone angels. Harry nearly mistook them for gargoyles at first glace. As he was sure nothing as imposing as those two could ever come from heaven… Well, maybe they where fallen angels… but the thing that got his attention was that both donned long, hooded robes. Harry almost started laughing at that. Angels wearing wizarding robes! Who would have thought?
They got closer to the gate, they opened up. Harry assumed it was an automated system, as he saw no one outside to open it. They passed through the open gate, and onto the large stone building that was in front of them.
Like the woods, even though it was dark and filthy. It looked to have been over 100 years old from the way It was build, to the wear on the building itself. A mansion that must have been beautiful in it's time.. But unlike Hogwarts it was unkempt and nearly reeked of evil. Harry pictured this as the sort of place Bellatrix Lestrange would live it.. It certainly fit.
Harry felt even more dread as he tucked his wand even further up into his sleeve. He had to keep his wand on him, no matter what. He couldn't be parted from it. Lord knows what would happen to him here if he couldn't defend himself.
The car pulled slowly up to the building, and Vernon parked right in front of the door. Soon, five people came out of the front doors. Three guards, one large-bellied man in a suit, and a young female doctor carrying a clipboard. Harry swallowed harshly as he tried to keep himself calm.
The moment the car door was opened, he was yanked out by his arms. He was on his feet and in front of the third guard in a flash. The large-bellied man and the woman seemed more interested in opening the car doors and showing a undo amount of politeness to the Dursleys. The doctor and his aunt seemed to be tea-chatting happily with one another as Vernon and the suit man where trying to see who could make the most pompous first impression.
The third guard seemed to be the only one paying Harry any mind. He was an older black man with thick arms and legs, an aged face, and a no-nonsense attitude. He looked Harry up and down, as if he could see what kind of trouble Harry could cause for him. Harry stood stock still as he waited for the intimating man to finish his once-over. It was only a few more moments before the man nodded to himself and crossed his arms in front of him.
"Name's Aaron Cash.." The man said, as he pointed to the other two. "That's John, and Higgs. You're going to be under our watch for your two week assessment period. That means you're gonna be locked up in the Intensive Treatment Ward..."
Harry's face paled as fear creeped into him again. Intensive treatment ward? That sounded… terrifying. Horrify things flashed in Harry's mind at those words. Restrains, stray jackets, electro shock, padded cells… His eyes went wide, but he stopped himself from shaking or showing any other signs of worry.
He knew now that the worse thing that he could do would be to fight. If he started screaming, panicing and freaking out.. It would look even worse... He had to keep in control of himself. He needed to start planning now on how to proving that he didn't belong here. That he wasn't crazy.. But he had to start NOW.
"We'll be monitoring you 24/7 in your ward. That means privacy is now a thing of your past. Every word, every move, every little thing you do, we'll see. Don't think that just because you're a kid, we won't toss you in extreme isolation if we see fit..."
"So if you don't want to get caught doing anything you're not supposed to; don't do it to begin with. You got me?"
"Yes, Sir…" Oh, What in the bloody hell where the Dursleys thinking?…
The man seemed to see the fear in Harry's eyes, and looked taken back. The man's face softened a little bit as he saw Harry's reaction. He cleared his throat softly he spoke to Harry again.
"But… watch yourself and don't act up during your two weeks, and we'll be moving you into the youth ward. With kids your own age. IF we find your well behaved, responsive to treatment, in control of yourself, and not a threat to yourself or others."
Harry nearly let out a sigh of relief. He could do that. Two weeks was much better then just being stuck...
"Mr. Cash..." The female doctor said, as she turned to Harry and the guards.
"Since it's so late at night, why don't you take our new ward to processed in? We'll do his entry evaluation in the morning..." She said, locking arms with Mrs. Dursley. "Jet lag is such a terrible thing to have..."
"Very well, Doc." The guard looked back to Harry. "So.. Are you going to come with us without a fight? Or are we going to have problems?"..
Harry shook his head firmly and the guard nodded back.
"Good kid.. Follow me." The guard turned and started up the small staircase into the building. Harry followed as quickly as he could... Trying to ignore the sounds of happy chatting from the doctors and his relatives coming from behind him..
And that was how Harry Potter entered Arkham Asylum. Escorted by two thug-looking guards, and having no idea if he was ever going to get out.