Chapter 6

Central City

September 2, 12:34 CDT

It wasn't until the next day that Wally remembered he still hadn't called his cousin back. He quickly remedied that, and dialed his number.

It took a few minutes for Ron to answer. When he did, the first thing out of his mouth was, "Sorry mate, was in the Great Hall and me and Harry had to get out before answering. Now mind telling me why you're interrupting my lunch?"

Wally chuckled. "Just calling you back. Why'd you call last night?"

"Oh yeah, WHY THE BLOODY HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL US YOU WERE GOING TO BE IN THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT?" Ron yelled, apparently he was angry that Wally had been keeping secrets again.

Wally yanked his phone away from his ear to keep himself from going deaf. "Ow, Cuz, volume, we've been over this, you don't need to shout into the phone."

"Answer the question, Wally," Ron growled in annoyance.

Wally shrugged, even though he knew Ron couldn't see it. "I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Plus it's not a done deal that I'll be the one to compete. Honestly my money's on Rob, or maybe Aqualad."

Ron grumbled unintelligibly, and Harry said, "Well it will be interesting either way, but is there another reason why your Team is coming to the tournament?"

Wally sighed, he didn't see a reason not to tell them, and keeping more things quiet would only make Ron even angrier. "To be honest the main reason Dumbledore asked us to come was to protect you, Harry."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "Me?" Harry finally asked.

"Yeah," said Wally, "After Pettigrew got away, Dumbledore thinks you're, and I quote, 'I truly believe that Harry is now in more danger than ever.'"

There was another pause. "So the main reason you lot were invited is because Dumbledore wants you to baby-sit Harry?" asked Ron incredulously.

"Pretty much," Wally replied. "I'm not complaining though. I'm really hoping whoever gets picked will do so good on this that it'll get Blondie to stop going on about how 'pureblood wizards are oh so superior' to us heroes."

Ron and Harry had to snicker at that. "Yeah, that'd be rich," said Ron.

Wally grinned, since it sounded like his cousin was no longer mad at him (or at least not as much as he had been). "Sooo what's going on Hogwarts side? Have I missed anything cool?"

"Loads," said Ron. "Defense Against the Dark Arts is being taught by this ex-Auror named Mad-Eye Moody, who looks just plain freaky. Hagrid's got us taking care of these awful monsters called Blast-Ended Skrewts, which live up to their name and then some. Oh, and Hermione's gone mental about house-elves."

Wally whistled. "All that in less than twenty-four hours, must be a new record. What do you mean Hermione's gone nuts?"

"She found out that there are house-elves working at the school and now she's trying to liberate them somehow, and is spending all her time in the library," explained Harry.

Wally frowned as he remembered Winky's treatment back at the World Cup. "She might be right."

Ron scoffed. "They're house-elves, they like to be all work and no play, it makes them happy."

Wally shrugged again. "Winky didn't look too happy the other night. They at least deserve better treatment then what she got. And if Hermione is trying to do that then I'm with her."

"Oh, come off it," argued Ron. "They're not even human."

Wally frowned. "Don't forget, Cuz, that many of my friends aren't human either."

The boys on the other end were silent a moment. "I suppose I see your point," Ron admitted. "But still, Hermione is going overboard."

"Sorry, Cuz. Can't help you there," said Wally.

They talked for a few more minutes before Ron and Harry had to go get ready for their next class and they had to hang up.

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Wally got a text from Ron a couple hours later.

Ron's text seemed rushed, like he had done it in a hurry, but Wally was able to make out. "Wally, u sad this thing records vdeo right? How d you wrk it?"

Confused, Wally relayed the instructions, then waited in hopes of an explanation,

Ron called a few minutes later to ask how to send the video.

After giving those instructions Wally asked, "Mind telling me what this is all about?"

But Ron had hung up on him and a minute later he received a video on his phone. Figuring that it might be the only way to get some answers, Wally played the video.

On the screen he saw a white ferret standing in between Blondie's two main goons. Said goons were staring down at the ferret in shock.

Off camera Wally heard a gruff voice ask, "Did he get you?"

"No," replied Harry's voice off camera, "missed."

"LEAVE IT!" the gruff voice shouted as one of the goons tried to pick up the ferret.

"Leave- what?" asked Harry's voice.

"Not you- him," said the gruff voice, and Wally assumed he was talking about goon number one.

The back of a man came into the camera's view, and from what Wally could tell he had scraggly gray hair, and walked with a limp.

The camera moved, as it seemed to want to keep the ferret in its sight. When the ferret saw the man it let out a frightened squeak and shot off to what Wally recognized as the entrance to the school dungeons, with the camera following it's every move.

"I don't think so!" shouted the man, and he pointed his wand at the ferret. The ferret flew ten feet in the air and smacked back on to the floor then bounced up again.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," snarled the man. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do…"

The ferret was still bouncing high into the air, squealing in pain whenever it hit the floor.

"Never-do-that-again-" growled the man, speaking each word as the ferret hit the floor.

"Professor Moody!" cried a voice off camera that Wally recognized as Ms. McGonagall.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," said the man, who Wally assumed was the Mad-Eye Moody guy Ron and Harry had talked about.

"What-what are you doing?" asked Ms. McGonagall.

"Teaching," said Moody, still bouncing the ferret.

"Teach-Moody, is that a student?" shrieked Ms. McGonagall. There was a clattering sound as if she had dropped something in shock.

"Yep," said Moody.

"No!" Suddenly Ms. McGonagall came into the camera's view and cast a spell at the ferret. The ferret turned back into a student, Blondie to be exact, who fell to the floor in a heap.

The camera cut off as Ms. McGonagall began yelling at Moody.

Wally stared at his cellphone for a minute trying to process what he had just seen.

Just when he was finally able to wrap his head around it the phone rang with the caller ID saying it was Ron.

When he answered Ron said, "What d'you think, Wally? Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret!"

When Ron put it like that Wally couldn't help but laugh, and over the phone he heard Hermione and Harry doing the same.

When they all calmed down Hermione said, "He could have really hurt Malfoy, though. It was a good, really that Professor McGonagall stopped it-"

"Hermione!" Ron groaned, "You're ruining the best moment of my life!"

Wally heard Hermione huff over the phone, and he was pretty sure she was rolling her eyes. "Anyway, we'd best be off to supper. Oh, before I forget, Wally, I'm working on a new project and I'd really like your help on it."

"If it's about the house-elf thing Ron mentioned, we can talk about it after training next weekend," said Wally.

"Training?" asked Hermione, "But you aren't here to take me anymore."

"Batman's orders, even if you're just a reserve member you still should be training to stay in shape. Besides I still have my portkey," Wally explained. "I'll pick you up at the usual time and give it to you afterwards. I'm getting a new one for the tournament anyway."

"Well, alright, it will be nice to see the Team again."

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Mount Justice

September 3, 15:33 EDT

When Wally mentioned to the Team about the footage that Ron had sent him, Batman had overheard and insisted he play it on the holo screen so he could observe the new teacher.

The Team, aside from Wally, had never gotten to know Blondie, so they did not share his dislike of the boy and were not as amused when they saw his punishment. In hindsight, Wally had to admit it was pretty over the top for a teacher to do.

When the footage ended Batman turned his attention back to Wally. "What do you know of this man?" he asked.

Wally frowned. "Not too much. Ron told me he's an ex-Auror, as in the wizard version of the police. He has the nickname Mad-Eye Moody. Ron said one of the reasons he's called that because one of his eyes is enchanted to see through solid objects. Um, he was a very good Auror when he was in the profession. He's known for possibly being even more paranoid than you-" Wally cut himself off when he saw the look Batman was giving him. "Uh, anyway… He was called in to replace Mr. Lupin for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching job. And Ron says he looks freaky. And…" Wally paused trying to think if there was anything else he was missing from what Ron and Harry had told him. "And he seems to like extreme punishments. That's about all I know."

Batman turned back to the frozen image of Moody's back on the holo screen. "When all of you go to Hogwarts, I want you to be careful around this man."

"Why?" asked M'gann.

"I don't trust him," was all Batman said.

"But if he has an eye that can see through solid objects, won't that put our identities at risk even if we wear our masks?" asked Dick.

"That has already being taken care of," said Batman. He nodded to Zatanna, and Zatanna brought out a jewelry box. Inside the jewelry box were bands similar to the ones Dick and Conner had worn to see the World Cup.

"These bands have all been enchanted with a powerful glamour charm, courtesy of Doctor Fate," Zatanna explained as she passed them out to her teammates. "They'll completely mask your identity from everyone who is not already aware of it. For example, Kid Flash could go up to the people he knows at Hogwarts and introduce himself to them as Wally West, and they still wouldn't make the connection."

"Whoa," said Wally glancing down at his band. The rest of the Team nodded in agreement.

"May I ask why you have prepared these?" asked Aqualad.

"It is a precaution to keep your identities secret," said Batman. "While at Hogwarts you will be expected to interact with the students. Doing so will undoubtedly let the students gain a more in-depth understanding of all of you, thus putting your identities at risk. Most prominently would be Kid Flash, as he is already known in the school under his civilian name."

Wally paled, he hadn't thought of that.

"However, just because you have this safeguard doesn't mean you can be careless. You are to keep your identities hidden at all times and never even give a hint otherwise, is that understood," Batman ordered.

The Team all nodded, they were well aware of what was at stake if their identities became public knowledge.

"Wally, when we go to Hogwarts for the tournament, you need to take Harry aside and have him check that map of his," said Zatanna. "Fate's spell should be powerful enough to mask your identities from even that, but you better double check just in case."

Wally nodded, while he trusted Harry wouldn't purposely let the map fall into the wrong hands, it was better to be safe than sorry.

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A/N I had to add Malfoy's ferret bounce somehow, plus keeping a video is way better than trying to memorize it in Ron's case. Also Batman now has his suspicions of Moody, and the Team has a safeguard against discovery.

Mission ideas are welcome and appreciated.

I own nothing