Chapter Six
The Batmobile roared into the cave, sending its rough growl through the vaulted cavern. It zoomed up the ramp and screeched to a stop in the middle of the round platform. Abreast of the famed car stood a smirking young woman in a top hat.
"You always know how to make an entrance," she commented in an amused tone as the driver jumped out, his cape flaring dramatically.
The low growl carried the echo of the now-silent engines. "You're late." He stormed past her, tension sparking off his shoulders.
"And you're ungrateful," she quipped, following him up the stairs to the massive computer. "You asked me for a favor, remember? I can't just drop everything whenever you need something." She raised an eyebrow and set her hands on her hips. "I've got my own rogues to fight."
Batman grunted and looked at her, his first visual acknowledgement that evening. "What did you find?" he asked smoothly.
"He's definitely Homo magi," Zatanna said, leaning against the computer. "Or, at least, from a community of people descended from the Homo magi. It was hard to get information on them — they don't like outsiders."
Batman grunted, his expression unreadable, until he found what he was looking for on her face. His lips quirked. "You got in."
Zatanna snorted. "Of course I did!" she exclaimed. "I'm a professional." Her tone sobered. "I gotta hand it to Supes though, when he gets into magic, he really dives in it. Your hunch was right; the kid's parents were murdered. They were killed by another Homo magus who, by all accounts, was a psychopath and serial killer."
"Was?"
"I'm getting to it. So, the psychopath — I couldn't get his name, they were all calling him "You-Know-Who" — and his henchmen were active in Britain in '70s. They were around for a full decade, nearly unopposed, until he tried to kill the Potters in 1981," Zatanna explained. "He killed the parents without a problem, but when he tried to kill Harry Potter, something happened. Harry survived and You-Know-Who was killed."
"What happened?" Bruce's harsh tone pierced through the thick air of the cave.
Zatanna shrugged. "No one knows, as far as I could tell," she offered. "It's mostly just rumors because the only living witness was barely old enough to talk."
Batman grunted. "What about the Dementors?" he asked abruptly.
"No one knows where they come from, but they're immortal creatures of the dark that can devour a living thing's soul," Zatanna explained resignedly, used to Bruce's mannerisms. "In close proximity, their victims are overcome with spontaneous depression."
"Describe it," Batman ordered.
"Dementors generate fog and a chill wind that surrounds them. They draw out happiness by breathing, so people are left feeling like they will never be happy again. Chocolate apparently helps get rid of the depression effect. If they get close enough, the Dementors can suck a soul out of a person's body, leaving nothing but an empty husk behind." Zatanna frowned. "The victims die within days of losing their soul."
Batman frowned. "There's no way to control them?" he asked incredulously.
Zatanna shook her head. "Not that I could find. A specific spell is the only way to banish them. There's nothing that can kill them," she said. "They're used to guard maximum security prisons, so the British government must have found some way to do it."
Batman's cynical grunt echoed throughout the cave.
"Anything else?" Batman asked impatiently.
The magician rolled her eyes. "Not much. Just that the British magical newspaper has been running a smear campaign against the kid. Best I could figure, he said something they didn't like and now they're getting back at him." Zatanna shook her head. "Before I could find out more, an old woman got suspicious and I had to get out of there. Sorry I don't have more."
Batman stood in one smooth movement, his cape falling like liquid to hang at his ankles. "Thank you," he said quietly, eyeing her with a softened gaze. "Stop by the kitchen before you leave. Alfred made a batch of cookies earlier today."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Zatanna said cheerfully, squeezing his shoulder gently. "Take care, Bruce."
With a twirl of her arms and a few words, Zatanna disappeared with a crack, leaving Batman to brood in his cave, alone.
A/N: Hey, sorry about the super short chapter! I know this is paltry compared to what I normally post, but this was always going to be a quick info dump chapter for Batman. Those of you that predicted Zatanna would show up, nice job! We may be seeing more of the DC magical folk in the coming story, but most of them have their own conflicts to deal with. Voldemort is Harry's problem, so don't expect them to play a major part. Thank you to all of the people who have reviewed, faved or followed the story so far! I look forward to seeing what y'all think about this chapter. I'm hoping the next one will also be up fairly quickly. We're almost at the end of our interludes before the full story kicks back up again. Thanks for reading!
