Harry Potter: A Brave Beginning

Author's Note: Whoo! I just wanted to apologize for the typos/poor grammer of the past few chapters. This is all to do with the fact that I generally write in the middle of the night on a friend's computer, as I currently have none of my own. I hope to get a few more chapters done pretty quickly. We'll see what happens.

Chapter Ten

"I don't see why I have to wear this stupid thing." Ron was standing in front of the bedroom mirror, where he'd been trying for an hour to make himself look just a little bit better in the ill-fitting costume his mother had sent up for him.

"I don't think you look that bad," Harry offered. Never mind that he was suppressing a snicker when he said it. Ron was wearing what could pass for a Sailor's uniform, complete with a white cap perched jauntily on his head—at least, it would have been jauntily perched there if fifteen minutes before Ron hadn't thrown it in a crumpled heap on top of the bed. "At least you kind of look cool. You know, for a goofy magician."

Harry self-consciously pulled at his cuffs. He hadn't been planning to wear a costume to the party, so he'd been surprised when he'd gotten to his room to find that Zatanna had sent him an old stage magician's costume, complete with top hat and magic wand. "It's kind of stuffy," he said.

"It's better than looking like one of the Village People. Fred and George are going to torture me for days with this. No, weeks…years!" He made a final face at his reflection in the mirror before, somewhat dejected, he finally turned away. It was then that he noticed Harry was only marginally interested. "Hey man, what's the problem? Are you still worried about Hermione?"

"Yeah. I guess I am," said Harry. He sat down on the edge of his bed. "I still don't know why I got so mad at her. It seems so stupid now, doesn't it? I mean, I know she doesn't hate me just because I'm a magic user. And I think she's the most brilliant person I have ever met." He ran a hand through his hair in annoyance. "It's almost like…like somebody was messing with my emotions."

Realization struck him like a lead weight. "Oh, no!" he groaned, falling back on the bed "I can't believe I fell for it!"

"Fell for what?" said Ron.

"Malfoy. He can play with emotions…make people mad for no good reason." He grit his teeth and his fists automatically clenched into fists. "I bet Hermione getting all flustered like that gave him the fuel. Then he used it to start a big, fat stupid argument between the two of us."

"How can you be sure?" said Ron.

"He was there, wasn't he? It's the first time the three of us have ever been in a class together. I'm going to hunt him down and…"

"Right….uhm, Harry?" Ron was looking at him in concern. "Don't you think you ought to go and find Hermione first? And…you know, apologize?"

After a moment he realized that Ron was right and, grabbing his hat and forcing Ron into his, the pair swept out of the room. They met Neville halfway down the hall, fidgeting with his brightly colored unitard. When both Harry and Ron raised their eyebrows, he flushed deeply. "It's stupid, I know. Mr. Grayson chose it for me. He used to be a circus performer."

"At least it gets you used to the tights," said Ron, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Harry. By the time they got to the main dining hall they met up with Dean (who had grown an enormous afro and was wearing a white bell-bottomed suit, and explained to the rest that he had been told that this was the customary dress of men in earth's history), and Seamus in what he told everybody was the traditional garb of an Irish dancer. (Just how sequined, flowing blouses and tight pants became traditional dress Harry hesitated to ask.

Just inside the doors time slowed to a sudden halt and Fred and George appeared in front of them. "Freddy-Fred!" shouted the former, crossing his arms across his chest. "And Georgy-George!" his twin mimicked. Both were wearing giant clocks on thick gold chains around their necks. While one seemed to be frozen in place the other was whizzing around the timepiece at a blur. They also wore satin track jackets and huge sunglasses that covered their faces.

"Yo Ronny!" said the first. "Fo rizzle, dawg! You be pimpin'!"

"Oh, no…" said Ron, slapping himself in the face. "You have got to be kidding me."

"How dare you be player hatin'?" said George, striding forward to punch his little brother none too delicately in the shoulder.

"I don't know what's more embarrassing," said Neville, a small smile breaking out on his face.

"Why did you call him a dog? Can I be pimpin' too?" Time suddenly returned to normal as everybody swung around to see Luna standing there. She was dressed in white from head to toe, a full skirt swinging down to around her knees and a pair of jaunty rabbit ears perked up on top of her head.

"Er…we better be going. Don't want to be seen sitting at the kiddy table," said Fred as he started to walk away.

"For real. That was fresh," shouted George as he followed him.

"What was fresh?" Luna winked at Harry, further confusing him about whether or not she meant a word that she was saying.

Now that the twins were gone he got a better look at his surroundings. There were traditional decorations everywhere—ghostly, gauzy figures hung from the ceiling and more pumpkins carved with garish, jolly and spooky faces than he'd ever before seen.

He also noticed, almost immediately, that all of the students fourth or fifth year and older were dressed in what he considered 'normal' superhero garb. Ron noticed his attentions and leaned over. "Usually the older students have already started working out in the field, so a lot of them already have their superhero costumes. The teachers will be wearing theirs too…see? There's the Black Canary."

Their ethics teacher was standing on the raised podium next to a man who was seated at the table. He was dressed in green from head to toe like a modern day Robin Hood. It didn't take a genius to recognize him as the Green Arrow.

"Looks like Susan's already dressed up in her costume," said Harry, pointing to the girl who stood not from away from the pair. She was wearing a scarlet version of the outfit, a sling full of arrows over her back. Ron nodded.

"Well, she's been training for this for a long time," he commented.

Standing up on toes Harry scanned the room. "Luna? Do you know where Hermione is? I really wanted to talk to her."

"Hermione?" Luna furrowed her brow. "I don't know. Have you checked the stables?"

"We don't have stables," said Harry.

"Oh. Well, I guess she isn't there then." When Harry sighed she seemed to relent a little. "Honestly, I haven't seen her since this morning. She didn't come back to the room after classes."

"Maybe she finally realized that she's not good enough for this school." Draco Malfoy walked into the crowd, wearing a haughty sneer to match the tailored tuxedo and vampire makeup he'd come down in.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry wheeled around. His fingers gripped white knuckled around the wand, despite the fact that he knew it didn't have any real powers. "Tell me what you did today."

"Oh, I woke up, had breakfast…proved a point." He rolled his eyes when Harry cursed at him. "Come on, Potter. I told you the very first day that people like her don't belong here. It was just too easy to play with her mind…and yours too, now that I think of it."

"You were right," Ron said. There was a tone of astonishment in his voice that Harry picked up on immediately. "I mean…I didn't not believe you…or…"

"Really, Potter, what is it with you and all these half-wit friends?" He gestured to Ron and then, really setting him on edge, at Luna.

"You're really going to regret that," Harry said quietly. His fingers were still gripping the wand. Draco smiled slowly, and then started to make a move. In an instant Harry reacted. The wand went up, he shouted something, and even before he himself realized that anything had happened a large crowd had formed around the group and what Harry suddenly realized was a boy in a tuxedo, which wasn't terribly unusual except for the fact that this boy had the head of a braying donkey.

"I…I…" he started to back away.

"You're going to get detention for this for sure," said Ron. There were whispers then, things like 'no powers during school functions' and 'expelled for sure'.

"If you're going to go find Hermione you'd better do it now." He felt Luna lay her hand on his shoulder and, nodding, pushed through the sea of students and out into the main hall.

Harry had never been to the science classrooms before; beginner's science classes were housed away from the generators and lasers and whatever else it was that they used. But he knew that if he was going to find Hermione this would be the first place he would have to look.

He was halfway down the hall when he heard a sudden announcement break out over the loudspeaker.

"All students are to return immediately to the Main Hall. Any student found wandering outside of the hall will be subject to extreme punishment."

"Now I've done it!" thought Harry as he started to run. The entire school was looking for him now. He wondered if he'd be sent back to the Dursleys or if there was some sort of special place for failed superheroes.

"Harry!" He turned around to see Ron speeding down the hall toward him. "We've got to get back! Now!"

He slowed down. Ron almost slammed into him, and caught Harry by the arm when he was close enough.

"Am I really in that much trouble?" he moaned.

Ron was shaking his head. "No, not that. Zatanna took care of that before they even realized you'd taken off." He straightened up, composing himself for the shock of the imformation he was about to impart. "Get this, Harry…the school's been invaded!"

"What?" Harry glanced around the darkened corridors. "What do you mean?"

"There's a villain loose in here. One of Batman's big guys, Clayface. He's somewhere in the halls, parading around some sort of troll thing."

"A troll?" Harry listened for a moment, hearing nothing. "Then we really need to find Hermione, and tell her what happened!" He started to take off, Ron remaining stationary. "Well? Are you coming?"

After a few more seconds Ron nodded and joined him. They found the hall where the laboratories were housed, but before they could turn that way they heard a loud crashing sound followed by an enormous roar. Ron's already pale face became the color of chalk. Harry glanced down at his wand, remembering what had happened with Draco, and held on to it.

They crept around the corner. The light was on in one of the rooms, and they could tell without having to look inside that this was the source of the racket. "That door seals tight, like a vault. If we can lock him up inside…" Ron trailed off as there was another loud crash. Harry nodded his head and, on an unspoken signal, the two moved forward.

The creature was at least ten feet tall, its skin resembling molten plastic and writhing over its entire body. Harry positioned himself so that he had a hold on the edge of the door and then, right when he was about to slam it back behind him, he saw something move at the back of the room.

Damn! Hermione's in there! He thought to himself. Communicating that fact as best he could with Ron, Harry took a moment to think of his options. There was the hard way where he figured he might be able to create a diversion and outrun the monster and give Hermione a chance to escape. Then there was the suicidal way, which involved confronting the monster head on.

So, the hard way it was. He picked up a large metal rod that was laying across the lab table and, rearing back so that it would do the most damage possible, he slammed it down across Clayface's back.

The monster didn't so much as flinch. It did turn around however and, latching it's gaze on Harry, began to chuckle with a voice that sounded like footsteps on gravel. "RUN!" he screamed.

It didn't take much provocation for Ron. He took off in a flash, making Harry wonder briefly if he hadn't inherited some ability along with his younger sister. But Hermione didn't even budge, and before he'd moved two steps he turned back around.

She slowly moved to her feet, staring at Harry from her position on the far wall. Directly between them the monster stood. His attention was directed entirely at Harry, although he was aware that the moment he had shouted he'd made it aware somebody else was around.

Well, there went Plan A. Now it was time for the suicidal plan.

Harry ran at Clayface, giving himself enough of a magical boost that he landed directly on his back. "RUN, HERMIONE!" he shouted. This time she listened, and with a little shriek skittered toward the door. But she couldn't get around Clayface, who was flailing back and forth and warping his shape in an attempt to get at the small boy hanging on to his shoulders.

"Harry!" Ron had returned, and in a panic seemed to be searching the room for a weapon.

"Harry! His molecular structure is weakened by water!" shouted Hermione, seeming suddenly to come back into her senses.

"Water? Right!" Harry concentrated. "Retaw! Doolf! Niar!" The air around him seemed to be suddenly filled with a fine mist, but even though Clayface faltered it wasn't nearly enough to have any real effect.

Then, suddenly, Ron seemed to brighten. "You need water?" he said.

"Yes! I just said…"

But nobody was paying attention to her. Not because she was about to launch into a lengthy science lecture (though even when not under attack they weren't usually well-received), but because suddenly every pipe for rooms around was rattling loudly. Ron seemed to be deep in concentration, and then suddenly there was a loud whoosh and every drain and tap spewed forth a geyser that shot straight through the room and hit Clayface head on.

It was enough to have him drop to the ground and shrink in size. Hermione darted around him and Harry slid off. The water stopped when they grabbed Ron and the three of them left the room, but as they started down the hall they were ankle deep in the flood that Ron had created.

"That…was…effective…" Harry said as they turned a corner. But thanks for his praise was never returned because from the shadows emerged a tall figure with eyes that glowed white in the darkness.

"Have you seen Clayface?" he growled. His voice was deep and sinister, pretty much just as Harry had always imagined it would be.

"B-b-batman?" he stammered.

But he was moving away, straight in the direction that Hermione had pointed out to him, and before any of them could get away Zatanna stopped them dead in their tracks. Her generally cheerful demeanor had vanished for the time being, and with a sigh she clenched Harry's shoulder tight.

"What did you mean by ignoring a direct command to station yourself in the Main Hall?" she said. "You could have been seriously hurt, or…"

"It was my fault." Hermione stepped forward. "I wanted to prove that science is more useful than magic…that, with science, I could defeat him. But if it hadn't been for Harry and Ron I'd have been killed. They followed me…they were trying to convince me to go back to the Main Hall with them."

Harry and Ron exchanged looks of surprise. Hermione admitting that she was wrong seemed about as foreign to them as Hermione breaking a rule, but here she was doing both.

"Is that so?" she didn't look as if she believed them, not entirely, but after a few more moments sighed and seemed as if she had decided to let them go. After a moment more Batman had returned. His gaze passed along both Hermione and Ron, settling for a moment on Harry.

"I'll have somebody come and pick him up," he said. "You kids really did a number on him." Through the open part of his mask his lip twitched. Harry would almost have thought that he was smiling although something told him that this wasn't the sort of man who smiled.

"It was Ron," said Harry.

Batman seemed to consider this for a moment. "It seems like I wasn't needed after all," he said finally. He nodded to Zatanna. "You'll know where to find me." He began to walk away and after a steps stopped. He turned, with one final statement for Harry.

"That was good work. Your parents would be proud."