August 7th, AD 1991

Harry sat down at the table as Alfred placed a stack of waffles before him.

"Good morning, Master Harry."

"Good morning, Alfred."

"Will it be milk or orange juice to drink?"

"Orange juice please."

Bruce was sitting at the head of the table sipping his coffee, Damian was already off about his day, and Tim had yet to raise his head from his pillow. Harry glanced at Bruce, then quickly back to his breakfast. Bruce hadn't said anything to Harry since he gave him the letter from Hogwarts. Come to think of it, the only person in the manor who had spoken to him was Alfred. He was sure that the revelation that he was a wizard was the reason, but Bruce had said that it didn't matter, so why did it feel like it did? He was lost in his thoughts, drinking his orange juice, when he was interrupted.

"Harry."

Bruce was looking at him with that stern stare of his. Harry wasn't sure how long he'd been waiting for him to acknowledge that Bruce was speaking to him.

"Erm…yes?"

"I've arranged for a skilled witch, Zatanna Zatara, to come in this morning and help prepare you for Hogwarts."

"Wait, a witch?"

"Yes, a witch. I suspect that there is much about the wizarding world that we do not know, and I believe it best if you were not shipped off to school in the dark."

Harry paused, it had never crossed his mind that he knew absolutely nothing about the magical world into which he would soon be immersed. He wasn't even sure where he could get all the stuff he needed for school. If a real witch was coming, she could answer a lot of questions he had.

"When Zatanna gets here, Harry," Bruce interrupted his thoughts, "ask questions, listen to everything she tells you and hold on to it. You will likely be bombarded with new information, be attentive."

"And don't forget to be courteous, Master Harry," Alfred added as he refilled Bruce's coffee.

"I won't, Alfred, I promise."

"I know you will, you are the one person in this family on whom I can count for that."

Looking back to Bruce, Harry added, "Will you be here when she comes?"

"Yes."

Harry nodded, "I've never met a magician, or a witch before. The Dursley's refused to go to any shows. One time a magician was supposed to come perform for my class, and Uncle Vernon forbade me to attend school that day. He wrote a letter to the principle complaining that the teacher was not teaching proper material and that she should be sacked. At the time I thought that it was weird, but that it was just how the Dursley's were. Now I wonder if they knew about me being a wizard and tried to hide it from me."

Bruce looked at his youngest ward, "I don't have an answer to that, Harry," he stood up and put his paper down, "I have some business I need to attend to before Zatanna gets here. Please don't disturb me. Alfred, inform me once she gets here."

"Yes, Sir."

Harry finished his breakfast as his guardian left. Excitement coursing through his veins at an unprecedented rate. He was going to meet a witch; someone like him! He felt far too much energy in him to sit still while he waited, so he decided to play with his new baseball mitt. Going to the back of the house, he tossed the ball up into the air and caught it as it came back down. He repeated this action, testing the limits of how far he could throw the ball and still catch it. At one point the wind caught the ball, blowing it to the left of where Harry anticipated it. The boy dove to the side snagging the ball with the tip of his glove. Harry held it up to his face, the ball peaking out of the leather glove like a snow cone.

"Well done, Master Harry," Alfred spoke from the patio, "I dare say even Master Dick would have struggled to make that catch."

"Thanks, Alfred!" Harry picked himself up off the ground and prepared to do it again.

"I'm afraid that it is time for you to come inside, young sir. Miss Zatarra has arrived and is waiting in the parlor."

"Oh, alright," Harry made his way to the house. He put his glove and ball on the chair beside the back door. Alfred pulled Harry into the kitchen and gave him a look over. Pulling out a comb from within his waistcoat, the butler wetted Harry's hair and attempted to smooth the mess.

"Tut-tut, Master Harry, is there no way to straighten your hair?"

"I don't think so."

"Then I guess that will have to do," the old gentleman sighed, "remember, be on you best behavior around Miss Zatara, she is doing a great favor by coming here."

"I will, Alfred."

"Quite right." Alfred led Harry to the parlor, he opened the door and ushered the boy inside.

Harry looked at the woman sitting down talking to Bruce. She was short, her shoulder length hair was the color of a raven, contrasting starkly with her pale skin. She was dressed in a business suit, with tight pants that could have been painted on, and a coat that displayed her curves. She spotted the boy, and her eyes widened as a smile stretched across her red lips.

"Miss Zatara, allow me to introduce you to Harry Potter, the newest addition to our home. Master Harry, Zatanna Zatara, the finest performing witch in America," the butler almost paused before adding, "and a dear friend."

Zatanna stood smiling and walked to Harry, "It's a pleasure to meet you Harry!" she said, her eyes instantly going to his lightning bolt shaped scar.

"You too," Harry felt awkward at how fast her eyes latched onto it. He almost thought she might ask to touch it but was deliberately refraining from doing so.

"I appreciate you coming, Zatanna, naturally this is a new experience for us."

"Don't mention it, Bruce," she turned and smiled at the billionaire, "I'm happy to help."

"Come sit down, Harry, and you can ask Zatanna any questions you have."

Harry sat next to Bruce, Zatanna across from them, crossed her legs as she leaned back into the chair, "what would you like to know, Harry?"

Harry didn't know where to start. He had too many questions to know where to start. Many of his questions had to do with his family: his mum and dad, but he doubted that Zatanna could answer those. Some of the more general questions pertained to the magical world as a whole, those he assumed she could answer. He decided to start with what might sound childish but had been nagging at him since last night.

"Is magic real? Not just the magic tricks you see at the theatres?"

Zatanna smiled, "Yes, Harry, magic is real, not just illusions." She looked at Bruce, who nodded his head, "if you'd like, I can show you some simple spells."

Harry nodded. Zatanna pulled out a wooden wand, "every Wizard or Witch gets a wand when they turn eleven. You'll get one before you go to school, and the wandmakers can explain far better to you their properties than I can. For now, just know that wands make a difference." She swung the wand in an easy motion towards the coffee table, "ingorgio" the coffee table between them began to grow. When it stopped both ends were touching the room's occupants, and Harry found himself looking underneath it rather than across from it.

Harry was speechless, he touched a wooden leg to be sure it was real. He couldn't believe that he had just seen magic, real magic!

"That's amazing," he managed to whisper.

Bruce gave Zatanna a look easily conveying his intentions. The young Witch quickly reversed the spell, which enthralled Harry even more.

"What else do you want to know?"

"How did I become a wizard?"

Zatanna looked at Harry in shock, "you don't know?"

"I told him that it His parents were wizards," Bruce said, "but that's as much as I know."

She nodded then looked at Harry. "Harry, your parents were both magical, and passed on the genetics to you. I can't give you details to their deaths because I don't know all of it, but they were killed by a dark wizard, Voldemort, when you were just a baby."

Harry's face paled. All those years the Dursley's had told him that his parents had died in a drunken car crash. Had they known the truth? Had they deliberately lied to him? It seemed likely. "What else?"

"Harry, He tried to turn the curse on you, but it rebounded killing him instead." Zatanna looked at Harry with mesmerized eyes, "the curse left a scar on your forehead instead. Everywhere you go in the magical world, when people see that scar, they will recognize you as 'The Boy who Lived.' You're famous, Harry, possibly the most famous wizard in the world, certainly in all of Britain."

That was a shock to Harry's ears. Not only was he finding himself immersed in a world he had not known existed until the previous night, but now he was learning that he was a celebrity in this new world. That people would recognize him faster than paparazzi recognized Bruce Wayne. He rubbed the lightning shaped scar on his forehead, Aunt Petunia had told him it came from the car crash that killed his parents, now hearing the truth about how his parents had died, this scar suddenly meant more to him. They died protecting him, they weren't drunks, they actually cared for him, loved him, just like he always imagined they did.

"Harry, Bruce asked me to teach you just a little bit about magic before you go to Hogwarts. Are you ready?"
Harry nodded.

"The first thing to recognize, Harry, is that there are limits to what magic can do. While everything magic does is remarkable, it cannot do the impossible. Nonetheless, someone once told me this, and I'll share it with you." She smiled briefly at Bruce, "when dealing with magic, expect the unexpected." Zatanna took out her wand again and conjured a glowing golden orb. Harry's attention was drawn to the colorful light as she continued speaking.

"There are many fields of magic, most of which you will learn at Hogwarts. Charms, transfiguration, potions, and defense magic are some of the most basic schools you will study. You will encounter magical creatures that you previously thought were myths. Goblins, dragons, thunderbirds, Wumpus, and ghosts all exist, as do many more."

As she spoke, Harry's attention became more and more focused on the glowing sphere, which had changed from gold to blue. The deeper he looked, the more intricate it appeared. What originally looked to be a smooth globe of light, suddenly displayed swirls and ridges, rises and falls in the texture. The closer he inspected, the further away Zatanna's voice seemed to be.

Abruptly, the shimmering orb vanished. Harry blinked three times as his head jerked up.

"Do you have any more questions, Harry?" Zatanna asked as she pocketed her wand.

"Umm," Harry realized he had not payed much attention to what she was saying. He did not want to let on that he had blanked out, that would be considered rude of him. What would Alfred or Bruce think if he admitted that he had spaced out when Zatanna was trying to teach him stuff. "No. I think that sums it up." He noticed Bruce give Zatanna a questioning glance. "I'm sure I will have more questions that will come up after I get to Hogwarts."

Zatanna nodded, "you are always welcome to send me an owl with any of your questions."

"Owl?" Harry questioned.

"Magical England still uses Owl Post as the primary mail service. Don't ask me why, they're just backwards like that."

"Oh."

Zatanna stood straight and tossed her raven hair away from her face. "I suppose that concludes my business here. It was a pleasure meeting you, Harry."

"You too."

The young witch turned her attention to Bruce, "It was good seeing you again, Bruce."

"Lovely as always, Zatanna, thank you again for coming."

"I'm happy to help." She walked over to the billionaire, looking up into his blue eyes, "please call if you need anything else."

"I'll be sure to do that."

Zatanna stood on her tiptoes, leaning towards him, then rocked back onto her heels, "I need to get going." She said turning away from Bruce.

"Alfred will show you out."