Chapter 2:
A Job Offer
"That had to be one of the weirdest things I've ever seen." a still shocked Beast Boy said.
The Titans, unsure of what they had just witnessed, were combing the area for clues.
"I agree." added Starfire. "That experience was most extraordinary."
Cyborg was scouring the area for clues. "Where'd he go? It's like he just came and went out of nowhere."
Raven was puzzled too. "He wouldn't let us help him, even though he was getting hurt pretty badly for a second. That woman didn't look that dangerous to me."
"And what about our fireplace? I mean, why should he care weather we have a fireplace or not?" Robin's brow was furrowed, deep in thought. Looking to the sky, he saw it was about to storm, and decided to call off the search for evidence. "Well, he said he'd be back in about an hour to explain, and it looks like it's gonna rain. Let's go home."
It had begun to rain when the group got back to Titans Tower. Everyone was soaked, except Raven, who had her powers to shield her.
When everyone was dried off back and back in the living room, 45 minutes had passed since Henry had left. 15 to go.
Robin was watching footage of the battle between the woman and Henry that he had recorded, analyzing his moves and techniques. Raven was preoccupied in a thick, ancient-looking book, but everyone else sat blankly, watching the fireplace, not knowing what to expect. It was a modern sort of fireplace in keeping with the rest of the building, round so that you could sit around it. It was seldom used, and had lately been surrounded by Cyborg and Beast Boy's junk.
And so they sat, seemingly forever, each of them with questions for Henry about who he was and where he came from. Cyborg looked at the clock displayed in his arm. It was ten minutes past when Henry said he'd be back.
"He's late."
"Give him some slack. I mean, after all, he's probably very busy and-" Robin never finished his sentence, as just then the fireplace exploded into green flames, sending all the accumulated junk flying around the room, and making the Titans dive for cover.
Then came what shocked them the most, for out of the flames unfurled the figure of Henry Wells, with a couple of big books and what looked to be a long piece of rolled up parchment under his arm. As he stepped forth from the green flames, they flickered and died, leaving no trace that they had ever been there. Surveying the damage around him, he shook his head and raised his wand and flicked it about a bit. All the boxes and loose junk organized themselves and flew back into the corner.
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Don't you people know that it's not wise to block up your fireplace? Makes for a terrible mess when people come through."
Robin got up and brushed the soot off of himself. "Umm, well we normally don't expect people to come out of it. You're the first, in fact."
Henry hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Duh. Sorry-it's just that I haven't been to a muggle house in a long time, and I forgot how it is with you folk. Should've known better. Anyways, sorry I'm late, but I ran into some trouble at the Ministry. Had to have your fireplace connected to the floo network-most muggle houses aren't. The lady was being very obstinate and refused until I got proper authorization, which needless to say, took longer than I expected."
They stared blankly at him, unable to decode a thing he just said. Noticing this, he motioned towards the table. Now they finally got to have a better look at him. He wore a dark green robe over a white shirt with a tie, had regular pants on, and boots. He was relatively tall, about six foot one, and, though no one but Raven noticed, gave the feeling that there was more than at first meets the eye. But she brushed off this feeling and began to listen.
"Right then, I'll start with that. The floo network is a magical network that connects every fireplace to every other fireplace in the world. As a rule, only the fireplaces in wizarding homes and business places are permanently connected to the network, though the fireplaces of muggle homes and places–like yours-can be connected if the need arises." He pulled a small pouch from his robe. "Of course, you just can't go walking into the flames-you need some floo powder." He took out a pinch of the emerald substance rubbed it between his fingers, causing it to crackle a bit. "You throw some of this into the hearth and say where you want to go, then you step in, and after a few seconds, arrive at your destination. Also, if you don't want to go to your destination, just communicate with whoever may be at the other end, all you have to do is stick your head in the fire, and while the rest of you stays where you are, your head goes to the destination. Quite handy, really."
Robin was very impressed. "Cool. So, you can go anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds?"
"As long as there is a fireplace. Just came from London as a matter of fact." He pulled his wand out of his robes. "To go wherever I want, I can apparate," he raised his wand and BANG!, he vanished into thin air, followed two seconds later by another loud BANG!, when he appeared on the other side of the room. "and disapparate." He sat down again.
"And what is this 'Ministry of Magic' that you keep talking about?" asked Starfire.
"The Ministry of Magic is the government for all the magical people of Great Britain and Ireland. The Minister of Magic is our elected leader, currently a man by the name of Cornelius Fudge. The Ministry handles the governing of all magical peoples, and is separate from the muggle government." He paused and shifted in his seat. "I am employed by the Ministry as an Auror, or a dark wizard catcher. We make sure that the International Statute of Secrecy, which is an international law that keeps muggle and wizarding societies separate, remains unbroken, as well as catching the occasional dark wizard, like you saw earlier."
"Dude, what's it like working for the government?" asked Beast Boy.
"Incredibly boring most of the time. All the other aurors are at least 20 years older than me, and treat me like their lackey, calling me 'water boy'. It's rare that I actually get to go out and fight. Most of it is paper work and forms. I hate it. I'd give anything to have the kind of arrangement you guys have here."
"Really?" said Robin, his eyebrows raised.
"Yeah. You know, I haven't been out with friends in a year? I almost regret going through school so fast. I'm either at work or at home alone, and I can't stand it. I don't know what I'm going to do. I feel like I'm going nuts."
Robin nodded, his brow furrowed in thought.
Now Raven asked a question. "Why didn't you let us help you with that, that, what was her name again?"
"Bellatrix Lestrange?"
"Yeah, her. Why didn't you let us help?"
He leaned forward towards her. "Bellatrix is, or I should say was, very skilled in the dark arts. You remember those green shots she emitted from her wand?"
"Yes"
"Had I or any of you been hit by one of those, I or you would've been killed instantly. And no spell or power can block it. You can only dodge it, which can be quite difficult."
Raven's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"So Raven, you see that I was trying to protect you all from being slaughtered mercilessly. The killing curse is dark magic and is classified as an unforgivable curse, along with the Cruciatus Curse-the one she tortured me with-and the Impirus Curse, which allows the wizard in question to take over a person's mind.
"Wait a second-you can turn people into zombie slaves? Cool!" said Beast Boy, enthralled with his comic-book notions of semi-rotten green people rising from the grave.
Henry's tone was harsh and reprimanding. "Not cool, not cool at all. To use any of those curses upon another human being automatically earns the wizard a lifetime sentence in Azkaban prison, which I can assure you, is not a pretty place to go."
"What's that stick thingy that you use?" asked Cyborg, eying Henry's wand on the table in front of him.
Henry's tone was much warmer again. "That, my friend, is my wand, my most valued possession." He picked up the well-cared for piece of wood and rubbed at it with his robe, causing multi-colored sparks to come out. "Each wand contains at its core some magical substance, be it dragon heartstring, unicorn hair, a phoenix feather, among other things. Mine is made from apple wood with a phoenix feather at its core; they come from all sorts of different trees. Without my wand, I couldn't do nearly as much stuff. It's like an extension of myself. I don't know what I'd do without it."
"So, if someone broke it, you'd be helpless?" he asked.
"No, I could still make potions and do a simple curse or two, but any advanced magic would be out of the question."
Starfire looked as though she had a question, but didn't want to ask it.
"Yes? Did you have a question Starfire?" said Henry.
"Well, forgive me if I sound rude, but how old are you?"
"I'm fifteen, just like all of you."
"Why are you not at your place of schooling then?"
"Well," he pulled at his shirt collar a little. "I don't like to toot my own horn, but I was a little bit ahead of my classmates. They're still in fifth year, with two more to go. I skipped ahead three years."
"Then..." she hesitated again.
"Come on, speak up."
"Then if you're so young, why are you not with your parents?
His face darkened and he looked down. Obviously, this was a painful topic for him.
"If you don't mind, I'd, I'd prefer not to talk about that."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"No no, it's perfectly all right. There's no way you could've known."
Trying to change the subject, Robin interjected. "How'd you know that we're all fifteen?"
He pulled out the long rolled up piece of parchment and untied the ribbon holding it together. It sprang from his grasp and unrolled. It was so long that it was halfway down the adjacent hallway before it stopped. Written on it in neat, cursive script was a heading:
Muggle Law Enforcement Report
Specifically
The Teen Titans
By
Henry Wells
They were again stunned. Raven gave a monotone "Whoa", the other four sat in shocked silence at the yards of parchment before them.
"I was a tad wordy and over-zealous when it came to school assignments." He said with a grin. "But, as you can see, you're quite famous in the wizarding world. In fact, we know everything about you. We don't know about your personal selves, of course, but we know how you each fight and what your capabilities are. My essay," he motioned to the mile of parchment behind him "details everything."
Beast Boy chimed in with "That might be a little bit of an understatement."
"How'd you figure all that stuff out?" said Cyborg, somewhat alarmed. "I never detected anyone watching us on my sensors, and they can see anyone, even if they're invisible."
"We have our ways. Besides, electronics are easily fooled by magic. Even a simple Disillusionment Charm can fool the most complex muggle methods."
He spent the next two hours our so outlining the wizarding world, entertaining all their questions to the best of their ability, using the books he brought along to provide visual examples. When all their questions were answered, Robin looked at his team with questioning glances. Throughout the entire conversation, he'd been going through the battle in his head. He was contemplating weather or not to ask Henry to join the team. The others looked back at him with looks of approval, and Raven gave a small nod. Henry just sat there, twiddling his thumbs and looking up at the ceiling.
"Could you excuse all of us for a minute please? We need to talk some things over." Said Robin.
"Of course. Don't let me keep you." He got up and moved aside so the others could get out of their seats. They disappeared into another room down the hall. Robin started talking first.
"He's good. Very good. He'd be a great addition to the team. Should I ask him to join, or what?"
Raven spoke up. "I did not detect any lying at all, though he hides much pain. I think Starfire touched a nerve when she asked about his parents.
"Indeed-he seemed quite distressed." Said Starfire.
"But we've all had terrible things happen to us in the past. We can't judge him on that." Said Cyborg.
"He's smart, too. He knows an awful lot about what he's talking about. We could use someone with a broad knowledge base." Raven said.
Beast Boy started jabbering. "Yeah, but I mean Henry Wells? That has to be the lamest name I've ever heard."
Cyborg smacked him across the face. "OK Garfield. Like your name is so much better than his."
Beast Boy's face went red, making him look like a Christmas tree. "Dude, nobody calls me Garfield. I'm Beast Boy; no one even knows Garfield's my name. How'd you find out anyway?"
Cyborg just whistled and looked up at the ceiling.
"But what about his job?" asked Robin, ignoring his teammates.
Raven spoke again. "Well, he says he wants to get away from it and that he'd love to be part of a team like us. I'm sure that there's some way he could get out of it, if he really wants to."
"Why do we not invite him to train with us tomorrow? If he passes the obstacle course a certain amount of time, then he is a member of the team."
"Good idea Starfire. Let's see what he can do against the kind of enemies we face." Robin then opened the door and walked out.
When they got back to the common room, Henry was intently examining the under-used and heavily neglected dishwasher. He had his head inside of it. Raven cleared her throat.
"Ahem."
Henry jumped, banging his head. "Ouch!" he muttered, and pulled his head out, covered with cobwebs, and blushed at the raised eyebrows that the team was giving him, "Fascinating machine." was all he said before shutting the door and hastily combing back from behind the counter. "Sorry, I've never seen anything like that before."
"You've never seen a dishwasher in your life?" asked Cyborg in an incredulous tone. "You've got to be joking."
"Is that what it does? It washes dishes? We have no need for such a contraption. All we do is" he raised his wand to a particularly old and mold covered dish sitting by the also neglected and under-used sink, "Scourgify!" The dish was wiped clean and shiny with no trace of dirt whatsoever.
"Um, yeah, anyways, we were consi-" began Robin, but he was cut of by Starfire, who ran forward and was jumping up and down with excitement.
"We want you to join our team! All you have to do is pass a test and you're in!"
"Now it's you who's joking. I mean, you can't be serious, can you?"
"Dead serious." Said Raven "We think you'd make a great addition to the team. All you have to do is beat our obstacle course under a certain time."
Henry looked somewhat uncomfortable, like he was dreading something.
"Hey dude, if you don't want to join, then that's fine. You don't have to if you don't want to." Said Beast Boy.
"No no, I was just thinking of all the paperwork this is going to cause." He frowned, and then smiled. "But nevertheless, this is too great an offer to pass up. When do I take my test?"
"Tomorrow would be great." Said Robin.
"It's a deal then. I'll meet you guys here at say, three o'clock?"
"Sounds good to me. See you there."
"Splendid. See you all later then." He said as he walked over to the fireplace, threw some floo powder in, and said very clearly "Number 88, Hawthorn Drive!" stepped into the emerald flames, and was gone.
The team, all full of excitement pending the possible addition of a new teammate, went to bed, eagerly anticipating the next day's events.
(A/N) How'd you like this chapter? I've got more ideas if I get positive reviews. You'll still have to wait for the pairings, but again, I have some good ideas. I hope to start relationships next chapter. I need fuel from reviews!