I do not own Harry Potter, or DC

(This story is inspired by An Ace In The Hole, by Aadixion)

Hello guys, Badger here. Another longer chapter for you all. I'm not going to lie. It got dark, just a little bit. I think. I'll let you be the judge of that. Anyway, I am currently working on new chapters for every story at once, but this is the chapter I was able to finish first. Rather quickly too, surprisingly.

Enough of that, I'll let you get on with reading. I hope you enjoy, and I'll see you at the end.

Chapter 3

Seems Britain Needs A New Minister

Cornelius Fudge sat in his office, going through some papers that were on his desk. He was currently alone. The rest of the Ministry workers wouldn't be here for another couple of hours yet. He always arrived early, as it allowed him to have some peace and quiet for some time. He always thought becoming the Minister of Magic would be amazing, but more often then not, it was stressful. There was always some kind of issue going on in the Magical World, or law that was brought up, or a meeting that is called at the last minute. He rarely ever had a chance for himself anymore. He usually didn't get home until midnight, but instead of having some time to relax for an hour or two before sleep, his wife always ends up nagging to him before they both fall asleep. His wife couldn't stand the fact that he was working all the time, but no matter how many times he tells her how he couldn't just take time off, she chooses not to hear it.

A noise caused Fudge to look up, almost expecting to see someone entering his office, but there was nothing. It was just him in an empty office. Suddenly the silence didn't feel very comforting. He stood up, deciding to look outside and see if people had started to arrive, when a green mist started to fill the room. The mist was so thick, it made him cough, before his vision started to go blurry and the world spun slightly. When everything settled down once more, the shadows got darker and darker, until his entire office was pitch black, the only source of light coming from a candle stick on the wall. Fudge watched as the shadows seemed to shift and moved towards him, where he saw a man in a black cloak step into what little light there was. His eyes widened, when he saw who was under that cloak.

"No…impossible, it can't be you!" He exclaimed "You're….YOU'RE DEAD!"

The man under the cloak smiled darkly before a bony hand lifted a wand, where the voice he feared echoed through the darkness.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Fudge ended up falling over backwards, having tripped over something and hit his head on the ground, as his eyes were assaulted by a bright green light. Opening his eyes, rubbing his head, he saw that he was still alive and was alone again in his office. It was still dark, but not as dark as it was mere moments ago. Sweat went down his brow, as he looked around, scared about what just happened.

"Hmm…interesting" A deep and eery voice echoed across the walls

Fudge slowly got to his feet, using his desk as support, as the shadows seemed to moved again, where a horrifying figure stepped out. The figure was spindly and disfigured, wearing a beaten up leather coat that was touching the floor, ripped black jeans and a sack on its head, with eyes and a sinister grin cut out, glowing an ominous green. The figure was incredibly tall, its flesh seemed to be rotten and was a dull grey. In its bony hands, it held a chain, and on the end of that chain was some kind of sickle…or maybe even a scythe. Fudge wasn't quite sure.

"I have seen many fears that people have deep down" They continued, their voice sounding distorted and ominous, as they held up their scythe "But I have to say…your fear is one I've never seen before"

"Who…Who are you?" Fudge asked

The figure said nothing. It just smiled, the green glow in it's eyes and smile glowing brighter, as another voice spoke up.

"I protect, I stand tall, my purpose is to strike fear in all" They said, as they stepped out from the darkness, a toothy and manic grin on his face "What am I?"

Unlike the very embodiment of death next to them, the other figure was a normal man. He was quite thin and pale with greasy looking hair, hidden beneath a green bowler hat, with a black question mark seemingly painted haphazardly onto it. He wore a green suit, topped with a dark green leather coat and in his hands, he held a golden cane, where the head was shaped like a question mark. Fudge was too scared to speak, as he wondered who these people were, though the sound of someone flipping a coin rung in his ears. He looked to see a man, standing to one side, facing away from him, as he continued to flip a silver coin up and down in the air. The man had fair skin and black hair, wearing a white suit. He looked quite normal…until he turned fully, to face him. The entire left side of his body was horribly burnt, his entire eyeball exposed and Fudge could see hints of bone and muscle. The suit also seemed to be custom made, as it seemed like the man had cut a white suit and a black suit down the middle and stitched them together, the right side being white and the left being black.

"As…amusing as your obsession with riddles is, dear Riddler" The man said, in a smooth and calm voice with the faint noise of his teeth on the burnt side of his face clicking together as he spoke "How about we let the boss take over?"

Fudge was about to ask who their 'boss' was, when his ears were assaulted by a loud and crazy laugh and two more people stepped out from the darkness. One was a man, the other was a woman. The man had skin that was completely white, his bright blue eyes full of nothing but insanity. His hair was wild and a bright green and he seemed to have a haphazard mouth painted in red over his lips, going from cheek to cheek. He was shirtless, but on his chest, he had the word 'HA' written in red ink in a rushed manner. He was wearing a long, deep purple leather coat, purple trousers that could be mistaken for black and black shoes. He smiled manically, as he twirled a knife in his hand. The woman also had skin that was white. She had red mascara over one eye and black over the other. Her silvery blond hair was done up in twin pony tails, where the left ponytail was dyed red on the tips, with black tips on the right. Like her hair and makeup, her outfit was of a red and black colour scheme. She wore a dark red corset, that was topped with a crimson and black jacket with short sleeves. She wore skin tight, leather trousers, on side being red the other being black, with knee high, black combat boots. She also had a belt around her waist, with holsters on either side of her hips. Holsters which held some strange metallic objects Fudge had never seen before. On her hands, she wore leather gloves, which held a large wooden baseball bat in her hands, with the word 'GOODNIGHT' written in ominous red letters. Unlike the man beside her, the woman had a look of cold fury in her eyes.

"Who…who are you?" Fudge asked, after finding his voice

"I don't think you are in any position to be asking the questions here" The manic looking man said, his smile dropping, as he threw the knife in his hands, piercing through Fudge's shoulder, making him scream in pain as it sent him flying into the wall, keeping him in place, as the blade managed to break through plaster.

Tears went down Fudges cheeks, as blood began to stain his suit. The manic man slowly approached him, stopping where they were mere inches apart, where Fudge could see into the mans eyes, where he was certain he could see fire in his eyes. Everyone else stood back a few feet away, the man with the burnt face placing a hand on the woman's shoulder, though that did nothing to calm the fury engraved in her features.

"However, I know how to be polite" He continued "I…am the Joker…I'm guessing you're the man in charge here?"

"Y…Yes" Fudge nodded, the pain in his shoulder getting worse

"Good" Joker said, placing a hand on the hilt of the knife, twisting it slowly, causing Fudge to cry out, as he felt like his shoulder was being set on fire, though Joker remained unfazed "Now…your people have taken someone of ours…to Hogwarts, I believe the name was…and we want him back…you are going to tell us where Hogwarts is and how to get in, so we can get them back…and if I'm feeling generous, no one will get hurt along the way"

"You…you can't" Fudge gasped, when the Joker stopped twisting the knife "I don't know who…who you lot are, but if you aren't magical you won't be able to find it, let alone get in…not without someone who can"

"Well, then we'll try plan B" Joker said, twisting the knife once more "You will come with us, so we can get inside"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't…you freaks" Fudge replied, distastefully "I may be the Minister of Magic, I still need permission to pass through the wards…the only people who can pass through are those who are part of the Board of Governors…they are the people who run inspections and handle any issues the school has"

"Do you have a document of these people?" Joker growled "Cause let me tell you, you better have…otherwise this knife is going to be removed and put somewhere else and believe me when I say, I've always wondered what a bleeding heart looks like!"

"In my desk" Fudge said quickly "Top drawer, you can find everything there…it updates itself every year"

"Harley" Joker said, in a soft, yet eery sing song voice "Be a dear and search the drawer…see if this bloated pig sack is telling the truth"

The woman, Harley, nodded and made her way over to Fudges desk. She may have been facing away from him, but Fudge still felt like she was glaring in his direction. After rummaging through the multiple documents in his drawer, she removed a folder, a satisfied smile on her face.

"It's all here Mr J" She said, in a bitter sweet tone "There's a lot of names too…I'm sure one of them will co-operate"

"Excellent, see that wasn't so hard, was it?" Joker said, as he removed the knife from Fudge's shoulder, taking the folder "Lady and gentleman…it's time we were going"

"But what about him boss?" Riddler asked, pointing at Fudge with his cane

"I'll let you and Two-Face decide on that one" Joker smiled "Just let me know when you're done"

Humming to himself, Joker made his way out of the room with Harley by his side. The large figure stood where he was for a moment, before a cloud of green mist enveloped him, causing him to disappear. However Riddler and Two-Face, who was still flipping the coin, remained where they were, with Riddler sporting a toothy grin whilst Two-Face had a passive, neutral look.

"So tell me my friend of two faces" Riddler said "What are we going to do with this kind gentle man here?"

Two-Face was silent, as he flipped the coin, before catching it in his palm, before he and Riddler looked at it.

"Oh, yes!" Riddler squealed with joy

"What?" Fudge asked, sweating "What does that mean?"

"Riddle me this, Minister" Riddler said, standing straight, tipping his bowler hat, whilst Two-Face removed a metallic object, similar to what Harley had in those holsters of hers "What question can you never say yes to?"

"W…what?" Fudge asked, where he saw the grin disappear from Riddler's face

"Are you dead?" Riddler answered

The last thing Fudge heard was a loud banging sound, before everything went back and he knew no more. Riddler and Two-Face, however, smiled darkly, as the bullet from Two-Faces gun went between Fudge's eyes, with a small spurt of blood, before the man crumpled to the floor, with a dull thud, his eyes open and seeing, but unseeing at the same time. With their job done, the two made their way out of the room to inform the Joker.

All in a day's work.

…

Harry made his way into one of the many classrooms, with the rest of the Second Year Ravenclaws, as well as Second Year Hufflepuffs. Today was his first proper day at Hogwarts and his first lesson of the day was Transfiguration. He sat down at a desk at the very first row, in front of a desk where a lone tabby cat was sitting. It seemed to notice Harry was watching it, as it's gaze focused on him, it's head tilting slightly. Harry knew he was crazy, but its eyes seemed almost…human. Harry merely shrugged and turned his attention to the rest of the class. His eyes immediately landed on the boys from last night. They seemed to shiver, as they caught his gaze. Seems they were still disturbed by what they saw. A pity really. Smiling to himself, Harry looked at the rest of the students in his class.

He planned on exploring the castle, to finds its secrets, as soon as he could. Until then, he planned on using his classes to try and find people to befriend. People who, like him, were considered outsiders, freaks, unwanted parasites in other peoples perfect world. Harry had good observation, so he knew what to look for. A few people seemed promising, but would require further examination. Though there was one that caught his attention. A few tables away, in the same house as him, was a girl, with bushy, brown hair. Harry had seen her a couple of times in passing, and she always had a book under her arm. It didn't take a genius to know the kind of person she was. A bookworm. A loner. Someone who wants to fit in, inside a strange world she barely knew about. Someone who wanted to prove their worth to others.

That right there. Harry knew he could turn that into his favour. However, he felt like there were strings that would need to be cut. If Harry didn't know better, this girl probably relied a lot on authority and rules, instead of decided things for herself. She seemed like the type. Before anything else, he needed to push the right buttons for those strings to be cut. Rules were meant to be broken after all. With the gears turning in his head, Harry turned back to the cat, where he immediatley saw it jump of the desk, transforming into a stern looking women. The spectacle was quite impressive. Harry couldn't help but smirk. They were just handing him more secrets to learn. If it was possible to turn into an animal, then Harry wondered at the possibilities. He would have a field day, next time he saw Cheetah or Killer Croc, running rings around them after transforming into an animal of some kind. Then again, maybe just Cheetah. Killer Croc was named as such for a reason. While Harry was certain the oversized reptile wouldn't dare to touch Harry, because every villain in Gotham knows how Mr J sees Harry as a son, the croc would probably do so, if the wrong buttons were pressed.

Harry leant back in his seat as the professor began pacing back and forth, explaining to the students about what they will be learning throughout the year. Harry held no particular interest in what the woman was saying. To him, it felt more or less like what Dumbledore had taught him before the school year started, so instead, his mind wondered elsewhere, as the voices in his head began writing up his own plans for the year.

…

Across the country, a darkness was growing. A vile darkness. He wasn't whole. Not yet. But he will be soon. If everything went to plan, then the diary he had one of his associates smuggle into Hogwarts would latch onto a students life energy, allowing a memory of his younger self to become whole in the present. From there, he would transfer himself into his younger self and continue with his plans. However, he felt a chill. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like there was something new. Something cold…wicked even. He didn't know what it was just yet, but he felt like he had a new enemy, amongst the rest. And this enemy, was a bringer of chaos.

…

Dumbledore sat in his office, head resting on the palms of his hands. Thoughts of Harry running through his mind. Over the past three weeks, when teaching Harry everything he needed to know already, the ancient Headmaster knew the boy was quite strong. Though he was worried that the boy was strong for the wrong reasons. There was a darkness in Harry. Dumbledore didn't need to sense it. Dumbledore just needed to look in the boys eyes to see that. Dumbledore didn't know what 'Mr J' may have taught him, but he had a vague idea. The boys response to Ollivander, that chaos brings him joy left much to the imagination. Now that the boy was at Hogwarts, Dumbledore hoped to undo whatever darkness is inside him. At the end of the week, Dumbledore planned on having a meeting with the Heads of Houses, to check on the boys behaviour and progress in their classes. Hopefully it will give him a stepping stone in healing Harry. Dumbledore was interrupted when a mail owl appeared in his office, dropping off the Daily Prophet, before flying away. Dumbledore was surprised, and confused, as the Daily Prophet had arrived later then it was supposed to. However, his confusion turned to horror when he saw the headline:

Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, Found Murdered Inside Ministry!

…

Yeah...so...Fudge is dead. Did any of you expect that? Probably, I don't know.

I feel like this chapter sets more of a tone for this story. Three chapters in and the Joker has already had a Magical person killed. I had fun writing that scene. Before any of you ask, The Scarecrow and Joker designs are based off of their design from the Injustice game. Say what you want about them, I like them. The other character designs are just based off versions I have seen. Harley Quinn's design is based off of one of the four posters I have. Yes, I have four posters of Harley Quinn. No, I am not obsessed. I think.

Anyway, there is a fun fact in this story: Riddler's riddle. Look back at Riddler's first line, when's he's introduced: 'I protect, I stand tall, my purpose is to strike fear in all, what am I?'. Well, the answer to the riddle is, A Scarecrow. So, the Riddler, in a Riddler fashion answered Fudge's question when he asked the Scarecrow who he was. Eh, I thought it was clever. Also, his second riddle: 'What question can you never say yes to' is a reference to the Batman Telltale Game.

Anyway, that is all for now. I've ranted on enough. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time.

Badger Out