AN:/ Okay guys here's the third one. Dont' keep expecting these fast updates. I just felt like writing today, so I finished this and cranked it out to you. Once again, not sure when I will be updating next. Possibly soon, possibly not. It all depends so dont' hold your breath.
Batman Doesn't 'Do' Magic
Chapter Three
by:deadlydaisy8o8
Originally Uploaded: Tuesday, January 8, 2013, 6:39PM
Batman had spent the remainder of his evening after they returned from their shopping doing two things. Researching Dementors, and Preparing for his first day of classes.
When Hagrid and Batman had teleported back to the school it had been necessary to appear outside the school grounds and walk in. This is when he had had his first encounter with a Dementor, a creature that Hagrid had described as guards of a wizarding prison that kissed the souls out of people, feeding on happiness. This description alone would have warranted further research, however as soon as he had gotten close to one of the creatures he could feel himself slipping. Batman truly had very few happy memories, but the creatures had pushed those away and made him start to become agitated, he could feel himself starting to loose the control that kept him from disobeying his one rule. It was not acceptable to be vulnerable to those creatures, and he would need immediate countermeasures to ensure his and others safety.
Upon further questioning, Hagrid had revealed that the Dementors were there as a form of 'protection' against an escaped mass murderer Sirius Black who was reportedly going after one infamous Harry Potter. So while Batman had been intrigued and planned to look further into the case, it was not as immediately urgent as a defense against Dementors was. It had been a very simple thing to go the library and select a few books on what he needed. However Batman was becoming increasingly frustrated with the authorship of this wizarding world, as it was very difficult to get anything unbiased or straight forward, even from the scholarly works that he had picked up. It seemed that this society had no clue as to how to construct a proper scholarly article: unbiased and well informed.
So a majority of the night had been spent trying to decipher something from all of the books he had gathered, and coming to the conclusion that the only defense wizards had come up with for such creatures was naturally, a spell, expecto patronum . Batman decided that he would make it a point to master this spell, if reluctantly, so that he would be ready for an encounter with one of the creatures until he could come up with an alternate defense, preferably one that did not rely on magic. Unfortunately for this temporary countermeasure to be effective Batman would need to keep his wand on him at all times. It had quickly found a niche in his left gauntlet where it would be easily accessible if the need should arise.
After Batman had temporarily satisfied his search on Dementors he had started to read through the textbooks that had been purchased for him. After a quick perusal of all the books he decided to start with 'the standard Book of spells, year one'. This book appeared to cover the basic technique and theory that would apply to all of his 'education' here.
Of course Batman was not overly excited about studying magic, much less being asked to preform it. However if this was a skill Batman was going to have, then he was going to master it completely before he was satisfied. So it was with a mix of resentment and curiosity that he read the introduction of The Standard Book of Spells, year one. The very first chapter focused on one thing, and one thing only: that spell casting is said to be ten percent wand movement, ten percent pronunciation, and eighty percent intent. The author stressed very heavily the importance of focus and clarity whenever a witch or wizard attempted to cast a spell. And that by and large, the secret to casting any spell successfully, was being able to know exactly what you wanted to happen, and then being able to command that thing to happen. It went on to discuss how this reliance on intent, rather than movement or speech is what allowed wizards with different accents to use the same spells, or how errors in movement could be allowed shortened, or taken out all together. Briefly the book touched on the fact that silent spell casting was achieved with sufficient will power and intent.
Batman was secretly relived as he read on about the theory of the supposed magic he was now in possession of. If it operated as this author had elaborated, then it would not be difficult to keep under control. Batman was not going to blindly believe what a single authority had published on the subject, however, and until he could read other points of view, and gain experience for himself, he was not going to let the majority of his anxiety fall away.
With this thought he allowed that it would certainly be in his favor if silent spell casting was a matter of focusing, because Batman was not at all looking forward to saying some of the spells he had glimpsed out loud. The mere action of waving a stick while saying some made up word was so childish and undignified that Batman truly hopped he could uncover the key to silence as quickly as possible.
As Batman felt the drain of being awake so long on his body, he put his books away and set himself down in a lotus position on the bed. He knew that he would need a genuine night of sleep soon. But he would not risk it until he was certain he was completely safe and unreachable. He also needed to give his armor and himself a good wash. He was starting to smell, and his head was becoming uncomfortably greasy underneath the cowl.
It seemed only a moment had passed when Batman 'woke up' and got ready for the day. Today he did one hundred squats, leg lifts, and jumping jacks before he left his room. With more quickness than the previous day Batman made his way to the great hall for breakfast, and once again, dropped from the ceiling before he entered the hall. Just like yesterday his appearance caused several screams, but he ignored them in favor of walking into the hall and finding something to eat. As much as he did not want to eat in front of others, he admitted that his body needed the sustenance. Batman mentally added 'finding the kitchens' to his long list of mental puzzles that needed solving. Once he had found the kitchens he could skip meals all together and spend more of his time researching.
More immediately important than finding the kitchens, however, was finding a place to sit. Upon his entrance to the Great Hall, Batman did not miss that the chair that was beside Hagrid the day before was no longer present. In fact the table did not even appear to be long enough to seat another as it had the day before.
A quick glance to the old man over the loudly gossiping student population, and Batman knew he would be sitting with the students today. The man's eyes were twinkling so badly that Batman could see it all the way across the hall.
Several possibilities flitted across Batman's mind. He could skip breakfast and walk right back out of the Great Hall, but ultimately he did need to eat and he would only be able to skip so many meals before he would inevitably run into this problem again. He could make himself a plate of food, and then leave the Hall, but a lifetime of being coached by Alfred Pennyworth in the ways of proper dinning etiquette would not allow Batman the luxury of doing so without copious amounts of shame. Batman thought for a brief moment that maybe if he ate up in the unseen rafters, he could avoid sitting or interacting with anyone, but once again Alfred got in the way. That and he supposed that plan of action would ultimately gain him more attention than he would prefer.
So it was with absolutely no other acceptable option that Batman appeared to glide over to the table decorated with silver and green to have a plate of eggs and fruit.
Like he was wearing some sort of unseen silencer, the students that he came in even a remote proximity to would cease their talking as he passed, only to start up again louder than ever once he had passed. Batman was more than pleased with this effect, as he had absolutely no desire to talk to anyone. So when Batman got to the end of the Slytherin table where all of the First years were sitting he fully expected to be able to eat in peace. Batman had chosen to sit with the youngest for multiple reasons. They were the end of the table he had come up to first, and he would supposedly be following these students through their day. It would be best that they have the chance to acclimate to his presence. He had been informed by all of his partners at various points through his career, that to a small child, he was a very scary person no matter if he had just saved their lives. In fact he had been informed that that often made him seem scarier.
So with nothing but a glance from Batman the exceedingly pale children scooted around and made a very large space for Batman to sit at the table. Without acknowledging the movement Batman fluidly arranged himself on the bench and started to assemble his plate. None of the children around him talked, while at the same time none of them could seem to look away. Several of them flinched as Batman extended his arm over the table and he revealed his painful looking gauntlets and knuckles.
Batmen choose to ignore the children staring at him, and to eat his Breakfast as quickly as was acceptable. Slowly seeing that Batman was not going to go on a murderous rampage, the eleven year olds surrounding him started to eat their own meals.
It had been a very quiet five minutes before all of the children surrounding him let out a scream when Batman's arm silently snapped up before his face. The Hall went momentarily silent as every eye was traced on Batman and the children all leaning fearfully away from him.
Batman glared as he slowly opened his hand, to reveal a piece of French toast covered in syrup that had been thrown at him from further down the table. Batman stared at the toast in his hand for a moment before his eyes moved slowly over the table and seemed to lock on to three people at once. Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Draco Malfoy.
Tentative whispers broke out over the hall as Batman rose out of his seat and started to walk towards the three teenagers. Out of the corner of his eye, Batman saw that the old man was physically restraining Severus Snape from standing to intervene.
Finally Batman was directly behind the three. They were all stubbornly looking down at their plates, even as they felt fear start to creep up on them, their necks flushing red in their nerves. Batman loomed over Crabbe, who he knew had thrown the bread. Slowly Batman reached over Crabbe's shoulder and placed the toast back on the plate. The three boys were motionless, as they could see the shadow that Batman was casting over them. Hope started to blossom in their chests when Batman withdrew his hand from in front of them. However fear crept back worse than before when Batman made no move from his position behind the three.
The Hall was silent as Batman loomed over the trio. Batman waited patiently for the tension to build to its peek as the boys in front of him became more and more nervous. He waited for the ideas of what he could do to them flash through their heads, he waited for the anticipation to become so great that he saw a bead of sweat roll down the blonde's neck. And then he turned and walked out of the Hall to get ready for his first class.
After a quick trip to a vacant bathroom to clean the syrup off of his gloves, Batman moved to find his first class. Which would be Transfiguration with a Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. When he found the correct classroom, no one was present and the door was locked. Even though no lock was present on the door, it would not budge from its frame, seemingly stuck there. Batman narrowed his eyes at the door before he lifted himself up to the rafters to wait. It was about ten minutes before an older woman came briskly down the hallway. She promptly unsheathed her wand and tapped the door knob before the door obligingly swung open.
Before the woman could choose to turn around or shut the door behind her, Batman silently dropped from the ceiling and attached himself to her like a shadow. Batman needn't have worried about her turning around to close the door, She purposefully strode into the room, the desk at the front of the class her obvious destination. As soon as Batman was through the threshold he darted to the side and into a crouch, hiding bellow the table tops and in the unused corners of the room, but still keeping his eyes on the target.
He was not at all pleased when he saw the woman morph quickly into a tabby cat with the markings of glasses around her eyes. He watched, skeptically, as the cat settled itself down on the desk, seemingly to wait for something. Batman stilled himself even further, unsure of the cats ability to sense him or how much of the woman was a cat, or if the woman was predominately a feline.
Slowly students started to trickle in. Batman maneuvered himself around the room in order to stay hidden. Eventually the clock at the back of the room read nine thirty, and all of the students were present. Some of the Slytherin students were chuckling as they had been informed by their elders of the trick McGonagall liked to play. Their Hufflepuff counterparts however, were not so informed and turned to one another quietly guessing where their professor could be. The cat continued to wait as the children got louder and louder, seemingly waiting for something. When Ten minutes passed and that something still hadn't happened and some of the Hufflepuff's were contemplating leaving to go get another teacher, the cat leapt off of the desk and in mid flight, changed back to a stern looking woman, her heals lightly clacking as she landed upright on the floor amongst silent gasps.
"There is no need to fetch anyone, Mr. Gilligan. I had simply been waiting for our last student to arrive, however it seems as if he has chosen to skip. Allow me to step outside for a moment to inform the headmaster and then we may begin." McGonagall was interrupted on her way to the door, by several short screams as Batman stood up from his hiding place, behind the professors desk. McGonagall whipped around to see Batman walking out from behind her desk and towards the only open chair available. The small mousy Hufflepuff girl with braces and pigtails was visibly shaking in fear as the man sat down next to her. McGonagall was very visibly flustered as she watched the man sit himself down in the chair. However she got over herself quickly enough.
"Well, I suppose now that that is taken care of we may start the lesson. What I have just displayed for you all is an ability held by only the most skilled at transfiguration. I am what you would call an Animagus. An animagus is a witch or wizard who has gained the ability to transform into an animal. It is a very complicated and dangerous skill, and all animagi are registered with the ministry, for lawful precautions of course. None of you will be skilled enough to preform the animagus transformation for a long while yet, but I can assure you that if you maintain a diligence in this class, you will eventually be offered the opportunity to learn. Transfiguration is some of the most dangerous magic you will be learning here at Hogwarts. It is complex and versatile and easily misused. Anyone found messing around in my class will leave and not come back, you have been warned." She made to look around the class and make eye contact with everyone. She tried to keep up her warning look for the grown man in the bat costume at the back of her room, but she found herself superstitiously glancing over him. Whether it was nervousness, exasperation, or fear she wasn't sure. "However today, we will be starting out small."
With this McGonagall picked up a box and removed the lid and started to make her way around the room passing out matches. Once everyone had a match she turned back to the class and set her own match down on her desk as she explained, her wand held delicately between her fingers.
"Today we will be turning matches into sewing needles. It is the simplest of all transfiguration spells." Mcgonagall turned to the match on her desk and flicked her wand as she spoke clearly for everyone to hear. "Factus Acus." The match nearly immediately turned into a shiny needle.
"Now the rest of you repeat the incantation after me before we begin. Factus Acus." There was a grumbled and uncertain Factus Acus from the rest of the class and a small frown appeared on McGonagall's face.
"That won't do. None of you will be completing this spell with that sort of effort. We'll try again. Factus Acus." Now the response form the class was stronger.
"Factus Acus." McGonagall gave a small smile.
"Good, you have the rest of the period, you may begin." Eager to try out their first spell the rom was immediately filled with exclamations of Factus Acus! Of course there was one student not at all keen on attempting the spell. Batman did not even reach for the wand in his gauntlet. Instead he leaned back in his chair and watched the rest of the room. He found his lips pursing together at the non results that were immediately apparent. He had only just been instructed of how to preform this spell and he could already pick out flaws in each and every students execution. They were not at all focused on the appropriate faucets of the spell. Movements that were supposed to be flicks were flourishes; spells were being shouted not spoken.
If this were Batman's class he would have stopped immediately and made sure everyone knew exactly what was wrong with what they were doing. Instead they were allowed to go on, producing unpredictable results. Batman found his eyes furrowing as McGonagall made her way around the room, but did not stop to help unless she was asked, and then only supplied minimal guidance.
Batman knew what she was attempting to do. She wanted the students to figure out for themselves how the spell worked and what was necessary to complete it. There was nothing wrong with this teaching style, but Batman was of the persuasion that it should only be used in instances where mistakes were not capable of volatile results. He frowned upon the willing danger the teacher was putting her students in.
He could see the students getting more frustrated as they continued to be unsuccessful at what they had been told was the easiest of all spells in this subject. Batman did not intervene, as this was not his classroom, but he disproved of McGonagall asking her students to preform magic when they were not capable of controlling their anger, and potentially unaware of how this would affect their results. Batman only knew this much because of the brief introduction he had read, and he was infinitely familiar with how anger could cloud someone's focus.
Batman came back to himself as he felt McGonagall come up beside him, he arms crossed as she peered through her spectacles.
"Is there a problem Mr. Batman?" Batman paused before he looked up to the Professor.
"No." Mcgonagall looked confused for a moment before she spoke again,
"Then if you would please demonstrate the spell for me." Batman didn't acknowledge the command other than flicking his wrist. A long black wand shot into Batman's right palm. Without pause Batman looked to the match on the table and commanded factus acus, as if he were giving someone an order on a mission that he expected to be followed imeditaly and without question. The match twitched before it shifted to a small metal needle. Batman calmly slid his wand back into his gauntlet as he handed the professor the needle.
McGonagall gapped for a moment before she took the small needle, acidenatlly pricking herself with it and drawing a small beed of blood from her fingertip. She looked it over regardless and placed it back on the table when she was satisfied. A quick wave of her wand and the needle was a match again.
"V-very good. Five points to Slytherin." Still slightly flustered she moved on to the small girl beside him.
"Let's see your attempt then, Miss Tieilima." After Bethany Teilima saw that Batman was not going to spontaneously attack her she had started to practice on her match and had so far been unsuccessful. However when the professor turned to her, her mouth was still open from watching Batman complete the spell on his first try. When the attention was turned to her she blushed furiously before she hurriedly pointed her wand at the match on the table.
"Factus Acus!" the match rolled towards the edge of the desk and stopped just before falling off the edge. The little girl looked to her lap her entire face a shade of red in shame as McGonagall commented.
"I'd best to let you keep practicing then." With that McGonagall was moving away to go to the next table. Batman remained motionless, staring forward as the little girl beside him seemed on the verge of tears. He desperately hoped she would not break down completely, and his wishes were granted when the girl seemed to take a few deep breaths as she closed her eyes. He watched gratefully as the color slowly started to fade from her face. She sat for a moment, clearly giving herself a pep talk. Hesitantly she looked to her side to see if Batman was watching her, only to see Batman as staunchly ridged as he had been before. Reassured that he wasn't watching she pointed her wand at the match once more.
"Factus Acus." The match quivered but nothing happened. Batman continued to watch out of the corner of his eye.
"Factus acus." The match lifted up off the table an inch before it fell. Now there was a pause and Batman could see the girls posture starting to slump as a red color started to flush up her neck.
"Factus acus." The match quivered, lay still for a moment, and then the phosphorus on the end spontaneously caught fire as if it had been struck. Before the girl even had the chance to react to her third failure Batman's hand snapped over the match and put it out.
The girl luckily didn't scream, but did recoil in her chair with wide eyes. She turned as she watched Batman's spiked arm retract from the table carrying the match with it. She shrunk on herself slightly as Batman brought the match up to examine to his satisfaction. He grunted lowly as he put the match down on the table.
Batman was not at all pleased. Just as he predicted, the children would not be able to control their emotional reactions to failure and it would produce volatile results. He had put out the match quickly enough that only the head of the match was burnt, the rest of it unaffected. He did not however, give it back to the girl, as he didn't know what would happen if this spell were attempted on a used match. Instead he slid his own match in front of the girl before he looked to her. Her eyes were still wide and she was now too shocked to even think of breathing, much less crying. Batman spoke quietly and without too much authority, not wanting to set the girl off and causing more havoc.
"You have no expectation. When you preform the spell, you do not believe you will be successful. You are in charge of that match, and it will turn into a needle when you command it to. There should be no doubt in your mind. Preform the spell knowing the outcome not wishing for it. Try again." The girl snapped out of it when Batman issued the command and immediately went to try again only for Batman's arm to snap out and catch her wrist gently. She jerked back, but Batman did not let go.
"You are in charge, it will change because you command it to. Not because I told you to command it. Do you understand?" The girl looked from where Batman was lightly grabbing her wrist, to his mask and those blank white eyes. However when she looked closely they weren't completely blank, but she couldn't see what it was that made them seem that way. She nodded slowly and Batman grunted as he let go of the girl's wrist. She drew her hand back to herself and glanced between Batman and the match a couple of times before she took a breath and nodded to herself. She furrowed her brow and stared at the match for a long moment before her wand came up.
"Factus acus!" The match shuddered for a moment before it laid still, and then slowly, very slowly, it started to gain a metallic sheen and sharpen at one end. The match head was still there, but she had gotten further than she had all hour. She turned to look for the Batman's approval with a beaming smile but when she turned to the side, he was gone.
The remainder of Transfiguration and the time spent before his next class, forty three minutes, was spent in the unused crevasses of the library, researching Dementors, expecto patronum, and animagi. The first two obviously related.
While he did continue his quest to find a non-magical defense against Dementors, he spent a majority of the time looking up the technique required to cast the established spell. This is when he ran into a rather difficult roadblock.
There were variations on the suggested approach, but the basic instruction to cast the spell was the same no matter what book he picked up. To cast a patronus, he would need to summon a sufficiently cheerful memory, and focus on that as he cast the spell. As he would have it, Batman spent the better part of twenty minutes trying to think of a truly happy memory, and he could not come up with even one.
He brought up to the fore several that he thought would do the job before he realized that they wouldn't exactly qualify. His decision to become Batman was not a happy decision. It had brought him a sense of relief, of meaning, and direction, but it wasn't a happy feeling. He thought of Alfred's quips and dry humor, but those were not of sufficient strength as his sources had indicated. He attempted to think of something he remembered from when his parents were alive, but the inheritress of the thoughts being tied to his parents ensured that those wouldn't do. He thought of the feeling he got when he adopted Dick, Jason, Cassandra, and Tim, but those memories were not focused on happiness, but pride, relief, and love, tied closely to feelings of anxiety and responsibility. He supposed that those memories were as close to true happiness as he would come at the moment, and decided that before the day was over he would find a place to practice and attempt the spell.
After determining his memory for a patronus charm, he still had about ten minutes until he needed to go anywhere so he decided to start research on animagus. He had not gotten far and intended to read further, but he had gotten far enough into the introduction that he knew it took dedication and skill to become and animagus, and that you did not get to choose the animal you changed into. However once the training was complete, a witch or wizard could transform at will, with or without a wand. It is also understood that in animal form they retain a human like awareness, but that their emotional capacity is severely simplified.
Before Batman had time to read any further he needed to get moving to his next class, which happened to be flying lessons. They would be taking place outside in the direct sunlight in an open field beside the castle, so Batman would have no place to hide until he was ready to show himself. It was unfortunate, but an acceptable sacrifice. Batman was only convincing himself to do this because he knew there would be small children ridding on brooms that would very probably need catching. This and only this, was what made Batman decide to participate. He wanted to grimace at the very idea of him ridding on a broom, of all things, but he would do it because he could not get the image of a child splattered on the ground out of his head. That and Dick would very likely have an epileptic fit if he knew Bruce had this oprotunity and passed it by.
Before he made his way outside he conducted a check of his grapple to ensure that the modifications would work properly. Normally it operated with electricity, as this was a thinner, lighter, faster way to shoot out a line, that also allowed him to reel it back in as he swung, propelling him upwards. However being such an essential part of his arsenal, Batman made sure to keep three canisters of compressed air in his belt as backup if the line ever malfunctioned. His original jump line had been gas operated, before Fox had come up with the newer more efficient version. The gas shot the line out slower, and without electrical power he would lose the reeling ability, but he would still be able to catch himself or someone else if he fell.
In the case of his cape's glider function, that would be on a temporary fix as well. Normally it operated when an electric charge was run through the fabric. There were sections of a special metallic compound sewn into all the edges of the material. When given a charge, they would align into a structure nearly as strong as steel the fragments also weighted the cape so that he could use it to stun enemies. The pulse also magnetized two pieces of metal near the foot of his cape, so that when he jumped the cape would stiffen and stick to his heels, where corresponding magnets were placed.
However instead of relying on electricity to do all of the work he was going to have to improvise. He would lose a good deal of his efficiency in flight, but instead of keeping his hands free, he would grab the cape and extend his arms to keep it taught that way instead. The pattern the cape was sewn in would do most of the work regardless; he just needed to give it a support.
The magnets that stuck the cape to his heels would be another problem. He could not activate the magnets in his cape without an electrical charge, however there were the magnets in both of his boots that were always magnetized. It was due in large part to the fact that they were surrounded by a special demagnetized covering and armor that they didn't constantly attach his feet to metal surfaces. However that could be easily changed. The magnets, along with being the catch points for the ones in his cape, were there so that he could slide himself up metal walls and air vents when the covering keeping them dulled down was removed. The soles of his shoes made sure that he didn't make too much noise, while the strength of the magnet held his weight as he climbed upward. All he would have to do was take one of the magnets in his shoes, undue the covering and place the end of his cape between the two magnets as he brought them together. He wouldn't be able to unstick them until he had a wedge and some proper time as the magnets were too powerful o be pulled apart with human strength, but they would keep him airborne for the moment and that was what mattered.
So Batman fixed the magnets to his left foot to keep the edge of his cape in place, and put a canister of air in his grapple before he made his way outside.
Even as early as he was he was nearly the last one there. Their instructor was out over the area they would be using, waving her wand around and obviously casting some sort of spell. The rest of the students paused as he approached, but were too excited to take much notice and whispered furiously to each other despite his presence. He saw that each of the students were standing next to a broom so he selected one for himself as well, and stood as still as a statue as he waited for the lesson to begin. While waiting Batman looked down to the broom beside him for a moment, inspecting it and trying to plan a way to look dignified and sufficiently terrifying while ridding it. However as soon as he saw it, he could not help but glare at it and how utterly pathetic this entire idea was. After a moment under Batman's complete loathing the broom started to shiver and the twigs all started to snap back into their correct place if they had been bent. Before Batman could growl at the inanimate object the woman who had been flying around before landed with a thud.
"Good afternoon. Now that we're all here we can get started. Under no circumstance are you to so much as touch a broom without mine or a teachers supervision. You will follow my instructions to the letter and follow my orders immediately. That means when I say it is time to come down you will come down, and you will not take off a moment before I say, or else you will not be allowed out here on broom again. Do you understand?" The students were doing their best to look sober as they nodded. They were failing horribly. Madam Hooch looked them all over and to her credit only faltered momentarily when she came upon Batman's emotionless white pits staring right back.
"Good. Now, stick your hand above your broom and say UP!" Madame Hooch's broom, which had been previously on the ground once she had landed, immediately sprung up to her hand like an obedient dog. The class was silent for a moment before Hooch was shooing the students at their brooms.
"Go on then!" Immediately calls of 'up' were being said loudly by all. Batman watched for a moment as the students brooms did anything but 'up'. Some of them rolled around, others awkwardly jumped off of the ground, some spun around and wacked the shins of whoever was nearby. Batman watched all of this until some of the students started to achieve success, much to their own delight. It was then that he decided he might as well get this over with.
Batman glared down at the broom on the ground as he stuck his hand out over the thin piece of wood. Before Batman could even breathe to command the broom up, it zoomed upward and loudly smacked his downturned palm so hard that it would have been painful if Batman were not wearing gloves.
Batman looked up and saw that the instructor along with the students immediately surrounding him were looking at him with open mouths. Batman growled lightly at the broom as he tightened his fist around the handle. Hooch shook herself back to awareness before she was back to addressing the class, who had managed to get their brooms into their outstretched hands one way or another.
"Right then. To mount your broom, swing your let leg over and into the foothold, leaving you to push off with your right. Do NOT push off until I blow the whistle. You should arrange your hands on the grip like so. Palms should be facing eachother, thumbs pointing upward, so that when you direct the broom you are not pushing it upwards or downwards." Hooch went around correcting people's grips and footholds before she mounted her own broom, her whistle in her hand.
"On my whistle we are going to push off and rise into the air. Nothing above five feet. Do not do anything else until I tell you to. Get ready. One, two…" Hooch blew the whistle and everyone rose into the air, though speed and height varied. Some shot straight upward twenty feet with a short scream before they calmed down enough to slowly float downward on Hooch's instruction. Some hovered a comfortable inch to two off of the ground and were slowly working up the nerve to make themselves go higher. Others did what could only be described as a jump upward without the resulting fall. Some did literally jump and collapsed on the ground before they got back on to their brooms, flushed with embarrassment, to try again. There was one girl so nervous that she jumped right off of her broom and it continued upward without her for about ten feet before it realized it didn't have a rider and proceed to fall some twenty yards away. Then of course there were the children who had done this before and rose into the air with confidence and ease to about five feet, or a little bit higher.
Batman waited a moment until everyone else had tried and studied the technique and the results they produced of those around him. He then copied the stance and movements of those that were successful.
In one fluid motion Batman shifted his weight to his left foot and gave a solid push off the ground. The broom obliged and rose into the air quickly at first, and slowing to a stop as he was at about five feet. As if he were an object that had been thrown upwards and at the apex of the arch, gravity had decided to just not care anymore.
By now Hooch had most of the class under control and she was smiling, even as some were very obviously close to tears completely terrified.
"Alright. Very good, all of you. By the end of the class I would like everyone to have made it around the pitch at least once. For those of you that are comfortable, You may use the one of the quaffles I have placed in the center of the field for a quick game, or just to fly around at your leisure. I do not want any dangerous tricks however. And you must stay within the pitch, I have placed wards at a height limit of one hundred yards. If you complete your one lap and you find that you still think flying is not for you, you may land and do what you will with the remainder of the time. Along side the quaffle are a muggle soccer-ball and a number of jump ropes." With a nod of dismissal, the class of first years happily started to make their way around the pitch. A number of boys and a few girls immediately zoomed forward, quickly completing their own lap before heading straight for the quaffles in the middle of the pitch. Then there were the less confident, and slightly wary who had taken off with an equal amount of gusto, but not as much speed or experience. Shortly after the first group, these were the students to finish and tentatively ask if the first group would teach them how to play games on their brooms.
And then there were the stragglers. The children terrified out of their wits. They had all gravitated into a tight clump, feeling more secure when they had at least some imaginary support on their sides. And because he was Batman, this was the group he stayed with as they slowly, jerkily, and painstakingly made their way around the pitch.
Truthfully Batman could have easily been around the pitch with the first group. Essentially, the broom was a glorified Segway that could fly. Batman arguably had better control of his body than anyone presently alive, so steering the broom with his body weight and movements was no problem for him.
Madame Hooch did attempt to stay with the not as confident, but she was quickly drawn away by a group of boys attempting to dare one of the first time flyers to stand on his broom. Most of the children were so focused on their gripping terror and distance from the ground that they didn't notice her absence, however there was one who watched with growing panic as the teacher flew rapidly away. The boy's broom started to shake more and more violently as he gripped it for dear life.
Batman grunted and frowned as he zoomed from his position below the students. As if he were ridding a horse Batman gripped the broom between his thighs as he made sure to come in wide, giving the frightened child time to register that he was moving towards him, and not startle him off his broom completely. The Child looked up with terror in his eyes and it was just then that he seemed he would loose his balance and fall to the ground that Batman reached out and grabbed the end of the boys broom with one hand and steadied his shoulder with the other.
Immediately the broom stopped shaking and was as steady as the broom Batman himself was ridding. The boy was breathing heavily as he was valiantly attempting to hold back tears. Fortunately for Batman comforting terrified children was an area he happened to have a lot of experience with, despite the inherent terror that he usually caused in the people who interacted with him.
"Look at me." Batman's voice was soft and low but didn't lack authority. The child's eyes were glued on his impending doom. He hesitantly flicked his gaze between Batman and the ground. Batman lightly squeezed the boy's shoulder as he spoke again.
"What is your name son?" The boy's gaze flicked to Batman for the longest time yet as he responded.
"J-Justin." Batman lightly grunted in acknowledgement.
"Justin, the reason you are looking at the ground is because your body uses it to keep its equilibrium, and you feel more comfortable when you have it in your line of sight. Unfortunately this also makes you painfully aware of your position. There is a simple solution to this problem, look at the towers around you or the horizon to keep your bearings instead. I will be here to keep you steady if this doesn't work. Justin I need you to look up and forget about the ground for me. So that I can help you." Justin nodded and he took a huge breath before he started to trace the ground up to the horizon off in the distance, gluing his eyes there instead. A hesitant smile appeared on his face when he saw that Batman's advice was working.
"You are doing well Justin. You don't have to look at me but I need a nod or a shake if you are ready to try something with me." Justin was feeling braver by the minute, Batman's hand still steadying his broom. Justin glanced to Batman a couple of times before snapping his eyes back the horizon, stubbornly not looking down. After a long moment of making sure he had his bearings Justin looked over and nodded his head. Batman grunted again to let Justin know he had seen him now that his eyes were back on the Horizon.
"Justin do you have a bike at home that you know how to ride?" Justin nodded his head as he gripped the broom handle.
"What color is it" Justin looked rapidly between the horizon and Batman with a curious look before he stuttered.
"G-g-green."
"When did you get your bike?" Justin seemed less confused now and just focused on answering the questions.
"At Christmas two years ago. My dad wrapped it up so that the entire bike was covered like it had been painted with wrapping paper. We laughed for an hour trying to get it off."
"Justin I want you to describe for me how you take a turn on your bike." Justin's muscles were starting to relax, and this is exactly what Batman needed. With the boy so tense he was bound to loose control. He would have to move with the broom instead of on top of it. Justin seemed puzzled with the question again before he answered.
"Well you kind of lean into the turn and turn the handles a bit. Don't you know how to ride a bike?" Batman could not hold back a smirk at the conclusion the boy had drawn based on the questions he had asked.
"I do. And that is why I can tell you that ridding this broom is like ridding a bike, except that it turns in every direction. You are tense and that is why your broom shakes. Use your weight, like you would when you turn your bike, and you will be fine." Justin looked back and forth between Batman and the horizon a couple of times before he nodded.
"Okay. I can try but you have to stay right here in case I need you!" Batman smirked again.
"I will be right here, and I will catch you if you fall." Justin nodded seriously at the reassurance before he took a large breath.
"Okay, l-let go."
"I already did."
"But the broom isn't shaking."
"Justin I haven't been holding onto your broom since you told me what color your bike was." Fear, then anxiety, then confusion, then joy all rapidly passed across Justin's face. He flicked his gaze down to the handle of the broom before he glued his eyes back to the horizon.
"You're having me on."
"No, I'm telling the truth. We've already made it halfway around the pitch, a small ways further than the others, I'm afraid. You sped up a little when you started talking about Christmas." Justin was positively beaming!
"This is great. I'm doing it! Thank you, we have to go tell the others. This isn't hard at all!" Batman smirked as he watched Justin experimentally shift his weight and sway slowly from side to side. He had chosen to 'disappear', hovering bellow just in case he fell.
"Are you still there?" A note of fear crept into Justin's voice before he stopped himself and focused on the horizon. Never daring to look down.
"I'm going to be fine. He said I had been doing it for a while. I can do this, I can do this. Okay. Just lean a little bit." And then Justin slowly turned around to tell the rest of the kids still huddled in a clump the amazing tid-bits he had just learned.
"Expecto Patronum!" Batman flourished his wand once more and nothing but a wisp of white mist came out. It was now dark out, classes and dinner were over and he was now back in his rooms, the most secure place he knew of at the moment, practicing spells. Batman clenched the wand in his hand. This was unacceptable. This memory had to be strong enough. People said that there was nothing better than becoming a Parent. The feeling he could recall after every adoption and acknowledgment reinforced that statement but it was not enough. When he focused on the memory, the most he could produce was a small white mist. Further research would be needed. He must be doing something wrong.
There was a tentative almost sympathetic squeak from the corner. And Batman looked up to see the Nightmare had lodged himself in an exposed support beam. Batman looked skeptically up to the bat before he shook his head and put the wand back into his gauntlet.
He needed to take a shower. He could smell himself. However his security was still compromised, so he would have to do it with a mask on. Batman walked into the bedroom and ripped the sheets off of the bed. With a quick slice of his arms there was a rip in the white sheet. A quick pull and Batman had a piece of cloth he could use to cover his face. He popped a knife out of the side of his boot and cut two triangle eye holes in the cloth. He disassembled himself until there was nothing on him but his underwear and his cowl. Flinging the remainder of the queen sized sheet over himself, as if he were attempting to be a ghost, he removed his cowl and tied the fabric around his head before he uncovered himself.
The next three hours were spent washing himself, his armor, and anything else washable until he was satisfied and did not feel like a walking grease monster who had not cleaned himself in over three days.