MoP

Harry Potter and the Myriad of Possibilities: Neophytes

Chapter 3: Recruitment

Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity and does not intend to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters that are original to this work remain the property of the author.

A/N: The Myriad of Possibilities Series primarily uses the background from the Harry Potter books but some elements and scenes have been borrowed from other sources – including the movies, Pottermore and my own headcanon – that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the DC Comics elements borrows heavily from Young Justice (2011) and may adapt elements and characters from the comics and several additional other media instalments – including but not limited to Smallville (2001) and Superman and Lois (2021) – and relocates events of Young Justice to the Eighties and early Nineties rather than the New Tens as screened and includes several 'legacy' and original characters as a result. Any other recognisable characters belong to their copyright holders.

A/N: Thanks to Jon, 6f5e4d, the Caer Azkaban and the Young Justice Writers Group for their help on this chapter.

Smallville.
July 18, 07:16 CDT.

"Do you have any plans today?" Hank's mother asked as he settled down in his chair at their breakfast table.

"Zatanna's busy prepping for her show, so she's too busy supervise my training today," Hank replied. "But Xanadu's agreed to meet me with me to act as a sounding board for a couple of things."

His mother glanced at the kitchen door as it opened again and his cousin joined them, looking rather fresher than Hank felt. "What about you, Linda?"

She shrugged, "Nothing much. I might practise my psychic juggling… why?"

"Can you go with Hank to New Orleans?"

"I guess," Linda replied with a shrug. "I don't need to go anywhere in particular for that."

New Orleans.
07:32 CDT.

"So, you believe that you may be coming to a crossroads, but you're not sure what to do?" echoed the seeress as Hank finished explaining his problem.

He nodded.

"I know a little about your history and your dilemma," Xanadu admitted. "But I am hesitant to…" she broke off and stood. She moved to a desk and retrieved a pack of cards from one of the drawers and brought back to table where they sat.

"Take these and think about your problem," she instructed as she reached across the table, offering the cards to him. "When you think they are ready, return them to me."

Hank obeyed.

"Let us begin," said Xanadu, dealing three cards from the deck and laying them out one-by-one on the table-top. "Death, the Ace of Wands, the Wheel of Fortune…"

"That sounds mixed…" observed Linda as she wandered over towards them, several small bean bags whirling up and down in front.

"There are several possible interpretations," offered Xanadu. "Perhaps another layout will clarify things…"

09:06 CDT.

"Well, I think we know two things…" concluded Hank after several layouts had added a little more information.

"Really?" asked Linda. "I'm still confused."

"We do," Hank confirmed. "If get a visit from the wand-wavers, we should listen to their pitch and probably agree."

"I'm not sure I like that idea," Linda asserted.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I do either," Hank admitted. "But sometimes you just have to heed Destiny when he comes calling."

"He's not the one I'm worried about," muttered Linda darkly. "It's one of his sisters."

Manhattan.
July 20, 03:16 EDT.

The sound of the front door opening startled Fidelio Scamander out of his doze, and he was just about to get out of his chair and accost his wayward son when a flash of fiery light lit the small room. "Fawkes!" he exclaimed in surprise, then turned towards the door as his son hurtled through the doorway. "Get to bed! You can explain where you've been to your mother in the morning!"

"Is that a phoenix?" Rolf inquired.

"Bed, now!"

"Yes, Dad!" Rolf conceded and slowly backed out of the room.

Fidelio waited until his son's door slammed closed, then he approached the swan-sized bird that sat perched on the arm of one of the other chairs. "I assume that you have a message for me from Professor Dumbledore?"

The majestic bird trilled agreement and then held out a claw for him to take it.

"I assume given the hour that it's urgent?" Fidelio asked as he bent over and started it unfasten the missive.

This time the bird made a more enquiring, even incredulous sound, and then as soon as the magi-zoologist had retrieved the note and withdrawn to a safe distance, he took off again and seconds later, disappeared in a flash of light.

Fidelio shook his head and returned to his chair, quickly opening the envelope and extracting a folded piece of parchment from inside, leaving a smaller envelope in place for the moment.

Dear Fidelio,

I apologise for the untimely nature of this communication but I believe that it is necessary to act on the information that Professor McGonagall obtained this morning as quickly as possible.

Specifically, that a boy called Hank Lang – resident in Smallville – has an invitation to attend Hogwarts for the upcoming term.

Fidelio paused for a moment, trying to figure out both why this would be – most American wizards opted against a boarding school education and even those that did were typically enrolled in Ilvermorny or one of the specialist schools, not Hogwarts – and why it was urgent, then glanced down and smiled at the next line.

Now, I'm sure that you're wondering why this is urgent? I would draw your attention to the fact that Hank is often used as a nickname for Henry or Harry…

The magi-zoologist smiled to himself as he realised where this was going.

And I have been looking for a certain Harry – who was enrolled for this cohort – for some time. Therefore, I believe it is likely that young Mr Lang is the missing Mr Potter, and that the magic of the Quill and Book were enough to at least briefly pierce whatever protections that he is currently under.

I would appreciate it if you could investigate the matter and offer the enclosed invitation to Mr Lang either way.

I am most sincerely yours,

Albus Dumbledore.

Fidelio put the letter to one side and then withdrew the smaller envelope and turned it over to see the address information.

Hank Lang,
403 Maple Street.
Smallville,
Lowell County,
Kansas.

"Selena!"

"Yes, my dear?" said his wife from the next room.

"Do we know anyone in Kansas?" Fidelio asked. "Ideally someone in the state government who owes us a favour?"

A tall, dark-haired woman strode into the room with a contemplative look on her face. "Herschel Holdsclaw? He's in the Kansas Magical Investigations Division."

"Yes… he had a problem with a feral shapeshifter..."

"Why do you ask?"

"Professor Dumbledore is asking me to look into something that could be a little… sensitive," he replied. "I'd like a little back-up when I go."

She nodded. "I'll send an Elf Post message to his office," she declared. "But I doubt he'll reply until he's in the office in the morning."

"When is that likely to be?"

"Not for at least another six hours."

"I'll go and have a nap then," Fidelio declared after a moment. "Can you wake me when there's an answer?"

"Of course, my dear."

Topeka.
16:00 CDT.

The first difference that Fidelio noticed about Kansas was the heat. New York in July was warm, sometimes uncomfortably so, but Kansas was a lot hotter and it was a brutal dry heat, so he already sweating as he made his way into the building that housed Kansas' magical investigators.

An impressive staircase dominated the centre of the building's atrium, with an attractive young woman at a desk off to one side. She looked up as he approached. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Fidelio Scamander, I believe Lieutenant Holdsclaw is expecting me, Miss…?"

"Charlotte Miller, sir," said the woman as she scribbled a note on a piece of parchment, then rolled it up and inserted it into a message tube affixed to the staircase.

As predicted, it only took a moment for answer to come back. "Just up the stairs, second on the right, sir."

"Thank you, Miss Miller," said Fidelio as the woman who nodded acknowledgement, then turned to another visitor who had entered behind him.

Fidelio made his way up the stairs and knocked on the vaguely familiar door, receiving a cheerful 'enter' in the response.

"Scamander!" boomed the lieutenant as he entered, motioning him into a seat.

"Holdsclaw," replied Fidelio.

"I would say it's good to see you but…" The older man trailed off, but at an enquiring look from the magizoologist, he added. "Your name and trouble are often linked."

"You're not the first person to make that connection," Fidelio admitted. "But I do try and help solve the problems if possible."

Lieutenant Holdsclaw nodded agreement. "Which is why I asked one of my sergeants to look into the situation," he declared, then paused at another knock on his door. "That's probably him now… Enter!"

The door opened and a tall, lean man entered. "I have that report for you, Lieutenant."

"Take a seat, Sergeant," said Holdsclaw. "Do you know Scamander?"

"Only by reputation, sir," said the sergeant. "Sebastian Littlewind, the lieutenant asked me to look into your questions regarding the Lang family."

"Did you find anything?" Fidelio asked, curiously.

"Not a great deal," admitted the younger man. "But I think that you're probably correct about Hank Lang."

"Really?"

"Yes, for three reasons," replied the sergeant. "One, Hank Lang's arrival in Smallville was only a few days after the disappearance of Mr Potter… two, his mother is descended from the Potters along her maternal line, in fact she appears to be a direct descendent of Abraham Potter."

"And the third reason?"

"He is currently registered as an apprentice to Zatanna Zatara, an expert in transfiguration with connections to the sorcerers of Atlantis, the Amazons of Themyscira and if rumours are correct… at least one of the Lords of Order."

"That could complicate things," observed the lieutenant.

Fidelio nodded, agreeing that he would have to tread carefully.

"I suggest that we drive down to Smallville rather than dropping in on them suddenly," suggested Sergeant Littlewind. "It might be less likely to induce panic."

"I agree," added the lieutenant.

"Then I will follow your lead," Fidelio conceded.

Lowell County.
16:48 CDT.

Air conditioning is my favourite No-Maj invention, at least right now, Fidelio mused to himself as they passed a sign welcoming travellers to 'Smallville, the Creamed Corn Capital of the World'. He turned to Littlewind. "What's creamed corn?"

"It's a creamy soup made with partly puréed corn kernels," replied his travel-mate. "How do you want to do this?"

Fidelio glanced at the clock in the car's dashboard. "It's nearly five, now," he noted. "Miss Lang should be finished at work and heading home soon."

Littlewind nodded. "If Hank's a fairly typical kid, then he'll probably stay out as long as long as he can, but he's not going to miss dinner."

"My son never does," Fidelio confirmed. "Why don't we find somewhere to park up for a few minutes and then go straight to their house after five."

"That is less likely to cause a fuss."

Smallville.
17:16 CDT.

The duo parked their sedan on Maple Street, then got out and walked to the door of Number Forty-Three and Littlewind knocked on the frame of the screen door. A series of loud barks issued from the rear of the property and he glanced at Fidelio.

The older man shrugged, nonplussed.

A few seconds later, a middle-aged, vividly red-headed woman in a tank-top and shorts opened the inner door.

"Miss Lang?" asked Littlewind, when the woman nodded, he continued. "My name is Sebastian Littlewind, and my associate is Fidelio Scamander."

"What can I do for you, gentlemen?" asked Miss Lang.

Littlewind thought that she probably already suspected the answer but replied. "We'd like to talk to you and your son about his education."

The woman sighed, clearly more resigned than surprised. "You'd better come in," she said, reaching over and opened the outer screen door for them. "This is not a conversation I don't want to have in public."

I suspect she'd rather not have this conversation at all, thought Fidelio to himself. But she thinks she needs to hear us out, which could work in our favour…

"You know why we're here," stated Littlewind as the pair entered the home and followed the woman into her front room.

Miss Lang briefly diverted her attention to a bar-shaped, glass-fronted No-Maj device in her hand, then nodded. "Ilvermorny or Hogwarts?"

Littlewind was about to reply, but a blur of white zipped across the room, darted between his legs and knocked him off balance.

Fidelio reacted quickly, reaching over to his associate's arm with one hand, then lunged down to snag the small creature with the other. "Now, now," he crooned, releasing Littlewind's arm once he was steady again, and moved the hand to soothe the cat. "There's no need to panic… we're all friends here."

"Wow," said Miss Lang as they moved over to chairs and sat down. "That's the quickest I've seen Racha calmed down."

"I'm good with animals," Fidelio replied cheerily. "As far as the school… I'm an Ilvermorny graduate myself, as are my brother and my mom, on the other hand my dad's family has been Hogwarts for generations, but…" he paused his petting of Racha the Cat and withdrew the smaller of the two envelopes he'd been sent from his back pocket and offered it to her. "… Today, I'm representing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Miss Lang diverted her attention back to her No-Maj device for a moment, then started to reach for it, then stopped and withdrew her hand. "What are your instructions from Professor Dumbledore?" Noting Fidelio tense, she continued. "I've known that my son was of interest to and threatened by elements of your world since I took him in so I made sure to make myself aware of the identity of as many of the key players as I could, particularly after it was confirmed that he was magical himself when he had his first 'damsel in distress' back in first grade."

"I think that's in his KMID file…" suggested Littlewind. ""Something about turning a substitute teacher's hair blue?"

I was doing some paperwork in my office at the bank shortly before lunch, when the intercom on my desk buzzed. "Yes, Olivia?"

"You're needed at Weisinger Elementary immediately, Miss Lang," replied our receptionist. "There's been an incident involving your son."

"Thank you, Olivia," I said. "I haven't got any scheduled appointments… can you ask any walk-ins to return tomorrow?"

"Of course, Miss Lang."

I rose, slipped on my jacket and headed out of the room, quickly crossing the lobby and leaving through the front door without breaking stride.

"The elementary school is just across the street from the bank," Lana explained. "So I was standing outside the principal's office with Hank only a few moments later."

"Are you okay, son?" I asked.

"I'm fine, Mom," he assured me. "Just a little… confused… I guess."

"Confused?"

"Can I do magic?"

"Possibly, what makes you think that?"

"Well, Miss Harper, our substitute teacher, has been being really nasty to one of the new girls in my class all week, calling her really bad words…"

"What sort of bad words?"

"Well, she called her a… an ink with a d," he admitted after a moment.

"So, what happened today?"

"She started in on her again, and I lost my temper and shouted at her that she shouldn't use words like that and then her hair turned blue!"

"Her hair turned blue?" I echoed. When my son nodded agreement, I paused for a moment to consider the question, then agreed that that sounded like magic. "I think we need to have a talk with Zatanna as soon as possible."

"And he's been working with Miss Zatara ever since?" asked Littlewind.

"On and off," Lana clarified. "I wanted him to get a regular education as well."

"What happened to the teacher with the blue hair?" asked Fidelio. "I think there was something in his KMID file about it…"

"There was," agreed his partner. "According to our files, Obliviators from my office turned up a few minutes later, reversed the transfiguration and modified the memories of everyone concerned."

"Yes on the first two points," Lana confirmed. "But your team was a little too… specific… on the last point. The girl – Lucy Cao – had her memory of the transfiguration, but not the memory of my son standing up for her to a teacher… the first time anyone outside her family had done so apparently."

Fidelio nodded, that didn't exactly surprise him.

"She and her father were very grateful," Lana continued. "She quickly became one of his closest friends… possibly his best friend… although that's harder to call."

"That would be Zatanna Zatara?" asked Littlewind.

"She's his main teacher and mentor at the moment," Miss Lang confirmed. "But I have other sources as well."

"Our information suggests that Miss Zatanna has connections to the Amazons, the Atlanteans and the Lords of Order."

"Correct," Miss Lang confirmed as she fiddled with her No-Maj device. "She's currently co-hosting Nabu with her father and two of her adult students, she and I are both on friendly terms with Anax Mera – Artur comes to play with my kids on occasion to reinforce his 'connection to the Surface World' – and her other adult student is a Champion of Shazam."

Fidelio wasn't entirely sure what all that meant, but he had an idea – given some comments made by Hagrid and Professor McGonagall in his hearing in the past – that it would be a 'Very Bad Thing' if they didn't get her on side. "Professor Dumbledore wishes you and your son to have this letter, an invitation to attend his school – and that I inform him as soon as possible of your decision."

"Is that all?"

"He would also like confirmation of a theory," Fidelio admitted. "As it may influence his planning for the coming semester."

Miss Lang and the two visitors paused for a moment as the sound of two pairs of footsteps coming down the hall stairs became audible.

"And that is?" asked Miss Lang as a whooshing sound was heard and the outsider door banged open and closed.

"That your son was born Harry James Potter."

Before she could answer, the door into the hall opened and a trio entered the room: Fidelio's gaze was first drawn to a large, muscular man in a checked shirt, jeans, who was putting on a pair of heavy, rimmed glasses as he entered, then turned his attention to the two children in front of the man. The first – a tiny slip of a girl with short, vividly-red pixie cut in a short t-shirt dress who was eyeing him suspiciously was of no particular interest, but the boy… a lean, athletic teen with a chaotic black mop of hair in glasses was a different matter. It was he who broke the silence. "I'll answer that, Mom."

Miss Lang nodded.

"In answer to your question, Mr…?"

"Scamander, Fidelio Scamander."

"The magizoologist…" noted the boy as he sat down on one of the chairs. "Yes, Mr Scamander, I was indeed born Harry James Potter. I was rescued by Giovanni Zatara from the Godric's Hollow ruins after the murder of my biological parents."

"How much do you know about what happened next?" asked Littlewind. "About the circumstances of your adoption?"

"Only what I've been told," the boy conceded. "However, I do have something that might be of interest."

At a glance from the boy, the girl intoned. "Gedachten zijn mijn handen!"

Seconds later, a small, wooden box flew through the door and landed in the boy's palm. He flipped open the box and turned it so that both visitors to see the contents, a small glass orb. "I got this Orb of Mnemosyne from John Constantine. It contains his and others' memories of those events."

"Thank you, Mr Lang," said Fidelio, accepting the trinket from the boy and offering the invitation in return.

The boy opened the envelope, scanned the contents, nodded, then passed it to the girl.

"Just what Madame Xanadu said to expect," she noted, sounding a little upset at the notion.

A glowing, yellow ankh appeared in front of the fireplace and a short, brunette woman in shorts, a corset and high heels stepped out. "Sorry I'm late, Lana," she said. "I was in the middle of a routine when I got your message…"

"It's fine, Zatanna," Miss Lang assured her. "Clark was keeping an eye on things until our visitors' intentions were confirmed."

The younger woman relaxed and moved to where the children were sitting, accepting the Hogwarts letter from the girl. "What do you want to do, Hank?"

The boy sighed. "A couple of days ago I would have still been on the fence about it," he replied. "But Madame Xanadu did a reading and… well Destiny is in play."

She paled. "I was afraid of that," she declared. "I assume that that means you will be going, then?"

"I will," he confirmed.