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Seven Years in Hogwarts
Hogwarts Begins
The clearest memory Bruce had of his parents came from the night they died.
They were supposed to attend a magnificent ball arranged by Oswald Cobblepot. Many influential families had been invited, children amongst them. He got sick that very morning, a fever due to exhaustion after playing for hours with his broom outside. Thomas and Martha Wayne had to go. Alfred would remain behind to watch over him. His father and mother held him, told him they loved him, always, and left. He still remembered the tightness of his mother’s grip, how warm his father’s hand had felt on his head. He had thought them very emotional –it was just one evening, he could handle himself for one night, and their house-elf was there in case he needed anything. He was already sleeping when they departed. They never came back.
Years later, Bruce would wonder if they had foreseen how that evening would end, and why they still chose to go.
SYIH
September had arrived and for many students, it was the beginning of a whole new adventure. King’s Cross was filled with travelers, but behind a particular barrier, one would step on the platform station of the Hogwarts Express. There, families were bidding their goodbyes to their children. Here, a determined young girl was pushing a cart far too big for her as her parents watched her take off with uneasy eyes. A boy with messy curly hair was listening to his father’s last advice. Another was hugging his mother with a gentle pat on her shoulder.
In a discreet corner, Bruce Wayne was trying to console an inconsolable Zatanna Zatara.
“I will return for Christmas,” he promised uneasily. “I will write to you. You won’t even realize I’m gone.”
“It won’t be the same!” she cried, her big blue eyes filled with tears. “Why are you going to Hogwarts? You can stay with dad and me!”
“Giovanni is busy with his magic tour,” he explained for the umpteenth time. “He can’t watch over me and you. My mother went to Hogwarts, so I will be starting this year.”
“I wanna go too!” she wailed louder, her tiny fists buried in his shirt. “Why can’t I go with you?”
“Because Bruce is of age, and you are not Zee,” Giovanni Zatara repeated, this time with a hint of impatience in his tone.
After his parents’ murder, Bruce’s guardianship had been entrusted to Giovanni Zatara, an old friend of his father’s. The first year had been tough, but Giovanni’s patience, little Zee’s innocence, and the wise words of the Wayne house-elf Alfred had somehow managed to wear him down. For three years, although he missed his parents, he had lived in a relatively well-balanced magical family. His guardian treated him as his own and he adored Zatanna, but he could never truly feel comfortable with them. Before their death, he had a loving family too. Getting closer to Giovanni and Zana felt like a betrayal to his parents. So, upon receiving his acceptance letter, he had decided to follow in his mother’s footsteps and attend Hogwarts.
Zatanna bit her trembling lower lip and sniffed again. Bruce pulled a clean tissue from his pocket and gave it to her. The little girl blew her nose. While she was occupied, her father crouched again at Bruce’s eye level. The boy could tell the older man was nervous, but firmly reigning his anxiety.
“You have your wand?” he asked. Bruce acquiesced and reflexively touched his hostler. After what happened to Thomas and Martha Wayne, he was taught to keep it at hand at all times. “Clothes and books?”
“I checked three times.” he paused and glanced suspiciously at Zatanna. “I hope everything is still in place.”
Giovanni chuckled. His daughter had tried to sabotage his luggage in a desperate attempt to delay their departure. He put his two hands on Bruce’s shoulders and squeezed gently.
“I’m pretty sure I know the real reason why you want to go to Hogwarts.” Pause. “Do send a letter anytime you want, and return for Christmas. Else, Zee’s heart will be broken.”
The boy shifted uncomfortably.
“I will,” he promised and thought he would hold onto his word. Zana’s puppy eyes could not be resisted.
The little girl threw her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly one last time.
“You will write often,” she demanded, her voice muffled in his clothes.
Bruce renewed his promise and a weightless spell later, he was pulling his luggage through the wagons. He found an empty compartment, settled in and stared out of the window. Little Zana and Giovanni waved at him. He waved back, and felt a slight pang in his chest at the thought of leaving them behind.
SYIH
His first compartment companion was a Muggle-born. Or at least, that was how she introduced herself.
“Lois Lane, Muggle-born,” she blurted before he could even open his mouth. The strawberry blonde shoved her luggage in its compartment, fell upon the opposite seat and crossed her legs. “You got a problem with that?”
Bruce blinked at her from over his book. In spite of her straight back and high chin, she looked…anxious. Blood mattered more in England, he remembered. Wandering around the world with Giovanni Zatara had made him forget a thing or two. And that was without mentioning that the man himself was considered an odd duck by his own peers.
“Don’t care,” he replied dryly and fell back into his reading. Across him, Lane waited. And waited. And waited. Her feet started swinging and the talons hit the bottom of the benches. A few minutes later, he looked up again, feeling really crossed. “What?”
“I’m waiting for your name,” she pointed out. “I introduced myself, now it’s your turn.”
Bruce groaned inwardly. She was that kind of annoying person?
“Bruce Wayne, Pure-blood and busy right now,” he shot back and tried to send the ‘get off my back’ vibe.
Epic failure.
“Busy reading what? Looks like a magical book. You own it? My family’s military and moved here last year –which is why I’m in Hogwarts and not at Ilvermorny. I never read a magical book, ‘cause those I usually read are on –“ pause. “You know what an ebook is?”
He glared at her.
“I’m a Pure-blood but I don’t live under a rock. And before you ask, I do know how to use the internet.”
Lois Lane’s face brightened.
“Neat! Which House do you think you’ll get into?”
He needed to put a stop to this conversation before she went on. He really wanted to finish Hogwarts a History before arriving.
“Aren’t there other people you can talk to?” he asked curtly.
“The other compartments are full and you’re funny. Deal with it.”
Bruce groaned. Lois grinned. He figured she meant she needed to practice her annoying tendencies on someone and found him to be a perfect target. Perhaps he shouldn’t have told her his status.
“So, which House?”
He really wanted her to shove off. Then, he figured his late father –and most likely his guardian- would be very disappointed if he acted rudely towards a lady. Thus, he reluctantly replied:
“No idea. Maybe Ravenclaw.”
“Ravenclaw sounds nice,” she said. “I’d love to get into Slytherin though. Not one Muggle-born had been admitted in centuries, so I’d really like to be the first.”
“You do realize the Slytherin students will try to eat you alive,” he pointed out.
Lois smirked.
“I’m an army brat, I got tough skin. And I already know a dozen spells to keep the worst at bay.”
For a brief moment, he wondered if he should ask about the spells and make sure she knew exactly what they were about. A Muggle-born without wizard knowledge might get hurt in attempting something they weren’t quite capable of yet. Scratch that, any first-year student would get hurt by a misfired spell. Every time he attempted a new cast, either Alfred or Giovanni were around for damage control.
The door opened at that moment. A boy with a mop of dark curls on his head peeked in.
“Mind if I join you?” he inquired a little shyly. The girl’s smirk turned into a beaming smile.
“’Course not! Bruce and I were talking about Houses and spells. Come on in!”
The newcomer brightened, stepped in and let himself drop on the bench next to Bruce.
“I’m Arthur. Arthur Curry. And I’m for Gryffindor all the way.”
Any goodwill Bruce might have felt towards Lois Lane immediately vanished. Why couldn’t he read an effing book in peace?
“Lois Lane, Muggle-born, and I’m gunning for Slytherin.”
When Arthur’s expression turned into disbelief, Bruce gave up any attempt to finish and put the book down. Lois gave him a subtle smirk and focused back on Arthur.
“Slytherin’s a bumpy ride for Muggle-borns,” the newcomer blurted. “You got guts.”
Lois preened a moment before she started shooting another set of questions:
“So how’s it like to live in a magical family? Can you do magic? Do you have specific rules or whatsoever? Is the whole house enchanted?”
Arthur scratched the back of his head, as if embarrassed.
“My dad got out of the magical world because he’s a squib. He came to England a couple of years ago; we live in a lighthouse, no magic involved. So I don’t know much about magical houses.”
The two turned towards Bruce. He rolled his eyes.
“My guardian mostly lives the muggle way.” He didn’t say he owned a house-elf, else he suspected a barrel of questions would follow. “The only times we do magic is when cleaning the house.” Scourgify was one of the first he had ever mastered. Even though Alfred disapproved of him doing household chores, Giovanni expected him to participate. “Sorry to disappoint.”
Lois did look slightly dejected. Nevertheless, she found a multitude of subjects to be discussed –from their respective knowledge of Hogwarts to the worse paper color ever invented. When the food trolley rolled by, they fell into another intense debate on whether muggle or wizard’s candies tasted better. Bruce enjoyed himself more than he expected –especially with Lois’s quick thinking and Arthur’s easy-goingness. Still, as they approached the last station, Bruce felt that the peacefulness of the past few years was drawing to an end. Tomorrow, he would step in the lion’s den and start living up to the Wayne name.
SYIH
Arthur was sorted to Gryffindor. Lois, much to her disappointment, sent in Ravenclaw.
Bruce ended into Slytherin.
It wasn’t quite a surprise. Martha Kane had been in Slytherin before him and he knew she had said a lot of good things about the House, back when she was alive. ‘The House of the Ambitious and Cunning,’ she’d whisper mischievously, when he had asked about her school years. ‘It is truly a house of snakes, but if you’re smart enough, you can gain your peers’ loyalty and get away with anything. You just need the right connections.’ And Giovanni always told him he had a sneaky side.
He glanced at his peers as he sat at the table, but no one paid him particular attention. After being abroad for three years, he didn’t even think he would be recognized. The Wayne name didn’t weigh much to begin with; it wasn’t until his mother married his father that their family gained some recognition. Four years after their demise, he was just another pure-blood with no family reputation to begin with. Perhaps the situation would change as he would grow and step closer to his inheritance, but for now, he suspected he would be relatively spared by scrutiny.
“Jonathan Crane,” the teenager next to him introduced himself. “I’m the Prefect. If you need anything, just ask, Wayne.”
The way he spoke his name reminded Bruce that ‘Crane’ was one of the few magical families who had fought for his guardianship after his parents’ death. Perhaps he would not be so ignored after all.
“I will,” he merely replied and pretended to report his attention on the sorting.
A redhead girl was just being sent to Slytherin. She made a beeline to the table, sat right next to Bruce and immediately elected to ignore him.
“Mera!” Crane chipped happily. “Welcome to Slytherin.”
She turned and shot a deadly glare at the boy. Bruce saw the rage in her sparkling green eyes and thought she looked very pretty.
“Shut up Crane,” she snapped back. “Don’t talk to me or if you must, it’s Xebel.”
Upon these words, she turned her back on them and stared at the head table, where Headmistress Finch was standing to begin her introduction speech. While she spoke, Bruce glanced around the room. He spotted Lois sitting next to an older student, avidly listening to the speech. Arthur was on the far table and, as if sensing his gaze, stared right back at him. A brief eye contact –almost guiltily, as if he was betraying his House by allowing this little thing to happen –and he returned his attention on the Headmistress. Bruce kept looking through the crowd. A dark-haired boy was fidgeting with his glasses uncomfortably in the Hufflepuff seats. Kent, he thought the name was. Bruce remembered thinking he looked awfully big for his age when he sat on the stool. Something felt off, but Bruce couldn’t place his finger on what. He decided he would investigate the matter later and resumed his focus on the girl next to him.
Mera Xebel. He was sure his mother had befriended a Xebel in the past. Perhaps a relation? Bruce decided he would ask the girl later, once she stopped glaring at everything and everyone staring her way. In the meantime, he would enjoy a good dinner.
SYIH
Classes were not quite what he had expected, therefore he was not disappointed. He enjoyed Potions, although Professor Dent’s facial disfigurement terrified a few students. Astronomy was agreeable if only for the sight. Flying lessons were useless since he knew how to ride a broom. Defense Against Dark Arts could use a boost, as Professor Karddeis’ endless theories on the matter bored him out of his mind. Herbology was a challenge since he had no green thumb and History of Magic was the worse, as Professor Fate happened to be a spirit that loved theatrical rendition of history. Charms class though was a riot.
They were paired with Ravenclaw in this one, and Lois was determined to be the best –if she could not kick Slytherin’s prejudice from the inside, she’d do it by beating them all from the outside. Unfortunately for her, Bruce was a faster learner. His feather floated first with a perfect ‘wingardium leviosa’. While his comrades cheered, Lois glared. Her feather soon joined his, but she still looked dejected.
“I will beat you next time,” she promised once the class was over, and stormed to the library for further studying.
“You sure know how to make friends,” Mera Xebel remarked sarcastically as she approached him.
He didn’t speak much with his housemates. As no Muggle-born had joined Slytherin again, every student had at least one acquaintance they could exchange with. He remained polite as they spoke back politely, but no obvious alliance was made the first week. The one thing his mother had mentioned about Slytherin was the importance of alliances within and out of the House. Bruce had a few students he had thought to approach, Xebel amongst them. He was surprised when she had spoken to him first a few days back.
“I don’t need friends,” he replied.
“You need allies, and so do I,” she retorted with a strange smirk.
“Queen would be a better ally than me,” he pointed out. Oliver Queen, first year as well, great lineage and great connections through his family, with whom he had to share his dorm. He also was one of the people Bruce considered approaching. If only he weren’t such a big-mouthed brat, Bruce might have even liked him.
“Queen is too obvious and annoying. You’re quiet. We can work seriously on Queen in a few years, once he wizened up a bit. I want to focus on the underdogs and dark horses for now.”
A-nno-ying. But in the end, no less true.
“Anyone else you think is important enough to approach?”
Mera sent him a vague glare.
“You may laugh, but you’ll laugh less when my method proves effective. Keep an eye on your friend from Ravenclaw. If she turns out powerful, she might be useful, even for a Muggle-born.”
“Lois isn’t my friend,” he pointed out. Mera gave him a look in turn.
“Whatever. Wouldn’t hurt to find someone in Hufflepuff, so we can keep eyes in every House,” she added.
The dark-haired boy with glasses came to his mind. Meeting Kent was still on his to-do list. Bruce thought he’d try during Herbology, as they shared that class with Hufflepuff.
“And Gryffindor?” he inquired with amusement. Since Xebel was determined to have him in her corner, he would just tag along and pretend this new association was her idea alone.
“I haven’t checked them yet,” she replied haughtily. “But there must be at least one bloody lion we can socialize with.”
He considered Arthur a likable candidate, but he wasn’t certain about his academic prowess –or anything about him –yet. Even if it didn’t work out because of the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry, he would at least have one person to talk to. Truth be told, he liked Mera. She was a quiet one too, when she wasn’t on a rampage for seeking out allies.
SYIH
Transfiguration could have been fun if he hadn’t been bested by Lois in the needle exercise. He sure succeeded in turning it fully, but only one full minute after the Ravenclaw. Professor J’onzz praised them both, but Bruce still felt disappointed he hadn’t been first. His irritation grew when Lois glanced back at him and preened. Was that how it felt to have an academic rival?
He would beat her next time, for sure.
And so he determinedly ignored Mera smirking beside him for the rest of the class time.
SYIH
“Mind if I crash in?”
Bruce nodded. Arthur dropped his bag and sagged on the empty chair across him.
“Haven’t lost your mind amidst the snakes yet?” he asked gruffly.
The Slytherin raised an eyebrow. Had he been distracted, he would have missed the bitterness in the other boy’s tone. From hearsay, he knew Arthur often got into fights with others, his House was no exception. If the black eye was any indication, he just came out of one.
“Mera is good at keeping the nasty ones at bay,” Bruce replied casually. Two weeks in, some first years had tried to establish their dominance over the others. Alexander Luthor Jr. was beginning to prove himself a nasty little thing. He and Mera had managed to gather enough ‘friends’ to move undisturbed by others, but they still had to watch their back. A few spells were quickly cast in darker corners of the castle and they had both already been ‘ambushed’ once or twice. The speed with which they had defeated their first opponents probably was part of the reason people chose to keep things friendly, even though they were merely two first years sticking together. And Bruce wasn’t ashamed to admit Mera was quicker to draw her wand than he.
From what he knew, Arthur didn’t have any kind of backup amongst the lions.
“Good for you,” he replied darkly and pulled his homework. Bruce watched him do for a few moments before asking:
“Hey, are you alright?”
The Gryffindor narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth in obvious anger.
“I hate it there,” he hissed. “They all say Gryffindor is the house of the braves, the best -yadda yadda yadda –but truth is, they are just a bunch of bullies.” He leaned back, eyes narrowed, seething. “The moment you speak one thing they don’t agree with, you’re a freak.”
Bruce narrowed his eyes, a sense of dread coming ahead.
“Do they bother you ‘cause you’re talking with us?”
Is Arthur having trouble with his classmates because he is friendly with some Slytherins?
The boy grimaced and nodded. Bruce immediately felt guilty. Though Arthur was a bit loud and brash, he was one of the first people with whom he had bonded upon arriving in the British magical world. He and Lois weren’t that close as she had made her own group of friends –or followers, as he enjoyed calling them –but she wasn’t being harassed because they occasionally spoke.
“Not your fault,” Arthur spoke immediately. “The first year Griffs are just a bunch of pussies. Most of them still think Slytherin means dark wizards.” He leaned back, crossed his arms. “Pussies,” he repeated. “And I won’t stop talking to you.”
He stopped there, stared at Bruce. Despite his bravado, the boy looked nervous, as if waiting for an acknowledgment of some sorts. In his situation, Bruce thought he might have been sweating hard. Turning his back on his whole House because of one relationship was…actually fitting to his character.
“You really are a Gryffindor, Arthur,” he replied instead, and let himself smile. “Bold and irritating and brave enough to sit with a snake.” An idea grew in his mind, coming from a protective feeling. “Want me to teach you a few nasty ones?”
Even though Gotham, the Wayne family manor, had been closed, Alfred had the good sense to bring back a few books and Giovanni had taught him offensive and defensive spells that no student should be aware of. For the sake of their continuous relationship, Bruce saw no harm in teaching a few to his friend. A huge, ferocious smile broke on the Gryffindor’s face.
“I’d really like that.”
SYIH
The tenth letter from Zatanna came in mid-December. It was a lengthy reply to the embarrassingly short one he sent five days prior. She always wrote of her everyday life, of Giovanni’s success during his grand tour, of the few friends she was making along the way. She also wrote about the things she was learning, of the school she was attending and the private lessons her father was giving her. She gave him news about Alfred, about her father, about Brucie the cat she had adopted as a substitute for him. And she mentioned at least five times how much she missed him and how she was excited to see him for Christmas.
Whenever he finished her letters, Bruce realized he really missed her too.
“Who’s Zana?” Mera questioned. He glared at her before folding the letter and carefully sliding it between the pages of his notebook. Apparently, she considered them close enough to read his mail over his shoulder without permission.
“The closest thing I have to a sister,” he replied. “Don’t you write to your family?”
He couldn’t remember if she had gotten an owl since the beginning of the semester. The redhead snorted and focused back on her plate.
“My father wasn’t keen on me coming to Hogwarts. He wanted to hire a private tutor and everything. I think he’s still sulking and not writing is his punishment.”
Weird, he thought. And kinda sad.
“What about your mother?” he asked next.
Mera’s expression turned grim.
“She’s dead.”
“Oh.”
“I had role models though,” she added quickly, as if she didn’t want him to pity her. “A good friend of my mother’s. Atlanna Marius. I’m here thanks to her.”
“Good for you,” he said uneasily.
A brief embarrassed silence ensued. They returned their attention to the food for a little while, before Mera spoke up again:
“I’m glad I came,” she admitted, firmly avoiding his gaze. “I don’t think I would have liked private tutors.”
Bruce hummed in acknowledgment. Even though he had come to Hogwarts to take some distance with the Zataras, he was glad he had come too.
SYIH
“You think you’ll try Quidditch next year?”
The brooms whizzed as they flew close to the spectator’s seats. Quiddich season was open and this was Slytherin’s first match against Hufflepuff. The snakes were, of course, a smashing team this year.
Bruce hummed as he considered her words. He enjoyed flying well enough. Perhaps he should consider trying for a position? Mera seemed interested in becoming a beater. He thought it might suit her.
“Maybe,” he replied. “Will you?”
His friend –he called her friend now –shrugged.
“I might. There is a certain appeal in playing with a team. You’d be a good seeker. Sneaky, quiet -no one would notice you until you caught the snitch –or dare approach you when you switch the evil eye on.”
The sports atmosphere made her chattier. There was something about this inter-house competition that made people’s blood pump and he was not insensitive either.
“I thought he’d make a better chaser,” Lois piped in happily. She was wearing her Ravenclaw scarf and, out of defiance, a Slytherin green hair ornament. The students around her threw dirty glares but seemed more interested in the Quidditch match than in a Muggle-born sneaking amongst them to cheer on their team. Bruce knew Lois’s actions would be discussed in the Slytherin common room later. He and Mera had already planned to linger around and listen to the pointless arguments. He wished he could bring popcorn tonight.
“What about you, Lane?” Mera threw in, seemingly equally uninterested in her fellow housemates’ reaction.
“I want to be the Quidditch Commentator,” she said. “This one sucks.”
The current commentator sounded, indeed, a bit lacking. He gave positions alright, but too many statistics to Bruce’s taste. They were in a live match, not a documentary.
“Do they have an age limit for those things?” Lois then addressed Mera. “I could petition to Professor Tornado. Or just lock Wilson in a closet before the next match.”
“I thought Wilson was a Ravenclaw?”
“I’m after his position, Houses don’t matter.”
Bruce was distracted by the Hufflepuff Chaser scoring. A massive ‘boooo’ erupted from the Slytherin booth. When the clamor died down, he heard Lois conclude: “-I’ll ask Arthur.”
Someone shouted ‘seekers!’ and the whole crowd was now focused on the two brooms speeding alongside after the golden ball. Slytherin’s was a veteran and a good one, but Hufflepuff’s new player seemed pretty fast. A well-sent badger slowed his course, and an explosion of green cheering shortly followed. The match ended with a comfortable victory for Slytherin.
The students started leaving their seats to regroup on the ground. Oliver Queen was already boasting how he would sneak in butterbeer and other sweets to celebrate their victory. Bruce wondered how he ever made it to Slytherin with such a Gryffindor-ish behavior. He knew that many peers were wondering the same. It was a good thing his name protected him, else he suspected the blonde would have been in trouble already.
“So, congratulations to Slytherin.”
Arthur Curry joined the trio after watching the match from afar, as his interest in Quidditch was relatively low. He was sticking more and more with them lately, gaining a black sheep reputation with his housemates. Bruce heard no one dared touch him anymore after he had put to good use the few curses he had learned. That, and the fact the boy sure knew how to use his fists. At least, Mera tolerated his presence. Perhaps, he thought with amusement, that she was placing her hopes on him being the ‘tolerable Gryffindor’ she was after, even if he was a pariah to his own people.
“Thank you,” the redhead said stiffly, confirming Bruce’s thoughts.
“Don’t be like that, Arthur’s just a student regardless of his house,” Lois said bluntly. Mera glared at her but said nothing. “Want to head over to the lake? Part of it is frozen and Jimmy taught me how to make magical ice skates.”
Lois often hung out with them too, mostly to make her ‘even Muggle-borns could fit in Slytherin’ point. They still didn’t have a Hufflepuff to their group yet –and Kent had found other peers to befriend –but Bruce wasn’t upset about that. In a few days, he would board back on the Hogwarts Express and return to spend the Christmas holidays with the Zataras. After that, he would return to the magical school his mother had spent her education in, and meet again with his friends.
He smiled at the thought. Yes, as odd as living in Hogwarts might be, he definitively could survive the seven years to come.