(A/N: Okay, this is going to be a very long A/N, but it is needed. I got twelve reviews on the last chapter. Twelve! :O And yes, I did count. Your reviews are like candy to me. Finding a new one in my inbox is better than Christmas! ~Gasps~ I can't believe I just said that…sorry Santa. Anyway, I am so very very happy that I got so many of you to give me feedback that I just had to give you all personal thanks. On a quick note though, I have been revising the first four chapters. Chapter 2 is revised, edited, and rewritten in places, and Chapter 1 is in the process of being completely rewritten, due to some changes that need to be made. Those will, hopefully, be completed and reposted soon, just to let you guys know. :) Merry Christmas to you all by the way! Consider my update my Christmas present to all of you! Thank you all!

KathySacuba: I am very very happy to know that you like it! :D Quirrel will appear briefly near the end of the story. And be my guest in killing Malfoy. I'll even lend you a knife. Thanks for favoriting, reviewing and alerting! Forget giving me a cookie, I'm gonna give you one! Thanks!

Catchfire: Thanks once again for reviewing! There will be a total of twenty chapters, if you were wondering. I am slowly but surely getting there. I don't want to rush and post bad work. Glad you like it!

Hunny2007: Thank you! Glad you like it!

Jim Red Hawk: Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad you are enjoying it!

Belcris: :D Smiley says thanks a million for reviewing!

Pynrieg: Thank you very much for reviewing and telling me your views. It tells me you are really thinking about this deeply, which thrills me, and I hope I answered all of your questions, or at least justified my reasoning. Ask away if you come up with anything more!

Phygmalion: I might just write something like that, with Voldy and Bats, I mean. We'll see! :D As for the Dursley's…maybe. We'll see. Thanks a bunch for reviewing!

Geek179: Thanks for the review! I'll keep that suggestion in mind…I've been thinking about that myself. We'll see.

Rosa Clearwater: I hope you think it's fantastic! :D Thanks for the review! Glad you like it!

Jostanos: You make me blush. Thanks for the review! And I like the Peter Pan reference. He is my third out of three obsessions. Can you guess the other two?

Galaxya: Thank you so much! Your complements flatter me. I'm thrilled to entertain you!

M: I'm glad you enjoy it despite my errors. I have a printed copy of this story thus far and have been manually editing it for quite some time. Hopefully, eventually, those errors will be fixed for you. Thank you for your review!

Enjoy the story everyone! Merry Christmas to you all!

~O~

Harry's eyes flickered open drowsily, his thought process still muddled with sleep. It took him a moment to keep his eyes from closing again, and another to get used the fuzziness of his surroundings, due to his horrible vision without glasses. It was only then that he realized his was not in his dormitory, and this was not his bed.

Sitting up rapidly, he looked around in half asleep horror, his tired mind coming up with stupid, unreasonable stories on how Voldemort had found him and kidnapped him and—

It took him at least thirty seconds with his bad vision to realize that he was only in the hospital wing.

Sighing in relief now that he knew he was not in danger, Harry relaxed, sinking back into his pillows and groping for his glasses on the bedside table.

He jumped when his hands met stiff fabric.

Retracting his hand, Harry squinted at his left, trying to make out what he had touched. He could just make out a dark silhouette, still as a statue by the fuzzy outline of his bedside table, flowing black cape draping over half of it. A small smile crept onto Harry's face.

Batman.

"You scared the living daylights out of me," Harry laughed softly, hand flailing wildly on top of the table once again, searching for his glasses.

"That's usually what I try do," Batman's rough voice responded softly, and Harry felt the heroes gloved hand press something cold and metallic into his own. His glasses.

"Thanks," Harry muttered, slipping the circular frames on, blinking as the world suddenly came into focus. He took Batman's impressive figure in again, marveling for not the first time at how awe-inspiring the man truly was. He grinned again, but then frowned as he noticed how stiff the Dark Knight seemed, like he had been standing there a while.

His eyes widened at the thought.

"You haven't been standing there all night, have you?" Harry asked, aghast.

Batman shrugged good-naturedly, which Harry took for a yes.

"You didn't have to do that," Harry protested, feeling guilty.

"I wasn't like I had much else to do," Batman pointed out.

"Didn't you sleep at all?" Harry demanded, refusing to let Batman shrug the deed off as nothing.

Batman shook his head.

Harry simply stared at him. "You're crazy," he muttered. "Don't you ever sleep?"

"As I said before," Batman said, smirking slightly. "Three days is my limit."

Three days. Harry could hardly imagine not sleeping for three days!

"Besides," Batman continued, looking out the window. "I couldn't just leave you after what happened."

There was an awkward silence as the vivid memories of the events of last night flooded into Harry's mind. He seemed to be all patched up now—by Madam Promfrey no doubt—but he could still remember the sharp pain of Malfoy's kicks, the horrible feeling of the breath being knocked out of him when he hit the wall.

"Did you carry me all the way to the Hospital Wing?" Harry asked Batman softly.

Batman nodded silently.

"And you stayed here the entire night? For me?"

Batman nodded again.

Harry sat back in his pillows, a grateful smile on his lips. "Thanks," he whispered. "For saving me…and…and for everything."

"It was the least I could do," Batman said humbly.

"For what?" Harry scoffed. "What have I actually done for you?" Harry couldn't see how any of his deeds could possibly pay for how many times Batman had helped him.

"You made me feel at home," Bruce said. "Or at least, as close to at home as I could possibly be here. You befriended me even though you had every reason not to. You helped me receive a chance to leave, even though you had every right and reason to not."

Harry blushed, a rush of happiness running through him at the compliments. "That's nothing compared to saving my life," he said modestly.

"It is to me," Batman said simply.

They lapsed into a small silence again, Harry's thoughts drifting around happily, until they landed on something he had almost completely forgot about.

"We're still going to leave, right? To find Catwoman?" he asked Batman worriedly, fearing that the events of last night would postpone the trip.

"I don't know," Batman said slowly. "It depends if you feel up to it. If you feel like you need some more time to recover then—"

"I'm fine!" Harry cut in hurriedly, green eyes wide. "Really! We can still go!"

Batman gave him a stern look, his lips forming a small frown. "I don't want you denying yourself of needed rest just to go with me," he said sternly. "It's not that big of a deal. We can leave once you're completely recovered."

"No, really, I'm fine," Harry insisted, throwing off his covers and getting wobbly to his feet for empathis. He was still in his school uniform, minus his robes and tie, and his white button-up shirt was now very wrinkled, but Harry didn't care. "We can leave right now!"

"Absolutely not," Batman said firmly. "You haven't eaten anything, and there is no way you'll be allowed outside the castle wearing that. It makes no sense to leave until you've eaten and changed. Besides, I want you to talk to Madam Hooch and see if you can borrow a school broomstick."

Harry pouted but couldn't help but feel curious when Batman mentioned the broom. "Why do we need the broom for?" he asked.

"It's for you," Batman said, as if this were obvious. "No offense to you, but we'll be moving around on the rooftops…and I move…fast. Unless you have a hidden talent of using a grappling hook, or unless you can secretly fly on your own or stick to walls, I would say the flying broomstick will come in handy."

Harry blushed. He hadn't thought of that. Stupid. Of course they'd be on the rooftops! What, did he think they were going to stroll down the streets? "Right," he said lamely, cursing his own stupidity. "Makes sense."

"Well, if you really think you're rested enough…" Batman said after a long moment, looking Harry up and down with a critical eye. "Then I guess you can go get changed into regular—er, Muggle clothes, before heading down to get some lunch. You have about twenty minutes or so. Then after that, we can leave."

Harry's heart skipped a beat. "Lunch?" he echoed in surprise.

Batman smirked knowingly. "You can really sleep when you want to," he said, grinning.

Harry blushed again. "I'll meet you in the Great Hall," he said quickly, before hurrying out of the Hospital Wing and towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

Great. He had managed to embarrass himself in front of Batman. Twice. What a great start to his day.

~O~

Twenty or so minutes later, Harry took his seat at the Gryffindor table between Ron and Batman. It was weird to see the normal foods and drinks of lunchtime, considering he had no recollection of there ever being breakfast. He had really been out.

"Ello mate," Ron greeted him as he sat down, taking in his friends' appearance. "Er, nice clothes."

Harry blushed for the third time that day. He was wearing a pair of Dudley's old and huge tattered jeans, a baggy Nike sweatshirt and a pair of old tennis shoes. "It's all I had," he explained sheepishly. Really, it wasn't. It was about the best he had. Dudley's hand-me-downs were atrocious.

Ron shrugged, taking a giant bite out of a chicken leg. "I'm not about to judge you," he muttered through the mouthful. "It's not like I know anything about Muggle fashion."

Harry rolled his eyes, grinning before loading his plate with food. He was starving. Last night's dinner suddenly seemed very far off.

After a good three servings of chicken and turkey, and who knows how much bread and Butterbeer, Harry finally found his stomach satisfied. Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes. He felt…refreshed. And it felt good.

Opening his eyes again, Harry turned to Batman, who was silently watching him. "Are you ready?" The detective asked, his dark voice making the words sound gravelly.

"Yeah," Harry said, stretching. "But don't you want me to go get that broom?"

Batman nodded. "We'll go see Dumbledore now, and get the final preparations figured out," he explained, swiftly and fluidly rising from his seat. Harry followed him, pulling up his over-sized jeans.

"Are you guys leaving then?" Hermione asked, looking up from the book she was reading as the two of them moved.

"Yes," Batman responded. "Soon."

"Good luck, mate!" Ron said, grinning and punching Harry good-naturedly on the arm.

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "Good luck. We'll…see you when you get back."

Batman gave each of them a curt nod, before swiftly walking towards the High Table, cape swishing regally behind him.

Harry grinned at his two best friends. "I'll see you when I get back," he told them hurriedly before taking off after Batman. "Bye!"

Catching up to the Dark Knight, Harry fell into step beside him as the two of them approached Dumbledore, who patiently watched their approach, hands folded. He smiled as they arrived. "Ready to go, I presume?" he said.

"Close," Batman said. "Harry needs a broomstick."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "A broomstick? What for?"

"I operate on rooftops," Batman said simply.

Albus' eyes twinkled. "Ah," he said. "I see. Well, I am sure that can be arranged. I will have Madam Hooch fetch one for you. It will be waiting for you by the front doors. Collect your stuff, and you can head out as soon as it arrives."

Batman nodded respectfully before turning on his heel and making his way towards the doors. Harry quickly followed him, heart racing with excitement. He could already feel the adrenaline coursing through his system. They were finally going!

They reached the massive front doors before long. Everything they were bringing was already piled in front of it, which wasn't much. All there was was a simple bag of essentials for Harry, in case they were gone for more than one night. Batman had nothing but himself and all the weapons and who knows what he had on his person, which Harry was sure was more than enough.

They stood there for a good couple of minutes in silence, Batman taking refuge in the shadows while Harry paced. He was so anxious to leave. What was taking Madam Hooch so long?

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she arrived, Professor Dumbledore in her wake. "Here you go, Potter," she said, handing him an old Comet Two-Sixty. Harry took it, feeling it. It was not as near as good as his Nimbus, but it would have to do.

The Qudditch instructor smiled at him knowingly. "I know it's not in the league of your Nimbus," she said. "But it'll get you by. They're sturdy things, Comets. Good luck on your…mission or whatever it is."

"Thank you Professor," Harry thanked her. Madman Hooch nodded at him with a smile, before walking away.

Now it was just Harry, Batman and Dumbledore.

The old Headmaster had his eyes fixed on Batman, blue eyes light but serious. "His care is in your hands now," he told Bruce seriously. "You are responsible if anything happens to him."

Batman nodded slowly. "I am aware," he said.

Dumbledore nodded, turning to Harry. "Be careful, Harry," he said softly, his blue eyes staring intelligently into Harry's green ones. "And good luck." He straightened, looking at both of them. "Good luck to both of you. I pray that you will come back successful."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said respectively. Dumbledore nodded, before he too turned and walked away.

Harry turned to Batman slowly, not daring to believe that they were really about to leave. The Dark Knight smiled at him, coming out of the shadows and nodding to Harry's things. Harry obediently picked up his bag and broom as Batman placed a gloved hand on the door handle and wrenched the big wooden door open, showering them in the bright rays of the sun.

They were finally leaving. The moment of truth had arrived.

~O~

Harry was puffing by the time he and Batman reached the gates of Hogwarts, sweat rolling down his forehead. Why did the grounds have to be so massive? And why did it have to be so hot out? Panting, Harry glanced at Batman, wondering for not the first time how the man was able to handle all this. He was wearing all black-the color that absorbs heat-long sleeves and pants; not to mention who knows how many layers of armor along with his thick boots, gloves, cape and mask. And yet he wasn't even slightly winded from the long trek. If Harry didn't know better, he would have sworn Batman wasn't human.

"Take out your wand," Batman demanded suddenly, examining the magical gate with narrowed white eyes.

Harry started, surprised. "My wand?" he echoed in disbelief.

"Yes, your wand," Batman said, not taking his eyes of the gate.

Frowning, Harry obediently took his wand out of his back pocket.

"Give it to me," Batman demanded.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Why do you need it?" he asked suspiciously. He trusted Batman, but the Dark Knight had never asked for something as powerful as his wand before.

"I need to open the gate," Batman explained. "Dumbledore told me how, but I need a wand."

Oh. Harry figured than that was okay then. Without so much as a second thought, he handed it over.

Carefully, Batman took the wooden rod, weighing it in his hand. He was obviously examining it. Harry vaguely wondered what was going through his mind. But then he turned, pointing the tip precisely at a swirl in the gates design. Gently, he touched the tip of the wand to it.

As if on cue, the gates swung open, a slight haze Harry hadn't noticed beforehand lifting. The enchantments. The two of them walked through the gates without a challenge, and then the two massive doors swung shut behind them solidly once again.

Harry stared at Batman in amazement as the hero handed him back his wand. "That was it?" he asked in disbelief. "That's all you have to do to open the gates?"

"For now it is," Batman explained. "Dumbledore temporarily simplified it so I can come and go as I please during this mission."

Harry was baffled. He didn't think Dumbledore would ever give Batman that much trust.

Once again, Batman read his mind. "We had a deal," he explained. "If I could get someone to prove that I am trustworthy, then I get to come and go to Hogwarts as I please. And that means I need to be able to open the gates. That was our deal, and I'm holding him to it. He promised he'd make a non-magical way of letting me in later, but he needs to do some tinkering first."

Harry nodded, still slightly stunned by the power Batman now held. Of course, he was trustworthy. Of that, Harry was sure. He could just…feel it. Inside, he was also glad that Batman could come and go as he pleased. It meant—even if it was only a tiny hope—that Batman might come and visit him, once all this was over and he returned to Gotham. It kept the small possibility that they might meet again alive in Harry's heart.

But don't think about that now, Harry told himself firmly. He needed to focus on the present. Shaking those thoughts out of his mind, Harry turned his focus on the matter at hand.

"So…" he said, scanning the deserted land before him. Plain, grassy hills and assorted vegetation. "What's the plan?"

"I don't know," Batman said, frowning.

Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't know?" Harry thought Batman always had a plan.

Batman shook his head, opening his mouth to say something—but was cut off by a sudden flurry of beeping and blaring alarms.

Harry jumped back in alarm, staring in surprise at Batman. The Dark Knight was covering his ears in agony, the sudden cacophony of noise obviously coming off of him. His belt was blinking in several different colors and snatches of dialogue were coming from his cowl in waves, like a radio constantly changing channels.

"Any report on Batman?"

"None of the lowlife in London seems to have any clue-"

"Has anyone checked that muesum—"

"He's been missing over a week—"

"He was in London, he has to be around there somewhere—"

"What about Catwoman? Anyone find her?"

"We've been over this Robin, when Catwoman doesn't want to be found, she's pretty hard to find."

"This is hopeless."

"Wait! WAIT! His comlink just came online! And his tracker!"

"WHAT?"

"Oracle, find his position! NOW!"

"I'm working on it, I'm working on it—Batman? Batman can you hear me? It's Oracle, please respond!"

"TRACKER, OFF," Batman commanded aloud suddenly, and a robotic voice quickly beeped, "Tracker offline." "Comlink, off," Batman demanded as well, softer this time. "Comlink offline," the robotic voice beeped.

One of the voices coming from his cowl swore. "They went offline again!"

Another voice let out a string of swear words. "Did you get his position?"

"No. It went offline before I could pinpoint it."

Another string of swears.

"Do you think he did it? Or someone else?"

"I don't know… Why would he want to keep his location a secret? He must know we're all frantic."

"This is Batman we're talking about—"

The conversation was cut off as Batman whispered something, causing it to fade from Harry's range of hearing. But it was not off; Harry could still hear the slight buzz of sound coming from his mask, faint enough that he could no longer make out any words.

The two of them stood there for a long moment, until Harry could hold in his curiosity no longer.

"What…just happened?" he asked.

"That was my comlink," Batman explained, looking slightly disgruntled. Obviously, the conversation had disturbed him. "Alerts… and my…allies trying to get through to me."

"'Allies'?" Harry echoed. "Like, other heroes?"

Batman hesitated before nodding slowly.

"Then why didn't you answer them?" Harry asked, confused. If they were his friends, why wouldn't he answer? It was obvious they were frantic to know where he was.

"Because they could compromise this mission," Batman explained, draining the emotion from his voice, though the little bit of his face visible still betrayed some feeling. "They don't know you, and they don't know the importance of this mission. They'll all want to know where I disappeared to, and they'll all want an explanation of who you are and what I am doing. It would take up valuable time and complicate the matter. I don't want them to get in the way." He said the last sentence firmly, as if he was trying to convince himself too.

Harry frowned, processing the information slowly. It made sense…but it still didn't seem right for Batman to cut himself off from his friends. Then again, Batman could also be worried that they might get hurt. If the Die Katze was a powerful as Harry thought it was—which he was pretty sure it was—it could do some serious damage. Maybe Batman just wanted to keep his allies from harm. Now that Harry could understand. His mind flashed back to Ron, Hermione and the rest of his friends back at Hogwarts. He knew he would do anything to protect them, even if it meant cutting himself off from them.

Harry didn't speak this assessment aloud, but he knew deep down that this was the underlying reason of Batman's actions. He decided it was best not to push it.

He looked down at his feet. "So…no plan," he said slowly, acting like the comlink incident had never occurred.

"Our plan is to first get to London," Batman explained, his eyes narrowing. "How we're going to get there, I still haven't quite figured out yet. Do you have any idea where we are?"

"Uh, specifically?" Harry said, scanning their surroundings. "No clue. I never payed much attention to what route the Hogwarts Express takes. Though I don't think it's a normal one."

"Probably not," Batman agreed. "We'll have to use some other resource to fin—" he broke off suddenly, eyes widening.

Harry looked at him in alarm. "What is it?"

"We're outside the enchantments," Batman exclaimed, suddenly frantically digging in his belt. "That means all my gadgets are working!"

Smiling slightly, he pulled out a cell phone-like thing out of his belt and held it up in front of him. Deftly, he pressed the surface and grinned as the device turned on. Expertly, his fingers whirled across the blue screen of the device, pulling up holograms of things Harry had never seen before up before them. He stopped on one screen, magnifying it with his fingers and staring at it intently. It seemed to be a map, filled with lots of hills and very few civilizations. With a jolt, Harry realized it was where they were.

Batman seemed to be focusing on a small red dot on the map, blinking rapidly. Harry figured it must be them, even though he had absolutely no idea how Batman had gotten their location. He was about to open his mouth to ask when Batman answered it for him.

"I have our location from a satellite that I own," he explained. "I have a personal tracker on me that I can connect to the satellite to pinpoint my location at any time. I couldn't do it in Hogwarts though, because the enchantments rendered my gadgets useless. See?"

He pointed to the red dot. "That's us," he explained. "And that," he pointed to what seemed to be a sheer cliff that dropped down into a ravine behind them. "Is Hogwarts. It shows up on the map as a cliff to keep it hidden. Probably some enchantment that changes the satellite image."

"Okay…" Harry said slowly. "And that helps us…how?"

"I know where we are," Batman said, smirking. "And now I know how to get where we want to go. Get out your broom."

Obediently, Harry brought forward the Comet.

"We're going to need to fly," Batman explained. "At least to get London. I have my own ride once we get there. But for now…do you mind if I steer?"

"Uh…good ahead?" Harry said, slightly overwhelmed.

"Good," Batman said, taking the broom from him and straddling it, carefully tucking his cape into his belt so it wouldn't blow in the wind.

"Hop on."

~O~

Batman landed the broom on the roof of the nearest building, easily slipping off and holding the wooden handle steady as Harry shakily got off behind him. He had survived the flight fairly well, having flown on a broom before, but he was little shaky from the speed they had been flying. His already messy hair was twice as untidy. Batman smirked at him. The Comet Two-Sixty might be an "old" broom, but Batman had pushed it to its limit.

Untucking his cape, Batman pulled out his cell-phone thingy-magig again, checking their position as Harry hurriedly recovered from their rocky flight. Despite himself, he had enjoyed the ride. Batman was a very reckless flyer, which had made the ride twice as fun for Harry.

Coming up next to Batman, Harry felt his stomach twist slightly at the sight of the ground far below, the roads ablaze with the lights of tons of cars zipping back and forth to wherever it was they were headed. London. The last time he had been here, he had been at Kings Cross, trying to figure out how to get onto Platform 9 ¾. It had only been a little while ago, but it felt like forever.

After a moment, he backed away from the edge of the roof slowly, feeling queasy. He wasn't scared of heights, but that didn't mean he liked them.

Batman seemed to have no such preference. He stood right on the edge of the roof, one foot resting carelessly up on the short wall that surrounded the top of the structure as he tapped away at the phone. Harry watched him, studying his new friend. He realized this was the first time he would be able to see the Dark Knight in his natural habitat: the city. He was interested to see how different he would act compared to the Batman he had come to know. And whether he liked it or not.

After a couple more minutes, Batman slipped the device back into his belt and turned to Harry.

"Come on," he said softly. "Our ride is here."

Harry frowned, brow furrowing. "What do you mean?" he asked. "What ride? Where?"

"You'll see," Batman said mysteriously, moving away from his position at the edge of the roof and walking over to the other side, facing their buildings neighbor. Without looking back, he stepped up onto the roof's side and jumped off, his cape billowing behind him. Harry felt his breath catch in his throat and he rushed to the spot where his friend had disappeared, leaning over and staring down below in astonishment.

Below him in the alley was the absolute coolest car Harry had ever seen. Sleek and black with matching tail fins in the shape of a bats wing, resting on sturdy terrain tires that were held in by silver plates bearing the symbol of a bat. A hatch in the top had been opened, revealing the interior of the car and a silent Batman in the drivers seat, looking up at him.

"Are you coming or not?" he called up, his rough voice holding a slight chuckle.

Harry's shock was wiped of his face as he grinned. Grabbing the Comet he recklessly jumped of the building, straddling the broom in thin air and landing perfectly next to the passengers side of the vehicle. Hastily, he opened the sleek black door and slipped inside the car as the hatch above him closed.

"Cool car," he breathed.

Batman smirked.

"I know."

~O~

Batman raced the Batmobile effortlessly through the back roads of London, feeling fairly light hearted. It felt good to be back behind the wheel of his faithful car again after a week without it. It was much more gratifying than he thought it would be. A map of London was pulled up on the computer screen next to him, leading him through the city on the roads he was least likely to come upon many pedestrians. If he was in Gotham, the map would have been hardly necessary, considering Bruce knew the streets of Gotham better than he knew his own home. But London wasn't Gotham, and he was unfortunately reliant on his tools to get him around.

He still wasn't entirely sure why he hadn't answered Oracle's call to him back outside the gates of Hogwarts. Something had told him not to. He didn't want Dick or any of his other partners to get involved. He wasn't entirely sure why, as he knew all of them could take care of themselves just fine, but this mission was different. He was with Harry. That changed things considerably. None of his colleagues had met him and Batman wasn't sure that introducing all of his allies—especially the super powered ones—to Harry all at once was the best idea. The young wizard was only eleven after all, and Batman was already bringing him into what might be potentially a very dangerous situation. Bringing in more people would only complicate things.

Not to mention they were dealing with Catwoman. Bruce felt his heart stir slightly at thought of her. It pained him to see her in such a position. A slave to the little statue, possessed by its powers. He was sure that it thoroughly ticked her off, being pushed around by a statue, especially one that she had stolen. Selina doesn't like answering to anyone and Bruce could scarcely imagine her frustration. It made him all the more determined to help her escape the Die Katze's powers and destroy it if he could. An object that powerful needed to be disposed of.

But he wasn't entirely sure how he was going to manage that. The Die Katze was incredibly powerful, of that Bruce was sure. Combine that with Catwoman's agility and abilities and you had a deadly combination. Batman shuddered to think what could happen when the Die Katze fully possessed Selina's mind. Kyle was not a killer. She had no interest in murdering people, only interest in things she wished to possess and maybe occasionally helping another if she had a reason or she felt like it. She loved Gotham just as much as Bruce did, and would do pretty much anything to protect it, except maybe give her life. The only thing that set them apart was that she occasionally crossed the line and stole as she pleased. But if she did want to, she could kill, and kill very effectively. If the Die Katze wanted to have someone disposed of while it was in complete control of Selina's mind, Batman was afraid that no will power of Catwoman's was going to stop the magical statue from reaching its goal.

Then again…he might be able to get through to her. The possibility remained and Bruce refused to let himself rule it out. He thought back to when he had seen Selina at Hogwarts. She had been possessed then, but she still had Selina's voice. That suggested that she still might have some control, or at least, was aware of what was happening around her, even if she was physically unable to do anything about it. Batman could use that. If he could get through to her and boost her willpower enough to help her overthrow the Die Katze mentally, he could get her back on his side; depleting the Die Katze of its host and only ally and gaining one himself at the same time.

It was a slim hope, but at least it was one. Batman was confident that if anyone could get through to Selina while she was possessed, it would be him. A small sadness briefly rushed through him as he remembered a time with her a couple months ago, on top of one of the many buildings of Gotham. He had just caught up with her after he had caught her pilfering a diamond-studded pair of cat earrings from a rich supermodel who had been staying in town. After a persistent chase of cat-and-mouse across the rooftops, Selina had come to a sudden stop on one top of one of the nicer roofs, sitting at the edge and dangling her feet over the end…

"You got me," she purred as Batman swiftly landed beside her, cape swishing.

Batman narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What's your angle, Catwoman?" he growled.

Selina shrugged good-naturedly. "Nothing," she said nonchalantly. "I just thought you'd might like to take a break from the normal routine for a little while."

Batman said nothing.

She laughed. "Oh stop being so high and mighty," she said. "You don't fool me. Even you need a break once in a while. Sit down. I don't bite." She smiled rather mischievously at her last sentence, but nevertheless, Bruce found himself intrigued. Catwoman was truly unlike anyone he had ever met. One minute she was a thief, the next, a beautiful woman who was asking him to take a break from his ever-vigilant patrol and sit next to her for a couple minutes.

Despite his better judgment, he sat. Granted, he never truly relaxed per se, but he did sit down, allowing his black-booted feet to dangle off the edge and letting his cape fall regally around him.

Catwoman smiled at him. "Good," she said in satisfaction.

.

"Good what?" Batman growled, frowning.

"Good for you," she said, grinning. "You actually have a heart. I'm thrilled."

"Hmpf," Bruce snorted, not amused.

"Oh, stop being such a grouch," Selina laughed, scooting up next to him. She put her hand swiftly into his as she did, grinning wickedly. Hurriedly, Bruce tried to pull away, but stopped as he felt something solid in between his hand and Catwoman's.

Carefully, he took it and pulled it out of her grasp. She didn't protest and Batman felt his eyes narrow in suspicion at the sight of the diamond cat earrings he now held in his hands.

He looked up at he, and her mischievous grin widened.

"Why?" he asked.

"'Cause your fun to play with," she said simply. "And sometimes I think even big, busy, scary Batmen need a break once in a while."

"What makes you think that?"

Selina thought about this for a moment before answering. "I don't know," she said finally. "You tell me." She leaned in slightly, pushing up her goggles to reveal her beautiful eyes. Unintentionally, Bruce felt himself leaning inward, and before he knew it, they were kissing. Every instinct told him to pull away, that this was unprofessional, but he couldn't. He felt his heart soar despite himself at the glorious feel of his lips on hers. It just seemed so…right.

But as soon as it started, it was over, and Batman found himself slightly dazed as Selina gently pulled herself away. "I hope this was a worthy break," she breathed in his ear, before pulling away completely and letting herself slip off of the building, disappearing into the night and leaving Bruce once again alone, holding the two earrings in his gloved hand.

The memory was vivid and confusing as ever. Bruce had no idea why Catwoman sometimes acted as she did. She was predictable as well as unpredictable, as caring as she was cunning. Batman didn't think he'd ever be able to completely figure her out and surprised himself when he realized he didn't really care. Selina was one wild card he didn't mind in his crazy life as Batman, and he by no means wanted her to get hurt by the Die Katze. He wouldn't allow it. Not when he could do something about it.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice Harry staring at him for quite some time. But finally, after a couple minutes, the emerald stare of the small boy in the car next to him became too obvious to ignore.

"What?" he said gruffly, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Nothing," Harry said innocently. "You just…got all distant all of a sudden. Is something wrong?"

"No," he huffed, a little to harshly.

Harry frowned, obviously not believing him. "Is it Catwoman?" he asked softly, causing Batman to tense slightly. Unbelievable. It was like the kid could read his mind!

Not able to come up with a good response, Batman decided to ignore the question. He felt bad for doing that to Harry after what the boy had just done for him, but he didn't feel like his feelings for Selina was really any of Harry's business.

Harry wisely took the hint and shut up. But Batman could still see the glint of curiosity in his eyes and knew that he was far from giving up on the subject.

They kept driving in silence, Bruce switching his mind from his personal feelings back to work. He followed the map unerringly until they reached a small dark alley near the center of London. Stopping the car in the shadows, Batman took his hands off the wheel and began to tap the monitor rapidly.

Harry watched him work curiously. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Finding Catwoman," Bruce answered shortly, pulling up the lists of the many names of hotels available in the vast city and hurriedly sending a quick-and-easy hacking virus into each hotel's mainframe, breaking into their servers to bring up their lists of current residences.

Harry's eyes widened, obviously not following Bruce's actions. "How?" he said. "Do you know where she is?"

"Where?" Batman said. "No. But who? Yes."

Harry shook his head, still not understanding. "I don't get it," he said. "What do you mean 'who'?"

"Catwoman is under another alias," Bruce explained testily, waiting impatiently for the virus to finish its job. "A woman by the name of Rachel Zee."

"Rachel Zee?" Harry repeated. "How did you find that out?"

"I met her," Batman explained slowly. "Before the museum incident. She didn't know it was me, but I recognized her and managed to extract her name. I didn't get a chance to look into where she was staying before she broke into the museum and escaped with the Die Katze…and then you found me."

"Oh," Harry said, nodding in understanding. But then his brow furrowed. "Wait…" he said. "How did you 'meet her'? Wouldn't she recognize you?"

She did, Bruce thought. As Bruce Wayne, not Batman. But he didn't say this to Harry.

"I was…in my civilian identity," he explained carefully.

"Civilian…? Oh." Harry looked away as he understood Bruce's meaning. "Right."

Batman frowned. He felt bad for keeping his true identity from Harry, but he was reluctant to tell him. It was his biggest, most well kept secret, and he was sure even Harry had heard the name Bruce Wayne. As much as he liked Harry, he didn't think he was ready to reveal that quite yet.

At least not now, he thought. Maybe later, after all this is over.

If it was ever over. Batman found himself suddenly homesick for Gotham. He missed it, with its towering buildings and familiar gargoyles. He had only been away for a week or so, but it felt like an eternity.

The monitor beeped, causing Harry to jump beside him. Batman himself didn't react, though the noise brought him roughly back to reality. He took in the screens information quickly before typing in a keyword: Rachel Zee. Immediately, the high-tech machine began to run through the extensive list of names of the many residences of all the hotels in London until it came up with a match for a Miss Rachel Zee. Next to the name was the hotel she was staying in and the room number, 102. Without a word, Bruce typed in the hotels name into his GPS and restarted the Batmobile, leaving the dark alley far behind.

~O~

The Batmobile came to a stop two buildings down from the luxurious white hotel that Catwoman was staying in. Nestling the car into a shadowy corner of the alley between the two structures, Batman opened the hatch in the cars ceiling and swiftly jumped out.

Cape swishing, he looked down at Harry, who was looking back up at him, eyebrow raised.

"We're going in," Batman said. "Catwoman is staying in the white hotel two buildings down from here. Room 102, third floor. We're going to find her room and check out her situation. We assess it and find out what the Die Katze is planning, and make our move from there. Understand?"

Harry nodded, eyes wide. "Are we surveying her from the inside or the outside?" he asked as he clambered out of the car, broom in hand.

"Outside," Batman confirmed, smirking slightly. "I don't operate any other way."

Harry smiled back. "Well," he said, mounting his broom. "We better get going then, shouldn't we?"

"Lets," Batman agreed. He clicked a button on his belt and the hatch on the car closed, leaving it practically invisible in the shadows. It was almost complete dark outside now. Perfect.

He turned to Harry, who was waiting for him to give the go ahead.

Bruce felt his lips form into a smirk.

"Try an keep up," he said, before disappearing with a swish of his cape.

He heard Harry take off behind him, but he was already on the roof of the building, racing across its flat surface, grapple gun in hand and cape flapping madly behind him in his wake. Adrenaline coursed through his system as he leaped off the edge of the roof and felt the air rush through his ears as he deftly aimed his grapple gun at the next building.

As always, the sturdy line shot out and the titanium hook fastened to the roofs surrounding wall. Bruce tightened his arm muscles as he clung to the line and swung upwards, feet first. With a feeling of freedom he retracted the line and shot past the roof as his momentum carried him a good couple feet over it. He waited a moment for gravity to claim him before executing a perfect flip, landing gracefully and silently on the roof, his cape falling a second later around him.

Two seconds later, Harry touched down next to him, clutching the Comet with a sturdy, professional grip. He grinned at Batman, hair wild and green eyes dancing with excitement.

"It feels good to fly again," he admitted.

"It feels good to move again," Batman said, straitening from his landing crouch. "Really move. Like how I move."

Harry nodded in understanding, clearly remembering how agilely and fast Bruce had just cleared two buildings. "How'd you do that, anyway?" he asked.

"Grapple gun," Bruce answered simply, showing Harry the device in his hand before clipping it back on his belt. "And the Laws of Physics."

Harry shook his head. "Unbelievable," he murmured. "You were faster than my broom!"

"I'm faster than most things," Batman said smugly, moving past the first year and taking up position at the far end of the rooftop. Harry followed him, peering over the edge at the hotel before them.

"Big place," he observed.

"Expensive place," Bruce agreed. "Catwoman has expensive tastes."

Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes. "Get down," he ordered softly, dropping down into a crouch. Harry obliged, crouching down next to him and watching the Dark Knight carefully. "What is it?" he whispered. "Did someone see us?"

"I don't think so…" Batman said softly. "But I think I found our quarry." With a quick movement of his arm, he quickly extracted his high-tech binoculars, letting his head poke out over the wall. Putting the binoculars to his masked eyes, he zoomed in on the particular balcony on the third floor he had quickly glanced.

Sure enough, an image of a nice little hotel room presented itself to him. In it, a woman sat on the elegant bedspread, arms wrapped around her knees. She had short blond hair with highlights, but Bruce still recognized her pretty features and cunning bright eyes.

Selina.

He felt his heart rate increase slightly at the sight of her and had a sudden overwhelming urge to just swing in there, grab her, and get out of there. Mission accomplished. But he knew it wasn't that simple.

He looked passed her, zooming in the lenses of his binoculars more, revealing the problem sitting regally on the dresser. The Die Katze, watching Selina with its glowing red ruby eyes. As his binoculars focused on it, the energy detecting hardware in the device suddenly went haywire, detecting energy signatures coming off the Die Katze off the charts. The level of energy kept switching from between 500% to 600% in power, five times more than the most powerful energy signature it was built to recognize. The identification of the signature also kept switching, labeling it first as nuclear, then electric and then magical in source, before switching back to nuclear.

Bruce frowned at the readings, especially the last one. He had installed the magical energy identification in the binoculars for JLA purposes, when they were dealing with magical opposition. Although he had known that the Die Katze's powers could quite possibly be magical, the confirmation that they indeed were, at least a little bit, magical based was not at all comforting.

Eyes narrowing even further, Batman dropped back down behind the wall, putting the binoculars back in his belt.

Harry looked at him, eyes wide. "Is she in there?" he breathed.

Batman nodded.

Harry's eyes widened further. "The Die Katze too?"

Batman nodded again.

Harry exhaled sharply. "What's the plan?"

"Get in as close and as silently as possible," Bruce instructed carefully. "We must not let the Die Katze see us at all costs."

Harry nodded. "Move in silently, don't let the statue see us," he listed. "Got it."

"If it does spot us," Batman said slowly, "I want you to get out of there. Forget about me. Don't try anything noble, just get out and get out fast. Understand?"

Harry nodded. "I understand," he said confidently.

Bruce studied him carefully, contemplating. Then he frowned.

"I changed my mind," he said suddenly. "Stay here."

"What?" Harry exclaimed, emerald eyes filling with outrage.

"Stay here," Batman ordered. "It's too dangerous. I can't let you get hurt."

Without waiting for Harry to argue, he leapt up and vaulted over the edge of the building, leaving a very ticked Harry behind.

Clearing his mind off everything else, Batman planned his next move carefully. After he cleared the roof, he let gravity claim him for a moment, watching the hotel in front of him carefully. At the precise moment he wanted, he whipped out his grapple gun and shot it at the side of the hotel, bringing him shooting towards it still a good couple feet above the third floor and bringing him landing on a balcony with a soft thump.

Jumping to his feet in an instant, he peered warily into the hotel room whose balcony he had just landed. It was empty, like he had thought from a distance. Perfect. He was on the second floor.

One balcony above Selina's balcony.

His next move would be slightly trickier. He had to sneak down onto Selina's balcony unnoticed and silent, just close enough that he could hear whatever conversation that went on inside the hotel room clearly, and be able to peak around the corner into the room and observe it without being detected. To do this, he was going to have to tether his Batline to the second floor balcony and carefully let himself down, hugging the hotel wall, and come down onto the left side of the third floor balcony below him, facing the room it was connected to. If he did it correctly, he would be standing at the point where the metal railing of the balcony met the wall of the hotel, concealed by the little bit of the wall that continued on to form the archway out to the balcony from the room, but still able to peek around the corner if need be. Perfect, if he did it without being heard or seen.

Pulling out his Batline, Bruce began to secure it to the balcony rail, but stopped when he heard a swooshing sound above him. He looked up just in time to see the tail of a broom sail over the top of the hotel above him. He narrowed his eyes.

Harry.

Temporarily abandoning the Batline, Bruce pulled out his grapple gun and aimed it unerringly at the roof. In one fluid motion, he shot it and allowed it to carry him upwards, falling into an easy flip and landing perfectly on his feet.

Sure enough, Harry stood before him, the Comet Two-Sixty in hand.

"I thought I told you to stay behind," he growled at the wizard, not happy at being disobeyed.

"If you really think I was just going to sit there and do nothing while you save the day you are very mistaken," Harry said defiantly, raising his chin. "You invited me on this mission. I plan on being a part of it."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Go back to the car," he ordered.

Harry fixed his green stare on Batman. "Make me," he said stonily.

Batman opened his mouth to respond, but closed it as he noticed something familiar glinting in Harry's bright emerald eyes. Something he had noticed in another pair of eyes, long ago.

"Go back to the cave, Dick," Bruce growled softly. "You aren't ready yet."

"I'm as good as," Robin shot back, lifting his chin defiantly. "Look, I even have my own costume!"

"You don't even have a mask."

"I do to! See?" He pulled out a little black domino mask and waved it in front of Batman's face.

"Good for you," Bruce said sarcastically. "Now go back to the cave."

Dick crossed his arms. "Make me," he said fiercely, his eyes glinting with defiant fire. He smirked at Batman, before taking a dramatic run and jump off the building, yelling with glee as he swung away.

The memory came back so suddenly that Bruce found himself caught off guard by Harry's intense glare. The similarity it had to Dick's stare so long ago was uncanny. With a small sigh of defeat, Batman knew that like Dick, there would be no stopping Harry from helping him. Not without tying him to the roof and gagging him, that is.

"Fine," he sighed. "But you must stay absolutely quiet."

Harry nodded seriously. "I will," he promised.

"Follow me," Bruce instructed, jumping back off the building and letting his cape billow out behind him, holding the edges of the fabric to use the garment to slow his descent. Soundlessly, he landed on the second floor balcony. Above him, Harry remounted his broom and flew gracefully down after him, hovering beside him as he restarted securing his Batline.

"I could just fly you down," he offered, as Batman finished tying the line to the rail.

"Not necessary," Bruce said, clutching the line tightly as he climbed over the rail and began to push off the wall gently with his feet, lowering himself down to the balcony below. Lowering his voice to a whisper he said, "Now I want you to stay very silent. If they hear us, this whole mission could be compromised."

Harry nodded and shut up, tilting his broom handle down with the slightest of movements so that he would descend at the same pace as Batman, hovering as close as possible to the hotel wall.

They descended in silence until they both reached the third floor balcony. Slowly, and as quietly as possible, Bruce let his foot move away from the wall and move down to the sleek metal rail below him. Resting his boot firmly on the rail, he let his weight shift over to it as he placed his other foot carefully next to it, letting go of the Batline. Careful not to make a sound, he shifted over to his left until he was leaning against the hotel wall, tucking his cape into the back of his belt so it would not flutter in the wind.

Behind him, Harry moved the Comet slowly through the air so that it was parallel to the hotel, directing it over so that his leg brushed the stone. His eyes were wide, but he did not make a sound.

Turning his attention to the room, Batman allowed himself to peek around the corner, letting the least amount of him possible to be visible as he looked inside.

Selina was still on the bed, chin resting on her knees in silence, her gaze flickering nervously over to her dresser now and then, where the Die Katze sat, ruby eyes still glowing eerily in the semi-dark room. Its gaze was focused on her, cold and unrelenting, clearly daring Selina to try and make a break for it. Batman had no doubt that she had tried—Catwoman was certainly not a fan of being held prisoner. But by the look of the long gash that stuck out on her pale cheek, Bruce had a feeling the attempt must not have gone well.

He pulled himself back completely into concealment, having seen the room now from up close. The Die Katze had obviously purposely positioned itself on the dresser, which was just a few feet from the door, to keep Selina in the room. Selina herself was exhausted and out of options, and had no clue as to what to do next. Bruce suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of pity for her predicament. He wanted nothing more to just jump in there and rescue her, smashing the Die Katze into millions of fragments with one throw of a Batarang. But it wasn't that simple. He would be no match for the Die Katze's powers. The book in the Hogwarts library and the readings from his binoculars had told him that well enough.

He listened intently for a couple minutes, hoping a conversation would start up between the demon statue and its prisoner. Something that could give him information, something to work with other than just Selina's obvious situation and their location They were good starts, but Bruce needed more if he would ever have any hope of defeating the Die Katze. He needed more information about it and its powers, and there was only one way to find it: the source.

But after a good five more minutes passed, Batman was starting to lose hope. If a conversation didn't start, then this whole trip had been pointless. He hadn't retrieved any valuable info other than where the Die Katze was staying and that Selina was indeed being held against her will by the demonic feline, which was not extremely helpful. He needed them to talk, but there was no way he could force the two of them to start a conversation.

Unless…

Poking his face around the corner slightly again, Bruce tried desperately to make eye contact with Catwoman. She still had her head resting on her knees, staring dejectedly at the wall.

Turn around, Bruce thought silently, daring to let his head poke out a tad more. Turn around!

And as if she could sense his presence, Selina's eyes flickered towards the balcony.

Bruce saw her green eyes widen slightly as she spotted him, but she did not make a sound. She didn't move a muscle, keeping her chin still resting dejectedly on her knees. The only thing that proved that she had seen him was her eyes, which were still fixed sideways at him from the bed. She stared at him for a minute, before letting her gaze flick worriedly back at the Die Katze, which was still watching her. Then they flicked back to Batman.

She didn't say a word, but her eyes said it all.

What are you doing here? Are you crazy? Get out of here before it sees you!

Slowly, with barely detectable movement, Batman shook his head.

Selina narrowed her eyes. Why?

Silently, Bruce dropped into a crouch so that he was too low for the Die Katze to see over the bed. He extended his arm just far enough that his hand was visible from around the wall. Shaping his fingers so that his four fingers were flat and pressed together tightly with his thumb underneath, he moved his thumb and fingers apart and then back together again, like a mouth. He repeated the motion three times, before retracting his hand again, and poking his head out slightly to see Catwoman's response.

Recognition shinned in her eyes as she understood his meaning.

Talk.

With the faintest of movements, she nodded, before motioning with her finger at her side for Bruce to hide behind the wall again. Batman nodded slightly before concealing himself. He held his breath, crossing his fingers and waving at them Harry, who copied the movement.

After a moment, Selina's voice rang out.

"How long do you plan on staying here?" she asked. Her voice was calm and gave nothing away.

There was a small silence, then another voice answered.

"Until I return to full power," the Die Katze hissed, the powerful, bone chilling voice sounding inside Batman's head just as it had when he had confronted it back at the gates of Hogwarts. "It will not be long now. The magic from the broom has strengthened me considerably."

Batman heard Harry breathe in sharply behind him. He glanced at the boy to see him gripping the Comet tightly, his knuckles white. It has my broom! His eyes screamed angrily.

Batman nodded, putting a finger to his lips in reminder that he must stay quiet. Soundlessly, he turned back around.

He heard the sound of fabric shifting as Selina moved slightly from her position on the bed. "How long is not long?" she ventured.

"Only a couple days," the cat replied carelessly. "Two or three at the most. I must rest, and fully gain hold on this new source of power. "

"Then what?" Selina asked.

There was a hiss and Batman tensed slightly, worried that Selina had gone too far. "I believe I have told you this already," The Die Katze hissed. "You are my servant, why do you need to know more?"

"I am sorry Bast," Selina said, though she didn't sound sorry. "It's just hard for my mortal mind to process all this information."

"Do NOT call me by my given name!" The cat spat angrily, and Harry flinched. "You will address me as 'Your Highness' and nothing else."

"I-I'm sorry, Your Highness," Selina recovered, though Bruce detected the hidden resentment in her voice in using the name.

"Forgiven, this time," the Die Katze hissed. "Though I guess it is true. I could not expect your puny mind to comprehend the sheer wonder of my abilities and plans. I will repeat my plan, though only once more."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Catwoman said, and Bruce felt his pulse increase slightly. She'd done it. Selina had managed to get the Die Katze to tell her of her plan so that Batman could hear. This mission wouldn't be a flop after all. Allowing a satisfied smile to take over his lips, Bruce moved in slightly closer, pulling a miniscule tape recorder out of his belt and pressing the 'On' button.

"Once I gain control over this new power I have obtained from the broomstick you have collected for me, I will be strong enough to fully transfer myself from this cursed statue into your body, taking over your conscious with mine," the Die Katze proclaimed. "You can resist me, but it will do you no good. I am too powerful now to be stopped by your puny will. Once I take you over as my new host, I will find a new kingdom to dwell in while I raise my army of loyal cats to find my dear sibling Set. He will pay for trapping me in this cursed form! "

There was a short pause after the cat finished speaking. Batman struggled to keep his breathing even and quiet as the sound of his heart pounding filled his ears. So the book he had read in Hogwarts had been right. The statue was the prison for the ancient Egyptian Cat Goddess, Bast. Unbelievable. Could this week get any more bizarre?

"Where do you plan on finding this new 'kingdom' for yourself once you are ready?" Selina asked softly, breaking the silence.

There was a short pause as the cat considered. "Hmmm," it murmured to itself. "I have not yet decided. Maybe that castle we were just at. Yesss that place holds much power, much magic that I can use. I think I will make that my new palace. What do you say?"

"A wonderful place," Catwoman agreed, careful to keep her voice neutral. Behind Batman, Harry yelped slightly. Batman whirled around, placing his hand over Harry's mouth to stop him from making any more noise.

The eleven year old shook his head frantically, eyes wide. Batman put his finger to his lips, waving it madly. Stay quiet! Do you want it to find us?

After a moment, Harry calmed down enough for Batman to release his hand. He looked worried, but Bruce ignored him temporarily. The conversation had stopped inside the room, and he risked poking his head out slightly to see what was going on inside.

Catwoman was still sitting on the bed and the Die Katze was still on the dresser, jeweled eyes still not wavering from Selina. Selina herself was watching Bruce out of the corner of her eye, obviously having been waiting for him to reappear. Placing her hand at her side, she made a slight shooing motion. Get out of here! Her eyes told him. You can't help me right now. Get out of here and find away to stop her. I'll be okay.

Batman was reluctant to leave her, but he knew she was right. Thank you, he mouthed, meaning every bit of the unspoken two words.

She allowed herself to smile slightly, eyes twinkling. Glad I could help. They said. Now get out of here, ya stupid flying rodent!

Batman smirked at himself at her silent good bye, before disappearing behind the wall again, leaving Selina alone. Turning the tape recorder off and placing it safely back in his belt; he nodded at Harry once, before taking hold of his Batline again. Harry got the message and carefully moved his Comet away from the wall before angling the handle upward, sending him shooting silently skyward. Batman quietly followed him, clambering up the rope effortlessly with his well-seasoned arms.

When he reached the second floor balcony, Harry his opened his mouth to speak, but Batman once again covered his mouth, shaking his head. He didn't want to risk them being heard. They needed to get out of there undetected at all costs. He pointed to the roof, signaling they could talk there.

Harry nodded and took off again, disappearing onto the roof above. Batman untied the Batline, securing it back onto his belt before taking out his grapple gun and following.

Only when Batman had successfully landed on the roof did Harry finally speak.

"She's going to take over Hogwarts!" he moaned, clearly distraught over the news. His green eyes were wide with worry, and although the info had not surprised Batman—he had actually been thinking that the Die Katze might try to take refuge in the magical castle—he did not blame the boy for being worried. The castle was, from what he had gathered from the little bit Harry had told him about his past, Harry's home. It was only human to be worried when it was threatened.

"Don't fret over it just yet, Harry," he assured the scared eleven year old soothingly. "Remember, the Die Katze is still not at full power. It said itself that it still needed a couple days to reach full power. It can't attack Hogwarts until then."

"Two to three days," Harry said. "That's all. That's not a lot of time!"

"No," Batman admitted. "But you also have me, Dumbledore, and a whole castle of witches and wizards on your side. Things are not all yet lost. Think about it. We have information. Knowledge is power. We know what the Die Katze is going to do, and we have at least some sort of a picture of what we're up against. That's two things: knowledge of what is going to happen, and knowledge of what it is that is going to make it happen. That's two very good things to have when building a plan to prevent what our opponent wants to happen from happening. You follow me?"

Harry sniffled quietly. "Yeah," he said softly, though he didn't sound very convinced.

"Harry," Batman said quietly, crouching down so that he was at Harry's level and placing his gloved hands firmly on Harry's small shoulders. "I will do everything in my power to prevent the Die Katze from taking over your school. Believe me, I will. Promise me in saying you will not give up, no matter what."

Harry bit his lip, but looked up, his green eyes meeting Batman's masked ones. Worry, fear and unshed tears filled them, and Bruce was reminded with a jolt how young Harry was. Only eleven and his parents had already been murdered and now his friends and school were in danger. Batman's heart went out to him, remembering how he had grown up, amongst the terror and corruption of Gotham, an orphan, wanting nothing more than to do something, but being powerless to do so. Then, anyway.

But as he stared into Harry's eyes, something new emerged. Something strong and solid. Courage, strong and pure, growing in Harry's incredibly bright green eyes and overtaking the fear and worry and replacing it. As Bruce watched, Harry's eyes changed from that of a scared eleven year old into those of a man beyond his years, solid and courageous, prepared to protect his school and defeat the enemy.

"I promise," he vowed, eyes sparkling with the newfound courage.

Batman couldn't help but smile. "That's the Harry I know," he said softly. He patted Harry's shoulder softly, before standing again.

"Where are we going now?" Harry asked.

Batman looked out over the lit up streets of London, face grim with new determination.

"Back to Hogwarts," he said after a moment. "Dumbledore was right when he said we're going to need some magical help to defeat the Die Katze. We need to tell him what we've found and devise a plan from there."

"Then what?" Harry pressed.

"Then?" Batman turned around, looking back at the young wizard before him.

"Then we kick some kitty behind."

Harry smirked.

"I like the sound of that."