Author's Note: I've had this one more or less done for a while, but I kept having to redo the ending because I didn't feel like it was working well. I still don't think it is, but I've had it up to here with it already. So, good or bad, here it is.

This chapter crosses over with the Young Justice universe, and therefore the DCAU. Don't assume, however, that this automatically means that there will be more dealing with Houdini and the Team. It's just something that came to me while watching YJ one evening. Like I said, these are just a series of one-shots that coincidentally have Houdini as the main focus.

Disclaimer and Warning still apply.

Have Wand Will Travel, Said the Card of the Man

Zatanna felt the cold steel of the Helmet of Nabu, trying to ignore her teammates who were calling out for her to stop. The Team was getting stomped all across Roanoke by Klarion, and she was sure that the only thing to do was use herself as a conduit for the Lord of Order.

Just as she found the resolve and lifted the golden helm above her head, however, a voice called out.

"I wouldn't do that quite yet, if I were you." The accent was vaguely British, but it had the telltale twang of a Gothamite. Her eyes landed on a young man a few inches taller than her, wrapped in a silvery, insubstantial cloak and wearing a tattered, frayed wizard's hat with a wide brim. Upon the hat's crown rested something that looked a bit like a bronze tiara fitted with a large sapphire in the center. His features were impossible to pin down, though based on the magical feedback she was sensing, his domino mask was probably charmed with a glamour. A snowy owl was perched on his shoulder, and he held a gnarled white wand in his left hand that radiated power like a nuclear reactor.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who doesn't appreciate having his mums taken away mid-meal," came the enigmatic reply. "You can call me Houdini."

That certainly clarified things. She'd heard much about the Magical Marauder of Gotham, whom even Batman had trouble with, from her father. Zatara had been called upon as an arcane consultant on more than a few of the Caped Crusader's run-ins with Houdini, and she could tell that her dad was grudgingly impressed by the boy.

However, he didn't seem very boyish to her right that moment. His green eyes flared with barely leashed energy as they gazed at Klarion and Teekl.

"I assume you're telepathically connected with your team?" he asked. Zatanna nodded, and he smiled genially. "Good. Tell them to back off."

"Wh-what?" Zatanna could hardly believe he'd just said that. "You probably didn't catch it, but Klarion's been slapping us around like toys! How's one person gonna do anything against a Lord of Chaos?"

A roguish grin flitted across the nondescript face. "Just watch and learn, my dear."

And with that, he strode past her, a flick of his wand ripping the Helmet from her grasp and shrinking it down to the size of an action figure accessory. He slipped it beneath his cloak, and suddenly vanished, the owl taking wing to presumably fly reconnaissance.

Zatanna blinked stupidly at the spot he'd disappeared from for a moment, then shook her head and sent a warning to her teammates. We've got company, she reported.

The good kind or the bad kind? Wally wondered. 'Cuz I'm not sure we can handle anymore of the bad kind.

I...think it's the good kind? Zatanna replied cautiously. Houdini just showed up.

All of them felt a flash of incredulous anger from Robin, who had the most experience with the magic villain. What the heck is he doing here!?

Who is Houdini? Aqualad queried, and going by M'Gann's and Connor's curiosity bleeding into the connection, he wasn't the only one in the dark about their guest.

He's a mystic, like my dad and I, Zatanna explained, except the way he accesses magic is a little different from ours. And...he's kind of a super villain. Then, ignoring her teammate's unease at being aided by a bad guy, she answered Robin. Houdini said something about his moms being taken mid-meal, if that helps?

Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, Robin sent two mental images of the aforementioned femme fatales. It's their one-year anniversary today. They sort of raised him.

Lucky guy, Kid Flash whistled appreciatively.

Robin snorted mentally. Yeah, being raised by a pair of lunatics is super lucky.

As opposed to being raised by a single lunatic and his butler? Kid Flash shot back teasingly.

He said we should back off, Zatanna interrupted before Robin could come to his guardian's defense.

I wouldn't mind watching Klarion beat the stuffing out of him, Robin muttered sourly

We should do as he says, Aqualad agreed. Houdini will give us at least a few moments of respite in order to come up with a better plan.

Zatanna ran back to the pentagram just in time to see Houdini knock lightly upon the force shield Klarion had erected.

"Can I help you?" the Lord of Chaos' nasally voice grated upon her ears even at a distance.

"Yes, I was wondering if you'd kindly undo the dimensional shift you've ingeniously set up here," Houdini inquired politely. "You see, it was my mums' first anniversary, and I haven't given them my gift yet. Nor have they eaten the dinner I made for them, and it's getting cold. Or, well, it would if I hadn't put warming charms on it, but the point still stands."

Klarion seemed baffled by the casual request, but grinned back at the obviously insane mage. "Sorry boyo, big plans and all that good stuff. I can't recall exactly what that entails, but it's supposed to be good, I know that much."

"Oh," Houdini tried and failed to sound disappointed. "Well, don't say I didn't try the easy way."

And then the wand he held pulsed violently as he raised it and conjured a pillar of flame to engulf the entire magic circle. The inferno rose high into the air, causing a massive wash of sweltering air to ripple outward, and the Team felt the psychic link waver as M'gann was affected by the intense heat.

"Wait, Miss Martian can't stand fire!" Zatanna yelled over the roaring blaze. Houdini shrugged and dispelled the flames.

"Whoops," he said apologetically.

Klarion still stood within the pentagram, unaffected by the fire spell, but the force shield bore several minute cracks and seemed rather more hazy around the edges than before. Klarion looked positively delighted.

"Well how about that!" the witch-boy said, his eyes doing that creepy rat-thing they did. "A magician with some actual magic tricks!" Zatanna growled under her breath at the implied slight to her. With a snap of Klarion's fingers, Teekl was back at his side, still saber-toothed and humongous. "Let's play, Mr. Houdini."

Klarion smirked, his hands dancing in the air as they wove a net of magic around him so complex that Zatanna could scarcely identify a quarter of its function while Teekl roared and darted toward Houdini. Zatanna gasped as what looked like a pure white phoenix dive-bombed the transmogrified cat familiar with a vengeance.

You okay, M'Gann? she thought tentatively.

I'm fine, the alien gasped as she regained her faculties. That fire spell was something else, though. And his bird is beautiful, she added, watching as the avian's jet-colored beak speared out at the saber-cat viciously.

Yeah, Robin agreed, wary and worried. He couldn't make anything that big before, and his owl was definitely not that badass. Are there such things as magical power-up rituals, Zatanna?

Zatanna thought back to all the lessons with her father, and the warnings he'd given. There are, but I doubt Houdini's undergone any of them.

What makes you say that? Artemis asked, watching as the opening salvo of magic clashed between Klarion and Houdini, a pulse of deep crimson battling against a shower of small, silvery spears of light.

Every single ritual I know of that boosts magical power is very dark magic, and anyone who uses them is forever tainted with that darkness. They involve ingredients like blood from a defiled virgin's hymen and the spinal cords of fetuses and things like that.

Wow, you coulda just said power rituals are evil and leave it at that, Kid said, thoroughly grossed out. We woulda taken your word for it, y'know.

Anyway, there's only slight traces of dark magic in Houdini's aura. If he'd been boosting with rituals, the dark magic would be oozing off him.

As they watched on, Klarion began utilizing gigantic tongues of flame which he shaped into dragons that swooped low over the dead trees. The Team all looked toward Miss Martian, but she seemed fine, to everyone's surprise (including her own). Zatanna noticed that Houdini was holding a brown wand in his right hand, one that had just moments ago been pointed at the off-worlder.

When she brought the others' attention to it, M'Gann decided that she would link Houdini to them as well.

The mage shook his head as he defended against the firedrakes with huge, earthen walls raised from the dusty road while heavy wind currents hammered against the eldritch shield surrounding the runic array. He blinked out of existence when a burning tornado touched down where he'd been and reappeared in the air above Teekl, landing atop the familiar's back.

The saber cat apparently took being ridden rather poorly, if the terrifying yowl that issued from between the two-foot incisors was anything to go by. With a speed that astounded Zatanna, Teekl turned into a whirling dervish of claws and fangs and one seriously insane super villain holding on for dear life.

Well, I can cross being psychically linked to a lovely little green girl off my bucket list, was Houdini's first telepathic remark, a curiously joyful feeling coming through the link from him. Riding a saber-toothed tiger as well, come to think of it. Houdini was cut off when Teekl tried to pull a page from the rodeo horses of old and went sun fishing with her hind legs before spinning and racing around the magic circle frantically. And if you're wondering, it was a Flame-Freezing charm that protected you, Miss Martian. I wasn't quite sure if it was the light or the heat that was bothering you so I went with the old tried-and-true cure for burning at the stake.

Robin seemed taken aback at Houdini's kindness, but Miss Martian took it in stride. I appreciate your assistance, M'Gann replied, polite as ever.

And I appreciate your appreciation. His eyes flashed briefly toward Robin, amusement dancing in the green depths despite the fact that he was being hurled about like a ragdoll atop the furious feline. Bird Brain, it's nice to see you again. Last time we met was...when I trapped you in a cage with the compulsion runes that made you talk like Tweety, right?

Piss off, Putty Tat.

Ooh, I like him, can we keep him? That was obviously Kid Flash delighting in his best friend's blatant dislike of the mage. I'll feed him, and take care of him, and call him George.

Maybe we should let him focus on the personification of Chaos he's fighting right now? Artemis cut in.

While they'd been speaking, Houdini had conjured a set of spurs on his boots and was using them to spell his moniker in the frenetic mass of fur and muscle that was Klarion's familiar. Teekl, it seemed, was finally fed up with Houdini and just flipped over and crushed the mage into the ground beneath her enhanced bulk, then high-tailed it out of the way when Klarion zapped him with arcs of lightning which seemed to emanate from the amber crystal at the center of the circle of runes. The psychic link let them all know just how much that one had hurt; Zatanna was surprised Houdini could still move, but there he was, rolling feebly in the small crater Teekl's landing had ground out.

Groaning, Houdini rose to his feet, wincing slightly when he put weight on his right leg. He tapped the injured limb with the gnarled wand, then said, "Alright, kid gloves are off. It's been fun, Klarion; I haven't enjoyed a fight this much in a fair while. But as they say, all good things must come to an end."

"Aw, man," Klarion whined. "But I was just finished warming up."

"Sorry, old bean, but my mums'll be pissed if they find out I was dicking about instead of getting them back."

And with that, Houdini raised both wands like an orchestral conductor, and the trees all around them began animating, their roots ripping through the soil that the magic circle rested upon and breaking it up. It was as though the nearby forest had finally had enough of Klarion and his dimensional shift, and had something to say about it.

"I call this little spell the Sack of Isengard," Houdini mentioned casually.

Even flung about in the air among bits of dirt and rock, Klarion gave a vaguely impressed nod. "I can see why."

One root coiled around the amber stone lying in the middle and tossed it up into the air. Klarion made to grab for it, but it flew into Houdini's waiting palm before he reached it. The shield spell broke with the runes inscribed on the ground, and Klarion was easily snatched up by the trees along with Teekl, who'd shrunken back down to house-cat size.

"-ZAM!" Just then, Captain Marvel (or rather, his child alter-ego) showed up, shouting, "You need to get the jewel! You-oh," he trailed off, spotting the stone safely in Houdini's hand. "You got the jewel. Zatara said his daughter knew the spell to reverse it?"

Houdini tossed the glowing yellow rock to Zatanna, who caught it reflexively, and after remembering just such a spell, spoke the words of power. The glow became a beacon of pure light, and when it faded, there were four other magicians lying unconscious in the pentagram alongside Klarion. Batman, Red Tornado, and Zatara (who had appeared alongside the other adults) moved in to apprehend them.

Klarion sighed, muttering, "Well, looks like they don't make immortal sorcerers like they used to."

"I know, right?" Houdini agreed. "The standard for those guys has gone down like the Titanic recently." At the shocked look of the other heroes, and even Wizard and Felix Faust, he held up his hands defensively. "Too soon?"

Zatara and Zatanna had chosen to ignore the rest of their companions in favor of hugging each other in a tearful reunion. "Dad, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, sweetie," assured the Italian-American. "What about you?"

"A little shaken up," Zatanna admitted. "I...I almost put on the Helmet of Nabu." At Giovanni's thoroughly alarmed look, she continued, "Houdini stopped me, and then he took on Klarion and his familiar single-handed."

They glanced over at Houdini, who was talking quietly with Batman. As they watched, the brilliant white phoenix alighted on his shoulder and turned back into a snowy owl, who let out a low bark and nipped at his ear affectionately when he rubbed her chin.

"He's certainly become more attuned with his magic since the last time I saw him," Zatara said approvingly. "More confident as well. Quite a change since the war."

Zatanna kept quiet, hoping her father might continue on in that vein of thought. She remembered last year when Batman had called upon Zatara's aid, and the somewhat haunted look in the Italian's eyes when he'd returned. He never really spoke about what occurred during the several months he was overseas, but Zatanna knew it had surely taken its toll on him.

"Come, I must thank him for protecting you from yourself," Zatara claimed, and she pouted. She didn't need protecting from anyone, especially herself.

As they walked up, Batman glanced their way. Houdini noticed and turned to them. "Hey, Z-man. How've you been?"

"Well, Houdini," was the short reply. "I trust you've been taking care of those artifacts we recovered?"

Houdini grinned. "Of course," he drawled, tapping the hat to indicate the tiara. Up close, Zatanna noticed that the top piece vaguely resembled a large bird of prey, and a small inscription along the rim read, Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure. "The diadem's instant recall certainly helped with my spellcasting, and the locket's precognition came in handy plenty of times." From within his robe, Houdini withdrew a silver locket with a large S stylized into a snake.

"Have you discovered any new uses for the cup?" Zatara prodded.

In answer, Houdini pulled off the hat and began rummaging around in its depths. To Zatanna's surprise, the hat yelped and snapped, "Watch where you stick your hand, young man, or I'll have half a mind to take it!"

"Oh, stuff it, you patchy trilby," Houdini shot back, withdrawing his arm and holding a golden cup bearing a badger on the front. With the brown wand, he poured a clear stream of water into it and then withdrew a vial of acidic green liquid from a utility belt Zatanna was sure hadn't been there before and handed it to her dad. "Know what that is?"

Zatara took the vial and cast an identifying spell upon it, then cursed at the results. "That's Greenblood oil," he said, thrusting the substance back into Houdini's hands. "Where did you get that?"

"Around," replied the younger mage carelessly. "Watch." He uncorked the vial and let a few drops fall into the water, where they seemingly vanished without a trace. Then he tossed back the drink and gulped it down.

"No!" Zatara exclaimed, slapping the cup out of Houdini's hands where quite a bit of water spilled out despite the large mouthful Houdini had imbibed. "You foolish child!"

But whatever Zatara was expecting to happen didn't, and Houdini raised an amused eyebrow at him, putting the vial away and picking up the cup, which, amazingly, was still full of water.

"I learned a few months ago that the cup neutralizes just about any poison you can think of along with the automatic refilling enchantment. Mad-Eye offered me his entire vault's contents and marriage contracts for three of his granddaughters for this little beauty."

"I should imagine so," Zatara replied dryly, still looking a bit shaken up. "How exactly did you discover this ability?"

"Someone tried to poison me, then tried to kill me the old-fashioned way when it didn't work," Houdini shrugged. He dropped the cup back into the hat, then did the same with the crown and the necklace and replaced the hat on his head.

"You might want to fix your leg before the Numbing Charm wears off," the hat said, and Houdini nodded.

"I'd forgotten about that," he said absently, rubbing his thigh with a slight grimace.

"Is your leg okay?" she asked.

Houdini shot her a grin. "Worried?"

She narrowed her eyes, shooting the wizard a smirk. "Can't have the scrub injured before his first official mission, right?"

His smile widened. "No, I suppose not." He stashed the gnarled wand into his sleeve and began casting with the other one. As soon as the first spell took effect, a sharp hiss of pain escaped his lips. "Battlefield patch jobs are the worst."

Zatanna watched, fascinated, as Houdini worked his magic. A pair of branches floated over, warping into a crude splint while conjured bandages wrapped themselves around his femur. Once that was done, he dug around in a pouch on his belt (reaching much deeper than what the outer dimensions of the bag might normally allow without magical aid) until with a soft, "Ah-hah!" he withdrew a crystal flask that contained an indigo concoction that bubbled sluggishly.

He knocked it back quickly and loosed a sigh of relief. "Pain-Relieving Potion," he explained to those not of magical origin. "Easy to make, and no worrying about getting addicted to the stuff like that stupid morfin or whatever it's called."

A muffled noise coming from Houdini's utility belt, and he plucked a phone from its holster. The song, she realized with a start, was Dr. Greenthumb from Cypress Hill.

"Harry Houdini's House of Hilarious Horticulture, how can Harry Houdini help?" Robin groaned in the background. "Yes, it's taken care of, Mum. Some weirdo named Klarion. Had a cat. Yeah, Hedwig was happy to play with her, they got on great. Mhm, I think I'll have to schedule another play date at some point. So, you and Mama will be commandeering the greenhouse tonight? Oh, don't give me that, Mister Jay helped me figure out what you two were doing when I was twelve, it's nothing new." A flush dusted his cheeks as he glanced at the assembled group, as if just remembering they were there. "Oh, alright. I love you, too."

After he hung up, he glared at the captured wizards, who were staring at him with undisguised amusement, despite their predicament.

"Can it, Lucky," he shot at Felix Faust. "I've half a mind to turn you into an ottoman and sell you to an old fat lady."

That shut them up.

Turning back to the heroes in general and Batman specifically, he said, "So, when am I moving in?"

"What." Robin's voice was thoroughly whelmed.

Zatanna had never heard of Batman becoming flustered, and neither, apparently, had the other Leaguers.

The Dark Knight coughed awkwardly into his fist and said, "I may have failed to mention that the Team is gaining another magician today."

"Aw, sweet!" Kid Flash crowed, grinning widely as he nudged Robin a dozen times at top speed. "Dude, your arch nemesis is gonna be on the Team!"

"I'd heard, funnily enough," Robin spat, trying to glare a hole through Houdini's face.

"Don't be that way, Rockin' Robin," Houdini said, popping to Robin's side and slinging an arm around the shorter boy, gathering Wally into the group hug from the other side. "I'm sure we'll be besties by this time next week."

Robin attempted a judo flip, but Houdini's vice grip around both the former sidekicks meant that all three ended up covered in Roanoke's dirt.

"Robin," Batman scolded. Zatanna wasn't quite sure how, but Batman managed to cram an entire argument, counter-argument, and closing statement in that one word.

"Fine," Robin sighed petulantly. "First slip-up and I'm sicking Wolf on him."

"I don't think this guy'd be good for Wolf's diet," Superboy said dubiously.

After-Action Report: So, this is set roundabout a year after the first chapter chronologically, meaning Harry's seventeen and has beaten the shit out of Wizard Formerly Known as Tom Riddle and the Terrorist Group Formerly Known as the Knights of Walpurgis.

Batman said he wasn't going to bring the full might of the fledgling Justice League down upon Voldie and the Death Eaters, and he didn't (because that would just be overkill), though he did bring Zatara in. Zatara and Zatanna are the same magical species as Harry and the rest of the gang, but Z-man's upbringing was quite different. They're both purebloods, for all intents and purposes (even though Zatanna's mom is from another dimension), but the way they access their magic is far and away removed from Magical England's sorcery.

So, in some dusty tome in Zatara's library, he, Harry, and Dumbledore found a way to remove the Horcrux in Harry's head without killing him, or even harming him, and that eventually led to the purification of the ring, the cup, the locket, and the diadem as well. Nagini still got shanked, though. And since they were created by the greatest magic users for generations, I decided to give them a few actual uses besides their use as soul jars for He-Who-Does-Not-Shower.

At this point in time, he's basically Hogwarts Man. He's got Ravenclaw's Diadem, which grants perfect recall; Slytherin's Locket, which allows for limited battle precognition; Hufflepuff's Cup, which, among other things, nullifies just about any poison, refills any non-magical liquid placed in it automatically, and doesn't spill even when up-ended; and (not shown) Gryffindor's Sword. Not to mention he's the Master of Death with the three Hallows that title entails. So, yeah. Houdini's got some nifty trinkets to play with, and he's quite the magician already, but he's got a long way to go before he can go toe-to-toe with the truly big enemies.

Also, Ivy and Harley got married shortly after Old McVoldie bought the farm. It's just poor timing on Klarion's part that he chose their anniversary to pull his shit.

Speaking of Klarion, he was kinda sorta toying with Houdini, but then again Houdini wasn't truly going all-out either. His Sack of Isengard spell was the one really difficult bit of magic he pulled in this chapter (besides Hedwig's transformation, but we'll get to that in a later chapter), and Klarion was caught off-guard by the sudden shift in gears and allowed everything to play out.

And that Titanic joke was going to be a 9/11 joke until I realized that if Harry was seventeen, then it would only be '97, and it would literally be 'too soon', so I had to scramble to come up with something that vaguely worked. So...sorry about a shitty joke.

I think that's all. Anything I failed to address, or questions or comments you'd like to send me are welcome in reviews or PM. All the favorites, follows, and reviews I haven't had the chance to respond to are still quite near and dear to my heart, don't think otherwise.

Thanks for reading, and have a good day!