Bruce Wayne and the Sorcerer's Stone
Chapter One: Getting Started
In the south of England there lived a boy who would grow up to quite famous and beloved by all the world. His name would give hope to the hopeless and strike fear in the hearts of those that served evil. He would become a shining beacon of all that is good and right with the world. However, one Harry James Potter is most assuredly not the focus of this story. No, this story has to do with another boy, one who has a destiny that is both the same and far different from the one designated for the Boy-Who-Lived. This is the story of another boy, one who would grow up to become an entity more fearsome and terrible than anything conjured up by some dark wizard, yet with a deeply engrained sense of morality he would become this entity in order to protect society, not prey on it. This is the story of how a child named Bruce Wayne was set on his path to become a force to be reckoned with in both the Wizard and Mundane world. It was a hard path to be sure, but the benefits far outweighed the risk, and the man he became would hold the fate of the world in the palm of his hand more than once, and would emerge triumphant in part because of what he learned while attending a certain school alongside other noted figures of the time.
For Bruce Wayne, it began on his birthday while he was alone in his room reading a book. Well, that's not completely true - it really began on that fateful night in Crime Alley, but that is an unnecessary digression. Alfred was downstairs, performing his duties and wondering if the young boy was beginning to tire of England. They had been staying at the current residence for over six months, since Bruce had somewhat fallen in love with the island. However, Alfred knew deep inside that eventually his charge would return to the Manor just outside of Gotham City. It was only a matter of time. The butler had wanted to give Bruce something of a party, but the boy had begged off, not wanting to deal with the socializing that was necessary for such occasions. In fact, Alfred had the sneaking suspicion that part of Bruce's rationale for dallying in England was due to the fact that here he was not quite the object of other's attention, in contrast to the situation on the other side of the Atlantic. As such, the boy had simply retired to his room, and for all appearances, it seemed that this would be a day no different from any of the others they had spent in this temporary home. It was then that an owl suddenly came flying through the open window of Bruce's room. It settled next to him and released a letter it had been carrying. Slightly dumbstruck by this sudden arrival, the boy opened the letter and read the contents, which were as follows:
Dear Mr. Wayne,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
To say that that the boy was surprised by the contents of this most unexpected letter would be a gross understatement. The possibility of magic was something he had dismissed along with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and other ideas which he now considered "childhood fallacies". Yet, there was something about the letter and the owl which remained perched on his desk that deeply unnerved the skepticism that the young boy held. He quickly rushed down the stairs to speak with Alfred, knowing that if anyone had an idea of what was happening, it would be the loyal butler.
"Alfred! Take a look at this!" The older gentleman perused the contents of the letter.
"Have you heard of a place called 'Hogwarts'?"
"I must say that I have, Master Bruce, though at the time I thought it a bit of a joke." Bruce had to fight from keeping his jaw from dropping.
"A few days ago, a woman dressed in some rather odd clothing contacted me about the possibility that you would be accepted into a school that taught such things as magic and spellcraft. Naturally, I was quite dubious as to the whole affair, but then she performed a spell to convince me. It was quite extraordinary."
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Bruce asked.
"She said that it was policy not to inform possible students about such things until the letter had been sent out. Apparently, I was contacted ahead of time so that I could prepare for this invitation, and not simply dismiss it as an idiotic joke."
Bruce could not believe it. An actual school that taught children how to perform magic, and he was accepted into it! This changed everything he thought he knew about how the world worked. How could he have not heard about such a thing until now? Obviously they must have incredibly tight security in order to keep things under wraps. What kind of people were these 'wizards'? How many of them populated the world? Were there other schools that taught magic? All these questions and a million more ran through his head as Bruce desperately tried to make sense of everything that had happened. In the space of less than five minutes his life had changed forever.
Alfred, meanwhile, was trying to gauge the reaction of his young charge to these revelations. The boy had always been incredibly methodical in his thought processes, believing that things had a certain place that they belonged in. Something as abstract as magic would surely pose an unneeded challenge to the boy. In fact, it would probably be best if they forgot this entire affair and returned to their normal lives without giving a second thought to-
"I want to go, Alfred." Bruce had spoken in a low tone of voice, but there was no mistaking what he had said. The boy then looked up at his guardian.
"I want to see what they have to offer. It's…..intriguing, to say the least." Alfred could only sigh.
"Very well, Master Bruce. Tomorrow we shall go and procure the supplies you will need for the start of term." Alfred then wrote a reply confirming that Bruce would indeed be attending Hogwarts this year.
"Give this to the owl." Bruce nodded and bounded up the stairs. The butler kept his eyes on the spot his young charge had previously occupied. He supposed it was inevitable that the boy would not stay in close proximity forever. It was simply that he would be sending the boy into a completely alien situation, one that he did not have control over. Then again, young Master Bruce had always shown a passion for unraveling mysteries, and what could possibly be a greater mystery than trying to unravel the secrets of magic? Bruce, however, had no such reservations in regards to attending Hogwarts, though his reasoning was slightly different from what Alfred assumed it to be. To the boy who witnessed his parent's murder, the possibility of learning magic presented an amazing opportunity. If he was capable of summoning magic in order to deal with his enemies…….well, the Plan to rid Gotham of its unsavory elements could become that much easier.
It had taken them a while to locate it and get in, but once they did, both Alfred and Bruce found Diagon Alley to be an experience quite unlike anything that had everhappened to them before. The first thing that struck the two were the people, so many dressed in robes that looked straight out of a storybook while running to and fro in search of the solution to whatever it was that could cause such distress. For Alfred, the facts of the matter began to sink in - this was real, and not some elaborate prank. Bruce had an expression of pure wonder on his face, but Alfred put a hand on the boy's shoulder as a reminder to stay close, though they both knew the action wasn't really needed, and they made their way into the Alley.
Their first destination was a bank referred to as Gringotts. Stepping inside the bank was quite an experience for both the boy and the elder man, as neither were quite ready for the sight of goblins going to and fro. Stepping up to the counter, Alfred addressed the goblin in front of him.
"Pardon me, good sir. I was told that this is the location where one can exchange normal currency for the kind used by wizards?" The goblin nodded and replied in a very curt tone of voice.
"That's right. How much do you want?" Alfred handed him some bits of currency and received some one hundred galleons. Bruce could not help but examine one of the coins. It felt strangely archaic and a bit surreal to actually be expected to use coins instead of the normal currency. Having completed their business at the bank, the two once again merged with the great mass that filled Diagon Alley.
The uniform shop was closest, so they went there first. Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions was certainly an interesting place. Bruce had practice at being fitted for clothes, since he had been forced to attend a number of 'elite' parties that required a very particular style of dress. However, there was an acute differenced in being measured for a small suit and being measured to fit in wizard robes. Again, the strangeness of it all weighed in on him.
After that task was finished, the two headed over to a shop named Flourish and Blotts for the schoolbooks. Once inside, Bruce could not help but be a little bit intimidated by the sheer volume of material. It would be a long while before he was fully up to speed with everything he needed to know to get along in wizarding society. Procuring the books listed on the letter from Hogwarts was fairly easy, but Bruce decided that he needed more than the bare minimum. As such, he convinced Alfred to purchase quite a few others for "research" purposes. These included Hogwarts: A History, Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, Self-Defensive Spellwork, A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry, A Compendium of Common Curses and their Counter-Actions, and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. The defense purchases worried Alfred a little bit, and he decided to voice some of his concerns.
"Master Bruce, do you really believe that someone attending this school for their first year will need to know how to-" he looked at the inside of one the purchases. "defend yourself from the 'darkest of dark forces'?"
"I'm just looking into the basics of it, Alfred. Nothing to worry about and it never hurts to be prepared." The boy then opened a book on curses and turned to the section labeled 'Unforgivables'.
The next item to be purchased was cauldron, and both of the Gothamites were surprised at the variety they found for what they had assumed to be a fairly simple item. Potions ingredients came next, followed by an owl. It was a brown, unassuming creature they had decided to use to keep in touch. The number of other creatures at the shop had fascinated the young boy, but in the end he stuck to his decision to get an owl. None of the others appeared terribly useful to him, and simple companionship was not something he was overly interested in.
Lastly, they procured a wand. Finding Ollivanders' was easy enough, but actually going into the shop was something of a surreal experience for both of the visitors from Gotham. It seemed to emphasize the other-worldliness of the entire experience thus far. Mr. Ollivander himself was an elderly man with pale, silvery misty eyes and long fingers. Yet, something about him told Alfred that this was no senile old weakling, but rather someone that remained incredibly aware of everything going on around him. Bruce was simply taking in the sight of the old store. It did not look like much, but he had learned a while back that appearance was not everything.
"Looking for a wand, I take it?" Alfred had a feeling that the shop owner already knew the answer to that question.
"Yes. Master Bruce here is starting his first year at Hogwarts."
"Well, come on over here, lad. Let's see what we can find for you." Bruce walked up to the counter and Ollivander handed him a wand.
"Unicorn tail, nine and a half inches." Bruce gave it a wave, but nothing happened. Ollivander took it back and handed him another.
"Dragon Heartstring, ten inches." Again, nothing happened and the man took back the wand.
"I don't suppose that there is some method to this?" Alfred sarcastically commented.
"Good sir, it is not the wizard that chooses the wand, but rather the wand that chooses the wizard. Now, try this one. Hippogriff talon, eleven inches." Once again, nothing happened. Ollivander was beginning to look a bit perturbed.
"Alright – Runespoor fang, eleven and a half inches." Still nothing. The old store owner gave Bruce a curious look then set out again for a wand.
"Gryffin feather, twelve inches." Bruce waved it around, and noticed some kind of reaction from it, but Ollivander took it back. He then produced another wand, and had a confident expression on his face.
"Gryffin feather and bat wing, thirteen inches." When the boy waved this one around, sparks came out of it. Alfred then walked over and examined the wand.
"It's an unusual one, no doubt." Ollivander kept his eyes on Bruce. "Gryffin feathers are fairly common and provide a defense against dark magic. The bat wing is the odd part. It's not something that most would think goes with gryffin feathers, since they're good for the shadier kind of magic. The combination makes the wand a bit thick, but also versatile, since it can more easily use various types of magic. It's a wand for someone who might see a good deal of violence."
This prompted Bruce to give his wand a closer look. It certainly did not seem to be something that would be especially good in a fight. Still, it was the only one that had a reaction to his touch. Alfred paid the man seven galleons for it and the two left for home.
So, that was a bit of an odd experience, wasn't it. The question I put forth to all of you is quite simple - was is a good odd or a bad odd? All you have to do is click that little review button...
As to why I wrote this, well the origins to that can be found in day-old pizza, a couple chapters of Harry Potter, and a late-night viewing of Batman Begins. The idea of putting Bruce Wayne in Hogwarts grabbed me and would not let go until a wrote this pathetice excuse for a a fanfic.
In regards to the scene with Ollivander and the wand, yes I know that it's about as subtle as an especially loud marching band. I was aware of the when I wrote the scene. However, at the beginning I knew that there would have to be some bit of bat-related foreshadowing somewhere early on in the story. I know that it's all too easy for authors to start hitting their readers over the head with incidents that say "Look everyone, he's going to be BATMAN!" If you think I crossed the line, I apologize. Please write me a hateful review describing how much you despiese what I have done.