Magical Mission

Mount Justice
DECEMBER 24, 16:07 EST

The teleporter pinged, announcing the arrival of "Batman-02" and "Zatara-11". The teen superheroes immediately straightened up in their seats, and Robin and Aqualad paused mid-spar.

"I have a new mission for you." Batman's voice was as solemn as ever as he pulled up a photograph on the computer screen. It was a familiar demonic-looking boy, his pale skin almost a translucent blue in the dim lighting of a rooftop. An orange cat with tiger-like stripes stood proudly by his side. "My intel tells me that Klarion the Witch Boy has traveled to a magical boarding school in the United Kingdom to recruit dark magic users. The details are unclear, but Klarion and Teekl are most likely disguised as a student and his pet cat. Your job is to go in undercover as students and figure out who Klarion is masquerading as."

"A magical boarding school… Really?" Kid Flash interrupted. "How are we supposed to fit in there? Won't they expect us to know how to do magic?"

"I thought you didn't believe in magic," Artemis whispered.

Batman fixed the young speedster with an irritated glare. "Zatara has kindly aggreed to allow young Zatanna to accompany you on this mission and this mission alone. She, and Aqualad, will be providing all of the magic necessary." The top hat sporting magician did not look all too happy with the arrangement, but he kept silent.

The young Atlantean nodded; although it had been a couple years since his studies at the Conservatory of Sorcery, he sometimes missed his studies. He was even somewhat excited to have the chance to learn magic again. "Can you tell us more about this culture so we'll have an easier time fitting in?"

As resident magical expert, Zatara took center stage for the moment. "The British wizarding world is very isolated and secretive. I only know so much because an old acquaintance of mine happens to be the headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"

The Team listened intently as Zatara explained the intricacies of Hogwarts castle, describing individual classes and common dressing styles. Everyone cringed when they heard about the school uniform consisting of drab black cloaks, but Artemis pointed out that it would at least be an improvement for Wally.

As soon as Batman let out a gruff cough, the teens were reminded of the dark knight's presence, and they snapped back to attention. "Tomorrow, Zatara will be taking you all to London to shop for school supplies. From there, you will stay there until the school starts for the term, so pack everything that you need."

"My friend has informed us that electronics do not work at the school, so there is no need to pack any," Zatara added, matter-of-factly.

"Nooooooooo!" Robin gasped, grabbing his wrist computer with his other gloved hand. "What am I going to do? I'm no longer whelmed! I'm completely underwhelmed."

"I just can't wait to get a magic wand!" Megan jumped up and down, clapping her hands excitedly. Conner stood behind her, a slight smile coming to his lips at her cuteness.

Wally nodded emphatically. "Yeah, Megan, wands are just the coolest. Of course, they're probably holographic devices…"

"Stop being such a geek, Wally! If you still can't honestly admit to believing in magic after we find Klarion, who happens to be a witch boy, at a magic school, then you can say whatever you want," said Artemis, rolling her eyes.

"Artemis is right. You need to keep a more open mind. You could offend the wizards at the school with this behavior, and it would surely blow our cover! Also, you are well aware that I have personal experience with sorcery." When Aqualad asserted his leadership, everyone listened, and Batman almost half-smiled.

Immediately finding himself deflated, Wally trudged away, glaring at Artemis. Despite having witnessed magic with his own two eyes, he would never admit to her that he had been wrong. Artemis was listening to Aqualad speak, but she soon felt a pair of eyes boring through her, and she turned to scowl at Wally. He smiled, thinking about how funny she looked with that expression, and her face softened.

Then Miss Martian asked the question everyone else had pushed to the back of their minds, "What about school school?" While magic school sounded fun, she enjoyed being a bumblebee and didn't want to miss cheer practice. The school would notice if she and Conner were away for an extended period of time.

Batman gave her an "are you doubting Batman?" look, which the Team took to mean that he had it covered. Robin was used to missing school and having his mentor handle it, and most of the others didn't care as long as they didn't have to do schoolwork. Out of all of them, Kid Flash was the only one who looked like he was about to argue, but at the last minute, he decided that magic was worth it as long as it meant no real school.

Aqualad began handing out supplementary orders, and by the time he was done, Batman had mysteriously disappeared. Zatara bid goodbye, and everyone dispersed to pack their bags. Robin and Artemis left for Gotham, and Wally went back to Central City. Most of his surface clothes were already in the cave, so Aqualad was set, and Conner and Megan and all of their belongings called the cave home, so they just had to pack them in suitcases.

The next day, after Wally finally arrived at the cave—his mom had given him the longest lecture—the Team was finally ready to go on their first extended undercover mission. Everyone was dressed in their civilian garb, and Megan had altered her skin tone. Robin was slightly disappointed that Batman hadn't come to see them off, but he did have other League responsibilities after all, and Zatara was there—with Zatanna.

"Hi, Zatanna!" Robin called, slipping next to her.

"Hey, boy wonder. I almost didn't recognize you without the cape." She smiled at him, sweetly, and he felt his heart flutter doing some acrobatics inside him.

"It's been so long! I wanted to get in touch with you, but Batman said you were grounded!"

"Still chalant, I see."

A light smirk in Robin's direction did nothing to help the butterflies in his stomach, but he lightly played along. "I was trying to play it cool, but apparently I'm no good at being nonchalant. Guess I'll just have to settle for being chalant."

Zatanna smiled sweetly at the younger boy. "I'm excited to be going on another mission with you guys. I had fun last time, despite how it turned out."

"So, do you go to a magic school?" Robin asked curiously.

"No, I'm home schooled. The magic my father has and I have is a family thing. Our magic is different than the wizards' at the school, but I'll do my best to disguise it."

By now, the other members of the Team had migrated over and were listening to Zatanna speak. Robin was disappointed at having to share her attention, but he kept his game face on. Artemis was staring at Wally, trying to gauge whether or not he would deny the existence of magic in front of Zatanna.

Zatara approached the young teenagers seeing that they were eager to leave. He muttered an incantation, "NodnoL ni nordluaC ykaeL eht ot su tropelet," and a weird sensation fell over all of them. They were yanked forward, and then jerked back, most of them landing on their feet. After all, they were quite used to teleportation, and Zatara's magic was similar to the League's teleporter, if not smoother.

"There's no League teleportation point in London?" Aqualad questioned, unsure why the League would neglect to place a teleportation station in one of the world's largest cities. He eyed the dark, dingy pub in front of him, the words "Leaky Cauldron" hanging from a small, rickety sign overhead. It seemed like this was their destination. Had Zatara meant for them to arrive there?

A guilty smile passed across Zatara's face. "There is, but I prefer my own method of transportation." He mentally tallied the Team members and satisfied that they were all there, he gestured to the door of the Leaky Cauldron. "Come on children, let's go inside."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Wally exclaimed. "It's clearly abandoned! Look at it! The windows and the door are boarded up, the poster on the door says that it's condemned, and there is no way to enter!" Conner, Megan, Robin, and even Artemis all nodded in agreement. They could only see a dilapidated, obviously vacant building.

Zatara smoothed out his tuxedo, not bothering to hide his annoyance at Kid Flash's skepticism. "The British wizarding world is hiding in plain site. There is an enchantment surrounding this very building. Era ylurt yeht woh rof sgniht ees sdneirf gnuoy ym tel." The words came out quickly and fluidly, and a light bulb went off in Robin's head.

"You're just speaking backwards! How do you come up with the inverted words so quickly? And can you vert something?" Robin's words fell to deaf ears because at that exact moment, their perception of the tiny building began altering, as if a veil had been lifted from over their eyes.

"Huh," was all Wally could say, as a tiny pub replaced the abandoned building. He dashed forward, pulling open the door and charging inside. The pub smelled dank and dusty, mixed with the scent of strong alcohol, and Wally was taken aback by how large the pub appeared from the inside. Zatara, already sick of babysitting, and the rest of the Team followed Wally into the Leaky Cauldron. Their day clothes suddenly felt extremely out of place; everyone was either wearing long, flowing robes or oddly mismatched normal clothes.

The toothless face of a wizened old man greeted them from behind the counter. "Are you here to shop in Diagon Alley?" he asked, his beady eyes surveying the group.

"Yes, we are," Aqualad answered, "but first, we would like to arrange some accommodations for a couple nights."

"Yes, of course. There are two-bed rooms and single-bed rooms. How many rooms will you need?"

Counting eight people, Aqualad said, "Four, but is there any way you can add an extra bed to one room?"

"It is fine," Zatara said, "Zatanna and I can share a room."

The young black-haired teen rolled her eyes and mouthed no to Aqualad. The Atlantean turned towards the innkeeper, waiting for an answer. He nodded, and guided them upstairs to their rooms. Robin and Wally dragged their bags into the first room; Conner and Kaldur claimed the second; Artemis, Megan, and Zatanna went into the three-bed room; and Zatara commandeered the lone one-bed room.

Artemis dive-bombed onto the closest bed to the door, and once the door shut behind the girls, she turned to her roommates. "Was anyone else super-creeped out by the guy?" she asked.

A lanky redheaded man hurried down the steps of the pub and out the back door. Zatara ushered the team after him, and they emerged in a small courtyard, blocked off by a solid brick wall. The wizard glanced back at them warily, and then whipped out a wand, tapping various bricks. When he finished, the wall began folding in on itself, forming an entranceway.

"Whoa!" Wally breathed out; behind his sunglasses, Robin's eyes widened; Aqualad smiled; while Superboy remained stoic; and Megan let out a small squeak. Artemis's eyes narrowed in suspicion then flickered over to where Wally was standing, mouth agape. Now let him try denying the existence of magic.

A beautiful walkway full of bustling movement and quaint little shops lay before them. The row of shops advertised different magical items, and at the far end of the street, a tall, marble white bank towered over them.

Zatara followed Superboy's blue-eyed gaze over to the bank. "Don't worry. That's where we are headed first."

Wally was keeping silent. He didn't want to open his mouth and say something foolish that would reveal that he actually did believe in magic, especially now, with Artemis's eyes boring right into him, so he shifted uncomfortably instead. He wasn't exactly comfortable staying still anyway.

When they entered Gringotts, Megan began squealing about how adorable the goblins were to Conner, while Wally just stared at them in disgust. In his opinion, they were just creepy, little monsters. Artemis smiled at Wally's discomfort and started to pull the speedster towards the small creatures.

Zatara exchanged the money Batman gave him for the wizarding currency, and then he turned to bring the kids back outside, so they could start shopping. That is when he realized that there were only five teenagers inside the bank. Robin and his daughter were missing. "Aqualad!" he shouted, brusquely. "Where are Robin and Zatara?"

As the leader, Kaldur's face paled. Had he really lost a member of his team? He did a head count, coming up one person short. "They must have gone into one of the shops!" He rushed out of the bank, leaving Zatara in charge of the rest of the Team.

He spotted Robin and Zatanna in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies, mixed in with a large crowd of school-aged kids. The mass of people had gathered around a…broom. Kaldur raised an eyebrow, coughing to get his friends' attention.

Robin looked up to find his leader standing behind him, looking quite irritated. "Hi, Kaldur! Look at that beautiful broomstick."

All Kaldur could see was a broom, albeit with a sleek, nicely polished, dark handle. "Do they fly around on these?" he asked.

Robin nodded enthusiastically. "Can I get this one?"

Kaldur's eyes flitted over this particular broom, and then over to the window display, where he saw dozens of others. "This one seems quite expensive. Why not that one over there?" he asked, gesturing a less shiny broom.

A young boy who was standing nearby overheard Kaldur's comment and looked up at him, shock covering his face. "That's blasphemy! This is the Firebolt, only the newest, fastest broom on the market!"

At Robin's wide grin, Kaldur could only sigh deeply.

Author's Note: This is my first crossover, so reviews will be very much appreciated.

Next chapter: The team arrives at Hogwarts and gets sorted. Will they meet Fifth year!Harry?