Kathoom clenched his fists, savoring the feeling of a human body once more.
Bruce had temporarily surrendered control but could still see everything happening outside—and he could still talk to the owl within him.
“Kathoom.”
Just before leaving the Room of Erised, Bruce gave him one final reminder.
“Don’t kill.”
Don’t kill under the name of Batman.
“Don’t worry,” Kathoom reassured him. “Quirrell doesn’t count as human.”
With that, he swept his cloak and apparated, vanishing from the basement.
—
The stone bridge outside Hogwarts Castle.
Salazar’s mouth released a low, eerie hiss, a sound that seemed to echo with dark intent, as if summoning something.
Moments later, the silence of the Great Lake was broken as ripples spread across the surface, disturbed by something stirring in the ancient pipes connecting to the lake.
A shadow slipped out of the pipe’s mouth, gliding silently along the lakebed.
As it drew nearer, waves churned on the surface, and suddenly, a colossal serpent head burst from the water, spraying mist into the air, its massive form towering over the lake, hissing with menace.
The basilisk, long dormant in the Chamber of Secrets, had finally been awakened by its true master.
Salazar leapt onto the basilisk’s head, looking down on his old friend—and lifelong rival—Gryffindor from above.
As the basilisk emerged, Dumbledore immediately pressed his wand to his throat, amplifying his voice to warn everyone nearby, “Don’t look it in the eyes!”
Anyone who made eye contact with the basilisk would die instantly.
Gryffindor narrowed his eyes, staring up at Salazar as he let out a long sigh. “Always so reckless.”
So many students in the school, yet Salazar had summoned the basilisk without hesitation.
With a swift leap, Gryffindor transformed mid-air into a giant squid once more, hurtling towards Salazar and the basilisk.
The basilisk had no time to evade as the massive squid slammed its head down into the lake.
Waves crashed over the stone bridge, the lake boiling with turbulence. The giant squid’s tentacles coiled tightly around the basilisk, pulling Salazar and the beast down into the depths.
The lake’s surface roiled, a boiling cauldron concealing a battle that, though unseen, was brutal beyond measure.
On the bridge, Dumbledore stood alone.
Quirrell laughed maniacally, standing beside the remaining two founders as he sneered, “Dumbledore, you can’t possibly defeat the three of us!”
Dumbledore could not deny it; with the Dionysium factor, the resurrected founders possessed limitless regenerative power.
Even if he managed to subdue Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, they would only regenerate.
His only chance was to lure them elsewhere and attempt to seal them away.
But… was that even possible?
Rowena and Helga would surely guard against such a tactic.
What to do…
As despair weighed down on him, a voice spoke beside him, unexpected yet welcome.
“The dead walking again? I could die a happy man now.”
Dumbledore turned, startled to see two familiar faces.
“Nicolas? Newt?”
Standing beside him were the legendary alchemist Nicolas Flamel and former Hogwarts student Newt Scamander.
Somehow, they had apparated to his side.
Seeing the two, Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief, though he still looked confused. “Why are you here?”
“Wasn’t it in your letter to us at Christmas?” Nicolas replied, “You wrote that Hogwarts would be in danger. Said that when you left Hogwarts, it would mean the danger had begun.”
Newt, almost a century old, nodded in agreement. “The letter said to be ready for a fight.”
At Newt’s feet, a well-worn leather case trembled, as if something within was eager to burst out.
Dumbledore was perplexed by their answers.
A letter? What letter? He hadn’t sent them anything!
But now wasn’t the time to ponder that mystery. With Nicolas and Newt here, he was no longer fighting alone.
The battle resumed.
Nicolas conjured a lump of clay, shaping it quickly with his hands. When he opened his palm, countless clay figures leapt out, growing with the wind until they reached three or four meters in height.
They formed a solid wall, blocking Ravenclaw’s army.
“Alchemy, is it?” Ravenclaw scoffed. “I know a thing or two about that myself.”
Meanwhile, Newt stepped up to face Hufflepuff.
“Hello!” Newt tipped his hat respectfully. “Lady Helga, I’m a Hufflepuff alumnus. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Helga nodded, acknowledging his greeting.
Newt had never been one for direct conflict, usually avoiding confrontations.
But when push came to shove, he feared no one.
Newt nudged his case with his foot, and it sprang open. Out leapt a massive, spiny creature with long horns, resembling a saber-toothed tiger with slimy tendrils at its mouth.
It was a Graphorn—a fiercely aggressive magical creature. Newt had brought several with him this time, along with other surprises that Hufflepuff would have to contend with.
With Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff engaged, Quirrell, once so smug, suddenly sensed something amiss.
He was the only one left standing there.
Across from him, Dumbledore spun the Elder Wand in his fingers, his gaze cold and fixed.
“How did things turn out like this?” Quirrell muttered, replaying the events in his head.
What had gone wrong? Jason had brought back three founders, and yet here he was, still having to face Dumbledore alone.
—
Jason prowled the castle corridors, slipping in unnoticed even by the professors guarding the doors.
The portraits on the walls covered their eyes, feigning ignorance.
As Jason moved towards Quirrell’s coordinates, he heard quiet footsteps echoing down a side hallway.
A few young witches and wizards had snuck out of their dormitories, hoping to join the castle’s defense.
“What kind of school is this?”
Jason’s face twisted in annoyance. These kids had no sense of self-preservation. With danger in the castle, their first thought wasn’t to protect themselves but to dive in recklessly!
If these students were in the States, they’d have learned to stay put!
Jason drew his gun, planning to fire a few warning shots to scare off the foolish students.
But before he could fire, he heard a deep, resonant voice.
“Leviosa!”
The hidden Gryffindor students suddenly floated up, lifted by invisible magic, and drifted back to their dorms.
Jason scowled, his finger tightening on the trigger. “Who’s there?”
He could feel it—a powerful presence.
A shadowy figure stepped out before him.
The figure hovered in the air, cape flaring dramatically in the wind.
Behind him, countless bats swirled, darkening the air like a storm cloud.
As Jason’s eyes adjusted, he saw the face of the figure, and shock rippled through him. His pupils shrank, and his words caught in his throat.
His voice came out a dry whisper. “You’re…”
“You don’t recognize me?”
The figure slowly floated down, touching the ground lightly.
“I am vengeance. I am the night—”
Kathoom’s voice rumbled as he spoke the name Jason had longed and dreaded to hear.
“I am Batman!”
—
T/N: Oh!! Newt’s the guy from fantastic beasts! So it was a prequel nice!
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