Chapter 41: Married on Wednesday

From the point of view of the banshees, Harrison and Lily dropped down to their hands and knees. The sextet of magical creatures surrounded them, going in for the kill.

Harrison and Lily watched from the shadows, barely suppressed grins over their faces. The illusions held up well. Lily was able to do the charm work and Harrison was able to hide their images from the senses of the banshees.

Standing ten yards behind the banshees, as opposed to right behind them, Harrison and Lily exchanged smirks with each other and prepared to spring their trap. The two were ready and willing to go.

Lily was the one who started the cycle, rearing her arm back. A blast of fire caught one of the banshees in the face, causing them to be inconvenienced severely.

The creature gave a surprised noise, as it was essentially burned. They had been tricked, but this fact was not allowed to go through their heads that easily. Because Harrison was also on the attack, lifting his hand up into the air, and there was a loud sonic boom that rocked them down.

One of them flew through the air, arms outstretched, but a gag wrapped around the mouth of the creature. Its power was subdued and Lily lifted her hand into the air, with a delicate slash of her wrist.

She created a whip made of flame and knocked it off of the face of the banshee. Her red hair flowed freely around her face, as her green eyes burned with the personification of power. Even the creatures around them were rather horrified at what they saw.

The redhead whipped her fist back and sent the balls of fire. They managed to recover from the initial attacks but Harrison did not allow them to perform a counter strike.

He transfigured the ground, causing several spiked vines to wrap around them, and Harrison bounced off the back of their heads, clonking them together. One of the creatures was caught in a ring of fire.

'Do not let them open their mouths, whatever you do!' Morgaine advised them and Harrison smiled, not saying anything. He threw a capsule into the air.

A green liquid wrapped around the head of one of the creatures, and she viciously clawed her way out.

"I think we better find a way out of here, and fast, before they call more of their sisters," Lily panted, twisting her wrist and once again causing the fire to fly.

The ground was scorched underneath them but Lily and Harrison were able to hover high above the scorched ground. The banshees craned their necks up and pointed themselves towards them.

The first shield was already up, and the second one was being worked on. The cry of the banshee hit the shield and cracked it like glass.

'Already, ready,' Harrison thought as he performed and reflecting spell, hoping that this would work.

Sure enough it did work, like a charm, pardon the horrible pun. The sonic scream caught the banshee off guard, dropping the creatures all the way to their knees.

"Good, they're suffering, the bitches deserve it," Lily said once again, causing fire to wrap around the creature.

Three of them were pretty much taken down for the count but there were three more left hanging around. These stragglers were something that they would either have to keep at bay or taken out.

"Back!" Lily commanded and Harrison flicked three more pellets, causing them to detonate them onto the faces of the banshees. Once again, they tried to scratch and claw at the two interlopers but their shields did a remarkable job in holding it back.

Now that their enemies have been kept at bay, Lily looked over her shoulder, and they could see reality start to shift once again.

"Now's our chance!" Lily called and Harrison followed her behind, but not before they left their friends one last parting gift as they made their way through the portal.

Both of them managed to land gracefully on their feet where the exit point was. Reality seemed to be settling back to normal or what passed as normal. The two of them looked at each other.

"So, we're here, where is here actually?"

Harrison didn't quite recognize the place but Lily did. Lily smiled, she would recognize this place pretty much any time.

"We're closed to Wales, Godric's Hallow to be precise."

From the meeting with Lucius after that finished, Harry had a class at GCU. It was rather enlightening as usual.

From there, Harry, being Harry, found himself in the company of beautiful women, two of them in fact, when he was having lunch at a café close to GCU.

"It's been a long time, since I've been able to get a chance to talk to you," Sapphire said, one of the women who was sitting down with him. She decided to keep an iron like grip on his right arm, with a smile on her face that could light up a room.

"Your classes have been busy….."

"Yes, barely able to keep my breathe here," Sapphire said with a smile on her face and there was a grin. "But now that I'm with you….well I'm going to have to be breathless for another reason, won't I?"

'Very subtle, aren't we?' Zatanna thought and Donna chimed in.

'Well subtle isn't exactly something that is a trademark for a lot of girls in the circle or even on the outside looking in,' Donna thought.

'Speaking from experience, are we?' Lyta asked, with an innocent smile and grin.

'Quiet,' Donna said, crossing her arms.

'Ladies,' Hippolyta said, with the regal air that caused her girls to fall in line, as Sapphire finished telling Harry about the work that she was doing as of late.

"Well, you've been busy, and how about you, Harley?"

Harleen Quinzell smiled. Her blonde hair was tied back in a professional manner, or what she thought was a professional manner anyway. She wore a nice pair of eye glasses that showed her shimmering blue eyes. She wore a white blouse and a black skirt that went down past her knees.

"Well….I got some good news," Harley said, basically hanging on the back of Harry's neck and she casually nudged Sapphire out of the way. The woman pouted and shot Harley a death glare but the girl did not really notice it all that. "You know my internship that I put through….well Doctor Ravencroft gave me the good news…..I'm on my way to Blackgate."

Harry smiled, happy for her.

"Well, you deserve it."

"Thanks," Harley said in a bubbly voice. She was rather happy for herself and the only reason she was bouncing up and down was that she actually managed some level of restraint. "I mean with all of the people with records in Gotham City, there are going to be a lot of interesting people out there, to really take a close look at."

"Careful, you don't want to run into someone who is too interesting," Harry warned her and Harley smiled.

"It's just an Internship, what's the worst that could happen?" Harley asked and Sapphire cringed, as she caught Harry's eye and she sighed.

"That's the worst thing that you can say, you know," Sapphire argued but she decided to go back to her soup, as Harley chatted away happily about it.

"Well, you do know everything, you were able to help me through some tight spots," Harry told her and she smiled at him.

"Well, I wouldn't have been able to do anything if you didn't really….well if you didn't have a few brain cells rattling around in your head," Harley said and she rested her back against Harry but slowly pulled away suddenly. She didn't want to be too obvious after all.

The group talked idly for a little bit longer and finished up lunch, preparing to go their separate ways.

"Have a nice afternoon, I'll talk to both of you later," Harry said and he bid them goodbye, but Sapphire stopped him, her grip on his arm not really slacking.

"You know, I don't think that I'll let you get away that easily, I mean…..after what happened last time, you owe me another date," Sapphire said and Harry smiled at her. He did enjoy a girl who knew what she wanted and more importantly how to get it.

"Oh, do you think that?" Harry asked and she smiled at him knowingly.

"Yes, yes, I do," Sapphire said as her grin was barely able to hold up. "So, what do you think of this weekend?"

"I think that it would be amazing, although we're going to have to work hard to top how wonderful last time was," Harry said and Sapphire threw her arms around him, pressing him into a hug. The young woman leaned forward, and whispered into his ear.

"Well, I'm sure that you're going to have a find a way to step up your game, won't you?"

"I do try, you know that," Harry said and she smiled with a brief nod in agreement, and then she kissed him fiercely on the lips in response.

'Well, sometimes those girls do have you wrapped around their tightly, don't they?' Gabrielle asked and there were some nods in agreement.

'It's not like I don't get anything out of it, you know,' Harry said and there was many moments of muttering in agreement between all the girls who were listening in on the conversation.

His cell phone rang and right away, Harry picked it up, answering it without a second thought.

"Hey, Harry, are you busy?" Veronica Vreeland asked over the phone.

"Hi Veronica, no I don't have anything planned," Harry confirmed over the phone and he frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to join me for a game of tennis at the Gotham City Country Club," Veronica said. "Bruce was going to join me but Alfred, he called, telling me that he had to cancel at the last minute."

'Mmm,' Harry thought but he decided not let the woman know that he suspected that something was going on. He just couldn't really put his thumb on what was going on to be honest.

"Well, I'd be happy to join you, I'll meet you in about a half of an hour," Harry said, after all.

"Seriously…..oh….that would be great, if it isn't really too much trouble?" Veronica asked there was a tentative tone in her voice. It was almost like she didn't want to see too eager at meeting with Harry.

"No, no, no trouble at all," Harry said in one of his reassuring voices, with a smile on his face. "You know how much I enjoy your company…..well I better leave now so I don't be late."

"Yeah, sorry for talking your ear off….you know how I can get," Veronica said in an excited tone and the two said their goodbyes with each other.

'Penny, could you do me a favor?' Harry asked.

'Yes?' Penny asked.

'See if you can get ahold of your uncle,' Harry told her and Penny needed no further instruction than that.

He smelled a rat but where or who, he didn't know.

When you were held captive in a basement, time tended to pass weirdly. Batman once again was trapped onto the chair, unable to move from his current position. He deflated, the fact that he had not had a good solid meal or water after being in this sweltering hot church basement started to wear on him.

The Dark Knight Detective tried to crane his neck up, there were some comings and goings from the Deacon and his two main Acolytes. The Deacon disappeared for periods at a time, allowing the words to sink in. Batman tried to get a good look around but his will power slowly waned.

It felt like a sledgehammer was being rammed in the back of his head constantly, pounding the Deacon's words deeper into his head. He took a breath once more and tried to be mindful of his surroundings.

One of the Deacon's Acolytes sat at his table, with a book in front of him. At first glance, one might be able to think that it was a bible in front of him. He had his head bowed, his eyes bloodshot, and he was muttering something underneath his breath.

Batman strained to listen but it was not in a language that he recognized. He coughed and tried to push his wrist up.

"Gotham City, Gotham City is full with a plague, full of sinners, and these sinners will hunt down those true believers unless we lead to a revolution."

Even though the Deacon was not here, those words hammered through the back of Batman's head. His congregation was massive, his power of words sunk into the back of his head, digging into his mind.

He did manage to catch a few words from the Acolyte as he was hunched over at the table.

"….The cries of children will be extinguished, for those who bring them to damnation will be burned. The darkness that surrounds this sordid land will be extinguished."

He delved back into his tongues, and once again Batman tried to keep his head up. The words burned into his head.

"My brother, I am in your mind, even when I'm not here. My words, you know them to be true, they're penetrating your mind, like little bitty razor blades."

Batman tried to shake these words out of his mind and he could see the light at the top of the steps. Speaking of the good Deacon, he descended his way down the stairs. He carefully balanced two plates of food, approaching the table.

He sat the plates of food in front of Batman, where they were in his line of sight. The Dark Knight's burning gaze was set on him, although it had less fire.

"Are you hungry, my brother?"

The Dark Knight did not even respond so the man shrugged.

"Fair enough then," Deacon Blackfire said as he looked at the plate and dug into the bounty, ravenously. "My friend, you must understand what I'm saying and why you believe it. Because it's not me saying it. I'm used as a vessel to reflect the thoughts that you would already reflect in the back of your mind. You see, it's all about perception and I'm not really speaking. It's just your mind….your mind, my brother, it has told you what you wanted to know."

Once again Batman remained silent, that was his default state at this time and the good deacon chuckled as he continued to stare his prey down.

"You know that, about as well as I do, even though you're not one for speaking."

There was silence for a moment, as the Deacon slowly ate his meal, savoring every last bite. Batman wasn't about to break the silence.

"There are men, women, children….little bitty babies sitting down around this time for their supper, but could it be that last meal?"

The question was rhetorical, not that Batman was going to really answer it to begin with.

"Those who have put a thrall underneath Gotham City will be responsible for this. You know it as well as I do…..but don't take my word for it. Listen to your own thoughts. Somewhere, there is a little boy crying because his parents will never come home."

The Deacon didn't know that, but that struck home with Batman closer than he would ever know.

"Darkness, full of darkness, but those sinners fear the consequences."

Batman's eyes were on the Deacon but his lips weren't moving. Blackfire finished his meal and there was little more conversation to be said.

But he had said plenty already.

"I can't believe we won."

Harry chuckled as he was driving Veronica home in the aftermath of their tennis match, a very successful one at that point.

"Did you….did you really have any doubt that I would?" Harry asked and the woman looked at him, her eyes widened and she started to shake her head.

"Well no….but you got to admit….."

"I know, I know what you're saying, really, I do," Harry replied to her, with a smile on his face. She looked kind of sheepish but recovered fairly quickly.

"It's just that….well as far as I know, you've never played a game of tennis in your life but you seemed like a natural out there, you know," Veronica said, the crisp autumn air blowing over the top of their heads, as Harry turned a corner in one of his many cars.

"Veronica…..I know….it seems like it, but it's been a long time."

"How long?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her. She should have learned by now not to be too curious for her own good but she couldn't really help herself.

Harry gave her one of those smiles and said smile caught her completely off guard. She managed to recover quickly from him. "Oh it's been several years, but certain skills…..I guess I retain them, and I don't go out of practice."

"Well, I'm sure that they thought that they would be in for an easy ride, but….that's all on them, isn't it?" Veronica asked, as Harry pulled up towards the long drive. The gates were already opened to allow them admission. "So….that was actually nice to let my hair down….got a big charity ball next week that I got to prepare for. I'm sure a lot of Gotham's most respected citizens will show up."

"Was that a hint?" Harry asked her, as he parked the car and the woman smiled.

"If you could put in an appearance sometime….but then again, I don't have to ask, you seem to pop into a lot of charity events," Veronica told her. "Then again, I know that you're good at multi-tasking, so I wonder how you have any time to sleep….."

"I really have it down to a science to be honest," Harry said, pleased with the smile on her face. "And you know that we keep running into each other with fair regularity, despite some of the things that you've been doing."

"Yes, I hope to undo some of the damage that….other less forward thinking members of the upper echelon do and I know that RAO is doing what it can to preserve the lands used for farming out in the Midwest," Veronica said and she smiled. "And I agree with you….I know that Luthor is trying to muscle his way in there but….."

"I've got my eye on Luthor, don't worry," Harry said, and that was rather true.

"The newest preserve should be a sanctuary for some of the endangered species as well, "Veronica said excitedly, as they make their way to the door. "I know….I might have just as much to do as you do but…..I think that this is all important, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh yes, I agree," Harry said, as he reached the front door.

"So, would you like to have a drink before you go off on your way?" Veronica asked, essentially out of the blue and Harry smiled at her.

"I would be honored."

'She's more subtle than a lot of them, I think, come to think about it,' Daphne thought and it was Astoria who chimed in as well.

'Given that all of them have all of the subtly of a runaway train,' Astoria commented to the entire group.

'Nothing like her sister, she redefines the term…..well she redefines the term not being subtle,' Gabrielle thought, her mind failed her.

'Hmmm, you would know about that, wouldn't you, Gabi?' Fleur asked and the sisterly bickering started through the bond link.

Harry chuckled in amusement but he allowed Veronica to lead him towards the area of the bar to mix his drink. That left him pretty much to run into the clutches of Bette Kane and Bunny Vreeland.

"Hi, Harry," Bette said in an excited voice, as she was dressed to kill in a little black desk that hugged her curves. She wore an exquisite pair of high heel shoes as well.

"Fancy meeting you here, how are you?" Bunny asked, wearing a tight purple number of the same thing. Her body was displayed rather nicely for him and Harry found his eyes lingering on her for a little bit. He shook his head and managed to keep himself calm, at least for the most part.

"I'm fine….looks like you two girls are going out," Harry said.

'No Harry, it's a trap, don't do it,' Amanda warned him, knowing where this one was going and she had a pretty good idea that Harry knew where it was going.

"Well yeah, I figure that since there's nothing else better to do tonight, the two of us should go to the club, and you know, just hang out, we're meeting some friends there, do you want to come with us, we would be really happy if you came with us," Bunny said in an excited voice without taking a breath. "It's just that….well Ronnie here…..I think that she would be a lot more at ease if you were with us and….we know that we wouldn't get in too much trouble with you around and….."

"I think what she's meaning to say is, would you like to come with us?" Bette asked.

'Oh boy, here we go,' Fleur thought, shaking her head in thinly veiled amusement.

'They're going to rope you into this, aren't they?' Nym asked, as she was torn between amusement and annoyance.

'Nymphadora, not now,' Harry told her in a warning voice, and the woman fell into line.

"I'll….."

"Please, Harry, it would mean a lot to us," Bette said giving him a bright set of puppy dog eyes, with a smile on her face.

"Of course."

'You don't really know what you're getting yourself into, you know,' Emily thought.

'Well, I think he does,' Kara interjected, ignoring the girls who were trying to protest with what he was doing but Harry smiled.

"Great, we can go a little bit," Bunny said, bouncing up and down in excitement, as her dress clung to her body.

'And of course she makes a spectacle out of herself,' Gabrielle thought.

'Yes, she's acting like you do sometimes,' Fleur said and Gabrielle stuck her tongue out at her sister. 'Love you too Gabi.'

Lily and Harrison thought that because they were in the neighborhood, they might as well take a stop by to see what everything was going on.

"Hasn't changed all that much, has it?" Andromeda asked, as she popped up by their sides, followed by Amelia.

"It's been the first time that I've back here…."

"Surprising, given that you inherited property here," Amelia commented idly with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I know that, of course," Harrison said, Dumbledore willed a piece of property here. "Why did you and Dad move here in the first place?"

"Well it was just….it just had a unique heritage and you know how I am about researching the mysteries of magic, that was what lead to me in that cave," Lily said and she smiled. "Godric was said to have left any number of treasures here….but that might have been a myth. But it does lead a few unsavory figures swing by town in an attempt to see if that is true."

"Oh of course it would," Harrison replied, as the group made their way to the graveyard, to pay their respects.

"There's really not much to do here, other than the historical significance aspect," Lily added, with a smile on her face. "Then again, you could say that about a lot of magical villages. Sometimes there's a library, and then there's a graveyard while you might find some figures from history buried. A few shops….but really nothing major."

"Yes, Godric's Hallow was a place that many families have called home for years, but Riddle kind of drove many of them away," Amelia said, recalling the reports. "A few historians lived here….because of the historical significance."

"It's not too bad of a place, really," Andromeda said and Lily smiled, as they made their way towards the graveyard.

Lily was starting to get a foreboding chill through her spine, because let's face it, there wasn't any day where you visited your own grave.

"The last enemy that should be destroyed is death," Lily muttered, reading the inscription on the grave and she shook her head.

"You don't approve, I take it," Andromeda said and Lily gave a long and poignant sigh.

"Not at the slightest, not at the slightest," Lily replied, throwing her head back. This was going to be a long road ahead to be honest. "I don't know what….well I have a good idea what people were thinking when they put something like that on a grave, but….."

"I get the point, Mum," Harrison replied quietly, and Lily shook her head once again, mouthing the words on the grave.

After the group paid their respects, they made their way up the hill towards the cottage.

"The Ministry is in a state of panic," Amelia said, she figured that this statement would come up sooner rather than later. The redhead woman turned herself around and sighed.

"Oh….?" Harry asked her and Amelia nodded.

"Yes, it's all about…..well it's all about those rifts that are opening up," Andromeda said, chiming in right at that moment.

"It's really bad," Amelia said, to say that there was a shit storm would not even begin to adequately describe things. "The rift's breaking open and it's just for a minute. Some of the areas aren't inhabited, but all plant life has been killed. And if it is inhabited, all of the life force is gone from the area."

"Seems to me it's almost like being kissed by a Dementor," Harrison said and Amelia nodded firmly.

"That would be…..well that would be the most elegant explanation, yes," Amelia answered, not liking this and Lily and Harrison locked eyes. They were both thinking along the same lines. This was going to really get a bit worse before it really gets any better.

'I think that we better figure out how to deal with this, and soon,' Morgaine thought, anxiety really brimming through her eyes.

'Yes, understood,' Harrison thought, he didn't really need to be told twice about something like this. His hands folded over his chest and he hoped that he could sort this out before too long. It might seem like a cliché, but time was in fact of the essence.

"You should come with us more often, it would give you a chance to unwind a bit more," Bette said with a smile on her face. "Plus, we both know how dull all of that charity work can be….."

"Even though it's important," Bunny added, nudging Bette to remind her of this fact.

"It's very important," Bette agreed with a smile on her face as she looked at the woman. "You're higher strung than Kathy is sometimes. And let's not think of the issues that Kate has….how repressed she is."

"Oh, you got that figured that out, don't you?" Harry asked Bette with a smile.

"Well, I think we….I think we better have this dance," Bette said, barely keeping the grin off of her face. She wasn't going to let him get the better of her, even though she had Harry in his crosshairs since the party.

"Hey, I was going to ask Harry to dance," Bunny said, crossing her arms and staring him down.

"Sorry, Bunny, snooze, you loose," Bette said with him. "So, shall we hit the dance floor, handsome?"

"Lead the way, my lady," Harry commented with a wide smile, as he took her hand. Bette pulled him in tightly, with glee dancing in her eyes, and there should be no reason why she was not happy. "Well….."

"Yeah, it's kind of high beat, but I'm sure that you can handle it, with all of the girls that you hang around," Bette said and she whispered in Harry's ears. "I love Amanda and Emily….but do you think you can answer a question for me about them?"

'Oh this should be good,' Amanda thought but Emily shushed her sister, wanting to listen.

'The two of you eavesdropping on what's supposed to be a private conversation about you two….actually I'm not sure who I'm supposed to reprimand,' Nym thought.

'Just go with it, Nymmy, just go with it,' Fleur thought, amusing dancing from her tone of voice, as she could see Bette and Harry finish their dance. Bunny was getting more and more impatient as she waited for her turn, to the point that she was tapping on her foot on the ground.

"So, are the twins on a sugar high all of the time or they just act that way…"

"They're high strung, with a lot of energy," Harry said rather calmly all things considered and Bette smiled.

"That's a really interesting way of putting things," Bette said, smiling as she shook her head, but she continued her dance with Harry. She could tell Bunny was getting more and more agitated over in the corner, not to mention impatient, very impatient, so she was going to milk this one for all it was worth.

Eventually, the moment Bette pulled away from Harry, Bunny slammed herself into Harry's grip, and started to dance.

"Someone's eager, isn't she?" Harry asked and Bunny smiled.

"You should know, that, shouldn't you?" Bunny asked as she looked at him, and she got the envious stares from more than a few onlookers. She gave them back a look that indicated "that's right, I'm with the hottest guy in Gotham City, what are you bitches going to do about it?"

After some time, the girls slipped back to the bathroom.

'So it's safe to talk to you now, isn't it?' Penny asked.

'Yes, Penny, it is did you talk to your Uncle?' Harry asked her and the woman sighed.

'Bruce has been missing from the night before, according to Uncle Alfred, he was tracking down the missing homeless in Gotham City, and….he ran into something….and he hasn't been heard since last night,' Penny thought with a sigh. 'He isn't sure what happened, other than he isn't dead….you know because of the life support systems that are built into his suit.'

'Yes, I'm well aware of those,' Harry thought, bringing his hand up to the bridge of his nose, and sighing long. 'So, guess I'm going to have to cut this one short….'

'Actually, you can't, because you're still on the injured list,' Dinah thought.

Harry sighed, that was true. For all of the benefits that watch gave and the reasons why he wore it, to heal the damage to his CORE, it could still be a bloody drawback sometimes.

'And your suit isn't completely repaired yet,' Faora chimed in to him. 'Underarmor is fine….rest of it….the upper layer….well not so much.'

'I get the picture,' Harry sighed, and he saw the girls returning from the bathroom.

'I can just as easily see what happened, I'll keep you posted,' Dinah thought.

"So, Eddie's got a hair up his ass….."

"Can you blame the guy, I mean….his brother, he got butchered….it was like some Jason type thing….you should have seen it….."

"Were you there…."

"Nah, but my cousin knows a dame who saw the aftermath."

A trio of thugs played cards at the table, and talking about what is happening.

"There are a lot of weird things in this city, I mean there's this Batman and there's this Nightwing and then there's….there's….do you really think that one of them are behind this?"

"Could be, you never know, but Eddie….he's throwing a fucking fit, I wouldn't want to be the guy who comes back and doesn't plug this asshole," one of the thugs said and then his phone rang. He picked it up. "Yeah, yeah, if you got the cash, I got the goods already…..I'll meet you there."

"Who was that?" one of the thugs asked.

"Oh you know, it's just some junky wanting a hit, you know how they are, but if they pay, they can do whatever they want," one of the thugs said as he looked at the other two. There was a knock on the door.

"Who the hell is here at this hour?"

One of the thugs made their way forward and held the door, opening it up a crack, to see who was there.

BOOM!

The door flew off and smacked the thug hard in the face. It was sent flying, smashing him hard in the head, and there was a looming figure that stood in the shadows.

The thugs lost their shit and scrambled so fast, but the problem was that they tripped over their feet and were not able to escape any time soon.

The imposing figure of Solomon Grundy lumbered forward. "Married on a Wednesday."

The lights went out and there were screams, as the swamp monster lumbered forward towards them. Some of them begged for mercy, but there was none.