Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Batman (Harry Potter Style)
Harry is led across the courtyard. The prisoners stare. Ducard took him to a private room to remove the bracelets on his arms. It was painful to have the bracelets removed after two years of not having his magic to protect him from harm in the outside world.
Ducard: You travelled your neighbor and learn to steal. You were force into a prison in my country as a teen you understand the criminal mind and conquer your fear.
Close on Harry’s blue poppy – now shriveled dry – on the altar. Harry, clad in black Ninja uniform, watches as Ducard, also in black, picked it up, takes a pestle and mortar, drops in the dried flower, and grinds it to dust.
Ducard: But a criminal isn’t complicated, and what you really fear is inside yourself. Your fear your own power. Your fear your own magic. You own anger. The drive to do great or terrible things…you must journey inwards.
Ducard pours the dust into a small brazier. Lights it. Motions to Harry.
Ducard: Drink in your fears. Face them. You are ready.
Harry breathes the smoke. He shakes his head. Reacting to the effects of the smoke, his mind is plagued by images. Ducard put on his ninja mask. Motions Harry to do the same. Harry struggles to think through the effects of the smoke….Dozens of identical Ninjas step forward from the shadows: Ducard has melted into the crowd. Harry raises his guard…
Ducard: To conquer fear, you must become fear…you must bask in the fear of other men….and men fear most what they cannot see –
Ducard strikes at Harry – Harry spins, parries – but Ducard has gone. The Ninjas move in unison, forming walls…
Ducard: It is not enough to be a man…you have to become an idea…a terrible thought…a wraith…
The ninja nearest Harry turns and slashes – it is Ducard. Harry leaps sideways, rolling through the wall of Ninjas. He looks at his arm – it has been slashed, the uniform torn – a dead giveaway. Harry looks around, crouched, ready…One wall of Ninjas part, revealing a wooden box. Harry stares it, mind spinning from the smoke.
Ducard: Embrace your worst fear…
Harry cautiously approaches the box. Carefully lifts the lid. Peers inside…Bats explode from the box, filling the air – Harry dives away from the box, staring up at the squawking bats – flinching…Ducard leaps at Harry, who rolls sideways, blocking. Harry turns to face Ducard, but he is lost in the Ninjas, bats filling the air, Harry flinching with their attacks…Harry stays low. Slashes the arm of the Ninja nearest him – the man does not move. Harry turns. Fighting to think. A Ninja paces softly through the crowd. As he speaks, we can tell this is Ducard…
Ducard: Become one with the darkness…
Ducard falls in behind a Ninja with a slashed sleeve...He knocks him to his knees, sword against throat –
Ducard: You cannot leave any sign…
Ducard pulls off his own mask. Disappointed.
Harry: I haven’t.
A sword is at Ducard neck – Harry is behind him, pulling off his mask. Ducard looks around…several of the Ninjas have slashed sleeves. Ducard smiles. From across the chamber…clapping. Ra’s al Ghul sits, watching.
Ra’s al Ghul: Impressive
The ninjas turn, in unison, and sit. Harry releases Ducard. Ducard leads Harry in front of Ra’s. Ra’s leads them to a brazier, with a branding iron sticking out over the rim. Ra’s al Ghul begins speaking in Urdu.
Ducard (Translating): We have purged your fear. You are ready to lead these men. You are ready to become a magical member of the League of Shadows.
Ducard hands Harry his sword. Harry looks at the murderer, who looks back with pleading eyes.
Harry: No. I’m no executioner.
Ducard: Your compassion is a weakness your enemies won’t share.
Harry: That why it’s so important. It separates me from them.
Ducard: You want to fight criminals. This man is a murderer.
Harry: This man should be tried.
Ducard: By whom? Corrupt bureaucrats? Criminals mock society’s laws. You know this better than most.
Ra’s all Ghul steps forward, eyes burning. Starts speaking…
Ra’s al Ghul: You cannot lead these men unless you are prepared to do what is necessary to defeat evil.
Harry: Where would I be leading these men?
Ra’s al Ghul: Diagon Ally, London. As Wizarding World favored son you will be ideally placed to strike at the heart of criminality.
Harry: How?
Ra’s al Ghul: Wizarding World time has come. Like Constantinople or Rome before it…the race has become a breeding ground for suffering and injustice…it is beyond saving and must be allowed to die. This is the most important function of the League of Shadows. It is one we have preformed for centuries. Wizarding World must be destroyed.
Harry turns to Ducard.
Harry: You can’t believe in this.
Ducard Looks at Harry, then looks down, troubled.
Ducard: Ra’s al Ghul rescued us from the darkest corners of our own hearts…what he asks in return is the courage to do what is necessary.
Harry: I’ll go back to Wizarding World. And I’ll fight men like this. But I won’t be an executioner.
Harry looks at the Murderer kneeling next to the Brazier.
Ducard (low, emphatic): Potter, please, for your own sake…there is no turning back…
Harry looks at Ducard. Then raises his sword, preparing to strike. The Murderer’s head is bowed, trembling. Harry strikes down with his sword, missing the Murderer’s neck by inches, striking the white-hot branding iron, flipping it off the brazier and through the air into the mezzanine where the explosives are stored,
Ducard: What are you doing?
Harry: Thanks for removing the bracelets by the way. What necessary.
Harry strikes Ducard in the head with the flat of his sword. Ra’s strikes at harry – Harry parries – Explosions roar from the balcony, shooting flames across the ceiling. Ra’s and Harry fight as explosions surround them… Harry leaps clear as flaming debris collapses onto Ra’s, crushing him…the flames are rising, Ninja bodies are strewn around, fresh explosions rip across the hall as Ninjas flee, and Harry spots Ducard lying unconscious. Harry picks up Ducard, hauls him out of the throne room into a passage, smashing through an ornate screen with magic. Harry and Ducard crash down onto a steep slope of ice and rock, the monastery exploding above them…Harry rolls over, grabs a rock, looks across to see – Ducard, unconscious, sliding down the icy slope. His limp form rotates, spinning as his body gathers momentum, rushing towards the edge of the cliff…Harry dives after him, sliding headfirst down the ice…the cliff closer and closer, as Harry races after Ducard…Mere feet from the cliff edge, Harry grabs Ducard – raises his free gauntlet-clad arm, and smashes at the ice, digging in with the bronze scallops…stopping on the edge. Ducard hangs limply over a tremendous drop – Harry struggles with the dead weight. Harry pulls Ducard up onto the ice. Breathing. Harry carries Ducard down the road. Harry kicks the door open. The old man he saw on his way up the mountain stares back at him. Then motions Harry to put Ducard down on to some mats. The old man wipes blood from Ducard’s temple. Looks at Harry who is moving to the door…
Old Man: I will tell him you saved his life.
Harry stops. Turns. Looks back at Ducard.
Harry: Tell him…I have an ailing relative who needs me.
Harry puts his hands together in a formal salute. Bows.
Ducard: You travelled your neighbor and learn to steal. You were force into a prison in my country as a teen you understand the criminal mind and conquer your fear.
Close on Harry’s blue poppy – now shriveled dry – on the altar. Harry, clad in black Ninja uniform, watches as Ducard, also in black, picked it up, takes a pestle and mortar, drops in the dried flower, and grinds it to dust.
Ducard: But a criminal isn’t complicated, and what you really fear is inside yourself. Your fear your own power. Your fear your own magic. You own anger. The drive to do great or terrible things…you must journey inwards.
Ducard pours the dust into a small brazier. Lights it. Motions to Harry.
Ducard: Drink in your fears. Face them. You are ready.
Harry breathes the smoke. He shakes his head. Reacting to the effects of the smoke, his mind is plagued by images. Ducard put on his ninja mask. Motions Harry to do the same. Harry struggles to think through the effects of the smoke….Dozens of identical Ninjas step forward from the shadows: Ducard has melted into the crowd. Harry raises his guard…
Ducard: To conquer fear, you must become fear…you must bask in the fear of other men….and men fear most what they cannot see –
Ducard strikes at Harry – Harry spins, parries – but Ducard has gone. The Ninjas move in unison, forming walls…
Ducard: It is not enough to be a man…you have to become an idea…a terrible thought…a wraith…
The ninja nearest Harry turns and slashes – it is Ducard. Harry leaps sideways, rolling through the wall of Ninjas. He looks at his arm – it has been slashed, the uniform torn – a dead giveaway. Harry looks around, crouched, ready…One wall of Ninjas part, revealing a wooden box. Harry stares it, mind spinning from the smoke.
Ducard: Embrace your worst fear…
Harry cautiously approaches the box. Carefully lifts the lid. Peers inside…Bats explode from the box, filling the air – Harry dives away from the box, staring up at the squawking bats – flinching…Ducard leaps at Harry, who rolls sideways, blocking. Harry turns to face Ducard, but he is lost in the Ninjas, bats filling the air, Harry flinching with their attacks…Harry stays low. Slashes the arm of the Ninja nearest him – the man does not move. Harry turns. Fighting to think. A Ninja paces softly through the crowd. As he speaks, we can tell this is Ducard…
Ducard: Become one with the darkness…
Ducard falls in behind a Ninja with a slashed sleeve...He knocks him to his knees, sword against throat –
Ducard: You cannot leave any sign…
Ducard pulls off his own mask. Disappointed.
Harry: I haven’t.
A sword is at Ducard neck – Harry is behind him, pulling off his mask. Ducard looks around…several of the Ninjas have slashed sleeves. Ducard smiles. From across the chamber…clapping. Ra’s al Ghul sits, watching.
Ra’s al Ghul: Impressive
The ninjas turn, in unison, and sit. Harry releases Ducard. Ducard leads Harry in front of Ra’s. Ra’s leads them to a brazier, with a branding iron sticking out over the rim. Ra’s al Ghul begins speaking in Urdu.
Ducard (Translating): We have purged your fear. You are ready to lead these men. You are ready to become a magical member of the League of Shadows.
Ducard hands Harry his sword. Harry looks at the murderer, who looks back with pleading eyes.
Harry: No. I’m no executioner.
Ducard: Your compassion is a weakness your enemies won’t share.
Harry: That why it’s so important. It separates me from them.
Ducard: You want to fight criminals. This man is a murderer.
Harry: This man should be tried.
Ducard: By whom? Corrupt bureaucrats? Criminals mock society’s laws. You know this better than most.
Ra’s all Ghul steps forward, eyes burning. Starts speaking…
Ra’s al Ghul: You cannot lead these men unless you are prepared to do what is necessary to defeat evil.
Harry: Where would I be leading these men?
Ra’s al Ghul: Diagon Ally, London. As Wizarding World favored son you will be ideally placed to strike at the heart of criminality.
Harry: How?
Ra’s al Ghul: Wizarding World time has come. Like Constantinople or Rome before it…the race has become a breeding ground for suffering and injustice…it is beyond saving and must be allowed to die. This is the most important function of the League of Shadows. It is one we have preformed for centuries. Wizarding World must be destroyed.
Harry turns to Ducard.
Harry: You can’t believe in this.
Ducard Looks at Harry, then looks down, troubled.
Ducard: Ra’s al Ghul rescued us from the darkest corners of our own hearts…what he asks in return is the courage to do what is necessary.
Harry: I’ll go back to Wizarding World. And I’ll fight men like this. But I won’t be an executioner.
Harry looks at the Murderer kneeling next to the Brazier.
Ducard (low, emphatic): Potter, please, for your own sake…there is no turning back…
Harry looks at Ducard. Then raises his sword, preparing to strike. The Murderer’s head is bowed, trembling. Harry strikes down with his sword, missing the Murderer’s neck by inches, striking the white-hot branding iron, flipping it off the brazier and through the air into the mezzanine where the explosives are stored,
Ducard: What are you doing?
Harry: Thanks for removing the bracelets by the way. What necessary.
Harry strikes Ducard in the head with the flat of his sword. Ra’s strikes at harry – Harry parries – Explosions roar from the balcony, shooting flames across the ceiling. Ra’s and Harry fight as explosions surround them… Harry leaps clear as flaming debris collapses onto Ra’s, crushing him…the flames are rising, Ninja bodies are strewn around, fresh explosions rip across the hall as Ninjas flee, and Harry spots Ducard lying unconscious. Harry picks up Ducard, hauls him out of the throne room into a passage, smashing through an ornate screen with magic. Harry and Ducard crash down onto a steep slope of ice and rock, the monastery exploding above them…Harry rolls over, grabs a rock, looks across to see – Ducard, unconscious, sliding down the icy slope. His limp form rotates, spinning as his body gathers momentum, rushing towards the edge of the cliff…Harry dives after him, sliding headfirst down the ice…the cliff closer and closer, as Harry races after Ducard…Mere feet from the cliff edge, Harry grabs Ducard – raises his free gauntlet-clad arm, and smashes at the ice, digging in with the bronze scallops…stopping on the edge. Ducard hangs limply over a tremendous drop – Harry struggles with the dead weight. Harry pulls Ducard up onto the ice. Breathing. Harry carries Ducard down the road. Harry kicks the door open. The old man he saw on his way up the mountain stares back at him. Then motions Harry to put Ducard down on to some mats. The old man wipes blood from Ducard’s temple. Looks at Harry who is moving to the door…
Old Man: I will tell him you saved his life.
Harry stops. Turns. Looks back at Ducard.
Harry: Tell him…I have an ailing relative who needs me.
Harry puts his hands together in a formal salute. Bows.
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