The show, for all that it was clearly designed to appeal to the most basic of muggle tastes, was…surprisingly entertaining. For a ‘magic show’, there was a shockingly small amount of actual magic involved, the majority of the tricks done with nothing more than sleight of hand and well designed props, but I never would have thought as much without the magic sight spell that I’d cast at the beginning of the show.
Zatanna’s presence certainly added to my enjoyment as well. She was not quite as proficient in some of the tricks her father performed, but she made up for it with enthusiasm and far greater natural appeal than he could possibly manage. Her role was mostly that of an assistant, but in my eyes she stole the show every time she…bounced around the stage.
There was unfortunately one disadvantage to Zatanna’s presence. Muggles, for all their deficiencies, were not blind. I could see their lustful looks and hear the whispers of the men around me as they gazed upon her. I nearly cursed the two men sitting in the row behind me for their murmured comments to one another, and that was certainly not the only case that tested my self control.
It reminded me of a phrase I’d heard once from one of the Ravenclaws, a swarthy wizard in the year below mine whose family owed its wealth to wise investments and holdings in the far east and maintained a constant presence in Hong Kong. They were like toads who wished to feast on swan meat, their eyes bulging obscenely and their mouths hanging open to catch flies. Disgusting behavior.
At the end of the performance, I clapped alongside the muggles and then decided that I did not wish to fully wait for them to disperse before I could go speak with the Zataras. I ducked into a lavatory, pleased to see that it was as well kept as I’d come to expect from muggles of this time, made sure I was alone, and then apparated back into the room where I’d first been introduced to Giovanni.
In hindsight, that was perhaps not my most well thought-through plan. I appeared in the room with a sharp crack and a moment later, Giovanni burst through the curtain surrounded by a translucent, orange-tinted shield and wielding his cane like a short staff.
My wand rose and a shield snapped into place around me in an instant, a year-and-a-half of dueling classes having rendered the spell nearly reflexive. Giovanni and I stared at each other for a long moment, and then Giovanni cleared his throat and dropped to the ground, his shield vanishing into glittering sparks of orange light. I followed suit a moment later, my wand vanishing into my sleeve and my protego shield flickering out of sight.
“My apologies, it was not my intention to startle you,” I said awkwardly, bowing my head a fraction of an inch to the older wizard. I really should have known better. Apparating so close to someone without warning was very rude, but the lack of wards guarding against it had made me forget my manners. I should have aimed for the corridor outside, not directly in the room itself.
At that moment, Zatanna rushed into the room. I glanced over at her, then quickly averted my eyes back towards her father. She’d already removed her vest and blazer, revealing the pale skin of her shoulders and the lean musculature of her arms to the air.
“Dad? Oh, Hydrys, you’re here already. I was just about to go get you,” she paused, looking back and forth between the two of us. “Is everything okay?”
“Just a misunderstanding,” Giovanni eventually volunteered. “You should go get changed, daughter.”
Zatanna eyed her father suspiciously for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.” She took a step back, then slipped through the doorway she’d entered through and shut it behind her.
I paused, then looked between Giovanni and the door. Zatanna was standing directly behind it. I could see a faint shimmer of magic spring up around her then disperse into the air and door, some manner of eavesdropping spell if I’d ever seen one.
Giovanni clearly knew she was there too. He reached up to rub his face with his hand, then shrugged his shoulders. “Well then, Mr. Black, I do believe I have some time to assist you now. I apologize for any distress my words may have caused you. It sounds to me like you are very far from home.”
I nodded slowly. I still wasn’t one-hundred percent certain of what was going on and absolutely intended to go looking for magical landmarks I knew should exist, but even if I’d just time traveled and not…gone somewhere that looked familiar but clearly wasn’t, Giovanni was still right. I was very far from home. “Yes. That certainly seems to be the case.”
I fell silent, trying to gather my thoughts. Even after I’d rebuilt my occlumency shields, there were still a lot of things on my mind. I’d done my best to not think about them during the show, but the scale of everything troubling me was daunting. Still, the old adage held as it always did. How do you skin a dragon? One scale at a time.
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One problem at a time.
“I…fear I am not native to this land, nor this time. It does not sound as though my family holds sway here as it did in my…homeland.”
“I have never heard of a Black family, besides perhaps that of Black Adam, but you bare no resemblance to him.”
I shook my head. “It is traditional in my family to be named after a star or constellation with very few exceptions. Adam is not the name of any of my forefathers.”
“Good. You would not want to be related to a man such as him. He is a dangerous criminal and a menace to society.”
I made a mental note to look into this ‘Black Adam’, but he clearly wasn’t important right now. “In any case, I find myself sorely lacking in funds and accommodations. I do not ask for charity––I am certain I will be able to support myself once I’ve had a chance to become properly established––but I would greatly appreciate aid in this trying time, or perhaps assistance in securing a loan of some sort? I am loath to exploit my abilities,” mostly because I wasn’t keen on becoming a fugitive for the second time in less than a week, “but I simply do not know enough to make my own way in this time.”
Giovanni was frowning, which probably wasn’t a good sign. He hummed softly, tapping his cane against the floor in an irregular rhythm that felt just barely random enough to not be some sort of spell or ritual component.
“I am…not certain how much I would be able to help you with such things,” he began, “but perhaps a number of my acquaintances would be able to do so. In terms of accommodations, I believe––”
The door that Zatanna was hiding behind opened and Zatanna walked into the room like she hadn’t been eavesdropping on our conversation for the last two minutes. She’d at least managed to change, which did help her ruse, but both Giovanni and I had seen her hide herself so it hadn’t really worked out very well overall. “Oh, does Hydrys need somewhere to stay?” she asked no one in particular. “We have plenty of extra rooms, I’m sure we could––”
“Absolutely not,” Giovanni exclaimed. “As I was saying, I’m certain that a friend of mine could find somewhere for you to stay for a few days. Perhaps he may be willing to organize a loan as well, but I would have to consult with others on this matter.”
Zatanna looked ready to protest, but a sharp look from her father silenced her before she could say anything. She crossed her arms under her chest and humphed loudly, but stayed silent.
“I appreciate you taking the time to do so, sir,” I said diplomatically. “I understand that you are a very busy man with many obligations. There are a few other matters I was hoping you may be able to assist me with. Firstly, I have recently discovered some troubling changes with my abilities. It is nothing overly serious, but I find myself without any experts or libraries of my own to consult with at this time. I was hoping that perhaps you may be able to assist me, or at least direct me towards someone who can?”
Giovanni looked like he was mulling things over, so I quickly followed up with a much simpler request that wouldn’t require nearly as much trust and effort from the older wizard. “Furthermore, I fear for my ability to properly integrate with this time period. The world seems vastly different than I remember and I do not understand much of what I see around me. This city, the automobiles on the road, the flashing signs in eateries, it is all strange and foreign to me.”
This time, Zatanna didn’t even wait for her father to say anything. “Oh, don’t worry Hydrys, I can totally help you get used to everything! Dad’s really old fashioned, but I’m sure I can get you up to speed in a few weeks!”
Giovanni did not look pleased by his daughter’s declaration. His frown deepened and the look he gave me nearly had me reaching for my wand. “Perhaps. I’m certain I will be able to find materials to assist you with adapting to the modern world,” he ground out. “It will take some time for me to arrange for everything and to speak with my associates. We should meet again tomorrow evening to––”
Zatanna turned to Giovanni and planted her hands on her hips. “Dad, come on. He doesn’t have any money or anywhere to stay. At least invite him for dinner. Kent is coming tonight, right? Nothing is going to happen. Hydrys hasn’t done anything bad, you don’t need to treat him like a villain. We can all eat, relax, and then you can go talk to the league tomorrow.” She turned to me. “You won’t do anything bad, right Hydrys?”
I cupped my hands in front of me, showing that I wasn’t hiding a wand in either hand. “On my House and my magic, I would follow the rules of hospitality,” I said solemnly.
“See?” Zatanna told him, “Come on dad, we’re heroes! Helping people is what we do, and Hydrys clearly needs help. Plus, do you really want to send him back out into Gotham at night with no idea what’s what? It's a miracle nothing bad has happened to him yet!”
Giovanni stared at his daughter, then tapped his cane against the ground one final time. “Fine. You are correct, daughter. I have been a poor role model today. Gather your things, I shall transport us to Shadowcrest.” He turned to me, “I expect you to be a good guest, Mr. Black. My home is heavily protected and you will not enjoy the consequences of venturing where you are not permitted.” Then he glared at me for a long moment, glanced over at Zatanna, and then back towards me.
I nodded quickly. “Of course, sir.” I was pretty sure I understood his final, unspoken message as well. If I so much as looked at Zatanna the wrong way, he was going to gut me like a fish. Well, it was a good thing that my mother had trained me to be a perfect gentleman.
In hindsight, I was glad I hadn’t had a chance to ask about his family’s magic as well. He didn’t seem to have taken my first few questions well, and very few wizards were willing to discuss, much less share, their magical secrets with outsiders. Hopefully a more casual setting would help the man warm up towards me and maybe I could ask some more questions over dinner.