"Who could it be?"
Bruce thought long and hard, but he couldn't make any sense of the connection in Kathoom's earlier words.
What exactly had he deduced?
The owl sighed and said to Bruce, "Alright, this is something I didn't mention earlier because I thought it wouldn't matter.
"Bruce, you need to know about the concept of counterparts in the DC multiverse."
"It's like this: you're Bruce. But if you were in one of DC's parallel universes, there would be another Bruce. His fate might be entirely different from yours, but he'd undoubtedly still be you in that other world."
"When you expand this further—from the DC multiverse to encompass the myriad universes across existence—the concept of counterparts still applies, though the relationships become less obvious."
"Take someone you're familiar with as an example: your mentor, Professor Gael Green."
"In this world, he's an immortal wizard. But in other worlds, he might be a pirate roaming the seas, a robot with scissors for hands, the chocolatier of a candy factory, the Mad Hatter in a fairy-tale land—"
"He might even be an actor in some Hollywood production."
"These are all counterparts of Gael Green. The same principle applies to Sirius and Lupin."
"Sirius's counterpart in the DC universe is Commissioner Gordon of Gotham City."
"And Lupin's counterpart in the DC universe…""
Here, Kathoom paused deliberately, waiting until Bruce's curiosity was fully piqued before continuing slowly:
"…is Ares, the God of War."
"So—" Bruce interrupted, "there really are gods in my original world?"
"What's so surprising? Haven't you already encountered Barbatos?" Kathoom replied.
"That's not what I meant."
Bruce took a moment to organize his thoughts. "I never saw Barbatos as a god—just a particularly powerful entity. But Ares is different. I grew up hearing stories about him."
Bruce considered himself far from religious, holding little reverence for deities.
Kathoom nodded. "Your perspective is fair. Gods are just beings with extraordinary power. In fact, the existence of one of your future teammates proves there's no reproductive barrier between gods and humans."
"Anyway, back to Lupin—or Ares."
"To be honest, it's hard to imagine that someone like Lupin, that downtrodden guy, would have such a significant counterpart in the DC world."
"Ares is the God of War, Wonder Woman's brother and her arch-nemesis. He often takes on mortal forms to incite conflicts, leaving destruction and carnage wherever he goes."
"And now he's in the world of Harry Potter…"
Moreover, he'd arrived at the pivotal moment just before the Second Wizarding War.
Kathoom mused to himself that his earlier suspicions were confirmed: when powers related to time emerged, allowing for the possibility of rectifying past mistakes, something irreparable would always occur in their place.
The atmosphere in the compartment grew tense.
Even Hermione, who was entirely out of the loop, could sense something was off.
She leaned closer and whispered, "Bruce, is something wrong? Your expression looks a bit strange."
"It's nothing," Bruce shook his head. "Just an upset stomach—I need to use the restroom."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Then go!" she said. "What's the point of holding it in—trying to prove something to yourself?"
It's just a trip to the restroom. What kind of ego is that?
Bruce exited the compartment smoothly, with Kathoom flying close behind.
"Now what?" Bruce asked, walking down the corridor. "If a mythological figure is involved, can Hogwarts even handle it?"
"Absolutely not."
Kathoom didn't hesitate in his response. "Ares may be the God of War, but he's more into proxy wars in modern times."
"If he wanted to act against Hogwarts, he wouldn't need to show up himself. A few provocations here and there, and Hogwarts would tear itself apart."
"But I don't think it's reached that point yet. I get the feeling this Ares isn't quite in his usual state."
"We can always just ask him directly!"
As Kathoom finished speaking, Bruce noticed a large black dog trailing behind them.
Sirius had somehow followed them out.
"Let's head into the restroom," Kathoom suggested.
One man, one owl, and one dog slipped into the restroom together.
Once inside, Bruce cast silencing and privacy charms to ensure no one could eavesdrop or spy on them.
When the preparations were complete, the black dog transformed into a man before their eyes.
Disheveled hair hung down to his elbows, his eyes were sunken, and his waxy complexion gave him the appearance of a walking skeleton.
"Bruce, it really is you!"
Sirius—or rather, Gordon—grabbed Bruce in an instant.
"I heard you'd left Gotham to study at Princeton. But why are you here…?"
He had so much on his mind to say, but as he drew closer, something felt off.
This Bruce wasn't quite the same as the boy he remembered.
His appearance alone was subtly different.
Yet Gordon was equally certain: this person was Bruce.
What on earth was going on?
"Commissioner Gordon?" Bruce asked, confirming his identity.
"It's me!"
Gordon was ecstatic. The earlier strangeness he'd felt must have been a mistake.
"You really are Bruce! Then you must know where we are and why I'm here?"
"Commissioner, calm down!"
Bruce carefully chose his words. "I'm probably not the Bruce you're thinking of, but that's alright. I'll help you figure this out. But first, I need to ask you a few questions."
"Go ahead!" Gordon nodded eagerly. "Ask me anything!"
---
Thirty minutes later, a black dog silently slipped out of the restroom.
Bruce followed close behind, dispelling the spells he had cast earlier.
When they returned to the compartment, Hermione looked exasperated. "You were gone so long—did you fall in?"
"I wandered around a bit," Bruce replied nonchalantly, "and chatted with some other students."
The excuse was plausible enough, and the matter was quickly brushed aside.
Bruce took his seat, calming himself while deliberately avoiding looking at Lupin.
Lupin, for his part, leaned against the window, resting with his eyes closed.
By the time he opens them again, he should be Professor Lupin, Bruce thought. According to Gordon, this state lasts no more than two hours a day.
Gordon had explained the situation to Bruce earlier.
Despite their peculiar circumstances, Sirius and Lupin remained fundamentally themselves. They hadn't been replaced by their DC counterparts.
Instead, they now carried an additional set of memories in their minds.
Most of the time, these memories were like films they could watch at will.
However, for an hour or two each day, these memories surged to the forefront, temporarily making them believe they were their counterparts.
When the period ended, they would revert to normal, with no memory gaps.
This was reassuring news.
Lupin didn't possess Ares's powers. His abilities remained the same—neither particularly weak nor overly strong.
There was no risk of something like the Zurr-En-Arrh personality taking control or whispers urging them to commit terrible acts.
"Still," Bruce thought, "if Ares ever has malicious intent, I'll strike preemptively while he's Lupin."
---
An hour later, Lupin yawned deeply, exhaustion filling his eyes as he turned to Bruce and Hermione with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, kids," he said. "I've been a bit out of sorts lately. My earlier behavior was unkind. Please forgive me."
"Don't worry, Professor," Hermione said with a bright smile. "I understand. Sometimes, when I'm overwhelmed with schoolwork, I act a bit off too."
She spoke from experience—especially during exam season when she buried herself in books and grew irritable over the smallest things.
Lupin nodded. "Exactly. In times like those, I eat some chocolate—it works wonders. You should try it."
He pulled a large bar of chocolate from his pocket, broke it into pieces, and handed them out.
Hermione accepted hers gratefully, and upon taking a bite, felt warmth spread through her fingertips and toes.
This wasn't ordinary chocolate.
Bruce, however, held his piece without eating it.
He was particular about what he ingested, leaving most sweets for Kathoom to handle.
Bruce watched as Lupin fed the last piece to the black dog, which had clearly reverted to being Sirius.
Without hesitation, the dog gulped it down.
One daring enough to feed; the other daring enough to eat.
I wonder how much chocolate it would take to poison a dog turned from a human, Bruce thought, observing Sirius for any reaction.
The dog appeared unfazed, so Bruce let it go.
---
The train continued northward at high speed.
Rain lashed against the windows, turning them into a murky gray sheet before fading into darkness.
Eventually, the lamps in the aisle and luggage racks flickered on, casting a warm glow.
The train rattled on, rain pelting and wind howling outside.
Then—
The train jolted to an abrupt halt, and, without warning, every light went out. They were plunged into pitch-black darkness.
"What's going on?"
Bruce shot to his feet, signaling Hermione to stay put.
"I'll check it out," he said.
The entire train was in chaos, passengers confused and alarmed.
Bruce noticed Sirius whimpering softly.
A faint cracking sound followed, and a shaky light illuminated their compartment.
Professor Lupin held a small flame in his hand, casting flickering shadows. Sirius's entire body was trembling.
"I'll handle this, Bruce," Lupin said. "It's a professor's duty to keep students safe."
"Professor, your dog!" Bruce pointed out.
"Will he be alright?"
"Oh, don't worry," Lupin said as he opened the compartment door. "He always reacts like this when I feed him chocolate. He's just a bit picky. He'll get used to it."
---
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