"You better behave yourself, boy." Vernon said, "My sister's son is going to be staying with us for a few days."

"Yes, Uncle Vernon." Harry responded dutifully. The drive from Kings Cross Station went quickly, and, soon enough, Harry was walking in the front door of Number Four, Privet Drive.

The first thing Harry noticed about the boy was his sunglasses: dark, reflective lenses covering his eyes, despite the fact that it wasn't a particularly sunny day and he was indoors. The boy looked up as Harry entered the room.

"You must be Harry." He said in a thick American accent, offering a hand to shake. Harry reluctantly shook the other's hand.

"I'm Tim, Tim Drake." He said his name with the reluctant air of someone who was used to being recognized.

"Harry Potter, but you... already... knew that." Tim peered at Harry over the rims of his dark glasses. Harry caught a glimpse of brilliant blue eyes before Tim turned back to whatever he was doing on his high tech phone.

"Damn," He said, sounding vaguely impressed.

"What?" Harry couldn't help himself from asking.

"My brother set fire to the kitchen while making a bowl of cereal." Tim responded off-handedly. Harry sat down beside the other boy.

"So, Harry," Tim began conversationally," What do you do for fun around here?" Harry scoffed.

"Nothing."

"You do nothing?"

"There's nothing fun." Harry clarified. Tim sighed, typed something into his phone and pulled his sunglasses off.

"So, uh, Tim." Harry said to break the awkward silence. Tim glanced up.

"How exactly are you related to Uncle Vernon?" Tim wet his lips.

"My mother was his younger sister. She lost contact with her family when she married my father. Everyone was surprised when Bruce told us that I had family still." There was one thing that lingered in Harry's mind.

"Who's Bruce?" He asked. Tim gave a small smile.

"My father."

"You call your dad by his first name?"

"I'm adopted." Tim corrected quietly. The pieces fell into place for Harry. Dudley waddled into the room, heedless of the awkward silence.

"Hey, Tim," Dudley said slowly, "Wanna come to the park with me and my friends?" Tim tilted his head as he regarded his cousin.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds fun." Tim said. Something about his voice had changed. Harry watched as the other boys walked out the door.


Harry was woken up by speech, furious whispers that wouldn't have woken anyone else in the house. Carefully, Harry opened the door to his bedroom. Tim stood in the hall, arguing with someone over the phone.

"Chill, Kon. I'll be there soon. This place isn't exactly Wayne Manor, y'know." Tim's eyes met Harry's. Tim exhaled slowly, and hung up the phone.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked. Tim smirked.

"Sneaking out. Wanna come?"

"You're gonna get in trouble."

"Oh, I'm so scared." Tim said sarcastically. He grabbed Harry's hand.

"Come on." Harry let himself be led downstairs. Tim gently turned the lock and slowly opened the door just enough for the slim teens to slide through. Harry slipped outside first, Tim quickly following. They half-ran, half-walked to the main street where a blonde girl was waiting on the hood of a nondescript car.

"Hey. That the cousin?" The girl asked. Tim nodded.

"Cissie, this is Harry. Harry, Cissie." Tim introduced. Cissie smiled at Harry as Tim slid into the driver's seat of the car.

"Shotgun." Cissie called, dashing to the passenger's seat. Harry climbed into the back seat and the car pulled further away from the houses.

A few minutes' drive had them in London. Tim parked the car carefully in the lot of an office building.

"Coming?" Tim challenged when Harry didn't immediately exit the vehicle.

"Y-yes!" Harry bit out. He felt uncomfortable around Tim, like the Muggle boy was dangerous. As they walked, Tim's phone rang. The boy answered it, annoyed.

"Yes, Kon. We're almost there." Tim said calmly. Tim continued holding a conversation with the person on the other end.

"So," Cissie began," What do you like to do for fun, Harry?" Flying and playing Quidditch came to mind, but he couldn't say that to a pair of Muggles.

"I, uh, solve mysteries?" Harry said uncertainly.

"With my friends." He tacked on hastily. Cissie laughed.

"Okay, now I can see you and Tim being related." She choked out through her laughter.

"Hey, Red! Your cuz is a junior detective!" Cissie called to Tim. Tim hung up the phone.

"The others are near Big Ben," he reported, "What's this about you being a 'junior detective'?"

"I, uh, me and my friends-"

"My friends and I." Tim corrected. Harry flushed.

"My friends and I figured out why people at our boarding school were falling into comas, this past year." Tim seemed impressed.

"We should trade stories sometime." As the trio approached Big Ben, a redheaded blur tackled Tim.

"Easy, Imp." Tim said. The hyper boy bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Heywho'sthis?Doweknowhim?" The boy fired off.

"Bart!" Tim shouted.

"Calm down." He finished in a normal tone. A couple walked up in a more sedate pace. The dark haired boy peered at Harry through his glasses. It felt to Harry like the boy was looking through him. The muscular boy nodded to Harry and wrapped Tim in a hug. The other blonde girl offered her hand.

"I'm Cassie. Four-Eyes over there is my boyfriend, Conner- Kon for short. The walking sugar high is Bart. I take it you're Tim's cousin. Harry, right?" Harry shook her hand.

"Uh, yeah. He, ehm, told you about me?"

"Yeah. Red wouldn't shut up about his family in England... Well, up until he got here at least." Cissie answered.

"I thought they'd at least like me." Tim said evenly.

"He seems nice." Conner said, indicating Harry. Bart nodded rapidly.

"Hey, hey! Tim, can we go eat now? I'm hungry." The willowy redhead begged, tapping his foot impatiently. Tim chuckled.

"Alright. There's a cafe a little ways that way," Tim said, waving a hand in a vague westernly direction, "I suggest the fish."

"Oh? Have you been there before?" Conner asked. Tim smirked.

"No, but Dick swears by it. He actually recommended I go."

"Didn't think him the type." Cassie said.

"You don't know my brother like I do." Tim said as the group made their way to the small cafe. They were seated out on the patio of the restaurant, gathered around a slightly too small table. Food having been ordered and drinks delivered. The teens were chattering and laughing. Harry-strangely enough- enjoyed being surrounded by Tim's friends. The Americans were inviting and it was hard for Harry to be sullen around such an eclectic mix of personalities.

"Harry, pass the salt, please." Tim said evenly. With a slightly uncomfortable look towards his cousin, Harry slid the salt shaker to Tim.

"Why do you need it?" Cissie asked, "We don't even have our food yet." Tim smirked, tilted the shaker to pour a pile of the mineral onto the tablecloth, and piped a drop of his soda onto the pile with his straw.

"What... are... you doing?" Harry asked. Tim shrugged.

"I wanted to see what would happen." The young man said with a shrug. The rest of the group burst into laughter.

The waiter carted a platter of foods to their table. Bart was quick to attack his meal, but everyone else began to eat slower than the impatient redhead. Digging in to his food, Harry payed little attention to his surroundings.

A loud blast jolted the teens out of their good mood. Another blast sounder off closer. Debris and smoke filled the air. Harry's heartbeat was deafening as a third blast thundered across the town.