The Unfamiliar Road
Harry Potter AU. "You know this is going to be far from easy, right? It'll take titans to get it done." "Then we'll be Titans." /\ All Dick Grayson wants is to go through his seven years in Hogwarts like a normal, average wizard. Unfortunately for him, he's not normal – even by wizarding standards. And in his case, different can be deadly. It's a good thing he has friends looking out for him. /\ A series of one-shots exploring their lives at Hogwarts, from their first year to their last.
Rating: T
Pairing(s): mostly RobStar and BBRae; all depicted pairings will be canon.
Title: The Boy Wonder
Summary: In which Dick worries about his Sorting, makes new friends, and meets Kori Anders.
Once upon a time, I tried to write a novel length Harry Potter AU, but failed because… well, I kind of gave up after writing four chapters. I fell in love with the idea again a few days ago, but instead of continuing what I started, I decided to turn it into a one-shot series (of a sort – frankly, I haven't the slightest idea what this is going to morph into), a less ambitious project than what I had originally planned. I think I am more likely to finish this than the first one, no?
The premise is the same: TT characters in place of HP characters, with Dick Grayson as this story's Harry Potter. While this will follow the books and keep important plot points intact, I will change a few minor details to accommodate the Teen Titans. Rest assured, the plot of the books will stay the same.
Bear with me for the slow start. It will get better... I hope. Enjoy!
Year One
"History never looks like history when you are living through it."
―John W. Gardner
"There, look!"
"Where?"
"Next to that big guy – Bruce Wayne."
"Wait – you mean, Bruce Wayne? The Auror Bruce Wayne?"
"Is it him? Is he –"
"Dick Grayson!"
"Oh, Merlin! It's the Boy Wonder!"
"Did you see his face?"
"Did you see his scar?"
A steady buzz of murmurs followed him from the moment he stepped beyond the barrier to platform nine and three-quarters. People lining up outside the scarlet steam engine stood on tiptoe to get a look. Some doubled back to pass him again, staring.
Dick Grayson wished they wouldn't. It was more than a little unnerving.
He was used to the stares, but being constantly under the spotlight never failed to make him uneasy. Everywhere he went, everyone's attention always seemed to land on him. He could feel their gazes at his back, following him as he walked. He saw the way their eyes flew to his forehead to catch a glimpse of the lightning-shaped scar it bore.
If his adoptive father, Bruce Wayne, was at all perturbed by the stares they were receiving, he gave no indication. Bruce had the most unflinching pokerface Dick had ever seen – honed, no doubt, by his years as an Auror. Bruce could be terrifying when he wanted to be, and Dick was sure that it was Bruce's cold, intimidating air more than Dick's fame that helped clear a path for the duo amongst the sea of people.
"All right, Dick?" Bruce asked in a gruff sort of voice.
Dick glanced at him and gave a small noncommittal shrug.
"Remember to write once you get settled in," Bruce reminded him. "Alfred will be anxious to hear how you are."
A small fond smile crossed Dick's features. "I will," he promised.
Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and scraping of heavy trunks.
The platform was beginning to empty. All around Dick, parents were giving last pieces of advice, swarming forward for final kisses and hugs.
Dick swallowed, becoming all too aware of the cold plunging sensation in his stomach.
Hogwarts.
As the conductor yelled out that it was time for everyone to board the train, it suddenly hit home to Dick that he was leaving. It suddenly seemed all too soon.
He was leaving. He wouldn't be staying at the Manor anymore. He would be gone – for nearly a whole year. He would be alone. There would be no Alfred, no Bruce, not even Jason. . . .
"What if – what if I'm not in Gryffindor?"
Dick had said it so quietly that he was surprised when Bruce stiffened next to him.
"What if you're in Slytherin, you mean," said Bruce.
Dick felt his face burn. He knew it was a stupid thing to worry about, but he couldn't help it. No matter how many times he told himself that it didn't matter, his stomach always gave a sickening jolt at the thought of being in Slytherin. He knew deep down that there was nothing wrong with Slytherins; Bruce was as Slytherin as they came, after all. But Deathstroke – Dick thought it was stupid to call him You-Know-Who – had come out of that House, as did almost every Dark Wizard after him, and Dick would no sooner leave Hogwarts altogether than be sorted in the House of his parents' murderer.
"There isn't any more magic in being a Gryffindor than there is in being a Slytherin, or being in any other House. You know that."
Dick found himself unable to meet Bruce's eyes.
"My parents were in Gryffindor," murmured Dick.
Bruce placed a gentle hand on Dick's shoulder. The man was silent for a moment, and when Dick looked up, he saw Bruce staring straight ahead, mulling over his response.
"They wouldn't have cared," Bruce said at last. "It didn't matter to them. Gryffindor or not, they would have been proud of you either way."
Dick wondered if Bruce would be proud of him too, but he knew better than to ask. Bruce had on his best mask, his pale face blank and unmoving, and not once in his life had Dick ever seen it falter.
A warning whistle sounded; the students still on the platform started hurrying onto the train.
Bruce crouched down, his face slightly below Dick's. Not for the first time, Dick marveled at how, despite not being related by blood, Bruce's eyes were so much like his own.
"Ready?" Bruce asked.
No. No, I'm not, Dick thought, but he nodded anyway.
And then suddenly he was being enveloped in a bone crushing hug. Dick froze, bewildered at the unexpected show of affection from Bruce, not sure how he was supposed to react or what to say.
But Bruce whispered, so low that it almost didn't reach Dick's ears, "You'll be fine."
Dick hugged him back then. He tried to put a lot of unsaid things into the hug and perhaps Bruce understood them, because he ruffled his hair and gave him one of his rare smiles when they pulled apart.
As Dick waved goodbye, grinning at Bruce as he did, he saw from the corner of his eyes a girl with bright red hair run past him, leaping onto the rapidly filling train.
Dick watched Bruce disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Dick felt a great leap of anxiety. He didn't know what was going to happen when he reached Hogwarts.
The door of the compartment slid open and two boys came in. They couldn't have looked more different; one was short, pale and blond, the other dark-skinned and twice the former's size.
"Anyone sittin' there?" the larger boy asked, pointing at the seat opposite Dick. "Everywhere else is full."
Dick shrugged, shaking his head, and the two boys sat down. The other boy – the scrawny, blond one – glanced at Dick and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked.
"I'm Victor Stone, by the way," the dark boy said. "This is Gar Logan. Nice to meet you."
"Dick Grayson." He braced himself for the inevitable and was not disappointed when two pairs of eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"Are you really Dick Grayson?" The boy named Gar blurted out.
Dick shrugged, trying not to seem uncomfortable.
"I thought it was just a rumor, but – wow," Gar said, earnestly eager. "And have you really got – you know . . ."
He pointed at Dick's forehead.
Dick pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Gar stared.
"You're drooling," Victor said dryly, his elbow jabbing Gar's side, but as nonchalant as his words sounded, Victor looked just as awestruck as Gar.
Gar ignored his friend's jibe, his eyes never leaving Dick.
"So that's where You-Know-Who –?"
"Yeah," Dick said, "but I can't remember it."
"Nothing?" Gar said eagerly.
"Well – I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."
"Wow," Gar said, eyes shining. "This is so cool!"
He was practically bouncing on his seat. Dick tried not to fidget under his intense stare.
They sat like that for a few moments, Victor looking as though he couldn't decide between amusement and disbelief. And then–
"Can I have your autograph?"
Dick blinked, more than a little stunned, and Victor stared at his friend as though Gar had grown two heads. Gar looked the most incredulous of them all, clearly surprised that those words had come out of his mouth, and he was blushing so brightly Dick was worried he might break blood vessels.
"Uh . . . sorry?" Gar smiled sheepishly.
Victor laughed and Dick couldn't help but smile. While they had been talking, the train had sped past fields full of cows and sheep. They sat in a silence that was companionable, watching the fields and lanes flick past, until Gar pulled out some worn Exploding Snap cards. Two rounds were played by the time a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"
Dick bought some of everything and shared them with Gar and Victor, after a short argument on who was going to pay for all the candy and junk food. As they ate, they talked animatedly about Quidditch, each of them with wild gestures and a broad grin.
Dick didn't know a lot people, outside of Bruce, Alfred, and Jason. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Victor and Gar, eating their way through all Dick's pasties, cakes, and candies, and Dick was glad he met them.
"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Grayson. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
Val Yor held out his hand to shake Dick's, but Dick didn't take it.
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.
When the old, frayed hat was brought out, Dick was a little surprised that he wasn't as nervous as he felt he should have been. He clapped and cheered along with the rest of the hall as the hat finished its song and bent its tip in a kind of bow to each of the four tables.
The first name that was called was "Anders, Kori". A tall girl with tanned skin and dark red hair came to the stool. Dick wondered if she was nervous, she didn't seem to be. When the hat called, loud enough for the entire hall to hear, "HUFFLEPUFF", the girl smiled brilliantly, and Dick became acutely aware of how pretty she was. She had an air of grace about her that made it seem like she was floating as she walked to the cheering table bedecked with black and yellow.
Dick's gaze lingered on her for a moment, longer than it should have, as she was engulfed in a blur of smiles and shaking hands, before he turned his attention back to the sorting, and that was that.
"Grayson, Richard!"
Whispers suddenly broke out like hissing fires all over the hall, and murmurs accompanied Dick to the stool.
"Grayson, did he say?"
"The Richard Grayson?"
The last thing Dick saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. As he waited, he felt the horrible pit in his stomach return.
"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "There's plenty of talent here, a stubborn streak a mile wide . . . and a definite desire to prove yourself, how interesting. Courage, yes, and a great deal of loyalty to those you choose. A shrewd and sharp mind, I see, a strong mind – but a better heart. . . . Difficult. Very difficult. . . . What say you, young wizard?"
Dick gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.
"Not Slytherin, eh? But I really should. You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness."
In the dark of the hat, Dick looked to where the Gryffindors must have been, and thought of the table beneath the red and gold banner.
"Ah, I see," said the small voice. "You have what it takes to succeed there, no doubt about that, but you would never be great in Gryffindor – not like you would be in Slytherin."
Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.
"No? Well, if you're sure – better be GRYFFINDOR!"
Gar was pale green by the time he took his turn, and Dick could see his friend's nervousness in every step.
The hat sat on his head for a long time. Dick watched as his friend changed from anxious to confused to restless as the time passed. When the hat announced "HUFFLEPUFF" at last, Gar walked, wobbly with relief, to the table draped in yellow and black. Dick watched as Gar was met with the usual claps and cheers, and saw the pretty red-haired girl welcome Gar with her glowing smile.
"Roth, Rachel."
The whispering began at once. Dick watched as a pale, purple-haired girl walked up to the stool. He recognized her instantly, as did everyone else in the Great Hall. The Roths were notorious followers of Deathstroke, and Trigon, probably the most infamous of all the Death Eaters, was the worst of them. Dick felt he could sympathize with Rachel – he knew what it was like to carry so much pressure and expectation on your shoulders.
"RAVENCLAW!"
The shock in the room was apparent, but it seemed to Dick that no one was more surprised than Rachel herself.
It wasn't long before "Stone, Victor" was called, and his friend joined him in the whooping crowd of red and gold.
It was a week later when Gar sat with Dick and Victor at the Gryffindor table. They drew attention from staff and students alike, but while Dick's housemates were taken aback, it didn't hold a candle to the surprise the entire school had when Kori Anders sat with Rachel Roth the day before.
They talked about Quidditch again over breakfast. Or at least Gar and Victor did. Dick was silent for most of it, with the occasional input here and there. He didn't mind it that way, and neither did Gar and Victor, so it was fine for all of them.
Gar sat with them again at lunch, and it was a few minutes later when Dick saw Kori Anders staring at them, hesitating. Dick was surprised to see her, but Gar wasn't, and he beckoned her over. Gar was his usual enthusiastic self as he greeted her.
"Hey, little lady," Victor said with a smile.
"Greetings," said Kori, her face alight with cheer that Dick blinked, a little stunned, and tried to find his bearings.
It was obvious she knew Gar and Victor as she smiled at each of them in turn, but when she turned to Dick, she faltered just a bit. Dick was expecting the usual reaction he got, the obvious amazement and awe – except he didn't get it from her.
Kori faltered not because she recognized him, Dick realized, she faltered because she didn't know him at all. It was strange, having someone not know who he was. He couldn't remember the last time he met someone who didn't recognize him.
Dick nodded at her and smiled in what he hoped was a friendly, inviting manner.
"I'm Dick Grayson," he said.
A smile sprung naturally to her face. "I am Kori Anders," she said, and she spoke with an accent Dick couldn't place. "I am pleased to meet you."
"So am I." Dick could feel his ears getting hot, but he found that he was smiling at her, genuinely pleased. He noticed for the first time how bright and green her eyes were.
Neither seemed to notice Gar's stifled laughter, or the amused look Gar and Victor shared.
Dick wondered absently why Victor had a knowing smirk on his face when Dick joined in the conversation. Dick was just answering Kori's questions about the Wizarding world, and it wasn't like Gar was doing a very good job of explaining to Kori why Muggles couldn't see Hogwarts.
So what did you think? Review and let me know!
Next chapter will be about Victor, then Kory, then Gar, then Rachel.
Up Next: Victor has grown up knowing he was going to be a Gryffindor. It has nothing to do with his parents or his relatives, honestly – it's just that he has always known, from the very beginning, that Gryffindor is the House for him. It doesn't take long before everyone else realizes it too.