AN: And here is the next one. Happy 4th if you're in the US. And happy belated Canada day. Thanks for everyone who reviewed and added this story. There are some flashbacks to the Hon breakup. Note, this story if you haven't figured it out already is an AU so I will go back at some points and explain things. I am also going to set up a poll for Harry's pairing. I already have a few ideas running in my head. No guarantee that I'll use the results given but I'm likely going to take them into heavy consideration.
Chapter 11: Time Goes By
Harry Potter frowned.
He had the urge to write a letter to Ron. Except Ron and him weren't exactly friends anymore.
It was something he still didn't want to exactly face, even though it had been made explicitly clear on the Hogwarts Express.
Harry couldn't deal with Ron's mood swings anymore. Harry knew that Ron couldn't really help it. He got it. Having all those siblings had to be tough, but Merlin knows Harry was sick of having to walk on eggshells just to not upset Ron because he had money and fame.
Even with that, Harry was still surprised with how Ron had reacted to what happened with Ginny.
"It's all your fault!" He had hissed at him on the train.
"What's my fault?"
"Ginny." Ron said, "You're Harry Potter, you should've been able to save her."
"I did save her," Harry sai,d but regretted saying the words almost as soon as they came out of his mouth.
While Harry had indeed saved Ginny's life, the girl's life had essentially ended as she knew it.
Ginny was a pureblood. Even though the Weasleys were muggle tolerant, she knew nothing about the muggle world. She had grown up as a witch, having her magic taken from her like that essentially stripped part of her identity.
Ron glared at him, "Yeah…you just realized she would've been off better dead, didn't you, mate?"
The way he said mate had so much malice in it.
A part of him knew Ron was just acting out of anger. His friend had a notorious temper, but the irrational part of Harry was trying to figure out what he did wrong.
"Oh, don't look that way at me, Potter." Ron hissed.
Harry gave him an odd look it was the first time Ron had ever referred to him as anything other than Harry.
"Ron, please!" Hermione begged to deaf ears.
At first Harry didn't know what to say. A part of him had wanted to apologize to Ron, but then another part of his brain was like for what?
Ginny may have been a squib but she was still alive. Which as far as Harry was concerned was better than being dead. Ron could still talk to Ginny. Harry couldn't do that with his parents.
Normally, Harry wouldn't mention this. He had hadn't mention the fact that he'd do anything for his parents not to be dead when Ron's jealousy reared up in regards to Harry's fame or money. But enough was enough.
To say the least Ron was a little shocked when Harry pointed this out. He was used to Harry just ignoring his tantrums. However, it wasn't enough to get him to shut up. No an angry Ron was a stupid Ron.
The redhead's face turned red. Oddly enough, the shade of red contrasted badly with his hair. "Oh, don't you play the dead parent card with me, Potter."
"Dead parent card," Harry said his voice got eerily quieter. He was using the Scary Harry voice again. The one he used that one time Dudley pushed him too far and he decided to pummel him after a game of Harry Hunting. The one time Dudley never tattled because he pissed his pants with how angry Harry was. "How dare you."
Ron was caught off guard, as was Hermione whose mouth might've dropped a little bit.
Harry ignored them though and focused his attention to run, "You egotistical prat. I have done nothing but try to be your friend, and all you do is get jealous of me for the dumbest reasons. And then you have the audacity for me to point out that you should be glad your sister isn't dead like my parents. Get the hell out of here before I curse your arse."
Ron left.
And that was the last Harry had spoken to Ron. Yeah, a part of him regretting popping off but he sort of had it coming.
Honestly, upon reflection he did blame himself for not being more assertive with Ron that his behavior bothered him. It was one of the reasons why he had found himself trying to be a little bit more direct with Hermione.
Still, Hermione wasn't Ron. Talking to her wasn't like talking to Ron. He couldn't distract himself with a game of chess with her, or have some asinine conversation about quidditch.
It wasn't that Ron was a great friend to talk to, Harry could never confide with him about some of the more darker aspects of his life, but he did provide some sense of distraction and relief.
He sighed heavily as he looked at the beginnings of the letter he was going to throw away.
"What are you doing?"
Harry turned to see Bruce looking at him.
The man had been popping in his room a lot more, especially since he had more or less got Harry to admit he had been bitten by the basilisk.
He still couldn't believe the man tricked him into telling him everything.
Harry didn't really mind Bruce's presence. The man was easy to talk to and he didn't prod too much for the most part, and was oddly perceptive despite Aunt Selina's claims to the contrary.
"Writing a letter," Harry said.
"A letter you're not going to send," Bruce finished looking at him. "Would I be correct?"
Harry nodded at the already crumpled up paper.
"May I?" Bruce said.
Harry nodded as Bruce unwrinkled the paper and began to raise an eyebrow.
"Hey," Harry said, "I didn't say read it."
"Did you?" Bruce said, "You were throwing it away so it didn't matter."
Harry glared at Bruce.
Bruce smiled wearily, "Sorry, I take it you and this Ron had a falling out."
"He was my best friend."
Harry oddly found himself explaining to Bruce the fallout of what happened in the chamber. When he finished he said, "I don't know what to do. I don't feel like I have anything to apologize for, and I don't want to apologize."
"No," Bruce said, "You shouldn't have to apologize for expressing your feelings."
"And I just got so sick of having to walk on eggshells whenever it came to talking about money." Harry said, "He never had any problems talking about his family in front of me."
"Did it bother you that he talked about his family?"
Did it?
No.
Not really.
Harry had been an orphan pretty much all of his life, so seeing Ron with his parents and siblings never really phased him. Sure, he wished it was his mum not Mrs. Weasley who was sending him the mince pies at Christmas, but seeing Mrs. Weasley shower her brood with love never bothered him. At least not in the way his Gringotts vault bothered Ron.
"No," Harry finally said, "I've always been an orphan. I'm used to it."
Bruce frowned, "I'm sorry to hear that. I guess that is one blessing I have had, I at least got to know my parents. Albeit, not near as long as I'd like. Regardless, what Ron did was tactless."
"That's just Ron," Harry said with a shrug.
"It might be," Bruce said, "But is his behavior really something you want in a friend?"
That was actually a good question. Sure, Ron was fun to be around with, but when it came to being an actual good friend…well, he had his moments.
"Just moments?" Bruce asked, "And what about those time that weren't just moments'?"
Those times weren't great.
Sure, Ron had really acted that much like a git until the Ginny thing but there had been times when the friendship did not feel right.
He frowned as he thought about all the little tiffs between Ron and Hermione. Bloody hell, he still went on occasionally about ditching Hermione on occasion for being too bossy.
And yeah, he might've had a point (occasionally) but Hermione wasn't that bad. Except, of course, when it came to exams. And it wasn't just the Hermione thing, the whole reason Ron had noticed him in the first place was the stupid scar on his head. A scar he wish he didn't have.
Bruce frowned as he looked at Harry's expression, "It's okay, Harry, sometimes friends grow apart. Sometimes the friendship is repairable, sometimes its not. It's a part of growing up."
Had he and Ron grown apart? He didn't really want to think about that. No now. He sighed heavily and changed the subject to his Potions assignment.
Since finding out that Bruce knew about magic, Harry was at least able to relax having to hide what he was. He was able to do his homework in bed again; Bruce actually was somewhat helpful when it came to his assignments. Despite being a muggle, the man was actually good at helping figure out some of his assignments.
Especially Potions.
Bruce was able to help Harry look at the textbook and explain things that Snape had glossed over based off of the materials, and the man had never made a potion in his life. Bruce said it was similar enough to Chemistry which made him apt enough to explain the textbook to Harry.
Harry actually really did like Bruce. He was sort of upset that he wasn't actually his aunt's boyfriend.
Aunt Selina seemed very sad the past couple of days, almost as if she waiting for someone or something. He knew it was in part because he was sick. While they knew he knew his summer cold was because of the basilisk bite, no one would tell him anything else just that they were working on something that could help him.
Harry wasn't stupid, he knew his prognosis was probably worse than what they were making it out to be which was one of the reasons he had been writing to Ron: as a distraction.
"You're not only upset because of your friend, are you?" Bruce asked sensing Harry's discomfort.
Harry decided to be blunt, "Am I going to get better?"
Bruce looked caught off guard if only for a second before he regained his composure, "Why do you ask that?"
"Because I feel like everyone is walking on eggshells around me. And Dr. Thompkins is over here even more than she was before, and Aunt Selina is a mess."
"You were bit by a deadly magical snake," Bruce said, "Surely, you'd realize there'd be lingering side effects."
"I told you the phoenix tears…"
"And you did make a valid point, but you even admitted that you're the first test subject of said theory." Bruce stated.
"So, what are we going to do then?" Harry asked.
"We're going to follow Leslie's treatment plan which means staying in bed and not worrying about what we're going to do."
Harry sighed. Of course, Bruce wasn't giving him a straight answer. Or he sort of was without answering him. "So, it's that bad then?"
Bruce frowned, "It's not good. We are doing everything we can. I have a friend who might be able to help."
Harry raised an eye, "A friend? Is this person like me?"
Bruce nodded. "Yes. Her name's Zatana."
Zatana. There was something familiar about that name, had Hermione mentioned it?
"Her name's been in the news," Bruce said, "She sometimes helps out the JLA."
Ah, right. The Justice League. Harry still couldn't believe how unfamiliar he was with the group of superheroes.
"Wait, if she's a witch what about the statute of secrecy?"
Bruce shrugged, "I suspect the statute is just a British thing. But Zatana is going to be helping work on your case, she's also going to help tutor you as well."
"Tutor me?" Harry said, "I don't…"
"There's a possibility you'll be here after school starts and you don't want to get behind do you?"
No, Harry didn't.
"It's really going to take that long?" Harry asked.
"I hope not," Bruce said, "But it's a possibility."
There's only so much a young wizard could do when they're confined to bed when Zatanna Zatara appeared it was like a godsend.
Sure, his aunt and Bruce visited him. But Zatana knew about actual magic. And she knew about him.
Though, apparently she didn't know she was going to be talking to the actual Harry Potter when she met him.
"Wait, you are actually the Harry Potter." The witch said her violet eyes practically popping out.
"The one and only," Harry said with a small grin.
He couldn't help it. Zatana was very pretty. In fact, he was pretty sure he had blushed a couple of times around her.
"I can't believe it, you're the actual Harry Potter."
When she actually got over Harry's identity she was a pretty good teacher. Although her approach to magic was a little different than Howarts.
"I was home schooled," She explained to Harry, "I did learn some conventional wand waving magic, but my repertoire is a bit more varied."
And she also was apparently an old childhood friend of Bruce. The dynamic between her and his host was interesting, to say the least.
His aunt seemed to notice it too.
Aunt Selina had said that there was nothing between her and Bruce, but Harry did wonder. He saw the way they looked at each other, and the dagger looks shot at his new tutor also seemed to indicate that his aunt was somewhat upset with her presence. Although, she didn't vocalize it.
No.
She was very gracious towards Zatana, at least that's what she told the woman the few times she had interacted with her. Usually when she was over, Selina made herself scarce.
Harry knew his aunt wanted to go home. They had been at Wayne Manor for a few days and there hadn't been a peep from the Joker. Or at least a peep as for as Harry knew. Harry knew she wanted to go back to the gallery and the apartment where they had some sense of privacy and weren't near Mr. Wayne all the time, but it had been out of the question if the conversation he had overheard was an indicator.
"I know you want to go back to the apartment but Gordon says it's still not safe."
"We can't stay here forever, Bruce."
"Selina, you're hardly imposing."
"It's not that at all, things are just too complicated."
"Selina…"
He had noticed that the two of them had been avoiding each other since that conversation. His aunt had started going to work since then, but they were still very much at Wayne Manor.
It was almost his birthday. Not that Harry expected much for his birthday.
"You're looking morose," Aunt Selina said checking in on him. Zatana had just left and Harry was just about due to another round of medication that Dr. Thompkins had prescribed for him.
The pills were something new. So far Harry hated them. They made him feel extremely drowsy. Not that he hadn't been drowsy already and made him even more dizzier than usual. Dr. Thompkins had just nodded when he told her this and he was told to keep getting rest.
Apparently, Zatana was also working on something to go with the pills at least that's what she told Harry when he asked her about the basilisk bite.
"It's going to be a process," She said, "That snake is one of the most deadly beasts known to magic, Harry. Of course the cure isn't going to be simple."
Harry inwardly grimaced when said that thinking of his own folly with the phoenix tears. Zatana saw his reaction and smiled sadly, "Phoenix tears are a powerful substance and kept you from dying, but that doesn't mean it removed the poison completely."
Selina sighed, "I know you hate taking those pills and being in bed."
"It's almost my birthday," Harry stated.
"I know," His aunt said. "I remember when you were born. I can't believe you're going to be thirteen. Have you thought about what you want in terms of a cake?"
Harry shrugged. The one time he had a cake it was from Hagrid and it hadn't been that much to write home about, except that it wasn't one of his infamous rock cakes.
"I was afraid that would be your reaction," Selina said not even needing an explanation. "I didn't really have much in terms of birthday cakes either growing up. Although, I do like a nice strawberry torte. Lily used to make a fantastic one, I really wish I had the recipe."
"You can cook?" Harry asked surprised remembering how Selina pretty much admitted to him her cooking skills were limited when they first met.
"The recipe to give to Alfred," She said giving him a slight smile. "Not that he'd be able to make it the same, Lily had the magic touch."
Harry laughed. "So, Mum was a good cook."
Selina nodded and preceded to tell him about the various meals his mother had made when they lived together. That was one of the things he liked the most about his aunt, she was able to talk about his parents like they were real people. In the wizarding world all he had were photos and talked about how Harry looked like his father but had his mother's eyes.
"A strawberry torte might be good," Harry said, "Though I also really like treacle tart."
"That was always one of James's favorites." Selina said with a small smile, "I think Alfred can do a decent treacle tart. The man is from England after all."
Harry nodded.
"It's going to be okay," Selina said, "I know being in bed and on all this medication isn't what you wanted for your birthday, but I will make sure you have a birthday that's worthwhile."
Harry shrugged, "It really doesn't matter."
"It does matter, kit."
His birthday happened soon enough. It was only a couple of days from when he and his aunt talked. He really hadn't expected much, but imagine to Harry's surprise when he woke up and saw Hermione sitting besides his bed.
That's right, his best friend was there in Wayne Manor.
"Hermione?" He said not quite believing she was real.
"Happy birthday, Harry!" She said with a smile. "Surprised?"
"A little, okay a lot." He said, "But I thought you were going to France…"
"Your aunt and Mr. Wayne wanted it to be a surprise," Hermione said, "Isn't it wonderful?"
It was. He was happy to see Hermione, though he wasn't happy it was from bed.
Hermione looked at him bemused, "My flight came in a little early, I thought I'd surprise you when you woke up. Alfred thought it was a fine idea."
Harry nodded, "What time is it?"
"A little before seven," She said, "I'm actually surprised you're up no one else is."
He sighed, "Still used to old time, I guess."
She nodded, "God, I still can't believe all of this, Harry."
The manor was a little imposing. God knows, he was still getting used to it and he was mostly confined to his room, which was still bigger than the Dursleys' house.
"I'm just a guest here," He said, "It's not like I'm living here or anything."
"Right," Hermione said. "But you actually know him, Bruce Wayne."
"As I told you over Skype, yes I know him." Harry said rolling his eyes. "I thought you were over muggle technology."
He and Hermione had gotten into a huge debate over muggle technology the other day. As much as his friend was into studying magic, it seemed like she thought muggle subjects weren't really that important unless they could be used for magic.
"He's still Bruce Wayne," She said with a shrug. "And some of his company's inventions aren't exactly useless. I could actually see them being enhanced by magic."
Harry rolled his eyes, "How's that argument going with your parents?"
Hermione glared at him, "You had to bring that up…"
"I'm actually surprised they let you come over." Harry said knowing that not everything had been peachy at the Granger house post petrifaction.
"Mr. Wayne is persuasive." She said, "Besides, I think we needed the cool off period. I wish they'd just let me drop muggle subjects all together. I really don't see the use."
Harry raised an eyebrow. He wasn't so much sure if Hermione actually meant this or if she was trying to have an excuse for her dismal scores in muggle subjects that her parents required her to take each year.
Being Oxbridge graduates, Dan and Emma Granger weren't exactly a fan of Hogwarts curriculum and had allowed Hermione to go contingent on taking exams in muggle subjects each year. The little foray with the basilisk had left her muggle studies imperfect.
"It will be worse next year," Harry said, "I still can't believe you signed up for everything."
Hermione grimaced, "I am starting to rethink that. Although, I thought about trying to justify Muggle Studies as muggle subjects. Don't know if Mum and Dad will buy that though."
Harry laughed, "You do realize that sounds almost Slytherin-ish, Hermione."
"Merlin forbid that," Hermione said as there was a light tap on the door.
Harry turned around to see his aunt who had apparently just woken up if her bathrobe was any indicator.
Inwardly, Harry grimaced at the bathrobe. It was not the same blood soaked one she had worn when they found what was left of Aunt Petunia…no, this one was a plush black velvet not white silk.
"I didn't know your plane was getting in this early, Hermione." Selina said with a smile.
"Yes, an hour or so ago, Ms. Kyle. I'm trying to beat jet lag and the best way to do it is to stay awake so…"
"You decided to visit Harry, that's fine. Was the flight good?"
"It was perfect, my parents are grateful for Mr. Wayne for having his private jet pick me up. It really was too much."
"It was nothing," Bruce said seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
Unlike his aunt, Bruce was already dressed in a suit. He apparently had meetings at all times of the night which was why he always seemed to be dressed up even at seven in the morning.
"I thought you were going to be in Tokyo," His aunt said.
"Change in plans," Bruce said, "Besides, we have a birthday to celebrate."
Chapter 12 Preview: This will likely be a Bruce POV. Zatana will confront him about a pupil, he'll start nosing into the wizarding world, and there will be some relationship drama with Selina.
