This chapter is definitely a lot shorter than normal, and I'm really sorry about that. There was a major family emergency, so I wasn't able to add a more. Hopefully, this is still pretty good.

Any feedback would really be appreciated. Also, I'm looking for anything you guys want to see in future chapters. Any and all recommendations and ideas are welcome. Thanks so much, guys!

August 13th

"So, Birdboy, what are you up to today?" Zatanna asked.

Dick looked up from his book. Any excuse to stop studying proper pronunciation on spells was a good excuse. Especially now.

"I have this thing with the Team later. Some class on espionage, I think. I think it'll be good, but I swear I already know all about it! I don't think I should have to take it, but it's required, so…" Dick shrugged.

"Ahhh," Zatanna agreed. "I got it. Man, you're so lucky. I wish I got to be on the Team. But my dad," she sighed. "He's just so, so, overprotective."

Dick laughed. "Trust me, B is overprotective, he's just good at hiding it. I think if he had a choice, I wouldn't even be doing the hero gig."

"Why are you doing the hero thing anyway?" Zatanna asked. "I mean, no offence, but Batman isn't your dad, obviously."

"That would be James Potter," Dick muttered. Louder, he said: "It's a long story. Let's just say the opportunity fell into my arms."

He looked back at Zatanna, who was gaping.

"Your dad was James Potter?" she asked incredulously.

"Biological dad, but yeah," Dick said slowly. "Why? Didn't I mention that before?"

Zatanna shook her head. "Robin, James Potter is the father of Harry Potter. Every magical person knows who Harry Potter is. He stopped Voldemort and he was there when Voldemort rose again!"

Dick shrugged. "I guess? So you believe him then?"

"Why would he lie?" Zatanna asked. "He's not asking for anything to tell his story. He's not making money. He doesn't get anything out of lying. Plus, Dumbledore is an ally of the League and he told them the whole story. My dad trusts Dumbledore. Most people do. It's only because the British Ministry of Magic is keeping it quiet that there aren't more people supporting. That smear campaign the Daily Prophet runs doesn't help matters either."

Dick raised an eyebrow. Zatanna was certainly passionate about it, that was sure. Dick didn't think he'd seen anyone so sure of it since Harry or Hermione themselves. It was good to know that even people in America, people who knew about magic, that was, could still get the real story. Even if Dick still didn't exactly know the real story. Harry was still trying to protect his younger brother's innocence.

"You've heard of the Daily Prophet? I thought that was a British magical newspaper?" he asked, instead of voicing his other thoughts.

"Well, yeah, of course. Voldemort wasn't exactly a threat in America, but people were worried about him coming over here, so it wasn't that strange for the Daily Prophet to be sold here so people could keep up. After he disappeared people kept ordering it, so the Daily Prophet just sends a couple hundred issues to a distributor who delivers it to everyone who's subscribed," Zatanna explained.

"Maybe I should subscribe to it?" Dick said thoughtfully.

Zatanna nodded. "That's probably a good idea. Though you've been going back and forth between here and Britain, right?"

"Yeah," Dick said. "Why?"

"I don't think the newspaper will want to switch continents based on where you are," she teased.

Dick smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "You're probably right. I'll just have it delivered to home so that when I'm here I can keep up. I'm sure B'll be interested in them if I'm not there."

"He is Batman," Zatanna agreed. "Isn't it pretty much in his job description to know everything?"

"It is," Dick agreed.

They continued chatting for a few minutes until Zatara arrived and berated them for losing focus on their schooling. They quickly went back to their books and pronunciation guides.

August 14th

Dick wasn't expecting Remus to be there when he got back. He was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to be going back until the fifteenth anyway. So again, he wasn't expecting Remus.

He was sure he was a mess. Sweaty and gross from the Team's little 'quest'. He definitely didn't look nice or tidy. In fact, Dick was pretty sure he looked unapproachable. He felt unapproachable. He just dealt with a few murders and finding a culprit. He didn't feel like dealing with magic stuff. Especially since Bruce was still up in the Watchtower.

He looked at Remus warily. "I thought I didn't have to go back until tomorrow."

"You don't," Remus confirmed. He had a strange look on his face. "I needed to talk to you."

Dick closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay. What is it you want to ask me?"

Remus took a step closer to him and cocked his head before taking a deep breath. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was smelling something. What it was though, Dick didn't know. Probably something his senses couldn't pick up. Remus was, after all, a werewolf, as he'd learned. He probably had an enhanced sense of smell even when he wasn't affected by the full moon.

"You smell like death," Remus said, ignoring Dick's question. "What happened. Are you okay? Did Death Eaters come after you?"

Dick shook his head. "No. It's a… it's a long story." And one he wasn't feeling like rehashing at the moment, thank you very much.

Remus took a step back. He was looking at Dick curiously. Dick wasn't sure he liked the look. Remus was smart. Almost too smart. And with his enhanced senses, it was that much harder to keep things secret from him. Like being near dead bodies.

"Dick, what happened?" Remus pressed. His eyes were wide and his eyes kept flickering to Dick's arm where the scar Remus had seen a few days earlier was.

"Nothing," Dick stressed. "Stop worrying so much. You sound like-"

Dick cut himself off and clamped his mouth shut, but the damage was already done. Remus knew what he'd been about to say and he knew what he'd been about to say. You sound like my dad.

Obviously, Dick was thinking of John Grayson when he almost said that, but he had the feeling Remus' first thought went to James Potter because Remus froze.

"Dick, you're lying," Remus said. His voice was steady and he sounded sure of himself.

Dick turned away from Remus and crossed his arms.

"What makes you so sure of that?" he asked. He knew what his tells were, but acting dumb helped in situations like this where he couldn't give too much away.

"I think you know. You're smarter than you give away," Remus said. "I just don't know why you're hiding so much about yourself. Look at this house. That scar on your arm. I don't know why though."

Dick shifted into a different stance. Fight or flight, literally.

"I think you're reading too much into everything," Dick said. "And what I don't want to share is my business."

"Not when you're in danger. Not when you could be working with You-Know-Who," Remus said.

"I'm thirteen," Dick deadpanned.

"Yes," Remus agreed. "You are. But that doesn't mean you're too young to betray anyone."

"I wouldn't do that," Dick argued weakly. That Remus could suggest that, it was horrifying. Betraying family, friends. Dick would never. Could never. Not without killing himself.

"I believe you," Remus said easily. "But you are smarter than you give away. You've seen something that makes you lose faith in some of humanity, yet you still believe in helping others." Remus took a deep breath. "How you act though, it's suspicious. No one's said anything yet, but not everyone thinks you're as innocent as you act. Even I don't think you are."

Dick scoffed and walked around Remus. "What do you want me to do? Go and tell everyone my dark life story. No thanks."

"I don't pretend to know anything about you," Remus said. He was following Dick to the kitchen. "Or at least not anything personal. I'm not asking you to share that. Just… give people an explanation for how you act. Why you like being here so much more."

Dick entered the kitchen and opened the fridge. "I guess. It's not like the whole world doesn't already know anyway," he muttered, grabbing a leftover bowl soup and moving towards the microwave.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

Dick hesitated, put the bowl in the microwave and pressed a few buttons to start it.

"Bruce, the man I live with, he's not my dad. He is rich, obviously, so people pay attention to him. I started living with him a few years ago, so people paid attention to me too, and why I lived with him. Basically, everyone in the muggle world, at least in Gotham, knows who I am and what happened to me."

Remus nodded understandingly and gestured for him to continue.

"It… it won't explain everything I do. Most of it is just habit. But it might help some people understand why I'm so closed off. That's what people want to know, yeah?" he asked.

Remus nodded. "Yes."

"I've already kinda told Sirius, so I guess I can tell everyone else. I just… they can't treat me differently," Dick demanded. "I won't let them."

"That seems fair," Remus agreed.

The microwave beeped. Dick opened it and took out the bowl of soup before plopping a spoon in.

"I'll leave you alone now," Remus said, turning to leave or apparate, Dick wasn't sure which.

"Someone did die, by the way," Dick said quickly. "It was this guy, no one I knew. It was all really quick and I couldn't do anything to save him. He wasn't… he was bad. He was shooting a gun and the bullet ricocheted and killed him."

Dick didn't mention the other deaths. That wouldn't help anything. At least this excuse made a little sense. After all, there were plenty of random shootings and crime in America and he lived in Gotham. If anyone did look it up, Dick could pretty much guarantee there would be a death matching that description he might have been near or witnessed.

"I believe you, Dick," Remus said softly.

At least he knew he was able to lie to the guy with enhanced senses. Dick still wasn't sure why he had them though. He made a mental note to ask Harry later.

Remus walked into the hallway and disappeared with a sharp crack.

August 14th

My place. Ten minutes. Don't try to get out of it, Boy Wonder.

Roy's text was sharp, abrasive, and so staggeringly Roy that it was a breath of fresh air. It wasn't hard to guess that Wally must have spilt something to Roy when he went there a few days ago. What, Dick wasn't sure. Obviously something though, otherwise Roy wouldn't have contacted him. They were friends and knew each other's secrets id's, but the age difference made it hard to connect at the best of times.

Sure. Wally?

The phone showed the text being typed for a few moments before it pinged.

Kid Mouth can't keep his mouth shut. Plus I hear B's busy right now.

Dick smiled at the screen crookedly.

Yeah, he is.

Out loud he said: "Hey, Alfred? I'm heading over to Roy's place. Tell Bruce when he gets back."

The butler turned from his spot dusting bookshelves and raised an eyebrow.

"Master Wallace, I assume?" he asked.

Dick rubbed the back of his neck. "Was it that obvious?"

Alfred smiled slightly. "While he is your friend and a truly loyal person, he also has yet to learn the art of being quiet. That much is obvious when he eats."

Dick laughed. It was the only thing Alfred didn't like about Wally; how he couldn't keep his mouth shut, even when he was eating.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Dick stood up and stretched his arms behind him before he started to leave the library. "I'll be back in time for dinner, Alfred."

"I should hope so, Master Dick," Alfred replied, already dusting again.

Dick made his way through the hallways and into Bruce's study, quickly punching in the right code and slipping behind the grandfather clock. The stairs were slick and always and dark too.

In no time at all, he was standing in front of the zeta beam. Quickly, Dick punched in the code for Star City. The zeta beam's light covered him and he felt himself move through space. Ugh, not fun, in his opinion.

He walked out of an ugly bus stop hidden in an alley. Roy, not being the billionaire Oliver was, didn't have a zeta beam connected to a base, even though Dick was sure if he asked, Oliver would have been more than happy to provide a base. Roy, however, being stubborn like he was, refused help. Even paid for his own apartment with a job and got student loans for his first year of college.

Dick figured he'd probably do the same thing come college, but he would definitely ask Bruce for help setting up a base near wherever he ended up living, otherwise, it would be a tad out of his price range.

Dick exited the alley and turned left. Roy didn't live more than five minutes from this particular zeta beam, which meant Dick would arrive exactly at the ten-minute mark from Roy's first text.

In no time at all, Dick saw the dingy apartment building Roy was staying in. He entered and climbed the three flights of stairs at a record speed, and just as he raised his fist to knock on Roy's door, it swung open, revealing the red-headed archer himself.

"Birdbrain," Roy greeted. "Come on in."

Dick walked past Roy. The door closed behind him. Overall, Roy's apartment wasn't bad, especially for a college kid. It could have been worse for sure. It wasn't the pinnacle of comfort though, it was still just a college apartment.

"Want some soda or something?" Roy asked. "Or maybe a pizza? I'm ordering some."

"I'm good," Dick said. "What did Wally let slip?"

Roy shrugged. "Nothing much. Just that you've been going through something and spending a lot of time in London? He was also grumbling about magic, but he always does that. He also had to come over in the middle of the night because you had to leave suddenly for some sort of emergency."

"Pretty much," Dick agreed. "It was… just promise not to tell anyone, okay?"

Roy snorted. Loudly. "Who am I going to tell your deep dark secret to? Ollie? Yeah, no."

"So you know my parents? It turns out they adopted me," Dick said glumly. Roy gaped. "Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction. What's more, my biological parents didn't actually give me up; my biological aunt was babysitting and left me on the steps of an orphanage because of some stupid rivalry. Anyway, parents were murdered while I was being babysat, so they never knew. Then there's a whole magic thing and it's kinda a long story."

Dick knew he sounded hysterical. Heck, he felt hysterical. Even after all this time, it still hadn't stopped being life-changing. He was probably still processing, and not in the most healthy way.

Roy slumped onto his couch and buried his face in his hands. "Your life is a soap opera, Grayson," he muttered.

Dick laughed and sat down next to him. "Tell me about it. I've been living it. Going back and forth to meet my older brother. Oh yeah, I have an older brother," Dick added at Roy's wonderstruck look.

"Dude, I don't even know," Roy said. "At the moment your life might be more annoying than mine."

"Might?" Dick asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well, I have to live with Ollie," Roy smirked.

"Point, you," Dick admitted, though he didn't think Oliver was that bad. Roy was just Roy.

"Sure, sure, don't believe me," Roy grumbled.

"Okay, I'll do that."

"Brat," Roy said fondly, ruffling his hair.

"Idiot," Dick threw back, leaning into the touch.

August 15th

"Hello, Dick," Hermione greeted him cheerily. "How are you?"

Dick leaned away from where she'd suddenly invaded his personal space. "Hi, Hermione. I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm good," Hermione said happily. "I made prefect. So did Ron."

"Prefect?" Dick asked.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you don't go to Hogwarts," Hermione apologized. "A prefect is sort of like a teachers assistant. They patrol after curfew and help students."

Dick nodded. That made sense. It wasn't that different from a hallway monitor.

"Did Harry get anything like that?" he asked.

Hermione's lips pinched together into a thin line and she shook her head. "No. I think he's disappointed he didn't get it, but he's trying not to be, for Ron's sake."

"Ron's sake?" Dick asked.

"There are four Hogwarts houses. I'm assuming you know that?" At Dick's nod, she continued. "Each house get two new prefects from fifth year from each house, a boy and a girl. Harry, Ron, and I are all Gryffindor, so that means that since Ron became the Gryffindor prefect Harry can't become a prefect."

"That makes sense. And it makes sense that Harry's not the prefect. He's already done lots of stuff to help everyone and the school. Ron, while I'm sure he's helped a lot, hasn't really had a chance to stand in the spotlight. I'm sure he deserves it," Dick reasoned.

"I suppose you're right," Hermione agreed.