Bruce drove down his expansive driveway, Harry ogling the sprawling manor as they approached, Dick sat beside him with his arms crossed. Stepping out of Bruce's car, Harry hesitated slightly before he followed Bruce as he opened the large front door and entered the Gothic mansion. "Alfred!" Bruce yelled when the three of them stood inside the front hall.
Harry marvelled at the sight of the front hall, craning his head to take it all in. He was certain that the Dursley's could have fit their entire house into the room, with space still to spare, a thought Harry quickly rejected as he remembered the bodies of the Dursley family. Black walls bordered the room, with statues and paintings dotting the back walls, an ornate grandfather clock stood near the front door. Doors were at both walls next to the front door, with a marble staircase that split in the middle at the furthest wall.
"Yes, Master Bruce?" a voice said from the top of the staircase. A thin man with a balding head and a pencil moustache stepped down the stairs. "How did your meeting go?" The man looked at Harry with curiosity as he walked towards the group.
Bruce shook his head. "I'll tell you later." He indicated Harry. "This is Harry, Harry this is my butler, Alfred. Alfred, I've decided to …" Bruce took a deep breath. "We will be taking care of him for the foreseeable future. Potentially adopting him, if that is something he wishes."
Harry's mouth dropped open in shock. Adopt him? He knew Dick was adopted, but couldn't comprehend why he would offer to adopt Harry.
If Alfred was surprised, the man hid it well behind a neutral expression. Instead, he simply nodded. "Very well, Sir. Would you like me to show Master Harry to a spare room?"
Bruce smiled thankfully. Whereas Alfred had concealed his shock at the adoption revelation, Dick did not. He was spluttering away, only quieting himself at Bruce's glare.
Alfred led Harry up the staircase and to an extended corridor. The two walked in silence until Alfred stopped at a room. Opening the door, Harry looked in and took the surroundings in. The walls were a deep blue, with a white queen-sized in the middle of the far wall. "This will be your room, Master Harry, for as long as you which to stay," Alfred informed politely.
Harry paused as he tried to figure out what to say. "Thank you, Alfred," Harry settled on.
Alfred smiled, before taking his leave, leaving Harry alone in his new room. Harry sat on his bed for a few minutes, eventually stepping out of his room and into the corridor, where he wandered down until he heard voices belonging to Bruce and Dick.
"You want to adopt him?" Dick asked incredulously. Harry knew he was the 'him' in question and he pressed his ear against the door to eavesdrop, painfully aware that a week ago he was in the same situation with his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. "You've known him for less than a day."
Harry heard Bruce sigh through the door. "The kid needs a good life, Dick," Bruce said, his voice gentle. "We both saw what he was like, he looked at his Uncle before he even thought about speaking, he kept looking at his Uncle, like the kid was waiting for him to snap. And I'm sure you noticed the bruise on his face, whoever tried to cover that up obviously had no idea what they were doing."
"But why adopt him, why not just find an orphanage?" Dick replied.
"How have you been since I adopted you?" Bruce questioned. "I don't mean your body, I mean your mind."
"I guess," Dick paused and sighed. "I guess it got good. And I guess it needs to get good for him as well."
"Glad you understand," Bruce said, and the two fell into a comfortable silence.
"Does this mean you're going to tell him?" Dick asked after a minute, and Harry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Tell me what, he thought to himself.
Bruce was quiet for a few more moments. "I don't know," he admitted, his tone one of regret. "What if he blames us for being too slow?"
Dick's reply was too soft to hear and Harry strained to listen. It was Bruce that Harry was eventually able to hear. "Enough of this talk, go see if Harry is ok, and try to be his friend."
The day Harry was rescued, Dumbledore sat in his office consulting a device from his desk, having noticed it the instant he woke up. The device was a small silver hourglass used to monitor the blood wards surrounding 4 Privet Drive. It was supposed to be coursing with red smoke, but the smoke had suddenly turned to white liquid. Which Dumbledore knew could mean only one thing. Petunia, and by extension the protective wards around Harry, had been ended while Harry himself was unharmed.
His sombre musings were interrupted by an owl, brown and scrawny, tapping on the window with a letter held in its beak. With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore opened the window, allowing the bird to glide in.
Dumbledore recognised the handwriting immediately as Arabella Figg's, the woman he trusted to keep an eye on Harry. He opened the letter, already fearing he knew the message.
Albus,
At your earliest convenience, please visit.
Arabella.
Dumbledore rose to his feet before Apparating, instantly materialising in an alleyway near Arabella's home. He strode with determination to the house, knocking on the door once he arrived.
"Out of the way Snowy," Dumbledore heard Arabella order as she made her way to the door. She opened the door, her aged eyes softened at seeing Dumbledore. "You got the message then? Good, good. Didn't want to put it in writing, never know if owls are getting intercepted." Her grey hair was duller than normal and she seemed stressed, her right leg wrapped in a cast, a white cat by her side.
Dumbledore gave a calming smile. "Arabella, what seems to be the issue?"
"It's the Dursleys," she explained frantically. "They're gone. I was talking to Lisa next door, she was told that Mrs Peters at Number 3 heard from Mr Cooper at Number 12 that Mr Walker at Number 11 saw the Dursleys and Harry leave for a holiday. But then, the week after, Mr Walker's partner, Mr Walker, saw Vernon's sister drive by with Dudley, pick up his belongings and leave, now the house is up for sale."
Albus nodded. It was as he feared. "Arabella," he said solemnly. "What I tell you cannot be shared to anybody."
"'Course, what is it?"
"Harry is unharmed and in no malicious danger. His family members have been less fortunate. I will do what I can to find out what has happened, please do not inform anybody of what has happened. The more people that know, the greater the chance that Harry will be endangered." With that, he took his leave.
A year passed, Harry was safe in his new home, undiscovered by Dumbledore or anybody that wished him harm. Harry did in fact want to be adopted and thus he became Harry Wayne settling into his new and improved life, finally experiencing friendship and familial love for the first time in memory.
Harry relished when Bruce and Dick were present the manor and did not question them when they suddenly left, having been told they would explain when he was older.
But eventually Harry grew tired of it, when Alfred, Bruce, Dick, and Harry were in the middle of dinner, Bruce received a phone call, gave a meaningful look to Dick, and rushed away with Dick in pursuit. Sadly, Harry turned to Alfred. "Alfred," Harry asked," do you know where they go when they leave?"
Alfred shook his head, his mouth in a thin line. "The where, and the why, they leave changes every time," Alfred explained. "I'm sure they'll tell you one day."
"I wish they didn't go," Harry replied sadly. "Or I wish I could go with them."
Alfred looked wistfully at the door his wards had run out of before speaking softly, not noticing the barely audible pop that sounded. "As do I," he muttered, more to himself than to Harry. He turned his attention back to where Harry was previously sat, and blinked in puzzlement at the now empty seat. This was Harry's first use of, what he would later be told was called, accidental magic.
Harry reappeared under the Wayne Manor, confused at what had happened. One second he had been thinking about how he wanted to be with Bruce and Dick, the next second he was in an expansive underground cave. The walls were made of stone, an expensive-looking, sleek car was near the cave's exit, and an oversized computer was near Harry.
Harry, however, saw none of this, instead looking at Bruce and Dick in uncertainty. Bruce was in a Batman costume, the cowl down leaving his face uncovered, and Dick was in his brightly coloured Robin uniform, the domino mask in his hand.
Harry couldn't hold his gasp of surprise in, and the two whirled round to face him. The stunned silence was palpable. "Harry," Bruce said carefully. "How did you get in here?"
Harry ignored the question, looking between the two people he thought he knew well. "You're Batman," he yelled at Bruce. "And you're Robin," he shouted at Dick, who was looking in puzzlement between Harry and Bruce.
"How did you get in here?" Bruce repeated.
"I ... I don't know," Harry admitted, unable to keep the mixture of excitement and confusion out of his answer. "One second I was in the dining room, next I was here. It was just like magic."
Bruce rubbed the back of his head. "We'll explain this-" he gestured to the suits, "-when we get back. I promise. You can take the elevator back up to the main room." He pointed to an elevator before him and Dick put on their masks, got in the car, and drove speedily away.
Harry walked to the elevator and called it, entered, and selected the ground floor option. Stepping out of it when the doors opened, Harry was stunned to see it was the grandfather clock in the front hall that had disguised the elevator.
"Alfred!" Harry shouted.
Alfred soon approached from the dining room. "There you are Master Harry. Where did you go?"
Bobbing with excitement, Harry began to ramble. "I was in the dining room, with you, and then I was under the house in a cave, and Bruce and Dick were there, but they're actually Batman and Robin," he said in one breath.
Alfred nodded, rather calm about the situation. "I supposed you would find out eventually. But how did you get down there in the first place?"
"I don't know. I just wanted to be with them, and then I was."
"I suppose Master Bruce will consider it when he returns."
The two sat in silence for what seemed like an age, until the grandfather clock opened, and out stepped Bruce and Dick. Dick stood, still and soundless, as Bruce walked over to Harry. "Harry," Bruce said, his tone cautious. "What did you see down there?"
"You're Batman. Dick is Robin," Harry replied.
Bruce closed his eyes and began to breathe heavily to calm himself. "You understand you can't tell anybody of what you saw."
"I want to help you," Harry said quickly. "Can I help?"
Bruce shook his head. "You have no training, no costume, no skills."
Harry looked annoyed. "I can teleport," he said incredulously. "It's how I got down there." He pointed to the clock to prove his point.
"But you don't know how to use it," Bruce countered. "You can't defend yourself." Seeing Harry was about to interject, Bruce continued speaking, "So, if you're serious about this, your training starts tomorrow."
The next morning soon approached, and Harry stood outside of Bruce's bedroom door, knocked loudly, and waited for a response. Bruce opened the door, his eyes showing his tiredness. "Harry, it's early."
"But my training," Harry said.
"Fine," Bruce replied. "Go get Dick and take the clock elevator to the Batcave."
Harry grinned and rushed to Dick's room and hammered eagerly on the door. "Open up!" he ordered. "Bruce wants us in the Batcave for training."
Dick opened the door, rolling his eyes but smiled. The two walked to the elevator and Dick pressed the ten on the clock, then the four, and finally the eight. The clock gave a soft ding, and the elevator began to rise. "You excited about the training?" Dick asked. "You know it's going to be hard, right?"
Harry rubbed his hands together. "I know. I still want to do it."
The boys stepped into the elevator, and Dick pushed the button that took them to the Batcave.
Stepping out of the elevator, Harry was surprised to see that Bruce, donned in his Batman costume, was already stood in the middle of a circle. "Good to see you," Batman spoke, Harry noticing his voice was deeper and more serious than Bruce's natural and casual tone. "We'll be teaching you hand-to-hand combat today. Both of you, step into the training ring." Dick and Harry both made their way into the ring, and stood at opposite ends facing each other. "Harry, try and hit Dick. Dick, try to defend yourself," Bruce instructed.
Dick raised his hands in a defensive position. "You ready?" he questioned.
Harry ignored the question, and rushed forwards, readying his fist as he ran. Dick raised his hands, grabbing Harry's outstretched arm, and Harry saw the ground rush towards him as his legs were swept from under him.
Harry suppressed the pain from impacting the floor and forced himself back to his feet. "Good, getting back up is an important lesson," Bruce commented. "Try again." Harry readied his fists again, this time knowing that Dick could easily deflect him.
Surging forward, Harry attempted a wild kick. His foot was caught with ease and the next thing he knew he was lying on his back.
Bruce smiled. Harry was sloppy and untrained but he knew Harry had potential and willingness to learn.
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