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Harry wiped the tears away where they had been falling, this year wasn’t even close to what he had hoped it would be. Even less so, it wasn’t even close to what he had promised his family it would be.
Last year had been hard enough after the Triwizard Tournament, he hadn’t known what to do with himself after he got home. After everything was said and done and he was reminded that none of what had happened was his fault. It got to the point that Bruce called on Harley to come and talk to him. The former villain turned vigilante still held her degree in psychiatry and she had been more than willing to unpack what had happened with him. Telling him, in no uncertain terms, that nothing about what had happened was his fault.
Sitting in the Chamber of Secrets, needing a moment alone after everything that had been going on, he remembered several people telling him to reach out if it became too much. Everyone else did it too, reaching out to the family in an effort to get support, to find help, and in case nothing could be done to have a force capable of defeating anything at their beck and call to take out the trash.
Biting his lip, he put in the earpiece and waited until if connected to the satellites Bruce had orbiting the globe, “Oracle?”
Barbara’s voice filtered through soon enough, “Phoenix, I didn’t hear I would be hearing from you so soon. Least of all through the comms.”
Trying to smile, Harry knew he failed when a sob came out instead. Barbara was on guard instantly, “Harry, what’s going on?”
Sobbing, he allowed Barbara’s voice to settle him before he calmed down and shared what had been going on. How he didn’t know anything that was going on outside of the walls of Hogwarts, the paper was all lies and slander, added with the fact that the Ministry was inside of Hogwarts’ walls trying to dictate what was happening and what was taught to the children going there.
“I wanted to go back, because I actually believed that this was for the best… But the longer I stay here, the more I’m being reminded that I am not somebody to them. I’m not even Harry or Phoenix. I’m just the Boy-Who-Lived, or the Boy-Who-Lied, depending on who you ask and I’m… I’m so tired of this.” He whispered softly.
Harry knew that the Bat-Family knew what he had been going through. Bruce had been the one to find him, when the Dursleys left him in Arkham Asylum claiming he was nuts and thinking he had magic. The fact that they had come all the way from the UK to do so left a lot of Red Flags behind. Enough that the Batman had been called and what he found together with Commissioner Gorden hadn’t been pretty.
The Dursley had been arrested at the airport, Dudley had been placed with Marge and last he heard his cousin had gotten into another fight at school, had been expelled and was set to start at St. Brutus school for misbehaving boys next month.
Meanwhile, Harry had been taken in by Bruce Wayne and given a family he couldn’t have dreamed about even if he tried. Outside of Bruce and Alfred, there were the other members of the Bat-Family. Especially Selina and Helena, who he was closest to. Additionally Diana and Arthur had popped by when they mentioned feeling Magic close by and came to investigate. Leading to the reveal that he had been magical, which made it a lot easier once his Hogwarts letter came and he went back to the UK.
Both Diana and Arthur had offered to teach him, or find teachers for him if he ever decided he wanted to stay in Gotham. Up until that point he hadn’t wanted to, but now, since last year he had been contemplating it. Dick had also offered Raven’t expertise and the more he was forced to be around Lord Voldemort, the more he realized he might need that right now.
“I… There is this Witch here placed by the Ministry and she has it out for me as they all don’t believe that Voldemort returned, so they’re essentially doing a smear campaign. On top of that half the school believes them so I’m not having a good time. My headmaster doesn’t even look at me, for some reason, and each time he does it’s with this frown that I can’t really place that’s making me worried he’s planning something and I don’t like it”, he explains. Going on about Umbridge and the way none of this makes sense. How, in the years he’s been here, he noticed that the way the Wizarding World seemed to deal with things was to pretend they didn’t exist and hope they go away.
Sighing, he adds, “It’s such a backwards way of thinking, which was a given as they still live like they’re in the Victorian Era or something. None of them keep up with the news in the world, wouldn’t surprise me if none of them knew there was such a thing as Superheroes.”
Licking his lips, he continues, “Most of them think Mundane People are retarded, or stuck in the Middle Ages and it’s getting to a point where it’s dangerous. Enough so that if there was another attack by say Steppenwolf or an intergalactic invasion they wouldn’t even know and I don’t want to be left out once more.”
Young as he was, even if Damian was younger currently, Harry missed all of the action his family got to partake in. He had his own adventures, but they weren’t in the least as well aided as those the Bat-fam went on.
Barbara sighed, “Do you need me to let Bruce know?”
Wiping at his eyes, Harry hummed, “I’m kind of done with all of this right now. Everything seems to be a competition or a chance to prove something and I don’t need that. I just want to be myself and I can’t do that here, and I don’t mean with the gadgets and whatnot.” Although he had to admit he missed those too, but most of all it was how misguided and uninformed they all were, “None of them here know I’m adopted either, not the school, not even my Godfather or his partner and I know I told them at one point but they don’t seem to believe me.”
He had told Sirius and Remus as much, last year when he had a moment alone with them, but they had laughed it off and told him that it was nice he had other people looking out for him. Yet, they all expected him to go back to the Dursleys each summer when the family was still locked up abroad. It was getting painful to see.
Don’t get him started on others in the school, Muggleborns did know about the Superheroes and seemed to admire them. Some of them even mention that they wanted to become a Superhero once they were done with school. Just to have that shot down as it broke the statue of secrecy. Not that anyone would notice, given the fact that there were literal Aliens flying around.
It took a little while, before a welcome voice filtered through the comms, “Harry? Barbara told me you are coming home.”
Chuckling, Harry nodded, “Yeah, I’m sick of it here, dad. They all don’t seem to get there is more than Magic out there and the things this new Bitch of a teacher is trying to do isn’t going over well.” Sharing as much, he can hear Bruce seething, can hear him giving orders and no doubt calling in a couple of favours to get him out of there yesterday.
Finally, he turned his attention back to Harry, “We’ll be there in the morning, except your brothers and sisters, as well as some extras. Your mother is just as livid, so they better prepare for Selina’s wrath.”
Smiling at hearing that, Harry wished them all well and a ‘see you soon’.
—
In the morning, Harry had packed everything of value away in his schoolbag. A lot of the books or clothes he wouldn’t be needing in Gotham. And, even if he did, he’d rather buy them again as he didn’t trust the people around them not to have spelled them to keep track of him.
He had seen the way teachers followed him around after he came back from the Chamber yesterday. They were a little too invested and he wanted out, his family was coming to get him and knowing Bruce he would do so with all the flair that a Wayne could do.
“What’s got you so happy this morning, mate”, Ron asked, leading to Harry shrugging.
Ron and Hermione didn’t know what he was planning on doing. But then again, he had a feeling they had been growing apart ever since last year. Neither of them really knew the real Harry Potter. Both were too caught up in the version of him in their head and he was tired of that. If they were to ever reach out he’d open communications, but he didn’t hold high hopes for that.
The door to the Great Hall was thrown open and Bruce Wayne stepped through with a sneer on his face and every inch the business tycoon he was, “Which one of you is Dolores Umbridge and by what autority do you believe yourself allowed to torture children?”
Not a word was said, until a Muggleborn Hufflepuff got out, “Oh my god, that’s Bruce Wayne. He’s like the richest person on the planet.”
Umbridge stuttered, before sweetly asking whatever he meant. Going on about that she had been placed here by the Minister of Magic, as he should well know.
Bruce looked utterly unimpressed, “I don’t know, as I don’t have a habit of keeping up with backwards societies. I do however care about those stupid enough to think they can get away with harming children.”
Several others seemed to whisper that Bruce Wayne was a Muggle, so he shouldn’t even be able to get here. However, Harry could see the bracelet on Bruce’s arm, no doubt one of Diana’s as she was Magical so had ways to by-pass wards and spells.
Gathering his things, he smiled softly before making his way to Bruce’s side. Nodding before leaving his father there to chew out the adults that should be guarding the children under their protection. When Dumbledore and Umbridge tried to find out how Bruce could even be here, Diana showed up, ran a hand through Harry’s hair and pointed out Selina and Helena outside. Before he was caught up in a hug by his family, knowing that from now on things would be a lot better.
Part of him did want to be there when Clark entered, as he could see Superman hovering nearby. The same could be said for a number of superheroes he could either see or sense close. But he’d deal with not being able to do that, knowing he’d never have to come back here.