Chapter Text
Damian was bored. It was only a few days since he and Alfred arrived in Surrey, England. The house Alfred owned was a small cottage. It was very homey and much to Damian's liking. It wasn't like the manor where it had everything that everyone wanted. This cottage was small and it was enough. Alfred had to run errands and visit his school friends. Damian wasn't aware that his grandfather's school friends were alive, but Alfred was very vague on his explanation. He just said he went to a boarding school in Scotland. Damian was sure that Alfred was private on other parts of his life. However, Damian didn't care how long it'll take since he wanted Alfred have the time he needed to catch up with the people he left. Before Alfred left, he had told Damian that there was a library, a cafe nearby, and some ingredients to cook some food if he ever got bored.
A walk would be nice, Damian thought.
Ever since Damian had arrived in Surrey, he had to deal with the jetlag for a bit. Now he was better, it was best for him to explore. He knew he couldn't explore as Robin, since he was forbid to do so unless with permission from Father. However, it was Damian's idea to go with Alfred. Ever since he came back from the dead, he wanted a break and a sense of normalcy...or as normal for him. He had never been bored in his life, but from what Grayson would tell him, "a first time for everything".
When Damian walked out of the cottage, he walked into town. The town was very nice and quiet to Damian's liking. He was sure he could get use to this. While Damian was walking, he noticed some people wearing cloaks in the middle of summer.
Wizards, Damian thought.
He knew the existence of the wizarding world. Everyone knew...or at least every vigilante and the members of the Justice League. Raven, Zatanna, and Constantine were a part of it and explained to everyone how separate the society is from mortals. It was best not to get involved unless it's necessary.
Damian went into a cafe and bought himself tea and a vegan muffin. He headed towards a park nearby those identical houses. The park was empty, except for one. A boy about Damian's age was sitting at the swings by himself. He was wearing clothes that were way too big for him, knobby legs, unkempt raven hair, bright almond green eyes, round glasses with tape, and a scar. However, that scar was odd. It was shaped as if lightning had strike. Not like those childish zig-zag. The boy had dirt all over him, he had a cut on his cheek, and he was wiping his tears. He was very skinny too. He looked like he hadn't ate in ages. Damian was sure the boy might be either abused or bully...maybe both. Usually whenever Damian saw a child being abused, he would've let Gordon know about it. However, since, he's not in the United States, things might work differently in this country.
Without a word, Damian walked passed the crying boy and sat at the swing next to him. The boy took no noticed of his presence. Instead, he kept crying and wiping his eyes. Damian noticed how very bright green his eyes were. They were brighter than his and Todd's. Glancing to the side, Damian ripped his muffin in half as evenly as he could and held it out to the boy.
"Here," Damian said.
The boy stopped crying, glancing at him and at the muffin. He looked at Damian as if he grew another head. Damian knew if any of his family members and Alfred saw what he did, they would think he went crazy. Damian was only offering just to make sure the boy was quiet so he could enjoy his muffin and tea. It's not like he cares or anything.
"Th-Thank you," The boy muttered. "b-but I'm not hungry."
Then there was a loud growling sound. Damian raised a brow as the boy blushed and narrowed his eyes.
"Take the muffin," Damian said. "It has chocolate."
The boy perked up when he heard the word, chocolate. The boy eyed at the muffin as if it was poison. Damian couldn't blame him. He was a stranger who was offering food to him. Sure they were the same age, but he was sure that this boy might have trust issues or something.
Then the boy took the muffin with both hands and gently set it on his lap. He took a piece of it and sniffed it. After that he popped it into his mouth. The boy's eyes widened and made a small smile. He cradled the muffin in his palms and ate it. Damian nodded to himself, satisfied that the boy was eating and ate the other half of his muffin. The two ate in silence. Despite the silence, Damian was fine with that. Sometimes silence is a good thing.
"Thank you," The boy said.
Damian nodded. "When was the last time you had eaten?"
"Yesterday, at dinner," The boy said.
"What did you had?"
"A slice of an apple."
Damian pursed his lips. Whoever he was living with, was starving him. Damian had a urge to take this boy to the nearest cafe and give him all the food he needed. In fact, he wouldn't even mind to take this boy to the cottage and give him one of Alfred's famous chocolate chip cookies. Then Damian shook that thought away. No, the boy was a stranger and he just met him. It was best to keep things formal before Damian invites him.
"I'm Damian," Damian held out his hand. "Damian Wayne."
"I'm Harry," the boy shook his hand. "Harry Potter."
The boy, Potter didn't bat an eye when Damian said his last name. Damian was sure that Potter didn't know who he was. Even people outside of the United States knew who the Waynes were. However, Damian couldn't stop looking at the fresh cut Potter has on his cheek. It was still oozing with blood, but just a little bit. Damian took out a mini first aid kit and moved his swing over to Potter. Yes, Damian always carries a mini first aid kit with him. After all, Robin needed to be efficient outside and inside the suit. Unlike his Father who only relies on Alfred all the time. It's embarrassing.
"What happened to your cheek?" Damian took out some wipes, putting it on Potter's cheek. Potter winced a bit, but he merely shrugged.
"My cousin and his friends were just playing a game with me," he said.
"What game that is?"
"...T-Tag...."
He's lying, Damian thought. However, Damian knew he couldn't show his suspicion. He didn't want Potter to think he was on to him. After Damian cleaned off the blood, he put a band aid on Potter's cheek.
Potter gave him a small smile. "Th-Thank you. You're not from here, right? Your accent is American.
"I'm from Gotham, New Jersey." Damian answered.
"I've heard of Gotham!" Potter exclaimed. "I heard they have superheroes!"
"Vigilantes," Damian corrected. "Who had you heard of?"
"All of them! My cousin loves to talk about them. He and his friends think the new Robin is scary."
Damian smirked. "Really? Do you think he's scary?"
Potter shook his head. "No, he's brave and has a sword. I think he really cares for Gotham. Anyway, what do you like to do Damian?"
"I like to spend time with my pets, read, draw, and collect knives,"
Potter awed at him. "Woah, that's cool! I wish I have a pet! What your pets like?"
It didn't took long for Damian to tell Potter all of his pets. He told him about Titus, Alfred the cat, Batcow, Jerry the Turkey, and Goliath. However, when he told about Goliath, Damian had to downplay when he described Goliath. Over all, Potter was very interested about his pets. He even asked on what books he like to read, which Potter was easily amazed.
Damian couldn't help, but felt at ease when he was telling Potter about his beloved pets. Potter didn't judged on how he named his pets and asked questions when there were some things he didn't understand. Over all, Potter was a very good listener.
Soon the topic changed to Damian's love for collecting knives. Potter was obviously didn't know much about knives and the types of knives, but Damian told him the difference and time period each knife was from. He even showed him his phone so Potter would know what they look like. Then as they were talking, Damian realized he only talked about himself and Potter didn't get a chance to tell him about himself. From what Grayson told him, when people just met, they tell each other about themselves.
"So, Potter, what do you like to do?" Damian asked.
Potter blinked a few times and shifted his feet. "I-I like to stay in my room and do my chores."
Damian pursed his lips. He was sure Potter was hiding things. His posture and mannerisms said enough. Of course Damian knew he shouldn't brought it up unless for the right moment, but since he just met Potter, it would be too soon. Besides from what he knew about other children at his age, what child loves to do chores, unless they're actually earning money?
"What kind of chores?" Damian questioned.
"Just helping with Aunt Petunia with cooking and gardening," Potter answered. "Oh and I even help clean the house."
At that moment, Damian knew Potter was just trying to work around answering his questions. Damian could tell that Potter was only answering these questions that sound normal to others. Damian would had to admit that the way Potter answered his question did sounded normal, but of course Damian was trained to see through people's answers and how they work. Sure there were times that he made mistakes, but Potter was being obvious, which Damian was sure that even Potter himself didn't realized.
"So how long are you going to be here in Surrey?" Potter asked.
"Just for the summer," Damian looked at his phone. "Anyway, I need to get back. It's almost six. Maybe we can-"
"What?!" Potter gasped. "Oh no! I'm going to be late."
Damian frowned. "Late for what?"
"To help my aunt with chores!" Potter brushed the muffin crumbs from his oversize jeans and ran. "It was nice meeting you Damian!"
As Potter ran, Damian quickly followed him. Damian hid behind the nearest tree and saw Potter enter in one of the identical houses. Despite the houses looking all the same, the only difference was the address and an old fashion car that was both silver and black. Damian crossed his arms. He was going to offer Potter if he wanted to meet up again, but obviously Potter had other important things to do.
Even though Damian wanted to inspect Potter's home life and wanted to see if he was overthinking everything, but a part of him knew that it wasn't a case. Tonight, Damian thought. Tonight, he'll figure everything out. After all, Potter is a tolerable to be around, but first Damian needs to know who Harry Potter was.