Wizard of Steel Challenge
A/N: Hey everyone! This is a fic inspired by the challenge "Wizard of Steel" by DalkonCledwin! I hope you guys like it! I don't own Harry Potter or anything DC Comics related!
Chapter 1: The (Kryptonian) Boy Who Lived
The boy known as Harry Potter was not normal.
It might have been the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead he got from the night his parents were murdered.
It might have been the fact that as a child, he made impossible things happen in times of distress.
It might also have been the fact that he actually wasn't from planet Earth.
A newborn Harry Potter was found in his crashed space ship by James and Lily Potter late in the waning moments of a warm July evening, the reclusive couple taking him in and passing him off as their biological son.
The Potters' efforts in the Wizarding War attracted the attention of Lord Voldemort after the Dark wizard heard tell of a prophecy foretelling his downfall at the hands of the child born as the month of July died to parents who had thrice defied him. The Potters fit the bill perfectly, having thwarted many plans of his in his conquest of the wizarding world.
It came to be that the Potters' old Hogwarts friend, Peter Pettigrew, betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord. James and Lily Potter were found dead in the ruins of their home late on that fateful Halloween night, their young son the only survivor, bearing the distinctive scar as a reminder of his encounter with Voldemort, the symbol of having defeated the Dark Wizard.
His godfather, Sirius Black, hunted down and brought Peter Pettigrew in for trial following his betrayal. Upon discovery of Harry's survival, Sirius took his godson in to raise him, away from the prying eyes of the wizarding world, at the behest of Albus Dumbledore.
Sirius found out quite quickly that Harry was far from normal, even by wizarding standards. It started out with small things, like lifting a kitchen chair one-handed at the age of 3, then the super speed at which he ran when he took his first steps.
As the years flew by, Sirius helped track and develop Harry's abilities and his control over them. Sirius was almost grateful that something he could understand came about when Harry began to exhibit signs of accidental magic at age 9.
It was in the summer where he was to turn 11 that Harry got his letter from Hogwarts, which had Sirius beaming from ear to ear with pride for his godson. A trip to Diagon Alley for supplies soon followed, during which Sirius treated Harry to a celebratory ice cream.
When September 1st rolled around, Sirius brought Harry to King's Cross and escorted him through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ to catch the Hogwarts Express. Once Harry's trunk and new owl Hedwig were on the train, Sirius stooped down to look Harry in the eyes to say goodbye.
"I'm going to miss you, pup," Sirius said; his voice caught in his throat ever-so-slightly. "Remember to be smart about how and when you use your abilities. The gifts you have are like nothing the wizarding community have ever seen."
Piercing blue eyes looked back at Sirius, the only giveaway that the boy before him was not James and Lily's biological son. His dark, messy hair had oddly enough been reminiscent of James', and the facial structure enough like his late best friend's that people did not question Harry's true lineage.
"Got it, Sirius," Harry responded dutifully.
"Keep your nose clean and your head down," Sirius advised, placing a comforting hand on the boy who'd grown so in the near decade they'd lived together.
Sirius could almost feel the raw power flowing through Harry from the mysterious gifts he'd no doubt inherited from wherever it was he came from.
The whistle blew loudly and Sirius pulled Harry into a tight hug, groaning as the boy squeezed him tightly with his superhuman strength.
"Harry- Bones-Need to breathe…" Sirius wheezed out, as the boy released him, a guilty expression painting his features.
As Harry hopped onto the train, he cast one last look at his godfather and waved to him, the train taking him to the first big adventure of his life.
The attention Harry had received his first three years at Hogwarts was astounding, but Sirius had prepared him well for that. Harry, as instructed by Sirius, studied diligently and kept himself in the top percentile of his year. Smart and bright, but not too much, so as to bring him unwanted scrutiny.
In his first year, Harry had finished by thwarting an attempt by Lord Voldemort to re-gain a body, defeating the Dark Lord again and preventing him from using the Philosopher's Stone.
His second year had brought about the threat of the Chamber of Secrets and the revelation that Harry was a parseltongue, which proceeded to bring Harry to the one place he'd rather not be: under the proverbial microscope. He treaded very lightly when it came to his powers and eventually solved the mystery and stopped Voldemort once again from resurrecting, also killing the basilisk which had terrorized the muggle-born students of the school. Harry had been admittedly surprised when the basilisk shattered a tooth when it had attempted to bite him, Harry emerging from the encounter totally unscathed.
Harry's third year brought about the escape of Peter Pettigrew from Azkaban and the Dementors from the wizarding jail were posted at Hogwarts as a security measure to prevent the escaped convict from reaching Harry. Eventually, Harry had come face to face with the man that betrayed his parents, but the rat had slipped away, slinking back to his master.
In an effort to take their minds off of the events of the past year, Sirius bought tickets for them to attend the final of the Quidditch World Cup, between Ireland and Bulgaria.
Sirius and Harry ran into many acquaintances and friends at the event, enjoying the experience thoroughly until the Death Eater attack on the camp following Ireland's triumph. Sirius immediately Apparated himself and Harry back to Grimmauld Place, not wanting Harry anywhere near the proceedings.
A very rushed trip to Diagon Alley the following week in the wake of the Death Eaters' appearance and the return of the Dark Mark had Harry stocked up for his fourth year at Hogwarts and a week later he found himself once again on the Hogwarts Express.
"I wonder what's going on at Hogwarts this year," Ron stated as he, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione plopped down in the seats in a compartment on the train.
"Well, I would imagine we study, study, study some more, then have exams," Harry answered with a shrug his shoulders.
"Git," Ron spat back jokingly, causing Harry and the girls to laugh. "I mean that Dad, Percy, Charlie, and Bill have been hinting all summer that this year was going to be special at Hogwarts, and saying they'd see us soon and everything."
Ginny nodded to confirm her brother's words.
"Well, Ron, I would expect we'll find out soon enough what, exactly, they were hinting at," Hermione hypothesised.
The conversation then veered off as they all explained how the remainder of their holidays went following the world cup.
As Hermione had predicted, the answer to Ron's query came during Professor Dumbledore's start of term speech.
"-And finally, I'd like to inform you that Quidditch this year has been cancelled-" Dumbledore explained, an uproar from the majority of the student body drowning out and the elderly headmaster held up his hands to silence them so as to offer an explanation.
"The reason for the cancellation of Quidditch being that Hogwarts will- this year- play host to an historic event known as the Tri-Wizard Tournament," Dumbledore explained, eliciting another reaction from the students, as most of them broke out into excited whispers.
As Dumbledore went on to fill the Hogwarts students in on the details of the tournament, Harry looked around and could swear he could see the stars in the eyes of his peers, although it might be the reflection of the Great Hall's ceiling. The bombshell that only students that were of age could enter quickly dismissed any further daydreaming from the younger students. Many were understandably peeved about missing out on what was undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at eternal glory.
Harry, for his part, was glad he was too young to enter. Not that he would, if he were of age. His fame as it was drew far more attention than he was comfortable with, especially considering his significant efforts to keep his powers under wraps. Three years had passed at Hogwarts without Harry's best-kept secret breaking out, and Harry full well intended to keep that streak going.
As Professor Dumbledore announced that the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be arriving in the evening on October 30th.
The days went by in a flash as the anticipation for the school's esteemed guests grew. When finally the day came, the whole population of Hogwarts stood outside the castle, awaiting the arrival of the two foreign schools. Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout were ensuring their students were as presentable as possible, their methods varying. The various other staff members were focused on their own appearances. Many were incessantly smoothing their best robes out as they waited, attempting to minimize the shivers brought about by the cold Scottish late October night.
Beauxbatons arrived by means of a giant flying carriage drawn by proportionately giant horses, who were immediately put under Hagrid's care. As the appropriately tall headmistress of Beauxbatons led her students out, one of them in particular catching the eyes of many Hogwarts students, predominantly male.
Harry found himself drawn to this beautiful French witch. With her silver-blond hair, and startling blue eyes, she almost seemed to have stepped right out of one of those fashion magazines he'd seen every now and then.
He was brought out of his reverie when the French cohort entered the castle, leaving the Hogwarts group on their own outside, minus Dumbledore, who'd ducked out to politely show the Beauxbatons representatives to the Great Hall. He seemed to have had impeccable timing with his reappearance, as the boat Durmstrang used made its entrance.
If the attention the witch from Beauxbatons received was one thing, the reception given to a certain Durmstrang student was a galaxy beyond. As the students realized that the famous Viktor Krum would be in their midst this year, a wall of excited whispers from all corners slammed into Harry, who suddenly seemed overwhelmed, as noises overlapped and crescendoed, he instinctively clapped his hands over his ears in a vain effort to try and block out the noise.
He knew this was a part of his abilities. Over the past few years, he and Sirius determined that Harry's senses were at a level infinitely more superior to those of a human being, magical or not. It had started with smell and sight, so this latest development hadn't surprised him as it could have.
As Sirius had coached him, he slowed his breathing and it then allowed him to regain control over the auditory overload he'd experienced.
Harry trooped back into the castle and into the Great Hall along with his peers, the staff and the newly-arrived Durmstrang delegation.
Professor Dumbledore took the opportunity to extend a warm welcome to the two schools before the evening meal appeared, this time a cultural variety as dishes more customary to the two schools were present, in addition to a few of the staple meals of Hogwarts.
A ways into the meal, the Beauxbatons witch Harry had seen earlier came up to their table.
"Excuse me, but are you done wiz ze bouillabaisse?" she asked, her French accent coming through in her words.
"Yeah, it was lovely," Ron replied in a dreamy voice, motioning for her to take it.
Harry couldn't help himself from snickering at his friend's fixation, unfortunately failing to mask it, as the witch suddenly whipped her gaze to him, no doubt ready to make some biting remark at his expense.
He was slightly surprised when her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, which comically mirrored the fate of the bouillabaisse, which promptly fell to the floor of the Great Hall, the tureen shattering and its contents spilling out onto the stone floor as well as the hem of her robes.
"Non, c'est pas possible!" she exclaimed in shock.
It was at that moment that she was brought out of her shock to notice the Great Hall had gone deathly silent, staring at the cause of the commotion, everyone intently staring to see what was to become of the situation. Once she'd clued in, she made a hasty exit from the Great Hall.
Harry frowned and turned to his friends.
"Should I-?" he began, getting something between a nod and a shrug from Hermione and a vigorous head nod from Ron, who'd made to stand up with him, only to be yanked back into his spot by Hermione.
Harry jogged out of the Great Hall just in time to catch a glimpse of silvery-blonde hair whipping out of the castle doors, meaning she'd gone outside.
Harry followed and caught sight of her speed-walking towards the Beauxbatons carriage. He broke out into a controlled jog, always schooling his abilities to not give himself away.
"Wait!" he shouted, once he'd gotten within range of her, causing her to whip around to look at him.
Once again, he caught the look of startled recognition in her eyes.
"Is everything alright?" Harry asked as he came to a stop about two feet away from the mysterious witch.
"Y-yes, I guess," she stammered. "Please, excuse my reaction, I was not expecting to see un kryptonien ever, much less 'ere at 'Ogwarts."
"Sorry, un what?" Harry queried, confusion written boldly all over his face.
"A Kryptonian, from ze planet Krypton," Fleur offered.
"That… Doesn't really shed any light on anything for me," Harry answered sheepishly.
"Mon dieu, you know nothing of your 'eritage?" Fleur exclaimed.
Harry simply shook his head, very much sorry for his lack of knowledge.
"All I know is my parents were James and Lily Potter, who were killed by Lord Voldemort when I was a baby," Harry told her.
"'Arry, James and Lily aren't your biological parents, zey adopted you when you came to zis planet."
"Why do you think I'm from another planet?"
"I don't think, I know you are from Krypton, I can tell from your aura! Let me ask you zis: 'ave you ever been able to lift things you shouldn't be able to? Run faster zan any human- wizard or muggle- 'as ever been able to? Perform any form of physical feat that is seemingly impossible by ze standards of humans?" Fleur questioned.
Harry's eyes widened this time, as he knew he was found out.
"Yeah, that… actually accurately describes what I've had to deal with. How were you able to tell from my aura?" Harry asked in return.
"I am a quarter Veela, and Veela are descendants from an ancient race which lived on a planet in ze same solar system as Krypton. Zey moved 'ere to Earth when ze Kryptonians informed zem zeir planet was no longer safe for zem to live in. Eet is because of ze Kryptonians zat ze Veela even exist today, so ze tale was passed down from generation to generation in ze hopes zat should a Kryptonian come to Earth and need assistance, ze Veela would know just 'ow much ze Kryptonians 'ave done for zem."
Harry simply nodded, intrigued as he learned this new piece of information.
"Tell me, 'Arry, 'ave you been able to fly yet?" she asked.
He cocked his head to the side.
"Fly? I can't fly," he rebuffed.
"Not yet, zen," she chuckled. "What abilities do you 'ave at zis moment, eef you do not mind me asking?"
"Superhuman strength and speed, invulnerability to everything save magic, and enhanced sight, smell and hearing," Harry rattled off.
"No X-ray or laser vision yet, either?" the witch asked, a little surprised.
"What? I get those too?" Harry blurted out.
She simply nodded.
"Well, the super hearing sort of developed earlier today…" Harry amended.
"Hmm, zen considering ze knowledge of your powers and potential powers, I may be well-suited to teaching you about zem, as zis information is passed down along with our 'istory," she explained, before extending a hand. "Forgive my manners, my name is Fleur Delacour," she introduced herself, her name rolling off her tongue beautifully.
"Harry Potter," Harry said as he shook her hand.
"Believe me, 'Arry, I will be referring to you by something else by ze end of zis year," Fleur assured him, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she declared this.
"Oh, yeah? What's that?"
"Your true Kryptonian name."
