It really was a strange time for Harry to transfer in.

Due to the sports festival taking the threshold of everyone's mind, everyone's classes were shifted around for the event. The ordinary classes, such as Maths, English, Science, and History, were done in small periods in the beginning of the day, while the afternoon classes that consisted of hero studies were lengthened into large blocks so the students would have a chance to prepare for the upcoming festival. Of course, with everyone out training and prepping for the event, Harry was held inside the classroom for remedial classes.

The end of the term was still a far cry away, but the teachers needed him to catch up as soon as possible for the exams. Harry spent the block period on subjects that they knew he knew absolutely nothing about. Subjects like Traditional Japanese and Japanese History were just on the tip of the iceberg, while the rest of the period was spent reading up on some Japanese literature that would help him catch up with the rest of his classmates during class. He also had the chance to ask any of the teachers that were at hand to explain some particularly difficult characters that he couldn't read, or for assistance with his writing.

He didn't really mind this set up. The wizard was used to being holed in inside all day, and this wasn't any different, (but he did fall asleep while reading a passage on the early history of Japan. At least it wasn't as bad as the International Warlock Convention of 1289). He wasn't particularly eager to jump into hero studies either, so it felt like it eased him into life at U.A. in a way. While everyone was out talking about training, All Might-sensei, or how they were going to prepare, Harry just pushed hero studies back further and further. It was right in his face, but it still felt like a dream to him, putting the reality of this glorified hero school on a low flame.

The study period was done in the library, but he wasn't completely alone either. He was taking the crash courses with the only other two foreigners in his grade.

Pony Tsunotori was a shy American girl from Class 1-B that had a flat face, large eyes, and pony-like features. She had just started learning Japanese, so whenever she spoke she did so quietly and nervously, but she had taken a liking to Harry and always chatted with him endlessly, glad to speak English with another person. She eagerly asked Harry questions about the Japanese language, and always waved at him whenever they passed each other in the hallway.

Rin Hiryuu was from Class 1-B as well, but hailed from China. He wasn't fluent in English like the other two, so he was the more quiet one of the three, but he was always dependable. Rin caught on in Japanese History and Maths faster than Harry and Pony did, so a majority of the time spent on those subjects was him tutoring the other two. In return they would help him with his English assignments, and they would help each other out in Japanese.

Harry felt closer to these two than he did with his classmates in 1-A, but with the short periods in the morning, and how he studied in the afternoon, it wasn't hard to see why. The wizard didn't even know most of their names, and since the teachers called on them by their numbers, it was really difficult for him to be a considerate classmate. Kirishima had invited Harry to sit with them at their table in the cafeteria, but seeing how Bakugou sat with them too, Harry thought that it would be better for both parties if he just ate alone in the classroom.

Even then calling Pony and Rin friends was an overstatement. With the rivalry between the two classes, Harry couldn't do more than give them a wave or a nod of acknowledgement. The only time they actually spoke was during this period, and that was going to change after the sports festival too.

Harry was falling under a routine already, and that was enough to scare him.

He had school in the morning, studying in the afternoon, and then he would hole himself in his hotel room under several protection charms so he could practice his wandless and non-verbal spells in peace. He eventually got a hang of it after several weeks of his spells blowing up in his face, and moved on to perfecting those spells. He even read up on healing spells, potion making from his past textbooks, and started to dabble in apparition.

With every passing day, it seemed like he was getting farther and farther away from Hogwarts.

As Hogwarts was kept in the back of his mind and U.A. taking his attention, the sports festival came before he knew it.

Broom, my healing kit, the Explosive Enterprises, my wand...Should I bring Pepperup potion? It is cold outside...

The two weeks of preparation had flown right by, and now today was the day of the U.A. Sports Festival.

Harry stood in front of his bed on the Saturday morning, preparing his "care pack" for the event. He mentally checked off the list in his mind, and after making sure that everything was there, he threw it all in his tiny waist pack that he had bought for the occasion. It was a blue bag that was meant for joggers to carry only their phones with them on a run, but Harry had magically enlarged it with an Undetectable Extension Charm that Hermione had to carefully walk him through. Luckily, the original bag was flat enough to be hidden underneath his P.E. uniform. Harry was glad that this took place during a colder season too, then no one would look twice at the thermal arm sleeve he hid his wand under.

After a mention of Quirks around Dean, the muggleborn happily went on an information spiral, but nothing he said could've helped the Golden Trio in avoiding the Ministry's eyes completely. Dean had told them that the U.A. Sports Festival wasn't that popular in England, because they had their own form of Quirk competitions coming up in the spring. Hermione and Ron swayed Harry away from losing purposely, and encouraged him to go get the best internship possible, but try to keep out of the spotlight most the time.

Dean also said that using verbal spells would fly completely over a muggle's head, because, "loads of Pros name their techniques and attacks all the time," but Hermione insisted that he try to get the hang of non-verbal.

After two weeks of this, Harry felt unsure, but ready for the sports festival.

He was already dressed in his gym uniform and wore a grey t shirt underneath. The waist bag was already clipped around his waist, and the uniform top was already zipped up over that. He was just about to walk to his school, and Hedwig was ready to follow him too, glad to tail Harry for a day and be in an open-air space at the same time. As he was debating whether or not he should put a Warming Charm over himself to ward off the cool, autumn winds, the two-way mirror on the nightstand started to vibrate.

Curiously, he picked up the call and blinked when he saw the reflection of his two best friends.

"Ron? Hermione? What are you guys doing? Isn't it eleven or twelve o'clock at night for you—?"

"Harry!" Ron gasped, cutting him off, face as white as a sheet.

"Katie Bell has been cursed!" Hermione finished for him, voice stricken with fear.

Harry's eyes instantly flew open and he nearly dropped the mirror.

"What?"

The Gryffindor had to ease himself on his bed to take in this news. Hedwig hooted from behind him and flew to the empty space by his side.

"We were in Hogsmeade," Hermione started to explain, her tone was hurried and even from here Harry could see her chest rise and fall, "just this morning. We were about to go to the postal office and send you your parcel…"

"But then we saw Katie and her friend, um, Leanne, arguing up ahead. And Katie seemed kinda...out of it? They were tugging on a package—and Professor says that it's because Katie had a hole in her glove, so when the necklace dropped and she touched it—" Ron stopped, a loss for words. They were so stunned that even Hermione had issues conjuring up consistent thoughts.

"Wait a minute," Harry said, "necklace?"

"The cursed item was a necklace," Hermione clarified, clearing her throat. "W-We didn't want to get any closer, but it was an opal necklace," she said. Holding up her hands, she awkwardly gestured and traced the size and shape of the necklace midair. "Blue stones."

"Hagrid came right after, but…" Ron shrugged helplessly.

"It was horrifying!" her voice was a mere whisper. Hermione put her face in her hands, and Ron put an arm around her shoulder. "K-Katie rose up into the air, and her arms were outstretched, a-and her face was completely clear of any emotion...but then her eyes opened...and she screamed...and screamed…" Hermione's voice lost their shakiness and their fear, but it faded away with her last words. Her speech drifted off like waves in the ocean that were bobbing, ebbing, flowing.

"What happened?" The heart in Harry's chest started to beat harder, and the sweat of his palms made his hands slick.

"We dunno," Ron said, taking over for Hermione. "Leanne only told us that Katie came out of the Three Broomsticks' bathroom with it, and she wanted to deliver it to someone in Hogwarts or something. And then they started arguing, and we thought it was strange so..." He trailed off. Harry could connect the dots after that.

"Leanne thinks that Katie was Imperiused," Hermione said, finally speaking up again.

"I-Imperiused?" Harry gaped. If the thought of Katie being cursed made him tense with worry and stress, the idea that someone used Imperius—an Unforgivable—made the boy wizard nearly want to empty his stomach at the thought. He had been Imperiused before, and while he could break out of it, the lack of free will made him grip at his own skin. "But who would—Why would anyone Imperius Katie?"

Katie Bell, while not extremely close to Harry, was a constant in his life at Hogwarts. She was his senior in Quidditch, but a team member above all that. They along with the rest of Team Gryffindor were a force. She stuck by his side during Quidditch practice, matches, and continued on to support him when he, Ron, and Hermione created Dumbledore's Army. He didn't know of anyone who would curse her intentionally, and he at least hoped that not even the Slytherins were below cursing Katie when the Quidditch season didn't even officially start. She had to be what his U.A. professors called an innocent. A civilian that was just minding their own business, and had no part in the bigger picture.

"We don't know," Ron said again, but even from his tone Harry could tell that even the Weasley was getting frustrated. "No one knows what happened, not even the professors."

"Apparently we're lucky," Hermione's expression twisted. "Professor McGonagall said that if Katie had fully touched it with her bare hands...she would've died. She's—She's in St. Mungo's now."

"St. Mungo's?" Harry asked, his tone stunned. The story sunk into his skin like an ice bath, leaving him with his hair raised on the back of his neck and bumps on his arms. Hermione said that Katie managed to avoid near death because of her glove, but if Katie was sent to the hospital, how could Harry be expected to take it sitting down? Going to St. Mungo's meant that there was always a chance that they would never come back out. If this was something that even Madam Pomfrey couldn't fix with a flick of her wand or a sour potion down the throat, then they were dealing with something else entirely. "It was that horrible?"

They could be dealing with a murderer.

The two could only nod wordlessly, and Harry threaded his hands through his hair in reply.

"With the whole You-Know-Who thing, and this...people have been talking about leaving Hogwarts," Ron eventually said, his tone grim. Harry gasped.

"Leaving Hogwarts?" It seemed impossible to him. Eleven-year-old Harry seemed to appear in his memories and recited the words that Hagrid had give him. Hogwarts was the safest place for anyone to be, more secure than Gringotts, and as well protected as the magic in it.

Hermione nodded. "They don't think it's safe here anymore, like Dumbledore can't protect them...But after a possible attack on a student? I—" Hermione shook her head.

"W-What should I do?" Harry asked. "Should I… Should I return?" U.A. had taken a backseat in his mind. He would leave the hero academy for Hogwarts any day.

The witch waved her hand. "That's such a hasty decision, Harry," she said. "We need for everything to go back in order and control before we can fully decide. If anything, it might just be safer for you there. Your scar hasn't bothered you in a while...Voldemort can't easily reach you..." Hermione continued to mutter on.

"But we won't complain if you do come back," Ron said, cutting her off.

Harry pressed his lips together and averted his eyes.

So much was happening back at Hogwarts, everything was happening in Hogwarts, he thought.

"So it's best if you stay at your hero school, Harry," Hermione finally finished.

After a pregnant pause, Harry nodded. She had a point. Hermione always had a point. Yet the thought of him saying here and abandoning everyone else for his own safety left a bad taste in his mouth; but he was already here, and with his long disappearance, he couldn't just march back into Hogwarts' gates without stirring up more trouble.

"Actually, what time is it over there? Doesn't your sports festival start today?" Ron finally asked, tilting his head in confusion. Harry's eyes widened.

"The sports festival!" Harry shouted, remembering. He threw his legs off the bed and Hedwig squawked in surprise. "I almost completely forgot! I have to get going!"

The two nodded in understanding.

Just as Harry as throwing his shoes on and his bag over his shoulder Hermione called out to him.

"We'll send you your parcel soon! The one with the school books and even the Daily Prophet on Katie!"

"Got it!" Harry cursed under his breath. "I'm late!"

"Go, Harry!" Ron cheered. "Win for us!"

Harry pushed himself past the media, and because of his uniform, they all tried to hold him back. Harry was suffocated by microphones and reporters trying to find out who he was and why he was late, but Present Mic was situated in front of the gates and told him to just forget about the prep room and head to the arena.

Harry nodded, out of breath, and sprinted across the school again to head in the back of the arena. Even as his chest burned with every breath, his throat was sore from running in the cold wind, and his sides ached, he considered himself lucky. Just as Class 1-A was about to make their dynamic entry into the arena, Harry managed to catch up to them. His heavy footsteps finally slowed when he entered the tunnel in the back of the arena.

"It's U.A.'s Sports Festival!" Present Mic's voice echoed throughout the large arena, shaking the speakers.

With Hedwig still perched on his shoulder, he caught his breath behind the crowd of his classmates.

"The one time each year when our fledgling heroes compete in a ruthless grand battle!" the Pro hyped.

The sunlight hit them the second they left the shadowed tunnel. Confetti and screams instantly streamed the air around them.

"First up...You know who I'm talkin' about! The miraculous rising stars that brushed off a villain attack with their steely willpower!"

A slow breath left Harry's lips, as his wide eyes raised to meet every corner of the stadium audience filled, His nerves thrummed throughout his body, beating like a drum. It was like the first Quidditch match all over again. Harry raised his elbow was Hedwig hopped closer to his hand.

"The first years…of the Hero Course!"

The screams that resonated around the stadium grew ten times in volume.

"It's Class 1-AAA!"

"You'll be watching me, won't you?" Harry gently asked Hedwig. His teammates were too busy dealing with their own nerves and the size and power of the audience to notice their strange new transfer student talking to an owl. She hooted and tugged on his hair in reply. He laughed. "Alright then, wish me good luck." Harry raised his hand and set Hedwig off into the sky. She eclipsed the sun as a white wing brushed past the sky, and Harry followed her trail of moment as she landed on one of the bars in the front seat row. Even after he turned his head away, he knew those amber eyes would watch.

"Potter!" Kirishima called. He ran to the wizard with Kaminari and Sero in tow. "There you are! You weren't in the prep room so we were worried…!"

Harry smiled politely. "You thought that I was going to ditch the festival?" He wouldn't blame them if they thought so. He almost skipped the entire thing if it weren't for Ron reminding him.

Kirishima's smile faltered, but returned with the full 10,000 watts.

"Nope!" The three boys carefully watched Harry's expression. The red riot grinned, showing off his white, sharpened teeth. "Because you did the exact same thing at U.S.J.! You seemed like the type of hero that's always late…" The Boy-Who-Lived's face morphed into one of pleasant surprise. "But always comes right when you're needed most!"

It was silent for a while, and the four boys just stared at each other, but then a gentle smile broke out on Harry's face. Soft laughter bubbled out of his chest, and the three boys widened their eyes in amazement. They don't think they've ever heard the transfer student laugh before, especially not at something Kirishima said.

"Always late…" Harry repeated after the chuckles left him.

Katie Bell lie in comatose on her bed in St. Mungo's.

"But always comes when needed…?"

A large green snake slithers down Malfoy Manor's hardwood floors to her master.

Harry looked down at his shoes with a sad smile.

"I guess...I am."

Looking back at the hallway, a tense Draco Malfoy walks alone.

"This!" Midnight ceremoniously declared, holding a hand out.

The electronic screen in front of everyone buzzed and blinked before the words, "Obstacle Course Race," lit up in bold, black font.

"It's a race between every member of all eleven classes. The course is a four kilometer race around the stadium itself!" the R-Rated Hero giddily announced. "Our school preaches freedom of all things!" She giggled. "So as long as you don't go off course, anything is fair game!"

Harry watched, mesmerized, as the course began to open in front of him. Two large, double doors unfolded themselves before his eyes with loud clanking sounds. The light above the gate still shone with red.

"Racers to your positions!"

Harry watched warily as everyone began to glare at what stood beyond the gate. Everyone leaned forward in anticipation. While the other students started to push themselves closer to the front, the wizard easily slipped himself towards the far back of the darkened hallway that they had corralled all of them into. He stopped several meters behind the last person and remained in the dark. He was getting antsy, but acting quickly would get him nowhere.

"Start!"

As soon as those words left Midnight's mouth, there was a big rush that left the hallway, and suddenly, it was replaced with a chill. Before Harry's eyes he saw a thin layer of ice completely cover the floor, just meters away from his feet, and he looked above. Someone had frozen the ground up in front, and crept it up on the walls. The large sea of students in front were completely frozen to the ground, unable to move, but like ants, he saw some of his classmates leap over the frost and continued on their way.

Harry waited until the mass managed to chip their way out and filtered their way up above. When there were less than a handful of people remaining, the Gryffindor decided that he couldn't wait any longer and scanned the incredibly narrow starting gate hallway once more.

No cameras.

He unzipped his P.E. shirt in one fluid motion and reached his hand in his waist pack and lifted his Firebolt right out of the five inch bag. He brandished the broom like one with a sword, and wary of losing anymore time, the wizard quickly tucked the broom under his armpit and pulled out his wand. There wasn't anyone around to see him anymore, and those who were close enough to see him were busy with what looked like giant robots up ahead.

If it was a race, he would have to rely on his broom.

Harry waved his wand and speedily cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself and made sure that his broom would be covered as well. Ignoring the feeling of a cracked egg on his head, he rushed to put his wand back in the holster, and zipped up his shirt again.

He hiked a leg over his broom and with one strong kick off, he zipped straight out of the starting point.

The wind through his hair and the sensation of flying were comforting feelings, even as he maneuvered past flying shards of ice, random blasts from the students around him, and the giant robots that stood in everybody's way. Harry was used to flying wildly though, and easily moved past all of these obstacles with ease. He flew up and dove down, shifted right and veered left, dodging the mechanical arms that could swat him like a fly, and the ice pieces that were moving fast enough to kill.

In less than a minute, he had cleared the first obstacle.

Harry flew until his classmate was just up ahead. The two-toned hair was easy to spot and he was in the lead, running at a brisk pace. He didn't know his name, but he recognized him from his bi-colored hair. Harry didn't know what his Quirk was either, but considering he was blazing forward at first place, and the air around his left side felt like Petunia's cooler, Harry had a hunch. Before he could pass him, the sound of fireworks going off sounded and Harry's head snapped behind him.

Bakugou was speeding up, blasting forward on the explosions that he released from his hands and the rest of the crowd was right behind him. Harry quickly pulled on the smooth wood of the broom and lifted himself higher in the air. Even though they wouldn't be able to see him, they'd still be able to run right into him.

Harry went at a slower pace than he was used to. He could easily be neck and neck with the front runners, but he thought it was better if he had them having out the surprises that laid ahead was better than possibly being knocked off his broom and dropping the Disillusionment charm as he crashed to the ground. Especially by something that he could easily avoid.

The next obstacle was a deep cavern that they had strung ropes across. With no surprises jumping up from its depths, Harry easily flew over it.

After that it was was field of landmines. Harry had to dodge the students that flew through the air, and the pink clouds that rose out of the activated bombs, but other than that it was smooth sailing.

It was just then a large explosion suddenly shook the ground below. Harry's eyes widened at the enormous, pink smoke cloud behind him, and he gaped at the sheer size of it. He sat on his broom, frozen in the air, wondering if it was another obstacle, or if it was a poor student who was unlucky enough to land on a big one.

A whistle in the air sounded in his ears and from years of Quidditch training, Harry's eyes instantly honed in the speeding figure that cut through the air like a bullet. Harry's jaw dropped like an anvil. It was the green-haired classmate who flew through the air. He held on to a metal plate that he had taken from one of the robots back there, and from the smoke and power, he must've detonated a bunch of mines at once to purposely knock himself ahead. In two whole seconds, Deku soared high enough to be in the same sky as the wizard.

"He takes the lead!" Present Mic roared. The audience around them screamed as they were whipped into a frenzy and the volume increased tenfold.

Harry snapped out of it and pushed his broom back into motion. The Firebolt broke fifty miles per hour in five seconds, and he left Deku, Katsuki, and Todoroki in his dust.

I can't take first place, he thought, thinking of Hermione and Ron. His hands tightened around his broom. I can't take something that will bring a load of attention to me.

Looking behind him, he spotted the three boys gaining speed.

Seventh place, he pleaded mentally. Harry whipped his head around and looked back at the open-ended hallway. That's what I have to aim for! Seventh place!

Not the top three, but in the top ten. Not noticeable, but not far behind.

Harry speeded into the tunnel and took the broom out from under him before his feet could touch the ground. He quickly put it back into his bag and then counted the seconds off in his head.

In under three seconds, Deku's feet roughly slammed into the ground with every step and he broke through the entrance. Not even one step behind him was Katsuki and Todoroki, blazing through with explosions to gain momentum and covering the walls with ice.

Now!

Harry dropped the spell hiding him and he took his hand off the wall. The two boys rushed past him, unseeing everything except for what was in front of them, and Harry took off running. Then came a girl and a guy from Class 1-B, then his class president about to take sixth. After counting down, Harry sprinted out.

The sunlight peaked and his pupils shrank from the harsh light the second he rushed past the tunnel.

For a while that was all that he could see, but the white light faded away and he was finally greeted with the sights around him. Confetti and streamers fell from the sky like freshly fallen snow and the enthusiastic shouts from the crowd only grew louder by the second. The three boys around him were breathing heavily, their chests rising and falling with every desperate breath they got to regain their energy.

Harry's eyes drifted to Deku, Katsuki, then to the two-toned boy, and saw that he was looking right back at him.

Green eyes widened, startled at the heterochromic gaze that was sent his way.

Did he see me? Harry asked, worriedly. Sweat broke out and he wondered if he should've waited a little while longer before dropping the spell, maybe far after the two had left the tunnel, but his adrenaline was pushing him too fast.

However, no matter what, the Half-Cold, Half-Hot user was looking for something that he wouldn't be able to find.

Nervous, Harry broke the eye contact first and looked away. He distracted himself by drifting his eyes around the empty space in the middle of the stadium, before bringing his eyes up to the sun, where the scoreboard was.

His heart beat once.

Harry's name was there, the only one in Roman letters, listed right beside seventh place.

The sounds in his ear were suddenly muffled, and now the loudest sound he could hear was the beat of his own heart and eardrum.

The Gryffindor went up the list, and Bakugou Katsuki and Todoroki Shouto were above, taking third and second respectively.

His blood suddenly felt cold, and his heart dropped to his stomach.

The name Midoriya Izuku took first place.

This couldn't be possible, Harry thought, his mind running a mile a minute. His stomach suddenly lurched with the urge of emptying his already empty stomach. Mr. Midoriya's bloodied body flashed through his mind. The coincidence that this would've been, how he's been sitting in the same classroom with Mr. Midoriya's son for two whole weeks but wasn't able to do anything about it. But it was there, the same characters of "green," "valley," "coming out," and "long ago," and he knew that this was too specific to be a coincidence.

It all made sense now.

The green eyes.

The dark hair.

The muttering and the similar face.

A hand slapped around Harry's mouth as he tried to quell his heavy breaths.

He dropped his hand and whipped his head around. He was too caught up in his own thoughts that he had missed the explanation for the second phase, but at this moment in time, Harry didn't care.

I'm such an idiot! Harry thought.

He didn't care about the whispers of the cavalry battle, the formation of teams happening around, and the talk of a 10,000,000 point prize. He just pushed past everyone with quick apologies and "Excuse me!"s as he tried to locate the one person he'd been chasing these past months.

I have to find Midoriya Izuku!

Harry roughly shoved aside some students that tried to get him to join their group, for the seventh place points that were placed on his shoulder, but he wasn't having any of it. Harry was on a one track mind.

The crowd became lighter as more and more groups were being made by the second, and that finally split the crowd. Izuku was standing by himself, shaking like a scared puppy and glancing nervously at the people surrounding him. He was being avoided like the plague.

There! Harry thought, eyes instantly locking in on the messy green hair and small stature.

With a lurch forward after he broke apart from the masses, and the green-haired boy was almost an arm's length away.

"Mido—!" Harry tried to say.

A figure suddenly stepped in front of him, breaking his contact with Midoriya. Harry dug his soles into the ground to force his body to brake just before he rammed right into the male.

He was tall, with long and messy purple hair that seemed to stand straight up out of his skull. His hand was in his pocket and dark eyes looked down at the wizard, streaked with deep bags underneath.

"Hello," the male said simply, his tone flat. Harry only grew more agitated by the second, and his heart beat uncontrollably. The Gryffindor really didn't want to have to deal with another invitation to form a team right now, and all of these people trying to pull him aside were becoming and obstacle on their own. The sports festival was the last thing on his mind, and if he could, he would quit it altogether if that meant he could talk with Midoriya Izuku. Harry huffed irritably, exhaling out of his nose.

"Excuse me—!"

The world went black after that.