Harry Potter and The Academy of Heroes - Chapter 5

Harry's life after the impromptu exam became much easier. While technically, he could do magic before just as well as he could now, he got access to much more material. Snape no longer locked his access to spellbooks other than school textbooks. He even gifted Harry a book called "Hundred and One Household Spells".

He then promptly told Harry that he would now be responsible for the upkeep of their living space in the teacher's dorms until the day of the exam. What a motivation to master those spells quickly.

There was also that Aizawa started to train him more regularly. Apparently, the guy expelled what remained of his current class, freeing much of his schedule. Snape gladly called in several big favors to drop Potter on the Eraser hero. Thus, Harry only saw Snape when they bumped into each other in the morning or evening. It suited him just fine.

About two weeks after the festival, Harry saw the sight that would probably traumatize him for a long time. Nedzu was running around the entire school, cackling like a madman while reading a book titled "Hero Analysis for The Future: Volume 12". For an unknown reason, it chilled the young wizard to the bones more than when he faced a rampaging werewolf.

Aizawa, when he heard about it, promptly ended their class and hid in his room.

Two days later, Harry was walking through the corridors of U.A. looking for Mirio and his friends. The upperclassman promised to show him the supposed 'best place in Mustafu'. He just turned the corner when he crashed into someone. Well, a more accurate description would be that a green-haired missile crashed into him.

"Sorry." The guy muttered while leaping onto his feet. "I've got a meeting with Nedzu-sensei. Gotta go!" He was about to resume his run when Harry stopped him.

"Wait. Midoriya, right?" The wizard recognized said missile. The cat ears made him rather memorable. Not to mention the whole business with phoenix tears healing.

"Oh! Potter-chan. Nice to see you."

"Yeah, same. What're you doing here?"

"Um… Nedzu-sensei wants to take over my training from All Might. Apparently, he wants All Might to focus more on preparing for the new school year. And he was interested in my notebooks." Midoriya's smile was so wide Harry started to wonder how exactly it was even possible. Then, a certain fact dawned on him.

"One of your notebooks wouldn't by chance be called Hero Analysis for the future?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh…" Harry honestly had no idea what to do with that fact. "Anyway, Nedzu is probably waiting in his office. Take the next left and press the elevator button with Chibi-Nedzu. It should take you right next to his office."

"Thanks." Midoriya was already running when he shouted that.

Harry should've probably been more worried, but he had no idea what he just exposed the world to.

The day of the entrance exam came faster than Harry expected. As a recommended student, his exam was a bit different. Instead of competing with the masses, he was among a very exclusive group of students that attracted the attention of important Pro Heroes. Or someone in the government. Or both. Or had money to buy that attention the treacherous part of Harry's mind supplied as he watched some of his potential classmates. There were several who Reminded him of Malfoy too much. They were snobby and treated everyone like they were beneath them.

"Man! This is so amazing! I'm so pumped!" A cheerful boy next to Harry shouted. "Are you pumped!?" He turned to the wizard.

"I guess. Potter Harry." He extended his hand to the boy. He was tall, with hair cut almost to the scalp.

"Yoarashi Inasa! Man, this is gonna be awesome!" Yoarashi turned to another boy, this time one with white and red hair. "Are you excited too?"

"Leave me alone." The guy grumbled while staring down at both Harry and Inasa. "I'm not here to make friends. Now move. You're in my way."

Harry pointedly didn't move and braced himself when the new Malfoy pushed past him.

"What a wanker." He commented before turning to his new… acquaintance? probably the best word for now. "Don't mind him. He's just some rich kid with daddy issues most likely." Harry then noted that Inasa was frozen in place, his entire enthusiasm gone. "Um… you ok?"

He got no response.

"Oh… Kay…" Harry decided to leave the guy alone. His turn wouldn't be for quite some time most likely.

He decided to amuse himself in an unoccupied corner of the waiting room by practicing simple spells. He couldn't bring his wand to the exam and he was forbidden from using any potions or spells on himself beforehand, but he probably wouldn't need any of it either way.

He still struggled with wordless casting. It was like learning magic all over again. Snape just told him to focus. At first, he couldn't even make his wand light up. Now he was able to do some basic spells without the need for words. The practice helped with slowly moving to more advanced things like summoning. For now, he was satisfied with using color-changing spell without incantation.

Next to him, a girl with a spiky ponytail was repeating some chemistry from a blue book. Once in a while, her open palm shined with various colors. Harry paused and watched in interest. After maybe a tenth repeat a small bottle of something appeared in her hand.

"I've never seen a wandless conjuration before." He commented while approaching. His curiosity won over his shyness.

"Oh no, that's my quirk. I'm not a Wix."

"A what?"

"Wix. Witch or Wizard. Mage." She enumerated. "When magic became public people were confusing the feminine and masculine words for magic-users. The term Wix was coined to be inclusive of all genders."

"Wix…" Harry allowed the word to roll off his tongue easier. "I like it. Name's Potter Harry."

"I'm Yaoyorozu Momo," the girl introduced herself while standing up. "Are you a foreigner? I have hard trouble imagining anyone from Japan unfamiliar with that term."

"Yeah. I'm British." Harry relaxed slightly. The girl reminded him so much of Hermione it almost hurt.

"Really? Your Japanese is perfect. I can't even hear your accent."

"Probably because I'm sort of cheating." He found himself laughing lightly before rolling up his sleeve to reveal part of his tattoo. "It's magical and gives me an instinctual understanding of Japanese. Basically, for me, you're speaking English." He smiled weakly. As he spoke, the tattoo lightly shined.

"It is indeed an impressive feat of magic. I am curious how did you acquire the required permission to undergo magical body modification? My mother had to go through an administrative hell when she tried to… nevermind, that's irrelevant to the question." Yaoyorozu blushed lightly, which Harry completely missed.

"I didn't need permission. I'm a Wix, therefore I could just go and have it done without all the fuss." Harry liked the new word in his dictionary. Being a wizard was great, but it was connected with Hogwarts in his head. Being a Wix was much nicer. It sounded modern. And probably would give purebloods back in Britain a small fit.

"If you don't mind me asking, what made you apply for the heroic course then? Wouldn't your magic be more suited for Auror work? The rules forbid the use of active magic and unregistered modification during the exam. You will quite likely be at a disadvantage against some of the powerful quirks around here." She realized what she said. Momo bowed her head. "Forgive me if I sounded rude. I did not mean to insult you. My curiosity got better of me."

"Nah. Don't worry." Harry once again was reminded that he was in Japan, where everyone was a Slytherin to some extent. "I had a friend back in England who was the same. She wanted to know everything. But regarding your question, I kinda… also have a quirk. And Aurors don't really have permission to use their quirks. If they have some, that is. As a magical superhero, I will have all the authority of an Auror anyway."

A bell followed by the request for people with specific numbers to move into dressing rooms and change into sports clothes interrupted their discussion. Harry checked his information sheet and saw it was his turn. He simply waved his wand over himself and switched his suit for a tracksuit.

"It was nice talking with you. I hope you'll be in my class." He smiled at Momo, who gave a tentative smile in response while also getting up. She would be competing against him.

"How do you know you'll get in?"

"Let's just say my quirk is a good one." He winked before entering the men's changing room. There, he could start panicking. He just possibly made a friend. All on his own. And, as opposed to Hogwarts, he was the one to reach out. No life-or-death situation that made them meet. Mirio and Nejire were the ones that found him and 'adopted' him; Midoriya almost died; and if that tall guy got in, he was the one that initiated the conversation.

He didn't stop to look at the competition, instead of coming straight to the doors on the other side.

Outside, there was a giant track with many different biomes and obstacles. Slowly, others joined him. Besides Yaoyorozu, Harry didn't recognize any of them. Once they were six of them, Present Mic started explaining the rules. They had to go through the obstacle course while using their quirks. Simple enough. He left to let them take place.

"Ready!? GO! Yeeeaaah!" The Voice Hero shouted through the microphone as the light on the gate above turned green. Harry leaped forward while green flame already burned through his tracksuit. The moment he passed through the gate, he vanished.

Present Mic scratched his head. Shouta warned him about that one, but he wasn't sure why. Eraserhead diligently evaded any and all further questions about the boy. Same with Snape.

"Um… Excuse me?" Someone pulled Mic's sleeve.

"Waaah!" Yamada lept in the air while accidentally releasing a small burst of his quirk. The track was three Kilometers long. There was no… It was Potter.

"I finished."

"Say whaaaat!?" Mic checked his tablet for a rewind. Indeed, the cameras clearly showed that the moment his burning body passed through the first gate he vanished, only to reappear in the burst of green flames right in front of the second gate. He seemed to have retained the momentum because he passed it before even touching the ground. "Well, lads! It seems we have a new school record! Yeah!" He had to double-check, but there was little delay between him passing the start and finish lines. Despite its status, U.A. never had a hero with a warp quirk before.

Present Mic was so surprised that he almost missed the next contestant. Yaoyorozu arrived on a motorbike shortly after. Her time was one of the best simply because her newly-created bike was quite powerful.

"That was something…" She smiled. "Warp quirks are really rare."

"Oh… I guess warping is part of it. But it's a bit more complicated than that." Harry laughed at her fish-like expression. "I honestly don't understand it like… at all. A… I guess a friend of mine is a quirk enthusiast though. He has a million theories about what I can and can't do. I should probably go check on him. He's taking the standard exam."

"I wish him good luck then. Maybe he can join our class."

"See you in class then." He carried on with the joke. Honestly, she had quite a high chance of getting in.

Midoriya watched as the gates of the fake city opened. He allowed the power of One for All to course through his body. Black and Orange lightning jumped along his skin while his veins became full of energy.

"What are you waiting for? Real battles don't do a countdown!" Present Mic shouted from his place on top of the tower. The group rushed forward.

Midoriya leaped up and bounced from the wall of one of the buildings, crashing into the first robot. The fire from the explosion started to swirl around him. Without waiting, he dashed forward. Three more robots fell in quick succession. The fiery tornado around him was now much more substantial.

Then, he noticed a group of two-pointers charging at a guy with a sparkling belt who collapsed a moment earlier. Without thinking much, he pushed the fire that was around him right at the bots. The wave of flames smacked at the bots and knocked them all out, melting their armor slightly.

The boy who Midoriya saved gave him a smile and thumbs-up while getting up. The part-cat nodded in response and leaped forward, noting another group nearby.

Inside a dark room, teachers watched the events unfold.

"Midoriya's skill with his quirk is incredible for someone who started to practice only three months ago." One of them commented.

"Indeed. His control over the fire is still sloppy, relying on quantity over quality, but his overall performance makes me think he can beat All Might's entrance score.

"I wouldn't go that far."

"Also, while Midoriya is a strong candidate, we don't lack others who also show promise.

The screen in front of them changed to show Bakugou blowing up villain after villain.

"Now that's hero material."

"I'm not convinced. He's got raw power, but his attitude leaves much space for improvement if he wants to be a good hero."

"If he gets in, he needs mandatory anger management classes. It's non-negotiable." A slightly accented voice cut any discussion.

"Is it time?"

"I would say so. There is not too much time left."

"Can I do it?" The impatient teacher asked, giddy with excitement.

"But I wanted to do it this time."

Nedzu disregarded them both as he leaped from Aizawa's scarf and pressed a giant red button.

Izuku had to use up the fire he had gathered several times already. Usually to help someone when he was too far to do so directly. Right now he was holding one of the biggest whirlwinds of fire yet.

The earth beneath him shook and then exploded. The students all started to run away as a giant robot emerged.

"That's the Zero-pointer? It's huge!"

"There's no point in fighting it anyway," the boy that berated him for muttering before the exam declared. "It is best to retreat now." Izuku wasn't sure if his points were enough, but he chose to kill the bots on his way out.

As he was moving on with the crowd, there was a loud cry for help somewhere behind them. Most of the other applicants ignored it, but Izuku was moving back before he even realized it. A girl was trapped under the rubble right in the path of the giant. Some part of Midoriya's mind was telling him that the teachers wouldn't have let her get seriously hurt, but the larger part of him was screaming to save her.

Fire raging around him was now aided by black and orange lightning. The tornado grew, feeding on everything around him.

"One for All. Full Cowling. Twelve percent SMASH!" He shot up, causing the burned asphalt under him to be pushed away from his launch point, creating a crater. To an onlooker, he looked like a reverse comet as he flew, breaking the sound barrier trice times over. The tail of flame followed him with equal speed, probably disregarding quite a lot of the laws of physics.

The comet Izuku punched the zero-pointer square in its face. For a moment, the time seemed to freeze as the immovable object met the unstoppable force. Then, maybe a second or two later, the bot's head cracked under the pressure just as the fire came crashing. The heat melted it entirely.

Midoriya found himself high in the air. His arm and legs were bruised and he actually had burns. All Might and Nedzu wondered if his immunity to fire had limits, but Recovery Girl smacked them with her cane until they agreed that testing it before he even got admitted to UA was a bad idea.

"Guess we know now."

Twelve percent was over his current limit of eight percent, but he didn't really have a choice. That extra boost probably stopped the zero-pointer. It was also what left him falling with three out of four limbs out of commission.

"If I time this right, I can still…" He stopped his analysis when he felt something touch him. He was now floating in the air.

"Release!" The girl he saved touched her fingers together causing him to fall down, albeit with almost no force. "Are you okay? I saw you fall and I…" she drifted off as she watched Midoriya get up. The loud signal announced the end of the exam.

Now, Ochako usually tries her best to be a decent gal and not ogle the boys. She would make an exception this one time, simply because the guy in front of her was ripped. She could grate cheese on those ABS. He wasn't the muscular type, but he had the physique straight from those magazines she totally didn't steal from her friend in middle school.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked and Uraraka had to come back to reality.

"Yeah… just tired. You're not exactly light." She added while blushing furiously, which she tried to hide as simple tiredness. Uraraka tried to walk forward, only to stumble and almost fall again. The guy caught her.

"Well, now we're equal."

"Huh?"

"You caught me and I caught you. Before the exams started?"

"You're that awkward guy that tripped over his feet!" She realized.

"Uh…"

"Sorry." She giggled. "It's just… that was pretty memorable." She then noticed another thing. "Are those… are those cat ears!?"

"Yeah… It's… I guess a part of my quirk?" Izuku wasn't really sure how to broach the subject of his ears with someone who didn't already know the full story.

"They are so cute!" She started to scratch behind the left ear, which took away any coherent thought Izuku might've had left. She discovered his greatest weakness.

"This was interesting… It's been a while since anyone managed to destroy the Executor." Snipe began as the teachers all gathered in the conference room to discuss the end results.

"My beautiful monster of destruction and devastation." Power Loader moaned.

"Maijima's torment aside," Aizawa cut through the moans of the support course teacher. "There is another matter we need to discuss."

A screen on the other end of the table played a clip. In it, a group of possible future students was running from the Zero Pointer. One of them, near the rear end of the crowd, tripped and fell face-first into the ground.

A guy with large bags under his eyes and wild purple hair, looking like someone just interrupted his much-needed nap, stopped running and looked at the girl.

"You! What's your quirk?" He grabbed the shoulder of a guy who was just passing him. He had ball-like hair and was unusually short.

"Whatever. We need to run before we get-" The smaller boy froze.

"Save her," the tired guy ordered.

There was no response or even delay before the round-hair guy started to throw the balls at the zero-pointer with unexpected zeal. Blood started to stream down his forehead. The tired guy used the fact the balls slowed the giant to go to the girl and help her get up. They started running. As soon as they passed the other boy, he regained consciousness and started to run in panic as well.

"Did he… use his quirk on the small guy?" Midnight asked for confirmation.

"Yes." Aizawa nodded.

"Well, then it's pretty easy. We disqualify him and ban him from other hero schools. Did that sticky guy get in?" Vlad dismissed the whole matter.

"Barely. But he has almost no potential and will likely be expelled on the first day if his psych evaluation is even slightly on point. But I want the other one."

"The girl? We probably cut some of her points for needing to be rescued, but-"

"No. I want the other one with purple hair." Aizawa cut Vlad off.

"Didn't we just agree to disqualify him?"

"You decided he should be disqualified." Snape sneered at the blood hero. "We haven't discussed the matter yet. And I agree with Eraserhead. He has potential."

"He broke the rules and should be banned from the hero course."

"And what do others think?" Snape looked at the room.

"I kinda have to agree with Vlad." Thirteen was first to speak. "He used his quirk to take control of the other boy without knowing what his quirk was. He then gave a dangerous order. If he just went to help the girl alone… but he broke the rules."

"Thirteen makes a good point." Snipe nodded sagely.

"I'm with her."

"The boy clearly has a heroic spirit though." Cementos countered. "He wouldn't be the first to be admitted while being rough around the edges.

"I will abstain. I'm too torn to decide." Power Loader raised his hands defensively.

"Nemuri? Hizashi?" Snape asked without revealing any emotions.

"I…" Hizashi tried to decide on either side, which wasn't easy.

"I wouldn't admit either of them." Midnight declared.

"Severus, I'll cash that favor now." Aizawa declared. People wondered what this was about until Snape spoke.

"Hizashi. Yamato driving school. Nemuri. Lady Butterfly. Snipe. Dicey Cafe."

"What are you babbling about?" Vlad King looked around the room, only to see the three heroes mentioned looking slightly scared and a very smug Aizawa. Snape was, like usually, completely emotionless on the outside.

"He's a hero material," Present Mic declared.

"He's amazing." Midnight agreed

"Guy's got what it takes." Snipe wasn't even trying to hide that he was terrified.

"Looks like we've got the majority," Aizawa smirked, visibly smug.

"All Might isn't here!" Vlad grasped the last straw. "Neither is Nedzu!"

"You assume All Might would vote with you." Snape sneered at the blood hero. "Also, Noboru."

That single word shattered any resistance Vlad might've had.

"What… how did you… I… but…"

"Trade secret." Snape simply said before getting up. "If that's all, we can start recording the letters for this year." He walked to the doors.

"Um… Am I the only one terrified right now?" Power Loader asked after the silence got uncomfortable.

"You probably should be." Aizawa smirked and left after Snape. burned