Harry Potter and The Academy of Heroes - Chapter 6
The week after the exam found Harry in one of the com
bat gyms. Fire, wood, and stone were littering the floor all around him. The training mannequins he's been using were of his own creations. The earlier models were rough and barely humanoid, but by now his conjuration reached the point where the faces were resembling humans. Some were even specific people. One could argue that some of those heads had too much rat in them, but Harry honestly didn't care about that. He wanted to blow things up.
Aizawa was attracted there by some very loud explosions. He definitely didn't try to find a good hiding spot from Nedzu and the apprentice from hell. Not at all. When he saw that it was the resident Wizard of U.A., he initially wanted to leave him alone too, but something was off. As a teacher, Eraser knew that today the entrance exam scores were revealed and students received their notices. Since there was no way Potter didn't get in, wasn't the kid supposed to be celebrating?
Shouta's dad's instincts took over and made him approach the hurricane of destruction. Just to be safe, he canceled the boy's quirk when he got close enough to feel the heat. That caused Harry to pause and look around.
"You okay?"
"I guess," Harry mumbled.
"Could you at least fix the room before you go off to sulk somewhere else? Cementos will be angry at the added work."
"Too tired." The young wizard managed before conjuring a sofa for himself in the middle of the carnage. Consequently, he collapsed onto the furniture. His skin was burnt in some places and there was an unhealthy pale to his face. A clear case of quirk overuse. A mild one, but still visible.
Aizawa plopped onto the couch next to the tired boy. "Wanna talk about it?"
"I… Why am I here?"
"I assume you walked." The hero deadpanned.
"In U.A. I mean. What is so bloody great about me that, apparently, I warrant some special treatment. I didn't even do anything and I get top scores." Harry angrily handed the teacher a crumbled piece of paper. The official invitation to U.A., along with exam results. Potter Harry was written right next to #1.
Aizawa didn't talk immediately. Contrary to some of the U.A.'s faculty, he actually had teaching credentials and was trained to work with youth. "How exactly didn't you do anything? I've seen the recording of the practical part and your scores in the written part were also in the first decile."
"Because I had almost a whole year headstart. I already lived in U.A. before that."
Aizawa sighed. He sometimes forgot Potter was from Europe, from Brittain, and approached him like someone local. "Look, kiddo, back in your old land, quirks were a stigma, right?" Harry nodded. "It's kinda opposite here. For some time now, the quirks are defining traits for everyone. Kids having 'heroic' quirks are often revered by their peers, while those with weak quirks are disregarded. Parents and teachers often encourage those children to practice more and work harder than others to get into U.A. or another hero school. If anything, you were at a disadvantage with only a single year of training. Granted, it was with professional teachers, but it doesn't differ so much from hiring tutors, which is also very common."
"Like I wouldn't actually get in. Midoriya babbled that there were always only four recommended students each year, not six. Nedzu altered the whole procedure to make sure I get in. They even added dorms just because I needed a safe stay."
Aizawa didn't speak immediately. He could see where the kid was coming from. Having worked with him for the past several months, Eraser wanted to think he actually got to know Potter. That, combined with some stories that Snape told him in the past and after moving to Japan, he knew that Potter hated his fame. His favorite sport was quidditch, mostly because it was actually something he believed he earned.
"That's not true," Aizawa finally said. "Not entirely at least. Look, I'm probably not supposed to tell you, but having you in the U.A. is probably much bigger for the school than you could imagine. Do you know how Nedzu managed to blackmail the board into allowing the dorms? He simply suggested that you're more likely to go to Shiketsu than U.A. unless the dorms are added."
"Why?" Harry's eyes widened.
"Because you're surefire top twenty heroes the first thing after you graduate. And you're a wizard. Having a Wix attending a heroic school is a huge deal. Snape was the first-ever magical pro hero. And the only one until you. U.A. being his alma mater gave the school unparalleled prestige. And support from the ministry of magic. We're the only school that could get wards as part of the security system. Yes, there might've been some changes made with you in mind, but Nedzu did that mostly for the benefit of the school."
Shouta was only somewhat surprised that this actually cheered Potter. It was also very wrong in Aizawa's mind. The kid had more problems with being special than being used. That set off a red flag.
"Thanks, Aizawa." Harry bowed lightly after he got up. Tired, the wizard wobbled toward the dorms of 1-A. He was allowed to move in earlier that day, but beyond dropping his stuff he didn't visit. At least, Harry was now no longer feeling guilty.
It was decided that the students would move into the dorms three days before the start of the year. That way, they would have an opportunity to get to know each other without the pressure of classes holding them back.
Harry was already living in the dorms for some time, and (as he had the building all for himself) already modified Height Alliance 1-A slightly. He considered it a cruel joke that the prevalent colors were green and silver. Quite possibly it was actually a joke on Snape's part. It took Harry two days to transfigure everything into more welcoming red and gold. In the end, it reminded him somewhat of Gryffindor's common room now. He spent another day building a fireplace and adding charms (as per the book on magical home-making he got). Then, with Snape's help applied to have it attached to the Floo network in case of emergencies. It would remain locked from both sides for now, but Nedzu agreed that an additional way of evacuating students was a good idea.
Finally, the day where the others would come arrived. Midoriya was first on-site, bringing two heavy-looking bags with him.
"Potter-chan! Great to see you." The cat-boy greeted Harry.
"You too. You're the first to arrive."
"Kaachan was with me, but Nedzu wanted to speak with him first."
"I wonder why." Harry deadpanned. He had yet to meet the guy, but so far the storied didn't exactly fill him with optimism.
"Is this Class 1-A dorms?" someone approached. He had spiky red hair and red eyes. "Man this is gonna be great!"
"Yes, welcome. Name's Potter Harry and this is Midoriya Izuku."
"Kirishima Ejiro. This place is so manly!"
"Why don't we get in. I feel awkward talking over the doorstep." Midoriya asked sheepishly.
"Sure. Come in. I made tea."
"Already? And I thought I would've gotten here early."
"I kinda already lived here for a bit. The decorations are my work." Harry suddenly felt awkward. He wasn't keen on singling himself out of the crowd. If it was up to him, he would be the most normal student possible. Is that even possible given each of them will have some powerful quirk?
"Kirishima, you can check where your room is on that plan over there while I help Potter-chan with the tea." Midoriya offered.
"Nah. Go drop your stuff. I can do it by myself."
"Cool." Izuku grabbed his bags and sprinted up to where his room would be.
Harry shrugged and pulled his wand. A wave and muttered incantation later caused the large teapot and several teacups he prepared to float to the main room.
"Potter-chan!" A voice behind him startled Harry. He almost dropped the things he was levitating.
"Yaoyorozu. I see you made it. Welcome to our class' dorms."
"Interesting place. Very… red." She looked around at the colors of the furniture. The walls were, thank quirks, in muted yellow, but the seats in the living area were all in deep red or occasionally black. The one thing that stood up was the fireplace with fire burning inside. It was made out of black, naked bricks and almost big enough to fit a person inside.
"I'm not exactly the best interior designer, but in my defense, it was previously green and silver and that was offensive by and in itself."
"I'm not sure red and yellow are much better…"
"It's red and gold." Harry defended. "And everything is better than green and silver."
"I will… take your word for it."
"Come, I think your room is on the top floor. I can carry your… bags." He looked behind her where there were at least five crates of stuff, all signed with her surname. "Is there something particularly… you know, never mind." With two sharp flicks of his wand and "Reducio", all those crates became no larger than a teacup each. A wordless levitation charm later saw them all start following him and Momo toward the stairs.
"Ouch…" She was breathing heavily by the time they reached the top. "I'm… not used to stairs. Especially not in these heels." She indicated to her footwear.
Harry on the other hand was entirely unperturbed by their small climb. "Hogwarts had seven floors. I had classes in the dungeon and lived in the tower. If nothing else, the castle was making sure everyone got some activity every day."
They both laughed at that.
When Yaoyorozu opened the doors to her room, the only word she could find was 'small'. It was bare of any decorations or even furniture.
"It's…" she tried to be polite about her room, but it was a bit hard. "It is."
"Well, it's definitely bigger than the cupboard under the stairs," Harry muttered, unaware that his new friend heard it. "Well… I can do this." He concentrated while moving his wand in a carefully practiced pattern, pushing as much of his magic as he could muster all at once. The room's walls slowly started to unfold onto themselves, creating more space than there should've been. When the walls were twice the original length and three halves their original size, Harry stopped. The room in effect was now four times as large as it was with higher celling.
"Impossible. I've known that with magic it's possible to bend the laws of nature but to compress more space into the same area would go against everything-"
"I have no idea how it works, only that it works." Harry shrugged, once again reminded that Yaoyorozu was like Hermione, only with quirk and not magic. A wave of his wand restored the crates to their normal size and another unpacked them all. Harry was now leaning on the doorframe, panting slightly. "Lesson for the future… don't use the unpacking spell on your luggage. Did you seriously pack your bed?" He looked at the queen-sized bed that was now by the wall.
"I admit, I didn't expect our accommodations to be so… small." She finally admitted. Then, she looked worriedly at her friend to check his reaction.
"Don't sweat it." Harry guessed her thoughts. It was probably similar to how he felt during the shopping trip with the Weasleys. "The first thing I did was expanding my own toom too." There was no need to reveal that he did it only to fit all the bookshelves better. Snape just dropped them all on him (figuratively) and told him to keep it all in his room now and continue studying magic in his free time. Thus, he had to make space to practice some spells without booking the gym. The point is, he needed a bigger room than ever before.
"Oh. May I see it?"
Harry was about to agree. After all, getting to the other part was as simple as phoenix-flashing to the other side of the building. As he was reaching to offer her a hand, his phone pinged with a new message.
Aizawa-sensei wants everyone downstairs. Fast.
"Looks like we need to get down. Want a lift?" Harry smirked and extended his hand. Snape would probably scold him for pranking a classmate, but part of the charm of flashing was the feeling of freedom.
As soon as Momo grabbed his hand, they vanished in a burst of green fire, only to reappear at the bottom of the stairs.
They were met with sixteen surprised gazes, two furious glares, and one cheerful look.
"Potter. Just because your flashing is not suppressed on campus does not automatically give you permission to use it to heart's content." Aizawa glared at them from his spot near the doors.
"Yeah! What about our hearts?" A boy with blonde hair with a lightning streak complained.
"Irrelevant. Now that all twenty of you are here, we can begin. I am Aizawa Shouta and I'm your homeroom teacher. You are now in the U.A. High hero course. The dorms were introduced this year to help you become better heroes. Each of you got a brochure with rules and you've signed the agreement before you enrolled. I expect all of you to obey the rules or you will be expelled faster than you can say Plus Ultra." Aizawa spoke in his no-nonsense, tired, dead voice that sent chills to everyone. "You have the weekend to get acquainted with each other. The classes start on Monday. Any questions?"
A tall boy with blue hair raised his hand. "Sensei, wouldn't it be prudent to conduct a more in-depth meeting to help introduce the rules and expectations?"
"Maybe. But I'm not doing it today. You can easily find all required information on your own or ask one of your classmates."
"It does make sense," Midoriya spoke up, attracting the attention of everyone in the room. "I mean…" He froze for a moment. "As hero students, we're expected to be able to eventually function independently and help others, right? Also, this method will encourage interactions between students, breaking first ice."
Aizawa silently watched as the students began nodding one by one. Midoriya's lessons with Nedzu were paying off. He was still a bit shy, but he was now applying his brain and talents. It was also scary how easily the part-cat could sway the crowd to agree with him. The rat weaponized the boy's natural charm. Aizawa would've been impressed if he wasn't worried for the fate of the world.
"Good. Curfew starts at 10 PM." With that, Eraserhead left them to their own device. If he was lucky, they wouldn't burn the building any time soon. This year, only four had fire-related quirks.
After Aizawa's announcement (if it could really be called that), the class all gathered on the sofas near the fireplace. There was that sort of awkward silence that usually happened when a group of teenagers met for the first time and was forced to interact with each other.
"Oh! Oh!" The pink girl started to jump in her seat. "We should each introduce ourselves!"
"That much is obvious."
"I don't care." Boy with two-colored hair got up and left them.
"Pft. Like I care about all you damned extras." Bakugou also got up and left, visibly angry about something.
"Jerk," Harry commented while everyone expressed their distaste at the blond's behavior. In the chaos, no one noticed the purple-haired boy sneak off too.
"I will start!" The same pink girl from earlier declared. "I'm Ashido Mina and I love dancing. My quirk is called acid, allowing me to create acid from any part of my body."
For a moment, it looked like Midoriya was about to say something, but he stopped. Most people missed it though, more focused on asking Mina some basic questions like about potential siblings and previous school.
"Oh! Can I go next?" A boy with an incredibly wide grin asked. After a round of nods, he introduced himself as Sero Hanta.
One by one, each of the class members introduced themselves. Harry wasn't exactly eager for his turn, so he allowed others to go before him. Midoriya evidently shared his sentiment while Yaoyorozu patiently waited until it would be her turn, as it would be impolite to interrupt others.
"And you?" Iida Tenya turned toward the so far silent cluster. "If I recall correctly, Aizawa sensei called you Potter. I want to inquire about the nature of your quirk. We have all seen you appear in the burst of flame with the girl to your right."
"Okay, but first… are you a robot?" Harry couldn't stop himself from asking. People snickered or outright laughed.
In response, Iida started to wildly move his hands in the most mechanical way anyone has ever seen. "This mockery is not proper conduct for a heroic student at such a prestigious school as U.A High. Cease this instant and start acting in a way that is suitable for someone with such powerful quirk on their path to becoming a hero."
"Damn. They could've at least program him a bit better." Harry commented. "Could you calm down? You're acting like a wind-up toy. I was trying to lighten up the atmosphere."
"Excuse my overreaction. My brother also mentions often that I should attempt to be less strict with my behavior."
"Anyway, I'm Ha- Potter Harry. I'm from Britain and I love flying." For a moment, Harry could bathe in the fact that no one here recognized him. The scores from the recommended students' exam weren't public and here he wasn't famous.
"What is your quirk? You mentioned flying and we've all seen you appear here suddenly."
"Ah. Yeah, my quirk is called…" He paused, trying to come up with a good name, but his mind was blank. How in the thousand cauldrons could he name it? "Okay, I got nothing." He finally admitted. "It allows me to draw on traits of either a phoenix or a basilisk. Like I can set myself on fire, make my skin scaly and super resistant, my blood is corrosive and poisonous, I can 'flash', that is teleport in a burst of flames. And I can fly without any aid."
"That's a very powerful quirk, Kero." Asui Tsuyu croaked.
"I guess? I know it's dangerous…" the memory of a room full of dead rats flashed before his eyes, making him instinctively correct his charmed glasses.
"All quirks are dangerous though." Midoriya interfered, noting that Harry was uncomfortable. Something he was more than used to. "There are so many different quirks that can be used to harm in many ways. Creatively applied, even a mostly harmless quirk can wound, maim, or even kill."
"No offense, but I feel you're exaggerating?" Jiro argued. "I mean I love my quirk, but it's not exactly very combat-oriented by itself…"
"Aim for the eyes," Izuku deadpanned.
"Oh…" The rocker girl leaned back, slightly shocked.
"It's all fun, but I have a much more important question." Ashido was suddenly next to Izuku. "Are those cat ears!?"
"Yeah… My quirk is called Hellcat. I can control heat and fire with it. I can also… um… the quirk allows me to stockpile heat and later use it to enhance my body." He offered. It was the best explanation he could come up with that didn't make his quirk sound like a freak with three separate quirks. Technically, he only had two separate quirks and accidental magical mutation, but it was easier to just tie it all into a quirk.
"So fire makes you stronger?"
"No… not really. The quirk takes my own heat. I have several theories about its more in-depth function, such as the stored… thing being energy and not just heat or the possibility of…" Izuku drifted off into a quirk-babble that was impossible to follow.
Harry leaned back. He missed Hogwarts from time to time, but he really felt at home here. In place, where he was Harry Potter, not 'the-boy-who-lived' or 'Tri-wizard Champion' or whatever other stupid title he might've gotten. Here, he was himself, with all his flaws and virtues.
The rest of the weekend passed mostly on moving in and some loose interactions. The students spent most of Saturday working on their rooms. Everyone wanted to add some personal touch to their living space. Well, almost everyone. Harry and Yaoyorozu had an enjoyable lazy day of watching old All Might movies with Midoriya. The boy was appalled that they'd never seen even one and opted to correct that gross oversight. As such, from breakfast to dinner they were all holed up in Harry's room, getting the full benefit of his large TV screen and the softest sofa any of them had the pleasure to sit on. Magic was amazing in some regards.
When they finally went for dinner downstairs, they were met with the entire class gathered and eating already.
"Kero, where were you?" Asui asked as soon as they appeared. "You missed lunch."
"We were watching All Might movies and decided to eat in the room. Potter-chan makes amazing food."
"I admit, his exotic cuisine was a pleasant change from my usual meals."
"Dude! You cooked and didn't invite us?" Sero and Kaminari protested. "Not cool."
"Didn't you need to unpack?" Uraraka asked, changing the subject slightly.
"Nah. They were already unpacked and I might've used my quirk to do it faster."
"He literally bounced from wall to wall to get done with it and watch those movies." Harry clarified while holding back a small chuckle. Momo did chuckle.
"Okay, that does it. We're doing a room competition." Uraraka declared. "We'll check each room and decide which we like best."
"Great idea. It will allow us to better get to know one another as people and aspiring heroes. A person's living space greatly reflects on their character and what they have to offer."
"I agree." Momo nodded. "Maybe not in that many words though…"
"Are we a hundred percent certain he's not a robot though? Especially those hand movements…" Harry's comment earned a round of laughter and even Iida was seen cracking a smile.
Indeed, after the meal, they started to explore the rooms on the boys' side of the building. One by one, the girls gushed over the styles implemented. Harry found himself interested in how the half'n'half snob managed to replace the very floor, walls, and windows all on his own. Because there was no doubt he didn't ask for help. He didn't even let them inside. Still better than the explosive blond that seemed to contemplate mass murder when they interrupted his evening. The purple-haired boy didn't even open the doors.
Harry's room was the last one, as they started from the bottom and skipped his in favor of the other two on his floor first. Notice-me-not charm had nothing to do with it. Not at all. When he opened the doors, there was a collective gasp at what was inside. The room was now about five times bigger and included a four-poster bed, a large desk with a computer, a couch, an armchair, a coffee table, a giant TV screen, a large wardrobe, a 'small' kitchen segment with an oven, fire stove, and a microwave, and finally a corner bookshelf with a copious amount of various books. Most things were in shades of red with gold finishes. The exception was the desk, which was made from dark wood. Just the amount of stuff in the room was breaking the laws of physics.
Just to be sure, they opened the doors to the next room, but it was in perfect condition, if completely empty.
"Is it just me or does this room seems to like… I don't know… I'm not really good at physics and stuff, but I'm pretty sure it's impossible." Kaminari tried to figure out how did it all fit in the building.
"It's just a simple extension charm." Harry shrugged. "You still need to see the bath."
The bath was a convincing copy of the prefects' bathroom from Hogwarts, not that anyone here would know that. It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier, and everything was made of white marble, including what looked like an empty, rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. The number of taps was much smaller than at Hogwarts and they were less decorated. The portrait of the mermaid wasn't magical and it didn't move. Instead of stalls with toilets inside, there was only one toilet in the corner. The vanity was large but somewhat plain. One would expect any furniture in such a grand room to be decorated with intricate details, but it was just… plain. On it, in front of the mirror stood a marble bowl with an attached tap and a sinking hole.
"This definitely shouldn't be here." Jiro deadpanned.
"I admit, I might've gone a little over the top, but I only visited the prefects' bathroom once and I couldn't even enjoy it back then." Harry defended himself.
"I meant that there is no way this place fits inside the building." She clarified, staring at the pool/bathtub.
"I mean the spellwork involved was only somewhat advanced?" Harry wasn't sure how to explain. "Big part of it depended on sheer magical power and visualization."
"I think the elephant in this room is that it's actual magic. Like Magic magic. Not some quirk but magically magical magic." Uraraka took a break from watching the vanity with great interest.
"Yeah?" Harry didn't get their point until Momo leaned over and whispered something to his ear while stifling a giggle. "Oh… I guess I forgot to mention yesterday that I'm a Wix."
"And you only mention this now!?" The class all shouted at once.
"In my defense, I kinda forgot it's not normal here?" He tried. "I mean in Britain I either had to hide it or everyone else was already a Wix too."
"Right. The European governments and the United States are actively censoring any information about magic."
"Yup. So everyone either is a Wix too or isn't supposed to know."
"Revelry in the dark…"
"I guess we can forgive you. But I want a bathroom like that!" Harry looked at the girl with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes.
"I can't really do that. It took me three days to get this done. I can offer you all homemade sticky toffee pudding and freshly-baked rhubarb crumble cake with custard."
"How is it freshly-baked if we've been going around for at least an hour?" Ojiro asked.
"Stasis charm is your best friend when you like to cook." Harry led them back into the main room.
When everyone was enjoying the baked goods, Momo sneaked on Harry. "Is my bathroom like that too?"
"Um… yeah. I think so. Please don't show it to anyone? They will hound me about it."
"I might share it with some girls later on. It's big enough to serve as a jacuzzi."