Harry Potter and The Academy of Heroes - Chapter 9
-|A|-
"You must understand our concerns." The spokeswoman tried to debate with Aizawa, Snape, and Nedzu. The sheer amount of intelligence in one room. After the mess that was the USJ, the commission was looking for a scapegoat. There were at least thirty suspected deaths that they couldn't confirm. The fire Harry used was hot enough to burn any biological matter to the point where not even ashes remained. He all but eviscerated anything in the direct vicinity of ground zero. There was only charred, glassed ground and a pool of liquidated stone and iron that was once the fountain in the center.
"Quite the opposite actually." Snape sneered at the politician. "The students were attacked. By at least seventy villains fully intending to see them all crippled or dead. They had to face impossible odds, with no available way to escape or get help."
"The press-" spokeswoman tried to start, but Aizawa interrupted her.
"Can stuff it," He huffed. "The public report was intentionally vague. What the public doesn't know is that Mr. Potter died."
"You assured the commission that there were no casualties among the students." The woman pointed out.
"He survived. Technically, he was only disintegrated. If it was anyone else, they would've been dead in an instant. Potter knew that. He jumped in front of Shigaraki Tomura and took the lethal blow. Without knowing that he would be able to live through it." Snape's cold glare was enough to make the politician shut her mouth. "And yet, you're trying to pin him with a murder."
"Well… I… I mean we… the commission…" no matter how much she tried, there was just no way for her not to sound like the worst kind of person.
"If I may?" Nedzu joined the discussion. Judging by how pale the woman became, it was clear that this would just be the final nail to the coffin. "You'll be better off dropping the whole idea. The case has too many layers for it to be worth it. Four of the supposed victims of his are magicals, which means you'd need to involve aurors. Add to that that Potter-san is a wizard too, which adds another problem in itself, as he can demand trial by magical court. His defense could argue that the fire used was self-defense against the vilest form of dark arts, or even pin the blame on the wizards. The damage was decidedly magical. And we all here know that wizarding courts here are famous for their just verdicts." Nedzu obviously had additional seven other legal defenses, but he presented that particular one here for two simple reasons. One was that it showed that the case would be all but impossible to win. The other was to make sure the commission was aware that they were out of their jurisdiction here. If the matter was presented as a conflict between wizards, they would be legally unable to do anything.
"Fine. But it doesn't remove our worry about other students' safety. With a quirk that destructive…"
"His quirk is no more destructive than that of Endeavor or Ryukyu. He also has excellent control over it." Aizawa assured her.
"Now, if you're done poking holes in the whole, I believe we all have better things to do." Snape got up and started to leave. When he was at the doors, he turned to look at the spokeswoman one more time. "And tell the chairwoman that if she's so afraid for students' safety, she could increase the security budget instead of trying to drag down promising students."
When the trio was out, Aizawa wanted to scream. "I hate politics."
"The fact they were so adamant about the expulsion makes one wonder…" Snape began, only for Shouta to interrupt him.
"Please. We all know they want to move him to another School just so U.A. loses its monopoly on magical heroes."
"It is disturbing. Snape-chan, will you look into it?"
"Like I have a choice." Severus sighed. More work…
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The homeroom was nearing the end when Aizawa rapped his knuckles on the desk.
"I have one more announcement. The U.A. sports festival is going to happen as planned." As predicted, that announcement caused a major uproar among the students. They were all still pretty shaken from the USJ incident and none wanted the repeat with another big event.
"Calm down," Aizawa ordered, getting them to sit down. "I know it might seem strategically unwise, but the school board wants to show we're still standing, stronger than ever."
"It does make sense." Midoriya joined in. "I mean… if we start hiding in fear, the villains have already won. And The Sports Festival has become the most popular sports event in the world. It surpassed the Olympics even in anti-quirk Europe. People everywhere will be watching. It's a perfect chance to get noticed." Izuku recalled his talk with Nedzu about it. The animal helped him understand the point behind still holding the festival.
"Can confirm the part about Europe." Harry reclined in his seat. "They love watching freaks beat each other for entertainment." He tried to sound nonchalant, but it was as clear as day that he wasn't indifferent to that.
"The world will be watching, so I expect you'll do your best. Class dismissed," Aizawa said just as the bell sounded. "Midoriya, Potter, find me later today."
The class slowly started to move out, but a crowd outside made it hard to move. It seemed like every first-year in the UA came to see them.
"Why are there so many of them? Did something happen?" Momo worriedly looked between her friends.
"Tch. Those extras came to check the competition. Move." Bakugou pushed his way through the crowd.
"You think you're so much better than us." Someone snorted in the crowd. Some people moved to reveal a small boy with purple balls for hair. "But really, you were just lucky. Did you know those who didn't get into the Heroic course got dumped into General studies? During the sports festival, we get a chance to show what we can do and move into heroics." He looked really smug. "That means they'll have to move one of you out."
"What are you getting at?" Kirishima shout-asked.
"Yeah?" Sero joined him.
"This is the declaration of war." The small boy proclaimed. "And you're going down. You might've gotten lucky with the villains, but…"
He was interrupted when a loud sound of concrete breaking echoed across the classroom. Harry had his claws embedded into one of the laws. His eyes were distinctively reptile and sickly yellowy-green with only the barest of orange veil over them. The sheer fury inside them made many take a step back. Class 1-A parted ways when he marched forward.
"Why exssactly did we get lucky? Becaussse we were attacked? Becaussse we had to fight for our lives? Againssst career criminalsss? Without any hope of aid coming in time? Becaussse we almossst died? Or becaussse we sssurvived?" The words coming from his mouth didn't sound fully human. There was a certain supernatural feeling of fear accompanying his every sentence. Everyone backed away from him on instinct. "Let me tell you how it really wasss. We were locked in a dome without any aid coming to usss. We had to fend for ourssselves or die. There wasssn't a choicsse. We were fighting people with yearsss, if not decadesss of exssperience. It wasss life or death. I speak for everyone in my classssss when I say we would happily switch placesss with you back then."
"Harry-chan, your… snake is showing, keto." Tsu interrupted him, earning a weak laugh from some braver students.
Harry, for his part, looked a bit chastised but quickly returned to normal. His eyes lost the unnatural quality and his voice was back to normal. "Thanks, Tsu."
"Well, you're hero students, are you not?" A blond guy with the most punchable face Harry's seen since Malfoy interrupted. "If it was class 1-B who faced the villains, we would've not only won but also captured them all."
"You think?" Harry's glare was no longer boosted by his quirk, but the sheer silent fury in his words made the blond start sweating. "And what qualifications you have that we might be missing? Are you perhaps after years of training? Did you get a hero license before even coming here and not tell anyone? Did you face a bloody dark lord when you were eleven? Fight a sixty-meter-long basilisk at twelve? Maybe outrun an angry werewolf at thirteen? Fought off a swarm of soul-sucking demons? Survive being put in an arena with a dragon? Rescue a hostage from a frozen lake full of monsters? Escape the resurrected dark lord? What is it that makes you so much better." With each sentence, the air around Harry became more and more charged. By the end, it was physically denser. "What is it?!" He roared and Neito Monoma found himself flung through the air at the same time as everyone near Harry was knocked to the ground when the accumulated magic finally left him.
Harry looked on the mess and stormed off, followed shortly after by Momo and Izuku, and the rest of 1-A after a moment too.
-|A|-
It seemed that the message quickly spread around because by lunch Harry found himself practically kidnapped by two overly enthusiastic upperclassmen (and one less enthusiastic). Togata's face appeared on the wall and the next thing he knew he was pulled through the nearest doors by a very energetic Nejire.
"Potter-kun! How is it going?! We've heard about the USJ! I was so worried and the teachers said no one was hurt but I wanted to check except you weren't in the dorms because you actually were with Recovery Girl and she wouldn't let me come, so I had Mirio-chan check on you quickly and he said you were okay!"
"Um… breathe?" Harry suggested, slightly overwhelmed. "You could give Midoriya a run for his money with all the energy."
"Really?" Even though Harry was almost certain she hadn't know Midoriya, she took it as a compliment. He couldn't help but chuckle at her positivity. Sometimes, he wished he could've been so carefree.
"Sorry I didn't find you sooner. I kinda… had a lot on my mind."
"Don't worry," Mirio reassured him. "We totally get it. I remember how in our second year Tamajiki-"
He was interrupted when a tentacle wrapped around his mouth. "We're not discussing that."
"Sorry." The blond rubbed the back of his head when he was finally let go. "Anyway… Seriously, are you okay, Potter-chan?"
"Mostly." Harry wasn't sure what to say exactly. "I… I kinda got used to villains attacking the school every spring. Just… for once I hoped it would be different."
"Sir told me that we shouldn't focus on the past. Instead, we must work for a brighter future. That's why I chose the name Lemillion. Because I know I can't save everyone, but I swore I will save a million people."
"That's…" Harry just sighed. "Sorry, I'm still processing what happened."
"No worries. But we're here if you wanna talk."
"We can't let our resident wizard be all gloomy."
"We already have one Snape." Tamajiki quickly turned and tried to hide his face by the wall.
"Oh! You had a class with him already?"
"Yeah… he's… intense."
"And Mirio's quirk doesn't stop magic."
"I'm sure Midoriya would have a field day figuring it out. I might introduce you to him after the festival. A fair warning. Never, under any circumstances, give him caffeine."
"Midoriya is your cute cat friend? Does he purr? Have you scratched him behind his ear? Do the ears work? He has four pairs of ears. How does that work?"
"I… have no idea. Look, I gotta go. I want to grab a bite before the lunch break ends." He slipped out of the room and quickly got to the cafeteria. The room was buzzing with activity and gossip. Everyone was talking about the upcoming sports festival. That or the USJ incident.
"Harry!" Izuku called him almost as soon as Harry picked the tray with food. Or maybe he noticed him earlier and only called just now. Whatever. Harry joined Midoriya, Uraraka, Momo, Iida, and Tsu.
"Kero. People are staring at us all day." Tsu noted in between bites.
Harry raised his head and allowed his eyes to shift into snake-like for a moment (with the orange overlay). Everyone immediately found their food interesting.
"I'm kinda overwhelmed by all those stares, to be honest," Uraraka admitted
"When we become heroes, we will have to every day face the public with unwavering confidence. It's the hero's role to make others feel safer with their very presence."
"Well, unless one becomes an underground hero that is." Momo corrected Iida, who seemed lost in one of his speeches again.
"That is indeed correct." The robot-man admitted.
"To be fair, I don't think Endeavor makes too many people feel safe. Kero. He's just so… aloof."
"He's a hero in title only. All he cares about are ratings and being the best. Not unlike someone we know." Harry nodded toward where Bakugou was raging on one of Class 1-B students.
"Kaachan isn't as bad as he appears." Midoriya tried to defend his friend.
"He calls you Deku. My knowledge of Japanese isn't the best, but from what I gathered it's an insult."
"Actually he now calls me Neku," Izuku mumbled, involuntarily confirming Harry's point.
"Aaanyway." Uraraka chose to change the subject. "Iida, how is your brother?"
"Tensei is doing well, thank you. He was worried after the fiasco with the USJ and promised to be at the Sports Festival."
"That's great!"
"Indeed. Him coming to see me perform fills me with unbridled enthusiasm! But that's exactly the kind of hero he is! Someone to be relied upon! And that is the hero I want to be!"
"Kero. You really admire him."
"Yes. He was my inspiration to become a hero. I've looked up to him since I was younger. He was always helping people and never wavered. He is a true hero."
"Nice. What about you, Neku?" Uraraka giggled. "What inspired you to become a hero?"
"Oh! That's easy. All Might. When I was younger, I used to watch his debut on repeat. I swear I must've added a thousand views to that video. I always admired that he could smile in the face of danger. No matter what, he never gave up. That's the kind of hero I want to be. When people see me, I want to know that they are safe. That everything is going to be okay and that I will win and save them, no matter how dark things might look."
"A noble sentiment indeed."
"My quirk is a versatile one." Momo began. "My life was always bright. My parents wanted me to take over the company when I got older, but… I wanted to repay the world for its kindness and help those in a worse situation. I have the power to help others and I intend to use it."
"Kero. I like helping people. I used to look after my younger siblings and it stuck. I want to help others and being a hero means I get the best opportunities."
"Might as well." Harry sighed. "I… I'm an orphan. A Dark Lord killed my parents." Seeing that they were a bit confused, he tried to remember the Hero Law he learned. "A Dark Lord is an equivalent of an S-Class villain. I was fighting practically my whole life. If I can save others from going what I went through, I'm gonna do my bloody best."
"I…" Ochako was pretty much the last one who hadn't answered yet.
"You don't have to say anything if you don't want, Uraraka. We know it might be a touch personal."
"It's why I put a silencing ward around us. Not even superhearing can help if there is no sound to begin with." Harry twirled his wand between his fingers, earning surprised faces from everyone gathered. "A habit of sorts." Given the number of adventures he got into through his years, one can forgive a bit of paranoia. Snape was rather insistent for him to make it an instinct.
"Oh… Um… No… It's just… Well… I mean… You all had these wonderful reasons and wanted to do so much good and I just… I feel so selfish now because I'm doing it for money." She admitted.
"So? Since when is that a problem?" Harry shrugged. "You think everyone who becomes a doctor does so because they want to heal the world?"
"There is nothing bad in wanting to have a financially secure future and deciding on a career that will ensure your prosperity."
"Yeah. Being a hero is a job like any other after all."
"Well, my parents run a construction business. Except in this day and age, not many are interested in building new things so… things aren't always going well. Especially when repairs after hero fights are almost exclusively done with magic. I tried to convince them to let me use my quirk to help them, but they always refused. I want to become a hero and provide for them so they never have to worry again."
"That is actually a very noble goal indeed. Wanting to help one's parents is nothing to be ashamed of."
Harry noticed Momo had a calculating look on her face but chose not to comment.
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As requested, both Midoriya and Harry arrived near the Teachers' Longue where Aizawa waited for them. His office just happened to be close by, from where he got the view onto entire U.A. grounds but specifically the 1-A dorms. Generally, when an accident happens in U.A., there is a safe answer to anything and that answer is Nedzu. It doesn't matter if one is right, the rat will neither confirm nor deny even the most outrageous theories. But back to the events at hand, they were greeted by Aizawa who actually looked decent. His hair was combed and for once he wore a proper suit.
"Midoriya, if you excuse me, I will speak with Potter first."
"Not a problem Aizawa-sensei."
"Good." He turned to Harry, who watched in surprise as his teacher, the one he knew very well had reputation for being merciless when it came to teaching, bowed in half with his hands running along his torso. "Potter-san, I wish to express my deepest apologies. We at U.A. failed as teachers and heroes. When you came, we assured you that you would be safe here and you trusted us. That trust was broken and you were forced to fight for your life at the USJ. I am sorry I failed you."
Harry was honestly stunned. In his memory, he did not remember any teachers ever apologizing for what happened. Okay, that wasn't true, Professor Lupin did apologize for trying to eat him, but also… This was different. Aizawa didn't try to kill him. Quite the opposite. He leaped into danger, ready to fight against impossible odds to try and secure the students enough time to evacuate. At Hogwarts, each year he was forced to fight alone, with maybe some students to help him. Aizawa was ready to risk dying to save his students. Thirteen had deep lacerations on her back to this day. It would probably never heal properly.
The teachers actually put the students' safety first. Well, most of the time. All Might did care though, even if he lacked the experience in teaching, he was ready to intervene when Bakugou almost obliterated Todoroki.
He finally noticed tears were streaming down his face.
"S-Sorry." He muttered and before he knew it, he vanished in a flash of green.
Aizawa straightened up and looked at the slightly singed rug of his office. He sighed and turned to Izuku next.
"You've earned the highest scores on the entrance exam. Thus, you'll be giving a speech at the opening ceremony of the sports festival." He dropped the bomb. "Now excuse me, I need a nap before the staff meeting." He promptly vanished inside his yellow sleeping bag, the suit and combed hair and all that neat look plopped into the monstrosity the teacher used.
Midoriya stood there, frozen in shock for a moment before he walked outside, all stiff and paralyzed.
"Young Midoriya! I was looking for you! Do you have a moment?" All Might was calling after him.
"Uh… sure?" It was enough to break Izuku from his fear-induced shock.
"Great!" All Might led him to the unassuming office where he dropped the muscular form.
"Young Midoriya. You know that the sports festival is coming."
"Yes. Aizawa-sensei told us today. Nedzu will probably want to discuss it with me tomorrow during my class with him and then there is that everyone's talking about this and the USJ, which brought our class so much recognition after we thought the villains. There is muttermuttermuttermuttermuttermuttermuttermutter…"
"Young Midoriya?"
"Oh! Sorry! I sometimes get lost. Nedzu said I shouldn't be suppressing it that much, but I think he doesn't get how lesser humans get creeped out."
All Might has wisely chosen to ignore how much Midoriya sounded like Nedzu at that moment. It was not a mental image he was prepared for. "Anyway. The sports festival is the most televisioned event of the year. Since the appearance of quirks-"
"Olympics lost the popularity. I feel like I had this discussion once already today…"
"Uh… yes. This will be your first time in the public spotlight. Everyone will be watching you and your classmates. Especially after the USJ incident, the people will want to see you all and get to know you. As my successor, it will be a chance for you to loudly proclaim that YOU ARE HERE!"
Midoriya stiffened again.
"I know it might be a big request, but… my time is running shorter each month. I fear that after this year I might be only able to uphold my heroic form and not use the quirk at all. It's up to you to carry the torch soon."
"I… Um… I'll be giving the opening speech actually. Would… Would you maybe help me? You must be really good at giving speeches and I was…"
All Might sighed. "Actually, I think you should do it yourself. It's your chance and you shouldn't rely on me."
"Oh… Okay." Izuku smiled. "Don't worry, All Might! I'm not going to disappoint you!"
"I know you won't."
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