Harry Potter and The Academy of Heroes - Chapter 10
-|A|-
"...And now, let's give it our all for the one, the only, the amazing! It's class 1-A. They survived against the villain at the USJ and came victorious. Give them the applause." Present Mic called through the speakers all around the stadium. The crowd went wild.
Izuku and Momo led the group of students into the stadium. The edges of the arena were covered by neatly-cut grass while the center was filled with sand. Up in the commentator booth, Aizawa and Present Mic were watching everything happening. In the center of the arena, a stage was constructed. Midnight stood there in her hero costume. Behind her, a large billboard was situated, for now displaying only UA's logo.
"And now, for the rest of our students. Heroic class 1-B, General Studies classes C, D, and E, Support department F, G, and H. And let's not forget Management course with classes I, J, and K!"
"Talk about favoritism…" Harry muttered, earning weak snickers from his classmates around him.
"And presiding over the competition will be… The R-Rated Heroine herself, Midnight!"
"Welcome! Greetings everyone. Before we start with the proper competition, let's give the stage to the student who scored highest on the entrance exam. Yes, you've heard that right! He not only beat the record of the heroic entrance exam but also scored the highest in this year's admission between all classes! Let's welcome to the stage Midoriya Izuku!"
The part-cat shyly walked onto the stage and took the mic from Midnight, who winked at him. He was still a bit too shaken to really blush.
"Uh… is this on?" Reverberated through the stadium. "Oh! Sorry." He quickly moved the mic away from his mouth. It was more sensitive than he expected. "I still can barely believe I actually scored that high on the exam. Um…" He took a deep breath and raised his gaze. "Not long ago, my friends and I talked about why we want to become heroes. We joined UA in hopes of fulfilling that goal. Every one of us had our own, distinct reason to be here. But you know what? It doesn't matter. In the end, what brought us here is only secondary to what we do now. We've all been given a chance to be… to join this prestigious academy. To train, to learn, to explore. Each of us can proudly say 'I am here!'. Today, we get a chance to show everyone just what we're made of! I promise I will do my best! I will fight with all I have! We are the UA students! Let's show them! Just! Who! We! Are! Let's go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!"
Despite the initial shortcomings, by the end of the speech, the crowd was roaring. The students and teachers in the arena were clapping, whistling, celebrating. They were all ready for the tournament.
Somewhere on the tribunes, a gaunt, sickly-looking man, smiled. His successor might not look like it at first sight, but he would one day surpass all previous heroes.
After the cheers finally died down, Midnight took back the mic and cracked her whip.
"What a passionate speech! It sure excited me. Now! Without further ado. Let's see the first competition the students have to face!"
The screen behind her lit up, showing an image looking a bit like those old casino spinning machines. She cracked her whip again, making the spinner accelerate further. Finally, with her third crack, the cylinder slowed down until it finally stopped.
"Stealth check! Well, that's gonna be interesting! The students are gonna enter a maze, filled with bots and traps. Their goal will be to sneak through the treacherous corridors and secure packages of data. Their final standing will depend on how fast they managed to get out with the package. But beware! The packages will all contain either bonus time or a penalty. So going for the easiest ones might not be the best." She smirked. "And for those of you who think they can just punch your way through… good luck. The moment you alert the bots about your position, you're gonna have to fight through endless waves of enemies. So be careful. Especially since that's not the only threat inside the maze. Let's give applause to the guests for this challenge!"
A black ball of mist fell from the sky, crashing into the stage. The dust quickly dissipated, revealing Snape standing there in his usual pose, cape billowing behind him. Next, a thin string slithered between students before leaping onto the stage, reforming into Edgeshot. From the commentators' box, a single person jumped, free-falling for a moment, before a silver strip of cloth shot out and caught them, allowing them to swing onto the stage. A single tumbleweed blew across the arena as Snipe marched from one of the side-entrances.
"These four heroes will patrol the challenge arena! Their task is to capture and tag participants. Whoever is caught will automatically fail." Midnight announced. "Let's give it for Lord Nox, Edgeshot, Eraserhead, and Snipe!"
The public didn't disappoint and gave the four heroes the warm welcome they deserved after their epic entrance.
"What's up everybody? This is your favorite pal Ingenium here!" A new voice announced. Inside the commentators' booth, next to Present Mic, sat the Turbo Hero himself. "Since Eraser's busy for this one, I agreed to substitute. Hey! Mic, does that make me a teacher?"
"In your dreams!" echoed through the booth. Apparently, Aizawa could still hear them and answer.
"Tough crowd, am I right?" Tensei joked.
While people were distracted by the two commentators, the students were led outside the stadium and to a nearby building. It was at least four stories tall and on the outside looked like a giant concrete block.
Back in the arena, Snape pulled his wand and started to wave it in intricate patterns. Slowly, the stage lowered into the ground and spread. It was as if it turned into somewhat metallic liquid. Runes formed, or rather re-formed on the field. To the amazement of everyone watching, billions of glowing particles of sand rose through the runes and formed a giant image of the four levels of the concrete block. Somehow, the building was see-through enough that everyone could follow anything that would go in. Miniature robots made of green sand traveled through the levels.
With a pop, Snape vanished, only for a black figurine to appear inside the sandcastle.
"You've seen that right, dear viewers! This year's competition is something really special. For the first time in seventeen years, the UA sports festival has the pleasure of hosting a Wizard! Just what amazing Magic will we see?" Ingenium announced.
"Now that I think of it, this year's batch truly is something special. Doesn't your brother participate as well?"
"That's right! Go Tenya!" Tensei cheered before backtracking. "Of course, I'll do my best to be as impartial as possible."
Yamada sweatdropped. "Sure. Let's give our sponsors a short commercial break while the students prepare."
-|A|-
Harry looked around. The students were all preparing. Many of them seemed surprised at what the task was. To be fair, it wasn't exactly what he expected either. At first, it didn't seem like something that the public would approve. Then again, they had Snape and magic. He recalled how during the tournament the viewers were able to see what went under the lake with a help of a charmed water surface. They could probably implement something similar here.
The task would certainly be one of the harder. He had a rather good understanding of sneaking around (thanks Hogwarts). Only this time, he wasn't allowed his invisibility cloak, or his dragon-skin coat, or even his broom. And while he could technically summon them, he preferred not to provoke the judges so soon into the competition. Snape and Nedzu decided to dust off the rules that applied to Snape when he was a student. Well, the ones that were implemented after he powered through the first sports festival. He was allowed to cast spells as long as they did not attack other competitors directly. That meant he could use transfiguration to change the area or charms to create distractions. He could technically cast some charms on himself. Like conjuring new clothes after he inevitably burns through his current ones. At least no one cared about his special underwear.
Meanwhile, Izuku was muttering up a storm trying to figure out a strategy. His cat-like quirk gave him a natural aptitude for stealth, but it wouldn't suffice just like that. The fire wasn't really that great for stealth, since it would inevitably attract attention. His best bet would be speed and avoidance. Move like a wind. If he sped through the labyrinth, even if the bots detected him he could easily lose them. None of them would manage his speed. So being spotted was second to the main objective. Now, what exactly was his objective. The real tournament was in the third round, which made the previous two only qualifiers. While he could go for something easy, if the points from the first and second round were summed up to select the finalists, he would be in a tight spot. The perfect situation would be to reach the mid-center. Don't go too far, but also don't play it too safe. The teachers would be a problem, but he could deal with them if push came to shove. Snipe was the least of…
"And go!" Midnight announced.
Broken from his thoughts, Izuku dashed forward, One for All bursting through his veins. He would be sore after this…
Harry similarly jumped immediately ahead. Mid-air, he pulled on his quirk to become a basilisk. His full transformation was quite large, but it was stealthier than anything else he could think of.
The insides were made to resemble some abandoned office building. There were barricades, traps, patrols. A perfect simulation of an infiltration mission. Harry slithered between the traps. All bots had a distinct smell to them, which made avoiding them easier. Whatever oil they used, it smelled awful. Three minutes in, Harry almost had a close encounter with Snipe. Luckily, the hero didn't notice him slithering between desks inside a room. By the time the teacher figured out there was a snake near his boots, Harry was already safely inside the vents and moving away from the trap. He was pretty sure Snipe noticed his tail, but it was too late for him to do anything.
Izuku dashed between two automated turrets, allowing both of them to destroy each other. There were several other students with similar tactics to his own it seemed. If explosions a few rooms away were any indication. Bakugou didn't do stealth. Several bots were on the cat's tail now, so he chose to lose them in a rather ingenious way. They couldn't fly after all.
Izuku bounced several times from the walls until he reached the ceiling. Then, a single smash was enough to create a nice hole for him to move through. Bots didn't follow and by the time the patrol arrived to check the commotion, the part-cat was already away.
Harry turned corners only to be forced to dodge frantically as several flat strings tried to attack him. Edgeshot.
"I've got you now." The hero proclaimed. The response he received in Parsletongue did not match the rating the event was getting.
While it would've seemed that Edgeshot had an easy job now that he found Harry, in reality, Basilisks were rather slippery. While their skin was rough and dry, their speed also translated to how hard it was to capture one. Edgeshot would definitely have an easier time baiting him into a cage, not that he knew that.
Harry decided to turn the tables on the hero and leaped at him. His tail wrapped around his torso while the snake's head was gripping the left leg. A quick move later and the hero was sprawled on the floor. It bought Harry precious two seconds. He spotted a white folder on a nearby table with the rather convenient red label "UA SPORTS FESTIVAL". Without thinking much, he turned into a human and grabbed the folder. Edgeshot got on his feet, only to see Harry smirk at him with the package in hand. A burst of flames later and the student was gone.
-|A|-
"And that's another one out!" Present mic announced. "They sure are falling fast."
"It sure seems the guests aren't holding back all that much," Tensei added. "Then again, the challenge is supposed to be about stealth. Most of those who failed so far got too cocky and tried to power through the challenge."
"Indeed. But we've also gotten first successful students too."
"I don't know about you, but I especially liked that how that one support student used those boots that let her stick to the ceilings."
"Yes, although I'm not sure why those robots didn't detect her sometimes."
"Perhaps a faulty programming?" Tensei suggested.
"It might be… Wait! Ingenium, isn't that your brother being chased by Nox?"
"Go Tenya!" The turbo hero immediately leaped from his chair and grabbed the mic (item, not person). "Come on! Show them! Push those engines! I know you've filled that tank to the full in the morning!" Tenya was seen crashing into another student. The boy swiped the folder Iida was carrying and dashed away. Luckily, Tenya got up and started running too before Snape got close. "Come on! That was totally cheating! Tenya already had that package and he totally stole it!"
"The totally impartial commentary aside, more and more students are managing to escape the maze."
Back in the arena, the entire sand replica was suddenly shaken when something exploded in the center.
"Whoah! Someone got bored with the slow and stealthy it seems…"
-|A|-
Izuku somehow reached what appeared to be the center of the building. If the thick vault doors were any indication. They could probably withstand anything most students could throw at it.
Izuku wasn't most heroes.
"This's gonna hurt…" He gathered a respectable fifteen percent into his left hand and punched directly into the wall next to the doors. Invincible doors fallacy and all that.
Just as he predicted, the wall simply crumbled, revealing metal poles reinforcing it. The rods were similarly bent to the point Izuku could remove them without much trouble. His hand was now red, but otherwise he felt fine. It seemed that his limits improved since he last tried to push past them. Or the adrenaline was keeping him going. That too was an option.
Inside, there was a golden folder with green words "UA SPORTS FESTIVAL". And by Golden, it means made of honest-to-quirks gold. Izuku grabbed it and looked around. He could try to move back to the entrance, but it would probably take too long and the heroes were bound to be incoming. Along with dozens of robots.
"Wait. I just need to get the thing out of the building. The roof is technically outside. Or at least don't have patrols."
With that in mind, he powered his legs and jumped. His back slammed into the ceiling, causing cracks before it gave and he pushed through. There were several robots all around him now.
"Uh… can we negotiate?"
In response, they opened fire. Literally. They had flame-throwers.
"What?! How is that safe?" Izuku wondered as he used his quirk to take control over all that fire. "Not that I'm complaining. Hellcat Comet Destruction!" With fire serving as a cloak around him, he smashed through the ceiling two more times until he reached the free air. He was now above the concrete block of a maze. Without further ado, he flew back to the entrance. He didn't notice the center of the building caving from the structural instability he caused. And besides, it was only a minor cave-in. Bakugou did two times as much damage.
"And that's the last of them!" Present Mic announced. "In a challenge that was supposed to emphasize stealth, there sure was a lot of explosions, am I right? Anyway, let's take a look at the scores!"
"Yes!" Ingenium yelled as soon as the scores appeared. "I knew Tenya could do it! Go, little bro!"
"I think I need to buy you a dictionary solely so you can read what 'impartial' actually means." Aizawa was heard commenting as he entered the booth.
"Anyway. Let's give the stage back to Midnight so she can explain the second stage of the exam."
"Thank you. Listen up. The next competition is…" The screen before her rolled the cylinder until it stopped. "Roll for Initiative!" She eagerly announced. "The students will form teams between two and four students. Each team will possess a number of points based on how well they did in the previous task. Once the teams form, the students will be free to trade the points between themselves however they wish. Then, half of each team will be armed with swords, those are knights, and half with daggers, those are scouts. When two knights are fighting, other knights are not allowed to interfere. On the other hand, scouts are allowed to roam the arena as they wish and attack the knights whenever they see an opportunity. But they are also open for counterattack outright. If you're hit in any scored area, all the points you're holding are automatically transferred to whoever scored the hit and you're not allowed to attempt to reclaim them for the next fifteen seconds. So be careful. Scored areas include the torso, arms above elbows, legs above knees. No hits to the head, no hits below the belt. No intentional maiming!" She made sure to emphasize the last part. "The spell used to count points will automatically register valid hits, so don't worry about cheating on the enemy's part. The weapons you receive are dulled and should cause bruises at best. Now, let's see who qualified!" She turned to the billboard, which now displayed the individual times and points resulting from their placement.
Izuku scanned the board. He started from the lowest scores since he was one of the last to get out of the maze. After him, there were maybe two more. But as he read name after name, he didn't find himself anywhere. Did he make some mistake? Was he disqualified for breaking the ceiling? As he went through the list, his anxiety kept growing. He wasn't anywhere there. He passed Bakugou, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu… There was no way he did better than them, right? They were the top students in his class. He found Harry in respectable third place. And his name still wasn't there!
"...and the winner of the previous exercise shall be worth a respectable… thousand points!" Midnight announced. Izuku zoned out and missed her still speaking, but it was easy to get the gist. Starting from the last place on the scoreboard, people had their respective points inversely proportional to their standing. So the lowest ranking person was worth only one point, then two, three, four, and so on. But the winner was worth a whooping thousand points? That's more than everyone else combined. He quickly looked at who was the unfortunate victim of Nedzu's sadism.
It was him. He was that unfortunate victim.
Izuku was elated to find out he won the first part. Also, he was horrified that he won the first part. Kaach… Bakugou would murder him. He quickly shot a frightened look toward the explosive blond. The boy seemed somewhat close to exploding. His face was marred with an angry scowl and his fists were clenched to the point where his knuckles were white. Izuku's sensitive ears could quite possibly pick the sound of gritting teeth.
But… then Bakugou somewhat calmed down. He was obviously still angry, but he didn't explode! It seemed surreal, but Izuku didn't have time to question it. He needed to find a team.
"Hey! Thousand-points!" A girl from the support course called.
Not far from there, Harry slithered through the crowd until he found Momo.
"Hey, Momo. Wanna team up?"
"I don't see why not. Given our rather high standing, our team will have quite a high chance of passing. Now we need to find two more people to the team."
"What about Neku?" Harry offered.
"I… While I see why you wish to include him, I… I wish to show my skill. Teaming up in the first place will take away that chance. People will keep saying that I only got through because I had him on my team…"
"Then maybe I shouldn't team up with you as well? I'm placed third after all." Her friend scowled.
"That's… I… it's not what I…" She bowed her head in shame. "You are right. For a moment, my judgment was clouded by my wish to prove myself and maybe some jealousy over the fact he beat me… I apologize. Let's go ask him."
"I think it's too late now." Harry pointed to where Izuku was surrounded by three girls, all of them already holding weapons. The part-cat was wielding a knife.
"I'm so sorry. If not for me…"
"Hey. It's cool. We're still gonna blast 'em." He decided to cheer her up.
"I think we might have a problem forming a bigger team." She motioned as everyone else had already gotten into groups around them. It seemed they missed their mark.
"We can work with just the two of us. Now, let's go to Midnight ask for something that might grant us unparalleled victory." He gave her a lopsided grin.
"What do you have in mind?"
"An advise I received once. While I'm not allowed to bring anything but my wand, no one has banned summoning spells. At least I think so, but better check with Midnight. Also, she never said that we are limited to the swords they give us. And between your quirk and my transfiguration…"
"We can have more weapons. And with greater variety!"
"Precisely. Come on!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her to where the umpire was standing. He completely missed the light blush on Momo's cheeks when he initiated the contact.
-|A|-
"And thus it begins! The circle of Honor. And treason!" Present mic announced. "There are some rather interesting teams out there, including a lone pair. The team Yaoyorozu-Potter sure is an interesting one."
"Let's not forget the team led by Todoroki Shoto." Tensei interrupted.
"I swear, if you try to go into a rant about how great your little brother is, I will personally send you down there to join him. Shortest possible route. Right through the window."
"Someone's got an attitude."
"Let's get back into the field. Obviously, most of the eyes are focused on Team Midoriya. The boy sure is something. His quirk, Hellcat, allows him to not only manipulate fire but also to draw power from an inner source. And he's a cat-boy. Ain't that every girl's dream?"
"Midoriya is one of the hardest-working students in my class. He has unbridled determination and will to never give up. A true embodiment of Plus Ultra."
"If I didn't know any better, I would've said you've taken a liking to him, eraser."
"He's tolerable. And does his work as the class president on a satisfactory level."
"Enough chit-chat," Tensei demanded. "Let's get back to the field." He then muttered. "Tenya's about to show them all up." He didn't realize just how sensitive the microphone was and quite possibly blushed red under his helmet when his words echoed through the stadium.
-|A|-
Harry and Momo made a small bastion for themselves in the corner of the arena. Literally. The hastily-transfigured walls (Harry), together with two high-pressure water turrets (Momo). Allowed them to comfortably stay safe and secure. Given that to issue a challenge to the gallant Momo of the order of Creation, they would first need to breach the walls, she was safe while Harry prepared everything. He had to summon each item to them and make sure no one intercepted them, which meant guiding them from a certain point onward by the wand. Their supplies gathering seemed to work pretty well. Momo's plan was almost foolproof. He just needed one more and they were ready.
"It's a nice castle you've got there." A voice suddenly spoke from the shadow. A black figure leaped at Momo with a dagger.
Only for his weapon to bounce off a shield she created out of her arm. He quickly glanced over to check if her score transferred to him. Every participant had their current score displayed over their heads through magical illusion.
The momentary distraction cost him as Harry quickly jabbed him into his shoulder before throwing him out of the bastion.
As his scales receded, Potter suddenly found himself without a shirt. Or a jacket for that matter.
"This is precisely why my hero costume is a coat and not a shirt of any kind…" He grumbled. There was really no need to make another if he would end up losing it pretty soon.
"Uh… Did… you get everything?" Momo shook her head, trying to focus on the task at hand. They had quite a respectable amount of points from just that one guy.
"Yeah. Broom and cloak secured. And I've got your belt." He handed her a golden utility belt with pockets and a book in the back.
"Great. Then let's begin the carnage! Let lose the dogs of war! We shall destroy them all!"
"Uh… sure." Harry just shrugged at her passionate speech, which made her sweatdrop.
It was kinda too much, right? Momo realized downcasted.
With a flick of his wand, Harry lowered the 'gate' to their fortress and let Momo march onward. He himself covered himself in his heirloom cloak and got onto the broom. Sticking charm ensured that it wouldn't flap or fall off during the second phase of Momo's plan. Only his dagger was sticking out. Its blade glistered in the sun.
"Hey! Money bags! Where's that fried chicken!?" Bakugou yelled as soon as he spotted Momo. His sword had a strange shine to it. He quickly approached her, making it clear he wanted to issue a challenge.
A silver blur zoomed through the field. Bakugou, Kirishima (who served as his rear guard), Mina, as well as several other students suddenly found themselves without points. Many were on the ground from the sheer power of a hit they received. In the sky slightly above the arena, a shining 274 points attracted the attention of almost all teams. An additional feature of the charm: the more points one got, the more pronounced he would be on the battlefield.
-|A|-
"Whoah! Did you see that? Team Potter-Yaoyorozu just sky-rocketed to second place in an incredible display of ingenuity. Is that even allowed?"
"Potter is a certified wizard. The… uniqueness of this year's competitions was partially caused because we had to accommodate for magic. As for if it is allowed…" Aizawa paused, trying to figure it out himself.
"Well, while you were busy just talking, I sent a quick text to Midnight. She says that she allowed it and that this ingenuity turns her on. Her words! Not mine!" Tensei quickly added.
-|A|-
The cloak did not hide the number spell. It wasn't really possible. It wasn't physical. So while now Harry had the aerial advantage and no one could really figure out where his body exactly was, more than enough students figured out his general direction. And quite a lot of the scouts actually tried to reach him.
A rather unnerving tentacle holding a knife chased Harry as he meandered between several levitating daggers. Seems like there is more than one telekinetic quirk around. The attacks didn't seem to end.
Which meant that Harry had to do something with it. Focusing on the fire within him, he imagined the insides of the bastion. A brilliant flash of fire later he appeared back where he and Momo stayed initially. That got him a second to think.
His number made stealth impossible. There was no way he could repeat his trick and he was at risk of losing all these points now. He could give some to Momo, but that would just make her a target just like Midoriya. Izuku had One for All, which made him a juggernaut on the battlefield. Not to mention the fire quirk. Luckily, he seemed to be staying on the other side of the field. A thousand points were enough of a beacon by itself. Midoriya probably figured that two targets being next to one another would attract way too much attention.
"Harry. Can you hear me?" His earphone came to life.
"Yeah, Momo? How're you holding?"
"Bakugou abandoned the fight the moment he lost the points. I transferred everything I had to you."
"Acknowledged. I'm back in the base for now, but I can't stay here. Someone's bound to attack me soon."
"You're good with quidditch, right? Maybe… go high and avoid their attacks?"
"Tried that. Not really…" An idea appeared in his head. The problem was that he needed speed. He was already flying the fastest broom, but ever since he bulked up, he lost a bit of speed he used to have. Luckily, he just found a solution. "I got this." He smirked.
A moment later, a serpent riding a broom and wrapped in an invisibility cloak was soaring through the skies. Controlling the broom with his body wasn't as easy as when he was human, but Harry wasn't being proclaimed a Quidditch prodigy for nothing.
The score zoomed between countless attacks. With how much he was worth now and with Momo constantly giving any points she got to him, he was a rather juicy target.
"Only two minutes remaining!" Midnight cheerfully announced.
Harry never stopped moving, but he was slowly getting tired. The never-ending onslaught, combined with the fact that he was flying as a snake, made it almost as hard at the exercises Wood used to put the team through. Almost.
"You invisible bastard! Get here so I can pummel you!" Bakugou was flying toward him on a giant cloud of explosions. Talk about rocket fuel.
"Plus Ultra I guess."
Harry turned his broom directly up and pushed. He sped up higher and higher and higher. The angry pomeranian was hot in pursuit. Only now did Harry realize that the boy somehow held the sword in his teeth.
They broke through the ward that stopped the sound from outside the field from entering and distracting the students. Then they got outside the stadium itself. Both were going straight up. They were rising higher and higher. At this point, one could almost think that a rocket was shot from the field.
If Harry got the time correct, now was the time.
Momo would probably smack him for that reckless maneuver.
He just let go.
Instead of constantly pulling the broom up, he allowed it to stop and start to fall down. Bakugou who was right behind him didn't realize at first. By the time he caught the wind of what Harry did, it was too late. The snake-on-broom was now free-falling from an impossible height. He oriented the broom slightly at an angle and pushed.
And just for the sake of being amazing, he shook himself from the invisibility cloak. Everyone could now see a snake, riding a broom, falling from high heaven. With a blazing score above its head.
When he got in the range of the cameras, he changed back into human form.
Around the highest point of the stadium, he started to spin.
When he passed the sound-nullifying barrier, he aggressively pulled on the nose of his broom.
A second before the timer hit zero, Harry leaped off the broom, did a double backflip in the air, and hit one Neito Monoma with his dagger. Then he did a superhero landing.
Right as the boy was proclaiming his superiority over class 1-A, Neito found himself without points and Harry ensured his team earned a respectable second place.