Harry Potter and The Academy of Heroes - Chapter 11
-|A|-
"Out of all the crazy, idiotic, utterly mad, bat…" Momo barely stopped herself from accidentally using a word she heard Bakugou use. Any word that came from the pomeranian's mouth was probably not fit for use in a public setting.
Speaking of the explosive blond, he landed sometime after Harry. While the wizard settled on a crazy stunt like that, Bakugou had to slow his fall through a series of explosions that made his descent much more prolonged.
"I… might've got lost in the moment." Harry had the decency to look somewhat bashful. "It's been so long since I've actually felt the… the freedom of just flying."
"Did all your Quidditch matches go like that?" Momo wanted to throw her hands in the air. Her friend was downright mad. And he still didn't put on a shirt.
That last realization made her thoughts come to a halting screech.
"Momo, you kinda sound like Hermi…" Harry similarly drifted off, completely missing Momo's demeanor changing. He almost went down the memory lane when he noticed Todoroki practically drag Midoriya into a dark alley. Which made it sound like an intro to either a murder mystery or a Yaoi manga. Hey! He was learning Japanese slang now too.
Taking advantage of the fact that he still had his invisibility cloak with him, Harry quickly vanished from the sight of the gathered students and followed.
"...All Might's secret love child?"
Out of possible conversations to listen on, whatever that was… certainly wasn't expected.
"What?" Good. At least Midoriya was equally confused. "That's totally not it!"
"Ah! But there is something!" Todoroki looked like he was one bludger short of pulling a conspiracy whiteboard, together with red wool string and magnets for pictures.
"Midoriya. What do you know about quirk marriages?"
Half of Harry's mind wanted to listen in further. It was what he would've done at Hogwarts. But this wasn't Hogwarts. Still, it might be important.
What solved his inner conflict was the fact that he spotted Bakugou listening in as well. A quick silencing spell over the talking pair ensured their privacy. Harry didn't trust the explosive blonde not to pull something with whatever he learned.
He took off the cloak and walked to where the other boy was spying.
"Didn't your mother teach you listening in is rude?"
"Shut up you useless extra. Just because you cheated and scored higher doesn't mean you get to talk to me like you're better!" Bakugou snapped, but then he seemed to take a deep breath. "Whatever." He pushed past Harry and marched off.
The wizard, for his part, shrugged and turned to Todoroki and Midoriya. They seemed to have moved slightly. He was about to walk over to them and try to maybe join the discussion when his phone pinged. After he saw just what he received, he found a new reason to approach the other two powerhouses.
-|A|-
"What? Are you serious?" Momo asked, unconvinced.
"Hah! You think you hero students are too good to participate? Maybe getting one of your seats will be easier than I thought." The short gremlin cackled.
"I'm vice-representative and I didn't hear anything about it."
"Didn't your homeroom teacher tell you?"
"No. He didn't mention anything like that."
"Are you sure?" Mina asked, looking worried.
"Yeah, maybe it's one of his 'logical ruses'" Kaminari suggested from nearby.
"I mean… he would've informed me if it was important."
"Maybe he did and you forgot," Hagakure asked. While her features were invisible, she sounded hesitant.
"I wouldn't." Momo firmly protested.
"Whatever. See you in my class after the festival, losers." Mineta cheerfully waved them and walked away. He cackled like a maniac the whole time.
"Maybe we should…"
"Momo, can you get us some…"
The black-haired girl was quickly overwhelmed with the pleas from her classmates. It seemed that they were too worried to disregard this. And to be honest, she was too. What if she actually did miss something? Maybe a notice? Oh goodness! What if Aizawa wanted to make it an information-gathering test? And he did expel his entire class last year…
-|A|-
"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like class 1-A went full fan service. It's certainly one way to attract attention!" Present mic's voice echoed throughout the stadium. The screens zoomed on class 1-A girls, dressed in cheerleading uniforms, making a show.
"Eraser! Why didn't you tell me the school started the cheerleading section? I'm sure Tenya would totally join!"
"We didn't." Aizawa flatly replied.
"I… I think we've been tricked…" Momo groaned, seeing Kaminari and Mineta high-fiving one another. The small gremlin was holding a camera.
"Hah! I told you it would work."
"I'm sorry, oh great one." Kaminari chuckled. "I bow before your wisdom."
The two laughed, until suddenly dark, foreboding presence dawned on them. It was as if a mouse was caught in a corner with three cats looking at it with righteous fury.
"What do we have here?" Harry asked. While he was smiling and sounded cheerful, there was a dark edge to his voice.
"It seems our classmate and his… acquaintance decided to…"
"Trick our lovely girls into some perverted scheme." Midoriya finished the sentence for Todoroki.
"Boys, would you be so kind and… explain exactly what they did wrong? I have to help the girls out." Harry's eyes turned reptilian for a second, making Mineta gulp loudly. "And I will be taking that, thank you very much." He grabbed the camera right out of the midget's hands and crushed it in his hand, which just for a moment became covered in scales. Then, fire consumed whatever remained of the insides, including the memory card and the backup drive.
For a moment, the two boys were standing there, too afraid to move. Harry leaned in.
"This is the part, where you run away." He theatrically whispered.
Mineta and Kaminari started to run in fear.
Midoriya and Todoroki were hot in pursuit.
Harry turned to the girls, who all were now crowded together, looking very embarrassed.
"Well, it would be a shame to waste all the hard work you put into dressing up, wouldn't it?" He gave the girls a welcoming smile. His wand slid into his hand and he flicked it a few times. His normal sports uniform changed into a similar thing in orange and white colors. He still had no shirt.
Several colorful flares flew from his wand.
Music blared across the stadium despite the speakers being silent.
Harry started dancing, quickly being followed by Mina and Ochako. Then the other girls joined in. They formed a sort of triangle with Harry in the front.
The screens showed the group now.
Now that they were actually doing it for their own fun and not from some perverted scheme, the group really got into it. Harry's presence also helped since he was actively doing his best to lead them.
Now that the triangle formed, Harry stepped out and started to meander between the girls, doing cartwheels, backflips, and other similar acrobatics. Occasionally, his skin would turn slightly scaly indicating he was pulling on his quirk for flexibility, but no one noticed or cared.
Hagakure was the next star of the show, doing her best leading the others. Once Harry reached the end of the last row, she started making a series of backflips into a hastily formed corridor between the other girls. It ended when she landed head-down in Harry's arms, who quickly lifted her up and spun around in the air. Then, he tossed her up.
Mina and Tsu made cartwheels in front of Harry before he caught Hagakure mid-air and placed her on his shoulders. Kyoka and Ochako moved to his side and allowed Tsu and Mina to get on their shoulders, further supporting Toru.
Momo took a few steps back before sprinting at the pyramid. At the last possible second she bounced a few times, doing front-flips before she pushed herself up and landed on top of Toru. from her palms, she fired confetti at the group.
The pyramid separated and Harry and Momo took the front while the other girls formed a row behind them. The two started walking forward in dancing steps, which were mirrored by the rest of the ensemble. Finally, Harry ran a bit forward before turning back and leaning slightly. His invitation was clear. Momo dashed to him and with his help leaped even higher in the air than previously. She was followed by the other girls one by one. They were truly showing just how agile and strong the hero students were.
When the last girl was launched, Harry turned and quickly flicked his wand several times. Fireworks flew from the tip high in the air, forming UA's logo before turning into Chibi-Nedzu's head, then into a basilisk and a phoenix that dashed back down. Before the charmed fireworks could hit the arena, they turned into a flock of butterflies.
Harry and the girls were now in a circle. They danced some more before Toru was pushed into the center. Harry put a quick Sonorus spell on her before he grabbed her. The remaining girls lifted him in the air.
His skin became green and scaly as he tossed the invisible girl high in the air.
"PLUS ULTRA!" The large roar echoed all across the stadium. The public was going wild. Most civilians and quite a few heroes were stunned by the show.
With that, the show ended and in a cloud of smoke, the seven stars vanished.
"That! Was! Awesome!" Mina gushed. "You were amazing! How did you know how to… And you… we… I loved it!"
"I… Everyone saw me… And they watched…" Hagakure was close to crying.
"Potter." Jiro approached him. For a moment, he thought she would punch him for dragging her into that show, but instead, she just smiled and nodded. "You're cool."
"Where did you learn those things? You were amazing!" Uraraka was laughing.
"I'm similarly curious." Momo walked over to Harry, who suddenly looked overwhelmed.
"Uh… Well… I really improvised a lot of it. I seriously didn't expect it to even work. I almost wished I had some instant darkness powder." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I call bull!" Ashido protested. "No one can improvise like that without something to base it on."
"Well, I mostly adapted some of the Quidditch practice I've seen the Trio do back at Hogwarts. And added some of my and Midoriya's flexibility training from before UA. That, and a lot of quirk usage. Snakes are quite agile, you know."
"Kero. But why did you do that?"
"Something Snape's taught me. If you can't avoid being in the center of attention, use it to your benefit. I couldn't think of a way to save face without giving the public a show to talk about."
"Well, thank you." Momo hesitated for a moment before giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek. She then promptly blushed and dashed away. The other girls followed suit (sans heavy blushing and dashing away).
Now, Harry might be a dense piece of work, but he wasn't utterly clueless.
Harry dot Exe stopped responding. Please call again later.
-|A|-
"And we're back for the final round of the First years' sports festival. This round will be one v one fights. And now, let's see the rooster!" Present Mic cheered.
Midoriya Izuku vs Iida Tenya
Hatsume Mei vs Yaoyorozu Momo
Tokoyami Fumikage vs Kaminari Denki
Todoroki Shouto vs Ashido Mina
Shinso Hitoshi vs Harry Potter
Shiozaki Ibara vs Uraraka Ochako
Kirishima Eijiro vs Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
Bakugou Katsuki vs Minoru Mineta
"How did that gremlin get into finals?" Harry groaned.
"That guy was with us." A boy from 1-B confessed.
"We thought we were doing him a favor helping achieve his dream, and his quirk indeed complimented our own tactics." The girl with vines for hairs added.
"Well, whatever. Bakugou looks about ready to murder him. It seems he is not a total arsehole." The wizard chuckled.
"Shut up you moron! And you." Bakugou turned his glare to Mineta, who involuntarily shivered. "You'll pay." Bakugou didn't rage, which was perhaps all the more terrifying.
"Now! Let everyone but the first pair leave the arena." Midnight ordered. Izuku and Tenya entered the stage.
"Come on, Lil bro! Show the cat who's the boss!" Tensei cheered from the commentators' booth.
"Remind me again why are you still here?" Aizawa groaned.
Back with the fighters, Izuku extended his hand to Iida. "Let the best win."
"Indeed, Midoriya. I intend to."
They shook their hands.
"Ready? Fight!" Midnight announced.
"Recipro-" Iida started charing his engines.
"Hellcat heatwave!" Midoriya was faster. A flick of his fingers sent a wave of hot air at the engine boy. Before Tenya even realized what happened, he was out of bounds.
"That was fast." Present Mic deadpanned.
"Noooo!" Tensei moaned. "My little brother…"
"I will wack you with the dictionary. Maybe then you will look up the term 'impartial'." Aizawa groaned.
"Well… Yes… That was… something." Midnight was at the loss of words. "Winner Midoriya Izuku progresses to the next round. Now…" She looked at the devastated platform. "We need a short break to fix it up. The next competitors better prepare."
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"Hatsume Mei versus Yaoyorozu Momo! The embodiment of Mad Scientist against the Queen of Creation! This will be the duel of brains as much as that of strength."
"Hey, you wanna use some of my babies?" Mei asked with a glimmer in her eyes. "I would feel bad if I had all my babies and you had nothing."
In response, Momo created a bo staff and twirled it a bit, before hitting the ground and creating a miniature flash. "Thanks, but I mostly make my own gear."
Now, Mei looked positively ecstatic. "Let the best babies win!"
"Fight!" Midnight announced quickly before Hatsume started the fight regardless.
The first thing Mei pulled was her Jet-pack and boots, which allowed her to lift to the air. She then grabbed a little box, which unfolded into a tonfa.
"This baby can…" She started speaking. It became clear that she hacked into the stadium speaker system, but she was cut off when several matryoshka dolls exploded in the air, forcing her to dodge.
"Sorry, my faithful test su… I mean clients! It looks like my gear will have to speak for itself!"
From the Tonfa, Hatsume started firing small rubber bullets, which Momo deflected with her staff. Then, she flicked a switch and the staff extended to allow her to use it for a pole jump. Mid-air, Yaoyorozu created two more matryoshkas that she tossed at Mei, who tried to dodge. Instead of standard explosions, those two created some sort of sticky gel that caught the pinkette's boots and neutralized them. Without the help of the footwear, the jetpack was only good enough to slow the fall. As soon as the boots touched the ground, they stuck.
Momo fell at Hatsume like a bird of prey, with two escrima sticks instead of staff. Both sticks were crackling with energy. Thinking on the spot, Mei disengaged the quick-release of her shoes and used her jet-pack to aid her in the dodge.
"Net-Thrower!" She fired a small gun that sent a net at Momo
Thinking quickly, she pulled something that she's been wanting to try ever since she had that one training session with Midoriya. The boy had some brilliant ideas about her quirk.
"Nano-knife!" Yaoyorozu declared as she created a short dagger with a blade looking ethereally blue. The weapon cut through the net like it was butter.
"No way!" Mei's eyes were now zooming on the blade. "I want one of those!" She shrugged. "My babies are still better. Capture tape!" A silver fiber shot from inside her sleeve and attempted to wrap around Momo, who also cut it in pieces.
"Looks like physical capture tools are no good. Worry not! I have something just for the occasion!"
She pulled a perfume flacon and sprayed it at Yaoyorozu. The attached mini-fan sped the transmission of the greenish-purple cloud.
Without much hesitation, Momo created a lighter and tossed it into the unknown cloud, only to watch it explode.
Momentarily, the area was obscured and neither competitor could see the other. When the dust finally settled, Momo was standing with a cannon and Hatsume had a mortar firmly secured in the ground.
"I win!" They both declared and fired. Momo shot a cannonball that mid-air split into several smaller ones connected by a net. Each one then activated a small jet engine.
Hatsume fired her mortar and sent a spray of thick liquid at Momo. At least that was the initial intention. The actual result was that the glob fired from the mortar got caught in the net and came right back at Mei.
In the end, she ended up bound, immobilized, and out of bounds. But she had the wildest grin anyone has seen.
"Everyone's seen my babies!" She cackled.
Indeed, in the viewers' gallery, many of the scouts talked about her inventions. Indeed, one man in a fine suit with rather short black hair took a special note to get more information about the girl.
"Yaoyorozu Momo progresses to the next round!" Midnight announced even more eagerly than with Midoriya.
-|A|-
"And we're back, listeners. It took us a bit to regain control of the speakers. Let's look at the next competitors. We have the lord of the edge, the crow that crows! Tokoyami Fumikage. And his opponent is sparking with eagerness! It's Kaminari Denki!"
"What a mad banquet of darkness."
"I was almost afraid I would have to face Bakugou first…" Kaminari sighed in relief.
"Hey! You think you're safe?" Dark Shadow popped from inside the gym uniform. "What you did was totally uncool."
Kaminari gulped.
"Begin!" Midnight declared. She got such an eager bunch this year. She wanted to gush on the spot about their youthfulness.
"Dark shadow!" There was no need for further commands as the quirk got to work.
"Indiscriminate shock!" Kaminari called out. The flash of electricity filled the arena with light.
"That was fast…"
Tokoyami was now out cold. Kaminari, for his part, stumbled around and flopped on his rear, but he was still conscious, as apparent by giving thumbs up.
This was precisely why the First Year sports festival, while popular, paled in comparison to third years. Outside of a few special cases, the first years mostly just focused on their quirks. Of course, this year would be somewhat special with Harry Potter and Todoroki Shouto. One being the first wix hero since Snape and the other being the son of Number Two hero.
-|A|-
"The prince of cold. He's probably a chimera just like our beloved overlord Nedzu. Give a warm welcome to Todoroki Shouto! And his opponent is a girl as cheerful as she is pink. Just bruning with that passion, Ashido Mina!"
"Fight!" Midnight announced once the opponents were in position.
Immediately, a giant glacier materialized in the arena, freezing Mina and a large part of the viewers' gallery.
"Winner, Todoroki Shouto." Midnight's getup was insulted, but even it had limits. She wanted to get out of there fast.
-|A|-
"Now that we've fixed the stadium, let us welcome the mysterious. The amazing. He's constantly just behind the first place. With the wings of fire and the skin of a snake. His prowess with a wand is only second to… ouch!" Present Mic groaned as he evidently got an elbow to the gut. "I was going to say Lord Nox himself. Anyway, let's welcome Potter Harry onto the arena. And his opponent is the boy who evidently hates his bed. He might not look like much, but he thought tooth and nail to get a chance at becoming a hero. You ought to respect his determination. It's Shinsou Hitoshi!"
The two boys took their positions.
"So. Looks like I'm bound to lose either way."
"It's just a bad matchup for you I think" Harry responded.
"Fight!" Midnight declared.
"Gotcha. I win." Shinso panted slightly from trying to hold onto his quirk without activating it and breaking the rules. "Walk out of bonds."
Slowly, Harry started to obey. He lifted one foot and started to rotate, walking toward the edge that was farthest away from him.
"What an unexpected turn of events!" Present Mic called. "It looks like Shinso's quirk took hold of Potter."
"His quirk allows him to…" Tensei pulled a file. "Brainwash!?"
There were murmurs among the audience.
"Talk about cool quirk!" Ingenium continued. "Man I wish one of my sidekicks had that quirk. So many fights could be resolved without violence."
"Indeed. Whoever decides to call that quirk anything else but useful is an utter fool." Aizawa agreed. "And stay away from him. He doesn't need your corruption."
Back in the arena, Harry slowly marched toward his loss. He fought against the command with all his willpower, but he could only delay.
Finally, he had enough. He fought Voldemort! There was no way he would lose to a stupid imperious-wannabe! He tried to pull away. To regain control. He remembered how Fake Moody said that they could break the imperious with the strong-enough willpower. So he gathered every ounce of remaining will he could and pushed.
A mighty roar filled the arena. Harry's skin momentarily became green before reverting into a golden hue as flames roared all over his body (burning his pants and jacket). A beautiful song echoed across the viewers' gallery. It seemed to almost touch the very souls of everyone who heard it. Most people found it pleasing, but selected few, especially among the upper echelons of society suddenly became unnerved by it.
Once the thing died down, Harry turned to Shinsou. "Looks like it's not as easy as you thought, eh?"
"Of course, you would say that. You had everything just given to you. You came here, got in through recommendation, you have magic and a powerful quirk. You are just born lucky."
"And you're an idiot," Harry growled before dashing forward and delivering a powerful uppercut that sent Shinso flying before he could take advantage of his brainwashing.
"Winner Potter Harry." Midnight declared after checking if Shinso is still conscious.
"Just a small note for those who now got some misguided idea that physical quirks dominate the mental ones. The fact that Potter Harry was able to break through the mind control had nothing to do with either his quirk or magic. It was purely through his determination that he could break it and win. Quirk or not." Aizawa warned some of the viewers who were loudly cheering at the defeat of the supposed 'villain quirk'.
-|A|-
"Our next competitors are from Class 1-A and Class 1-B respectively. Let's give a warm welcome to the girl who can make you fly. It's Uraraka Ochako! And her opponent. The vines assassin. The weed that kills. Shiozaki Ibara!"
"Um… Could you please not refer to me like that?" Ibara meekly asked, but Midnight just shook her head.
"He can't hear you now. And take it from a pro, media don't really care unless you make them care."
"Oh… Okay."
"Hey, don't worry. They won't remember it by the time you graduate." Ochako tried to comfort her opponent.
"I appreciate it. God bless you."
"Fight!" Midnight called.
Ochako immediately dashed forward, weaving between the vines. She just needed to get in close. One touch should be enough.
Shiozaki didn't so much as move from her position. Her hands were folded together in a praying position and she had her eyes closed. It ticked Ochako a bit that her opponent didn't respect her, but then she remembered one of Neku's rants about certain quirks. Could Shiozaki sense her surroundings through the vines?
It's not like Ochako had really any way to test it. She pushed forward and barely avoided more vines coming her way. The whole arena was quickly becoming thicker than a jungle.
Wait, the vines were coming from the ground, right?
Uraraka risked looking around, which almost cost her the match. Ultimately, she had to retreat, or else she would end up at a dead end. She stayed close to the ground all through her retreat.
"I am sorry, but I have a mission." Shiozaki extended her hand, causing more of the ground to shatter as vines shot everywhere. Ochako threw herself on the ground, barely avoiding the brush of the assault.
A single vine wrapped around her ankle, followed by several more. She was soon bound and lifted up in the air.
"Please, surrender." Shiozaki asked.
Ochako could feel the thorns get to her with every shift. She just needed to…
There!
"Release!" With a loud call, all the debris she lifted through the fight fell back onto the vines, crushing most of them.
She could feel her bindings let go, but it was all for naught. She was already outside the arena and by the time she realized her mistake, it was already over.
"Shiozaki Ibara progresses to the next round!" Midnight called.
"Let this serve as a lesson, everyone," Tensei spoke through the speakers. "Any quirk can become powerful if you use it wisely. Creativity can make a hero."
"More like Gravit, eh?" Present Mic added. "Ouch!" And promptly received an audible smack to his head from Eraserhead.
"Ingenium is, indeed, correct. There are many ways to get stronger with one's quirk and creative applications of said quirk are one of the most effective."
-|A|-
The less said about Kirishima versus Tetsutetsu fight, the better. At some point, Aizawa up and left to get himself some coffee. Then he fell asleep. Tensei took a picture and posted it online. The resulting argument was that much more interesting that it took a phone call from Midnight to remind everyone that there is still a match going on. And both participants were knocked out at the same time.
-|A|-
"Well, it's time for the last match of the round. The explosive pomeranian with anger issues! Katsuki Bakugou! And his opponent, the only one from General course, Mineta Minoru!" Present Mic announced.
"I was honestly afraid I would get Todoroki or that cat-guy first…" Whatever Mineta was planning on saying died in his throat as the aura that his opponent had finally registered.
"Initially I planned to end this match as quickly as possible, but then I remembered that you were that dunce who messed with the girls." Bakugou snarled. "In the end, I'll win this whole thing either way so there is no need to rush."
"Uh… Can I… Do we…" Mineta was practically shaking.
"Remember. No excessive maiming." Midnight stressed before winking to the blond fighter. "Fight!"
What followed was Mineta frantically sprinting all over the arena while Bakugou was hot on his tail, creating explosions just close enough to stinge him, but not enough to push him out of the ring.
Finally, after about ten minutes of the cat and mouse game, Katsuki finally got bored. He stopped chasing after Mineta and landed on the ground, only to be surprised when he stepped into something sticky.
"Ha! I caught you!" Mineta bragged. Indeed, a large part of the arena was now covered in sticky balls that to this moment Bakugou easily dodged.
"Doesn't matter." The explosive boy blasted the ground around his feet and stepped from the hole with two blocks of concrete attached to his legs. It didn't seem to slow him down at all.
Mineta gulped. "Could we maybe talk about it?"
"Too late. Howitzer Impact!" Completely ignoring the added weights, Bakugou launched himself in the air and started spinning. For a moment, the entire arena was filled with fiery waves of explosion before some smoking midget came flying out of the ring.
"Bakugou Katsuki wins!" Midnight cheered.
"Did that boy really want to get into Hero course?" Tensei asked, genuinely confused.
"Yes. Some people do not grasp the basics of what it means to be a hero." Aizawa sighed.
"That's why we keep you around. Someone's got to teach them the harsh reality." Present Mic merrily responded.
-|A|-
A/N I wanted to get the whole sports festival done in this chapter, but it's already close to 5k long, so it's gonna be split in two still. Happy Holidays everyone!