Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!

...

...

1st year - Too Academy

...

Daisuke had not been in the non-magical world a lot. It was too bad, too, he thought as he looked around the outside of the large arena where the Winter Cup was being held. It was a lot of people there going in and out, and it was all ages. For a High School tournament, there were quite a lot of adults there too.

"I can't wait until Too Academy plays!" a boy said to his friend.

"I know… I wonder how much they'll win with today," his friend said back.

"You don't know they will win," another one told them. "They might lose. Yamanoe is good."

"Please," the first one snorted. "There's no way that Too will lose to Yamanoe. Not with Potter and Aomine on their team."

"True," the second one agreed. "Too Academy has two of the Generation of Miracles on their team, so there's no way they'll lose!"

"Still," the third one said. "I think Yamanoe is better."

"Just because…"

Daisuke couldn't hear more of their conversation seeing that they had disappeared into the crowd now and out of his hearing range. So, Mac was good. Well, he had the impression that she would be but he had no idea just how good she was.

And the Generation of Miracles? What did that mean? He would have to ask her later. Daisuke continued to walk toward the arena sidestepping teens that almost collided with him several times.

He finally found the right court and a place to sit in the stands around the court. It was larger than he had imagined it to be and it took a moment before he realised that the court was actually split into two different courts and that there would be playing two matches at once.

How strange…

That would never have happened with quidditch. It was always one match at the time and never two played simultaneously right next to each other. Daisuke could only imagine the chaos of mixing Quaffles and Bludgers and flyers colliding with each other…

He did like that he got to sit rather high up and look down at the court, it gave a better view and he saw Mac warming up and talking with some of her teammates.

...

Too Academy vs Yamanoe High : 1st quarter – start of the match

...

Daisuke waited for what felt like a long time before the match finally started. It looked like Too Academy was the popular team going by the cheering they got and Daisuke smiled noticing that Mac got very loud applause when the speaker announced the players' names.

"Ah man, I'm late again," a voice sighed.

Daisuke looked to see who had talked and saw a woman with long blond hair standing right next to his seat looking down at the court where the match had just started.

"They just started," he said.

She looked at him and pushed her pink glasses up her nose and smiled, "good!"

He nodded and looked back at the court. He noticed her sitting down next to him but didn't look over at her again. Mac had the ball now and she was dribbling it before she suddenly moved and Daisuke was surprised by how fast she was.

Mac was free from her mark and passed the ball to one of her teammates who immediately took the shoot and Daisuke noticed three points being added to the score. So that shot had been worth three points? And the one before that two points?

...

5 – 0 : 2 minute played – 1st quarter

...

He wished he had thought to have her explain the rules more before coming to watch the match. Well, she had done that once before but that was a while ago and he couldn't remember and he felt confused. He didn't understand the point system because sometimes they got one point, then two and finally three. He wasn't sure what the rules were or how it worked…

"She should have shot herself," the woman next to him said.

"Eh?" he looked over at her.

She blinked and looked at him, "did I say that out loud?"

"Yes," Daisuke nodded.

"Oh, I forget sometimes," she said sheepishly.

"But what do you mean? She should have shot herself?" Daisuke asked curiously.

"She had the opportunity to make the shot," the woman said. "Potter could have made it."

"Oh," Daisuke said.

"So, what team do you support?" the woman asked pushing her blond hair out of her face.

"Too Academy," Daisuke said with a shrug. "Or rather Potter Mackenzie."

"You know her?"

"Yes," Daisuke nodded and glanced over at the woman who looked at him pensively.

"Alex Garcia," she suddenly said holding out her hand.

"Sato Daisuke," Daisuke shook her hand when she held it out and smiled slightly.

"You're new to basketball, aren't you?" Alex asked.

"You could say that," Daisuke said. "But how did you know?"

"You looked a little confused earlier," Alex said.

Daisuke laughed and nodded, "I am. Mac told me the rules and all, but I've never had the chance to watch a match before. I guess I should have gotten a refresher on the rules or something before coming."

"I can help you," Alex offered.

"Alright," Daisuke said. "If you don't mind."

"Not at all," Alex said.

...

13 – 2 : 6 minutes played – 1st quarter

...

It did help getting Alex to explain things as they happened and Daisuke got a new appreciation for the game as she did. He wasn't lost on the fact that Daiki (he had to be Mac's boyfriend) seemed to be a lot better than everyone else on the court. Every time he got the ball he would score and it didn't matter who or how many from the other team trying to stop him. He made it look easy.

"He's good, isn't he?" Daisuke asked.

"Good is an understatement," Alex snorted. "He's probably the strongest player around."

Daisuke arched a brow but didn't say anything. He looked to see Yamanoe having the ball now and they passed the ball back and forth a few times before they managed to shoot and get three points. There was some spread cheering but Daisuke had a feeling that it was mostly polite cheers and not much else.

Mac had the ball again and she used her reflexes, reflexes Daisuke had seen her use in quidditch, to bypass an attempt to stop her before she passed the ball to her teammate with glasses who passed the ball back to her before she took the shot and smiled when it went through the hoop.

"She works well with the others," Daisuke commented.

"She does," Alex agreed.

...

178 – 44 : 40 minutes played – 4th quarter - end

...

"Another huge win," someone behind Daisuke said.

"A 134 points difference this time," another one said. "It's almost too much…"

"I feel bad for Yamanoe…"

"They gave up at the end…"

"Wouldn't you?"

Daisuke blinked and looked over at Alex. She was watching the court with a thoughtful look and he wondered what she was thinking.

"It's not normal that someone wins with a huge point difference? Daisuke asked.

"Well, when someone from the Generation of Miracles plays it's quite normal," Alex said. "At least that's what I've heard and also seen while I've been here."

"Generation of Miracles?" Daisuke asked hearing the term again.

"You don't know?" Alex asked. "Your friend Potter is one of them, and so is her boyfriend Aomine."

"But why are they called that?"

"Because they're all strong players with exceptional talent," Alex said. "They never lost a match or a tournament they entered."

Daisuke hummed thoughtfully as he looked down at Mac who was talking with her coach and wondered about what Alex had just said. So, she was that strong? He remembered the flashes of bitterness and sadness he'd seen in her at times as she talked about basketball, especially if her boyfriend got mentioned.

"Must be tough," he said thinking about the lack of challenge if they really were that much stronger than the others.

Alex glanced at him, "suppose so."

...

"Mac!" Daisuke called when he finally spotted her coming through the crowd with the tall blue-haired teen next to her.

"You actually came!" Mac said with a large smile letting go of the hand she was holding and Daisuke smiled as he gave her a quick hug.

"I said I finally would, didn't I?" he asked.

"Kenzie…"

Mac stepped back from Daisuke who looked behind her and met a pair of glaring blue eyes and Daisuke was glad looks couldn't kill because otherwise he would have been gone now.

"Hey," Daisuke said. "You must be Aomine Daiki, right? Mac's boyfriend?"

"Who are you?" Daiki asked narrowing his eyes as he looked at him.

"Daiki," Mac sighed.

"Sato Daisuke," Daisuke smirked and held out a hand. The hand was ignored and Daisuke arched a brow before looking at Mac who sighed. "Nice to meet you. I have heard a lot about you."

"Why? When?" Daiki scowled. "How do you know Kenzie?"

"You haven't told him about me, Mac?" Daisuke teased and mock pouted. "I thought we were closer than that…I'm hurt …"

He couldn't help but enjoy the way Daiki scowled and the jealousy he saw in his eyes as he looked at Mac. It was just too much fun…

"Kenzie…" Daiki frowned looking at Mac.

"Stop teasing," Mac sighed and gave Daisuke a glare before she looked at Daiki, "and I have told you about him, Daiki. He's just teasing and an idiot."

"Hey!" Daisuke felt the need to protest.

"He's Professor Sato's son," Mac continued like Daisuke hadn't said anything. "He's my friend, even if I wonder why right now."

Daiki blinked and frowned as he looked at Daisuke who still smiled. Hm. He did remember that now that she said it, but he had not thought…he hadn't thought that the Sato Daisuke that Mac talked about was anything like…well, the guy standing in front of them. He was good looking and a seemed to be just as relaxed and casual as Mac liked, and the way he looked at Mac… Daiki didn't like it.

"Right," Daiki said. "Guess so."

"Don't be rude," Mac frowned at him.

"I'm not," Daiki muttered.

"Well, good game," Daisuke said looking back at Mac.

"Thanks," Mac said with a small smile before she got a curious look in her eyes. "You managed to follow it? I know it's very different from quidditch."

"I had some help," Daisuke admitted. "A woman who sat next to me helped explain it. You know her, I think."

"I do?" Mac asked tilting her head slightly. "Who?"

"Alex Garcia," Daisuke said and was a little surprised by the way Mac's face blanked out and Daiki's scowl deepened. "Um…you do know her, don't you?"

"Yes," Mac nodded. "In a way, I guess."

Daisuke looked between the two feeling confused, "Okay…"

"Sorry," Mac said with a small smile. "So Garcia helped you understand the game?"

"Yeah, she was a great help because while I could tell you were better and that you were in the lead I don't really have anything to go on to judge just how well you were doing," Daisuke said.

"It's not that complicated," Daiki said.

"He hasn't seen a basketball match before, Daiki," Mac looked at her boyfriend

"Strange," Daiki huffed.

"I can say the same about you never having seen a quidditch match before," Daisuke smiled amused. "But it was fun."

Mac nodded and looked at Daiki who was watching Daisuke with a pensive look and she wondered what he was thinking.

"Do you want to come with us and watch Seirin play?" Mac asked looking at Daisuke. "My cousin is on that team."

Daisuke looked at her and then at Daiki who didn't look overly happy about the prospect of him joining them but he did nod and Daisuke guessed that meant that he was kind of welcomed.

"Sure," he said curiously about how Mac would explain the game.

...

Seirin vs Nakamiya : 1st quarter - start of the match

...

"Ah, look at that," Mac snorted. "Taiga is angry."

"What about?" Daisuke asked.

"Who knows," Mac shrugged. "Probably something the Nakamiya player said."

"He's always angry," Daiki said.

"You're not one to talk, Daiki," Mac said looking at him.

"His light is still too dim," Daiki muttered.

Daisuke looked confused and looked at Mac who rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. He wondered if he should ask but decided against it.

"You're here to watch Taiga?" a voice asked and Mac turned to see Alex sitting behind them.

"Yes," she said.

Alex nodded and looked at Daisuke who smiled at her and nodded.

"You met your friend, I see," Alex said looking back at Mac.

"I did," Mac said. "Thanks for helping him understand the game earlier."

"You're welcome," Alex smiled. "It's fun to explain it."

Mac nodded and looked back at the court where Seirin had just started their match. She saw Kiyoshi smiling as he got the ball from Hyuga and couldn't help but smile a little. She really liked seeing him playing basketball…

"So, what kind of team is Seirin?" Daisuke asked looking at Mac. "They seem different from your team…"

"You see that already?" Mac asked looking over at him.

"It's not like it's difficult," Daiki mumbled but fell silent when Mac elbowed him.

"I can't really say what the difference is, though," Daisuke said.

"Seirin is a team that relies heavily on teamwork and a run and gun style," Alex said from behind them.

"What's that?" Daisuke asked confused.

"It means that they are fast and has a freewheeling style that features a lot of shots that's worth two or three points," Mac explained. "Usually their matches are high-scoring ones."

"Oh," Daisuke nodded. "I see."

Mac smiled.

...

25-22 : 13 minutes played – 2nd quarter

...

"Mm," Mac said thoughtfully as she scribbled something down in her notebook. She had pulled it out during the second quarter in order to make notes of her observations. "Good…"

They had grown. A lot, Mac noticed. Their team-play was stronger now and the weaknesses she'd seen with them during the Inter-High weren't as strong anymore. How fast they had grown…

"What's she doing?" Daisuke asked glancing at her.

Daiki yawned and glanced at Mac before looking at Daisuke and shrugged.

"She's doing what she's always doing," Daiki said. "Observing and analysing the game. I'm betting she's focusing on Seirin, though."

"You don't like their team?" Daisuke asked curiously.

"They're decent, I guess," Daiki shrugged. "Still, not good enough."

Daisuke looked at him for a moment before looking back at the game.

Mac heard them but didn't add anything as she looked at Taiga and the way he moved. He was stronger, he jumped higher and had more control over his jump and…he could use both arms now for shots.

"You've been working on Taiga, Garcia," Mac suddenly said and glanced behind her to look at Alex.

"You can tell?" Alex asked.

"It's pretty obvious," Mac said looking back at her cousin. "He's grown."

"He would have done that without me here," Alex said.

"Yes, but not so fast," Mac said.

"Maybe," Alex agreed.

...

32 – 25 : 15 minutes played – 2nd quarter

...

"Whoa…was he on the court the whole time?" Daisuke suddenly said.

Mac looked to see him staring down at the court and she didn't need to ask who he was asking about.

"Tetsu has been on the court the whole time, yeah," Mac said. "You just saw him?"

"Yeah…seriously how did he do that?" Daisuke asked. "I didn't notice him until he held the ball and then disappeared again…are you sure he didn't use you know what?"

Mac laughed lightly and shook her head, though she could understand why Daisuke wondered if he had used magic.

"No, he specializes in misdirection," Mac said. "He is naturally hard to notice and he uses that in the game and therefore manages to direct the ball to unexpected places taking the opponents off guard."

"Awesome," Daisuke said. "I wonder if that would be possible to transfer into other sports as well…"

Mac nodded slowly, she had wondered the same but she wasn't sure.

"Tetsu is special like that," Daiki spoke up. "No one else can do it…"

"Well, Seijuro has a boy on his team that can do something similar," Mac said. "But I agree, Tetsu is special."

"You know him?"

"We played together at Teiko," Mac said.

Daisuke blinked and looked at Alex who nodded and took a closer look at Mac and Daiki. They seemed fond of the other boy even Daiki did, though he seemed a little sad as well. Daisuke didn't ask anything more, though.

...

92 – 88 : 40 minutes played – 4th quarter - end

...

"Thank you for coming to watch me play, Daisuke," Mac said when they stood outside the arena after Seirin finished their match.

"It was fun," Daisuke said. "I'd bring Taka too, but…"

Mac blinked. "Taka?"

"A…friend," Daisuke said and blushed a little.

"Friend who makes you blush?" Mac asked smiling.

Daisuke rubbed the back of his neck and laughed, "should have known you'd notice…"

"Yes, you should," Mac agreed. "So? You and this Taka are close?"

"He's my boyfriend," Daisuke admitted.

"Really? That's great!" Mac smiled.

"Thanks," Daisuke smiled.

"He'd like basketball?" Mac asked.

"I think so," Daisuke said. "It would be fun to see his reaction to it… He's not been in the muggle world that much, and I want to bring him into it more. He needs to see it."

"I see," Mac said and knew that he must be a wizard and that meant that he would know who Mac was by just seeing her scar and hearing her name…Stupid scar and too easily recognizable name. She wondered if she should tell Daisuke to invite his boyfriend or not. But what if he told…but Daisuke trusted him…

"Well, I will definitely come back to see you play more," Daisuke said and Mac realised that she had drifted off in thought. "It was fun, especially when I started to understand the game more."

"Good," Mac smiled deciding to think about having Daisuke bring his boyfriend later. She kind of wanted to meet him too, but still…

Daisuke smiled at her and nodded at Daiki who had been quiet as they talked before looking back at Mac.

"See you later, Mac," he said. "Aomine."

"See you," Mac smiled back.

"See you," Daiki grumbled.

...

The next day was again a day without a match and it felt strange going to school and attend a normal school day during a tournament. Mac couldn't help but think that as she sat in the classroom waiting for Nishimura to start her lesson.

"Good game yesterday," Nakano said.

Mac looked over at her.

"Thank you," Mac said. "You were there?"

"I was too!" Miyamoto said.

"A bunch of our class was," Nakano said.

Mac blinked but nodded, "oh. Thank you for your support."

She wasn't sure why she felt surprised, but she still did. Though, she had been aware that some of them had been at previous matches.

"You're welcome," Nakano said. "Um, Potter-san…"

"What?" Mac looked at her.

"We're a bunch of people going out to eat next week," Nakano said. "I was wondering if you and Aomine would like to come."

Mac looked at her and bit back the automatic response to decline the invitation when she spotted the hope in the other girl's eyes.

"What day?" Mac asked buying herself some time to think.

"Tuesday," Nakano said.

Mac tried to think. It was a Monday now, and they had (hopefully) four matches left. The final for Winter Cup would be on Sunday (if they made it to that), so next week they would be free.

"We'd like it if you came," Miyamoto added making Mac look over at him.

They had both been kind and hadn't really done anything to Mac. But she still had a hard time letting go of everything that had happened, but it wasn't fair was it?

"Alright," Mac said. "We'll come."

The smile that broke out on Nakano's face made Mac feel better and smiled a small smile back.

"Don't you need to ask Aomine?" Nakano asked.

"Nah," Mac shrugged. "He'll come, if not I'll come by myself."

"Something tells me he won't let you come alone," Miyamoto snorted.

"Probably not," Mac agreed.

"Settle down!" Nishimura called out suddenly. "Get your books out!"

...

"Mmm…" Mac groaned. "I can't believe we got that much homework…"

"It's not that much," Ito said.

Mac glanced at the girl who had come over to talk to Nakano during the break.

"It is when you have to prepare for basketball matches and analyse the other teams," Mac said. "I swear I have a mountain of paperwork at my desk at home…"

"A mountain?" Matsushita asked having heard the comment in passing.

"She's not lying," Daiki said jumping up to sit on Mac's desk. He glanced at her and she smiled slightly showing that she didn't mind the others around her so he didn't need to go into protective-mode.

"Seriously?" Miyamoto asked. "You have that much on the other teams?"

"The ones we can possibly meet, yeah," Mac said.

"Meaning almost everyone," Daiki said helpfully.

"Just how much work do you put into basketball, Potter-san?" Ito asked slightly shocked.

Mac shrugged, "not that much."

Daiki snorted and Mac glared at him while the others watched curiously.

"Aomine doesn't seem to agree," Matsushita said.

"That's because what she classifies as 'not much' is very much to anyone else," Daiki said.

"It's not," Mac protested. "I just like to know the other team…"

"Their players, coach, style, background, past games," Daiki listed.

"It all helps to set up our own strategy and what we need to get better at in order to counter it," Mac said.

"Wow," Nakano said. "I didn't know you did that much for basketball, Potter-san."

Mac just shrugged again.

"But you don't need it," Miyamoto said. "You and Aomine are stronger than anyone and the rest of your team is good too…"

Mac sighed and looked at him. It wasn't the first time she had heard that.

"I'm strong because I put work into it," Mac said. "It hasn't come for free, you know. And, while Daiki is stronger than most and our team is good it doesn't mean that someone out there isn't better. And it's about showing respect and being prepared."

Daiki scoffed lightly but didn't say anything.

"What is your next game?"

"Tomorrow," Mac said.

"Who are you playing?"

"Kitami High," Mac said. "They have a good team."

"Oh! I have a friend on that team," Ito said. "I can't wait to see you play him, Potter-san!"

...

Tetsuya stared out of the window as the teacher continued to talk about something. It was all in the back of his mind as he was stuck on a problem of his own. Basketball. He had to figure it out and hopefully fast because they had the next game in just one day and they had to win in order to get to the next one… He had to find a way to be of a better use for his team. He was too predictable like this, more and more knew about him and what if he couldn't use his misdirection anymore?

They would at one point also meet his old teammates and they would not be easily beaten. His misdirection never worked as well on them as the others, so he needed to become stronger. But how?

If only he had the opportunity to ask Mac. She would know and she would help him, but with them being on different teams and rivals in the Winter Cup he couldn't ask her.

You're good, Tetsu. You have your strengths and all you need to do is play on them. You can do what others can't.

He could practically hear her say that and he wondered how many times she had told him something similar back at Teiko. She would always help him when he got stuck with his misdirection or needed some encouragement for his basketball.

He knew he was different from the others. He knew that, and sometimes it frustrated him and had him feel jealous because he didn't have the same talent as them. They were miles in front of him and he had no chance to beat them in plain basketball skills.

He couldn't shoot, or really dribble, or…

Stop thinking about what you can't do and think about what you can do, Tetsu!

Tetsuya sighed.

If only he…

There's no such thing as a player we don't need.

Daiki had told him that around the time when he had first met him. The words had always stayed in Tetsuya's mind, giving him hope and strength. It didn't matter that Daiki had changed now, he had really believed that when he had said it and Tetsuya thought that deep inside, Daiki still did.

So, Tetsuya couldn't shoot.

Was he going to let that stop him or was he going to do something about it?

He wanted to do something, but what? Could he learn even though he didn't have much time? But he couldn't do it alone… He would have asked Daiki but they weren't talking much, he could have asked Mac but the fact that they were rivals now and both teams still in the Winter Cup still remained, and it wasn't fair to ask someone from another team to teach you how to shoot or become stronger.

But…maybe…Tetsuya looked behind him and saw Taiga sitting there half-asleep in his seat.

The class ended and Tetsuya turned to Taiga.

"Kagami," Tetsuya said and Taiga jumped and blinked.

"What do you want?" Taiga asked.

"I need your help," Tetsuya said.

...

Tetsuya looked a little surprised when he spotted Alex as well when he arrived at the park where he had Taiga often met to play basketball during their free time.

"I thought she could help as well," Taiga shrugged, "I was meeting her anyway to work on my basketball as well."

"I see," Tetsuya said.

"What kind of help do you need?" Alex said looking at Tetsuya curiously.

"I want to learn how to shoot," Tetsuya said bluntly.

"You said," Taiga said looking confused, "but why? You're not normally concerned about it."

"I think it might be needed," Tetsuya said. "I just want to be able to help our team if we come up in a situation where it's needed."

"You think it will?" Taiga asked.

"Mac always said I had a different talent than others and that I should use it to my advantage," Tetsuya said looking away from Taiga and over at the hoop. "I want to combine it with shooting."

"You want to add misdirection to shooting?" Taiga asked thoughtfully.

"Interesting," Alex said.

"Can you help me?" Tetsuya asked looking back at Taiga. "Normally I would ask Mac or Aomine, but since we're both still in the Winter Cup it doesn't feel right to ask them for help…"

"Aomine wouldn't help anyway," Taiga scoffed.

Tetsuya hid a wince at that but secretly he thought Taiga was wrong. Daiki would help if he had been asked. Or at least Tetsuya hoped so…

"So, can you help?" Tetsuya asked.

"Sure," Taiga nodded. "Alex can too, right?"

"It would be interesting," Alex nodded in agreement. "I would like to see if the two of you can become strong enough to challenge Mac and Aomine."

Tetsuya glanced at the older woman before he nodded. He wasn't sure if they would end up playing Mac and Daiki, but still, it would be exciting to see if they had become strong enough to challenge them now.

...

...

AN: What do you think? XD

it is a little shorter than normal but it felt natural to end the chapter here, so I did. It's also more of a filler before I get to a more significant match in the next chapter. It's a challenge to write this tournament because I don't want to rush through it but don't want to drag it out either. So, it took forever to write this chapter even if it is short. I just couldn't get it right. I apologize for the wait!

Thank you for reading and supporting the story! XD