Izuku changes into long sleeves and shorts. He pulls his compression sleeve on underneath his right sleeve and sits cross-legged on the floor, loaned schoolbooks and his notebooks in front of him. He tucks his wand, removed from its box, behind his right ear. A slender tendril of Blackwhip curls around its handle to hold it in place with just half a thought from him.
Wow, way to really make the most of having my quirk!
Izuku sighs and rolls his eyes at Banjou before opening The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One and turning to the introductory pages. He's read them a few times now, but they still barely make sense. Could he recite them? Probably, by this point.
Could he tell you what they actually mean?
No, not at all.
With a huff, he closes the book, letting the pages slap shut. Maybe one of the Weasleys will be able to help him. Percy seems the most studious of them, but perhaps Ron would be able to help him? He'd been willing to answer Izuku's questions earlier.
Izuku stacks up the schoolbooks and notebooks and shoves his handful of pens in his shorts pocket. Picking up the books, he stands and leaves his room, beginning the ascent to the top floor.
Once he reaches the door to Ron's room, Izuku shifts the stack of books to his hip and knocks on the door.
"Go away, Ginny!" Ron yells.
"I'm not Ginny," Izuku calls back.
A pause, and then, "Oh. Come in, then."
Izuku turns the doorknob and shoves the door open, letting himself into Ron's room. "Could you help me with some of my studying? The textbooks are confusing."
Ron snorts. "Yeah, mate, practically unreadable. You might have better luck asking Ginny or the twins—the only reason I understand any of this is because of Hermione."
"Oh." Izuku nods. "Okay. I will. Thank you."
"Sorry." Ron shrugs, mouth twisting in an awkward smile. "If you have questions to ask about Quidditch, though, I could answer those."
"I don't have any right now, thank you," Izuku replies, backing out of Ron's room and closing the door behind him.
The twins' room is the closest option. As Izuku walks down the stairs, he hears a pop and a crash. White smoke leaks out from the door to their room.
Izuku takes one sniff of the smoke and screws his face up. That's nasty. Is he sure he wants to ask the twins to help him study?
He can hear coughing from inside the room, so he turns and continues heading downstairs. Hopefully, Ginny will be available to help him study. She's already been helping him out with it, using tutoring him as an excuse to review material, so at least he can reassure himself that she's getting something out of it, too.
Her room is blessedly smoke-free as he approaches. He knocks on the door.
"Midoriya?" she hollers.
"Yeah!" he hollers back.
"Just a moment!"
He hears drawers opening and slamming shut, then moments later, she opens the door and sticks her head out.
"Sorry about that." She looks down at the books propped on his hip. "You want more help studying?"
"Yes, please," he nods. "I have my underage magic allowance, now, so I was hoping I could get someone to help me with spells?"
"You might want to wait until Percy gets home and see if he'll help you," she suggests, stepping aside to gesture him through the door. "He probably won't, he's very busy—"—she rolls her eyes as she says this—"so if he won't, then you could ask mum or dad to help."
"Alright." Izuku crouches down and drops his books on the floor. They smack down with a dull thud, and he finishes sitting, legs tucked underneath him. Ginny sits down in front of him, already pulling the top book off the stack.
"A Standard Book of Spells? Yeah, just ignore the introduction pages, those are useless." She tosses the book to the side. "We've already worked partway through Magical Theory, do you want to keep working on that?"
"Please." He nods, picking up his notebook and opening it to the earliest blank page. He's filled a significant chunk already with his notes on magic and Wizarding Britain.
The two of them don't get to work for long. Mrs. Weasley calls them all to lunch, which is just sandwiches, and then sets the younger kids on garden work. Izuku finds himself following them out, aching for some physical activity. Ron and Ginny are more than happy to let him help out.
Eventually, the twins get kicked out of the house as well, Mrs. Weasley chasing them out with a "And I'm tired of listening to bangs and pops from your room all day! Get some fresh air and make yourselves useful!"
Fred and George laugh with each other as they jog out to where Izuku, Ron, and Ginny are digging up weeds together.
"Took her longer than usual today!" Fred is saying as they draw into earshot. "Wonder how long it'll be tomorrow?"
"She'll kick us out by noon," George responds as he sidles over to Ron and leans his elbow on his younger brother's shoulder. The twins are both stocky and short where Ron is tall and gangling, which makes the whole business of George resting his elbow on Ron's shoulder an interesting feat to watch. "So, Ronnie-boy, what've you got going on out here? Got our poor houseguest wrapped up in your chores?"
"Buzz off, George," Ron snaps back, shaking his brother off. He turns around and shakes his hoe at him. "Go concuss yourself on an apple tree again."
Fred gasps, long, overdramatic, and drawn-out. He rushes to George's side and places his hands on George's back. "Uncalled for! How dare you!"
Ron sticks his tongue out at Fred. Ginny, a few feet away, pauses in her attack of a stubborn clump of grass and snorts.
"Why, you're being positively uncouth today, Ronald!" George crosses his arms. "What sort of impression must we be leaving on Mr. Midoriya here?"
"The two of you have been blowing things up in your room the entire time he's been here," Ginny points out.
Izuku grew up with someone who literally explodes on a regular basis. He can handle a few room explosions, no problem.
He should probably refrain from pointing that out, though, or else he might have to explain what he means by it, and that's a whole issue he does not need to be getting into right now.
Fred harrumphs. "Well, maybe we'll just have to ask him!" He turns towards Izuku. "So, our dearest Mr. Midoriya, our most esteemed guest, what sort of impression has Ronald been leaving you with?"
"I don't actually have any problems with doing chores," Izuku replies, leaning on his borrowed shovel.
"Yeah, some people actually like doing physical activity," Ginny adds. She smirks at her brothers. "Physical activity that doesn't involve sitting on a broomstick, that is."
The four siblings bicker back and forth a few more times before Fred and George move on to something else. Izuku, Ginny, and Ron work in the garden for a little longer before the afternoon, on its march toward its hottest point, becomes untenable for yard work and they move inside.
The rest of the day is spent on playing catch-up for magic school. True to Ginny's suggestion, when he asks, Mrs. Weasley is more than happy to set aside some time to work with Izuku on his spellwork in the coming weeks.
The next afternoon, Izuku follows Mrs. Weasley out to the orchard. His wand remains tucked behind his ear, still secured in place by the thinnest strand of Blackwhip. The summer air swelters around them, dry earth shifting underneath their soles.
Under the trees, the temperature drops just enough to be pleasant. Dappled shadows fall across them as they sit down at the base of one of the many apple trees. Gnarled roots dig into Izuku's legs, and he shifts until he finds a comfortable position to sit in.
He and Mrs. Weasley sit facing each other. She rests her hands on her knees, and Izuku finds himself copying her position without meaning to.
"The first few weeks of schooling, at the very beginning of the first year, are spent covering basic wand safety and responsibility. There is an expectation that parents have taught their children these things, but not every magical child has magical parents, and not all magical parents teach their children the same safety rules."
As she speaks, several other presences edge to the forefront of Izuku's mind. At first, they blend together, but after a few moments he recognizes them as En and Nana.
Everything Mrs. Weasley is saying makes sense to Izuku. Parents, with the help of quirk counselors, are expected to teach their children how to safely manage their quirks. Quite a bit of that is learning how to not use them, as Izuku found out during his first year.
Quirk use and safety expectations changed drastically for many of his classmates once they entered high school. While some of his classmates, like Iida or Todoroki or Yaoyorozu, had the chance to practice their quirks because of their families, most everyone else was restricted in how often they could use their quirks before attending UA, which made their first few weeks of class an important learning time for everyone, not just Izuku.
Mrs. Weasley, unaware of the rapid-fire thoughts in Izuku's mind, continues: "The first basic safety rule I taught my children, and the first still taught to children attending Hogwarts today, is to never point your wand at something or someone unless you are prepared to use it. While it doesn't happen often with children and teenagers, as you bond with your wand, it can begin to react to your subconscious intent as well. Many people have found themselves accidentally hexing another because they forgot about this."
Izuku nods. It's like the lecture they got on support gear—and their quirks—after their first exercise, and the many subsequent reminders they've been given over the months since.
"Other safety rules include where you put or keep your wand. Ideally, everyone should have a specially-made sheath for it." She gestures to her belt, where the handle of her wand sticks out from the end of a long leather sheath. Her expression shifts to one of mild chastisement as her eyes flick towards where he keeps his own wand tucked behind his ear. "Behind the ear is one of those spots you're not supposed to keep it. Imagine how easily it could fall from there and get lost."
Izuku nods. "I've never had something I've put there get fall," he explains, pointing up at his wand. And it's true: it's only in the past few months that he's taken to keeping a pen tucked up there and secured with Blackwhip just in case he needs one. The only time he's had them fall are when Aizawa has used his quirk on him.
Just to prove his point, he vigorously shakes his head, hard enough to dislodge anything unsecured.
His wand remains stubbornly in place, Blackwhip holding it secure.
Mrs. Weasley raises her eyebrows. "I suppose …. Still. Sooner or later, you'll need to think about a proper sheath. Other places not to keep your wand are your pockets or tucked into your belt. Those are very good ways to accidentally snap it."
What happens when a wand is snapped? En asks. Izuku repeats the question out loud, in English.
"What happens when you snap a wand?" Mrs. Weasley frowns. "Many different things affect what happens. Most of the time, nothing much happens. It just … breaks. Other times, if it's highly bonded to its wielder, or it's an old wand, there will be a magical backlash resembling a banishing curse."
Izuku blinks and tilts his head. "Ah, what does a banishing curse do?"
Mrs. Weasley blinks, surprise flitting across her face followed by understanding. "Right, right, I apologize. I forgot you aren't familiar with magical culture for a moment. Banishing curses are … a force." She gestures with her hands in front of her. "They throw the target back, different distances for different variations or power inputs."
"Thank you." Izuku nods.
"You're very welcome." Mrs. Weasley pauses for a moment, brow furrowed and lips pursed in concentration. "The other important safety factor to consider is your surroundings. Who's around you? Who could be affected by your spell, directly or indirectly? Would your spell create any danger for other people? We all have a responsibility not to hurt others with our magic, and that includes making sure we don't hurt anyone accidentally."
Situational awareness—something Izuku has had drilled into his head for the past year. He nods.
"With that all taken into consideration, I suppose we should actually move onto your first spell. That is what you asked me for help with, after all."
"Yes, please," Izuku nods again. The sooner he can get a grip on magic, the better, in his opinion.
It's funny, really. He's been put into another situation just like he was in a year ago. Here he is, with a new power he's never had experience with before, being asked to catch up to people who have years and years of experience with their own power. It's not that he's bitter about it, no, not at all. In fact, he's looking forward to it.
"The first spells taught to eleven-year-olds are simple—I'll be starting you with the wand-lighting spell." She reaches to her belt and pulls her wand from its sheath, holding it with steady fingers. "Where muggles have their torches and their lightbulbs, we have lumos."
She flicks her wand and a bright white light appears at the tip. With another flick and a statement of "Nox", the light disappears.
"The wand motion is a simple flick. Alongside the incantation and the wand movements, in order to successfully perform a spell, you need intent as well. To light your wand, you must want to light your wand. Simply going through the motions will not work."
Izuku nods. "The incantation is lumos?"
"Yes. Go ahead and try it when you're ready, dear."
Izuku reaches up and pulls his wand out from behind his ear, letting Blackwhip release it. Nana and En begin to pay special attention, giving Izuku the odd sensation of having other people perk up in his head.
He ignores them, focusing instead on the feeling of the handle of his wand between his fingers. The wood is rough, textured for grip, and fits almost-perfectly in the palm of Izuku's hand. Warmth emanates from it, flooding through his hand and arm. The wand itself buzzes in his hand as if excited.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Izuku lifts his wand and runs over the pronunciation in his head one last time. He pulls the idea of light to the forefront of his mind and flicks his wand, murmuring "Lumos" as he does.
Something tugs at the core of One For All buried deep in his chest. The same kind of warmth that was just emanating from his wand rushes up from his chest and down his arm, pulsing through his body the same way Full Cowl courses through every fiber of his being.
A light winks into life at the end of his wand. A tone rings through Izuku's head as the core of his wand and the core of his quirk resonate at the same frequency.
Five more presences draw forward from the depths of his mind, curiosity tugging them up.
Pressure grows behind Izuku's temples.
Right, someone, Shinomori perhaps, says. We shouldn't give him a migraine.
At his words, all but two presences recede, leaving Yoichi and Nana to remain with Izuku.
That was intriguing …. Yoichi murmurs.
Izuku blinks spots away when he looks away from his wand. Mrs. Weasley claps at him, a proud smile on her face.
"Congratulations! On the first try, even. How did it feel?"
"It felt …." Izuku spends a moment fishing for the correct word. "Ringing—no. Resonant."
"Resonant …." Mrs. Weasley hums, lips pursed as she thinks. "Yes, that's a good word for it. Spells are, according to most magical theorists, the combination of your wand core and your personal magical core working together to create the spell effects. So I suppose it is a form of resonance."
Izuku nods and commits that to memory. So far, it's the most helpful explanation of any kind of magical theory he's received.
"Now, how about you try extinguishing the light?"
Izuku does as he's asked, murmuring the incantation and flicking his wand. The flow of energy shuts off.
It's like Full Cowl, in a way. I wonder if quirks are magic, or magic is a quirk ….
They spend several hours sitting underneath the tree, Mrs. Weasley teaching Izuku the beginning spells, until it dips into evening and she needs to begin preparing dinner. He thanks her profusely for her help as they walk back.
"You're very welcome. You can come to me for help with anything, okay?" she tells him.
He nods back, half-torn between suspicion and being touched to tears.
