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Squibs don’t go to Hogwarts, Deku!
Kacchan’s voice rang in Izuku’s ears as he lay on the ground, head spinning and chest heaving. It wasn’t an unfamiliar phrase. Kacchan had been sure to remind him on a regular basis ever since their parents began to suspect the boy’s lack of magic. And now, laying with his back pressed to the cold pavement, Izuku finally began to understand the weight of that statement.
He knew this, he knew this , but some small part of him had still believed, still hoped, that somehow…
“Can someone become an Auror without using magic?”
Standing in front of him was his hero, his role model, his everything. Izuku looked up into the eyes of Toshinori Yagi, Head Auror for the Ministry of Magic, and waited for his answer.
And he had given it. Then he left Izuku alone, reeling more from the pitying ‘No’ than from being attacked by some wannabe dark wizard. There it was. His future crashing in around his ears. Just like Kacchan always said it would.
He’s not sure how long he laid there, doing his best to collect his bearings. It was long enough for the sun to start dipping towards the horizon. Knowing his mother would be worrying herself sick if he was out too late, Izuku pushed himself up and started making his way back home.
The streets of Godric’s Hollow were quiet this time of day, only making the words echo louder in the young boy’s head. Useless, powerless, loser, squib! Stupid Deku! I’m gonna be the best Auror there ever was, and you’ll always be nothing!
With every step, Kacchan’s voice told him what he should have already known. He could hear every taunt, every shout, every scream-
He could hear Kacchan scream.
Izuku’s eyes snapped up from where they had been glued to the pavement. Yes, those were screams echoing down the street, and they were undeniably Kacchan’s.
Izuku took off, legs pumping, bag bouncing against his back where he held it tight, racing towards the source of the distress. He had never heard that sound from his childhood friend before and it hurt, it tore at him. He needed help, Izuku needed to help him, to make that sound stop-
There he was, standing in the small alley between the convenience store and the Johnsons’ fence. Izuku could see terrified red eyes peering over a thick cloak-clad arm. An arm that he had only recently escaped himself. Surrounding the two of them were two men and a woman, wands out. The biggest of them made to cast a spell, but was stopped by his coworker.
“I’d listen to your pretty lady friend if I were you,” came the slimy voice of the dark wizard, nodding his head towards the female Auror. He moved the arm not wrapped around Kacchan’s throat to show a thick black chain wrapped around one of the young boy’s wrists, the other end attached to his own. “Anything you do to me, you do to the kiddo.”
The three adults were frozen. They didn’t make a move. Where was Yagi? Why wasn’t anyone doing anything? Why weren’t they helping Kacchan?
It was only a matter of seconds before the man would disapparate with his friend in tow, and no one was doing anything.
Hiding around the corner, just out of sight, Izuku searched around his feet. It only took a moment to find what he was looking for. The stone he grabbed had a good weight to it, and he bounced it in his palm once, twice, before rearing back and sending it in a high arch. Peeking back around the corner, he waited until the clatter of the stone landing caused the adults in the alley to turn and look, then he moved.
If there was one thing Izuku could thank Kacchan for, it was making him fast. Izuku sprinted towards the group, between two of the Aurors, and by the time they were looking back around, Izuku was swinging his bag at the back of the criminal’s knees. Both he and Kacchan dropped like a sack of potatoes, and Izuku leaped for the chain, not knowing what to do other than pull on it, desperate to break the connection. There was a lot of movement and shouting and definitely some shoving and pulling, when suddenly, one of the links of the chain snapped, and a beat later, a flash of red light had knocked the dark wizard out cold.
Not sure what had just happened, Izuku looked up, adrenaline still pumping through his veins. Before him stood Toshinori Yagi. The tall man stood hunched over, hands on his knees and panting as if recovering from a sprint.
“Thanks for the backup, Yagi,” said the smaller of the two men as the woman stepped towards the bundle that was Izuku, Kacchan, and the unconscious criminal.
The larger man frowned. “Thanks my ass. Where the hell were you?” Yagi looked down at Izuku for a long moment before turning back to his colleague.
“Sorry, I lost track of you all. Thought you’d headed in the other direction.” The other man didn’t look very convinced by that answer.
“Drop it, Enji. We have more important things to take care of,” growled the woman from where she was securing the criminal.
Enji Todoroki crossed his arms in a huff, clearly not appreciating the reprimand or the use of his name, but didn’t say anymore. The smaller man stepped forward and crouched so he could be at eye level with the two boys. “Hey there. I’m Keigo. What’s your name?”
“Katsuki Bakugou,” spat Kacchan, clearly rankled at being patronized. “And I’m fine.” He stood up shakily and brushed off his pants. “Just a little bruised from when this idiot knocked me over.” He jabbed a thumb at the smaller boy, who seemed to shrink.
Keigo looked over with a slight crease in his brow. “That wasn’t very smart of you, kid. You could have gotten the both of you killed. You’re very lucky it turned out as well as it did.”
Izuku brought his knees to his chest, picking at a scab instead of looking at the man scolding him. “No one was doing anything.”
His voice was barely more than a whisper, but it was enough to infuriate his friend. “ I didn’t need your fucking help, you useless Deku! ” At the end of the alley, a street light burst in a shower of sparks, causing the rest of the gathering to jump. Izuku thought he heard the woman say something about ‘not having to erase any memories’ and swallowed. Would they try to erase his memories if they found out he was a squib? Was he somehow breaking the Statute of Secrecy just by being involved in this? Surely not, his mother used magic around the house all the time. But still-
“What’s your name, kid?”
Izuku looked back up to see that all of the Aurors had their attention on him now. He tried to hide behind his knees. “Izuku. M-Midoriya.”
“Alright, Izuku. Do you know what happened here?”
He nodded hesitantly. “You guys are, are all Aurors, r-right?”
Keigo seemed to release a little tension from his shoulders. “That’s right.” Beside them, the woman had the criminal swung over her shoulder. As short as she was, Izuku could tell, even through the thick cloak, that she was built like a brick wall. Yagi rushed forward as if to help but the woman just brushed him off. Beside them, Todoroki rolled his eyes. Keigo continued. “We caught the bad guy and we have to get him back to the Ministry now. Do you both live here?”
They nodded. Suddenly, Yagi was standing beside them, looking at Keigo. “We should walk them home. If you will help young Katsuki here, I will escort young Izuku.” Keigo nodded. Yagi turned to address his other colleagues. “Usagiyama-”
“Rumi.”
“Sorry, Rumi. If you and Todoroki could take him back to the Ministry. Takami-”
Keigo cleared his throat and Yagi sighed. “ Keigo and I will be back soon to help with paperwork.” With that, he extended an enormous hand to Izuku, who grabbed it and was gently pulled to his feet. Without another word, Yagi turned around, placed a hand on Izuku’s back, and led him out of the alley.
It was quiet as they both walked. Izuku didn’t know what to say and the Auror seemed content with the silence. It wasn’t until the boy realized that he hadn’t said his address that he spoke up. “Um, Mr. Yagi, sir? Where are we going?”
Yagi looked down at the ten-year-old, dark curls barely brushing the taller man’s elbow. “I saw a nice little park on my way in. I thought we could sit for a minute before taking you home. You went through a lot today and I want to make sure you’re alright.” Yagi paused, looking like he was contemplating something. “And… I think we have something to talk about.”
Izuku had no idea what that could mean. Was he in trouble after all? Yagi was the only one of the four Aurors who might know he’s a squib. But then, wouldn’t he have already said something earlier?
Caught in his spiral, Izuku didn’t notice they had arrived at the park until the sound of Yagi clearing his throat broke him from his trance. “Care to sit, my boy?” He gestured to the park bench just off the sidewalk and took a seat himself once the boy seemed comfortable. Yagi continued to say nothing, and Izuku continued to fidget.
“Are you going to arrest me?”
Yagi turned to him so fast, Izuku was sure he heard something in his neck pop. “No! Of course not! Why would I arrest you?” Izuku just shrugged. “You’re not in any kind of trouble, my boy. Quite the opposite.”
Izuku was just getting more and more confused, and it must have shown on his face. Yagi let out a deep chuckle and turned to look at the park. There were no people walking around in the twilight, but every now and then, a crow would swoop by, a squirrel would run up a tree. In the distance, an owl began hooting.
“Earlier,” Yagi began, still looking out at the park, “you asked me if you could be an Auror without using magic.” Izuku didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. They were both there. “Why did you ask me that?”
Izuku didn’t really want to say the words out loud. He realized, in that moment, that he never had. It had been whispered around his house when his mother thought he was sleeping, shouted at him by Kacchan on a regular basis, echoed in his own head whenever it was too quiet. But never had he actually admitted it out loud.
“I’ve always wanted to be an Auror,” he started, voice halting and tiny. “Just like you. But I’m, uh. I’m…” He swallowed and curled in on himself, pulling his feet up onto the bench in front of him. “I’m a squib,” he told his knees. “So… I can’t- can’t ever-'' The lump in his throat from earlier had come back with a vengeance, keeping him from finishing his sentence.
Yagi finally turned back to him. “Izuku?” The boy kept his face buried in his knees, hoping to hide the tears building along his lower lashes. “Young Izuku, please look at me.” With a sniff and a swallow, Izuku turned his head, now resting his cheek on his crossed arms. He was surprised to see a smile on Yagi’s face. Not a pitying one, or a plastic one, not even an apologetic one. It was kind, and hopeful, and just a little bit determined. “You can be an Auror.”
Izuku blinked, causing a tear to roll down his cheek. He hastily wiped it away and sat up, turning to face his hero. “What?”
“It won’t be easy, but if you stick with it and work hard, you can become an Auror, just like me.”
Across the park, some birds were squawking at each other, probably fighting over dinner. Izuku didn’t hear them. His ears were ringing. “But… but you said-”
“I said that you couldn’t be an Auror without using magic, and I stand by that. But ,” he held up a finger before the boy could interrupt, “you do have magic, Izuku.”
“No I don’t,” Izuku answered, almost defiantly. “I’ve never done any magic. Not once. Kacchan does all the time but I can’t do anything.”
Yagi seemed to ponder this for a minute, then suddenly stood and began heading for the town square, just on the other side of the church yard that shared a fence with the park. Not quite sure what was going on but eager to find out, Izuku rushed to follow him, pumping his little legs to match the man’s very long stride. They stopped in the middle of the square, right in front of Godric Gryffindor’s statue.
“What do you see, my boy?”
“Uh…” Izuku looked between Yagi and the statue, unsure if this was some kind of trick question. “A statue?”
“Of?”
“Godric Gryffindor?”
Yagi’s smile widened as he looked back at the boy at his side. “And do you know what the Muggles see when they look at this statue?”
Izuku scratched his head, thinking. “I used to. I think it’s some plaque about the founding, kinda like ours, and an obelisk or something.” He looked up. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“From what I’ve seen today, you’re a very intelligent boy.” Heat flooded Izuku’s cheeks and he began to stutter, but Yagi continued. “So, if the Muggles see an Obelisk, and you see our good Sir Gryffindor, what does that tell you?”
Izuku blinked. He knew what that must mean, but he didn’t understand. “It means… that I’m, I’m magic?”
Yagi’s smile was blinding. “That’s right. It’s not that Squibs aren’t magical, it’s that we have to use that magic differently.”
Beside him, green eyes grew very large. “ WE? ”
“That’s right.” The Auror brought a large finger up to his lips. “But don’t tell anyone, alright?”
Izuku nodded violently, curls bouncing everywhere and causing a bit of a headache. “What you did today, to help your friend, shows that you have what it takes, the part that can’t be taught. The drive, the intelligence, and the heart to do what’s right, no matter the circumstances.” Izuku completely ignored the tears rolling down his cheeks, staring starry eyed at his idol as he continued. “You’ll be a first year next summer, correct?”
“I’ll be eleven next July, yeah.”
Yagi nodded. “That gives us just under a year.”
“A year for what?”
“If you’ll let me, I can teach you how to use our kind of magic. Then, when your letter comes, you’ll be ready to join your peers.”
Standing tall, looking just as dashing as the statue behind him, the Head Auror for the Ministry of Magic held his hand toward the tiny Squib Deku. “So, what do you say? Still want to be an Auror?”
Izuku nodded and sobbed the entire walk back home.