MHA 2025!

The train lurched, throwing me against the stiff, unfamiliar upholstery. I gripped my battered trunk tighter. I'd never been on a train before, not one like this anyway. Back home, it was always Dad's private jets or teleportation quirks. This... this was entirely different. This was Hogwarts.

My stomach twisted into knots the size of Quaffles. My older brother, Touya, would have laughed his head off if he saw me now. Touya, Rei, Natsuo, even Fuyumi – they all had such strong, confident quirks. Me? A mediocre blend of fire and ice. Useless in the real world, and judging by the judgmental looks I'd received on the platform, possibly useless here too.

We bumped along for what felt like hours, the air thick with the scent of coal and nervous anticipation. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, my appetite vanished somewhere between leaving home and spotting the Hogwarts Express. I was too busy worrying I'd forgotten something crucial, like… like spellbooks or a, you know, magical wand.

Suddenly, the compartment door slid open, revealing a girl with a bushy cloud of hair and a know-it-all glint in her eyes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville lost one," she said, her voice sharp and precise.

I shook my head, pushing my bi-colored hair out of my eyes. "No. Sorry."

She surveyed me, taking in my secondhand robes and rumpled appearance. "You're new, aren't you? First year?"

"Yeah," I mumbled, avoiding eye contact. I could already tell she was one of those people who knew everything. Just my luck.

"I'm Yaoyorozu Momo," she announced, as if I was supposed to recognize the name. "And you are?"

"Shoto," I replied quietly. "Shoto Todoroki."

Before she could ask any more questions, the door slid open again, and another boy squeezed in. This one was smaller, with a round face and cheeks dusted with freckles. He looked even more lost than I felt.

"Hello," he said timidly. "Have you seen a toad? I've lost him."

"I already asked him, Neville," Yaoyorozu said impatiently. "And he hasn't."

Neville sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I'm doomed. Gran will kill me."

I didn't know what to say. Grandmothers seemed to have that effect on everyone. Mine certainly did. Instead, I rummaged in my bag, pulling out a slightly squashed sandwich I'd packed. More for comfort than sustenance, really.

"Want some?" I offered, holding it out to Neville.

His face lit up. "Oh, really? Thanks! I'm starving." He took a generous bite, crumbs scattering on the pristine robes I'd been trying not to stain.

Yaoyorozu looked at me, her expression softening slightly. "That's very kind of you, Todoroki."

The train finally slowed to a halt, screeching like a banshee. We piled out, following the throng of students towards a shadowy figure holding a lantern.

"First years! First years, over here!" the man boomed, his voice booming through the night air.

He was huge, with a bushy beard that seemed to vibrate with energy. I hung back, feeling overwhelmed by the noise and the sheer number of new faces. Yaoyorozu and Neville had already disappeared into the crowd.

The man beckoned us towards a fleet of small boats bobbing on a dark lake. "Four to a boat! Get in, quick now!"

I climbed into a boat with three other first years, none of whom I recognized. We pushed off from the shore, the only sound the soft lapping of water against the hull. As we rounded a bend, a towering castle emerged from the darkness, its windows ablaze with light.

Hogwarts.

Even with all the anxieties swirling inside me, I couldn't help but gasp. It was even more magnificent than the pictures I'd seen in my textbooks. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be so bad after all.

As we approached the glowing castle, a small, unfamiliar warmth bloomed in my chest. A flicker of hope, that maybe, here, in this strange and magical place, I could finally find my own path, separate from the expectations that weighed me down. Maybe, just maybe, I could finally be Shoto Todoroki, hero.