Four days later, it was a normal Tuesday morning for Katsuki. He stayed behind in his dormitory with Luna to change without the others around. Herbology, Potions, and Charms were ahead of him, but first, breakfast.

There was a spot for him at the Gryffindor table amongst his friends. A few of them had copies of the Daily Prophet.

"Something interesting actually going on?" Katsuki huffed, sitting between Eijiro and Ochako.

Talking ceased as all eyes fell on him.

"What?" he asked.

Eijiro cleared his throat. "Have you not read it?"

"Read what?"

"Rita Skeeter wrote about the tournament," Shoto said.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I was there for the stupid photos."

Eijiro placed his copy of the paper in front of Katsuki. "More than just photos, mate."

The front page had a group photo of the three champions and one large photo of just Katsuki. Crimson eyes skimmed over the words, and he read what concerned him.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

Hogwarts' champion for the Triwizard Tournament is Katsuki Bakugo from the scarlet and gold House of Gryffindor. His mysterious, tragic past only fuels his desire to win the tournament. "I'm doing it for them," he says, eyes glistening. "I'm doing it for all of them." He offered nothing more as to who he was referring to, but the reverence in his tone spoke volumes.

His chest tightened, but he didn't stop reading. The story continued on pages two, six, and seven. There were small pictures of the other champions, but more large photos of him. When did the photographer even take that one from that particular angle?

The Weighing of Wands Ceremony was lovely to witness. Take Bakugo, for example. His wand is made from blackthorn wood and contains the tail hair of a thestral. The uncommon core substance is tricky yet powerful! They say it can be mastered by a witch or wizard capable of facing death.

She had interviewed other people about him too. Names were misspelled except for his.

His childhood friend, Izuko Mydoriya says that nobody better could have been chosen to represent Hogwarts.

Mima Assido, another friend, says that Katsuki deserves nothing but the best in his life.

It was confirmed by multiple sources that Katsuki is not dating anyone. Could love warm the heart of Katsuki and heal his invisible scars? If he deserves nothing but the best in life, he most certainly deserves that.

The names of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions were, unsurprisingly, misspelled and squashed into the last line of the article.

Hanta's laughter snapped Katsuki to the present moment. "Pfft, what tragic past has possibly befallen Katsuki?" he scoffed.

"I've known Kacchan the longest, and he doesn't have one," Izuku said. "I'm not sure why she wrote that bit in, though."

"To suck in readers, duh," Mina said.

When Katsuki felt a hand on his left shoulder, he jumped and let go of the paper.

There was worry in Ochako's eyes. "Are you all right?" she whispered.

Instead of answering her, he growled under his breath. He snatched the paper from the table and stormed away from the Gryffindor table.

"Oi, Katsuki!" Eijiro called.

Nobody dared to cross his path as he approached the High Table. He slammed the paper down in front of Professor Aizawa. "The fucking wench can't write any more bloody articles," he spat.

Professor Aizawa peered over the article. "Rita Skeeter?"

He spoke through gritted teeth. "Tragic past. My wand."

A spark ignited in Professor Aizawa's dark eyes. He grabbed the paper and scanned it over, flipping through the pages.

"She recognized me when Bagman said my name," he seethed. "She bloody well knows who the fuck I am."

Rita had been the first reporter to cover the rescue mission of the Black Gauntlet Children. She had learned his name from others because she couldn't interview him herself. In order to keep his identity a secret, the public only knew a thirteen-year-old boy as the Boy Who Led.

Professor Aizawa stood, grabbing the Daily Prophet. "I'll speak to Dumbledore about this right now."

They parted ways, and Katsuki approached the Gryffindor table. Tenya, Momo, Denki, and Kyoka had since joined the others. He picked up on his friends' conversation.

"He probably didn't like her bad-mouthing him," Izuku guessed.

"She pulled things outta her ass, that one," Eijiro said. "What 'tragic past' could he possibly have?"

"Probably some outfit his mum designed and forced him to wear when he was little," Hanta snickered. "I bet it was a hideous color."

"Bet it had feathers," Denki chortled.

Ochako noticed Katsuki first. She leaned back and said his name, causing others to look.

"What?" he huffed, the single word having a bite to it.

As his luck would have it, Neito approached Katsuki from behind with a copy of the Daily Prophet in hand. "Oh, Katsuki!"

Katsuki half-turned to glare at him. "The fuck you want?"

"I was going to ask you to sign my copy." However, the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Fuck off."

"Fascinating read, I must admit," Neito continued as though nothing was wrong. "Does your tragic past include being sorted into Gryffindor? Your Slytherin heart must still be bleeding after all these years."

Katsuki bled scarlet and gold, though.

When Izuku rose from the table, so did ten others. Ochako stood on Katsuki's left side, not stepping between him and Neito.

"You should go away before things get ugly," Mina warned, standing on a bench, so she had Neito in her line of sight.

However, he ignored her. "I know what you truly are, Katsuki Bakugo."

Katsuki refused to humor him. Instead, he straightened his posture and crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"Your wand proves you're better suited as a Dark wizard than an Auror!" Neito sneered.

Katsuki glared at him as ten wands were drawn and aimed at the Slytherin boy. Neito looked at them all, his eyes landing on Kyoka. "You too?"

Her gaze hardened, her outstretched arm unwavering.

"You should take your despicable presence elsewhere," Tenya said firmly.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall asked as she hurried over to the scene.

Neito turned to face her. "They're bullying me!"

"Actually, we were asking him to leave," Katsuki growled.

"Wands away," Professor McGonagall said. "Now."

They only listened because they respected her.

Professor McGonagall spoke to Neito. "Does your Head of House need to be involved in this?

He looked at her, avoiding eye contact from the others. "No."

She nodded curtly. "Off you go."

He took off without a word, tail between his legs.

Professor McGonagall faced the eleven students, shaking her head. "Ten wands aimed at one individual."

"He had it coming," Eijiro huffed.

Others nodded in agreement.

"I want no more trouble from any of you this morning," Professor McGonagall said.

"So once it's the afternoon..." Shoto whispered.

Momo, refusing to smile, elbowed him lightly.

"Enjoy your day." With that, Professor McGonagall walked away, her emerald robes billowing behind her.

In turn, Katsuki faced the mixed group of Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and one Hufflepuff. "What a bunch of bloody extras."

xXx

A/N: Sorry that it's been a while since I updated! Life has been hectic with this pandemic, and given my line of work, I'm an essential worker. I can't promise when future updates will happen, but they will happen! :D