WHOA TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE WEEK?!
—oOo—
It's been almost three weeks since Harry was chosen as the Hogwarts champion. And it was only last week Thursday on the tenth when he managed to get Harry and Ron bring their friendship back.
He will never forget the anger he had last November second—just three days since he came to Hogwarts—in their Potions class with the Gryffindors. It was supposed to be a good thing for him since it was the last class of the day, but of course, things weren't too good before the class started.
It started early that morning. Waking up, he was surprised to see something right in front of his face.
Someone's hand. Holding a button pin.
He was still a little delirious from waking up so it took him a while to see what's written on it in red angry letters.
SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY
THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION!
"Wear this if you want to stay being a Slytherin," he heard Malfoy say from beside his bed.
He rubbed his face. "What's the catch?" he asked him.
"Oh, nothing," Malfoy replied, putting the button pin on Leo's chest.
Leo looked down to see that the red message had disappeared only to be replaced in green letters with:
POTTER STINKS
With an angry grunt, he ripped the button pin from his chest and threw it on the other side of the room, almost hitting Malfoy. He let himself have a small smile when the button pin nearly split one of the bedposts' in half. He kept forgetting he has godly strengths. One of the perks of being a demigod.
"I'm not wearing that," he told Malfoy.
"You will if you want to keep the house united," Malfoy replied, rather shaken at what happened at the bedpost.
"I want to unite all the houses, not just Slytherin," Leo said with a huff, his morning ruined.
He didn't bother listening to Malfoy's reasoning on why Slytherin must be held higher than any of the other houses. He just ignored the son of a—
Shaking his head to the present, he looks around the corridor as he walks towards the Dining Hall for lunch, seeing the stupid freaking button posts on, not just Slytherins, but almost everyone except Gryffindors.
He will never forget what happened the afternoon after his ruined morning.
He was talking to the Hufflepuff he met in Professor Hagrid's class, named Susan after their class in Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs where they didn't do anything but study the theory again, which actually made sense to Leo even though he wasn't a wizard. He sat beside her because she was the only one he knows who is not a Slytherin. He wanted to be a little bit away from Malfoy's shenanigans.
Because of that, he was a bit behind the Slytherins when they reached the dungeons.
He just arrived just as Harry and Draco both took out their wands and casted spells with both lights hitting each other and ricocheting somewhere else.
Harry's spell hit Goyle and the latter instantly had boils all over his face. Hermione, on the other hand, was whimpering as she clutched her mouth. [1]
"Hermione!" he heard himself and Ron yell, both of them running to the witch.
Leo looked in horror as Hermione's teeth grew larger—past her bottom lip, to her chin. Hermione felt them, panic-stricken, and let out a terrified cry. [1]
"Gods, Hermione, what do we do?" Leo asked her, panicked. Surely, Hermione would know what to do in this situation, right? She's the brightest person he'd ever known besides Annabeth, of course.
"And what is all this noise about?" said a soft, deadly voice.
Snape had arrived. Leo was partly relieved. A teacher, of course! Hermione, and even Goyle, needed some help. The Slytherins clamored to give their explanations, including Leo himself, but Snape pointed a long yellow finger at Malfoy.
"Explain," the professor said.
"Potter attacked me, sir—" the coward started.
"We attacked each other at the same time!" Harry shouted.
"—and he hit Goyle—look—"
Snape went over to Goyle whose face now resembled something that looked like poisonous fungi.
"Hospital wing, Goyle," Snape said calmly.
"Malfoy got Hermione!" Ron exclaimed. " Look !"
Ron forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth. She was doing her best to hide them with her hands, though this was difficult as they had now grown down past her collar. The Slytherin girls were doubled up with silent giggles, pointing at Hermione from behind Snape's back. Leo rubbed Hermione's back to comfort her.
Snape looked coldly at Hermione, then said, "I see no difference." [1]
Hermione let out a whimper, her eyes filled with tears, she turned on her heel and ran, ran all the way up the corridors and out of sight.
Harry and Ron started shouting at Snape at the same time, their voices echoing so much in the stone corridor. Just as Snape started giving the two detention, everyone quieted down.
They were all staring at him. All of them stepped back in fear.
He must have been quite the sight—fire coming out of his hair, shoulders, arms, and hands, to the sole of his feet.
Blue fire.
The hottest a fire can be.
Leo was angry .
"σκάσε," Leo said quietly in a deadly tone.
[Shut up!]
"Mister Valdez, I believe you should—"
"σκάσε!" Leo yelled, feeling his fire getting larger.
[SHUT UP!]
"Leo, snap out of it!" he heard someone yell. He turned around to see a concerned and terrified Harry with his arms outstretched towards him, trying to calm him down.
Leo takes a deep breath, his fire dissipating in an instant. "Sorry about that, professor," he replied calmly, not really looking at the professor.
Snape, for the most part, looked rather shaken, but immediately calmed himself down. "I will forget this happened, Mister Valdez. This is your first warning," he said before letting them all inside the room to make antidotes.
Leo shakes his head at the memory. He didn't see much of Hermione, Ron, and Harry after that incident. He often saw each of them alone, and all of them didn't seem to be in the mood for him. Plus, he didn't really know what to say to them since their friendship was in shambles.
So, he did what he often did—go back to machines. He had been sneakily going to the Forbidden Forest on his own to fix Festus, and true to their word, the centaurs had been keeping a careful watch of his friend.
It's probably why they talked to the Headmaster to keep Festus inside the school instead.
But after a week of them being hella awkward with each other, Leo took matters into his own hands. And look how good that decision came to be.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Hermione asks him.
They're currently at the Three Broomsticks. It's the Saturday before the First Task on the twenty-fourth. He, Hermione, and Ron are sitting together with Harry somewhere under an Invisibility Cloak.
That piece of magic he can understand—with Annabeth's invisibility cap in his memory. The magic he wasn't prepared for was the beauty of Hogsmeade and this amazing drink called Butterbeer.
"I don't know how else to help Harry," he grumbles.
"You've done all you could," Ron replies. "I'm still a bit sceptical that Ancient Greek can be used to tame a dragon, but to each their own, I guess."
Leo shrugs. "It worked on me. It's like any other language, I bet."
Hermione hums before saying, "You know, maybe I should try and get some of the villagers involved in S.P.E.W." She looks around the pub thoughtfully. [2]
"What's that?" Leo asks.
"Don't ask," Ron huffs.
"Yeah, right," says Harry beside Leo. "Hermione, when are you going to give up on this spew stuff?"
Hermione hisses, "When house elves have decent wages and working conditions! You know, I'm starting to think it's time for more direct action. I wonder how you get into the school kitchens?" she wonders.
"No idea, ask Fred and George," Harry replies.
"I know how to get into the kitchens," Leo replies with a shrug.
"How? You've been here for like three weeks?" Harry asks in surprise.
"I shall keep my source hidden, thank you very much," he answers. "Also, Harry, bro, can you like… take off the cloak. It's really weird talking to someone who isn't there."
"No, we just saw Rita Skeeter and her photographer friend come out of here a little while. For sure if word comes out that Harry is here, he'd be bombarded," Ron replies.
"Look, it's Hagrid!" says Hermione.
They see Professor Hagrid and Professor Moody talking to each other a few tables down. As the two start to leave, Moody pauses to look at their table with his magical eye which still gives Leo the creeps. He taps half-giant in the small of the back, mutters something to him, then they make their way to their table. [3]
"All right, Hermione, Ron, Leo?" says Professor Hagrid loudly.
They all say their hellos.
Moody limps around the table and bends down near Leo. At first Leo thought Moody was looking at him until Moody says, "Nice cloak, Potter."
"Can your eye—I mean, can you—?" he hears Harry say beside him.
"Yeah, it can see through Invisibility Cloaks," Moody says quietly. "And it's come in useful times, I can tell you."
The half-giant smiles at him. "Harry, meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin. Wear that cloak." Straightening up, he says loudly, "Nice ter see the three of yeh." He winks and departs. Moody follows him. [3]
"Why does Hagrid want me to meet him at midnight?" Harry says, very surprised.
"Does he?" says Hermione. Leo nods in confirmation. "I wonder what he's up to? I don't know whether you should go, Harry…" She looks nervously around and hisses, "It might make you late for Sirius."
At Leo's questioning look, Ron supplies him with an answer. "Harry's godfather."
After that ordeal, they continue on with Hermione and Ron helping Harry memorize any spells he might use against a dragon with Leo pointing out ways to not harm the dragon. Ron was less enthusiastic with Leo's suggestions. Hermione was, too, at first, that is until Leo says that dragons should not be used for entertainment in the first place. They're living beings like wizards. Hermione starts explaining what S.P.E.W. is, and Leo lets her talk.
—oOo—
It is dark again, and the small little creatures are once again trying to chain her and the others down using their sticks. They are restless. This is not their territory and they sense the danger nearby. Their captors, though, obviously do not sense them, and so leaves all of them open for an attack.
Despite this, they would not give up and they would reclaim their lost freedom.
They are creatures who should not be controlled by these pesky two-legged beings.
With a loud roar, she attempts to breathe fire on those who dare chain her. She flaps her wings only for the chains to constrict around her tighter. The others just watch, knowing that it is a useless endeavor. They all tried and all had sadly failed. They are simply biding their time for an opportunity to present itself.
They are all wise from all the years they had lived, and they knew that there would be a time when someone would come save them.
For a time, they thought that it might be the handler with hair as red as their fire. He is kind and treated them like the intelligent creatures that they are. He spoke of his family as he cared for them. And they understood that though he cared, he was unable to do anything.
With another defeated roar, the Hungarian Horntail finally settles down, hopefully her point being made. The other dragons are right in telling her to wait for she senses another being with fire.
—oOo—
Leo has just finished today's work on fixing Festus, but he admits he's not fully equipped with materials. He might really need to wait until Festus is brought to Hogwarts and he can ask for spare parts.
With that, he takes a little detour from where he often walks from the castle and to Festus. He has sensed something deeper in the woods—something he feels might be a monster.
He goes to investigate.
After a while of walking and letting his instincts take over, he sees light at some point in the forest, and he slowly and quietly goes nearer.
To his surprise, he sees Professor Hagrid and the giant lady from the French school standing near him. He was quick enough to hide in a nearby bush before they saw him.
He turns to see what they are looking at, and his blood boils.
The wizards are turning their wands against four dragons with heavy leather straps around their necks and legs.
There is a silvery-blue one with long, pointed horns, snapping and snarling at the wizards on the ground. There's a smooth-scaled green one, which is writhing and stamping with all its might. There's also a red one with an odd fringe of fine gold spikes around its face, which is shooting mushroom-shaped fire clouds into the air. And lastly, the gigantic black one, more lizard-like than the others, which was nearest to them.
Leo can also tell that the last one seems to be more desperate than the others.
The dragons are rearing onto their hind legs inside an enclosure fenced with thick planks of wood. Fire are being shot into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouths, fifty feet above the ground on their outstretched necks. [4]
"Stunning Spells, on the count of three!"
Leo sees each of the dragon keepers pull out their wand.
Instinctively, he stands up to run to the enclosure, so they won't harm the dragons, but something suddenly stops him—something holding him by his wrist. He looks back to see… nothing.
"Leo, it's me," he hears someone whisper behind him.
"Harry?" he asks, sitting back down.
Leo watches in despair as the spells shoot into the darkness like fiery rockets, bursting in showers of stars on the dragons. Slowly, they fell.
They hurry to tighten the chains and fasten them securely to iron pegs, which they force deep into the ground with their wands.
In anger, Leo starts to stand up again but Harry pulls him back down.
He sees a guy that looks like Ron walk up to Hagrid.
At this point, Leo can't hear anything from how badly his blood is boiling.
"Leo, calm the hell down!" Harry whispers beside him.
He opens his eyes to see himself starting to fire up once more—with blue fire again. "This is wrong," Leo whispers. "Is that Charlie Weasley?" he asks Harry to distract himself.
Harry hums a yes.
"I would have thought—Then again in Romania, I saw—Still, I wouldn't have—They shouldn't have—" Leo starts, going under Harry's cloak, finally seeing him underneath it.
Harry wasn't listening to him, Leo's sure. He's much too engrossed with what's being talked about the dragons. Thankfully, Harry doesn't seem all too panicked. He still is, of course, but not too much. It probably must be more real to him, seeing the dragons up close.
But he can't believe what they're doing to them.
They're abusing the dragons. For what? A stupid piece of mierda like a tournament?
[shit]
"So it's one fer each o' the champions, is it? What've they gotta do—fight 'em?"
"Just get past them, I think," he hears Charlie say. He and Harry share a look. "We'll be on hand if it gets nasty, Extinguishing Spells at the ready. They wanted nesting mothers, I don't know why… but I tell you this, I don't envy the one who gets the Horntail. Vicious thing. Its back end is as dangerous as its front, look."
Leo thinks that wizards are the more vicious creatures.
They really wanted nesting mothers? No wonder the dragon back in Romania was so pissed off. What are they doing? Goofing around with dragons and their children?
Sure, he shouldn't be the one to argue. He's been killing monsters left and right ever since he found out he was a demigod. But those monsters' goals are to kill. They're all made to create suffering by the Titans and even the gods. These dragons are just the same as any house dog or cat.
Sure, they're bigger and have fire. But you don't have to chain them up like they're lower than dirt. What's wrong with having a little bit of fire?
Sure, all his life he's been branded as a demon by his family for killing his mother. But it was Gaea that orchestrated all of that… but still, it was fire.
He's not dangerous. That much can be said with how strong he is in comparison with his more powerful friends in New York.
New York. Long Island. He's been gone for three weeks without telling anyone and yet none of them had even Iris Messaged him to see if he's still alive… but he can't blame them. They're all dealing with new things in their lives… much as he is right now. And even he hasn't Iris Messaged them.
It takes him a while to realize that Harry is pulling him away from the enclosure and towards the castle. Leo was present enough to move them both away from the Bulgarian headmaster.
They head inside in silence. Once they reach the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower, Harry seems almost ready to ditch Leo in a hurry.
But Leo probably looks as bad as he feels because Harry actually stops in the middle of the stairs and goes back down again towards him.
"Mate, you all right?" Harry asks.
Leo takes a deep breath. Two. Three. "No, I'm not freaking all right. You?"
Harry sighs. "About the same… You've seen how ferocious the dragons were. I need to fight them with as much power as I can."
"But you also heard you just gotta get past them, whatever the hell Charlie meant. You don't have to fight the dragon. Please, Harry, don't harm them," Leo pleads.
"I really can't promise you that, Leo. I'm sorry," Harry says.
Leo sighs. "Just keep practicing your Ancient Greek. Just survive without hurting them. If you can."
Harry nods. "If I can."
—oOo—
FOOTNOTES
[1] From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 18 "The Weighing of the Wands", pages 298 to 300.
[2] From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 19 "The Hungarian Horntail", page 320.
[3] From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 19, "The Hungarian Horntail", pages 322.
[4] From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 19, "The Hungarian Horntail", pages 326 to 328.