Where'd This Come From?

Leo couldn't believe he spent nearly an hour in Romania. It left him quite a bit drained on the amount of information he found along the way—information about Ilvermorny and Hogwarts; Charlie Weasley; dragons; and such. He's getting better at manipulating the Mist. He's not as good as any of the children of Hecate; he's not even remotely a quarter as good as Hazel; and he is not a child from the Big Three…

…but he is an observant demigod and he had watched them all train to perfect their mastery of the Mist. He can do enough. He only has to think about what these people want to see. The two brothers wanted to see something amazing so he let them think that they saw a deer in the forest rather than a demigod. He let all those dragonologist think they had managed to subdue the dragon instead of recalling a certain teenager saving their lives.

One thing you gotta do when you're on your own: Watch and learn.

Leo yawns as his exhaustion finally catches up to him. It feels like he and Festus had been flying over several countries for days. Not for the first time, Leo curses Gaea for being the Earth. She just had to change Pangaea [1]1, doesn't she?

Then again, he shouldn't complain. Calculating the distance and the average flight speed via planes, it would take mortals around three and a half hours from Romania to Scotland. He wonders how people could even manage getting in a plane and taking hours and hours just sitting there, waiting . It's horrible.

Though it was trying to travel patiently with Festus and the Argo II—despite their already magically-induced speed as well as the many monsters he gets to fight in between travelling, Leo has to admit he's never bored… and he abhors boredom.

Turning his head, he judges the time by using the position of the sun as well as calculating the position of the shadows of any object on the ground, he manages to estimate that it's only been twenty minutes past two—which means it's only been twenty minutes since he left Romania.

Just as he realizes this, he also groans at the reminder that he has a magical tool belt and it would have been quicker if he had just asked for a watch to check the time instead of just using mathematics.

Then again, he is a Math genius. He's been using Math since he was born and he's even better than adults at the age of eight. It would be a shame if he doesn't use his genius skills from time to time. [2]2 He's just glad Percy wasn't there. He'll probably be named Annabeth 2.0 … only hotter and manlier, obviously.

Oops, here it is , he thinks as he is finally met with the North Sea.

Running a hand down his face, Leo wipes away his exhaustion to take a closer look at his surroundings. Gone are the green of trees and now all he could is blue. Blue skies. Blue water. Blue everything. Percy would have loved this , Leo thinks to himself. That guy seriously loves the color blue. Leo can't stand it anymore, and it's only been a minute.

To check the accuracy of his calculations, he summons a watch from his ever reliable toolbelt to see that it's been two minutes since he last checked the time.

"Well, buddy," Leo yells at Festus to be heard against the speed they're using, "guess we're in for a long long journey."

He collapses against Festus dramatically to prove his distress, making Festus snort at him in reply but otherwise ignore his dramatics. His master is always so dramatic—especially considering that they'll be arriving to their destination in a few more minutes.

Thanks to the updates Leo had done to Festus for the past two months, the bronze dragon can travel further than he usually does. It's a wonder how Leo can still manage to hold on to the velocity they have.

Leo is grateful he isn't choking from lack of oxygen from having to travel at this pace. He had some help from the Athena and Hephaestus kids to place a bubble around Festus to help those who wish to travel quickly via bronze dragon.

"Snorting at me, are you?" Leo asks his companion, huffing and crossing his arms as he pouts at the back of the dragon's head. "What has the world come to? Even my only companion is against me!" he exclaims at the sky.

While meant to be a joke, the statement quickly falls flat just as he says it. As he sobers up, Leo begins to reflect on his current predicament, and tries to make sure to internalize his problems before having any other human interaction. Gods know what happened in Romania—cuddling up to a dragon in front of her keepers.

As he ponders and wonders whether he's even doing the right thing, just as he did in Romania, he starts to subconsciously pat Festus as well.

No, this is a vacation and he's not running away—not completely. He's just… taking a break, and he's here for research—to improve Festus more and upgrade him as much as possible, so Festus could actually feel like a full-on dragon. With that in mind, Leo nods his head in determination. He will return to camp.

Then he had a foreboding feeling.

He isn't sure whether it was the sudden flash of green below—indicating that they were flying over land again, or the strange feeling he always has at a nearing monster that brought him back from his own head. Perhaps both?

"Holy Hephaestus! How long have we been—?"

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"Monsters ahead?" Leo asks Festus. "What kind of—?"

He senses it—not the monsters—but shifting on his seat, he guides Festus to a stop as he takes a closer look at what he just saw. At first he doesn't see anything but the feeling won't stop tingling at the pit of his stomach.

As he narrows his eyes at the area, checking to see if the Mist was involved, he finally sees a transparent sort of shield which spans across the horizon.

"That's a stronger Mist shield than the one in Romania! I think—" he holds on to Festus tightly as the latter rears its head back and emits a mighty roar. "What's wrong, buddy? That's not a monster. That's probably—" [3]3

Then it hits him like a Khione to the face.

At first, he nearly collapses with the sudden cold. The blue sky starts to loosen its color and in his panic, he tries to flare up but can only make a flicker of fire before it douses itself from the cold air.

Leo rarely gets cold or hot—having his very own high body temperature does that, but to be slammed by the suddenness of iciness? Without even having to prepare for it? Nor creep up on him slowly as it usually does? Leo's practically powerless against it.

He feels as if ice is forming inside him as well—within the blood in his veins. Leo has never known what it feels like to be this cold in his life. It feels as if he is just drowning—drowning in the air with the cold filling his lungs.

Is this Khione's doing? he thinks to himself. She is the daughter of Boreas, the god of the north wind… and she does hate his guts—but this is stronger than any of the attacks she had ever used against him. This is much more sinister .

The roar he should hear from the velocity of Festus' flight and the strong wind that had suddenly formed suddenly disappears and he can only hear the silence. Is he going deaf? How could he?

He comes back to himself when Festus starts clicking… and rather than hear it, he could feel it clashing as he keeps his hold on Festus.

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[ice forming inside . engines need heat . do not burn yourself again master]

With a cry of frustration and new found determination over his losing mastery of fire, Leo wills his body to fire up to save himself and Festus from the sudden cold.

He regains his awareness after he starts to obsessively go back to the times he had let himself go with his anger and determination to heat things up—to every moment he used his fire—moments he was never proud of but felt necessary. Except the time I killed my own mo—let's not think about that , he tells himself.

Though he had successfully put himself on fire after a few more moments of concentration, grabbing on to Festus' hide to conduct his heat through the bronze metallic beast for the ice to melt, and making him happy, it doesn't save him from the severe level of hopelessness that suddenly slammed into his heart.

It feels as if nothing would ever go right in the world.

Lost in solemn thoughts, Leo does not notice the shadowy figures surrounding them much more intently than they did moments before—until Festus moves.

Overwhelmed with the sadness which had settled itself deep in his core, Leo begins to lead Festus away to realize the predicament they are in. All four figures around them don't seem to look so friendly. In fact, Leo can say that they all appear like the Grim Reaper—except when Percy, Hazel, and Frank told them about how they freed Thanatos, the god of death looks nothing like these four at all .

He's never even heard of these creatures before.

"Schist!" Leo exclaims along with other Spanish curses.

Still off-kilter, he guides Festus to dodge the unknown creatures… and it was not easy, that's for sure. When one floats down to move near them, Leo curses up a streak since he and Festus barely dodges it before another one nears them as well.

Leo's eyes roll back as he falls within himself—being buried more with the cold as it cuts his insides.

Far away, he hears the screaming.

"Wait here, mijo. I'll only be a minute."

"She can't hear you."

"Leave my mother alone!"

"How will you stop me?"

"Leo! Mijo! Mijo!"

Leo watches as memory after memory flashes through his mind. He watches as he was forced to run, as he went through every trial Tía Callida had put him in, as he got screamed at by his Aunt Rosa, as he stayed with his abusive foster mother Teresa, as he lived in the streets after running away from foster homes, as he got possessed by an eidolon, as he died, and back to when he killed his own mother.

Leo is completely submerged into nothingness—not unlike the same feeling he had when he had died.

Feeling his master's hold loosen on his reins, Festus gives out a worried roar and surges on forward, aiming to get past the strange creatures he had been trying to burn with his breath since Leo himself can't seem to do it. With the young master in mind, Festus focuses on getting away—unfortunately, getting in the path of the looming shadow of a creature above them.

With a horrifying screech, it swoops down on them, conveniently making the dark creatures move away and flee, but unfortunately breaking Festus' wing in the whole process. As Festus maintains his balance to keep the young master alive, he turns to see the green and yellow drakon turn towards them once more.

Making sure his young master's safe, the draconian beings lock themselves in an intense battle—one in offense and one in defence. To Festus's disadvantage, his malfunctioning wing is slowing him down, and his companion is still unconscious to hold on properly—giving the bronze dragon a limited amount of movements to do against the mighty drakon.

With an attack aimed at his back with his master on it, Festus is forced to roll, dislodging the demigod in the process. However, the position the two beings are in leaves the drakon vulnerable and so Festus seizes the opportunity to attack. He lets loose a volley of flames at the drakon's underbelly which, in turn, makes the drakon even more angry, attacking Festus much viciously than before.

The creature uses its massive talons to tear Festus enough but suddenly stops as it was suddenly pushed away by a giant boulder. Losing his enemy, Festus goes down to try and reach the young demigod—only to be attacked by a barrage of arrows and stones. Roaring in anger, Festus lets his flames loose to burn the arrows into crisps. He was so close now—just a few feet away and…

Festus screeches just as his whole left wing falls apart from his body at the sudden huge boulder that hit it, just like what was used to push the drakon away. Using his senses, Festus sees that his demigod fell further away.

The last thing Festus sees is his master being engulfed with trees before his control disk finally makes the bronze dragon blackout.

Meanwhile, Leo is suspended deep in his mind. He can feel the wind buffeting him as he fell from Festus, watching above him as his buddy fights with the wingless Maeonian drakon… but he was helpless to his injured companion, unable to do anything but watch and fall because of his stupid mushy distressed mind.

It was excruciating.

He tries to break out of it but the utter despair within his soul is too much for him to bear as he keeps passing in and out of unconsciousness as he keeps falling. The trajectory making him lose his oxygen fast.

He wasn't even able to scream out for his friend when he sees things which he can assume are arrows and giant freaking boulders attack both Festus and drakon.

When Festus starts to fall from the sky, with his left wing falling apart with him, Leo starts to get swallowed by the tall trees of another forest. Wizards and forests .

Not for the first time, he wonders why the fates keep making him crash from the sky but he doesn't have long to think about that.

As the trees stretch taller above him with his dragon falling from the sky and heading in another direction, the ever familiar darkness finally welcomes him with a comforting embrace.

—oOo—

Six minutes ago.

"I miss Hagrid."

"I just hope he doesn't feed us those rock cakes."

"Oh, honestly, Ronald. At least be nice about it."

"Okay, his food should be given to Snape."

"I second this."

"Professor Snape. And you two are impossible!"

Both of them snicker as she huffs fondly in annoyance. The three of them walk side-by-side as they usually do when going to Hagrid's Hut.

The professors had been busy charming the school into giving more rooms for their guests tonight who are arriving at six in the evening.

The three trouble-magnets had immediately walked out of the Dining Hall to head to Hagrid's Hut—to have some time to cool themselves down. The half-giant did just invite them over anytime and the three students didn't have the time to have tea with the gentle man before, so today was a great opportunity to spend time with him.

"D'you reckon Hagrid's got another creature in his house?" Ron asks.

"I'll be surprised if he didn't," Hermione replies.

"Hopefully, not another dragon," Harry comments, snickering just as much as Ron whilst Hermione tries not to snicker herself but to no avail.

"Yeah, breaking the law is tiring," Ron adds, making Hermione say his name as a way of warning—not for the first time.

As they step foot outside, Harry notices a flock of golden birds flying down to the Forbidden Forest just as Hermione gasps at the sight. Not resisting something as phenomenal as this, the three of them run towards Hagrid's Hut to look at the golden birds closer since they seem to decide to land deep within the Forbidden Forest, probably several kilometres behind Hagrid's Hut.

"What the bloody hell are those?" Ron asks, squinting at the sky.

"Ron! Language!" Hermione lectures but both boys ignore her.

"I don't know…Magical birds?" Harry asks himself out loud.

"But they…" Hermione starts confusedly. "...look metallic."

Harry blinks because, for a moment, the flock was not a flock. It looked like it was a bronze metal dragon or something falling out of the sky. He shakes his head, however, to see that it was just his imagination… and yep, golden birds there.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ron tells her.

"I'm not joking!" Hermione replies indignantly.

"M—must be a trick of the light, 'Mione," Harry tells her, unsure of it himself.

Just as all three of them reach the door to Hagrid's Hut, staring at the golden whatever-they-are, they hear a loud crash from the West of Hagrid's Hut, deep in the Forbidden Forest but doesn't seem to be as far as where Aragog's lair is located.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione only share one look before all three of them run to the very location of where they heard the crash.

"It's here somewhere, right?" Harry asks.

"Over there!" Hermione gasps, pointing at the area with nearly destroyed trees and a large crater.

Before Harry and Hermione run over there, Ron immediately grabs them both by the elbow before saying, "We don't know what's out there."

"He's right," Harry tells Hermione. "We should be careful."

Hermione, in turn, nods at Harry before looking at Ron at the corner of her eye though neither boys notice it since they are both intent on what's ahead.

Before they see what's inside, though they were near enough to see it, all three of them turn behind them when they hear an even louder crash which sounded like it happened even deeper in the Forbidden Forest. The first set of birds which fled somewhere far only confirmed how far away it was.

"What was—" Ron was about to ask but was cut off.

"Oh my gods!" Hermione gasps, wrapping her arms around Ron's neck, and burying her face on his chest to hide her face from something.

As one, both Ron and Harry turn to look at what made their friend upset. They both finally see what is in the middle of the large crater.

A corpse.

Ron wraps an arm around her, still looking at the body in shock, whilst Harry moves forward to go near the body after a small nod with Ron, both communicating and agreeing that it's better not to get Hermione even more upset.

The corpse, which has shaggy black hair and pointy ears, wearing a white shirt which has sleeves folded to the elbows, braces, dark trousers, and a toolbelt, is on his side. It looks like the mysterious person tried his best to lessen the blow on his head by placing his arms behind it which means he must have fallen on his back.

"Poor sod," Harry whispers to himself. "Wonder what happened…"

"Dunno, mate…" Ron replies, making Hermione whimper.

"You don't think it's got something to do with the second crash?" Harry asks.

"Or the golden birds?" Ron suggests.

When Harry is beside the boy, he slowly turns him to lie on his back, gasping at the fact that he is actually around their age, with an orange shirt underneath the white collarless shirt he was wearing and a leather necklace with one bead in it.

…and a chest that's moving.

"He's alive," he whispers to himself before exclaiming, "Merlin! He's still alive!"

"What?" Ron asks as Hermione finally turns back around to look in the crater.

To check further, Harry grabs the boy's wrist to check the still beating albeit a bit weak pulse.

"Oh, Merlin! We need to get him to Madam Pomfrey!" Hermione yells, wiping her cheeks and immediately putting on her headstrong determined face.

"Ron! Get in here!" Harry yells, making Ron jump in the crater to land on the other side of the mysterious lad, helping Harry pull him up by wrapping each arm around their shoulders.

"Harry?! Ron?! Hermione?! What're yeh lot doin' 'ere?!"

"Hagrid! Help!" they all yell.

Immediately their Care of Magical Creatures Professor comes quickly, panting slightly after running in a panic at three distressed students.

"What happened?! Are yeh hurt?!"

"No," Hermione quickly replies, "but someone else is."

"Over here, Hagrid!" Harry and Ron both yell, putting the boy down again as Hagrid walks down the crater.

"Merlin! What happened 'ere?" he asks, carrying the boy in his arms with ease.

Whilst Ron and Hermione tell Hagrid what they've noticed, Harry walks behind them in silence, secretly glad the boy's unconscious because if he is anything like him, it would be a bit humiliating to be seen cradled like a baby.

"Yeh shouldn't go running in the Forbidden Forrest like tha'," Hagrid reprimands them. "Yeh dunno what's out there."

Harry snorts, earning everyone's attention. "Oh, we know." Ron snickers.

"Honestly, you two, someone is injured and you're laughing out here."

"Oh, come on, 'Mione, you've had your share of adventures in the Forest," Ron points out.

"Oh, yes, running away from a werewolf and seeing my friend nearly die from a hundred dementors! Oh, that's fun." The two boys stare at her before she finally smiles. "Okay, it was a little fun."

"I just realised we've never been in the Forbidden Forest together before… like all three of us. When I first encountered Voldemort in our First Year, I was with Draco and you were together. Second Year, I was with Ron. Third Year, I was with you."

"Yeah, spiders for me. Dementors for 'Mione," Ron says. "Dunno what's worse, to be honest… then again, Draco got You-Know-Who—nope, no, spiders. Definitely spiders are the worst."

Harry and Hermione share a glance before shaking their heads in amusement.

"All those times, yeh kids were out there saving people… and 'ere yeh are again with the saving," Hagrid comments, frowning at the heavily injured boy in his arms.

"Can't we go faster?" Ron asks worriedly. "Looks like he really needs Pomfrey."

"Can't jostle him too much. Might make it worse," Hagrid replies.

"But how could he still be alive?" Harry asks. "That crater was too big. I'm not a genius but even I know that means he fell from a high distance."

"I dunno, but what matters is that he's alive," Hagrid replies just as they reach the doors to the Hospital Wing.

"Madam Pomfrey!" Hermione yells at the empty room.

"Miss Granger?" the matron asks upon exiting her office at the sound of her voice. Her eyes immediately drops onto Harry. "What did you do this time, Potter?"

Before Harry comments, Hagrid gently places the boy on one of the beds, placing Madam Pomfrey's attention from Harry to the boy immediately. Hagrid, Ron, Harry, and Hermione all tell her what they saw in the forest—the crater. Madam Pomfrey looks at them in disbelief especially looking at the boy who doesn't seem as injured as he would have been if he really had fallen to such great heights..

That is, before she waves her wand over the boy's body and the diagnosis on the floating parchment started appearing.

—oOo—

Date: October 30, 1994. Friday.

Leonidas Valdez. [4]4

Age: 15. [5]5

Gender: Male.

Blood(s): Hephaestus. Muggle.

Parent(s): Hephaestus. Esperanza Valdez.

Sibling(s): Several paternal half-siblings.

Physical Condition(s): [6]6[7]7[8]8

Small Cranio-cerebral Damage.

Small Subarachnoid Haemorrhage.

Sprain of Bones:

- Skull.

- Ribs.

- Cervical vertebrae.

- Thoracic vertebrae.

- Femur.

Damage of Internal Organs.

- Spleen. Small laceration from Deceleration.

Slight Abrasions.

Mental Condition(s):

Combat neurosis.

Note(s):

Survival due to godly DNA:

- Superhuman durability.

- Superhuman strength.

- Superhuman intelligence.

—oOo—

"This is simply not possible!" Madam Pomfrey exclaims, much to the surprise of everyone else in the room.

"I'll tell Professor Dumbledore what happened," Hagrid offers, starting to leave, but Madame Pomfrey stops him.

"There's no need for that, Hagrid. After I take care of Mister Valdez, here, I will go to the headmaster myself," she says, going back to the office to grab everything she needs for such an impossible case.

After casting Scourgify on the boy to clean up the soot and dirt on his body, she only does several castings of Episkey for the sprains on his bones and put some Murtlap Essence on the abrasions on the boy's skin.

"That's enough for now," she tells the kids and Hagrid. "I want you to look after him for a moment while I talk to the headmaster about our new visitor. This is a matter of urgency and it will take a while but I do hope none of you will get in trouble while I'm gone. Are we clear?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all nod, sitting down on the bed beside the boy's.

"Alright, if he wakes—though I'm not sure he will, I want you to give him this Blood-Replenishing Potion immediately," she says, handing Hermione the mentioned potion. "He has some blood clotting in his brain as well as some cuts on his spleen from the fall, so there is some internal bleeding for him, though it's not as damaging as it should be. Check whether he has some brain damage as well. Ask him questions. Do you understand?"

They all say their affirmation.

"If he doesn't calm down, give him this," she says, handing Ron a vial. "It's a calming draught. He might need it."

With a small nod from Madam Pomfrey, she turns back to her office to use the floo connecting towards the headmaster's, locking the door behind her.

"I have to go back meself," Hagrid says. "Yer little journey in the forest stopped me from checking on the second crash. I have ter know if it's a threat or not."

"We can help," Harry suggests.

"No, yeh heard Madam Pomfrey. This lad's yer responsibility now. Take care o' him, okay?" Hagrid tells them. Reluctantly, Harry and Ron finally nod as genuinely as Hermione does, reassuring Hagrid to leave them in the Hospital Wing.

When the door closes behind Hagrid, the three all look at the peaceful face of the person they found.

"Madam Pomfrey said he should be dead," Harry whispers out loud.

"Who is he, then? If he can survive that fall?" Hermione asks.

Ron snorts. "The Boy-Who-Lived?" he suggests, making Harry laugh.

Hermione hits them both at the back of their heads. "I'm serious. What if he's dangerous? Shouldn't we think about that?"

"Hermione, look at him, he's about our year!" Ron sighs, gesturing at the boy. "I don't even think he has a wand on him. Did he, Harry?"

Harry shakes his head. "No, maybe it got lost somewhere… Also, Voldemort was just a year older than us when he killed Moaning Myrtle with the Basilisk, and he didn't need a wand for that either," Harry adds, making Hermione shudder at the memory of having been petrified by that snake. "Sorry, Hermione."

"It's fine…" she replies with a small shudder.

"All right, point taken," Ron finally agrees, shrugging. "So who the bloody hell is he, then?" he asks. Hermione doesn't even berate him for his language.

"His last name's Valdez, according to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione adds.

"Who on Earth is Valdez, then?" Harry asks himself out loud, "Because I don't think even Voldemort or Dumbledore would've survived that fall."