Leo was a bit confused by those glances, but he didn't pay much attention to them. He was more interested in what the voices in his head were saying; Leo knew they were the sea creatures that inhabit the Great Black Lake of Hogwarts.
For this same reason, he was interested in the words coming out of their mouths.
But, due to the multitude of voices, he could only clearly hear two things: "We are in danger" and "He will wake up soon."
Without a doubt, it was intriguing what creature could scare the magical beasts of the lake so much.
"I found it!" With a loud sound, everyone turned their attention to the giant.
Hagrid, who had seemed to be searching for something since they landed, looked like he had finally found it.
He pressed some stones in a certain order, and in front of him, a large wall slowly faded away with a loud crack, revealing a new passage.
Once the noise caused by the movement of the magic calmed down, everyone returned their attention to the giant.
"Alright, follow me carefully; we will arrive at the castle soon."
They followed Hagrid, and after climbing a passage, they finally emerged onto soft, damp grass, in the shadow of the castle.
They walked up a stone staircase and gathered in front of a large oak door.
"Is everyone here?" Seeing everyone nod, Hagrid raised his gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
The door opened immediately. A tall witch, with black hair and an emerald-green robe, was waiting there.
She had a very stern face, and Leo's first thought was to run away.
There was no other way; that harsh look somehow reminded him of his old orphanage director.
So the idea of hiding was a conditioned reflex created after many years of scolding.
But he remembered that she didn't seem to have done anything yet, so he was safe and calmed down.
However, if you were to look from a third perspective, you would realize that he now found himself at the end of the line.
"First-year students, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.
"Thank you very much for bringing them. I will take them from here."
With a slight wave of her wand, she fully opened the door.
The entrance hall was large; the stone walls were illuminated by glowing torches, the ceiling was so high that it was out of sight, and a magnificent marble staircase in front of them led to the upper floors.
They followed Professor McGonagall along a marked path on the stone floor and arrived at a small empty room outside the hall.
They gathered there, closer to each other than they were used to, nervously looking around.
"First of all, I want to welcome you to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said.
"The start-of-year feast will be held shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you must be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your houses will be like your family at Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your assigned house, you will sleep in your house's dormitory, and you will spend your free time in the house common room."
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble story and..."
Blah blah blah. Leo, who was still at the back, had become distracted at some point looking at the ceiling. By the time he regained his senses, McGonagall was already finishing her speech.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place within a few minutes, in front of the rest of the school. I suggest that while you wait, you make yourselves as presentable as possible."
"I'll be back when we're all set for the ceremony," Professor McGonagall said. "Please, wait quietly." With those last words, she left the room.
Leo felt a bit helpless; this is something that tends to happen to him from time to time. He gets distracted by hearing people talk, and although it doesn't happen very often, he usually loses a lot of information during lectures. This is one of the reasons he always gets low grades.
Suddenly, he heard murmurs, and looking ahead, he found Ron and Harry talking loudly.
Apparently, they mentioned something about a supposed test, which made everyone fearful.
Even Hermione, who had been silent for a while, began reciting all the spells she knew.
If he remembered correctly, there was no such thing as a test; it was just a talking hat that probed your mind and then chose the most suitable house for your growth. Nothing to do with fighting a dragon, as one of the little wizards mentioned.
So there was no reason for him to worry... 'Damn!'.
'The hat will check my memory! I have reason to be concerned... I have a lot to worry about!'.
For a moment, he felt headaches; he had to find a way to avoid it. After all, he had too many secrets with him, like the mysterious pendant, memories of his past life, or the fact that he was a demigod...
He definitely didn't want his secrets exposed. Even if it was unlikely, it wasn't impossible! In any case, he didn't want to risk being wrong.
While Leo searched for a solution, he felt a tug on his arm.
He turned, confused; although he hadn't considered that small force, he wanted to see what it was trying to do. So he let himself be led and moved aside.
When he looked clearly, he could see three brats: one thin and blond in the middle, surrounded by two robust boys. Seriously, what the hell did they feed these kids? Do they really have my age?
"It seems to be true; the famous Harry Potter will actually be teaching at Hogwarts," exclaimed the blond boy, apparently drawn to Harry and Ron's conversation.
"Yeah," Harry simply replied.
Leo watched all this silently. At first, he didn't think of doing anything, but when he saw Harry approach and noticed how both of the blond's companions were burly and looked quite vulgar, he decided to go closer to Harry in case he needed help.
Maybe, seeing how Harry looked behind, he introduced his companions: "Oh, sorry for my manners. This is Crabbe and this is Goyle." Even though he had 'apologized', he still wore that pretentious smile and look of self-sufficiency.
"And my name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
Ron, who had hidden behind Harry when he saw them coming, let out a weak cough that seemed to be holding back his laughter.
"Do you think my name is funny, huh? I don't need to ask who you are. My father told me that all Weasleys are redheads, with freckles, and more kids than they can manage."
He turned to Harry and said condescendingly: "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are much better than others. You wouldn't want to be friends with the wrong kind. I can help you with that."
He extended his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't accept it.
"I think I can figure out who the wrong kind is on my own, thanks," he said coldly.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said calmly.
"Unless you're a bit nicer, you'll end up just like your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either. You just stick with lowlifes like the Weasleys; trash always hangs out with more trash."
Harry and Ron got angry, and Harry responded: "Repeat that."
"Oh, are you going to fight us, huh?" Malfoy taunted while looking at Crabbe and Goyle.
Harry wanted to keep fighting, but upon looking at Ron, who had an ironic smile and was shaking his head, he understood that Crabbe and Goyle were much stronger than him and Ron.
Seeing how everyone was watching the joke, he blushed a bit in embarrassment.
"Ha! After all, you're nothing but..."
But before he finished speaking, a blunt voice was heard next to Harry.
"Oh!"
"Trash gathers with trash, how true in just one sentence. And the best part is that you even set the example."
"Leo! You...". Harry and Ron felt moved when Leo came to help them.
Leo placed his hand on Harry's shoulder and whispered:
"If you don't trust your abilities, you won't get very far. Have more confidence."
After saying this, he turned to Draco, who looked very upset.
"Don't you like to talk much? Did the mouse eat your tongue?"
"Why don't you get lost? This has nothing to do with you. If you know what's good for you, you'd better disappear from my sight," Draco said in a surprisingly calm voice.
"I don't really know you, and I don't give a damn about you, but your pet just pushed me, and as its owner, I think you should pay for that. Am I wrong about anything?"
"You! How dare you talk to young Mr. Malfoy like that, peasant?" exclaimed Goyle, who couldn't take it anymore.
"Goyle, shut up; I didn't ask you to speak," Malfoy said while holding back his anger.
"You heard your owner, so be a good boy and shut your mouth."
"You!...".
Although Draco was trying to act calm, he was just a kid after all. In any case, he was just trying to behave like his father did.
Remembering what his father had told him before coming to Hogwarts about how to act as a member of the noble Malfoy family and how to protect the family's honor, he decided to endure.
"Don't get angry; it's not worth it. Look at his tattered and old clothes. Let me guess: you're new to the magical world, so you must not know what's good for you. If you apologize right now, I will be magnanimous and forgive you. Next time you should think before you speak or you could get into trouble."
"I don't need to be around magic for long to know that you are just a spoiled kid. There are many of those among muggles, you know?"
"You...! Bastard! Goyle, Crabbe, grab him and don't let him escape; I need to teach him a lesson," Draco said while pointing at Leo.
His two followers didn't hesitate much and lunged at Leo, thinking that a smaller boy couldn't stand up to them.
But how wrong they were. Let's not even talk about today's Leo; even before experiencing life-and-death battles and fully awakening his physical abilities, he was already above his peers in terms of reflexes and strength.
Moreover, not to undermine wizards, especially purebloods, but someone like him, who grew up in an orphanage, has faced struggles from a young age.
Furthermore, the fact that he had been expelled so many times shows that he is not as calm as he seems.
Once they lunged, Harry and Ron also seemed to want to join in, though it was obvious they were scared. To be honest, Leo was a bit moved, but in the end, he stopped them with one hand.
After all, I am more than enough.
However, before he could test his newfound strength, a voice stopped both parties.
"What do you think you're doing?! Didn't you hear what Professor McGonagall said? If she comes and sees you fighting, what do you think will happen? You're going to get into trouble before we even get there!"
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I'll be brief. I've noticed many complaints about the spelling and grammar, and I've made corrections from the first chapter to this one. I recommend rereading from the beginning and then letting me know your thoughts. Agreed?