In a dining hall bathed in the soft morning light, a group of children of varying ages eagerly awaited the day's breakfast.
The bustling sound of laughter and conversations filled the air, but in one corner, apart from the rest, sat Leo.
Unlike the enthusiasm surrounding him, Leo's head was bowed, lost in thought about the events of that morning.
The joy of the others stood in stark contrast to the melancholy he felt inside.
It wasn't long before the clatter of plates and the rich aroma of fried eggs pulled him from his reverie.
With a spark of determination, he lifted his head and thought, "Since I've come to the magical world and I have magical talent, it's normal that I enter Hogwarts to study..."
"That's right!" he continued his internal monologue. "If you think about it, there's not that much difference between the two worlds. If I was prepared to live among gods and demigods, a bald, noseless wizard shouldn't be a cause for discouragement."
Leo repeated words of encouragement in his heart, feeling a little calmer.
He wasn't scared; he simply felt disappointed.
He yearned to experience a world full of real stories and myths, brimming with adventure and fantastic beings.
Although the Harry Potter universe had its own charm, filled with magical creatures like Cerberus and the phoenix, those beasts paled in comparison to the level of power he had encountered in Percy Jackson.
In his mind, he could categorize the creatures of Hogwarts as magical beasts, while those from Riordan's world were monsters, natural disasters, true scourges.
"Seeing it this way, they are two completely distinct realities," he thought.
"The beasts and the power systems...where on earth are my abilities coming from? Their existence wouldn't make sense."
"If this were Rick Riordan's world, everything would at least have a little sense. Everything would fit."
But it wasn't...
"Then, why do I have these abilities?" He became distracted looking at the glass of water in front of him.
With a single thought, the liquid began to tremble.
Whenever he wished, he could burst the glass with the water within it at will.
This was the result of having discovered he was a demigod and beginning to practice his abilities.
However, somehow, his progress seemed insignificant to him.
He was as strong and agile as a common adult; impressive for a child his age, but not enough by his own scale.
As for his 'hydrokinesis', the truth was that it was even more disappointing: he could control little more than a one-liter plastic bottle's worth of water.
In a fight against a healthy adult, his chances of winning were 50/50; at most, his advantage was that his skin was a bit thicker.
After finishing his breakfast of fried eggs and milk, Leo hurried back to his room.
Once there, he began to sift through his memories, trying to find some clue to help him understand his new reality.
But, as much as he tried, he couldn't find a connecting thread in his strange experience.
Just as he was about to give up, a glint of light caught his attention from the corner of his eye: an ancient pendant that had been forgotten.
It was an object that, if he remembered correctly, he had with him when he arrived in this world. According to the headmistress of the orphanage, he was wearing it when he appeared at the door.
At first, he hadn't paid it much attention; as it didn't seem very significant, it had been collecting dust on his nightstand.
But now, as he reorganized his thoughts, each time he looked at it, the feeling it gave him was stranger.
After racking his brains for a good while, he finally remembered.
"Isn't this pendant the one I bought from a stall in my previous life?"
He approached and held it in his hands; the closer he examined it, the more his memories resonated with it.
The pendant was held by copper chains and had a pale gold charm, emanating a profound sense of mystery.
"Yes, it's definitely from my previous life... or maybe it's an extreme coincidence. I thought it was a gift from this world's parents."
"But since I was little, I've never believed in coincidences. Maybe this pendant is related to the reason I came to this world," Leo concluded.
Holding it, Leo tried to open the pendant in every way he could think of.
He twisted it, hit it, threw it against the floor, and even bit it.
He also tried typical fairytale phrases like "abracadabra" and "open sesame," but nothing seemed to work.
In fact, the pendant didn't even move a centimeter from its original form.
When he was about to give up, he remembered something the protagonists in novels often did when they found a magical object.
He had nothing to lose by trying, so, although he was a little hesitant, he decided to give it a shot.
He put his thumb to his mouth and bit down fiercely until a drop of blood came out.
"Haaah! That really hurts!" he exclaimed as he endured the pain.
Without forgetting to drop the drop of blood on the pendant, he knew that if he didn't, he would have to repeat it and he didn't want to feel this unnecessary pain again.
"I don't know how the protagonists of those novels can make it look so nonchalant," he thought as he sucked on his thumb without taking his eyes off the pendant.
Then he waited... and continued to wait...
After a few minutes, he felt a little embarrassed.
He slapped his forehead and muttered, "I'm an idiot, how could something so stupid possibly work? Maybe I thought about it too much; I should stop reading so many books, it's not good for my health."
He observed it for a little longer and, seeing that nothing was happening, he finally decided to put it around his neck.
At that moment, the pendant began to spin frantically.
Inside, Leo could see multiple finely placed gears working together.
In an instant, the pieces stopped, revealing a small hole with three figures that, although small, emanated majesty. He recognized without a doubt that they were Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus, whose representative weapons confirmed their identity.
He extended his finger and, touching the sculpture of Poseidon, it shone with a faint blue light.
A burst of light emerged from the trident and headed towards Leo's forehead. He tried to dodge, but failed to avoid the light, which entered the center of his eyebrows.
Astonished, he felt his head and, feeling no pain, felt relieved.
However, what Leo ignored was that he was about to be involved in something big, a battle that would mark him forever, where he would face the fine line between good and evil, with a single victor who would decide the future.
Meanwhile, on his forehead, a trident mark shone faintly, blinked a couple of times, and finally disappeared as if it had never been there.
Turning back to Leo, he looked at the pendant, which had returned to its 'original' form, and noticed that no matter what he did, it would not open again.
Frustrated, he wanted to complain; he had invested so much effort and in the end, the pendant closed again.
He was about to lie down for a while and take off the pendant, when suddenly, in front of him, a transparent window appeared, displaying a series of information like a hologram.
Status
Binding: Leo Jackson
Profession: Wizard (Novice)
Lineage: Demigod of the Sea (Poseidon)
Magical Weapons: None
Lineage Abilities:
- Demigod Physique (Semi-Awakened)
- Hydrokinesis (Semi-Awakened)
- Atmokinesis (Sealed)
- Electrokinesis (Sealed)
- Aerokinesis (Sealed)
- Geokinesis (Sealed)
- Cryokinesis (Sealed)
- Heat Resistance (Sealed)
- Toxikinesis (Sealed)
Magical Skills: None
Basic Skills: None
Talents: AncientGreek(Awakened), Fencing(Awakened)
After the initial shock that the panel gave him, Leo was able to confirm that he possessed the powers of a demigod of the sea, although, for some reason, these were in a sealed or semi-awakened state.
"I suppose it's because I haven't grown enough yet and need to train more."
He wasn't too bothered; although the pendant seemed useless, thanks to the panel he could intuitively understand his talents better, which would allow him to find a better training direction.
However, he felt disappointed at not finding much information about his arrival in this world.
After observing the panel for a while, he lay down on his bed and fixed his gaze on his surname.
As an orphan, he had no name or surname; Leo was the name given to him by the owner of the orphanage.
The surname was something more serious and important, so orphans facing an extremely difficult start in life were assigned the surname "Expósito" in the civil registry.
This allowed them, according to the law, to change it legally quickly and for free, providing the opportunity for a fresh start and a new name for a new story.
Grateful for this, Leo decided to change his surname to Jackson when he was ten years old, simply because he thought his situation was very similar to Percy's, for obvious reasons.
While he remembered this happening before he knew he might be in the universe of Rick Riordan's books, it felt a bit awkward to know that possibility existed, but he ultimately left everything as it was.
As his thoughts wandered, slowly, under the starlight, he fell asleep.
---
At nine o'clock the next morning, after Leo finished breakfast and explained to the matron that he would be busy all day, he received her permission.
In his room, he had made preparations.
According to the letter, today was the day he would meet a Hogwarts teacher who would take him shopping for school supplies.
He grabbed his worn backpack and some crumpled bills he had hidden under the bed just in case.
Although the letter said it wasn't necessary, he preferred to be prepared.
Once he tied his shoelaces, he set off jogging.
An hour later, Leo found himself sitting in a shoe store away from the orphanage, glancing at the clock from time to time as if he were waiting for something.
He heard a muffled squeak and, looking behind him, found a tall, thin man wearing a long dark robe, like an old bat, with a hooked nose and greasy hair that looked like it had been soaked in three liters of gel.
Before Leo could say anything, the man had already begun to speak.
"Mr. Jackson, I am Severus Snape, although for you I am Professor Snape. During your next year at Hogwarts, I will be your Potions teacher."
"I won't say more than necessary; what needs to be said is in the letter. I won't explain what you should already know unless your brain is as small as a jelly bean. Do you understand?"
Leo could only scratch his head awkwardly; although he hadn't spoken a word yet, he had already been inexplicably reprimanded.
Even before Snape spoke, Leo had recognized his identity.
It was easy to identify him, even for someone with little knowledge after what happened in the Philosopher's Stone, which he had even partially forgotten.
Despite being a bit surprised, he didn't think a professor with such a character would help new students with their shopping.
As Snape said, the details were already explained in the letter, so he got up early and read carefully, making sure not to miss anything.
Seeing that Leo remained silent, Snape said indifferently:
"Follow me."
Leo picked up his small backpack and followed Snape with small steps.
After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a narrow alleyway away from the crowd.
"Mr. Jackson, hold tightly to my sleeve," Snape said.
"And don't even think about vomiting; this clothing is more expensive than anything you are allowed to pay for."
Leo wanted to reply, but before he could open his mouth, Snape continued in his gloomy voice, "We don't have all day, Mr. Jackson." Impatience was evident on his face.
'Haah... forget it,' Leo thought as he sighed inwardly.
"Yes, Professor Snape," he replied.
Once they were close, he grasped the professor's sleeve tightly.
Suddenly, a strange feeling of suction enveloped him; everything around him spun and turned upside down, and his stomach churned.
If he had to describe it, it would be like going several rounds inside a washing machine on high speed.
When he finally touched down, a moment of weightlessness was followed by intense nausea.
Recalling Professor Snape's words, he covered his mouth with his hands to control his gagging.
"The first time always happens. After experiencing it a couple more times, you won't feel as dizzy," Snape assured him.
To Leo's surprise, the professor seemed to possess a hint of kindness and patiently waited for him to catch his breath and regain his color.
"Do you have the letter with you, Mr. Jackson?" Snape asked after a while. Leo nodded.
"Good, inside there is a list of everything you need to buy," he continued.
Leo pulled out the letter from one of his pockets and unfolded the sheet he had read that morning, knowing it would be useful for shopping.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY:
UNIFORM
First-year students will need:
• Three plain work robes (black).
• One pointed hat (black) for everyday use.
• One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar).
• One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings).
• (All students' clothing must bear labels with their names.)
BOOKS
All students must have a copy of the following books:
• The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, by Miranda Goshawk.
• A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot.
• Magical Theory, by Adalbert Waffling.
• A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, by Emeric Switch.
• One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, by Phyllida Spore.
• Magical Drafts and Potions, by Arsenius Jigger.
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Newt Scamander.
• The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, by Quentin Trimble.
OTHER EQUIPMENT
• 1 wand.
• 1 cauldron (pewter, size 2).
• 1 set of glass or crystal phials.
• 1 telescope.
• 1 brass scale.
Students may also bring an owl, a cat, or a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.