An ethereal white fog surged from his wand, trying and failing to take a form.


    When Leon opened his eyes again, he was being carried away by a tentacle.


    The Giant Squid dropped him on his boat and disappeared after waving at him, the lake was as calm as it was before.


    Due to his sudden departure from the lake, he couldn''t see the result of his spell, but he didn''t care, he felt that something had happened, and that was enough for him now.


    The girls on the boat stared at him in shock, Hannah was even gaping at him with her mouth wide open.


    Due to the cover of darkness, only the students on the boats adjacent to his were able to see his dive and re-entrance.


    The magical high left him after he used the Patronus charm.


    ''Stupid! I got carried away,'' Leon admonished himself, but he didn''t regret it one bit. He peered over the boat to watch the squid but was greeted with darkness.


    Deciding to try something, Leon pointed his wand towards the lake and quietly whispered, "Expecto Patronum." Just like he expected nothing happened.


    ''I knew that was a one-time thing,'' He grumbled, but the grin on his never wavered, he knew he could learn the charm and that was enough, for now.


    He turned around and stared at the dumbstruck students before clearing his throat.


    "Do you guys know any spells to dry my clothes?"


    His words broke them out of their shock. Still dumbfounded at his stunt, Susan pointed her finger at him.


    "Why did you do that?"


    He just shrugged and acted like it was a perfectly normal thing to do.


    Though he wasn''t able to observe the full size of the squid due to darkness he at least saw its tentacle- it was huge!


    ''It was awesome!''


    "So, any spells to help me," he asked again as the cold set in.


    Hannah and Susan shook their heads whereas Daphne just huffed, looking away.


    They reached Hogwarts and disembarked from the boats.


    Hagrid stopped them before walking towards the giant door in front of them and knocked on it.


    "That was so cool, I should have thought of it. I wanted to see Squidy too." Roselyn Potter walked towards him.


    "I am Roselyn Potter, call me Rose," she introduced herself with a handshake.


    The other redhead, Ron, glared at Leon as Rose left their group behind to greet him.


    "I am Leon Astraeus, call me Leo," Leon replied with his teeth chattering, but he firmly shook her warm hand.


    The girl was a different type of daredevil, even seeing him shaking in the cold didn''t deter her from thinking that the stunt was stupid.


    "Daphne, enough. Help him," Susan said, making Leon turn towards them.


    Daphne huffed and waved her wand, muttering something.


    Suddenly, the water particles fell out of his clothes like pebbles.


    "You owe me one, Mr Astraeus." She stated and before Leon could decide whether to give her a thumbs up or roast for her not helping him before, Rose interjected.


    "Hey! I also know the basic drying spell used in potion making, I would have helped him. You shouldn''t make people owe you favors for little things, Daph," Rose admonished her, though Daphne just huffed.


    The first year''s byplay was finished by the time McGonagall finished talking with Hagrid.


    "Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.


    The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are here, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor.


    I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."


    After her speech about houses, points, and families, she herded the first years inside.


    "My brothers said we have to face a Boggart, if you faint you will be sent home, they said. Or sorted into Hufflepuff." Ron muttered, appearing beside Rose.


    Rose just shook her head at him, like she was disappointed, and walked away.


    The first years entered the great hall buzzing with students'' murmurs.


    Leon looked towards the roof and was not disappointed.


    The enchantment on the roof made it look like there was no roof, just like he read.


    A sea of stars graced the great hall with their presence as thousands of candles floated in the air.


    Everyone turned towards the first years making silence pervade the great hall. Murmurs started anew after the students got a good look at the first years.


    The deputy headmistress placed a stool and hat at the center of the great hall, ignoring the chattering.


    A tear formed near the brim of the hat and it began singing.


    "Oh, you may not think I''m pretty,


    But don''t judge on what you see,


    ...."


    The hat bowed after finishing its song filling the great hall with hearty applause.


    The cat animagus opened a parchment and started reading out names.


    "Abbot, Hannah."


    A nervous energy enveloped the group of firsties as the sorting started.


    Hannah shook with fear, her legs and hands started shivering as the whole Hogwarts turned towards her.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Leon turned towards Hannah just as a nonchalant expression replaced her earlier full-blown panic which Leon missed as he was busy salivating at the magical school.


    She walked towards the stool, her twin tails swaying, and sat down, cool as a cucumber.


    Leon glanced at her before going back to observe the assembly of students and professors- the people who have literal power at their fingertips.


    And he was going to be one of them, whether he would be at the bottom or top of the hierarchy wasn''t still certain. The jury was out on his talent.


    ''In the worst case, me being an amalgam of two lives doesn''t translate into any advantage with magic. The best case will be Levi''s, different life me''s experiences like studying for exams and listening to long lectures, help me in magic. After all concentration- will- is a huge component in spells, maybe.'' Leon hoped for the best case, but wouldn''t begrudge if it didn''t happen.


    "Hufflepuff." The hat announced as it touched Hannah''s head.


    "Astraeus, Leon."


    Leon cleared his mind and walked towards the stool.


    The Deputy headmistress sternly stared at Leon before his head got swallowed by the old hat.


    ''Wanna talk, wanna talk, wanna talk,'' Leon muttered in his mind.


    ''Okay, little wizard. We shall talk, you can stop.'' Leon heard the hat''s voice in his head.


    ''You know my name, Mr Hat. What is yours?'' Leon asked happily as he half expected the hat to just sort him as its name implied, not have conversations with children who aren''t Harry Potter.


    ''Names are for humans to identify themselves from others, little wizards. I am unique, I am the one and only sorting hat. So, you can call me Sorting Hat.''


    Leon did a double-take at that answer and shrugged.


    ''Do you mind if I burrow you sometime in the future?''


    ''Hmm! Sure. Making the old Dumbledore part with me is a challenge enough. The reward being my esteemed company is maybe a little much, but alright you can,'' The hat replied.


    Leon didn''t know whether it was joking or not, but he continued.


    ''Do you read memories to sort children?'' he asked, curious as to whether the hat is master Legilimens and Occlumens, like in the fanfics.


    ''Yes! Yes! After all, I am the solution to Salazar''s distrust of muggle-born wizards. I can read minds as easily as opening my mouth. But not in the way wizard kind does, my method is vastly superior,'' the hat proudly answered.


    ''Hmm! Well, won''t you be able to know the secrets of every house then?''


    ''I am created by the four greatest wizards to ever exist, even Rowena herself wouldn''t be able to open my mouth if I didn''t wish for it. And I don''t see your every memory, I can feel if a student''s secrets'' can cause harm to either Hogwarts or its students.''


    ''I found many brainwashed muggle-borns that way and we were able to rehabilitate them.'' The hat replied and wiggled on his head like it was very pleased with itself.


    ''My magic is very ironclad, Mr Astraeus. Because of its narrow focus, I gain the capability of sensing the secrets of even the most talented Occlumens, natural or not. Not very versatile like your kind, but I am a master at finding memories and reading minds. Do you think anyone can have a telepathic conversation with an untrained mind like yours, Mr Leon?''


    Leon digested the information and projected the scene of the hat catching fire on Neville''s head along with some more future events.


    ''Hmm! You became quiet all of a sudden. Don''t worry, Mr Astraeus your mind is great for a young Hogwarts student. Kids these days are too soft,'' the hat grumbled.


    ''Huh!''


    Leon didn''t see much of a risk in thinking about the memories of his previous life. After all, he needed to know if the mind peepers in the Hogwarts could see his other life memories.


    Now he doesn''t need to worry about the mind peepers present in the Hogwarts.


    ''An unexpected outcome but a welcome one. I shiver to think if Snape finds my extra memories and gets obsessed with me or something.'' Leon shivered, tossing that particular fanfic to the back of his mind.


    ''Your mind is clear again, though some of part of your thoughts are blurred. I didn''t know you had a mutated Occlumency talent. Though you can''t blame me, young wizard, as I said it is a mutated talent. Mutated talents are very rare and finicky things. You shouldn''t let your talent go to waste young wizard, nurture it,'' the hat advised.


    McGonagall cleared her throat, making the hat wiggle again.


    ''Huh! It seems some people are impatient, any particular house you are aiming for young wizard,'' The hat asked.


    Leon wanted to shrug, but he remembered about the room of requirements. So, he hurriedly asked.


    ''I want to be in a house that has special magical facilities or knowledge that can''t be accessed by other house members.''


    ''Good, Good. The house HUFFLEPUFF will help you.''


    The Hufflepuff part was shouted.


    ''Hey! Any clues-''


    "You have to wait. It will find-'' The hat''s answer was cut short as McGonagall took the hat off Leon, huffing.


    Leon walked towards the cheering table, his clothes magically resembling the other people on the table.


    ''It makes sense, I guess.'' Leon thought.


    ''Slytherin has his chamber. Ravenclaw has Room Of Requirements, I don''t think Godric Gryffindor is the building type so that automatically leaves Hufflepuff and also my previous self-craved friends; to be normal and to play with others without his headache bothering him.''


    Leon slowly walked towards the table and sat beside Hannah, happy that his memories were somehow hidden and even worked as an ad hoc defense for his mind.


    ''Will have to look into that too!''


    "Why did the hat dance on your head, firstie?" A pink-haired woman asked, interrupting his thoughts.


    "Hufflepuff"


    The table cheered with the same enthusiasm, as Susan sat beside Leon, giving him a questioning look.


    "I asked the hat who is the most beautiful woman in Hogwarts," Leon spoke with a smile.


    The pink-haired witch raised her eyebrow at him.


    "Well, You are not her. Your name is Tonks, right? The hat mentioned someone named Nymphodora," Leon said his eyes twinkling with mischief.


    Tonk''s hair turned into a color roulette as she couldn''t decide whether to curse Leon or not as he acted like he didn''t know who Nymphodora was.


    Susan and Hannah fell silent and watched the seventh-year''s reaction before staring at him in shock, after all, they were present when Leon asked about Tonks.


    "I remember you were in the carriage when I helped Rose, you better answer my question if you don''t want to get hexed." The witch threateningly waved her hand.


    "Okay, okay. I asked the hat its name and just chatted with it, nothing serious." Leon said.


    "Potter, Rose." The deputy headmistress called, stopping Tonks from further grilling him.


    "Gryffindor."


    The Gryffindor loudly celebrated as Rose joined the twins.


    "I thought you would be in Gryffindor, Leo. Especially after the stunt you pulled." Susan poked him with her finger.


    Hannah frantically nodded her head showing case her thoughts.


    "What did the brat do?" Tonks questioned.


    Susan looked at Leon, asking for permission, to which he just shrugged.


    "He jumped into the lake," Hannah blurted out.


    "And the Giant squid dropped him back onto the boat."


    His surroundings fell silent.


    "Why did you do that? Astraeus." A guy sitting near Tonks spoke making Leon look at him.


    ''Strong jaw, high cheekbones, kind eyes- the whole stereotypical handsomeness package. Did I find the sparkling vampire?'' Leon wondered.


    "I just wanted the fact that I left behind my boring world to strongly register in my mind, I guess. I still can''t believe I am in a magical castle," Leon answered thinking back on his actions, before shaking his head.


    ''Whether this guy is Cedric or not, he looks kind and even remembered my name, unlike me who didn''t bother remembering my fellow firstie''s name, even my housemates.''


    As the two seniors and classmates digested his answer, Leon observed the professor''s table.


    Complicated emotions rose in Leon as he saw a professor with a turban sitting at the high table.


    Leon wanted to walk up to Dumbledore and inform him about the baldhead tagging along with the other baldy- Quirrrel and have him prepare a vessel to catch the spectre voldy.


    After all, due to Voldy a unicorn dies in the first book, and a woman and her child die in the fourth.


    Unlike all the fan fiction he read which just ignores the issue as MC wants the plot to be predictable, Leon doesn''t have that excuse as he was in a massive AU- with James Potter alive, Sirius not in prison.


    Leon was stuck in a conundrum, even if he believed that the woman and children may not die, due to the massive AU. The presence of Professor Quirrel with a turban means an unicorn is going to die and Leon wants to prevent that if he can without endangering himself....too much.


    But he didn''t want to jump into the game without any protections, even not accounting for how shitty a Horcrux would be if all it has are cons- soul breakage, insanity, creation of a weak spot, and no protection against capture on top of these.


    If a wizard with a single Horcrux, as is the norm, dies the Horcrux won''t be of much use if you can just capture the spirit that leaves the body.


    He would have to question the Horcrux creator''s and Voldy''s intelligence if that was the case.


    And Leon didn''t feel safe blurting out secrets to a wizard who could make him disappear without any effort. And when push comes to shove, he likes his agency- and life- more than any magical pony.


    ''There is no way, Dumbledore doesn''t know that there is something wrong with Quirrel, he must be trying to catch him in the act or something,'' Leon thought and decided to think about Dumbles and his seemingly dumb decisions some other time. He didn''t want to haphazardly guess what was going on in a century-old wizard''s head.


    ''I still have some time, I can decide what I will do before Voldy goes hunting for ponies.'' Shaking off the burden of knowing the future, Leon decided to enjoy the present.


    After a quick search of first years, he found Daphne talking with a cheery girl and a strutting blonde guy.


    ''I wonder if any other canon characters are gender-bent. Maybe a male Hermione for the female Harry, though the Weaselys'' and the professor''s gender didn''t change.''


    "Granger, Hermoine." The deputy headmistress called snapping Leon out of his ridiculous thoughts.


    A girl with long straight hair hurriedly walked towards the sorting hat and flashed a nervous smile towards Professor Kitty, revealing her metallic braces, and let the hat swallow her head.