A/N: Hi Y'all! Merry Christmas! hope you're having an awesome day so far! 

There will be more babysitting parts with Hera, so let's get started!

BTW (by the way) I'm writing this really late at night, I finished this at 1:02 AM, LOL. (for those that are asking, I did sleep till like 9:30 so I'm fine 😊) I kinda forgot to edit it though.

There might be mistakes! If you see any, please comment! Thanks! Constructive criticism is always welcome! Remember, this is my first fanfic, so I would really love it!

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Jason's POV

Jason was fuming. Messing with demigods was one thing, but at this age? Leo was only three, and was expected to fight a goddess with blades sharper than a steak knife. Jason made a mental note to gift Hera a smack on the head. Before he could start ranting, the next image flickered on screen.

Tia Callida came back almost every single working day. She had done many questionable things that ended up with Esperanza screaming and yanking Leo away protectively while kicking Hera out. This week was no different. 

As soon as his mom left, Tia Callida/Hera grabbed Leo's wrist tightly and led him outside. They went through tall grass up to Leo's shoulders. She then grabbed a stick, and pointed it at a snake. 

Annabeth gasped. Jason was started to realize what the severity of the situation was too. That snake was a coral snake. Lupa explained this to him when he went out in the fields hunting. 

As if reading his mind, Annabeth stated: " That's a Texas coral snake. Judging by the looks of it, it is deadly."

Everyone else gasped, watching intently as the memory continued playing.

"Now child, to be a hero, you have to look danger in the eye, You have to be brave. Do you understand?"

Leo nodded. although he was unsure pf what he was meant to do,  but he had learnt to be obedient with Hera as he was just five years old. 

"Now, take this stick, and poke that snake."

Leo frowned. "No Tia. no esto bien."(please correct me if I'm wrong. I just started learning Spanish.)

"Do it. You must be a hero, which means you must complete your training."

Leo shook his head, his unruly brown hair bouncing along. "No. I won't hurt it if it's not hurting me." 

Hera narrowed her eyes and sighed. "And Athena said your flaw wasn't affection."

She snapped and the snake morphed into a terrible creature. The monster had incredibly sharp claws and fangs, and the moment it saw Leo with its four eyes, it started running towards him. Leo yelped and backed up a little before letting the monster attack first, because he would never hurt a monster before it struck him. When his shoulder started bleeding, he raised his stick and hit the monster with a hard THWACK! The monster flew to the ground and growled. Leo hit it again and again until it disintegrated. Then, he burst into tears.

"I hurt it! I hurt it! I'm evil!" He sobbed.

"No child. It hurt you," Hera said, pointing to his shoulder. "You defended yourself. And you did it well." She gestured to the floor where the monster would have been. 

Leo dropped the stick and ran inside, greeted by a beautiful woman with warm brown eyes and a smile that lit up her face. She was covered in oil and soot, but Leo didn't care.

"Mama!"

Esperanza smiled, but then gasped. "Leo, my poor son, what happened to you?" She said, asking about the gash on his shoulder.

"Its nothing mama. Tia-"

"Oh no. I'm sorry you have to deal with her, but no one else will come." Esperanza said, feeling guilty. 

"Leo, how long was this lady torturing you like this?!" Jason asked. 

"Ehh, until I was maybe six or seven. This wasn't the worst by far."

Jason asked nervously, "What was the worst one?"

"She put me to sleep in the fireplace when I was two or three." Leo replied, half-paying attention. 

The memories continued. 

Leo looked to be the same age, but it was later in the month because the winds were stronger and the grass was a yellowish hue. 

He was cooking with Hera when a very poor decision was made by the meddling goddess. She was juicing lemons when she pulled Leo right in front, getting lemon juice in his eye. Immediately, his eyes started watering as he yelped. 

"Endure the pain, like I told you before. You will have to endure more pain than any others like you in the near future, and as much as I will regret doing it to you, it is a must for survival. " Hera said. 

Leo wiped the tears and blinked until his eyes were not too red anymore. Then, he continued cooking with Hera, producing a wonderful lunch for himself, Hera, and Esperanza. 

Jason didn't get one thing that Hera said to him. 

"Leo, what did Hera mean when she said you'd have to go through a lot more pain than that?" He asked carefully.

Leo visibly paled and bit his lip. "I don't wanna talk about it. It'll come up though."

Jason wanted to say more, but decided not to push it when he saw Piper's expression.

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A/N: And that's a wrap for this one! 

What did you guys think? was it good? bad? mid?

Let me know, and thanks for staying here and reading! 

I'm gonna publish a Christmas memory later today or tomorrow so keep watch! (thanks for the idea Jackman2357! couldn't have done it without your constant support! Also huge thanks to PJO1224 for the follow and the kind comment! hope you enjoy this! Finally, a shout-out to you readers who have stuck with me! I got 84 reads, and that's more than I ever wanted!)

Leo Valdiva Fangirl out! (That's me)