(A/N): Do we finally find out the reason behind Lisbet's nickname in this chapter? No! Do we find out why Leo knows the name 'Vieux Du Sang Vignoble'? Yes, surprisingly.

Jerremyah

I saw Lisbet's face drop, even as I felt my own eyebrows furrow. Vieux Du Sang Vignoble... I hadn't thought about that in a long time- hadn't had reason to think about it, really. It was true that I'd gotten wine drunk a lot over the past ten years, but I hadn't really been in the right state of mind to care about what I was consuming- which meant that even if I had partaken in one of Sidonie's particular varieties, I certainly hadn't taken any notice of it.

"How do you... how do you know that name?" Lisbet asked gingerly, and I could see the pain in her eyes- I'm sure that her brain, like mine, had gone to what Leo had told us about his mother forcing him to pour her wine for her... it made sense, at least to me, that it was fairly unlikely that someone like Cipicia Joannis had never tried at least one wine from a vineyard that was consider as high quality as Sidonie's.

Leo tilted his head at her, staring at her as if she were some sort of fascinating experiment- a kind of undisguised interest that didn't quite seem to fit the situation, but I couldn't tell if he was just having a strange reaction for a reason I didn't understand, or if he was hiding his real feelings. "...saw it on a bottle." It was perfunctory, and almost dismissive- clearly intentionally so. Not quite vague, but he definitely wasn't offering any more information than he felt was absolutely necessary.

"Where? When?" She paused slightly, her eyebrows twitching even further down. "Who? Whose-"

Leo cut her off, his lips quirking up a bit sardonically. "What? Why? How?" She blinked, staring at him with open confusion, but I huffed out a begrudging laugh as I grasped what he was doing- which made Lisbet flick her eyes to me, half surprised and half annoyed that I'd figured out something she hadn't.

"It's- The Five W's." She continued to stare at me, still confused, but I had a feeling it had more to do with why, rather than what. She turned back to Leo, which I thought was extremely fair, considering that we were trying to convince him to give us more than a single nugget of information to go off of.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" It could have sounded harsh, or commanding, but this was Lisbet talking to her kit- it was a legitimate question, spoken as softly as possible. An offer, rather than a command, and Leo seemed to appreciate that, because I saw his resolve weaken slightly.

"No. No... you don't need to repeat yourself." But that didn't mean he was going to present us with any information, either. After a few seconds of silence, I squeezed his shoulder, and he glanced up at me from under my arm- which was quite the feat, considering he was technically taller than me. That urge to make himself seem smaller was working overtime, I see.

"How about this- I'll tell you my theory, and you correct me on what I got wrong. Is that alright with you?" There was a moment of hesitation before he gave me the smallest of nods, the muscles in his neck flexing under the weight of my arm, the ends of his hair tickling my bare skin where I'd rolled up the sleeves of my jumper. I was careful not to look at Lisbet- even from the corner of my eye, I knew that expression on her face, and I knew that I really didn't need to see it right now. That look tended to show up whenever I was gentle with someone, or unexpectedly kind- it was, for lack of a better term, her 'yes, please!' face.

"I- yeah. Okay..." He didn't sound entirely sure, so I bumped my jaw against his temple. It wasn't quite scenting- I wasn't Lisbet, and he and I weren't there yet- but it was about as close as I was willing to get right now, especially with her looking at me like that.

"It's okay. You want me to stop, you tell me to stop, and I will." He was still for a second, and it made me echo his frown. "You don't even have to say anything, okay? You squeeze my hand," I brought my hand that wasn't on his shoulder around, and pressed the back of it into his palm. "and I'll stop-" I froze as he immediately turned our hands, so he could intertwine his fingers with mine. "You don't have to... say anything..."

He butted his forehead against my ear, almost shyly. "Tell me your theory, Jerremyah." His use of my name didn't feel necessary, and I think it was that fact that made it so touching. I had to swallow and take a short, sharp little breath, in order to prepare myself to be able to turn what was in my head into words. Into words that could convey my apprehension, concern, sympathy, and as much support as I could heap into it.

"Your mother." He stiffened slightly- I felt his hand tense, but not quite squeeze- and I silently cursed myself for somehow always putting my foot in my mouth, no matter how much I tried not to. "I mean- you told us that she made you pour her drinks, so I assumed... it probably had something to do with that. Am I... how far off am I?" He was silent for a minute, his eyes downcast, and I was worried that I'd gone too far- that I hadn't planned for him to not use my fail-safe, even if he needed it- but then, he nodded.

"That would make sense. More sense than the truth even, probably." So that wasn't the truth, then? "No, it... it wasn't one that my mother usually drank- though we always had a few bottles on hand, because- well..." He eyed me, somehow both wearily, and warily. And then, he turned his eyes to Lisbet, and I realised that the wariness wasn't directed at me. "It was- still is, most likely- my grandmother's favorite." Lisbet blinked, and then her eyebrows furrowed.

"Okay...? What...?" Her eyes flicked to me, and she must have seen the recognition in my eyes, because her face changed- like she was surprised, but also a little hurt that I knew something about Leo that she didn't, and also slightly proud- for me, understanding it, or Leo, for having told me? She looked conflicted- and then she looked mostly blank, as she clearly tried to push her own emotions aside for Leo's benefit; that quiet pride being the only thing allowed to stay. "Do you want to tell me? Or... or do you want Jerremyah to take the lead, and you can just correct him?" She didn't have to say my full name either, but she did- because that's what Leo had chosen to call me.

He hesitated for only the barest of second, then shook his head- and I didn't want to assume again, but I had the feeling it might've had something to do with the respect he seemed to have for his grandmother- the fact that he'd insisted that we use her name, rather than calling her 'Anthophilius's wife', among other things.

"The- my grandmother's story is... it's long, and complicated. And... sad." She blinked, as if she hadn't expected him to admit that last part. "I think we should finish the conversation we were having before we go down that path, but I'll explain the- the, Vieux Du Sang Vignoble, now." He took a breath. "Okay, so, the first time I saw- well, took notice of- a bottle of wine with that name on it, I must have been... four? Five? Probably five." Was he saying that because he thought that was really the truth, or because he'd seen the almost startled look on Lisbet's face, and gone with the lesser of the two evils he'd already made the mistake of presenting?

"Christ." Lisbet still wasn't anywhere close to being okay with this 'lesser evil', and Leo winced before flashing her what I could only assume was his best attempt at a reassuring- if unintentionally sheepish- smile.

"We were visiting my grandmother, Caliste, at her estate in Bordeaux- you know, the one I was born at." Lisbet rolled her eyes at his semi-pointed reminder of that revelation, and her reaction to it. "There was a morning where my grandfather," Anthophilius Meliflua. "took my mother away for some sort of... I think it must have been some sort of business meeting, but they were a bit cagey about it, so I'm not really sure." He shrugged, like that wasn't the most suspicious thing I had literally ever heard. "My mother left me with Caliste- I think Mia was..." He hesitated- was that because he was having trouble remembering, or because he was realising that Mia wasn't born yet, which meant he was definitely not five, like he had told us. "She must have been with our nanny, I guess." Lisbet arched an eyebrow at him.

"I guess so." He flushed slightly, at her- again, somewhat pointed- echo of his noncommittal assertion.

"Anyway," He said, and the corner of her lips quirked up, ever so slightly. "She gave me some wine-" I'll admit that, even as my own mouth dropped open and my eyebrows furrowed, hearing Lisbet's horrified squawk was quite funny.

"She did what?!" He waved her off, his face screwing up as if he found her horror distasteful.

"It was just a sip, and honestly, I think she'd watered it down a bit- and it's France, after all- but anyway, that was the Label Rouge Malbec." Lisbet was silent for a minute, her lips thinned into a line as she clearly fought to hold back whatever she was thinking, and I opened my own in an attempt to diffuse the tension of the situation.

"So... did you like it?" Lisbet slugged me in the shoulder that Leo wasn't under, and I made the conscious decision to relent to the impact only minimally- so I didn't unintentionally hurt her hand by being the vampire equivalent of a brick wall, or jostle Leo too much. I saw the corner of his lips quirk up, and I knew it was worth it.

"It was awful." He said it so candidly, so deadpan, that I couldn't help but snort, and I saw his smile get more intense at the sound- like someone had opened a curtain to brighten the room. "But it..." He sobered slightly- which was an ironic choice of words, given the subject we were talking about. "It meant a lot to me, because even if I hated it, she liked it. She was trying to share something with me, to connect with me in a new way- and even if maybe she wasn't the most... er, child safety conscious- she was trying. Which wasn't something most people did back then- to me, anyway." I saw Lisbet's face soften- of course it did, at the mention of someone being kind to her kit, even if it was in a way that wasn't the healthiest, long before she considered him as such.

"That... sounds nice?" Her tone was unsure, and Leo shrugged- like he wasn't sure either, or maybe he was just pretending to be unsure to hide the fact that this all affected him much more than he was willing to let on.

"From that point on, I tended to notice whenever Vieux Du Sang Vignoble cropped up- because it reminded me of her. Of that moment, where she reached out to me." We were quiet for a moment, letting that sink in, before he admitted, "I spat it into a vase." I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing.

(A/N): Jerremyah: 'I have an addictive personality.'

Leo: *has no idea what that means* 'I don't know if I'd say addictive... cultivating, maybe, but not addictive.'

Jerremyah: '...'

Lisbet: 'Should we... tell him...?'

Jerremyah: 'No, never. Never, ever, ever.'

also

Leo: *looking up at Jerremyah*

Jerremyah: *looking down at Leo*

Lisbet: *seeing the big picture, and worrying for the state of Leo's bent knees*

also

Leo: 'Tell me your theory, Jerremyah.'

Jerremyah: 'Your mother.'

Leo: *tenses*

Jerremyah: 'Oh, for fu- can I get the taste of size 11 boot out of my mouth just this once, PLEASE?!'

also

Leo: *being suspiciously cagey about what age he was, and stumbling over where Mia was, which makes Lisbet and Jerremyah assume he's lying*

Leo: *is telling the complete truth as far as he knows, he just doesn't have the clearest memory of the event, and he's anxious*

also

Character A: 'What did this person do to make you like them so much?'

Leo: '...they were nice to me.'

Translations (French):

Vieux Du Sang Vignoble = Old Du Sang Vineyard.

Label Rouge Malbec = Red Label Malbec (technically Label Red Malbec).

Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine, and is one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine (which is probably why it's Caliste's favorite). I would just like to add that when I wrote this chapter, I also made the mistake of writing 'Burgundy' instead of 'Bordeaux', as the place where Leo was born. They're only about 488km apart, it's not that far... right? Wrong. That's about as far as the distance from London, England to Nantes, France.

-Info-

So, yeah, as far as Leo knows, he's telling the truth. He was four or five- he's pretty sure five, because he remembers them being in talks about getting a Governess, and he knows he met Amelia after he turned five- and he thinks he remembers that Mia was with their nanny at the time, because while Cipicia trusted Caliste to watch over HIM for an hour or two, she wasn't quite as okay with leaving her two year old with her, since she would be quite reliant on the care she received.

Also, I just realised while writing that that I somehow (?.?.?) screwed up the math on how far apart Leo and Mia are in age, and had to go back and change it. I think what happened was my brain made them the same amount of years apart as my sister and I (four), instead of the two years that is correct, which would mean that if Leo was four instead of five, Mia wouldn't have been born, but if he was five, she would have been one. Since I changed it, instead of Mia being with her wet nurse she is with their nanny. When I said that Mia not being born would mean that Leo wasn't five, I no longer mean that he was four, I mean that he would have been one or (just barely) two- in which case Caliste definitely WOULDN'T have given him the wine, but I'm pretty sure Jerremyah doesn't know how far apart Leo and Mia are in age, anyway, just that they're both old enough to be at Hogwarts- which could mean that Mia is a first year, which WOULD be the right gap. But anyway, Leo WAS five, and Mia WAS with their nanny, Leo was telling the truth, he's just a bit fuzzy on the details, and his natural anxiety makes his heartbeat sound like he might be lying.

Also also, about giving children wine, and the 'it's France, after all' line. So, up until 1956, children were allowed to drink wine at lunch (it was mainly cut with water). In fact, many parents in the 1950's in France believed that alcohol was good for children's development, and that it made them stronger. In 1956, alcoholic beverages were banned from school canteens in France... but only for children under 14. It was only in 1981 that alcohol was banned completely in French schools. But that's only in schools- there is no law, even today, forbidding minors from drinking alcohol under the age of 18 (although minors cannot purchase alcoholic products). Apparently 60-70% of 11 year olds in France have already tasted alcohol, and 5-8% are regular consumers. All the information here, I learnt from (expat-in-france dot com slash french-kids-drink-wine) if you want to know more- they go more in depth about their own experiences, and about the alcohol consumption issue that France in particular has. It would have been the latter half of 1965 when this incident took place, since Leo was five, and he was born in August, 1960.

The Five W's that Leo and Jerremyah are referring to, are questions whose answers are considered basic in information gathering or problem solving. Also known as The Six W's, The Five W's and How, or 5W1H, it consists of Who, What, When, Where, Why (and How).