(A/N): Hey Guys! So, here's the next chapter, it's a lot longer than the last one, thank god. Thank you for the reviews! I just checked, and there was another one, so thank you! And, I must ask, Blue Luver5000, what made you pick a cheetah and a penguin? Though, what i have read up on about Cheetah and Penguin spirit animals sounds pretty accurate, I must say. Thank you guys!

I started this story in 2012. I was fourteen. Its been almost ten years. If you don't like something in the early chapters, it's not going to suddenly change ten years after I wrote it. If you're going to review this story with criticisms, please log in so I can actually reply to you and not have to leave messages like this in chapters so you might actually see it. And if you're just going to bash the story for being inaccurate, again, please remember that I was fourteen, I wasn't born in the 1960's, and I have never been outside of Australia. And some things are inaccurate because that's what people in that time period thought- not necessarily what I think, or know today.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Elaine, Leo, Nicholai and Quiggly.

Leo

Perhaps half an hour after our last conversation about animagus forms, I decided to speak up.

"So, what do you think my animagus form will be?" I asked quietly, and the other two looked interested.

"I don't know. Maybe a bear?" Remus suggested, and Elaine and I shared a look before starting to clap slowly in unison.

"Well done Moony, you made a contribution that isn't super, super creepy!" Elaine told him, to which he rolled his eyes.

"Well, they're strong and fast, and have powers of strategic thinking. You lead with courage, integrity and compassion, don't you?" I shook my head.

"No, not really." He rolled his eyes at me.

"Now is no time to be modest. Let's face it, the only thing you have more of than courage is loyalty." Elaine's eyes brightened.

"Which, would of course, indicate the Wolf spirit. They believe in family, or friends, come first. They also have strength and stamina, along with stealth, hunting ability and enhanced senses. Sounds like you to a tee."

I fought off a blush, and shook my head lightly.

"Okay, changing the subject. Anyone found anything important?" Both Remus and Elaine looked amused, and upon seeing this I averted my gaze, hiding my emotions from them, something I had learned to do when I was younger.

I had often needed to hide my emotions around my mother and 'father', whether it be when I had hurt myself, or when they had company over and expected me to behave, I had eventually taught myself to mask my emotions, rather than face the rather severe consequences my parents would have exacted if I didn't.

"I'll...go get us some more food..." Moony said quietly, and walked out. I knew it was a lie, I mean, we were in the Room of requirement, which could provide food for us, and Moony still had a little trouble getting to the kitchens as it was, but I let him go. If Elaine wanted to talk to me, there really was no stopping her.

"Leo..." She said quietly, and I almost winced at the pitying tone in her voice.

"What?" I asked, keeping my voice blank as she moved her chair until it was right beside mine.

"You don't need to hide from me." I resisted the urge to blink in surprise. How had she known?

"I'm fine Elaine, there's nothing to hide." I could feel her raise an eyebrow at me when she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Leo..." She said again, in the same pitying voice, but this time it hid an edge of frustration and curiosity.

"Whaaat?" I asked, trying to make out like I was annoyed at her, even though I wasn't.

"Tell me about your past." This time, I did blink in surprise, and almost followed it with a wince.

"Don't want to." I mumbled before getting up and walking away under the pretense of putting a book away, even though we usually didn't do it manually.

"Leo!" She exclaimed sharply, and I almost dropped the book I was holding in surprise. I turned halfway around to look at her. "You have to tell someone, so why not tell me?" I lowered my gaze to the floor, biting my lip before looking back up at her, watching me expectantly.

"Can't." I said quickly before turning around again, only for her to grab my shoulder, forcing me to stop.

"You have to. One of these days, it's going to get too much for you to handle on your own, and you are going to implode." She whispered, and I stared at her before averting my gaze again. I heard her sigh in frustration and resignation, thinking I wasn't going to tell her.

"My parents, or my mother and the man I thought to be my father anyway, were very strict. They expected me to behave, they expected me to be polite, and they expected me to be the perfect child." I glanced at her before quickly glancing away again. "Unfortunately, as you know, I have a rebellious streak, and I didn't always do what they wanted to me to. Usually, this wasn't too bad, but one night..." I paused here, blinking away the tears that had resurfaced along with the memory.

"What happened?" Elaine whispered, her voice heavy with inquisition.

"Well...my parents were having some pureblood friends over, and...I misbehaved. As soon as their friends had left they turned on me." I glanced at my left arm before starting to roll up the sleeve. "That's how I got...this." I gestured to the implicated area, and I heard her gasp quietly. The scar started just under halfway down the back of my forearm, and was almost the length of my index finger, and was just under half a centimeter thick.

"What...What did they do?" Elaine asked, still staring at the old wound, shocked.

"Some spell, I was too young to remember which." She stared up at me for a minute.

"Leo, you were seven when your parents kicked you out...when did this happen?" I avoided her gaze for a few seconds before finally meeting it.

"I was five." She sucked in a sharp breath, and looked surprisingly angry. "They didn't usually...go that far.

Usually it was just yelling...or bruising." She looked disgusted, so I pulled my sleeve down again quickly.

"It's nothing." Her head snapped up, tears in her eyes.

"It's not nothing, don't you dare say it's nothing!" I was a little taken aback by this, before I caught sight of something I hadn't noticed before, even with my superior eyesight.

"Elaine...is that what I think it is?" She looked up at me again, this time confused and...a little scared? I used my hand to push the hair off her shoulder to get a look at what I had seen, staring at it for a minute before looking down at her. "Elaine..." she shook her head, biting at her lips.

"No, I got that um..." She searched for an excuse. "Fencing! Fencing? Ugh, why couldn't I have picked a better excuse." I would have laughed at this, if I didn't know pretty much exactly how this scar had come about.

"Just tell me." I said quietly, and she stared at me for a minute, as if judging whether it was worth telling me or not.

"I...my...my father abused me and my mother." She whispered, and I resisted the ever growing urge to punch a wall. "We stayed for a few years, having nowhere else to go, but eventually my mother got enough money, and enough courage, to move us away." I exhaled sharply, glancing down at her before glancing at the wall then back at her. Maybe I wouldn't punch a wall, maybe I'd find her dad and punch him.

"Elaine..." I pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her, and she froze for a second before returning the hug. "How about a toast?" I could feel her confusion, so I squeezed my eyes shut, and two pieces of buttered toast appeared on the table.

"You do know that's not what a toast is, right?" She asked as she saw them, smiling at me, sad yet amused.

"I don't know, is it?" She knew I was joking, but she didn't continue, instead walking over to the table and joining me in lifting our pieces of toast into the air.

"To having jerks for parents, for without them, we wouldn't be who we are today." She smiled slightly before we knocked our pieces together before taking a bite.

"God, we should be like, the 'life sucks' group. I mean, Remus is a werewolf for godssakes, you're a half-vampire who was abused for the first half of his life, and I'm the lonely, abused girl. God, what absolute rejects we are." I raised an eyebrow and she shook her head slightly.

"But hey, we all have gotten pretty good situations now. I mean, I live with my real dad, you and your mom left your dads sorry arse in the dust, and Remus has two friends who are ready to help him with anything."

In the next second, the door opened slightly, and Remus stuck his head in, looking sheepish.

"Hey. Um...I'm sorry, but...I may have brought some people back with me." Elaine and I glanced at each other, confused, and Remus pulled the door open more to show Lily, James, Sirius and Peter standing there.

"Great." I mutter, and Lily narrows her eyes at me.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

(A/N): Sometimes I want to hit Lily in the face with a cold fish.

I started this story in 2012. I was fourteen. Its been almost ten years. If you don't like something in the early chapters, it's not going to suddenly change ten years after I wrote it. If you're going to review this story with criticisms, please log in so I can actually reply to you and not have to leave messages like this in chapters so you might actually see it. And if you're just going to bash the story for being inaccurate, again, please remember that I was fourteen, I wasn't born in the 1960's, and I have never been outside of Australia. And some things are inaccurate because that's what people in that time period thought- not necessarily what I think, or know today.

Please review and/or check out my other stories!

This chapter has had minor edits made to it on 25/12/22