(A/N): Hey Guys! So, this story has reached over 70,000 words. That's my longest ever, by like, 25,000 or something. Hells yeah!

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

Leo

Three weeks later, and it was the day that I had to part ways with my friends in order to go home for Christmas break. Last year, I had stayed at the school with Elaine and Remus, researching, but that was before we had started training.

"Promise to write this time." Elaine whispered in my ear as she hugged me, and I smiled into her shoulder, trying not to breathe in.

"I promise." We released each other, and Remus and I shared a significantly less intimate embrace before I picked up my navy blue messenger bag, and Vex's cage.

"Bye Leo." Lily said- she wasn't going home to Cokeworth for the Christmas seeing as she was still at odds with her sister, Petunia. Actually, barely anyone from the Gryffindor tower, or at least our year, were leaving for the Christmas break. I grinned at her, wrapping an arm around her waist tightly.

"Guys, I'll be back in like, two weeks." They saddened slightly at this reminder, and I rolled my eyes. "Savour the time, you'll soon hate having me back here." Elaine smiled at me sadly before hugging me again.

The train whistle blew, and I glanced at it in alarm before stepping into the train. I quickly made my way into the empty carriage closest to the door, and leaned out the open window to still see them.

"And if you say anything to them Moony..." I trailed off threateningly, Lily having been distracted by James's teasing, and Elaine smacked him on the shoulder.

"I'll make sure he doesn't." She told me reassuringly, and I smiled at her softly before waving at them as the train started to roll. Lily, James and Sirius joined in with the others as they began to wave after me, and I thought about just how lucky I was.

I have a group of friends...who care about me. I have family, or at least my father and Shari...I have everything I need.

Everything.

A few minutes later, as I was reading one of our books on animagi transformation, and trying to pat Vex through the cage, the carriage door slid open.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" A melodic, female voice asked, and I glanced up from over my book to be met with a familiar face.

"Sure." She looked at me, for the first time, seeing as she had been looking at the floor previously, and blushed slightly. Seconds later, it was gone, but I knew that I had definitely felt it.

I slid the book on animagi back in my bag before pulling out a different, recreational book, so she wouldn't ask about it. I tried to pat Vex again, but he bit me, almost enough to make me bleed. I winced slightly, and I could feel the girl staring at me, her long, black hair falling in her pale green eyes.

"Why does your cat hate you?" She asked quietly, and I glanced at her before smiling slightly.

"All cats hate me." I told her, which was true, before tapping Vex lightly on the back of the head, to which he span around, looking to attack what had touched him.

"He's cute." But she wasn't looking at Vex, she was looking at me. Again, I could feel it.

"Yeah, but definitely evil." She giggled quietly, leaning forward slightly, but I avoided her gaze by continuing to antagonize Vex.

"You're Leonides, aren't you?" I raised an eyebrow slightly. Was that what people called me around school? Not Leo, but Leonides? If so, I hate it.

"I prefer Leo." She nodded, like she was taking that into account, and I figured I'd be polite.

"I'm-"

"What's-?" We started at the same time, my eyes now on her, and she laughed lightly at the train wreck that was my attempt at friendliness.

"What's your name?" I asked her quietly, scraping my nails against the side of my thumb.

"Brooke Sarne." I nodded slowly, committing it to memory, before leaning back slightly in my seat.

"Right, um...sorry for disturbing your sleep last year." She grinned at me before waving a hand.

"Pssh, it doesn't matter. Hey, how did that work out for you, by the way? Did you find your girlfriend?" I winced and blushed.

"One, Elaine isn't my girlfriend," No matter how much I sometimes want her to be. "And two, I ended up in detention." She grinned at me, and my discomfort.

"Ah, so you missed your date." I mock-glared at her as she teased me, rolling my eyes.

"Still not a date, and actually, I managed to fly her down to the Common room before I got caught." She smirked at me, her green eyes alight with mischief.

"I bet it was a date, you just don't like to admit it. Though, I must admit, you've made some of the girls of Hogwarts very happy when you said that." I ignored her first comment, choosing to furrow my eyebrows at the second one instead.

"How so?" I asked, my tone, along with the rest of me, full of confusion.

"You don't know?' She asked, one eyebrow raised and I shook my head. "Well, half the girls in the school are either fawning over you or your Marauder friends, usually both!" Both my eyebrows raised, and I stared at her in disbelief. "You've got girls up to fourth year swooning Leo, and you don't even know it!" She crowed, and I shook my head.

"You're crazy. I'm twelve, no one is swooning over me." She raised an eyebrow and shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish expression.

"Well, first time I saw you, I thought you were pretty cute." She avoided my eyes, and I stared at her for a few seconds before smiling at her lightly.

"Thank you." I murmured, and she nodded slightly, still not looking at me, so I started reading again.

A few hours later, the train had rolled to a stop, and Brooke and I knew a few new facts about each other. Nothing important- at least in my case- just trivial little random things.

"Have fun with your dad." Brooke, like me, lived only with her father, but her mother had died when she was eight.

"You too." She called back with a smile as she headed off with her trolley, and I scanned the crowd for my father, or Shari. I spotted Shari a few seconds later, and sighed lightly, pushing my trolley of luggage towards her.

"Hey Shari." I greeted her, and she tackled me with a tight hug that almost lifted me off my feet.

"Hi Leo!" She chirped, and I grinned, knowing that, since I had left, she had been left alone with my father. Who, though I love him dearly, isn't exactly the most fun person to be around. "Ready to go?" She asked, and I took a deep breath, preparing myself.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I told her, taking hold of her arm, and we apparated, feeling like we were being condensed into cubes, all the air being crushed from our lungs.

"Oh, that was fun." I wheezed, falling to my knees on the grassy lawn in front of the Ellwood estate.

"Leo!" I heard my father shout, just before I was wrapped in yet another tight, bone-crushing hug, which felt much like apparating from where I was standing- well, being held off the ground forcibly.

"Hey, dad." I choked, and he released me immediately.

"Put your stuff down in your room, and we can have a quick game of Quidditch before tea." I smiled at his suggestion and made my way to my bedroom, letting out a groan as soon as I was pretty sure I was out of their hearing range.

"Please, just let me sleep." I groaned, collapsing on the bed, planning to only spend a few seconds there, letting my eyes droop and flutter until, suddenly, I was in a deep sleep.

(A/N): So, what did you think?

Please review and/or check out my other stories!

This chapter has had minor edits made to it on 29/12/22 - I originally said that Brooke's mother died when she was 9, but I did the math based on events I mention later, and so I changed it to say that she died when Brooke was 8, instead.