(A/N): Hey Guys! So, I'm back! This chapter is longer than the others, so yay, but I did only write it in an hour so it's probably got a few mistakes, sorry.

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

Elaine

The three of us, Leo, Lily and I, journeyed down to breakfast without the others, seeing as they were still in detention from their little prank in the Great Hall. The Marauders had been caught, as they had stayed behind to gloat, even Remus, but Leo hadn't...because he wasn't an idiot.

We sat silently on the wooden benches of the Gryffindor house table, Leo and I on one side, Lily on the other, and I knew what she was trying to do.

"Why are you sitting over there Lils?" Leo asked, obviously puzzled, and Lily smirked at me before shaking her head.

"I just think it's better over here." He raised an eyebrow at her, and then at me, before shaking his head.

"Crazy..." I heard him mutter under his breath, and I had to smother my laughter. "Don't laugh at me, Damsel." He stated, and Lily glanced up at him before returning to her pancakes.

"Well don't make me laugh and I won't." I retorted, eating my first spoonful of cereal.

"Well I..." He trailed off, frowning, trying to think of something to say, and after a few seconds I found myself laughing again. "Hey, don't be mean!" He whined, pouting at me. The most adorable thing I have ever seen, Merlin this boy was good!

"No pouting! Pouting is cheating!" Lily refereed from the other side of the table, and Leo dropped the pout, instead beaming at me widely.

"You know what else is cheating?" We both raised an eyebrow at him, shaking our heads, curious as to what he was about to say. "Kidnapping your opponent." I only had time to widen my eyes before he had grabbed my hand, dragged me off of the bench, and out of the Great Hall.

"Leo!" I whined, struggling to keep up with his long legs. Just because he was running at human speed, didn't mean he was running at my speed. "Slow down you arse!" His amused chuckle echoed back to me, but he did slow down slightly.

"Try to keep up, slow poke!" He prodded, and I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to speed up to his level. "Hey, not bad!" He said as I drew level with him, beaming at me distractingly, just as my foot made contact with a loose tile.

"Woah!" I cried as I started to trip, trying to windmill my arms, only to find my hand still intertwined with Leo's. I barely at time to fall a foot through the air before he had caught me, arms around my waist.

"You okay there, Damsy?" I grimaced at the nickname, even though I was mostly used to it by now, a furious blush blooming on my cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah." I told him, shaking it off, shaking his arms from around my waist. "I just tripped." I whispered, heavily embarrassed. Here I was, tripping over things, and here he was, all graceful and catching me! I shouldn't have to be rescued, nor do I want to, but...who am I to refuse any help I can get?

As I went to take a step forward, as soon as my foot made contact with the ground, a sharp needle of agony shot through my system, and I hissed quietly from both pain and surprise. I tried to hide it from Leo, which, in hindsight, was really stupid on my part.

"And twisted your ankle." He stated sharply, drawing me back to our previous conversation, and I winced.

"It's not that bad." I tried to lie, but even someone who couldn't tell it through my blood could tell that it was an obvious fake.

"Right, right, of course it's not." He said, rolling his eyes, sliding one arm around my back as if to comfort me.

"I'm fine." He smiled at me, and I stared at him for a minute, part hoping he'd buy it and leave me alone, the other half hoping he'd see through and take me to the Hospital Wing, seeing as this 'twisted' ankle business seriously sucked.

"Of course you are." And with that, he slid his other arm behind my legs, lifting me from the ground with ease, and started to carry me in the direction of the Hospital wing, bridal style.

Hopefully he'll carry me this way again someday, for real...

I blushed furiously as I realised what I had just thought, who I had just thought it about, and exactly how close he was at that minute.

"Really Damsel, shouldn't you be used to me carrying you like this by now?" Oh thank you Merlin! He thought I was blushing about being carried, I'm saved! "Or is it something else?" He stared down at me, still walking at a steady pace, not needing to look where he was going.

"Uh...no...It's the carrying thing, trust me!" I told him quickly, and then refused to look at him for a few minutes before we reached the doors to the Hospital Wing.

I felt something warm, soft and slightly wet press against my cheek, and when I whipped my head around, Leo had a self-satisfied grin on his lips, the lips that had just pecked my cheek.

"Whatever." I muttered, and he chuckled, the action reverberating through his chest and into mine. I smiled slightly, glad to see him happy, before Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room, paused upon seeing us, and gestured for Leo to place me on one of the beds.

"Comfortable?" Leo asked teasingly as he set me on the end of the bed, and I stuck my tongue out at him, rather childishly.

"What is it this time?" She narrowed her eyes at me slightly. "It's not life threatening, is it?" I beamed at her before pointing to my injured ankle.

"I tripped, and Leo said I had a twisted ankle." I explained, and Madam Pomfrey glanced at Leo before crouching to check my foot.

Leo squeezed my hand gently in his when I hissed at the pain of her prodding touch, and I tried to smile at him, though it was probably more of a grimace.

"Well, Leo is right. An Inversion ankle sprain is what you have, Miss Folley. I'll be right back with my materials." Madam Pomfrey disappeared for a minute, and I took the opportunity to slap Leo on the arm lightly.

"Mr Smarty-pants." He smiled down at me, almost tenderly, before ruining the moment by raising an eyebrow challengingly.

"That's a new one. You're giving out more nicknames than I do, and that's saying something." I grinned at him, before punching him in the shoulder.

"I like your nicknames, they're less insulting than mine..." I considered my nickname for a second. "Most of the time, anyway." He grinned at me in return, just as Madam Pomfrey reappeared from her medical office with a compress bandage and her ever-present wand.

"This will heal your ankle almost fully, but you'll have to keep the bandage on for two full days for support." She instructed, and I grimaced, gripping Leo's hand deathly tight as she neared my foot with her wand.

A pale blue glow shone from the tip of her wand, engulfing my ankle, and the bruising that had already started to form disappeared. Sure, my ankle was still a little discoloured, but when she wrapped the compress bandage around my ankle in that way only trained medical professionals can, it almost didn't hurt.

"And try to keep as much weight off the injury as possible." She told us, pointing her finger, as we left, and we nodded. Leo had placed my arm over his shoulder, and moved his under mine for support, but I could feel my arm stretching to reach.

"Merlin Leo, we need to shrink you or something, this is getting ridiculous." He chuckled, shaking his head lightly at my jab at his newfound height issues.

"Or maybe, you're just short." He teased, smiling to let me know he was only playing.

"Hey, I'm the tallest girl in our group!" I tried indignantly, but he rolled his eyes at my pitiful attempt.

"Lily doesn't count, she's practically a wood nymph in terms of height." I grinned at him, ruffling his hair lightly before replacing my arm on his shoulders.

"I swear, that girl grows in reverse." He glanced at me sideways, smile still on his lips, and I couldn't tear my eyes away.

I wouldn't say that Leo was extremely attractive, but for our age...I had to admit, he was pretty damn good. Thing is, he didn't even seem to know it.

Me, I'm an awkward little girl with a gap between her teeth, too pale skin, and hair that keeps trying to curl up on me!

Him, he too had pale skin, but it actually managed to suit him, the bastard! His hair was a pale blond with golden highlights that used to stick up like he didn't even care, but now it had grown out some more, and almost shimmered in the sunlight streaming through the windows. Oh, and those eyes! Those impossibly bright, bright blue eyes! They were beautiful, intriguing, and why couldn't I stop? Why couldn't I stop staring into them?

"Is something the matter?" He asked, concern lacing his voice, and I shook my head numbly, managing to tear my gaze from those bright blue orbs finally.

"No, just thinking." I saw his eyebrows furrow, and he stared at me for a minute before obviously deciding not to pursue the issue any further.

"Alright, if you say so." He didn't sound like he believed me, but he sounded like he wanted to give me space, which at the moment, I most definitely needed.

Space, however, was exactly what I got, seconds later.

A girl, a girl I recognised, stepped from an alcove, as if she had waited for us, and I narrowed my eyes at her slightly, suspicious.

"Hi!" She chirped, and I tried not to glare too obviously.

"Hey Brooke." Leo greeted her easily, and I silently wondered how long he had known she was there, waiting for us.

"Um, I need to talk to you." She glanced at me almost timidly. "In private?" She winced, and I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "If you don't mind, of course." She was speaking to me? Why?

"Uh, of course." I mumbled stupidly in my surprise, and removed my arm from Leo's shoulder.

"Remember, try to keep your weight off of it as much as you can." He reminded me, and I nodded in acknowledgement as he removed his arm from around my back.

I walked until I reached the end of the corridor where I glanced back, only to catch him staring at me. The corner of his lips twitched upwards in encouragement, and I nodded slightly, swallowing before continuing away, back to the Great Hall to try to catch up with Lily.

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

ooh, what does Brooke want to talk about?

Why was Elaine so pissed at her? (well, we all know the answer to that one!)

Please review and/or check out my other stories!

P.S: I would like to thank all of my various reviewers! I love you all my pretties!