(A/N): So this is one of two brand new chapters, written on 30/12/22, with this one to be inserted between what used to be chapter 199 (Fire and Nice and Everything Not So Nice) and chapter 201 (The Clock Struck Midnight). The reason I wrote this chapter was because, after I changed chapter 191 (A Battle of Wills), to make Leo change out of animagus form to distract Remus, and chapter 193 (No Doubt It's Magic) to make Leo expect there to be Elaine-shaped consequences to his decision, this chapter needed to explain why those consequences never arose. Or, well, why they haven't arisen yet (as of chapter 318). This chapter is Remus and Elaine discussing the fact that Leo is acting oddly after the full moon.

Remus

Leo was acting weird. Really weird. Like a dog that had dragged mud into the house, and was expecting to be scolded for it. The problem was, we didn't know why.

A week after the full moon, and a few days after Elaine had been brought to tears in her dorm for some unknown reason- well, unknown to most of us; Leo seemed to know exactly what the problem was, so I suspected it was something to do with her father, but neither of them had seen fit to fill me in on the exact details- I managed to get Elaine alone in the Room of Requirement.

Before we even entered the room, I asked for it to be soundproof- specifically soundproof to a fourteen year old half-vampire, quarter-veela- and when we crossed the threshold, I felt a slight pressure in my ears. I knew Elaine felt the same pressure, because she worked her jaw like she was trying to pop her ears.

"Alright, what's with all the secrecy?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest, and I had to admit that I was ever so slightly intimidated by the sight. Whether that was me- Remus, the human- being intimidated, or the wolf being intimidated, I didn't know. The wolf was right to be intimidated, considering that Elaine had told me before Leo came back that she had basically spear tackled the wolf off of Leo while it was attacking him, and pretty much gone for the throat.

Leo had spent every full moon that Elaine had been involved with protecting her- usually at the expense of his body- and the werewolf hadn't respected the little wolf animagus. But it did now. Boy did it respect her. I didn't think my wolf was capable of true fear, but it was definitely wary of Elaine now, even when we were both in human form. And she had earned it.

"I might be crazy- In fact, I hope I'm crazy," Probably not the best way to start, considering that Elaine immediately quirked an eyebrow at me in a sort of semi-concerned challenge. "But do you think that maybe Leo is acting a little...weird?" I knew the emotion I thought he was exhibiting, but I wasn't going to tell her that right off the bat- I wanted to know if she saw it to. Maybe I was imagining it.

"Weird? Leo's always weird." True enough.

"But is he acting weirder than normal?" She frowned, and I watched her eyes become unfocused, as she clearly tried to think back on Leo's demeanor over the past few days.

"I mean... maybe? I sort of just thought... you know?" Did I know? She was looking at me like she thought I should.

"Elaine. Please. I am but a dense boy, living in awe of your beautiful girl brain." She rolled her eyes at me, pushing my shoulder playfully.

"I just thought it was because he almost died." Oh. Right. That. "Near death experiences do make people act weird, y'know?" Hearing her call it a 'near death experience' made something in my chest ache, like someone had punched a hole in my heart. She had told me how close it had been multiple times, the first of which being while she had clung to me in the hours we had spent in the Hospital Wing after the others had been forced to leave for class, and we had cried together as we awaited the news as to whether our best friend had made it through the night.

"I... agree that... those do that. But... I don't think it would make him act... I mean, I think he's acting..." She raised her eyebrows, silently urging me to get to the point. "Okay, I don't know if I'm interpreting Leo's emotions correctly, but I think he's almost acting... guilty." Now her eyebrows shot up, before quickly shooting all the way down, furrowing tightly as she bit her lip.

"Guilty? Like...guilty, guilty?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"No, Elaine, like happy guilty." She smacked me on the shoulder again, less playfully this time.

"Do you think it's just... because..." She hesitated to say it out loud, but I knew exactly what she was trying not to say, so I said it for her.

"Because he let me go outside? I don't know." She winced. "I would think that Leo wouldn't feel guilty about that, because only he got hurt by that decision. No, this is different." Elaine nodded, clearly agreeing with my assessment.

When Elaine had attacked Leo after she had first completed the transformation, he had sent me out of the room so there was no risk of her attacking me. He hadn't felt guilty for making that decision, even though he had been hurt, so I doubted he was feeling guilty enough about this to act the way he was acting.

"Do you think he's... hiding something from us?" I hated to suggest it, but I had to. Elaine looked like she hated the thought just as much as I did.

"I mean, when isn't Leo hiding something from us?" True, I mean, we were dealing with Leonides 'I've Got A Secret' Joannis, here.

"What- I mean, what could he possibly be hiding from us? Do you think it's even to do with the full moon? You know, I only noticed it after the full moon, but I suppose it could have manifested before or after, and I just didn't notice." Elaine looked even more troubled by this.

"It has to be to do with the full moon. Leo seemed normal beforehand- at least, he did to me- and when we were- talking," I didn't miss the pause here, but decided it was in my best interest not to mention it. "in the dorm after the full moon, he was kind of... odd." I blinked.

"Odd, how?" She shrugged, wringing her hands in a way that made me want to grab them and hold them firm.

"He seemed almost... not nervous- apprehensive?" Like he was expecting to be scolded? "The first thing he said to me after you guys left was, 'how are you?'" Hmm, that was a little odd.

"'How are you?' He asked you how you were? After he nearly died?" At my teeth and claws, no less.

"Yeah. I sort of laughed, and made a comment about how I should have been the one asking him that, and he shrugged me off. After that we got...distracted." She blushed here, and I briefly questioned what exactly they could have gotten up to while alone in the dorm room together that would make Elaine blush like that, before ultimately deciding that I didn't want to know in any more detail that I already did.

Clearly Elaine had given Leo the warm welcome he deserved.

"I still don't remember anything, so I have no clue what could possibly have happened that Leo would feel guilty about. Do you have any ideas?" She shook her head.

"No, I told you everything I knew in the Hospital Wing. When you two sped off, everything was fine- and then I heard Leo say your name, like, 'Remus?'" She did a surprisingly admirable impression of Leo here, despite the vast differences in their voices. "And then he was just..." She trailed off, and I knew that she meant he had started screaming. The screaming that I didn't think I would ever be able to get out of my head, as long as I lived.

What I did note was the wary, almost dread filled tone my name had held. It had clearly had a question mark at the end of it, but it was no question, and it made me wonder. If Elaine's impression of Leo was correct, what could possibly have made Leo say my name that way?

We had been getting close to Hogsmeade, could that have been it? Was Leo worried that I would attack the villagers? Why then, had I attacked Leo instead?

And why did Leo feel guilty about it?

(A/N): Elaine, blushing: Leo and I were... distracted. 'Talking'.

Remus: Clearly Elaine had given Leo the warm welcome he deserved- and I didn't want to hear anything more about it.

For those of you who have already read past this chapter and are coming back to read this one as it was posted, we already know why Remus doesn't want to hear more about it, along with a few other subtle hints to things revealed in what used to be chapter 214 (Stunned).

Also, 'I've Got A Secret' is the name of a panel show that aired from 1952-1967, and was basically the predecessor to 'Would I Lie To You', so I figured that fit well as a jokey middle name for Leo, just like when I have Elaine refer to him later in the story as Leonides 'Brick Wall' Joannis- in what used to be chapter 292 (Dynamic Shift).

Edit: I originally accidentally put this chapter directly after the other new chapter (The Light Of Day), between the old chapters 195 (The Rules for a Pre-Bound Relationship) and 196 (My Protector), before realising that I mention Elaine receiving the letter from her father from 196 (My Protector) in this chapter, meaning it had to come after that one, and subsequently after the following chapter, 197 (A Helping Hand). These two new chapters do however mean that chapter 200 is now no longer the 'special' chapter, with Cipicia's POV in it.

This chapter has had minor edits made to it on 1/4/23 - So for some reason, I made this chapter 200 instead of the last chapter (Fire and Ice and Everything Not So Nice), despite the fact that I literally originally said that it was meant to go before that chapter. It's weird. Either of them could have happened first (and it honestly would have made more sense for this chapter to happen first, and for the story to transition directly from Leo receiving Cipicia's letter to him attending the Christmas Eve Gala) but I'm not changing it at this point. So, if you would like to imagine that this chapter happened first, feel free.