(A/N): hey Guys! Now, I know I haven't updated this story in a while, but I've been having some emotional problems... so here's a chapter of over 2,000 words to compensate! Have fun!

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognised belonging to J.K Rowling or anyone else.

Elaine

I woke up in my bed, not quite knowing how I had gotten there. I hadn't walked up here, I knew that much; Lily wasn't strong enough to carry me, and the boys couldn't come up… The only remotely possible answer was Leo, but I quickly dismissed that idea- both because he's a boy, and because of my current mood with him. I threw on my clothes, ran my fingers through my hair to detangle it, and pulled it up into a loose bun before making my way down to the Great Hall. I plonked down on the bench next to Remus with a yawn, and the corner of his lips quirked up into a smile.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakens!" Leo crowed, and I blushed with both embarrassment and anger.

"And now she wishes she hadn't," I said, glaring at him sharply enough to make his grin fade to a pout.

"Aw, come on, Dams, I'm just trying to protect you!" He reached a hand toward me, but I batted it away before it could make any sort of meaningful contact.

"I don't care!"

Everything was quiet for a second between us, before a voice piped up from behind Leo. "You shouldn't talk to my brother like that." Turning my head, I recognised her immediately as his little sister, Mia- not to mention the way she had called him, 'my brother'.

"Little bug…" Leo trailed off reproachfully, but still incredibly gently, and she sighed, even as she turned her attention to him- or, back to him, I highly suspected.

"Yes, big bear?"

Sirius snickered quietly, before yelping and glaring at Leo. "You didn't have to kick me!" Leo smirked proudly, shrugging.

"I didn't." Mia stuck a small hand out, and had no trouble receiving a high-five from her older brother.

"She's like a female you," Lily marveled, and Leo adopted a worried expression.

"Unfortunately," He said under his breath, and Mia stuck her tongue out at him before getting up and walking back to the Hufflepuff table- but not before she gave him a shy little wave near the halfway point, as if to reassure him that she had already forgiven him for his comment.

If only I could forgive his transgressions as easily as that. "Just as protective…" I mused, and I didn't have the time to swat him away before he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me tightly to him.

"Just as reckless too," He murmured in my ear, and I fought the urge to blush.

"I didn't think that was possible," I joked, and he smiled at me- a genuine, happy smile.

"Neither did I," He admitted, his gaze distant... probably on focused on the back of Mia's head.

I frowned, suddenly remembering that I had been intending to talk to him about a few things last night, before we had gotten distracted by Remus's sour mood, and the subsequent reveal of Leo's transformation. "What was that you said about Mia saving you over the holidays? With your mother?" I asked quietly, trying to avoid drawing the others attention- knowing he'd only tell me and Remus, if he would tell anyone at all.

"Eh… My mother was... being my mother, so Mia unchained me from a table. Nothing major."

I spun around in his arms to stare at him with wide eyes. "Unchained you?!" I blurted, and the others glanced at us before Leo waved them away.

"It's nothing." He shot me a look that clearly said, 'later', so I let the matter drop with a slight glare- though it was more pointed than anything, I suppose. Turning in my seat, I sought Mia out in the crowd and shot her an appreciative look, even if she didn't notice it; I understood now why she was so protective of him, and why he was so protective of us- but with my becoming an animagus… it just didn't make sense! Yes, I'd be spending most, if not all of my time in animal form with Remus in his werewolf form, but werewolves weren't dangerous to animals, only to humans- and, apparently, according to the last time I had seen Remus in his werewolf form, those with vampire blood.

After lessons, we- Leo, Remus, and myself- lounged in the Room of Requirement, and I turned to Leo expectantly. "So?" I asked him, and he gave me a look that read as if he was confused, but I could see the recognition in his eyes.

"So?"

He knew what I was talking about he just didn't want to talk about it. I considered my options for a split second, biting my lip. "What happened over the holidays, Leo? The last time I saw you before school started you were writhing in pain, and you looked like you were at death's door." Remus raised an eyebrow, clearly curious and worried but trying to remain nonchalant, which was something he had definitely learned from Leo.

"My mother. I've told you that." He glanced at Remus, and I remembered that Remus didn't quite know everything there was to Leo's history.

"What happened with your mother?" Remus asked, most definitely perplexed now, and I bit my lip again.

"Leo, you should tell him."

Leo shot me an incredulous look, before it turned into a glare. "Why don't you tell him?" He was referring to my father's abuse, I knew, so I swallowed my pride, and turned to Remus.

"Remus-" The next thing I knew we were near the back of the Room of Requirement's library, way out of Remus's hearing range no matter how close it was to the full moon, and it took me half a second to realise that I was in Leo's arms- he must have scooped me up and whisked me away, using his vampire speed.

I glanced down at the position we were in pointedly, and there was a brief flash of sheepishness across his face before he set me down as gently as I thought it was possible to do so. "I didn't mean now!" He exclaimed quietly, and now that the sheepishness was gone, he wore an expression that reminded me of a panicked child... which told me his mask had slipped while he wasn't paying attention.

"Well, you need to tell him! Or at least tell me," I reasoned, and he stared at me, dumbstruck.

"I don't have to tell anyone anything- it's my past, why should it matter?"

I went to rest a hand on his shoulder but he twisted away, leaving me to flinch. "Leo…" He glared at me, an actual glare, but not one that suggested that he was truly furious with me, just at the situation I had put him in.

"I don't need anyone's pity," He said bitterly, and my eyebrows rose of their own accord.

"Do you honestly think we pity you, Leo?" He lifted his head to look at me again, as he leaned against one of the bookshelves. "Sure, you had a horrible childhood, but you don't need to keep secrets from us. We're your family now," I told him, offering a smile, but he just stared at me- his eyes roving my face like he was looking for something precious hidden somewhere deep beneath my skin.

"...you were really going to tell Remus? Just because of me?"

I shrugged, willing the blush that had bloomed on my cheeks to go away. This was not the time, body! "It's about time, anyway," I murmured, looking off in the direction I knew Remus was, and Leo wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to his chest once more.

"Don't worry about it Damsel, we'll get through this- you'll see."

I grinned, worming my way out of his grip and grabbing his hand boldly. "I'll race you." It was obviously a joke- just like it was obvious that he let me win, considering that we were all well aware that he could have run there and back a few dozen times before I even took my first step, and yet we arrived back at the table with him following close behind me, rather than in any other manner.

"You win," He told me with a lopsided smile, though he was trying- and failing- to look disappointed and puffed out.

Remus's gaze flickered between us with a small, knowing smirk, and I braced myself for what I was about to do. To reveal. "Remus…" I trailed off, biting my lip and sparing a glance at Leo before slipping into the chair closest to Remus's. "Do you remember when, last year, I had a nightmare when we stayed in the Room of Requirement, and I ended up crying in your arms?" I saw Leo blink out of the corner of my eye, and remembered that he hadn't been there at the time- and clearly, neither of us had informed him of it since. Remus nodded quickly, obviously having the memory imprinted into his brain. "You said, 'it's just a dream', and I said, 'it isn't' and 'it's about my father'?" Remus nodded, getting more confused the further we went along. "Well…" I glanced at Leo again.

"You can do this," He mouthed, giving me a soft, soothing look.

"My father hurt my mother, brother, and I for years before we finally got the money to leave him." I whispered, my eyes fixed on the ground even as a smile started to bloom on my lips- it felt good to tell Remus, one of my closest friends, but I was still on the verge of tears.

"Elaine…" Remus murmured, then all I heard was the sound of a chair scraping back before he crushed me to his chest. We stood like that for a minute, before he pulled back slightly- I was still in his arms, but he was looking over my shoulder at Leo. "Circumstance," He said, just the one word, and I stiffened, waiting for Leo's reply.

"Yeah," He muttered, his tone dry and hollow, and I knew that the emotionless mask he wore so well was back up.

When Remus spoke again he sounded calm, but I could feel his hand curled into a fist resting lightly against my side. "So, what did your mother do to you over the holidays?"

"Surprisingly little. A slap here, a Cruciatus curse there…" I sucked in a sharp breath, pushing Remus away lightly so I could face Leo again.

"That bitch, she deserves to rot in hell!" I growled, and Leo shot me an almost amused look.

"It's fine, Damsel. Mia unchained me before she had the chance to do anything too serious."

Yeah, the mask was definitely back on, even if he'd thrown me off a bit by pasting a reassuring smile on top of it. "Then why were you so… weak and in pain when I saw you?" He winced, and shrugged.

"Weak was because of blood loss… and pain was mostly because of this." He pulled the collar of his shirt away and I saw a glistening scar, almost white against his already incredibly fair skin, which closely resembled an older version of the one I knew resided on my own neck. I saw him look to the side as my hand flew to my neck, and knew he was lying- What else could have happened that he didn't want us to know about, after telling us that?

"That- That's a vampire bite," Remus said a bit dumbly, and Leo nodded.

"Like mine." Remus's head snapped around, but I ignored the dumbfounded, shocked look on his face in favor of Leo's somewhat guilty one. I pulled back my collar as well, knowing what lay there, and mentally compared it to Leo's. "Why does yours look older?"

He raised an eyebrow, before chuckling darkly. "Vampire, remember?" I stared at him for a minute.

"So… does this mean that you're a full vampire now, or…?" I asked, and Leo shook his head- though the corner of his lips curved upward, and I couldn't tell if it was because he was amused or disgusted.

"I told you, to become a vampire, a vampire has to suck your blood, then you have to suck their blood. And I'm pretty sure it'd just kill me anyway, given my already half-vampire-ness."

My eyebrows furrowed, and I could see Remus still gaping at us from the corner of my eye. "So, who bit you?" Leo shrugged, looking somewhat amused.

"Lisbet." I didn't recognise the name, but I vaguely remembered a third person when I had gone to see Leo during the summer- a person who clearly hadn't been human.

"Ah…" I said, before Remus made a spluttering noise, causing us to look at him.

"Who bit him? Who bit you?!" He exclaimed, looking half murderous and half concerned, but I merely shrugged.

"Jonothan."

He looked perplexed, and Leo took it upon himself to explain. "My uncle. He was looking for me, but tracked my scent to Damsel's. He decided to attack, and I sent him away."

Remus stared at us both for a long moment, before the corners of my mouth twitched down into a 'sounds about right', face. "And you just… neglected to tell me this via letter?" Leo and I glanced at each other, looking both ashamed and a little guilty.

"Sorry, Moony…" Leo murmured, and Remus pressed a hand against his forehead like he was trying to stop his brain from escaping his skull at high velocity.

"I just… Can you guys not keep secrets from me from now on?"

Leo and I glanced at each other, before nodding- then, Leo gasped, and his face screwed up. For a second I was worried he was in pain, but then he looked between both of us, and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh… one more secret?" Remus and I raised an eyebrow each, looking unamused, yet desperately curious.

"What is it?" Leo shrugged weakly, sticking both hands in his pockets- Uh oh, faux-casualness meant it was something very much the opposite of casual.

"I'm also part veela."

Remus and I froze, and my eyes fluttered shut momentarily before I exhaled slowly to try to alleviate my frustration. "Is there any part of you that's actually human?" Leo's smile dropped slightly before it rose again, and I knew I had- albeit unintentionally- hurt him.

"Just a teeny bit." He held his fingers up, holding them about an inch apart to signify the specified amount, and I shot him an incredibly apologetic look- only to have him wrap an arm around my waist. "Oh!" Remus and I stared at him even more intensely, surprised, then instantly becoming worried.

"Another secret?" Remus asked, and Leo shook his head.

"No, just remembering something."

To me it felt like he was lying, but since he didn't look off to the side like he usually did, I let it go for the time being. "O…kay…" Remus murmured, looking unsure, but Leo ruffled his hair and grinned down at him.

"We should get back to the common room," He said casually, but when he glanced at me, I shot him a glare.

"You can't stop me from doing this Leo," I told him, content to stand my ground, and he shrugged.

"I know that. I just said that I wasn't going to help you."

Remus and I glanced at each other, and eyebrow raised each. "So… I can still do it?" Leo smirked lightly, one eyebrow raised a little, as if making a challenge.

"When have you ever felt the need to ask anyone- especially me- for permission, Damsel? If you can do it on your own, yes- by definition, you can do it." I stared at him for a minute before jumping up and down.

"Yes, yes, yes!" I beamed at Remus, who only gave me an amused look in return.

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

Also, I couldn't remember if Leo had told them about being part veela yet... so if I have, please alert me.

This chapter has had some small edits made to it on 30/12/22 - Because this chapter was riddled with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors for some reason. It wasn't even on my original list of chapters to edit, I only edited it because I decided to read the chapters between 121 and 128, which were two that I was planning on editing.

This chapter has had some edits made to it on 22/2/24 - formatting, and reconfiguring of sentences so they make more sense. I also changed certain things along the way, like Elaine asking Leo is she was still 'allowed' to try to become an animagus, to which Leo originally just said, 'if you can do it on your own, then yes'. I thought that was slightly out of character for Elaine, because as much as she likes knowing that Leo- and all of her friends, but particularly Leo- approve of her decisions, she isn't the sort of person that needs approval in order to do something, especially something she's as determined to do as she is becoming an animagi. I changed it to Leo being like, 'hey, what happened to my favorite confident girl? Here, I'll cheer you up- you know you can do anything, in my eyes', because as much as Leo likes the fact that Elaine is confident, he also doesn't fault her for the days/moments where she can't be. I also changed Mia from standing behind Elaine to her having been sitting quietly next to Leo, since her kicking Sirius from behind Elaine, in any sort of way that would make him think that Leo had done it, wouldn't really make sense if she were standing up, away from Leo. I also added her waving to Leo as she left, because I thought that was cute, and it adds a sort of insecure 'Please don't leave me again, I love you so much' to their relationship that I felt was missing. I also changed Leo saying that Cipicia was 'being crazy' to her 'being my mother' because, yeah. Another change was Leo scooping up Elaine and taking her to the back of the Room of Requirement using vampire speed- originally he just dragged her, but Leo isn't typically that sort of physically domineering (one could argue that picking her up is even more domineering than dragging her, but that's sort of the thing, isn't it? Leo doesn't see it as such because it doesn't take any effort), and I thought this fit better, because obviously if Remus saw Leo drag Elaine away, he'd probably like... say something? Whereas this way they disappeared and he probably just sighed and was like, 'ugh, whenever you feel like coming back, I guess', which Leo could hear but ignored. I also added the line about Remus trying to stop his brain from escaping, because originally he just like... 'put a hand on his forehead', and I didn't think that fit the sort of 'Seriously guys?! Again?! Really?!' he was feeling.

I also changed Elaine brushing her hair to her finger detangling it, and changed her ponytail to a bun, since her curls have developed by this point in the story, though they haven't been mentioned since chapter 89. While I do think she has a special magical hairbrush that doesn't make her hair frizz up as much, and doesn't affect her curl pattern as much, I think on days like this where she just doesn't have the time to go the extra mile to make it look good, she just finger detangles it and relies on the products she uses when she washes it to see her through. If you're curious, I imagine her as having either 2C or 3A hair, though I think 2C is more likely- and I think her curls get more intense as the story progresses, so maybe her curls are a little less developed at this point than the next time I mention it (when it's actually mentioned for the first time for real, in chapter 219). I could write a whole essay on hair care products in the HP universe- or on beauty/hygiene products in general- but I'll save that for some other time.