(A/N): Hey Guys! Finally, another chapter! I wrote this at school and had to change the PoV just then when I typed it up. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Leo

I remembered when I first changed and the cheetah's mind had surfaced- it had been easy for me to control, seeing as how I already had a powerful, animalistic instinct inside of me all the time, but I knew it wouldn't be the same way for Elaine... and I didn't want Remus, who was practically human at this point, in the same room as her when she completed the transformation.

Her body shifted and twisted, and though I knew that she was experiencing no pain, I flinched nonetheless. Half a minute later, her change was finished, and before me stood a wolf. A big, powerful creature that, deep down, I thought was far more majestic than my own cheetah form- not that I would ever admit that sort of thing out loud. Her eyes found me, her eyes, before they darkened slightly, only enough to be seen by my heightened senses.

Her lips peeled back in a snarl, revealing sharp canine teeth, and seemingly without warning- although I knew, on a logical level, that baring teeth and growling was more than enough of a warning, it simply shocked me in a way that I couldn't combat- she lunged at me, teeth headed straight for my throat. I definitely would have had the power to fight her off or the speed to evade her, but I was so reluctant to hurt her that I chose not to move. I stayed as still as possible as her teeth gouged my shoulder, her clawed paws slashing at my arms and sides. Pain coursed through me, rolling and heaving and stabbing, but I did my best to ignore it- and after about half a minute, the wolf slowed to a halt before pulling back so gingerly that I knew. I knew no animal could- would- do that, which meant... The eyes I saw now were hers- Elaine's- and in them, I saw my own reflection- my throat shredded, blood staining my shirt and flecking my face.

The wolf melted away, and soon Elaine- the girl, in all her glory- was sitting on my thighs, staring down at me with an absolutely horrified expression. "Leo..." She breathed, tears beginning to streak down her face.

"Yeah?" She seemed surprised to hear me answer, and I sat up, not even wincing- or, rather, hiding my wince expertly. The wounds were already starting to knit themselves back together.

"Where's Remus?" She asked after a long moment, biting her lip and making a show of twisting around to look for him.

"Out here. Can I come back in now?"

I kept my eyes on Elaine, who was staring wide-eyed at the wounds she had caused. The damage she had wrought. "Yeah. Come on in." The door behind me opened, and Remus gasped as he saw the back of my blood soaked t-shirt before he even had the chance to enter the room.

"What happened?" He cried, and Elaine flinched.

"The wolf mind," She whispered, and I frowned.

"I should have told you."

Elaine's head snapped up. "This happened with the cheetah mind? Did you attack anyone?" I chuckled darkly, shaking my head.

"Oh please, animal mind is easy compared to vampire mind."

Remus stared at the back of my head like he was trying to bore a whole in it. "You didn't answer the question. Did you attack anyone?" I froze.

"Not- not... in animagus form," I told them tightly, quietly, avoiding both sets of eyes.

"Madam Pomfrey," Elaine supplied, but Remus shook his head.

"I mean actually attack. Attack as in, make contact with the person."

They both looked to me again, and I hesitated a second before nodding. "Who?" Elaine asked in a hushed tone, and I looked at her with what I assumed was a heavily pained expression.

"Brooke." Elaine glanced at Remus.

"'And that, that was Brooke,'" Remus quoted me, nodding as he finally understood what I'd meant.

"It wasn't-" They both stared at me expectantly. "It wasn't completely my fault," I told them, raising his eyes to look at Elaine again. "She was hurt- bleeding- and asked me to heal her... I lost control," I said, releasing a shuddering breath as I did so.

Elaine piped up helpfully with, "Vampire venom has healing properties." Obviously she remembered that part of our little talk after she'd been bitten by Jonothan.

"Well, you're fine now-"

My head snapped up before I shook it furiously, effectively cutting him off. "No, I'm not! Why do you think I've been avoiding all of you? Why do you think I avoided Lily in first year? I'm afraid I'll do it again. I will do it again." I stared Elaine dead in the eye as I said this, not being able to do the same to Remus. "I'm just trying to keep you safe." I hesitated. "From me." I lifted Elaine off my lap with ease and headed for the door only to find that Remus had already blocked his way. "Remus," I murmured before meeting his eyes, my own slightly darkened due to lack of- and need for- blood. "I need to hunt." With a tight swallow he reluctantly stepped out of my way, and I sped out of the Room of Requirement- through the corridors and out into the grounds, with a bitter taste in my mouth.

(A/N): So much has been accomplished! YES!

This chapter has had edits made to it on 1/3/24 - formatting, and reconfiguring sentences so they make sense. I also added Leo thinking Elaine's wolf form is majestic, and his explanation that even though he knows on a logical level that there were plenty of warning signs that the wolf was going to attack him, the fact that it was Elaine's wolf form rendered him incapable of predicting that she would do so. He was still surprised in the original, I just thought I should explain that he knows he shouldn't be surprised- he's not dumb, he's just dumb in love. To that end, I also added 'the girl, in all her glory', when Elaine changes back and is sitting on Leo's thighs, because he WOULD. He would absolutely think something soppy like that, you just know it. I also wanted to highlight him saying 'the wolf', then saying 'Elaine' when she's back in human form, because even though he has no problems knowing that the wolf is Elaine- and he makes the distinction less and less later on- he DID just get attacked by said wolf, and even though he knows Elaine's the one in control now, her changing back to human form was the equivalent of her coming back from a long trip and hugging him, basically. You never quite feel that relief properly that your loved one is with you, until you have them in your arms- or in your lap, as is the case in this chapter.