(A/N): Hey Guys! Crap, I did it again! I caught this one a bit quicker though!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Leo

The more I drank, the faster my wounds healed. I still tried not to actually kill the deer, and sometimes rabbits, that I ate - well, drank - knowing it would remain a permanent stain on my soul if I did, but sometimes, even if I didn't kill them outright, they certainly weren't going to make it very far once I left their side. As I was finishing off a deer in Sensory Alert, my hearing honed, I heard a conversation conducted high in the castle. "But Leo-" The voice, McGonagall's, was cut off.

"The boy is fine, Minerva. He just needs time to... adjust," Dumbledore's raspy, respect-inducing voice said, and I frowned.

"He's tearing himself apart Albus, he needs some help."

I wiped my mouth on my sleeve before casting a quick cleaning charm on my bloody clothes, and glaring in the direction of the conversation. "I can hear you," I muttered bitterly, observing the group of people- professors- high above me.

"Why not give him his own say in the matter?" Dumbledore asked, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Albus, are you joking?! He's just a boy, he-"

I jumped into action, and cut Minnie off with, "I may be a kid, Minnie, but I am also a vampire." My voice was as serious as I could make it, even as she spun to face me where I perched in the window and almost tripped on her robes. Dumbledore seemed mildly caught off guard, also.

"That you are..." I hadn't paid much attention to Slughorn before now, but he was openly gaping at me, more in awe than in shock like the other professors were.

"Leo, you-"

I cut Minnie off again, this time moving to the thick rafters above her head. "I what?" Everyone's head snapped upward.

"This isn't the time for games, Mr Joannis," Professor Sprout told me frostily, and I stared at her.

"Then stop pretending I'm a toy," I advised them, giving them a tight smile before moving to one of the spare wooden chairs.

"We are not-"

It was Slughorn I cut off this time. "You are. You're acting like I'm your own little toy, harmless. Like I can't make my own choices- like I can't hear you, but I can." I flicked my gaze to each one one of them, making sure that they understood. "Now, what's this about me needing help?" The teachers glanced to each other.

"Leonides-" I flinched.

"Don't call me that."

They paused for a second, staring, before smartly averting their gazes. "Well, Leo, we know- now- that a vampire, being in a cramped space with as many humans as there are here at Hogwarts, can suffer some... complications, when it comes to keeping in control of their urges to feed." Dread filled my stomach- was this about Brooke?

"We thought you might like some help with that," Minnie informed me, sending Dumbledore a sharp glare the whole time.

"That-" I paused, composing myself at they watched me, waiting for my reply. "That would be nice." I lowered my gaze to the ground. "Thank you." With that, I disappeared- leaping out of the window to securely latch onto the castle wall across from it before quickly descending to the ground and returning to the forest, leaving my stunned professors behind me.

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

This chapter has had minor edits made to it on 30/12/22 - I had Leo clean the blood off his clothes before he goes up to see the Professors, so he doesn't alarm them. His clothes are still probably ripped though, so feel free to imagine how confused they are by that.

This chapter has had edits made to it on 1/3/24 - formatting, and reconfiguring sentences so they make more sense. Also, Leo was called Leonides more than once, particularly by McGonagall, who I've already established knows not to call him that. She calls him Leo instead, because Mr Joannis is a bit formal, and then she's shocked to actually be speaking to him. I also imagine it's a sign of respect that won't be argued among the other teachers- 'You saw how he reacted to being called Leonides, and you saw him flipping around the room- oh wait, you didn't, because he was using freaking vampire speed- do you really think me calling him by his chosen nickname is anything other than straight up survival instincts?'