(A/N): Hey, still in Drama. Watching an absolutely terrible 'performance' of a midsummer's night's dream... no one's listening to the teacher.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.

Leo

I went hunting after my training with Greygorry ended in an attempt to at least half heal my injuries- including my broken fingers, which were a bit stiff but at least they weren't fractured anymore- so by the time I returned to the Gryffindor common room, it was well after dark, and it was empty except for James, Sirius, Remus, and Elaine. They looked up upon hearing me enter, and their faces immediately collectively turned into the textbook depiction of shock. "Leo!" Elaine exclaimed quietly, jumping up and approaching me in a rush to be able to brush her fingertips over the bruises I knew marred my pale skin.

"What the hell happened now...?" Remus murmured, slowly rising from his precarious perch on the back of the couch- one I knew he only ever assumed when no one else was around to see it, and his back hurt too much to sit any other way.

"Did your mother come back?" Sirius asked with a level of concern in his voice that I hadn't entirely anticipated, and I winced, but shook my head.

"I was training."

Elaine's hand fell from my face slowly, before rising again- almost timidly, which was odd for her. "You've got a bit of..." She pressed the pad of her thumb against the corner of my lips and wiped slowly, clearly removing whatever was there that she didn't like. I had my suspicions on what it was- confirmed by a quick check using my blood sense- and I felt my stomach dip at the fact that Elaine was wiping blood off of my face. Elaine. She shouldn't- She shouldn't have to- She shouldn't want to-

"Blood," James said, the first thing he had so far.

"Don't worry, it isn't mine." It wasn't human, either, which was the far more worrying concern that I willfully chose to gloss right over.

Sirius openly stared at me for a second, before shaking his head as though mystified. "Right, I forgot... vampires need to feed." I smirked at him.

"Well, I would have been fine for a few more days food-wise, but I usually do feed after training, since it helps heal my wounds."

James's eyebrows shot up, then lowered, then he very deliberately raised just one of them, instead. "What kind of training requires you to have to heal yourself afterwards?" He asked, half-suspiciously, and I shrugged.

"I train with vampires. Full vampires." Elaine lowered her gaze to the ground, and I noticed her rub her thumb on her skirt to clean the blood from it. No, not- Dirty. Don't-

"So, what do you eat?" Sirius asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him slightly before pulling on a nonchalant look.

"Well, I'm extremely partial to bunnies." Elaine glared at me.

"Now isn't the time to joke."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Then when is?" The others stared at me. "Look, my whole life is full of dangers, just because of the way I was born. I can't get brought down by every bad thing that happens to me, so joking around is the best way to handle it. Besides, it's either bunnies or acromantulas." Elaine shuddered.

"What about deer?" Remus asked, and I knew that on occasion, he'd slaughtered the deer that roamed the Forbidden Forest- God knows why they did, seeing as they were preyed upon by a whole host of different predators.

"The deer are easier to accidentally kill, weirdly enough."

They all winced, except Remus, who launched into excited agreement. "I found that, too! The necks are smaller on the rabbits, not as easy to rip the head off-" He ground to a halt, glancing at the others and apparently noticing their shock and discomfort, before he swallowed thickly. "Er... rabbits are cute." Elaine's eyebrow twitched upward, but I assumed it was more in response to his terrible dismount than the actual tirade.

"You'd be a great serial killer, Moony. You're really good at covering your tracks," Sirius drawled, and Remus rolled his eyes, even as his cheeks turned a purplish-red.

"Anyway, back to the training," James said, returning the others' attention to the point- which was exactly where I didn't want it.

"What do you mean, 'training'?" Sirius asked, and even though Elaine knew I had done some training in the past, even she looked curious.

I sighed, dropping into one of the plush arm chairs. "This training is to help me keep in control of my urges."

"'This' training?" Elaine asked, not missing anything. She had a mind like a steel trap- one that currently happened to be caught around my leg. "What about the training you were doing with Shari and you're father?" The other three looked surprised, even Remus.

"That training serves another purpose." They all narrowed their eyes at me in unison, as if they thought I might leave it at that. "It's for the war."

Their eyebrows collectively furrowed in confusion. "What war?" James asked, his voice more full of curiosity than confusion, oddly enough.

I shrugged. "I don't know." Sirius glared at me, his arms now crossed over his chest.

"Of course you don't," He remarked dryly, but Elaine rested a hand on his shoulder- whether to calm him down or merely to stop him, I couldn't tell.

"He's not lying," Elaine said, and Remus finished the sentence with a definitive, "He really doesn't know."

James raised an eyebrow at Remus, before switching his gaze to me. "What kind of idiot doesn't know what he's being trained for? Didn't you ask?" I glared at him, clenching my jaw ever as I scowled at him.

"Of course I asked- my father wouldn't tell me!" I took a deep breath to try to calm myself, as I let my gaze slide to the ground and crossed my arms over my chest. "But I trust him to do what's right for me. And you should too." Elaine frowned.

"Leo, there isn't a war, at the moment..." I raised my gaze until it met hers- a far easier target than any of the others', that was for sure.

"Not yet there isn't."

Sirius stared at me, eyebrows wrinkled. "You mean there's going to be a war?" I shrugged as they all watched me, confused, frustrated, and- I could feel- afraid.

"From what my father's heard from the other vampires..." I hesitated, tilting my head. "Yeah."

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

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This chapter has had minor edits made to it on 30/12/22

This chapter has had edits made to it on 6/3/24 - formatting, and reconfiguring of sentences so they make more sense. Added Leo mentioning his broken fingers, since I added that to the last chapter. Added the explanation for Remus sitting on the back of the couch, since I do think that's a fun thing that I've mentioned that he does sometimes, but I haven't explained why. Added Leo's reactions to Elaine wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, from 'wiped slowly' onward, plus when she wipes it on her skirt and he thinks, 'No, not- Dirty. Don't-'. Added Remus blushing at Sirius's remark about him making a good serial killer, because he's embarrassed. Also added Leo thinking that Elaine 'has a mind like a steel trap- one that currently happened to be caught around my leg', because I thought that was a funny visual, and shows that Leo appreciates her intelligence, even when it's sort of at his detriment. Added Leo thinking that meeting Elaine's gaze was 'a far easier target than any of the others', that was for sure'.