(A/N): Hey Guys! Still in Drama, but lunch is in twenty minutes, so no promises!

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.

Leo

Less than a month later, it was Christmas- or, well, Christmas Eve- and it was time for the full moon. I had brought Remus to the Hospital Wing that morning since he was too weak to walk, and as the sun started to fall, Elaine and I stood in the Entrance Hall preparing ourselves. "Are you nervous?"

She turned her head to look at me, her eyes widening slightly as if she'd managed to forget I was with her. "What?" The corner of my lips quirked up, even as I tried not to smile, lest she see it and think I was making fun of her. I already knew she was nervous, I just wanted to see if she was going to try and play it cool.

"Are. You. Nervous?" She rolled her eyes, flapping a hand at me with a sort of manic energy that could only be born of some serious nerves.

"Of course not- it's just Remus, after all."

Even as she said it, I could tell by the healthy dose of fear pumping through her veins that she knew just how dangerous Remus could be- I decided to remind her. "I can feel when you're scared, remember?" She froze for a second, then sagged with a heavy sigh.

"I hate that."

I grinned at her, taking her hand in mine. "I know you do, Damsel." She rolled her eyes at me again, and silence fell over us for a second before she drew her hand away, her gaze directed to the two enormous doors ahead of us.

"It's almost time."

I frowned. "Not yet." I had seen Remus's transformation the last time I had accompanied him on his monthly escapade, and I didn't want to expose Elaine to that just yet. Or... ever, really.

"Leo..." I didn't look at her- I didn't see the point since I could see her in my mind's eye anyway, and while it didn't compare to the real thing, it did the job. "What if I can't keep control of my animagus form?" I snorted quietly, as if that were a ridiculous concept- truth was, I figured if she lost control, the only people around to get hurt should be Remus and I... and worst comes to worst, I knew I could always just throw myself into her path to distract the wolf. The only issue was whether me being wounded would incite Remus's wolf to misbehave as well.

"You'll be fine, Damsel, it gets easier every time." She seemed uncertain, so I turned my head and gave her the biggest smile I could manage, positively beaming at her. "Come on, the coast is clear."

Other than the noise of Elaine's panting breath, the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack was completely silent. Neither one of us dared speak, and we were halfway there, my back brushing the ceiling as we crawled through, when a howl rang out. I heard it before Elaine did, obviously, but not much before- not nearly enough. With my heightened senses, I found Remus already transformed, and I could hear his elongated claws digging at the wooden walls of the shack and tearing into the roots of the Weeping Willow, as he wormed his way into the tunnel. "Change!" I barked to Elaine, and I felt her pulse speed up even further.

I knew when she started to change, and I rushed to transform as well, knowing that if Remus found us before we had completely rid ourselves of our human form, that I was practically dead meat- seeing as I wasn't human. He was attracted to the scent of vampire blood, and I had quite a bit of that, even if I was only a half-vampire. Just as I saw Remus round the corner ahead of us, his claws ripping up shredded pieces of tree root and his hot breath filling the tunnel with the stench of bone marrow and blood, I completed the change, blocking his path to her as Elaine finished hers.

His eyes locked on her over my shoulder, and even though my animagus form was much smaller than his wolf form it was a much better advantage, since the tight confines we had found ourselves in were constricting his movement. He bumped into walls, and I couldn't miss as my claws swiped at his shoulders. 'REMUS! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!' I felt Elaine jump behind me, even in her wolf form, and I knew she had heard it as well.

With a few seconds more of snarling, the wolf calmed for a minute. '...Leo?' A small voice- Remus's voice- questioned, before he really noticed Elaine's wolf form over my shoulder. 'I knew this was a bad idea...'

I shook my feline head, still blocking the path between my two closest friends just in case Remus lost control again. 'It's not a bad idea, it's a terrible idea.'

'But you've got us, nonetheless,' Elaine told him, able to push past me in the small tunnel since her wolf form was slightly smaller than my cheetah form, and I begrudgingly let her go.

She pressed her head to Remus's, and my eyes shot wide. I launched myself at her, pushing her out of the way just as Remus lashed out, leaving long but luckily fairly shallow furrows down my flank. I turned on him, which was tough in the close confines of the tunnel, and started backing up, forcing Elaine further down the tunnel. 'Elaine, get into the shack.' Without a second of hesitation she turned and took off, knowing by the tone of my voice that I wasn't playing games.

The wolf watched her leave with a predatory edge that I really didn't like, so I growled, which made him hesitate. I suppose I was sort of like his alpha, since I had beaten him on the last full moon, but he wanted to fight the new wolf- Elaine's wolf. I stopped backing up, standing my ground, and I looked the wolf dead in the eye until Remus returned.

'...Leo?' Remus gasped, backing up a step or two as he caught sight of the blood slowly leaking down my side. 'How badly are you hurt?!'

I chuckled in my head, the same way we communicated. 'It's not that bad Remus, you barely scratched me.'

His stared at me for a second before blinking, looking further down the tunnel, to where we both knew Elaine was waiting. 'Did I hurt her?'

I stared him down, tilting my head slightly. 'Do you think you'd still be alive if you had?' The words may have sounded menacing, but Moony seemed relieved by my blunt rhetorical question. 'Can you stay in control now?' There was a second of pause, before he nodded his wolf head.

'I think I can. Just... stay on guard.'

I turned and started heading down the tunnel, still blocking his way but making steady progress, just in case he wasn't as in control as he thought he was. 'I always am.'

(A/N): So, what did you think of Elaine's first full moon trip?

Please review and/or check out my other stories!

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's thought process after Elaine asks 'what if I can't keep control of my animagus form?', which is... sort of foreshadowing, I guess. Retroactive foreshadowing? Also I just thought I'd mentioned that adult cheetah's and adult grey wolves are typically about the same size (30 inches tall at the shoulder for both, with both of being anywhere between 4 and 6 feet long, including the tail), but obviously Leo and Elaine aren't adults, and Leo is A LOT bigger than Elaine in his human form, so I imagine his cheetah form is a little bigger as well.