(A/N): Hey Guys! So, here's the next chapter, and it's a long one!

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.

Leo

I woke up sometime later and just stared at the ceiling, blinking wearily- I couldn't hear anyone around the house, but that didn't mean anything; I never could. Rolling over, I buried my face in my pillow, trying to push back the terror I was feeling... if this sickness did have something to do with my mother, it was most definitely sinister, and highly unlikely that I would ever recover.

We're going to make a deal. A deal? What had she meant? What could she, a pureblood supremacist, need from me, a half-vampire? My mother had never needed anything from anyone, and even if she wanted something, she just took it. Maybe though, the deal was metaphorical- the deal being, the deal with the devil. She cures me of this so called 'disease' by killing me, and in return, she gets the pleasure of seeing me, a monster, beg for mercy at her feet.

Deciding it was for the best, I practically crawled out of my bed, slowly heading downstairs without bothering to dress in proper clothes- I'd probably just end up back there within the hour, so why bother? "Dad?" I rarely called my father anything, and the word almost sounded foreign falling from my lips, but I loved to say it; he was my father, not that sadistic bastard I had thought played the role for the first seven years of my life. If only I'd found out that I had a different mother, as well.

"Leo?" Shari was the one who answered, but my father was by my side in a second, somewhat startling me. I examined them both, saw the tightness in their faces, and I knew.

"Have we found anything out?" Shari's eyes darted to my father, whose gaze locked onto mine.

"Leo, we've found... a few things, to say the least."

I forced myself not to swallow nervously, putting on what I hoped was a brave smile. "Good news?" I asked, even though I knew it wasn't.

"Sort of?" Shari suggested, and my father sighed.

"Leo. My dearest son," Uh oh, I thought. He only says stuff like, 'my dearest son' when he's worried he might lose me. "We found some toxins in your blood." Huh?

"How did you get my blood?"

Shari smirked at me weakly, shaking a vial of my own blood in my face. "We extracted it while you were sleeping." I shuddered lightly, and Lisbet laughed- I hadn't even noticed she was in the room.

"We found traces of a plant called Verbena in your blood, and something else we can't identify." I stared at the ground for a second, eyebrows furrowed.

"Verbena...?" I murmured, thinking back to my Potions lessons. "Wait, vervain?" Vervain was a plant grown mostly in the Americas and Europe, known to be extremely harmful to vampires, and lethal in large doses. Slughorn, knowing what I was, had warned me in advance that we were going to start using it in potions, and I'd made a show of suddenly being rather fastidious about wearing gloves whenever we had a practical lesson, so no one would be able to guess that it was vervain, in particular, that I was trying to avoid coming into contact with. Even with the gloves, during group projects I let other people handle it whenever possible, claiming that the mere smell of it gave me a migraine- when not with Remus or Elaine, who wouldn't need a reason to take care of it for me, anyway. Snape, though, had undoubtedly picked up on this newfound habit, and the cause, especially since Potions was his domain.

"You've heard of it, then? It's extremely harmful... but usually fast acting. That other toxin must be what caused the delay in symptoms."

I nodded, and I only just caught it: My father, wincing. "Dad?" His lips pressed into a thin line.

"Go to bed."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I-" He cut me off, wearing a look I don't think I'd ever seen on his face before.

"Go. To. Bed. Leo." I froze, staring at him for a second before nodding sharply and using my vampire speed to scale the stairs, no matter how much I knew it would tire me out. The first place I went was my window- not many things could make my father react like he had, but it certainly wasn't something already in the house.

Luckily, one of my bedroom windows faced the front yard, so I got to watch as my father, Shari, and Lisbet arranged themselves outside, and about five minutes later, I sensed what my father had, minutes earlier: My mother. Mixed with her fiery blood, I could smell her from a mile away- she smelled like bleach and the winter... and not in a good way, either.

My back straightened as my worst fears were realised: My mother was here- this was real; I was sick, and it was her fault. Lisbet, my father, and Shari, who was currently the closest thing I had to a mother, were out there, waiting for her. Waiting to protect me from something they could no longer hope to protect me from.

As I watched, she stepped out of the trees as they backed her like hired muscle, looking as out of place in her crisp, long white dress and heeled boots as ever. At her throat, there was a deceptively simple silver choker necklace with diamonds and green gemstones- they looked like emeralds to me, which was unusual, since she always made such a big deal about her preference for stones of a 'more natural' green hue, like green sapphire, or green tourmaline. Something I'd always found a bit funny, considering that her third favorite choice was peridot- a stone which possessed a color that was one of the most unnatural possible, at least in my opinion. Her pale blonde hair was pulled back into a chignon- at least, I assumed it was; I couldn't see the back of it from this angle, but it looked the same way it usually did from the front, and a chignon was her go-to, so a chignon was the most likely outcome. I'm sure that chignon hated me almost as much as I hated it.

She wore pure white gloves that only came up to just past her wrist, as if she was getting ready to spot-check for dust, and a cruel smirk spread across her lips as she paused for a second at the edge of our lawn before striding purposefully and without fear toward my father. "Nicholai." I jolted slightly. It wasn't the first time I could remember hearing her say his name, but only barely- and I suppose, she hadn't had much cause to do so. Much incentive, to do so. After all, 'filthy vampire' was probably much more enticing, to her.

"Cipicia. It's been a while."

She dropped the smirk, and all pretense. "Where is my son, Nicholai?" My father clenched his jaw, arms crossed tight over his chest.

"As I recall, Cipicia, you didn't want him." I winced, but my mother just flashed him a faux-contrite smile.

"A mistake on my part. I never realised how much I would miss the... lovable little bundle of joy."

Yeah, no one was falling for that. "What's the real reason?" Shari asked, her tone full of snark, and my mother's contrite expression turned to one of disgust and despisal in an instant.

"Stay out of it, half-breed!" She spat with a sneer, and Shari growled back- a low, guttural sound that would send chills down the spine of any sane human being. My blood boiled, and I clenched my fists so tight that my knuckles turned white.

"What's the real reason you want Leo, Cipicia?" My father ground out, and my mother's answering smile was both thin and frosty.

"When your son disappears for years on end, people start to ask questions. Bad questions. I need Leo to do a favor for me, and you're going to let me take him."

My father scoffed, taking a step forward so they were eye to eye- although it was more like eye to chin; my mother was tall, but not that tall, even in heels. "And what makes you say that?" My mother smirked, pulling something from the small purse that hung on a string of pearls from her shoulder.

"Because I'm the only one who can cure him," She said rather simply, waving the vial in his face demonstratively- he lunged for it, and of course, came up victorious, but she just laughed in his face. "You really think I was daft enough to have brought the real antidote with me? You half-breeds are even dumber than I gave you credit for." My father glared at her, the corner of his lips forced down in distaste as if somehow, even after everything, he could still be surprised by the depths of her animosity for him. For us.

"And he'll be safe if he goes with you?"

Shari's head whipped around. "Nicholai! You're not actually considering this, are you?" My father's chin dropped as if he was ashamed- or maybe just afraid- but his eyes locked to hers, both full of pain.

"He's my son, Shari... I'd do anything for him."

My mother's sinister smirk reappeared. "That's the attitude I like to see: A mad desperation. Now, Nicholai, my son." My father hesitated, and I took my chance. I sped down the stairs and out the front door, wishing, for the first time, that I had taken the time to dress properly when I'd woken up. "Leonides," My mother greeted in a conspicuously dead tone, even as my father pressed a firm hand to my shoulder to keep me in place. To keep me from straying any closer to her, closer to the danger.

"Mother. Considering your... offer, I have decided to accept."

Shari's head snapped around again, and I saw her gaping at me from the corner of my eye. "Leo!" I didn't even spare her a glance, no matter how much I wanted to... and I wanted to a lot, considering that her voice was full to bursting with fear and pain.

"An intelligent decision befitting a son of mine, Leonides. Let us go, before this filth rubs off on me."

I didn't let myself wince, instead choosing to flash her what was, hopefully, a convincing smile. It didn't have to convince her, only my father and Shari- who were decidedly easier targets. "Let's."

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

Also, for the one year anniversary of this story, which is tomorrow, I plan to make a video tribute to this story.

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 5/5/24 - formatting, and reconfiguring of sentences so they make more sense. Changed Leo 'being perplexed' to him just thinking 'huh?' because I thought that was more fitting. Added Leo not noticing Lisbet was in the room, because she wasn't mentioned before that point (because Leo's not on his A game at the moment, and Lisbet is sneaky, even for a vampire). I also thought it was a little funny, considering that later in the story she's probably the first person he tends to seek out in a room, let alone notice. Added that entire section about Slughorn telling Leo about Vervain, and his experience with it in Potions class- which ties into why Leo knows he has some in his personal storeroom, later on. Added Leo saying that the trees backed Cipicia like hired muscle, because I thought that was fitting for the fact that Cipicia always feels like she's too dangerous to be just one woman- it always seems like she SHOULD have a bunch of goons right behind her, because she was too threatening for one person. Changed Cipicia's outfit to something more Cipicia-esque, which means I added that whole thing about her preferred green gemstones, and the fact that Cipicia's chignon hates Leo as much as Leo hates it. Also, the fact that her white gloves made her look like she was about to start spot-checking everything for dust. I changed Leo saying this was the first time he remembered hearing Cipicia say Nicholai's name to just barely not the first time, since we now know he's heard her say it at least once- when she attacked them in Diagon Alley. Changed Cipicia's smile to a 'faux-contrite' smile. Changed Cipicia glowering at Shari to 'her contrite expression turning to one of disgust and despisal in an instant'. Added Nicholai seemingly being surprised by the depths of Cipicia's animosity for them, even after everything. Specified that Nicholai's chin dropped as though he was ashamed- or maybe just afraid- as well as the fact that Shari's eyes were just as pained as his were. Specified that Cipicia's tone was 'conspicuously' dead, rather than just dead, because I imagine she's having some trouble adjusting to the fact that this is the first time she's seen him since she threw him out where she wasn't outright trying to maim/kill him. Added that Nicholai's hand on Leo's shoulder was specifically to keep him from straying any closer toward danger, which in this case, is Cipicia. Added that Leo wanted to look at Shari a lot, because her voice was 'full to bursting' with fear and pain. Specified that Leo's smile wasn't meant to convince Cipicia, but Nicholai and Shari, who were decidedly easier targets (because he assumes Cipicia will NEVER be convinced by him, because she doesn't WANT to be).

Also, as I mentioned in the end Author's Note of 401, vampires are technically classed as 'non-humans', which means they aren't even half-breeds. Leo is a half-breed, because he has a non-human parent, but Nicholai and Shari aren't... and technically, Cipicia IS. Also also, I went on a wild goose chase to figure out where I said Leo's bedroom was in the house, because I thought I'd say it was in a back corner (aka, one of his windows would face the backyard and the other the side yard, rather than the front and the side), but turns out I just said it was in A corner, which fits with what I've written here. I WAS picturing it in the back left corner of the house (if you're viewing the house from the front, or from above), on the second floor, but I suppose now that's I've said it, it has to be FRONT left. Oh, maybe his bedroom is at the end of a hallway, with the two windows facing the front and side yards, but his adjoining bathroom is back left, and has a window to the backyard. (I mention that, because I already have a pretty good layout of his bedroom and where everything is, except for the bathroom- unless characters are actively using them, I forget that they exist.)