(A/N): Chapter three written while pet sitting for my sister. Another 'mostly letter' chapter. If you're confused by when each letter was sent and received- trust me, so am I. I created an actual, physical timeline, and I'm STILL confused. The letter Leo is replying to is the one he receives at breakfast, near the end of 'Trick Or Treat', which took place on Christmas Day. He sent this letter later that day. I'm still watching Graystillplays' Sims 4 videos.

Elaine

I received my reply from Leo- via Charlie- on the morning of Boxing Day. I opened it as soon as possible without forcing myself to rush, just in case there was something in the letter that required a quick response- or required me to discuss it's contents with the others. Luckily, there wasn't anything super worrying in it, but there was another resealable bag with treats in it.

Dear Elaine,

Yes, I told everyone what your father does- as soon as you told me, I made sure they were aware of the increased danger.

Increased danger... that was certainly a way to put it. Typically a human didn't pose much of a threat to a vampire, especially ones with years on them like Leo's father, Shari and Lisbet, but most vampire hunters underwent long and grueling training in order to stand a chance against the evolutionarily superior vampires they hunted. Hunters that weren't trained, usually didn't survive very long- someone that had been a Hunter for as long as my father had, definitely hadn't lived that long on luck alone. I didn't know if he was still actively going out and hunting vampires at nearly fifty years of age, but he was definitely still contributing to the cause, I had no doubts about that- my father was far too zealous to let something as trivial as getting older stop him from ridding the world of 'the scourge of vampires'.

They all accepted the risk- even Jo and Danniel. I made sure they knew the risks before they started taking shifts watching your mum and Jay.

Well... that was nice of them. It was a little harder to know whether they truly grasped the danger they were potentially in, or whether they had just agreed because Leo had asked them to, but I knew Leo well enough to know that he wouldn't have lied to them or tried to sugarcoat it, so I guess that was the best I could ask for.

I wouldn't have minded if you had told her about him being my uncle, or Lisbet being the one to shove me through the window- although that would probably make them a bit more wary of her, which would make her job protecting them a bit harder, so it was smart not to tell her. I... I also wouldn't mind if you wanted to tell Jay. I wouldn't be able to guess how he would react, you know him better than I do, but I would assume it wouldn't be... favorable, at least not right away.

No, it wouldn't be. Leo was okay with me telling Jay? Jay, who had accused Leo of hurting me- biting me, though he hadn't known that's what the injury was at the time- and had been hostile enough to warrant Leo feeling the need to defend himself by saying he would rather cut off one of his limbs rather than hurt me- which... was not exactly shocking, the sentiment at least, but I was surprised that he would admit that so easily to my mother and older brother. My overprotective older brother. He wouldn't mind me telling that brother that he was a vampire?

Lord, Leo was feeling like being quite transparent lately, wasn't he? That was rather out of character of him, to say the least.

It's odd that Charlie went to my dorm- she does seem quite fond of my bed here at home, but we can't seem to figure out why she went there rather than to your dorm, like Lawrence does. I'm sorry, I honestly didn't consider the fact that the others might see the charm, but at least they came up with an excuse for themselves, rather than trying to interrogate you about it. That said, hopefully they forget about it before I get back- I have a feeling they'd never let me hear the end of it!

I rolled my eyes fondly- of course Leo hoped I would take the brunt of the ribbing from the others, I would expect nothing less from him.

I figured you would say yes. Hopefully this time they can leave on their own, rather than having to be dragged out- I have no doubts about Jo, but Danniel tends to... overexert himself.

I thought about what my mother had written, about Leo describing Danniel as 'like a brother to him'- it certainly wasn't coming through via letter, but whether that's because he was trying to hide it, or I just wasn't reading his tone right, I didn't know.

Merry Christmas,

Love, Leo

PS: If you think I was awkward when we talked to your mother, you should have seen Lisbet- she was a right mess!

Hopefully that was because of the physical reminder of her pushing him through the window, rather than any issue brought on by proximity to humans. I didn't think Lisbet had any trouble being around humans, considering I had met her in person multiple times and she'd never seemed to have any issues then, but I could never be completely sure.

With the time I had before I had to leave to go down to breakfast, I pulled out my writing supplies and penned a reply.

Dear Leo,

I have some things I want to talk to you about when you get back. Nothing bad (I think), just some things I want to be able to see your immediate reaction to. My mother mentioned some things, is all.

If everyone knows the risks, I suppose there's nothing more I can say about it, other than that I'm EXTREMELY thankful that you are all SO willing to help us.

I wasn't sure whether it would make that much of a difference if I told her Jonothan was your uncle, but I figured I would play it safe, just in case. I also figured that it might make her a bit more protective of you, and considering that YOU'RE supposed to be protecting THEM, that probably isn't the best idea.

Protectiveness wasn't quite what my mother was exhibiting towards Leo, but I knew that telling him half of the things that my mother had said- well, written- since they had officially met, was a recipe for disaster.

That's what I thought about Lisbet and the window incident as well- what do you mean she was a right mess? I didn't think it was possible for someone to be more awkward than you (ha!). Do you think it was just because of that? Her shoving you through the window, I mean? I can't imagine that's something she would like to be reminded of, given her relationship with you.

You would be okay with me telling Jay? ... I'm not so sure that's a good idea, but it's nice to know you wouldn't mind if I had to tell him for whatever reason. I don't know exactly how he would react- our father drilling those prejudices into us from a young age aside- he'd probably be more concerned with my wellbeing than anything else anyway, which, while it might not be that much of an issue with Lisbet, Shari and your father, I think he would likely see it differently when it's you- given our... closeness.

Closeness? Closeness? A lame understatement, but I didn't know how else to describe my relationship with Leo- at least, not in a way that wasn't mortifying to put onto paper without knowing that Leo was on the same page. Sure, he loved me- I had no doubts about that- but he wasn't exactly the most expressive person typically, and I thought he actually might be more likely to express his feelings of love and affection in person rather than via letter, at least if our recent sessions in the Room of Requirement were any indication.

It doesn't matter that they saw the charm- honestly, I should probably tell them at some point. Remus knows everything, and probably already assumes that the charm was more than just a poor choice of present, and Lily knows that my father is an abusive wanker, so I should probably tell the others, but... well, you know how it is when you tell someone something like that. I'll probably wait until you get back- for moral support, of course.

And because everyone would have questions, and if Leo was going to continue keeping his vampire side a secret from Lily, he was going to have to be the one to answer them.

Have they progressed that quickly? That's impressive- I think? I'm impressed, anyway. Why does Danniel overexert himself? Is it ego, or...? One of the things I have to ask you is about Danniel, and the way you described him to my mother, by the way.

I figured that wasn't too much of a risky thing to let him know about in advance- and it might ease his mind a little about my queries, because I knew Leo tended to be nervous whenever he could anticipate questions coming his way, and the last thing I wanted was to pile more reasons to be anxious onto his already overflowing plate.

Happy Boxing Day,

Love, Elaine

(A/N): Leo: 'Lisbet was so awkward, way more awkward than I was.'

Elaine: 'More awkward than you? Impossible!'