(A/N): Chapter 300! Leo and Lisbet meet Elaine's mother and brother, Jay.

Leo

The second I knocked, all movement in the house stopped, and a sudden wave of fear washed through the house and under the door towards us. There was a very pregnant pause, and I looked to Lisbet before I knocked again, softer this time. Danniel had told us Tarea had banged on the door with his whole body, so maybe now that they knew we were here, a gentler knock would let them know ahead of time that we didn't mean any harm. Or, at least, that we weren't him.

"What do we do?" I heard Jay whisper from inside, and I imagined for a split second what Elaine's reaction would be if she had been inside at this very moment. A split second was a thousand times too long. I elbowed Lisbet in the side, and she immediately elbowed me back, before looking sheepish.

"Uh...Hello?" She called out, and I felt their fear turn to confusion, which was good enough for me.

"Nice." I whispered.

"Yeah, well-" I shushed her as I heard them start coming to answer the door, and I tried my best to look innocent and harmless as I felt eyes on me through the peephole.

We heard the sound of a chain being slid free, and then a deadlock being turned, before finally, the door opened to reveal Elaine's mother in the doorway. She looked to be in her mid to late forties, with curly brunette hair that reached just past her shoulders, and despite everything, I could tell the concern in her deep brown eyes was more for my well being, than for her own at this point. I could also tell that Jay was standing behind the door, just out of sight, in case things went south.

"Hi, Ms Folley." I made sure to use Ms instead of Mrs, knowing Folley was her maiden name, and she probably didn't want to be reminded of her previous marriage right at the moment anyway. "I'm Leo, I'm a friend of Elaine's-" Jay stepped out from behind the door, and I pretended to look surprised.

"We know who you are. What are you doing here?" This earned him a stern look from his mother.

"Jaygar, where are your manners?" He looked appropriately admonished. "Leo, dear, just call me Audrey." Oh, I really didn't want to do that. "And who is this?" She turned her attention to Lisbet, whose smirk at my discomfort quickly dropped.

"My names Lisbet, I'm... Well, I guess I'm Leo's..." She looked at me for help, but I had none to give her even if I wanted to. "...Aunt?" It came out like a question, which Audrey clearly didn't miss, but she also clearly let it slide.

"That's wonderful! Not to be rude, but can I ask why you're here? Surely you know Elaine stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays-" I held up a hand to stop her.

"I know Elaine's still at Hogwarts. I actually came to talk to you two." They both looked surprised by this. Then, Jay looked suspicious.

"And what possible reason could you have for wanting to do that?" Jay crossed both his arms over his chest, and Audrey looked like she both wanted to scold him for being so rude, and to ask the same thing.

"Look, I... There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it." They looked perplexed. "When Elaine first got the letter, I asked my family to keep an eye on you guys." Comprehension dawned on Audrey's face, but Jay still looked annoyed.

"And why were you in a position to ask your family to keep an eye on us to begin with? Elaine isn't exactly the type to ask you to do such a thing, so why would you take it upon yourself-" Audrey put a hand on his arm, and he immediately stopped talking, to let her speak.

"You know, don't you?" Jay still looked confused.

"Yes. I'm sorry there wasn't anything we could do about last night-" Now Jay realised what we were talking about.

"You- What- Ugh. I knew her telling you was a mistake." Audrey looked at Jay like she was hearing that for the first time, so I guess he had kept it a secret for Elaine.

"When we heard he showed up here last night, we decided we needed to do more than just keep an ear out. If you'll have us, we'd like to make sure you don't have to spend one more second living in fear of him. If you never want to see him again, we'll do our best to make that happen." Audrey looked like she was thinking about it.

"How did you know he was here last night?" I shrugged, pointedly looking to the trees where I knew Danniel was hiding.

"We have our ways, but that doesn't matter. What matters is, we have the power to keep him away from you." I stared Jay down. "I just want you all to be safe, and to feel safe. Elaine would never ask me to do this, but I know she worries about you every second she's not here." Jay's face softened slightly, before immediately hardening again.

"And what do you want in return? It's not like we're loaded, we can't afford to pay for protection-" I shook my head.

"I don't want anything." I took a deep breath. "I know what it feels like to feel like you're in danger in your own home, from people who are supposed to protect you. I know what it's like to feel helpless, and to feel like you can't ask for help even when you need it because you're supposed to be stronger than that. I know what its like to flinch at every shadow or knock on the door, because you think it might be them. I don't want anything, but to be the person I needed, when I was in that situation." Lisbet hand found mine, and squeezed it, and I was thankful for the anchoring presence. "If you don't want me here, I'll leave, but-" Elaine's mother cut me off.

"Come in." I froze for a second, then glanced at Lisbet as Jay begrudgingly held the door open wider for us to enter.

"After you." Lisbet gave me a mock curtsy, before following Audrey further into the house, and I had to dodge Jay's suspicious glare before he closed the front door behind us.

"Please, take a seat." She gestured to the couch in the middle of the living room, and Lisbet and I exchanged a look before doing as she said. It was a bit odd, sitting on Elaine's mothers floral printed couch, next to Lisbet, without Elaine anywhere to be found, but I tried to push through it. "Cup of tea?" I shook my head, as did Lisbet, and Audrey turned to Jay as she took her place in one of the matching armchairs that faced the couch. "Jay, would you be a dear and fix me some tea?" He looked like he really didn't want to leave his mother alone with us- well, to be perfectly honest, me- but he did as he was told, and made his way into the kitchen to start preparing a pot of tea for his mother.

"I'm sorry we dropped by unannounced, but I didn't see any other way-" Audrey cut me off.

"Tell me, Leo, does my daughter know what you are?"

(A/N): And deep down she knows. She knows. And I know she knows. And I know she knows.