(A/N): New chapter, I feel like shit, so I'm probably going to just wallow for the rest of the night. I hope you like this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.

Leo

I froze. Elaine... likes me? Elaine. Likes... me? Elaine! Likes! Me! She admitted it, she actually does like me... I let myself rejoice for a second. But- so does Brooke. I focused on said girl again, and found her smirking at me. "You heard her too, huh?" I flushed, and she shook her head fondly.

"Leo..." I shook my head, an echo of her own gesture, and tried to give her a stern look, but she waved me off. "Leo, you and Elaine are-" Hands seized my arms.

"Destined to be together?" James asked from my left side.

"Perfect for each other?" Sirius suggested, both of them glaring at Brooke.

"Pretty much," She said, grinning as I gave her a terminally dark look. "Alright, alright, Mr Grumpy Pants," She stuck her tongue out at me.

"A visit from the head hag gives me reason to be grumpy."

She looked rather confused by this, which I suppose was my fault for being vague- and her fault for annoying me. "Who?" I shrugged.

"My mother showed up earlier." Her mouth fell open, and she cast her eyes around the room as though she expected my mother to be hiding under a table, or perhaps behind the bar.

"That bitch was here? In Hogsmeade?"

The boys seemed shocked, particularly Sirius- I guess James was used to being caught of guard, by now. "Wait a minute, you know about Leo's mother?" Sirius asked, and Brooke scowled.

"Know about her? I've met Cipicia... and I'd rather not be reunited with her."

I glanced back at the table where Elaine was still sitting, and remembered the horror I had felt when Elaine had been the one at the end of my mother's wand. "Neither would I," I did my best not to let it come out in a grumble, but I was pretty sure I had failed. "But apparently, I don't have a choice in the matter." Brooke frowned, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Leo..." I shrugged her off, shooting her a semi-apologetic look.

"No matter how hard I try to avoid her, she always finds me. Before this summer, I hadn't seen her for almost three years. I thought I was safe, but I'm not... and neither are you guys." They stared at me. "Elaine showed that she cared about me, and my mother was going to kill her- or worse, torture her, knowing that I cared about her as well. She's a cold-blooded killer, she doesn't care about anything but herself."

"Leo..." James said quietly, almost timidly, and I could hear the fear in his voice. Time to double down, in the hopes that maybe this time the message would actually sink in.

"She will kill you just to hurt me, and she'll enjoy every second of it- It's just what she does. It's what she's always done, and will always do. This isn't the type of woman that changes... she only gets worse."

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

This chapter has had minor edits made to it on 15/2/24 - changed 'mom' to 'mum'

This chapter has had edits made to it on 3/3/24 - formatting, and reconfiguring of sentences so they make a bit more sense.