(A/N): So, this chapter takes place on Boxing Day- so, the same day Jerremyah showed up, and all of those other chapters- and is Audrey's reaction to Elaine's reply to her 'Poor Boy' letter. Audrey's POV, yay!

Audrey

Early on the morning of Boxing Day, as I was making my first cup of tea, Jay's owl, Cecil, flew in through the kitchen window I always opened first thing in the morning, with a letter from Elaine tied to his leg. He landed on the kitchen table, flaring his wings in order to keep his balance, and immediately tried to hunker down, only to be prevented from doing so by the letter he had toted all this way- his first instinct was to look at me, simultaneously for help, and as if he somehow thought I was to blame.

"Silly bird." I murmured, keeping my voice soft, both so there was no risk of it carrying up the stairs to wake Jay prematurely, and so I didn't startle poor Cecil. I put my waiting cup of tea on the counter, and released the letter from the birds' leg. After I did so, he fluffed himself up, as if testing his newfound freedom, gave a tired hoot, and settled in like some sort of sentient centerpiece.

I moved back over to the cupboards, and pulled a treat out of the designated treat jar- when I turned back around, Cecil was watching me intently, but hadn't moved.

"Here. You must be exhausted if you're not getting all excited for food, like you usually do." I knew it was mostly for show- Cecil was certainly smaller than Elaine's own owl, Lawrence, but he wasn't so small that the trip down from Hogwarts would feasibly take this much out of him- he was just doing it to gain my sympathy. Fortunately for him, I had always been a bit of a soft touch.

He gobbled up the treat, gave another small hoot- this time rather self-satisfied- and closed his little eyes for a short rest, right there in the middle of the table. I watched him for a second, then fondly shook my head.

I set my cup of tea on my tea tray- and treated myself to a chocolate digestive biscuit- and put the letter on the tray before heading out to the sun room, so I could sit in my favorite armchair to read Elaine's- almost inevitably distressing- letter.

I took a bite of my biscuit, sipped my tea, and opened up the letter.

Dear Mum,

YOU CHECKED HIS PULSE?!

Ah. Yes, yes I had. I had felt awful about doing it, but I had to- I had to know. If he was going to be around Elaine- if he was possibly going to be involved with Elaine, the way I could tell they both wanted, I couldn't let that happen if he wasn't mortal. Not because I had something against immortal beings by nature, but... Elaine was mortal- and even if she was willing to change that, if Leo was already immortal, he wouldn't physically age past fifteen, and therefore, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to have any sort of relationship beyond just being friends.

But obviously, Leo was mortal- and if only for Elaine's sake, I hoped he was going to stay that way.

You- That's fantastic! I'm telling him that, the next time I see him person, just to have the pleasure of watching his reaction (he won't mind, he's just awkward, and that's extremely funny to me.)

Well, at least I hadn't offended him, if Elaine was to be believed- and, considering that she knew him much, much better than I did, I didn't have much choice other than to believe her.

Um... I believe that you were both inside. Asleep. Like I SHOULD have been. I was outside on the swings, because I couldn't sleep- don't worry, Jay's been scolding me about it for years, and Leo has also expressed his strong disapproval.

And we all knew which of those two things would be more effective. I knew Elaine still had nightmares- I had tried to get both of them to agree to see a Mind Healer a few times over the years, since we had left Tarea, but neither had ever done so. Elaine had been suffering from nightmares pretty much from the second we had left- once she'd had a taste of being free from her fathers' tyranny, she had realised that that freedom could be taken away from her, and she had been appropriately worried about the possibility of that happening.

I couldn't blame her for wanting to get away from her bedroom, where she had had said nightmares, but she needed to learn how to do so safely- even if it involved waking Jay or myself up, to accompany her outside.

Jay could defend them both- with or without a wand. It was one of the- very- few sort of positive things that had come out of Tarea's obsession with preparing them for his war against vampires- Jay had learned to be able to protect the people he cared about- and he cared about Elaine above all else.

To be honest, I never asked how Leo knew I was in trouble- It was right after I had stayed over at Leo's place with everyone else for his birthday, so the assumption is that Jonothan had followed my scent from Leo's house without them knowing, but none of us are ENTIRELY sure how he found me.

Well, that was... the opposite of reassuring. Luckily, the new, stronger wards I had set up after my ex husbands visit would keep out- at least, temporarily- anyone who had ill intent- vampire or Hunter.

Mum, I can't really explain it, but... Leo is strong. Like... really, REALLY strong. He's unique, and it's one of the reasons vampires like Jonothan are so obsessed with him. I'm sure Jonothan probably could have beaten Leo if he had been interested in doing so, but not without making a lot of noise, and possibly waking up you and Jay- and, from what I've been told of him, Jonothan prefers to operate in the shadows.

I'm sure Leo is strong- but, as strong as a regular vampire? Or, at least, strong enough to hold off a regular vampire? Elaine called him unique, but... Tarea had mentioned to me- offhandedly, while venting about his work that day- about women who had fallen for the charms of a male vampire before, and had birthed a child that was half vampire- and half human, as I had pointed out, and had received a particularly mean backhand for- so clearly, the fact that Leo was half vampire, was not what made him 'unique'.

No, he's never sat on our couch- but, as I said, Leo is awkward. And, for whatever reason, the more normal and mundane something is, the more awkward he is about it.

The poor thing.

I know- looking back on it, I know I was stupid, and reckless- but at the time, it had seemed like the only possible option. At the risk of making you even more worried about him, I have to tell you- that is not even CLOSE to the only time Leo has almost been killed. Trust me, I have learnt my lesson about keeping secrets, when Leo's life is possibly at stake.

Oh, Merlin... That poor boy just couldn't catch a break, could he? At least Elaine was willing to admit that she had made a mistake, even if she was trying to justify it.

Please don't call Leo things like, 'Poor boy'-

Oh no, why not? I'd just done that!

-he has this THING, about having to be strong- it's ridiculous, but he reacts really badly to sympathy, because he can only see it as pity. Just keep those sorts of thoughts in your head, okay?

Oh. That poor- Shit. Well, I suppose she had said it was okay, if it was only in my head. That poor boy, he had been warped so badly that he felt that he had to be strong at all times- I could see why he and Elaine had bonded so firmly. If Leo ever ran out of that strength, he could lean on her- she had had a never-ending supply of strength from a very young age, but she'd only been allowed to develop that strength since we had left her father. I had no doubt that Elaine would be all too happy to let her friends lean on her- especially if that friend was Leo.

Lisbet used to be more like an aunt to Leo, but recently, I've noticed that she's become more like a sort of surrogate mother to him- but Leo is completely oblivious. Because Leo isn't very good at picking up on things like that- or most things, really, if they concern him. If it's to do with other people, he's a real life Sherlock Holmes, but when it's him... whoo, that boy can be dense.

She had mentioned his mother before- just barely, only to say that she was human, when she had explained that Leo was half vampire- but she hadn't elaborated past that. If I remembered correctly, one of the previous years, when we had been picking her up from King's Cross at the end of term, she had told Jay that Leo didn't live with his mother, and she was only there to pick up his sister- his half sister, I was guessing.

If Lisbet was taking on a surrogate mother role, I assumed he didn't have a very good relationship with his biological one. If I'm being completely honest, I had noticed a parental kind of energy being put out when Lisbet was here, and I was glad that he had someone who cared about him- besides Elaine, and his father.

Leo doesn't talk about his father much in general, but that does seem like an accommodation that Leo might try to make. I don't know what Shari could possibly be going through- this is the first I've heard of it, and it will be one of the first things I'll be asking him about when I see him in person again.

Well, at least she had the sense to wait to ask him such a potentially sensitive question until they were face to face. Sense which she had obviously inherited entirely from me.

Another thing I'll be asking Leo about- I had no idea that he and Danniel were so close. I've met Danniel- once- but never spoken to him beyond just saying hello. I've heard good things, though- and anyone Leo would consider calling his sibling must be an exceptional person. Almost said, 'human being', which technically isn't true.

The differences were negligible- Tarea had exhibited less humanity on a daily basis than most of the vampires he hunted.

If Leo trusts that Danniel and Jo are ready to be on watch, then I trust that, too. Leo has always been wildly overprotective of me when it comes to other vampires- maybe because of the Jonothan thing- so I believe that they're MORE than ready. If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure they're meant to activate the emergency charm before engaging, even if you haven't yet.

It did make me feel a little better- they were just so... young. Not just as vampires, but in general- and they were going to be that way for the rest of their lives- possibly forever.

I'm not entirely sure how old they are- I don't think Leo likes to ask those kind of questions. But yes. Leo leads by committee when it comes to these sorts of things- and no one can really argue with him, when most of the time, the whole clan has already decided on the best course of action. If you're still not convinced- Leo's father listens to him about this, and the rest of them listen to HIM, so everything ends the same way.

There he was again- that father that Leo hadn't mentioned.

I PROMISE, I'll tell you if something even remotely possibly dangerous comes up- and I know this will probably only get me more in trouble, but I've also visited our friend Remus by myself. We went to Diagon Alley for ice cream, and I told you I was seeing Lily- so it's not just Leo who will be affected by that rule.

Merlin's sake, Elaine...

Remus means me no harm either- I have no doubt that, like Leo, he would rather cut off a limb than hurt me. Remus is ALSO very protective of me, and knows about dad, too- at least, as far as when he threatened to visit, the first time. I'm also pretty sure he's going to make Prefect next year.

I rolled my eyes- Prefects could be awful people just like everyone else. In fact, Tarea had been a Prefect, so I don't know why she was trying to reassure me with that- but it wasn't me she was going to have to reassure- if Jay found out she was spending time alone with another boy, he was going to lose it.

And Leo WOULD lose a limb for me, he's proven that by taking direct hits for me. He also happens to be allergic to hurting people who aren't actively trying to kill him, so even without everything else, I have NO fear of him hurting me.

It was pointed- and it made me nearly tear up. She wasn't afraid of Leo hurting her- she wasn't afraid of him hitting her, or belittling her, like her father had done to all three of us for years on end. She trusted him completely, and had nothing to fear from him. It made me so glad to see her unafraid, and I prayed that she was a better judge of character than I had been- both at her age, and when I had gotten married. And when I had had kids with Tarea freaking Hugar. And when I had stayed, with those kids, with Tarea freaking Hugar- until I had managed to safely extricate us from his poisonous grip.

I love you too, mum.

Elaine

As I took a sip of my now lukewarm tea, Jay padded down the stairs, and rounded the wall into the sun room, where he knew I liked to spend most of my morning.

"Morning." He croaked, his wavy brown hair mussed on top of his head, and he scratched lazily at his rib cage as he leaned against the doorway.

"Good morning, dear." He caught sight of the letter, and edged forward.

"Is that from Izzy?" Neither of us called Elaine by her full name very often- Tarea had insisted on the name, and she had always hated it- and the 'shining light' of Elaine was much more fitting for her than the 'pledge' of Ghislaine.

"Mmhm. She needed some advice." He took a clear step closer now. "Girl Stuff." That stopped him in his tracks like I knew it would, and he grimaced.

"Anything I can help with?" I eyed him wryly.

"Unless you have something to tell me, about how you bleed once a month from your-" He held up a hand to cut me off- something he rarely did, because I had taught him that it was rude.

"Alright, alright, I get it! Merlin..." He turned, rubbing his forehead, and started to leave the little sun room.

"Oh, Jay?" He looked at me over his shoulder. "Could you bring me another chocolate digestive, please?"

(A/N): Cecil: 'Oh, please madam, I am but a tired bird, small and hungry. Please help me remove this obstacle from my leg, so I may rest.'

Audrey: 'Certainly, sir. And would the tired birdy like a treat?'

Cecil: *gobbles down treat*

Audrey: '...Ah, yes... a gentleman...'

Name Meanings

Ghislaine = Pledge (or Hostage, which is... fitting, for Elaine having been named by Tarea)

Elaine = Shining Light (Bright is another common meaning, but one meaning is 'Moon')

Izzy = Promise of God, God is My Oath.

Laney = Bright Light, Bright Shining Light (which makes sense, since it is a shortened form of Elaine)

Audrey = Noble Strength

Jaygar = It's a version of the German name Jaeger, which means 'hunter' (which is fitting, considering he was named by Tarea)

Jay = To Rejoice (other meanings include: the bird. Victory, triumph. Cheerful, joyful.)

Tarea = Howling, Doing Evil (there's a similar Arabic word that means 'Endeavor')

Hugar = Mind (or Weaver of Blossoms)

Folley = Shelter, Leafy Bower, or Clump of Trees (or Plunderer).

So basically, as Hugars, Elaine's name would be something like 'Pledge Mind', or 'Hostage Mind' (probably meaning something like 'Pledge Your Mind', or 'Hostage of the Mind', if you use Ghislaine as her first name), or 'Shining Light Mind' (probably more likely 'Bright Mind'). Jay would be 'Hunter Mind', as Jaygar, and as Jay, he would be something like 'Victorious Mind', or 'Cheerful Mind'. Audrey as a Hugar would be something like 'Strength of the Mind', and as a Folley, 'Strong Shelter'. Elaine's name now, as a Folley, would be something like 'Bright Shelter', and Jay's would be 'Joyful Shelter'. And, of course, Tarea's name means 'Howling Mind', or 'Evil Mind', or 'Endeavor of the Mind'.