i Brethany's grin widened. "You only pull the pigtails of the girl you like," she quoted in a sing-song voice. Both women watched in fascination as Snape's face flushed, then paled, then flushed again. Wordlessly, the man tossed a vial onto Brethany's bed, then turned and swept out the door, his face still unusually flushed.

"Oh, my goodness," Poppy breathed out in astonishment, "I've seen the impossible." Visibly gathering herself, the nurse turned and swooped down upon her patient. "Here, drink this, Brethany." The young woman was barely given time to open her mouth before she was force-fed the potion Severus had left. "You can't eat just yet, but this will provide what you need. Now, you go to sleep, or I'll hex you there." Brethany grimaced, then slumped in exhaustion. She really was tired… /i

And Now…

"Poppy, you will let me out of this place this instant! I refuse to stay here for one minute longer! You cannot imprison me here for the rest of the term, I won't allow it! And give me back my wand! Poppy! Ouch! Stop that, you old dragon! I i will not /i get back in that bed again! Poppy!"

Albus Dumbledore paused outside of the infirmary, a bemused smile on his face as he listened to the shouts from the other side of the doors. His two guests cocked their heads in interest and grinned.

"She's well on her way to recovery," the man at his right murmured, "If she can yell like that. Of course, she could always yell like that, even when she hadn't slept in a week. i Especially /i if she hadn't slept in a week."

"Nasty temper, that girl," the other added with a nod. "Can't think where she got it from."

The first man snorted in disbelief. "Well, I know where if you don't. Mom may have been a Hufflepuff, but she has a nasty temper of her own when she gets riled up."

"Something which happens regularly around you two, I suppose," Dumbledore suggested mildly, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Who, i us /i ?" the two men, obviously brothers by their almost identical features, chorused innocently. "I'll have you know that we very rarely got into trouble, Headmaster," one began. "Yes, and when we i did /i get in trouble, we just got ourselves right back out of it! Mom always loved us more than the other kids," the other man added proudly. Dumbledore only chuckled, then turned his attention back to the now almost silent infirmary, only to hear one of his favorite teachers ranting to herself.

"…Bossy, overbearing, dictatorial, domineering, heavy-handed, sharp-tongued, slave-driving, despotic i tyrant /i of an old dragon!" The doors of the infirmary were practically blown open with the force of Brethany's shove. The young woman stomped out of the room, a harsh scowl on her face and wand clutched firmly in hand. "Of all the nerve! How dare she forbid me to…" the rest of the rant degenerated into furious mumbles as the young woman stalked blindly down the corridor, not even noticing the three men in her anger.

"Do you think she realizes she's not wearing any pants under that hospital gown," one of the brothers whispered quietly, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Probably as much as she noticed us standing here," the other responded quietly. "Should we stop her?" The two exchanged grins. "Nah!"

"Oh, dear," Dumbledore murmured quietly. The two brothers looked at him questioningly, then followed his pointed gaze to the tall, dark-haired wizard headed towards their sister. "That, my boys, is Severus Snape, of whom I am sure you have heard much." The two young men looked the Slytherin Head of House over in interest, then turned back to the Headmaster.

"I hear your 'oh, dear', and raise it to 'oh, crap'," one of the young men muttered, turning back to watch the coming clash.

"Ms. Lewis," the Potions Professor's acerbic tones echoed down the stone walls to the three eavesdroppers, " i What /i , may I ask, are you doing wandering the corridors half-naked? Trying to seduce students, are you?"

"Ooo," all three listeners winced. "She's gonna kill him," one young man whispered.

"What?! How dare- Why you- you- you-" Brethany was speechless with anger, practically sputtering with fury.

"I am amazed by your quick retort," Severus smirked nastily, dark eyes glinting. To his horror, however, the young woman's anger seemed to be dissipating into another, more volatile emotion.

"You- you're so mean to me, Snape, and-and" Brethany's face began to crumple, "I'm so i tired /i of it, and I really wanted you to like me, and I just i respect /i you so much, and I thought, maybe, just maybe you might re- return it, and- and- I think I'm going to faint…" and so she did, crumpling downwards in an ungraceful heap. Snape rushed to catch her, a positively stricken expression on his face that was astounding to the Headmaster and quite satisfying to the two brothers.

"Ms. Lewis!" the dark man awkwardly cradled the young woman in his arms. "Ms. Lew- Brethany, wake up!" The Slytherin's face became stern. "Ms. Lewis, you will open your eyes this instant!" He shook her shoulders slightly, his expression faintly panicked.

"So romantic, Severus," Brethany's voice was slightly muffled by his robes. "Do you always treat the girls you catch in this manner? Or am I the first one? Lucky me…"

Snape scowled as he lifted his colleague to her feet, keeping a steadying hand on her shoulders even as he retorted, "Your theatrics are disgusting for a woman your age, and as for you throwing yourself at me-"

"Throwing myself at you?! Severus Snape, why you-"

"And so they're at it again," one of the men spying on them spoke up loudly. "Tell me, Headmaster, do the two of them really squabble like kids every time they're near each other?" The two teachers halted in their argument to stare at the three intruders.

"Ted? Ed? What in the world are you two doing here?" Brethany stared in bewilderment as two of her brothers swooped down on her.

"Hey, sis! Where's our 'hello'? Don't you love us?" Both young men offered up pouts, and the young woman couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, you two! Come here!" Snape stepped back into the shadows to watch as the three siblings embraced.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend, Brethany?" Identical grins turned toward the Potions Master, who scowled.

"Oh, yes, I suppose I should. Professor Snape, these are two of my older brothers, Theodore and Edward Lewis. Teddy, Ed, this is Professor Severus Snape, our resident Potions Master and teacher." Brethany's expression was positively evil as she remarked, "Theodore and Edward are both very interested in the topic of potions, Professor Snape. I'm sure that you will enjoy discussing things with them." She pulled away from her brothers' arms. "Meanwhile, I am going to my rooms to find some real clothes. If you'll excuse me…"

"Nice try, Brethany," Ted grabbed her arm as she swayed slightly. "You're about to fall on your face, and you're barely dressed. You'd pass out in the middle of the hall and be found by a group of teenage boys, with your luck."

Brethany snorted. "It would be the highlight of their school year, if they did." Wearily, she laid her head back on her brother's shoulder. "I've been stuck in that bed for the past i week /i ; don't make me go back…I don't wanna go back…" Her voice rose in a quiet whine, causing her brothers to chuckle.

"Oh, stop your whining," Edward spoke fondly. "At least i pretend /i that you're older than your own students." He exchanged amused glances with his older brother. "I never thought I'd be saying something like that to our little sister."

"Speak for yourself," their sister snorted. "Teaching was definitely i not /i what I was expecting to do. Mom insisted I had to do something not magically taxing for a while, before I exhausted my magical core. You know, having a healer for a mother can be annoying sometimes?"

"Mm," the twins responded in good humor, obviously having heard it before. "By the way, Mom said to tell you to avoid using your wand for a few days…something about your magic needing to settle down before being forced through the focus of the wand." Brethany groaned quietly. "Too late?" Teddy asked gleefully.

"I kinda petrified Poppy and tied her to the bed," the young woman admitted, a small smile playing across her face. "Felt good," she added quietly. "Teach i her /i to keep me in bed for almost a week." Behind them, Dumbledore stifled his chuckles in his beard. "I was too mad to even realize that using the wand as a focus was probably a bad idea. My magic's probably screwed for the next few days. Great," Brethany sighed in exhausted frustration.

"So your propensity for doing stupid things in the heat of the moment is still running as strong as ever?" Edward grinned down at his sister, the gleam in his eye causing her ire to deflate.

"Yeeees," Brethany whined wearily. "And it's i not /i funny! Ever since I got sick, I've just been so i tired /i !! I don't have the energy to do anything but sleep, and when I do, I just have nightmares, so I don't sleep very well…" her voice trailed off as she caught the expressions on her brothers' faces. "Er…"

"The nightmares are back? Brethany, you should have told someone! You know how dangerous it is not to have someone nearby to wake you up!" Both Edward and Theodore were furious, not only with their sister, but also with themselves, their family, and their sister's colleagues. "Why didn't you know about this, Headmaster?" Edward rounded on the old wizard. "I know Mom warned you and Poppy Pomfrey about her nightmares; why didn't either of you do anything about it?!"

"Because they didn't know!" Brethany didn't allow Albus to defend himself. "You think I was going to let them know that I was having a few pathetic nightmares?!? Edward Franklin Lewis, how dare you treat me like some child who must have caregivers! Those nightmares are i my /i problem, not theirs! They didn't need to be dragged into it! It's not a medical problem, so Poppy didn't need to know, and it wasn't affecting my teaching, so Albus didn't need to know!"

"What?!? Exactly how long have you been having nightmares, Brethany? And what are you talking about, 'They didn't need to know'? You cannot just decide to do this on your-"

" i Silencio /i !"

"Thank you i so /i much, Mr. Lewis, for not doing that sooner," Snape barked sarcastically at the older of the twins. "Now what, may I ask, were they babbling on about?"

"Brethany's magical inheritance was rather intense when it hit," Theodore explained rapidly, holding his sister back from covering his mouth. "It demolished the house she was in at the time, and almost killed a couple people." Snape raised a doubtful eyebrow. "I'm not exaggerating, believe me. Anyway, for a couple years after that, she had terrible nightmares as a result of waking up to the house pretty much on top of her."

"She is claustrophobic," the Potions Master concluded, glittering black eyes taking in the flush of shame adorning the young woman's face.

"And she doesn't like being stuck in one place for long periods of time," Ted added. "It makes the walls close in around her." He paused. "If there's not someone nearby when she gets stuck in a nightmare, she sometimes can't get herself out. The first time that happened, she was in a coma for over a week; the second time, it was only for two days, but we aren't positive why there was such a time difference." The young man sighed. "I suppose we'd better give them their voices back before they kill us.

" i Finite /i ." As soon as the spell was lifted, Brethany moved away from her older brothers' grasp, striving to hold the tears at bay. "Brethany," Ted tried to approach her, but she only pushed his hand away.

"Leave me alone, Ted," she managed to whisper, swallowing down a sob. "I'm going to my room, and I don't want either of you following me. I will ward my room against you two, and you know I can do it." Her red-rimmed eyes lifted to meet her brothers'. "I know you mean well, and I love you for it, but I i cannot /i handle your over-protectiveness right now. Just- just leave me alone. I don't want to see you until I can get a handle on my emotions, and I can't do that until I have some peace and quiet and time to clear my mind." Brethany looked at the two other men. "In fact, I don't want to see i anyone /i right now, except for Harry. I would like to see him, and possibly Remus, as well. No one else."

Her gaze sought out her colleague's. "Professor Snape, I would be grateful if you would help me to my rooms. Albus, I'm sorry, but I won't be up to teaching DADA for another few days, possibly even a week. Between my nightmares, recuperating from the dragon pox, and my magic reshaping itself, I need several days to get myself straight. I hope that taking two weeks of sick leave in my first term will not be too terrible on my record, but," she took in a deep breath, "It can't be helped. At this point, I'm too tired to care if I get fired."

"Ed, Ted," Brethany tried to smile, but failed terribly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, but I meant what I said: I can't handle you two right now. In a couple days, maybe, but not today, and probably not tomorrow. I love you, I really do, but right now, I'm emotionally, physically, and mentally drained, and both my magic i and /i my hormones spiked recently." All four men blanched slightly, suddenly understanding part of the whole dramatic episode. "Hm, yes, I see that you're beginning to comprehend," the young woman spoke dryly, her emotions subsiding slightly. "Severus? If you would, please?" The Potions professor silently offered the support of his arm, not even noticing the usage of his given name. "Good day, gentlemen, I'm going to go take a bath, then go to bed and try to forget the fact that I'm alive. Please do the same for a couple days."

Word Count: 2256