A/N: Do not own. Sorry it took so long to update. I've been meaning to upload this for a few weeks but I've been busy. There is a lot more Harry in this one and we are slowly, finally getting to the end of summer but not to the end of this story.

Summer was flying by faster than she wanted it to. There was just over a week until the first of the school year. A week! There was so much left to do. Alexis moved yet another set of robes to the assigned section, shaking her head. Why she ever let Filius and Eric set this up, she didn't know. The two men had some kind of weird organization going on that only seemed to make sense to them. The last of the school supplies she had ordered had finally arrived and today was the day they were going to open up the school "shop" for the camp kids. Unlike the actual school store, which contained extra personal hygiene supplies and writing supplies, this would have everything her students needed to start the school year with, including clothes, shoes, and even toys. Things she had already tried to provide them with. There would be extra as well, if any of the school's children came to school needing anything.

"These "pencil" pouches and cases Maya's mom sent are brilliant. I am going into London this week and getting some for all of the Manor children as well. Gods only know, this will change how they carry and care for their quills and inks. As will the ink pens you are allowing students to use in their classes for notes." Narcissa stated, looking up from filling one of the said cases with supplies. They were putting all of the writing supplies the students would need in the cases so they could just grab a case or pouch from their year level section. The littlest students had training quills, regular quills, extra parchment, extra ink, and even pencils.

She snorted, glancing at the older woman. She was so glad Narcissa had offered to help her finish getting the room ready before they opened it up to the children. They were going to do that this afternoon and while she knew her staff would have helped, she needed their help this afternoon, with making sure everyone got the correct supplies. After all, this school shop was really two large rooms that they had managed, with the elves helped, to combine into one. She loved magic. "Don't forget the simple calculators for the third through fifth years. I never thought I'd find a calculator that worked in a magic-dense area. Maya's mom and her church ladies have some type of magic that I don't."

"The power of shopping." She suggested, making the younger woman laugh. Truthfully, it was the power of kindness, but she wasn't going to tell the young headmistress that. She was going to ask her the question the young woman kept avoiding. Had been avoiding for weeks now. "I know, from Lucius, that Severus is doing better. Are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Narcissa, I have a school to run. This is just the start of today. We still have to make sure the rest of this is set up, I have to check that I have the list of books for each year correct so that the counselor manning those tables knows who gets what, and then I have a whole host of other things to do. I also have to plan a trip to take several first years to get their wands, as well as prepare the school for the first of the year, hold a start of term staff meeting, and prepare my camp kids for school to go back. So yeah. I'm fine." She snapped, glaring at the older woman as she placed the last set of robes on the rack before moving to the potions supplies.

She sighed, shaking her head as she stuffed yet another quill case. "You know that is not what I am asking Alexis." She responded firmly. "Did you tell them the truth?" The truth she should have told them years ago.

"Cissa-"

"Alexis."

"Yes. I told them why I left." She closed her eyes, not looking at the older woman.

So she told them half the truth. It was a start but it didn't help them any now. "Look at me, please." She ordered quietly, using the tone she knew the young healer hated but worked so well.

She grimaced, turning silver eyes to meet blue. "Please, don't."

"Show me your arm."

"No."

"Do you really want me to tell Eric or Tim what you won't?"

"Just...not here." Not where the elves would be watching. Because they would know what it was and she knew her elves were duty-bound to protect her, to protect Hogwarts, even from herself.

"My place?" The blond asked calmly, raising an eyebrow at her as she moved from stuffing quill cases to checking backpacks.

"Yes. I'll come tonight. I promise."

-x-

"If you let it go on the grounds, you won't be able to catch it." Teddy stated from under the tree, not bothering to look up from the book he was reading. Master Luka had sent it to him and it was fascinating. Karrie merely snorted beside him, she apparently also knew her brother wouldn't listen.

Harry huffed, rolling his eyes. He knew there was a setting on his practice snitch for ground level play, he used it in his bedroom after all. But Remus had fussed at him because he had leaped off the bed and into the bookcase to try to catch in and that had been a spectacular disaster. Unlike Karrie, he never managed to injure himself. He was invincible! Severus just said he had a lot of dumb luck, whatever that meant. He pressed the button, releasing the snitch and letting it zoom a few feet a way before giving chase.

"He's your brother."

"He's your friend."

"I'm reading."

"I just got off crutches. Doesn't accio work?"

"It wouldn't be an effective training toy if it did. If he set it right, it should have just hovered. " Teddy shrugged, finally glancing up from his book to watch Harry climb up a tree after the snitch. "Your brother is an idiot."

"Hey! He is your friend." Her eyes followed her twin in everything but blood, raising an eyebrow as he followed the snitch higher into the tree. "He's going to get hurt."

He frowned, climbing higher and higher up the tree. He must have set it wrong. It was suppose to be ground level play but the snitch was teasing him, dancing just out of reach and going higher every time his fingers almost closed around it. It finally stopped, hovering just past the branch above him. If he walked out on it, he could reach up and grab the snitch. It wouldn't be that far of a stretch. Harry hesitated for a moment, keeping his eyes locked on the snitch. If he looked down he would lose his nerve. It was a long way down. He slowly stepped out onto the branch, carefully testing his weight. After making certain it would hold, he took another cautious step and then another. Finally, he was right under the snitch. He just had to reach up and grab it. He reached up, his hand brushing the snitch and it darted away. He groaned, watching it dart below him and then his eyes caught sight of the ground. It was a long way down. A very long way down and this wasn't like being on a broom at all. He took a step back toward the trunk of the tree but missed his footing. "Karrie!"

She looked back up at the shout, feeling her brother's distress before she saw him, her wand already in her hand. "Charlie! Phil!Kate! Rani!" She shouted, hoping one of the counselors was near enough to hear her. Because there was her brother dangling from a tree branch. She quickly ran through her limited knowledge of spells in her head and quickly came to the conclusion that of all the spells she knew, the only useful one in this situation was a levitation charm and she wasn't sure she could hold it at the distance for very long. So the alternative was to keep screaming for help. "We're getting help, just keep holding on and don't look down!"

"Don't you know a spell?!" His sister was smart, couldn't she think of something that wouldn't get him in trouble?

"We are about to be third years! We have the same education Harry! All we know are cheering charms and Lumos and unlocking spells! And Levisosa! But it isn't powerful enough. We could try casting it together. Maybe if we cast it at different angles and vary the strengths-"

"Stop being a Ravenclaw for a moment and get me down!"

"You being a Gryffindor is what got you up there you numbskull!"

"Well if you want to math out a spell while I'm cling to a tree, go ahead!"

"If you hadn't climbed the tree in the first place and just read a book with the rest of us, you wouldn't be in this predicament!"

"Books are-"

"Okay, how about we get Harry down before someone says something they regret?" Phil suggested, glancing between the two shouting preteens once more before slowly raising his wand and twisting it. He carefully formed a bubble around Harry, so that once he let go he could lower him safely to the ground. "You can let go now Harry."

He hesitated, glancing at the blue-haired counselor for a moment before looking at the magic surrounding him. He knew better than to mess with it, or Phil could drop him, but it was really interesting to see it like this. He finally let go of the branch, feeling the magic gently guide him to the ground. "My snitch!"

Phil sighed, shaking his head. Did the child not realize there was a way to deactivate the toy? It should have had an instruction booklet with it. He waved his wand at it, deactivating it and recalling it to him before pocketing it. "I think I will hold on to this for right now, so we don't end up in any more trees. I don't mind you climbing trees, Harry, but you know better than to be up so high. If Teddy hadn't have come to get me, you could have gotten hurt. Karrie is right, an levisosa is not strong enough to stop your fall, at least not from that height at that angle."

While he knew that was fair, he didn't have to like it. "But Phil, I was just playing." Harry whined without thinking, giving him his best innocent eyes. It always worked when Karrie did it.

He had to fight back a smile and to fight his resolve. If nothing else showed him that these children were healing, it was this. A child who had not fought him a month ago on taking away his sweets, because he was eating himself sick, was acting like the preteen he should be. He was whining. He had never thought he would want to hear a child whine before this summer but when it came from one of these kids, it was music to his ears. When they weren't flinching away from blows that wouldn't come or running from the demons in their heads, they were starting to act their ages, and that made him so happy. "I'm well aware of that, Harry. Unfortunately, you haven't quite learned your limits yet. Remember we talked about that? About taking risks when we don't need to and how doing dangerous things, even if we are just playing a game, can lead to real consequences. Today, those consequences mean you just lost your snitch for the rest of the day. You will get it back tomorrow. I promise. But the consequences could have been much worse. You could have been hurt, Harry. If Karrie and Teddy hadn't gotten help, you would have fallen and broken a bone, at the least." Phil explained calmly, having learned from the mistakes he had made this summer and the success he had had with his boys. If he treated them like they could understand and explained why he did things a certain way, most of the time the boys seemed to get it. And they felt respected in the process.

Harry blinked, thinking about it for a moment. Phil was right, he guessed. He had done something stupid again. Severus and Remus were always fussing that he acted first and thought later. But that's what he was taught! He was a Gryffindor! That's what Gryffindors did right? That's what Ron had always told him but Ron hadn't wrote him at all this summer. Ron hadn't spoken to him since before the end of term. He hadn't spoken to him or Hermione. He hadn't even spoken to him at Neville's party. Hermione didn't seem to care that Ron was no longer speaking to them and he knew it was partly his fault anyway. All because he had been talking to Draco at the end of term. Or well, Draco had been talking to him. Anyway. Maybe what Ron said and thought didn't matter anymore. He knew other, older Gryffindors and they didn't all take dangerous risks. Did they? He wasn't sure anymore. He would have to figure it out by next week. But he knew Phil was waiting for a response. "I guess it is fair. Sorry Phil. I'll try to be careful. I didn't mean to do something dangerous. Again." He said, finally, glancing up at the blue-haired counselor.

Phil smiled down at the preteen, taking the agreement for what it was. If the child would try to be careful, that was all he could ask. "I know Harry. It's alright. You lot finish up with what you were doing. We will be going back inside in thirty minutes." He added, glancing at the other two, who groaned.

Harry settled on the ground beside his sister, taking the comic book she offered him. She always carried an extra in the small bag she had, just in case he wanted to read or, more likely, got in trouble for something. They had some time after all. He might as well read Spider-man's latest adventures.

-x-

"Alright, now that our arms are in our sleeves and our coats are on correctly, we are going to zip them. Who remembers how?" Remus asked, watching his three students carefully. Three little raising first years who need occupational therapy. Two with motor skill issues and one who had never been taught any form of self-care and while his counselors were doing great, they wanted to make sure little Ben had all the skills he needed to succeed independently at school. Mia, who was the only one to raise her hand, had a completely different set of problems. While her spine and legs were slowly healing, the nerves reawakening was causing her pain and she had limited mobility. She was quickly relearning to dress herself and as long as she had a wheelchair-accessible shower stall, she was set for bathing. But there were a few fine motor activities that her spine healing was disrupting and it showed. "Okay Mia, show Lila and Ben please." He had found that the children did better if they showed each other than if he tried to help them. Especially little Lila. She had started picking it up a lot faster once the other two children had joined them.

Mia nodded, leaning forward in her wheelchair for a moment so she could grasp both ends of her coat. At least it wasn't hot in here with their coats on. She wondered if there was a charm that kept it cool. She'd have to ask Emma because that would make her room feel so much nicer at home when her air conditioner wasn't working. She grasp the zipper in her hand, threading the end of one side through the pull before connecting it to the base. She then slowly pulled the tab up, zipping her jacket until it was almost all the way up. Zipping was easy. Buttons were hard.

"Uh uh!"

"Yes, Lila. You and Ben can try now." He answered, smiling at the youngest girl. She would be eleven in just a few days and he knew Alexis was planning a small party for her, just as they did for all the students.

She liked zippers. Zippers were always fun, at least the ones on her jean. Although Ben didn't seem happy with the idea. Lila tried lining her zipper up like Mia had, frowning when it came apart. She tried again, grunting when it didn't work.

"Hook the base first. Like this. See Ben? Do the base first." Mia showed, catching both of their eyes as she slowly undid and redid her zipper. She knew better than to help Lila. The little blond hated help.

It took Ben a couple of tries but he finally got it. He loved the feeling he got when he was able to accomplish something on his own. Now he wouldn't need Phil or Charlie to zip his jacket! He could do it! He felt like he might even be ready to try shoe tying again! Maybe this was the day the three of them managed to learn to tie their shoes! "Can we do shoes next?"

She was starting to hate zippers! It wasn't working! Why wasn't it working? Why couldn't she make her hands work right? Everyone else could do it1 "UH UGH!"

"It's okay, Lila. We just keep trying, right? Until we all get it." Ben stated quietly, turning to the other girl. He unzipped his jacket again, knowing that practice would make it easier and carefully lined the zipper up.

Remus hid a smile, watching as both of the other children undid their jackets and attempted to re-zip them. It took Ben a little longer to get his zipper back into place and both children were moving slowly, hands carefully hooking zippers into bases before pulling them back up. He knew exactly what they were doing.

Lila hated help, in all forms, but watching her friends attempt a task wasn't help. Her little eyes watched their every movement and her hands would attempt to copy those movements.

She frowned, watching Mia and Ben for a long moment before turning her attention back to her zipper again. She tried again, slowly feeding one end through the tab before trying to hook it to the base. Once she thought it was hooked, she pulled slowly, grinning when her jacket finally zipped. "Uh!"

"That's great, Lila!"

"What are we doing now, Remus?"

Now they were going to move to an activity that he knew was going to be a headache but was necessary. All the other first years, the ones at the school at least, would be getting their quills later today and would learn to write with them this week. They were giving all of the first years a bit of a head start, even if all first years were taught how to write with quills during the first week of school. But these three needed an even bigger head start, they needed it. Writing with a quill wasn't easy, even the trainer quills that were required for first years. Why Alexis just didn't let all students use pen and pencils for everything, he didn't know. She had made that acceptable for notes. "We are going to learn to write with a quill next."

"Uh?"

"Huh?"

"Is that the feather I had to get?"

"Yes, Mia, that is the feather you had to get. Everyone around the table please and we will begin." He answered, going to get the trainer quills and the spill-proof, no-mess ink he got just for tutoring purposes. "Lila, sit in a chair please." It was going to be a long afternoon.

-x-

"Isaac, can you help me with something?"He ask quietly, clutching the book tightly to his chest. He hated asking for help but he knew Isaac wouldn't laugh or tell him no or hurt him. Isaac was nice.

He turned, looking down at the small, sullen little boy that the other children avoided. Well, all but two. There were bets on which house all the little first years at the camp were going to end up in and nobody would bet on Louis because they all already knew what house he was going to be in. All of the other older boys had started talking to the little boy, watching out for him, but this was the first time the dark-haired child had willingly sought him out. "What did you need, Louis?"

"Teddy said you could make the pictures move." He stated after a moment, meeting dark eyes firmly. He wasn't afraid of the older boy, of any of the older boys. He knew they wouldn't hurt him. Unlike the boys his age, they, at least, seemed to understand him.

Isaac blinked, glancing at the book in his arms, before crouching so he wasn't towering over the child. "For one page or the whole book?" He couldn't quite tell what book he was holding. Teddy had him animate a picture of a dragon but he had a feeling that wasn't what Louis was asking.

He blushed, looking down. "I'm having trouble with some of the signs. I thought if I could see the movements, I could learn them better." He hesitated for a moment before finally offering the book to the older teenager.

Intermediate sign language? The kid was already on intermediate? All of the camp kids had picked up some sign language but none of them had taken to it quite like Louis had. Louis was one of the few younger kids reading books of sign language during his free time instead of playing with the toys they had access to. Isaac knew several of the older kids had picked up the beginner book Jake had bought so that they could help with Lila better, but most of the children just learned what she taught them. They didn't actively try to learn it. Only the few who were her close friends. "Why don't we go somewhere more comfortable? It's going to take me a little while to do the whole book." He suggested. Plus, he knew he wasn't technically suppose to know the spell to animate books. Pictures were one thing, books were another.

He hesitated for a moment before nodding. The dark-skinned boy had never hurt him before, so he didn't think he would now. He followed him slowly, stopping outside the door he opened. "Where are we?"

"Tim and Eric's quarters. Relax, they aren't home. Eric's in the medical wing, Tim's in his office." He replied, stepping into the quiet quarters that he was beginning to think of as home. He knew that no one else should be here, except perhaps Rose but she was never where she was suppose to be, and it was the perfect place for him to enchant the book and talk to the incoming first year. He gestured to the couch before holding his hand out for the book. "I'll be careful with it, I promise."

"Can you teach me this spell?"

He hesitated, before shaking his head. "You don't even have a wand yet, Louis. When you have a wand and are a little bit older, maybe. But it isn't a simple spell and enchanting entire books isn't entirely...legal. It has something to do with copywrite laws on potions and charms used to make children's books." Which was the partial truth. The other part was that to make the signs move like Louis wanted involved using the spells he had uncovered in the restricted section. He traced his wand over a page, murmuring the spell under his breath, before smiling to himself when the sign came to life on the page and start moving through the movements.

"Will you get in trouble?"

"No. It'll be our secret, okay?"

He used to hate it when people said that, because it meant something bad was going to happen. But he knew, deep down in his stomach, that the much taller boy would not hurt him nor would he let any harm come to him. He was safe. "Okay. Is it much different? Channeling your magic through a wand than just letting it out when your angry?"

"Oh yes, it is very different. You have a lot more control with a wand. And you feel more in control. It'll be easier to use as well." He explained quietly, tracing his wand down yet another page. He had to do this for every single page. He hadn't been lying when he said it would take a while, which was why he was sitting down. He had never tried to animated so many pages before but he knew he could do it. For Louis' sake, he would do it.

-x-

"Traitor!"

"Damian-

"No! You are a traitor! And you are a rat faced, no good ch-"

"Damian!"

Eric wasn't sure what he had walked into but the words that were coming out of his eleven-year-old's mouth were ones he wasn't expecting. Nor was the sight of that eleven-year-old on top of another, hitting him while his brother tried to pull him off. "What is going on in here?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow at Isaac as he walked over to the two younger boys and plunked the angry dark skinned child off, ignoring the hands and feet that hit and kicked him. "Be still, Damian." He ordered firmly, not loosening his hold on the child, before turning to where Isaac had crouched to check Louis. While he knew the two younger boys didn't like each other, that wasn't reason for Damian to attack him. For it didn't seem that Louis had been fighting back at all, at least when he had arrived.

"Traitor." He hissed again, kicking Eric again without thought. He wanted down! This wasn't fair! Why did Louis get his brother?! It! Wasn't! Fair! He kicked into Eric's stomach before freezing suddenly when a hand popped his bottom.

He bit back a sigh when shocked and scared eyes flew to his. "I told you to stop, Damian. You weren't listening to me. You need to calm down. I got you." He explained quietly, readjusting the child so that he was firmly on his hip, with his legs wrapping around his waist. "You are safe. But I need you to talk to me and tell me, calmly, what happened. Alright?" He glanced away from the child for just a moment to meet Isaac's eyes, because how well Isaac took him popping his brother would tell him a lot about how this was going to go. The older boy was still talking calmly to Louis but he met his eyes and gave a subtle nod, which was a lot more than he had expected actually.

He hesitated for a moment, biting his lip. Because while he was mad at Isaac, he trusted Eric. And the robes he was wearing still smelled like Tim, so that was comforting. He didn't like being popped! Isaac had only popped him once, when he was small and he had ran in front of a car. Their father had laugh but Isaac had not. But he still felt safe with Eric. So safe. "Alright." He whispered, leaning his head against Eric's shoulder.

"So? What started this?"

"I don't know sir. I was helping Louis with a project and Damian came in. He just started shouting and attacking Louis. I'm still not quite sure why." Isaac frowned, watching his younger brother. If he had to guess, Damian was jealous. Although why he was jealous of Louis , of all people, he had no idea. He knew that the younger boy spent time with his group so that he could spend time with Lila and that a lot of the older boys took time to talk to him, but they did that with all of the children. Maybe they spent a little extra time with Louis, but that was because Louis really needed it. Louis needed people to protect and look out for him and the kids his age wanted nothing to do with him. So it was the teenagers job to protect him. So what if many of them had developed a soft spot for that dark little boy? Damian had friends, had a brother to protect him, had guardians that even he was growing fond of. So why would he be jealous of Louis?

"You're a traitor!"

"He isn't. I just asked for his help, Damian. And I'll never talk to him again...I promise." Louis sighed, looking down at his feet. He was getting tired of making that promise. He knew how to share, so should Damian. But if Damian wanted to feel like he was in control, fine. But he wasn't. Not of him, not of himself, not of his brother, or his friends.

"Good."

It sounded eerily like they had had this conversation before. He remembered that they had been caught fighting at least once before and now he was starting to wonder if this wasn't something else. Something he needed to stop before it got much, much worse.. "Boys, why don't we go through to the kitchen? Isaac, I should be good from here."

He frowned, shaking his head. Why didn't the older man want him there? It was his brother! But then his eyes settled on skin the color of his and he sighed. He knew that look. Damian was plotting something and it was probably going to make him mad, especially if he was trying to actively harm another child. "I'll be in my room if you need me." He shrugged, meeting eyes as dark as his before turning and heading into his room, but not before carefully squeezing Louis' shoulder first.

"Come on, boys." Eric ordered gently, leading them to the kitchen. He sat Damian down in a chair, pressing a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him there for a moment, before gesturing for Louis to take the chair across from him. The other boy did so reluctantly. He stood at the end of the table, glancing between them.

"Now, Damian, why don't you tell me this master plan of yours? The one where Louis never talks to your friends? Or anybody you like? Or anyone in general? And if he does you hurt him?" The look on the child's open face told him his was more right than he wanted to be. The other child, however, was a blank mask, eyes still focused down. He hoped his child never learned to close off his emotions or thoughts like that, it would make him so much harder to read and to reach.

"How..?" Did Eric read minds? He had to read minds! He would ask Isaac. Isaac would know if mind-reading was possible, when he wasn't mad at him, anyway.

"Now, why would you want to do something like that?"

"I-It's not fair!"

Louis snorted, shaking his head. His ponytail flopped, Damian had pulled it mostly from its holder. "Life isn't fair. You get mad because I spend time with the older kids. Then you get mad if I try to spend time with the kids our age, who, by the way, are afraid of me. You can't have it both way. I won't talk to your friends, even if I do like some of them. But I also won't hurt them either. I don't hurt kids."

While he wasn't stupid and he did understand what the other boy was saying, the emotional, angry part of his brain latched on to one particular part. "You're a kid too, stupid!"

"I'm not a kid. I've never been a kid. We're not kids."

"Just cause you hang out with the stone-faces doesn't make you one."

"STOP CALLING THEM THAT!"

Well that was the first time he had seen Louis' temper today, although he knew it was under the surface this whole time. The fact that the child had tried to stay calm and collected through this whole ordeal told him just how far that young boy had come this summer. "I am with Louis on that one, Damian. Just because they mask their feelings, doesn't mean they don't have any. Your brother is one of those teenagers and you know quite well that he does have feelings and he feels them strongly. Calling them that is insulting to them and hurtful. And Louis doesn't really hang out with them; they choose to spend time with him and Lila, Karrie, Harry and Teddy... Children who didn't really get to be children. So in a sense, they hang out with him, because they choose too. It doesn't make Louis less of a kid but he doesn't understand what being a kid means. And while him hanging out with your brother and his friends may make you very jealous, it shouldn't. They hang out with several different children, if you look closely you will see who they spent time with, and the reasons vary. I can only venture a guess that they look for children who reflect the children they once were and since they very much wish someone had helped them, they reach out to the children here. To help them in a way that the counseling staff can't. Because while you might call them stone-faced, they feel so deeply inside that it hurts and the need to protect little ones just like themselves is so great, they would do anything to earn their trust. Even risk angering their little brother, who they love dearly and would die for." Eric stated finally, meeting Damian's eyes for a long moment before the child looked away. Isaac had almost died for his brother, in reality, and Damian knew that, there had been no hiding that when they brought the two of them here.

He looked away, feeling shame for the first time since he had entered their quarters. Would the healers not want him now that they thought he was a bully? Was he a bully, to treat Louis and some of the other kids the way he did? He just wanted to belong here and his brother had been paying him less attention since them came here. Summers were their time together, the only time he had with him before Isaac used to leave him to handle his father alone. He knew they were both here now and that wouldn't happen, that the two healers would take care of them. But his brother seemed more interested in the other children than in him. So maybe he had felt jealous. Really jealous. "I'm sorry, Louis."

"It's okay." He shrugged, not looking at the other boy. He had noticed how the older kids had spent time with certain kids his age too, kids he didn't think of as kids. Little Ben, Harry, Lila, Karrie, Emma... People he would call friends, if he had friends.

While it wasn't okay and he was going to make sure Damian understood that, he knew getting that through to Louis would take time. "Louis, would it be alright if I healed your injuries?" He inquired quietly, watching the child. The way his ward's eyes snapped up told him that he didn't realize how badly he had hurt him. He would have healed the black-haired pre-teen immediately but Eric had known it would be a battle. At the hesitant nod, he moved slowly, carefully withdrawing his wand before casting a quick diagnostic spell. As he had suspected, a lot of bruising. He stowed his wand, withdrawing a jar of bruise balm from his robe pocket before raising an eyebrow at the child. At he nod, he carefully started rubbing it into the skin he could see. Once he had finished, he moved slightly to give the child space before glancing at his ward. Damian needed consequences for this or it would just keep happening, he knew that. "Louis, why don't you go see if Isaac has finished animating your book? When he's done, I'll show you some more signs that will be helpful during the school year." He suggested, smiling at the child's rapid nod. He had been helping him with his sign language every Saturday, he would teach him more often but he just didn't have the time.

He waited until Louis was gone before turning to Eric. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"Oh yes."

"Are you going to get rid of me?"

Merlin. Why did every single one of his kids ask that when they got into trouble for the first few times? It was heartbreaking. He looked into eyes that matched his own for a long moment, until the child looked away, before sighing. "No Damian, we would never get rid of a child. Any child. But especially a child as important to us as you. You, Isaac, and Rose are part of our family now. Nothing you do can make us get rid of you."

"Oh. I am sorry. I know I shouldn't have hit Louis." He responded after a few minutes of thought. If anything, that made him feel worse about it.

"If I understood correctly, you have been bullying Louis for a while. That's not okay. If you are feeling upset or jealous or angry over something, talk to us. Don't take it out on another student." He answered, watching the child carefully. He knew the preteen understood what he did wrong, he also knew Damian needed consequences for his actions or he would keep pushing until they were forced to act. "Your grounded for two days and I want you to make me a list of things you can do when you feel angry or jealous that doesn't involve bullying other children. Alright?" He stated firmly, meeting the child's eyes when they snapped back to his.

"But Eric!"

He raised an eyebrow at the child at his pout, shaking his head. Did he really think that would work? It was more than fair and he was well aware the child knew that. The very social child hated being grounded. Which is why he chose that punishment. "Or I could ground you for the length of time you've been bullying Louis.-"

"No, no. It's fine! I'll go write the list now." Damian muttered, jumping up and heading for his room. He didn't want to be grounded forever, after all and he knew how much trouble he would be in if Eric found how mean he had been to Louis and some of the other boys just because they were in his way. He knew he shouldn't have been, he didn't like bullies after all, but he missed his brother. Maybe he should have just told Isaac that.

He sighed at the slamming of the door, shaking his head. These kids were going to turn him gray. Eric closed his eyes for a moment, giving himself just a moment of calm, before moving to find Isaac and Louis. He had time for one quick sign language lesson, at least.

-x-

This was chaos, utter chaos. When they had taken the children clothes shopping in the mundane world, they had been well behaved and under control. Even when they took them to a toy shop they had been able to keep up with them. But in the corridor of their own school, their counselors couldn't even get them organized by year group. Mary knew that if they had done all of the cabins at once, instead of doing the younger ones first, it would be even worse. Alexis had wrangled some of the oldest campers to help with getting the younger kids through the school shop, particularly the little firsties, so the counselors could make sure everyone got the right items. It was her job to get this mess organized since their counselors couldn't. Alexis' had muttered some choice words and given her the most pitiful look the younger woman could muster. She sighed, letting out an ear-piercing whistle. It always worked to shut up her girls after all. Mary forced down a smirk when thirty or so sets of eyes jumped to hers. They had trained the kids to respond to whistles, why their counselors hadn't tried it was beyond her."Oi! Form three lines please! First years in one, second years next, third years last! Quietly!" She ordered.

"What if we want to skip a year?" Karrie muttered, moving slowly to where her brother and Teddy were now holding her a place in line. She had been leaning against a wall with Lila tucked into one side and little Ben on the other. Neither had appreciated the noise the children had been making and since she still couldn't move well, she couldn't really get them to a better spot. She sighed when the two followed her, shaking her head. "Lila, Ben, you are first years. Come on." She stated, moving back toward the noiser line, even though it was smaller.

"UH UH!"

"No. Loud."

"Yes, thank you. I also speak Lila. Where's Louis?"

"Hiding."

"UH!"

"Is everything alright back here?" She asked quietly, stopping next to the black-haired child with the two younger children practically hanging off of her.

Karrie huffed, not looking up at Mary. While she trusted the older woman, she could handle it. "Yes. I was just looking for Louis."

"He is with Eric and Damien. They should be down in a minute." She had understood the problem instantly, she was just hoping the preteen trusted her enough by now to tell her. Clearly, she still had a bit more to go before Karrie would trust her enough to let her handle the younger children. "Lila, Ben, I know you don't want to but you have to go with the first year group. However, all of the first years are going to have a friend from the older campers who helps them carry their new school supplies, since some of it is really heavy. Would you like to be the first ones to choose someone to help you?" She inquired calmly, giving the younger two a soft smile when little Ben's face lit up and Lila nodded rapidly.

"Ari?"

"Yes. Ariana is helping and I'm sure she would love to help you." She had practically demanded to help Lila, actually. "And Ben, one of the older boys has already requested to buddy with you, if you are alright with it." She added before beckoning to the approaching teenagers.

He frowned, glancing back to where Karrie was now leaning against the wall next to Harry and Teddy. When she merely nodded, he turned back to Mary. He didn't understand why anyone would want to be around him, but if Mary said they did, he would believe her. "Who?"

"Michael." She answered, making a note to save the memory of the complete joy and innocence in his little face for Alexis.

"Hey buddy." Michael grinned, stopping next to little Ben and offering the child his hand. "You ready to get your school stuff so we can read ahead together?" He asked, leading the littler boy to the line of first years.

"Come on Lila. I even brought your ear protectors. You're getting a back pack! You love back packs." Ariana stated, slipped the ear muffs over her sister's ears before swinging the younger girl onto her hip and carrying her to the back of the line of first years.

Mary sighed, turning to the rest of her teenage helpers. "Alright, let's get the rest of you a first year to 'help' please. And remember, Kate and Charlie have the lists for what each camper in their cabin needs, so once you have a first year, get their list. If for some reason you cannot leave your first year to get their list, we will bring it to you." She was well aware that some of their youngest students needed more attention than others and when they were excited...well, they were children. At least they weren't getting their wands today as well. That would be a disaster.

-x-

He had never believed in well-controlled chaos before this summer. This summer had taught him a lot of new concepts. He had been teaching for years and there was either control or chaos. But somehow, Alexis always managed to get the camp in some form of controlled chaos. It was mind-boggling. Severus knew most parents did not look forward to taking their children school supply shopping, it wasn't fun. The children were excited and energetic. At least here, Mary had them in three neat lines, even if they were bouncing all over the place in their little lines, following the teenager who was leading them from station to station.

Harry groaned, shaking his head when Bain pointed them toward the racks of robes. How were they suppose to know what size they wore? The robes were broken down by year, but that didn't help much. They were all a different size! Teddy was taller than him but he was taller than Karrie and they were all skinny, so how were they suppose to know what fit? Why did they have to start with robes first? They had each been given a canvas bag to put their items in and he wished they had started with books first. There were a lot of books on his list!

"Uh Bain? How do we know what size we wear?" Teddy asked quietly, when none of the other rising third-years moved. There were eight of them and none of them knew what size of robes to get. Besides, there were several robes in the "third-year" section, it was too many to be for all of them.

"Oh, right. They have your names on them as well as growth spells. I think Alexis said every student had three robes and five sets of school uniforms." Bain explained quickly, ignoring the groans. They hadn't even got to the other section of clothes yet and he had all of their actual sizes on the list Alexis had given each line leader for the second and third years. The first years buddies all had their individual sizes. "Make sure you get the robes with your name tag attached to the front. Your uniforms will be in a bundle and will have a label with your name and year on the top."

Harry sighed, shifting through the rack for a few minutes, pulling out Karrie's robes and passing them to his sister before finally finding his. Apparently they were in alphabetical order. The room they were in was huge and there was no way they were going to get through it all. He knew his sister's leg had to be hurting, from the way she was leaning on Teddy. The brace she now wore helped but it didn't stop the magic from hurting her.

She grunted when they moved on to uniforms, scooping up the bundle with her name on it and dropping it in her bag. If she had time, she would love to study the charm on the bags. It had to be an extension charm or a transportation charm, because the bag wasn't becoming heavier and it wasn't getting any fuller.

"Alright gang, we are going to move into weekend clothing and shoes. I have been told to inform you that you are to pick at least three complete outfits you like and two pairs of shoes, but the shoes must be in your size. And yes, I have your sizes. The clothes are divided into racks of dresses and skirts, shirts, pants and shorts, and then by size. Clothing is for everyone. So if you like it, you can wear it, as long as it is appropriate and in your size." Bain stated, leading his little group toward the racks and racks of clothes. He couldn't wait to get to go through the shoes for himself. He had seen a pair in his size he wanted.

"More clothes?

"Yes Jessica, more clothes. I thought you liked clothes?" He replied, looking at the preteen.

"I do but...isn't it too much?"

"No, guys...gather around okay? I'm only going to say this once." Bain answered finally, moving so he was closer to eye level with most of the thirteen year-olds. "I know it has been a tough summer. I know none of us are use to this, I'm not use to this. This school shop is for us because this is what parents and guardians do for their children to get them ready to go back to school. They take them shopping. It isn't feasible to take all of us shopping, so they brought the shops to us this time. I know we got clothes in the beginning of the summer, but that was the basics we all needed. These are new outfits to start the school year with. New shoes for school. Back packs and comfort items for your new dorms, things your former caretakers should have provided you with and failed. People who love their children make sure they have what they need to succeed. There are a lot of people in this room who owe us nothing, who love all of us a whole lot and want us to succeed very much. They don't think this is too much. They want us to be prepared for the school year so that we can learn at our very best and that includes having new clothes. Does that make sense?" He watched eight little heads think it over for several minutes until one by one they finally nodded. He straighten, motioning back toward the clothing racks. "Onward, then. We have a lot to get."

Karrie grimaced, glancing at all of the clothes. She had gone and gotten her clothing size from Bain, as well as Emma's, and was now just staring at the racks. She didn't even know where to start. It wasn't until her eyes caught the rack of dresses and skirts that she had a sudden idea. "Jessica, Christine, I need help." She called, glancing toward the other two girls. Both of them stopped rifling through a rack of jeans to look at her.

"Karrie?"

"Dresses." All it took was one word for the other two girls faces to light up.

"Where?" Jessica asked, quickly turning toward where the smaller girl pointed before making a decision. "Lean on me." When the other girl nodded, she went over to the black-haired girl and offered her an arm, letting her rest some of her weight on her. She did still feel bad for breaking her leg but they had both apologized to each other and while they weren't really friends, they were allies. Especially in this. "You have her size?"

"I do. Let's see if we can get four dresses." Karrie grinned. She had gotten Emma's size because the rising second year had refused to come to the school shop. She was afraid of being around so many people at once. Alexis had tried to talk her into it but Emma had refused. Apparently they were going to bring her down later but Karrie had promised to bring her something pretty and she knew Jessica and Christine would help. Everyone missed having Emma in the bunks.

"She likes purple and blue." Christine offered, looking over a couple of skirts in her own size.

"How do you even know that?" Jessica asked, pulling out a sparkly dress. She glanced at the size before showing one to Karrie who shook her head. Too big then. She figured it would be. They were both too little.

"We talked after lights out. Her bed was next to mine. I had nightmares. Emma calmed me." She shrugged, picking up a light blue skirt. If she could find a shirt to match, that would be cute for Emma.

She had never heard the other girl talk so much and apparently neither had Jessica, if the way she was staring at her was anything to go by. "Emma's good at that." Karrie commented softly, offering a pink sequined dress to Jessica who shook her head.

"This would look good on you, Karrie."

She looked up for the red dress she had been studying, it looked like blood, to the forest green one Jessica held out. It was pretty. It was even in her size!
"It matches your eyes."

"You think so?"

"I think it does. You will look beautiful in it." Christine commented from the other side of the rack, leaning her head around to met Karrie's uncertain eyes.

"She's right." Jessica nodded, grinning when the other girl finally held the dress up to herself. Even without her trying it on, she could tell it would look good on her. And Karrie needed a new dress. They all needed a new dress.

She glanced down at it to see how far it would fall, she didn't want it to be too short, before silently agreeing with the other two girls. Maybe it would look okay on her. Karrie hesitated for a moment more before placing it into her bag.

"This one. Is it small enough, Karrie? It looks like the ocean. Emma likes the ocean." Christine asked after several more minutes of the girls rifling through the racks.

She glanced at the size before nodding. The skirt was in Emma's size and the purple and blue hues in it were beautiful. Emma would love it. "We just have to find a shirt to match."

Jessica glanced at the size before disappearing back through the racks, leaving the other two girls to keep looking. She re-emerged a few minutes later with a light blue blouse, offering it to Karrie. "Here, this matches and it will fit." She was well aware the other girl wasn't as interested in fashion as her and Christine.

Then she grinned, realizing what the dark-haired girl was offering her. "That's beautiful! I didn't see this one!" The white dress had small yellow and blue flowers covering it and it was in her size! She held it up to herself for a moment before nodding and dropping it into her bag. "Have you found one, Christine?"

"This black and white polka dot one? Is it okay?"

"It will look good on you. Although Kate might say something about the length." Karrie smiled, glancing at the dress the other girl held up. It fell a bit above her knees although... "I think Ariana said there was a charm for that though."

"Get it and I'll ask her later. After she gets Lila through the school shop." Jessica offered, nodding to her friend. "Let's move on to jeans." She added, offering an arm to Karrie again. She noticed she had started limping after all.

"So many clothes!"

-x-

"Too many clothes!"

"Do you want to do shoes first, Harry?"

"You think shoes might be easier?"Harry asked, glancing at his friend. He wished Karrie had stayed with them but she had went to get clothes to fit her and he had gone with Teddy to get clothes to fit them. She looked to be in dresses with the other third years girls and they kept squealing. There was nothing exciting about clothes.

"I mean, how hard could shoes be?" Teddy shrugged, leading the way toward the section of boy's shoes, before trying to find the ones in their size. They currently wore the same size, even though Alexis told him his feet were still growing and had grown that summer, which was one of the reasons Bain had told both of them, and another member of their group, to get four pairs of shoes and in the next size up. "What size are we now?"

"Five. Bain said we could get one five and a half if we wanted 'room to grow' whatever that means, but he also said they had extension charms." Harry grunted, eyes combing over the shoe tables. The older boys had a lot of cool options, he almost wished his feet were bigger, if he hadn't seen some of the older boys tripping over their own growing big feet this summer. He finally found their section and started shuffling through some of the options. White sneakers, black tennis shoes, Nike's, red shoes...Nike's? "Nike's!"

"What?"

"Nike's." Harry held up the black and green shoes, grinning at the other boy. He had never been allowed such nice shoes before, even in castoffs. They didn't come big enough to fit his cousin's fat feet. He froze for a moment, feeling a small flash of fear before reminding himself what Tim kept telling him. His relatives couldn't hurt him here and thinking badly of them wouldn't get him punished. Besides Remus and Severus wouldn't let any harm come to him.

He blinked, staring at the shoes for a moment before digging through the boxes on the table once more. His father had never let him have such expensive shoes before. He had shoes that were clean and well-kept, to keep up appearances but they weren't expensive. "Converse!" These were red and black! He liked these. He wasn't a brand snob, shoes were shoes, but it would be nice to have something branded so the other boys in his dorm didn't think poorly of him. It would be cooler if the shoes had dragons on them though. "Hey Bain, is there anything with dragons on it?" He asked, glancing at the older red head when he came over to them after helping one of their cabin mates find shoes.

He snorted, shaking his head. "Not in shoes your size. But there are some shirts with dragons and dinosaurs on them." As well as several backpacks. If his brother's feet weren't growing so fast he would have pointed him toward the spider-man shoes, but they were saving those for the little first years. He still couldn't believe that they had kids that small, even though he had spent all summer with them.

"Let's go to shirts." Teddy stated, dropping the red converse in his bag. He didn't really need four pairs of shoes after all.

"Whoa there kid, how many pairs of shoes do you have?" He had just stopped the girls from skipping straight from jeans to shoes, as they needed shirts, and had directed two of the other boys back to get pants. Apparently no one understood what "three complete outfits that fit" meant. He was very grateful he didn't have the second years, if thirteen year olds were this difficult.

Teddy grumbled under his breath, moving back to the shoes. He would rather have a shirt with a dragon on it than four pairs of shoes. He didn't really need four pairs of shoes. Even if his were becoming very uncomfortable.

"How about I help?" He offered, gesturing at the section of size five shoes. He waited until Teddy and Harry had both nodded before joining them and quickly scanning the table. He pulled out two boxes, setting them on top before flipping them open. "Alright, here are two pairs of dress shoes, both black, one for each of you. What else have you found?"

"I found a pair of Nike."

"I got Converse."

"Those are good shoes. Did you get athletic Nike or school Nike's Harry?" Bain asked, turning to the black-haired child. When the pre-teen shrugged, he sighed.

"You play quidditch, Harry. You need athletic shoes as well." He explained.

Oh. He didn't know there was a difference. He always just wore the same pair of shoes everywhere. He pulled the Nike's out of his bag, holding them out to Bain. "I thought these were okay for school." Could he not wear the same pair of shoes to both places?

"Those are excellent for school. Let's find you a pair of athletic trainers, so when you have practices and work outs, your feet don't hurt and you don't slip running in mud. You can wear athletic shoes to school and vice verse but having shoes for sports practices that help support your feet and ankles will improve your calf and leg muscles and you won't be as sore." He explained, digging back through the pile of boxes before pulling out a couple of options for Harry.

He frowned in thought for a moment, before nodding. That made sense, actually. His legs were always sore after going on a run with the team and he had always thought he was out of shape, since they rarely ran around the pitch, only when Wood was mad, but maybe it was because his shoes had been worn and falling apart. He looked through the boxes Bain offered him before picking a pair of blue and yellow Nike's. They looked different than his other ones, so that was what Bain meant by athletic. He dug around in the stacks of boxes for a few more minutes before producing a pair of white converse for school.

"White, really? Alright." He would never keep those clean. "Teddy, you need a pair of boots, don't ask me for what, Alexis just said to get you a good pair of boots, and another pair of shoes." He added, turning to his little brother.

He groaned again, turning back to the boxes. He hadn't seen anything else he liked. And he didn't see any boots. Why boots? He didn't do anything that required boots. He sighed, glancing through a stack of boxes before his eyes fell on a box he hadn't seen before. He pulled it out, opening it to see the most beautiful pair of New Balances he had ever seen. "These."

"Excellent. And I found you boots." They were a half size bigger, at Alexis' request, he didn't even bother to ask why, but they were boots with a hard top, like
those used for horse-back riding. He didn't know why Teddy needed boots and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Can we go to shirts now?"

"Yes, go find your dragon shirt. And get two more! Plus pants! Then we move to books!"

-x-

"UHH!"

"No, Lila. Hands. Hands. Gods help me, we are getting your books and then shoes. You have a stuffed animal. Now let go of the table. Hands!" Ariana knew she was getting frustrated and maybe she shouldn't have volunteered to go with her sister but she had known Lila would get overwhelmed. It helped that they were at the back of the line of first years with the rest of her little posse.

No! She wanted to wait! Ben was still picking! "NUH!"

Why had she set her sister down? If she was still carrying her, this wouldn't be a problem. They had gotten a few toys and a stuffed bunny but Lila refused to leave the toy table. Actually, Louis was still standing nearby with Daniel as well. What were they waiting for? "Can we go stand by Louis and get out of everyone's way at least? We won't go anywhere else until you are ready."

-Ok-

Finally! She remembered she had damn hands! And she wasn't hitting. She used her free hand to catch hold of her little sister's hand, gently tugging her over to where Louis and Daniel were quietly talking, shaking her head.

"Just waiting on Ben and Michael, then." Daniel commented, meeting Ariana's eyes before glancing toward Louis and Lila.

That suddenly made so much more sense. Of course the three of them would want to be together. If they weren't with the bigger preteens, they had been sticking closer together these last couple of weeks. Louis was even teaching Ben more sign language than the other kids had picked up, although they had all picked up a lot. "Has he ever had a stuffed animal before?" She asked quietly, turning back to watch the little boy who was very methodically moving down the table of stuffed animals but not touching them. She knew they had tried to get all of the kids stuffed animals when they went to the toy store back in July, Lila had gotten a bear. but she didn't know if they had managed to convince little Ben to get one.

"No. He doesn't believe he deserves one." Louis answered quietly, watching his friend for a moment before turning back to signing with Lila about her new bunny. He hoped Michael could convince Ben otherwise. If not, he could always run back and steal him one and hide it on his bed. Ben deserved a soft toy to cuddle with when he was scared. They all did.

Daniel exchanged a silent look with Ariana, knowing that she was feeling the same way that he was. He and Michael had agreed on which children they wanted to work with before they had came down here for a reason, they both had known it would be a challenge, just as Ariana knew Lila would be a challenge. They had to convince these kids that the deserved more than the school supplies they needed and that wasn't exactly an easy task.

Michael sighed softly, crouching so that he was on little Ben's level. " I know it's a hard choice buddy, but you can touch the stuffed animals. They won't hurt you."

"I don't want to ruin them."

He closed his eyes for a moment, forcing his anger behind his shields like Severus had taught him before smiling softly at the child. "You can't ruin them. Remember what I told you? The animal you pick will be there to protect you when you are feeling scared and alone. You deserve to have a furry friend you can whisper your secrets into its ears and know that it will hold them forever. I have one."

He hesitated, watching the older boy for a long moment. "You do?"
"I do. It's a tiger." Severus had given it to him when he was a third year. He kept it hidden in his bag whenever he wasn't at Hogwarts, for fear it would be destroy. He was well aware that Daniel had one too, a monkey if he remembered correctly. Hell, all of the kids Severus had taught to meditate and then tried to removed from their homes, even if the previous headmaster had fought him on it, had been given stuffed animals. He had never made the connection until this summer but now it made so much more sense. Seeing this little terrified eleven-year-old who didn't know what comfort was and was terrified of the concept of it. "His name is Stripes." He added with a grin.

Ben hesitated for a moment more before turning back toward the stuffed animals. He did want one to protect him when he was scared. And if Michael had one and was saying it was okay, then maybe it was okay. There was one he liked after all. He very carefully reached out, picking up the soft purple hippo timidly before looking back at the older boy.

"Is that the one you like?"

"Yes. Hippos are one of the deadliest creatures in the world and they are super protective of their young." He replied before gently rubbing its fur.

He chuckled softly, ignoring the burn of anger at how delicately the preteen was holding the plush, like he might break it or it might be taken from him. Of course Ben would pick an animal based on its characteristic and not on whether he liked it or not. But then again, the little posse with them was well known for their animal facts books.

"Why don't we head to shoes first then double back to books?" Daniel suggested when Michael and little Ben finally joined them. There was a large crowd at the tables for school books and reading books. None of their charges would handle that well. But there was no one at shoes.

"Shoes sounds fine to me. If there is still a crowd, we can move on to clothes and then come back to books when everyone else is done." Ariana shrugged, glancing down at her sister. Not that she was really looking forward to shoes, shoes had almost always been a fight.

"Alright gang, to shoes." Michael took Ben's free hand, since he was still holding his hippo, and started leading the small preteen toward the shoes. He knew the other two pairs would follow. Where one preteen went, the other two were close behind. He stopped beside the table of boy's shoes, pulling Ben's list out of his pocket to glance at his size before shoving it back into his pocket again. Gods, the child had small feet. He led him down the table, toward the smaller sizes of shoes and the shoes they had fewer of. He took a breath, preparing himself for a fight before turning to the child. "We need three pairs of shoes, okay? One pair of dress shoes and two pairs of regular shoes. I'll find you some dress shoes if you want to look at these."

"Don't leave me!"

"I'm not leaving buddy. I'm not going anywhere. Tell you what, why don't we look at the shoes together and then we will find you dress shoes." He suggested, smiling softly at the child's rapid nod. The fact that Daniel and Louis had also stopped near by told him that his charge wasn't the only one with small feet.

Ariana sighed, setting Lila down near the end of the table of girl shoes. She had wanted to go with Louis and Ben but she had quickly explained that like some of her clothes, the shoes the boys wore wouldn't fit her tiny feet; they were made in different sizes. It didn't make it easier but it had kept her from screaming. She glanced at the top few boxes, not seeing anything that Lila would particularly like before going toward some of the smallest sizes. She grinned, finding a pair of shoes she knew her sister would wear. "Hey Lila, let's try these on."

She didn't need shoes! She looked back over at her sister, frowning at the shoes in her hand before tilting her head when her sister hit them against each other. They lit up! And they had straps! She held her hand out, taking the shoes when Ariana held them out. Lila dropped down on the floor, kicking off her shoes and easily slipping on the new ones. She pulled at the straps for a moment, glaring at it. Straps were easier but it didn't want to work!

"Here, let me help." Ariana hid a smile, breaking of the plastic tag attached to the Velcro before tightening the straps. Velcro straps were so much easier for Lila and the shoes had been so easy for her to put on by herself. If Lila had liked them... "Hey Michael, Dan, look for light ups." She called, catching their eyes when they both glanced over toward them and nodding toward Lila who was currently stomping her feet on the floor to watch the shoes light up. She would have to see if there was another pair.

So far he had found a Spider-man pair of shoes, which they had passed to Michael for Ben, and a pair of extremely small Nike's. He didn't even know they made Nike's that small but the way Louis' eyes had lit up at those green Nike's was probably the best thing he had seen this week. He did see what Ariana meant though. He could see both little Ben and Louis watching Lila jump up and down. He definitely had to find Louis a pair of light up shoes. He dug around for a moment, finding a pair of black dress shoes for Louis before finally finding a pair of shoes with lightning bolts across it. "Hey Louis, try these." He held them out to the younger boy with a grin. If they could find a pair for all three of them, they would be the coolest first years in school. And their teachers and Perfects would always know where they were.

Louis tilted his head for a moment, eyeing the shoes, before taking them and slowly slipping out of his sneakers. He loved the Nikes and he knew they said he could have both, but he didn't really need both. Did he? He tried one shoe on, setting his foot down before grinning suddenly. It lit up! The lightning bolts lit up! It looked like they were shooting across the shoe! Like fireworks! "So cool." He whispered, staring down at the shoe for a long moment before looking back at Daniel. "But I don't need two pairs of shoes, do I?" He had never had two pairs of shoes before and he had the shoes they bought him over the summer still. It was too much.

He sighed softly, crouching to be on the preteen's level. "Yes buddy, you do. Two pairs of school shoes and one pair of dress shoes. I know you already have a pair of shoes and no one is going to take those shoes away from you. But these are new shoes for the start of the school year. So you have something new to wear, just like everyone else."

"First day shoes?"

That's right, he had almost forgot that was what they called it in primary school. First day outfits for the first day of school. New shoes that would last all year. Louis' family hadn't just hated magic, they had also been poor. The child had only gotten new clothes once a year, if they could afford it and as Louis had told him earlier, they were rarely actually new. "Yes buddy, first day shoes. You need two pairs. And those light up sketchers will be awesome school shoes. Look, Ben found a pair too!" All three of them having light up shoes meant that the dark-haired pre-teen was more likely to go for. He hoped.

"Okay, Daniel. I guess I can get both." He still didn't get it. But if Daniel said he needed both, he believed him.

-x-

"Stop scratching it, Harry."

"But it itches!"

"Should it itch?" Teddy asked after a moment of studying his friend. They were suppose to be putting away their new things and sorting them. Instead he was watching Harry try to scratch his scar off his face. They all were. Because it was bleeding.

"Should I get Charlie or Phil?" Luke asked quietly, looking over from where he had been sorting his new school supplies into piles.

"No!" He didn't want them to freak out! They would totally freak out. It was just a scar, right? "It's just a scar."

"Scars don't usually open back up, Harry." Teddy pointed out, frowning when his friend picked at it like a scab. His scar was coming off like a scab. This was weird. "I think we should tell someone."

"Teddy's right. Scars don't do this Harry. Not even in the magical world." Luke responded, shaking his head. The other third year boys nodded in agreement, although they were all thirteen, so he knew they were just agreeing with him because he was the Ravenclaw and knew everything, even when he didn't.

He shook his head, glancing toward his friend before looking at the other boys. He knew one of them was likely to tell but his scar had been driving him crazy for a few weeks and he had just started scratching it. It had just started scabbing, he figured he reopened the wound and it was just healing was why. He didn't think it was a big deal. "It's not a big deal."

"But it could be. Maybe we should just ask Charlie or Phil? They said that's what they are there for, remember? For when we don't know if something is important or not." Teddy argued quietly. He knew Harry was as bad as he was and would never take his own safety into account but he was hoping he could at least get him to ask one of their counselors. It turned out, he wouldn't have to though. He hadn't heard the door open but Charlie was standing near the counselors room, raising an eyebrow at them.

"Ask us what?"

"Nothing!"

"Harry?"

"Harry's scar is bleeding but he thinks it's normal."

"It could be if it got scratched. Which scar is bleeding?" Charlie blinked when eleven sets of eyes stared at him like he was an idiot before realization set it. "Oi, you know all of you have more than one scar, yes? Be more specific." That scar shouldn't be bleeding, that was for sure. He stopped in front of the scowling thirteen-year-old and slowly removed his wand, raising an eyebrow. "May I?" At the nod, he cast an advanced diagnostic spell and blinked, barely refraining from swearing aloud. He had known it was a cursed scar but he hadn't know what type of cursed scar it was until he had scanned it. "So your scar is okay but we need to head to the medical wing to get something to put onto it. Alright, Harry?" He wasn't going to explain what was happening to the child with ten sets of listening ears, not when he didn't really understand it himself and he wanted Eric to take a look at it to make sure.

"Do we have to?" He groaned. If he went to the medical wing, Eric and Lucas would fuss.

"Yes, so it doesn't get infected. You don't want it to get infected." Eric would killed him if it got infected. Actually, Remus and Severus would probably kill him first. He ignored the groan, leading the raven-haired child back toward his and Phil's quarters. He would just have to send Phil a message to go check on the boys when he was done with his session.

He hated going to the medical wing. While he like Eric, Lucas, and Tim, they all fussed too much. Not as much as Madam Pomfery used to and while part of him felt a little sad she was leaving, most of him wasn't. "It's fine Charlie. Just a scab."

"Harry, scars don't just become scabs again. I need to get something to put on it so it doesn't get infect that I don't keep in my quarters and it will keep it from itching." He responded, shaking his head. It was the truth though, he did need to get a stronger salve for the child's scar, because he wasn't quite sure how to heal a cursed scar that was doing what it was doing and he really didn't know how to explain that to a preteen.

"It was just itchy!"

"I know, Harry. There is some salve we can put on it that will prevent infection and stop it from itching." He responded, guiding him into the medical wing. He knew why the child hated it, why all the children hated it. They weren't used to someone caring that they were hurt and now several people cared and wanted to make sure they weren't hurt. Being fussed over could get annoying after awhile, especially when you weren't used to it, just because it felt embarrassing and unnecessary.

"Harry, Charlie? Is everything alright?"

"Yes!"

"We just came to get some salve for Harry's scar, Eric. It seems to have opened back open." Charlie shrugged, gently placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Ah. Which scar?" Really, could young people never be specific? From the raised eyebrow and pointed look Charlie was giving him, he could guess. Harry was also looking at him like he was an idiot.

"The one on his forehead. It was bothering him." He responded quietly, ignoring the glare the preteen shot him.

"It's fine. It is just a scab." Harry grumbled, not looking at the older healer.

His scar was a scab?When did that happen? How did that happen? "Why don't we take this conversation somewhere more comfortable?" He suggested, gesturing them into his office. He would have taken them into one of the rooms but he had a feeling he would need some potions from his cabinet and floo access if his guess was correct. " Have a seat on the couch, Harry."

Why couldn't they just leave it alone? It was fine. Karrie had noticed it yesterday and had told him to tell Severus or Remus, but he didn't think it was a big deal. It was just a scar. It wasn't the first time it had bled! "It's fine! It used to bleed all the time!"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Charlie...what do you know about cursed scars? Harry, sit down please. I need to scan your scar, alright?" Eric sighed softly, glancing between the young counselor and the preteen.

"It's a what?"

"The basics." He grimaced, shaking his head. Enough to know that this wasn't normal.

The dark-skinned healer closed his eyes for a moment, taking a slow, calming breath. It never got easier explaining this to a child. At least the child had finally obeyed him. He crouched in front of the couch, so that he was on eye level with the raven-haired boy. "When you were a toddler you were hit with a malicious curse. Your mother had enacted protection runes around you to keep you safe. They deflected part of the curse so it didn't kill you. Instead, the magic of the runes and the magic of the curse mixed, creating the scar on your forehead. It contains bits of the magic that created it, which is why it is called a cursed scar. They can have serious consequences and they can get infected. May I check it please?" He explained gently, meeting green eyes for a long moment.

No one had ever explained it like that to him before. Most people just told him he was hit with the killing curse and survived and then changed the subject. No one had bothered to explain it. So would it had been better if he had died? No, because then he wouldn't have Karrie and Teddy, Severus and Remus. But why did his scar being cursed matter? Why did it matter that it was scabbing? "Okay, Eric." He trusted Eric to explain it to him if he could, Eric was good at that.

He slowly drew his wand, waiting for the nod before tracing it into an intricate pattern. He frowned, tracing a second spell and watching the scar light up red and yellow. Great. How did they miss this when they did their exams? He knew Alexis had checked his scar at the beginning of the summer and he had checked it once at one of his check ups a week after that. He frowned, standing and moving to a filing cabinet. He starting rifling through it before finally finding Harry's file. They hadn't scanned his scar at all in August, there hadn't been a need, and they hadn't scanned it since the third week of July. "When did your scar start bothering you, Harry?"

"I don't know. A couple of weeks ago." He shrugged.

"Was it before or after your birthday?" He had noticed Harry and Karrie's magic had changed right after their birthdays, that they seemed to have formed a sort of "twin" bond through magic but he had been waiting to say something to see how far their magic would go with it.

"After. Why?"

"Do you know why your scar used to bleed, Harry?"

"Because the Dark Lord was near. But he isn't, is he? He's suppose to be gone!" He shouted, jumping up.

"Easy, easy. Yes, he is gone. He is completely, a hundred percent gone." Eric reassured, catching a hold of the child.

Charlie frowned in thought before it click and he gasped, staring at Eric, who merely shot him a look over the preteen's head. "He's not coming back, Harry. You are safe. We are all safe." They better not have used a fucking child to fight a war, he would be having words with whoever thought that was a good idea. Although, Harry had never said anything about it.

"How do you know?" He asked, burying his head into Eric's chest. He wasn't going to tell them he was afraid. While he had only faced the evil wizard twice, he used to have dreams of him every night. Dumbledore had saved him, sent him back to the school, even if Dumbledore was the one who had taken him there to begin with. He hadn't understood it, but he thought he might he been the bait to end the war.

He sighed softly, not really wanting to explain to a child, to anyone really, but he was just so young to have this on him. "Cursed scars can only be broken when the person who casts the spell dies. Your scar is coming apart because the magic holding it together is dying. The person who cast it is dead, he isn't coming back, there is nothing keeping him here anymore. If we leave it alone and put some salve on it, eventually your scar will disappear completely. However, there is a way we can just remove it if you like." Eric answered finally.

He could remove his scar? So people wouldn't stare at him? They wouldn't always know who he was? He could be just like everyone else! "That would be so cool!"
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