A/N- Why yes, it is quite a long chapter...to make up for the wait. A lot happens here but it just didn't want to be broken up. Harry meets Tim, two new healers join the team, and the first of the holdiay camp kids arrive...in less than good condition. Enjoy and let me know what you think. Also, I do not own, AU, and non-canon complaint. AND -x's are scene breaks, Italics are thoughts! There is talk of eating disorders and non-descriptive abuse! And finally, use your words.

~Case

-x-

Severus groaned, rolling over. It was just past three in the morning and something was chiming. It took him a moment to realize what it was. In an instant he was off the bed, throwing on a warm robe. It was cold in the Dungeons after all. Remus was also awake, but watching him. He gave the man a brief nod, he would call if he needed help, and went to tend to Harry.

Harry was deep in sleep, thrashing around on his bed. The screams that tore from his throat, the ones he tried to desperately stop. He was begging and he knew he had to be quiet but it hurt so bad!

"Harry? Harry, it's just a dream." Severus murmured, hesitating. He had already canceled the silencing spell, he was willing to bed that the child did not realize that he did that. He could shake the child awake but that could cause him to sink further into the nightmare. From the boy's pleads, he could guess what the dream was about. Stupid muggles. You better hope I never see you again. "Harry, child. You are safe, you are at Hogwarts. In our quarters. Come on Mr. Potter, wake up." He repeated briskly, hoping his tone would get through to the child. The boy stirred, groaning. "You are safe, Harry. You can wake up now. No one will harm you here. I swear that to you."

Harry groaned, blearily opening his eyes. He hurt so much, ached all over. He wasn't sure if it was from his thrashing about or the remainder of the beating his uncle had given him just three days prior. The bruising was nearly gone and he would not complain about it. He was not ungrateful, after all. "Sorry professor." He croaked, staring at his hands.

"Harry...you do not have to apologize for nightmares child." Severus replied softly, silently summoning a calming draft. For him or the boy was a bit unclear, but one of them would need it. Soon.

"But I woke you sir." Harry whispered, glancing up at the professor. Oh, how he missed his fringe! He could no longer hide behind his hair. Damn.

"I am rather glad you did." Severus sighed, watching the child. He looked like he was in pain. "Are you hurt, Harry?"

"Just a little sore, sir." Harry murmured, looking down again. Why did he have to be such a baby? No one else had nightmares like that! No one else woke their professor by screaming! Stupid dreams.

Severus nodded, summoning a pain potion. He caught the two vials with ease, dark orbs focused only on the child. "Could you tell me about your dream, Harry?" He asked softly. His answer was a frantic shake of the boy's head. "It will make you feel better."

"Please sir...I can't." Harry whispered, biting his lip. If he talked about it, that made it real and although it had happened, he didn't want it to be real. He didn't want to remember.

"Alright Harry. We won't talk about it tonight. But know that you can always talk to Remus and I about anything. Do you think you can sleep, child?" Severus sighed, knowing better than to argue with the child. His trust was still so fragile, it was easily broken. Harry gave the tiniest of nods, not looking up. "Alright child. I want you to take these two potions for me, and then I will stay until you fall asleep."

Harry looked up with shocked green eyes. No one had ever done that for him before. Not ever. He was too old to be sat with, wasn't he? After all, he was nearly thirteen. His professor offered him one vial and he took it slowly, sniffing it. He finally tipped it back, grimacing at the taste. The second vial was handed over and he swallowed it quickly. This one actually tasted much better, almost sweet. He instantly felt calmer and his soreness was gone. His eyes started to droop, as a blanket was pulled back up around him and tucked in. His eyes fluttered and he finally gave back into sleep.

Severus watched the child for several minutes in silence, watching the chest of that too small frame raise and fall. He brushed the boy's hair away from his head, before turning and leaving the sleeping child in peace. Hopefully the calming draft would keep the nightmares away for the rest of the night. He sighed, easing himself back into his own bed. Remus met his eyes and enveloped him into a tight embrace, kissing him gently. He had not thought that raising this child would be so tough, so heart-wrenching. Because their child was hurting and there wasn't much he could do. Not alone, anyway. He nestled into Remus and closed his own eyes, letting sleep take over.

-x-

Tim sighed, frowning down at the younger woman. He had just stepped out of her floo, glad that he had the password to her personal quarters. It was just after three in the morning, and she was still awake. And working. "Alexis."

Alexis glanced up from the piles of parchment, frowning at the healer. She hadn't even noticed him arriving, huh. "May I help you?" She raised any eyebrow, glancing at the timepiece above the floo. After three. She wasn't going to get to sleep again. Grand.

"You have ten minutes to finish what you are doing and change for bed." Tim ordered briskly, moving to pick up some loose sheaves of parchment that had found their way onto the floor.

"I'm not a child, Tim." She snapped, not even looking up. She remembered quite well how he treated her during her apprenticeship. He had been a great mentor, but he had been quite...annoying. He had always been that way. He used to make her go to sleep then, too. Once she caught hold of something, she felt the need to stay wake until she finished it. Logically, she knew that she could not possibly stay awake until Hogwarts was completely healed. That would be...disastrous. "How did you know?" She added, glancing up at him.

"You are running yourself to the ground. My alert charms and a concerned elf are quite efficient for keeping track of such things. You might not be a child, Alexis. But you did give me control over your health, health that you are currently endangering. I could ban you from working until you have gained a stone and sleep on a constant schedule. But as that is not possible, you will eat and sleep when I tell you, if you want any chance to save this school." Tim replied quietly, straightening up the quarters as he moved about. "Five minutes."

She growled a curse under her breath, scribbling a note on a piece of parchment and waving her hand. The parchment sheaves straightened themselves into neat piles. She placed the note on top and stood with a groan. Damn man. "Dreamless?" It was almost a plead, and she knew he would notice that.

Tim hesitated for a moment but gave a quick nod. "Go get ready for bed, I will be in there in a a few minutes with your potion." He watched her leave the room, entering into her bed chambers, and sighed. He continued to pick up the sitting room, organizing books and quills. The young woman had been up for over a day, according to her house-elf. Her request for Dreamless Sleep was bit worrying, for he knew that the young woman was not addicted to it. Rather, it meant that she could not sleep on her own. Worrying indeed. He sorted through the vials in a pocket of his robes, always better to be prepared after all, removing the light blue potion.

Alexis groaned, sitting down of her bed. She had to have a pesky, annoying healer. Not a normal one who would leave her alone and falter under pressure. No, she had to have Tim, who had known her for years, who spoke her native language, who taught her all she knew about Touch and Mind-healing. The same man who was standing in her doorway, surveying her with a potion in one hand. Damn man.

Tim paused in the doorway for a moment before striding into the room. He needed to do a full work up on all of his new patients, but it could wait until a decent hour. The younger woman was way too thin and too pale. But he would fight that battle after she had a few hours of sleep in her. Alexis had a tight grip on her temper, but when she was exhausted she could become quite...volatile. "Come on, Alexis. Under the covers, please." He ordered quietly.

She growled at him but obeyed, slipping under the dark purple blankets with ease. She was quite cold, even in this warm room. Steel eyes glared at him as he sat on the edge of her bed, offering her the blessed dreamless sleep. It kept her from being plagued by nightmares, at the very least. She silently took the vial, ignoring the gentle hand on her shoulder. The calming magic that seeped through her body made her eyes flutter briefly, her body relax. With a small sigh, she downed the potion, letting her mind ease into a peaceful, dreamless, relaxing sleep.

Tim pulled the covers up around the younger woman, tucking them in. He knew she would be mortified at that, but he had cared for the younger woman when she was sick or exhausted before. Sick because of exhaustion, usually. Damn woman didn't know her own limits. He cast a simple monitoring spell, leaving the room to head to his own bed. Hopefully, the potion would keep her asleep for the rest of the night, she desperately needed it.

-x-

Alexis surveyed the staff room from where she stood. Her professors had all fallen silent when she had mentioned the holiday camp. She knew, of course, that she already had Filius, Remus, and Severus' support. But it would be nice if the rest of the staff in residence would also support this project. Of course, the room had not been so quiet when she mentioned the new points system. Years of ingrained behavior would be hard to break at first, but it could be done. It was this waiting that got to her the most. Waiting for their opinions and suggestions while her students were hurting. She had already spoken to the house-elves and a group of them had dashed off to make some rooms appropriate for a camp. Now it was just the staff, the staff who were gazing at her with curiosity and...pride. Damn old people.

"A holiday camp, you said? I believe we could make that work. Perhaps if we broke the children up by age group, say eleven to thirteen or fourteen and up, we could have activities that would work for each age group. I went to a muggle holiday camp as a child and I do remember quite a few of the camp activities. We could do both muggle and magical games and crafts." Charity remarked finally, breaking the silence. She was not the muggle studies professor for nothing. She was a muggleborn, with a deep understanding of muggle culture. It did sound like a good idea, a way to help hurting children.

"If we add a therapeutic aspect to it, it would work well to help these children cope. We would, of course, need close supervision on all but the oldest of the groups, with structure and rules for all of the students, but it is worth a try." Septima Vector added, doing a few quick calculations in her mind. She taught arithmancy and was quite good with turning to numerology to solve problems and find answers. The math was suggesting strongly that this could work. Of course, similar calculations had her deciding to work with the sarcastic dark man who sat frowning at the Headmistress. Slytherin house would do well with two heads of house, especially two who were Slytherins themselves.

Alexis turned gray eyes back on the room at large. The murmurs of agreement were enough to make her happy. Good, if the staff was on board then the programme could go ahead without having to falter. "Alright then, that's settled. Now, there is a need for some home visits, some of which need to occur as soon as humanly possible. Would anyone object to making these visits? I could use all of your help with this. Tim is working to set up counselors, of both the mind-healing and holiday camp type. Any help at all would be appreciated." She remarked finally, pulling three sheets of parchment out of her robe pocket. One was the group that Albus had removed, another the ones who needed help now, and the last the entirety of the known cases. She met each of their eyes at turn, quite pleased when each of them gave her a quick nod. Good. "I have lists here of each student, which can be divided up between all of us. These two lists are top priority, they need visits first. There are nearly eighty children total, so it might take a week or so to get to them all, but as many as possible as soon as possible." She sighed, finally dropping into a chair with grace. The gasps at her statement were not shocking, nor were the muttered curses. She had felt much the same way at first. "Any student who needs to be removed should be brought directly back here. If there is a problem...contact Severus, Tim, or myself immediately." She added quietly, passing the lists to her right, to Filius. The man silently too the lists, making copies of them with a tap of his wand. Those copies were quickly passed around, the originals being handed back to her.

"By your leave Ale- Headmistress, I would like to attend to some of these students now."Filius remarked quietly, his eyes scanning the first sheaf of parchment. He knew all of these students, some were Ravenclaws. He had taught them all and he wanted to make them safe, as soon as he could. There were so many wrongs to right and not so much time to do it in.

Alexis bit back a snort. She was several decades younger than the man, the youngest person in the room. And although that would change, she knew some of Tim's team and a few of the teacher assistants, were her age or younger, it was just...mind-boggling for this man that she respected to call her by anything but her name. "While I appreciate the title, please, all of you, just call me Alexis. It will save all of us a bit of a headache." She scowled at Filius for a moment, before turning her sharp gaze around the room. After all, they had all called Albus by his name the majority of the time, unless they were surrounded by students. She knew that they would understand that fact quite clearly. No need to call her by that title whilst in private. "And yes, please. As soon as possible." She added as an after thought, sneering at the now chuckling Severus. Damn man. The professors departed soon after that, discussing who was going where first. Good, finally some progress.

"Did you sleep at all, Alexis?" Severus asked finally, breaking the silence. It was just him and the younger woman left now. Remus was in their quarters with Harry, to let the child get used to him. There were circles under the woman's eyes, but they did look less pronounced than the day before.

"I did." She growled, turning her eyes from the parchment she was reading, for there was always some paperwork that needed her attention. "Did you?" She raised an eyebrow at him. He looked tired, the beginning of circles under his own eyes.

"Some." He admitted quietly. He was willing to bet that her sleep had not just been a drugged one but also forced."Harry was having nightmares." His dark orbs met gray and he noted the concern there, not just for the child but also for him.

"I'm not surprised. He needs to talk about them, and his life with those muggles. Tim should be back this afternoon and he did mention something this morning about meeting with Harry." Alexis replied finally, watching the man that she thought of as a brother. It wasn't until recently that she realized he felt the same toward her. A family made was sometimes better than a family born into. She knew that and young Harry would learn it too. All of her hurting students would, for Hogwarts and Her staff would become their family.

Severus raised an eyebrow at her. What she did not say spoke volumes. "He convinced you to eat." He stated finally, watched her carefully. Remus had done much the same this morning, using logic and pleading as an incentive to get him to eat more than a few bites of food. Harry would copy what they did, so his guardians needed to eat healthily. But Alexis...she did not have a child to act as an incentive. Well, she did have a school to run, perhaps that would help. Knowing Alexis as he did, it might not. The woman was constantly taking on tasks and forgetting to sleep and eat, putting it off until she had more time. Hmpf.

How the hell he got that from a simple sentence! "I said no such thing." She snapped, glancing around the room to make sure they were truly alone. They were. Severus was one of the few people she didn't mind discussing this with. It helped that he had similar issues with food. Both of them had grown up in neglectful environments. Food was not always a given and then when it was, it was a control. She could control whether or not she ate, what she ate. And she had been doing just fine until Albus passed on. An urgent need for control, yes. But she also just didn't have the time. It was never about her body, not anymore. But the control...it was freeing.

"You didn't have to. I know you, Alexis." Severus retorted, raising a brow at the younger woman. The way she had said Tim's name, as almost a snarl, had been a dead give away. Her answer was an even bigger one. The Headmistress was an ex-anorexic, just as he was. But she needed to be healthy to take care of Hogwarts. If she wanted to do all that she said, she needed to be better. "Eating...is not ideal, to either of us. But you have a school to run, a school that needs you at your best. I will brew a stronger Nutrition potion for you, it will help but it cannot replace food. You know this." He added softly, nearly black eyes meeting steely gray ones.

"Tim said much the same this morning." She sighed, finally looking away. She knew that she had to be at her best and she would give Hogwarts her best. It was just...hard. And sometimes a bit humiliating, to admit that she needed help. "He didn't have to force me to eat, though." She added with a sneer.

"Knowing Tim as I do, he probably thought he did." His reply was not harsh nor sarcastic. It was soft, kind. As he could be, when he chose. As he often was, actually. Tim had been his healer years ago and was, once more, taking over that role. But not as thoroughly as the older man was doing for Alexis. He did not need another person in charge of his healthy, he had Remus after all. But Alexis did. She would neglect her health for her students, and that would not help them at all. Stubborn girl.

-x-

Harry grumbled, kicking his feet back and forth. He did not quite understand what he was doing here, sitting in this 'office'. It looked like a sitting room with a large oak desk set off to one side. Much more comfortable than his professor's office was, anyway. There were no creepy, floating things here. But there were plenty of books, several of which were not in a language he recognized. His professors were out in the hallway, speaking with some tall brown-haired man. About him, he knew. But he didn't like it.

Tim paused in the doorway, which he had left open. A silencing spell had ensured that the child did not hear their conversation, he had wanted to watch the child when he thought he was not being observed. Well, it was quite time to speak with Harry. He also wanted to run his own examination, although it would be a simple one. Because Alexis and Poppy had both done full works on the child, Alexis had even managed a touch scan at one point. Tim gave a small sigh, stepping into the room. It had already been a long day and it was going to be much longer. "Hello Harry. My name is Tim. I am a healer." He stated finally, watch the child closely. The boy did not even flinch, so he must had known he was in the room.

"I'm not sick, sir." Harry replied with a frown, turning to look at the man. What is it with adults giving their first names? So weird. He did not meet the older man's eyes, he knew better than that. Even if Remus and the professor kept asking him to look at them. These adults just didn't understand the rules and their rules weren't actually rules. Perhaps they were just confused. Hm.

"No, you are not. However, I am not just a physical healer. There are some wounds which are invisible, that are inside. I also work to heal those wounds." Tim explained quietly, dropping into his favourite armchair. The green eyed child was refusing to look at him still, kicking his feet against his own armchair.

"I don't need healing." Harry muttered, glaring at his feet. He didn't need to be healed, he wasn't crazy. Only crazy people needed therapists, that's what aunt said, and wasn't that what Tim was? A therapists.

"You do. You need to talk about it Harry, before it eats away at you. Talking about whats bothering you helps, trust me it does. That's what I'm here for, so that you have someone to talk to. Whether you chose the subject or I do, it will help. You just have to let me help you." Tim replied calmly, biting back a sigh. All children reacted the same way at first. Hopefully the boy would agree to work with him.

Harry snorted, shaking his head. There was nothing to talk about, he was perfectly fine. It was the adults who needed help, after all. He knew better than to tell. "I'm fine, sir." Harry shrugged, still not meeting Tim's eyes.

Tim shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. Merlin grant me patience. "You might be fine Harry, but wouldn't you prefer to not have nightmares?" He replied with a slight frown. The boy merely shrugged. "Harry, did your relatives have rules that you had to follow?" He asked finally, raising an eyebrow in thought. Perhaps the child thought he would get in trouble if he spoke.

Harry glanced up at the healer, scowling. Of course there were rules, all adults had rules. Even if some didn't know how to make good rules. "Yes sir." Perhaps the healer would agree with those rules, even if some of them had been quite terrible and hard to follow.

"Could you tell me what these rules were, Harry?"

He forced himself not to roll his eyes, gazing off passed the healer's left shoulder. "No food unless my chores were finished, no asking questions or talking back. No tracking mud." The last had been Aunt Petunia's rule for all of them, funnily enough. "No using the word 'magic' or wizard', no freakishness, no homework. No talking about what went on in the house." Harry shrugged, simple enough really. But not so easy to follow.

Tim took a deep breath, it was no worse than other abused children. But that did not make it alright, especially the 'no food' rule. It was not surprising that the child was so small then. "And what happened if you broke one of these rules, Harry?" The boy paled, going still.

"I got punished sir."

He knew that, but it really was the principal of the matter. He needed the child to tell him about it, so that he could understand what he was trying to heal. "How?" Came the calm, gentle question.

Harry froze. It was against the rules he just recited. Surely the man wasn't dumb? He suddenly smacked his head into his hand, he was not suppose to think badly of adults, he knew that. Stupid, stupid.

"Harry? Put your hands on your knees, please." Tim instructed with a grimace. A child who was prone to harming himself, or perhaps one who had been taught to harm himself for disobedience and 'bad' behaviour. This was going to prove to be a challenge, but he had known that coming in. The fact that the boy obeyed him instantly was telling. Time to lay down his own rules then. "Whatever rules you are following, do not apply here. Severus and Remus will never harm you, nor would they have rules as such. You are allowed to speak freely here Harry. I have only three rules and I want you to remember them, because they are important. The first is that you are always honest with me. I do not appreciate lies. The second is related to that rule. If you do not want to talk about something, then tell me that instead of lying about it or telling me that it is fine. The third is that before you do something dangerous or something that would cause harm to yourself or someone else, that you find an adult you trust to speak to. Do you understand those rules, Harry?" Tim stated finally, observing the child closely.

Harry finally looked up, giving the briefest of nods. They were simple enough rules, close to some of Remus and the professor's rules actually. "Yes sir."

"Good. Now, can you tell me how you were punished Harry? It is really important that I know." Tim smiled at the child, who went back to staring at his trainers. Another ingrained rule or a defense mechanism, he couldn't be sure.

"Yes sir. It depended, really. If I didn't finish all my chores, I usually wasn't allowed to eat and locked in my cupboard. Sometimes uncle was very displeased, especially if Aunt Petunia was out. When she was home, he rarely does more than slap me around or lock me in my cupboard." Harry intoned with a shrug. It was nothing really, a normal punishment for sure.

"And when she was away?"

"Wellll...he used his belt a lot and his fists. Sometimes if he's really angry and I'm cooking, that's one of my chores, he'll put my hand on the burner. Or he'll use a cord. Sometimes he slams me about and he kicks me a lot, but it's really nothing sir." Harry jiggled his leg, trying to be still. But it was impossible at the moment. Nerve-wracking. He had never told no one before. What if the man didn't believe him? Or worse, what if he told uncle? "Please don't tell, sir, please!" He gasped, looking up with frightened green eyes.

Tim took a deep, calming breath, forcing his mind to calm down. He could not go about hexing muggles, it was not conductive to healing Harry. Although it might make him feel better. "Anything you say in this room will not be repeated except to those who need to know, like the Headmistress. I will not tell anyone exactly what you say, unless there is something concerning there. If you are a danger to yourself or others, or if your health is concerned, I do have to tell the Headmistress and your guardians. But Remus and Severus will never hurt you like your relatives did Harry. You will never go back there child, don't even think on that." Tim stated calmly, meeting the boy's eyes for a moment. "Try and calm down Harry, or I will need to give you some calming magic." He added with a small frown. The boy had worked himself up quite a bit.

Harry took a deep breath, not sure if he was quite ready to believe it. It was too good to be true, that he would be free from the Dursleys. "I'm really free sir?" He asked quietly, breaking the silence.

"Yes Harry. You are free from them and safe. You are also loved. I-" He broke off when a Patronus came tumbling into the room.

The silvery fox, Remus' patronus, glided through the closed door and hovered in front of the healer. "You are needed in the Infirmary, as soon as you are able. Severus and Alexis are overwhelmed, and Poppy is not equipped. Charity will be by in a moment." It spoke in Remus' controlled, frantic voice before dissipating. A moment later there was a knock on the door.

Tim sighed. Of all the times, right when he was getting through to the child! "I'm sorry Harry, we will have to continue this later." He replied, standing swiftly. He summoned his bag and a small black notebook. "Here, this is for you. Use it to write down anything that you feel you cannot speak about." He handed the child the notebook, smiling briefly at the boy while waving his hand at the door. It opened and Charity, the muggle studies teacher if he was correct, stepped into the room, looking quite distraught. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder, sending a quick burst of calming magic into her. "How many?" He asked sharply, glancing once more at the child.

"Four. Two are critical and one is...unresponsive. Alexis said to inform you to bring your 'second bag'." Charity replied quietly, before turning to smile at Harry. "Hello Harry. Your guardians are a bit tied up right now but they didn't want you wondering around alone yet. If Tim says it is alright, would you like to go flying?" She glanced at the healer, who was moving around at an almost inhuman speed.

"Use a safety spell and it should be fine. I'll see you later Harry, come to me if you need anything." Tim responded, stepping into the floo.

Harry turned wide green eyes on the professor that he had only seen a few times in passing before. But if the professors trusted her, then she must be okay. Besides she said flying. "Flying? Yes, please." He grinned.

Charity smile at the child, letting him toward the pitch and away from the castle. It was best to be as far away from the infirmary as possible right now. It was not a good sight to see, not at all.

-x-

"Breathe, child. Breathe." Alexis murmured, sending jolts of magic directly to the boy's heart. She heard Tim arrive but ignored him, focusing entirely on bringing this rising Seventh year, a boy close to seventeen, back from the brink of death. His younger sibling was on another bed, heavily sedated. The girl had a fractured rib and a few abrasions, but nothing too serious. He, on the other hand, had nearly died twice since they had portkeyed him to Hogwarts, all of five minutes ago. "Come on child, breathe." She hissed, sending one last bolt into his heart and another to his lungs. She paused, wiping the back of her hand across her face, the use of so much strong magic was draining her. But the only way to save him was with her hands on his chest, pushing the magic into him. Thankfully, his body finally seemed to want to work with her, as his chest finally, finally, started to raise and fall again. Thank Merlin. She sent her magic, more gently this time, back into his body. Touch healing was difficult to master but it worked amazingly. It was also the most draining type of healing. With one hand still on his chest, she picked up her wand again, tracing it over the boy's leg with a muttered spell. The crack of bone made her wince, but the leg aligned itself and she mended the break. She sent a small burst of magic to his lungs, to clear them of fluid, and another to heal a small bit of internal bleeding. All told, the boy had been truly beaten, one of the worse cases she had seen lately. His body made his sister's beating look like a tap, made Harry's beating look light in comparison. He was lucky to be alive.

Tim took a deep breath, surveying the room. Alexis had her hands on a teenager's chest, muttering under her breath. Before he go move to help her, however, she removed her hands and the boy's chest started to raise and fall. He turned his head to find the other three children, catching Remus' eye.

"We need you over here, Tim, if Alexis is alright." Remus called, beckoning toward a bed a few places away. They had spread out so that they would have space, he had never imagined that any of the students would arrive looking like this though. It was just...heartbreaking.

Tim nodded, moving quickly over to the bed. Remus and Poppy both stepped back, letting him take charge. Both were decent healers, but neither could handle the most serious of injuries alone. With a quick diagnostic spell, he grimaced, spelling away the child's outer clothes. He left the underclothes, as they weren't in his way, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder and another on her stomach. He closed his eyes, focusing his magic on the internal bleeding. She had been hit it the ribs with something heavy and one of her ribs was close to piecing her lungs. Her spleen and kidneys were both bruised and her stomach was bleeding. He send the magic through each organ, healing and strengthening it, before tending to the rib. It was a tricky process, especially with the small fracture to her collarbone, but he managed to ease the rib back into place, before waving his wand with a bit of Latin. The bone mended easily and her collarbone cracked, before snapping back into place and healing completely. He summoned one of his healers bags, with he had dropped near the floo, and rummaged in it for a moment before finding the wrap he needed. Although he could heal her ribs and collarbone, both would still be tender and sore for a few days. He wrapped the rib to prevent it from getting re-injuried and to strength it as it finished healing the natural way. She has a few abrasions which were taken care of with a simple balm, before he finally turned from the bed, leaving the now healing child in Poppy's capable hands.

Severus muttered a curse, summoning a potion on the hopes that Tim thought to bring it. A small black bag flew into his hands and he opened it, eyes taking it all of the restricted healing and restorative potions before finding the one he needed. He grabbed it, uncorking the vial with his teeth as he moved his wand it a delicate pattern, murmuring in Latin. His body stopped convulsing long enough for him to open his mouth and pour it the potion, muttering a spell to make the boy sallow. The seizures stopped and he took a deep breath, glancing up at Remus. The slightly older man was tending to abrasions on the child's arms and chest now that he was no longer trying to keep the boy on the bed. He turned back to fixing the damage with a sigh. The boy was no longer critical, since he was breathing on his own and he was not bleeding internally. There were a few injuries he had to repair, but nothing life threatening.

-x-

"You will wear a path in the carpet, Alexis." Tim stated dryly, watching the woman over his cup of tea.

Her quarters felt a bit crowded. Normally it was only Tim, Remus and Severus, or Filius. Never the four of them and Poppy, plus two of Tim's team. The two who had just arrived. Grey eyes glared at him briefly, she did not like being scolded in front of so many people and he knew that, before Alexis finally dropped into her own chair, taking the mug of tea that Remus offered her. "Harry?" She asked softly.

"Charity and Aurora have him engaged in an exciting game of Gobstones in the Great Hall." Remus replied just as quietly. He smiled when the younger woman snorted.

"Ink everywhere then. I always thought it needed redecorating." She drawled, drawing laughs from two of the present professors and a snort from Severus. Good, the mood needed to be lighten. She glanced at Cara Stinkle and Lema Ruse, two of the new mind-healers. Both were trained by Tim. All of his team had been trained by him, at one point or another. An army of Touch-Healers. Exactly what they needed. "Since Tim had no manners, Healers Stinkle and Ruse will be joining our staff as part of a team of mind-healers." She added, nodding to the two women. The blond, Rema, smiled, whilst the redheaded Cara merely looked up from the file she was scanning.

"You have four students here now then? But one is almost of age and none have guardians, do they?" Cara asked quietly, sharp green eyes meeting steel before gazing around the room and finding Tim's brown orbs. He gave a small, brief nod, and she relaxed. She had never been his patient and for that she was thankful. It was hard enough when he had been her teacher, and now, thirty-seven years old, he still intimated her. Tim wore authority like a cloak, he was no-nonsense and gentle at the same time, a great, experienced mind-healer. The nine healer team was strong because of Tim. Two healers for each house and Tim for the staff and specific cases, the harder to reach ones. That was his specialty. Hers was young teenage girls.

"Five students, if you count Harry. And they do have guardians. The school is acting in loco parentis to all students who will spent the summers, just as we do during the school year. Those whose guardianship can be terminated, will. The rest will just be kept safe here. And yes, that includes the boy who is nearly of age. Seventeen might be of age in our world, but very few children are capable of taking care of and supporting themselves at that age. He also has a twelve year old sister and I will not separate them. We will find something for him here, but he is staying." Alexis snarled, steel eyes flashing. She knew, logically, that the slightly older healer was not challenging her judgment but she was not about to lose one of her children, one of Hogwart's most vulnerable. No way in hell.

"The children are safe here and no one will remove them, Alexis. Healer's oath, remember?" Severus remarked quietly, catching the younger woman's eyes. He held her gaze until she nodded, turning his own gaze to the two new healers. "My sister has a bit of a hot temper when she feels that children at threatened, forgive her." He purred. The younger of the two, Ruse?, blushed and averted her gaze, causing Remus and Filius to snort. Merlin help him if the younger healer had a crush on him!

Alexis bit her lip to keep her mouth from dropping on or from smiling, she wasn't sure which. Well! It was a heavy sort of day, one that dragged healers down. But Severus had just publicly acknowledged her as his sister! And the women probably thought he meant by blood. Although the way Lema was staring at Severus was a bit...hilarious. It was only a matter of time before Remus started snarling and growling possessively. Of course he might not, seeing as Lema was not a threat. At all. Severus was not a blond lover. At all. She bit back a chuckle, meeting Tim's gaze.

Tim nodded, sorting through his pile of paperwork quite clearly. "The four students arrived in varying conditions, as you are all aware. I believe it is Nora and Robert Pioky, twelve and sixteen respectively; Phil Green, fifteen; and Alana Thompson, fourteen. So, that is five students between twelve and sixteen. I'm not sure of their houses, however." He remarked quietly, his voice carrying in the silent room. He glanced at Severus and the younger man nodded with a slight frown.

"Both Pioky's are Slytherins. I've been trying to get Robert removed from his home for six years but he refused for some reason he wouldn't mention, until his sister started Hogwarts and he stopped going home for breaks. Green is a Gryffindor and Thompson is one of Filius'." Severus added, biting back a sigh. It was going to be a long summer, he knew that.

Alexis gave a small nod, deep in thought. She had already known this of course and they had already spoken of the serious injuries that three of the four had sported. She would have to speak with all four separately when they were awake. There was so much work to be done and hopefully it would be enough to help these children. She took a sip of the restorative tea, before setting it down and musing aloud "There is much healing to be done, but we, as a school, will make it so." The prayer and oath went up, a shiver of power running through the room. She was not surprised to here the "so mote it be" the rang up around the room. But she was surprised when the wards flared in her mind and strengthen. She was also surprised when the shimmer of magic shown from each person, brighter than before. An oath indeed. "So mote it be." She whispered with a smile as the world went black.