A/N- So Sunday, apparently, is more than two chapters long...I will post the final section of this day as soon as it is written. This is cute in places and serious in others...italics are usually thoughts, x's are scene breaks. Sorry it took so long to post but the end of the chapter was very hard for me to write. Do not own. Enjoy and as always, use your words.

~Case

-x-
Teddy frowned, watching his friend pace restlessly. They were in Karrie's new room and Harry was...agitated. The brown-haired youth shook his head, glancing at the girl who was stretched out on the bed beside him, reading. Harry had been pacing for several minutes now and he knew the other boy was thinking, but they couldn't help him if he didn't tell them what was wrong. Their friendship ran on trust, openness, and acceptance. It felt like it was going to be a long afternoon, even for a Sunday.

He grumbled under his breath, catching the bits and sparkles of magic as he paced. He wanted to fly! But Remus had said no, that they couldn't fly right now. The man wasn't here right now though...he had gone up to speak with Professor Flitwick and Severus was still in his office, apparently talking with a student. He wasn't quite sure. So why couldn't they fly? It wasn't like he ever needed permission before and they would never know. After all, they could just say they went to Teddy's room or to visit Hagrid... "Let's go fly." He turned back toward his two friends, noting their frowns.

"We can't, Harry. Remus said no." Karrie sighed, briefly glancing up from the book Millie had sent her. Millie...she really needed to talk to someone about Mille, an adult, but who?

"So? He'll never know." Harry shrugged, turning his eyes to meet brown.

Teddy shook his head, biting his lip for a moment. Although he did want to fly, he knew better than to disobey an adult. It usually meant trouble. "We'll get in trouble."

He groaned, shaking his head. So what if they did? Their guardians had said that they would never be beaten, although he didn't quite believe that. He just wanted to fly. So badly. It always made him feel better. "Come on, it'll be fun." He argued finally. Harry did understand why his friends didn't want to get into trouble, but he didn't care. He just wanted to do something, anything, to prove that they really didn't want him. Because he knew they'd send him back eventually. Better get it over with. And he knew they wouldn't send back Karrie or Teddy. But him, well, he wasn't important and he was angry. And sad. And well, he didn't even know how he felt!

"Neither of us have brooms Harry. And your broom is warded." Teddy reasoned quietly.

He blinked. It was locked up...but perhaps he could undo the spell? He'd been toying with magic lately and sometimes wards just fell apart after a while. "I think I can remove the ward."

Karrie sat her book down, sitting up with wide eyes. "Really?" If he could, she wanted to see it. She had only heard of such magic before, being able to just remove an unknown spell. But those were usually very powerful grown witches and wizards. They were just children, it wasn't something they were suppose to be able to do yet, if at all.

"I think so, yeah." He shrugged, glancing at Teddy. The slightly older boy hesitated for a moment before nodding. If nothing else, it would be fun to try. He grinned, racing toward the living room. He skidded to a stop near the cupboard, trying the handle for a moment. It was locked and he knew a standard unlocking spell would still set the wards off. He had to remove the wards and then unlocked the door. He frowned, placing his hand on the door and concentrating on the glimmers of magic that ran through it. He felt the wards weakening slightly, as he pulled at the strands. He didn't quite understand what he was doing but at least it was working.

"What, may I ask, are you doing?" Severus drawled from the doorway. He stepped quickly into the room, striding toward his hazardous potion cupboard and the children. He had felt that alarm immediately, that someone was messing with the cupboard. They had never thought that the children would try to unlock a locked door, but perhaps they should have warned them not to. Either way, what the boy was doing wasn't an unlocking spell nor was it something he should be doing. He had left Bain in his office when the alarm went off but he knew the older boy would follow.

Harry jumped, trying to pull his hand away from the door. He grimaced, tugging it but his hand wouldn't move. Uh-oh. That wasn't what he meant to do.

He stopped beside the child, squinting to see the bits of magic. It looked like the ward, one of the strongest invented, had wrapped around the child's hand and was sealing it to the wood. He swore softly, turning dark eyes to spot the teenager. "Bain, get Alexis immediately. I don't care what she is doing, inform her that Mr. Potter has formed a ward around his hand. The ward that is on my hazardous potions cabinet." He ordered, before turning his eyes to the two children. "Sit, both of you. Stop struggling Harry. You will only make it worse." He knelt beside the messy haired child and bit back a sigh. They should have expected Harry to mess with the wards, they should have spoken to him about it sooner. But this past week had been busy and they had planned to have the conversation tomorrow. Clearly, tomorrow would be too late.

He grimaced, biting his lip. He was in for it now! Surely he would be punished for this...although, had the professor said that this was a potions cupboard? That couldn't be right! Where were the brooms, then? He tugged his hand again, glaring at the door. Harry started pulling at the bits of magic frantically, because his hand was now throbbing, struggling to get free.

"Stop, Harry! Do not mess with the ward! If you bring it down abruptly, the cabinet might explode. The potions inside are sensitive to magic and they are dangerous. That is why it is heavily warded." Severus snapped, catching the child's free hand. The boy was going to cause more damage to himself if he didn't stop messing with the magic.

"Hurts." He whimpered, biting his lip.

Teddy shifted uneasily on the couch, watching his friend struggle in silence. He should have stopped him, should have told him that it was a bad idea. But he didn't know this would happen, none of them had. He had only heard of using magic like this, and that was just pieces of adult conversation, just theories really. He had never seen someone do it before and his curiosity had got the better of him. Of them, really. All three of them had wanted to see if Harry could actually do it, so this happened. Damn.

"I know it hurts, child. Take a deep breath, that's it." Severus squeezed the boy's hand gently, using his free hand to brush tears off of his cheeks. Only his child would end up in a situation like this. Alexis needed to hurry up, before they had to do more than just heal bruising. He turned his head when the floo went off, catching her eye when she stumbled out of it. She had never been the most graceful at floo exits.

She hesitated for a moment, surveying the scene in front of her. The child's hand was wrapped tightly in olive green strands of magic, pushed into a violent mess of multi-coloured pieces of magic. Damn child couldn't do anything in halves. Alexis crouched beside the child silently, examining his hand with her eyes and magic once more. The boy must had created a hole in the layer of wards, causing the magic that protected the potions to strike out against him. He was lucky that he hadn't made the cabinet explode. His hand looked to have the beginnings of burn marks on it; she needed to act fast. "I need you to be still, Harry. As still as possible." She murmured softly, stretching her hand, palm out, toward the door. She did not, however, touch the door, which was the child's second mistake. His first had been trying to unravel a ward that clearly fought him back. She closed her eyes, finding the sickly green bits of magic in her mind. She carefully weaved the blue of the wards back together, using a strand of yellow magic to separate the child's hand from the wards. In her mind, she slowly unraveled the green, rolling the pieces of magic up like a ball. She turned her hand, palm up, concentrating for a moment.

He frowned, one hand still on the child, watching as a ball of light slowly formed in Alexis' outstretched hand. To work magic like this, without any circles or wards, without any direction, was not just difficult and rare, something few adult mages could do, but in its rawest form it was extremely draining on the witch or wizard. Sorceress, really. For she was not just manipulating the magic, bits that he could barely see, and not without years of learning to see it, but she was taking something, an accident the child created, and disassembling it; creating what she needed for it and destroying whatever was left. Well no, destroying was the wrong word, as magic couldn't ever really be destroyed. She was returning it, perhaps, to where magic stemmed from.

Grey eyes opened, smiling softly at the ball of magic before closing her hand and letting it flow back to where it came. "So mote it be." She whispered, turning her eyes to the young teenager. She caught his hand as it slid from the door, turning it to study the palm for a moment. It was red and angry looking but there was no real damage, no lasting damage. The boy had been lucky; she had seen a smattering of cases where people had messed with magic they did not fully comprehend and it had ended quite badly. She reached into the pocket of her robes, fumbling around for a moment before pulling out a jar of salve. Working with children had the benefit of making her prepare for anything, something Tim had taught her years before. She took the boy's hand again, gently spreading the salve over the marks. "Well, Mr. Potter, you were quite lucky this time. I believe we need to have a discussion." She remarked finally, rocking back on her heels.

He flinched, ducking his head. Harry knew that they only called him by his last name when he was in trouble or had done something stupid. And perhaps it had been stupid, he had got caught after all and he hadn't thought it was a potions cabinet. "Sorry Professor." He murmured automatically.

"I'm sure you are, Harry. But what is it exactly that you are apologizing for?" She waited a moment, shaking her head when he didn't respond. "Do not apologize if you do not know what you are apologizing for." She advised, straightening slowly and motioning toward the couch.

Severus stood, squeezing the child's shoulder briefly before eyeing the Headmistress. Tim would be...displeased if she fainted again. She did look quite pale and he knew how much magic and effort it took to do what she did, to help his child. "Go sit, Harry." He turned dark eyes to meet gray, raising an eyebrow. She merely nodded, making a face for a fleeting second before turning toward the children once more. He walked beside her, just in case, coming to a stop in front of the three little miscreants. Well, one little miscreant and two curious young teenagers. "Why were you three trying to get into my restricted potions cabinet? The potions in there are volatile. One wrong move, a bit of magic too much, and the entire cabinet could have exploded." He drawled slowly, arching a brow at the squirming child. He had a feeling that Teddy and Karrie had very little to do with this misadventure.

"We thought it was a broom cupboard." Karrie slowly looked up from her hands, green eyes going to her new guardian. She knew he wasn't really angry; he had been a bit at first but mostly, it was worry. And now, he was just disappointed. She didn't like disappointing her guardians though. Not at all. Even if she knew that they wouldn't hurt her; they might decide that they didn't want her.

"Why on earth would a broom cupboard have seven layers of wards?" Alexis asked, shaking her head slowly. All of this because of brooms? If she remembered correctly, Remus and Severus kept the brooms in their bedroom but not locked up; much as she did.

"Erm." He shrugged, glancing at Teddy. The other boy had furrowed his brow, biting his lip in thought. He just didn't want to get his friends in trouble. He had been the one removing the wards, after all.

"It wouldn't. Seven layers?" Teddy muttered, scowling slightly. He knew his friend had a gift but to mess with seven layers of wards was foolish. Unless Harry hadn't noticed, the other boy didn't know as much about magic after all. He had been raised by muggles, of course he wouldn't know old traditions and about layers of magic. But he couldn't have explained it to his friend, he barely grasped it himself.

She gave the oldest young teenager a brief nod, turning her eyes to focus solely on the messy-haired child. "You cannot just mess with magic Harry. It isn't a toy to be trifled with at will, but a sentient being the deserves respect. Using magic like that needs tight control, control that you do not have yet. Your core has yet to stabilize, your magic has not reached maturity. You cannot just use magic that you do not understand nor comprehend." She scolded finally, folding her arms and leaning back slightly.

Harry scowled, glaring at his trainers. He hadn't been messing! He had just been trying to remove a spell; it was something he liked trying, even if it didn't always work. Although he didn't quite understand what he was doing, he had figured out how to do it. It was interesting and the magic...it called to him. He knew what a magical core was, of course, but he didn't understand why it had to mature. When did it mature, anyway? Maybe with puberty? But the book Severus gave him, the parts he'd read so far anyway, didn't mention stabilizing the core. What did that even mean, anyway? He felt so stupid in situations like this, but at least Karrie looked as lost as he was. "Why does a core have to stabilize, Professor? I thought all magicals were born with it." He questioned finally, peeking up at her. The worse she could do was refuse to answer, after all, but he didn't think she would. She was a teacher: they usually encouraged questions.

"All magicals are born with a magical core but that core isn't fully formed. Your core will continue to grow and change until it matures. The core stabilizes around puberty, it becomes a bit more settled, easier to control. That is why first and second years learn mostly theory, because their cores are not at a stable enough point to consistently perform magic. Rarely is there a child whose core doesn't stabilize until maturity, which is usually between sixteen and eighteen, when your magic is fully within your control; although it will develop a little bit longer, it will not change very much." She explained carefully, shifting through the knowledge in her mind. "Using magic helps your core strengthen, much like a muscle. But when you use magic that you do not understand, you can do damage to your core, by forcing it to form pathways that it isn't quite ready for. Not many people can do what you do, Harry. Not many can naturally see what you see. They can train themselves to see the bits of magic but most of the time they have to look for it or the magic cast has to be very powerful." Alexis added softly, crouching to be on eye level with the seated child. She needed him to understand this because she wasn't so sure that he wouldn't be harmed next time. She needed to test his levels, to see where he was at magically and what he was able to do now. He would not learn as she did, without proper instruction and a complete lack of control. But then, his core would not mature until he was in his late teens. There would be no need for it to mature earlier than that, not anymore. A child's magic only matured before sixteen if it was a drastic matter between life or death. Of all the abused children in her care, those who were not quite sixteen, none of their cores had ever decided to fully come into power, even if the threat to their lives had been great, and she knew they had been. She only knew of three cases where a child's core had matured early and the child had survived the backlash of magic. Severus who had been fifteen, right after his mother had passed away; Charlie who had also been fifteen; and herself, when she was merely fourteen. The youngest core to ever mature was an eight year old child and the child had died from the overpowering of their magic; the youngest to survive...well, that had been her. Or so Tim had told her.

He tilted his head to the side, looking at her fully now. He knew he was a freak but apparently he was a bigger freak than he thought, if her words were true. As he had no reason to doubt her, he was sure they were. "I understand, professor." He muttered, turning his eyes back to his trainers. And he did understand, he understood that he was a freak and that what he did was bad. Isn't that what she was saying, after all?

Alexis sighed, meeting Severus' eyes for a moment. She wasn't quite sure that the child did understand but she would take it for now. "Alright Harry. Come by my office after supper and we will work on your abilities." She relented finally, shaking her head. She would have to find a way to explain it better to the child this evening, a way to make the complex notions understandable for a twelve year old. Hell, she remembered when Tim had explained it to her and she hadn't understood either; she had been much older than this child was! She would have to get Tim's help to test the boy...so much to do today.

"Yes Professor." Harry replied obediently, furrowing his brow. Why would she want to work with a freak like him? There was no helping a freak; freaks were just useless, wastes of time. Burdens. That's what Uncle had always said, even if Severus and Remus said otherwise. He knew he was a burden to them, they had to buy him clothes and toys after all. So he knew he was a burden, so why would she want to work with him?

"All right then." She straighten slowly, beckoning to her brother with an inclination of her head and moving toward the kitchen. She paused briefly, ruffling Teddy's hair. The child leaned into her touch for a moment before grinning up at her and taking off with his friends.

"You look horrible." Severus drawled, offering the younger woman a potion. She merely shrugged, batting away his hand.

"Keep an eye on Harry. I will work with him tonight; however I do not believe he understood my warning." She sighed, leaning against the counter and closing her eyes.

If she fainted on him, he would kill her. And then Filius would kill him. It was a never-ending cycle. He snorted softly to himself, reaching out a hand to steady her. Filius had admonished him to keep an eye on his sister but every time he tried to help her, she would just brush him off; brush it off like it was nothing, like there wasn't something wrong with her. He rested his hand gently on her upper arm, feeling her tremble slightly. "Alexis. Take this now." He growled, placing the vial to her lips. Grey eyes flew up and she glared at him, lips pressed firmly shut. "I will call Tim." He threatened silkily, dangerously soft.

She bit her lip, eyeing the potion for a moment. Her head felt like an elephant was standing on it and her limbs were shaky, but otherwise she was fine. She didn't need a replenisher! It would make her sleep and she had too much to do to sleep. She needed to speak with Bain, he had seemed a bit distraught when he had fetched her; she still had piles of paperwork to get through, she needed to check on each of her wards and she wanted a bit of time with Teddy; she had to work with Elijah on controlling his temper and Ariana needed to talk to someone about her past and Marko and Milo were fighting and...she just had too much to do. She could do it, of course, and she would, because these children needed her, but she didn't need a nap, not right now. She finally pushed his hand away, shaking her head. "I'm fine, Sev." She was fine, really. She just needed a few minutes to breathe and let her magic calm down once more. Disabling that ward and freeing the child shouldn't have affected her like this but she knew that she had spent a lot of magic lately, by reinforcing and applying wards to the school. Her body was not quite used to the amount of magic she was channeling, but it would be in time. She just needed a bit of time.

He arched a brow at her, stashing the potion into his pocket and taking hold of her elbow. He pulled her away from the counter, encircling her with his arm and steering her from the kitchen toward his and Remus' bedroom. If they were going to fight, and they would fight if he forced this potion down her, which he would, then they would do so in private, away from the ears of children. She was leaning heavily against him, tremors still shaking her too thin frame. If this was fine, he'd hate to see what bad looked like. A wave of his hand opened the door to the bedroom, guiding her gently into the room. He pushed her toward the bed, stepping back to sneer at her. "Do not lie to me." He growled as she sank down onto the bed, her head in her hands.

"Mind your own business." She snapped.

He snorted, shaking his head. "You are my business." And she was. Even if they hadn't had the bonding yet, even if the adoption wasn't official, she was still his business, his sister. Perhaps it had only been a few days since Filius had brought up the subject to them, but she had been his sister for much longer. His magic recognized her as family and had done so for over a year now. Since that faithful day with the acromantulas... a shared misadventure had strengthen the bond they were already forming, and the bond they both had with Filius. The blood adoption would make that bond even stronger. If he didn't kill her before then, of course.

"I have work to do, Severus." She growled, moving to stand but a firm hand pressed her back down.

"You are no good to the children if you are too weak to do anything."

She groaned, shaking her head. That turned out to be a mistake as the pain in her head increasing suddenly. She knew he was right but that didn't mean she had to agree with him. She had too much to do and sleeping brought...dreams.

He removed the potion from his robes once more, holding it out to the younger woman. "Come now, Alexis. It will make you feel better." He directed softly, finally sitting beside her on the bed. "I will keep an eye on the children. Just take it."

She met his eyes for a brief moment, knowing that she would not win this. She leaned against him, feeling his arm come up around her once more, before taking the vial from him. She swished the liquid around for a moment before uncorking the vial and tipping it into her mouth. She felt the magic of the potion rush through her and she took a deep breath, letting her body relax.

Severus glanced down at the younger woman, smirking at her sleeping form. She was exhausted, her body had not been getting enough sleep, and then she spent too much magic. Probably not just with his child, but also messing with the school's wards again. He would need to help her strip and reapply the wards at a later day; right now she needed rest. He picked her up, moving the covers with a wave of his hand, and laid her fully onto the bed. He tugged the covers around her, casting a small charm to let him know if she woke, before leaving her to her sleep. She was taking care of the children, so he would take care of her.

-x-

She groaned, rolling away from the hand on her shoulder. "Five more minutes." Came the sleepy murmur, her eyes not even bothering to open.

"It's time to wake up, Alexis. You've been sleeping for three hours." The brown-haired man explained sternly, laying out Alexis' robe. He vanished into the en-suite for a moment, to set out some clean clothes and a towel for the younger woman. This was not the first time she had fallen asleep, or been forced to sleep, on their bed. And if his plan went as he hoped, the younger woman would join them, with her wards, as a member of their household. The cottage was quite large enough for all of them, after all, and in most British families, at least the pure-blooded ones, generations of families often lived under one roof. Of course, they had a summer to get through first. He returned to the room and bit back a sigh. While she was cute when she slept, she needed to get up. She had already missed lunch and although there was still a few hours until dinner, she would not sleep tonight if she didn't get up. Remus pulled the covers off of her, shaking his head when she just curled up tighter. "Come Alexis. Up."

She groaned, groping about for the blanket. She was cold and she wanted to sleep! Damn man. She gasped when she was lifted into the air, cradled against a strong chest, an arm under her legs and one around her shoulders. Her eyes flew open to glare into brown. "Down!" She snapped.

He ignored her, striding into the bathroom with her in his arms. He finally set her on hr feet, raising an eyebrow at her snarl. "Shower. You will feel better." He ordered quietly, turning and leaving the younger woman to do just that. He closed the door quietly and sat down on the edge of the bed, listening for the sounds of running water. It took a few minutes but the shower finally turned on and he smirked, setting the potion Severus had left for her on top of her robes and leaving to check on his children.

-x-

Alexis bit back a smile, gazing down at the boy asleep in her lap. Teddy was stretched out on the couch, his head resting in her lap and his feet curled up against Bain. Elijah sat on Bain's other side, both of the older boys had lap-desks and were writing essays. Of her three boys, only the youngest was well-behaved, it seemed. She could get used to this though, having these three boys with her all the time. To have all three of them become hers...it was possible, after all. She was planning to adopt Bain and Teddy anyway; but Elijah had also found a way into her heart, had become one of her children. She had nineteen wards, yes, and she spent time with each of them, but these three were becoming hers, becoming more than just children that she was responsible for, more than just caring about their welfare. Her magic had accepted them as her children, was forming a deeper bond than just guardian with these children's magic. She knew Bain noticed the bond, but Elijah and Teddy probably hadn't yet, or didn't know what that tug at their magic was. She had to speak with Elijah about it, of course, to make sure he was alright with her adopting him. She would have fewer wards by the end of summer as it was. Pomona was going to take custody of Robert and little Nora; Charity had fallen for Ariana and little Lila; Septima was debating on taking three of the teenagers; Marko and Milo had a grandfather in the wizarding world who wanted custody and who was vouched for by Lucius; and Karrie had become Remus and Severus'. She couldn't adopt them all, but she could find homes and families for the rest, or keep them as her wards. It would be a long process, a lot of paperwork, and no small amount of patience, but it was possible. These children would have families, all of them. She glanced over at her office door at the slight buzzing sound, frowning when the orb flashed a light blue. A child, then. She sighed softly, looking down at Teddy once more. She hated to weak the child, as he did not sleep often enough.

Elijah crouched beside the older woman, gently wrapping his arms under Teddy. He lifted the skinny boy slightly, allowing the headmistress to slip out from under him, before lowering the child carefully back onto the pillow Bain had placed there. He frowned when the child tossed slightly, muttering in his sleep, hesitating for a moment before transfiguring another pillow into a small stuff dragon. Unfortunately it was the colour of the pillow, a dark purple, but it did look quite like a dragon. He eased it into the child's grasp, before returning to his spot on the couch. Her nod of approval and smile made his stomach feel warm. The brief touch to the top of his head caused him to smile, because it felt...nice. Like he was cared about.

"Bain's in charge, stay in the quarters. If I'm not back by supper, the three of you head down to the Hall and stay together." She murmured softly, smiling briefly at her two thoughtful lads before entering her office. She shut the door behind her and strode purposefully to the outside door. She opened it at the timid knock, gazing down at...Karrie. "Come in, child. Is everything alright?" She asked calmly, ushering the girl toward the desk. She wondered if Remus knew where his child was.

She hesitated, green eyes unsure. "Can I..can I talk to you, Professor?" She asked finally, biting her lip. The woman had told them that they could all come to her, that she was open to all of them. She even spent part of the evenings in the camp quarters, just to talk with whoever wanted to or, usually, to listen.

"Of course. Come, let's sit. Hot chocolate, Karrie?" She offered, tapping twice on her desk, The mugs popped into view and she held one out to the younger girl. A hesitated hand accepted the mug as the girl shifted uneasily in her seat. "Now, what's on your mind Karrie?" She questioned causally, leaning back to study the child. It was easier for the children if she appeared relaxed and calm, more reassuring for them. If she was relaxed, they would relax which made it easier for them to speak about what bothered them. With this child, in particular, it could be a number of things but Karrie wasn't one who actively sought help or advice. Hopefully, they could change that.

She stared into the mug of chocolate for a moment, taking a careful sip of it. It was delicious and it warmed her belly, perhaps chocolate really was magical after all. "I'm worried about...my friend." She responded finally, peeking up at the woman briefly. The headmistress was perfectly blank but she could tell that the woman was listening and she could see the bit of concern that showed through her eyes.

"What is causing you to worry?" Alexis asked calmly, running through a list of the girl's known friends. Harry, Teddy, Lila and Ariana were the only ones that she had seen her with, around the camp at least. Ariana had agreed to keep an eye of Karrie and Lila often went wherever her older sister was. She knew Ariana was having problems of her own but for some reason she didn't think the girl meant Ariana. She could mean one of the other children, of course, but then, the child might also mean herself. It wouldn't be the first time that a child used a friend as an excuse to ask for help or get advice, without letting on that it was for them.

Karrie took a deep breath, hesitating for a moment. Millie would never speak to her again if she told, but she was worried about her friend. And she wished she had someone to speak up for her when she was first...yeah. She could do this. Jake, Mary, and Charlie were always telling them to take to an adult if they were worried about their safety or a friends safety. Because abused kids often found each other, apparently. Often knew each other. It was true here, because the camp was all abused kids, but she wasn't sure if it would be true outside of camp. But if it would help her friend, then she would tell. "My friend was...attacked by another student last semester." She murmured, staring at her shoes.

She blinked, that wasn't what she had been expecting at all. A student was attacked in her school?! She forced herself to calm, keeping her expression as bland as possible. "Could you be more specific, Karrie?"

"My friend was assaulted by an older boy, a prefect, but he threatened to tell everyone that she was a lying Slytherin slut and she was scared he would hurt her. That no one would believe her; that since he didn't rape her, it didn't matter. She won't listen to me! And she's afraid to come back to school because of it!" Karrie growled, frustrated. Millie wouldn't listen to her! Her friend had been hurt and there was nothing she could do about it! Millie had said that the boy would graduate this next year, so it wasn't such a big deal, but she didn't understand! The other girl had a Head of House that was so much like her own, that would have believed her and dealt, harshly, with the creep. Would she have told if it was her? Probably not, but she was used to being used that way. She didn't want her friend to become this way, to become used to those touches, to feel dirty all the time. Millie wasn't her, she didn't need to become bad like her. She just wanted to protect her friend.

A prefect assaulted a younger student? And Dumbledore didn't know?! There were alarms to alert to such things, unless the damn man had ignored or disabled them. The child was a Slytherin...why didn't the girl tell Severus? The man was quite caring toward his students, he was always there for them and she knew that the little snakes knew this. But perhaps the girl was frightened into not telling, perhaps the boy had threatened to do serious harm to her. That did make sense and she had met many survivors of violent acts who had been forced into silence. Prefects were in a position of power and he could have easily threatened her. She needed to know who this child and her attacker were, so that she could talk to the girl and, if possible, expel the boy. It might not be possible, depending on how sure of the identity the child was and her memories of the event. But she would not have a child attacked while in her school, nor would she have a child who was terrified of coming back to school. "Who is your friend?" She asked slowly, watching the child squirm and shake her head. "I cannot help, child, if I don't know who she is." She added gently

She grimaced, raising grey eyes to meet gray. "Millie."

One of Lucius'? And Narcissa hadn't found out about it yet? That was...odd. The Malfoy couple was quite good at getting the children they kept to speak about what was bothering them. Narcissa was good with children and teenagers, even if she wasn't a certified mind healer. She mothered so many children, those who she kept while their parents worked or traveled, or those who didn't have a mother at all. The woman had once even mothered her, when she was an apprentice and Tim needed someone to keep an eye on her when he got called away. The woman would be very upset to hear that one of her charges had been assaulted while at school. "Thank you for telling me, Karrie. I will make sure it is quite safe for Millie to come back to school. I will take it from here." She responded quietly, nodding at the girl.

She knew a dismissal when she heard one and she didn't doubt that the professor believed her. She went to stand, setting her mug down. "Thank you, Professor."

"Karrie...how are you holding up child?" She questioned softly.

The girl blinked, shrugging. "I'm fine, Professor."

Of course. Well, it was worth a try. "Would you like to use the floo?" She offered, biting back a sigh. A nod and a small grin were her only answers. "I'm here if you need anything child." She added, handing the girl a bit of floo powder. Green eyes stared into hers for a moment before the child nodded once more and vanished through the floo, back to Remus and Severus' quarters. Back home. She took a deep breath, running her hand through her hair. She needed to contact Lucius and check on her boys. Lucius first and then Tim, the three of them would have to get the child's statement. And Severus would need to be alerted. So much to do for this child and it needed to be done now. She took another deep breath, nodding to herself and turned to her desk to find the paperwork she needed. Because everything had paperwork, after all.