A/N: Do not own. So here it is, the newest chapter. Very much of Alexis and Tim in this one, as well as Harry and some Severus and Lucius. Alexis is angry here, rightly so. But perhaps she gets a bit snappy and Tim might not approve...Enjoy, let me know what you think. Translations are at the end as needed; x's are scene breaks and italics are usually thoughts. As always, use your words.

~Cas

-x-

Nearly black eyes watched the pacing healer, shaking his head slightly. She was muttering to herself in German again and he knew better than to cast a translation spell on her. Severus understood enough to know that she was swearing violently every few words. He had had to fight down his rage when she had informed him that one of his second years had been assaulted while under his care and hadn't told him. Of course, after he calmed down enough to think straight, he realized that the child was probably too terrified to tell him but that did nothing to lessen his anger at her attacker. It was getting the child to talk that had proven to be a problem. Even with Narcissa there and her mother offering to floo in, the child had refused. Millicent had agreed to let them view her memories, which Tim and Lucius were still in, but it had not shown them her attackers face and she was too scared to tell them. Her mother was trying to return early, but the child had the nerve to tell her mother to finish her work. Narcissa would take care of the girl and was acting as a stand-in guardian but there wasn't much they could do if the child wouldn't work with them. Worse, Millicent had shouted that she would never speak to Karrie again and he knew that this would hurt his ward greatly. "Merlin's sake, Alexis. Sit!" He growled finally, sneering at her.

She merely glanced at him, not even pausing her stride. Someone had harmed one of her students. It made her angry. She had to seek justice for that little girl, even if the pre-teen had not been able to name her attacker; she had known the date it had happened and had known that it had been after her curfew. They could easily pull up the records and see which prefects had been on duty that night and try to narrow the list down. She had seen the fear in the child's eyes, under the false bravado and the anger at her friend. When Millicent had time to process and think about it, she would understand Karrie's actions; she was a smart girl, after all. Smart, but terrified of coming back to school and afraid that people would think badly of her. That they would blame her. She was a child, she didn't understand that it wasn't her fault; bad things had been done to her, but it was not her fault. She had hoped to get that through to the child but she doubted it. Oh! If she could get her hands on that boy!

"You're shaking the shelves." Severus drawled, raising an eyebrow at the younger woman. He was angry but he could control his temper and his magic. Alexis usually did as well; unfortunately her magic was now connected to Hogwarts which could make the results...spectacular.

"Control yourself Alexis." Tim ordered briskly, stepping back from the pensieve. He had viewed the memory from several directions, had looked around as far outside the parameter as he could. He knew Lucius had been analyzing the bits of speech, looking for any context that would give away the boy's identity. The stoic-faced blond was having trouble control his anger as well, but at least he understood the need to set aside rage, at least from a legal standpoint. This was not the first time he had to view such a memory and he would bet that it wasn't the first time for Lucius either. He knew Alexis had viewed many similar memories in the past but this one seemed to get under her skin. Tim frowned, brown eyes narrowing at the younger woman. "Enough." He added dryly, stepping toward her.

She growled under her breath, muttering a series of curses but slowly drew her magic under control. Tim always seemed to know when she was about to explode, damn man.

The silent stinging spell he send toward her was deflected with a wave of her hand, grey eyes flashing dangerously. She needed to settle and even if her magic was calming down, she was not. He knew her too well. "Jetzt Alexis." The immediate response was a slur that he ignored, one that often came out of her mouth when she was angry or upset. This one incident should not have caused this reaction from her; normally her anger would be contained but now...it was as if everything was hitting her all at once. And perhaps it was. He stepped closer to where she was pacing once more, raising an eyebrow at the younger woman. It was rude to switch languages in company but, at the moment, it was also necessary. "Was ist los?"

"Verpisst euch!" Alexis snarled, hissing when a hand smacked her bottom. "Tim! Nicht hier bitte!"She moved out of his reach, turning to glare at him.

"Oh? Then do not speak to me like that." He warned quietly, shrugging. She should know by now that he didn't care who was in the room, he would reprimand her for disrespect and bad behaviour, whether it was toward him or someone else.

She flushed, lowering her eyes quickly. "Tut mir leid." She murmured, grimacing at his switch to English. She was quite aware of the way both Severus and Lucius were looking at her; clearly both of them had understood that swear, at least, even if they had been lost by the rest of their conversation.

Tim gave a brisk nod, accepting the apology for what it was. "We will discuss this later. Sit, now, so that we can handle more important topics." She obeyed him almost instantly, beckoning for him to continue. "Is there a record of which prefects were on duty that night?"

Severus nodded, reaching for the pile of papers he had been sorting through. Only his sister would take her anger out on her healer, although he knew quite well that Tim would only put up with so much from her before he took her to task for it. And found out exactly what was causing her to act this way. "I had to search through the mess of McGonagall's office. She didn't keep any of the forms filed and some of them were gone. Without Gio's help, I wouldn't have found any of the records at all." He growled, offering a copy of the duty list from that night to each of them.

Alexis summoned a quill, quickly marking off all of the girls. There had been six prefects on duty that night, two of them girls. Of the four that remained, one had graduated and the other was a Slytherin. Severus was positive that it was not one of his students who had attacked the child. " Without the girls, Flint, and Mitchell, that leaves just two." She remarked, glancing down at the two names. She knew neither of these students, both sixth years, but Severus would.

"Are we positive it couldn't be Mitchell's?" Lucius asked, frowning down at the list. Davies and Weasley...neither boys were who he would immediately suspect. But he knew it wasn't Flint, as Millie, and the rest of the children staying with him, was quite taken by the older boy. He knew that when they were first years Flint was charged with watching out for them and spent time playing with and comforting them.

"As I caught Mr. Mitchell snogging Ms. Ellis near one of the potions labs, I'm certain." He drawled, tapping long fingers against the parchment for a moment. "It could have been an off-duty prefect." Severus suggested, sighing softly. If that was the case, they might never find the child's attacker. After all, each house had at least six prefects. Slytherin and Ravenclaw both usually had ten, depending on the number of students that year.

"I know of neither of these boys. Describe them for me?" Alexis requested, twirling her quill between her fingers. Tim had straighten in his chair, picking up his own quill. Clearly, he at least understood what she wanted.

He blinked. She was not asking what the boys looked like, but rather who they were. She wanted to profile them. It had been a while since he had done any form of profiling, although he knew Severus used profiling to help him recognize abuse faster and Tim would use it regularly. He only used it for a few cases but perhaps he could still remember the important details. Lucius did not know much about how the boys were at school but he had met both of them over the years and had a few impressions from those meetings. "Davies comes from a wealthy home. His parents are separated but get along well. Only child, well-behaved. The summer he spent with us, he was curious, respectful. A bit loud, outgoing." He stated, gray eyes meeting equally gray for a moment.

"He does well when he applies himself, enjoys flying and excels in transfiguration. He is not know for being quiet and he has gotten into a few altercations with other students." Severus paused, thinking back quickly. The boy had gotten into quite a few fights, actually. He had discussed teaching the child anger management with Filius but when he had spoken with the child, he had realized the reasons for his anger were not from the home. But because the older boy couldn't stand bullying, couldn't stand watching someone hurt a younger student. "He once tackled one of his year mates for shoving a first year Slytherin." He added quietly, shaking his head. He could be wrong of course, but he was almost certain that it wasn't Davies now. He'd have to ask Filius but he didn't think the boy had ever shown an interest in any girl.

She nodded, making a few quick notes next to the child's name. It was looking quite unlikely that this boy had harmed one of her students. That left one Prefect on duty, but it might not be him either. It was frustrating, to have a student in her school harmed and not to be able to find the attacker. "Tell me about Weasley." She requested briskly, blinking at the name. Weasley? The child of the woman who kept sending her howlers? A sibling of the volatile dragon-tamer?

"He's from a rather poor large family. Very quiet, spends a lot of time alone or studying." Lucius shrugged, shaking his head. The Weasley boy was from a decent family, although his mother was quite a bit..much.

"He is the third child of seven, obsessively neat and very much a loner. He doesn't like large groups, has his mother's temper, and strives for perfection. Very much against anyone who is not the same as him."Severus added quietly, grimacing. Weasley was one of his least favourite students and not because he didn't do his work, but because he sprouted bigotry.

She raised an eyebrow, summoning the child's file. Alexis flipped open the file and blinked, reading through the thin document twice before turning her attention back to the men. "He has never been in trouble?" She questioned, brows furrowing.

Severus snorted, that child had several detentions with him and Filius. The boy wasn't as bad as his twin brothers, wasn't out for attention or a trouble-maker, but he did get angry, as all children do, and he had said quite a few things to some of his students that had led to detention. "Serious trouble? No. Detentions and point deductions, yes. He was quick to judge and quicker to say whatever came to mind. Rash, bitter." He replied, catching her eyes. Her gaze was calculating and he could guess at where her thoughts were leading.

"There is nothing in his folder but grades and praise from McGonagall and Dumbledore. Nothing of substance, no medical records...nothing." She hissed, not liking that conclusion. His disciplinary records were gone and he would have some, if he had served even one detention. Which meant someone had removed them and the only one with access before her had been McGonagall and Dumbledore. The old man wouldn't have done something like that, he had too much to do and the files had been in McGonagall's office. So the question was, what had that woman been hiding?

"I will do some digging." Lucius offered quietly, shaking his head. It would not be easy but he could get any information necessary. The boy should have medical records somewhere, at least, and as a child's advocate he should be able to access them, with a reason of course. Medical records might not tell them anything but they could hold a clue, even a very small one.

"Thank you, Lucius. If Severus will find out where Davies and Weasley were stationed that night...we'll have more to go on. Let me know if Millicent remembers anything else." She replied briskly, summoning another sheet of parchment. "You will have her speak with a healer, yes?" She inquired after a moment, sighing softly. The poor child, assaulted in a place where she should feel safe. Not only that, but blaming herself for it. The girl would need someone she could trust, someone to open up to.

"As Narcissa and I act as defacto parents while she is in our care, she will see our family healer. I believe you know him, as Eric tells me he has been offered a position at Hogwarts." He smirked, standing stiffly and stretching out his back. He had much work to do and children to check in on; he needed to find who harmed one of his charges, because no one was allowed to touch those children. No one. "I must return home before Blaise drives Cissa up a wall." He drawled, catching her hand when she stood and embracing the younger woman briefly. "Do try to get some rest, Alexis. You look dreadful." He smirked when the younger woman merely sneered at him, shaking hands with Tim and clasping Severus on the shoulder, before disappearing through the floo.

Severus sighed, surveying the younger woman for a moment. She did look worn out still and he wasn't sure if she had eaten at all that day. "We will find her attacker, Alexis. I will ask the ghosts and portraits if they noticed anything that night. It isn't much, but it is a start." He murmured after a moment of tense silence.

She merely nodded, locking eyes with him for a brief second. "Karrie will need your support now, as she feels her friend hates her. Millie will come around but they are young and it takes time." She sighed, closing her eyes and running a hand through her hair. She had so much to do, always so much to do, and she still had to work with Harry this evening. Her boys needed her as well and she had plans to work with them on meditation. She flinched when a hand rested on her shoulder, gray eyes flying open to meet warm brown. The gentle comfort of his magic on hers made her relax and she leaned into the healer, feeling Tim's arms encircle her as they had so often in the past. She heard the floo and knew that her brother had left, to give her privacy and time. Perhaps she just needed a bit of time.

-x-

Harry gazed around in wonder, eyes darting all around the office. He hadn't been in the Headmistress' office before and it was so much different than Dumbledore's had been. Much simpler, cleaner. There were still piles of papers on the desk, but they were neater, organized. The books of the shelves seemed to hold a purpose and there were no odd instruments or obscenely bright furnishings. It was just so much more inviting and less scary. Fawkes was still there as well, which helped make the office at least a little bit familiar. He sat in an armchair, kicking his feet, waiting on the Headmistress to return. He blinked when a door he never noticed before opened and she came out, carrying a leather pouch and followed closely by Tim, who was carrying a small wooden box. He knew she had wanted to talk to him about his freakishness, but why did she need a pouch? What was in it? Remus and Severus had been talking about some sort of tests, when they had thought he was in his room. He didn't want tests though, he would just fail and disappoint them. He was a freak, after all, he couldn't do anything right.

"Relax, Harry." Alexis murmured, dropping her bag on the desk. The nervousness was just rolling off the child. "Tim and I just want to talk to you about your magic and see what level you are currently at." She stated calmly, glancing at the older man. He was taking a handful of shrunken boxes out of the one he carried, quickly restoring them to size. They were still on the small side, but now about the size of her palm, just big enough for the child to need two hands to hold them. They needed to see where his magic was at and how much control he actually had; although she thought that if the incident earlier was an indication, he couldn't have too much control just yet.

"So tell me, Harry. What do you know about magic?" Tim questioned, dropping causally into a chair. The boy squirmed but didn't look at either of them. "There is no wrong answer, Harry. We are genuinely curious about your knowledge and understanding of magic."

Harry swung his feet, tilting his head slightly. What did he know about magic? Apparently, not very much. "I know that not all magic requires a wand and cores and stuff." He shrugged finally.

Alexis fought back a snort at the typical preteen speech. "Cores and stuff? Do you mean core stability and maturity, which I tried to explain to you this morning?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the child's mere nod. She sighed, deciding to use another tactic, as this wasn't helping either of them. "Where does magic come from, child?"She remembered when Tim had asked her that question, when she was about sixteen. She had sneered at him and snapped the only answer she knew.

He scowled, shrugging. Did she think he was stupid? He knew he was a freak but he wasn't stupid! "From my core." He stated dryly, arching an eyebrow at her in imitation of one of his guardians.

"You draw your magic up through your core, yes. But that is not the only place magic is. Magic is not just inside you child. It surrounds us and is in everything, even the smallest blade of grass contains its own bit of magic. Magic is not a thing to be used as you please and disregarded when you are through with it. It is a being, a living, breathing sentient being. It ebbs and flows, moving in ways that the majority of us still do not completely understand." Tim replied, smirking when the child stared at him like he was crazy. Perhaps he was but not about this. He knew that come September, Alexis was bringing back a class on old magic to Hogwarts so that the children, especially the muggleborn and raised, would understand magic better. Magic was a complex, complicated being; there was no simple explanation for or about it.

Harry scrunched up his face in confusion, glancing at the healer. He knew magic was alive, sort of, but he didn't know that it was in everything. Nor that it was sentient. Although..."What does sentient mean?" He questioned quietly, blinking at the unfamiliar word.

"The ability to feel and understand things. Magic does not form concrete thoughts, in the way that we would imagine, but it does feel. It is very much alive and it has the ability to offer itself when it perceives itself to be needed." Alexis explained, watching the child causally. She knew that it was a lot to take in, a lot to understand. Harry was still young,even in the non-magical community he would be considered a child.

"Magic is not as simple as waving a wand and something happening. There has to be intent and purpose. There also has to be control. The way we use magic is a bit different than most typical magicals, at least here. In the Americas, especially South America, magic is often channeled as we do. We can change a spell or strand of magic, alter its very nature, if we want to. We can see and sense magic, push our magic through another's body to reverse a spell without knowing what spell it is. The way we use magic is different but the same. It also costs more to use magic that way, without restrain. It drains your core faster and is one of the reasons that very few people would use such magic all the time. Without control, magic, like all things, is dangerous. Our magic especially. Your magic." Tim added briskly. It was extremely important that the child understood the control was necessary, otherwise they could have a disaster on their hands. If the child didn't understand, hopefully he would soon. It was time to start testing him, to see where they stood so far. "Do you understand, Harry?"

He hesitated, green eyes narrowing for a moment. He did understand, soft of. His magic was different, he was a freak. And his magic was bad, he could hurt someone with it. But all magic was dangerous, wasn't that what Tim was saying? So maybe his magic wasn't bad. Maybe he just had to learn it better. Some of the things the Healer described sounded cool, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He hoped. "Yes sir."

Alexis smirked, reaching into her bag. She pulled out three small stones, setting them in front of the child. "Good. Now let's see where you are. Your core is starting to stabilize, so these new abilities of yours are appearing, and will grow as your core matures. We do need to know how far along they are; so we know what to teach you." She tapped each stone once, catching the child's eyes. " What I want you to do, Harry, is to close your eyes. Do not try to see the magic, but feel for it." She instructed, raising an eyebrow when the child merely stared at her.

He stopped squinting at the stones, biting his lip for a moment before hesitantly closing his eyes. That lasted for all of a second before they flew open again. He couldn't do it! It wasn't that he didn't trust the Headmistress and Tim, he did, but he was so used to watching everything and he couldn't see a fist coming if his eyes were closed! Surely she knew that!

"You are safe here Harry. Neither of us will harm you, nor will we let any harm come to you. Take a deep breath in. Good, now release it child. Again." She murmured briskly, crouching beside the child's chair. "Good boy. You are safe. You can do this. Whenever you are ready, Harry. Just try child, we will be right here and nothing will harm you. I promise." She encouraged as the boy finally seem to calm down. The small nod was also a good sign.

Harry took a deep breath, slowly attempting to close his eyes again. He waited tensely for a few long moments, before slowly relax. He instinctively reached his hand out to the stones, holding it above each one for at least a minute before moving to the next. He frowned, moving his hand back over the middle one, furrowing his brow. Either he was doing it wrong, or there was no magic in this stone. Wait...there was a faint trace of brownish magic, that's what it looked like in his mind's eye, but not the vibrant magic from the first stone nor the slightly less but more chaotic feel of magic from the last stone. "This one has less magic?" He questioned, picking up the round, smooth stone.

Alexis smirked at Tim, he had said that the child probably wouldn't feel the subtleties in the Obsidian. Clearly, she had been right in this case. The child could obviously feel them, even if he was not yet fully seeing magic but in flickers. "Yes, very good. What of the other two, Harry?"

He set the stone down, reaching for the first one. He held it for a moment, feeling it warm his palm. "It has a lot of magic in it, different magics. It absorbs energy?" He guessed, rubbing the small orb for a moment. It tickled his hand and the magic in it seemed to like him.

"Good. And last?"

He hesitated after setting the other stone down. He really didn't want to touch this one but perhaps he didn't have to. It felt so full and angry. But it didn't seem to have as much magic in it. "I don't know. It feels...weird. Like it has angry magic in it and like it is conflicted. But a stone can't be conflicted." He muttered, not touching it at all.

She blinked, arching a brow at the child's observation. Most children stated that it had less magic than the first but more than the second and just left it at that. But Harry noticed the emotions betrayed by the magic. Bloodstone was a grounding stone, after all. It help many negative emotions and feelings from those who just needed to empty their minds and clear their energies. "Good, Harry. Very good. You can open your eyes now." She instructed quietly, picking up the Obsidian. The boy did as he was told, watching her wearily for a moment. "This is the first one you touch, yes? It is called obsidian. Although it can hold magic and many use it as a grounding stone, it best helps by using its own magic." She informed, slipping the stone back into the pouch carefully. "This one is an Opal, they can hold a lot of magical energy, so that a drained wizard can draw on them in a moment of need." She dropped the opal into the bag, a bit less carefully, before picking up the bloodstone.

"What is that one, Professor?" Harry questioned, eyeing the angry stone warily.

Alexis held the Bloodstone for a moment before giving it over to Tim's outstretched palm. He grimaced when the stone 'bit' him, studying the energy of it for a moment before handing it back. "When was the last time you cleansed that, Alexis?" He inquired raising an eyebrow at the younger woman.

She merely shrugged, slipping the stone back into the pouch. "It is Bloodstone, Harry. Can you tell me why you didn't want to touch that one?" She questioned, curious as to what the child would say.

Harry hesitated for a moment, frowning slightly. Bloodstone? But it was green and red, not blood red. "It just felt weird. Different than the other two, angry. Like it might hurt me." He explained finally, grimacing. His answer didn't really make sense, not to him anyway. After all, how could a stone be angry? Even if it was alive. The other stones didn't feel that way, not at all. It was just a bit odd. The headmistress nodded and looked pleased, so perhaps that was the right answer even if it was a confusing one.

"Alright, Harry. I have a different test for you, one where I do want you to look at the magic." Tim remarked, picking up one of the smaller cubes. The cube was laced with different strands of magic, knotted together. The task was quite simple, really. "What you have to do is look for the magic and nudge the strands back into their lines. You are not trying to break the magic or get through it, but to straighten it." He explained, offering the cube to the child. He had developed these cubes, nearly toys, for two purposes. Testing and training teenagers with this kind of magic, as well as testing their control, and preventing them from messing with wards or spells by giving them a task to work out in their spare time. Once Alexis had learned control, she had flown through these cubes. Harry probably would not. His magic was not fully developed yet; he would probably only work on the lower level cubes, the ones he had brought with him, for the next year or so. Because even if he could get through them, his core was not mature enough to move to higher levels without the fear of damaging it, not just yet.

He took what looked like a child's block, staring at it for several minutes. He could not completely see the magic but he could get a sense of where it was. He just wasn't sure how to straighten it. How did it make the magic leave its clumps and knots? Harry hesitated, running his fingers over the block once more. He took a deep breath and pushed at two twisted strands with his own magic, watching is amazement as they slowly wiggled into separate paths. Encouraged now, he kept pushing his magic at the lines, frowning when some of the magic would tangle back together.

It took the child nearly twenty minutes and she could see the exhaustion rolling off of him now. If nothing else, he would at least stay in his bed tonight. Watching him, she could easily see where his weakness was. His strength was good, although sometimes he shoved the magic, rather than gently pulling and pushing at it, but his control was awful. For every bit he straighten, another path twisted. Control of himself and his magic would have to be the very first thing they taught him. Otherwise..

Harry grimaced, shoving at the block one last time. It straighten perfectly and then he heard a click. He blinked, looking down at the top of the box as a hinge appeared and it swung open. Inside the small block was a chocolate frog. He picked it up slowly, glancing questioningly toward Tim.

"Did I not mention that these cubes held secrets inside them? No? The treats inside are for those who can open them to claim. So yes, Harry, you may have it. Though do try to not consume it right before bed." Tim drawled, hiding a smirk behind his hand. The gobsmacked look on the child's face when the cube had opened was priceless. "There are levels to these cubes, the hardest of which you will not attempt until your core has matured. Each holds a different prize inside: trinkets, candy, toys...I find the reward inside makes them so much more enticing to work with." He had designed them to keep children interested, after all. What better way to interest a child than to hide treats inside them?

Alexis sighed, watching the child quietly for a long moment. "I believe that shall suffice tonight. Well done, Harry. We will set up a training schedule for you tomorrow." She dismissed quietly, smiling softly at the child. He had done well, for his first time and for his fear of them. Hopefully, he would learn that he was safe there, but she knew that would be an uphill fight.

Harry closed his hand around the chocolate frog box, handing the block bad to Tim. He was still a bit confused, because why would they want to reward a freak like him? But perhaps he wasn't such a freak, anymore. Perhaps he was a little bit lesser of a freak now. He didn't know. What he did know was that he wanted to spend the rest of the evening with Remus and Severus, even if they wouldn't want to keep him forever. Might as well enjoy it while it lasted. He hesitated for a moment, glancing at the floo before looking back at her. At the Headmistress' nod, he grabbed a handful of powder and vanished back to his home, however temporary it might be.

"That went well." Tim remarked, turning to face the younger woman. "Now, you have put off this discussion long enough." He folded his arms, leaning back to observe the Headmistress. Headmistress she might be but she needed to learn to accept help. He thought they had gotten through this years before, but clearly not.

She sighed, turning away from him and starting to shuffle the papers on her desk. "I have work to do, Tim." She murmured.

"There will always be work to do."

Alexis grimaced, biting her lip. "I'm alright."

He raised an eyebrow at her, shaking his head. She was still turned away from him, still distancing herself from him. "You are not."

"Geht weg!" She snarled, spinning around to glare at him. She didn't want to talk about it, couldn't he just leave it well enough alone?!

He blinked, frowning at the young woman for several moments of tense silence. She did not just tell him to go away. "Do not use that tone with me. I am getting very tired of your attitude, Alexis. You seem to forget that you are not too old to go over my knee." He warned softly, tone dangerous.

She shivered, drawing back from him. It had been quite a few years since he had actually followed through on that threat but she didn't doubt him. But she wasn't a child anymore. She was fine, she would be fine, if they would all just back off. She had work to do and children to care for, she didn't need this right now. "I'm not a child, Tim." She stated dryly, looking away from him.

"No? Then stop acting like one." He snapped, turning and pacing the room for a moment. He took a deep breath, allowing himself to calm down a bit. She was a child still, his child. Filius' child. She was barely old enough to enter legal contracts in the magical world without a cosigner. She didn't have to do this alone. She had family, why couldn't she just accept that? He knew why, of course. Because she had so rarely had it before, she wasn't used to asking for support and help from others, although he had thought that they had made much progress of the years. "Damn it, Alexis. Who will put you back together when you fall apart, if not us? Talk to me. Let me help you." He growled exasperated, finally turning back to her.

"I won't fall. I can't." She muttered, shaking her head. She wouldn't fall apart, not if she could help it. But a breakdown was becoming inevitable, the longer she held it all in. She knew that. She wasn't an idiot and she was a healer, after all, so she did recognize the signs in herself. But healers really were the worst patients.

"Why? What's so different that you won't fall apart this time?" Tim questioned, running a hand through his hair wearily.

"The children." She whispered, biting her lip.

Ah. But that made sense, then. She didn't want the children to see her as less than whole. She wanted to be there for them, completely, without any thought to her own well-being. He understood that quite well. "Then let me help you. You are not alone, Alexis." He responded quietly, moving toward her slowly.

"Retten.." She grimaced, closing her eyes and turning away from him once more. She knew, in actuality, that she wasn't alright. But she had to be alright, she had children that depended on her after all. She flinched when a hand gently rested on her shoulder, turning and burying her face in his shoulder for the second time that evening.

It hadn't occurred to him, but perhaps she needed time to grieve the damn man properly. Perhaps Retten's death had reawaken memories from her childhood, memories that they would have to work through soon. But maybe something else was necessary first. "He would have wanted you to be happy, Alexis. To live your life and let go. Perhaps we should hold a small ritual for him, to help him move on? Would that help?" He offered quietly, hugging her to him tightly. She did not often let people hold her anymore, but he knew she still needed that comfort just as much as her young charges did.

She turned gray eyes, shining with unshed tears, up to meet his, hesitating for only a moment. "That would, yes. Who?" She bit back a sigh, relaxing into the comfort of his magic. She was tired, exhausted. And she knew he had questions, as he was one of the best mindhealers in the world; she knew he wouldn't give up easily, even if he let it go for now. He would keep pushing, until she finally exploded at him and let it all out. She had done it before, of course, and she always did feel better afterwards, but she needed to be whole, she couldn't afford to just let her emotions and thoughts control her, not right now. Not with so much still at stake, so many things to get settled and working.

"Just family." He shrugged, chuckling at her glare.

She snorted, shaking her head. "You said small." She reminded dryly.

Tim nodded solemnly, his eyes twinkling with a hidden smile. "Of course. The adult members of the family. So let's see, that would be Severus, Remus, Lucius, Narcissa, and me. And of course, Filius. Couldn't have a family ritual without your papa." He teased lightly, loosening his grasp but not quite letting her escape the comfort just yet.

She laughed, smiling despite herself. "Are you jealous?" She teased back, smirking at him.

"Of course not. I was your guardian for long enough, thanks all the same." He intoned before smirking at her. She merely huffed at him, sticking her tongue out.

"Tomorrow evening, then?" She remarked, finally pulling away from him.

He merely nodded, watching her for a long moment. "I will arrange it. Now, you need dinner and sleep." He ordered, turning stern once more. She rolled her eyes at him but nodded, moving into her quarters and beckoning to him. He glanced around the office for a moment, packing up his play cubes and turning to follow her. She would be alright. It would take time, but eventually they would get there. He was sure of it.

-x-

Translations:

Jetzt- now

'Was ist los' can be translated many ways, but here it merely means, 'what's wrong'.

'Nicht hier, bitte'- please, not here.

'Geht weg!' - go away.

These are all merely one translation of a word, they can mean several other things but this is what I mean. My German is not perfect (although much, much better than my Spanish). If Alexis and Tim are talking alone, chances are they aren't actually speaking in English, but I cannot translate that many pieces and have this story still make sense. And yes, you may figure out what her swears mean on your own.

~Cas