A/N- Do not own. Yes, it has been a long time. And yes, I have yet to update my other ones. I am working on it. I am also exhausted and mightily struggling at the moment. This chapter would not come together correctly, but the end result is acceptable There is no Teddy here but a brief, cute Harry and Karrie scene. Very brief. -Words- is phoenix speak. "Words" is mind-speech. They are basically the same thing. Enjoy. And as always, use your words.
~Case

-x-

She sighed softly, massaging her temples for a moment. Gods, but was she tired! She finally had all the booklists and had gone through each of them, some of which she would have to send back to her professors and have them change their lesson plans and course material. Some of it was just too outdated to keep using. The several hours of pouring through booklists had taken its toll. She had a migraine and she knew it was pointless to go to bed now. Besides that, she had received an owl with the newest headache she would have to solve. One of her students had accidentally started the bonding process with his intended and they went to separate schools, which was only problematic because of the nature of the bond. According to the boy's father, separating the two, at the moment, caused intense pain; until the bond was completed and the ritual done, the two could not be separated for any long period of time. Which would make being in separate countries extremely difficult. How two boys 'accidentally' started a blood-bond, she didn't even want to know. And then there were the piles of paperwork she had to finish, so of course she didn't sleep last night and now it was Sunday morning. Alexis grunted softly, standing stiffly and stretching sore joints. So much work to do but it could happen after she had breakfast with her boys.
-x-

Severus grunted, blearily opening his eyes. He had been awake but that didn't mean he was ready to get up. Curse Remus for sending two sets of puppy eyes to jump on him! He glared at the two children who jumped on his bed for a brief moment before snaking an arm out and catching a foot. He grinned evilly, tickling the captured foot mercilessly to the sound of childish shrieks. Music to his ears.

"Harry! Help!" Karrie laughed, trying to crawl away from evil fingers. She squealed, breaking down into giggles when Severus found her ribs.

Harry grinned, launching himself onto the older man with a giggle, forgetting for a brief moment that he was too old to act like this. He had to save his sister, after all. What better way than to give Severus a taste of his own medicine?

Severus moved quickly, catching the boy's weight so that he didn't land on his sister nor hurt himself. He groaned when four little hands dug into his ribs, giving a fond smile to the child sitting on his chest. He gave a bark of laugh as the children realized that he, too, was ticklish. Oh, he would get Remus for this! The older man was turning him soft. But if he was honest, he had always had a soft spot for children, especially green-eyed little menaces who clamored all over him.

Remus chuckled, tucking the camera back into his pocket. The sight in front of him was truly magical. When Alexis had informed them that Karrie had encountered a sick Direwolf, his heart had nearly stopped. But the child was alright, healed in a mysterious glen that Alexis had trouble speaking of. His children were safe, although they had scolded both of them for the terror they had caused in their hearts. And here they were, two little twelve year olds, jumping all over his partner and acting like the children they were never allowed to be. It made his heart warm. He smirked at Severus, knowing quite well that the younger man could get away from the children if he chose to, before adding his own fingers to the attack. Breakfast could wait for a few minutes, if it helped his children to relax around them.
-x-

"Bain?" Tim inquired quietly, frowning at the teenager who stood outside their door. It was just after nine in the morning and most boys his age would still be in bed, sleeping in for as long as they were allowed. Even if they were up this early, none would come to his and Eric's private quarters, not without reason. "Why don't you come inside?" He suggested finally, when the boy merely stared at his feet.

The red-head grimaced, staring down at his feet for a long moment. This had been a bad idea. Why had he even come here? What good could come from it? None. He should just go back to Alexis' quarters, he was still grounded, after all.

"Tim? Something the matter?" Eric called, coming toward the door with a sigh. The knock on their door had been unexpected, as they had been in the middle of something. He didn't know who or what had deemed it necessary to drag them away from their bed, but he was up now. The ward had shown it was a student knocking, that was the only reason Tim had gotten up to answer it. Counselors would have called with their pendants and the teachers would all be enjoying a brief morning break. He raised an eyebrow when his partner turned slightly, beckoning to the child in the hallway. "Bain? Come inside child." He ordered after a moment, turning and striding toward the couch.

He hesitated for a moment longer before finally stepping through the door. He had never been in here before but he had known where Tim and Eric's quarters were, mostly thanks to Elijah. This was a mistake. He should leave, now. He wasn't even quite sure how he had ended up here. He had been heading toward the dungeons, to see if Severus would let him brew, but his feet had brought him here. He was the one who decided to knock, that had been the mistake. What could he say to these men? What did he have left to say? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Tim bit back a sigh, closing the door behind the child and casting a silent locking spell on it. He didn't need the child to suddenly decide to take off, not without telling them why he was here first. What had brought him to their quarters at this time on a Sunday morning? "Have a seat Bain. Tea?" He offered, nodding toward one of the armchairs. The boy merely shook his head, dropping wordlessly into the leather chair. He wondered, briefly, if Alexis knew where her child was before observing the child's body language for several long, tense moments. No, she probably didn't. Why had the boy come here, of all places? Usually the children here sought one of them out at their separate offices or in the Great Hall. Never in their private quarters. But then, this child would become family as soon as the adoption ritual was complete. Still, he had never sought either of them out before, not willingly.

Eric watched the child for a long moment, glancing at his partner. He wasn't going to play the waiting game, not with this child; otherwise they could wait hours and the boy might never tell them what he needed. "What can we do for you, child?" He questioned calmly, breaking the silence and returning his eyes to rest of the teenager. He wasn't sure if the boy would prefer to speak with just one of them or both of them; probably neither of them.

Bain hesitated, jiggling his leg for a moment before stilling instantly. "I...nothing." He muttered, worrying his lip between his teeth. He knew it made him look like a child, but he didn't care at the moment. There was nothing to say. Was there? There were never any words when he needed them.

"It isn't nothing if it is bothering you." Eric drawled, arching a brow at the boy.

Tim frowned at his partner for a brief moment before turning his attention back to the teenager. "Talk to us Bain. Surely it isn't nothing." He added quietly. The child had yet to look at either of them.

He clenched his fists for a moment, taking a deep breath and shaking his head. He didn't know. He just needed... "Help." He whispered, eyes tracing patterns in the hardwood floor.

Both men leaned forward instantly, watching the child closely. Eric moved first, standing slowly and going to crouch in front of the boy. He gently placed his fingers under the teen's chin, tugging it up carefully. He met blue eyes firmly, keeping the boy's gaze. "We are here. You are not alone. Talk to us." He murmured softly, firmly. He wanted the boy to understand that they would listen, that they had him now. Whatever was wrong, they had him.
He blinked, trying to lower his eyes but the older man kept his chin up, so he couldn't look at the floor anymore. "I can't do it anymore. Sev won't let me brew, so I can't lose it, can't escape. Hurts." He murmured finally, glancing between the two men before settling on the one crouched in front of him. He knew why he came here, deep down. He trusted these two men, he trusted that Eric and Tim wouldn't hurt him or laugh at him. And while he knew Severus wouldn't either, his Master also had two preteens that needed him more. He couldn't take up the man's time. He shouldn't even be taking up their time. It was bad of him.

"What are you trying to escape from?" Tim inquired, resting his hands on his knees and studying the child for a moment. There was no physical harm to him, that his magic could detect, and since Eric was closer, he knew the older man had scanned the boy. But that didn't mean there weren't mental wounds. In fact, he knew the boy had them. The child locked everything inside of himself and until this past Thursday, when Severus had discovered his experiments, he had seemed to be a blank slate. There were the outbursts of anger, from time to time, but the child rarely showed any emotion, his face was always a mask. Much as it was now, except for the pain and fear in those blue eyes.

"Everything."Bain whispered, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Everything? That's a lot to escape from child. I know it hurts, but talking about it will help." Eric encouraged softly, resting his free hand on the child's shoulder. The boy flinched, but he had expected it. He could guess many things that the child might want an escape from, hopefully not a permanent escape, but he also knew he could be wrong.

"Nightmares. Brewing makes them go away, for a little while." He replied finally, worrying his lip once more.

Tim hesitated before moving slowly to crouch beside his partner but still where the child could see him. "You brew to forget, right? And when Severus took away your right to brew, as is his right as your Master, you couldn't forget anymore. Even if you could forget before, you were still angry. Now, you feel more than anger, don't you?" He inquired quietly, knowing from the shock in the boy's eyes that he was correct in his assumption.

"I need to forget." Bain whispered,giving a slight nod. He had to forget, he couldn't keep it all in his head, all the time. Keeping all those doors locked was hard and it was wearing on him. He couldn't handle all those emotions at once. Anger was okay, he was used to anger. The rest...he needed to be stronger than this, better than this.

He sighed softly, gently squeezing the boy's shoulder.. "You can't really forget, Bain. Locking it away does more harm in the long run. I know it hurts and it bleeds into your sleep, but you have to start letting it out. Otherwise you will become a harden, angry man who is so locked away that no one is able to reach him." Eric stated quietly, letting just a bit of calming magic flow into the child. He wasn't alone; he didn't have to do this alone. They wouldn't let him.

"He's not just talking out his ass either. He's been there, I've been there. You cannot lock everything away, it starts to slip out as anger during the day and fear in the nights. It is unhealthy. But you are not in this alone. We will help you through this." Tim added, reaching out to slowly rest a hand on the boy's other shoulder. He would speak to the boy later about talking to Severus, as he was the boy's Master, but for now, he would just be here. If the child wanted to talk, they would listen. And if he didn't, they would still support him.

Bain took a deep breath, nodding slowly. For some reason, he believed them. Right now, he didn't want to talk about it. But he knew, with time, that he would. To these two men, to Alexis, and to Severus and Remus. His family. They were his family and he didn't even know how it happened. It just had. But that was alright, he would be alright. He hesitated for a moment, eyeing the open arms of both of the older men, before sliding slowly from the arm chair to the floor, into the arms of two men who didn't have to care about him, but did so anyway. He sank into their hold, feeling his anguish slowly melt away. He knew it would be back and he would have to deal with it, but he wouldn't be alone. They wouldn't leave him on his own.

Tim and Eric exchanged glances over the boy's head, bundling him in a hug between them. It was not the first time they had used their joint power of love to get a teenager to trust them and talk to them, but it was the first time that that teen was not theirs. Alexis, Remus...both had succumb to their joint care and love. Severus would have too, but he had not spent much time with either of them before now. With Remus bonding with him and Alexis' being adopted by Filius, they were joining the two little families into a bigger single family. And these children came with it.

"Does this make him our grandson?"

"We are not old enough to have grandchildren! Even Remus' two...no. Filius can be the grandfather, Tim. We will remain as we are. Tim and Eric, extraordinaire."

"Perhaps I am not old enough..."

"Wait until I get you to bed! Imp!" Eric glared at the younger man, glancing down at the red head buried in his shoulder. He hugged the boy tighter for a moment, to give the child the comfort he craved, he needed. He was just thrilled that the boy had come to them, instead of keeping it locked in longer. And that he couldn't hear their silent conversation! With time, this child would heal and they would be there to help him through it.
-x-

Alexis frowned, looking up from an updated book list she had been reading, her hand flying to her pendant instantly. She met Severus' eyes and they stood as one, scowling suddenly. "Do you feel that?" She growled, glaring toward her floo. There was a problem in the cabins, the glow on both of their pendants singled that. The message however...

"Yes. I believe Jake is angry." Severus mused quietly, touching his own pendant for a brief moment. They would have to finish working later; if he understood that message correctly, some of the counselors were fighting. What was odd, to him, was that Jake had sent his emotions in that message. Jake, who was always in control of himself, always calm. For Jake to be angry, something must be wrong. "Shall we?" He inquired after a moment, nodding toward the floo.

Alexis growled softly, stalking through the floo...and dropping out in the common room. Gods, she needed to work on her exits. She growled, glaring at her brother when he nearly tripped over her, stepping gracefully out behind her. She took the offered hand, glancing around the relatively calm room for a moment. The children were lounging about, playing games, reading...being children. The counselors who were present were reading or talking, keeping certain children under watchful gazes. It wasn't until she caught Mary's eyes that she realized who, besides Jake, was missing. The other woman keeping glancing anxiously toward the door leading to the hallway of counselor rooms, even if each room was connected to a bunk room. This was the second entrance, with a door on that hallway leading out into the castle for easy access during patrols. Of course, none of the children had access to that hallway and she knew that she would not like what was on the other side of that door. But she also knew that she couldn't yell at them without knowing what was wrong first. She sighed, striding casually through the door on the far wall, nodding to the children and teens who glanced her way. There was no need for them to know that something was wrong.

Severus growled, nearly running into his sister when she stopped suddenly inside one of the doors to a counselor room. If he was right, it was the room connected to the younger boys cabin. So Phil and Charlie? He let the door shut behind him, nudging his sister so that he could see around her and then he froze, eyes darting between the three younger men. No wonder Jake had called them.
"That is enough." Alexis stated firmly, hand snapping out to summon the wands. She could see, from the magic, that Jake was merely holding a shield charm, to keep the room intact and the two younger men alive. Not that the shield did much to stop them from casting at each other, nor did it help that the shield wavered from time to time. She didn't know what had happened to cause these two friends to suddenly start hexing each other, but it ended now.

He turned dark eyes to focus on Jake, the younger man was barely holding a shield charm and he had seen him stop a fight with ease before. He knew the young man had power, he was strong enough to hold a shield. But how long had he been holding it for? And why did his wrist look broken? "I believe Jake has been injured in the melee." Severus murmured quietly, knowing from the slight nod that his sister had understood him. And it had been a good, quiet Sunday! He moved swiftly, dodging around the edge of the shield to stop beside Jake. He cast a quick diagnostic spell, raising an eyebrow at the results. No wonder the younger man was angry.

"I said, ENOUGH!" She growled, catching their wands with her hand. Unfortunately, they still ignored her, wandless spells flying from finger tips. She swore softly, jumping between them in a move that she knew would be considered reckless by many in her family. She felt the first hex wash over her, as her brother hastily threw up a shield around her to stop the second. She grimaced slightly, ending the hex with a slight swish of her wand. Both of the young counselors stared at her, palms still stretched out, mouths gaping. She turned sideways, so that she could look between them easier, raising an eyebrow at them. "That is enough. Corners, now." She remarked silkily, tone dangerous. She was not happy and they would do well to obey her.

Phil snarled under his breath, glaring at the older woman for a moment. He let his arm drop, as Charlie had as well, but didn't move. He was not standing in a corner. He was not a child!

Charlie bit back a sigh, knowing quite well that with anyone else, they would have already been fired. Taking stress out on each other like this wasn't protocol. But it had just sort of happened. He was overtaken by a brief moment of childishness; he wasn't moving until Phil did.

She frowned, glancing between the two men. Were they really challenging her on this? After what she had just walked into? If it had been her and Severus, they both would have already been over their father's desk, for daring to point their wands at each other in anger. She took a deep breath, counting silently in Russian for a moment before finally snapping her wand out and sending stinging spells to two disobedient bottoms. "Corners, now." She repeated, tone deadly. The twin yelps were occupied by a quick scurrying to the far corners of the room. Alexis watched them for a moment, glancing at her timepiece, before moving toward Severus and Jake. Severus had convinced the younger man to sit down on one of the beds; he looked exhausted. "Jake? What happened?" She questioned quietly, raising a one-way silencing spell around them before gently picking up his wrist and sending a scan through his body.

He grimaced, shaking his head for a moment. "When I came in, they were throwing hexes at each other. I have no idea what caused it." Jake sighed, glancing at the two younger men. Young and foolish, but this was unlike them. Unlike Charlie, at least. Phil had a quick tongue and while the blue-haired man might have tried to provoke this, he also knew that Charlie had a serious anger problem. Really, anything could have caused this.

"How did you get hurt?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow for a moment as she rummaged in her pockets for a wrap. Alexis ran her wand across the bone in his wrist, her other hand resting on his shoulder. She eased the bones back into place before bandaging it with the wrap. A quick tap of her wand and the wrap hardened, forming a protective cast. The boys better not have turned their wands on Jake or there would be serious repercussions.

"A stray hex." Jake shrugged, glaring down at the cast for a moment. Great, now his boys would ask questions and he didn't really have an easy answer. It had made him angry, when he had been hexed. Oh, the first was an accident, and that was all he would tell Alexis about, but he knew the others had not been. He would be having words of his own with the two younger men later, in private, but Alexis could handle them now. Gods was he tired!

Severus shook his head, watching the two young man fidgeting in their separate corners. There was something Jake wasn't saying, his body language betrayed him. But he also knew the younger man was drained. He would have been too. Those two boys... He would have to speak with Charlie, again, about that temper of his before someone was seriously injured. He glanced at his sister, biting back a sigh. He would also have to have a word with her, although he doubted she would listen. But he couldn't scold her here, not now.

She frowned slightly, before turning to the two young men. Jake wasn't telling her something. But that was alright, she would get in out of him later. She turned back, waving her hand as an after thought, and canceling whatever hex was left on him. She knew there had been another, but it didn't register in her medical scan; it was, however, probably making the young man uncomfortable. "Alright, both of you come here." She ordered finally, conjuring two straight-back chairs and gesturing to them when the two men turned to look at her. "Sit."

Charlie grimaced, glaring at Phil for a moment, but the look on the woman's face was enough to make him, at least, obey. He stalked toward the chair and sat slowly, fighting down a wince. Merlin, his bottom stung! But he knew it could have been worse. Hell, it could still get worse. They were lucky she hadn't fired them yet.

"Phillip, you will do well to listen to me. Sit down!" She growled, locking eyes with the younger man until he finally looked down. But he had yet to move.

Phil glared at the floor. He wasn't some child! He flinched when yet another stinging hex hit his bottom and stalked over to the chairs. He dropped into it was a glare, wincing suddenly at the flare of pain. That had been stupid on his part.

"Now, tell me what caused this." She ordered briskly, arching a brow at the two men. She cast a diagnostic scan over them, frowning at the results. A quick finite canceled the worst of the hexes. What on earth had these boys been doing?

"He started it." Phil muttered darkly, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"I didn't!" Charlie snapped back, glaring at the other man. He hadn't started it! Well, not the hexing. That had been Phil's fault. Yes, they had been arguing, but Phil was the one who hexed him first!

"Enough." Alexis drawled sharply, biting back a sigh. And it had been a good day, as well. "I don't care who started it. What I want to know is why it started in the first place." She folded her arms across her chest and leaned back on her heels, gazing between the two men.

Charlie sighed, staring down at the floor. Why had it started? They had been arguing over stupid nonsense and Phil had snapped. So he snapped back. And it had felt...good, to let it all out. Until Jake had got in the way and they had..oops. They had both hexed Jake, because he tried to stop them. There wasn't any real reason they had been fighting. Not really. "We were just arguing." Charlie shrugged finally, glancing at the blue-haired man briefly.

Phil gave a slight nod, staring blankly at the wall.. They had been arguing. He couldn't even remember about what. Perhaps over something the boys had done? And he had just lost control of his temper. He had been on edge for days, but so had Charlie. And they started hexing each other. It had been good stress relief.

"Do tell us how an argument turned into a free-for-all melee." Severus drawled, arching a brow of his own. He was quite prepared to let Alexis handle it, but that didn't mean he had nothing to add.

"Yes, please do." Alexis added dryly, eyes hard. Did they really believe that she would just let it go as an argument? Arguments did not end with a bystander having a broken wrist and hexes being tossed carelessly about! She was no idiot, she knew that while it might have started as an argument, something else caused them to start fighting.

What could he tell them? Really, there wasn't anything to tell. They had both been angry and the fighting...it had helped. But Charlie had a feeling that the Headmistress would not be pleased with that answer. "We were both angry and it just sort of happened."

"I see." She replied quietly, gazing between the squirming blue-haired young man and the very rigid young man. Their body language spoke volumes. There was so much that Charlie wasn't saying that his body gave away. Of course they had been angry and perhaps they had even been angry at each other. But that didn't explain why they had kept hexing each other. Although she could easily guess. Alexis did, however, want to hear it from them and she knew the best way to do that. "Why don't you tell me the truth...Phillip?" She inquired softly, turning her gaze fully on the younger man. He gulped and she fought back a smirk.

He grimaced slightly, bouncing his leg for a moment. He could never lie to her when she used that tone. He had tried before but he could never quite manage it. Gods above, why did she have to care so much about them? They weren't important! Were they? "We- I was angry and I just... hexed Charlie. So he hexed me and well...it went downhill from there." Phil admitted quietly.

"So you were both angry, perhaps not even at each other, and you lost your temper. Which in turn, led to Charles losing his. Then, you both realized the merits of such outbursts and used each other as stress relief. I am correct?" She summarized, shaking her head. Two nods were her only answer but it was really the only one she needed. Of course they had. She understood needing a away to release pent up stress and emotion, but on each other was not acceptable. Even if her and Severus did the same with their constant bickering. They didn't come to blows over it. "Then we need to find another outlet for the two of you. This is not acceptable. You are never to point your wand at someone in anger. You are both lucky that I won't take your wands away until you learn to express emotion in healthy ways." She scolded firmly, hiding a smirk. The two sets of eyes that jumped to hers held fear that she would take their wands. But she wouldn't. If only because they might need them, as pre-teen boys tended to cause disasters when they weren't watched. "This will not happen again. Is that understood?" She added silkily.

Charlie shivered, returning his eyes to the floor. That tone was dangerous and he hated having caused it. They wouldn't be doing anything like this any time soon. "Yes ma'am." He murmured quietly, biting his lip for a moment.

Phil sighed softly, jiggling his leg briefly. "Yes ma'am." He replied, glancing up at her. The distaste on her face would have been amusing in any other instance. But how else were they to address her, if not formally?

Alexis watched them for a moment longer, knowing quite well that a scolding wasn't enough. But she wouldn't fire them . No, they would have the same punishment as any of the children would have. Well, she couldn't ground them, as they had to be accessible to their boys at all times. "I want an essay and lines from both of you. Due with your end-of-week reports. The lines, of course, 'I will not raise my wand in anger', two hundred times. The essay you may write as an incident report. " She stated briskly, smirking at the twin groans. The end-of-week reports were due Monday afternoon, to give those who slacked off a chance to finish them. The two men had their work cut out for them, but it was possible. If they had already finished their end-of-week papers. Which she doubted. "We will leave you to it. And boys, I want you at mediation tomorrow morning." She added quietly, giving them a stern nod before turning and leaving the room. She knew Severus wouldn't be far behind and she did have work to finish, after all. One headache down, a thousand more to go.

-x-

Alexis growled, glancing up from her work. Severus had come and gone, taking part of his work with him. He had tried to speak with her, but she had ignored him. After all, there was nothing important to say. And she had told him that. Which didn't explain why there was a knock on her office door, a knock from her quarters. It wasn't one of the children, or the door would have glowed on her side. So it had to be an adult who had access to her quarters. Lucius would had floo'd her office first and the last she saw of Tim and Eric, they were having an evening in. Severus wouldn't have knocked. So who would be coming to visit her and why? "Come." She growled, sneering at the door for a moment before turning back to her work.

Remus opened the door casually, slipping quietly into the room and shutting the door softly behind him.

"Remus." She drawled dryly, not bothering to look up. Either he would get the message that she was busy and leave, or she would ignore him until he did so.

"Alexis." He replied calmly, studying the woman for a long moment before settling down in one of the armchairs. He could out-wait her. He was patient and he had out-waited Severus, after all. That man was stubborn. She was as well, but at least her magic easily accepted him as future Head of her family.

She worked for several minutes in silence before finally glaring up at him. "Is there something you needed?" She inquired dryly, picking up another updated syllabus.

"There was, actually. You see, I heard this story and I was curious if it was true." He remarked casually, catching gray eyes with amber ones. He held them for a long moment, until she looked down at the parchment in her hands.

"I am not interested in gossip, Remus. I have work to do." She shrugged nonchalantly, staring blankly at the piece of parchment. She didn't care. She wasn't listening to some pointless lecture, if that was why he had come here. If it was, he could leave her in peace!

"Oh? But it wasn't gossip. It was an interesting tale that involved you jumping, unshielded, between two young men who were in the process of hexing each other, even when you had other alternatives available." Remus stated, leaning forward in his chair and resting his hands on his knees. She needed to realize that he wasn't here as an employee of Hogwarts but as part of her ever growing family.

"And?" She snapped, glowering at him for a moment. She just wanted to get some work done! There was so much of it to do and not enough time. Couldn't they just let it go?

"And it was dangerous. There were other, safer options. But you didn't think. Again." Remus replied dryly, arching a brow at her. He knew she often didn't think of her self first, but did she really care so little for her own safety? He knew there would be work to do, to get all members of their family healthy and happy, but she didn't have to make it harder.

"What do you want me to say, Remus? I did my duty." She snarled back, rapidly getting to her feet and starting to pace the floor. She had done what was necessary. Honestly, if they knew half the things she had to do when she worked on the dragon reserve! It was much worse than anything here, even angry young men with little control of their tempers. Maybe she had gotten hit by a hex, but life had dealt her a harsh hand; she was use to it. A little, painful hex would not break her. She was fine. Perhaps there had been other options; Casilla had already scolded her over it. As had Fawkes. She didn't need to hear it again!

"Your duty is to risk your life?" He inquired quietly, eyes following her path. Just like Severus, she paced when she needed to think or when she was agitated.

"If necessary, yes!" Alexis snapped, spinning around to glare at him

-If Hogwarts or Her students are endanger, yes. But only then.- Fawkes trilled, landing on her shoulder and pecking her.

She flinched, sneering at the phoenix for a moment. They had already had this conversation and she had enough peck marks. She didn't need any more. -Fine, wise one. I understand. But I don't need to hear it from EVERYONE!- "Ow, Scheiße!" Alexis hissed, rubbing her ear. The damn bird had grasped her ear with his beak and pulled. And that had hurt! She glared at the phoenix, who had flown off to his perch and merely started preening himself.

Remus fought to hide his amusement; clearly she had said something that Fawkes had not liked. "You promised me you would be careful, that you wouldn't be rash any more. And I am not the only one you had made that promise to. Filius, Tim, Eric...even Severus. And yet you have broken that promise countless times. Why, Alexis? Why do you care so little about yourself? Do you not see that you are just as important as the rest of us?" He questioned finally, tone serious. It was something he had wondered for a while now, ever since he had first started to care for the younger woman. When she froze in her pacing and dropped her gaze to the floor, he knew. She didn't see that she was important. She didn't believe her self worth anything. He knew that feeling well. But he was surprised Tim and Eric had not managed to teach her otherwise. After all, they had her for five years and then, even when she wasn't living with them, he knew that they checked in on her. Hell, they checked in on him and he was in his thirties! He frowned when she suddenly smiled, a genuine smile, and tilted her head back.

Alexis closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of Hogwarts wash over her. She had been chosen for a reason, the Castle had told her that in her dreams the first week. She rarely had those dreams now, but she had learned the majority of what she needed in that first week and now she learned as she went, messing up and trying new things, to find what would work in her school. But she never got tired of this feeling, this hug from Hogwarts. The Castle would not tell her the reason she was chosen, it was something she had to figure out on her own, but she knew it was partly because she did care so much for those students. Even if a pesky elf kept telling her that she couldn't properly care for the children if she didn't take care of herself first. And perhaps the elf had a point. Perhaps Remus had a point. She did care so little for her own safety, but she was raised that way. No one cared about her when she was small and by the time Tim and Eric got her, she was a messed-up teenager with volatile magic and an even worse temper. She sighed softly, feeling the magic retreat back to where it had came. "I'm sorry, Remus. I am bad at keeping such promises." She admitted quietly, turning warm gray eyes to meet amber.

"You are important, Alexis. You have worth. You must learn to think of safety, that of yours and others, before acting. Otherwise, someone will get hurt. And then who will protect your students?" He remarked softly, standing slowly and moving carefully toward her. "Could you try to do that? Can you try to think next time?"

She bit her lip for a moment, seeing him as one of the heads of her family, before nodding. She would try, but she could not make any promises. "I will try, Remus."

He stopped beside her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug. "That is all I ask." He replied, feeling her slowly relax in her arms. She was safe now and they would work on it. She would learn to care about herself if it was the last thing he did. Because she was important, and her job was important. But she could not heal nearly five hundred children without healing herself as well. They would just have to keep trying. Gods willing, everything would work out just fine.
-x-