A/N: Do not own. So here it is, sorry it's late. But life. I'm hoping to have another up before the end of the month, But don't hold me to that. I also can't guarantee that there are not mistakes in here. It is actually painful to type right now, so mistakes happen. There is lots of Alexis here but also Severus and the 'twins' as well a few others. X's are scene breaks. And as always, use your words. Let me know what you think.
~Case

-x-
Harry grumbled, pushing the peas around on his plate. He was not eating them. If only Severus would let them have a dog...then he could feed the peas to the dog. Granted, they were not at home but at Diagon Alley, the four of them. They had been doing some shopping, for birthday presents mostly, and they were hungry. Well, he and Karrie had been hungry. But he wouldn't have said anything if he had known that Remus would make them eat vegetables too. Even if their counselors usually tried to get them to eat vegetables. Yuck.

Karrie sighed, glaring at the chicken on her plate. Remus had given them a choice on what to order but all of the options had included meat and she wasn't fond of meat. At least chicken wasn't as horrible. She just really didn't want to eat it today. She met Harry's eyes, tilting her head slightly and raising a brow before blinking twice. The boy tugged on his lip, blinking back slowly before turning to Severus and Remus.

"Where are we going next?" Harry asked suddenly, gazing at the older men and biting back a grin when they both focused on him.

"Karrie wanted to go to the bookstore and we still need to run by the apothecary, just for a moment." Severus responded, raising an eyebrow at the child. They had discussed this before they stopped for lunch. Really, if the child was going to try to distract them, he could be a bit more creative.

Harry nodded, turning back to his lunch. He fought a smirk, taking a bite of the delicious chicken before glancing at Karrie. She was casually eating his peas. Best arrangement ever.

"Do they think we are blind?" Remus thought, shaking his head at the 'twins'.

"Obviously." Severus responded automatically before blinking and meeting his partner's eyes. That was new. He knew Remus hadn't been projecting and they hadn't made eye contact..so how were they able to communicate like that? He knew Tim and Eric could, but they were blood-bonded and had been for years. It wasn't like the non-verbal communication he had with Alexis. This was different. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They would just have to explore it later.

Remus frowned, arching a brow at the younger man. He hadn't been projecting and neither had Severus. They both had enough control to not project anymore. They weren't emotional teenagers after all, or twenty-somethings either. Huh. That was something to ask Eric about, then. The man knew more about bonds and rituals than he let on. He would surely know what was happening here. Not that it was bad, of course. In fact, he could think of several situations where it would be extremely useful.

Severus sighed softly, watching their children finish eating. He had lost count of the number of people who had come up to tell them that their 'twins' were adorable and to ask whether the two started Hogwarts this year or the next. After the first reaction to the two being rising third years, they had decided to just let people believe that they were nearly eleven, instead of nearly thirteen. Some didn't believe they were even ten. They were both so small and nearly identical. Hell, Karrie and Harry had formed a deep sibling bond and they had done it in only a few weeks. It took months for him and Alexis to even acknowledge theirs.

"Done? Alright, bookstore then." Remus stated after a few minutes, tossing the empty plates into the nearest bin. "Wait for us and don't run, Harry! Stay together." He ordered, frowning at the two. They stopped, moving back to them at a more sedate pace. Merlin, these children would turn him gray, constantly taking off like that. They might be preteens, but they were his children and he would protect them. Even if they thought they were too old for protection. No child of his was going to run wild in the market, the gods only know what could happen.

-x-

Alexis glanced up from her work for a moment, eyes moving from couch to couch before landing on the child playing quietly on the floor. She had transfigured one of the armchairs in her office into a couch and had moved the other couch so that she could see the preteen sleeping on it. Her preteen sound asleep on one couch, Ariana asleep on the other, and Lila playing contently on the plush rug she had conjured. Teddy hadn't slept the night before, as attested by the rings under her eyes. She had tried coaxing the child to sleep, even brought him to her own bed, but when he did drift off, it wasn't long before nightmares woke him. He wouldn't talk about it but she could guess what his dreams were about and it was her fault. Ariana, on the other hand...that was a whole other mess. The teenage girl had apparently had violent nightmares again, but worse. To the point where she was so exhausted, she was going off. And had slugged another teenager. Thankfully, Bain had not reacted by hitting her back but by wrapping his arms around her and holding her until Mary could step in. But Mary was also tired, having been up with a couple of the girls last night. So she had corralled the three of them into her office, since Lila went everywhere Ariana did when Karrie wasn't around and wouldn't stay with Kate or Rose, and Rani was having a morning off. She had convinced Teddy to lie down for a nap and then argued Ariana down until the teen agreed to at least rest. Five minutes later, the older blond had been sound asleep. It was the younger one who had drawn her attention now.

"Eh so do a ey no." Lila shook one doll at the other, making the other dance over the carpet with her other hand. "Ta ta. No." The blue-haired doll stomped its foot, shaking its head back and forth. "No no eh oh." It grumbled, huffing at the red-haired doll. They were gifts, the blue one from Rani, the red from Kate. Her favourite was the bigger baby doll, the one that looked like her. These were just fashion dolls, small and made for girls her age. She knew the baby doll was probably for younger girls, but she didn't care. It was her favourite and it was currently sitting on the floor beside her. "La la eh no."

Alexis raised an eyebrow, glancing toward the sleeping pair for a moment. She had placed a silencing spell around the area, so that the two could sleep in peace but she could still hear if either of them started having night terrors. Both were still out. She set down her quill, watching the young girl with sharp eyes. The way Lila was speaking...it almost sounded like toddler talk. Not that she had much experience with toddlers; teenagers and children were different than little toddlers. She had rarely dealt with the under five crowd, even when she had run a children's ward. She remembered the encounters with Draco when he had been a toddler though: he had sounded much like that. Which was interesting. Her non-verbal student, the youngest currently with them, was making her dolls talk like toddlers. Clearly the words had meaning to the child. She frowned suddenly, leaning forward when the ten year old started slamming one of her dolls into the floor.

"Nah nah no. Bah. Bahh! BAD." The green-haired doll scolded, brushing past the red-headed doll and shoving the blue-haired doll into ground. The blue-haired doll tried to get up, but she kept being slammed back down. Lila jerked her hand again, sending the doll smashing into the carpet once more. "Bad bad bad." She intoned, shaking her own head.

She had never seen this child play violently, nor had she heard of the girl doing so. If anything, Lila played carefully and took good care of the few toys she had of her own. She knew that one of those dolls actually belonged to the school, but that wasn't what bothered her. She had understood that last word, loud and clear. Bad. What were her dolls saying or doing that was bad enough to be punished by being slammed into the floor? Alexis moved slowly, getting up from her desk and working her way over to the rug. She sat down on the floor, a bit away from the child. She still wanted her to feel safe, after all. "Lila? Are you having fun?" She inquired casually, giving the child a warm smile when the girl looked up at her.

Her mouth moved for a moment but nothing came out. It always happened around other people. When she was by herself and felt safe, she could make all the sounds she wanted, even if the words didn't always come. But with other people, it was only the silence. She hated it! She hated being so freaky! She slammed the doll into the floor again, nodding quickly. She had been having fun, even if her doll had been bad and needed punishment.

She almost wanted to take the child to the sensory room, which they had planned to introduce her to Monday, but it wasn't done and she couldn't just leave two sleeping children to wake up alone, when she had promised Teddy she would be here when he woke up. "Okay, well can you tell me about your dolls?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as the girl didn't stop slamming the doll down. Lila's mouth moved for a moment and the child gave her a frustrated glare before shaking her head. "You can use your hands Lila. Tell me with your hands?" She suggested calmly, catching a doll shoe when it flew off the poor doll's foot.

She hesitated for a moment, setting one of the dolls down gently before slamming the other one down hard. 'She has been bad. Need to punish. Bad bad bad. This one is adult. That one is good. This one bad.' Lila signed, pointing to each of the three dolls in turn.

"Why is that one bad? Why does she need to be punished?"

She shrugged, shaking her head. She didn't really know. She just knew that the doll had been bad and bad deserved to be punished. Right? Bad was always punished.

Alexis hesitated, leaning back slightly. "So the adult is punishing her because she was bad? But does she really deserve to be beaten like that? What could she have done that was so bad?" She asked, quirking a brow and tilting her head to the side. The child was young enough to not understand that she was turning this into play therapy, analyzing the child's actions and answers as a way to understand her. As a way to get inside her head, as a way to help her. After all, many play therapy sessions used dolls in certain scenarios to get a child to talk about difficult subjects. Distracting the children with playing made it easier for them to relax, to open up. She just wasn't sure if it would work here or if trying to get the child to open up would lead to a tantrum. She knew, from experience and from conversations, that most of Lila's sessions ended in tantrums. Honestly, the child had been building up to a supreme melt-down over the last few days. She wouldn't be surprised if this ended in a tantrum.

Lila shrugged, tugging on her own hair for a moment before picking the doll up again. The doll was bad, it was that simple. Bad meant punishment. That was punishment. She shrugged again, pushing that doll to one side and picking up the good one.

"You don't know?"

Lila grunted, shrugging again. Even if she knew, she couldn't tell her. Her words didn't work right, didn't the headmistress understand that?

Alexis sighed, opening her mouth to ask another question but froze, reaching for the pendant around her neck. Between the castle screaming in her head and the burning of her pendant...something was seriously wrong. "Lila, I'll be right back, alright?" She stood quickly, catching the child's gaze for a moment.
The worry in the girl's eyes made her pause. "Everything will be fine, I just need to check on something." She added quietly, striding to her quarters and pushing open the door. "Bain, keep an eye on Lila. Elijah, go with him, you can work on that in my office. I'll be back in a bit." She ordered quietly, catching the eldest boy's eyes.

"Alexis?" Bain frowned, gently nudging the younger boy toward her office. If she wanted them in her office, there was a reason.

She hesitated, watching Elijah slip quietly into her office before turning back to her oldest son. She grimaced at the sudden onslaught of pain, hand grasping the pendant. "I don't know, Bain. Get inside and keep them safe. Call Severus!" She ordered, forcing herself to focus on the thoughts streaming through her mind. The screams. She glanced at the door when she heard it snap shut, rising the wards around her office before taking hold of the pendant again. "Counselors! Code C!" She ordered, sending both her voice and her magic through the pendant. "Eric, infirmary! Teachers, find any stranglers!" She released the pendant taking a breath and holding her arm out. "Lead me."She requested softly, relaxing at the bird's quiet thrill as Fawkes landed on her arm. She took a breath, feeling them flash before opening her eyes. They were in one of the far courtyards, close to the mountain. She could feel it in the very air, the ward was weaker here.

"Alexis." Isaac groaned, trying not to move. His leg was broken, he knew that feeling. Broken and bleeding, bastard.

"Isaac." She hissed, moving fast but quietly toward him. Whoever had harmed the child could still be in range. She dropped beside him, placing a gentle hand on his chest. She let her magic drop into him, scanning him for serious damage. Her eyes spotted the broken leg instantly, but she couldn't quite tell where the boy was bleeding from. "What happened?"

"A man..he just seemed to appear. There. I tried to stop him but I couldn't. He headed toward the school Alexis! You have to stop him. He said something about a child." Isaac gasped, fighting down the pain and pointing toward a spot on what appeared to be a mountain wall.

Alexis swore softly, following his gesture. There was a small hole in the wards right there. So small, she couldn't have sensed it from the castle. A pinhole, almost like a keyhole. Like a doorway in. Someone had to purposefully place it there and they would have had to do it from the inside. Just another item on the long list of grievances she had with the former Deputy. She took a deep breath to calm herself, slipping a band out of her robes. She clasped it around the boy's wrists, brushing his hair away from his face. "I am going to send you to the infirmary, alright? I will be up as soon as this is over. You did well Isaac." She murmured soothingly, tapping the band to activate the emergency portkey. She waited until the child disappeared before pulling herself up. Her gray eyes flash with fury. Someone had harmed one of her children and they would paid. No one harmed her children. Not under her watch. She took another deep breath, waving her hand toward the hole in the ward, to patch it temporarily. No one would get in or out until she could seal it properly. "Fawkes, come. We have a person to hunt." She called softly, holding her arm out once more.

She opened her eyes to screams sounding in her ears. Her eyes instantly found the teenagers, throwing a quick shield around their position, before scanning for the spell-fire she could see. The flashes of magic traced back to a tree. She growled under her breath, stepping between the teenagers, who had taken shelter behind a group of trees, and the person trespassing. "Show yourself!"

He chuckled. Did this child really think she could defend these grounds from him? He was years older, plenty experienced, and on a mission. He just had to find the right child first and none of the children would tell him, even after he hurt one of them. He hated harming little ones, but it sometimes came with the job. For the right amount of gold, of course. He could justify it, could tell himself that he was just returning a child to its' parents but that didn't make him feel much better. "I'm looking for a boy! Tell me where he is and no one gets hurt!" He retorted, watching her around the edge of the tree. The young woman hadn't even sought cover! Even the children had sought cover before starting to fire at him. Little ones might not know much, but they sure as hell tried.

"No. You will leave, now." She responded silkily, dangerously. This man did not know who he was messing with. This was her school, she had the magic of Hogwarts behind her.

He snorted, stepping slightly around the tree. If she wasn't afraid to face him, then he would show her why she should be. Did they even let people that young be teachers? She was too old to be a student but not nearly old enough to have any experience. Apprentice or Mastery student then. She wouldn't be difficult to deal with. "You are in over your head, child." He shrugged, twirling his wand absently. He raised an eyebrow when she blocked the invisible stream of magic with a mere wave of her hand.

She scowled, batting away the spell like it was an irritating bug. She didn't recognize the magical signature attached to it, but that mattered not. He was trespassing and harming her children. She would make sure he never thought to do so again. She lifted her wand with one hand, stretching the other out to the side, palm up. "Goddess guide me." She whispered, sending off a spell of her own.

He blocked the spell, frowning slightly. The power behind that spell was surprising, especially from such a young woman. "Alright then, if you want to duel, so be it." He remarked, shaking his head. It didn't matter if she had power, he could handle her. Power was not experience, after all. She would misstep and he could easily take advantage of it. He just had to wait for it.

She dodged the onslaught of spells, throwing a stronger shield around the children. This was no angry parent; this was a professional. But why he was after one of her children...that would be the first question she asked after she subdued him. Of course, she had to subdue him first. She blocked another spell, glaring at the older man. Now he was just being nasty. She shrugged, twisting her wand in a pattern Severus had taught her, sneering at the man.

He swore, jumping away from the swarm of wasps flying at him. That was unexpected...and creative. He banished the wasps with a curse, sending another cutting spell her way, glaring when the younger woman merely sidestepped it. There were no spark trails with his spells, they were all silently cast; how the hell was she dodging them? Unless she was one of the rare few who could see magic; if she was, this would be interesting. He did love a good challenge. He sent a stronger curse toward her, banishing another swarm of wasps, but not before one managed to sting him.

Alexis grunted, throwing her shield up and narrowing her eyes. She was done playing with this man. She took a deep breath, summoning the magic from around her to her outstretched hand. She pulled, twisting every strand she could gather together before turning her palm to face him and letting the magic stream through her. She slammed it at him, forcing the sudden wave of dizziness down and drawing on the magic of Hogwarts.

He grunted when a stream of pure magic slammed into him, knocking him down. He fought down a wince, breathing through the flares of pain as he felt magic wrap around his hands and legs. Great, now he couldn't move. But that didn't mean he couldn't cast. He groaned, wiggling his fingers and muttering under his breath but...nothing.

"I weaved magic-suppressants into the bonds. Stay there." Alexis ordered coolly, watching him for a moment to make sure he was truly down before turning and dropping the shield around the children. She moved quickly, stepping around the trees they had taken refuge behind and dropping to the ground. She gently placed a hand on the girl's chest, letting her magic drop into her. There was a gash to her leg, but nothing serious. She traced her wand over the edge of the wound, to help it scab over. "Are you two alright?" She questioned softly, moving to check on the other two teenagers. Three fifteen year old girls had tried to take on a grown wizard, and from the marks he had when she showed up, they had done a good job of defending themselves. Two quick nods and she fought back a sigh. They were physically alright but otherwise? She wasn't so sure that they were alright. She removed three bands from her robe pocket, moving to place one on the injured child first. "Here you go Lexie. This will take you to Eric." She murmured soothingly, placing the band around her wrist before tapping it twice. She then turned to the other two teenaged girls, placing a band on each offered limb. "Rose, Hannah. Let Eric check you over, alright?" She ordered softly, tapping both bands and waiting for a moment, until each girl had vanished. Eric would take care of them, calm them more. She had a scumbag to handle right now before she could go check on them. She growled, stalking back over to where he laid, struggling against the bonds she had made. "Struggling makes it hurt more." She remarked coolly, placing her hands on her hips. "Now, why don't you tell me why you are after my students?" She inquired firmly, raising an eyebrow at him.

He blinked, staring up at the younger woman for a long moment. Her students? "Who are you?" He snarled, stopping his struggle to get his hands free. It was no use, he could not break whatever spell she had used.

"I'm the Headmistress. And you are fucking with my students. Now tell me why." She ordered dangerously, leaning forward and glaring down at him.

Headmistress? This child was the Headmistress? She couldn't be more than thirty! But yet, he had felt her magic, was bound by it presently. The very air seemed to crack around her. She wasn't someone he wanted to try, not while his magic was restricted anyway. "I was asked to retrieve a child who was snatched from his parents illegally and unfairly." He responded finally, meeting stone cold eyes. It was the truth. He had been asked, with gold. Lots of gold.

She snorted humorlessly, shaking her head. "So someone offers to pay you to kidnap a child that they say belongs to them and you don't even question it? Didn't even ask why they didn't use the proper channels? Who is the child?" She sneered, fighting down her urge to curse him. But she didn't curse someone who was already down. Well, she shouldn't, anyway.

He attempted to shrug, grimacing when the magic seemed to bite into him. "Don't know his name. I did ask but they said the Ministry wouldn't hear them out. Letter's in my pocket." He grumbled, trying to move his hand, but even if he could get it to his pocket, he wouldn't give her the letter. Not that he had much of a choice in this position.

"Accio scumbag's letter." Alexis growled, smirking when the letter flew from his trouser pocket toward her. She kept it in the air, conjuring a plastic document bag and slowly guiding the letter into it with her wand. She sealed the bag and then she finally snatched it out of the air. The letter was evidence after all. She scanned the letter, fighting down her rage with every lie. "Did they tell you that they beat their son to near unconsciousness? That when he arrived here, he had three broken ribs and a fractured femur? Did they mention that they tried to kill him, twice? Did they tell you that they starved him, so he's twenty kilo's underweight?" She snarled silkily, letting her anger show through for just a moment. "His name is Benjamin, he is fourteen years old and afraid of the dark. He likes swimming, football, and girls. His favourite food is chicken, any kind, and he is allergic to peanuts. His favourite class is history, because he likes listening to stories. He hates transfiguration and he loves telling jokes. His so called parents wouldn't know any of this. I've been trying to get them to sign over their rights for three weeks. So thank you." She added in a dangerous calm, fumbling around in her pocket for a quill and parchment.

"Thank you?" He frowned, tilting his head toward her. The couple who had hired him hadn't told him that they had harmed the child. But then, it wasn't his business how they raised their own child.

She gestured to the letter, finishing a quick missive and spelling both onto the man's clothes, so that they could not be removed. "Kidnapping a child is illegal. Paying someone to kidnap a child is also illegal. This is proof enough that their rights will be waived by the courts immediately." She shrugged, smirking at him and summoning Fawkes. "Fawkes, drop this scumbag at the DMLE." She requested, sneering at the man as the bird squawked, whisking the man away to drop him directly in front of a group of Aurors. She sighed softly, stumbling toward a tree. Now, she just had to seal the wards and strengthen them. But she needed Severus for that. She just needed a moment, a bit of a break, before she went to check on the children and to get Severus. She groaned, catching herself on the tree and dropping to sit against it. "Thank you Goddess." She murmured as darkness washed over her.

-x-

Severus didn't know whether to laugh or scowl. He settled on smirking, fetching a camera from his pocket and snapping a picture of the younger woman, sleeping against a tree with Fawkes perched just about her, watching over her. He had used the tracking spell in her pendant to find her, in one of the back courtyards. He moved toward her, making as much noise as possible. "Time to wake up, Alexis." He called quietly, firmly. Her eyes fluttered up and he crouched beside her, casting a quick diagnostic spell. The scan showed clear and he relaxed slightly. Exhaustion from channeling magic then.

"We need to take care of the wards." She grunted, forcing her eyes open. They were at a midway point, after all. They could strength and fix all of the wards from here without a problem. It needed to be done sooner rather than later.

He hesitated for a moment, glancing around them. They could do it here. He knew that look in her eyes; if he said no, she'd just try to do it by herself. Better to help her with it than have her pass out from the drain. He silently held a hand out to her, pulling her to her feet. "Together?"

"Together." She responded softly, taking a breath and starting to move in a clockwise circle, his hand tight in hers, her other hand outstretched to the side. "We cast this circle, once upon, to keep all evil out." She chanted softly, feeling their magic slowly soak into the earth.

"We cast this circle, twice around, to keep magic cast within." Severus chanted, easily keeping pace with her. This was something they could do asleep. Their magic was connected; this was easy.

"Thrice around we cast this circle and call forth these elements four: fire, earth, air, and sea guided by these directions be. To protect this place and those within, now let this working begin." They finished as one, releasing each others hands and moving to the center of the circle. They seated themselves on the ground, taking a breath as one. This was the where the real work began.

-x-

Alexis opened her eyes with a sigh, releasing the last of the wards. She had woven new, stronger wards over the old ones; since they had removed some wards and added others previously, she didn't have to replace all the wards. But they had strengthen them all and made sure that the entire grounds were completely covered, there were no weak spots now. No thin areas. The wards were solid, whole. They would need to be checked regularly and strengthened until school started back. Once classes started, the sheer number of magic users would feed the wards inadvertently. But even with the wards fixed, there was still so much left to finish.

"Ready?" Severus inquired, stretching his back out before reaching a hand down to her. They had to finish the ritual and ground the magic they had used.

She nodded firmly, grasping his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. She flexed each of her legs once, forcing the pins and needles feeling away. "Ready." She grasped his hand, taking a slow breath as he started the journey counterclockwise.

"Thrice around we go once more and release our friends four." He chanted, letting the magic wash over him. The magic was alive within them and around them, it was always an amazing, if sometimes overwhelming, feeling.

"Sea, Air, Fire, and Earth, thanks be to thee. Magic forged here kept within, these workings sound and solidly stand." She added instantly. She always knew her place in rituals when she worked them with Severus, could always find the right words to say. And she knew he was much the same.

"Magic forged, thanks to thee."

"Now go in peace, blessed be."

"So mote it be!" They finished as one, hands going toward the point of the dome. They broke away from each other and she took a deep breath, feeling the magic fill her body for a moment. She took another breath, shifting it through her own magic, cleansing and grounding it, before letting it wash over her and out, into the ground. There was work to do and children to check on, but for a moment, just a moment, everything was at peace. She knew the feeling couldn't last, she took care of children after all and a castle full of children didn't give much chance for peace. But it was refreshing and after the events of the day, something she desperately needed. Everything would work out, gods willing.
-x-