A/N: Not as long a wait this time! Surprisingly, as I fought myself on how to end this chapter. Cause it could have been much, much worse. Anyway, don't own. Italics are thoughts, Italics in quotations are silent conversations, and there is one flashback scene in italics. X's are scene breaks. Enjoy. and as always, use your words. ~Case

-x-

Severus smiled softly, watching the two sleeping children for a moment before moving silently away. They could sleep in today, it was a Saturday morning and the children did not have to return to the camp unless they wanted to. They had known that Karrie had left her room last night, but as the wards had gone off in Harry's room not long after and Remus had gone to check on them minutes later, they had decided to let the two children be. Neither child had nightmares last night, a miracle in itself. Besides, they were siblings and he knew that sometimes falling asleep next to your sibling was the best way to fight nightmares. It had worked for Alexis in the past, after all.

Remus caught his partner's eyes when the younger man walked back into the kitchen. "Bain wanted to speak to us about something." He remarked calmly, letting his worry briefly show in his eyes. It was seven in the morning on a Saturday, Bain was a teenaged boy. Usually, it took arguing to get any of the teenagers up before noon on weekends. The fact that the child was here, in their quarters, this early meant that something was wrong. The child didn't appear physically injured, but that didn't mean anything.

"Bain?" Severus inquired softly, turning his full attention to the teenager at his kitchen table.

He hesitated, playing with his fingers for a moment. "I need to talk to both of you about something." The red-head muttered finally, glancing up at the older two men. He had thought about going to Eric and Tim, they were helping him through his own problems after all, but he didn't want to get her in trouble and he didn't know what else to do.

Remus gave the boy a soft smile, sitting down at the table with him and waited a moment for Severus to join them. Once the other man had, he returned his full attention to the teenager. "You can talk to us about anything Bain." He encouraged softly.

"Remember a couple of weeks ago when they told all us older teenagers that if we were concerned for someone or their safety, that we were to come to any of the adults and you'd help, because ya'll needed to know if something was wrong otherwise you couldn't help and we didn't have to do it alone cause we were just kids even the ones of us who really weren't but still are?" He asked in one breath, drumming his fingers on the table when silence followed.

It took him a moment to figure out what the teenager had just said but it had clicked quickly that he was concerned about another student. Severus wasn't quite sure why he hadn't gone to his mother first, but that was alright. She had enough on her plate as it was. "We do. Who has you worried, Bain?"

"Alexis."

He blinked. That was not the answer he had expected at all. "What has you worried?" That would explain why he hadn't gone to the younger woman though. "We may have to intervene with Alexis, even if just to see if there is anything to worry about." Severus thought, glancing at his partner in time to catch the slight nod. Maybe this bond thing wasn't as much a curse as he had feared.

He wasn't sure if he should tell them everything or just what Teddy had said. "Well, Teddy was worried about who would take care of and protect Alexis, because she takes care of everyone else and us, so someone has to take care of her." Bain shrugged, staring down at the table. He didn't want to tell on her, not really. She didn't even know that he had noticed some of what was going on. He knew of course, that he didn't know everything, which was partly why he was reluctant to tell. She could have a good reason for what he had noticed.

"I can understand Teddy's worry, particularly after the events in Milan. Is that the only reason you are worried, Bain? Because of Teddy?" Remus questioned softly, knowing that there was something else. Otherwise, the teenager would not have come to them at seven in the morning. He would have waited for a more reasonable time.

He hesitated for a moment longer, looking up to glance between the two men. "I don't want to get her in trouble." He muttered finally.

"You won't, Bain. Alexis is an adult who makes her own decisions. But if you are worried about her, we need to know why so that we can help her. She may be an adult but she is not alone in this. We want to help her. Will you help us do that?" Severus responded, not unkindly, watching his apprentice for a long moment. This was not a child who worried without reason.

"She hasn't slept in days. She keeps taking a wide-awake potion, she mixes it with her coffee. Which is dangerous, Severus. The caffeine in the coffee mixed with the amount in the wide-awake potion can be deadly if the dosage is off. She's also...I don't know. Something just feels off. Maybe she's really stressed or the castle's overpowering her. I heard her talking to Fawkes...well, swearing at Fawkes. About something the castle was doing. I don't know. I just want her to be safe and happy. She's my mum, you know?" Bain took a deep breath, slowly meeting the eyes of both men. Neither of them looked pleased but they didn't seem angry either. More...resigned than anything.

Remus met Severus' eyes for a long moment before turning back to the child. "You convince Alexis to come down here and I will go speak with Henry." "Thank you for telling us Bain. We will make sure she is taken care of. Your job, for right now, is to look after your brothers. We will help your mum. Okay?' He remarked gently, resting his hand slowly on the boy's and giving it a squeeze. The child seemed to relax and he understood why. It was a load off of his shoulders, now that they would be taking care of it. Bain didn't have to be responsible for looking after Alexis anymore. Granted, he never really was responsible for that but he understood why the child would have felt that way.

He relaxed slowly, leaning into the hand Severus rested on his shoulder and the gentle squeeze on his own hand. They were the adults, they could take care of it. Which meant he could go back to bed now. It was early, after all, and he was tired. Plus, he wanted to spend the afternoon hanging with Isaac and he couldn't do that if he was tired. "Okay. Thanks. I'm going back to sleep." He shrugged, standing and letting first Severus and then Remus hug him, before bee-lining it to the floo and back to Alexis' quarters. His bed was calling him, after all.

Severus chuckled softly but quickly sobered. "Shall we get her to sleep first and then go from there? Or?" He inquired, moving through to the living room and the floo.

"We'll fight with her after she has slept a bit. I'm willing to bet she hasn't left her office since last night. See if you can get her into our bed. If not, it shouldn't take me long to find Henry and see if he has noticed anything unusual." Remus replied, setting an alarm over their children's room before moving toward the door. He wanted to be aware of when they woke up, so that they did not wake up to empty quarters.

"It's going to be a fight to get her to sleep, particularly if she has been awake as long as Bain believes. Once she is asleep, I'll get the wide-awake potions from her quarters. She doesn't need an addiction to those on top of everything else." Severus responded, meeting his partner's eyes for a brief moment before stepping into the floo.

-x-

Isaac hesitated, glancing down at the smaller boy before finally knocking on the door. They had been invited to breakfast and since he was coming to like both of the older men, he had only brief thoughts about not coming. But they had invited Damian as well and he knew his brother would like it.
Tim opened the door with a smile, holding it open for the two boys. When Eric had brought Isaac home Thursday night, they had decided to invite both boys for Saturday brunch. Because Eric saw something in Isaac that they had only seen twice before. And it had yet to be wrong, so they wanted to get to know the boys and to give the boys someone to trust besides Alexis, someone else who could be there. "Good morning Isaac, Damian. Do you like crepes, Damian?" He inquired, motioning them through to the kitchen, where Eric was making said crepes.

"We never had crepes." Damian shrugged, meeting the older man's eyes for a moment before leaning into his brother. He glanced toward the stove, sniffing the air. It smelt quite good but that didn't mean anything. No one had ever made food just for them before. Only Isaac had ever cooked treats for him and his brother had not done it often.

Eric smiled at the two boys, catching Tim's eye for a brief second. "Crepes are like sweet pancakes, with fruit filling. It is a French food, as we lived in Frances for several years." He explained quietly, setting the serving dish on the table and gesturing for both boys to sit as Tim poured glasses of juice for each of them. "There is fresh fruit and crepes. Go ahead." He motioned toward the dishes, watching as the two boys hesitated before Isaac finally nodded and slowly placed a crepe on his own plate before helping his brother do the same.

Tim cut a small piece off a crepe and a sliver of fruit, placing both onto a plate. "It private quarters for family meals, we always do a ritual blessing first. Isaac, Eric told me that you know your rituals well. Would you like to perform our blessing?" He inquired calmly, meeting almond coloured eyes for a moment before the boy looked away and shook his head. "No? That's okay. Next time then."

Damian glanced at his brother and then the light-skinned man with a frown before waving his hand in the air.

"Yes Damian?"

"Can I do it?" Isaac had taught him a few of the blessings, after all. He might not know all the words but he figured they wouldn't care. And maybe they'd help him if he got stuck. They seemed nice enough, anyway.

"Damian." Isaac hissed, shaking his head. His brother would probably botch any attempt. He was just a kid, after all.

Eric fought down a chuckle, exchanging glances with Tim. As there was nothing dangerous about this rite, this prayer, he didn't see why not. "Of course you can."

Damian grinned before growing serious and staring at the plate. He had seen his brother do this once or twice. It should be easy, right? He held his hand out toward the plate, biting his lip for a moment. "Lord and Lady, this we give to you because food is good. So mote it be." He stared at the plate a moment longer, a grin spreading across his face when it slowly started smoking before the small offering caught and burnt,quickly turning to ash and vanishing.

"Thank you Damian, that was wonderful." Tim praised, moving to put food onto his own plate. He loved Eric's crepes. All of their family did, actually.

Isaac snorting, rolling his eyes. That was a botched ritual if he ever heard one. But he did understand that Damian was young and meal offerings weren't quite as serious.

Eric watched the younger of the two boys dig into his food for a moment before turning toward the older boy, who moved more deliberately. "It was a valiant effort. I remember Remus' first blessing and it wasn't nearly as articulated." He remarked quietly, catching the teenager's eye.

Tim snorted, shaking his head.. "Remus? Do you remember Alexis'? I thought she'd burn down the kitchen!"

He did laugh then, catching his partner's eyes for a brief moment. If innocence little stories would help the teenager relax, they could easily tell them. Damian seemed quite at ease with them but the younger boy had not suffered as much conditioning as the older. Partially because Isaac taught Damian how to hide his magic. "I also remember you trying to teach her how to say the ritual in a language she didn't speak." He teased, leaning back slightly.

"I didn't think she'd take jab literally." Tim retorted, catching Isaac's eye and rolling his in exaggerated exasperation.

Damian giggled, glancing between the two men. The headmistress used to be young like them? "Why did she live with you? What language did she speak?" He asked, curious.

"Damian!" Isaac hissed, nudging the younger boy. He was curious as well, but he knew better than to ask. He did find it interesting that Alexis was once just like him, stumbling around with the rituals. He knew the older woman had suffered abuse, she had shown him the scars on her arm after all, but he wasn't aware that she had lived with Tim and Eric. He bet Tim was the strict one, it seemed like it anyway.

"It's alright, Isaac. Alexis living with us was not a secret. She was my apprentice and since she was underage, she could not live in the university quarters for apprentices. Alexis is German by birth, so when she came to us, she spoke German. She barely knew any English." Tim responded causally, shrugging slightly. It was the truth, even if it was a simpler version of the truth. Alexis barely spoke when she came to them, they hadn't even been sure that she understood German and the English she had known had left something to be desired.

"What was her first English word?" Damian inquired, leaning forward, his forkful of crepe forgotten for the moment.

Eric glanced at Tim, hesitating for a moment. "Eat your breakfast and I'll tell you." He responded quietly. He remembered her first English word, her first sentence, quite well. Particularly since it had been directed at him.

~ "Alexis, how can I gauge your English proficiency if you refuse to speak it with me?" Eric inquired in German, resisting the urge to sigh. The teenager was wearing on him that day. Her 'tutor' had the day off, since he was at home, and Tim had an emergency that he had to deal with. He could handle teenagers with no problem, he knew that. But she still didn't trust them. If Remus had taught him anything, it was that the trust would come slowly, but it would come.

"Arschloch." She hissed, glaring at the wall. He couldn't make her speak.

"Auf Englisch, bitte." He responded calmly. That was one word more than she had spoken in over an hour, at least.

She scowled, counting the tiles on the wall silently. She had been fine with the math sheet he had given her, advance something or another. It was easy. But the English page was not. She didn't want to learn to read again. She could already read just fine! So why should she learn to read in another language? They wouldn't keep her long enough for it to be important.

He did sigh this time, glancing at the maths sheet on the table. The child could solve a complex calculus problem in five minutes, without a calculator, but she couldn't say a sentence in English. Her French was slightly better than her English, as she had spoken it when she was on the streets. And while French was important while they were in France, English was necessary for the university. They wouldn't let her take any advanced magic or non-magic classes until her English, French, and Latin were up to par with the examinations. Latin wasn't a problem, French was coming along, but her English? At the rate she was going, it would be another year. She didn't even have to read it, she just had to be able to speak and understand it. They couldn't teach her everything she needed to know, although they could teach her much, so she had to learn. "How can I know if your tutor is helping if you do not speak it?" He inquired again, raising an eyebrow when she merely growled at him. "I'll teach you a swear in Russian." He offered in English, watching her expression as she slowly puzzled out what he said.

"Was ist los? Spinnst Du?" She responded, frowning slightly. She understood most of those words, after all. He wanted her to swear in Russian? Really? But she didn't know Russian. Adults were weird.

"Nein, no. I am not crazy. I am a teacher, Lehrer. So I will teach, lehre, you one word in another language, anderssprachig, for every word you speak, sagst, auf Englisch. Ja?" He explained in English. He figured if he used the English and German word for words she might not know, it would help her recognize them faster. Maybe that's what they should start doing, speaking in both languages at once.

"Ja, Ok. Welches Wort?" Alexis shrugged, understanding now. She was right, adults were weird. He would teach her to swear, and other words, in another language if she spoke English? Wasn't that bribery? She didn't like English, it didn't feel right on her tongue.

"Any word."

"Ass." She responded, glancing up for a brief second.

He bit his lip to keep from laughing. He had a feeling she would go with something like that, just to see what he would say or do. "Use it in a sentence."

"You ass."

"You are an ass." He corrected calmly. "While I don't appreciate being sworn at, I understand that you might feel that way and that is okay. Thank you for speaking English with me. Now, let's try it in Russian."
~

"And that was her first word." Eric shrugged, taking the final bite of his own crepe. The two boys had made fast work of the dish. He remembered how Remus used to eat when he was hungry, perhaps he would have to make bigger dishes. He was used to cooking for two adults, not two teenagers. He would work on it.
Isaac stared at the older man, his mouth slightly open. Her first word has been a swear?! At Eric? The older man was kind but he would be the one he would have sworn at too. Tim didn't seem to be the type to put up with it. "You speak Russian sir?" He asked finally, setting his fork down. The crepes had been delicious. From the fact that they were all over Damian's face, he had a feeling his brother felt the same way.

"Wipe your face, Damian." Eric instructed, not unkindly, before turning back to the older boy. "I do. I speak several languages." He wiped his hands on his own napkin before picking up the serving dish and taking it to the sink. While they had a house-elf assigned to them, he liked cooking and cleaning up afterwards. Technically, if he cooked, Tim cleaned.

Damian did as instructed, using the sleeve of his shirt for a brief second before catching the look on Tim's face and taking the cloth napkin the older man held out to him. "Sorry."He murmured, staring down at his sticky hands.

"It's alright, Damian. Just try to use a napkin, not your sleeve." Tim replied with a soft smile, squeezing the child's shoulder as he moved to take the dishes off the table.

"Let us help." Isaac stood, picking up his plate and nudging his brother to do the same.

"Thank you, boys." Eric smiled, spraying off each dish before placing it within the small dishwasher. He loved their little magic dishwasher, one of the reasons he had convinced Alexis to have them installed in all the teachers and healers quarters. That and they helped make family meals more intimate, without elves popping in and out.

"How many languages do you speak Eric?" Damian was always curious, particularly when it was an adult who hadn't hit him yet. His teachers at primary had said he asked too many questions sometimes, but he liked questions. He wasn't always fond of the answers, however.

Tim snorted, glancing at his partner. "He speaks too many to count. Way more than I do. It is part of our job, so that we can be able to communicate with anyone who comes to us for help. But Eric has this obsession with languages."

"It's not an obsession." Eric muttered, shutting the dishwasher and waving the boys through to the living room. "It's a passion. I speak most European languages and dialectics, some Middle Eastern languages, like Farsi, some Asian languages, mostly Eastern Asia, many Russian Dialects, and a limited amount of South and Central American languages. I am currently studying what some consider the Nilo-Saharan languages." He explained, letting the excitement show in his eyes for a moment before frowning at the sudden burn of his pendant. He touched it, half listening to his husband's explanation to the boys.

"It's a select few languages of the continent of Africa. The continent is huge and there are hundreds of languages spoken there. He won't learn them all, not in this lifetime. That doesn't, however, stop him from speaking Songhai in his sleep." He teased, mostly for the boys benefit. He had noticed that look on Eric's face after all.

"I have to run." He frowned, trying to interpret the several different messages sent to him at once.

"Bad?" "That's alright. The boys and I will play a game. How does that sound, boys? We have several board games in that cabinet if you would like to pick one out
Damian." Tim responded firmly, smiling at the younger boy and nodding toward the cabinet. He would spend some time with the boys and hopefully Eric would be back soon.

"I'm not quite sure. I have three different calls, all for the infirmary. The only one that makes any sense is Alexis'. Someone has been hurt. I might need you. I will send word." He answered silently, summoning his bag with a wave of his hand. "I will hopefully be back soon. He cheats at scrabble, Damian, so you got to watch him." Eric teased, squeezing Isaac's shoulder as he walked passed before stepping into the floo. He hoped it wasn't as bad as he feared.

-x-

Eric grimaced, glancing around the chaotic infirmary. From the floo, he could see passed the divider that someone thought to throw up. He was willing to bet it was Alexis, who was calmly working on a child he didn't recognize and steadily instructing the teenager 'helper' he often had in healing another new child. He glanced at the other side of the screen and understood the problem immediately. Severus was busy working on two children he did recognize, spelling a potion into one before moving back to the other, using his own apprentice for help. It was the two arguing counselors, however, that might have been the problem. The silencing spell surrounding them felt like Severus' handiwork. He glared at the two young adults, sending stinging spells at them and raising an eyebrow when they turned to glare at him. "Out. Now." He ordered, he would deal with them later.

"Nikolaas has a few broken bones that I would rather not attempt to mend. He is sedated and has had a pain draft. " Severus remarked softly, wand tracing over the young girl in front of him again. "Bain, I need another stabilizer potion." He murmured, glancing at the young man before turning his attention back to the girl. She was the same age as his own daughter. A bit younger, actually.

Eric nodded, running his own scan over the teenaged boy before moving to run a scan over the preteen girl that Severus was spelling a potion into. He frowned, placing his hand directly on the girl's chest and running his magic through her. "What happened?" He inquired equally soft, drawing his magic back. There was nothing he could do here.

"We're not quite sure. Those two don't seem capable of anything but blaming each other. The only ones who knows exactly what happened is Nikolaas and Emma. Rose saw the end of it, as she alerted both of the counselors to it and she stabilized Nikolaas to get him up here. She also fed Emma enough magic to stabilize her core until I could start feeding her potions. I induced a magical coma, otherwise.." He trailed off, catching the older man's eyes. Otherwise, they would have already lost the little girl.

"Will she be okay?" Bain asked quietly, staring down at the small child for a long moment before moving to brace Nikolaas' shoulder. She was just a kid. Just a little kid.

"Only time will tell." Eric responded honestly. He knew what Severus wasn't saying, what he wouldn't say. They could not doubt this little girl. They had to try to help her, regardless of whether it had ever worked before. Her core had tried to mature. The coma she was in was keeping her alive, otherwise the onslaught of magic to her physical senses would kill her. No child this young had ever survived. But with the core stabilizers Severus was constantly feeding her, she might make it. They had to act as if she would. Her core must have been close to maturing and something must have triggered it. Usually it only happened in life threatening situations. But knowing the child's past, it was probably on the edge as it was and it reacted. They were lucky the backlash of her magic hadn't killed Nikolaas either, although he had several broken bones.

Bain frowned, glancing at the older man even as he helped him straighten Nikolaas' leg so the man could heal it and place a cast on it. "Is there nothing you can do?" It wasn't like these two men to look so defeated, so helpless. And this little girl was just a bit younger than Teddy. He knew what had happened to Emma before she had been brought to the school. Ariana had sobbed it into his shoulder two days before. They couldn't give up on her. They just couldn't.

"Bain...when this happens, as rare as it is, it doesn't usually end well. We can keep her in a magically-induced coma and feed her core stabilizers, we just have to hope her body can handle the magic. There is only one other option and it has never worked. Even if it did work, we don't know what the end result might be." Eric responded softly. He understood why it upset the child but their only other choice was drastic. He would use it if he had to, but only then. Because no child had ever survived the other option and it stretched out their suffering. What he wouldn't tell the boy was that the physical pain from her core maturing would kill her if she wasn't sedated, that the pain from a core maturing normally could be harsh. When it was forced to mature this early, it was extreme.

He watched his apprentice for a long moment, noting how carefully the teenager handled the injured child. Bain could be a healer if he chose but he knew the boy wouldn't be able to take the emotional impact of it. He also knew that if the girl started to go, Eric, Tim, and Alexis would try the other method. They wouldn't just let the child die. "If necessary, we will try the second option. But that involves removing most of the magic from her body and feeding it back in piece by piece." He added calmly. Usually, the child died by the second hour. One child had made it three days and the healers had used a power stone to help. Perhaps.. "Do you have any power stones, Eric? Clean ones?" He inquired suddenly, turning to face the older man.

He raised an eyebrow, setting the last cast over Nikolaas' leg. "What are you thinking?"

"What if we soak Agate, Onyx, and Flint in a stabilizing potion and use them as points? Close the circle with Prasiolite and use an Opal for power." Severus suggested, running it through in his mind. Agate, onyx, and flint were stabilizing stones. Prasiolite was a bridging stone but extremely rare. And opal, well opal was usually used to draw on stored, extra power for emergencies.

That might actually work. "It has never been tried before. However, we need more stabilizing potion, so make an extra batch and start soaking the stones. Hopefully we won't need them. I'll have Tim pull what you need and we will find some Prasiolite. We also need some Amertine as an anchor." If they didn't need it, the three soaked stones could be put aside for another project. If they did, at least they would have it.

The dark-haired man gave a firm nod, placing a hand on the teenager's shoulder and steering him toward the floo. "Come along, Bain, we have a potion to make."
Eric sighed, gazing down at the preteen for a moment before setting a charm to alert him to any change. She was stabilized as much as possible at the moment, so he needed to check on Alexis and the two new children.

Alexis grunted, stepping away from the two beds. Both children were asleep and healing, to the best of her ability. They would both be alright. "Bailey and Bellamie. Eleven year old, mundane born twins." She remarked, glancing at Eric as the man stepped around the screen. Bailey, the boy, had several abrasions, internal bleeding, and severe bruising. Bellamie, the girl, on the other hand, had a spiral fracture, abrasions, and severe bruising. Another two children whose parents had tried to beat the magic out of them. Their abuse could have been worse, and she knew that. They were both mild, considering some of the other cases this summer. The internal bleeding, however, had been concerning. "How is she?" She added softly, meeting his gaze. She had helped Severus stabilize Nikolaas quickly before moving to the twins. Her own scan of Emma had shown her what they were dealing with and she knew she was not quite strong enough to help at the moment.

Eric glanced toward Rose, who was sitting calmly in a chair, watching the twins sleep. "As well as can be expected." He replied, running a quick scan of his own over each child, including the teenager. The twins were about as he expected, each healing at their own pace. There was a bit of concern on the boy's scan, but it wasn't pressing. He would need a blood test to be certain anyway. That could wait until the child was awake. Rose, however, was suffering from slight magical exhaustion. Rest would fix it easily but he knew how likely that was. He vanished the curtain, conjuring a bed between Emma's and Bellamie. "Why don't you relax for a bit, Rose?" He suggested firmly, summoning a magic replenisher and offering it to the child. She merely nodded, downing the potion and moving to stretch out on the bed. She did grin when Alexis handed her a fashion magazine, relaxing against the pillow. He turned toward Alexis and forced down a sigh. She was pale and that look in her eyes...he had seen it before. Many times. It was time for him to intervene then. "Rose, will you keep an eye of things out here for me?"

The teenager nodded, glancing up from the latest mundane fashions. She wanted to be a healer one day, so that she could help children like Bailey and Ballamie, like Emma and Nikolaas. Children like herself. She could easily watch a sleeping infirmary. Easily.

"Thank you. Alexis, let's go to my office. We need to discuss some things." He smiled at the fifteen year old before beckoning to the older woman. She wouldn't like this but he would need her if Emma started to go. So he was stepping in as a Head of her Family. She could hate him later.

"Is Emma's core stabilizing at all?" She inquired once they were inside his office. She didn't want to worry Rose but she knew the odds. The child's magic tried to mature before her core was stable. If they couldn't get her core stable and her magic under control, it would kill her. She did not want to bury a child.

He sighed, running a hand across his forehead. "It's trying. Her core was near the point of stabilizing anyway but it appears that the backlash overwhelmed it. Time will tell." He responded, suddenly feeling tired. But if he was tired, Alexis looked like she could pass out from exhaustion. Again. He gestured to the pull-out couch, still made up as a bed from his nap the night before. He slept in his office when he was on call. All the on-call healers slept on that couch, actually. Not that there was more than three of them, currently. He needed to hire someone, and soon, but he just didn't have the time. "You are exhausted. I want you to lie down and sleep. I will wake you if anything changes." He ordered firmly, raising an eyebrow when she started to argue.

"I'm fine, Eric." She grunted, glaring at the older man for a moment before folding her arms over her chest and huffing.

She looked so much like the teenager she once was when she did that. "Alexis, I might need you at full strength. That isn't possible but at least you can be a bit rested. Severus and I are working out a ritual that might work, using power stones, but we will need your help. It will take all four of us. Hopefully it isn't necessary. But if it is, you need rest." He stated quietly, offering her a small vial of potion. It was half of a normal dose of sleeping potion, enough that she should sleep instantly but that she would also be easy to wake if needed.

Alexis frowned, curious about this ritual but she knew better than to argue. He was right. If she was needed, she wasn't strong enough. And taking a replenisher would not solve the problem. Not this time. "Alright. Wake me if you need me. Have you informed Tim? She inquired, downing the potion and settling down on the little couch. She needed to get more comfortable furniture for his office, if he was going to sleep here. Or set up a room specifically for the healer on call to sleep. It was something to work on another day.

"Not yet. I will now. Sleep kleine Direktorin." He ordered softly, watching her eyes flutter shut before moving to the floo to call his husband.
-x-

It was two in the morning when a scream woke him up just as the alarms he set went off. The dark-skinned healer had been sleeping in a bed beside Emma's, as two of the three other children had been released to the camp and the third had been moved into another wing of the infirmary for the night, just in case. He moved quickly, stopping a step away from the child's bed. Her eyes were wide open and he could see the terror there. "Rose! Wake Alexis and floo Severus!" He ordered, glancing for a brief second at the teenager who appeared beside his elbow. Alexis had slept over twelve hours, only getting up to eat briefly before he had sent her back to bed. Hopefully the woman was rested enough. Because this child should not be conscious. The magically-induced coma should not have been broken through. He placed a hand of her forehead, carefully sending his magic through her in a deep scan before pulling back. "I need you." He called silently, knowing Tim would hear. He summoned his bag, shuffling through it for a moment before finding the pouch he needed. He felt, rather than heard, Alexis return with Rose.

Alexis frowned, gently touching the child's hand and sending her own magic through in a quick scan before grimacing. Her body was shutting down. The child freaking out didn't help any either. She took a deep breath, sending the smallest drop of calming magic into the child, just enough to settle her, to take the edge off. With that she stepped back, moving the bed away from the wall. She felt better, having slept, stronger. Hopefully it would be enough.

Eric poured the powder from the pouch into his head, moving in a wide circle around the child's bed. He left an opening at the base of it, so that the four of them could move into place. He moved out of the circle, to meet Severus and Tim, both carrying bags of their own. They needed to quickly discuss this before they attempted it. This was not something they could make up as they went along.

Severus beckoned to his sister, offering her the pouch of potion-soaked stones. She could tune them to the child's magic easily. The fact that the child was awake bothered him. They didn't have much time here.

Alexis gave a slight nod, using the cloth Tim offered to carefully lift each potion stone out of the bag. They did not need to have her essence on them. She held each stone briefly, before placing one on the floor beside the bed on each side, before placing the third, the Onyx, at the foot of the bed, near the opening of the circle. She would activate them as soon as the circle was closed. In her brief period of awake-ness, the four of them had discussed the basics of this ritual.

Tim frowned, breaking away from the quiet discussion of where they would start at the change in magic.

"Rose! Don't!" She turned too late, horror showing on her face as the teenager held the child's hand, her own magic brightly streaming into the child.

"Rose. You have to let go. Let go." Eric ordered softly, quickly moving beside the girl and wrapping an arm around her. If their magic mixed, the teenager would be tangled and they would lose them both.

"She'll die." Rose whispered, staring down into bright blue eyes. She couldn't let the little girl die, no matter how much the child thought it was what she deserved. She was just a little girl!

"Rose, please. You have to let go. Please let go." Tim responded gently, catching Eric's eyes. They couldn't perform the ritual with the teen's magic mixed in. It was already risky and they had no idea if it would work. Performing the ritual could kill them both.

"Fawkes!" Alexis called, tilting her head to examine the girls magic once more. They could do this, carefully. She smirked when the phoenix appeared and immediately landed on the older girl's shoulder. She waited a second as Fawkes magic cocooned around Rose, even as her magic still fed into Emma. "We can do this. Fawkes can protect Rose and we have another...advantage." She stated calmly, catching each of the men' eyes in passing.

"It is dangerous, Alexis." Severus shook his head, catching on quickly.

"It's our only option."She responded firmly, holding her hand out toward Tim. Her mentor hesitated but passed over the Prasiolite. She held it for a moment before setting it into position, even as Eric moved around the edges of the circle, placing the Amertine down. It would act as an anchor on all sides, holding everything together.

Tim gave a soft sigh, holding the opal in his hand for a long moment before passing it to his left, to Severus. He watched the younger man hold it in concentration before passing it to Eric. He knew that Eric would do anything to save this child, just as Alexis would. Just as he would. But he also knew that his partner knew when it was time to let go. He wasn't quite sure Alexis would know went to stop. Gods help them, he hoped this worked.

She took the opal last, holding it for a long moment before moving to Rose. "Rose, I want you to touch this with your free hand. Just touch it, nothing else." She murmured softly, waiting for the teen to follow her instructions. Adding the child's magic and essence to the power stone would strength the ritual and it would include her in the circle of magic, which would make it safer for the teen. "Alright. Eric, close the circle. Rose, you must do exactly as we say." She ordered firmly, stepping back into her position. She waited until the circle was closed and everyone was in position, with Tim right beside Rose, in case something went wrong. Alexis took a deep breath, holding the opal firmly for a moment before stretching her hand out and letting it float over the child. She felt the men raise the stabilizing stones and used her other hand to draw the prasiolite up, so that the five stones floated at the points of magic. "Fire, Earth, Water, Air, we call thee friends four. Magic to heal and save a child, Goddess willing, so mote it be!" She called, feeling the magic fill the circle. This is where it would get tricky, as this had never been tried before. But they were doing many things this summer that no one had ever attempted before. If anyone could do it, they could.

A glance showed that both Tim and Severus had their hands outstretched, controlling the power stones and offering magic of their own. Now, it was time to get to work. He took a deep breath, feeling Alexis do that same as she grasped his left hand with her right, each placing their free hand on the child. "Rose, close your eyes." He ordered calmly, letting the magic fill him. He knew what Alexis had meant earlier as well, so he carefully send his magic into the child, surrounding her core. This had never been done before, and while his self was separated from the child, he could feel Rose mixed in, even with the phoenix holding her apart. He just had to hope the phoenix could control Rose's magic if it suddenly went south. Alexis seemed to believe so anyway. "Now, Alexis."

She took a deep breath, her hand tightening in his for a moment. She would never admit how scared this made her. "Castilla, give me your strength. Goddess, guide me." She called out, grimacing at the wash of magic from the castle. Hogwarts was not keen on letting one of its children die either.

He blinked, forcing himself to focus despite the fact that Alexis was glowing. Glowing. He could see the magic pouring through her, even with his limited ability at it, and he had to fight the urge to wince. Because Severus could also see the pain on her face, could see what it cost her to channel magic that was not her own.

She closed her eyes in pain, letting the magic flow freely through her and around the child. With a shallow breath, she started to form the magic, sending it around the enclosure Eric had formed around Emma's core. She carefully filled the child with the castle's magic before slowly sending the child's magic into her core. They were going to fully mature the child's core and stabilize it, while lessening the effect of the backlash by absorbing most of it. They hoped.

He guided her magic, pushing it along, while shoving any backlash outside of the child's body and into the power stones. They were there to act as a net, to catch anything that leaked and the overflow. It seemed to be working, slowly. He was, however, worried about the strain Alexis was undergoing. He wasn't quite sure the woman could finish the ritual, as the magic she was channeling was overwhelming her body. She was used to channeling a small bit of Hogwart's magic every day but this was so much more, even if it wasn't a fourth of the school's power. Even at full strength, it would have been overwhelming. Suddenly the magic changed and his eyes darted up.

"Rose! Don't be an idiot." Alexis hissed, feeling the child's free hand on her arm, the arm that was linked to Emma. Was the child insane? You didn't mess with someone elses ritual! That's how people died.

Rose shrugged, tightening her grip on the headmistresses elbow. "Fawkes told me to. He said it was okay." Honestly, she wasn't quite sure what she was doing, except she was feeding her magic through Emma and Fawkes had told her to bleed off of Alexis. She wasn't quite sure what that meant, or how she was hearing the phoenix, but she was steadily pulling some of the magic from Alexis into her and letting that flow through Emma.

She released a breath she didn't realize she was holding, feeling some of the overwhelming magic leave her. Which meant she could focus more on shaping it. A quick scan inside the child showed that Rose was keeping her heart beating and her lungs filling, even as Emma slipped into a magical coma once more. She turned her attention back to shaping the magic, losing herself in the rhythm of it. Gods hoping, this would work.

-x-

Alexis woke up slowly, grunting at the fiery pain the spread through her muscles. She felt like she had been ran over by a bus. It took her a moment to realize where she was and how she got there. They were still in the infirmary, and Emma was stable. The child would live and hopefully there was little problems from what they had done. They would just find out as they went along, as nothing like it had ever been tried or succeeded before. She wasn't sure they would have succeeded without the magic of Hogwarts and the little leech curled into her side. She grunted softly, turning her head to see the warm body stretched out behind her. Eric was lounging against the headboard, a book against his chest, sound asleep. And Rose was curled into her body, her arms wrapped around stuffed elephant, asleep. She barely remembered what happened after they had finished the ritual. Tim had thanked the gods and elements, they had taken down the circle, and then the three of them were falling as one. The rush of magic leaving had knocked Rose out instantly and she, well Alexis wasn't quite sure if it was the pain of the school's magic or if it was Fawkes that had knocked her out soon after. The pain was still there, lingering in her muscles. She wasn't used to channeling that much power at one time, particularly power that was not hers. She also felt like she could sleep several hours more. She didn't quite understand why the three of them were on one bed, nor why Rose wasn't between the two of that, but that was alright. She was sure someone would explain it later.

He glanced over as the alert charm went off, assessing Alexis with his eyes for a moment before moving to get a pain potion. They weren't quite sure how long the pain would linger, Filius had gone off to do some research and Severus was keeping the school running. He was keeping an eye on the four of them. Emma was doing much better and Rose was just magically exhausted. In his partner's brief periods of wakefulness, they had spoken about Eric taking the young teenager as an apprentice, if it would be possible for them to house three teenagers. Either way, Rose needed training. She had talent and she could easily be a touch healer, but gods that child was reckless. Much like another, several years ago. Who was now awake, however briefly it would be, and in pain. Tim moved over to the bed that held the trio, maneuvering carefully around Rose to help Alexis sit up before pressing a vial to her lips. The dark haired woman drank it and groaned. "Hows the pain?" He inquired softly, one hand supporting her back and the other gently touching her forehead.

She grunted, moving carefully so as not to jostle the child nestled against her. "Bad." She admitted softly, gazing down at the brunette child who shifted in sleep. "How is Emma? Rose?" She inquired, glancing back up at him.

Tim nodded, letting his magic flow through her for a moment. At least she was being honest about it. "Rose is exhausted but she will be alright. Emma is healing, faster than expected."

"And Eric?"

He sighed, holding her gaze until she looked away. As always, she was worried about everyone but herself. "He is drained. They both just need rest. You, however, need a bit more than rest. Particularly since you have been neglecting your own health again. Rest now. We will discuss everything that happened later." Tim ordered softly, sending a small bit of calming magic into her, just enough so that she would fall back asleep. Her body was overly exhausted. It needed all the sleep it could get before the little Headmistress had to attend to her duties once more.
-x-