A/N: Do not own. Enjoy.

-x-

Harry tilted his head, trying to focus on the strands of magic he could see. It would be better if the strands of magic were steady and stopped disappearing but he would manage. If Karrie would stop moving her hand. "Karrie stop!" He grumbled, glaring at his sister for a moment before looking for the strands of magic again.

"It's not my fault! It tickles." She flexed her hands for a moment before stretching her hand out palm up again and tried to hold it still. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed with Harry seated across from her. She didn't quite see magic like her brother did, but she could feel it. Harry could only feel active magic, magic that had been cast. But she could feel all the magic, even the magic in the stones that made up the walls of her room. There was magic everywhere in the castle; sometimes the magic was so strong that it felt like it was vibrating to her. The magic her brother was trying to focus on was tickling her hand. He had noticed the magic that moved around her hands when she was in certain places or feeling certain emotions. She had noticed it before and she knew that everyone could not feel or see magic like her and Harry could. Most people couldn't naturally shape raw magic like Harry could. And very few people attracted magic like she did. There were adult wizards, touch healers and spell crafters, who could shape magic but most of them had to learn how to focus their magic to do that. Most people had to be taught to feel magic. She was different, Harry was different.

He squinted, trying to force his eyes to see all of the magic around his sister's hand but the magic kept moving and changing, like it was rubbing against Karrie's hand. "Can you make it be still?

"Magic doesn't like to be still." She shrugged, leaning forward. She glanced toward the door, dropping her hand. "Remus is coming"

Harry grimaced, reaching for a comic book. He glanced at his sister as a knock came at her door. She was never wrong but he still had no idea how she did that. "Come in." He called, belatedly remembering that it was his sister's room.

Karrie rolled her eyes, turning to grin at Remus when he opened the door. "Is it supper time already?"

Remus smiled at her, fighting the urge to ask what they had been up to. Karrie seemed to forget that he had the ears of a wolf; he had heard what she had said to Harry. But he would just keep an eye on it. Children their age were bound to experiment with spells and magic, he just hoped that these two wouldn't get into any serious trouble. "It is. We are eating in the dining hall tonight and then you both have group." He responded, eyes surveying each of them for a moment. "Harry, you have chocolate all over your face." He added, raising an eyebrow. He had a feeling that the preteen had eaten the rest of the candy he had gotten for his birthday.

Harry groaned, rolling his eyes when Karrie smirked at him. Of course she wouldn't tell him that. He slide off her bed, slipping past Remus to go wash his face. "Is Teddy there?" He called over his shoulder, leaving the bathroom door open.

"Yes, Teddy is also eating in the dining hall. And yes Karrie, the two of you can sleep down here after group. You both know that you can stay here whenever you want to." Remus respond, taking the hair brush that the girl offer him. He gently ran it through her hair, brushing it into three parts. He set the brush down, taking hold of the three strands of black hair. He finished the braid, summoning a ribbon to tie it with. Her hair was always so frizzy and he knew the young girl hated it. So he was teaching her how to style it but sometimes the preteen just let him do it. He didn't mind, he knew that no one had ever taken the time to teach Karrie how to take care of her self, let alone how to style her hair. The girl had to learn on her own, just as Harry had.

"Do you have a meeting tonight?" She questioned, playing with one end of the green ribbon. Remus and Severus had given her and Harry a lot for their birthdays but her favourite thing was the ribbons and dress that Remus had gotten for her.

"I do not." He replied smiling softly at her actions. He loved it when they acted like kids. They were kids and they had never been given the chance to act like children.

"How are you so good at braids, Remus?" Harry asked curiously. He leaned against the open doorway, face still wet. He was glad Remus was good at braids, as it made Karrie happy.

"I once worked as a one on one for a mundane child. She was eight and she loved having her hair done." He answered, glancing around Karrie's room for a moment. It was much cleaner than Harry's, but it was slowly becoming a room fit for a preteen girl and not the sterile room it was when they first moved Karrie in. The girl was finally feeling comfortable enough to make it her own. Of course, some of Harry's things had migrated over here as well, just as some of hers were in his room. They seemed to bounce between rooms, alternating where they played and often, where they slept.

"What's a one on one?" Karrie tilted her head, placing Harry's comic book back on the pile of his books, before turning to leave her room.

He hesitated for a second, trying to find a simple way to explain it. "It is like a personal, after school teacher. I helped the little girl with her school work and helped guide her through social interactions and personal skills." Remus explained finally, leading the two preteens through their quarters. While there were disabilities in the wizarding world, they weren't talked about much outside of the healers. While both of his children were raised in the mundane world, he knew that they had both probably been busy protecting themselves, that even if they had a disabled classmate, they wouldn't know if that classmate had a caretaker after school.

"Oh." So like Lila then. There had been some kids at her school who had disabilities, she had spent time playing with them because they didn't make fun of her. But none of them had ever mentioned having a one on one.

Harry shrugged, blinking when his stomach rumbled. "What's for supper?"

-x-

She bit her lip, pressing her hand against one of the corridor walls. The wave of magic she felt had caught her by surprise. The dizziness that followed it, however, did not. The castle's magic seemed stronger here. Alexis closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and centering herself. Since she had channeled Hogwart's magic, she had felt it stronger and stronger. The control she had before, the grasp she had on the castle's magic, was now gone. And she knew that she would have to get it under control, and soon.

"Alexis?" Henry raised an eyebrow, slowing to a halt. He had been on his way to the dining hall and had, embarrassingly enough, got lost after looking for a loo. It didn't matter how much time he spent in the castle, he was forever getting lost. But maybe the castle had something to do with him finding this particular hallway.

She opened her eyes to look at him, grimacing as another wave of magic slammed through her. She rested her weight against the wall, trying to slow her breathing and calm herself. If she was calm, she could focus on handling the Castle's magic. She ignored Henry for the moment, letting her mind slip into meditation and into the castle's magic. She ran along the wards for a moment, checking and strengthening them as she went. It was when she reached the walls surrounding the grounds, that the magic tangled into a mess. Her and Severus had gone over the wards several times before and those wards were still intact, still holding. But the very magic in the walls, magic gathered through centuries from active spells and inactive absorption, was a nest of tangled magic. There was one part of the walls that felt the weakest, where the magic had been bunched up. She relaxed her own magic, gently easing over the knots and pressing Hogwarts' own magic against the mess, using the castle's strength to fix the problem. Once the knots were gone, the magic flowed smoother. And then Hogwarts' magic hit her all at once. What the hell was Casilla doing? It felt like the very floor was rolling. Alexis pitched forward, losing her balance and her concentration. When her concentration slipped, she felt an overwhelming surge of magic. She also felt someone, Henry she assumed, catch her.

"Listen to my voice, Alexis. You are in a hallway at Hogwarts. It's Henry. My arm is wrapped around your waist. Your hand is resting on a stone wall. Your feet are on a hardwood floor. You are safe." Henry stated calmly, keeping his voice even and soothing. If he could ground her in the here and now, she might be able to regain control. He might not know what had just happened, but he knew what it looked like when someone lost control of their magic. He had seen it enough. From the pain on her face, he knew she had to be intertwined in Hogwarts magic. He didn't envy her. The castle was old and sentient, which meant it had stored magic from every wizard who had walked its hallways.

She took a deep breath, forcing her mind to focus on what he was saying. Slowly, she pulled her own magic back within her and brought the small portion of Hogwarts that she channeled daily under her control. This portion was the magic that kept the wards up and warned her of danger, both from outside the castle and inside. She slowly shoved the excess magic back into Casilla, bleeding the excess magic off of her and through the stones her hand was resting on. Fawkes had warned her that there were certain parts of the castle where Casilla's magic might overwhelm her and that was before she channeled extra magic to help Emma. She must be somewhere over the center of Hogwarts. It took a few minutes, but she managed to get it under at least a little bit of control. She opened her eyes, blinking as the room spun for a moment. Her body was exhausted.

He met gray eyes for a long moment, studying her pupils reaction time before gently taking one of her wrists and finding her pulse. "When was the last time you slept, Headmistress?" He inquired softly, watching as color slowly returned to her skin.

Alexis sighed softly, letting his check her over. She knew it was the healer in him, just as the healer in her would have made her do the same if she encountered someone in her predicament. "Sunday?" She wasn't quite sure anymore, but probably when she passed out after healing Emma. She didn't have time to sleep, even if she had just had this conversation with her family. She had dinner to attend to, which is where she had been heading, and the weekly staff meeting for the counselors to hold.

He hadn't been surprised when Eric, and Remus, had come to him to see if he might have noticed something they missed. He didn't just observe the students or the counselors. His job was to notice and prevent catastrophes, usually suicides, before they even reached that point. So he kept his eyes open and observed everyone and everything. And yes, Henry had noticed quite a lot about the young Headmistress, he had been close to going to Eric himself. She wasn't sleeping or eating and she was channeling more magic than her body was currently capable of handling in its weakened state. "You need rest."

"I'm fine Henry." She bit back a grimace, trying to shake the last bout of dizziness.

"You can lie to yourself Alexis, but you can't lie to me." He responded, meeting stony gray eyes until she huffed and looked away. She had hired him because he was very good at his job and he had warned her that there might be times when she didn't like him very much, because he would call out anyone who needed it and he wasn't afraid to tell her the truth she needed to hear, even if she didn't want to hear it. "You need rest. I know you have a lot to do, but your body will not hold out much longer."

She would rest when she had time, after the meeting this evening. Probably. "I know Henry." She responded, restraining from rolling her eyes at the older man. "I don't know about you but I'm heading to supper." She added, moving away from the wall and starting down the hallway. She stumbled as a wave of dizziness hit her once more but a firm hand grasp her arm, keeping her on her feet.

He moved his hand from her arm to the middle of her back, to support her. He would remove his hand when they reached the dining hall and not before. The young headmistress did not need to collide with the floor today. That, and he had a feeling he would get lost on his own. At least she had an intimate knowledge of school, so they wouldn't get lost.

-x-

This wasn't going well. Jake met Mary's eyes over the table for a moment before turning his attention back to the teenagers, and three preteens, who were currently arguing. Their group sessions could be intense, they could be difficult and painful. There was often tears involved and anger, so much anger. But it had never descended into a full fledged argument and Charlie had not been helping matters. He would be speaking to the younger man as soon as they were finished here. He had less than twenty minutes to get some sort of order back in here, to try to accomplish something tonight. Jake was thankful that they were in a sound-proofed room, a little conference room right off the camp. The other groups met in the bunks or the common area. But his group needed both the privacy of this little room and the wards surrounding it. One of which sounded in his head at that moment. "Everyone put their hands flat on the table." He ordered, interrupting the teenagers. "Sit down please, Benjamin."

"Man, I'm out of here." The boy snapped, stopping his steps but not moving back to his seat.

"No one is leaving here until this situation is under control and we discuss it, as a calm group." He kept his hands where he could see them, inclining his head toward the young teen's chair. The boy huffed, glaring at him for a long moment before stomping back to his seat. "Thank you, Benjamin. Now, if everyone will place their hands flat on the table please. Everyone." He stated briskly, taking the time to meet each child's eyes. He waited for a moment, until almost every pair of hands was placed on the table. The children knew the rules of this room and they also knew exactly why he would issue that order. Jake moved slowly around the table, keeping every movement deliberate, before stopping next to the last child. He crouched down next to the boy, making sure to look at his eyes and not his hands. "I know you are angry, Nikolaas. I know you are hurting and maybe you even feel a little bit scared. But you know what? There are a lot of people around this table who know exactly what you are feeling right now. It is okay to be angry, to feel upset. Your feelings and thoughts are valid. But buddy, I'm going to need those hands okay?" He kept his tone calm, slowly holding one hand, palm up, under the table.

Nikolaas bit his lip, hesitating for a moment. He toyed with the pocket knife in his hand before finally slipping the small blade into Jake's hand and slowly resting both of his hands on top of the table. He knew that Jake, Mary, and Charlie would never hurt them, even if this sucked sometimes. But he also knew that the three counselors understood exactly what each of them was thinking or feeling, because they had been there.

"Okay." He whispered finally, meeting the older man's eyes. He knew Jake would understand his answer for what it was, a silent apology.

Jake gave a slight nod, straightening. "I know it is hard and it can be difficult. Sometimes it even just sucks. But we don't do this to hurt any of you; we don't do it to make you feel angry or sad or scared. We do it because it will help, even if you can't see it right now. One day, all of you will be healed, you will be healthy. You may never be able to think of some of these things without feeling sad, but talking about it now will help you heal. Can we try this again?" He remarked, eyes going around the round table once more. It took a moment but every head finally nodded. "Mary?"

"Let's try this a different way. Jake and I understand that you wouldn't tell anyone outside this room what is said in this room. I know a lot of you have been talking about Emma, to each other. And I know many of you wonder if she tried to harm herself. The truth is, we don't know. We don't know what Emma was thinking or feeling at that moment in time. Emma doesn't seem to remember much about it. What we do know is that no one is to blame, that Emma's magic reacted the way it did because it felt that it was necessary. No one here could have predicted that. Should those of you who knew how Emma was feeling, what she was saying, told someone? Maybe. But Emma was new to the camp and breaking her trust by telling someone wouldn't have helped. Several of us knew what Emma was saying and we tried to dissuade that line of thinking. Are we to blame? No. No one in this room is to blame. Emma's line of thinking isn't uncommon and we know that. So let's try something." Mary took a breath, meeting Jake's eyes for a moment. They had let the teens decide on the topic tonight, and while sexual abuse was always a tough one, neither of them had thought it would escalate like that. But Emma was one of them, one of the few preteens in their group, and all of them were coming to care for her. So it made sense that they would be upset. But they shouldn't be blaming each other. They were running low on time but she knew Jake wouldn't care if they ran over, even if they would be late to the staff meeting. And Charlie, well Charlie was leaning against the wall, completely shut down. "If you have ever felt sad, for any reason, raise your hand." She instructed finally, nodding as every hand went up.

"If you have ever felt like you have done something wrong, no matter what it might have been, raise your hand." Jake added, raising his own hand. Even Charlie's hand had gone up at that. They had done this before, with other topics, of course. It was a good way for the teenagers to see that they weren't the only ones who did something, thought a certain way, or had something done to them. "Now keep your hand raised if you ever not told someone something to keep a friend out of trouble."

With every hand still up, she took a deep breath. This one was where it would get tricky. "Keep your hand up if you ever felt like you were bad or dirty because of something that happened to you." Mary was amazed that Charlie's hand was still up. Usually the younger man tried really hard to pretend like nothing had happened to him. Her and Jake knew better, of course. She kept her own hand up, meeting Jake's eyes one more time.

"Keep your hand up if you ever wanted to die, for any reason." His hand was still up and he knew that might be part of the reason most of the teens still had their hands up. He met each pair of eyes around the table before nodding slightly. "Raise your hand if an adult in your life has ever harmed you in any way." He waited until every hand was up, his and Mary's too, before giving them a soft smile. "Look around you. What do you see?" He questioned, letting his hand drop. He watched them as some of their eyes expanded and realization hit several of their faces. Hands finally dropped before one teen raised hers again. "Yes Lexie?"

"We're not alone, right? We've all been through hell but we have each other. And we have you guys." She responded, looking around at her friends. They started as a group of teenagers and preteens who were so different from each other and who never wanted to talk about it, to this. Even if there had been arguing and shouting, they had been communicating. They were all friends with each other, all protective with each other, especially with the younger ones, and they were all becoming a family. She thought that might have been Jake, Mary, and Charlie's goal all along.

"That's why Emma hurts so much. Because she has all of us and she just doesn't seem to understand that." Nikolaas added softly.

"She's our age and she's new to camp. It's a lot to take in and it is hard. We do most everything with our own cabins but then we come here and you all are older. You've been through a lot. Sometimes it can feel like we take time away from you guys. Or that you don't always say everything you would, because of our age. When it reality to even be in this group, we have gone through much of the same stuff." Karrie explained, blushing when fifteen sets of eyes fell on her.

"Some of the stuff you have gone through is much worse than anything some of us have. I can't speak for everyone, but it's hard to talk about the difficult stuff regardless of anyone's age. Besides that, if you lot weren't here, this group wouldn't be complete." Michael replied, catching the younger girl's eyes. He smiled at her, in hopes that she would realize he was being honest.

"Besides, if you weren't here and I didn't catch myself, Jake would so wash out my mouth." Daniel teased, grinning at the giggles that caused, and not just from the younger ones. He was serious too. Jake had already used that spell on him twice this summer because he swore up a storm when he was mad, he didn't want it any more than necessary.

"I'm pretty sure you would give me plenty of other reasons to do that, Daniel." Jake teased, feeling the atmosphere lighten slightly. "Alright you lot, let's close this meeting for tonight. We will work on it. Let's close our eyes and still our minds for a moment." He instructed after a minute or two. Taking meditative breaths before and after sessions seemed to help calm and focus the group. It showed how much trust these teenagers had it them though, that not a single one hesitated before closing their eyes. He gave it a few minutes before opening his own eyes. "Alright, scat. Some of you need to tidy your bunk room before bed. Boys." He dismissed them, catching the eyes of the boys in his cabin. The groans from that group, and the teases from the other teens, was reassuring. He glanced at Charlie, who had started moving toward the door and then to Mary.

"I'll tell the Headmistress that you will be late." She remarked softly, for his ears alone.

"Actually, will you tell her that I will see her later this evening, in her office? I don't think we will make the meeting." He responded quietly, moving to block Charlie's path. "You and I need to talk."He remarked so that the younger man could hear him this time. He heard Mary leave and shut the door, focusing his attention on other man.

"We are going to be late." Charlie countered, glaring at the slightly older man, trying to find a quick path around him.

"I don't care about that right now. What I do care about is you. So do you want to tell me what that was all about?" He inquired calmly, gesturing toward the table. Blue eyes met his for a moment before the younger man grumbled, glancing away. Jake sighed softly, casting a silent locking charm to the door, so Charlie couldn't take off on him before moving to sit on the edge of the table.

Charlie glared at the floor for a moment before glancing toward the door. But as well as Jake knew him, he had a feeling he wasn't leaving until Jake was satisfied. He wasn't sure the other man would be, even if he did decide to tell him the truth. He finally stalked toward a chair as far away from Jake as possible but where they would still be able to see each other. "It wasn't about anything."

"I doubt that. You almost incited a riot. If there wasn't a reason for that, you and I will be having a very different conversation."

He grimaced at the implied threat, biting his lip. Maybe there was a reason for it but he didn't want to talk about it. "I don't want to talk about it." Cased closed. Jake usually let it go when he said that, although he had noticed the older man watching him closer lately.

"Not this time, buddy." He responded softly, adapting the tone he used with his teen boys when they were shutting down. Charlie wasn't much older than some of the teenagers, after all. "I know you don't want to talk about it but you need to. This time, you need to talk about it. If it is hurting you to the point where you can't focus enough to help guide the group, then it is important. I am willing to listen, I just need you to be honest with me." Jake added, watching the other man's body language. Charlie was good at shutting down, at blocking them out, but if he was right, that wouldn't help this time. If it had ever actually helped.

He hesitated, tapping his fingers against the top of the table. He didn't know how to phrase it so that Jake wouldn't worry; how to separate himself from it so that it wouldn't hurt so much. "I don't... I can't-" He broke off, looking down at his lap, bouncing his knee.

"It's okay Charlie. You are safe here. I know this is hard and I know it can hurt. But I'm here and I'm listening." He remarked quietly, resting his hands on his knees and leaning forward slightly, shifting his weight on the table.

He ran his hand through his hair, making the blond hair even more frazzled than it was before. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure how to talk about it. Charlie had felt angry and helpless, two feelings that he hated. He hadn't meant to cause the teenagers to start blaming each other. The truth was, he kind of blamed himself too. Because he should have caught it. He knew she had been..tortured. He knew her story. Kate had been so shaken up when they got Emma, she had to talk to someone. And that had been him. He knew Kate blamed herself for not noticing Emma's magic was on edge. And he blamed himself. Because he was so good with the preteens, he cared about all of them. He should have caught it. "Emma. I should have known. I should have caught it." He responded finally, not bothering to look up at Jake. He knew what he would see.

"As should I. As should Mary. Alexis. Eric. Tim. Severus... Should I continue? Emma was not your fault. We have no idea why her core matured and the reason doesn't even matter anymore. What matters is that little girl, that we help her through this. No one is to blame for Emma. And while that might be part of the reason you are upset, it is not the reason you were on edge. It is not the reason you are hurting. Emma might be part of it, but she isn't the reason for all of it. So talk to me." Jake replied calmly, forcing down a sigh. There wasn't a counselor, teacher, or mindhealer who didn't blame themselves for Emma. The only one who had had any clue, besides Alexis, had been Henry. Henry was one of the reasons he had started pushing harder with Charlie. Once he had found out the man's true purpose here, he was the only counselor who knew, not only had his respect for the man grown but he had also started listening more carefully to what Henry was trying to say without actually saying it. Emma was not the reason Charlie was so angry. He had a feeling he knew what was, though.

"I can't."

"If you can't talk to me, then talk to Mary or Alexis. But buddy, we both know it isn't a can't. You can. You just have to try." He responded firmly. He knew he was using some of the same language he would use with the teenagers and preteens but he also knew that it was the best way to reach Charlie right now. By treating him like he was his little brother.

Charlie huffed, chewing on the inside of his cheek. Didn't Jake understand how hard it was? Didn't he know what he was asking him to do? Knowing Jake, he probably knew exactly what he was asking him to do. But it was hard and painful. He had never really talked about it and he knew logically the keeping it locked inside wasn't healthy. He wouldn't want his boys locking their emotions inside, forcing down their past to the point that they didn't even want to acknowledge it. Eventually, the past always came out and the more it was forced back, the stronger the hurt when it finally broke free. He knew that. He saw it with the teenagers they had here and he even saw it in himself. It was just difficult to let those barriers down, even though he trusted Jake. The older man had become like an older brother to him and he knew he could talk to him. He just didn't know how to start. Perhaps the beginning was the best place to try from. Charlie took a breath, staring down at his scuffed up shoes. "I was twelve the first time I thought killing myself was the only way out of that life. Emma's story reminds me so much of my own. Honestly, many of their stories do. I just...it makes me angry that someone would treat an innocent child like that, you know? That someone would tell a child that if they couldn't be abused, they would be better off dead. It..hurts. It hurts a lot more than it probably should because I understand them, I get these kids." He stated finally, eyes still focused on his shoes. He didn't want to see the understanding and concern on Jake's face right now. It would make it so much harder.

" I know it hurts. And it's okay that it hurts. It's okay to be angry. We relate to these kids because we were them. Talking about the past helps, it can even help with understanding where some of these kids are coming from, by understanding what happened to us. We were once innocent children too, Charlie. We didn't deserve the things done to us. Can you accept that?" Jake responded calmly, leaning toward Charlie once more. He knew the younger man was hurting; he wasn't sure if Charlie could accept that he was once an innocent child, that he didn't deserve any of what had happened to him. It had taken years of therapy for him to get to that point, after all.

He hesitated, glancing up for a brief second before looking away again. "I don't know if I can."

"Hey, that's okay buddy. At least you know you can't accept it just yet. One day you will. What happened to you was wrong. Just as what happened to Emma was wrong. These kids bring your past back to your mind and that's hard. I know it's hard. I've been there Charlie. I struggled with it for a while too. The more you talk about it, the more you let those emotions out, the easier it becomes to handle, the less it hurts. I know it is difficult to let those barriers down and it is hard to do around the children. But you can always let them down with me, with Mary. We can handle the emotions, Charlie. We understand." Jake replied softly, finally managing to catch the younger man's eyes.

Charlie met green eyes for a long moment before nodding. "Okay. I'll try Jake. It's hard to talk about it. And it hurts when one of my kids is hurting and I don't know how to help." He answered, blinking away tears. His emotions were way too close to the surface for comfort.

"You help by listening, by being there. Just as I am here for you. I know it's hard, I get it. But with time and support, it will get better." He responded, sliding slowly from the table to the floor. He relaxed his stance, opening his arms, and body language, to the younger man. He was not quite prepared for the younger one to launch from the chair, across the room, and into his arms. He hugged Charlie tight, feeling tears drip onto his skin. The younger man usually did not do physical contact of any kind. The fact that he had willing hugged him and that Charlie's head was buried into his chest told him how much the younger man needed this, needed the emotional release. He smiled down at the younger man, fighting the urge to chuckle at how young Charlie looked with tears shining on his face and one hand grasping his shirt like it was the only thing he had left. "It's okay, buddy. It is going to be okay." He whispered soothingly, tightening his hold on the younger man. He would hold the man for as long as Charlie let him; clearly he needed this.

-x-

"Did you know that the Ukranian Ironbelly has talons that can be up to 45 centimeters long? Its talons are harder than Corundum , which is the second hardest stone on Earth. Its talons are so sharp, they can cut through most natural and man made materials. A magical scientist in 1973 attempted to make a protective vest for dragon tamers that the talons would not be able to cut through. He wore it in an experiment and was cut to pieces." Teddy took a breath, turning his figurine of the Ironbelly so that he could examine the plastic talons. He shifted slightly, reclining back against Alexis.

"That's fascinating Teddy." She responded with a smile, looking up from the inventory list she had been reading over. They were in her office, partly because she was expecting a counselor and Teddy had wanted to tell her his latest dragon facts without hearing his brothers groans. She was quite glad that Charlie had gotten him that book, even if some of the pictures were a bit too gruesome for her. Teddy enjoyed it and that was what matter. She had had to explain when it was appropriate and inappropriate to discuss some of those facts and to show some of the images to his friends. Showing his friends a photo of a dissected pregnant dragon during dinner had not been the appropriate time, if there ever was one.

"Do you think there is a charm that could make plastic as hard as Corundum?"

She bit back a groan, knowing that was something she would have to keep an eye on. Hopefully he wouldn't try to transfigure his toys into actual dragons. That would be a disaster. "I don't think so. Besides, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself when you were playing, would you?" She responded, raising an eyebrow at the preteen before glancing at her office door at the knock. From the light green light she knew it was a staff member, probably the one she was expecting. "Come." She called out, tightening her arm around the preteen for a moment when he started to slide down. "It's alright, meine Kind." She murmured, nodding to Jake as the man slowly came into the room.

"If this is a bad time, Alexis?" He shrugged, smiling at Teddy for a moment. He didn't want to take her time away from an attention-starved child if he could help it.

Teddy relaxed the moment he saw that it was Jake, and not someone else. He was thirteen, after all, he was suppose to be too old to sit on his Alexis. But she didn't seem to mind at all. "I'm just telling Alexis about Ironbellys." Teddy shrugged, holding up his figurine for a moment so that the older man could see it.

"Done with the Welsh, then?" He inquired conversationally. Jake had heard so many dragon facts, granted not as many as Charlie and Phil, that he thought he could probably write his own book. He was grateful, though, that almost all of the older boys, even several of the older girls, were so willing to listen and engage in interesting conversations about dragons with Teddy. None of his boys had ever became impatient with the younger boy and they always took the time to hear what the boy was saying. A few of them, Isaac and Michael usually, even showed Teddy spells to make his figurines perform some of the same abilities as the dragons in his book. Thankfully, the boys also knew not to teach the preteen anything that could become dangerous, even if the fire spell of Isaac's had been pushing it.

"While Welsh Greens are fascinating because they are native here, Ironbellys have more interesting abilities and properties. Do you need to talk to mum?" Teddy shrugged, hugging the older woman before sliding off her lap.

"I do." Jake replied with a smile, watching the way Alexis' eyes lit up. He thought he understood that feeling, even if his wasn't quite parental.

"Okay. Is now an appropriate time to tell Bain about how Ironbellys carry their young?" Teddy asked, turning to look directly as Alexis. He knew the older boy, at least, would not flinch away from the pictures. Most dragons laid eggs and while the Ironbelly wasn't an exception to that, they swallowed their eggs after a certain period of time, before they hatched. It was fascinating.

She forced down the urge to cringe. "Ask Bain if he wants to talk about it first, Teddy. And ask him before you show him the pictures. If he says no, tell him about something else instead." She instructed calmly, meeting Jake's eyes over the boy's head. He was trying so hard to hide his disgust of it; granted she was too. Those photographs were awful. But her child was passionate about it, so while he knew that might be gross, he was too excited about having someone who would listen to him to care about that.

Teddy nodded, grinning at her and Jake before disappearing through the door into her quarters to find his brother.

"Can we please ban any pictures or drawings of anything being dissected from the dining hall? Phil had to sooth an eleven year old who was too terrified to sleep because he thought the mother dragon might eat him too." Jake practically begged, settling into the chair in front of her desk. He had also heard more than one of his older boys discussing the gruesomeness of those images. He wasn't quite sure why Charlie had picked that book, unless the man hadn't looked through the entire thing, which was possible, but he would take ten hours of endless dragon facts if he never had to see that again.

She sighed, shifting forward slightly. "I already talked to Teddy about that. If any of the kids have nightmares about it, call Eric or Severus for some dreamless." She responded, running a hand through her hair. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. And hopefully they could get Teddy interested in a less graphic book on Dragons. Remus was ordering him an age appropriate one and she was planning to owl a few friends from the dragon reserve to see what they suggested for a preteen boy.

That child was going to grow up to work on a dragon reserve if his passion continued. Jake had a feeling she knew that though. "Would you be terribly unhappy if he worked on a reserve?" He inquired quietly, raising an eyebrow at the flash of...something in her eyes.

"I worked on a dragon reserve, as a mind and touch healer. I know how dangerous it can be. But I also know that he is so passionate about dragons. As long as Teddy is happy and safe, I will be alright with most anything." She answered finally, shaking her head. She had worked on the reserve for over a year and a half, as a fill-in while their healer was on leave. She had partly done it to piss off Tim and Eric. Which had worked, just not the way she expected.

"You worked on a reserve?" He couldn't imagine the slightly older woman working on a dragon reserve, of all places. Not because it was dangerous, that probably is what had attracted her to it. But she was not the type to put up with stupidity and dragon reserves were full of men and women, usually apprentices, who took stupid risks to prove themselves to each other. It was the place of alpha males and females. He wouldn't have survived there.

"I did. I also got in a lot of trouble there."She shrugged, smirking when he rolled his eyes. She liked that they could have normal, easy conversations with each other, even though she was technically his boss. But she also knew that they needed to discuss why he was really there. "What happened with Charlie?" She tapped her fingers twice of the desk, giving a crooked smile when a tea tray popped into place. She offered him a mug before fixing her own.

He sighed softly, looking away for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I think I finally convinced him to try to let down his barriers, at least with me and Mary. He almost caused a problem during group, Alexis. The kids had wanted to talk about Emma, they are worried about her. When one of the girls ask if it was their fault, for not telling us how Emma felt, Charlie made a snide comment that started a blaming game. Once we got them calmed back down, Mary and I were able to convince the kids that no one was to blame." Jake ran a hand over his face, taking a slow deep breath for a few seconds before fixing his own tea. He needed something to do with his hands as he remembered how he had felt at Charlie's remarks. He had come very close to going off on the younger man but he had stopped himself, partly because he understood exactly what Charlie had meant. Charlie didn't blame the teenagers; he blamed the adults in Emma's life who had failed her.

Alexis grimaced, closing her eyes for a brief moment. The staff meeting had also turned into a blame game. But she had quickly gotten it back under control and had used Eric to help her with settling the matter. "The staff meeting actually went much the same." She responded softly, mentally making a note about Charlie finally reaching out.

"I explained to Charlie, after, that no one was at fault and that every adult here blamed themselves. Including me and you. It was hard with one person, I can't imagine how difficult that must have been." He knew it had been tough, from the weariness in her eyes. He would even bet that there were tears in the staff meeting just as there were in
group.

He was right, she had blamed herself at first as well. But she had been a healer long enough to understand that it wasn't exactly her fault. They didn't know what happened, not completely, that made Emma's magic mature like that, although they had their guesses. And Eric had quickly stopped the blame game by suggesting that anyone who truly blamed themselves for it and could not move passed it could come see him and they would handle it in the way of the guild. The entire room had gone silent at that; all of them were healers of one type or another, they knew exactly how the Healers Guild handled guilt. She had been able to regain order quickly after that. Tim had already taken Kate into the hallway at that point, partly because she couldn't leave to calm the younger woman and partly because her, Eric, and Tim had all agreed that one of them needed to get it through to Kate that it was not her fault either. "It was awful." She replied meeting his eyes for a moment before suddenly snorting. "Although, Eric helped by offering to handle any blame in the way of the guild."

Jake nearly choked on his tea, managing to spit it all over Alexis and her desk. Grey eyes met his for a moment before the woman gave in to laughter. He could imagine the look of horror on his face and the look on her face was enough to push him over the edge into a deep laughter of his own.

She tried to take a deep breath but it was hard. She hadn't really laughed like this in a long time and it felt good to just let go. Especially since she knew that even though she was his boss, she could be herself around Jake, just as he could relax around her. It took several minutes for her to calm down enough to tap her wand on her papers to dry them. At least there wasn't anything seriously important in that pile and it had totally been worth it.

"He didn't!" Jake chortled, trying hard to force himself back to being under control. But he hadn't laughed like this in so long and from the struggle the Headmistress was having with her own laughter, he had a feeling she hadn't either.

She snorted once more, remembering the looks of the faces of the majority of the staff. Not a single one of them had doubted him, either. It didn't matter that she was headmistress of the school or that Tim was technically over the mindhealers and counselors. Eric was over Tim, as head healer. He was also the oldest, highest ranked healer in the school. In matters of healing, she deferred to his and Tim's knowledge and experience, even if she was their boss. And in the eyes of the guild, it didn't matter if she was his boss. If there was ever an incident that needed to be handled with one of the healers in the manner of the guild, it would be Eric, not her, as the most senior healer, who would handle it. That's just how healers worked. The director of one of the hospitals she had interned at had not been the one to handle healer ethics matters because he wasn't the most senior healer. The guild had such strict guidelines and regulations that sometimes in matters of ethics, policies, or fault there was only one person in a hospital, or in this case Hogwarts, who the head of the institute and the Healers Guild agreed would handle such matters. It was convoluted but the guild tended to err on the side of caution. "He did and he has that authority, as our senior most healer. Even over me. But if I had known suggesting handling it that way would settle things, I would have done it much sooner in the meeting." Before Eric had felt the need to intervene. She knew that even though her thought was silent, Jake was smart enough to put the pieces together if he wanted to.

He sighed softly, shaking his head. When he had worked on a children's ward as a counselor, when he was still apprenticing, there had been at least two cases a year of someone getting called up to the senior healer's office because of something like guilt or disobeying direct orders. And that had been with an older staff age range. Here, with so many young counselors and mind-healers, he'd hate to think of how many of them that might be. "No one likes getting spanked, particularly in the manner of the guild." He shrugged. Jake almost wished Charlie had been at that meeting, it might have curved some of the younger man's guilt and anger, but he sort of doubted that.

Alexis glanced at the door to her quarters, raising an eyebrow at the knock from her quarters. "Of course not. Remind me to tell you the story of when Eric was called to the Dragon Reserve, one day." She responded, waving a hand at the door. Speak of the devil and he will appear. Eric stepped over the threshold, raising an eyebrow at her. She frowned, tilting her head slightly, she wasn't quite sure what he wanted.

"Am I interrupting?" He inquired, furrowing his brows when Jake fought back giggles. He glanced at their mugs and then back at the two young adults. They were drinking tea, but both of them had blushed when he entered the room and both of them had choked down giggles. He knew he wasn't interrupting or she wouldn't have let him in.

"No. What can I do for you, Eric?" She inquired, frowning when he looked pointedly at the timepiece. What did the time have to do with anything?

Jake also noticed the look, catching a glimpse of the time himself. Damn, it was almost midnight and he needed to get back to the boys. Hopefully, Henry had managed to get them to go to bed, but he knew a few would still be up. "I got to get back, Headmistress." He remarked quietly, catching her eyes in a silent request.

Alexis blinked, looking at the timepiece again. She needed to check on her boys, as they all should be sleeping. "I didn't realize it was this late. Go on, Jake. We'll talk more later."She dismissed with a nod, falling back into their roles easily. It was funny how easy her and Jake could switch the professional switch off and talk as friends and then just as easily switch it back on.

"Goodnight, Alexis. I will hold you to that story, however." Jake respond, teasing slightly, before standing and stretching stiff muscles.

Eric waited until the younger man had left before turning brown eyes back to the young headmistress. "What time are you suppose to be in bed, Alexis?" He asked calmly, watching her fidget at the change in his tone.

"Midnight. I know, I know Eric. I'm going. It was work related?" She tried, grimacing when he merely raised a brow at her. She had known that wouldn't work, but it had been worth the try. She vanished the tea tray, moving to organize her stacks of paper for the morning

He shook his head, gesturing for her to follow him when she was finished. She still had children to check on, after all. And he knew he would rest easier knowing that most of his were tucked safely into their beds. Not that he would be sleeping, as he was on duty tonight. But he had already checked on Rose, tucked safely into the room that was now hers and he had done his rounds through the camp, checking on Isaac and Damien. He knew where Remus and Severus were and once Alexis was in bed, the only one left was Tim, who was working. The younger man was still with Kate, having finally taken the girl to his office. He had a feeling he would have to step in as senior healer sooner than he liked. But that was alright. He knew Alexis was coming to care for every member of her staff and she already cared for all the children; he was also starting to form roots here, to fall into the job he was offered. Having a young staff made it more interesting, even if there was a bit more work involved. He wouldn't trade it for his old bureaucratic duties for nothing.
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