A/N: Do not own. X's are scene breaks. Italics are either silent conversations or flashbacks. Enjoy. And as always, use your words.

"You okay?"

She flushed, brushing the tears away from her cheeks. Of course it would be a boy who found her out here, by herself. It couldn't be just any boy though; no, it had to be one of the stone-faced boys. That's what the other teens called that group of boys and girls, stone-faced. They showed no emotion but she had realized that they were all quite kind. "I'm fine, Michael."

He shrugged, moving to sit beside her on the grass. They were in one of the courtyards, not horribly far from the castle. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it? One day you are focused on making it through another summer, just one more summer, and the next you are at the only safe place you've ever had surrounded by people who genuinely care about you. It's terrifying." He didn't look at the blond, dark eyes locked on the clouds instead.

She hesitated, glancing at the dark skinned boy. "I don't know how to handle it. All the other girls, everyone really, are so nice. They treat me like I'm one of them." She fought the urge to start crying again. It was a lot to process. She had been here only a few days, and already everyone was kind to her.

"You feel like you are an impostor, like you don't belong here. Even when deep down, you know you do. I remember the whirlwind of the first few days, but I shared those days with several others who all got picked up at the same time. It is okay to feel like an impostor, Jasmine. It is okay to feel."

"You don't." She blurted out, blushing when his eyes met hers for a moment. Here he was trying to make her feel better and she insulted him. Not even three days and already she was making a mess of this. But he was right, deep down she knew she belonged here. She was fifteen, she knew what had happened to her was abuse, that it was wrong. She couldn't imagine what had been done to Michael, or Ariana, or any of those stone-faced kids to make them so emotionless, so empty. She had heard one of the counselors mention that that group, the only group that crossed age and gender lines, was full of the toughest kids that he had ever met. Of course, neither of the counselors had noticed she was listening.

Michael bit his lip, shaking his head for a moment. "We know what they call us. Stone-faces, statues, the worst of the worst. Even a few more creative phrases that I won't mention. We feel and we feel hard. And it hurts, it hurts so much that we lock our emotions in, we don't show them to others unless we have to. Because emotions make you vulnerable. But if you watch my friends, if you watch me, when we are around each other or our counselors, those walls, those masks, come down. It's called posturing and it is how most of us are still alive. It is hard to turn that off. So I do feel, I get it. I just don't show it." He remarked finally, allowing the smallest bit of sadness into his voice. It hurt, when the other teens thought they didn't have feelings, although most of them had been around each other long enough now that everyone's masks were done.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. You'll adjust to all of this. Give it time." Michael leaned back against the stone wall, knowing that sooner or later, someone would come looking for them. Jasmine might be a new addition but that didn't mean she was any different from the rest of them. New teens were trickling in, not every day now but often enough. He hated that so many others had suffered like he had but he was glad that they had this place here to call home.
-x-
Elijah glanced at the three preteens as he made his way, stealthily, toward the entrance to the camp. The three kids were relaxing in the corner they had claimed, with Harry and Karrie sharing a beanbag chair and Teddy stretched out on his stomach beside them. All three kids had books, or in Harry's case comic books, that they were reading. He was just happy that they weren't running this morning. Although he was trying to sneak out before group activities, at least he wasn't a danger to himself and he knew where to avoid going. His little 'brother', on the other hand, seemed to think that the forest was safe and tended to disappear deep into the castle to hurt himself. Elijah smiled causally at Phil when the older man glanced at him, easing closer and closer to the door. Robert had slid out five minutes before and they were planning to meet in one of the courtyards. It wasn't that they wanted to avoid group activities all together, the older teens were going to have a football scrimmage again that afternoon that he, at least, was looking forward to. But Robert wanted to talk to him and he hadn't wanted to do it surrounded by other teenagers. He just hoped that he hadn't done anything wrong. He liked Robert, he liked him a lot. He had thought that they were on good terms but maybe he was wrong. He just wasn't sure, this was all so new for him. And he didn't want to ask Bain, even though he knew the older boy would not laugh at him. He wanted to handled it on his own, without the advice of the older boy. Because relationships shouldn't be that hard, right?

-x-

"Alright Alexis, spill."

She snorted, relaxing back against her armchair, sipping on her tea. It was mid-morning, a couple hours before lunch Jake was sprawled out on the armchair across from her with Mary relaxing in a chair she had transfigured to recline. The three of them had been trying to wind down and relax, something they didn't get to do often with a camp full of hurting children and younger counselors who needed guidance. She definitely didn't get to relax, with all the work she had to do, so Mary had the idea of the three of them just trying to take an hour every now and then to relax. That's how they had gotten comfortable enough with each other for them to tell stories like they were, of their apprenticeships, even of their childhoods. Since Mary had shared a time when her master corrected her and Jake had shared a time when he had got called in front of the senior healer, she knew she had to pick one. And she had the perfect story. "Jake, you remember what we talked about last night? About how I worked on a dragon reserve? Well, one day..."

-x-

"You climbed into a dragon's pen?!" Jake stared at her, mouth gaping. Even he knew that was dangerous, and he had done plenty of stupid things in his 'youth'. Granted, as Henry had reminded him this morning, he was still in his 'youth'.

Alexis grimaced, remembering the terrifying moment when she had first noticed the Wyverns. They had been lucky that night. "I did. We've all have done things without thinking. I was focused on my client and nothing else." She shrugged finally, raising an eyebrow at Mary's expression.

"I bet you never did that again." Mary suggested, meeting the slightly younger woman's eyes. From the relaxed body language of both Jake and Alexis, her idea was working. It took a couple of tries but the three of them were now comfortable enough to set aside their professional sides and just act their age with each other. They all needed this.

"Gods no. Eric's threat alone is enough to put an end to that idea." She gave off a shudder, grinning at her two employees who were becoming her friends.

"Glad to hear it." Eric remarked quietly from the door to her quarters. She had known he was there, as she had dropped the ward to let him in, but the other two young people jumped.

Alexis glanced at Eric and grimaced. She knew that face and she knew it well. "I didn't do it." She stated, flushing at how childish she sounded.

Eric snorted, eyes roving over all three young adults. He had a feeling this had been Mary's idea and it was a good one. All of their guards were dropped, all of their masks off. It was good to see them act like young twenty somethings and not like middle-age professionals. They didn't have to be responsible for so many others here, they could just be themselves. They needed that. He hated to disturb it. "You didn't. I actually need to speak to Jake for a moment, although you might want to hear that conversation, Headmistress." He felt the very air in the room change as all three young adults sat up straight and tensed.

Alexis met Eric's eyes for a long moment, tilting her head in question. At his shake of head though, she knew it wasn't good. "I'm sorry Mary, we are going to have to do this again another time."She apologized finally, turning to meet the other woman's eyes.

Mary shrugged, standing and stretching for a moment. She squeezed Jake's shoulder as she moved passed him, nodding to Eric, before moving to gently touch Alexis' arm. "It's alright. We'll find time sometime this week." She smiled at the younger woman, feeling her relax for a brief second. She was going to try to work time in for these relaxing sessions at least once a week, more if she could. She knew it would be easier during the school year, because there would be more adults around to watch over the children.

He waited until Mary had disappeared through the door before sitting down in a nearby armchair and handing the piece of parchment he carried to Alexis. Eric did not, however, watch her expression. He knew what her reaction would be. He was watching the younger man's reaction. "You forged your cosigner's name on your contract with the school. Thankfully, Lucius caught it before anyone else could. If you had known that your cosigner would not sign for you, you should have informed us. We would have taken care of it."

Alexis sighed, reading the letter for the third time. "Why didn't you tell me, Jake?" Now they would have to find a cosigner for the younger man who would be willing to be responsible for a man who forged someone else's signature.

He fidgeted, not looking at either of them. He had received a howler that morning from the man whose signature he had forged. But the man technically had been his guardian and it wasn't the first time he had done so either. Hogwarts was just the first place that actually checked out the cosigners. Because he wasn't adult enough, by the magical communities standards, to enter into a contract on his own. Hell, Alexis was barely old enough and her situation was only different because hers wasn't a contract exactly. Hers was almost entirely through magic and he knew Filius had cosigned on the financial contract with the board of governors for her, as was required in their charter since she was under forty and taking on the mantle of headmistress. Her situation was different from his in more ways than one. She had several people willing to sign for her, he didn't have one. "I thought I could get away with it." He answered finally, deciding to be honest with her. After all, all she could do was fire him and he had a feeling that she wouldn't. "Henry told you?" He inquired as an after thought, glancing at the older healer.

Eric raised a brow at the younger man. He was very nearly whining. Clearly there was more that Henry had not told him but he trusted the other man had handled it. As he would let Henry handle this. "He did. You have done this before?" He hadn't missed that note in the young man's voice either.

Jake nodded, looking away from the brown-skinned healer to Alexis. She looked resigned but not really surprised. He was irritated that Henry had told Eric, however. Not that they wouldn't have found out since they did receive the letter. Maybe he shouldn't have snapped at the older man; even though his respect for Henry had grown, he didn't need the other man's opinion. Nor had he liked being popped, although perhaps he shouldn't have snapped quite what he had. He would have popped Charlie for doing the same.

"Alright, so now we have to find a cosigner for you." Alexis stated, glancing at Eric. She had a feeling that Eric had already done that.

"Good luck with that." Jake muttered, fidgeting again. He had no family, his master wouldn't do it, and he had no friends old enough to do it. He had been forging his master's signature on contracts for nearly four years. He had just needed another year or two and then he wouldn't have needed the signature. But he got caught.

"Hey, attitude." Alexis corrected instantly, fighting down a grimace when she realized how much like Tim she sounded. But it didn't feel weird for her to correct Jake, even if they were the same age. She was his boss. And while she could understand his feelings of defeat, she knew they could find a solution if Eric hadn't found one already.

He had thought about having Henry tell the young man but he wasn't so sure Jake wouldn't go off on him. Not that Henry couldn't handle him, of course. "Because of your age, you have to have a cosigner to act as legal guardian and that can be hard to find at your age, if it isn't a master or family member. However, when Henry and I spoke, he offered to do so, if you have no objections. Lucius will bring over the appropriate paperwork this evening." Eric explained quietly. He figured Henry could talk to Jake about what that meant later. Jake wasn't one he thought would act out, but that didn't mean that Henry didn't need to have that chat with him.

He blinked. Henry was willing to do that for him? But he wasn't always as respectful or nice to Henry, at least in their quarters. Henry never got angry, he just listened and let him rant usually. "Yes sir, that's fine. I'm sorry, Alexis. I know I should have brought it to your attention, it just makes it harder to get a job when no one will sign for you. "

"Eric, Tim, and Severus all signed for the counselors who needed it. We had a solution in place for those who didn't have a cosigner. Hogwarts requires one for longer than most places, partly because we work with children. So we had a plan in place, you just had to tell us." Alexis replied softly, meeting green eyes. She knew a lot about Jake's past, they sometimes double-teamed the hard to reach ones and used their pasts to relate to the youth. So she had known that he had few good relationships with older adults. He was creating a family of his own, with Mary and Charlie and Kate. Even with her in a way. She had a feeling Henry was going to become part of that family. Jake was just going to have to get used to being accountable to more people than just himself and his employer. She knew how hard that was but it was yet another thing they shared. And that was alright.

-x

He took a deep breath, hesitating for a second before knocking on his Head of House's office door. He knew Severus had an open door policy and he knew the older man would rather they come to him than struggle on their own. He just wasn't sure how his..boyfriend would handle it. Elijah didn't know his history, didn't know how bad he could get, and they had argued for over an hour before he had finally made the decision to seek out Severus. After checking in with their counselors to let them know that they were both okay.

Severus frowned, glancing at the door before looking at the clock. Most of the preteens and teenagers should be in activities right now, except for the small number who managed to sneak out or had counseling sessions. "Come." He was not expecting to see two teenage boys, only one of whom actually moved into the room.

"Can we speak to you, sir?" Robert asked, reaching out for Elijah's hand and gently pulling the younger boy into the room.

"Of course. What can I do for you two?" Severus responded calmly, watching both boys, studying their body language closely for a moment. He had been keeping an eye of their relationship, partly because he knew Robert well, so he had expected the two of them at some point. Just not this soon.

Elijah huffed, glaring at the floor. He didn't quite understand why they needed help with this. Arguing was normal in relationships, if his birth family was anything to go by. He had been afraid that the older boy wanted to break up with him, and he still was. Because Robert was afraid and he didn't want his boyfriend to be afraid to be with him. He just wasn't quite sure what he was afraid of.

"We're...I...Please." Robert answered, stumbling over the words filling his mind. He was scared, scared of hurting Elijah. He had very nearly broken the younger boy's fingers last night and Elijah didn't quite see it that way. But he knew the other boy was terrified he would break up with him. And while he had thought about it, to protect Elijah, he really didn't want to. He liked the younger boy, he liked him a lot.

Severus bit back a sigh, gesturing to two chairs. "Sit, both of you." He ordered quietly, studying Robert for a long moment. He knew what the younger man was asking but he also knew that if he responded to that request, neither boy would grow in this relationship. They had to learn to communicate their fears if this relationship was going to work. He wouldn't speak for the boy, either of them, but he could help facilitate the conversation and move it along. "Robert, why don't you try telling Elijah whats bothering you?" He suggested gently, meeting the boy's eyes for a long moment before the teenager looked away.

Robert bit his lip, eyes focused on the edge of Severus' desk. Didn't the man understand that he couldn't tell Elijah? That he had tried but his mouth just wouldn't work? He didn't want to hurt Elijah but he also realized that his silence might hurt Elijah more than his hands ever could. "I'm afraid."

"Of?" Severus prompted, frowning when the teenager merely shrugged. "Robert?"

"Are you afraid of me?" Elijah asked, shifting restlessly in his chair. He did not like being still, he preferred to move around. Alexis was always saying that he was just a bundle of raw energy, whatever that meant. He just knew that whatever the answer to the question, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to hear it. But he didn't think Severus would just let him flee.

"What?! No! I'm afraid of hurting you! I almost hurt you yesterday!" Robert snapped, staring at the other boy with wide eyes. Elijah thought he was afraid of him? That was ridiculous! Elijah might have a temper but that boy wouldn't hurt anyone, not without a very good reason.

"You didn't." Elijah retorted, frowning slightly. Robert hadn't tried to hurt him, had he? He knew the other boy had not appreciated it when he touched him unexpectedly and he had smacked his hand away, but he hadn't hurt him.

Severus raised an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly. Robert had tried to hurt the younger boy? Or was it that he had wanted to hurt the other boy but had stopped himself. The latter seemed more likely. "Robert?" He questioned softly, sighing when the child's eyes snapped to him. He wasn't sure if the fear in those eyes was directed at him or if Robert was still truly afraid of what he might do to someone on instinct.

He took a deep breath, turning his eyes to meet Elijah's. "I came very close to breaking your fingers."

Severus closed his eyes for a moment, keeping his hands flat on his desk, where the boys could see them, even if he did want to pinch the bridge of his nose. It wouldn't be the first time Robert had tried to break someone's fingers. He knew what Robert was afraid of, besides hurting the other boy. He was afraid of scaring him away. The camp children had quickly proven to be a resilient bunch who understood each other, because all of them reacted on instinct sometimes. He opened his eyes, feeling the oncoming headache and surveyed the two boys once more.

"But you didn't."

Robert's eyes snapped to the other boy, frowning slightly. Elijah no longer looked confused. The other boy's expression was open, it was understanding and accepting. "What?"

"You might have wanted to hurt me but you didn't. I shouldn't have touched you without your consent or knowledge. I would have reacted the same if someone had touched me and I hadn't expected it. Hell, Bain knocked me down once because I came up behind him and startled him." Elijah responded slowly, meeting his boyfriend's eyes. He wasn't afraid of Robert and he wanted the older boy to understand that.

"But...You don't know that I won't." He tilted his head slightly, staring into the younger boy's eyes.

He rolled his eyes, shrugging slightly. "And? I know you would never hurt me on purpose, just as I would never purposely hurt you. But accidents happen and we tend to react on instinct. Dude, Ben punched Jake this morning and we both know he didn't mean to." Elijah shook his head, meeting brown eyes once more. Ben had punched Jake at breakfast because the older man had spoken to him and touched his shoulder when he hadn't responded. Ben had reacted on instinct and swung out. It tended to happen at camp, that most of them responded to any kind of unexpected touch by instinct, and usually with violence.

Robert frowned for a moment, shaking his head. Elijah made it sound so simple when he knew that it really wasn't that simple. He hadn't wanted to hurt Elijah, that was true, but he could have. And he didn't want to put the other boy in harms way. They had both been abused enough. "And if I do hurt you?"

"Then we talk about it and move on. That's what Alexis does when Bain or Teddy or I lash out at her. I know we might hurt each other, Robert. But if we do, we can handle it. It's okay." Elijah replied dryly. He understood why the older boy was still pressing the issue but it was driving him insane.

Severus eyed the two boys for a moment before turning his eyes to focus on Robert. "I believe, what Elijah is trying to say is that there are going to be bumps in your relationship, that happens. But you will get past the bumps. Remus and I broke up once, because we were both afraid of hurting the other and neither of us would express that to each other. Breaking up to protect each other was one of the worst decisions that we made. We ended up hurting each other more. But once we started talking about those fears, communicating with each other about the hard stuff, it was easier to deal with the little bumps on our journey. There are going to be accidents; there are going to be days when you are mad at each other or not speaking to each other. But if you are determined to be together, you can get past that. Don't let the bad days overrule the good, Robert." He remarked quietly, smiling softly at both boys when their eyes jump to him.

He took a deep breath, staring at his head of house for a moment before turning his eyes back to his...boyfriend. "Okay. I'm still afraid of hurting you. But I hear what you are both saying. Baby steps?" He questioned, giving a half smile at the grin that broke out on Elijah's face.

"Baby steps." Elijah agreed, slowly extending his hand to Robert. The older boy didn't hesitate this time, taking and holding onto his hand.

"If either of you have questions or just need someone to listen, I am here." He offered nonchalantly, wanting both teenage boys to know that they were free to come to him, at any time, about anything.

"Thanks Sev." Robert grinned, giving a slight nod as Elijah slowly pulled him toward the door. He knew that he, at least, would be taking the older man up on that offer at some point. Having the other man there to even just listen to them had helped. Because he felt safe enough with Severus to completely speak his mind. He knew the older man would catch him when he fell.
-x-

Alexis groaned, burying her head in her hands for a moment. She couldn't believe that she had done that. She didn't know how to fix it, either. Why, why did she have to respond to the younger woman like that?! She was her employer! She had probably just made the situation worse. And more awkward. She took a deep breath, forcing her mind to calm down. She needed to take care of this, but there was someone whose advice she needed first. She pushed her chair away from her desk, stalking to the fireplace in her office. She threw a handful of powder into it, grumbling to herself for a moment. She grimaced when it wasn't her brother who answered the floo call.

Remus frowned, glancing at the floo for a moment before moving to see who needed something. "Alexis? "

"Where's Severus?"

He gestured for the younger woman to floo over but she shook her head. He frowned, raising an eyebrow at her. Why did she have a faint smell of flowery perfume? "He's in his office, with students I believe. Did you need something?"

She grunted, shaking her head. She needed her brother, he would at least understand what had happened. "Tell him to floo me when he can." Alexis stepped back, breaking the floo connection. She made her way to her favourite armchair, throwing herself into it. She hated this, hated not knowing what to do. She was sure that even the phoenix who had landed on the back of her chair couldn't help her out of this mess.

Remus frowned at the broken connection, sighing softly. Why hadn't she used the pendants, that she had created, to speak to Severus? Something had been off with Alexis and it wasn't just that odd whiff of perfume.
-x-

"Did you hear me, Kate? Kate?" Mary furrowed her brows, hesitating for a moment. She didn't want to touch the young woman without her knowledge or consent. For one, Kate was likely to respond with violence or magic. Or usually both. She had made that mistake once and she wasn't going to make it again. At least Kate wasn't crying right now, even if her expression was blank, as if she had spaced out. But the younger woman did need to be focusing on her charges. Mary knew that her girls, the older girls, were always looking out for the young one; all the older teens looked after the younger children. That did not, however, mean that their counselors shouldn't be paying attention. Especially since they were outside and many of the children tended to disappear, usually the runners.

Kate blinked, glancing around for a moment to locate each of her girls, as Rani had the afternoon off, before turning to Mary. "Did you say something?"

"Are you alright?" She asked, knowing that she wouldn't get a real answer. Kate always said she was but her body language argued that she wasn't.

She grinned, brown eyes lighting up for a moment. "I'm good." She responded, before hesitating. Because while it had made her happy, it had also made her confused. What happened now? Could anything happen now?

She frowned, raising an eyebrow. Kate never answered that happily, nor had she seen that look on her face before. Mary studied her for a moment, watching the emotions flit across her unusually open face. She made a mental note to find out what was going on with the younger woman that evening. Something was definitely going on.

-x-

Alexis rubbed her forehead with one hand, closing her eyes. Her legs were dangling over one side of the arm chair, even though she knew Minzi would scold her for it. She didn't care right now. She needed to think and that worked best when she was comfortable. "Gods. What was I thinking?" She mused aloud, pulling the memory of what happened after lunch to the front of her mind.

"It's not your fault." Alexis repeated, for the fourth time in as many minutes, sitting on the edge of her desk. She couldn't get the younger woman to sit down, to calm down. And while she understood what the younger woman was feeling, she was getting frustrated. Nothing she said was getting through to Kate.

"I knew something was wrong. I should have done something." She grimaced, pacing in front of the other woman. Alexis refused to accept her resignation, even though many would, and had, fired her for much less. Kate didn't even want to think about what Eric had implied. She knew it was partly her fault. She should had caught it, she knew something was wrong. But she had ignored her instinct, giving the little girl time to adjust to being at camp. And then Emma had ended up in the infirmary. She couldn't let it go.

She took a deep breath, running her hand through her hair, grey eyes focused on the movement of the younger woman. "Stop this, Kathleen." She ordered firmly, causing brown eyes to snap to her as the woman stilled. "Kate. You know better than this." She added softly, eyes softening slightly.

She grimaced, biting her lip. Deep down she knew there was nothing she could have done to stop Emma's core from maturing. A simple fall didn't cause it; her core had to have been on the verge. The child would have died if they had not gotten her when they did. But it hurt. It always hurt when her girls, her young preteens, were hurting and she couldn't do anything to make it better. Of course she blamed herself. One of her preteens was hurting and going through something now that they couldn't fix. She couldn't make it better. Drying their tears, holding them after nightmares, comforting and calming those girls, that's what she did. But she couldn't fix this with a hug. She felt helpless. "I can't fix this. I don't know how to fix this." She whispered, forcing back her tears. She was tired and upset and angry at herself. Tim and Eric had tried but they couldn't make the guilt go away. She didn't think anything could.

"You can't fix it. I can't fix it. What we can do is be there for that little girl. We can support her, we can love her, and we can help her feel safe here. I know it's hard, Kate, but we have to accept that we can't fix everything. These children need healing and that's not a quick fix. It will take time and lots of tears. But we, as a school, can do this together. You are not alone in this." She replied, expecting the tears that started to fall from the younger woman's eyes. She slide off her desk, opening her arms to the woman.

Kate nearly knocked her over, accepting the warm, comforting hug. It didn't stop the tears but she wasn't sure if much could right now. Alexis made sense, at least. She could be there for Emma, for all her girls, even if she couldn't fix everything. She couldn't make their pasts any easier, but she could help make their futures safe.

She tighten her hold on the younger woman, offering her the comfort she obviously needed. She sniffed suddenly, catching a whiff of the light floral scent Kate tended to wear. The younger woman had finally relaxed against her, her tears slowing down. Alexis looked down into the tear streaked face as brown eyes met hers. Those brown eyes were finally calm, the warring emotions gone. She knew that the guilt wasn't completely gone but hopefully Kate would be able to let it go easier now. She hoped so anyway. She kept her eyes locked with the other woman, smiling softly when she bit her lip, looking away. Even though she would never peek into someone's mind without their permission, she had a pretty good idea about something Kate wanted. And that she, too, in that moment wanted. She tilted her head down, gently catching the younger woman's lips with her own.

Her eyes flew back to the Headmistress' for a moment as she relaxed into the kiss. She wasn't sure if the woman shared the same feelings that she did or if this was a 'heat of the moment' thing, but she found that she didn't care. Not one bit.

"Fuck." She whispered, not looking up as the floo sounded. She knew who it was, after all. She had been down this road before, with Jane..as well as a few other women, and it hadn't worked out. Dating a coworker had never worked for her. And Kate was her employee, not just a coworker. She didn't have time for a relationship! Did she? She had felt how their magics responded to each other, after all. "Ugh."

"What happened?" Severus inquired, concern evident in his tone, dropping into his usual armchair with ease.

"I think I made a mistake and I don't know how to fix it."
-x-
Teddy frowned, turning over the package in front of him. It had no return address on it, just his name. Severus had taught the Slytherins to never open something that they didn't know who it was from without checking it for curses or bringing it to him. He turned it right side up, standing and moving toward where Phil was standing. Their group was outside, playing games, when the owl dropped a package into his lap. It wasn't an owl he recognized either. "Hey Phil? I don't know what this is. Can you check it for me?" He asked quietly, holding out the package. Alexis had also told the camp children that if they received something and they didn't know what it was, to have it checked first, as a safety precaution.

The blue-haired man smiled down at the preteen, taking the package carefully. Most of the time, the packages turned out to be innocent but there had been a few, here and there, from parents who had lost custody and wanted to do harm. Phil tapped his wand to the package, frowning slightly at the yellow light. He hesitated, muttering a more complex spell and tapping it again. At the red light, he swore softly, vanishing the package quickly but not before wincing at the flash of pain. Someone had wrapped a spell around the package, so that if it was checked for curses, it would be triggered and attack the person checking it. If his reading was right, there was an explosive spell attached to the inside of the package. "It wasn't safe, Teddy. I'm sorry." He stated calmly, grimacing at another flash of pain. He had sent the package to be neutralized, so that Alexis could find out where it originated from and send it off to the Aurors office.

Teddy shrugged, tilting his head slightly to watch the older man. "It's okay. Did it bite you, Phil?" He questioned, looking around for Charlie.

He gave the preteen a tight smile, feeling a wave of dizziness hit him. "It did." He had no idea what curse was on the package but he did know that it hurt and he needed help.

The brown-haired child grimaced, finally spotting Henry, who wasn't who he wanted but would have to do, and taking off toward the older man. "Henry! My package bit Phil!" He called, wishing that Karrie hadn't taken off, as she was good at feeling magic.

Henry turned, glancing at the boy before jogging toward Phil. He got to the younger man just as he started to sway. He wrapped an arm around the younger man, to steady him, before running a diagnostic over blue-haired man. He swore softly, reaching for Phil's pendant. He tapped it twice before murmuring that activation phrase. "Das Krankenhaus." He let go of the young man as he was transported to the infirmary. Henry turned, moving toward the boy who was watching him closely. He knew Eric could better help Phil and he also knew that even if the child hadn't activated whatever spells were on the package, he had been holding it. It was worth checking him over, at least.

"Is Phil going to be okay?" Teddy asked, wary brown eyes eyeing Henry's wand.

"I think he will be. Eric will look after him. May I scan you for spells, Teddy?" Henry inquired calmly, making sure to keep his wand, and hands, where the preteen could see them. When Teddy gave a hesitant nod, he waved his wand. The diagnostic scan he used would show any spells or curses on the child, even if it was just a trace. He let off a soft relieved sigh when his scan was negative, re-sheaving his wand. "Thank you, Teddy."

Teddy shrugged, taking the nod as a dismissal. He turned, taking off toward where Harry was reading a comic book under a tree. He had a new book on Dragons that Remus had given him, after all. He pushed the package from his mind, picking up his book and dropping to sit beside Harry. Karrie would come back eventually, so they would just sit and read until then.
-x-

"How is he?"

"Sleeping. Thankfully, Henry got him here fast enough that I was able to neutralize the curse. Did you find out who sent it?" Eric questioned, turning to look at the young headmistress. If Teddy had ignore what they had told the children, if the boy had opened the package, there was a high chance it would have killed him. As it was, if Henry hadn't gotten Phil to him as fast as he had, the young man would have been worse off.

She sighed, eyes focused on the blue-haired young man who had saved her son and the surrounding children. Once her and Severus had neutralized the package, they realized that the package had more than a curse in it. If Teddy had opened it, it would have exploded, doing much more harm than just the curse would have. She had sent it to the Auror's office, since she couldn't un-weave the magic to find the sender without triggering the explosives inside. "No. I sent it to the Aurors. I am not quite as capable at handling explosions as they are." Alexis shrugged, gazing down at the young man. "Did his scans show anything...unusual?"

"If you are talking about his self injurious behaviour while it is still presence, it has decreased greatly. Having a roommate who knows and having very little spare time to himself as probably helped with that." Eric responded quietly, glancing at the grey eyed woman before turning his gaze, too, to rest on the young man. He had a feeling that Phil's self harm had decreased because his self worth had increased. He had a job where he was not just needed, but wanted. He also knew that Tim had told the young man that the children would model his behaviour, so that had helped as well. Eric knew that they probably won't be able to fully heal all the young minds at Hogwarts this summer, but they would just keep trying.

-x-