A/N: Do not own. Sorry it took so long, but let's call it an early Christmas present. X's are scene breaks and italics are usually bonded conversations. As always, use your words.
-Case
x-
"What type of monster did you say?"
"She called it a nightmare monster. But that's not a real creature. I mean, that's the stuff of childrens nightmares. It can't actually exist." Jake frowned, chewing his lip for a moment. It wasn't that he didn't believe Karrie, it was more that he didn't want to believe Karrie. He had rather the little girl had named any other creature than that one. He had never seen a nightmare monster outside of dreams, but most adults tended to believe they didn't exist.
"We both know that it can and does exist. Whether or not we want it to, is a entirely different story. I take it Eric is going to tell Alexis?" Henry replied quietly, raising an eyebrow when Jake fidgeted and looked away. "Jake?"
"Karrie didn't tell Eric and I...didn't think to mention it. I can tell Alexis." He shrugged, moving to rifle through his desk drawer. He shifted through the mundane pens and notebooks, frowning slightly. He had a book in here somewhere that mentioned nightmare monsters, if he could find it. He had just had that book the other day, but now he couldn't seem to find it. "Have you seen my pysch book?" He inquired, not looking up from sorting through his mess of a desk.
"That's not a good idea, Jake. It would be better if it came from Eric or Tim." Henry remarked quietly, ignoring the glare he received at that. It would be better if Eric or Tim told Alexis, or hell even if he told Alexis. But it needed to be from someone older than Jake. And not because he didn't think she would believe Jake. He knew she would and he was almost certain that she would react without thinking it through. The younger woman would risk everything to keep her students safe, even her own life. Jake wouldn't be able to stop her. "Which psychology book?" He added, raising an eyebrow at the muttering of the younger man.
He was perfectly capable of filling Alexis in on this. It wasn't rocket science and he knew that she would take him seriously. He scowled at Henry, moving to rummage through his dresser drawers. That damn book was around here somewhere. "The Psychology of Fear." He grumbled, tossing his socks onto the floor, so that he could look down in the drawer. "I am capable of informing her. I will tell her this evening."
"Instead of dismantling our room, try a summoning spell." Henry suggested, shaking his head as he watched the younger man toss his pants onto the floor. Jake was not the most organized individual, he tended to just throw everything in a drawer and call it a day, which often led to him completely trashing their room to find something.
He glared at the older man, slipping his wand into his hand. Sometimes he forgot that he was a wizard, even after all these years. "Accio Psychology of Fear." He waited a few minutes before sliding his wand back into its holster. That had not worked so his book was clearly not in their room. He started re-stuffing his clothes back into the drawers.
Henry rolled his eyes, not bothering to look up from his writing this time. He needed to finish this report before continuing his discussion with Jake. It was not closed, despite what the younger man might think. Eric had been right, however, he was quite sure that Jake probably was and would be testing him, to figure out how he would react. It didn't matter that they had been sharing a room for almost a month, they were still learning each other. He had a feeling it was going to be a long evening.
-x-
"Have you ever used crutches before?" Rose inquired, standing beside the younger girl holding said crutches.
The black-haired child shook her head, biting her lip. Karrie knew it was temporary, that she would only need the crutches for a week, the cast for two. She had broken bones before, of course, but she had never broken her leg. Granted, it wasn't broken. Her knee had been dislocated and thanks to magic, the healing time was a lot shorter. But she knew that having crutches and a cast was going to upset her guardians. Because she had been hurt in a place she wasn't suppose to be. She just knew Severus and Remus would be angry. Eric had floo'd them, so she also knew they would be there soon.
"Okay Karrie, why don't we practice using the crutches and once I'm sure you got it down, I'll show you a charm to change the color of your cast." Rose remarked finally, when the girl didn't respond further. She knew bribing Karrie probably wasn't what Eric had wanted when he asked her to teach Karrie how to use the crutches. Then again, the older man bribed children all the time with promised treats if they would just be still and let him check them over.
"Can you do designs?" She asked, green eyes lighting up at the possibilities. She reached for the crutches, taking them when the older girl offered. She had seen Isaac using them and he made it seem so easy, so it couldn't be that hard. She pushed herself off the bed with her good leg, trying to balance her weight on the crutches. She grimaced, fighting down a wave of pain as she struggled to steady herself.
She wrapped an arm around the younger girl's waist, steadying her for a moment before fixing her hold on the crutches. "Slowly. You don't want to put weight on that leg. When you go to step with your injured leg, you should always move your crutches out first and then finish moving forward." Rose explained, helping the girl take a few tentative steps. She turned so that she was walking backwards, moving a few feet away from the preteen, motioning for her to keep walking forward.
Karrie took another tentative step, quickly getting the hang of it. Her steps became more sure the closer she moved to Rose. That was, before a thought occurred to her. "How am I going to manage the stairs?"
"The castle responds to the needs of its students, according to Alexis. If you stand on the top, or bottom, step with crutches, the step will carry you up or down. There's an activation word for it that Eric will give you before you leave." Rose responded calmly, smiling when the brief bit of anxiety vanished from the girl's eyes. "Okay, now walk from this side of the room to the other and then back."
She grunted but did what the older girl asked. She knew, from Ariana, that Rose was now apprenticing to Eric, so she knew that Rose was probably just following instructions. Their entire group knew that Rose wanted to be a healer when she was older, so she didn't mind even if walking with crutches was not as easy as Isaac had made it seem. "Isaac makes it look easy." She grumbled.
She sighed softly, shaking her head. "That's because Isaac has had a lot of practice with them. " Rose responded, watching the girl walk for a few more minutes. "You got the hang of it though. Would you like me to teach you how to do designs now?" She smiled when the preteen's eyes lit up, leading her back toward the bed. The spell was simple enough that she thought Karrie would get it quickly. The little girl had a way with magic, after all.
-x-
Remus frowned, watching his child from the window in Eric's office. "Did she say what was chasing them?" He inquired, running his hand across his face.
"Nothing beyond that it was a monster. I believe she told Jake, however. From what Ariana told me, Karrie injured herself by tripping." Eric responded quietly, eyes focused solely on his son. Rose would keep an eye on Karrie, so he wasn't worried about her slipping away. Especially with a cast of her foot and not having the activation spell for the stairs. He hesitated for a moment, because he knew how his son would react, but he also knew that he did need to know.
"She also told Ariana to leave her behind." He had already cast a locking and silencing charm on the door, expecting the sudden anger in his son's eyes.
"She did what?!" Remus growled, eyes quickly turning to amber. He took a deep breath, trying to force himself to calm down. He knew that if he approached Karrie like this, he would frighten her and he didn't want to do that. But the wolf inside him was raging because his little girl cared so little for her own safety.
He rested a firm hand on his eldest child's shoulder. "Easy, son. I know it is upsetting. But she is a severely abused little girl who doesn't value herself. It is something that we need to work on but right now, she is safe." Eric replied calmly, keeping his hand on the younger man's shoulder. He squeezed, feeling Remus relax slightly. "If I remember correctly, you once held similar views about your self worth." He added quietly.
He sighed softly, shaking his head. He knew what Eric was saying, of course. But he still didn't like it that his child cared so little for herself. He did know that he wasn't angry at her; even if he had been, he wouldn't have shown it to her. She didn't need that, she only needed to know that they loved her regardless of the trouble she tended to get herself into. "I know, dad. I just want to see to my child."
The dark-skinned healer nodded, squeezing his son shoulder once more before releasing him and unlocking the door. "She'll need crutches for at least a week. I'll examine her leg again then, just to make sure." He remarked, holding the door open for his son, eyes focusing on the young girl. Karrie was poking her cast with her fingers, grinning at it. It took him a moment to realize what exactly she was doing.
Rose glanced up when she heard Eric's office door open, glancing at the two men before turning her eyes back to the younger girl. She had shown Karrie the spell and, like she had expected, Karrie had gotten it fast. But now the younger girl was prodding the images with her fingers, doing something to the spell that she didn't quite grasp. She wasn't even sure that Karrie realized what she was doing.
She prodded the unicorn again, watching as its mane changed colors before it started galloping around her cast. She frowned slightly, biting her lip as she felt a change to the magic in to room, to the magic that danced on her skin. "Stop Eric." She ordered, tilting her head as she felt the magic retreat.
"I apologize, my petite fille. I didn't realize.." Eric stopped, smiling softly at the young girl. Alexis, Tim, and himself all had the ability to see magic and yet none of them had noticed the magic that buzzed around Karrie. She had noticed it the moment he tried to move the magic surrounding her, had noticed when he tried to examine it. Perhaps it only surrounded her like this when she played with it. There wasn't another word to describe what Karrie was doing. She was just playing with the magic, even though it wasn't active magic. This was not Harry's ability to manipulate active spells or see magic. This was different. The magic around Karrie was rubbing against her almost like a cat would, like it was her pet. He hadn't seen magic act like this in...well, ever.
"Eric?" Remus inquired, frowning slightly. Eric had that look on his face, the one he got when there was a particularly difficult puzzle in front of him.
Now that she wasn't playing with it, the magic seem to just settle around her. Eric tilted his head, letting his eyes not focus for a moment so that he could see only the magic. It hit him suddenly why she might be running from the castle so often if his hypothesis was correct. The only real way to know was to ask the girl but he had been working with children long enough to know that now was not the time. He would not receive any answer of substance from her now, not when she was shaken and scared. "Je suis pas sûr." He answered, shaking his head slightly before turning his attention back to what mattered at the moment.
"Karrie is able to go home with you, Remus. I am sure she will heal better there than in here." He added, winking at the child. He was aware that Karrie was afraid of Remus' reactions to how she got hurt, but he wanted her to understand that he knew she would be safe there. So that maybe, with time, she would start believing it too.
Remus raised an eyebrow, biting his lip to keep from questioning his father. He knew that tone. Eric would not speak more on a subject until he knew more about it. He only wish he knew what the subject was. But for his father to switch languages like that, he knew it was something. "Are you ready to go home, Karrie?" He asked gently, moving to stand beside his child. He glanced at the cast, hating that it was necessary, before forcing down a chuckle. Only his child would have a rainbow unicorn prancing around her cast. A spell like that should have been way beyond a third year, but somehow that didn't surprise him.
She hesitated, focusing her eyes solely on her cast, now that Eric was not messing with the magic around her. Too much active magic and her senses got overwhelmed. It was one of the few things her and Harry argued about. He always wanted to mess with magic and she did not. She was content to just play with it as it was without trying to change it. "The stairs?"
"There is a Latin activation phrase to change the stairs for you. Currently it is 'placet auxilio'." Eric explained quietly. If the child forgot it, the Castle/s magic would often figure it out after a few steps. He had seen it with Isaac, when the child refused to use the activation phrase. Although with Karrie...it might work differently. Until he was certain of her magical abilities, he didn't know anything for sure.
"Placet auxilio." Karrie repeated slowly. Latin was not her favourite language and to have been suddenly thrust into it at eleven had not been fun. Luckily, Professor Flitwick taught all of the first years, even the wizard-born, Latin to make sure they could keep up easily with their classes. She now could speak it quite well, even though she was not fond of it; enough that she was almost certain that she was literally asking the stairs for help.
"Or you could just do what Daniel does." Rose teased, grinning when the younger girl stuck her tongue out.
Remus opened his mouth and then closed it, deciding he really didn't want to know what Daniel did. That boy was a force onto himself. Eric, however, didn't seem to agree with his thought that the less he knew the better.
"And what exactly does Daniel do to the stairs?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow when the younger girl giggled and the older one shrugged with a wicked grin.
"I see. I would like to remind both of you that sliding down stair banisters is a good way to break your necks. And swearing angrily at the stairs is a good way to end up somewhere you should not be." The dark-skinned healer fought that urge to laugh at his apprentice's gaping mouth and the now wildly giggling preteen. He was well aware that Daniel probably did both, which was one of the reasons Alexis had added a barrier to keep anyone from falling over the railings, if they happened to be sitting on it.
Remus shook his head at his father, offering a hand to his preteen. He helped her maneuver to her feet, waiting until the crutches were in place before leading the way toward the floo. She could try out the stairs later, right now he just wanted to get his tired and hurt child back home. The one place he knew she would be safe, from herself and everything else.
-x-
Alexis smiled softly, watching her youngest son as he carefully put together a model of a dragon. Her friend from the reserve, Chris, had sent a package of dragon related goodies, in response to her inquire about age appropriate dragon books. Besides two different dragon models, the dragon rider had sent a coloring book of dragon anatomy, a handful of educational and informational books about dragons, and a picture of his dragon in mid-flight. She had a feeling that she might need to add protection spells to the picture, as Teddy was currently carrying it around in his pocket and she wasn't so sure that it wouldn't go under his pillow at night.
"Alexis?" Teddy didn't bother looking up from his model, using the coffee table as his work space. It was a pretty cool model of a Chinese Fireball, even if it didn't move like his figures did. He hadn't seen models like these before, not of dragons at least.
"Yes?" She raised an eyebrow, glancing up from the work she had been attempting to do. But her preteen's enthusiasm was much more entertaining than the work she had to do.
He hesitated, biting the inside of his cheek as he finished putting together one of the small wings. "I want to work with dragons when I'm older but there weren't any career books on it." He stated finally, carefully attaching the wing to the back of the dragon's torso.
She hated that Hogwarts' curriculum was such that thirteen year olds had to decide what path they wanted to take in life. She was slowly working to change that. Most students would change career paths several times before they graduated and several more times at university. Very few knew exactly what they wanted to do in life at the age of thirteen. It also didn't make her happy that Albus had not even provided half of the information to students. Their heads of houses had to fill in the gaps. She knew the Slytherins and Ravenclaws were told to take the classes that interested them and to not worry about choosing a career just yet. But she did understand why Severus wouldn't have a book on dragon-related fields. The truth was there were very few books about the dragon related careers. It was a career field much like touch-healing. You were chosen for it, you didn't choose it. "There aren't very many career books on dragons. The best plan is to study magical creatures to start, that's how most dragon handlers get into the field. " She responded finally, watching his shoulders droop. "That doesn't mean you won't be able to work with dragons, Teddy. It's a very hard field to get into but it is possible. If that is what you want to do, I will make sure you get the information you need." She added calmly.
He looked up at her for a moment before nodding. If Alexis said she would get him information, he knew she would. He was just happy that she was not against his career choice. Unlike his friends, he was quite sure that he would not change his mind when he got older. "You know a dragon rider, Alexis?" He inquired, eyes going back the his model. One wing down, one to go. The wings were the hardest part. The pieces were small and had to be placed just right before the small piece of see-through silk could be attached.
She snorted, picking up the letter Chris had sent to her. She had opened it, glanced at it, and set it aside. After all, when the first thing he wrote was that he needed a favour, she knew she needed to read it when she wasn't doing a hundred other things. But he had also included an old photo of them, that his master had taken. She removed the photo, setting aside the letter, and gazed at it for a moment before holding it out to her son. "I know several dragon riders, handlers, keepers, researchers, and healers, Teddy. This is the one who sent you the models."
Teddy turned, looking away from the model and taking the photo she offered. He stared at it for a moment, mouth gaping, before turning brown eyes to meet grey. "You rode a dragon?!" There was his Alexis, legs and arms wrapped around a young man who had to be the dragon rider, in mid-flight.
She shuddered, grimacing for a moment. "I did. That was the first and last time I was on a dragon. Chris is a master dragon rider now, but in that picture he was just an apprentice and I was his healer. It was my last day on the reserve, so he had asked his master if he could take me up." She explained, shaking her head. They hadn't been in the air very long at all before Chris has decided to land.
"You didn't like it?" That was crazy, how could someone not like riding a dragon? They were big, powerful, beautiful creatures. They deserved respect and he had always wanted to ride one, even if it was just once.
"I'm not a fan of flying. We landed not long after that photo was taken." Alexis took the photo back, tapped it with her wand to duplicate it before handing the duplicate back to her son. "You can keep that if you like." She remarked quietly, having seen that look in his eyes. She frowned suddenly, glancing toward the door to her office, raising an eyebrow at the color of the light. A staff member then. "I'll be back in a bit boys." She stated, standing slowly. Her older two had just wondered into the room, one of his way to raid the fridge, again, and she wasn't quite sure what Elijah was up to. She quickly disappeared through the door to her office, hoping nothing was seriously wrong this time.
"Bain, can you put that spell on this, the one that will keep it from getting dirty or torn?" Teddy asked, glancing toward the older boy, holding out the photograph of Alexis. He knew Alexis would have done it but he also knew that she didn't have a lot of spare time right now.
Bain emerged from the kitchen with a plate of sandwiches. He set the plate down on one end of the coffee table, away from where Teddy was building and took the photo. He tapped it with his wand, muttering the incantation, before really looking at it. He blinked, nudging Elijah, who had flopped onto the couch, with his foot. "It's mum!"
Elijah blinked, confused, taking the photo and staring at it for a long moment. "She rode a dragon?" It was clearly Alexis and she looked like she was Bain's age, if a little older. She also looked terrified. While he enjoyed flying, he couldn't imagine flying on a dragon, which was an unpredictable creature that could go from calm to rage in seconds.
Teddy shrugged taking the photo back and putting it in his pocket before turning back to his model. "She worked on a dragon reserve as a mind-healer." He explained, smirking at their expressions for a moment. It felt good to know something that the older boys had not. They knew a lot more about magic than he did and they taught him a lot, but he did like being able to explain something to them that they didn't know.
"Damn. Dragon reserves are not easy places to work, especially as a healer." Bain shrugged, setting a peanut butter sandwich on a napkin next to Teddy before offering a turkey sandwich to Elijah.
Elijah shook his head, picking up the book he had been reading earlier. "No thanks. Dragon reserves can also be dangerous places to work, particularly if you are not trained to work with dragons. I wonder if Alexis has any stories she would be willing to share." He remarked, glancing at his brothers.
Bain sighed softly, shaking his head. "Just eat half the sandwich, Elijah. You didn't eat lunch." He requested, frowning at the younger boy.
"Or breakfast." Teddy chimed in, taking a bit of his sandwich. Bain always seemed to know when he was hungry. Perhaps that was because the older boy was always hungry himself. He was hungry more often now that he was getting regular meals, but he knew he wasn't the only one. The counselors had taken to making sure they had access to snacks. According to Rose, it had something to do with their bodies trying to adjust to proper meals and nutrition. He wasn't sure if Rose was correct, but he did know he was hungry more now. "We could always ask Alexis for stories."
He grimaced, glaring at the sandwich like it had personally offended him. He wasn't hungry. Or well, maybe he was a little hungry. But Bain didn't have to give him that look! He was capable of feeding himself when he wanted to. Besides, he wasn't the only one to skip meals in their family. "Mum didn't eat either and you aren't forcing sandwiches on her."
"Mum's a grown up. Besides Eric made her drink a protein shake." Teddy retorted, making a face. Protein shakes were even worse than nutritional potions, particularly the mundane protein shakes. He thought they tasted disgusting but Alexis seemed to not mind the taste, not that either adult knew he had seen that.
Bain blinked, glancing at Teddy for a moment. He was pretty sure the adults hadn't known Teddy was there. "Teddy is right, Elijah. Mum is an adult, you are not. Now unless you would like for her to find out that you are not eating, at least try to eat half of the sandwich. It's turkey. You like turkey." He added quietly, hating that he had to add threats to get his brother to eat. He was aware, however, that Alexis probably knew that Elijah wasn't eating. He had seen how Elijah's counselors were watching him at meal times and he had noticed that Alexis was keeping an eye on him as well. So clearly they knew something was going on and was either trying to gather enough proof to confront him or waiting to see how deep it ran. He wasn't quite sure, he wasn't a mind-healer after all.
Elijah grumbled but finally accepted half of the sandwich. He glared at his brothers, who were both watching him, and took a small bite. It was good, so good that he took another small bite, shifting so that he could still read his book.
Teddy gave a small smirk, watching Elijah eat for a moment before turning back to his model. He knew that Elijah would eat at least the half he had, because the older boy was hungry. And Bain made the best sandwiches.
-x-
Alexis frowned, following that barely there trail of magic through the forest. She glanced over at Jake, sighing softly. She hadn't wanted him to come. She had the magic of Hogwarts running through her veins and she had faced a creature like this before. He had not and she didn't want to put him through that. It didn't help that they were mostly blind out here, following a trail of magic that she wasn't even sure belonged to this creature. It was also starting to get dark, which meant this creature would be hunting. It also meant she couldn't cast a shield because it would be drawn to their magic. Or perhaps that was the best way to find it. "Are you sure you are up for this, Jake?" She hissed, trying to keep her voice low. She would rather they find it than it hunt them, even if it hunting them would be faster.
"Of course." He hissed back, frowning slightly. That was about the fifth time she had asked him that. When he had told her what Karrie had said, she had gone almost completely white. He wasn't going to let her go after it alone and there was no way he could have prevented her from going once he had told her. He hadn't thought that she would immediately decide to go after it. Perhaps that was why Henry had warned him against telling her. He wasn't even sure what exactly they were going to be up against. "Have you seen one before?" He asked, grimacing at that flash of fear in her eyes when she glanced back at him. That was a yes then.
"Hush, Jake. We don't want it to find us first." She whispered, shaking her head. She had come into contact with one before and it was something she had never wanted to do again. It was truly a creature of nightmares but she would not have it near her school. She knew why it was there, of course. It fed off of nightmares, specifically the nightmares of children and she had a school full of the type of children it relished. Children whose nightmares were horrific, children who often feared sleep because of the ever present night terrors. This horrid creature drew strength from their nightmares and used that to grow stronger, so that it could hunt these children within their own nightmares. She would not let it harm her students, even if that meant breaking a promise she had made years before.
Jake turned suddenly, feeling something behind him. But there was nothing. He frowned, glancing at Alexis who had her wand in hand all of a sudden. He quickly unsheathed his wand, moving so that they were closer together. He followed her as they slowly moved deeper into the forest. He glanced to his left, having the feeling of something watching them. He blinked, looking again before moving to keep up with her. He could have sworn that he had seen eyes over there but they were gone now. The deeper they went, the more he felt like they were being watched on all sides. He didn't know if he was just being paranoid or if something was really watching them.
She frowned, confused for a moment. She wasn't quite sure where they were, even as she still followed the slight trail of magic. Alexis gazed around, looking for the markers she knew should be there. Hagrid had shown them to her the second or third time he had found her wandering in the forest, back when she started at Hogwarts. There were markers throughout the forest to help mark paths and areas to stay away from. She knew they had passed the path for the acromuntalas, she was quite certain she had seen one or two of them. She would definitely keep that promise. They weren't going anywhere near those overgrown monstrous spiders that Hagrid seemed to love, not if she could help it. She was afraid that they might encounter something even more dangerous than the spiders. She stopped suddenly, tilting her head slightly. She could feel the edge of the wards here, they were very close to leaving the castle's wards, even if she still wasn't sure where they were. exactly "We need to go back. The wards end not far from here." She remarked quietly, turning to face Jake and to see if there were any markers near them. Hagrid had told her there was a marker near the edge of the wards but she couldn't see it here. Although, the forest stretched around them for miles, so the marker could be anywhere. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and focusing on the feel of Hogwarts. She located the school in her mind, turning in that direction. She opened her eyes, shaking her head slightly. They were far off the path.
He turned in the direction Alexis had started moving, hesitating at the flash of...something he had seen out of the corner of his eye. "What does this thing look like?" He whispered, moving so that they were closer together. He had a bad feeling about this.
"Like a shade or a shadow. But if we see that, we're fucked. Before it feasts, it is just a wisp. Let's hope it stays a wisp." She whispered back, eyes darting around. She couldn't focus on the trail of magic and the pull of Hogwarts, so she took a deep breath, sent up a silent prayer, and tuned her magic back to Hogwarts. She would still feel it if the nightmare creature was near them, but she was no longer actively tracking it. She just hoped they didn't walk into a trap.
The feeling that they were being watched was getting stronger. He wasn't so sure that they weren't being followed, although he didn't know if it was the monster following them or something else. He had a bad feeling about this, it was almost as if..
"Fuck." Alexis swore softly, eyes darting around them as she finally found a path marker. It was a trap. They were trapped with a stone formation on one side of them and trees all around. This was one of the original walls that were used to mark the boundary of Hogwarts. Now the boundary spread further out but the old wall was still here. There were only two reasons something would trap them here, this far into the forest and both of those reasons involved devouring them. They needed a plan and fast.
Jake's eyes focused on the solid stone wall, worrying his lip between his teeth for a quick second. "If we put our backs to the wall, it can only approach on three sides." He offered quietly, moving to do just that. He wasn't sure this monster used physical attacks but even if it didn't, getting so that it couldn't circle around them would help their chances.
"It doesn't have to be close to attack but..." Alexis trailed off, feeling old residual magic from Hogwarts, this is where the wards were hundreds of years ago. They could use that to their advantage. She searched her robes for a moment, looking for something sharp before glancing sideways at him. "Do you have a pocket knife?"
Jake raised an eyebrow, glancing at her. She had moved so that they were side by side, backs pressed against the stone wall. "No." He answered finally, not quite sure what she was planning.
Alexis hesitated, picking up a stick. If she cast magic, it would be on them in seconds but she needed blood, her blood, to make the barrier stronger, so that it would hold. She had two options then: she could transfigure the stick, which would take longer and she wasn't the best at, or she could use a cutting spell on her palm, which would be faster and easier. She dropped the stick, slashing her wand against her right hand. She quickly turned her hand, letting the blood drop onto the ground as she murmured the strongest barrier incantation she knew.
He felt the magic blaze around them, even as something hit the barrier hard. A glance at Alexis told him quickly that she was struggling to hold the barrier. They had to destroy this creature fast. "How do we stop it?" He grimaced, feeling her fumble beside him as the spell faltered. He grabbed her free hand, giving her a bit of his strength. The barrier stabilized once more and he could barely make out a wisp of something on the other side.
"You have to cast Lumos. Infuse it was your strongest happiest memories and cast it! It feeds on fear and hate, Jake. I can't cast both." She stated firmly, keeping her eyes locked on her barrier. If she looked for it she would falter. Her barrier was keeping the fear it created away, for the moment. But eventually she would tire and the thoughts would creep in, the nightmares would invade until it weakened them enough to feast on their fear and magic.
His happiest memories. He blinked, shaking his head after a moment. Jake was aware that she knew exactly what she was asking him to do. But he knew he could, he hoped. He could cast a patronus, after all, so he had some happy memories. He had just never tried to infuse a spell with memories before, although he had infused ones with anger. He had a feeling that wouldn't work here. Jake took a deep breath, steadying his wand in his hand and closing his eyes. Happy. He needed to find good memories. It almost took him by surprise how many recent good moments he had had: hugging Charlie; hanging out with Alexis and Mary; talking to Henry; swinging a giggling Lila through the air; the pride he felt when Milo sincerely apologized to Marko; the first time he saw Daniel smile; when Elijah had trusted him; when Rose made him laugh; when little Lila crawled into his lap after group every night... Moments he didn't really think about, didn't really stand out as something momentous. But when he thought about what happy meant, it was those moments that came to mind first. He opened his eyes, focusing on those moments for a second. "Lumos Maximum!"
-x-
Jake came to slowly, keeping his eyes closed until he could figure out where he was. He was pretty certain he was no longer in the forest, as he couldn't smell the trees. It took a moment for it to sink in that he was laying on something soft, another moment for it to register that he was in the infirmary. He groaned softly, opening his eyes and blinking rapidly at the light.
"Good, you're awake." Tim remarked quietly, leaning forward in his chair. The two young adults were extremely lucky to be alive and while they didn't know the details yet, he could tell from the magical drain that Jake was a big part of the reason they were alive.
"Alexis." He croaked softly, coughing slightly to clear his throat. He took the glass of water Tim held out, lifting himself up enough to sip it. Merlin was he exhausted. His very bones ached and he couldn't remember anything after casting Lumos. Nothing.
He frowned, moving to lift the back of the bed up so that Jake could sit up with ease. "Try not to move too much. You are suffering from severe magical exhaustion, as well as a few minor bruises. Alexis is still out, she's right over there. You are both very lucky. Do you feel up to telling me what happened?" He inquired quietly, gesturing to where Alexis was. He wasn't sure Jake was there enough to tell him exactly what had happened. They could guess, of course. And from the state Alexis was in, they were almost certain what had happened.
He turned his head, scanning Alexis with his eyes to make sure she was in one piece. It took a second for it to click in before his eyes zoomed back to her wrists, which were each secured to the side of the bed. "Why is she restrained?"
Tim hesitated for a moment before shaking his head slightly. There was no reason not to tell the younger man. It turned out he didn't have to, however, as Alexis' body became violently active again, her hands trying to tear away from the restrains. He bit his lip, not bothering to hide the worry in his eyes as Eric quickly moved to calm the still unconscious woman down. "Her mind is still fighting off the side effects of the creature. It is not the first time she has been in close contact with a creature of nightmares and that can, well reawaken nightmares. We restrained her to protect her from herself. When she is awake and lucid, we will remove them. Now, I am aware that you two encountered a nightmare creature after actively seeking it out, but I am not quite sure of the details involved. I know you are exhausted, Jake. Right now, the only thing we need to know is what you cast to drain you of your magic like this, so that we can give you the right potions to help." Tim responded, studying the young man for a moment before slowly holding up his wand. At the young man's nod, he cast a silent diagnostic spell, frowning slightly. The younger man's magic levels were still too low, he would definitely need a few more replenishers.
"It was just a lumos, a lumos maximum." Jake grimaced, trying to ignore the wave of pain that made him want to lay back down.
"A Lumos did this? What on earth did you do to it to make it that strong?" He responded in disbelief, raising an eyebrow. A simple lumos shouldn't have drained his magic so much, nor had he ever seen a lumos destroy a creature in that manner. That didn't help with what potion to give him either. He sighed softly, summoning yet another basic replenisher and offering it to the younger man.
He shrugged, taking and drinking the potion. He knew it would make him go back to sleep, so he didn't protest when Tim lower the top of the bed back down. "I filled it with happy thoughts?" He shrugged again, feeling his eyes start to flutter.
Tim sighed softly, watching the young man sleep for a moment before getting up and moving toward where Eric stood, watching their child sleep. "He said he cast a lumos full of 'happy thoughts'." He murmured, leaning into the dark skinned man's side when his husband placed an arm around his shoulder.
"She will be alright, Tim. She has fought this battle before and survived, she will survive it again." Eric remarked quietly, responding to the fear he could feel from his partner before it registered what he had said. "A lumos? Really? That's unusual for it to be that strong unless he filled it with love and passion. Happiness alone would not have created that effect on the creature, it would have just driven it off. It's possible, given his life this far, that he isn't quite aware of what those feelings feel like and instead just considers them as part of joy, which in theory they are."
"Henry's not happy." Tim stated, wrapping an arm around Eric's waist as the arm tightened around his shoulder. Leave it to his husband to bring up the theory of emotions when he knew the older man was having trouble controlling his own emotions.
"Of course not. He told Jake that telling Alexis would only lead to more problems. He also warned Jake of doing something stupid and dangerous. Put his life on the line to track down a creature when there were safer options is not just risky, it was rash and dangerous. Henry has the right to be angry."
"Are you talking of Henry or yourself here?" Tim questioned silently, switching methods of communication to keep their conversation private when Rose wandered into the room with a small stuffed dragon, which she quietly placed beside Alexis. "Rose?"
"I warned her, Tim! I told her the dangers of coming in contact with one twice, I told her that it could kill her. And she promised me that she would never seek one out again, that she would be careful. That she would think first. So yes, I am angry now that the fear has subsided. " He responded, keeping his face carefully clear of emotions. He would prefer if his apprentice didn't think he was upset about something that she couldn't hear, because she was likely to think he was upset with her. "Isn't that Teddy's?"
She bit her lip, not meeting either man's eyes for a moment. She knew she wasn't suppose to tell anyone when someone came in sick or hurt, it was a patient right thing after all, but she had to tell Bain and Teddy heard. "Teddy wanted me to make sure she had it, to protect her." She replied quietly, eyes focusing on her shoes.
"That's a wonderful idea, Rose. It might help keep her calm, particularly if it has traces of Teddy's magic on it." Eric stated calmly, smiling softly at the girl. While he would talk to her about patient privacy later, he did understand why she told Bain. The dragon might even help.
"Why are you angry?" She inquired suddenly, darting her eyes up for a brief second.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Why are you so angry at Alexis? I can feel it." Rose clarified, shrugging slightly. While they were still trying to teach her to mediate and the two adults were trying to figure out their bond, she was finally beginning to tell when an emotion she was feeling didn't belong to her, even though it was very tough sometimes. They've only had this bond a week, if that, and she usually struggled to separate her feelings from the emotions she could feel from Eric and Alexis.
He took a breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment. Of course the teenager would feel his anger even though he kept forcing it back down. He had known that Tim would feel it, but he hadn't thought Rose would have been able to. She probably wouldn't have felt it if she hadn't been there at that moment. He knew that lying to her would break the little trust she had for him, so he would just tell her a simplified version of the truth. "She broke a promise that she had made to me a few years ago, so I am a bit upset with her at the moment."
She frowned, watching him for a moment. He was clearly more than a bit upset but Rose did understand that it wasn't really her business. She turned suddenly, feeling the agitation from the Headmistress. She froze, watching as Alexis became wildly violent and taking a step back. She had never thought she would see the headmistress like that and she almost wished she hadn't. She didn't want to think of Alexis as violent. She flinched at the hand on her shoulder, tilting her head back to see Eric. "Is she.."
"Alexis' mind is trying to fight off the creature she encountered. It feeds on nightmares. Her body is physically reacting to the fight inside her mind. She will be alright, Rose. It just takes some time." Eric soothed, adding a bit of calm to his magic, hoping that the teenager would feel it. He was quite aware that seeing Alexis like this would upset the girl, or any of the students for that matter. The headmistress had made herself into their rock, into an unchanging calm, someone who cared about them no matter what. To see her violently lashing out might cause them to see their abusers in her, even if just for a second.
She hesitated before pulling away from him and moving closer toward Alexis. Rose had a theory but she wasn't quite sure if it would work. She did know that if she asked, Eric wouldn't let her try it. She took a deep breath, gently resting her hand on Alexis' arm. She focused for a moment, doing what she had done with Emma and Karrie, bleeding some of the negative magic off of her.
"Rose!" Eric moved quickly, casting a diagnostic spell on both young women. He was going to have to have a serious conversation with the brunette about giving and taking magic from others. The girl did it without thought, without any concern for the consequences that messing with others magic could cause. He frowned suddenly, watching as Alexis' body stilled.
Rose grimaced, fighting the wave of sudden pain. That was new.
Eric turned, catching the teenager as she fell. A quick scan showed that she had fainted, he could only assume it was from leeching magic off of Alexis. He lifted her gently, moving toward a nearby bed and nodding to his husband when Tim moved the covers for him. He laid her down, running his wand over her again. He wasn't quite sure why the teenager had fainted, although his spell showed slight magical exhaustion that wouldn't have caused her to faint.
"Eric." Tim called softly, tilting his head slightly, eyes going from Alexis to Rose. He let his vision blur again, focusing on the magic between them. "Look at the magic."
He blinked, letting his eyes unfocus for a moment so that he could see only the deeper aspect of magic. He could always see surface level magic, they both could, but studying the deeper aspects of magic was harder and draining. Because they weren't looking at the magic of the person anymore; they were looking at how nature's magic was shaped by someone's inactive magic, by their very presence. At the moment, that was the teenager girl's magic they were studying and it was both fascinating and terrifying. "This isn't suppose to be possible, not for human mages."
"Is she fully human?" Tim inquired, watching the mass of magic between the two women. Negative energy and magic the could only be from the nightmare creature was drifting slowly out of Alexis and through Rose. Not into Rose, but through her and back into the earth. But the energy and magic flowing from the teen and into the earth was clean and pure. There was no taint of the creature and no sign of human use on the magic. Somehow the girl was moving magic through herself and returning it to its original form. And yet, none of that magic was sticking to the girl. "How is she able to do this and at what cost? How did no one see this?"
He sighed softly, letting his eyes return to normal. "She is like a leech, Tim. She's bleeding the excess magic off of her, just like she did for Emma. Somehow she mixed her magic with mine and Alexis when she tried to help Emma but she doesn't seem to be doing that here. I'm not quite sure how she is able to do this and I have a feeling we will need to have a talk with her about bleeding off others without their consent." He responded quietly, studying the younger girl for a long moment. It was almost concerning on how she was filtering Alexis' magic while still unconscious. It was almost like she was an actual leech.
Tim frowned, moving to sit beside Alexis' bed. "You will need to talk to her. She made it quite clear that she didn't have to listen to me this morning." He had also grounded her, which she had pointedly ignored. He wasn't so sure they could handle two stubborn, angry teenagers at once.
"We will talk to her together. This isn't our first rodeo, Tim. She might be my apprentice but she is our ward. She will learn to listen to both of us if she doesn't want to spend all of her free time in our quarters or her room. I know that we usually only have one teenager at a time, but we can handle this. They are three very different children and each one has their own set of needs. We will make this work." Eric answered firmly, frowning slightly. He wasn't quite sure what Rose had said to upset Tim but he did know that both teenagers needed time and patience right now. The preteen was so much easier, although he did know that eventually Damian would be a teenager as well.
Tim nodded, watching Alexis sleep for a moment before summoning some work he needed to finish. He knew that she would wake up when her body and mind was ready to, which could be in a few minutes or in several hours. So he would just work until then.
-x-
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. You know Eric wouldn't have let me leave if I wasn't." Karrie shrugged, leaning slightly into her brother. They were sitting on his bed, her leg propped up on a pillow.
Harry frowned, rolling his eyes at his sister. "You know what I meant." He couldn't believe that she had gotten hurt in the forest, so close to their safe spot. But if there was a monster in the forest, a worse monster than normal, they would have to find another place to go. Especially for Karrie. She needed a place to go where she couldn't feel all the magic. He had not liked the little clearing as much as she had, because he couldn't feel magic there, he couldn't feel the spells and charms he felt now. But Karrie felt magic differently than he did.
She hesitated, biting her lip, trying to block out the amount of magic in Harry's room. She had quickly figured out that there was so much magic in Harry's room because he was always messing with wards and spells, even if he was still learning to feel and see magic better. She couldn't see it but she didn't really need to. "I guess. It's tiring but I can handle it. So how angry was Remus and Severus that you tried a stupid stunt on your broom?" She asked, switching subjects easily. She had not been happy when Teddy had told her what had happened, because Harry could have been seriously hurt. He should have at least tried it on a trampoline first. They needed a trampoline; maybe she could convince Remus and Severus to get one.
He shrugged, picking up one of his comic books. "Severus' said they were 'disappointed'. And I'm grounded." He had actually been very confused, because it hurt more that Severus was disappointed in his behavior and that he had frightened Charlie so badly. Harry wasn't used to adults being disappointed. Angry, sure. But disappointing them was new territory for him and he didn't like how it made him feel.
"What does that even mean?" She wasn't sure an adult had ever been disappointed in her. Maybe Professor Flitwick had been disappointed when she had cursed her housemates, she didn't really know. Angry, upset, unhappy, pissed...those were the emotions she knew from adults, the ones she knew well. And she knew Harry was the same. Disappointment wasn't something she quite grasped just yet.
"No idea. We could ask Michael, he knows everything about emotions."
"Or we could ask Remus." She shrugged, tilting her head slightly. Remus was a lot closer, since he had been coming down the hall and she knew he could probably hear them. After all, if she could feel his magic, he could probably hear them.
He scowled, looking up from his Spider-man comic. "He's an adult."
"Yes." She replied, tilting her head toward the door and putting her finger to her lip. She leaned back, propping herself up with her arms. She was tired.
Remus waited for a moment before knocking on Harry's door. The children always seemed to forget that he had enhanced hearing but he did occasionally catch something of importance. He just usually gave them time to come to him first.
"Come in."
"Why do you always get to say come in? I don't get to say it in my room or yours." Karrie complained, poking her brother in the side as Remus opened the door.
"Cause you never want to say it." Harry retorted, glancing at Remus before sticking his tongue out at Karrie.
"We need to leave for dinner in a few minutes." He remarked, raising an eyebrow at the two for a moment before sighing softly. Karrie hadn't brushed her hair, which had became more of a mess after he had floo'd home with her. He was sure falling in the forest had probably contributed to some of tangles. But he had noticed that recently there were days when she wouldn't brush her hair. This was a child who loved putting her hair in braids and then suddenly, she won't even brush it. He thought he might know part of her reasoning. It would just be easier if she would ask instead of waiting for him to realize what she wanted. "Would you like me to fix your hair, Karrie?" Remus inquired quietly but not unkindly.
She bit her lip to keep from smiling, dropping her eyes to her cast so that she didn't have to look at him. "I guess." She answered finally, keeping her voice emotionless. He didn't have to know that she liked it when he did her hair. She enjoyed the attention and care, even though she knew she was too old for him to keep doing her hair.
He smiled softly, summoning her brush and scanning the nearby desktop for any of her ribbons. He found a dark blue one and moved to sit on the bed beside her. He started to gently run the brush through the tangles, frowning when she flinched at a particularly difficult knot. Remus wasn't quite sure how long it had been since the preteen had brushed her hair. It was a mess.
"Hey Remus?"
"Hm?"
"Why would someone be disappointed in you?" Karrie inquired, grimacing when Harry's elbow found her rib. She glared at him, trying not to move her head too much. Her hair was tangled and the knots hurt.
"Don't elbow your sister." Remus scolded, not stopping his process of untangling Karrie's hair. "Because they care greatly for you and they know you can make better decisions. Severus and I know that both of you can make better decisions than you did today. So yes, we are disappointed in your actions. But we are not disappointed in you. We care deeply about you both and we love both of you. Does that help?" He explained after a moment, finally working the brush through the last of the tangles.
Harry ran his fingers through his own hair, glancing at his sister. He knew Michael's answer wouldn't have made him feel warm inside. Because they cared about them. Adults cared about them. This was new and strange. "Yeah." He shrugged finally, marking his place in the comic by dog-earring the page. Karrie hated it when he did that, which was one of the reasons he did it. It didn't harm the book, so he didn't see what the big deal was.
She glared at Harry, trying not to move her head so that Remus could finish braiding it. Her brother was annoying when he wanted to be. "It does." She responded, even if parts of her were still confused about why they cared so much.
Remus bit back a sigh, knowing that even if they did understand what he was explaining, it didn't mean they would believe it. He remembered being in their place, when he was a teenager, and he hadn't believed his fathers until their actions proved their words. He knew it would take time and until then, all they could really do was love their two children and let their actions speak for them. He finished the braid, tying it with the blue ribbon. "Alright you two, time to head to supper." He remarked quietly, setting the brush down and observing the two raven haired preteens for a moment. His children just needed time to heal. With time and love, eventually they would be okay.
-x-