A/N: Do not own. This one had a lot of Tim and Eric and a lot of preteens. I was just feeling the Tim and Eric vibe this week. Words in - - are signed. Italics are either bonded conversations or thoughts and x's are scene bring. As always, use your words. ~Case
-x-
He paused in his stride, eyes falling on the young Headmistress for a long moment, standing silently at the end of one of the beds. "She'll sleep for another few hours at least, Alexis." He commented softly, moving to stand beside her.
"I know." She moved slightly, so that she could lean into his side. "I'm just glad that they caught it in time. How long has it been since she slept?" She had been worried when she first got the message, but when Jake had informed her that Mary and Henry were with Ariana, she knew the teen would be as safe as possible. She had stayed nearby, of course, in case she was needed. She had known that with a school of that size, there was bound to be a student who would feel suicidal at some point. That was why she had hired Henry, after all. But she hated that there wasn't anything she could do but be there and be supportive.
"Nearly four days. How are Lila and Derek taking it?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, squeezing tightly for a moment. They had moved past what had happened with the nightmare creature and Alexis seemed to be feeling a little more affectionate since, which he was perfectly fine with. He watched the sleeping teenager for a moment before gently guiding Alexis toward his office. There were wards on her bed, the self harm ward was always active in the medical wing, and she had on one of the bracelets that would not let her leave the infirmary. Plus, the teenager was sound asleep, thanks to some dreamless and her own sleep-deprived state.
She hesitated for a moment, eyes locked on the girl who looked so much younger, especially with a teddy bear tucked under her arm. She looked so peaceful in slumber, much more so than the pain and fear the girl had worn like a cloak when they had brought her up. She finally gave in, moving with Eric. "Derek is understandably upset but he is keeping an eye on Lila and taking care of her. Lila... she doesn't really understand, which might be better for the moment. Apparently Derek had told her that Ariana had not been sleeping, so she just thinks that Ariana is getting some much needed sleep. " She responded quietly, stepping away from him to drop into one of the few chairs in his office. "I need to get you some comfortable furniture. And another healer."
"She's barely eleven, Alexis. If Ariana chooses, she can tell her after we release her from suicide watch. From what Henry's noticed and her words early, I'm thinking at least five days. " Eric sighed softly, eyeing her for a moment before tapping his desk. Two cups of tea popped into view. He gestured toward it and waited until she had made her tea before starting to make his. "A bunk room would be nice but it can wait. As for a healer, I'll keep looking until I find one that fits."
"The one I told you about-"
"No."
"Eric.."
"The answer is no, Alexis. She has no experience with children, has never been in trouble for anything in her entire history as an apprentice and a healer, and you just like her because she's cute." He replied firmly, shaking his head. He was wary of anyone who had never had a single incident of trouble or accidents before. All apprentices made mistakes, had errors of judgment, and got into some sort of trouble, it was a part of learning. Not getting in trouble meant not getting corrected, not having learned from mistakes.
She rolled her eyes, tapping her fingers to her leg for a moment. "I don't like her. And if I wanted a cute girl on staff to look at, I have Kate." She snapped after a moment. She didn't like that he was implying she would hire someone just because they were cute. She wouldn't; they would have to fill a need. She did understand why he wouldn't hire the woman though, especially since she had very little knowledge of pediatric medicine "We need a healer, Eric. You, Poppy, and Lucas are too stretched out as is. I know you are planning to use some of the counseling staff after the school year starts, but you need another healer."
"What do you mean that you have Kate?" He raised an eyebrow when she groaned, frowning slightly. Did he really even want to know what was going on between the two young women.
She grimaced, closing her eyes for a moment. She had come up here to check on Ariana and now she was going to have to explain her confused thoughts and feelings on Kate to Eric. It was barely past ten. It was going to be a long morning.
-x-
"Will you stop?" Bain grumbled, knocking Teddy's hand away from one of the frying pans again. "It's hot."
Teddy shrugged, plucking another piece of bacon from the frying pan. Bain had decided that he wanted to make pancakes and bacon. And while he had both before, he had never made pancakes so he had asked the older boy if he could help. He was suppose to be pouring the pancake mix into the pan but the bacon on the other burner smelt so good that he just wanted to eat it straight from the pan.
"If you get a grease burn, I'm not explained it to mum." He stated, shaking his head. It was nearly lunch time and he was craving pancakes. Minzi had offered to make them some but he had asked the elf if she knew where he could get the ingredients. Elijah, of course, had disappeared down to the camp at the mention of food. So it was just for him and Teddy. It was rare that he ever just had time with Teddy. Usually the 'twins' were always with Teddy or Elijah was around. It was nice to spend time with his youngest brother and talk about something other than dragons, if he was lucky.
He hesitated before pouring the next batch of pancakes. "Can we add chocolate chips to these?"
"Sure we can. Look in the back of that cabinet, that's where mum hides the chocolate."He shrugged, placing the bacon on a plate before adding a few more strips to the pan. He was hungry, after all, and he knew how much he could eat.
The preteen dug around in the cabinet for a moment, finally finding an open bag of chocolate chips among a few chocolate bars. He poured them into the remaining pancake mix, stirring it quickly before pouring it into the pan. He tossed a handful of chocolate chips in his mouth, grinning at Bain when the older boy shook his head.
Bain finished cooking the bacon, moving to flip the pancakes. "Will you set the table, Teddy?" He requested, nodding when the preteen did as he asked. He flipped the last pancake onto the plate, turning the stove off and quickly moving to set the food onto the table. He glanced at the glasses of orange juice Teddy had poured, giving the younger boy a small smile. "Good idea Teddy. Now it's like we are having breakfast."
"We are having breakfast, just a late one." He retorted, quickly filling his plate with food. "Did you know that there is a school for deaf wizards?" Teddy took a bite of one of the pancakes, grinning as the warm chocolately goodness filled his mouth.
He blinked, taking a bite of his own pancakes. They were actually pretty good. He never really had a chance to make them often but pancakes, especially ones he made himself, were one of his favourite foods. Then again, he had a lot of favourite foods. "That's not surprising, actually. They have to learn magic differently than we do. How did you find this out?" He could almost guess, really. Teddy found out information in three ways: by eavesdropping, by snooping, or from Karrie and Harry.
"There was a pamphlet on mum's desk about signed spells from that school. We figured that she was looking into it for Lila. She might be the first student to use signed spells here." He shrugged, popping another piece of bacon into his mouth. He loved bacon and he couldn't understand why people like Karrie hated it. It tasted so good. "Oh, and the pamphlet was in plain view. I wasn't nosing around."
"This time." He did get it though. It was always better to have information and be prepared for what might happen, than to just not know if they were going to get beaten. Luckily, Alexis seemed to know that the three of them might look at some of the things she left on her desk, so there was never anything important or confidential left just laying about. "I've never seen signed magic before, so it'd be interesting to see how it actually works." He added quietly. Bain could imagine how useful it would be, however. Especially in a duel when an opponent cast a tongue-tying curse. While they taught nonverbal magic in sixth and seventh year, it was hard to master. Most of his classmates would only have a few spells down before university. He only had about three he could do nonverbal and while they were useful, everyday spells, they wouldn't help in a duel or an accident. And that wasn't even wandless. There were times he was so envious of how easy Severus and Alexis made wandless magic seem. It wasn't easy.
He shrugged, reaching for more pancakes. He was hungry but he was always hungry now. Teddy knew he wasn't the only one, though. A lot of the kids at camp were hungry all the time. It had something to do with their bodies healing and growing. "I wonder if mum knows signed magic. She does sign a lot." He knew that it might be different, but Alexis did sign often, even with them. There were times when she was talking to them, particularly if she was busy, that she also signed whatever she was saying. And he had seen a time when Alexis and Eric had an entire conversation in sign language, although he was sure they didn't know he had seen that. He saw a lot of things that he probably wasn't meant to. Bain said it was because he was so quiet, Elijah just said he was nosy. But he liked knowing what was going on, he didn't like the uncertainty of not knowing. So maybe he was a little nosy.
"She might. Where are Karrie and Harry?" Bain finished his second stack of pancakes quickly, glancing at the few remaining pancakes. "If you are still hungry, I can make some more."
He shook his head, slowly chewing his last bite. "I'm full." He stated, reaching out and grabbing the last piece of bacon with a grin. Teddy popped it in his mouth, savoring the taste for a long moment. "Karrie was taking a nap and Harry was eating lunch with our cabin. He wanted to talk to Michael about comic books. Something about Spider-man. Which isn't, apparently, a half man half spider creature, which would have been cool. It's some teenager who got bit by a spider and now thinks he's a spider. Or something like that. I like Batman better." Sometimes the comics Harry read, the mundane ones, confused him. And while they were interesting, he didn't know enough about them to engage in a debate about which comic was better with Harry. Michael, however, did. He didn't mind spending some time away from his friends, as sometimes they did drive each other crazy. Plus, he knew Karrie wasn't sleeping well, which meant Harry wasn't sleeping well, which meant that both of them would be quicker to snap at each other and him. He did understand, because he was often just as tired as they were.
The red-head snorted, shaking his head. Only his brother would think up such a terrifying magical creature without fear. A half man half spider sounded like a nightmare he had once and he was sure if such a creature existed, Teddy would want to know everything about it. That would be so much worse than nonstop dragon facts. "You have art after lunch or therapy?" Bain asked, moving to wash off the dishes. He passed the rinsed dishes to Teddy and he loaded them into the dishwasher. Before he could move to wipe down the table, Teddy was already there. Unlike Elijah, Teddy never complained about helping clean up. They made a mess, after all, so they should clean it up. It wasn't Minzi's job and it wasn't something their mum needed to worry about, she had too much other, more important things to do.
"Bain." Teddy whined, turning pleading brown eyes on his brother. He had a session next and he didn't want to go. He hated it, hated talking, but Alexis kept telling them that it would help. That eventually it got easier. But it wasn't easier now and he didn't always want to talk about it.
"I'll give you a chocolate frog if you go." He bribed. Sometimes it actually worked.
"You never go."
"I do so. I don't always like it but I go." Bain retorted, raising an eyebrow at the younger boy. He just wouldn't mention that Alexis and Severus made him go. He knew the benefits of therapy, after all, he just didn't like talking about his past. But Paul never pushed him if he really just couldn't talk about something.
"A cauldron cake." Teddy negotiated, frowning at the older teenager. He knew that Bain skipped occasionally, all of the camp kids skipped occasionally.
He hesitated, running through the list of sweets that Teddy could have in his head. He was almost certain that cauldron cakes were not on it. "An oatmeal raisin cookie." He counter-offered, raising an eyebrow when the younger boy scowled.
"Three."
"Two cookies, final offer." He then fought back a chuckle, realizing that they sounded like one of those mundane television shows. He was sure that the adults would look down on his bribery, but if it got Teddy to talk to someone other than the twins or him and Elijah, then he was going to use it.
His love for oatmeal raisin cookies, his favourite, was winning. He really didn't want to go but for the cookies... "Okay. But will you walk down with me?" He asked finally. Because if he went alone, he might skip and he knew Tim wouldn't hunt him down if he did. The healer seemed to understand that there were days when he really just couldn't deal with it.
"Of course, brat." He replied teasingly, squeezing the younger boy's shoulder so that he would understand that it was a joke. "Let's get moving."
-x-
"Go fish." Emma frowned down at her small pile of cards before returning her eyes to the younger two girls. "Okay Mia, your turn." She directed, more for Lila's benefit than anything else. The youngest girl had never played before and they were trying to teach her. Not that Go Fish was a hard game.
Mia grimaced, fighting down a wave of pain as she leaned forward in her chair. She would much rather sit in the armchair in Emma's room but she didn't think she could lift herself out of the wheelchair right now and Lila was too little. "Any twos?" She responded finally, glancing at her cards. She reached out to take the cards Lila offered but stopped, suddenly feeling very dizzy. "I don't feel good, Emma." She mumbled, knowing that the verbal girl would be her best bet for help.
Lila frowned, moving from her seat on Emma's bed to Mia's chair, -Hurts?-
-Need help- Mia signed back, biting down a scream at the pain in her spine.
Emma didn't hesitate, turning her palm toward the wall, away from Lila and Mia. Alexis was teaching her to control and release the excessive magic in her body, so she knew this would be much quicker than shouting. She focused, forcing as much magic toward the wall as possible, knowing quite well it would trigger the ward and someone would be there in seconds, especially since she had friends with her.
Lila turned as the door opened, signing rapidly at Eric. -Mia help. Hurts-
He blinked, taking in all three girls for a moment. He had feared, for a brief moment, that Emma's magic had attacked the other two girls. Luckily that wasn't the case; he just had a very smart preteen who had wanted him quickly. "What happened?" He questioned quietly, crouching beside Mia's chair and running a quick scan over her.
"She was fine and then she moved to take Lila's cards. She said she didn't feel good." Emma responded, quickly catching Lila's hand and drawing the younger girl back onto her bed and out of the way.
He frowned, raising an eyebrow at her scan. This couldn't be right. There was no way this was right. "Lila, go get Rose for me please." He instructed calmly, resting a gently hand on Mia's shoulder. He send a small bit of magic into her, to ease some of the pain. "Emma, may I use your bed?" He asked, glancing at the preteen as Lila went to search for Rose. That got the youngest girl out of the room, at least.
She nodded rapidly, quickly moving from the bed. "Can I help?" She asked, blue eyes focused on the younger girl. Even though Mia was silent, she could see the pain on her face as silent tears were running down her face.
Eric stood, carefully lifting Mia from her chair and laying her gently on the bed. He lowered the bed so that it was laying flat, before quickly running his wand over the young girl again. "Not at the moment, Emma, but I'll let you know if I need something." He replied, resting a hand on Emma's leg and running his magic through it again. "How you doing, Mia?" He needed the girl to talk to him, he needed to keep her conscious and he wasn't sure how long that would last with the amount of pain coursing through her body. He sighed softly, watching her back arch in pain once more. "Talk to me, Mia. I need you to stay with me."
She bit her lip, trying to stop the tears of pain. It hurt. It hurt so much and she didn't understand why it hurt so bad. It had only ever felt like this right after her accident, when she had woken up in the hospital. It felt like there was a knife in her spine and the pain just kept traveling down her left leg.
"Hey Mia? It's okay. Eric's going to help you. It's okay." Emma grabbed the younger girl's hand, squeezing it briefly in comfort before an idea hit her. It was something she had seen on some show once, even if she couldn't quite place it. "Squeeze my hand, Mia. You can squeeze my hand if it hurts. Okay?" She added quietly, glad for a moment that Lila wasn't in the room. She could only imagine how frightened she would be of the pure pain in Mia's eyes. She gave the younger girl a small smile when the hand she was holding tightly gripped her own.
"I'm going to transfigure your jeans into shorts, Mia, so that I have better access to your legs." He stated calmly, doing just that. He knew that the girl was listening and he wasn't going to talk to her like she couldn't understand him. He was glad, however, that Emma had decided to offer Mia comfort. He just hoped Emma could keep her own magic under control. "Rose, grab the black bag with a purple healers symbol from my office, please. Lila, you can stay but I need you to sit it that armchair, okay?" He directed, feeling the teenager's magic as she stepped into the room with Lila pulling on her arm. He felt her magic quickly retreat, even as he heard the preteen drop onto the armchair. "Alright Mia, I'm going to feel your legs, okay? It might hurt a little. If it does, just squeeze Emma's hand." He gently felt her right leg, checking the bones and muscle quickly with his hands and his magic. Her right leg was as it had been before. He moved his hands to her other leg, starting from her ankle again and feeling up. He got to just below her knee before the girl screamed, trying to jerk her body away from him.
"It's okay, Mia. Eric isn't trying to make it hurt. It's okay. Take a deep breath." Emma murmured, remembering what Alexis always told her. The red head's grip on her hand tightened further but she didn't pull away. It hurt but her friend was in so much more pain that she wasn't going to deny her this small comfort.
Lila scowled, rocking in place on the armchair for a few moments. She wanted to help but she didn't know how. Her friend was in pain and she didn't know how to make it better. Derek always gave her one of her few dolls when she was upset and Ariana always hugged her. She couldn't hug Mia without hurting her and she couldn't calm her with words. She bit her lip, frustrated for a moment and trying very hard not to hit the chair, the adults kept getting on her for hitting things. Her eyes fell on Mia's chair, moving to the bag on the back of it. She moved quietly, to not distract Eric, and carefully removed Mia's doll from the bag. Unlike the first time they met, she couldn't use her magic to get it to her, not with Eric and Emma in the way. She slipped to the side of the bed, trying to stay out of Eric's way, and gently placed the doll under Mia's free arm. She then quickly darted back to the armchair.
He rested one hand on her shoulder before sending a small pulse of magic into her knee. The preteen jerked again and he frowned, eyes focused on the knee. The nerves in her upper leg and knee were reforming and quickly. The potion they had used to try to heal the damage had never been used to heal a paralyzed child and never a person paralyzed as long as she had been. "I know it hurts Mia, I'm so sorry. I just need to feel the muscles above your knee now." He stated, doing just that. He stopped for a moment, feeling Rose enter the room. He took the bag when she offered it to him, quickly rummaging through it. "Rose, will you lift her into a sitting position? Let's get this in her before we go any further. Just be gentle, every touch causes pain. " He instructed, finding the vial and uncorking it.
Rose gently lifted the preteen, wrapping an arm under her to keep her in a position where she wouldn't choke on the potion. It had taken her a moment to find that bag, it wasn't one Eric used often, as she didn't remember seeing it before. She just hoped it was a pain potion he was giving the little girl, as she could see the pain in those tear-filled eyes. "Is it her legs?"
He tilted the vial into the girl's mouth, being careful to make sure she didn't get more than half of the potion. It wasn't really designed for use with children, a full dose would be too strong for her little body. He waited a moment, nodding at Rose. The teenager lowered the younger girl so that she was laying down again. He gave it another moment for the potion to kick in. "Mia, I'm going to roll you on your side, alright? I want to check your spine." When the young girl nodded, he caught Rose's eye and the two of them gently moved the girl. He pushed Mia's shirt up in the back, gently running his hand over her spinal cord.
She gasped in pain, even as it quickly seemed to go away. She was pretty sure it was the nasty liquid he had just given her. She loved magic, even if it made her hurt sometimes. She flinched when he reached the middle of her spine, trying to pull away. "Hurts."
Rose ran her fingers through the preteen's hair, eyes focused on what Eric was doing. "It's okay, Mia. His almost done. It's okay." She soothed, glancing at her and then to the other preteen who was still holding her hand. She kept combing her fingers through the girl's hair, hoping to calm her some.
He ran his hand up to the base of her neck, feeling each vertebrae and letting his magic examine every part of her spinal cord. The parts of her spine that had been undamaged were the same as they were the first time he examined her. The damaged parts, however, were not. "Your lumbar vertebrae, the part of your spine that deals with the function and nerves in your legs, is healing. The damaged vertebrae are repairing themselves and the nerves are reforming much faster than we had anticipated. Because of this, your body is using more energy than it normally would. That's why you didn't feel well." He hated it, but there wasn't much he could do except relieve her pain. He needed to find a way to slow down the process, as it was working almost too quickly. Her young body couldn't handle it and as fast as it was healing, it could heal incorrectly. The potion she was suppose to take every other day might have to go to every four days, unless there was a way to dilute it.
"Isn't there a way to numb her spine, so that it doesn't hurt?" Rose asked, frowning slightly. She gently helped him move the girl onto her back again. While the pain had eased on Mia's face, she could tell that the younger girl was still in some pain.
"I'm tired." She mumbled, letting her eyes close for a brief moment. She was so tired and as much as she wanted to just go to sleep, she also wanted to play with her friends. Her back still hurt a little, but it didn't feel much worse than it normally did. She was just so very tired all of a sudden.
He blinked, glancing at his young apprentice for a moment. That was a good idea, actually. "We can't numb it entirely, but there is a potion that could numb it enough to make the pain more bearable." He responded, running through the ingredients in his head to make sure they wouldn't counter-act the potion they were giving her to heal the damage. He'd have to talk to Severus, but he was almost sure he could use that potion to slow down the process. It was worth looking into at least. " I know you are tired, Mia. Let's get you to a bed in the main wing, and then you can sleep for a while." He added gently, turning his eyes back to the young red head.
"I want to stay here." She didn't mean to whine, she really didn't. But she was tired and she still felt some pain and she just wanted to sleep. She felt safe with her friends, she wanted to sleep here.
"Mia.." He sighed, glancing toward Emma for a moment. She hadn't had a episode of her magic spilling out in two days. That was the longest she had made it and he didn't want to push it. He didn't want any of these young girls to get hurt if Emma's magic lashed out.
She hesitated, chewing on her lip for a moment before glancing at Lila. "It's okay, Eric. She can sleep there. Lila and I can play on the floor." Emma remarked quietly, catching his eye. She knew he would understand what she wasn't saying. That she felt in control today, that her magic wasn't overpowering her. That she would never harm Lila or Mia, not if she could help. She also was starting to recognized the signs that her magic was going to lash out, Alexis had been teaching her, so she knew she would have enough time to yell for help "We'll be okay."
He thought about it for a few minutes before finally nodding. "Alright, but you must call me immediately if you start to feel out of control." He met the preteen's eye, nodding slightly. Honestly, they would not let the two younger girls visit if he thought her magic was going to lash out. He had faith that she could handle this. He turned his eyes back to Mia, chuckling softly at the sight. The preteen had fallen asleep. He gently moved the bed into a more comfortable position before covering her with a blanket. "Rose and I will be in the main wing if either of you need anything." He added quietly, before gesturing to the teenager to follow him out.
"Do you want to finish Go Fish or would you rather play dolls?"
-Dolls.- Lila grinned, moving to pick up her doll from where she had put it earlier. She glanced at Mia to make sure the other girl still had her doll tucked under her arm. Once she spotted it, she picked up her own doll, before sitting down on the carpet. They could easily play dolls quietly until Mia woke up.
-x-
" How are you doing today, Teddy?" Tim inquired quietly. Hopefully today would be more productive than their last few sessions. Teddy was just one of those kids who never really talked. The child was naturally quiet and very private, so getting him to open up was not an easy task. Half the time the child didn't even respond to standard greeting.
He shrugged, running a hand through his hair for a moment. "I'm okay, I guess. Bain and I made pancakes earlier."
He blinked, watching the child for a moment. Teddy so rarely volunteer information without being ask that it had shocked him for a second. "Pancakes are delicious. Did you make a particular type or did you just make plain pancakes?"
"Some were plain but Bain let me add chocolate chips to the last bit. And they were awesome." He grinned. He was so glad that he got to spend time with just Bain. He liked spending time with both of his brothers, they just never got to have one on one time. It was nice.
He smiled at the preteen, shaking his head. He knew Bain wouldn't have let the younger boy have too much sugar and his potions were working well, so he wasn't too worried about it. "I used to eat blueberry pancakes all the time. They were my favourite. But I haven't had chocolate chip pancakes in quite a while, I might just have to make some."
"Blueberry? I've never had pancakes with fruit in them. Are they good?" He asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him for a moment.
So pancakes was going on the very short list of topics that Teddy would speak about. Food and dragons, the only subjects the preteen had willingly engaged with him about. "They are pretty good. Fruit crepes, however, are better." He responded quietly.
"I love crepes! Mrs. Malfoy always makes them on Saturday mornings during the summer. I always spent about two weeks with them each summer." Teddy answered, brown eyes lighting up for a moment.
"Did you like spending time at their house?"
"Mh-hm. It was a lot better than being at my father's house. Plus, there was always a bunch of kids there." He shrugged, biting his lip for a moment. He didn't like thinking about his father or what had gone on at that house, but he did like the memories he had made at the Malfoys with his friends every summer.
He fought the urge to raise a brow, eyes focused on the young preteen. He had to wonder if Bain had slipped a potion on some sort into Teddy's juice. But while there were potions that would cause openness, he could also easily tell that the boy hadn't been given anything. He be a poor mind-healer if he couldn't catch a truth potion or spell. The preteen was merely more talkative today than he normally was. "What did you like about being at the Malfoys?"
Teddy hesitated, kicking his legs. He was still too short, his feet couldn't touch the floor from here. He glanced at the older man in the armchair near his, chewing on the inside of his cheek for a moment. " Being with my friends. "
"Were a lot of your friends there?" He was pretty sure he knew that answer, since he did know what Narcissa did during the summer for those kids.
"Yeah. Almost all of them. The Malfoys always have a ton of kids there. The nursery is huge and then there is always dozens of kids my age." He shrugged, twisting a strand of brown hair around his finger.
"Was it ever overwhelming, being with that many kids?"
"Not really. The camp feels like it did but with group. And there aren't any babies here. I helped in the nursery a few times and there were always a million little kids." Alright, he knew it was more like five or six little kids, but it had always felt like a million, especially when they started crying. Teddy actually liked the camp, especially the way they were separated by age. It made it easier because they didn't have to act any older than they actually were.
He gave a slight smile, hearing the preteen exaggeration. "Did you like helping with the little kids?"
He shrugged again, glancing toward the window. He'd rather be outside right now, where he knew Harry and Karrie would be. "It was ok. Can I go?"
And they had been making a bit of progress. "Not just yet, Teddy. It's only been fifteen minutes. I get you for at least twenty more. " He responded calmly, watching the child deflate. He wasn't sure if the boy would keep talking with him or if he would just shut back down. "What's on your mind, today?"
He kicked his feet against his arm chair, eyes focused on a bird flying past the window. "Do you know any signed magic?"
Tim blinked, raising an eyebrow at the child. The child was wizard-born, so he might have heard of it before this summer. However, he was willing to bet that the child had either overheard a conversation he was not meant to or was snooping around again. "Signed magic? I know a few simple spells but not much. It's hard to learn as an adult wizard, since it involves channeling your magic differently. Have you seen someone doing signed magic?" He inquired, noting the preteen's darting eyes.
"I found a pamphlet on a school for deaf wizard and it talked about it." He answered finally, not looking toward Tim but his curiosity was getting the better of him. "Can I see one?"
The quiet curiosity of this child always tugged at his heart. That spark in those brown eyes, the barely hidden grin...he could easily see why Alexis' had fallen in love with this one. It wouldn't hurt to show the preteen one simple spell and it would hopefully keep him from trying it alone. "You may. However, you are not to try signed magic alone. It is complicated and unless you have a mastery of sign language in general, it could go horribly wrong. So I need your word, Teddy, that you won't try it without help from an adult who knows signed magic." He ordered briskly, meeting the boy's eyes before the child looked down. As far as he knew, there were only about four people at Hogwarts who knew signed magic and he was pretty sure none of them knew enough of it to comfortably teach someone. He knew he wasn't.
" I won't." He promised quickly, eyes focusing back on the older man. He really was just curious about how it worked. He wasn't planning on trying it, not now anyway.
He nodded, slowly removing his wand from its holster. He noticed the child's flinch, sighing softly. He knew the boy's fear wouldn't be gone over night but he had hope that Teddy was starting to trust him, since he hadn't darted from his chair and to the door this time. He positioned his wand, holding his other hand just above it before making the sign for light. He chuckled softly when the boy gasped, smiling at him.
"That was cool! But it doesn't look hard."
"That was a signed lumos Teddy and it took a few years for me to master it. Children raised signing magic have a much easier time learning new spells." He replied, shaking his head slightly. He knew a few signed spells but they take more effort and concentration on his part.
He shrugged, turning his eyes back to the window. Maybe Alexis knew it and she could show him some more spells.
-x-
" I hate you! Leave me alone!"
He grimaced, feeling the sting of his brother's words. "Stop being dramatic Damien. I told you-"
"Shut up!" He glared at Isaac for a moment longer before taking off in the opposite direction, toward the place where he felt safest.
Isaac grumbled, slumping against the wall. At least they had been away from camp, in one of the corridors not being used that summer. While he knew his brother didn't really hate him, the words stung. He was just trying to protect the younger boy, couldn't he see that?
"Everything okay, Isaac?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow at the teenager in concern. He had rounded the corner and the teenage had looked so dejected that the healer in him was sending off alarm bells. Not two in one day, that would be...devastating.
"Yes sir."
Back to not answering then. Isaac had said two whole paragraphs to him just yesterday, which had been major progress. "I know you don't want to talk about it, Isaac, but I'm here if you do."
The dark-skinned youth hesitated, tapping his fingers against the wall that his back was now pressing into. "Damien. He's just being difficult." He answered, shrugging slightly. He just wanted to protect him, he didn't want him getting too attached to Eric and Tim, because he knew it wouldn't last and Damien would get hurt. He had always tried to protect Damien, even when he was at school. But now, the preteen was just ignoring him. For some reason, he couldn't see that eventually they would be pushed away. His brother was too idealistic.
"Give him time. Once you are both calm, give him a chance to share his side of the story. Maybe he sees things differently than you do, so the two of you can discuss, calmly, how to handle whatever the situation happens to be." Paul responded calmly, watching the teenager carefully. He knew he wouldn't get much more out of Isaac, like what exactly they were arguing over, but that was alright for now. "I am always here if you need a listening ear, Isaac. I have a younger sister, so I understand how difficult younger siblings can be." He added quietly. He knew that with time, Isaac would start feeling comfortable enough to come to him or one of the other counselors, it just took time. The teenager merely nodded, glancing at him before walking away. All he could do was keep trying with him, with all of them. Eventually it would get easier.
-x-
Tim frowned, stepping through the floo and into their quarters. He had been coming home anyway, since he didn't have any more appointments until later that afternoon and he had set up a monitoring charm if anyone came to his office. But the ward to their bedroom had gone off, so one of the teenagers had entered their room which was fine, they had expected it actually. But he also knew that catching the teenager and showing them that they weren't really upset would go far in gaining the two teenagers trust. The teenagers he worked with were both curious and suspicious, so testing boundaries, snooping, and hunting for whatever they thought they might find was something that they had come to expect. Every time they took a teenager in, without fail, the kid ended up sneaking into their unlocked room. Of course, they would have known instantly if they had tried to open one of the locked and warded Healers' cabinets in their room. He sighed softly, slowly opening the door to their bedroom. Tim blinked, brown eyes searching the room with a frown. The threshold ward had gone off once, so the teen hadn't left. But he didn't see anyone. He tilted his head, spotting the closet door which was cracked open. Neither Eric nor him would have left that door open. He silently moved to the closet, carefully opening the door. It took him a minute to see the small child curled up in the very back of the closet, their robes cloaking him. "Damien?"
He pulled his legs tighter to his chest, burying his head in his arms. He didn't want to leave them, he didn't know why his brother thought they would have to. Because Eric and Tim treated them well and he liked them. He had just wanted to grab one of their robes, they had so many, because he liked the calming scent of Tim's robes and the warm feeling he got from Eric's. He knew he was weird but he had thought that maybe, maybe if he couldn't have them, he could have something to remember them by. He didn't understand Isaac, because the older men seemed to care for them. But maybe his brother was right and it was too good to be true.
"Hey buddy? I know you don't want to come out, but I'm going to sit right here, okay?" Tim stated calmly, slowly lowering his body down and sitting right beside the closet door but not blocking the child any. This wasn't the child he thought he would find in their room, especially not in the back of their closet. He gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the lack of light in the closet, frowning slightly. It looked like the child had wrapped himself in one of his or Eric's work robes, which was odd. Children normally did that after a loss.
He nodded his head, eyes peering over his arms at the healer for a moment. He hadn't meant to get caught. He waited for a few minutes, waiting to see if the healer would give up and move or if the man would just sit with him for a while. He hesitated before hiding his eyes once more. He didn't want to see the anger he knew would be there. "I'm sorry."
He sighed softly, leaning back slightly. "It's okay, Damien. I'm not upset with you or angry at you. While we prefer for you to not be in our room when we aren't home, it is okay. You aren't in trouble." Tim replied softly, give the boy a small smile when almond eyes peeked up to meet his again.
"Please don't tell Isaac."
His eyebrows knitted together in confusion, eyes focused on the little of the child's face he could see. Why would Damien be afraid of his brother? He knew for a fact that Isaac had never, and would never, harm him. Damien had told them that, after all and Isaac was more likely to be over-protective of his brother than to do anything else. "Why is that, Damien? "
He hesitated, chewing on his lip for a moment. "He'll be mad. He told me to be careful." He answered finally. If they were going to get rid of him anyway, there was no reason to lie.
"To be careful?" He echoed, letting his confusion show in hopes that the preteen would open up some more. He wasn't sure why the child had ended up in their closet but he had a feeling he wouldn't like it.
"Uh-huh. To not get attached. I wasn't trying to steal, honest." Damien shrugged, rubbing his thumb over the symbol on the robes he was wrapped in.
Okay, now he really was confused. Steal? And why was Isaac warning Damien not to get attached? Did the teenager really think they'd get rid of them so soon? "What weren't you trying to steal?" He asked finally, raising an eyebrow when the preteen buried his face in the fabric of the robe.
"This." He whispered, breathing in the calming smell of plants. Tim's robe, then.
"I'm a little lost, Damien. Why would you be stealing one of our robes?" He inquired calmly, biting back a sigh when the child sank further into the robes. "I'm not mad. I'm just confused and concerned Damien. I just want to make sure everything is okay." He added firmly, meeting the eyes that looked so much like his husband's when they darted up at him. He had a feeling Isaac said something to make Damien doubt their care for the two boys. They were both falling in love with these two boys, and with Rose, and they had made it clear that they cared for them. But he knew that wouldn't stop the doubts. Alexis and Remus had doubted them at first, these three were bound to do the same. He just hadn't expected it so soon from Damien.
"Don't laugh?" He waited until the healer nodded, taking a deep breath. "I wanted to remember you and Eric and your robes smell like you and I like the smell, it's comforting and I didn't want to lose that when you sent us away. " He took another breath, slowly unfolding himself the rest of the way so that he could see the healer fully. "I'm sorry."
His heart felt like it could break, seeing that look on that young boy's face. To hear that innocent and truthful explanation made his heart hurt. Because it told him more about Damien's childhood than the boy realized. "Damien...child. No one is sending you or Isaac anywhere." He responded quietly, scooting back an inch and gently tapping his leg. It took a moment before he had a lapful of preteen. He knew from the very neediness and insecurity that the boy's body screamed, that the child had never been held like this. Never sat on anyone's lap, never knew that level of love. He wrapped his arms around him, running one hand through the boy's hair. "Did your brother tell you that we might send you away?" He questioned softly, already guessing the answer to that.
"Yeah. He said it was too good to be true, that no one could really want both of us. That you'd see how much trouble we were and send us away." He placed his ear against Tim's heart, letting the soft drumming calm him. He used to do that to Isaac when he was little, after a beating.
He tightened his arm around the dark-skinned child, feeling the child relax. He would keep holding this preteen as much as and as often as he wanted, because he knew that soon enough, Damien would think he was too big for it, for physical affection. "We would never do that, Damien. Our magic has started forming bonds with you and Isaac, and Rose, already. The three of you are ours, even if that may seem uncertain and scary at times. You aren't going anywhere. We couldn't tire of you, you are not a toy. You are a person and a person that we are coming to care for deeply." He stated firmly, still combing his fingers through the boy's hair. Eric was going to have to do something about this mess that Damien called hair. He had sworn, after the fiasco with trying to fix Alexis' hair, that he was not going to mess with any of their wards hair ever again. Hair was not his specialty.
"Isaac doesn't believe that. Our father used to say that no one would ever want us and that if we told anyone, we'd go into care. They would have separated us, so Isaac made me promise to never tell anyone. I think our father's voice is still in Isaac's head." He smiled, closing his eyes for a moment. He liked the comfort that Tim offered, it made him feel safe.
"Eric and I will talk to him about it. But it is going to take time for Isaac to believe us. I just want you to believe me, that we would never, ever give away two wonderful children like you and your brother." He responded, smiling down at the child. It honestly looked like the child could go to sleep. Which meant it was time to move them, because if the child fell asleep on him here, on the floor, he would never be able to get up with him. "I'm going to let you go for a moment. Just a moment. So that we can move somewhere more comfortable." He waited until the fear in the child's eyes subsided before helping the boy stand up and then moving slowly to stand himself. He picked up the robe the child had dropped, slowly removing his wand and tapping it twice. Once it had shrank down, he offered it back to the preteen.
Damien grinned, slipping into the robe that now fit his size. Even better, it still smelled like Tim. He slipped a hand into Tim's, looking up at the healer. "Can we go in the living room?"
"Of course. You can keep that robe for as long as you need it." He squeezed the preteen's hand briefly before gently leading him into the next from. He sat down in his armchair, carefully pulling the young boy to cuddle comfortably on his lap.
-x-
Eric raised an eyebrow, catching sight of their youngest curled up on his partner, asleep. "Why is he wearing one of your robes?" He inquired silently, quickly retrieving and taking a picture with the magical camera that was on the mantle. They left it there for a reason. If he had to guess, he would say that Damien was probably having a hard day. After all, it was barely four and the child was asleep.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you tonight." He caught the older man's eye, shaking his head. He was still a little frustrated at Isaac, for even putting that notion into
Damien's head, but he knew that they really did need to talk about it. "You seem tense."
"My two o'clock didn't show."
"Student?"
"No. Henry. I found out late last night that his healer quit at the end of May.." He responded, letting his frustration show for a moment as he sank into his armchair. His eyes glanced at the door when Rose came flying into their quarters, into her room and then back into the main room.
She stopped, eyes landing on Damien. The child looked so cute and innocent when he was asleep. "You should get a picture of that." She smirked at Tim, glancing toward Eric for a moment.
"Oh, I did. Where are you running to?" Eric asked pointedly, keeping his voice down to not wake up Damien.
"Nowhere." She shrugged, darting back out the door once more.
"I don't know what we are going to do with that girl." Eric shook his head, picking up a stack of papers he needed to work on.
"Between her and Isaac, we'll both be gray. Henry hasn't had a healer in nearly three months?"
"I'm not happy about it either. I'll give him a few days but if he still doesn't come, I'll handle it." Eric responded, shifting through the papers for a moment.
He shivered, grimacing in sympathy. He could feel his partner's disappoint and frustration. And while he hadn't caused it, this time, it did make him almost feel sorry for Henry. Because he knew Eric well. If Henry didn't come to him in a few days, Eric would unleash his fury on him. He turned back to his reading, one hand gently combing through the preteen's hair. It hadn't taken long for him to realize that that was soothing for Damien. He was just happy that the young preteen was letting him comfort and cuddle him at all.
-x-