A/N: Do not own. Words in : : are signed.
-x-
"Hello Professor."
Alexis glanced toward the floo, nodding at the blond haired child. Narcissa had called first to make sure it was clear for the preteen to floo over. "Good morning, Luna." The little seer was a regular now, every Monday and Wednesday. Sybil was working with her on her natural abilities, which was helping the child sleep and eat better. She was learning to control her gift and that was doing wonders for Luna.
She skipped toward the door, turning around to say goodbye to the headmistress, it was part of their routine after all, but stopped. She tilted her head, frowning in thought. "Professor?"
"Hm?"
"Why do you have a shadow?"
She frowned, looking up from the parchment she had been reading. "A shadow?" She didn't think the preteen meant from the light. But then again, it was almost always hard to guess at what Luna might mean.
"You need to be careful, professor. You could get hurt." Luna responded before blinking. All she could do was warn her about it. She had a lesson to get to but she would check on the shadow again later. "Bye professor!"
"Have a good lesson, Luna." She replied, shaking her head at the skipping child who just left. It was just like Luna to make a vague statement like that and then not tell her what she meant. But she knew the girl well enough by now to know that Luna would explain in her own time. She turned her eyes back to the paperwork in front of her, sighing softly. She would have so much more time if there wasn't so much paperwork that needed doing.
-x-
"I just want to get out of here, Rose." Ariana sighed, leaning back against her bed, thumbing through yet another magazine. It felt like she had been in the infirmary for several weeks now, instead of the one week it had actually been. She was hoping that they would let her out of there soon, before the boredom drove her insane.
"I know that. But until they are certain that you won't harm yourself, they aren't going to let you leave." Rose responded, rolling her eyes before focusing on the fashion magazine once more. Ariana complained every day but the other girl wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she still wanted the hurt herself. If she really wanted out, she would hide her true intentions. Which told the emerging healer in her that Ariana really wanted help, she didn't want to fight this on her own. She could almost understand that except she would rather be left alone. Particularly because Tim was so aggravating, which was why she was hanging out with Ariana and not where she was suppose to be.
She really just wanted to go for a walk, to get some fresh air. She had already done all of her summer work and had finished several books. She had spent the last seven days playing board games with Emma, reading, writing in the journal Mary had given her, and talking. So much damn talking. But she knew it was helping a little. She didn't feel so alone anymore. But she was really starting to go stir-crazy from being in here for so long. "We could take a walk."
She snorted, shaking her head. There was no way Lucas would go for that. No way would they let Ariana leave the medical wing when they were still watching her for suicidal behavior. She picked up another mundane magazine, turning to the index. Mia's mum had started sending her old magazines with Mia when the little girl came for her potions. The woman had found out that there was a few older girls confined to the wing and decided to give them something to read. She loved the magazines, she liked looking at all the new fashions and hair styles.
"I'm going to ask Lucas." Ariana remarked several minutes later, setting aside her magazine. She knew Rose was perfectly happy to just read magazines, but the other girl could come and go freely, she wasn't stuck here, She stood up, walking toward the healer's office. She had seen him go in there not that long ago and she hadn't seen him leave. She knocked quietly on the door, flinching when it opened suddenly.
He hadn't meant to frighten her but he had been leaving his office anyway when she had knocked. "Is everything alright, Ariana?" She didn't usually seek them out and while she was doing better, he knew that she still had a few more days here.
"Can I please go for a walk? I need fresh air." She asked finally, eyes focusing back on the ground as she took a few steps back to allow him to leave his office. While she knew he would probably say no, she really did need some fresh air.
He thought about it for a few moments, sighing softly. She was still a danger to herself but he knew that she was also probably tired of being cooped up for so long. He could always take her to the medical wing's balcony. It was peaceful and she wouldn't be able to harm herself there, not that he would be leaving her alone. "We can do that if you are alright with me going with you."
She hesitated, glancing at Rose before turning back toward him. She knew the other girl would not go for that but she really did want to feel the sun on her face. She trusted Lucas enough now that she knew he wouldn't hurt her and that she would be safe with him. "Okay."
"Would you like to come with us, Rose?" He inquired, expecting the grumble and head shake that was her respond. If he was correct, the apprentice wasn't even suppose to be there. She was suppose to be in Eric and Tim's quarters. But he was sure Eric probably knew where she was. He gestured to Ariana, following her to the door of the wing.
She stopped, holding out the arm with her bracelet on it so that he could take off the spell that kept her from leaving the medical wing. She waited until he had fixed it before stepping through the doorway and following him down the hall. This wasn't going toward the ground floor, which was confusing. But not as confusing as the healer stopping and placing his hand on a bare stretch of wall. She gasped, staring at the door that appeared there. She stepped through it when he held it open, blinking at the view. They were on a balcony and she could see the grounds from here. What was better was that she could also feel the sun on her face and the breeze. "It's beautiful." She glanced at him as he settled down in a nearby chair. She debated for a moment, gazing between the chairs and the railing before moving to lean on the railing. When Lucas didn't move, she knew that even if she wanted to, she couldn't go over the railing. Ariana rested her arms on it, letting her eyes roam freely over the grounds. Maybe she should convince Eric and Lucas to bring Emma out here. The younger girl would enjoy being outside of her room.
Lucas studied the teenager for a moment before picking up the Healers Quarterly that someone had left on the little table. She was no danger to herself here and she wouldn't be able to leave without out him. His pendant would alert him if anyone enter the wing and he knew Tim was in with Emma, so he was just going to relax for a little bit while Ariana enjoyed the sunshine.
-x-
"You look tired."
"I'm not the one who was asleep at my desk at 3 in the morning." Severus retorted, not bothering to glance up from the pile of paperwork in front of him. They were working at her desk, trying to make a dent in the work necessary before the school year started. She was finalizing the class schedules, setting the times and dates for every class, and he was checking each student's class choices and requirements, to make sure every one of them was in the right classes before copying the times and dates for the classes onto their sheets
She snorted, shaking her head. She had figured that Eric had been the one to move her but when the older man didn't say anything about it and when Elijah mentioned that he had seen Remus and Severus, she had quickly made that connection. From the dark circles around his eyes and the way he had tensed, she was pretty sure she knew what had happened. "Remus didn't mention that to Eric or Filius, did he?"
He chuckled, shaking his head even as he turned the parchment over. He should lie, tell her that they knew, just so she would actually stay in her bed. But he was aware that it not work for very long. "Not that I am aware of. Elijah..."
"Is used to seeing Eric or Filius checking my quarters. He thought nothing about it. He wasn't even sure if it had been a dream or not. What happened?" She gazed between two sheets of parchment, frowning slightly before muttering a curse and running her hand over her face. Not again.
"All good?" He deflected, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Third year charms and history are scheduled at the same time for the same houses."
He swore softly, finally looking up from his work. That meant that half of the work he had just finished had to be redone. Again. They had finally gotten to the third years and that was where they were running into problems.
"Which houses?"
"Ravenclaw and Slytherin." She responded, finding the schedules for the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor houses. She groaned, throwing the papers back down. "And Hufflepuff and Gryffindor." How had she done that? Four houses which should have been two separate class periods. All four of them couldn't be in the same charms class at the same time. That was a recipe for disaster with that many preteens.
"How the fuck did you do that?" It was like she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. Maybe it was time for a break. They had been at this for a few hours now. "What date and time dos the Hufflepuff and Gryffindors have history?"
"At the same fucking time. All four houses have charms and history 9-11, Tuesdays and Thursdays. " She grunted, staring blankly at the four sheets of paper. She needed another wide-awake potion and some more coffee. She leaned forward, picking up the coffee pot and pouring coffee into her almost empty mug.
He sighed softly, glancing at the pile of parchment he thought was finished. He was going to have to change the schedules on all of the individual sheets, since all third years were required to take both classes. Which meant they would probably have to change the complete schedule for third years. "Why don't we take a break?"
She shook her head, glancing at him before digging in her pockets for the potion she knew she had. Alexis hesitated, waiting for a moment to see if he would look up from studying the schedules before carefully popping the cork and drinking half the potion. She re-corked it, pocketing it quickly. She didn't need a lecture right now but she knew if they took a break, it would be hard to get back into the rhythm they had. "Let's finish the third years and then we'll take a break." She glanced at the master schedule, finding the times for the first and second year charms classes. Filius had requested that his lower level classes be in the morning and she had set them up like that. She just had to figure out a way to change the third years without effecting the first and second years.
" Two hours of history?" He questioned after a moments thought, reaching over for the third year house schedules. He studied them for a moment before finding the problem. He picked up a pencil, scratching out the time for history before handing it back to her. "You had history in two spots." He remarked as an explanation, shrugging.
Of course she did. Scheduling was so much more difficult than say, healing a ruptured spleen. She was really starting to hate the paper work involved with running a school. "How the hell did Dumbledore do this in a day?" She grumbled, checking the first and second year schedules one more time before switching two of the third year houses to Mondays and Wednesdays at the same time.
"He used the exact same schedule every year for each year group and he cut classes out when it became harder to schedule the upper years." He replied, turning back to what he had been doing before. It became harder when electives were added to the mix but so far the electives were not the problem.
"Next year we are doing that." She muttered, checking over the four house schedules one more time, to make sure none of the core classes overlapped before quickly adding them to the master schedule. Third years were done and while a break would be nice, she had a lot of energy now. She would rather focus that into doing the upper level schedules and then into planning the trip to get school supplies and then-
He rested his hand on top of her shaking one, raising an eyebrow. "Look at me, Alexis." Her feet were tapping and her hands were shaking. It was almost like she had an energy potion, but he knew that was impossible. Perhaps it was her third cup of coffee but she wasn't usually this jittery.
"I'm fine. Just caffeine. Let's continue." She shrugged, shifting back and forth for a moment before picking up her pen once more.
He hesitated, tilting his head for a moment. Something felt off here. "It's time for a break, we've been working on this for almost three hours." They did need to take a break. For one, he had to go to the restroom and he knew that if he didn't take a break, she wouldn't either. He set his finished work aside, standing and stretching stiff limbs.
She shook her head, not looking up. "Go ahead. I'll be there in a moment." She wouldn't be but he didn't need to know that.
-x-
"Sit still please." Remus ordered for the fourth time, running a comb through a section of the boy's hair before carefully sniping it with scissors, to make it even. Louis did not like having his hair cut but the boy had desperately needed a hair cut, especially since he refused to wash his hair. They were in the room off of the camp that he had set up to look like a hair salon. Between Phil and himself, they were almost done with the younger boys group. The younger man was showing little Ben how to spike his newly cut hair. They had had more than one preteen boy who wanted dyed hair like Phil's, so instead of dying it, Phil had offered to teach them how to do spikes. He sighed, focusing his eyes back on Louis when the preteen jerked again. "I know you don't like having your hair cut, Louis.
But if you can try to keep your head still, it will be done much faster."
"But I don't have lice! Why does it need to be cut?" His parents had never bothered with his hair if he didn't have lice. Why waste water to wash his hair if he didn't have lice? And they always shaved it off if washing it didn't work.
He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before returning to the task at hand. It wasn't the first time he had heard a child say that but it was the first child at Hogwarts. When he volunteered at a family shelter to do hair for the adults and children, there had been a few kids who had protested because they thought hair cuts were expensive. "Wouldn't it be nice if it was easier to brush? If it didn't hang in your eyes?" He suggested finally, moving to trim the other side.
Louis shrugged, glancing toward the other boy getting his hair cut. Ben had spikes. That was almost cool.
"I'll make you a deal. If you let me finish trimming it, I'll show you how to spike it." Remus offered, following the child's gaze for a moment. He had a feeling that all of the boys would start school with spiked hair.
"Why is your hair braided?"
He shook his head, knowing that the child couldn't see him. That was a diversion if he had ever heard one. He had heard that Louis tried to pretend he wasn't interested in what the other preteens did or said. But he had worked with enough children to know that even though the boy acted out and sometimes hurt people when he was angry, that he really just want to be able to be a kid and that he would never admit that he wanted his hair like the other boys. "I come from a mixed family. I often wore my hair in braids when I was a teenager because that was how one of my fathers wore his. Eric offered, so I let him put it in braids." He explained quietly. Honestly, he could have done it himself. But he loved it when his father braided his hair and Eric knew that. He had braided it at five that morning, because Eric had known it would be comforting. It wasn't as tight as Eric or Damian's braids,it wasn't even the box braids he had worn as a teenager. But the loose braids had been done in the middle of the night. He could redo it but he'd rather leave it for now. Eric had done it for him, after all.
"You have two dads? Wicked." Louis forced back a grin, trying to keep his face blank. He thought the braids looked cooled, cooler than the spikes even. "Mine's too short to braid."
"It is. But I can show you a cool trick I learned in college." He answered, running a comb through the boy's hair once more to make sure all of the strands were even. He quickly pulled a few sections up, creating a small ponytail at the top of the preteen's head. He secured it with a band before picking up the closest mirror. "How about that?"
"Wicked." It was cooler than spikes for sure and he even thought he could manage that on his own. Maybe he would have to wash it occasionally to make it go up like that. But he actually liked the small ponytail. It didn't look girly, for one thing. And it was different, it made him look different.
He took it that the preteen liked that hairstyle, then. It wasn't one every boy could pull off, but with Louis' dark hair, it actually fit the child. "I'm glad you like it. When you brush your hair, just pull up these strands in the back. Then you just have to secure it with a band." He instructed, taking the ponytail down and doing it again, so that the child could watch him using the mirror. If Louis could do it himself, he might be more willing to take care of his hair. Although preteen boys weren't particularly good at following basic hygiene practices.
He watched the older man's movements, committing it to memory. It was simple enough that Louis knew he could do it every morning if he wanted to. "Thanks Remus." He remarked quietly when the man finally gestured that he could go. While he wouldn't normally thank an adult, or anyone for that matter, he thought that the man deserved it. After all, no one else had ever done his hair like that. He hadn't even yanked at it, he had been gentle. He knew it probably wouldn't happen again but that was okay. Even if it was just a small kindness, he still wanted the man to know that he was thankful for it. He nodded at the man once more before going back into the camp.
Remus smiled, following the boy at a slower pace so that he could collect the next preteen due for a hair cut. At least the boys tended to be easy. He knew that even with Phil and Eric's help, it would still take several days to get all of the haircuts done.
-x-
She slipped silently into the medical wing, wanting to check on her roommate before heading back to the Headmistress' office. She stopped at the half-open door, listening for a moment to see if the other girl was alone. Luna finally stepped into the room, making sure she made some noise so that she didn't startle Emma.
She didn't look up from her sketchbook, knowing that it was either Luna or one of the older girls. Mia would be getting her potion treatment right about now and Lila was somewhere. The littlest girl tended to come and go as she pleased, which was alright most days. But right now she didn't really want the two younger girls there. Luna, on the other hand, was alright. She had shared a room with the other girl last year, after Flitwick had decided that
Luna wasn't safe with her roommates. Which was fine with her because it meant she didn't have to deal with her old roommates either. Besides that, Luna didn't freak out when she had violent nightmares and she accepted Luna for who she was, oddities and all. "Hey."
"Hello. What are you drawing?" She replied, letting her eyes wander around the room for a moment before landing back on the sketch book. Emma was always drawing. The brown haired girl had shown her how to draw animals and while she was getting better at it, she was not anywhere as good as Emma.
She stopped her pencil for a moment, staring at the sketch she had almost finished. "Me." It was her, standing on top of a window seat, staring out one of the castle's window. She remembered what had happened now. And it hurt. It hurt so much.
She bounced over to the bed, tilting her head in question before climbing up when the other girl nodded. She stretched out on her stomach next to Emma, propping herself up on her elbow as she studied the drawing. "I saw it happen." She admitted after a moment, not looking at her friend.
"Did you know why?"
"No."
Emma hesitated before carefully resting her hand on the seer's. "You couldn't have stopped it, Luna. You couldn't have know that this would happen to me." She closed her eyes, swallowing hard. "It's my fault, you know. I was standing up there, thinking...thinking." She broke off, forcing the tears down.
Luna squeezed the hand on hers, turning her head to see the other girl. "It's okay, Emma. You are safe here. None of it can hurt you here."
She gave off a half laugh, half sob, forcing the surge of magic back under her control. Those were the words she had said to Luna, after one of the girl's dreams. "But it can. I can hurt me here. I did this!" She stopped trying to fight the tears, burying her head into her bed, shoving the sketchbook to the floor.
"But there are people here who care about you, who want to help you. They will keep you safe." She responded, grimacing at the pain in her head. She almost forced the vision away, wanting to focus on her friend, but her gut told her to let her eyes see it. She was getting better at controlling the visions, at not getting sucked so far into them that she couldn't get out, at not letting them overwhelm her. Most of the visions she saw would either never come to pass or was something she couldn't stop anyway, so she was learning how to let them go. Her eyes caught a glimpse of a destroyed room, of her blue eyes peeking out from under the bed. The tightening in her stomach made her feel sick. "It's okay, Emma. You are safe." She tried to reassure, biting her lip at the loud ringing in her ears.
"I know that! I know they care! But they shouldn't! Nobody should care about a worthless piece of shit like me!" She took a breath, forcing her magic back down again. She didn't want Luna to get hurt but she wasn't sure she could hold it in much longer. "GET OUT!" She shouted, closing her eyes at the overwhelming rush of magic.
She didn't hesitate, rolling off the bed and under it. She closed her eyes, covering her head with her arm to protect it, just in case something came flying down there. Hopefully, Emma could get her magic back under control before she hurt herself. Luna wasn't worried about getting hurt, but she wanted her friend to be safe as well.
She shrieked, trying to draw the magic back under her skin. But she couldn't stop it, she wasn't even sure she wanted too. She gave an even louder shriek when her armchair flipped over. She couldn't see Luna! She hoped the girl had run. She would never forgive herself if she hurt her friend. She took a deep breath, hiccuping through her sobs as her book shelf flew across the room and papers scattered. The toys and games they had give her were being tossed about. She couldn't calm herself, she couldn't force it down. She stopped trying to stop her sobbing, curling up on her bed.
"Emma!" Tim called out, cautiously stepping into the room. He had been in Eric's office, working quietly while his husband slept on the couch. He had been in here about an hour ago, trying to have a session with the young girl. She had refused to talk and he had finally left her with her sketch book and a new set of pencils. Drawing was her way of expressing and understanding emotions. He could see those pencils now, swirling in a mass of magic and paper.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"I can't do that Emma. Not when you are this upset. Take a deep breath for me. It is perfectly okay to cry. But I need you to regain control of your magic, ok?" He stated firmly, slowly moving toward her bed. He knew to be careful, that her magic could lash out at him, especially if it thought he was a threat. "Deep breath in. And release. Again. Breath in." He directed, stopping a few feet from her bed.
She tried, she really did. But she couldn't force her mind to calm down, to force her body through the meditation he wanted. She couldn't do this! Didn't he realize it was all her fault? That she had done this to herself? "I CAN'T! It's my FAULT!" She shrieked again, curling up tighter.
He eyed the swirl of visible magic he could see, magic that kept him from getting any closer. He wasn't quite sure what she blamed herself for but Tim knew he would have to figure it out if he wanted her to regain control before she got hurt. "What's your fault, Emma?" He asked softly, eyes resting on the sobbing child. She had curled up almost as if she was trying to protect herself from a beating, or perhaps from her magic.
"This! All of this! I did this!"
"Everyone gets upset and loses control sometimes. It's okay. I just need you to try to take a few deep breaths, okay?"
"NO! I did this to me! I caused this mess I'm in! It's my fault!" She screeched, taking a hiccuping breath before raising her head an inch to look at him. It was her fault. She knew that now, she knew what had happened. She had caused her magic to do this. She had caused the overwhelming sensation of magic within her. No one else.
So she remembered what had happened then. Perhaps that was why she had refused to talk to him earlier. He was well aware that remembering probably hurt. The child was already so scarred, so angry and hurting that he knew it must have been hard for her to keep control for this long. She hadn't had an incident in several days, even though they knew she still didn't have full control. "Can you tell me what happened?"
She hesitated, hiccuping quietly as the tears and snot continued to run down her face. "I-I was standing on the window seat, staring out over the grounds. And I was-I was thinking about- about jumping." She whispered, hoping that Luna, if she was still there, wouldn't hate her for it. She didn't think the blond would, they had become really good friends. But she knew that it would hurt her friend to hear that. To hear that she had wanted to die.
Her magic must have reacted, thinking that she had jumped and tried to save her. It wasn't unheard of, even if it was uncommon and he wasn't aware of it ever happening in a child Emma's age. "You didn't know your magic would react like that. Do you still feel that way?" He was hoping that she didn't, as she had been doing so much better.
She shook her head, taking a deep breath and started trying to pull the magic back into her. Tim's tone wasn't judging. No, it was full of concern and care. She had told him the awful truth and he had reacted so much different than she had expected. He didn't seem to hate her, so maybe Luna wouldn't either. "It's not all my fault?"
"No child. For your magic to mature from a fall, it would have had to be close to the edge to begin with. With the horrors you have been through and the things done to you this summer, it is quite possible that your magic would have matured anyway. It is perfectly okay to be upset, especially since you got your memories back. Let's try to rein your magic back in." He responded calmly, giving the child a soft smile when she completely uncurled.
She sat up, ignoring the tears still running down her face as she took a deep breath and held it. She counted to ten before releasing it. She could do this. She could try to control it. She had been doing so well. She still felt upset but not nearly as upset as before.
Something caused Tim to look down, raising an eyebrow at the blue eyes that looked up at him from under the bed. "Emma? Who is under your bed?" They were very lucky she hadn't been hurt.
"Luna!" She gasped, letting out the breath she had just taken. She could feel her magic calming down, the overwhelming feel of it fading.
She rolled out from under the bed, glancing at Tim for a brief moment before climbing back onto her friend's bed and carefully wrapping an arm around her. "It's okay to feel those things sometimes. I just don't want to lose you too."
She bit her lip, pulling the last strands of magic back under control. Her room was a disaster. It always was after her magic lashed out. But she was getting better, she knew that. It was just so hard sometimes. "You won't. I promise. Friends forever, remember?"
"I remember." She glanced toward where Tim was repairing the room, before leaning into her friend. "We'll make it through this together." She promised before moving to pick up the sketchbook. She held it out to her friend, knowing that drawing would help her feel better.
Tim fixed the armchair, settling down in it before summoning his own work. One of them always stayed with Emma after she lost control, just so she wasn't alone with the emotional toil it took. Even though she had a friend there, he knew she wouldn't mind him staying. Just in case.
-x-
Lexie grimaced, trying to tune out the younger girl's screams as she held out a pair of unicorn underwear. Getting her showered hadn't been fun. But trying to get her to put on clothes? It was a nightmare. "You think we'd get in trouble if we just let her run naked?" She inquired, picking up the now wet pair of underwear. Every time they gave her an item of clothing, she threw it. If they tried to dress her, she screamed.
Hannah snorted, shaking her head. "If this wasn't a camp of abused kids, probably. I think if we let her run naked, Rani and Kate would understand." How the hell Ariana managed to shower and dress Lila by herself was what she wanted to know. It had taken both of them to get the child washed. Her hair had been a disaster that ended in both of them drenched. With Ariana still in the medical wing, Kate and Rani were desperate for help with Lila. And while Derek had taken over many of the things Ariana did, he couldn't bathe her. She wouldn't bathe herself and Kate had been trying to get her to bathe for four days. So Derek had asked them to help. While she didn't regret agreeing to help, she was just as protective of Lila as the other members of her group, she also hadn't expected to be soaking wet by the end of it. With a naked, screaming little girl.
She shrieked, dodging the older, dark-skinned girl and the shirt she had been trying to get over her head. She didn't want to wear clothes! She was clean! Wasn't that enough? Ari wouldn't approved but Ari wasn't here and Derek wasn't here, so she wasn't wearing clothes! "Nuhhhh!"
"I know you don't want to Lila, but you have to at least put on pants. You don't even have to wear underwear. Can we just do pants?" Lexie sighed at the responding shriek, meeting Hannah's green eyes for a moment. They might need to help.
"IEEEEEK!" She tore the pants from her hands, throwing it into the puddle of water. She stopped suddenly, tilting her head to watch it float. She stuck a toe in the puddle, grinning for a second before stomping her foot down in it to splash.
While the preteen was focused on the water, Hannah carefully started maneuvering a shirt over her head, grimacing when an elbow hit her. She wasn't sneaky enough, apparently, as the girl wiggled away from her.
"How about you only have to wear pants? Nothing else? Can we try that?" Lexie offered, shaking her head. The little girl wasn't developed at all yet, so honestly if they could just get pants on her, she didn't care if she wore anything else. The counselors could handle getting a shirt on her if they so chose. She just knew that there had to be a secret to this. How did Ariana manage this alone?
She shrieked again, dodging around the teenagers. She wasn't going to put on clothes! That meant she was done, right? So she could leave. She darted toward the door, giggling when the bigger girls came chasing after her.
"Lila! You have to have something on!" Lexie grimaced, darting after the little girl. Her legs were longer than Lila's so she knew she would catch up to her. She didn't expect to slip in a puddle of water, however. She groaned, sitting up slowly. At least she hadn't hit her head, although her ankle and leg were starting to hurt.
Hannah hesitated, not sure whether to check on Lexie first or go after Lila, before deciding that Lexie was sitting up and just looked disoriented. She sped after Lila, groaning when the girl made it out into the lounge. She was a step behind her, chasing her across the lounge. Oh gods, she hoped the little blond didn't make it out into the castle at large. That would be disastrous.
Mary blinked, taking in the sight of the stark-naked little girl and the soaking wet teenager chasing her with a forgot pair of underwear in her hand. It took all the control she had to not burst out laughing. She would definitely be showing that memory to the other counselors later. And Alexis, the younger woman would get a kick out of it. She stood quickly, moving to block the path of the running preteen. She raised an eyebrow at the girl, shaking her head. "Let's go get dressed, Lila." She ordered quietly, catching hold of the child when she tried to dart around her.
"Nuugghhh!" She shrieked, trying to pull away from the firm hand on her shoulder. She knew she could wiggle away if she just wiggled harder.
"Tell me why." She instructed, crouching so she was on the girl's level before adjusting her hold on her.
She loved the camp. Not a single one of the older teens batted an eye at Lila and most of the preteens were giggling, but she had a feeling that was more at her. Especially when she realized she was still holding the unicorn underwear that they had tried to convince Lila to wear. She turned her eyes back to Mary, wishing she had the same ability to take charge like that.
She grunted, wiggling her fingers in question. Did she really have to? When the older woman merely looked at her, she sighed. She should have known Mary wouldn't give in that easy. :Itchy.: She hesitated, trying to remember the sign for the other word she needed. She wasn't sure the woman would understand but she said :Tag: anyway.
Ah, that made sense. The girls must have grabbed some of her newer clothes, which they hadn't taken the clothing tags off yet. But that could be easily fixed. She had a feeling that the little girl also just wanted to run around naked. There was a place and time for that; it wasn't in the camp lounge. "I can fix that." At the girl's pout she knew she had been right. "Can I pick you up?"
She nodded, reaching arms up to Mary. The woman had never hurt her or Ariana before, so she knew she wouldn't hurt her. Plus Hannah was still near her. She wrapped her legs around her waist, moving her arms around her neck. She grunted again when the woman started toward the bathroom.
"Don't kick, Lila. It's not nice." She responded, nodding to Hannah when the girl held the door open for her. She strolled around to the shower side of the girls bathroom, frowning slightly at Lexie. The girl looked hurt. "Okay Lila, I'm going to put you down for a minute. I need to dry the floor off. Lexie, did you fall?" When the girl nodded, she sighed. Of course she did. She probably slipped chasing Lila. She would have to make sure she wasn't hurt after she got Lila dressed. She slowly removed her wand from its sheath, stilling when the two older girls flinched. Mary waited a moment, giving both of her girls a reassuring smile before casting a drying spell over the floor. She picked up the clothes that were strewn about, drying them before setting them back on the bench. "Let me teach you a trick, girls." She stated, picking Lila up and standing her up on the bench. She then picked up the pair of underwear, quickly checking it for a tag. Deeming it tag free, she turned to the little girl, holding it right at ankle level. "Foot up." She ordered.
Her mouth dropped open, staring at Mary as Lila lifted one foot and then the other, allowing Mary to slide the underwear on. Was this some kind of spell? How had she managed that in seconds, when they had spent a good fifteen minutes begging and arguing and reasoning with her?
She lifted the pink shirt, vanishing the tag from it, before showing it to the girl. "Arms up." She ordered again, slipping it over knobby little arms and carefully easing it over the girl's head. She tugged the shirt the rest of the way down before gently removing the girl's hair from under it. She picked up the jeans, removing the tag before raising an eyebrow at the folded arms, pouting little girl. "Almost done, Lila. Foot please."
She grunted, lifting one foot slowly and then the other. When the woman pulled her jeans up, she reached down, tugging up the zipper. She liked doing the zippers. It was the only real part of dressing she enjoyed. Her hands tried the button for a few moments, before she shrieked. She hated buttons, her hands weren't good at them.
Mary took over, quickly buttoning her jeans for her. She glanced at the socks and shoes before shaking her head. The preteen tended to run around barefoot most days anyway and it wasn't worth the fight. She lifted her up, giving her a quick squeeze before setting her on the ground. "Thank you, Lila. Go play." She instructed, smiling when the child promptly took off.
"How did you do that?" Lexie question, grimacing when the woman came over to where she was sitting.
"May I scan you for injuries?" She requested. At the nod, she slowly withdrew her wand. "I didn't ask her to get dressed. I made it an order that was non-negotiable. Simple instructions and a firm tone are usually all it takes. How do you think Kate and Rani get her to dress in the morning? Bathing is an entirely different subject and that's going to be a battle until she's older." She explained, stashing her wand before gently picking up the girl's foot. She felt around her ankle, shaking her head. "You twisted it."
So that was why it hurt. She knew that was an easy fix though. "I guess next time we will try that first." Lexie shrugged, watching the older woman wrap her ankle. She knew there would be a next time. Even though the little girl could dress herself, usually, she didn't like wearing clothes and she certainly didn't like bathing. Hopefully it would be easier the next time.
-x-
"Come on, Paul. We have a meeting to attend." Eric stated firmly, raising an eyebrow at the younger man. He had a feeling they both could benefit from going to a meeting, but he was aware that the younger man might not appreciate it.
He hesitated, biting his lip for a moment. As much as he knew meetings would help him keep his sobriety longer, he also knew he couldn't go. He had been kicked out of and banned from every wizarding alcoholics anonymous meeting. "I can't. I have work to finish."
He shook his head, locking eyes with the younger man until he finally looked down. "There will always be work. But you are off-duty right now and you are coming to this meeting with me." He replied, frowning when the young man shook his head. He wasn't quite sure what was causing the other man's reluctance. While he hadn't been to a meeting in a while, he knew that he, personally, had always felt welcome at meetings and that they always helped, especially on bad days. But perhaps Paul had had a bad experience or two. He had known that the younger man had been ordered, by his old master and the healers guild, to attend meetings for a certain period of time. While that time might have passed, a meeting couldn't hurt.
"I can't." He closed his eyes, blushing. He didn't want to tell the dark-skinned healer the truth, but he knew he would have to. He just wasn't sure he would believe him. "I can't attend a meeting. I've been banned from almost every group in Scotland, Ireland, England, and Wales." He explained finally, finding the floor extremely interesting. Who knew teenagers left that many scuff marks?
Ah, that made sense then. "We weren't going to a magical meeting. I find them too...stiff and formal. We are going to a mundane meeting. Now, come on. We have to get past the wards to apparate. I would prefer not to be late." He ordered, turning and heading down the hall way. He knew the younger man would follow.
He blinked, thinking it over for a second before falling in step behind the older man. No wonder he had told him to leave his robe. He still had his wand, of course, but it had a shield around it that kept it hidden. He only wished the journey out of Hogwarts had taken longer. He wasn't sure how he would feel about going to a meeting with the Head Healer of the school who also happened to be a guild enforcer. He wasn't sure if Eric remembered, but he was actually the reason he had been forced to go to meetings in the first place. But he wasn't really being forced now. He knew if he protested on some other basis, Eric would have let it go. Paul also knew the older man would have kept pushing him until he had found out exactly what was going on. He flinched at the hand on his elbow, turning his eyes back to the older healer. The way he was looking at him told him that he had missed the question. "I'm sorry, what?"
Clearly the younger man hadn't been paying attention to him. They were now at the apparition point and it would be easier, this time, if he side-alonged Paul, since the younger man didn't know where they were going. "Is it already if we side-along? There's a specific alley that we need to land in." He repeated, tighting his grip on the younger healers elbow when the other man nodded. He turned on the spot, bracing himself for the whirling images before landing on his feet in an alley. His hand on the younger healer's elbow kept him standing.
He blinked rapidly, waiting for the dizziness to recede before glancing around them. He hadn't side-along apparated in years. He wasn't quite sure where they were but he could hear cars nearby.
"This way." He directed, walking down the alley and turning onto a main street. He kept walking for a few blocks before turning down a side road. He stopped in front of a small, brick building, glancing toward the younger healer.
"Ready?"
Of course he wasn't. He hadn't been to a mundane meeting before but he was sure it would be similar to magical ones. But he wouldn't get kicked out of this one for showing up drunk or cursing someone for taunting him. For one, he was pretty sure Eric would kick his ass. He also wanted to keep his sobriety, he wanted to stay sober. Because there were teenagers who needed him and they needed him sober. "I guess."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "They won't eat you." He moved up the few steps, holding the door open for the younger man. "This won't be like any of the meetings you have attended and I will be here the whole time." He reassured after a few minutes of the younger man just staring at the doorway.
He hesitated a moment more before following him inside. He hoped he was right. He moved a bit slower than the older healer, following him down a hallway. He stopped outside the large room Eric had enter, taking a deep breath. It was just a meeting. He wasn't drunk, he didn't want to drink, and he did actually know someone there. He was almost sure he wouldn't get in trouble here.
"Eric! About time you came back to us! It's been a while."
"I know, I know. I recently changed jobs, Kenny. So hopefully I'll be able to attend regularly once more." He shrugged, clasping hands with the other man. He recognized several of the people there, people he had known for years now. But there were also several new comers that he didn't know. That was alright. This had always been a safe space for him and he was hoping it could become one for Paul. If he could get the man to come regularly, he would make a great healer for Henry in the long run.
"You're not with the hospital anymore?" That was a shock. The man was one of the best pediatric doctors that he knew and Kenny also knew how much money he had made as director of a childrens hospital.
"I needed a change. I'm working as a doctor at a boarding school now. This is one of the doctors under me, actually. He's a counselor." Eric smiled, gesturing toward Paul.
"First meeting?"
He blinked, glancing toward Eric before turning his eyes to the woman who had spoken to him. "First in a while." He shrugged, trying to keep himself from staring. But her clothes were very revealing and she was very pretty.
"Lidia, leave the poor boy alone." Eric called out, frowning slightly. "He is my sponsee and you know how I feel about that."
"Hmpf."
Kenny shook his head, eyes going around the room for a moment. "Let's give it five more minutes and we will start." He called out, waiting for their nods before turning back to Eric. "Give her a break, Eric. She's getting better. She even has a good job now. And she's clean." He added quietly, keeping his eyes on the younger woman and Eric's newest sponsee. He glanced at the time again, quickly deciding that if anyone else was coming, they would have already been there. Almost all of the regulars were there and he saw a few people who were there for the first time. "Let's get started."
-x-
"Ten."
"Fifteen!"
"Without magic, Harry. " Teddy repeated, rolling his eyes. There was no way Harry could throw a disc fifteen meters, not without magic.
He shrugged, testing the weight of the flat disc that Charlie had given them to play with. All of the boys in their group were tossing them back and forth to each other. While he had seen them before at his primary school, he had never played with one. Harry wasn't fond of things being thrown at him, however, and he knew Teddy wouldn't like that either. So he had proposed that they see who could throw it the furthest. He was sure he could make it go at least fifteen meters without magic. "I bet I can. Even without magic."
The brown-haired boy shook his head but gave it. Harry would try it anyway, even if he doubted that it would work. "Okay, then. Throw it to that tree." Teddy replied, pointing out a tree that had to be at least fifteen meters away, if not more.
Harry nodded, locking his eyes on the tree. He took a step back, judging the distance before setting the disc flying with a twist. He groaned, summoning it back to him when it didn't even land near the tree. "Your turn then."
He shrugged, glancing at the tree as he took the disc. He knew that it was bound to arc, all of the discs seemed to be arcing. So if he factored in gravity and the little bit of mundane science he understood, he might get closer to Harry. He didn't think it would reach the tree though. He pulled his arm back, setting the disc flying. "Closer than yours!" He grinned, summoning the disc back and passing it to Harry.
Louis frowned, watching the two older preteens for several minutes as he slowly moved closer to them. None of the other boys had wanted to play with him, they never really did, and he didn't like the idea of something coming at him anyway. But the game Harry and Teddy were playing looked interesting.
After several attempts, Harry grinned, getting the disc the closest to the tree yet. He knew he would reach it eventually. He summoned the disc back, offering it to Teddy. But the other boy was staring behind them. "What's wrong?"
"I think Louis wants to play." Which would be okay, he guessed. He had noticed that the few boys closer to Louis' age wanted nothing to do with him, but he also knew that Louis didn't help matters. He met Harry's eyes for a long moment, waiting until the other boy nodded before turning back to where the younger boy was watching them.
"Hey Louis! You want to try?" He called out, hiding a smirk when the smaller preteen hurried over.
"You sure?" He hesitated, taking the disc that was offered to him. He wasn't sure if he could throw it as far as the older boys and he wasn't really sure why they would let him play with them. He wasn't usually very nice to them, or anyone else for that matter.
Harry nodded, studying the younger boy for a long moment. "You can play." He shrugged, shaking his head when
Louis tried and failed to throw the disc. He could see the boy's frustration and since he really didn't want the younger kid getting mad and going off, he figured they better show him how to do it first. "Here, Louis. Hold it like this."
He blinked, adjusting his hold on it so that his hand mirrored Harry's. He tried again, grinning when the disc actually flew this time. It didn't reach the tree, but that was alright. It was just for fun, after all.
-x-
"Alright Eric, you're up."
He snorted, leaning back in his seat. The meetings were always run like this, with the older members going first to help the younger ones feel more comfortable telling their own stories. But he could tell how shocked Paul was by this. He had told him that it would be a different sort of meeting and he wasn't lying. "I'm Eric. I've been sober for... eleven years? " He paused doing the math in his head for a moment before smiling. "Yeah, it's been eleven years. I am a pediatric doctor in charge of the medical needs for a large boarding school now. " He hadn't had a drink since Alexis was fifteen, and that one had been the first in a while. Not that he hadn't wanted one since, because he had, but he knew he couldn't have just one drink.
Eleven years?! It was hard enough that he hadn't had a drink in over a year. He couldn't imagine being sober for that long. But then again, he could not have imagined that he would be sober for a year. Hearing these stories and listening to people who actually wanted to be better was inspiring. He thought maybe he could even come to another meeting. Not that this one was over yet.
"Questions, young people?" He added, glancing at Paul before turning his eyes to one of the other young members.
"Danny?" They always let the younger and newer members ask them questions and usually it was the same question.
"When did you last want a drink?"
He blinked at the pale young man, sighing softly. That wasn't the question he had expected, actually. But the policy here was honesty and he wasn't ashamed to admit that sometimes he, too, wanted a drink. "At about 4 this morning." He leaned forward, knowing the next question he would get, because he had seen the grimaces on the older members. They had known him long enough to know why he might want to drink.
"Did you lose a kid?" Lidia inquired softly, relaxing when he shook his head. It was always hard for her to hear him talk about when a child died on his table. It didn't matter that she didn't know the kids, it was always upsetting. But she knew Eric was very careful to make sure any stories he told weren't detailed enough to make any of them want to drink or throw up.
"Alright, spill." Kenny ordered, tilting his head. Eric only ever wanted to drink when he lost a child or one of his children was hurt. If it wasn't the first, it would have to be the second and he knew both of the man's children were grown. One wasn't much older than the young sponsee with Eric.
He closed his eyes for a moment, before nodding. "I didn't lose a patient. My son's partner was a soldier. He has PTSD. When my son called me early this morning, I knew something was wrong. My son-in-law was stuck in the midst of a flashback carrying his sidearm around their apartment. And they are taking the same path my husband and I did, they are fostering. So I had an irrational armed young man jumping at shadows with twin thirteen year olds asleep in the next room. By the time we were able to get the sidearm away from him and get him calmed down, I wanted a drink. " He had wanted a drink, but he hadn't needed a drink. He had managed to calm himself and Remus down once he had given Severus enough potion to make him sleep. He had braided Remus' hair, a task that forced him to focus on what he was doing and one that Remus had always found comforting.
"That's hard. When my PTSD was bad, right after the war, I remember always wanting a drink right after. But I never realized how much those flashbacks terrified my wife until I found her crying one night. She was more scared I was going to hurt myself or one of the children, than her. I sold my sidearm and rifle the next day." Mike piped up, catching Eric's eyes. He knew the dark-skinned man was as much a father to his son-in-law as he was to his two children. He didn't know how he would feel if one of his children had a violent flashback like that.
He nodded, meeting Mike's eyes for a long moment. Mike had talked about the war he fought in before and he knew that the horrors the other man witnessed were right up there with the ones Severus had seen and done. "If it wasn't a requirement for his job, he wouldn't have a sidearm. At least until he was ready to carry one again." That was the truth, actually. He would have taken Severus' wand at the end of the war if he had thought it wouldn't do more damage to the younger man. He had done it to both Remus and Alexis before, when it was more dangerous for them to carry a wand because they weren't stable. He glanced at the young man beside him, having heard that small gasp. He knew that Paul probably would understand why he might take another wizard's wand, he was a mind-healer after all, but he also knew that he was young enough that the thought was shocking. "Alright, your turn."
Paul grimaced, staring down at his feet for a moment. This meeting was so different than any he had ever been to before. For one, no one stated that they were alcoholics. When Kenny had started the meeting, he had explained that they didn't refer to themselves as alcoholics not because they were denying it, but because everyone in that room already knew they were alcoholics or they wouldn't be there. It also felt like a safe place where he could just be Paul, he didn't have to wear a mask. "I'm Paul and I've been sober for a year. I'm a counselor at Eric's boarding school." He stated after several more moments of silence. He liked that to, that they gave him time to think, that they didn't just move on because he was taking to long to answer. "To be honest, this is the first meeting I haven't thought I might get kicked out of." He furrowed his brows at the chuckles that followed, confused for a moment before Kenny started talking.
"Let's do the fun one, guys. Who here has been kicked out of a meeting?" He grinned, nodding when every hand in the room when up. "Eric didn't tell you? That's why we decided to start this group in the first place. We both bounced around to meetings until we met at one, where I believe we left due to sheer boredom." Kenny stated calmly, smiling at the young man. Most of the people in the room had either been brought by another member or been pushed their way by a probation officer or religious leader. They were well known in the faith communities as
accepting everyone and as a place for the misfits.
"Aye. I think we left because the group leader fell asleep in the middle of it. Kenny and I started this fifteen years ago as a safe place for those who didn't quite fit in the traditional meetings. Kenny runs the meetings now and we no longer meet in a pub, but it hasn't really changes since that day over burgers so long ago." Eric added quietly, glancing at the new members for a moment before turning his eyes back to Paul. He hadn't actually been planning to tell Paul he founded the group, because he had thought that might put the young man off. But it wasn't like it was a secret or anything. This wasn't a twelve step programme. For the people in this room, those types of programmes never worked. Here, they were a support group and so far they had a lot of success.
"Alright, Lidia. It's your turn." Kenny redirected after a few minutes of silence. When the woman glared at him, he
knew this would be interesting.
-x-