(( Continued directly from here. ))

The walk hadn't taken long, with Storm dragging both boys like that. Erin had thought they were much deeper in the forest; after all that running, it was almost a disappointment to find out how close to school grounds they'd actually been. If he'd known he was running towards safety, perhaps he would have kept running.

But Erin didn't regret it, his decision to face Dax. He hurt like hell but it'd been a long, long time since he'd had a proper row, and he felt more content now than he had in ages.  Calmer, almost, despite his initial anger at Storm for interrupting. The physicality of the act soothed him, wiped his mind clean of troubling thoughts. The sick look on Dax's face only pleased him even more. It seemed the bigger boy didn't care for the taste of blood; Erin relished the copper tang.

And he was being taken to see Nagde, so, what the hell. It could be worse - Storm could be marching him straight into the arms of big brother. The waiting wandtip, more like. Erin liked Tulojow, and the thought of seeing her vs. going back to class pleased him. He'd rather hang out in the hospital hut all day than go back up to the castle, especially since once she healed him he wasn't going to have any impressive bite marks or anything to show off. She'd give him a cup of cocoa and look generally amused, and he'd see how long she'd let him stay. (Erin had had plenty of visits in which to test this time-honored formula. He'd suggested once that she keep a cabinet just for him, but so far that hadn't happened.)

He kept a stony expression all the way up until Storm had disappeared through the Hospital hut door, no doubt back up to the castle to terrify some first years, at which point Erin immediately turned upon Tulojow his (Snake) Charmer #5 lopsided grin.

"Miss me, Nagde?" he asked, and folded himself up, rather stiffly, into one of the chairs in the main room of the hut. He ignored Dax utterly, instead concentrating on peeling the bloody shirt away from his skin.

Dax was doing his best not to stick his tongue where he was missing a tooth - while not a new injury to him, it still made his stomach churn.

The fact he'd swallowed the tooth in the fight didn't help, though it did make him want to give Erin on tooth to choke on in return. He stayed standing where Storm had released him, scowling; he yanked his own sweater off carelessly, wiping his face on the inside of it as he tugged at his undershirt and tie. He was bruised and cut under his uniform, and almost by instinct he was removing the stuff in the way of treating it.

Standing shirtless, he surveyed the damage. Not as bad as he's feared; a bloody bite on the arm was the worst of it, really; the rest was bruising. It was his face that was the worst off; thankfully his body was his best asset, so Harper hadn't done too much damage.

"Miss isn't exactly the verb I had in mind." 

Storm had been in and out of the Hut just long enough to deposit the two boys and see himself back out. Both boys had been left standing in the middle of the cabin's main room until the door had closed firmly behind the Defense professor.  Within moments of his departure, though, the Slytherin had plopped himself in one of the other chairs near the fire and the Hufflepuff had promptly started to disrobe. 

Neither event was entirely out of the ordinary.  Though, they usually didn't happen in unison. 

And, neither appeared to be in particularly critical condition.  In fact, if one was to hazard to guess, they had helped each other get into their current conditions.  Given the two in question, Tulojow wasn't, exactly, surprised.  Nor was she in an immediate rush to get up from her own recliner.  "Please try not to get too much blood on the upholstery." 

She slipped a bookmark between the pages of her book and set it on a coffee table before creakily pushing herself to her feet.  She crossed the short distance to the other chair and waited until he'd finished wiggling out of his bloody shirt (which she took before it could be carelessly dumped on that might stain) took a gentle hold of Erin's chin, peering curiously at the damage done.  "Impressive," she concluded before limping over to where Dax stood. 

Again, she held out a hand for his empty shirt as she surveyed the injuries on the Hufflepuff's face.  "Alright, go ahead and take a seat," she instructed.  "Pippy!" she called.  With a slight pop, one of the Hogwarts elves appeared in the middle of the room, peering over a bowl of what appeared to be dumpling dough.  "You can return that to the kitchens - but when you come back, can you fetch me some warm water with half a cup of what's in the orange checkered jar?"  Another pop and the elf vanished; a moment later, another pop could be heard from in the cabin's kitchen. 

Tulojow turned back to Dax.  "Let's start with getting you- one second.  Open your mouth."

Erin did not see terribly dismayed by Tulojow's mild rebuke, instead only leaning forward obediently to keep his back off the upholstery. Strings of sticky blood and bits of tree trunk followed the removal of his shirt, his collar stiff and matted where it'd bordered the bite on his neck. He dropped the filthy shirt into Tulojow's waiting hands, the removal of the thing precipitating the sluggish flow of blood again where quick-forming scabs had been torn off. He bore the inspection of his face patiently, but once Tulojow had turned to examine Dax he slumped forward, elbows on his knees, fingers twitching occasionally with the after-effects of adrenalin.

His forehead wrinkled as he grimaced, trying to ignore the painful pounding behind his temples. Since no one was looking at him now, Erin was free to make all the horrible faces he wanted, or to poke at the blossoming bruises dotting his arms and side, or to twist to see the scrapes on his back, all of which he did now. His self-examination was brusque and ungentle, careless of the twinges of pain each action caused. Between prodding at tender skin his eyes flicked up, watching Dax, watching Tulojow.

Dax scowled at Ern as the younger boy looked at him, half wishing the healer would step pit of the room so he could accidently slip and have his fist land in Erin's fact again. No luck, though. And Dion would kill him...more than he'd kill him already.

Dion was going to be so damn pissed. That fact alone made his stomach feel worse; Erin might have hurt him, but Dion could punch as hard as Dax could. And wasn't likely to hold back just because he was injured.

He sighed hugely, and obediently opened his mouth partway - not entirely wanting to reveal that he'd lost a tooth. "Oit'sh not that bad," he said, closing his mouth to speak. "S'just some blood.."

Ahh ... these were the joys of playing Healer.  The undeniable cure for an achingly empty nest.  When one needed the bright eyed wonder and curiosity of childhood, it wasn't long before a first year came stumbling through the door with the effects of a misfired hex or a bout of homesickness.  And, when one was foolish enough to feel deprived of the rollercoaster ride of adolescence and the volatility of teenagers then ... well, it wasn't long before Erin Harper stumbled through the door. 

"Care to share what this wrestling match was about?"  Tulojow asked, glancing towards Erin.  She could hear bustling through the door behind her;  Pippy must have returned from the kitchen. 

"Sure.  Just some blood my ass," Tulojow repeated back, glancing up at the Hufflepuff.  "With that much blood, you've either bit off your tongue or-"  Tulojow sighed and reached out and gently pinched Dax' nostrils closed. 

"Bugger if I know," Erin said cheerfully. "He just jumped me. No, wait, I think I remember - " He bared his teeth in an almost-smile, startlingly white in a battered face and completely directed at Dax. "I talked to his boyfriend." There weren't enough hard hits in the world to make Erin not be an arse about this.

Dax tried to bluff and bluster his way out of an injury. Very macho, but Erin had tried that with Nagde before - didn't work. And while he was no healer, Erin could agree with her. The bloody spit dribbling from Dax's mouth suggested pretty limited options. Either he'd bitten his tongue, lost some teeth, or - this was Erin's favorite - maybe in one of those stomach punches something inside him had gotten busted. The thought made the pounding of his own abused head so much easier to bear.

He wondered again how long he could milk this and stay out of classes. That Nagde wasn't attending to him first was promising.

Dax growled and and started to open his mouth - then glared daggers at Erin. Bloody smarmy little-

"He's not my boyfriend. And you did not just talk to him, you twat," he snapped, and then Tulojow pinched his nose shut. The pain from his punched nose was enough for him to open his mouth in a gasp, breathing or no, and he felt throughly silly as he opened his mouth and breathed through it as calmly as possible.

"Bugger if I know."

"Really?"  Though phrased as a question, it was pretty obvious it wasn't a question she was expecting an answer for.  More than being a question that asked if Erin was telling the truth, it was likely more a question that asked if Erin really thought Tulojow was stupid enough to buy that response. 

An explanation started to unravel between the two boys.  She cast a quick glance between the two before turning back to the bloody evidence of their handiwork.  "So, there was a third participant?  I'm assuming they ended up in better shape?"  Or, hopefully, not involved at all. 

Dax finally opened his mouth.  In the midst of all the blood, it would have been hard to get a clear picture if it weren't for how glaringly obvious the missing tooth was.  Tulojow let out a long sigh and glanced over her shoulder at Erin, obviously displeased.  "I should craft a replacement out of your femur," she threatened - a not entirely empty threat.  She turned back to Dax.  "Do you think you swallowed it?" she asked.  "No chance it fell out wherever this little spat took place?"

The pint-sized house elf came tottering into the room, a bowl perched over her head and a stack of rags floating along behind her and set the bowl down on the bedside table.  Pippi took the stack of rags and held them up to Tulojow, within easy reach.  "Go grab me the potion in bottle fifty-three, would you?" Tulojow asked the elf who scurried off promptly to the cupboard. 

"Oh, you're right," Erin said, eyebrows raising in a mockery of surprise. "I also promised to not spill his sordid little secret! Even under threat of horrid beatings and terrible torture! Which, I have to admit, I wasn't really expecting to have to face." He paused in thought, then seemed to get back on track with the  deeply wry comment, "Yes, Fayette, aren't I a dirty little rotter."

Nagde didn't believe him either, more's the pity. Oh the angsty life of a Slytherin, forever scorned from telling the truth! Erin, who given his usual lack of innocence was quite used to this, did not take offence. He even bore her threat with the good humor of one who absolutely did not believe she'd go through with it, or at least not without replacing his femur when she was done.

He was getting fidgety, though, his headache feeling like it was thudding in his bones and making it harder to stay patient or nice. This easy bravado was all well and good in front of Nagde but it was irritating to have to look at Fayette and not be able to do anything. "Please let him have swallowed the thing," he muttered under his breath.

Dax ground his teeth - then regretted it. The moment Tulojow stepped way Erin was dead. Dead! Whiny lying little prat piece of vag-rag shite. His glare was extremely dark, mismatched eyes narrowed. Dooooouche.

"Whatever, you wanker," Dax snapped, ever the master of cunning insults. "You'd better keep your mouth shut or I'll - I don't know where the tooth is," he lied, turning to Tulojow mid-sentence. "It's probably buried in the clearing somewhere. It was coming loose anyway, I don't care." He wasn't going to admit he'd swallowed it, not in front of Harper. Not unles she made him absolutely swear to it.

He grinned, though. "You can make a replacement out of his femur. I'd like that, tht's pretty hardcore," he said.

Perhaps, forty-plus years as an Auror had been the ideal auxiliary training for Hogwarts school Healer.  It certainly prepared one to face just about anything the students might try to toss her way. Really, there wasn't that much difference between a smuggling ring and a pair of revenge-driven seventh years.  Especially when both of the combatants seemed hell bent on picking up where they left off as soon as they were healed enough to do so. 

"You weren't expecting to get bit by the rattlesnake you were tormenting?"  Tulojow asked, arching an eyebrow over in Erin's direction as Pippy scuttled back with a purple and grey bottle.  "Seems a pretty logical progression of events.  If, indeed, you spilled this sordid secret.  In fact, sounds like you had fair forewarning."  She uncorked the bottle and handed it over to Dax.  "Pretend it's mouthwash," she explained.  "Swish a mouthful and spit it out.  Repeat until the potion's clear.  You can use the sink in the bathroom or I can get you a basin."

A grin flickered at the corner of her mouth as the Hufflepuff invited her to follow up on her own threat  but, in light of answering, she simple gave the bottle a slight shake.  "Where exactly did this wrestling match take place?  I'll send Pippy out to look so we can get the thing put back in.  Unless you just want to go the golden route." 

 "You'd better keep your mouth shut or I'll -

Ever eloquent, Erin made a terribly obscene gesture in return.

He hadn't spilled Toko's damn secret. Nagde didn't get it. But further protest would only make it seem like he cared too much, make him sound like the injured party, make him sound like a whiny little prat who couldn't take a few punches; Erin squashed any blossoming pangs of faint betrayal and held his tongue. He really didn't mind being thought of as a troublemaker, or as the one who'd tempted this beating in the first place - that was, after all, the sort of thing he did. It was expected. It was manly. But it was Dax's involvement that really sent him over the edge.

Even now, the older boy's presence was grating on him.  They hadn't really finished their fight; they'd been interrupted just as it was really starting. He'd had no problem with Fayette before, but now he very definitely did. And he'd been wary of the boy's size before, but now he very definitely was not. He'd tasted blood and - not to quote a certain cult classic, but some things are unavoidable - he wanted more. He stared hard at Dax, fingers twitching against his thighs. Nagde was too canny to leave the room, but times like this Erin wished she wasn't.

"A gold tooth? Hell yeah I'll take one of those," Dax said happily, annoyance temporarily gone. "Don't send the poor elf out, just hook me up."

He was rather pointedly ignoring Erin, but Tulojow's apparent dismissal of Erin's whiny protests was certainly pleasing;  he couldn't help a slight triumphant glance at Erin. Had Tulo not been present, Dax might have stuck his tongue out, because secretly he was years old.

"Do I get a hat to go with that tooth?" he asked eagerly. "Purple looks really good on me."

"You sure?"  Tulojow arched an eyebrow in Dax' direction.  "Once we put a gold one in, we won't be able to put your real one in if you change your mind.  We could transfigure it to appear more tooth-like, but that can be painful." 

"Dare I ask?"  Tulojow asked, getting up from her spot by Dax and moving over towards Erin.  The verbal sparing seemed to be fading - at least enough for her to test the waters for an explanation.  Not that she needed one to satiate her own curiosity.  She would prefer it, though, if the boys didn't start at it the moment they left the hospital hut and, thereby, ruining all of her work.  "What brought about this particular competition?" 

Erin was a frequent enough visitor to the hospital hut to know that what was said in the hut remained in the hut.  At least as far as she was involved.  What either of the other boys did she had less control over.