Edward Pratt got more excited when rewriting reports for Charlene Malone than he did when visiting his older brother at St Mungo’s. Dan had a tendency to be very erratic whenever his younger sibling was visiting. He would be grumpy to start with because Ed ‘never visited’ and mention this a few times, next he would check his brother’s socks and then the other side of Dan would emerge. The blood purist, death eater personality he seemed to have gained the day the attack happened. It was the part Ed liked the least and the main reason the auror stayed away from his big brother.

Dan and Ed had never gotten on. They’d always been opposites. They hadn’t agreed on much but a career choice but Ed still cared about his brother. He missed the young lad that would cause him grief and rub his nose in the fact that Dan was in fact more senior at work. Now Dan just threw a tantrum when someone wore odd socks or a halfblood came to visit him.

Now Dan was about to be told he would be getting two less visitors coming to see him.

Despite his own personal issues with visiting his brother, the younger Pratt knew that he had to do this. He didn’t want anyone else telling Dan and if he left it much longer someone would. The lucid part of the former auror would no doubt be wondering when his parents would be coming into his depressing little room to have a friendly chat about utter rubbish.

This was why Ed, came straight to St Mungo’s from the ministry, cloaked in his auror robes. The clean, smart robes provided a contrast to the auror’s general appearance. It was obvious he hadn’t shaved for the last couple of days due to the dark blonde stubble forming and the dark circles around his eyes betrayed the stress and the lack of sleep he was experiencing. But he couldn’t sleep. Not properly. His colleagues had tried to help, to cheer him up but getting drunk and rolling into work the following day with a hangover wasn’t going to change what had happened.

“I need to see Daniel Pratt.” The blonde auror grabbed hold of a passing mediwitch to stop them in their march down the corridor of the ward he was presently stood on. “And get his healer. I ‘ent gonna be the one to restrain ‘im when he goes crazy again.”

Vivienne Thorpe was sat down in the Healers' room on the fourth floor- a tiny, green room with couches, chairs and a tea table full of drinks or snacks. It was a cozy space, appreciated by staff members who needed socializing between shift breaks. It was empty this afternoon. The window was propped open and a hazy grey light slept in, unnoticed in the warm glow of wall lamps. Viv took up an entire leather couch with her long legs stretched out from underneath her robes while she leant against the armrest. Having just come in for her first shift today, she was decidedly quite relaxed.

The witch held a mug of steaming tea in one hand and a book in the other. A Passage to India, an old favourite. There was still some time before she would have to make rounds and in spite of the miserable weather outside, it felt like this was going to be a pleasant evening. Uneventful, if her dull morning at home was any indication at all.

The door creaked open and Viv glanced up from a terribly convoluted metaphor about caves- a young mediwitch fastened her eyes on the Healer. "There is an auror here to see patient Pratt," she said in a straightforward tone. Vivienne shut her book and set down her drink. Daniel Pratt. Former auror. Quiet to mildly aggressive behaviour with rare, volatile bursts of violence. Short-term memory issues. She had only just seen him recently, after having volunteered to treat the patient who had snapped and killed a Healer here. Yesterday, Pratt had thrown a cup of chocolate pudding at Viv because of an unfortunate mix-up with the salt and sugar bags downstairs (not a good day for the St.Mungo's kitchens).

She wrinkled her nose at this memory and told the mediwitch that she'd be along to the Janus Thickey ward soon. An auror, come to see an ex-auror. Pratt's file mentioned an auror brother, among family members. Vivienne left the Healer's room and was brusquely walking down the corridor in no time, recovering her usual air of efficiency. Her workload on the fourth floor was piling up; it had reached a point where she didn't have time to help out at the other departments, like some of her colleagues. Everything had to be done at a quick, proficient pace.

Vivienne turned a corner to find the dreaded robes of an auror draped on the figure of something that resembled a functioning wizard. The man looked  haggard, slightly unkept. He was clearly suffering the effects of some sort of mental or emotional strain. "Auror Pratt, I presume?" Viv heard herself say in a pleasant, professional voice. Her lips were curved in a calm and sympathetic smile. The smile that was now mechanical, in spite of authenticity. Aurors. They were constantly in the process of hurting other people- or simply hurting themselves.

"My name is Vivienne Thorpe and  I'm your brother's new Healer. He's been under my care for a few days now." The witch extended her hand politely.

Now stood at the ward’s front desk, Ed found himself peering down at the files and pieces of scribbled on parchment scattered across the wooden surface. From his position he very quickly noticed that the handwriting was similar to his, barely legible. Apparently that was customary of most healers and mediwitches. Like with aurors, legibility of handwriting wasn’t necessary. Or somehow Ed had just got around that one with a cheeky grin and decent wand work. Healer spent more time in books than writing them so their scrawl was shot.

Ed’s nosiness was interrupted by the arrival of a female healer. His squinting ceased and instead tired eyes found the witch who was addressing him and offering the kind of smile they all did when dealing with the rarely visiting relatives of a nutter. The patronising ‘what a pity’ smile that came with dealing with mad people all day. Ed gruffly nodded as he eyed her suspiciously, green eyes making a quick scan over her figure in analysis. He didn’t much like healers, even if his ex-wife still adamantly wanted to become one to help people. He’d had too many dealings with the lime green clan for his liking thanks to his career choice.

Dan certainly had had a lifetime’s worth of dealings with the green robed sadists.

“Right.” Ed muttered, grasping her hand in his own and giving it a firm shake. He let go swiftly and glanced past the healer and down the hallway towards where he remembered his brother was last time he’d visited. He hadn’t been since bringing the children. Dan was always too volatile. Or at least that was Ed’s excuse for his lack of motivation to see his old brother. He was never going to admit to himself or anyone else that he in fact found it upsetting and painful.

Green eyes once more shot back to meet grey and Ed shoved his hands into the pockets of his red robes. “So ye don’t know much about him.” Following the plainly stated accusation, Pratt began to walk down the corridor in the direction he’d marched often before, glancing sideways at the healer. “Ye’ll need to be around to sedate ‘im for when he loses it. Got some bad news to tell ‘im and I’d rather not control me own brother, that’s your job. Would be nice if ye got it right this time.”

Edward Pratt had a firm handshake, a northern accent and he was not a Healer's favourite kind of visitor. The kind who dreaded more than anticipated. Still, he was to-the-point. Always appreciated.

"So ye don't know much about him," the auror told Vivienne who -still cordial- nodded her head in affirmation as she gracefully turned to walk by him down the passageway leading to patient Pratt's room. Looking straight ahead, she listened to the wizard while reaching into her pocket to retrieve her wand; it was protocol ever since the... incident with Pratt's former Healer. Never enter his room unprepared. "Ye'll need to be around to sedate 'im for when he loses it. Got some bad news to tell 'im and I'd rather not control me own brother, that's your job. Would be nice if ye got it right this time."

A subtle, amused expression crossed Vivienne's features and she glanced at the auror as they turned into the end of the corridor. There's always someone telling you how to do your job around here: "Of course, auror Pratt." This was her pacifying reply. She halted at the door and turned to look at the man beside her.

"You should know that I have taken the liberty of arranging his room differently. Daniel was upset but he appears to have adjusted," Viv informed her patient's brother, eyes first meeting his and then shifting to the room door. It was a calming sky blue- she had insisted on the colour scheme. Vivienne belonged to the group of Healers who strongly believed in the therapeutic effects of different environments. "Shall we then?" The Healer knocked three times before gently swinging the door inwards. She stepped aside as soon as she was in, to allow Auror Pratt room to enter.

Daniel Pratt had initially been quite indifferent to the change in his quarters. His edginess and grumbling had only started when the mediwitches asked him if he had liked it. Viv suspected he was displacing some other upset emotion.
The walls were a very pale shade of blue and several chairs in the room had been removed, to prevent the tiny room from looking cluttered. A window at one end of the room was shut but someone had drawn the curtains open. Vivienne saw that it was drizzling outside. The grey light was depressing and she flicked her wand; a warm, mandarin glow slowly filled the room. Patient Pratt was sat on his bed, attention withdrawn from a blank wall and deposited on his two visitors.

He’d been in his thoughts, mulling over a variety of subjects. A piece of parchment sat near him, as of yet blank. Another one (the letter from his brother) was held lightly between his fingertips. Now and again he would startle, glancing around at his surroundings as if he wasn’t sure where he was or how long he’d dozed off for. The area felt similar but different… It was hard to judge a lot of things these days.

Dan glanced down at the letter as if just remembering he was holding something. As his eyes scanned the familiar handwriting, he felt an odd jolt through him at the words. His brother was coming to visit? Blinking, his eyes glanced around the room, focusing on the door for a few moments, before turning back to the window. One leg was curled underneath him and he absentmindedly pulled at his sock with his free hand.

He liked the rain. The sound of it was a reassuring, continuous tap-tap-tap. It was soothing.

Until it was abruptly changed. Or at least the area around him was… suddenly different. Frowning in incomprehension, Daniel looked around the room, glancing to the ceiling, and finally back behind him. There stood the obvious culprits. Frowning, noticing the auror robes, Daniel slowly pushed himself up, still gripping the letter in his hand. “Is it time for a patrol?” It took the man a few moments to remember he wasn’t in auror robes as well.

Brushing himself off, straightening himself out a little, Daniel tried to recall what day it was. Glancing down at the parchment in his hand, he tapped it with a finger, grinning suddenly. “Oh, right.” Stepping forward, the grin slid off his face as he focused on the two at the entrance to his room. Perhaps he should have consulted his diary first. Maybe it was his birthday and Ed came by to wish him a happy one. “What color socks do ye have on?”

Instead of staying where he was, however, Daniel stepped forward suddenly towards the two, stopping abruptly in front of his brother before lifting the robes for himself. What if Ed just lied to him? Clearly trust issues were the last things to worry about fixing in Dan's case. Nodding to himself, he let the robes go and stood back up. "What day of the week is it?" Scratching at the scruff on his cheeks, he wondered how long it had been since he'd had a shave.

“Just...Ed right now, eh Viv?” Eddie corrected the healer. He wasn’t on duty. Right then, Ed was just a family member visiting a patient. No titles and no responsibilities more than to impart some news upon said patient. He’d ventured here straight from the office, the auror robes were simply a decoration he’d kept on to shield the rain on the way to the wizarding hospital.

The room didn’t look that different. At least Ed didn’t think so. But then he was very rarely there and when he did visit, the decoration of his brother’s hospital room never really interested him. Instead he spent his time trying not to set his older brother off on one of his violent episodes. He spent the time trying to guess how exactly Dan had apparently improved. His Dad had always been telling him of the work being done to help him recover his memory. Ed didn’t see any improvements and his Dad certainly wasn’t there to point them out.

Dan’s eyes scanned the room before finally settling on the couple at the door. Ed shifted uncomfortably for a moment, expression stoic before he stepped fully into the room and offered his brother a small reassuring smile. A strained smile that didn’t manage to reach the tired eyes. Dan stood and with hands in his pockets stopped in his movement further into the room. He waited for his confused brother’s next move before continuing.

The somewhat disjointed northern voice questioned the colour of Ed’s socks and the auror frowned. His brother didn’t seem to have improved at all. And before he was able to respond, the pyjama clad wizard decided to take it upon himself to do his own bit of research. He approached and pulled the crimson robes up to be greeted with a pair of black, well worn socks only just showing above his thick black boots.

“Thursday.” The blonde wizard stated as he eyed his brother cautiously. After a moment, his right hand emerged from the pocket of his robes, holding a pair of socks, tied together by a single black ribbon. He extended his arm, offering them to the strangely obsessed wizard in his mid thirties. “How are ye? Are they lookin’ after ye alright ‘ere mate?”

A glance was quickly cast in the healer’s direction before Ed crossed his arms over his chest and looked back at his older, volatile sibling.

Vivienne watched with equal parts of amusement and concern as patient Pratt lifted his brother's robes to take a gander at the auror's socks.  She noted the black socks with a wry smile, reminded of something her brothers used to say- your socks are the colour of your soul. Viv fancied that most aurors wore black socks.

"What day of the week is it?" Daniel scratched at his cheeks and Ed Pratt replied with a careful look in his green eyes. Vivienne subtly took a single step  away from the brothers, studying the two of them objectively. Both could have used a good shave; ironically the patient appeared more well-rested. The rain outside fell heavily now and the Healer stole a quick glance out of the window. This case was new to her and there had been given little time to go over her patient's treatment; but she had insisted on the mildest of settings for the meantime. They would eventually have to start pushing him, she supposed and her calm expression turned grim momentarily.

"How are ye?" Ed was speaking now, "Are they lookin' after ye alright 'ere mate?" Viv felt him glance briefly at her but she ignored him and gazed in Daniel's general direction. Socks. It was an odd fixation. They would have to get around to that. She held both hands behind her back, contemplatively. Her wand rested in a firm grip- normally there would be no need for this... the patient was hardly showing any signs of aggression. But they had been warned of his surprising instability and she'd rather not be lectured on how to do her job twice in one day.

Worn though they might be, they matched. And fit with the robes, oddly enough. Letting the robes back down, Daniel felt some relief, as if his brother would know to wear his normal socks. Which he did… if only because Dan had flown off the handle so many times because of them. Daniel’s own were argyle socks, his favorite style. His second favorite style was plain. If one spent an afternoon with him, they might come away with that knowledge.

Thursday… of what month? And then the questions in his head would compound on each other until he felt panicked. Instead, he took a slow breath and focused on the offered present. Blinking, Daniel reached out and accepted the socks, a half smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Shrugging at the questions, Daniel tried to think of the last time Ed had given him something.

Then again, Daniel’s memory wasn’t so hot.

Instead, he stepped a little closer to Ed, into that comfort ‘bubble’ zone, and awkwardly placed a hand on the top of his brother’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze before retreating a step or two. Blinking, he seemed to remember the Auror robes. “Mam must be proud.” Another frown slid on to his features and he shook his head, his face screwing up, as if unable to believe his use of tense. “Or… she’s been proud for… a bit...” How long had Ed been in Auror robes?

Then he focused on the things that mattered. Thursday. Stepping back towards his bed, he set the socks (still with the ribbon around them) on the nightstand and pulled out his diary. Flipping it open, he focused on the date, frowning in concentration. “Oh…” Using his pencil, he scribbled, glanced to the socks, made another scribble. Nodding to himself, he glanced back up to the two. If his handwriting was to be trusted, it had been a while since anyone had visited. Compared to usual, anyway. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he held the diary precariously in his fingertips.

His mum had the diary made special for him. Important dates (holidays and birthdays and things to remember) popped up, and the day expanded as needed to fit what Daniel wanted to write. It was still something to get used to, something the healers reminded him to use. “Remember the time I told you the bath could swallow you whole?” A small grin came to his lips as he thought about it. “You overfilled it again and again… I thought mam was going to skin you alive.”

Tapping his diary, he focused once again. “Did you get her something nice for her birthday?” No doubt their dad would take her out for dinner. Anything to keep the woman away from cooking. A laugh escaped him (not a common normal Dan response). "Ed. How about when we made the mud pie and almost convinced her it was her cake she'd baked the day before?"

“And it probably would have tasted better.” A small smile graced the aurors lips but failed to reach his green eyes, instead leaving them sad and tired. While growing up the boys had become skilful at avoiding their mother’s cooking. Ed always remembered his mam trying to tell the boys and their Dad that there was nothing wrong with her food. She would explain to them that the more black a chicken was the safer it was to eat, people that made chicken succulent and juicy were just crazy. In reality, in over 70 years the mother had never figured out that ovens had multiple choices for temperature and the Pratt boys and their Dad had suffered the consequences.

But Eddie wasn’t here to joke about their mother’s cooking, or to discuss her birthday, which he was surprised Dan had even thought about. No, Ed was here to no doubt set his big brother back by several years of hard work on the healer’s part.

“Dan...” The wizard sighed and walked around the bed to face his brother. Then he lowered himself to perch on the windowsill. Ed leant forwards, resting his elbows on his thighs and put his palms together in his usual ‘I have bad news to give’ pose. He frowned and surveyed his older brother, the permanent patient of St Mungo’s. The wizard Ed thought about all the time but never visited.

“Mam and Dad...” He could tell Dan the truth, that they’d been murdered because he was an idiot who always put his job first and didn’t think about the consequences. Or he could tell Dan something that wouldn’t make him freak out. Eddie took a long breath before making eye contact with his brother and adopted a more professional tone of voice, distancing his own emotion from the situation. “They passed a few days back, Daniel.”

Studying his brother closely, Ed prepared himself for any unstable reaction. Dan went crazy is someone wore polka-dot socks, how would he react at the death of his parents? “I would have come sooner, Dan but it’s been crazy. I’ve barely had chance to sleep since.” As was obvious from his rough appearance. In reality Ed had been trying to build himself up to this point. He felt responsible for Dan and he cared about his brother despite what his absence from the hospital showed. Now he had to tell this vulnerable wizard he’d grown up with why his parents wouldn’t be visiting anymore. And regardless of what his stoic expression was showing, it was tearing him apart inside.

Another short laugh escaped him. It probably would have… that was kind of sad. Shaking his head at that, Dan glanced to the windows, listening to the rain for a moment. Thankfully the meals hadn’t been frequent that their mother had made. Charlie had always been good at that, and had worked on soothing Brooke and her easy to bruise ego when the boys would react poorly to her attempt at feeding them.

Wasn’t it some sort of child maltreatment, to try and poison your only sons?

Blinking at the sound of his name, Dan tore his gaze away from the hypnotic rain and focused on his little brother. Ed was looking so old… so worn out. Frowning with slight concern, however brief, he felt himself tensing up. It didn’t look like a good position for Edward to take. Some small bit of anxiety started to build up in the back of his head, his breathing becoming slightly more shallow than usual.

They passed. He blinked, his face oblivious to the statement, a mask of his feelings as he ran the words over and over in his head. His breathing was coming a little quicker, his chest rising faster, but he was keeping outwardly calm. Glancing down at the planner in his hand, Dan wondered if he wanted to write that down or not. He wasn’t really listening to Ed.

Did he want to cry? Was he even capable of tears anymore? Ed had said their parents were dead, right? A tongue ran over his lips as his foot started to bounce up and down, his leg shaking. He was starting to get outwardly anxious. Who was going to visit him? Who was going to encourage him? Who was going to send him socks and pictures and encouraging words?

His eyes fogged over, a haze of vision assaulting him unexpectedly. Blinking in confusion, he wiped the first tear away, then the next, finally ending with the end of his palm squeezing his eyes shut, attempting to blotch out his tears with the heel of his hand. He was feeling selfish over their deaths. And if Ed tried to say ‘April Fools,’ Daniel would strangle him.

The thought forced his calm nature aside. Throwing the planner against the wall, he let out a yell, deep gutted and full of anger. He shouted it to Ed, to the wall, to the ceiling. He grabbed for whatever was near, but the bedding wasn’t allowing his frustration out. Beating at it in irritation, he stood up unsteadily. “Leave useless Dan in the hospital. Don’t tell him. Let him wait.” His parents visiting had started being the highlight of his days. When he wrote it down and reflected back on what he could remember.

Now, though, he wanted to forget ever being Daniel Pratt. He wanted memories and good times and thoughts gone from his head. He didn’t want this pain and emptiness. His brother visited him when forced by his parents. Now he was going to be left to rot in here.

Dan knew the bed was unmovable. But his brother was not. Maybe a little rough play was what he needed right then. Focusing as best he could on Edward, he let out another yell. What use was it, going day to day if all he was going to do was sit here, eat the hospital food, play with his socks, and go to therapy to pretend he was getting better? All his frustration ended with a charge towards Ed.

"Mam and Dad..."

Vivienne stood, watching Ed Pratt speak from his place on the window sill- hands together, expression sombre. More than just sombre: sad. "They passed a few days back." Those words carried a great weight in them. It was just the kind of news that made Viv herself feel a little melancholy. Day in and day out, she heard things like this. Patients passed away, their families passed away- friends just disappearing into time. Her sympathetic gaze rested on the auror and in spite of her dislike for the field, she often wondered at their resilience. Ed observed his brother with practiced caution and Viv, unsure of how patient Pratt would react to this news, followed suit by shifting her gaze to Daniel. Her grip on her wand tightened.

“I would have come sooner, Dan but it’s been crazy. I’ve barely had chance to sleep since.” Ed told the wizard on the bed and a kind of silence fell in the room. The Healer avoided looking at the visiting sibling, she could only keep her focus on Daniel because he was her patient- which meant he was her world, for a few hours every day. And her world was looking oddly calm in spite of the news. But she could hear his breathing pick up, could see the thoughts roll over in his eyes like some turbulent tempest on the inside. Tears.

Vivienne kept her wand hand at her side now, still alert. Expression concerned. It would not do to comfort him. Pratt was not that kind of patient right now. In a burst of movement, he suddenly gripped his planner and hurled it at the wall- it went whizzing by, narrowly missing Viv's right shoulder. She stood still, nearly serenely, listening to him scream and struggle. A distant part of her mind noted that he had quite the set of lungs. But then he stood and  in spite of herself, the Healer instinctively took a step back. “Leave useless Dan in the hospital. Don’t tell him. Let him wait.”

The hard tone of his voice served as Viv's initial warning and she slowly lifted her wand, sure that Daniel Pratt was already far too focused on his brother to take notice of her. Didn't really matter if she anticipated it or not; every damn time a patient acted up, she found herself surprised. So when patient Pratt yelled out and began to charge towards Ed, her first reaction was to grit her teeth together in irritation... her second was to force them apart to cast a spell.

"STUPEFY!" Vivienne's voice felt loud and imperious, coming from lips much more accustomed to the soft but solid charms of healing. Her wand directed a crimson bolt of light towards Daniel as she found herself very quickly stepping between the brothers, her posture defensive and her jaw tense.

It would always feel wrong, hurting the ones you are trying to heal.

The primary reaction for Daniel Pratt might have made one feel more relaxed. But that didn’t work for Edward Pratt. The ex-auror sat there staring at his younger brother, the man that as a boy had reluctantly looked up to him and envied him.

Dan had always been the golden boy, the son that their parents were always so proud of. He’d been a Hufflepuff like their dad; he’d been a prefect and started training as an auror straight out of school. His younger brother, the now aged, stubbly wizard sat eying him carefully had spent 7 years at Hogwarts causing trouble and getting high grades by what had seemed pure luck and a little help from his girlfriend, he’d spent 2 years out of school chasing a dream that would never materialize and got his girlfriend pregnant at 21. Dan was the angel. Dan was the son destined to go places. Dan was the wrong brother to be injured.

Eddie still felt guilty now. Which was why he rarely visited his brother. And now as his bright green eyes studied Dan’s bleak blue, Eddie frowned deeper. There were tears forming in the corners of his brother’s eyes and dripping down an cheek as stubby as Ed's.

The yell was half expected. Some sort of angry, loud, aggressive reaction was expected. But it didn’t shock the haggard auror any less. He blinked and sat back against the window as Dan threw the diary their mum had given him at the wall. Ed didn’t look away from his brother to see the hardback book clatter to the floor. His eyes remained expertly trained on the volatile patient as Dan stood up and shouted at his sibling.

“Leave useless Dan in the hospital. Don’t tell him. Let him wait.”

The ex-auror released another yell and advanced for his younger brother. Ed stood and withdrew his wand but before he could comprehend the notion of using it on his own brother, before he could think of a possible curse to shoot that way, the healer shouted her own.

"STUPEFY!"

Any aggression tensing the ex-auror’s muscles vanished as instead his body seized up as the spell reached every inch of his bone, blood, muscle and skin. He fell back, landing hard on the tiled floor with a thump. Eddie stared, aghast at the figure of his older brother. Both Pratt siblings remained motionless for a moment.

Finally green eyes shot up to fall on the healer and a wave of anger engulfed the auror’s senses.
“What the HELL?” He suddenly roared, wand pointed ahead, scowling at the woman that had just taken his brother down with an overeager curse. “I said sedate ‘im! Calm ‘im down! Not flamin’ well knock me brother unconscious ye incompetent witch!”

Vivienne Thorpe felt a sick, bitter feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched her patient fall to the floor, dead weight like a stone. That was not a particularly good sight. She paused and was then about to walk over to him when, with excellent timing, she felt the auror behind her start- it was not so intimidating a sound after listening to Daniel Pratt screaming but still, it set her teeth grinding.

“What the HELL?” He boomed: “I said sedate ‘im! Calm ‘im down! Not flamin’ well knock me brother unconscious ye incompetent witch!”

The Healer's cheeks went bright red at this: two claims of incompetency in less than an hour! But she ignored it- even if only because she didn't want to turn around and face Ed, who she decidedly would not have liked even if he wasn't a bloody auror. Swiftly, Viv took a step towards Daniel's stiff form and dropped to one knee. She placed the tip of her wand on his forearm gently and looked him over- no real damage, really. She lifted the wand and flicked it downwards again- a pale, sheer light washed over Dan's form.

It had been a rash decision to stupefy him but ever since Viv had heard about the colleague who Daniel Pratt had harmed, that had been the only spell at the tip of her tongue each time she entered this room. Or a binding charm but there wasn't any rope handy. Listening to Ed had, however, made her feel a little guilty. Not that she would let him know it; Merlin, he was a grumpy nightmare. Vivienne turned around and looked up at her patient's brother, speaking as if though she was apologizing for being late to a dinner party, "I'm very sorry about that, it must have been instinct. I've sedated him now but he should be set down on the bed if you want to revive him."  Her expression was mildly apologetic but she doubted that Pratt cared- her only comfort was that he remained unharmed. Better to receive a grumpy auror than treat one.

 One minute he was in full sprint, the next he was… not. Whoever said for every action there is an equal reaction had never met the end of a stupefy. Daniel felt his body stop, though everything felt like it was thrown against a wall. And then he landed with a thud on the ground, his breathing still fast as he tried to focus. But he couldn’t move!

And then he thought about what he would do if he had an itch. Then suddenly his nose started to itch. All he wanted to do was itch it! And rub at his sore shoulder that he’d landed on. And tell the spell caster a thing or—that itch was not going away! Daniel tried to focus, tried to think of something else, tried to listen to the conversation going on near him. If he could have given them a piece of his mind, he didn’t think Ed would be able to talk over him.

However, he was only able to curse the both of them out in his head, wanting to glare and being unable to. Torturous as it was, he could only wait for it to wear off. Then he felt the tip of a wand on his arm, and it made him want to itch there. Until everything started to fade into a blurriness, and his breathing slowed down, eyes not as focused as they were. Sedation was helpful...

The blood rushing through Edward Pratt’s veins was practically boiling as he roared at the female before him. The sudden rush of anger was regretful but utterly expected. His mentally unstable brother had just been shot to the ground by a healer’s over eager wand, knocked unconscious after being told his parents were dead. Daniel’s reaction had been expected which was why Ed had requested Thorpe’s presence. But he had certainly expected a more sedate method of controlling his big brother. What he had just witnessed was brutal. Obviously Eddie Pratt had seen far worse, he had done far worse. During the war he had killed, maimed and arrested. But the wizard lying stiff on the ground before him was his own brother.

Taking a long deep breath, Eddie tried to calm himself. Lucky for the auror, while his temper was quick to grow and he would snap instantly, he tended to calm just as quickly. He had anger management problems, Eddie knew that, but so did his colleagues, friends and family. They all allowed for it and accepted it. This healer didn’t. But the auror looked down at her and nodded. The way she spoke grinded on him but he tried hard to brush it off and instead pointed his wand at his brother, levitating the now less rigid unconscious body.

“It’s probably best we don’t yet.” He muttered through gritted teeth as he still focused on calming himself down. The situation was difficult enough without Ed losing it and having a go at his brother’s healer for a quick yet thankfully harmless mistake. Dan’s body was gently lowered on the bed and Ed stepped over to him, frowning deeply. “More sensible to keep him like that for a while. Or you’ll only be sedating ‘im again as soon as he realises.”

A pair of bright green eyes looked up from the patient on the bed to meet the healer’s. “I didn’t mean to yell. It’s been a tough week, Viv.”