Chapter 4: Shopping and Hidden Brilliance
She pointed at the sky-blue bedspread. It had clouds and birds scattered across it and after one light touch to the soft material he could see the determination on her face. After lunch, of which she had been very indecisive, they made a list of things that she would need. He had told her that she would be in full command of telling him what she liked and disliked. He made it seem very important, and very serious that she makes decisions. Alas, she seemed to take each decision then with determination, a small fire lit in her eyes when she told him something she wanted. Meanwhile, when others glanced at her or stopped to speak to him, she receded into his cloak like a kangaroo into its mother's pocket, but the headmaster could tell that she felt safe with him. More scared at being taken away than anything else.
They picked a few more bedding pieces before walking to the cashier and packing them into Dumbledore's bag, which had been magically enlarged to fit the onslaught of things that she'd need. It was then they made their way to a clothing store. Clothes were much more difficult than bedspreads had been. His ward was very small and tended to swim a little bit in the clothes that they tried on. After getting a handful of outfits, all of which were slightly altered, Dumbledore put in an order for custom made clothing to fit her a bit better in size and stature. They then made their way to get her hair trimmed, for which she sat extremely still and stiff for, anxious about the sharp scissors that floated and made their way around her head. He only had the hairdresser cut off two inches after they professionally washed it. It shone a light brown with the occasional streak of nearly blond hair.
Following that, Dumbledore finally took her to one of the children's shops in a small offshoot of Diagon Ally. His choice was extremely wise, as they walked in and he could feel the excitement make its way off her and around the room. There were stacks of stuffed animals on one side, a section for children's books, puzzles, coloring materials, as well as cars, dolls, action figures, and board games. The look on her face was the first one he had seen of child-like astonishment.
"Fifteen items." He said aloud and watched her bite her lip and look around again.
Watching her decision process was delightful for the old man. She stood in front of the stuffed animals, unmoving for five minutes before shaking eight paws and choosing three. She then made her way to the cars and chose two. One deck of cards was picked, after consulting with Dumbledore that he knew both single-player and multiple player games. She then chose six books, ranging from a picture book of a cat on the cover to a 3rd-year level novel about a detective. She chose three puzzles, and when Dumbledore noticed her glancing at the coloring books he allowed her to grab three and colored pencils.
Their basket was very full when they finally paid, the store owner curious and friendly, but too shy to ask why the Headmaster of Hogwarts was shopping for a 7-year-old.
By the time they finished, Dumbledore picked up the child and apparated back to the castle, making his way onto the grounds and toward the main entrance. Just after climbing the stairs, he realized the young one in his arms had nodded off to sleep, not minding the slight jostling that he made when he walked with her. The soft smile that she had on her face was the pillar of innocence, and when he finally laid her down in bed for a nap, he couldn't help but adjust her newly cut hair out of her face and sit next to her for a few moments, adjusting her first stuffed animal in her arms. When she sighed, he made his way back to his office to let Fawkes in and to get a little bit of work done, including sending out a few letters from owls he called down to the perch at his window.
Kenna woke up about 10 minutes before Minerva arrived to respond to his recently sent letter. The young one still moved very lightly on her feet and he had hardly noticed her approach him at his desk. Her mental reach just softly pressed against his own, gathering his attention to her presence. When Minerva did enter his office, she found the young girl sitting on Albus's lap, looking at a book he had open as his pen finished his letter for him and he flipped the page. The moment the elder woman entered, the young girl perked up and watched her once more with bright green eyes. This time though, she was dressed in a much newer outfit, and her hair was gently pulled back into a ponytail.
"Albus," She couldn't help but sigh, realizing the result of their visit to the ministry.
"Minerva! Let me re-introduce my daughter Kenna Hope Dumbledore."
The elder woman couldn't help but sigh and shake her head. Still, a gracious smile made its way to her face and she gave a careful and somewhat distant wave. The girl responded with the same.
"I was hoping we could review Professor arrivals and re-visit our welcome back meeting to equip for our new castle-guest." The headmaster smiled down at the small one on his lap. Minerva had to assume they were conversing silently as Dumbledore nodded his head and said aloud "I'm sure they'll all like you very much."
While the Head of Gryffindor House was annoyed at the headmaster for refusing to allow the girl to be adopted by another, she could understand how difficult it would be to refuse her huge green eyes that showed nearly every emotion that went through her mind. The girl's talent also seemed to do wonders for her impression, and Minerva felt even more curious about what the future for her would bring.
"I'm sure we can adjust the schedule a little bit. Miss Kenna may have to sit in on a few classes during the week, but I'm sure Hagrid would love to have some help with tending to the grounds."
"That is a great idea. I also wanted to make sure it was okay that I specified you alongside my brother as an emergency contact and next of kin. Kenna, do you mind taking your book over to the chair to read while we chat about work?" The small girl nodded her head and folded the corner of her book, shutting it and slipping off her new father's lap. As she walked by Minerva, the older woman was able to make out the title of the novel: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The girl plopped herself down on the chair closest to the bookshelf and seemed to curl right into it, opening her book once more and burying her nose in it.
Minerva looked back to Dumbledore.
"I know you mentioned you were going to head on vacation tomorrow, so I wanted to make sure we got a chance to chat before then."
"I will be back the week before the term begins. Our trip will not be long, and you can always contact me." The woman looked at the young girl once more. "You're sure you want a child running around this castle?"
"She will be fine, I'm sure of it. I plan on making introductions to other castle members before the end of the week."
"The elves?"
"Yes, as well as Filch and the ghosts,"
"And you're positive that will go over?"
"I think it will be best for her to avoid as many surprises as possible. And Peeves is not known for his ability to stay hidden or calm."
Minerva nodded, though she was still skeptical of the expressed plan.
Minerva and Dumbledore paused as they looked at the girl sitting on the chair. She almost seemed to disappear curled up the way she was. She kept her nose in the book and traced the moving pictures with her finger as she read. Soon, the two adults became caught up in the discussion of classes and schedules, trying to formulate a good program and way about having a child in the castle. Minerva was not very happy but knowing what was done was done she began to try and look out for the small girl's best interest. For all intents and purposes, she was now her godmother.
Occasionally they would glance over to see if the girl was still engrossed in her book. Curled up, she was facing the adults so they couldn't see what she was reading about, but she seemed to be very interested and was almost flying through the book. Minerva knew that Fantastic Beasts was a common love for young children and first-year students, as it included a ton of creatures and moving pictures.
After about half an hour there was movement over by the chair. Fawkes had hopped off his stand and made his way over to her. Perched on the chair cushion he seemed to nudge the young girl. She carefully reached out a hand to scratch underneath the bird's wing feathers, causing it to adjust and shake its body. Dumbledore paused their conversation and they both watched the girl as she flipped through the pages and lifted the book up for the bird to see, pointing at something. The bird seemed to peck at the book and then at the girl once more. It tugged on her stuffed animal and she ultimately moved to the floor next to the chair to engage in what looked to be like a game.
Minerva watched very carefully. Fawkes had always been a figure in the headmaster's office, but she'd never seen him interact in such a way with a child. The young girl seemed to be having a conversation with it, and phoenixes were smart animals, but Minerva was pretty sure they didn't speak English or any commonly spoken language in the wizarding world.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "She seems to have quite an interest in animals. I think she'll love helping Hagrid and Kettleburn on their off days"
The transfiguration professor just nodded her head and gave him a small smile. "She could probably help in the owlery too."
The two professors continued their conversation and mapping out the school class schedule, trying to make marks where Kenna would fit in. They had her sitting in a few of McGonagall's older transfiguration classes, deemed to be safer, and a few of the younger student's care of magical creatures and herbology classes. They also were beginning to make a plan for her own education, including Arithmetic and Basic writing skills.
"I did take her to the hospital, and they said her vocal cords are not fully developed for lack of use. So, we'll need to work on building up her language ability."
Knowing she was the topic of the conversation, Kenna sat quietly and watched the adults, half mindedly petting the phoenix that was trying to bury its head in her armpit. "Well, that will need to be taken slowly. I can assist with her learning Latin, it would be good preparation for her time in school. I'm pretty sure Flitwick speaks French as well, we should try to make sure she practices all the sounds now. There are one or two students that arrive at Hogwarts and struggle to make the proper incantations because of their pronunciation."
"Or is it their intentions?" Dumbledore smiled. "That's always been a very curious science without many studies done on it. As has the use of wands, she almost seems to have control over her magic without one."
The transfiguration professor seemed a little less than sure about that. At another glance though, they both realized the girl was listening to them.
"Kenna. How does afternoon tea sound to you, love?"
As a response, the girl nodded her head and made her way to the desk. Dumbledore called a house-elf in to prepare a table and the tea and offered a seat to McGonagall, and then one in between them to Kenna. The girl scrambled up onto the chair, which had to be raised slightly higher for her to reach the table properly. Tea and biscuits landed gently a moment later, and Dumbledore set to pouring the tea. He brought the girl into the conversation this time around. "Did you finish your book?"
She nodded her head.
"What was your favorite creature in it?"
Phoenix. She hadn't touched either of the adults, but they could both hear her voice in their heads. McGonagall tried to keep the surprise off her face when she realized that Dumbledore had heard the girl as well. He just nodded his head to her. The answer was almost immediate, and Fawkes ruffled his feathers from where he sat back on his perch. He let out a bit of a squawk as well.
"And your second favorite creature?"
The girl pouted for a moment as she thought about them. Mooncalves.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Mooncalves?"
They have long necks and big eyes and they live in burrows and they come out during the full moon, they make crop circles and they dance and stand on their hind legs. They confuse muggles and their dung makes plants grow fast and strong. They are nonviolent and they have pale gray fur and they are worldwide. They are two x classified and can be domesticated.
Both the adults blinked.
"Kenna, have you read about Mooncalves before?"
The girl shook her head.
McGonagall took a sip of her tea. "Do you remember the whole page?"
In a second, as if a picture had been taken, the page showed up in both adult's brains. It was a little fuzzy on the outskirts, but they could very easily make out her hands at the edge of the book and the text inside. The girl took a bite of her biscuit after dipping it in the tea-like she'd seen Dumbledore do and she looked up at the adults.
Dumbledore gave her a small smile, he glanced at Minerva. "I believe this one also has a photographic memory." He sounded proud and took a sip of his tea, then winking at the two others at the table. Kenna perked up.
What does that mean?
"It means you remember everything you see."
The little girl sat and thought for a few minutes as if looking over her own memories. She frowned. Do people not remember everything?
Dumbledore shook his head. "I sometimes forget one of my middle names!" The girl blinked once more and gave him a look of confusion. She didn't need to ask him why, because the question was already on her face.
"Most people remember things for short times, but after a long time, they forget them. Do you remember all the books you've read?" The girl nodded her head. She sent two more mental pictures, one that looked like it was in a dark and dusty library with a book of dark arts, and another with a cookbook in a kitchen where the counters were almost too big for the young girl to reach. It seemed to answer her question with a yes.
"You are a brilliant child Kenna; did you know that?"
Minerva nodded her head in conformation, and the smallest person at the table took a sip of her tea. Swallowing it, she responded to Dumbledore with an awkward smile, her teeth showing just as he did when he smiled. It wasn't a natural smile just yet, she seemed to still be looking for a smile that matched her normally serious features. While the future still needed to be planned, Minerva McGonagall knew at that moment this girl would be one of the most important people to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts. There was no way this child was not going to be brilliant at everything she'd set her mind to. At 7 years old, the professor was almost sure she had never met a child as talented or as sweet at the one that attentively listened to the adults as they talked about magical creatures. Minerva mentioned being partial to Kneazles.