Chapter 6: The Potions Master

Four days after meeting Filtch, and Dumbledore felt comfortable leaving the young one for an evening. She knew the layout of most of the castle, she had interacted with nearly all the ghosts at least once, and she had flown through most of her books. Every morning they had gone on walks around the castle or through the castle and Kenna had fallen into a pattern of doing different activities in the afternoons and evenings. They'd played a few card games together, but usually, she opted for coloring or reading. He was nervous about leaving her, but he told himself it was only for a few hours, and he needed to get this task done before the Youth department visited the castle. After lunch, he glanced at the armchair next to the one he was sitting in. They both had books in their hands, "Kenna, today I was going to go and visit my brother, your uncle, to ask him if he wants to meet you." The young girl looked up from her fourth-year history book to show he had her attention. "His home is not in the safest place for children, so I plan on having another teacher come and spend time with you until I get back. Is that okay?" She nodded her head, but he could feel her curiosity growing.

Who?

"His name is Severus. He is a Potions Master and he's very talented at his art. Minerva is visiting some family in the country and I didn't want to disturb her. Severus is a quiet man, he'll probably just want to spend his time here with a book. He, like you, enjoys reading a lot."

The small girl nodded her head. Is he nice?

"He is on the inside, I think. Sometimes children think he's scary, but he won't hurt you." Again, she nodded, this time adding a bite to her lip as she looked down at her book page number and shut it. She set it down on the table next to the chair and slid out of the chair to sit at the chair across from his desk. "I'll probably leave around 8 or 9, once he arrives at the castle. Fawks will be here with you for a while. You can work on one of the puzzles you've got?"

At the mention of a puzzle, her eyes seemed to lighten back to their childish excitement, and she moved toward her bedroom, returning with a thousand-piece puzzle set in a box. The puzzle would only move once all the pieces were put in the right places, and she had mentioned wanting to try it on their morning walk. The young girl, was able to form basic sentences usually, and they did practice on her speaking in the mornings after breakfast and before dinner, but Dumbledore was surprised to find that on their walks she could get talkative. She had more questions than he knew the answers too and had stumped him more than once. He was sure that the primary education they started with her when the school year began would be absorbed quickly.

On her knees, the brunette girl opened the box. She handed the lid and original picture to Dumbledore to look at. While she had a photographic memory, she found it sometimes annoying when Dumbledore forgot things. He knew that having a child would mean a lot of things, but he hadn't realized he would need to sharpen his wit and memory. Laying the box up across from them, he too found himself on the floor.

"Severus"

"Dumbledore…" The man dressed in what looked to be a bat costume stood in the doorway, staring down at the headmaster and the brunette beside him.

"Good you're here!" The old man stood up from the ground and brushed off the bottom of his robe. Kenna watched him stand, turning her attention away from the puzzle and to the new visitor. "I'm going to head over to Aberforth's, I need you to keep an eye here on Kenna Hope, my newly adopted daughter."

The crooked nosed man blinked, unsure of what he had just heard.

"Kenna!" the older man bent back down and kissed her on the forehead, shifting her hair out of the way. "This is Severus Snape, He'll be watching you- and probably putting you to bed at what time?" Her hand touched his and he nodded. "Right. 10:00pm. Try to finish this puzzle or get as much done as possible and I'll help you in the morning tomorrow."

"I can-"

Dumbledore cut off the potions professor before he could get another word in. "Feel free to have free reign amongst these books Severus, Kenna already ate around six. Fawkes will probably want out in an hour and thank you!"

With a flourish, the old man was gone, leaving the younger professor in shock and alone in the room with a child.

She stared up at him with curious eyes, and he could only look at her confused and taken aback. "Kenna Hope?" he said aloud. She abashedly nodded her head and curtsied, staring up at him with big green eyes. Her pajamas were striped pants and a button-up long sleeve shirt. She shifted her weight and watched him. He stared back, partially out of habit and partially out of shock at the tint of color in her eyes looking up at him. He surveyed the room and then back at the girl, who had yet to take her eyes off him. Her hands gripped around what looked to be a stuffed animal of some sort, and a puzzle of a dragon laid out in front of her with only two pieces put together.

He took a breath and then nodded his head and walked over to the bookshelf. A curse dropped underneath his breath at the embracive headmaster dropping him into situations he hated to be in. Ultimately, he opted to try and ignore her and think over the implications of the Headmaster adopting a small girl. In a way, all he could do was cross his fingers that he wouldn't be left along with her very often. When his eyes landed on a potions book, he pulled it out and walked over to the armchair closest to him, glancing at the girl once more. She continued to watch him and not say a word. Her eyes masked what she was thinking, but curiosity seemed to seep from her. To disregard her attentions, Severus made himself comfortable in the chair, relaxing and opening the book. Her attention then drew to the table as she stared down at the puzzle but didn't seem to move much more than that.

They sat in silence for about ten minutes before Severus looked down at the puzzle again. The child was moving pieces around, but not putting them together. The moment she felt his eyes on her body, she looked up at him once again. Unnerved by her perceptiveness, he turned his attention back to his book.

Time passed by very slowly for the Potions Master as he shifted once more in his seat. The bird sitting across the room let out a squawk that he couldn't help but startle at. Letting the air huff out of his nose as he tightened his jaw. He didn't take the job as potions master to be a bird-watcher and babysitter.

Luckily for him, the young one stood up, walking over to the bird and letting it hop onto her shoulder. He watched her from behind his book as she made her way across the room, slightly off-kilter because of the weight, and to the window. She put her foot on the window ceil and clicked it open, pressing her hand to the glass and letting it swing open. The bird took flight the moment the window was wide enough, and he could see the subtle wave that the small one gave it in goodbye. He couldn't help but shut his book though when he saw her lean over halfway out of the window reach the handle in order to close it.

Right as the hand resting against the edge of the window slipped, he grabbed the back of her top, pulling her inside as swiftly as he could to keep her from tumbling headfirst out the window. He used his wand to swing the window shut and then sighed at the moment of adrenaline and fear that had run through him at her almost falling out the window. He took her by the arm and moved them away from the window. Letting her go, he took a breath.

When he looked back down, she sat to the chair that he had yanked her into, staring up at him with huge wide eyes, frightened. He wasn't sure if she was frightened of him and the scowl, he knew he now had on his face, or her almost fall. Either way, he pursed his lips and shook his head before he sighed, turned, and walked back to his chair to return to his book. He hadn't said a word to her that evening and wasn't about to.

It took a few moments for him to hear her movement again, but he refused to look up at her. That is until she made it to the bookshelf five feet away from him. She stared up at it for a few moments, and he was shocked to realize that she was reading through the titles of books. Eventually, she raised her hand and a book seemed to, controlled, float down and into her hand. She huffed and glanced at the back before turning to him. For the fourth time that night they made eye contact, but for the first time, she approached him. She stopped at the edge of the seat and then seemed to crawl onto the arm and squeeze herself into space between him and the side of the chair.

Severus was about ready to stand up and move at her interruption when he realized what book she had grabbed. A History of Potions Ingredients. It was one that he had wanted to read but hadn't gotten the chance to. He wasn't surprised that Dumbledore had it, as the headmaster of Hogwarts had the ability to get just about any book he could possibly imagine, considering his position in the Ministry and among many of the book publishers in the magical world. But confused at the child's choice, he shut his own book and turned his attention to her. She was looking up at him as he considered the book, and once he looked down at her, she opened the book straight to page three, the first item on the list. It had the occasional moving photo on the page, and she pointed to the first word and looked at him again expectantly.

"Asphodel" He read aloud. She opened her mouth and made the same shape of the word, but not a sound came out. When he stopped, she paused and looked up at him, pointing to the next word as if he got lost somewhere along the way. While he wasn't overly comfortable with reading aloud, he did so anyway, he figured that she'd get bored and leave, but instead she seemed to follow along. After just over a page, she lightly touched his hand.

How do you know what cycle the Moon is in?

Her voice echoed in his head quietly, but enough to shock him into pulling his hand away and putting his guard up. She sat still, her eyes big at his quick movement away from her. He knew that his facial expression must have also been one of shock. "Where did you learn that?"

Rather than saying anything, she shrugged in response. Her hands curled a little as she leaned away from him, realizing that he didn't like it when she tried to talk to him like that. She suddenly understood why Dumbledore wanted her to learn how to speak on her own. She opened her mouth. The man was staring at her his eyes narrowing. She watched a strand of black hair fall out of the loose ponytail at the back of his neck. "Sorry" She managed, stumbling over the R sound. Her voice was still unfamiliar to her, and she wasn't a big fan of the sound.

Not enjoying the look he was giving her, she pointed at the section about planting, where it specified the moon cycle and looked at him for a response. "There's a calendar." He said offhandedly, still uncomfortable with the girl's ability to speak within his mind. She nodded and then pointed back to the place they were in the book.

At 10 pm, they could hear the clock go off in the office. Kenna slid down from the chair and moved over her puzzle. Looking down at it, Severus realized that she hadn't been moving the pieces around just for the hell of it. She had moved them into the proper order and just hadn't put them together yet to complete the puzzle. She shifted her stuffed cat (which had sat on her lap the entire time he read to her). And gave him a timid wave. He nodded back to her and she padded her way out of the room and down the hall to what he assumed was her bedroom.

Dumbledore walked into the building, finding it to be nearly empty in the middle of the week. Still, his brother stood behind the bar shifting things around and cleaning the counter. "Aberforth." He said calmly, causing the other man to look up and make eye contact before sighing and shaking his head.

"Albus, it's been a while"

"It has." The elder Dumbledore gave a grim smile. "How have things been?"

"Same old, same old." Aberforth set down his rag and grabbed a bar stool. Sitting down on it and looking at his brother with expecting eyes. "What can I do for you tonight?"

Albus, for the first time in years, felt a wave of anxiety at the possible reactions of his younger brother, "I'm afraid I put your name on a document as next of kin, and you may be having a ministry official visit you in the next few days for an interview."

The younger didn't move, but rather let his eyes narrow in suspicion. "What kind of document?"

"Adoption documents."

There was a moment of silence. "What?" The response, guarded, and possibly angry.

"I… I came across a child this week. Her name is Kenna. She's 7. And I've made the decision to adopt her."

Aberforth stood up and walked back around the bar, pouring himself half a cup of firewhiskey and downing it with great speed. He put his hands down on the counter and let his head fall. "You remember what happened the last time you took a child under your wing." The seeded hatred hit Dumbledore where it hurt, and he could just nod his head in acceptance. He wouldn't expect anything different from his younger brother, who, to a certain extent, sometimes knew him better than anyone else.

"You're right. But this child, her eyes grip on to you just like hers did. And I've learned my lessons." Albus sighed and finally sat in a barstool, looking at his brother who refused to return a glance. "I am an old man now," he added.

"So this is a mid-life crisis?"

"No." Albus felt the weight on his shoulders once more of the mistakes he made as a young man. "I have done my absolute best in making up for the mistakes I made as a young man. And after so many years of fighting, pain, and death I refuse to lose another brilliant child to a government system that is not prepared to take care of their needs."

"You can't save every child Albus. Children will still be sent into the system. It's always happened. Sometimes its better than the alternative," The personal attack hit Albus hard again, but he kept his composure and just let his eye close.

"But I can help this one."

His brother stared at him with eyes very similar to his adopted daughter, "Kenna?" The change in topic caused his eyes to open once more to find his brother sipping a different, probably alcoholic drink.

"Kenna Hope Dumbledore."

"Did you choose that name?"

"I did."

The younger chuckled, and Albus felt his shoulders sag and a bit of relief. "What's she like?"

"She's a quiet child." The elder Dumbledore began, "Poppy said that her voice box is underdeveloped, but she can telepathically speak. She's a natural legilimens. She was abused, and I suspect she was treated like a house-elf and forced to do chores. She's impeccably clean and light on her feet." A nod allowed him to continue. "I found her in Knockturn Ally. She'd been starved and sexually assaulted. She looked like she was ready to quit life."

"And you knew that expression didn't you." The younger of the two didn't ask the question but rather watched Albus with a critical eye.

"I've seen it too many times."

They made eye contact. "What are you going to do about her living situation?" Aberforth continued the conversation, and they both seemed to relax a bit more as Albus began to tell his brother of his plans for her future, as well as the things he had learned in the previous week of getting to know his newfound daughter.

At his arrival home, he found Severus sitting in a chair in his office flipping through a Potion Ingredient book. The black-haired man glanced up at his entrance, and he gave him a smile and walked over to where the puzzle sat, each peace intricately put into place, but not put together. He shook his head. "This was one of the biggest puzzles we could find and she finishes it in a night." The grey-haired man chuckled, knowing that his younger was listening to him.

"She didn't finish it,"

"So it seems, did she tell you why she didn't put the pieces together?"

"No. Where did you find her?"

Not noting the immediate change of topic from his new potions master, Dumbledore shrugged. "On the streets of Knockturn Ally."

"She knows Legilimency." Severus didn't blink at his response, trying to gather as much information as possible on his first day returning to the castle before the school season began.

"I believe she's a natural Legilimens actually."

"And you're keeping her in this castle? During the year?"

"Yes. I have adopted her, but I'm sure we will venture out occasionally."

Again, Severus shook his head and stood. Putting the book into the bookshelf where it belonged. He motioned to it. "She has good control over her unconscious magic. And reading comprehension. But she almost fell out the window for your bird."

Dumbledore hummed his response, watching the man more carefully to try and pick out what he was thinking. His mind too guarded and aware to even want to attempt looking into it. "Thank you, tonight for keeping an eye out for her."

"Not like I had a choice." His almost immediate response as he shifted out of the room with nothing but a flourish of his cape as he headed down the stairs.

The headmaster waited for the staircase to shut itself before he made his way to his desk, swinging the window open with his wand for the Phoenix to return to its perch. He re-arranged a few objects on his desk and sighed, glancing at the three unopened letters that still laid out for him to attend to later. Once the flapping of wings had settled, he smiled to the bird and nodded his goodnight, waving the window shut and turning off the lights. As he made his way down the hall, he glanced in the now occupied bedroom to see his new daughter curled up with her stuffed animal wrapped in her arms. Her eyes were squeezed shut as if to prove she was sleeping. Her mental activity gave her away though, and he stepped into the room to sit down on the edge of her bed.

"Were you waiting for me to return?" He asked, the quite of the room allowing him to lower his voice to almost a whisper. Her eyes opened and looked up to him. After a moment, she nodded. "How kind of you, you didn't need to." He ran his hand down her hair, noticing that she had taken it out of its ponytail at some point during the night. "I noticed you almost finished your puzzle, why didn't you match the pieces Kenna?"

Her big eyes stared at his and she adjusted her stuffed animal to make sure its head was resting on the pillow just as hers was. You said we could finish it together tomorrow.

He chuckled, there wasn't much to finish honestly. "Ah, well we can definitely do that together then." As he continued to stroke her hair She seemed to relax, and he began to hum a soft tune. Within minutes she had drifted off. Dumbledore waited a few more minutes to make sure she was in a deep enough sleep before standing up and whispering a goodnight. He stood and walked very carefully to the door, glancing back at her unconscious form snuggled into the large bed against the wall. He still had much to prepare before classes began in a few weeks, and even more to prepare for Kenna to be comfortable prior to the arrival of students. Teacher introductions would need to be made as well. But for that night, he decided it was best he got some rest as well.