Bear-Man and Staff Meetings

A few weeks until the beginning of school and the castle seemed to be coming alive once more. In under 24 hours, three-fourths of the staff had made it to the castle and were getting settled into their personal quarters. Kenna enjoyed curling up next to the window watching them appear at the gate and make their way up the path, usually on foot. One Professor had arrived on a broom, to her excitement. Her nose pressed up against the window to get a better look and she had called out to Dumbledore to stop his work and come see.

He stood behind her and watched the short-haired woman swoop her way across the grounds. "Yes, that would be Madam Hooch, she's a very talented flyer and she's the referee for our Quidditch games"

Is quidditch on a broom?

"It is. We can go down to the library and get a book or two about it this week if you'd like?"

Please! In the course of a week, they had made it to the library at least once every other day, and his daughter was reading through books in her room like no one's business. After Severus's visit, they had taken to reading a bit of a book every night before bed, but often his daughter would make her way through it during the following day. She didn't need anyone to read to her, but he knew she found comfort in it. Most of the books they were reading were, in his opinion, children's classics. While she loved every second of them, he'd found that she also had an interest in textbooks and more complicated scripts. The previous Saturday, they had established a list of books she had read. They had a list in her room that she would add to whenever she finished a book. It was already near forty-five books long. Albus was still working on gauging her reading level, which was much higher than nearly any other 7-year-old he had met before.

If he had to guess, he might go as far as to say that she read at a 4th year Hogwarts student's reading level. He'd already charmed his massive bookshelf to make sure that any horror or books containing any form or similarity to dark magic were unavailable to her, especially after watching her magically pull one off the top shelf to better read the title. She didn't seem to have an interest in the darker books in the first place, but he wanted to make sure she couldn't access them regardless. Meanwhile, Dumbledore was also doing his best to equalize the time she spent out of his office and moving about. A challenge he hadn't exactly foreseen was making sure she got her exercise. He couldn't exactly outrun her in terms of energy. She had, somehow, gotten Fawkes to play with her outside in some makeshift form of tag a few days ago.

At her reaction to more books in her hands, Dumbledore chuckled. He'd make a note of it and add it to things he needed to do. "You can also ask her about it after you meet her at the staff meeting. She might let you help out with preparing for her lessons."

Her personality was seeping out of her and into the interactions they had with one another. They hadn't met with many of the teachers, but rather than being shy, she seemed to look forward to having new people in the castle with anticipation. She wasn't overly extroverted, but Kenna was curious. McGonagall had stopped by when she returned from vacation and played almost an hour and a half of chess games. Kenna's third obsession seemed to be any form of strategy or board game. She wasn't as big of a puzzle fan, and Dumbledore couldn't decide if it was because she was bored by the puzzles or if she wanted games that included more people. Teaching her chess took hardly an hour one evening and she was a worthy opponent, learning more and more every game she played.

At the same time, Dumbledore had noticed that she was getting exceptionally good at mimicking people's mannerisms. She noticed small details of his interactions, like the way he held his quill when he wrote and did the same when she got the chance. While her excitement existed, he knew that it didn't take away from the anxiety she felt about being taken away. She was nervous about having new people in her life, but so far, everyone had been kind.

Standing at the window next to Kenna he noted the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's arrival.

"Ah. Our newest guest. Kenna, is it alright if I make my way down to greet him at the front of the school? I'll be back in about half an hour?"

The young one pressed her face a bit closer to the window, trying to make out the details of the woman he was speaking about. He'd left her alone for short periods of time already, she would be fine. Ultimately though, she nodded her head and turned back to her most recent half-read novel sitting upside-down on what they now dubbed as her reading chair, only to be shared with Severus. Dumbledore gave her a kiss on the forehead before padding his way out of the room and down the staircase.

Kenna knew immediately when she heard the rough footsteps climbing the staircase that it was not Dumbledore. Cautious of the unexpected intruder she noted that Dumbledore had said he would return in half an hour, and she still had at least ten minutes before he was expected back. With that in mind, she slid out of her chair, closing the book and setting it on the table without making a sound. She slid herself over to Dumbledore's desk and hid behind it before the footsteps met the top of the staircase. Looking underneath the small gap, she tried not to shake when she realized a bear had entered the room.

Honestly, she knew it wasn't an actual bear, it had to be a person, because bears didn't wear boots. But she could imagine that the feet of the being in front of her were at least the size of a bears. Maybe a grizzly bear. She saw a bear once at the edge of the forest when she helped let Fawkes out. It was swiping at something in a tree, but then it spooked and disappeared a few minutes later. The big feet in the room though were much closer and they could step on her and she would be like the beetle that she had squished earlier that week. She suddenly felt sorry for that beetle and wondered if it was as scared of her as she was of this mysterious bear-person.

"Dumbledore?" The voice was as deep as she expected it to be, and it took all she could to stay still looking under the desk so as not to be noticed.

With no response, the man seemed to shift and make his way over to HER chair. She kept her mouth sealed shut as she watched his form appear better as he walked a distance away. He picked up the book she was reading and seemed to squint at the cover, reading the title aloud and humming before setting it down on the table next to the chair. She couldn't see his face, but the massive amount of hair in his beard made her wonder if it was longer than her father's. The hair also seemed much wilder than hers, making her grateful that her comb could slide through her curls the way it did. This man would break a comb if he tried.

He seemed to collapse into her chair, and it made a bit of a groaning sound as it was stretched, causing her to pout a bit, hoping it still felt the same when she sat in it to read. She also realized that she didn't mark what page in her book she had left off at, but that wasn't as important as this strange, bear-man sitting in her chair. Her chair. The page number was in her head somewhere anyway.

Dumbledore had read her a muggle story (that's what he called it) about a small girl finding a bear's house and then sleeping in brother bear's bed and eating everyone's porridge without asking. It was terribly rude, but technically it was not her working space, it was her fathers. Maybe he knew her father? As he sagged into the chair more he suddenly paused. She could hear his deep breathing and the cracking that his neck made when he rolled it and his shoulders. Dumbledore's did that sometimes too, but he said it felt good. Kenna shifted her own weight as she sat up and leaned against the side of the desk, still underneath it. They sat across the room from each other for a few minutes, one silently listening for the other's movements and the other oblivious to the small one's existence. That is until Kenna shifted and bumped the drawer above her head, causing it to slide open. She slid it closed, but when it shut, it made a clicking noise that caused the other man to startle.

Shifting back to her knees to try and see the Bear-man, she watched his legs and arms shift around to lift him back up off the chair. He reached on the tip of his toes to try and see the other side of the desk, where nothing but a pulled-out chair sat. She was taken aback when he took a few steps toward the desk, his footstep rather heavy and startling. As a result, she slid further away from the bottom, hoping he wouldn't see her face. In moving away quickly, she accidentally lifted her head up and bumped for the second time against the top of the desk, causing it to shake. Freezing, the room was silent except for their two breath patterns, and suddenly she realized the Bear-man knew he was not alone in the Headmaster's office.

Kenna bent down one more time to try and see what the man was doing and watched as he put his own knees on the ground and set his head against the floor. They made eye contact.

His beard covered most of his face, and his hair seemed to match, just as wild as the rest of the hair on him. His hands, as they rested on the ground, looked like they were the size of her entire head, possibly bigger, and he had huge brown eyes that widened as he realized it was a person underneath the desk. But his big brown eyes didn't seem to be scary at all. From the glance, they gave into his mind his intentions were not dangerous, even though he had come into the office without knocking or permission. Then again, very few people had knocked on the door in the first place.

"Hello there." He said in his deep voice. The baritone felt as though it shook the floor.

Kenna didn't answer, she also didn't move. Wondering if she stayed still enough, perhaps he'd think she was a statue, or she perhaps would turn into a demiguise and disappear. She blinked. He blinked back. Neither of them said anything. The young girl reminded herself that looking into other people's minds was not polite, even though she really wanted to. Maybe if she did quickly she could make him forget he saw her there. Then she really would be a demiguise.

It was into this image that a third party entered the room. Dumbledore couldn't help but smile at the half-giant grounds-keeper on his hands and knees staring at his new daughter, who did the same underneath his desk.

"Ah, Hagrid. I see you've met Kenna."

At the sound of his voice, both people on the floor jumped. Hagrid looked straight up to the Headmaster trying to formulate a response, and Kenna hit her head on the top of the desk. Again. The third time seemed to hurt a bit more than the two, and she touched the now tender spot on her head.

"Dumbledore!" Hagrid's voice increased in volume, keeping Kenna from coming out from behind the desk, though she did slide out from underneath it and peak over the top as the two men shook hands. She noted the crinkle in the edge of her father's eyes as he greeted Hagrid and the relaxed stance he had; despite the fact, the man was much larger than him. "I came up just to check-in and get those keys from you, I was going to do a walk of the grounds right away."

"Did you enjoy my house in the countryside?"

"It was lovely!"

Dumbledore made his way back towards the desk and chuckled when his ward looked up to him. Once he made his way next to her, he lifted her by her armpits and set her on the chair, sliding it a bit closer to the desk and watching as her legs dangling off it. Kenna rubbed her head and patted down her hair. It felt frizzy. They'd left it down that morning instead of braiding it like they normally did. Dumbledore pulled open a drawer after using his wand to silently unlock it and grabbed a large ring of keys. Kenna was confused on how they fit in the desk in the first place. She pondered the idea. Could she make things bigger on the inside too? If it was bigger on the inside, then where did the extra space go? Could you make a small space bigger and hide in it?

"And who is this mouse?" The bear-man, now identified as Hagrid motioned to Kenna, causing her to shift her hair a bit more in front of her face and bring her attention to the large man. She wasn't sure if she liked being considered a mouse. Fawkes ate mice.

"This is Kenna. I've adopted her as my daughter, and she will be living in the castle with me."

Hagrid's huge eyebrows lifted to his hairline, his mouth dropping open. "You wha?" It seemed to be the universal look that teachers and people gave Dumbledore when he introduced her. Kenna couldn't help but wonder if it would ever end. She wasn't sure why it was surprising someone would adopt her, especially when they already had a second room. Was she an ugly child that shouldn't be adopted? That didn't make any sense because Dumbledore always told her she was cute. Was she too cute to be adopted? She would have to ask during dinner later.

Dumbledore chuckled and patted her head, "Yes. Kenna, this is Hagrid, our groundskeeper. He's the one who lives in the yurt we walked by last week. The one you asked about?" The small girl looked up to him, her eyes still wide with wonder at the size of the man. They had stopped by to take the huge Boarhound named Fang out for a walk. Kenna loved every second of it because they got to go into the forest and walk around. The dog scared off most of the wildlife, and Dumbledore let him wander around off-leash. The hound had run around with her, and it even brought back a ball after she threw it. When she'd asked, he told her that usually the House-elves fed and watched the dog, but he tried to check on it occasionally while his master was away.

The longer she stared at him, the funnier he seemed. He reminded her a lot of his dog too. She wasn't scared of Fang. She knew he looked like a big mean dog, and he got excited, but the dog was soft-hearted to smaller things and just wanted to play. She still felt the fear of the man possibly crushing her, but with his posture, large smile and friendly face he hardly acted like he could hurt a soul. He was more like a bear-like Saint Nicolas from a book she had read. Maybe if his hair was white? She pondered if he gave gifts to children before looking back at Dumbledore.

Hagrid continued to stare at Dumbledore.

"Yes, yes, she is our new permeant resident. I'm sure she'd love to walk the grounds with you a few times a week if that's okay. You could probably even put her on Fang." Dumbledore smiled.

Hagrid the Bear-man chuckled. His head shakes almost reminded her of Minerva's, almost of disbelief but not wanting to question any more in her presence. "He would love the company, Ms. Kenna." He referred to her. She was shocked to hear the way her name sounded when he said it. But his large grin and friendly eyes abated her fears. A friendly giant maybe. Like the BFG. The giants in the books on magic painted them all as dangerous, but she wasn't totally sure how true that was. Some of the books on dragons said they were dangerous, but others said they were misunderstood.

"Fantastic. We took him on a walk last week and they really got along. She seems to have a way with animals, much like you. We will likely arrange a schedule for her during the teacher's meeting this afternoon. She's a bit shy," Dumbledore made eye contact with her and gave her a wink, "but I'm sure she'll start warming up."

Hagrid dazedly nodded his head before waving his keys in the air, letting them jingle. "I'll be seein' you both to'night then."

After a short goodbye, Kenna touched Dumbledore's hand to get his attention, only speaking once Hagrid had left the room.

Is he part bear? She asked. That explanation did a lot for the hair that seemed to go from head to toe.

Dumbledore just shook his head with a smile on his face. "No," He leaned down and spoke with a whisper, "He's half-giant." Her eyes seemed to widen even more.

Is he like the Big Friendly Giant? From the book?

"Yes, Yes he is."

Dumbledore felt his chest warm as he looked down at her wide smile. She was looking at the staircase that Hagrid had walked down, an extra sparkle in her eye. She could already see her running around outside with him and his large dog. Maybe he could be her friend.

That afternoon Dumbledore lead the way to the great hall. The large room was void of much, all but one table were all pushed against the wall. It was one of the many rooms Kenna and Dumbledore had mostly avoided until that day. When they entered, Kenna was surprised by the sheer size of the room. The ceiling was arched, but the top was difficult to see beyond the early evening enchanted indoor sky. She recognized a few faces seated at the table in the middle of the room- Hagrid, Severus, McGonagall, Professor Binns, Madam Pomfrey, and even the flying teacher Madam Hooch, but many of the faces were unfamiliar. The young girl walked a step behind her adoptive father, peeking occasionally at the new faces that seemed just as curious about her as she was of them. Specifically, the smaller man who sat on top of a chair magically modified so he could reach the table. They always did that to her chair too, but he looked smaller than she was!

Dumbledore led her to the head of the table where he sat down and pulled her onto his lap so that she could see down the table.

"Good afternoon, I hope your holidays went well."

There were a few grunts and nods before he continued, "Our agenda today will be Student Schedules, a quick review of the administrative procedures for student detentions, prefect assignments, and, I'd like to add a fourth item regarding the newest member under the castle, my daughter Miss Kenna." He motioned to the girl whose attention was on the sheet of paper in front of them. It was a large schedule with the teacher's names all lined up on one side and class times laid out beside it. Each teacher had a similar one before them along with lists of names and classes. A few of the teachers also had a stack of lists.

"She'll be sitting in on classes?" The woman who Kenna believed to be the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher seemed to watch her closely. In fact, all the teachers she hadn't met formally stared at her with different levels of shock on their faces. She shifted a little closer to Dumbledore, feeling his hand lightly rub her back. She wanted to meet people, but everyone at once seemed a bit overwhelming.

"At times. I was hoping that we can organize times for her to work with different teachers on different elementary subjects- Mathematics and Basic Scientific Theory. And even if she's just sitting in and using her coloring books, it would give her something to do during the day." The table had a few murmurs travel around the room. "You can all consider it while we do the other tasks before us. Alas. Let us begin with Seventh Years." Slowly, they made their way down the table, beginning with senior teachers (Professor Binns, who had 6 kids that wanted to take 19th century to modern Political History and who's classes would be on Monday afternoons). When a decision was made, it was etched into the schedule in front of everyone so they could see which block was where. Occasionally, things had to be edited and negotiated when kids had overlapping electives that were being put at the same time. The staff discussed the proper times for Apparition lessons (Thursday evenings after dinner) and the addition of an Artifice and Enchantment class for the 6th years, based on requests (Flitwick would have the course twice a week on Monday and Wednesday Mornings for one hour).

Kenna listened carefully to the classes and the discussion and watched the schedule form. The quills moved on their own with the discussion and if mistakes were made then the words seemed to magically disappear. Professor Vector, the arithmancy teacher would work with the Choir and music department, while it was decided that Alchemy would not be held this year by Professor Snape, but as long as more than 5 students passed their OWLs, it would be held the following year for both 6th and 7th years in a block class.

Madam Pomfrey agreed to take in five 7th year students on as staff Aides in the hospital wing.

By the end of the hour, the schedule was made for all the 3rd years and older and they were headed into the assignments for the younger students. They filled the last slots for the core class teachers and were broken up by house. The teachers had a short discussion and election for house Prefects, where all the teachers got veto power (it was only used once).

As they worked their way through administrative procedures, staff patrol, and detention assignments Kenna felt her mind trail off. She watched the great hall sky and the clouds pass above them. It was turning into a light orange color as the sun outside fell over the horizon. When she was tired of that, she adjusted her position on Dumbledore's lap and took the book Quidditch Through the Ages out of the pocket Dumbledore had put it in. She curled up a bit more and opened the book to the point they'd left off at that morning. Everything around her became fuzzy as she focused her attention on the words in the book. The only thing that seemed to catch her attention was when Dumbledore spoke, to interrupt someone or clarify. His chest would rumble.

Eventually, they got to the bottom of their list of things to do, and discussion revolving around the young one brought her attention back to the table. They were arguing. It wasn't a bad argument, as they were very civil in their discussions, but she could tell that they all wanted to spend a bit of time with her. She'd never felt so wanted in her life. Even the Astronomy teacher offered her third year Tuesday 23:00 class for Kenna to sit in on! Dumbledore had to chuckle and pass on the account that 11 pm was past her bedtime. Kenna wondered if she could stay up one night and look at the stars. She needed to check out a book on starlore.

It was decided that she'd spend Monday, Wednesday and Friday Mornings with Hagrid on his rounds, and she'd follow the 7th year Transfiguration NEWT students to their Charms class. She'd get to sit in on the 6th years' Ancient Runes class and during the occasional off-hours, she'd get her Mathematics lessons from Professor Vector. She'd have music lessons with Flitwick on Thursday afternoons and McGonagall even offered to teach her some Latin and work on her voice.

Dumbledore had an extra sheet for her schedule that was slowly filling in with days and times of where she'd be and what she'd be doing. They were only a few classes in before a small bell on the table rang.

"We can work out the rest at our next meeting before the students arrive. If anyone has any requests or needs help with any simple tasks, Kenna's schedule can always be changed. I also wanted to speak with a few of you privately in the coming week, please keep an eye out for a summons." After he had finished, most of the teachers stood up, the parchments of schedules folded on their own and shrunk or disappeared magically, a symphony of scratching of chairs echoed in the room. It was dinner time. All the teachers had things to do in their own quarters and would be making their way

Dumbledore placed Kenna on her feet as he too stood up and stretched a little, rolling his neck around and relaxing his shoulders.

A few teachers approached the two of them and introduced themselves to Kenna. She shook hands with the short man, Professor Flitwick, who told her he liked her dress and seemed interested in her book. She kept her fingers interlaced with the bottom of Dumbledore's robes and responded in short sentences. No one seemed to be mean, though she did not that Severus had moved out of the room almost the second he was able to. She had hoped he would read with her that night, but perhaps not. He didn't seem to enjoy being with other people.

As the main hall cleared out, Kenna's eyes went up to her father talking to the transfiguration professor and one of the first people she had seen in her new life. The woman had gone on vacation, and according to Dumbledore, arrived back recently. He had told her that Minerva lived off Hogwarts ground with her Husband. "Minerva, would you like to have dinner with us?" He asked the deputy headmistress, who had done most of the scheduling that day. The severe woman looked at him for a moment and then down to wide-eyed Kenna, who looked as though she were trying to hide the excitement in.

The three of them made their way up to his office, and Kenna told McGonagall about the things they had done for the past few weeks. She flipped back and forth between explaining in the woman's head and speaking aloud. Dumbledore smiled the whole way, only partially listening to her as she talked about walking fang and the owls and even meeting Hagrid. Minerva followed most of the explanations, taking her own mental notes at the girl's speaking ability and vocabulary. Did she just use the word 'exponential?'

"Are you excited to assist Hagrid on the grounds?"

Kenna nodded her head. She was curious to meet and spend time with the large half-giant. During the meeting when she'd looked at him, he mostly sat back and listened, occasionally chatting with the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, who she noticed was missing a large number of fingers. When she silently asked Dumbledore earlier that day about his job he mentioned that often Hagrid assisted in finding and catching some of the beasts used in those classes, such as unicorns and the Thestrals. He had quieted her as she asked more about the creatures that would be in the forest, and if she could help get them.

When they reached the office dinner was sitting on the table and steaming. All three of those in the office took a deep breath. The fresh rolls and soup created an aroma that Dumbledore was sure would last the better part of the evening. He pulled out the chair for Kenna to clamber onto and then pushed it in for her, seating himself next to her. The first thing he placed on her side plate was the salad and rolls, while McGonagall dished herself up. Then they traded the ladle for the basket. Kenna's appetite had increased in the past few weeks, and McGonagall asked her questions about the food.

"Did you know the house-elves live behind the pear?" she asked. "You tickle it!" Kenna grinned as McGonagall raised her eyebrows.

"Is that so?" Her voice playfully dropped to a lower tone. "Hogwarts has many secrets"

Kenna brightened. "Like a mystery book?"

The adults grinned at her.

Can I find all of the secrets?

Dumbledore chuckled. "I don't think anyone has discovered all of them, but that's the best part about living in magical places." He took a bite of his food, pondering the idea. "I think it's best if we avoid you running about on your own for a while, when you're a student you'll nearly have full range."

Kenna adjusted in her seat, slightly more deflated. McGonagall noted that you could see the wheels turning and churning in her mind, her face surprisingly readable as she ate her dinner. When they finished, Kenna asked the woman if she'd like to play a game of chess. The food magically cleared from the table and Dumbledore chuckled when Minerva smiled. Chess was still a rather complicated game for a 7-year-old but she was excited to play against the Deputy Headmistress for the second time.

The girl ran across the office to her room to get her chess set.

"She's really picking up on strategy games," Dumbledore mentioned before the deputy headmistress could ask. "However, she's become less and less of a fan when her pieces are being destroyed. I'm debating if it would be worth it to invest in a muggle chess set, or even trying my hand at re-learning the Japanese game of 'Go'."

Before he could say anything else though she was back to climbing into her chair the board set on the table and unfolding on its own as she set her bag out and passed the white pieces to McGonagall one at a time. Both the adults pressed their lips together, trying not to laugh at the serious look on her face. When she stopped she stared intently down at her pieces. Dumbledore knew she was giving each of them a pep-talk. Inanimate objects, including the pieces, had feelings in her mind, one of the few childish behaviors he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to disappear.

When she looked across the board, she suddenly realized something.

"Do you remember how to play?" She asked. Dumbledore always double-checked with her, so maybe it was something you should always do?

The Transfiguration professor chuckled. "B2 pawn to B3." She said, and the game began.

Minerva was surprised by the girl's careful consideration of the pieces. In the week since they'd last played against one another, it was easy to tell that she was already developing her skills more. She thought very carefully before she moved, and Dumbledore was correct when he mentioned she didn't seem to like the violence of the game. She always flinched when she had to move a player into a position to be taken, or when she had to take a different player. The older woman could have sworn she saw the girl say sorry once after a bishop brutally knocked the knight from his horse. While she did try her hardest, the professor's years of experience and perhaps her years playing competitive chess in school gave her the advantage. At checkmate, Kenna stared carefully at the board and nodded her head. She put her arm out to shake, a skill the Transfiguration Professor was sure Dumbledore had explicitly taught her.

Minerva learned that the house rule was the loser put away the pieces, and when she was batted away from helping clean, she stood and looked at the schedule resting on Dumbledore's desk. It was Kenna's schedule, but a little more fleshed out since the headmaster had been working on it while they played their game of chess. The room was quiet and she looked over it a little closer. "You have on the schedule that she is set to spend time with Severus in the dungeons during his lesson planning period and during his 7th-year course, you can't expect him to willingly watch her."

"He's done so once, I'm sure he won't mind if she stays out of the way."

Kenna heard every word they said as she sat and put away the pieces one by one. As much as she knew they wanted to keep whatever it was they were saying away from her ears, she could hear just fine. A silencing charm could have prevented that—her mind drifted in one direction before another exclamation startled the overhearing tendency she unconsciously had.

"You let him watch her?"

"And he did a wonderful job. She has no fear of him. Minerva, all will be fine. If anything, they enjoyed the company of one another."

"When was this? Why didn't you call me instead? Or your brother?"

"Alberforth was the one I was visiting, and you were on vacation Minerva, I wanted to give you time before the start of term. Severus was arriving early anyway to get a head start on stocking the infirmary with fresh potions." Her new adoptive guardian was calm, still opposite of the woman he was trying to reason with. Or was she trying to reason with him? It didn't seem to make much sense. The person in question's face popped into her head. Severus, as Dumbledore had called him when he was first introduced, hadn't been nearly as scary as some of the people she'd met. He was quiet, sure, but he most definitely cared, even if it was at the most basic level. Kenna liked how he didn't tell her what to do and he let her sit next to him and look at his book. He, like Dumbledore treated her not like a 3-year-old, but like she could understand what he was saying and what was going on around her.

They had seen Severus briefly in passing a few times since he watched her, and he hadn't said much to either of them then. She found it interesting how blocked his mind was when she saw him. She could occasionally get slivers of present thoughts, but after he had realized that previous week that she was mentally more attuned to people's thoughts, he had done an impressive job keeping her out, which honestly just made her more curious. Minerva glanced down at the young girl, and she sighed. She shook her head seemingly to herself.

"We're thankful for your concerns of course," Dumbledore smiled at his Deputy Headmistress. He glanced down at Kenna as well, as she held her board and the bag of pieces. "Why don't you go put those away and draw up your bath?" Kenna nodded and slid past him and through the door to their private quarters.

Minerva watched Dumbledore carefully as Kenna walked out of the room.

"She's still very quiet." She commented.

"Yes, though her curiosity has only increased over time. She's very observant."

"Is she still skittish?"

"It depends. Around people and ghosts, yes. But she seems to find animals quite approachable." He chuckled, thinking about how she reacted to Hagrid earlier that day. "She has good instincts."

A silence passed between the two, they could hear the water turning on in the bathroom. "Her healing?"

"Coming along. She has the occasional nightmare."

"I can imagine."

"Yes. I'm hoping that getting into a routine and interacting with the other children will improve her mental wellbeing. I've had a few discussions with her on projecting her thoughts, and though she does know that it's only okay if she asks." He thought about the conversation they'd had a few nights ago. Kenna was understanding that her ability was not something that many people understood, and the necessity to keep it quiet. Her skills would already be more advanced than many kids her age, and Dumbledore was sure that she would stand out among her peers. He knew it was also for her safety that they keep her affinity for magic separate and under wraps.

Minerva couldn't help but note that the young girl had Dumbledore wrapped around her finger. The old man's eyes wrinkled as he thought of her. "I best say goodnight and head home. I hope Elphinstone fed himself" she chuckled as she looked out the window into the peaceful darkness of the night. When the students arrived so would nightly patrols and dealing with evening detentions. Elphin didn't mind her busy schedule, though she did often feel bad for leaving him to fend for himself during the evening meals.

Dumbledore motioned with a hand for the woman to walk into his personal quarters. The door to the bathroom was open and she sat on the edge of the bathtub, the bubble bath being poured on its own with magic. She paused and it floated back to its spot, the cap twisting. She realized she was being watched and looked at McGonagall and Dumbledore in the doorway.

"I'm going to go home for the night miss Kenna. I wanted to say goodbye." Kenna scooted off the stone and walked over to Minerva.

Can I give you a hug? She asked. Her voice was small and timid, expecting a no. Instead, the woman knelt and opened her arms for Kenna to place herself in. A hug that was short, but warm.

McGonagall had a feeling at that moment, that it would be impossible not to become extremely attached to the young girl and sighed into her hair, giving her another squeeze before standing up once more. The Professor was perfectly fine with her decision to not have children of her own, but as Kenna returned to looking at her bathwater and McGonagall felt a soft tug for another hug. She ignored it. Her brothers had children she could dot on all she wanted, the hard work could be left to the Headmaster and her Primary Guardian.

She turned to make her way out but saw the twinkle of triumph in Dumbledore's eyes.

"Goodnight Minerva, we'll see you soon."

She gave him a small smile of her own, "Goodnight Albus."

Here's a nice long chapter to hold you over for a while, I'll still be super busy but the more reviews the faster I am to update! Happy Holidays from the Middle of Nowhere Asia!