Beck eyed Law and Hongo, while Rayleigh sat at his desk with his eyes closed and hands clasped in front of him. Law was quietly asking Hongo about a spell for healing, but Beck hardly paid attention. In his portrait, Roger was fidgeting, his eyes flicking from Rayleigh to the door and back every few seconds.

Beck didn't react when the fireplace roared green for a second, then Vegapunk stepped out.

"Sorry I'm late. It took some time to get this floo network set up for today," he said in greeting. He looked around. "Is she still in class?" He wore his familiar white pants and coat, with a blue shirt underneath. A few stains showed on his cuff, but they were faded.

Beck gave him a curt nod. "Shanks went to fetch her. She should be in potions right now." His gaze flicked to the door briefly. His wand tapped against his side. "Any change in Kuma?"

Vegapunk sighed and shook his head; Law and Hongo stopped their conversation to look at him. "The best I could do was get him to make simple decisions on his own."

"What do you mean by simple decisions?" Law asked. His wand sparked, and Kikoku bristled on his shoulders. Hongo laid a hand on his shoulder. Law glanced at him, then shoved his wand in his pocket and crossed his arms; his fingers alternated between clenching his arm and tapping.

Beck was more than glad they kept the extent of the damage from him sooner.

Vegapunk turned to Law. "He can get dressed on his own, eat by himself, and generally take care of his own personal needs, but that's it. I tried asking him to help me brew a potion, but I had to keep reminding him of what to do. When I asked if he could tend to my indoor garden, the only thing he remembered to do was just water them. I have to replace my tentacula now."

Hongo exchanged a glance with Law, then spoke. "He won't be able to take care of Bonney, will he?"

Rayleigh snapped his eyes open. "I already guessed that a few days ago." He stood as the door opened; Beck hadn't heard any footsteps.

Shanks walked in, Bonney and Luffy at his heels. "Luffy insisted he come," he said before anyone could ask. Luffy stood at Bonney's side, her hand in his. Beck recognized the determined slope to his shoulders, the gleam in his eye.

If the circumstances had been better, Beck would tell Luffy how proud he was of sticking by his friend. But he would do that later. For now, everyone had to focus on Bonney, and Luffy was probably the best person to support her right now.

Rayleigh paused for a heartbeat, then looked at Luffy. "You have Care of Magical Creatures right now. How did you know Shanks was getting Bonney?" Not mad, no judgement, and barely perceptible curiosity.

Luffy met his gaze evenly, only a hint of stubbornness visible. "I saw Law and Hongo heading for the castle. Whenever I see them talking like that, I know it's got to be important. Then I saw dad heading for the dungeons."

Beck couldn't resist a chuckle when Law's face went pink. He was probably going to be vigilant of Luffy being anywhere nearby from now on. "Does Professor Gab know you're here?" he asked Luffy.

He nodded. "I told him I needed to talk to dad and I'm supposed to talk to Professor Gab after classes are done. And he promised to watch Chopper for me until then."

The little reindeer that appeared a few weeks ago, dazed and stumbling out of the Forbidden Forest, had attached himself to Luffy. Gab had, thankfully, got the calf to stay in the pen by his cabin, but if Luffy was outside and within sight, he was glued to the kid's side. If Luffy wasn't there, he attached himself to either Nami, Zoro, or Sanji.

Beck pushed the thoughts away. "But how did you guess Shanks was getting Bonney?"

"Because I followed him," Luffy responded. Beck raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Rayleigh looked both amused and slightly annoyed, but didn't comment on that. "Vegapunk finished the potion and…" He trailed off, looking at the experimenter.

Vegapunk looked at Bonney, who Beck could see was already looking upset. "I'm afraid we couldn't help him."

Tears streaked down her face. "But…the potion was supposed to work."

Shanks glanced at Beck, his gaze flicking between him, Rayleigh, and Roger. Finally, it settled on Law. "You researched each of the ingredients used for the potion with Professor Roux, right?"

Law nodded.

"Each ingredient used matched with the others without conflicting effects?" Shanks asked.

Law hesitated briefly. "The moon gutweed was the only anomaly. The other ingredients have all been used with another ingredient in other potions, though never more than with one other at a time."

Vegapunk clasped his hands behind his back, looking at Law. "There's a chance we may have used the incorrect amount of moon gutweed, but the potion showed no signs of failure until Kuma took it."

Beck raised his hand at Kuma when Bonney sniffed, and looked at her. "Bonney, it sounds like you won't be able to stay with him when school is over."

Everyone fell silent.

Bonney looked at her feet, scuffing them slightly. "But my home was with daddy."

Shanks kneeled next to her. "But you won't be able to go home with him," he said carefully. "We still have a few months until the end of school, but do you want to continue right now?"

Beck heard the question: Did she feel okay enough to continue?

After a moment, she nodded. "Yes. I like my classes. But…" She looked at Rayleigh. "What will I do when school's done?"

"Stay with us," Luffy interjected before Rayleigh could respond.

Bonney stared at him.

Vegapunk met Beck's eyes. "Bonney, that might be the best idea. Where did you stay when Kuma was away from home?"

Bonney paused, closing her eyes, then shook her head. "Someone came to the house and watched me. Sometimes it was Hans, but sometimes it was someone else."

"Bonney, it might be better for you to have a home," Rayleigh told her gently.

Beck had to agree. He knew some students, like Kidd, Kamazo, Law, and Zoro, all lived in various orphanages during the summer. But Bonney? She might look eleven, but Beck had to keep in mind that she was really five. Mature for her age, and smart, but still a little kid inside.

Bonney looked from Luffy to Shanks to Beck. "Would you really take me in?"

Shanks grinned at her. "Of course." His grin faded a bit as he said, "But only if you want to."

She watched him for a minute, then looked at Vegapunk. "Can daddy ever get better?"

Hongo whispered something to Law, who looked at Vegapunk.

"I can work on something to help, but it might take a while," he said. "After school is done, I'll be looking for work at places like St Mungo's, but could I come help you conduct research for this?"

Rayleigh spoke up. "It's not a bad prospect, and Law is the top student from every house."

Vegapunk gave him a nod. "I'd welcome the help." Beck didn't miss the tight look in his eyes, however. Turning back to Bonney, he said, "We'll keep trying to help Kuma, but for now, why don't you plan to stay with the Benn household?"

Beck was surprised when Bonney came over to him.

"Can I still see Kuma sometimes?" she asked him.

Beck looked at Vegapunk, who shook his head. "I don't think you'll be able to, Bonney," he told her.

She hung her head for a minute, then looked at Vegapunk. "Promise you'll help daddy?"

"Of course," Vegapunk smiled. "Not only because he's your father, but he's also been a friend of mine for years now. And this whole thing is my fault, so it's only right I fix it."

Hongo cleared his throat. "Headmaster, I think Bonney should take the rest of the day off from classes." He stood straight, steady, but Beck saw the worry etched into his face.

Rayleigh regarded him for a moment, then turned to Shanks. "Why don't you take Bonney and Luffy back to Gryffindor Tower for now? Tomorrow, I'll give both kids a special pass to go into Hogsmeade for both Saturday and Sunday with you and Beck."

Luffy's face lit up while Shanks met Beck's eyes.

Beck gave Shanks a small smile, silently promising to tell him anything he missed. He could see Bonney tried to be excited, but failed. He made a mental note to ask Vegapunk at some point where Bonney lived so he could get some of her things.

Shanks smiled back. "Bonney, Luffy, come on. I'll take you two to the Common Room, then I'll go see your teachers about where you are."

"I'll let them know," Roger told him before disappearing from the side of his portrait.

Beck chuckled dryly. It was rare for the headmasters to travel into the portraits of Hogwarts, usually staying within their own or to a connected one in another location. He couldn't imagine Seth doing that, though Nikolai might.

Provided he ever returned to the portrait that sat at the very top of the wall on its own. The first headmaster of Hogwarts hadn't been seen in decades. Beck shook his head; this wasn't the time to think about that.

Rayleigh waited until the door was shut, then spoke to Vegapunk. "There's no reversing this, is there?"

"No," Vegapunk said. "I don't like the idea of giving her false hope, but I think the truth would be too much for her right now."

Law glared at him. "So what will Kuma be doing then?" He wasn't upset about the loss of a potential career, Beck noted, but rather that Kuma couldn't be helped.

Beck couldn't blame him. He just hoped Law wouldn't see this as a failure of his own abilities, but just an accident of nature. Granted, it was Vegapunk's spell, but surely Kuma had known the risk beforehand? He frowned. "Vegapunk, did Kuma know what could happen if this went badly? Any of this?"

Vegapunk hummed thoughtfully. "Well, we did plan for a caretaker if Kuma was unable to care for her temporarily, but not permanently."

Law groaned. "And you didn't think to mention that before?" he snapped. Kikoku nuzzled against his head, but he just glared at Vegapunk.

"Law." Beck said. "No one expected this to happen. And you alone have been running yourself ragged," he admonished the teen. Law glared at the floor while Hongo patted his back sympathetically.

Vegapunk blinked. "We thought the effects would be temporary. Either they'd fade over time, or I'd be able to reverse it," he explained. "Hans was set to care for Bonney for up to six months before we thought Kuma would be able to."

Movement from the portrait let them know Roger was back. "Her teachers know," he said.

Rayleigh glanced at him, then looked at Vegapunk. "With Kuma unable to care for her entirely, we'll have to talk to the ministry about her."

Beck straightened. "They already know some of what's been going on, though all I explained was she's older because of a spell and Kuma may be unable to take care of her. I didn't give any specifics beyond that, but I'll talk to them about her staying with us when the school year ends."

Vegapunk gave him a nervous look. "Do they know I'm involved?"

Beck shook his head. "No. I didn't mention you. The aurors have been ordered to keep an eye on your experiments, but I don't count this as dangerous, so I didn't need to bring you up."

Vegapunk smiled a bit, then spoke to Rayleigh. "If you don't need me any longer, I need to get back to the workshop." When Rayleigh nodded, Vegapunk went to the fireplace and took some powder from a pouch at his waist. In less than a heartbeat, he had disappeared.

Beck waited until the green flames went down before speaking. "Rayleigh, do you need me here anymore this year?" He had initially been hired to investigate Bonney, but now they knew what happened, so there was no real reason to keep him from the ministry.

Personally, he wanted to stay and finish the year. But if there was a specific task waiting for him, he would need to leave.

Rayleigh didn't answer him at first. "Law, what class do you have now?"

"Astronomy. Professor Snake excused me from the test today, but I have a study period after this, so I'd like to make it up," he replied.

Rayleigh flicked his wand and the door opened. "I suggest you get to class. Hongo, I understand you're still helping Bepo, correct?"

Beck chuckled as Law muttered something along the lines of 'that idiot still hasn't listened?'

Hongo sighed. "Yes. Hopefully I can get his fur to recede, but since he got stuck halfway through his animagi form, I'm afraid it might end up being permanent. He keeps regressing and I don't know why."

Law grumbled under his breath, "Because he keeps trying to make it work."

Beck couldn't help his snort. So the kid was stuck looking like a human-shaped polar bear? Despite the challenges that would arise, he had to admit it was a little funny. The kid hadn't thought the whole thing through, but at least he didn't seem too bothered by it. So far.

Law shot him a glare as he left, and Hongo just sighed quietly and trailed after him.

When the door was shut, Beck looked at Rayleigh expectantly. He knew the older man had sent everyone out for good reasons, but it also indicated he wanted to speak to Beck alone.

"I know you and Shanks are raising Luffy, but are you sure about taking in another kid?" Rayleigh asked.

Beck smiled. "Yes. She gets along with Luffy, and she's shown interest in a lot of things that I know Shanks has books on at the house." She didn't seem to be any more of a reader than Luffy was, but Beck noticed her interest in transfiguration early on. Shanks used to be more than adept at that, though he eventually turned to more combat-based spells. Beck knew more by this point.

Roger let out a loud laugh. "But can you raise two kids about the same age together?"

Rayleigh grinned. "It's more difficult than it seems."

Beck shook his head. "As long as they don't act like Shanks and Buggy, at least what I've heard from him, I don't think we'll have any problems."

Rayleigh laughed as he twitched his wand. A stack of papers flew over. "I checked with the divination professor a few days ago and he saw this coming, so I had the liberty of getting the documents together for you."

Of course he did… Hawkins was the youngest professor Hogwarts had ever seen, starting last year at eighteen, and probably the best divinator Britain had seen in decades. Possibly even centuries.

Beck grabbed the papers. "What should we tell Bonney?" He knew Rayleigh would know he didn't mean about Kuma this time.

Rayleigh shrugged. "I'll leave that up to you. But you and Shanks can take her and Luffy to Hogsmeade tonight if you want. This will be a hard weekend for her, and I know she'll appreciate having you three with her."

Beck dipped his head and left the office. Stepping down the spiral staircase slowly, he tried to think of how to tell Bonney this. It was one thing to not be able to go back to her father, and another to move in with another family. He glanced at the portraits as he passed; Newgate and Marco were in the same portrait for the moment, apparently laughing at something the smaller man said. Ace waved to Beck from across the hall and disappeared into the wall for the History of Magic class; knowing Brook, he'd send Ace right back out.

Beck stopped for a moment as Franky came racing past, chasing after Shachi and Penguin. Considering their laughter, they had probably tried pulling off another prank and Franky got caught in it. Why they weren't in class, Beck wasn't sure, but it didn't matter.

With the small stack of papers tucked under his arm, he dodged between students crossing the corridors. Glancing out the windows, he realized the last class of the day should start soon. Finally approaching Gryffindor Tower, he slowed as he saw a group of students gathered there. Shanks stood to the side, but motioned for him.

Beck stood at his side. "Everything alright?" The portraits here were watching the kids curiously, whispering to each other between their darting glances. Linlin, a small giantess known as the only full-blooded giant to ever have a wand, scowled at them from her portrait guarding the entrance to Gryffindor.

Shanks tilted his head towards the students. "I think so. Luffy got his friends together and they've been talking to Bonney for a few minutes."

Beck glanced at each student and was surprised to spot Nami, Vivi, Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro. Luffy was talking excitedly, while Bonney just looked nervous. "Trying to help her?" They weren't being quiet exactly, but they were keeping their voices low enough that Beck couldn't make out what they were saying.

Shanks gave a shrug. "Not sure. I think so, but Luffy won't let me near right now," he chuckled.

Beck scoffed, but waited as the group of kids kept talking.

Luffy looked over and grinned widely. "Hey dad, mom," the others gave Luffy or Beck a startled look and Beck hid his amusement, "Bonney wants to stay with us but she wasn't sure so my friends said they'd talk to her."

"You all wanted to help her?" Shanks asked the others.

Zoro nodded. "We've all been like her at some point," he said.

Beck exchanged a look with Shanks, whose expression mirrored his own. "What do you mean?" he asked them.

Sanji spoke up. "My father's an asshole, but I got adopted by Zeff when I was younger than Bonney," he said.

Zeff? Red Chef Zeff? Beck thought the dark wizard had died years ago, but it sounded as if he just retired and became a parent. He couldn't recall when Zeff had last been seen, but maybe that's why Sanji was so interested in potions; Zeff was said to be one of the best potioneer's in recent history, dark wizard or not.

Nami nodded, Vivi at her side. "And me and Nojiko have been living with our mom's friend Genso for years." Vivi hugged her when Nami's face fell a little.

Nojiko, Beck recognized. She had left school in her sixth year to become a herbologist. She didn't care for any more education surprisingly, but the past summer Beck had already seen her plants in various stores around Britain. But not Genso.

Vivi smiled at Bonney. "I still have my dad, but I lost my mom when I was little." Beck recalled Cobra had a wife, but wasn't sure when she had died.

Usopp shrugged, his lips twisting in a grimace. "I still have my dad, but I lost my mom years ago."

Luffy wrapped an arm around Bonney's shoulders. "And Bonney knows I don't remember my mom at all."

And Beck and Shanks both knew Luffy didn't know his birth father. A rogue dark wizard hunter, they only knew of Draco 'Dragon' because a year after adopting Luffy, the kid's grandfather had shown up. Garp, the Vice President of MACUSA, showed up on their doorstep, almost in the middle of the night.

He had heard of his grandson going missing, but because there had been no identifying records with Luffy's mother, no one had any idea the kid was the grandkid of the second most powerful wizard in the United States. He'd asked about Luffy's mom, and mentioned Dragon once, then left Luffy with them because he didn't have time to take care of a kid who was clearly attached to Shanks.

He never explained how he found out Luffy was with him though.

Beck was still a bit bitter that Dragon had never tried to contact them outside of the one letter he sent, telling them to take care of his son.

Bonney, her hands twisting into her robe, looked up at Beck and Shanks. "If daddy can't remember me, can I stay with you?"

Beck handed Shanks the papers with a grin. "As long as you want to, we can talk about that this weekend. You and Luffy are coming with us to Hogsmeade tonight. And we'll come back to the castle on Sunday. Headmaster Rayleigh let us have the weekend to talk to you."

The two under-aged kids lit up, while the third years and up students laughed. Shanks handed the papers back to Beck, and he tried not laugh at the other mans clear distaste for anything paperwork related.

Usopp pouted, but Shanks went over and ruffled his hair. "I'll see if you can't come with your dad tomorrow. Just this once." Usopp still had a pout when Shanks stepped back, but seemed slightly mollified.

Bonney ran forward and launched herself at Beck, who only caught her from years of doing the same with Luffy. "Thank you."

Shanks waited a moment, then looked at the others. "Head to your last classes, but thank you all for talking to her." The kids all grinned at Bonney, but hurried down the corridor.

Beck waited as Shanks, Luffy, and Bonney went through the portrait serving as the door, and shook his head. He hated what Bonney had gone through, but he was glad she seemed to be taking it well.