A/N: Hello again, everyone!

I'm back with a new chapter! I apologize that this took forever; even though I'm always working on my stories unfortunately it takes a long time for me to update around everything else. I hope everyone is having a good weekend and I hope you enjoy!

"Alright, Albus. What's your plan?"

Albus smiles a little, pleased that Minerva's come around to the idea. "I want to propose that Hagrid be trained under Ogg."

"The Gameskeeper? Why?"

"Ogg will be retiring in a few years and we'll need a replacement. It will give the boy ample time to learn the job before the position is available, and we know Hagrid is already interested in working with magical creatures."

"Will Ogg agree to that?"

"I've spoken to Ogg, he is more than happy with the arrangement."

"What about the Headmaster?"

Albus shakes his head, "I don't believe that Armando thinks Hagrid is guilty; the hard part will be the Board of Governors. Let me worry about that."

"You seem to have everything in hand, why do you need me?"

"The more people we have petitioning for him the better, and you're as passionate about this as I am… not to mention terribly persuasive when you want to be."

I don't know why that comment threatens to make color rise to my cheeks, but I clear my throat and ignore it.

"Alright, I see your point."

I fall silent for several moments as I think it over. It's a good plan, and likely the only feasible one. I wish more than anything we could save the boy from this altogether, but with so few options left…

"I think this is possible, but there's still one thing that bothers me. Hagrid's wand, is there really no way to keep him from losing it?"

Albus sighs sadly, "Unfortunately no. When a student is expelled, snapping their wand is a given—there are no exceptions."

I narrow my eyes as a sudden thought occurs to me. "Once the wand is snapped, all of its magical ability is lost?"

"Not exactly. It's possible to still perform magic with the fragments, but only with varying degrees of success."

I hum, but don't say anything.

"What are you thinking?"

I look back at him, "Do you think you could get the pieces of Hagrid's wand?"

Albus raises an eyebrow, "Perhaps, why?"

"If we had the pieces, maybe we could find a way to give him some magical ability."

Albus doesn't respond right away, making me glance at him again.

"I realize what I'm suggesting is probably against the rules. I'm sorry, but I feel like we owe it to the boy to at least try. If he were guilty it would be a different matter entirely, but—"

"No, I understand, Min." Albus said. "I agree with you. I'm not sure it will work, but it's worth trying. Truthfully, I'd already had a similar thought. I guess great minds think alike."

I smile gratefully at him. "How long do we have, do you think?"

"I'm going to talk to Armando today. The quicker we can make arrangements the better. Hagrid's father passed away a few years ago and he has no other family. He's in shock right now, but eventually it will dawn on him that he has nowhere to go once he's expelled."

My heart breaks for him all over again. "I hate this, Albus. He's just a child."

"I know Minerva, so do I. But if this plan works, his future won't be so bleak and he'll know there are people here that still believe in him."

I nod my head, remembering vividly how important that is. "Then let's get started, Albus. There's no time to waste."

The next two weeks are exhausting. I spent every waking moment petitioning as many people as possible on Hagrid's behalf. It reminded me in some ways of my days campaigning for Animal rights and against the Wizard, but this time I had much more success.

I started with the people I was closest to first—Poppy and Rolanda—who barely even let me bring up the subject before they were agreeing to help. We covered much more ground between the three of us, although I felt a little bad for those that spoke to Ro. She's a wonderful person and friend, but excitable and overly animated, and that's before you give her something to fight for. Still, whatever she did worked so I was grateful.

Eventually I had to speak to Silvanus Kettleburn, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. In the months following the Ministry's ball he's been nothing but kind to me, but he's also one of the professors Tom Riddle is close to and I wasn't sure how he would react to Albus and I trying to help the student he had accused.

It went much better than I was anticipating. Silvanus didn't even seem surprised. He agreed almost immediately, and I couldn't help but ask him why. For a split second I thought he might be offended by the question, but Silvanus just smiled at me.

"Ah, Minerva. Magical creatures are my specialty. I know Rubeus Hagrid is not responsible for this, and Tom Riddle is no longer the boy he was when he started at Hogwarts—perhaps he was never the boy we thought him to be."

I couldn't hide my surprise at his response, but I did appreciate the honesty.

It took Albus several days, but he convinced the Headmaster to allow Hagrid to remain at Hogwarts and train with the gamekeeper. There's a small cabin on the grounds separate from the castle that will be the boy's new home. The hardest task of all was convincing the Ministry, but Albus refused to take no for an answer. I'm told the large group we assembled was instrumental in their reluctant acceptance.

The official expulsion took place this morning at the Ministry, and I've felt sick to my stomach all day long. I considered asking Albus if I could join them, but I thought better of it within an hour. I didn't trust myself to stay silent throughout the proceedings. I've always had trouble keeping my mouth shut in the face of such obvious injustice, and the last thing I wanted was for it to negatively impact Hagrid. The poor child has already suffered enough.

They got back a couple of hours ago, and now my stomach is in knots all over again because I know the time is fast approaching for Albus and I to explain to Hagrid what we've arranged for him. We both agreed to wait until the last possible moment in case the Ministry's approval was revoked unexpectedly. As much as we wanted to ease the boy's stress, we didn't want to take the chance of giving him false hope until we were one hundred percent sure it was settled.

A knock on my door pulls me out of my thoughts. When I open the door to find Albus on the other side, he smiles just a bit.

"Hello Minerva."

I nod to him as I step aside to let him in.

"How awful was it, Albus?"

"About as we expected. Hagrid never said a word; he hardly even looked up from the ground."

I bring a hand up to my chest and shake my head. "Oh, the poor boy. Where is he now?"

"Back in his room; he thinks he's been allowed to stay one more night."

I nod, but something about the tone of his voice makes me look at him more closely. "Are you alright? You look upset; did something else happen at the hearing?"

For a second he looks surprised that I noticed, but he sighs. "No, not at the hearing itself. Some ministry officials just chose the most inopportune time to plead their case again."

"What do you mean?"

"The war in Germany is getting worse by the day and our ministry is getting increasingly nervous. They want me to get involved."

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "I don't understand. Why do they believe you can make a difference?"

Albus doesn't show any reaction to the question in his face, but I can see the way his shoulders tense.

"Let's just say I have history with Grindelwald."

The answer surprises me. I haven't heard mention of him since I arrived here almost a year ago. My official story was that I escaped from Germany and many believed that Grindelwald was involved, but of course Albus always knew that was a lie. Based on the research I did on him, he is a very dark wizard that has committed unspeakable atrocities in this war. It's hard for me to imagine a man like Albus Dumbledore knowing him. Still, I did my fair share of horrible things during my days as the Wicked Witch, so I suppose questioning it would be hypocritical of me.

"I see. Well, I cannot say I am not curious, but I will not pry."

Albus knows he doesn't do a very good job of hiding the surprise on his face. He just admitted that he knew the man currently terrorizing Europe, and yet she brushed it aside without the slightest thought. Instead, she's looking at him the same way she always does.

"Are you ready?" She asks suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts. "I think it's time we end Hagrid's suffering."

He nods back solemnly. Without another word she calls for Pipsy, and when the elf appears in front of them, she smiles at her.

"Hello dear. Would you please go ask Rubeus Hagrid to meet Professor Dumbledore and I by the main doors?"

"Of course, Mistress."

She disappears with a pop! Albus gestures for me to go ahead of him, and I walk out the portrait door with him following close behind.

Rubeus Hagrid sat quietly on his bed. His head hurt from crying, but tears still made their way down his face. He was glad all of his roommates were otherwise occupied—he'd always endured some teasing in the past because he was a half-giant, but now the circumstances were quite different and he had a feeling the comments coming his way would be much harder to swallow. Hagrid was thankful for the time to compose himself.

He'd been officially expelled this morning, but Headmaster Dippet was kind enough to let him stay one more night in the castle, which Hagrid was grateful for because tomorrow he would be effectively homeless. The reminder made the tears fall faster. He had no idea what he'd do, but he knew he had no choice but to figure it out. No one was able or willing to help him.

The Minister asked during his expulsion hearing if there was anything he wanted to say, but Hagrid only shook his head and continued silently staring at the ground. He knew nothing he said would change anything, so there was no point in continuing to profess his innocence. No one has believed him so far and he had no reason to believe he would change any of their minds in the room. He still couldn't stop himself from flinching or his eyes from burning when they snapped his wand, though.

A sudden pop startled him out of his thoughts, and he jumped before looking over at the house elf that just appeared at the side of his bed with wide eyes.

She smiled at him, "Pipsy is sorry for startling you, Mr. Hagrid."

"I-it's o-okay…" He mumbled, quickly wiping his face.

"Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall have requested that you join them by the main doors of the castle."

Fear struck the boy instantly. Has the headmaster changed his mind? Do they want me ter leave righ' now?

"O-oh, okay…"

He paused for a moment, waiting for the elf to tell him to bring his trunk with him. Instead, she smiled at him again in a way that was both soothing and sympathetic and it made Hagrid's eyes sting again.

"Do not worry, Pipsy will escort you," She told him, putting her small hand on his much larger one.

"Yeh don' have ter do tha'—" He started to say quietly, but Pipsy squeezed his hand before he could finish.

"Pipsy is happy to do it, Mr. Hagrid. Come, the Professors are waiting."

With a small nod, the boy followed the elf out of the dormitory. He allowed himself to hold her hand the entire way there, much longer than is acceptable. Thankfully Pipsy did not say anything about it, nor did she let go of him, either.

Albus and I stand by the main doors waiting for Rubeus Hagrid to arrive. We haven't been waiting that long, but the longer we stand here the more nervous I become. I can't stop wringing my hands and I've barely been able to stop myself from pacing.

Albus's hand suddenly grabs hold of both of mine, stopping their movement.

"Relax, Minerva. Everything will be alright, I promise."

I sigh, not moving my hands from his, "You're right, I'm being silly."

"I didn't say that," He corrects me. "I understand why you're nervous, but please. Hagrid will be alright."

He doesn't really understand, but I can't fault him for that because I refuse to tell him my own history with this kind of thing. Still, I appreciate his support, so I smile at him.

"Thank you."

"Of course, Min." He looks up for a moment, his eyes lighting up. "Ah, here they come."

I turn around, finally removing my hands from his. Hagrid and Pipsy are still a few feet from us, and I feel my heart swell when I see Pipsy holding the boy's hand. She really is the most empathetic creature I've ever met, and not for the first time I'm unbelievably grateful for her.

"Hello, Pipsy. Hagrid." Albus greets them first when they're close enough.

"P-professor Dumbledore, sir." Hagrid answers quietly, not quite looking him in the eyes.

I can tell how nervous he is and my heart goes out to him. I smile at him and greet him in my sweetest tone. Still, he won't look me in the eyes when he responds, either.

I look down at Pipsy and smile at her too. "Thank you for your help, Pipsy."

"Of course, Mistress." She looks up at the boy and gives his hand one last comforting squeeze.

The action seems to remind him that they've been holding hands the entire time, and he's quick to let go. I'm fairly sure I see a blush underneath his rather unruly hair, and I have to hide my smile.

"Please call for Pipsy if you need her for anything else, Mistress."

"I will, thank you dear."

The elf nods and disappears once again, leaving the three of us alone in the hallway. It takes several moments for Hagrid to finally speak up.

"Yeh…yeh wanted ter see me, Professors?"

Seeing the look on his face makes it difficult for me to resist the urge to hug him. His voice is timid, barely above a whisper, and I hate it. The boy has always been fairly soft spoken and gentle—a direct contradiction of what one might assume given his stature—but this is something else entirely. He seems so ashamed even though he knows he's done nothing wrong, and I'm so angry with every Ministry official that has falsely accused him and failed the boy so spectacularly.

The self-deprecating voice in my head wants to say you've failed him too, but I push it away.

"Yes we did," Albus answers, cheerful as ever. "Why don't we take a walk?"

Once outside we walk in silence for a few minutes so that Hagrid has time to relax a little. It seems to work; he is clearly more at ease outside, and I can see much of the tension leaving him.

"So, my boy," Albus starts, "I've heard that you enjoy magical creatures, yes?"

He is obviously surprised by the question, but he nods and Albus smiles.

"What are some of your favorites, then? I have a phoenix familiar myself, so I'm partial to them."

Hagrid's eyes light up at once, "Yeh do?! I've read all abou' 'em, but never seen one. They are very interestin' creatures. I really like dragons, too."

Albus and I both raise an eyebrow. "Dragons?"

"Yeah!" He answers excitedly, "Boy, I'd love a dragon one day…" He adds wistfully.

Neither Albus nor I have a chance to respond before Hagrid tenses a little, looking a bit more nervous.

"Oh, I shouldn' have said tha'." he mumbles, "I should not have said tha'..."

Albus and I both laugh. "Not to worry, Hagrid." I assure him. "It's perfectly alright."

He glances at me and gives me a shy smile.

"Go on, what else?" I ask, giving him an encouraging smile of my own.

"Well…I've always wanted ter create me own hybrid creature. Maybe with a Fire Crab."

My eyebrow raises again. That seems like an odd choice.

"Really, why that one?"

Hagrid shrugs, "I don' know. I jus' think it could make an interestin' combination with the righ' partner."

Albus chuckles, "You might be right! Is there any other creature you'd be interested in studying?"

"Eh, I don' really know. I'm sure I'd love ter have experience with all kinds o' creatures. Other 'n Aragog, me Acromantula, i haven'—"

His jaw clamps shut so fast I'm sure it had to be painful. When Albus and I turn to look at him, the boy has turned alarmingly pale. His eyes are as wide as saucers and every once of tension has returned to his body.

"I-I mean… I'm sorry. I d-didn', I promise I'm no—"

"Oh Hagrid," I speak softly and take a step closer to him. I reach up and place a hand on his arm, and I'm happy when he doesn't pull away from me. "Sh, it's alright. You haven't said anything wrong."

Albus steps closer too, concern written clearly on his face. "Professor McGonagall is right, dear boy. I'm the one who asked the question, you were simply answering honestly. Besides, we already knew about your pet."

Hagrid says nothing as he stares at the ground.

"His name is Aragog?" Albus asks softly. The boy hesitates before nodding quickly.

"How did you find him?"

"I-I…" He takes a shaky breath, but doesn't continue.

"Relax, Hagrid. You are not in trouble."

He glances up at the two of us before answering quietly. "I…I met someone by chance las' summer. I didn' know who he was, jus' a traveller, but he had the egg in his pocket. I didn' know it was an Acromantula until it hatched. I know it was against the rules bringin' him ter school, but I didn' know what else ter do with him! I swear professors, Aragog didn'—"

He's starting to breathe much faster and looks to be on the verge of tears, but Albus speaks up before I have the chance.

"Hagrid, you misunderstand." Albus interrupts him gently. "I am not accusing you of anything. On the contrary, both Professor McGonagall and I know without a doubt that you and Aragog are not responsible for any of the recent attacks on students, nor for the death of Myrtle Warren."

The boy was on the verge of hyperventilating, but Albus's words shocked him enough to make him stop.

"I-I don' understand. Yeh mean, yeh…believe me?"

His voice is filled with disbelief and it breaks my heart. "Yes, Hagrid. We believe you."

He draws in a sharp breath, but doesn't say anything. It's hard to tell due to the way much of his hair falls in front of his face, but I'm fairly certain I see tears in his eyes.

"Indeed, dear boy." Albus confirms. "That is why Professor McGonagall and I asked to see you today. Not only do we—much of the staff, actually—believe you are innocent, but we have made arrangements for you."

"W-what d'yeh mean?" Hagrid sniffles.

"Ah, well, here we are." Albus says, looking away from the boy. I didn't even realize we'd walked up to the hut until now.

"This small hut is on Hogwarts grounds, but it has been empty for some time. We haven't used it in years, and in light of what has happened, we have arranged for you to be allowed to live here."

"Here?" The boy asks after a moment. I can see the hope beginning to show on his face, but he's cautious, too.

"Yes, shall we go take a look inside?" Albus suggests before leading us inside. It's a simple, small one room cabin. But it's dry, and certainly beats being on the streets.

When I look over at Hagrid, he's looking around in awe. From the look on his face you'd think we just gave him a mansion. "Yeh both did this?"

"You have Professor Dumbledore to thank, really. He came up with the plan, I only—"

"No, Professor," Albus interrupts me and looks at Hagrid. "I had the plan to start with, that is true. But Professor McGonagall was instrumental in executing it. She is just as much responsible for this as I am. I could not have accomplished it without her help."

I fight off a blush and narrow my eyes at him. If we were alone I would admonish him for giving me far too much credit, but I keep my mouth shut. Albus's only response is to raise an eyebrow at me.

"But… but why? Yeh don' owe me anythin'."

"On the contrary, we do." I answer before Albus does, but when I glance at him he nods for me to continue.

"We should have been able to protect you and stop this altogether, but we couldn't. I'm sorry for that in ways, for reasons you cannot begin to understand. But you are innocent, Hagrid, and you do not deserve any of this. It isn't much, but it's the least we could do. Please, accept it and let us help you."

He's openly crying now as he looks around.

"Th-thank yeh Professor. I…I can' tell yeh how much it means ter me, ter have yer support."

"I'm afraid there's a bit more," Albus says, "As we discussed, you have a talent for magical creatures."

When Hagrid nods, he continues. "You will spend at least the summer travelling and being trained by several experts in the field of magical creatures around the world. When you return, you will live here and be trained under our current Gamekeeper, Ogg. When the time comes for him to retire, you will take over his position as Gamekeeper and Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts."

The boy's mouth drops open. "Are yeh—this is…this is too much, Professor! I can' begin ter explain how touched I am, but I don' deserve all o' this, really. This is too nice, even if I am innocent."

Hearing him say he doesn't deserve it feels like a horrible kick in the gut. "Nonsense, Hagrid. You have been falsely accused and your life has been irreparably altered because of it. You say it's too much, but really it's not nearly enough."

"Professor McGonagall is right, Hagrid." Albus confirms. He waves his hand and a pink umbrella appears, which he holds out to him.

"Take this," He tells him. "It has the pieces of your wand inside it. The rules say you're forbidden from studying magic after being expelled, but your expulsion is unfounded, so I have no qualms in giving this to you. As long as you are discreet, you should not have any problems. I can't promise how reliable it will be, but hopefully it will help. I'm sorry I couldn't save it from being broken in the first place."

Hagrid takes the umbrella and handles it reverently, as if he's afraid it will break. He looks down at it and I finally see the tears fall onto his cheeks as he chokes on a sob.

"Yeh know, when I was accused an' I knew I would be expelled, I didn' wish I had a family ter help me. I actually… this is goin' ter sound awful but I was actually grateful that' my father died before he had ter see my disgrace."

He hugs the umbrella to him as though it's his most precious possession before he continues, "It would have broken his heart, an' that would have been worse'n anythin' they could have done ter me."

My vision blurs and I have to blink back the tears in my own eyes. "Oh, Hagrid. I am so sorry."

He shakes his head, "It's not yer fault, Professor. I only mean that I resigned myself to bein' cast out. I never imagined I would have any more support, an' now…"

He doesn't finish the sentence, but we both understand what he's trying to say.

"Well, what do you say, Hagrid? Do you accept our arrangement?"

"I…yes, Professor Dumbledore, sir. If yeh're sure."

"Ah, dear boy. I can assure you I've never been more sure of anything." He walks closer to him and pats him on the arm.

"Now then, Professor McGonagall will have Pipsy bring down your personal belongings, and you can stay here until you leave in a few days."

"T-thank yeh, Professor, so much."

Albus nods and smiles at the boy before making his way to the door. He pauses at the threshold and waits for me. I smile at Hagrid as well and start to follow Albus, but I'm barely past him before Hagrid calls after me.

"Professor McGonagall?"

I turn back toward him. "Yes?"

"Why did yeh do all o' this? I get Professor Dumbledore doin' somethin' with him bein' the Deputy Headmaster, but…"

He pauses, looking away from me. "I'm so grateful fer it, really, but I guess… I jus' wanted ter know why."

I close my eyes for a moment before I look back up at him. "I understand how it feels to be falsely accused and villainized for something you didn't do; too feel like you have no allies and are utterly alone. It is… it is the worst and most lonely feeling I can imagine, and something not easily overcome. I swore to myself a long time ago that I would never allow anyone else to feel that way if I could do anything about it."

Even at only fourteen years old Hagrid is easily close to seven feet tall, so he towers over me in this position. I wasn't sure what I expected his response to be, but I know I could have never predicted the sudden hug he gives me.

He is hunched over to avoid lifting me off of the ground, as I'm sure he could easily do if he straightened up even a little. The embrace is tight, but so unbelievably gentle that it makes tears burn my eyes again. How anyone could ever think that this sweet boy could be responsible for such monstrous attacks will forever baffle me.

"Thank yeh, Professor McGonagall. I'll never forget this." He whispers the words into my robes and it only makes the lump in my throat bigger.

When he lets me go I smile at him even though I know he can still see the way my eyes are shining.

"You are more than welcome, Hagrid. Remember you will always have support at Hogwarts. From so many of us, not just Professor Dumbledore and I."

Hagrid nods, smiling. "Oh, Pipsy. She's yer house elf, right?"

"Yes she is, why?"

"Could yeh…could yeh thank her fer me? She was so nice ter me."

His cheeks turn pink right away, and I chuckle.

"I will, I promise." I squeeze his hand before letting go and finally joining Albus at the door.

When we return to my rooms, Pipsy is there with tea for Albus and I. I smile at her before asking her to please retrieve Hagrid's belongings from the Gryffindor dormitory and take them to him, which she readily agrees to.

"Oh, Pipsy," I say before she can leave.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"Hagrid asked me to thank you. He said you were very kind to him and he appreciated it very much."

Color almost instantly comes to her face as she looks down. "O-oh, well. Pipsy is glad to be of help. Mr. Hagrid is very sweet."

"You are always helpful, dear. But I agree; you're both very sweet."

The elf's blush only deepens before she glances up at me, then over at Albus.

"M-Mistress…"

She almost wines in embarrassment and I chuckle. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry. But it's still true."

Pipsy gives me a small nod and a smile before she finally snaps her fingers and removes herself from the room.

I sit down and make a cup of tea for Albus before I realize how quiet he's been. When I look over at him, he's watching me rather intently. It makes me wonder how long he's been looking at me like that, but I can't quite place his expression.

"What's the matter, Albus? I thought you'd be happy after our conversation with Hagrid. Especially considering it went so well."

Clearly the question surprises him because he startles a little bit. I don't think he realized that I noticed.

"Yes, of course. I'm very happy that everything went well with Hagrid. I think the boy deserves it and I'm glad he no longer has that weight on him."

"Yes…" I say it slowly, still raising an eyebrow at him. While true, the look on his face doesn't match his words.

"I agree with you, but that's not what I was referring to."

Now Albus raises an eyebrow at me, and I smirk at him. "Come now, Albus. You're looking at me like we didn't just change a boy's life today; what is wrong?"

He finally sighs, "I'm sorry. I just… I can't stop thinking about what you said to Hagrid."

I stare at him, "What do you mean?"

"He asked why you were helping him. Your answer…"

Oh. Now I understand. It wasn't as if I was trying to be quiet when I answered, but I guess I didn't really think Albus was paying attention.

"Oh, I see." I look down briefly before looking back up at him.

"I don't mean to upset you, and I'm not trying to pry, but—"

"I'm not upset, it's alright." I sigh, "Go ahead and ask, then."

"I don't like the idea of you ever feeling the way you described. Did you mean it?"

He already knows the answer, but he still hopes it was simply Minerva's way of sympathizing with the boy.

"Of course I meant it, Albus. I would not have said it otherwise. To be quite honest, what I described wasn't even totally accurate, but I didn't want to upset Hagrid. I just wanted him to know that someone understands."

My answer is honest, but it does not make the sad look on his face disappear. On the contrary, it seems to only deepen Albus's frown lines.

He shakes his head, "It's difficult for me to imagine anyone treating you that way."

I almost immediately laugh just a little, which clearly is not the reaction Albus was expecting if the look he's giving me is anything to go by.

I sigh and pat the seat next to me, "Sit down, Albus."

When he does it takes me some time to actually say anything, because I don't know how I'm supposed to explain it to him. I can't very well tell him that most people wanted me dead and would have been more than happy to dance on my grave. I hate seeing the sad look on his face as it is and that would only make it worse; besides, it's not as if I can tell him why.

"Look, I'm sorry if my response surprised you. The reality is I said it because unfortunately it's true. I've spent the majority of my life being treated that way, even with my family. Some of my father's favorite phrases were telling me to stop jabbering and not to make such a spectacle of myself, and those were only on the occasions he chose to speak to me at all."

Albus looks shocked. "What about your mother?"

"She died after Nessarose was born so I never knew her well."

The words, which was also my fault, almost came out of my mouth, but I stopped them. I have a feeling Albus would deny it just like Glinda used to, but I really don't want to get into that right now.

"But I have no reason to believe it would have been any different. I'm sure I would have been an embarrassment to her too."

Albus looks positively horrified. The last time I saw him look at me with such obvious concern was after I saved Silvanus. There's a very small piece of me that wants to laugh at his reaction, but I know it would be inappropriate and probably only worry him more. So instead, I smile at him reassuringly.

"Please don't look at me like that, Albus. I'm alright, I promise. Even if I spent many years feeling the way I described to Hagrid, it's in the past. I learned how to get through it. Besides, things are different now. My arrival here has changed more for me than you will ever realize."

Albus stared at her in awe for a long time trying to come up with an appropriate response. There are many things he would like to say, but he's very conscious that this is the most Minerva has ever opened up to him and he doesn't want to push her too hard. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that this was only the tip of the iceberg and it was actually more involved and much worse than what she was willing to tell him right now. The thought broke his heart, but despite everything she was still this wonderful, selfless person. Yet for some reason, she didn't seem to believe that.

Albus silently watches me for so long that I start to become concerned myself. Before I can say anything to him, though, he suddenly reaches out, grabs my hand and looks me in the eyes.

"You are such an amazing person, Minerva." He tells me softly.

His response is so simple it catches me off guard. It takes me a few seconds, but I clear my throat and finally find my voice.

"Thank you, Albus."

There's a part of me that wants to leave it at that and let the matter drop, but I also don't want to mislead him. It suddenly occurs to me that I made myself sound like much more of a victim than I truly was.

"I need you to understand something, though. While I concede that much of my treatment was on account of things I couldn't control, I made more than my fair share of contributions to it, as well. I was not innocent, so please don't give me too much credit."

Albus smiles, "On the contrary, Minerva. I think you've spent too much of your life not being given enough."

Silence falls between us. Normally I would have waved the words off, but at this moment something about them causes an unexpected rush of emotion. Suddenly there's a troublesome lump in my throat and I feel the threat of tears.

Why, Miss Elphaba, look at you… You're beautiful.

Something about the way Albus says it and the way he's looking at me reminds me of that day in Glinda and I's dorm room at Shiz University. It was the first time anyone ever used the word beautiful to describe me, and I had a very similar reaction and immediately had to remove myself from the room. I realize all at once that it's been a very long time since I've felt this understood and seen by someone, and I'm not sure what to do with that.

My vision is still blurry when I open my mouth again. I'm not sure exactly what I was planning to say, but a sudden screech from the window stops me in my tracks.

Albus and I both startle at the sound, and we finally break eye contact when he gets up to take the parchment from the owl perched at my window.

He stands a few feet away as he unrolls the message and reads it, which I'm grateful for because it gives me time to pull myself together while he's distracted.

I hear him take a sharp breath and it makes me look back at him. "Are you alright?"

He looks up from the message, and I can see more of the tension in his shoulders I saw earlier and he looks both nervous and annoyed.

"Yes, sorry." He closes the distance between us until he's standing directly in front of me. "I've been summoned to the German Ministry."

"Because of Grindelwald?"

Albus sighs, "Most likely."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Albus smiles a little and takes my hand again. "No, thank you. I promise to explain all of this."

I smile back but shake my head, "It's alright, Albus. It's your business and you don't have to tell me anything."

Albus nods but doesn't agree with me. He smiles at me again before he gives my hand a light squeeze.

"I have to go, but we will continue this conversation soon." He lifts my hand to kiss the back of it.

I nod and watch as he walks out of the room without another word. For several minutes afterward, I stand in the same spot trying to ignore the way my stomach is fluttering nervously and refusing to think too hard about it.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review. There will be a time skip coming in the next 2 or 3 chapters.

Until next time...

~Neve