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Minerva McGonagall was browsing though scrolls and other documents that the board of governors always insisted were important, arguing that they had to be filled out in triplicate as stated by their guidelines. Of all things to do as Headmistress, Minerva found it to be the most tiresome task of all. The knock on her door was an welcomed excuse. "Enter," she said.

Albert Solon entered, looking as if he had just finished his first O.W.L. exam. "I can handle spoiled brats, pampered prima donnas, and the occasional angry parent. I've handled dark wizards and bothersome Italians. But I was never quite prepared for that. "

Minerva shuffled through some paperwork to hide her amusement. "Oh come now, Albert" she said between scrolls, "All teachers must be prepared for any question our pupils ask of us"

"Yes, well, I wasn't expecting that, and certainly not twice in a week "

Minerva looked at Albert, eyebrow raised. "Twice?" asked Minerva, "I was only familiar with one of the incidents"

"I'm lucky that way," said Albert with a weak smile, "As long as you don't mind the ranting of a perplexed man, I'll tell all"

Minerva looked sternly at him, "If it'll help you, I see no reason to rob a colleague a chance to get something off his chest"

Albert begin his tales, "Ok, so the first one you may have heard. It was towards the end of class with the 3rd years. Class was getting out when one of the girls walked up to me, saying that she had a issue she wished to address. So I told her that as long as she didn't mind waiting a bit or Thomas being around, it was fine. She agreed, and waited for the class to empty. She told me that she thought one of her classmates had placed curse on her and asked me there as such a thing as a blood curse. I told her that while such curses exist, almost all of them were instantaneous fatal, due to the very nature of the curses. And since she herself was still alive and the curses so powerful, There was no way that one of her classmates placed one on her. But you don't understand, she said, I feel pains in my stomach and I've found blood all over my bed and clothing. I bathe and use cloths and fabrics to keep it clean, but still it comes. At this point I asked her, unwillingly, to point, NOT SHOW, where she was bleeding from. She pointed between her legs and said that her classmate said that was her curse for poking fun at her. At this point, it took all my self control to not laugh at the poor girl, who looked as if she was on the verge of tears. I told her I would help and walked her down to Madam Pomfrey asked her to explain 'The dragons and the unicorns' to the poor girl. She gave me a nod and lead her into her office."

Minerva smiled, "Yes, Poppy told me about that. She also told me that a few days later, she was treating one of the other 3rd years, who had been hexed and had bird feathers growing out of her head. Looking at the attendance records, something tells me the two me be related"

Solon nodded in approval. "I don't plan on pressing the issue. She probably had it coming," he said, "Then, there was the other one. Again, I had just finished class, though this time it was the fourth years I was dealing with. Again, one of my students, a boy this time, asked to speak to me after class. Once again, I obliged with the same stipulations and again, he agreed. This time, the question was about gnomes. He had recently saw a gnome outside his window and was asking for a repellent. I told him not to worry about it and that I would have Hagird look into it. The field probably just needed tending. You sure, he asked, they're not after me. I asked him why would gnomes possibly come after you. He replied that he has been told, by his parents no less, that if he ever 'explored' himself, gnomes would come to bit it off. He further explained that since he had started at the beginning of the school year, he was expecting an army of gnomes to eat away his 'special wand'. I gently explained to him that while the gnomes will not go after him, the ghosts the roam the halls are prone to spreading gossip. I advised him to be discreet when 'polishing his wand' and that the library as well as Madam Pomfrey could provide further details about his changing body.

Minerva shook her head. "At one point, we actually had midwives from the nearby communities come by and explain to the students about puberty and child bearing and the like," she said, "Unfortunately, one the students wrote back to his parents who, in turn, wrote to the board of governors. Their response was that such information was not appropriate in an academic environment and best left to their villages and families. A pity if you ask me. I always found it funny that the board allowed dragons, sphinxes, and, of all things, dementors to roam about Hogwarts. But Heaven forbid we explain 'the dragons and the unicorns' to our students."

Albert shrugged. "To be fair, I think it's mandated that the board use faulty logic when deciding such matters," he said, "Still, I'm glad that my students trust me enough that they can approach me with such matters. I think I'm done, Minerva. I hope didn't bore you too much."

Minerva continued to browse her scrolls. "I've heard worse. You're weren't around when we had Gilderoy Lockhart. It was one of the few times Severus and I actually agreed on something"

Albert coughed politely. "Yes, well, I'm glad I wasn't as bad as him," he said, "Goodnight, Minerva. I hope I was a welcomed distraction from your work."

Minerva sighed as she flipped though the scrolls. "It's fine, Albert. See you at breakfast tomorrow"