Dumbledore encountered an unexpected problem just one week before the next school year began. The efficient and misunderstood Hogwarts librarian had a family emergency and wouldn't be able to fulfill her responsibilities for at least several months until her situation was resolved.
This was different from the DADA position, and he couldn't just hire anyone to manage the library books, especially the dangerous Restricted Section. The person's qualifications needed to be up to par, with considerable skill, and they had to be able to familiarize themselves with the organization system and content of the library within a week, even if just broadly, to assist and provide suggestions to the students.
Ah, but it was complicated to find someone like that on short notice and even more so, someone who would accept being hired under such abrupt conditions.
Perhaps a former Ravenclaw student?
Dumbledore had no suitable candidate in mind after thinking for a while, so he met with the professors to see if they had any suggestions to solve the situation.
To the great relief of the headmaster, his trusted right-hand, Professor and Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, stepped forward, saying she knew how to resolve the matter. What Dumbledore didn't expect was for the solution to involve seeking out Barnaby and bringing his current visitor.
"So, this is the temporary replacement you hired to take Irma's place?" the headmaster asked, trying to appear calm behind his desk despite his hands trembling slightly behind the mahogany wood.
Although the creature in front of him didn't seem to have much magic and had a youthful appearance, his instinct as a centenarian wizard, a sixth sense cultivated over many years, was screaming at him to jump out the balcony of his office to get away from her.
And why did she give him the feeling that she was even older than he was?
No, even Flamel, who extended his life, couldn't avoid his physical aging; he must be overthinking.
"Yes, I tested her capabilities, and she has an excellent ability to handle books. I'm sure she will have no problem with the job," Minerva nodded as she looked with satisfaction at the pointy-eared girl next to Barnaby.
"My name is Frieren, I'll be in your care for a while," the millennial elf made a brief courteous bow with a distant attitude, holding a leather suitcase in her left hand and a staff in her right, of a style completely different from Barnaby's.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Frieren," Dumbledore took a deep breath, gave her his well-practiced look of a kind old man, and turned to look at the Deputy Headmistress of the magic school. "May I know the terms of her hiring?"
"Oh, Frieren has been very kind and agreed to receive the same salary, schedule, and general conditions as Irma," explained Minerva as she handed the headmaster the detailed contract she pulled from her robe pocket. "As for her personal requests, they're just small trivialities that won't be any problem for the school."
Dumbledore took and read the contract with great attention, feeling a bit puzzled by these "requests," far from the demands he expected to see.
No onions in any of her meals?
Burgers of no less than a kilo?
Dumbledore couldn't help but look at the slim Frieren and then, his gaze unconsciously wandered to Barnaby.
So, another glutton to feed?
He could handle that, he would send the order to the house-elves in the kitchen.
There were already some students who couldn't eat certain foods due to medical reasons, so they were used to being attentive to these things and so far, they had never made a mistake in serving the dishes.
The conditions for the private room weren't a problem, the break duration was acceptable and coincided with the less busy hours of the library, reading some books in her free time was normal. Even the permission to visit the Forbidden Forest on weekends and to go to Hogsmeade wasn't too much.
"Are you sure this is all, Miss Frieren?"
It wasn't that Dumbledore had any complaints.
You could say everything was perfectly reasonable and manageable!
But precisely because of that, he felt like there had to be something he wasn't realizing, something slipping through his fingers and he didn't know what it was.
"Yes," Frieren nodded. "Barnaby has already taken care of everything else."
He had already asked her for help to get up in the mornings, knowing that sometimes it could be a bit difficult, and Barnaby agreed. Though when it came to brushing her hair or helping her dress, Sanshi would take over.
It wasn't even about being embarrassed, Barnaby simply gave them the opportunity to become friends. Although Frieren didn't know what race Sanshi was, she got along with her right away even if she was secretly jealous of her figure.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at that mysterious comment but didn't delve deeper.
As long as she could fulfill her role as librarian without incidents, he had no intention of interfering with a creature that gave him such a… particular feeling. Besides, despite the tensions between him and Barnaby, Dumbledore knew that Hagrid's son was capable and cared enough about the school not to bring dangerous creatures.
Well, not too dangerous.
In some ways, Barnaby was just like his father.
As for the fact that Frieren's ears betrayed she wasn't human, he didn't pay much attention. It was easy to give an excuse and dismiss the matter for anyone who tried to make it a problem, which would almost certainly happen, probably when some Slytherin reported to their father.
Ahem Malfoy Ahem
Many witches and wizards had the habit of being extravagant to the point of modifying their own bodies or having a twisted sense of fashion, like using a jellyfish as a hat.
Besides, the librarian position was a privilege whose voice and vote were only valid for the headmaster and the deputy headmistress. The parents' council could only watch, even if they didn't like it.
If those guys could say anything about it, who knows how many valuable books would have been "lost" from the library and the Restricted Section over the years.
There were already some voices that didn't like Barnaby's creatures, but they had to swallow their dissatisfaction while he was in charge. Many of these creatures had been terribly useful for the school, like the cheap oil supply, caring for plants in the greenhouse, or potion recycling, just to name a few.
Though in this case, more than protecting Miss Frieren, it seemed he needed to make sure to protect the oblivious from provoking her.
Ah, what a headache, he needed something sweet.
Where was your jar of licorice roaches?