"Somewhere out in the distance, a phoenix was singing in a way Harry had never heard before: a stricken lament of terrible beauty. And Harry felt, as he had never felt about phoenix song before, that the music was inside him, not without: It was his own grief turned magically into song that echoed across the grounds and through the castle windows...As he lay there, he became aware suddenly that the grounds were silent. Fawkes had stopped singing. And he knew, without knowing how he knew, that the phoenix had gone, had left Hogwarts for good…" (The Half-Blood Prince, pages 615-632)
Cold, moist air curled around his wings. They were once a brilliant red-gold color, but were now dull from grief.
The clouds parted before him, revealing a lone pine tree standing proudly upon a hill. A copper dragon was coiled around the trunk, and he snorted smoke at the phoenix as he passed overhead.
Fawkes flew past the tree and its magical borders, into the camp spread out in the valley below him. He circled the camp once, curious, having only seen it twice before through the rippling mist of an Iris Message.
As he finished his examination and angled towards the large blue house seated next to the strawberry fields, Fawkes noticed the white centaur standing on the porch waiting for him.
"Fawkes," Chiron greeted as the phoenix landed on the railing, "To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you in person?"
Fawkes decided to be blunt. "Dumbledore is dead."
Chiron's face turned pale and worn. "I am sorry to hear that. What will you do?"
"A better question to ask would be: What will you do, Friend of Dumbledore? The Dark One is rising. He has killed Dumbledore, the one he feared most, without being there in person. He may soon conquer the Wizarding World, and then what will become of this camp and your gods?"
Chiron bowed his head. "I have heard rumors, but they were just that. Rumors…"
"I cannot predict the future like your Oracle nor do I have the authority to order your heroes about like common soldiers. I only warn you of things to come."
"Where will you go?"
"I will most likely leave the company of humankind and live among my brethren."
"I see."
"Goodbye Chiron, friend of Dumbledore." Fawkes leapt off the porch railing, beating the air with his wings to gain altitude. "Whatever you decide to do, good luck."
Chiron watched Fawkes leave, sighing. "When will the world stop needing to be saved?"
"Chiron!"
The centaur turned to see Grover running towards him, a pair of fake shoes in one hand and his pipes in the other.
"Did I just see a phoenix flying out of camp?"
"Ah, Grover. Perfect. I was just going to go look for you."
Grover stopped on the porch steps and blinked. "You were?"
"Yes. I have a mission for you."
"Oh, Juniper is not going to be happy with me."
Chiron smiled sadly. "Especially since you will be travelling halfway across the world and staying in a magical forest full of spiders and werewolves."
"What?"
"Don't worry, it's just to keep an eye on things."
A/N: Hi! Sorry this chapter was really short. It was meant to be an introductory kind of thing to give you guys some background on what's happening. The first chapter will be posted as soon as I get it typed out. Please remember to review! Thanks for reading!