Dumbledore's eyes twinkled lightly as he observed the phoenix before him. He remembered when he got the bird. He was far younger. His beard just barely covered his chin.
Dumbledore strolled along the outskirts of the small wizarding village. He wandered down the street absentmindedly fingering the grip of his wand in his pocket. He had a strange feeling something was about to happen. Dumbledore's wanderings were abruptly stopped as he collided with another person. Both of them were now sprawled of the concrete. The man on the ground beside him was lanky. He had startlingly blue eyes. He wore odd clothes; they were in a wizarding village but this man wore muggle clothes, and strange ones at that. He wore a blue tunic with some black pants and very worn boots. Despite the slight warmth in the air the man wore a brown jacket and a neckerchief.
The oddest thing about the man was not his clothes though. The oddest thing was the bird adorning his shoulder. It was a phoenix. Phoenixes rarely showed loyalty to anyone and the lanky man in front of him didn't look like much.
Dumbledore was brought out of his observations by the man getting to his feet. The man, now standing, was offering a hand to help him up. He accepted graciously. The man was studying him. His eyes betrayed a strange wisdom that did not match his age. He was mumbling under his breath.
"Yes, he seems important, but is he the right one, will he assist the Potter boy? He matches the description, the aura is right, yes it must be him."
The man turned to the bird perched on his shoulder.
"Fawkes, what do you think about a new owner? I'm sure he'll keep you safe." The bird turned to his owner with intelligent eyes before bowing his head in acknowledgment. The man nodded his head and the bird flew off his shoulder to perch on Dumbledore's. Dumbledore turned to the man in shock.
He had just given his phoenix to him and the phoenix actually seemed to want to agree. The man nodded his head respectfully to him.
"Do keep him safe for me, would you?" And with that he apparated away.