In Transfiguration Professor Dumbledore asked who could turn a toad into a bird. My hand shot right up into the air. He asked me to perform the spell in front of the class, so I did. My eyes skimmed over the faces of my peers. I tried not to react when I saw that Arnold was in this class. My palms began to sweat. Concentrate Minerva! You know this spell! I told myself. Dumbledore gave me a quick nod of encouragement. I cleared my throat.

"Rubetavis," I say and tap the toad with my wand. Instantly the toad transfigures into a small green parakeet and settles on a rafter near the ceiling. I stare at the floor as I return to my seat. Cassandra smiles at me and gives me thumbs up. She knows that I have a talent for transfiguration; in fact, she often says that I am Dumbledore's prodigy.

After class I stay back to help Dumbledore get the bird down from the ceiling. He is not very young; it is much easier for me. Without being asked, I grab a stepstool from under a desk. I get as high as I can and point my wand. I repeat the counter spell and catch the toad when it falls. I turn to return it to it's cage, only to meet and pair of silver-blue eyes under half-moon glasses. Dumbledore straightens to his full height and peers down at me fondly. "Thank you Minerva." He says. I can't read his expression. A normal person would have looked happy, content even. But Albus Dumbledore is no normal person.

Dumbledore summons me to his office. I follow him through a few corridors and up a flight of steps. We stop in front of a blank stone wall. He mutters an incantation so quietly that I can't tell what he said and a door that was not there a moment ago swings open. His office is small and cluttered, yet organized. There are books and gadgets, papers and quills. There is no extra space on any surface. The top of his desk could have been covered in blinking eyes and I wouldn't be able to see enough to notice them. I like it though, even though I am a very tidy and orderly person. I notice too late that my mouth and eyes are wide open. He noticed too.

"You like it?" Dumbledore asks. I shut my mouth and nod my head. I notice a large bird on a perch in the corner. Blow it is what looks like… a tray of ashes? The bird is red and orange with piercing eyes. "That is a phoenix bird, Minerva. Extremely talented birds, phoenixes are. They can carry immensely heavy loads, its tears have healing powers, and when it's time for them to die they burst into flames and are reborn from the ashes." He must have noticed my curiosity. Blimey, Dumbledore is so observant. It's like those stormy eyes can see through your soul.

After I talked with Dumbledore about this and that I ran into Cassandra in the corridor. I told her that I wasn't hungry for dinner, but asked her to bring me a slice of pumpkin pie. She agreed and waltzed off in her bouncy way. I wasn't very hungry. Instead of going to dinner I wandered around the school. It was so quiet without children everywhere. There were so many little nooks and crannies of Hogwarts that it would take forever to explore them all. I'm positive that there are places that have been untouched for hundreds of years. I would love to find those places, to I simply walk around with my mind looking for secrets. As if some unseen force pulled me, I ended up in a broom closet. Illuminating my wand, I look around. I don't see another door besides the one that I came through, but I do see a door knob. It is made of tarnished brass and has a large keyhole in the center. On the floor I see small pieces of fractured metal. This must have once been the key, and someone must have destroyed it. Did they really think that using magic to break the key would discourage a curious wizard who could easily fix it?

"Reparo," I say and the key is whole. I pick it up, noticing the weight and the coolness that comes from years in a stone-walled closet. I carefully insert it into the key hole and turn it. The entire wall swings out to reveal …

Oooh Cliffie! Sorry about that, I couldn't resist! I hope you enjoy and I will try to have the next chapter up as soon as I can.

-Lucy Pensee