AN: Hello once again my darlings! I wrote this chapter as quick as I could just for all of you! But I do have bad news. I'll be going on a trip from Friday to Tuesday, which means I'll be away from my computer. I promise I'll post as soon as I can when I return! As usual, I'll be watching for all the love that inspires me to continue on! :)
Phoenix watched nervously as Harry stepped into the ring to face his dragon. She had cheered wildly while Cedric had faced his and was happy to see that he was victorious. Normally, she knew nothing of what Harry was involved in and just stepped in when her services were called upon, but being raised by a dragon trainer gave her some insight on this one.
"COME ON HARRY! KILL THE BASTARD!" She yelled from the stands where she had just previously been holding onto Casper for dear life while Cedric did his challenge. Casper held up her binoculars to get a good view of the dragon Harry faced and then handed them to Phoenix, "So what's the odds on his?" Phoenix took a good look at the dragon and then shook her head, "Not so good. He's against a Hungarian Horntail. These things are vicious." Casper frowned and grabbed onto Fred's arm. The Weasley twins had been spending more time with the two girls lately, Phoenix suspected that it had something to do with Casper's forever burning torch for Fred.
"I think Harry will do just fine. You know all the crazy things he's done since he's got here. I'm sure he's got a trick up his sleeve," Fred did his best to get Casper to calm down so she wouldn't have his arm in a death grip. "You think so? I like him and he's Phoenix's friend. Any friend of hers' is a friend of mine! And I don't want to see my friends die by a horrible, probably bloody, death from a dragon." Casper looked over at Phoenix, who was looking through the binoculars again as Harry began the challenge, "Hungarian Horntail," The younger girl corrected. Casper whimpered, she hated blood and tragedy despite her obsession with the paranormal. Though she could never really look at Nearly Headless Nick come to think of it. Phoenix had a cool air about her when dragons were involved in anything. She had ridden one when she just months old and her mother had raised her to never fear the creatures.
Fred put his arm around Casper and tried to keep her calm, "Don't worry. I'm sure Phoenix can confirm that Harry will be okay." He gave Phoenix a glare that she ignored. Instead, she kept looking through the binoculars to see the fight going on below them, "Oh he'll be fine. That only reason why these dragons are so pissed off is because they're nesting. See?" She pointed to the golden egg resting under the dragon, "They think those eggs are their unborn young. If they weren't nesting then they'd probably be peaceful. Well, as peaceful as dragons can be." Casper sighed in relief and continued to lean on Fred. Phoenix continued looking through the binoculars, completely wrapped up in the challenge until she heard George let out a snore. "George! Wake up! You're missing the challenge!" George shot up after being hit with the binoculars and did his best to stay awake, letting out bored yawns throughout the challenge.
The fight stretched on. Phoenix was beginning to lose hope. She could see Casper hiding in Fred's shoulder, peaking out with one eye. George was now leaning against the badger's shoulder soundly sleeping. She huffed and went back to looking. "Come on Harry, I know you've got a trick up your sleeve…" She mumbled to herself. As if on queue, Harry raised his wand and his broom flew into the ring. "Ha! What did I tell you guys!" Casper shot out of her seat and began cheering wildly for Harry. George sat up and became engaged in the competition. Everyone was now going wild and cheering, even Snape gave a small clap for Harry. Phoenix had been periodically looking at Snape with binoculars through the entire event. She still hadn't spoken to him since the whole Rita Skeeter incident, though that had blown completely over. He avoided eye contact and rarely picked her in class. She had thought many times about approaching him after class and trying to talk to him, but she knew better. Somehow she'd have to regain Snape's favoritism. But her main worry was fixing her friendships before approaching her position of teacher's pet. Right now she threw every thought out the window and cheered wildly with Casper and the Weasley twins while Harry held up the golden egg.
Later on that week Phoenix was standing next to Harry outside Hagrid's home so class could begin. Harry was relenting to her about his frustrations with the egg because all it did was screech. "Phoenix you know about dragons. Do you have any ideas?" Harry and her had become as close as she and Ron once were. Since he was now in good graces with Ron, Harry had promised to see what he could do about her Ron situation. "Harry, I wish I had the answer. But that's beyond my knowledge. Maybe I can write to my mom about it. The most I can say is try to keep it warm or something, treat it like a mother dragon would. It's worth trying." Harry nodded, but when Phoenix looked over he was looking in a different direction. Before she could ask Harry pointed in the direction both of them were now looking. Phoenix leaned forward slightly and saw the impossible. Was Ron really waving at her? She gave a small wave back and smiled a little. The smile quickly faded when Ron mouthed out, "I'm sorry."
'He mouths it? He put me through hell and he doesn't even verbalize it! I've been hurting for four years now and that's all I get! He doesn't even come over!' The smile and wave were replaced by a scowl and Phoenix's middle finger. She regained her poise as Hagrid came through the woods so she missed the frown on Ron's face.
"Sorry for the delay everyone! But I was making the final arrangements for a very special class today!" Some moans came from the back of the group. The last time Hagrid made special arrangements was when they met Buckbeak. Phoenix remembered the adventure they had had with the Hippogriff. All that aside, she was excited to see what Hagrid had lined up.
The group began shuffling towards the woods and stopped when they came to a clearing. Standing there facing away from them was a woman with long red hair, almost the same color as Phoenix's. Phoenix's face immediately lit up. There was only one woman who could work leather pants and a tight tank top like that in her job.
The woman turned around and smiled at the crowd, "Hello Hogwarts students!" Her blue eyes lit up as she waved at the crowd. Three other people in the group knew who she was, the rest were silent. But every boy's mouth was practically on the ground. "Before we get started I'd like to introduce myself! My name is Harper Remington. Hagrid asked me to help teach you about dragons after the challenge earlier this week."
"You're a dragon trainer?" Someone from the back yelled and Harper nodded her head vigorously, "Oh yes! One of the best in the world! Give me a minute and I'll show you my skills!" Harper turned around and removed her wand from the holster on her thigh. With a wave of it a huge grey dragon flew down and landed in the clearing. The group was in complete awe.
"This my dears is the Ukrainian Ironbelly! He's part of the largest race of dragons around, and personally my favorite dragon. I have him here today because this particular race flies slower than other dragons but be aware! This is still a dragon and can destroy you if he pleases!" Harper smiled and pet the dragon, who let out a sound that meant it was happy. "I also have him here today because he hates new people riding him, so I'm going to teach you how to show a dragon that it'll bend to your will, and then we'll go flying." The group began humming with excitement over the prospect. Harper reached into her pocket and pulled out two pairs of gloves, "For this exercise I'll have a student join me. But for legal reasons with the school, I'll be calling on my daughter to assist me," she turned to Hagrid before he could protest, "I assure you that she knows her way around a dragon." She turned to the crowd and held out one of the pairs of gloves, "Phoenix darling! Come help me train a dragon. Dear Orville seems to have forgotten who you are." Phoenix handed her robes to Harry and stepped forward to put on the gloves. "Let's do this," She said while rolling up her sleeves.
Harper stood by the dragon while Phoenix crouched to the side of its head, "Phoenix will be demonstrating while I explain how to break a dragon's will. First you must jump on its head." Taking her cue, Phoenix leapt onto the dragon. It began to thrash around and try to buck her off. But she held steady and waited until Harper gave the next instructions. "Now what she needs to do it grab the longest part of its ears and yank as hard as she can. Eventually the dragon will yield to her." Phoenix did as instructed, and as she had done at home, and pulled as hard as she could. She couldn't stop herself, the anger from Ron, Snape, Rita Skeeter, and her inability to let anything out clashed together and in one pull that almost ripped the dragon's ears off. Orville howled but succumbed to the pull, dropping its head and letting out a happy noise when Phoenix pet his head. "And that's how you break a dragon's will!" Harper clapped her hands together and smiled at her daughter.
Far from the clearing within the offices of Hogwarts sat Harper's husband and Phoenix's father, Felix. He sat in a chair with a tea cup in hand. His blue eyes filled with hurt as he spoke to his friend and colleague, Severus Snape. Felix had taken Harper's extended stay at Hogwarts to speak to his friend. Snape sat behind the desk with his fingers laced together, listening intently to his friend's story. They had met years ago when Felix was finishing his studies in potions. He had had to mentor under a master of potions and had been referred to Snape, who was just beginning his job at Hogwarts. Felix had been a Ravenclaw so Snape welcomed him into the classroom. They had become friends after Felix had impressed Snape with his potions abilities. Since then, Snape had worked together with Felix on research, published papers, and books. Her father's high esteem had made Snape like Phoenix ever so slightly in her first year.
Right now wasn't a time for nostalgia or joking. Felix was sharing another terrible misfortune in the Remington family. Snape knew that around the time Harry Potter became the boy who lived Harper suffered the tragic loss of her sister to the dark lord. Felix had lost his parents to Voldemort at just around the same time. They had hidden in the Weasley's burrow during Harper's pregnancy and resurged once Voldemort disappeared. Today, Felix informed Snape that Harper's mother had fallen ill to a poison she had ingested decades ago and recently passed on. "It slowly ate her up over decades. She was in pain for that long and never told us until this past year. She never wanted to worry us." Snape topped off Felix's tea for him and frowned, "Couldn't you make a remedy? Or at least something that could make it even slower?" Felix shook his head, "The poison can't be cured and by the time she told us it was too late to try to find a remedy."
Snape had kept his distance from Phoenix lately for reasons he didn't even know. He just became upset whenever he was near her, but now she was at the forefront of his mind, "Does Phoenix know?" Felix looked out the window and ran a hand through his orange-blonde hair, "Harper was going to tell her after the lesson. We thought about taking her out of school, but there's just so much hurt at home. We're hardly there anyways. It's better she's here. She's actually the reason why I came to you." Snape leaned back and raised an eyebrow, "Why me Felix? You know students don't favor me."
"Phoenix does. Since her first year she's talked about how much of a great professor you are. You don't scare her like you do others, she admires your intelligence and positions abilities. She could give a rat's ass about anything else. She's read all the work you've done with me, you know." Snape almost felt embarrassed that one of his students praised him so much, especially one with a potions master as a father. "Severus, we've been friends for almost twenty years. You're one of the last people I trust now that Gwendolyn is gone. Normally we'd trust her to watch Phoenix…"
"What is it you want from me? You know I'll help you in anyway I can, Felix." The younger man smiled sadly, "Watch over her. Please. I've been helping Harper through this and I've been so upset myself, she was like a mother to me." Snape nodded and sipped the rest of his tea, "I will do my best to make sure she's okay."
"Severus… you should know… I'm sure you've gathered that Phoenix is shy and tends to be quiet," Snape nodded, "She doesn't know how to handle something like this. The other events happened before she was born. She grew up with this woman when Harper and I couldn't take her along. She will be destroyed by this. I know it's not in your nature… but she needs someone who can guide her through sadness like this. I know you've faced it time and time again…" Felix's voice trailed off when he saw Snape's eyes. "Please, treat my daughter like you'd treat her." Snape looked up at his friend and nodded, "I'll do my best. Phoenix will be in my care while you are away. But you must complete the healing process at home. I can only do so much." Felix nodded and shook hands with Snape.
Later on Snape was walking along the castle, enjoying the sunset when he came across a sight that could only be described as heartbreaking. Phoenix sat against the wall with her much too long hair curtaining her face. Her head was bent but Snape could tell she was crying by her shaking shoulders and the small puddle on the ground. He looked around before approaching the girl and laid a hand on her shoulder. Slowly, she lifted her head and looked back down when she saw who it was, "I don't need your pity."
Phoenix could feel the hand on her shoulder tighten. Then she felt a presence sitting next to her, hand still on her shoulder. "Miss Reming… Phoenix. I'm not here to give you pity. Trust me, pity is something I don't ever give someone. I know what has you upset. I-" Snape was interrupted by Phoenix throwing his hand off her shoulder. "Who told you? My father? You don't need to be involved in my family's business. Did he ask you to make sure I didn't go crazy? I don't need you overseeing every move I make, Professor." She spat the last word out just to spite him. She refused to make eye contact as she tied up her mane and stood up. Snape followed her movements and blocked her path, "I could easily ignore what your father requested. Just because he's a colleague of mine doesn't mean I have to do what he asks. But you're a… a good student and… it's not right for you to go through this alone." Snape awkwardly stuttered out the compliment. He waited for Phoenix's reaction.
She was silent for a few seconds before the flood burst forth, "I'm sorry." She mumbled through a silent sob and began shaking. She covered her face, embarrassed that the professor she held in such high esteem was seeing her break. Snape once again looked around before making his next move. Phoenix was surprised to feel arms around her and squeaked when a hand pulled her face into a chest. Snape held the sobbing girl as she broke, patting her back and telling her to let it out in between long moments of silence. "It's okay that you yelled, Phoenix. I know you're upset and I guess I haven't been the nicest person to you lately," Phoenix could've laughed at the last part of the sentence, but something about hearing her name kept her quiet, "I know you think no one understands this. But I do. I've lost many people in my life. I lost my mother when I was young and I've seen a lot of death since then." Phoenix looked up at Snape with tear filled eyes. The sight almost made Snape tear up. In his mind, he compared it to an ocean and waves. Her eyes were dark enough to be one and the tears kept crashing down her face. "I'm so sorry," She whispered.
Snape smiled and reached out to wipe away some tears, "It's quite alright. All of this was many years ago. Eventually you come to terms with what happens and let it help mold you into the person you are." Phoenix buried her head back into Snape's chest and began shaking again. "When will you visit her?" Phoenix looked back up with a fresh set of waves rolling down her cheeks, "During the summer holiday. By then we all hope to be in a place where we can be thankful she was with us when we truly needed her." Snape frowned, he could hear Harper's words coming through Phoenix's mouth.
"I know those aren't your feelings, Phoenix. I only promised your father because I care about your well being. You remind me of myself. Don't think I'm blind to what is happening. I see that Mister Weasley ignores you now. I too was ignored by a very close friend when I was your age. I held out hope for so long. Alone and crying out for help, but no one listened. The neglect lead me down a dark path for a while," he paused to lift Phoenix's chin up, "I will not allow you to go down that path. You are to come to me whenever you need to. When you're alone, sad, or you need to talk. You're walking on a slippery slope right now. Let me be the rope that secures you to the mountain." For a few moments Phoenix forgot that Snape was her professor. She only saw someone like her, who was reaching out to her. Who cared about what happened to her. She saw a man named Severus Snape, who's first name she only knew from her father's work. Phoenix took a step back and wiped away the remaining tears. "Does this mean I'm your favorite again?" She looked up and saw that Snape was actually smiling. This was a camera worthy moment, who ever saw Snape smile? He vaguely did it when someone was in pain, but never with a kind or gentle features like he did now. "Yes Phoenix, this means you're my favorite again."