Chapter 7: Enter the Phoenix

Remus was leaning over a table, writing on some parchment when James reached the common room. "Give me a second, James. I'm writing a quick note to Frank, to drop by the tower on our way to Dumbledore. We have a few minutes to spare, no big deal."

James grunted in agreement, and walked up behind Remus to see what he was writing. 'Congrats! We'll be by later to hear what happened. -J & R' Remus looked up at James for approval, and received a nod in return. He folded the letter, picked up his wand, and followed James out of the portrait hole.

-oOo-

After a quick stop at Gryffindor tower that involved handing Frank the note and leaving before anyone could ask questions, the brainier half of the Marauders found themselves at the top of the rotating stairs to the headmaster's office. They knocked, and then entered when greeted. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, you're right on time. Come in, sit down! I have something to show you."

James and Remus quickly took their seats, anxious to see what Dumbledore had uncovered. "So I take it you were successful, headmaster?" James was so eager to see the results that the headmaster just chuckled.

"Yes, boys, I was. In more ways than we had expected, in fact. But before we get down to business, would either of you care for a lemon drop?" The two boys graciously accepted the candy, and the headmaster continued. "Before I show you the ring, I am curious to know; are either of you familiar with the Deathly Hallows?"

They nodded, and James pulled out a large piece of parchment, covered in notes. "That's actually one of the things I had meant to discuss with you, headmaster. They are explained, in depth, in the seventh book, as they have a large part in Harry's search. You inspired this, as a matter of fact."

The headmaster looked surprised. "I did, did I?"

"Yes sir. You bequeathed your copy, original one, I might add, of The Tales of Beedle the Bard to Harry's friend Hermione, and had drawn the Hallows symbol on the page with The Tale of the Three Brothers."

"Ahh, I expect I was pretty cryptic about that, wasn't I? Well, I can't see how I could have expected them to find all three. You see, I have in my possession what is known as the Elder Wand, the first of the Hallows. And in finding this ring, I have uncovered the second of the Hallows, the Resurrection Stone. This is said to be a family ring, which must mean, if I am correct, that the Gaunt family descends from the ancient Peverell family, whom I believe to be the brothers mentioned in the tale. The ring is simply a metal shell containing the stone, which I recognized from the Hallows symbol carved into it. It is incredibly exciting, as I have always wished to be able to try using the stone..."

James sat bolt upright. "No, headmaster, you must not! I apologize. I don't mean to be rude, but in the book, you tried that very thing. It turns out that because the ring is a horcrux, when you used the stone, you were affected by a terrible curse that would eventually lead to your demise. Please, don't risk that, sir."

The headmaster could see how serious James was about this, and nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. I believe without your knowledge, I would have tried, and indeed been struck by the curse. A wise decision to not try the stone before showing the two of you. I think I shall wait until we destroy the horcrux, and if it is salvageable, maybe I will try it then. Oh! Well, back to the Hallows. I have the first two, but there's still a third. I've heard of invisibility cloaks, but I've never heard of one as powerful as the one they mention in the tale. It would be incredibly useful to have all three Hallows in our effort to destroy Voldemort, but I expect it would take many years to merely track down knowledge of the cloak, let alone find it..." He paused, when he noticed James and Remus. The two boys were looking at each other, with curious expressions on their faces, obviously having a nonverbal conversation. He waited patiently while they 'talked' things over, and listened interestedly when James went to spoke.

"Erm, headmaster...I believe I may have heard of this cloak. In fact..." James paused, took a deep breath, and looked Dumbledore in the eyes. Pulling the cloak out of his pocket, he continued. "I'm pretty sure I own it."

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin, First Class, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, blanched. The cloak. James Potter has the cloak. After all this time, it is in possession of one of my students? This is IMPOSSIBLE. The cloak! He looked at James, silently asking permission to examine the cloak. When James extended it to him, he carefully took it in his hands, and admired it. "This...this is one fancy cloak! How sure are you that this is the third Hallow?"

James grinned, knowing how excited the headmaster must be. "Well, I don't know about normal invisibility cloaks, but mine renders the wearer completely invisible – even to themself. Let me show you. Do you have a mirror in your office, sir?" Dumbledore nodded, and James continued. "Go stand in front of it,and put the cloak around your body...but not your head."

The headmaster complied, and put the cloak over his shoulders. Looking at the mirror, he gasped. "Merlin's pants! This is incredible!" He swung his arms around under the cloak. "I can't even see the air move with my arms! How in the world...Mr. Potter, I do believe you are in possession of the third Hallow. How did you come across a cloak as valuable as this?"

James and Remus stood, dumbstruck. The headmaster. Is in awe. Of me. My cloak. The HEADMASTER! "It's an heirloom, sir, passed down from father to son for generations."

Dumbledore looked pensive for a moment, which was quite amusing to the boys, considering they could only see his head, and then he spoke. "This must mean you are a descendant of the Peverells as well. You are from Godric's Hollow, correct? Yes, I am most sure there is a Peverell buried in the churchyard there. Merlin, what a day. This cloak, Mr. Potter, is not something you should go parading around. Many a wizard would kill for something this valuable. You are a very lucky man."

James blushed. "Thank you, headmaster. I suppose I should thank my father as well, then. I don't mean to change the subject, but what of the ring?"

"Oh! I nearly forgot. Thank you for getting me back on track; I seem to be a bit absentminded in my old age. I thought I'd leave the decision as to when to destroy the first horcrux up to you two, as it was your research that led us here. We have two options. One is to consult the Sorting Hat now, and if able to acquire the sword, destroy the ring tonight. The other is to keep it somewhere safe, and destroy it together with the other horcruxes at a later date. What do you think?"

James and Remus, obviously excited and nervous over the prospect of a professor allowing them a decision as big as this, whispered to each other for a moment before coming to a decision. Remus spoke, for the first time since they arrived. "Sir, we've decided to consult the Sorting Hat. We have no idea how the horcrux will affect whatever or whoever it is near if we chose to store it for the time being, so it seems like a better choice to just go ahead and destroy it now, if that is alright with you."

The headmaster nodded, and began walking over to his cabinet. "Oops! I almost forgot that I still had the cloak on. My, this is an odd feeling, not seeing my own body as I move. Here you are, Mr. Potter, forgive me." He continued across the office, and removed the sorting hat from the shelf. "Now, which one of you will be speaking with the hat?"

James arose. "I will, sir." He accepted the hat from the headmaster's hands, and sat on a stool in the corner of the room. Placing the hat on his head, he prepared himself for the upcoming conversation inside of his head.

"Mr. Potter! Didn't I already sort you? That was a few years ago. Why have you put me back on?"

Even though he was prepared for it, James jumped at the voice in his head. "Mr. Sorting Hat, sir, I don't mean to intrude, but I've come to ask a favor of you. I have acquired the knowledge that you know the whereabouts of the sword of Godric Gryffindor, and was wondering if you would be kind enough to enlighten me."

"The sword of Gryffindor? Why, sure, I know where it is, but not just anyone can have it. Why do you need it? What are your intentions?"

James swallowed. This would be hard to explain. "Well, sir, I recently acquired a set of books that tell of the future. They tell the tale of my future son, and his journey to destroy Lord Voldemort, in which he was successful. I have studied these books, and have been planning out his destruction with Headmaster Dumbledore and my most intelligent friend, and we need the sword to destroy something. You see, Voldemort has created horcruxes. Five, at this point. In the books, my son used the sword to destroy one of the horcruxes, and we were hoping that we could use it as well. The only other option we know of is fiendfyre, which is extremely dangerous and hard to control. Is there any way you could help us? Our intentions are entirely honorable."

The Sorting hat was quiet for a few minutes. James sat nervously, trying not to think anything that he didn't want the hat to hear. Then, finally, it responded. "Brace yourself."

Before James even had time to consider these words, he felt a heavy object fall on his head. Seeing stars, he reached up, lifted the hat, and pulled out a sword. The sword of Godric Gryffindor. He quickly shoved the hat back on his head. "Thank you, oh thank you so much, sir. I really appreciate your assistance."

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter. Use it wisely, and, for Merlin's sake, rid the world of that evil man. I believe in you, and hope you will succeed." At that, the Sorting Hat fell silent.

After a few minutes, James decided it wasn't going to say anymore, and removed it, placing it on the desk. He took another look at the sword, turning it over in his hands. It's beautiful. This was Gryffindor's sword! Merlin, what an honor. Good thing I'm a Gryffindor... He looked up, and remembered he wasn't alone in the room. Looking into the expectant faces of Dumbledore and Remus, he apologized. He got up, placed the Sorting Hat back on the shelf, and handed the sword to the headmaster. "Headmaster, I believe we should go somewhere safe, away from the other residents of the castle, to destroy the first horcrux. There's no knowing what will happen when we do, and I don't want to risk harming anyone else."

Dumbledore mulled it over, and then smiled. "You are a kind and intelligent man, Mr. Potter. We should head into the Forbidden Forest, I believe we shouldn't encounter anyone there. But there is one thing I'd like to do first. We need to find another person with whom to trust all of this information. Like you said, we have no idea what this horcrux will do. What if something happened to us, and we were unable to continue our project, or even to share it with someone else? This is far too important. Is there anyone else you told about any of this?"

James was taken aback. I didn't even think about that. What if one of us gets hurt? Dumbledore WAS cursed when he tried this in the future...Frank. We should tell Frank. "No, sir. We haven't spoken a word of this to anyone. But I had decided that if I were to ask anyone else to help us later on, it would be Frank Longbottom. He's extremely intelligent, and I know he intends to apply for Auror training upon graduation. Would you be opposed to him?"

"He's the perfect person, Mr. Potter. A wise choice. In fact, Mr. Lupin, why don't you stay here while Mr. Potter and I head out to the forest? I will summon Mr. Longbottom here, and you can fill him in on everything we've discussed so far. I believe the task of destroying the first horcrux should be left to Mr. Potter, as he was the one who instigated this whole process. Would you mind?"

Remus somehow found himself relieved that he wouldn't have to worry about the destruction process so close to the full moon...what if his lycanthropy affected the horcrux, or vice versa? No, this was a very good idea. "No, sir, I wouldn't mind at all."

"Good, then. Fawkes?" A sudden flash of fire, and a phoenix appeared in the room. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, I'd like you to meet Fawkes, my phoenix." The boys just stared in awe. "Fawkes. I'd like you to take a note to Frank Longbottom, I believe you'll find him in Gryffindor tower. Thank you." And with that, he penned a quick note, attached it to Fawkes' leg, and the bird was gone in a flash of fire. "Alright then, Mr. Potter. Are you ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, headmaster. Good luck with Frank, Remus. I'll help smooth things out later if you need anything."

"Thank you. And good luck to you both, as well. If you're not back in an hour, I'll inform Professor McGonagall."

"Good idea, Mr. Lupin. Well, we're off!" With a swish of his cloak, Dumbledore headed out the door of his office, with James following close behind. Remus sat back down in a chair, with a sigh, and waited for Frank to arrive.

-oOo-

Meanwhile, in Gryffindor tower, everyone jumped as a flash of fire appeared in the air, signaling the arrival of the phoenix. The entire common room went silent as they admired the bird, which made it's way over to Frank.

Sirius blanched. "That's...that's a phoenix! Merlin's pants! Those are rare! And it's carrying a letter? Who would send a letter with a PHOENIX?...Oh! Frank! I think it's for you!"

Frank had been too busy staring at the bird to notice it approaching him, let alone the letter tied to it's leg. When he heard Sirius say his name, he snapped back to his senses, and held his arms out to untie the letter. He thanked the bird, which sang a short song, and then it disappeared once again. "Beautiful, I've never heard anything like it..." He unrolled the letter, and looked at it.

Mr. Longbottom,
Please come to my office as soon as you can.
I have a favor to ask of you.
No, you are not in trouble.
-Albus Dumbledore

PS – I like chocolate frogs.

Frank let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. A meeting with the headmaster. He wants a favor? From me? Merlin. At least I'm not in trouble. He handed the note to Sirius, said he'd be back later, and headed out the portrait hole. Merlin, I hope this isn't bad.

-oOo-

A few minutes later, Frank found himself standing in front of the gargoyles guarding Dumbledore's office. Oh no. I don't know the password! What am I doing here? He looked over the note again and sighed. "What the heck is that supposed to mean? He likes chocolate frogs?" With that, the gargoyles sprang aside and the door opened. I suppose his password was chocolate frogs...odd. He passed through the door, and stepped onto the staircase. He jumped and grabbed onto whatever he could find when it started moving. A moment later, he was at the top, and the door was slightly ajar. He put his hand on the edge of the door, and tried to peek around it. "Headmaster?" Nothing. Feeling a bit braver than usual, Frank slowly pushed the door open and entered. The first thing he saw was Remus in a chair by the desk. "Remus! What are you doing here?" He looked around. "And where is Dumbledore?"

Remus turned around quickly, startled by Frank. "Frank! I didn't hear you come in. I apologize. The headmaster is out."

Frank's face fell. "He's out? He just sent me a message – with a phoenix, no less! - saying that he wanted to see me immediately! What's going on?"

Remus just laughed. "He meant that he wanted you to come to his office to talk to me. Sorry for the confusion. He's out in the forest with James, doing something extremely important. Which leads to why you're here. You know those books we've been reading, and wouldn't tell you all about? And all that time we've spent together, studying? And how much James seems to have changed? Well, sit down." Frank sat, not taking his eyes off of Remus. "What I'm about to tell you – and it's a lot of information, so you'll be here awhile – is extremely important, and EXTREMELY confidential. The only people that know about this are myself, the headmaster, and James. You must not breathe a word of this to anyone. Got it?"

Frank paled. What in Merlin's name is going on here? Dumbledore, in the forest, with James? Remus in the headmaster's office, to talk to me about something I can tell no one about? What am I getting myself into? "Erm, yes, Remus. But I'm just curious; why me?"

"Didn't James say that the next person he'd talk to was you? He trusts you. He values your intelligence, and loyalty. Plus, he knows you aspire to be an Auror, and we could use your skills. Remember, no one hears a word about this. If Sirius or Peter ask...say that you've been asked to do my rounds for me during the full moon, since James has his own rounds to do now that he's Head Boy."

"Alright, Remus. Go ahead, then." Remus nodded, and proceeded to tell Frank everything he and James had discussed with the headmaster.

-oOo-

The better part of an hour later, Remus was just about finished explaining everything to Frank when Dumbledore and James returned to the office, disappointment evident on their faces. Before the two boys could say anything, the headmaster spoke. "Unfortunately, boys, I think we've hit our first snag."


Posted: 2008
Word Count: 3,238