Disclaimer: Don't own it, so don't sue me.
Note: This is one of my favorite chapters….Peeves is SO much fun to write. Tell me what you think! Blessings!
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On Monday afternoon, Olivia Price walked out of the hospital wing, stiff but alive and ready to rejoin the school that she loved. Standing for a moment outside of the room that had held her captive for the past few days, Olivia took a deep breath and swished her robes about her, loving the sun streaming through the gothic windows and warming her face. A figure came and stood beside her, with the distinct feeling of hovering.
"Now, you're sure you're feeling all right there, dear? Don't forget to take that pain potion for the next three days, and then you should be as good as new. Be careful, now! I love your visits, but I would rather have them while you're whole and healthy, if you please. Now run along. You'll have just enough time for a nice visit with your roommates before the feast. Don't be late!"
Olivia warmly hugged the nurse, then turned and walked down the long corridor. Had it only been a few nights before that Olivia had fought her first wizard battle in the corridor just below this one? She knew exactly how lucky she was to be alive. By all accounts, she shouldn't be breathing in the crisp autumn air that streamed through the windows, but she didn't stop to worry about that. Other worries entered her mind, other things to ponder.
Entering the main floor, the few other students that were milling around waved and shouted congratulations for her recovery. Olivia grinned and waved back, happy to know that she had friends in this odd but wonderful place. How strange that she fit in better at Hogwarts as a witch than she ever had in the Muggle world as a child. Odd, but at the same time, she thought, oddly satisfying. Whether she had been making the right decisions lately or not, it was lovely to know that she had a home here, where even her mistakes could be forgiven and her talents appreciated.
Entering the second floor corridor, she strode towards the staircase that would lead her to the Ravenclaw common room, only limping slightly. How good it would be to see her friends, and to pat Cerebus the watchdog on the head once more…
Then, to her utter amazement, something very queer happened. Out of the wall in front of her popped a strange little man, dressed in a ghastly green and orange suit and a blue polka dot bow tie. It isn't a ghost, Olivia thought perplexedly. Ghosts are pale and without color. He's too much color entirely; but he's also transparent and can even float through walls? What does this mean?
The strange little man caught sight of her, and twisting so that he hung in the air upside down, he floated down towards her. Olivia gripped her wand hard in her pocket, unsure of what to do. The horrible apparition stopped and bowed from the waist, causing the hem of his coat to float up and cover his head as he put his hideous face near hers.
"Well, look here! A little Ravenclaw! I've found someone in my first five minutes here! What's your name, little firstie?"
Olivia reached for her slate and pulled it out, remembering that the Grey Lady had been able to read it. "My name is Olivia. Who, and more to the point, what, are you?"
The inverted man looked disdainfully at Olivia's slate, and proclaimed loudly, "One of my names is Peeves, little firstie, and you can call me that. I've just been, shall we say, escorted out of my last home, and Hogwarts was the next place on my list. I think I shall be able to stay here for quite some time. One can only hope!" He grinned maniacally down at the girl, and flipped right side up again. "Since you have been so rude as to ask, I am not a ghost, but a poltergeist. What is my purpose? To cause as much mayhem as possible! Observe."
Floating over to a pile of books against the wall, Peeves looked ponderingly down at them, and then proceeded to pick each one up and toss it through a stained-glass window. With each throw, he shouted, "Two points! Drat it, that one hit the frame. Ha-ha! That was five points for sure! Wonder if I can get this on through that old knight's nose? Score for the poltergeist!"
Olivia lifted her wand, but she didn't know what kind of charm would stop a poltergeist, and she certainly didn't need another enemy to contend with. Then help arrived from the other end of the corridor in the form of Galatea Merrythought. Catching sight of the poltergeist, recognition fired in her face, as she pointed a long bony finger at Peeves, and cried in a screeching voice, "YOU!"
Peeves barely turned to acknowledge the teacher as he casually lobbed anther book through the window. "Only two points, it went through a hole I'd already made. Oh, you. Yes, it's me again. Glad to have me back, my Sleeping Love?"
Professor Merrythought pulled out her wand, and Peeves dropped the remaining books on the floor with a loud bang as she shrieked out, "I thought you were expelled from this place, back when I was only a third year, Peeves! Phineas Nigellus told you never to return! I saw it myself!"
Peeves laughed and turned wrong way up again. "Yes, he did, the Black-hearted old toad, bless him. However, Durmstrang has just gotten tired of me, so here I am to stay. I must say, I didn't think you would still be here, Sleeping Love. Aren't you a little old to be a student?"
Olivia thought that Professor Merrythought was going to explode. "I'm most certainly not a pupil; I am a teacher, Peeves! If I remember correctly, you used to at least show some semblance of respect towards teachers! And don't call me that nickname; I can't help it that my sentimental parents named me after some Greek statue from mythology!"
Peeves snorted loudly. "I'd forgotten that you hated it. Well, we can certainly work with it, can't we? How about this for starters?" To Olivia's horror, the poltergeist began to sing.
"Oh, Galatea's as stiff as a statue,
She's as fat as a cow,
and her hair has turned blue!
She's afraid of the dark and
Bad guys and bugs.
Oh, she's the Sleeping Love!"
Olivia closed her eyes, waiting for lightning to strike Peeve straight in the head. Instead, Professor Merrythought turned bright red, and shook her fist at Peeves. "I shall be seeing the Headmaster about this, Peeves! You can just head on over to Beauxbaton's, because I swear you shall be turned out of Hogwarts before teatime!" Turning around, she stormed away. Olivia wheeled around as well, and seeing that Peeves was busy humming his song and ripping up the carpet, she walked as swiftly as she could past him. Hopefully, he would indeed be on his way by teatime!
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After a joyful reunion with Anita, Viola, Bertie and Mattie, the girls all freshened up and walked down to the Great Hall together for the feast. It was just like the first day of school-golden plates were at the tables, and candles hovered in the air. They took their seats at the Ravenclaw table, and began to talk of other things besides mad professors and broken bones. Instead, they talked of the spells they most wanted to learn, and what they wanted to be after they completed their training at Hogwarts. The evening was perfect, with lighthearted laughter and even some fireworks exploding, a few boys from the Gryffindor table attempting to hide their shaking shoulders and furtive laughter from the teachers and a furious Lobelia Filch.
The highlight of it all for Olivia was when Professor Dippet stood up before the food was served, and said, "I have an announcement, so everyone please try to ignore your hunger for a few moments longer and listen up, please. As we have lost our Transfiguration teacher, I have decided to replace Professor Emelius with our own Professor Albus Dumbledore." The entire school, with the exception of a few boys from the Slytherin table, burst into cheers, while Professor Dumbledore inclined his head politely. "I'm glad that you are pleased. I have been seeking a new Charms teacher, and I have been lucky enough to procure one. Professor Delphia Davies will be joining us by the end of the week. I know that all of you will give her your respect and undivided attention as she adjusts to her new post with such short notice to go on. Let the feast begin!"
The only unhappy face in the Great Hall was Professor Merrythought's, who looked distinctly grumpy and kept sending reproachful glances toward Professor Dippet. Something indeed had to have been going on, for after his announcement was made, the headmaster uneasily kept his gaze away from Professor Merrythought's end of the table. Olivia understood why later when everyone toddled out of the Great Hall, stuffed to overflowing with spaghetti, rolls, garlic potatoes, and ice cream-Peeves was bouncing all over the front foyer, and was cheerfully showering white chalk dust down on all the students' black robes, cackling madly.
Covering their heads with their leather satchels, the girls ran for it, Olivia following as best she could. They stayed up late that night, working on homework together and passing around candies, peaceful because Mildred was staying the night with the second year girls.
Once the homework was done, they told jokes and family stories. All of the girls fell over laughing when Anita described her first moment of magic-her parents had given her a pony for her birthday, which suddenly changed from its normal brown color to bright purple with yellow stars along its flank. Viola especially seemed to appreciate this, saying, "Vell, it vas no longer boring then, vas it?" At one o'clock in the morning, the girls all climbed into bed and settled down. Olivia only lay awake for a few moments before the peaceful feelings of the castle captured her and dragged her down into the sweet dreams that awaited her.
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The next few weeks flew by for the girls, with nothing of great importance happening. The new Charms teacher, Professor Davies, ended up being a jolly young woman with long blond hair and a penchant for Quidditch-she was the most enthusiastic fan in the entire castle, even more so than the rowdy Gryffindor crowd. Amused by this behavior, students starting taking bets as to how long it would be until she broke her resolve to be dignified as a Hogwarts teacher, and jumped on a broomstick to join the games. The new professor was also a figure of romance, for the news soon infiltrated the castle that she was to be married in the coming summer to a wizard by the name of Cyril Wood.
Professor Dumbledore quietly assumed the reigns of government in the Transfiguration classroom, and everyone agreed that there was a lot more laughter there now. The class, while still being enormously difficult, was now more intriguing than frightening. Mattie Goshawk had even started copying down all of the details of the spells they were taught, and cataloguing them in her spare time. She told her roommates that she wanted to keep a record of all the spells and charms they came across, and eventually publish them in books. The other girls laughed for a few moments at this odd desire, but soon began to help her by taking notes in class and working together on the definitions in the evenings.
To Professor Merrythought's intense displeasure, Peeves continued his reign of joking terror against the school. It seemed that he and Professor Dippet had worked together in some particularly unsavory pranks during the headmaster's own school days, and the professor felt that he owed Peeves a home for sentiment's sake, if only for a time. However, he had sternly ordered Peeves to stop throwing things through windows, and Peeve had grudgingly agreed. He knew where life was good, and it was certainly very good at Hogwarts, where a vase was waiting to be overturned around every corner…
As for Olivia, the Muse Lily that she had received in the hospital wing was doing beautifully in a pot beside her bed. Every morning, it sang and woke up the girls in the dormitory, which Bertie called the best alarm clock anyone ever had. Only Mildred groaned and stuffed her face under a pillow when the lily began its lilting song.
When it came to Mildred, Olivia remained confused. Whenever test results came back to the students, there was always trouble in the first year's dorm, for Olivia consistently received higher grades than Mildred. The surly girl became more impolite with each offense, as if the grades were bricks that were slowly erecting a wall between the two girls. Olivia understood that Mildred was just embarrassed, but as Mildred wouldn't accept help from anyone, there was nothing Olivia could do about it.
It wasn't that Mildred wasn't smart, for she was; she just couldn't stand anyone doing better than herself, especially a mute like Olivia. Mildred wouldn't even join in with the other girls when they had their informal study sessions together at night. Instead, she huddled in a corner, studying hard and muttering to herself, every once in a while sending murderous looks in Olivia's general direction. Bertie and Mattie had both defended Olivia numerous times, but the mute girl eventually asked them to stop; it wasn't helping the situation and the two girls' scathing remarks were only making Mildred angrier.
However, with classes and friends to keep her busy, Olivia was very peaceful in her new magical life. She visited with Madame Galen several times a week, and walked outside at night sometimes after dinner to look at the stars.
Every day after lessons, students walking along the seventh floor corridor could hear the lovely sounds of a piano being played drifting through the walls, where Olivia religiously practiced in the Room of Requirement. Nobody ever told her that she could make the walls soundproof by simply asking, because everyone enjoyed her playing so much. Her daily performances were hardly ever mentioned because they were afraid that it would embarrass the first year and keep her from practicing. Unbeknownst to her, though, she was garnering quite a reputation as a musician.
The composition that told the story of her life had continued to grow, including the terror of Professor Emelius' attacks and the moment of pain and terror when it had appeared that she would be killed. Suddenly, the dissonant chords that she used to describe those fearful moments began to descend and fade away, and a soft obbligato part began high on the keys. When people heard this, they could almost picture the little girl standing, and preparing herself to face death, but determined to go down fighting. Thundering, major chords followed, and every once in a while a passing student would involuntarily cheer, for this meant that the wizard Emelius had fallen, and that Hogwarts was safe once again.
One day, something happened that would change many other lives for many years to come. As Olivia was walking across the grounds alone one night, observing the stars, she saw a strange sight. It appeared to be a pile of glowing embers, burning brightly on the grass just before her. Alarmed, she raced forward. If it was a fire, she could put it out with water from her wand, and then the grounds wouldn't be harmed. Surprise moved through her as she came closer, and saw something resting within the ashes. It moved, and then squawked loudly, in a coarse and grating voice. Lighting the end of her wand, Olivia waved it over the pile of ashes and the tiny figure that rested within them.
What she saw there amazed her. It was a tiny, ugly baby bird, gray and looking completely dissatisfied with itself. Leaning down and touching it lightly with the end of her finger, she found it strangely warm to the touch, but not warm enough to hurt her. She scooped the baby bird up, and carried it to the school within a fold of her black cloak. This was an animal, so Olivia didn't think that Madame Galen would be able to do much with it. Instead, Olivia raced up to the fourth floor, where Professor Dumbledore's new office was. Knocking lightly, she heard his deep voice invite her in, and she stepped inside, holding the animal gently.
The new Transfiguration professor was sitting behind his desk, a delicate silver instrument placed before him, which he was studying intently. Looking up, he smiled when he saw that it was Olivia standing in the doorway. Coming forward, she motioned down to the bird that was still held in her cloak-sling. Olivia had already learned that she communicated very well with Professor Dumbledore even without her slate, and when she didn't have to use it, she preferred not to. While it was very useful, the slate was somewhat of a nuisance at times. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be able to look at her face and eyes and know exactly what she was thinking, anyway.
"Ah, what have you there, Olivia?" Holding out her cloak, Olivia handed the ugly baby bird over to the professor, who held it gingerly in his hands, looking extremely pleased. "My goodness gracious, Miss Price. Wherever did you find this fellow?"
Olivia motioned out to the grounds, and he nodded. "Do you know what this is, Miss Price?" Shaking her head, Olivia stepped closer to the bird and felt of its warm body again. She looked quizzically at the professor, her question as clear as if she had said it. "I don't know what it is, professor. Why is it so warm?"
His smile extending wider, Dumbledore said, "It feels hot because it is a phoenix, Olivia. It was sitting in a pile of ashes, I surmise?" At Olivia's nod, he continued. "Phoenixes have long been used in mythology as a symbol of rebirth. They are extraordinarily rare, but it is possible that they can live forever. A phoenix can live the normal lifespan of a bird, and when it is old, erupt in flames and burn to ashes. Then from the ashes, a new baby phoenix will rise up, and be able to live another lifetime. Obviously, our little friend here was just reborn. Phoenixes are wonderfully magic creatures, with many talents. Their tears can heal just about any injury, no matter how serious, and they can carry enormous loads. Another useful talent is that a phoenix can appear and reappear in a blaze of fire. Mr. Ollivander himself uses phoenix tail feathers in the cores of his wand. You would be extremely lucky to own this phoenix. Do you wish to keep it?"
After thinking a moment, Olivia pulled out her slate. What she had to say needed more than eyes to express her thoughts; she needed words. Her slate immediately read out, "I don't think I can keep it. I have my schoolwork and Winnie to keep me busy, and I wouldn't know the first thing about taking care of a phoenix. Therefore, I would like to give it to you, sir. You've worked so hard to make me comfortable here, and to protect me from Emelius, it only seems right that you should have a phoenix. Here at Hogwarts, I've experienced rebirth, and this bird will be a symbol for all of the things you and this school have done for me."
Dumbledore's auburn mustache twitched; and bowed his head slightly. When he spoke, his words were smooth and even, but very soft. "Thank you very much for your gift, Olivia. It means a great deal to me. Whatever I have done to make you feel comfortable at Hogwarts, I hope you will accept it in the name of the boy I was, when I first arrived here, alone and afraid. Any success that you have had here, though, you owe to yourself. You have worked very hard, and all of your teachers are pleased with your progress."
He placed the bird on his desk, and observed it musingly. "I believe I will name this phoenix Fawkes. I'm not entirely certain why, but it seems appropriate, somehow. Most likely the meaning behind the name will reveal itself in time. Now, it is getting late. You should probably go to bed. Good night, and thank you very much!"
Olivia turned and left the room, not seeing the gentle look in her teacher's eyes as he watched her leave his office. He sighed, and thought, Dumbledore, you coward! Why didn't you tell her that Emelius' trial is coming up soon, and she will have to be present? She has been brave many times before, and she would have been again.
Standing up to pace from one end of his office to the other, Dumbledore looked at the phoenix that hummed roughly on the desk, and acknowledged to himself the fact that kept him from telling Olivia. The distasteful day that was coming up for her in the near future would likely be very painful for her; it was nearly impossible for him to tell that girl with her great, hopeful, emerald eyes about something so unpleasant, and watch the lovely light of happiness die from them. Perhaps he was a coward, but he would wait. Olivia would know soon enough.
