Disclaimer: I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes.
—CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE—
The Best and Worst of Life
"You take the bad with the good. Rise up through it. Live in the mist of it. It's the bad that lets you know how good the good really is. Don't let the bad leave you thinking like there ain't any good. There is, and lots of it, too. "
- Charles Martin ("Chasing Fireflies")
Dennis Creevey
3rd January, 2004
Dennis walked out of his bedroom just moments after waking up to find Patrick and Sam kissing on the couch with the television on in the background, forgotten by both of them.
"Will you two get a damn room?" Dennis said grumpily, looking away and heading towards the kitchen.
Ever since he had caught them together a week before, they had barely been able to keep their hands off each other, and it was beginning to get annoying and slightly sickening. Dennis was happy for both of them, but there was a limit to what he wanted to see, and making out on the couch and him not being able to see their hands was just a little too much for him.
"We have one," Patrick said pointedly, disentangling himself from Sam. "Two, in fact. Prefer the couch."
"I can see that," Dennis replied. "Other than the painfully obvious, do you two have any plans for today?"
"I don't," Sam replied, standing up and flattening her clothes. "You're up earlier than usual."
"Didn't sleep well," Dennis replied, placing two slices of bread into the toaster before opening the fridge. "We need bread. And milk, it seems."
"I'll walk around and get some later," Sam said pleasantly. "What about you? Any plans?"
"Not really," Dennis replied, leaning on the counter. "I was thinking about visiting Teddy while I have the time. Give him a bit of a surprise."
"That's cute," Sam said smiling. Dennis smiled back.
"Well, I did promise," Dennis said. He looked over at Patrick. "What about you?"
"Nothing planned," he confirmed, only now standing up. "I thought I'd get some reading done. I hate it, but it has to be done, unfortunately."
"Yes, how strenuous," Dennis said, laughing. After breakfast Dennis decided to go with Sam to the supermarket. There was one near their apartment, so it was little more than a ten minute walk to get there. They chatted idly for a while before Sam brought something else up.
"Are you really okay with me and Pat?" she asked, almost shyly. This took Dennis by surprise as he didn't remember a time where Sam had ever seemed shy at all. In fact, she was one of the more outgoing people he knew.
"Yeah, of course I am," Dennis replied. "I could do with less of the kissing, but other than that it's fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I just thought that maybe you … um …" Sam trailed off and Dennis took a moment to realise what she was saying.
"That I liked you?" Dennis asked. When she nodded, Dennis laughed. "Sam, you know I love you but not like that. You're a friend to me."
"Well, that makes me feel better," Sam said, less shy now. "And I know you aren't lying. You're a terrible liar."
"I am not," Dennis said defensively. "And how would you even know? A good liar would never be caught. That's the point of being a liar."
"I guess you're right," Sam admitted. "You did keep that big thing from us for ages."
"I am rather good at hiding 'big things' from you," Dennis said. It took a moment, but Sam eventually realised what he was implying and hit him on the arm. "Come on! That was an easy one."
"We live together, if you were hiding that, I would know," Sam said slyly as Dennis began to blush. "You started this, buddy. No time to be getting all shy."
"Okay, fine," Dennis said quickly and changed the topic.
It didn't take long to get what they needed from the store and walk back home. Patrick was true to his word and was reading one of his textbooks. Dennis threw a bag of lollies into his lap and Patrick thanked him, opened the packet and continued to read.
"He shouldn't eat those things," Sam said. Sam was certainly rather notorious for being a health nut. Dennis simply shrugged.
"I've seen him eat worse than that," he replied, putting away some of the groceries. "Far worse."
"Right," Sam said. "Anyway, when are you leaving to go to your parents'?"
"Soon probably," Dennis replied. "I'll only want to stay until tomorrow, so I should get going early. What time is it?"
"About half past nine," Sam confirmed after consulting her wristwatch.
"I didn't realise it was still so early," Dennis replied. He had been getting up earlier recently but still wasn't used to doing so. "That's good. I can get there in time for lunch."
After putting the groceries away, Dennis went into his bedroom and packed what few things he was going to take with him. It didn't take very long, but it was long enough for him to start hearing what was clearly the beginning of an argument between Patrick and Sam. This was something that was becoming alarmingly common between the two of them since they got together. Not that Dennis was particularly surprised. In fact, he had expected it from the very beginning of their relationship. He wasn't glad it was happening, but he figured that it was simply inevitable and that it was something he would have to deal with.
"You don't need them right now," Sam said as Dennis walked out of his room with his backpack. Dennis didn't like the tone she was using and knew that Patrick wouldn't either. "They're not good for you."
"That's why I like them," Patrick said. He had sat his textbook down next to him and was focused solely on Sam. Dennis didn't want to get in between them, so he decided to just wait for them to finish. "I like it when I get to have things that aren't good for me. Besides, I've eaten stuff like this all my life. It's my body, I'll do what I like with it."
"Well you shouldn't," Sam said. "Do you know what that stuff can do to you?"
"No, I don't," Patrick retorted. "And frankly, I don't want to know."
"So you would rather be ignorant than healthy?" Sam asked.
"No," Patrick replied. "I would rather be happy than healthy. I don't like the types of food you eat all the time, so it would make me unhappy to eat them."
"Well, it's your choice," Sam said, sounding as though she believed exactly the opposite. "I'm just trying to help you."
"I don't need you to, alright? I can make a decision to eat a few jelly babies. Hell, I could eat the whole packet if I want," Patrick said. The phone began to ring so Dennis moved into the room with them.
"I'm gonna get this," he said to them. "You want to take that somewhere else for a while?" Both of them nodded somewhat curtly and left the room and entering into Patrick's bedroom, something that Dennis was sure would be a mistake. Dennis picked up the phone.
"Hello," he said by way of greeting.
"Dennis?" his father said on the other end.
"Oh, hey Dad," Dennis said. "What's going on?"
"The usual. Nothing special, really," his father replied. "Given any thought to coming over?"
"Yeah, I was just about to leave, actually," Dennis replied. "I'll stay tonight and come back tomorrow. I've got a few essays to do and I can concentrate more here."
"Well, it's probably for the best that you're coming," his father said. Dennis thought he could hear some nervousness in his father's tone.
"What's wrong?" Dennis asked worriedly.
"I'm sure it's nothing," his father said. "Teddy was just saying that he saw some weird people at the park yesterday. I was with him and I didn't see them, but he did."
"You sure you didn't see anything?" Dennis asked quickly.
"I don't think so, no," his father replied, now sounding more nervous. "Do you think Teddy's right?"
"He could be," Dennis admitted. "Wizards have ways of hiding themselves from Muggles, so that might be why you didn't see anything."
"He is young," his father pointed out. "He might just have seen something and it seemed odd in his head."
"True, but better to be safe than sorry," Dennis said. "I'm not sure there's anything I can do, but I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Alright then," his father said. "Drive safely."
"Will do," Dennis said and hung up the phone. As he did, he couldn't help but feel concerned for Teddy's safety. He knew that the Death Eaters were trying to track down Umbridge and if they believed that Teddy was the key to finding her, Dennis had no doubt that they would try and get their hands on him.
"Look, I don't want this today," Patrick said angrily, walking out of his bedroom door. "I don't like fighting with you, Sam."
"I don't like fighting with you," Sam responded, equally as angrily. "But sometimes you do things that annoy me."
"Dennis, do you mind if I tag along with you?" Patrick said, looking at Dennis who raised his hands in surrender.
"Hey, I'm not going to get involved," he said. "This is between you two."
"Walking away from things doesn't make them go away," Sam said, seemingly ignoring Dennis.
"No, but it'll give us time to cool down a bit," Patrick replied. "Dennis, let's go." Dennis sighed.
"Where are you going to stay?" Dennis asked. "I'll be on the couch as it is."
"I know some people nearby," Patrick replied. "I've been meaning to see them anyway. Let me call them first."
"Go right ahead," Dennis said with an exasperated sigh.
"So, what?" Sam asked before Patrick could pick up the phone. "You're just going to leave me here on my own?"
"Would you rather that or have us not talk to each other while Dennis is away?" Patrick asked. "It's just until tomorrow anyway. Aren't you going to some party tonight?"
"I was thinking about not going and spending time with you, but I guess I'll just go then," Sam said, annoyed. Dennis looked at her apologetically as Patrick dialled the phone. She just rolled her eyes and walked into her room. Dennis felt bad for her, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to convince Patrick to stay here with her. He didn't think that Sam would hold that against him.
After almost two minutes, Patrick hung up the phone.
"They said it's cool if I stay there tonight," he said. "I'll grab some stuff and we can go."
"Alright," Dennis said unenthusiastically. He had to remind himself that he didn't want to get involved in Patrick and Sam's relationship any more than he already was. He waited for a few minutes as Patrick packed some things into an old backpack that he owned.
"Okay, let's go," Patrick said finally and Dennis nodded.
"We're going Sam," he called out.
"Whatever," Sam said, her raised voice muffled by the closed door to her room.
"You're not going to say goodbye?" Dennis asked Patrick who scoffed.
"What good would that do?" he asked. "She's already angry with me and she will be for a few more hours. Oh, hang on. Almost forgot the jelly babies." Dennis sighed.
Dennis found the trip to be almost exactly like any time he would go on his own. Patrick had decided to do his reading in the car so that he could spend more time with his High School friend. Dennis predicted that there would be a lot happening for Patrick that night, most of it involving copious amounts of alcohol. In fact, he almost relished the thought of a hungover Patrick at the mercy of the volume control of Dennis' car radio tomorrow.
"How do you have enough money for all these trips?" Patrick suddenly asked.
"What?" Dennis asked, surprised by the sudden conversation from Patrick.
"You're always going home to see your parents and you never once complain about money," Patrick replied. "You don't have a job, your parents aren't crazy rich like Sam's and yet you never seem to lack for money. What's up with that?"
"What made you think about that?" Dennis asked.
"Got bored with the reading and my mind wandered," Patrick replied flippantly. "So what's with it then?"
"Well, I may have confunded a few people here and there," Dennis admitted slyly. "That's how I got into my course. Plus I managed to get a scholarship. Also, my parents may not be crazy rich, but they aren't exactly poor. They had money set aside for me and Colin for years. When Colin died, they decided to give half of that money to me and keep half themselves. I mean, I'm not rolling in cash, but it's enough that I don't have to worry."
"Confunded people?" Patrick asked incredulously. He had learned a lot about magic, so Dennis had no doubts that he knew what the confundus charm was.
"I made the University people think I had the credentials to get in," Dennis explained. "I wouldn't have gotten in otherwise. I also used one to get into the apartment with you guys as well. Not that I knew you then, but I needed a place."
"And the scholarship?" Patrick asked. Dennis looked away from the wheel for long enough to see the smirk on his best friend's face.
"Not directly," Dennis said. "I applied for it and the information that the admin people put in my file probably helped me get it."
"You sit on a throne of lies!" Patrick said, quoting a movie they had watched a month ago. Dennis laughed.
"That about sums it up, yeah," he said with a grin. "So that's how I can afford to do all of this with no problems."
"You're lucky to have magic, I hope you know," Patrick said, shaking his head. "How long until we get there?"
"It really shouldn't be too much longer, really," Dennis replied. "In fact we should be coming up to …"
Dennis stopped talking as he saw something terrifying in the direction where his parents house should be. It was lucky that there was no one else driving in the area or else there might have been an accident.
"Oh god," Dennis said and abruptly parked the car on the side of the road.
"What?" Patrick asked as Dennis got out of the car and shut the door hard. "What's going on?"
"Can't you see that?" Dennis said, pointing in the direction he was looking.
"So, it's a clear day," Patrick said. "It's not unheard of you know."
"You really don't see that?" Dennis asked quickly, whipping around to look at Patrick with a crazed look.
"Dennis, are you okay?" Patrick asked. "There's nothing but sky there."
"Get back in the car," Dennis said rushing to the driver's seat, slamming the door shut as he sat down. When Patrick was in, Dennis immediately pulled onto the road and started driving, his hands trembling on the wheel.
"Dennis, you need to slow down," Patrick said worriedly from the passenger's seat. "You're going a bit fast." Dennis breathed slowly and started to slow down, though his hands would not stop shaking as he drew closer and closer to his parents' home. Finally he turned into the right street and saw what he was dreading. He parked the car a bit away and stared at the Dark Mark hanging in the sky over his parents' home.
"Dennis, what's going on?" Patrick asked after a moment of Dennis staring at the house.
"You can't see it?" Dennis asked.
"See what?" Patrick asked worriedly.
"The Dark Mark in the sky?" Dennis said panicking. "A skull and a snake?"
"There's nothing in the sky except a few clouds," Patrick said, looking around the street. Dennis shook his head and got out of the car abruptly. As he slammed the door, he heard the second door open and close. Dennis ran to his parents' home followed behind by Patrick. Just as Dennis got to the front lawn, he felt Patrick pull him aside.
"Dennis, I need to go see Scott," he said quickly.
"What?" Dennis asked, blinking at him.
"Scott," Patrick said slowly. "You know, my High School friend."
"Pat, my parents might be dead!" Dennis yelled. "Can't you see the damn mark?"
"There's nothing here," Patrick insisted. "And I need to go to Scott's." Dennis suddenly realised what was happening and grabbed hold of Patrick's arm and pulling him towards the house he had grown up in. After a few moments Dennis heard Patrick gasp.
"You see it now?" Dennis asked angrily.
"What the hell is that?" Patrick asked, pointing at the sky.
"Dark Mark," Dennis said. "Death Eater symbol. It means they've killed someone."
Dennis ran to the front door which had been blasted to pieces, his wand now grasped firmly in his hand and ready to strike. When he entered into the house he knew so well, a chill went down his spine and he almost turned and fled, but he didn't.
"Should I call the police?" Patrick asked, looking at the remains of the door.
"It's no use," Dennis said quickly and quietly. "They won't see the place."
"What do we do?" Patrick asked in a whisper.
"We look," Dennis said. "Stay close to me. If there are any still here, you won't stand a chance alone."
The living room was the first that Dennis entered and was untouched and empty. It appeared that the Death Eaters had left most of it alone. Dennis let out a sigh of relief and walked slowly into the kitchen which, too, was empty, though there was something boiling over on the stove which Dennis swiftly turned off.
Dennis and Patrick exited the kitchen back into the living room and then made their way to the nearby hallway. Dennis opened the door to Colin's bedroom just a little and looked inside. Everything was as it had been when he last was in there. He closed the door and moved on. When he checked the bathroom, it was empty as well.
The door to Dennis' old room, Teddy's bedroom, was blasted off like the front door. Dennis felt another chill go down his spine as he walked in. This fear he felt was founded as he saw his father slumped over the end of Teddy's bed, staring up at the ceiling with a vacant stare and blood crusting on his shirt and pants.
Dennis didn't remember dropping his wand, nor did he remember walking further into the room and trying in vain to make his father wake up. Dennis could only remember feeling Patrick's arm around his shoulder as he sat on his old bed looking into his father's eyes for what was a far shorter time than it seemed.
All of a sudden, Dennis remembered that his father would not have been the only person in the house and quickly picked up his wand and sprinted to his parents room. The door was closed and Dennis blasted it open with magic. When he did, he found his mother dead on the floor, her eyes closed and looking peaceful.
Dennis went into a frenzy.
"Teddy!" he called loudly. "Teddy!"
"Dennis, be quiet," Patrick said quickly. "They might be here."
"Teddy! It's Dennis!" Dennis called out, barely hearing Patrick's voice. Dennis found himself sprinting through the house, opening every door he found and calling Teddy's name, tears falling with each empty room. When he came to the living room again, Dennis fell to the ground and started to weep openly.
Some time later, Dennis was helped to his feet by Patrick, although he barely registered what was going on.
"We have to go," Dennis heard Patrick say. "We don't know they won't come back." Dennis murmured something before suddenly remembering his parents and descending into tears once again. This time he managed to keep his footing and allowed himself to be guided by his best friend out of the house and on to the next-door neighbours' lawn.
"Teddy," he finally said.
"He wasn't in the house," Patrick said. "I looked again. Twice. He's nowhere to be found."
"They have him," Dennis said despondently.
"Who?" Patrick asked. Before Dennis could answer, he heard several loud popping noises behind him.
"Could be worse, eh?" one man said gruffly. "Least they didn't torch the place."
"Still, we have to make this look like some Muggle accident," another man with a deeper voice replied. "Waste of time. Stupid Muggles wouldn't see their hands in front of their faces."
"Who's that over there?" the first man asked.
"Muggles most like," the second man spat. "Oi, Malfoy! Get over there and deal with them two will ya?" Dennis heard footsteps approaching and then a woman with dark brown hair appeared in front of him.
"I know you!" she whispered. "Dennis, right?"
"Who the hell are you?" Patrick asked angrily.
"Look, I'm not here to hurt anyone," the woman replied. Dennis thought she seemed familiar, but he didn't much care. "If this is Dennis Creevey, like I assume it is considering whose home was attacked here and the state he's in, I can do something to help."
"Why should we trust you?" Patrick asked.
"Oi Malfoy!" a voice yelled. "What's taking so long?"
"I have to be thorough. Won't be much longer," the woman called back. She looked back at Patrick. "That's why. I lied to them about what I'm doing."
"What can you do?" Patrick asked after a moment. The woman handed him what appeared to be a pencil from her cloak.
"Make sure you and Dennis are holding this and then count down from three," she replied quickly. She then added, "Are you a Muggle?"
"Yes, I am," Patrick answered.
"That's fine," the woman replied. "It'll still work for you. Just hold on extra tight."
"You got that Dennis?" Patrick asked and Dennis nodded, looking at the woman.
"I'm sorry this happened," she said sincerely. "My husband will look after you, I promise. And trust him."
"You ready?" Patrick asked and Dennis nodded and grabbed the pencil, looking back at his home which now had five men in black cloaks going inside. "3 … 2 … 1."
There was a pull at Dennis' navel, but he had time enough to see the red bolt of magic hit the woman square in her chest just as she stood up to leave Dennis and Patrick. She disappeared before Dennis could see her hit the ground.
When Dennis and Patrick landed with a crash, Dennis felt carpet under his body. He knew immediately that he was in a house somewhere.
"Who are you?" a voice said after a moment. Dennis pulled himself up from the ground and looked around. The house seemed to be quite dark but at the same time rather nice and tranquil. As he was looking around he laid eyes on a man who was undoubtedly Draco Malfoy.
"You," he growled, his eyes blaring.
"Did Astoria send you?" Malfoy asked quickly. Dennis raised his wand, but it was soon gone from his hand as Malfoy disarmed him. "Look, I get it. However, I could have killed you both right now, and I didn't. So answer my questions. Who are you and did Astoria send you?"
"I'm Patrick Stevenson," Patrick said quickly. "And this is Dennis Creevey."
"Creevey?" Malfoy asked, his eyes widening. "I remember you. You were the younger one, right?" Dennis nodded, but the scowl didn't leave his face.
"Does Astoria have brown hair?" Patrick asked before Dennis could speak.
"Yes, that's her," Malfoy confirmed, looking to Dennis. "Look, I know you don't like me, and with good reason, but you have to understand that my wife and I aren't Death Eaters. The opposite in fact."
"Yeah, right," Dennis said angrily. "Like you didn't have anything to do with what happened to my parents. Tell me, Malfoy. Did you enjoy it? Did you like seeing my parents die? Did you enjoy taking a five year old to your master?"
"I was not involved," Malfoy persisted. "Trust me. I am truly sorry about your parents. This explains why Astoria sent you then."
"THEY'RE DEAD!" Dennis exploded. "My parents are dead and Teddy's been captured and is probably being tortured right now and you actually expect me to think that you had nothing to do with it? You, the most OBVIOUS fucking Death Eater in Hogwarts? Right. Sure. I believe you."
"If you give me a minute, I can prove to you that I'm not a Death Eater," Malfoy said. "All I need to do is us the Floo for a minute."
"And bring back your Death Eater pals?" Dennis scoffed. "No thank you."
"Maybe just hear him out," Patrick cut in. "You've told me before that magic makes killing people a breeze. He could have done it if he wanted to."
Dennis looked at Patrick and sighed.
"Give me my wand back," Dennis said to Malfoy who nodded and handed over the wand. "If you're gone any longer than a minute, we're leaving."
"Reasonable," Malfoy said. He moved to leave.
"Uh, there's something you should know," Patrick said before Malfoy could leave. He turned. "Your wife, Astoria. When we were … um … leaving, I saw her get hit with something."
"What?" Malfoy said quickly. "What happened?"
"She was hit with a Stunning Spell," Dennis said unemotionally.
"This is not good," Malfoy said. "I'll need you two gone as soon as possible. I'll be back in a minute." Dennis watched, wand raised, as Malfoy threw some Floo powder into the fireplace, walked in, said something that he couldn't understand and disappeared, shocking Patrick beside him.
"Dennis, I'm so sorry," Patrick said, his voice heavy.
"Not now," Dennis said bluntly. "I fully expect Death Eaters here any second. No time for talk." Patrick seemed to understand and stopped talking.
A few moments later the fireplace flared up and Malfoy walked out of it with his hands raised. Dennis had his wand trained on the blonde's chest. The fireplace flared up again and Dennis was fully prepared to cast something at Malfoy, but the person he saw shocked him.
"Hermione?" he said incredulously. "Hermione Granger?"
"Draco, who …" Hermione said, but then her eyes widened in recognition. "Dennis Creevey. What are you doing here? And who's your friend?"
"Patrick Stevenson," Patrick said. "I'm beginning to feel out of place. Everyone seems to know everyone else."
"Welcome to our little world," Hermione said.
"As nice as this is, these two need to leave my house," Malfoy said harshly. "They have Astoria, so they'll come for me soon."
"Wait," Hermione said and Dennis was surprised to note that she seemed to actually care about Draco Malfoy of all people. "Will you be okay?"
"Of course," Malfoy said arrogantly. "I'll tell them Astoria was working alone. The Malfoy name will do the rest."
"You really think that will work?" Hermione asked. Malfoy nodded.
"If my father can integrate himself into normal society having been a Death Eater, I can do it this way," he replied. "You need to take these two with you. I'll contact you when I can."
"Where are we going?" Dennis asked. Hermione turned to him and Patrick.
"The Hiding Place is located at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place," she said curtly. "Dennis, you know how to use the Floo network right?" When he nodded she turned to Patrick who cut her off.
"Muggle," he said.
"Ah, well that's fine," Hermione said. "You can use the Floo, you just need to go with someone at least the first few times. I'll take you since I know the place better."
"What do I say?" Dennis asked, taking some of the offered Floo Powder from Malfoy who, he noted, he was trusting more now that he knew about Hermione.
"Number 12, Grimmauld Place," Hermione said as Dennis threw the powder into the fireplace. "Actually, I should go first. We've got some jumpy people there at the moment."
"Was that Alastor Moody?" Malfoy asked raising an eyebrow.
"I'll tell you more later," Hermione promised. She grabbed Patrick's hand and led him into the flames. Dennis had to nod to make sure that Patrick knew it was safe. A moment later they were gone. Dennis took some more powder and threw it into the fireplace. He looked back at Malfoy.
"I'm sorry about your wife," he said. "It only happened because she helped us."
"And I'm sorry about your family," Malfoy replied. "It only happened because we haven't gotten rid of the Dark Lord yet."
There was a moment of recognition between the two of them. A shared glance into a future where they stood side-by-side against the forces that would seek to ruin the world. Dennis nodded, turned to the flames and spoke the address aloud.
A few moments later, Dennis tumbled out of a different fireplace and fell to the ground. He got into a sitting position and looked around him. The room was full of people, some he recognised and others that he didn't. Seeing the faces of people he had long since believed were dead filled him simultaneously with joy and a deep upset.
In that moment, as Dennis looked from person to person as Hermione spoke, Dennis realised the enormity of what had just happened. Images flashed through his mind. He saw his mother and father once again, both of them dead in different rooms. He saw Colin running so he could fight. He saw little Teddy in some dank cell somewhere, crying and alone.
Dennis put his head into his hands and, not for the first time that day, he felt tears falling down his cheeks. He sobbed in a room full of people, not caring what anyone might think. He had lost almost everything in his life. He couldn't see what, of any importance, he had left.
Dennis did not think of vengeance or revenge or anything else that other people might think of. He did not wish pain upon those who had hurt him, nor did his mind enter the realm of violence. Dennis simply wept for his family, and for those who had lost the same over the years.
Dennis felt a blast of heat in front of his face and a slight orange light through his hands and his eyelids. The heat was extremely soothing and upon hearing it, he felt his troubles begin to lessen. Dennis lowered his hands and raised his eyes, looking into the beady black eyes of a beautiful red and gold bird in front of him. He could have sworn that he could see his pain and agony in the bird's eyes as he stared. Everyone around him was quiet and still.
The phoenix opened its beak and started to sing. Dennis sat and listened for what seemed to be an eternity as the phoenix continued to sing a beautiful, mournful tune that soothed Dennis to the soul. Dennis felt as though the phoenix was trying to tell him something. Something of immense importance. It was almost like the phoenix was speaking in his mind. His very soul.
You are not alone.