The Hogwarts Express and More
The next few days, Kelvar and I spent our time getting to know the Professors. I dearly wanted to know more about the human culture, and the Ministry of Magic. Kelvar was clearly enjoying the company of the House-Elves.
At long last, September the First was here, and waiting for us to get up and enjoy it. When Kelvar and I woke, we took flight quickly and hurried down to eat with the Professors. Albus and Minerva were waiting for us, Albus being my escort, and Minerva Kelvar's. This, I had been told, was a special occasion, as Albus and Minerva were going to King's Cross on matter's of business, whereas usually they stayed at Hogwarts. It seemed that a new Dark Power was rising.
Albus and I were to ride up front, with the conductor. Some of the other professor's were coming, but they had a compartment to themselves.
The train ride was uneventful, except when the lights flashed a bit and the train had to stop. The conductor had to completely re-cast the spell that was keeping it running.
When we first arrived, Platform 9 and 3/4 was nearly empty. There were only a few students, and those were mostly in the seventh year, there with the defence force. I flew up a little passage, and saw a straight wall. Albus came running; yelling at me not to go further.
"What is down there?" I inquired of him.
"It's a magical barrier. It looks real, but you can go right through it and into the Station. Don't try it, though, there are muggles all around, and the will be terrified if a phoenix came through a solid barrier." Albus looked much younger and amused as he said this. I startled myself wondering if he could change his age to suit the occasion. My logical mind pushed this thought out quickly though.
After about fifteen minutes, students started arriving. One of the first ones through the barrier was a boy of about 15 who was looking exhausted. I sensed an aura of magic around him, and recognised him immediately as a werewolf. I had practice from my stay in the Forbidden Forest.
I flew over, wanting to get aquatinted with this strange boy. He turned and stared at me when he heard my wings, though he did not seem wary or frightened, like many others had been of me.
I flew over and he put out his arm for me to rest on, steadily pushing his cart ahead. I turned and stared into his eyes, trusting to luck that he would understand the musical language of the phoenix.
"Hello, werewolf." The boy started and nearly dropped me. I waited for him to regain his composure, and greet me. I had expected him to be afraid and question me, but when he did not break eye contact with me, I knew he would not fear to talk back.
"You are a long way from home, Phoenix of the North." Now it was my turn to start. How had he known that I was from the North? "I am Remus," he said with no trace of pride.
"I am Fawkes. I came from Hogwarts to meet the students, and perhaps make some friends," I said, slightly shyly, betraying my feelings to this strange werewolf. "Come. Let us get your trunk into the train and get nested down." He did not show that he had never heard this expression before. I wondered briefly if he had met a phoenix before.
"Alright. Pick a compartment." I picked one up front, close to Albus and the teachers, but Remus shook his head.
"We can't stay there. I have some friends, see, and we have something planned for the train trip..." he trailed off with a mischievous grin and a strange light in his eyes.
"You may pick, then," I said, looking at him with my head sideways. He picked one just about as far back as you could go. We then hefted his trunk into the storage compartment, and waited for the train to start. Remus and I got to know each other quite well, and he told me about his arch-nemesis, Serverus Snape. After Remus described his visual appearance I realised that Snape was one of the few students who had been waiting when the train pulled up.
'That's Snape, all right. He's always trying to smarm up to the teachers, and probably thought it would do him good to get here early." Remus spat the name 'Snape' like a curse word. "He doesn't get good marks though, and Professors' McGonagall and Sachel hate his guts, because he never turns his homework in on time. Professor Sachel is the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"I know. We have met," I said with a touch of distaste. It did not seem to me that Revjak Sachel liked anybody. He was from Germany, and he loved to teach, but Germany does not have a very good school reputation, and so he came here. Sachel prided himself on being Dumbledore's right hand man, although it was only because he could duel, and had a mind that worked like the Dark Side. He detested the Dark Side, though, even though he could be called just as cruel.
Shortly after that, we went to tell Albus that I would be staying with Remus and his friends. As we were leaving I heard Albus mutter, "By the left, Fawkes has taken up with the Four. It'll be snowing in June soon, what with the things they come up with."
After leaving the Albus with the conductor, Remus peered out the window of our compartment. "My paws, they're here," Remus muttered. He jumped out the door and dashed over to the entrance. I followed as quickly as I could without injuring my wings. Remus was already talking fast to his friends. When I arrived, he quickly introduced me to his friends.
"This is James Potter, and this is Sirius Black. We three are the three most renowned trouble makers in the history of Hogwarts." James, Sirius, and Remus all bowed in unison. "James, Sirius, this is Fawkes."
"We already have a compartment ready. What is this that you three are planning?" I asked softly, as so not to be heard. Sirius and Remus both looked at each other and then at James, who was looking confused. James could not understand my musical speech. Sirius translated.
"James, James," Sirius sighed after relaying what I had said to James. "If you weren't so busy staring at Lily in Care of Magical Creatures, you might be able to understand him." James looked annoyed.
"Well, perhaps if someone I know weren't so busy staring at Cecilia Rend, maybe they wouldn't need updating constantly in transfiguration." I looked about in confusion until Sirius explained.
"Transfiguration is my worst subject. I'm also in love with Cecilia Rend, the prettiest girl in the year." Sirius said this with out the slightest hesitation or embarrassment.
"What about Lily?" James asked indignantly.
"Shut up you two," Remus interrupted. "Lets get to the compartment and explain our exploits to Fawkes."
Inside the train Remus, James, and Sirius explained to me what their grand idea was.
"You've told him about Serverus?" James asked Remus.
"Yup."
"Ok, listen up," Sirius said to me. "Have you heard of Filibusters Fireworks?" I shook my head. "They are the most brilliant inventions since wands. We have used them many times, since they don't do much except start fires. It was James here who came up with the idea," Sirius said with an admiring glance towards James. "It will be a nice peaceful ride in Snape's compartment. Then, all the sudden it will get really cold, and start snowing. Then Snape's trunk will start smoking. Mr. I don't know how to wash my hair will open his trunk to find all his clothes on fire, while his books are spared and strangely untouched. Just so he won't get school off," Sirius said with a snigger.
"Oh, look Peter is here," Remus exclaimed, looking out the compartment window. "Oh dang, the train is going to leave in 4 minutes. Come on, you two, lets help him with his trunk." Remus, James, and Sirius jumped out of the door and dashed over to help the other boy with his trunk. I followed quietly.
James was fiddling with a clasp on the biggest trunk. Once he got the pocket open, he pulled out an odd looking bag with lumps in it.
"Fawkes, this is Peter Pettigrew, associate mischief maker and friend," Remus said.
"Can you understand the language of the Phoenix?" I asked Peter.
"Yeah. We learned it last year in Care of Magical Creatures. If I remember correctly, James failed that test." James glared at him. Remus looked at his watch.
"Damn," he muttered. "We're going to miss the train if we don't hurry!" James started hauling the trunk over to the storage compartment. I knocked him on the head with my wing, and he turned to stare at me. I took the handle of the trunk in my talons, and flapped off with little trouble.
"Of course," I heard James say, as he and the others got into the compartment. "Phoenixes can carry very heavy loads with ease."
When we were all settled down, Remus explained what we were going to have to do, and what was in the odd looking bag.
"In this bag," he said, indicating the bag James had drawn out of Peter's trunk, "is our most precious possession." He drew out a sample. "Improved Filibuster's Fireworks. Now, rather than exploding, they start smoking, sparking and setting fire to one thing: clothes." James stuffed his fist into his mouth, sniggering uncontrollably, unable to contain himself. "So we are making sure that all of Snape's school robes will be gone, burnt into cinders. Which is an improvement from their normal state, all covered in grease and things." I wondered if Snape was worth all this trouble. Evidently he was, though, as there was more.
"Sirius, you had better get going," James said.
"Right. Hand me the Snow Pellets." I knew, at least, what these were. I had taken a look at Zonko's Joke Shop at Hogwarts during summer vacation. Little pellets that you could attach to the ceiling or walls, these made it suddenly start snowing at an appointed time. You only need three for two thousand snowflakes, which makes it easy to build up.
After Sirius had left, Peter continued from where Remus had left off.
"First, the snow pellets will - obviously - make it snow."
"Peter," Remus said, exasperated. "Fawkes doesn't even know what they are..."
"I know what they are," I interrupted. Peter shot a superior look at Remus.
"So, it suddenly starts snowing in Snape's compartment. His pals all think he started it. Then our improved version of Filibusters Fireworks go off, inside the his trunk, his clothes are set to fire, and all but his schoolbooks are left untouched. Last, but not least, I believe that his Ravenclaw girlfriend will be travelling with him," Peter said calmly.
"Peter! How did you arrange that?" Remus and James asked at the same time; two pairs of eyes glittering delightedly.
"Mostly Snape's own doing, although I had to help him along, with a few well placed whispers into someone's ears..." Peter trailed off innocently.
We sat in silence after that, until Sirius came back with good news.
"Oh yeah!" Sirius was practically dancing with happiness. "Listen. I have the snow pellets in place. There's more than planned, though. Over the summer, it seems, Snape was designing his own fireworks. He has them in his trunk, and I prepared them as if they were our own. So don't worry about getting the fireworks down there, James, they're all set up. They are the exact same model as ours, except ours spark. So I added a few of our own that I carry in my pockets in case of emergency. He thus spent all that time developing those fireworks, only to be used against him!" Sirius fell down laughing. "Oh yeah, his girlfriend is there too," Sirius added as an afterthought.
"What's she doing there, Sirius?" Peter asked innocently.
"I dunno," Sirius said with an evil look. "Probably slowly edging away from him." James looked uncomfortable. Peter noticed.
"James is wondering if he will have to make Lily kiss him," Peter said. I laughed.
"You are 15 years old, and you have never been kissed by your girlfriend?" I asked James. Remus translated for him.
"No, why should I have?" He said, annoyed.
"There were a few other Phoenixes in the Forbidden Forest. Female phoenixes, I mean. One of them, Calfyrn, was a beautiful Gold phoenix. I kissed her before my 13th cycle had ended," I said, with very little humility.
"You were 13? Phoenixes obviously get together long before humans do," Sirius said. "Okay Marauders. Lets go to the scene of our handiwork."
As we were going through the compartments, I asked Remus about Snape.
"What if you get caught? Will not Snape try to make you pay for the robes?"
"Oh, sure. That's part of the plan, although it won't be nearly as amusing as Part One," Remus responded. "With luck, we he will ask us at the end of class or something near, because we won't ever give him a private word. He'll have to ask us for the money in front of everybody else in Gryffindor, and he has never asked us for anything except to shut up."
"Ah. I see. Public humiliation," I said, trying my wing at speaking like these boys did.
"Yes, exactly," Remus said.
Peter, who was in front, threw out an arm to stop us.
"Quiet now," he hissed. "We are at the scene of the crime." James drew out a silver, almost transparent flowing cloth. He draped it over himself, and I nearly cried out as he - and it - suddenly disappeared. I took to the air and started to fly backwards, until I saw an arm reach from where James had been standing. It helped Remus under what I now took to be a cloak. As I looked to my side, I saw that Sirius and Peter were doing the same thing. From my side I heard a harsh whisper.
"Invisibility Cloak." I recognised Remus's voice, harsh only when he whispered.
"May I join you?" I asked.
"Of course," Remus said, lifting up the cloak, so that I could perch on his arm. I am not big for a phoenix, and we fit well.
We stood silently against the corner of the compartment. It seemed as though the time passed quickly, even though I was strangely bored. When the plot rolled into motion, the whole of the earth seemed to be spinning.
It started snowing. At the end of the summer, still hot and humid, it was snowing. One could tell that it was not magical, but real snow. It seemed that the Snow Pellets summoned snow, rather than conjuring it. Serverus and his girlfriend, whose name I learned was Sam (short for Samantha), were chatting about the food and the House-Elves at Hogwarts, when it started snowing. Serverus fell out of his seat in surprise, and Sam looked around at the ceiling and the walls. After it had snowed a bit, and was starting to build up, Snape's trunk started emitting sparks and smoking around the clasps. Sam had gone to get a teacher, and Serverus was trying to melt the snow, which did nothing except get the floor and seats wet. When he noticed his trunk, Serverus dashed over and opened it. As he pulled the lid in horror, I got to examine the damage done. It seemed that all of his clothes were already beyond repair, and some of the quills had melted together. The lid started sparking furiously, sending Snape reeling backwards. Just then, Sam came back, leading Revjak Sachel onto the scene.
Revjak quickly stopped the sparking with a handy water spell. Ignoring the snow, he glanced around to check no one was watching. Then he quickly marched down the hall-way with precise steps that would have looked better had he had on a uniform. It seemed logical that he was heading for the front, where Albus and the conductor were. Severus seemed lost for words. He swept the ashes and cinders from inside his trunk, and walked out of the compartment, presumably to throw them out. When he came back his face was red with anger, and he seemed to be muttering about 'Potters'. I assumed he meant James, and hoped that he had not seen James Potter anywhere near this compartment. I felt a tap on my wing, and realised suddenly that James was gagging. From under the cloak I could see Remus gesture out towards where Sam and Snape were sitting. What Snape said I will not repeat to you, for it was not pleasant. Sam was trying to comfort him, and was trying to engage Snape in a kiss. Remus swept his arm over to the door leading back to our compartment. I nodded and we set off quietly. James quit gagging when we led him out the door. Luckily it had been left open, so we did not have to fear for Snape coming after us. We pulled off the invisibility cloak when we were two compartments away. Peter and Sirius came later, and it was clear that they too, had been fighting not to vomit.
The look on Remus's face was of clear exhilaration. I understood this kind of humour. This was not the kind of humour one laughed at, not practical jokes. This was humour you revelled in, humour that you could enjoy simply for the fact that you thought of it, and detailed it, and carried it out. It was humour as a phoenix knows it. Oh we laugh, of course we do. We laugh for different reasons than humans, though, and take pride in our differences.
It took quite a while for Sirius and Peter to change colour, from green to tan, but when they did they were delighted. It seemed the effect of having Samantha there had changed the picture slightly. They had not expected Revjak Sachel to turn up on the scene, but it made no difference. Peter was the only one who was not simply astounded with Sachel's arrival.
"After all it was only logical that Sam should go for Sachel. The head of Slytherin house, and the best of any at seeing clues that lead to us four as culprits, though I wager our nasty, slimy fly already has in mind who he wants to put on trial. What I can't get is why Sachel refused to come. We all know he hates Snape's guts."
We waited a bit and discussed the outcome of our adventure. James, I noticed, had begun to pick up the more advanced features of the musical phoenix speech. He had paid enough attention in Care of Magical Creatures to know the basics; he could not identify them in a rapid conversation. Suddenly Kelvar and two beautiful girls came in through the door that we had just exited. One had long red hair, and the other had brown hair that hung down to the middle of her back. Both had beautiful eyes the colour of emeralds, and both were stunningly pretty. James jumped up and walked over to the red haired one. They were talking fast about Serverus.
"Did you see Snape, James? He looked a mess. There was water all around him, and it was quite cold in his compartment. He had his trunk lying open but he didn't have anything in it, besides schoolbooks. What happened?" the red-haired girl said with a tinge of laughter in her voice. James was looking uncomfortably at Kelvar, and I wondered if it was the fact that he had caused all this, or if Kelvar made him uncomfortable. Sirius had stood up and walked over to the other girl. I suddenly remembered our conversation about girls, and remembered James and Sirius's girlfriends. The red-haired girl must be Lily, and the other Cecilia. James and Sirius were lucky to have such pretty girlfriends.
"I haven't heard anything about this, Lily," James said, confirming who the red-haired girl was. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you to Fawkes," He said, beckoning me over. "Lily, Cecilia, this is Fawkes. Fawkes, this is Lily and Cecilia." He introduced us, waving his towards someone when he spoke his or her name.
"Are you the very same Fawkes that Kelvar has been telling us about?" Cecilia asked.
"Indeed I am," I said in my most musical voice. Sirius, who could distinguish those things in a phoenixes voice, got fussy.
"Don't you go flirting with my girlfriend," He warned me, looking very Sirius. "She may be pretty, but she's mine."
"Don't worry, Sirius. I'm on you like glue, for good or ill," She said, leaning against him. This cheered him up greatly.
"For good," He said, and I noticed the pun.
"Oh, sorry James," Lily said, glancing at Kelvar and James, who had been quiet. "This is Kelvar, James. Kelvar, this is James." Remus and Peter were quiet, staring at the ceiling. I guessed they were trying to stamp Serverus's look into their minds for the remainder of their lives.
James and Kelvar seemed to cheer up after they had been introduced. I told James that she was my sister, and he warmed to her, even saying that if I wanted I could tell her about the prank. I wondered how she would take it.
There was nothing of interest that happened the rest of the train ride, besides when Revjak Sachel came by looking like a mad bull. He stormed to the other end of the compartment and accidentally stepped on Remus's foot. Remus winced and kept his face in the wince, until Revjak had left. Then he let out a howl that was just as wolf-like as his nature. James, Sirius, and Peter crowded around him and forced him to tell them what happened.
We heard nothing more from Serverus, until we saw that Revjak had given him permission to conjure some new robes for the time being. Kelvar and I left the six fifth years to join our escorts. Albus, Minerva, Kelvar, and I got a large boat with funny triangles as wings. I assumed they were for catching the wind. Albus sat in the bow, while Kelvar and I flew up and perched on the wooden poles holding up the triangles. The trip across did not take long, and I enjoyed it immensely. We settled ourselves at the high table for teachers, and watched the students file in. I saw Remus and other five come in with the fifth and sixth years. Serverus, I saw, did not look at all happy. In fact, he looked exhausted.
Kelvar and I drew stares, but we ignored them. The food was excellent, and Albus seemed happy. I ignored the Sorting. There were none there who looked extraordinary, or any who had a magical aura. Albus had a question for me. He leaned over and spoke quietly: "Do you know anything about Serverus?"
"I know him, yes," I said slowly.
"His trunk was mysteriously set to fire, and all but his schoolbooks were burnt to cinders. Do you know who might have done it?" So this was what his questioning was leading up to.
"No, Albus, I know nothing about this incident." He considered me f or a moment, as if wondering if he could trust me. Then he looked away and started eating again.
" I though you might, having spent the train ride with four of the most renowned trouble makers in Hogwarts history."
Kelvar and I ate until we could eat no more. After dinner we headed upstairs to where we would nest. We were building a new one tonight, as I had requested of Albus, in the Gryffindor Tower. Albus had had no objection to this, seeing as Kelvar and myself had made excellent friends with the six Gryffindor fifth year students. There were other fifth year female students whom I did not know, two to be precise.
Our nest was smaller than usual but still comfortable. The night was short and I slept well. Kelvar did not have an easy time of adjusting to her new surroundings, as she is not one for change. The morning dawned bright and clear, and I was up to see it.
I stretched my wings a bit and patrolled the halls. It was interesting to watch sleepy first years creep out of bed and try to find their way around. I am not sure whether they found me helpful or not, for though I gave advice as to how to get from here to there, I spoke in riddles as a sphinx does. Though I have to add that I was not nearly as vicious as one of their kind.
I ate my morning meal and flew back up to meet Remus and the gang. I could not find them though, and flew off to the library. The library was my favourite place to stay, and the history books at Hogwarts are most detailed.
To my surprise, I found that Remus and James were there, reading their Transfiguration homework.
"Where are Peter and Sirius?" I asked curiously.
"Errands," James said shortly. Remus looked at me, then James, then back to me. He trusted me more than James did, apparently.
"James," he said quietly. "We can trust the phoenix." James looked at Remus, as if trying to determine his true intentions. Remus's aurora of magic was burning brightly and colourfully; he was not lying. James, of course, could not see the magical aurora that bound Remus and all magical things together, so he had to rely on his feelings. James stood up and walked to Remus, he asked a few questions and then came straight to me.
"Fawkes," He said, looking very much like a man who is truly apologizing, " I'm sorry that I did not trust you earlier, or today. I am accustomed to keeping secrets from all but Sirius, Remus, and Peter. I apologize for misplacing my trust and hope you will accept them."
"When one states his apologies so well," I said slowly, that he might understand me better, "what can another do but accept them?" His face slowly broke into a smile as he translated my words in his mind.
"What Sirius and Peter are doing is more than I would tell anyone but the most trusted companion," he said quietly. "They are currently in a dark tunnel, on their way through a secret passage into Honeydukes." I stared. James nodded. "We've found several passages in Hogwarts that nobody." Then, slowly, he began to sing in the phoenix speech. He had a beautiful voice, low and base in tone, and he told me their nicknames in musical tones. Moony, Wormtail, Prongs, Padfoot. It was almost as if he was using telepathy, such was the mental impact it had upon me. He did not know the language well, but he was the only human I knew that had the daring to speak back to a phoenix in a phoenix's native language.
"On a lighter note," James said in English, "They are supposed to be bringing in Butterbeers by the dozens. We drink lots of those things you know. Also just about anything they have new. Each new year since third year we have gone down and tried all the new stuff. This year we know about the tunnel, so everything is simplified, provided nobody catches us."
Things were lighter between The Marauders and myself after that day. I was sure that Remus had told the others about the conversation James and I had, although I was left to wondering why their names were names that might fit animals.
The next few days, Kelvar and I spent our time getting to know the Professors. I dearly wanted to know more about the human culture, and the Ministry of Magic. Kelvar was clearly enjoying the company of the House-Elves.
At long last, September the First was here, and waiting for us to get up and enjoy it. When Kelvar and I woke, we took flight quickly and hurried down to eat with the Professors. Albus and Minerva were waiting for us, Albus being my escort, and Minerva Kelvar's. This, I had been told, was a special occasion, as Albus and Minerva were going to King's Cross on matter's of business, whereas usually they stayed at Hogwarts. It seemed that a new Dark Power was rising.
Albus and I were to ride up front, with the conductor. Some of the other professor's were coming, but they had a compartment to themselves.
The train ride was uneventful, except when the lights flashed a bit and the train had to stop. The conductor had to completely re-cast the spell that was keeping it running.
When we first arrived, Platform 9 and 3/4 was nearly empty. There were only a few students, and those were mostly in the seventh year, there with the defence force. I flew up a little passage, and saw a straight wall. Albus came running; yelling at me not to go further.
"What is down there?" I inquired of him.
"It's a magical barrier. It looks real, but you can go right through it and into the Station. Don't try it, though, there are muggles all around, and the will be terrified if a phoenix came through a solid barrier." Albus looked much younger and amused as he said this. I startled myself wondering if he could change his age to suit the occasion. My logical mind pushed this thought out quickly though.
After about fifteen minutes, students started arriving. One of the first ones through the barrier was a boy of about 15 who was looking exhausted. I sensed an aura of magic around him, and recognised him immediately as a werewolf. I had practice from my stay in the Forbidden Forest.
I flew over, wanting to get aquatinted with this strange boy. He turned and stared at me when he heard my wings, though he did not seem wary or frightened, like many others had been of me.
I flew over and he put out his arm for me to rest on, steadily pushing his cart ahead. I turned and stared into his eyes, trusting to luck that he would understand the musical language of the phoenix.
"Hello, werewolf." The boy started and nearly dropped me. I waited for him to regain his composure, and greet me. I had expected him to be afraid and question me, but when he did not break eye contact with me, I knew he would not fear to talk back.
"You are a long way from home, Phoenix of the North." Now it was my turn to start. How had he known that I was from the North? "I am Remus," he said with no trace of pride.
"I am Fawkes. I came from Hogwarts to meet the students, and perhaps make some friends," I said, slightly shyly, betraying my feelings to this strange werewolf. "Come. Let us get your trunk into the train and get nested down." He did not show that he had never heard this expression before. I wondered briefly if he had met a phoenix before.
"Alright. Pick a compartment." I picked one up front, close to Albus and the teachers, but Remus shook his head.
"We can't stay there. I have some friends, see, and we have something planned for the train trip..." he trailed off with a mischievous grin and a strange light in his eyes.
"You may pick, then," I said, looking at him with my head sideways. He picked one just about as far back as you could go. We then hefted his trunk into the storage compartment, and waited for the train to start. Remus and I got to know each other quite well, and he told me about his arch-nemesis, Serverus Snape. After Remus described his visual appearance I realised that Snape was one of the few students who had been waiting when the train pulled up.
'That's Snape, all right. He's always trying to smarm up to the teachers, and probably thought it would do him good to get here early." Remus spat the name 'Snape' like a curse word. "He doesn't get good marks though, and Professors' McGonagall and Sachel hate his guts, because he never turns his homework in on time. Professor Sachel is the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"I know. We have met," I said with a touch of distaste. It did not seem to me that Revjak Sachel liked anybody. He was from Germany, and he loved to teach, but Germany does not have a very good school reputation, and so he came here. Sachel prided himself on being Dumbledore's right hand man, although it was only because he could duel, and had a mind that worked like the Dark Side. He detested the Dark Side, though, even though he could be called just as cruel.
Shortly after that, we went to tell Albus that I would be staying with Remus and his friends. As we were leaving I heard Albus mutter, "By the left, Fawkes has taken up with the Four. It'll be snowing in June soon, what with the things they come up with."
After leaving the Albus with the conductor, Remus peered out the window of our compartment. "My paws, they're here," Remus muttered. He jumped out the door and dashed over to the entrance. I followed as quickly as I could without injuring my wings. Remus was already talking fast to his friends. When I arrived, he quickly introduced me to his friends.
"This is James Potter, and this is Sirius Black. We three are the three most renowned trouble makers in the history of Hogwarts." James, Sirius, and Remus all bowed in unison. "James, Sirius, this is Fawkes."
"We already have a compartment ready. What is this that you three are planning?" I asked softly, as so not to be heard. Sirius and Remus both looked at each other and then at James, who was looking confused. James could not understand my musical speech. Sirius translated.
"James, James," Sirius sighed after relaying what I had said to James. "If you weren't so busy staring at Lily in Care of Magical Creatures, you might be able to understand him." James looked annoyed.
"Well, perhaps if someone I know weren't so busy staring at Cecilia Rend, maybe they wouldn't need updating constantly in transfiguration." I looked about in confusion until Sirius explained.
"Transfiguration is my worst subject. I'm also in love with Cecilia Rend, the prettiest girl in the year." Sirius said this with out the slightest hesitation or embarrassment.
"What about Lily?" James asked indignantly.
"Shut up you two," Remus interrupted. "Lets get to the compartment and explain our exploits to Fawkes."
Inside the train Remus, James, and Sirius explained to me what their grand idea was.
"You've told him about Serverus?" James asked Remus.
"Yup."
"Ok, listen up," Sirius said to me. "Have you heard of Filibusters Fireworks?" I shook my head. "They are the most brilliant inventions since wands. We have used them many times, since they don't do much except start fires. It was James here who came up with the idea," Sirius said with an admiring glance towards James. "It will be a nice peaceful ride in Snape's compartment. Then, all the sudden it will get really cold, and start snowing. Then Snape's trunk will start smoking. Mr. I don't know how to wash my hair will open his trunk to find all his clothes on fire, while his books are spared and strangely untouched. Just so he won't get school off," Sirius said with a snigger.
"Oh, look Peter is here," Remus exclaimed, looking out the compartment window. "Oh dang, the train is going to leave in 4 minutes. Come on, you two, lets help him with his trunk." Remus, James, and Sirius jumped out of the door and dashed over to help the other boy with his trunk. I followed quietly.
James was fiddling with a clasp on the biggest trunk. Once he got the pocket open, he pulled out an odd looking bag with lumps in it.
"Fawkes, this is Peter Pettigrew, associate mischief maker and friend," Remus said.
"Can you understand the language of the Phoenix?" I asked Peter.
"Yeah. We learned it last year in Care of Magical Creatures. If I remember correctly, James failed that test." James glared at him. Remus looked at his watch.
"Damn," he muttered. "We're going to miss the train if we don't hurry!" James started hauling the trunk over to the storage compartment. I knocked him on the head with my wing, and he turned to stare at me. I took the handle of the trunk in my talons, and flapped off with little trouble.
"Of course," I heard James say, as he and the others got into the compartment. "Phoenixes can carry very heavy loads with ease."
When we were all settled down, Remus explained what we were going to have to do, and what was in the odd looking bag.
"In this bag," he said, indicating the bag James had drawn out of Peter's trunk, "is our most precious possession." He drew out a sample. "Improved Filibuster's Fireworks. Now, rather than exploding, they start smoking, sparking and setting fire to one thing: clothes." James stuffed his fist into his mouth, sniggering uncontrollably, unable to contain himself. "So we are making sure that all of Snape's school robes will be gone, burnt into cinders. Which is an improvement from their normal state, all covered in grease and things." I wondered if Snape was worth all this trouble. Evidently he was, though, as there was more.
"Sirius, you had better get going," James said.
"Right. Hand me the Snow Pellets." I knew, at least, what these were. I had taken a look at Zonko's Joke Shop at Hogwarts during summer vacation. Little pellets that you could attach to the ceiling or walls, these made it suddenly start snowing at an appointed time. You only need three for two thousand snowflakes, which makes it easy to build up.
After Sirius had left, Peter continued from where Remus had left off.
"First, the snow pellets will - obviously - make it snow."
"Peter," Remus said, exasperated. "Fawkes doesn't even know what they are..."
"I know what they are," I interrupted. Peter shot a superior look at Remus.
"So, it suddenly starts snowing in Snape's compartment. His pals all think he started it. Then our improved version of Filibusters Fireworks go off, inside the his trunk, his clothes are set to fire, and all but his schoolbooks are left untouched. Last, but not least, I believe that his Ravenclaw girlfriend will be travelling with him," Peter said calmly.
"Peter! How did you arrange that?" Remus and James asked at the same time; two pairs of eyes glittering delightedly.
"Mostly Snape's own doing, although I had to help him along, with a few well placed whispers into someone's ears..." Peter trailed off innocently.
We sat in silence after that, until Sirius came back with good news.
"Oh yeah!" Sirius was practically dancing with happiness. "Listen. I have the snow pellets in place. There's more than planned, though. Over the summer, it seems, Snape was designing his own fireworks. He has them in his trunk, and I prepared them as if they were our own. So don't worry about getting the fireworks down there, James, they're all set up. They are the exact same model as ours, except ours spark. So I added a few of our own that I carry in my pockets in case of emergency. He thus spent all that time developing those fireworks, only to be used against him!" Sirius fell down laughing. "Oh yeah, his girlfriend is there too," Sirius added as an afterthought.
"What's she doing there, Sirius?" Peter asked innocently.
"I dunno," Sirius said with an evil look. "Probably slowly edging away from him." James looked uncomfortable. Peter noticed.
"James is wondering if he will have to make Lily kiss him," Peter said. I laughed.
"You are 15 years old, and you have never been kissed by your girlfriend?" I asked James. Remus translated for him.
"No, why should I have?" He said, annoyed.
"There were a few other Phoenixes in the Forbidden Forest. Female phoenixes, I mean. One of them, Calfyrn, was a beautiful Gold phoenix. I kissed her before my 13th cycle had ended," I said, with very little humility.
"You were 13? Phoenixes obviously get together long before humans do," Sirius said. "Okay Marauders. Lets go to the scene of our handiwork."
As we were going through the compartments, I asked Remus about Snape.
"What if you get caught? Will not Snape try to make you pay for the robes?"
"Oh, sure. That's part of the plan, although it won't be nearly as amusing as Part One," Remus responded. "With luck, we he will ask us at the end of class or something near, because we won't ever give him a private word. He'll have to ask us for the money in front of everybody else in Gryffindor, and he has never asked us for anything except to shut up."
"Ah. I see. Public humiliation," I said, trying my wing at speaking like these boys did.
"Yes, exactly," Remus said.
Peter, who was in front, threw out an arm to stop us.
"Quiet now," he hissed. "We are at the scene of the crime." James drew out a silver, almost transparent flowing cloth. He draped it over himself, and I nearly cried out as he - and it - suddenly disappeared. I took to the air and started to fly backwards, until I saw an arm reach from where James had been standing. It helped Remus under what I now took to be a cloak. As I looked to my side, I saw that Sirius and Peter were doing the same thing. From my side I heard a harsh whisper.
"Invisibility Cloak." I recognised Remus's voice, harsh only when he whispered.
"May I join you?" I asked.
"Of course," Remus said, lifting up the cloak, so that I could perch on his arm. I am not big for a phoenix, and we fit well.
We stood silently against the corner of the compartment. It seemed as though the time passed quickly, even though I was strangely bored. When the plot rolled into motion, the whole of the earth seemed to be spinning.
It started snowing. At the end of the summer, still hot and humid, it was snowing. One could tell that it was not magical, but real snow. It seemed that the Snow Pellets summoned snow, rather than conjuring it. Serverus and his girlfriend, whose name I learned was Sam (short for Samantha), were chatting about the food and the House-Elves at Hogwarts, when it started snowing. Serverus fell out of his seat in surprise, and Sam looked around at the ceiling and the walls. After it had snowed a bit, and was starting to build up, Snape's trunk started emitting sparks and smoking around the clasps. Sam had gone to get a teacher, and Serverus was trying to melt the snow, which did nothing except get the floor and seats wet. When he noticed his trunk, Serverus dashed over and opened it. As he pulled the lid in horror, I got to examine the damage done. It seemed that all of his clothes were already beyond repair, and some of the quills had melted together. The lid started sparking furiously, sending Snape reeling backwards. Just then, Sam came back, leading Revjak Sachel onto the scene.
Revjak quickly stopped the sparking with a handy water spell. Ignoring the snow, he glanced around to check no one was watching. Then he quickly marched down the hall-way with precise steps that would have looked better had he had on a uniform. It seemed logical that he was heading for the front, where Albus and the conductor were. Severus seemed lost for words. He swept the ashes and cinders from inside his trunk, and walked out of the compartment, presumably to throw them out. When he came back his face was red with anger, and he seemed to be muttering about 'Potters'. I assumed he meant James, and hoped that he had not seen James Potter anywhere near this compartment. I felt a tap on my wing, and realised suddenly that James was gagging. From under the cloak I could see Remus gesture out towards where Sam and Snape were sitting. What Snape said I will not repeat to you, for it was not pleasant. Sam was trying to comfort him, and was trying to engage Snape in a kiss. Remus swept his arm over to the door leading back to our compartment. I nodded and we set off quietly. James quit gagging when we led him out the door. Luckily it had been left open, so we did not have to fear for Snape coming after us. We pulled off the invisibility cloak when we were two compartments away. Peter and Sirius came later, and it was clear that they too, had been fighting not to vomit.
The look on Remus's face was of clear exhilaration. I understood this kind of humour. This was not the kind of humour one laughed at, not practical jokes. This was humour you revelled in, humour that you could enjoy simply for the fact that you thought of it, and detailed it, and carried it out. It was humour as a phoenix knows it. Oh we laugh, of course we do. We laugh for different reasons than humans, though, and take pride in our differences.
It took quite a while for Sirius and Peter to change colour, from green to tan, but when they did they were delighted. It seemed the effect of having Samantha there had changed the picture slightly. They had not expected Revjak Sachel to turn up on the scene, but it made no difference. Peter was the only one who was not simply astounded with Sachel's arrival.
"After all it was only logical that Sam should go for Sachel. The head of Slytherin house, and the best of any at seeing clues that lead to us four as culprits, though I wager our nasty, slimy fly already has in mind who he wants to put on trial. What I can't get is why Sachel refused to come. We all know he hates Snape's guts."
We waited a bit and discussed the outcome of our adventure. James, I noticed, had begun to pick up the more advanced features of the musical phoenix speech. He had paid enough attention in Care of Magical Creatures to know the basics; he could not identify them in a rapid conversation. Suddenly Kelvar and two beautiful girls came in through the door that we had just exited. One had long red hair, and the other had brown hair that hung down to the middle of her back. Both had beautiful eyes the colour of emeralds, and both were stunningly pretty. James jumped up and walked over to the red haired one. They were talking fast about Serverus.
"Did you see Snape, James? He looked a mess. There was water all around him, and it was quite cold in his compartment. He had his trunk lying open but he didn't have anything in it, besides schoolbooks. What happened?" the red-haired girl said with a tinge of laughter in her voice. James was looking uncomfortably at Kelvar, and I wondered if it was the fact that he had caused all this, or if Kelvar made him uncomfortable. Sirius had stood up and walked over to the other girl. I suddenly remembered our conversation about girls, and remembered James and Sirius's girlfriends. The red-haired girl must be Lily, and the other Cecilia. James and Sirius were lucky to have such pretty girlfriends.
"I haven't heard anything about this, Lily," James said, confirming who the red-haired girl was. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you to Fawkes," He said, beckoning me over. "Lily, Cecilia, this is Fawkes. Fawkes, this is Lily and Cecilia." He introduced us, waving his towards someone when he spoke his or her name.
"Are you the very same Fawkes that Kelvar has been telling us about?" Cecilia asked.
"Indeed I am," I said in my most musical voice. Sirius, who could distinguish those things in a phoenixes voice, got fussy.
"Don't you go flirting with my girlfriend," He warned me, looking very Sirius. "She may be pretty, but she's mine."
"Don't worry, Sirius. I'm on you like glue, for good or ill," She said, leaning against him. This cheered him up greatly.
"For good," He said, and I noticed the pun.
"Oh, sorry James," Lily said, glancing at Kelvar and James, who had been quiet. "This is Kelvar, James. Kelvar, this is James." Remus and Peter were quiet, staring at the ceiling. I guessed they were trying to stamp Serverus's look into their minds for the remainder of their lives.
James and Kelvar seemed to cheer up after they had been introduced. I told James that she was my sister, and he warmed to her, even saying that if I wanted I could tell her about the prank. I wondered how she would take it.
There was nothing of interest that happened the rest of the train ride, besides when Revjak Sachel came by looking like a mad bull. He stormed to the other end of the compartment and accidentally stepped on Remus's foot. Remus winced and kept his face in the wince, until Revjak had left. Then he let out a howl that was just as wolf-like as his nature. James, Sirius, and Peter crowded around him and forced him to tell them what happened.
We heard nothing more from Serverus, until we saw that Revjak had given him permission to conjure some new robes for the time being. Kelvar and I left the six fifth years to join our escorts. Albus, Minerva, Kelvar, and I got a large boat with funny triangles as wings. I assumed they were for catching the wind. Albus sat in the bow, while Kelvar and I flew up and perched on the wooden poles holding up the triangles. The trip across did not take long, and I enjoyed it immensely. We settled ourselves at the high table for teachers, and watched the students file in. I saw Remus and other five come in with the fifth and sixth years. Serverus, I saw, did not look at all happy. In fact, he looked exhausted.
Kelvar and I drew stares, but we ignored them. The food was excellent, and Albus seemed happy. I ignored the Sorting. There were none there who looked extraordinary, or any who had a magical aura. Albus had a question for me. He leaned over and spoke quietly: "Do you know anything about Serverus?"
"I know him, yes," I said slowly.
"His trunk was mysteriously set to fire, and all but his schoolbooks were burnt to cinders. Do you know who might have done it?" So this was what his questioning was leading up to.
"No, Albus, I know nothing about this incident." He considered me f or a moment, as if wondering if he could trust me. Then he looked away and started eating again.
" I though you might, having spent the train ride with four of the most renowned trouble makers in Hogwarts history."
Kelvar and I ate until we could eat no more. After dinner we headed upstairs to where we would nest. We were building a new one tonight, as I had requested of Albus, in the Gryffindor Tower. Albus had had no objection to this, seeing as Kelvar and myself had made excellent friends with the six Gryffindor fifth year students. There were other fifth year female students whom I did not know, two to be precise.
Our nest was smaller than usual but still comfortable. The night was short and I slept well. Kelvar did not have an easy time of adjusting to her new surroundings, as she is not one for change. The morning dawned bright and clear, and I was up to see it.
I stretched my wings a bit and patrolled the halls. It was interesting to watch sleepy first years creep out of bed and try to find their way around. I am not sure whether they found me helpful or not, for though I gave advice as to how to get from here to there, I spoke in riddles as a sphinx does. Though I have to add that I was not nearly as vicious as one of their kind.
I ate my morning meal and flew back up to meet Remus and the gang. I could not find them though, and flew off to the library. The library was my favourite place to stay, and the history books at Hogwarts are most detailed.
To my surprise, I found that Remus and James were there, reading their Transfiguration homework.
"Where are Peter and Sirius?" I asked curiously.
"Errands," James said shortly. Remus looked at me, then James, then back to me. He trusted me more than James did, apparently.
"James," he said quietly. "We can trust the phoenix." James looked at Remus, as if trying to determine his true intentions. Remus's aurora of magic was burning brightly and colourfully; he was not lying. James, of course, could not see the magical aurora that bound Remus and all magical things together, so he had to rely on his feelings. James stood up and walked to Remus, he asked a few questions and then came straight to me.
"Fawkes," He said, looking very much like a man who is truly apologizing, " I'm sorry that I did not trust you earlier, or today. I am accustomed to keeping secrets from all but Sirius, Remus, and Peter. I apologize for misplacing my trust and hope you will accept them."
"When one states his apologies so well," I said slowly, that he might understand me better, "what can another do but accept them?" His face slowly broke into a smile as he translated my words in his mind.
"What Sirius and Peter are doing is more than I would tell anyone but the most trusted companion," he said quietly. "They are currently in a dark tunnel, on their way through a secret passage into Honeydukes." I stared. James nodded. "We've found several passages in Hogwarts that nobody." Then, slowly, he began to sing in the phoenix speech. He had a beautiful voice, low and base in tone, and he told me their nicknames in musical tones. Moony, Wormtail, Prongs, Padfoot. It was almost as if he was using telepathy, such was the mental impact it had upon me. He did not know the language well, but he was the only human I knew that had the daring to speak back to a phoenix in a phoenix's native language.
"On a lighter note," James said in English, "They are supposed to be bringing in Butterbeers by the dozens. We drink lots of those things you know. Also just about anything they have new. Each new year since third year we have gone down and tried all the new stuff. This year we know about the tunnel, so everything is simplified, provided nobody catches us."
Things were lighter between The Marauders and myself after that day. I was sure that Remus had told the others about the conversation James and I had, although I was left to wondering why their names were names that might fit animals.