Sunday, 3rd September. Hogwarts…
Fenix woke up slowly and stared up at the ceiling. The first thought that crossed her mind was to ask for a wall clock. She sat up slowly and Wind stirred the moment she felt movement on the bed.
: Are you getting up already? : Wind blinked drowsily and gave a quick yawn.
: Yeah, I am. Why don't you stay with your mate as long as he's still sleeping? : She answered as she got out of the bed and headed straight to the bathroom to wash up. She had donned on her Hunter gear and was toweling her wet hair when she stepped back into the bedroom. The two wolves were curled up together in bed and she gave a fond smile at her bondmates. She went into her office to brush her hair as she needed some light and she did not want to disturb her sleeping wolves. Winky suddenly appeared carrying a pot of hot chocolate and some sandwiches for breakfast. Another house-elf appeared and snapped his fingers and a wall clock appeared out of nowhere and attached itself next to the talking mirror. Fenix thanked the house-elves softly and sat down on her desk, drinking her chocolate softly. She sighed when she looked at the sandwiches and ate one sluggishly. I could never eat so early in the morning. She sighed and determinedly finished that particular sandwich and placed the dish cover back on. Maybe I'll work up an appetite after my workout. She glanced at the wall clock and it showed it was seventeen minutes to five. It should be early enough that no one would try to disturb me.
The corridor was dark when she opened her office door and she looked about with a sense of trepidation. I hope that Peeves wouldn't come out so suddenly, she thought nervously and slowly walked to the staircase and went down to the Entrance Hall. She met the Gryffindor ghost gliding about as he patrolled with two other ghosts.
"Good morning, Miss Maxwell," Sir Nicholas whispered as the three ghosts gathered around her.
"Morning, guys," she replied just as softly.
"Where are you going?"
"Outside, near the lake. I wish to do some exercise," Fenix informed the ghosts and Nick cautioned her to be for as long as she was out of the castle. The Fire Master went down the steps only to come across the caretaker and his cat. He was looking rather suspiciously at her and she gave a careful nod before she laid her palm against the great door of the castle. It swung silently and as soon it was wide enough, she crept out and the door swung close quietly. She probed the ground carefully and to her relief, it was not wet and muddy. At least I know I could move about without having to worry that I might loose my footing in slippery ground. She looked at the deep midnight blue sky, dotted with gentle twinkling stars and found herself smiling at the peacefulness that filled her soul. The Forbidden Forest loomed darkly in the distance and she heard some guttural growls coming from it. I had better keep an eye on that side.
She did a couple of warm-ups before her sword emerged from her left hand and she began to move instinctively. She did a couple of the dances that she had been thought and found herself wishing for a sparring partner. She began to flow with the sword and was not even aware that someone else was present in the grounds until she met resistance against her blade. I hope this visit doesn't get me into trouble, she groaned inwardly as she felt the Headmaster moving about in the castle. She was not given opportunity to contemplate as He quickly went into an attacking mode. One thought did cross her mind as she picked up the pace; be careful what you wish for you might get it.
Professor Dumbledore stared in mute shock as he watched the knight dueling with Fenix. A distant part of him admired the woman's agility and superb reflexes while another detached part of him worried on the issue of trespassing.
: Don't worry, Albus, : the Headmaster felt something brush against his robe and looking down, it was one of Fenix's wolves, the one who was named Wind. : He is one of Fenix's instructors. : The wolf calmly sat on her haunches and watched the fluid movements of the two fighters. Fenix's sword was making the strange music again and it continued for about half an hour when the duel gradually came into a stop. The knight saluted without raising his visor and vanished.
Her sword slid back into his hiding place and she slowly began to walk around circles to cool down. She was aware of the Headmaster's presence and Wind although they were perfectly camouflaged by the darkness of the morning and the castle. Then she stepped forward nearer to the bank of the lake and stood motionlessly as she watched the landscape. Soft footfalls emerged from behind her and she raised her face to the sky as the first ray of sunlight lit the sky, giving subtle vermilion shade to the sky. She looked down on the lake, watching the water rippling gently and further out, giant tentacles whipped out from the water and pulled down again into the lake. The Headmaster knew that she knew that he was there and stood beside her as they watched sun ascending slowly up into the sky.
Back in the castle, students and teachers alike were rousing up, and soon enough murmurs of soft conversations could be heard, and windows lighted up. Fenix turned her head slightly to watch the Headmaster and he nodded. Both of them retreated back to the castle to get a bite of breakfast.
**********
Hermione happily trooped into the common room and greeted Dean and Ginny who were hanging out in the common room with Neville. She looked at her pocket watch and pursed her lips thoughtfully.
"Are Harry and Ron still sleeping?" Hermione asked the company in the room as she peeked out the window. Several chorus of 'yes' emerged and she turned back to look pleadingly at Neville and begged him to wake the boys up. Neville did as she asked and went back to the boys' dormitory and went in to the bedroom. He tiptoed quietly to Harry's bed first and shook him slightly.
Harry was still dreaming about flying on his Firebolt when it started to go up and down and he felt that he was losing his grip on the Firebolt. Then he felt himself falling and suddenly snapped his eyes opened to meet Neville's timid pair of eyes.
"What's up?" Harry croaked as he fumbled for his glasses.
"Hermione wanted me to wake you and Ron up," Neville said, he was shaking Ron up and the Weasley sat up and blinked in confusion. Harry got out of bed, looked out the window, and grinned widely. He glanced down at his watch; it showed nine-thirty in the morning.
"We don't have time to waste, Ron," Harry spoke up cheerfully. "Sun's out and it's dry. Why don't we go and take Fenix up to the Pitch?" Ron stared at his friend and a bright smile stretched his face.
**********
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and a couple of other Gryffindors were waiting patiently outside Professor McGonagall's office. She came out; looking a little bit disgruntled at the early intrusion and asked Hermione curtly as she eyed the company with broomsticks on hand.
"We wonder if we could take Fenix to the Quidditch Pitch. She wants to do a little bit of flying on her broom," Hermione said breathlessly and the rest wore pleading expressions on their faces. It might have worked a lot better if the boys were still under her chin, but not so as most of them topped the Transfiguration teacher by several inches.
"Well, say if I give you the keys to the pitch. How will you keep the troublemakers away?" Professor McGonagall spoke in an unfriendly voice.
"We will take care of it, Professor," Dina Free and her gang and all of the first years turned up suddenly. "And maybe you should recruit the DA, that might help us. Last year's train ride home was an amusing experience," she gave Harry a wink when she said it.
"I don't think the troublemakers would dare to do anything right where Professor Lupin is," Ron said confidently.
"Very well," McGonagall gave them each a calculating look and turned back to her office to get the keys. She handed these to Hermione who gave her a wide smile then fled towards Fenix's office.
Fenix opened the door and Hermione found Remus and Sirius having their breakfast in her office. Fenix made way so the two men could see Hermione and the bunch of students crowding in the corridor with expectant faces.
"What's up?" Fenix asked cheerfully, and some of the students stared at her in disbelief. They were not expecting her to treat their fellow students casually.
"Don't you want to go and fly?" Ginny asked.
"Ginny, be a little more specific could you?" Sirius said humorously. "She might decide to take your words literally." Fenix laughed at her oathbrother fondly.
"Intending to play the Weasleys' version of a Quidditch game?" Fenix asked Ron archly when she saw the keys in Hermione's hand and their brooms.
"Come on, Fenix!" Ron said desperately. "You don't really want to wait until it starts to rain now, don't you?"
"Okay, okay…" Fenix looked back at her lover and oathbrother. "You guys free?" Sirius wiped his mouth with a napkin and gave her a devilish smile. Remus was looking a bit worried and that made Fenix feel a little disappointed.
: Why are you looking so crestfallen, lover? : Remus's mindvoice danced in her mind gently.
: Aren't you coming? : Fenix gave a sad smile at him and looked directly into his soft hazel eyes.
: What makes you think I am not? : Remus gave a sidelong glance at her, smiling roguishly at his lover. : Come on, you heard what Ron said. No time to waste now. : He got up and the house-elves automatically cleaned up the remains of their breakfast. The two went out to change and get their own brooms as Hermione and Dina discussed something in undertones. The company parted as Dina and her gang, and some of the others went to the Pitch first, while Hermione and Ron went off to find some of the DA members.
"Harry… do you mind if… we ask Cho… to come along?" Hermione asked him uneasily and flushed when he gave her a hard stare.
"Up to you, but I don't see why you should bother," Harry said flatly and Hermione went off to find some of the members and that left him in Fenix's office.
: So, why are you being snappish? Never mind… a case of puppy love? : Fenix asked the young man mildly.
: Yeah, : Harry answered brusquely and gave a long sigh. : You ought to get change before they have the chance to get impatient, : he suggested as he sat himself on a stool, fingering his Firebolt absently. Fenix gave him an oblique look before going to her bedroom to change into nondescript attire and her blue Nike shoes. The wolves trooped out from the bedroom as she reentered the office and her Ice Dagger flew off from its stand, poking her gently in her stomach. Harry looked at the excited broom in amusement and remarked that it was behaving quite like a dog.
: I agree, : Fenix replied, her voice sounding very amused as she laid a hand on the handle and calmed it a little.
"Fenix!" Sirius's voice yelled out. "Are you coming?"
"Are you two coming along?" Fenix looked down at her four-footed companions. Silver gave a nod and they all proceeded out of the office. The Fire Master took a moment to lock her office magically before following Harry and the wolves. Several students and teachers were eyeing them curiously and some of them did stare at Fenix and her broom in open amazement.
"Bloody hell! That's the most unique of brooms ever to be made! I didn't kno--" a Ravenclaw whispered excitedly to his friends. Amidst all these excitement and positive exclamations, there were several jeers among Malfoy's company.
"For shame… I never knew that Dumbledore would stoop as low as to get a Muggle to teach us! Hah! What a joke! And Mr. Potty's sticking very close to the Fire Master. What happened, Potty? Feeling scared to be alone? Of course you ought to be… the Dark Lord's going to come for you anytime now!" a still-bruised Malfoy laughed uproariously, quite unaware that his company was retreating further and further back when Harry gave a callous look at them.
"Me? Afraid to be alone, Malfoy?" Harry said silkily. "I'm not even scared of Death. I remembered that a few months back I was so goddamn willing to die," the young man said in a very harsh tone. The wolves took the opportunity to creep forward and bared their fangs at the Slytherin prefect. The hostile behavior of the wolves made them realize the notoriety of man-killing wolves. Some of the students watched the pair of wolves in respect, some in mingled fear and awe.
: Go on Harry. They're waiting for us, : Fenix said quietly, and the group went down to the Entrance Hall without any further incidents. Harry wore a solemn face all the way, uninviting people who tried to engage him with small talks. Fenix knew after several discussions with Hermione and Ginny that Harry's animosity of the Slytherin prefect had increased ever since he had came across Mr. Malfoy. Harry, who did not have any family at that time, was strangely protective of the Weasley family and as both boys grew up, so did their hatred. She had asked Harry in passing once, why he had hated Malfoy. Harry had admitted that he did not actually hate the Slytherin boy. It was just a major case of dislike. He did not know when the transition took place but said fervently, "Every single time I managed to glance at him even by accident, he seemed to be constantly sneering. That made me feel violent. I wish I could have just knocked that disgusting expression from his face. Thousands of times."
I can't say that I blame him, Fenix thought to herself. Harry led her down onto the slopes and she could see the pitch clearly. Harry was sweating lightly and Fenix almost crowed in delight that she was not indoors anymore. She was also aware that some of the students were trailing behind them, but decided not to mention it to Harry as she felt Parkinson egging Malfoy to follow them. They passed through the gate and she saw Hermione waving her hands frantically from one of the stands. Most of them were already flying above the ground and she took the opportunity to count heads. Counting Harry and herself, there was a total of twelve people on the broomsticks. Harry mounted his broom and flew up to Sirius, grinning widely.
The wolves had Jumped to where Hermione was sitting and Fenix winked at them before she gracefully glided off from the ground. She took several minutes to scout about, caught sight of Dina keeping an eye on Malfoy and his bunch of goons. Fenix silently instructed her Elementals to keep an eye too and she cast both a physical and magical shield over the entire area.
: I wonder why you're being overcautious, : Sirius spoke softly in her mind. : This place is protected by the ancient spells of the Founders and those after them. :
: The extra effort is not harming me in any kind of way, : she answered indifferently. : So who are the rest? :
The players gathered as Harry started giving introductions. "This is Lee Jordan, friend of the twins, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan--" the two boys nodded their heads in acknowledgment.
Fenix smiled slyly at Seamus and just said, "The boy who had lovingly decorated the junior Malfoy's face."
"-- And this is Irvette MacRae, Zacharias Smith and…" Harry faltered as he stared at an ex-Chaser.
"I'm Justin," the dark-haired Slytherin answered, looking at Harry with a strange expression.
"So…" Remus interrupted before the others could back
away from the game, "how are we to group?"
Fenix divided them in the blink of an eye: Sirius,
Harry, Dean, Seamus, Irvette, and Justin made one group and the others
formed the another. Justin looked thoughtfully at the rest of them and
wondered just how he was supposed to know if one was his group member or
not. Fenix evidently was thinking among the same lines as she studied her
members and the other team carefully. She snapped her fingers and told
her members to remove their cloaks.
"Are you sure about this, Fenix?" Ron asked the Fire Master dubiously.
"How else can you people differentiate the other team?" she answered impatiently. "It's hot enough that you won't catch a cold. And not as if you're flying through damp clouds," she pointed out. Ron gave up, proceeded to remove his cloak, and flew down where Hermione was seated with Neville and Luna. Meanwhile, Harry was explaining the others how the version was played. Since there was no Snitch and no Bludgers, except for the rattan ball that Hermione had thrown into the air to be caught expertly by Remus, the game was to have one keeper for each team and five Chasers.
"Seems interesting and we won't have to worry about rogue Bludgers," Seamus said with sly twinkle in his eyes.
"Well, enough talking people," Sirius announced, clearly impatient to play. "Let's begin!"
Irvette and Ron went to the opposite goal posts as Keepers, and Sirius tossed the ball. The game began. The stadium was gradually filling up, probably because the students were bored and had not found anything worth their attention. Malfoy and his gang were up to their mischief. They were about to cast a dancing spell on the flyers when Dina and some fellow students from all the other Houses crept up on them and bound them with a Paralyzing Spell. Malfoy sat rigidly like a stone and Dina gave a high-five to one of her friends, grinning maliciously and scrambled up to their own seats.
Hermione was torn in supporting the two teams but gave up, conjuring up a quill and a board to keep track of goals. Luna was screaming madly at the top of her lungs, cheering: Go Harry! Harry was speeding towards his friend, aiming for an unprotected space but somehow Ron's reflexes were much quicker than he had imagined and Ron managed to deflect the ball into the clutches of the Defense teacher. Luna sighed in disappointment and Hermione gave her a speculative glance, then turned back when Neville jumped up from his seat, looking at a blurred figure of the Fire Master and Sirius who was dogging her. Fenix threw the ball to Ginny who was under the Fire Master and quickly passed it to Zacharias. A whistle from Fenix alerted the Chaser to lose altitude and passed it to Lee, who was flying rapidly towards Irvette's goal post and scored for the team.
The game went on for about half an hour when a couple of Ravenclaws yelled out for Lee. The exhilarated boy went down and looked questioningly at the group. They were begging him to be the commentator.
"This is not even a real match!" Lee protested. After several minutes of begging, threatening and some screaming, Lee surrendered and went in search for someone to replace him.
"Alicia! They want me to commentate; take my place, will you?" Lee asked the Gryffindor captain. The girl took the borrowed broom and experimented flying on it for a bit before she joined the rest up in the air.
During this brief commotion, Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch had decided to see the state of the students and both gave a sigh of relief when nothing seemed blackened. It was coincidence that they had chosen the area where Malfoy and his gang remained frozen in their seats.
"I wonder…" McGonagall peered carefully at their frozen states and their hands that held their wands. "The rest of you," she gave a piercing look at those who were seated near the frozen students, "clear this place now."
The Transfiguration teacher unfroze the company and quickly reflected their spells using a Shield Charm. She looked at the dancing company in distaste and after ten minutes had passed and the increase of laughter had finally reached the climax, she muttered "Finite."
The group of Slytherins stared at the Head of Gryffindor House with shock and she stared back at them implacably. "If I can't trust you and your friends to stay out of mischief, Mr. Malfoy, I will ban you from attending major school functions." McGonagall then took a seat further back with Madam Hooch and listened to Lee's amplified voice.
The commentator tapped his wand playfully and muttered, "Sonorus." He experimented with the volume and after a few minutes, he began. "As you all can see," Lee's loud voice vibrated through the air, "this is not a real Quidditch game! This is what they call, the Weasleys' version and here we have two teams! The Firebolt and the Ice Dagger!!!" Several whistles emerged from the stadium. "We'll have to restart the introduction and the game! For the pure benefit of the late comers who refused to be cooped up in the castle!" Lee said loudly and the appreciative audience cheered. "How refreshing it feels to know that my skills in commentating hasn't faded!"
"Lee, if you're starting to brag, I'll make your head swell like a pumpkin!" someone from a group of Hufflepuffs threatened.
"All right! Now here in the Firebolt team-- Members do cooperate-- We have Harry Potter!" Cheers all around and they could all hear Luna's delighted squeals as Harry flied around the stadium. "Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Irvette MacRae, Justin Linklater! And not forgetting our Assistant Professor Sirius Black who is also flying a Firebolt! And now, I will present the Ice Dagger team! We have the Weasleys, Ron and Ginny! Damn, how I miss the twins! Alicia Spinnet! Zacharias Smith! And not forgetting the teachers who will be teaching Defense against the Dark Arts! Professor Lupin and his assistant, the current rider of the Ice Dagger! Miss Fenix Maxwell!" Cacophonous cheers rocked the stadium.
"All right! The game will be played for an hour! So let's see which team scores the most goals! A word to the Gryffindor Quidditch players! This is your first practice to be Chasers! Now, let's toss the ball!" Lee shouted.
**********
Three hours later. In the Hall…
Fenix was laughing at Lee's description of them playing in the pitch. They were all seated at an empty Ravenclaw table, munching down on their lunch. Everyone seemed much relaxed after the game and Fenix found that she had picked up quite an appetite after the game.
: That was quite a good day of flying, wasn't it? : Harry asked her in mindspeech as he was greedily eating his spaghetti.
: Yeah, it sure was! : Fenix replied giddily.
: So, lover… : Remus spoke up, his face showing signs of tan and windburn. : Are you ready to settle down and do some heavy-duty revision with me? We do need to discuss for our lesson tomorrow. :
Fenix gave a tender smile at the man sitting opposite her. : I guess I'm ready to sit down and get some work done. Is there any way to increase the size of my desk? : She questioned rather petulantly at him.
: It's not big enough? : Remus asked in mild surprise but Sirius interrupted.
: The office desk was a wee smaller than the study table she had back home, : her oathbrother spoke up.
: Maybe an Enlargement Spell might work, : Remus said thoughtfully and their attention was recaptured by Lee's excited voice.
**********