Black Phoenix
by
Draco's Daughter
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, not mine. All originals belong to me unless otherwise stated.
Whoot! Chapter Six is here! There's a spy in our mist! Mwahahahahahahaha! Ok, for once, I really have nothing to say. Let's go!
"Float on by, floaty, floaty, floaty."- Flit, The Wish List, Eion Coffner.
Last time:
"I regret to say that there is a spy in our mist."- Griffer
Chapter Six: The Griffin and the Spy
The council broke into immediate chaos. Harry stuffed his fingers in his ears because of the many roars, screeches, and overall noise the council as making at Griffer's speech. It was the noisiest thing Harry had ever heard besides the World Quiddich Cup. He saw that Hermione had clapped her hands over her ears as well as Ron. Vanessa had her eyes closed and she was mouthing something. Finally, a bright blue flame shot up. The council was quiet once again. Harry saw that Crystallin was once again on the outcropping.
"This will not be tolerated! Let the griffin speak," Crystalin said. The council settled back down as Griffer sighed.
"I repeat, there is a spy among us. We must find him and take action before he realizes that we are onto his trail," Griffer said. Before he could continue he was interrupted by Nashashuk.
"Why should we believe you? You Griffins have always felt that you rule over the sky and earth just because of your blending," He said, stomping a hoof on the ground.
"I don't say this because I'm a Griffin, I say this because I am a feeling, thinking member of this council. Isn't that why we started this council? So that we can govern ourselves without the Mortal's Ministry mucking things up? I say that we have a spy in our mist because there is one, weather you believe me or not. This spy must have insider knowledge. Humans have won wars by forgetting their petty differences and working together, why don't we take a leaf out of their book, eh? We have been bickering over senseless topics when we should have been working together as an entire unit from the start!" Griffer said. The whole Amphitheater was silent. His words had an effect as they rang throughout the area. They quieted hearts and made minds start contemplating. Suddenly, a man who Harry had never seen before, stood.
"Griffindor is right. Humans have only won over us because they banned together. We are just as intelligent as they are, why don't we put our knowledge to better use? If Griffindor were to ask anything, I would gladly give my approval," The man said.
"Alan Randolf, Werewolf representative," Vanessa whispered into Harry's ear. He passed it on to Hermione who passed it on to Ron.
"Alan and Griffindor are right. We shouldn't be battling over senseless differences that have plagued our kind for thousands of years. The idea of this Council was to unite our Kindreds, not divide them. We will break for lunch at this time," Crystallin said. The council members slowly filed out as Griffer came back up to the group.
"Well, I've given them a lot to think over during Lunch," Griffer said. Up close he looked like he had been sweating while on the hot seat.
"You were great. A true politician if I ever saw one," Hermione complemented, Griffer smiled and bowed his head.
"They don't seem to keen to just sit and talk," Ron said. Even with his impairment of "hearing" he still understood what was going on. Hermione had kept up a running commentary for him.
"No, we never have. It's worse than the American Senate sometimes. Especially when someone gets into a rant. They keep going and going until they've gotten their point across at least fifty times. Anyways, I'm starved!" Griffer said. Lilith had put out a spread for them alone in a large basket. They all sat down at a spot near a fountain and ate.
"When will the council decide on what action to take?" Vanessa asked as she ate some slices of an apple.
"Hopefully during the afternoon session. If not we'll meet again tomorrow. I hope it doesn't, but if Nashashuk, Ravi, Larkin, and Janus give their opinions on the matter it might be next Tuesday before anything happens," Griffer replied.
"Nashashuk wasn't too happy during the meeting," Hermione said. Ron, Vanessa, and Harry could only nod in agreement.
"Nashashuk SunRay isn't known for his patience or cheerful personality. He's a Re'em from the North American plains. Native American shawmen are always after him," Griffer said.
"Of course, Ravi seems to be made along the same lines. Erumpents always get on my nerves. All they want to do is stick their horns in things and explode them," Vanessa added, crossing her arms.
"And if Janus Windvoice or Larkin Silverweb get the urge to start ranting, Isis save us all," Jamal said, plopping down between Harry and Griffer. "Honestly, I just finished finalizing the Minutes of Meeting for the morning session and never in my lifetime did I expect to write something with so many speeches packed full of loathing for their fellow council members. Although, that was brilliant deduction, my dear Griffer."
"Well, it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it," Griffer replied. Jamal grabbed whatever was closest to him and ate gratefully.
"Any clues to who the spy is?" Harry asked.
"I can't tell you. I need to discuss it in private with Crystallin before we release the name to the council. Speaking of which, I have to go to see him right now, ta ta all," Griffer said. He got up and bounded off.
"Real help he is. How do you put up with him?" Vanessa asked.
"Extreme patience and willpower. Or as one Mad-Eye Moody once said: CONSTANT VIGALENCE!" Harry replied. The group laughed at Harry's impersonation of Mad-Eye. One o'clock came too soon for the group. They all went back to the Amphitheater and sat back at the places they had during the morning session. The talk died down when Crystalin and Griffer emerged from the closed off area.
"When we left there was talk of a spy. Neither Griffer nor I have come to a decision about who the spy is but his purpose is clear, he wishes to destroy our council from the inside out. As with all councils, the floor is now open for comment from our fellow members," Crystallin said as Griffer came back to sit with the gang. Immediately, Nashashuk was the first to stand to comment.
"How can a simple request for help turn into a spy? I thought we call came to decide weather the Nundus were still loyal to the council or not? We always seem to get way off of topic at the meetings," He said before he could continue, he was cut off by someone in the back of the Amphitheater.
"That is the point of a council, you address all aspects of a problem before dealing with it. Did you ever stop to consider what kind of information that a spy could leak out? The defense of Hogwarts, the layout of the Plaza, from where the Plaza gets its water are all prime examples. Each of them are valuable to an enemy, why would you want that kind of information plastered over Muggle databases or a wizard's book?" Josh asked. Harry turned and saw the young wizard leaning against one of the columns by the entrance. He had forgotten about Josh, the man seemed to disappear at the oddest of times.
"Joshua Brightblaze, welcome to the Council again. I was wondering when we would hear from you," Crystallin said, inclining his head.
"I felt like you all needed some logic. Besides, you needed someone to tug at Nashashuk's chains," Josh replied as he came and sat next to Ricky and Shadowbane. Some laughed at this statement and others took to the offensive.
"Ay, Josh, you speak like a true representative," said the hippogriff that Harry assumed was Janus. "But, if we are to do anything we must use action, not words. We have to stop sitting here in this council and attack. Hogwarts is losing more sanity every moment we linger longer."
"What hassss Hogwartssss ever done for ussss? Dumbledor may be a friend of ssssome of you, but not all of ussss are assss partial to him assss Cryssstalin or Griffindor!" Came the voice of a man. He must have been spending to much time with snakes because he hissed his S's.
"Old Falco Tunai, oh he makes me angry," Griffer said, narrowing his eyes and backing his ears. "He's the Representative of Baskalisks, thus the Acid Green clothing."
"Hogwarts is the home to some here! Why shouldn't we help them?" Ricky asked, standing for the first time.
"I recall that you are quite partial to many of the students, Richard, you even allow yourself to get caught by the 'Care of Magical Creatures' teachers. And you call yourself a Fantastic Beast, you're no more Fantastic than a tick buried in my hide!" Ravi said with disgust in his voice. That led much more yelling and some Obscenities from Alan, Josh, Jamal, and, to Harry's surprise, Vanessa. Crystallin once again shot blue flame into the air.
"Gentlemen! Ladies! This is not the battlefield! This is the council! If any of you wish to battle I suggest getting out of my sight right now! You all call yourselves Fantastic Beasts but none of you are not as Fantastic as you believe to be! Your acting against one another like the Death Eaters who have tried to take over the magical world! Why, you are all acting just like many a Muggle in their governments!" Crystalin roared at the bewildered council. They had never seen him this angry at them. "Now, if you all insist, we can pursue this brawl to it's final stupidity OR we can settled down and get this over with, and please, Ravi, no more insults. That goes for all of you as well!" The council settled back down as Crystallin laid back down on the outcropping.
"Hogwarts may not be my home, but I, for one, have always been a great supporter of Dumbledor. If his school is in trouble, I will rally together all of my kind and we will march on and take the Death Eaters, no matter what the cost," Said a little Green creature that looked a bit like Lando.
"That's Eric Asguard, the Representative of the Erklings. Good guy, just not very tall," Griffer supplied to the group.
"That's good and all, but I want some proof that we're not wasting our time," Nashashuk said. Harry was sure that if he had arms then they would have been crossed.
"Unfortunately, our arguing has taken up all of our time and we must now adjourn. Tomorrow we will settle this matter once and for all," Crystalin said. The council swiftly dispersed.
"Well, tomorrow is judgment day, hopefully," Griffer said as the group walked out and into the plaza.
"I can't believe that we've caused all this trouble over our school," Hermione said, hanging her head.
"It's ok, we want to hear about this kind of stuff, we want to help you Wizards whenever we can," Griffer replied, smiling. Hermione gave him a weak smile in return.
"Well nothing went as planned, Crystallin does have a way of crowd control, doesn't he?" Jamal asked, running up and throwing his arms around Harry and Griffer's necks.
"So that was Ravi and Nashashuk's true colors, they're impressive speakers. I was surprised that Crystallin could get everyone under control that quickly, " Harry said.
"He has to have some power, otherwise he wouldn't be a good Council Head, would he? I mean, being the King of Dragons has its responsibilities, doesn't it?" Vanessa asked.
"I didn't know that Dragons needed a king," Ron said. Vanessa looked taken aback. Harry felt that if she had been right next to him then she would have slapped him across the face once or twice.
"The Dragons always have had a king, you just never hear about it from the Ministry. They keep a lot of things about us under wraps. They don't want their precious 'Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures' to break down in tears for a Creature which they want everyone to believe doesn't have any conscious or feelings," Jamal said. Griffer snorted, he looked appalled at the mention of the Committee that was nearly responsible for Buckbeak's death.
"Why don't they want us to know?" Hermione asked, cocking her head to one side.
"Well, many fear that it will bring about the Return of the Riders. They don't want that happening now, do they. If the riders ever come back, they might give rights to those that the Ministry wants to keep under foot. Like my Kindred's smaller cousins, the House Elves, they were originally very helpful creatures that had wills of their own and chose who they served. If they didn't like the family that they were serving, they would go find another family to help. Then the Dark Elves decided it would be fun to let out the secret to enslaving the House Elves. Take away their proper clothing and personal effects and they will serve faithfully to get them back," Jamal said. Hermione's eyes seemed to twinkle, here was someone who shared her idea of House Elf Fairness.
"Ah, Jamal, you've made a mistake in mentioning House Elves. Hermione's a one-woman army when it comes to House Elf Fairness," Ron said. Hermione promptly hit him upside the head. The group laughed at it.
"Well, it appears that someone finally shares my views of Elf Rights," Hermione replied looking at Jamal like he was the most handsome thing in the world.
"Of course, the Ministry chooses to ignore the Creatures upon whose backs that their government was shaped," Griffer said with a snort.
"The Ministry is really messed up right now," Harry added, shaking his head. That night, Harry continued on his scroll while Griffer went to speak with Jamal. He was nearly finished when a knock came on his door. He opened it just a crack to see who it was.
"It's ok, Harry. Just me, Josh, I'm not going to attack. I want to talk to you," He said, leaning on the doorframe. Harry opened the door all the way and let Josh in.
"What do you wish to talk about?" Harry asked, sitting on the bed. Josh took the chair opposite.
"Griffer really did shock the council into stupidity when he revealed that there was a spy. I probably could have guessed by the way those Nundus were on Hogwarts grounds and that they got there undetected. The spy must have recently joined the ranks of Lord Voldermort. Cleaver, don't you think?" Josh said.
"I don't like any supporter of Voldermort's, no matter who they were or are. The Death Eaters have caused me to much grief to just let them off easily," Harry replied.
"So much hate from such a young boy," Josh said. It was more thinking out loud than anything else.
While Josh and Harry were talking, Griffer and Jamal were discussing the same topic as they strolled in the night air.
"So, who are you placing the blame on?" Jamal asked as he and Griffer walked down the quiet lanes of the plaza.
"Do you remember the imp? I'm thinking it might be him," Griffer replied, focusing on the ground in front of him.
"That small creature? I knew he was mischievous but never once did I believe that he would work with the dark side?" Jamal replied. Suddenly, the Imp in question jumped in, angry.
"What do you think me is? Some common Doxy? Me would never, ever serve Voldybutt or leak secrets to him?" The imp said, spitting to one side.
"Well, if you aren't the spy, then who is?" Griffer asked.
"Everyone believes that the imp is the spy, Griffer told us and we think it's true," Harry said, Josh looked offended in some way.
"That thing, a spy? Ha! He's not the spy, I am!" Josh replied. Harry's eyes widened in fear as Josh stood up. "And I will take you back to Hogwarts so Voldermort can take control completely!"
Mwahahahahaha! Cliffy! Was this one hell of a twist or what? Unfortunately, I'm not very happy right now, even if it is after Christmas, and that's the reason for the shortness of this chapter. Why, my nephew has "taken" something from me. His birthday is December 31st and when he was here on December 25th he was watching the first Star Wars DVD. He came back the next day and my mother GAVE HIM MY STAR WARS TRILLOGY! "Fortunately", I've still got the DVD of "A New Hope" we forgot to put it back in the case and we all, uh, failed to mention it. So, not I have it locked away in my "Pirate Treasure" chest, I feel so evil!!! In any case, who amoung us has played "Age of Mythology" with the Titans Expansion? I have and it's the best thing in the world! Especially when I killed a whole society with just my Egyptian BirdieTitan!
Well, there were no reviews for Chapter Five so I'll just quote Sara Brown from "Guys and Dolls" and kindly ask you to review: "I wish you would say something. I've got to know what your thinking!"
Name Poll Results
Well, the poll's closed with Talon as the winner. Expect to see its bearer sometime soon! Thanks to everyone who voted! Ok, I don't have a poll, BUT there's something even better! Black Phoenix's sequel needs a Title. See guidelines below.
New Title Contest Guidelines
Must be at least Two Words, these words cannot contain: Black or Phoenix. It has to have a connection to either the Riders, the Council, or the Fall of Voldie. It can not contain: "Harry Potter and", because that's been used five million times. So, give me your best! My secret panel of judges will decide and the results will be announced in the last chapter of: Black Phoenix.
Coming Soon: Chapter Seven: Betrayal, and the Council is at it Again!