Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine. Yet.
"Enter," a voice said from within. Adele gulped noiselessly before opening the door. She found herself in a beautiful office littered with tables, desks, and strange silver instruments. However, Adele barely noticed all of this. She was drawn to a regal phoenix sitting on a perch next to the Headmaster's desk. The girl and phoenix stared at each other until Professor Dumbledore, who was sitting at his desk, chuckled.
"Hello, Miss Evans," he said. "This is Fawkes the phoenix. Strange birds, phoenixes are."
"Yes, sir," Adele breathed, admiring the bird's bright scarlet and gold plumage. Then she remembered her manners and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor. Thank you so much for letting me attend Hogwarts."
Dumbledore looked her over with his bright blue eyes. Adele felt a little discomfited, like he knew her deepest, darkest secrets just by looking at her.
"Of course," Dumbledore replied quietly. "I am sure you will be most welcome here. What do you think of the castle so far?"
"It's amazing," Adele replied honestly. "Much different than my old school."
"Ah, yes," Dumbledore sighed. "I heard about the, ahem, events at your previous institute." Adele blushed and looked down.
"But," he continued, "I do wonder about your unusual powers. Would you mind satisfying an old man's curiosity and giving me a demonstration?" Adele sighed but did not say no.
"Yes, sir. Do you have any preferences?" she asked.
"Oh, no," he said with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "Whatever your favorites are."
Adele got up from her chair and walked to the center of the room. She took a deep breath before dropping to all fours. Before Dumbledore's eyes, her form changed from that of a human girl to a cheetah.
"Fascinating, fascinating," Dumbledore breathed, eying the cheetah with appreciation. Adele heard him and decided to show off just a little bit. With the blink of an eye, she changed from a cheetah to a peacock, then a horse, turtle, polar bear, eagle, and lion in rapid succession before resuming her true form.
"I've seen a lot of gifts in my day," he admitted, "but this has to be one of the most spectacular. Can you only shapeshift?"
"No, sir," Adele replied. "I can communicate with animals telepathically and can heal them."
"Really?" Dumbledore asked interestedly. "Can you hear Fawkes right now?"
"Well, I can close my mind to it. But I'll open it now to see if I can hear him." Adele closed her eyes. She concentrated and stepped through a barrier in her mind. All at once, she could hear thousands of animals, from the owls in the Owlery to unidentified presences in the Forbidden Forest. She concentrated on Fawkes and felt something land heavily on her knee. When she opened her eyes, she saw Fawkes had flown to her and perched on her leg.
'Good evening, Fawkes,' she thought respectfully.
'Hello, young one,' he said to Adele solemnly. 'I would like you to tell Albus that Professor Slughorn has the memories he needs.'
'Of course, sir,' she thought. 'I'm going to close my mind now, if that's all right.'
'Yes, child. But do come back for a visit,' Fawkes replied.
Adele smiled as she withdrew behind the barrier in her mind once more. Thankfully, she no longer heard the voices of animals in her head. Fawkes flew back to his post beside Dumbledore.
"Fawkes has something to say to you, Professor," Adele said. "He says that Professor Slughorn has the memories you need."
Adele was interested to see Dumbledore's face tighten. She had no idea what that meant, but she could tell it was something very important to the Headmaster.
"Thank you very much, Miss Evans," he said. "I do believe it's time for us to retire. It has been a long day, has it not?"
At that point, Adele had been yawning. "Yes, sir," she said. "Goodnight." She turned to the door and had her hand on the handle before Dumbledore stopped her.
"You truly have amazing powers," he said. "But I don't think all of our students would quite understand them. It would be better if you just kept them to yourself for now." Adele nodded her agreement and left his office. She made her way down the staircase before she realized she had absolutely no idea where Gryffindor tower was. She was about to turn back to the gargoyle statue and head back up to Professor Dumbledore's office when she heard footsteps around the corner. A girl with the same flaming red hair as Ron pranced down the hallway toward her.
"Hi!" the girl said. "I'm Ginny. You're Adele Evans, right? I saw you being Sorted. Well, who could miss it? It took forever!"
Adele was speechless. This girl had way too much energy and Adele was too tired to completely understand what was coming out of her mouth.
"Hi," Adele said after a moment's hesitation. "Are you in Gryffindor as well?"
"Oh yes!" Ginny said. "Do you need some help finding the Common Room?"
"That would be great," she sighed in relief. Ginny led her around the corner, chatting the whole way.
"You might have met my brother, Ron?" she asked.
"I probably should have guessed you two were related," Adele laughed, thinking of their flaming hair. She hesitated for a moment before leaning in and saying, "Your brother doesn't have very good table manners."
Ginny giggled and said, "Do me a favor. Whack him upside the head next time he eats like a pig." Ginny had an infectious laugh and Adele couldn't help chuckling with her.
They stopped in front of a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" she said imperiously, looking down her nose at them.
"Phoenix feather," Ginny replied. Adele smiled at the ironic choice. The portrait swung forward, revealing a large common room filled with comfy arm chairs and sofas, all in the Gryffindor scarlet and gold. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting at the far end of the room near the roaring fireplace. They were talking and laughing as Adele made her way over to them.
"Hey guys," she said as she reached them.
"Hey," they greeted her.
Hermione stood up and stretched her arms over her head. "Well, I was just off to bed. Want me to show you the dormitory, Adele?" she asked.
"Yes, thanks," Adele said. "'Night Harry, Ron."
"Goodnight," the boys said in unison.
Hermione led her up a spiral staircase until they reached the room for sixth year girls. They entered, and Adele was pleased to see a four poster bed hung with velvet curtains waiting for her. Her trunk was at the foot of her bed already, and Adele immediately changed into her pajamas and sunk into bed. It had been a long day.
Hermione got into bed as well. Crookshanks, who had been sleeping in his basket next to Hermione's bed, jumped into Adele's bed. Without opening her eyes, she began stroking his head. 'Are you even 100 cat?' she asked him silently.
"Nope," he replied smugly. "I'm half Kneazle."
Adele smiled and drifted to sleep.
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