CHAPTER EIGHT: MORE SURPRISES
Professor Dumbledore's office was unlike any she'd ever seen, even in Oxford. The paintings on the wall, like the ones in the hallways, moved freely on their own, and sometimes disappeared altogether. She supposed they were all the old masters, because there were so many of them. There was a large bowl in the corner, with a mass of swirling mist inside it. To her repeated horror, his phoenix daemon was kept in a cage.
"Relax," said Dumbledore, "Fawkes is simply a companion, my daemon is not visible."
"Okay, how do you know all this stuff about me?"
"Oh, I think you know the answer to that," he said, "Do you have the alithiometer?"
"Yeah..." she said, taking it out, "Pan, he already knows, you don't have to hide."
To her surprise, Dumbledore pulled a slightly smaller, more polished alithiometer out of his desk drawer.
"Here is your answer, Lyra," he said calmly, pushing the device toward her.
She gaped at it. She never realized there were alithiometers outside her world.
"So, have we come to an agreement, Lyra?"
She nodded.
"I 'ent telling if you 'ent."
"Good, I don't want students to start doubting the knowledge I already have."
Ever since the situation at lunch, Harry was teased by the Slytherins even more about Lizzie Brooks.
"Into younger women, are you, Harry!" laughed Pansy Parkinson. Harry, along with his friends, kept their heads down for a while, something Harry wasn't used to doing. Lizzie's speech was starting to get to him, and not ever Ron or Hermione ever reassured him that she was wrong. The truth echoed inside his head, THEY DON'T SAY THAT BECAUSE IT'S TRUE. Lizzie talked to
Dumbledore a lot, and he was pushed to the side. HE'S GOT A NEW FAVORITE NOW! The little voice insulted him throughout the weeks, and it became more and more apparent. He may have been the boy who lived, but living wasn't good enough anymore.
"Well, at least Malfoy has shut up!" Hermione said cheerfully.
"That's just because the Brooks girl has it in with Dumbledore!" Harry screamed, storming off. Not even his friends could lie through their teeth for him. The truth was too blunt to ignore. He needed to find out more about this Brooks girl. She was definitely more than she appeared.
End of chapter eight