Pure

The Travels of Fawkes

A tree branch pinched my back as I rolled over, which made my head pound even more. A blurry darkness surrounded me as I tried to see where I was. I felt wind blowing through my hair. I was outside, then, but that was impossible. I was supposed to be on the seventh floor of Hogwarts, in the room of requirement.

My hands felt the ground, where I found a bed of leaves, which had found their way into to my hair and on my robes. I blinked furiously, adjusting my eyes to my surroundings. I was in a forest, a dark forest. It must have been the forbidden forest because I recognized certain plants that only grow there, but glancing around, I knew I would never find the way alone. I decided to stand and try anyway. 

It hurt to stand. My muscles were sore, as if I had fallen from a great height. Maybe I had.

"Hello?" I called in a cautious voice. I knew it was hopeless to call for help, but it was worth a try.

I decided to walk, and as I did so, I thought back to the previous night. I had seen the door to the room of requirement after pacing, thinking "I need to think", and I had reached to grab the handle. The door had been big, with heavy oak, and brass door handles. I touched the handle to open the door. The handle had been hot, but then there was a rush of wind behind me that seemed to push me inside.

I had been walking for over an hour, contemplating all the while, but still, nothing made sense to me. There was no reason the room of requirement would have brought me here... I just needed to think, and that was where I told the room of requirement to take me. But I hadn't just been thinking about the room I wanted to think in, had I? I was thinking about Harry... anything to help Harry. Maybe the room had brought me here to aid Harry. Maybe I could finally have a purpose in this looming war. Maybe I...

A red blur flew through the brush of the forest straight towards me. I bent down, and it soared above my head, mixing the murky forest air with its powerful wings. The creature landed on a mossy tree branch that was protruding out of a fallen log.

It couldn't be...

"Fawkes?" Harry had once told me about this mysterious companion of Dumbledore, of which he obtained the core of his wand. With both magical healing properties, and the power to be perpetually reborn, phoenix abilities had often come up when I was reading.

Fawkes looked at me with his small eyes, and turned his head. I stretched my hand towards him, and hesitantly stroked his feathers. Sparks enveloped me.  Then, for the second time that day, everything went dark.

~~~

At first, I thought I was apparating, albeit, I'd never apparated before so I didn't know what it felt like to apparate, when I remembered the abilities of a phoenix. It could teleport people to different places. That must have been what was happening to me. Fawkes was taking me out of the forest.

I was spinning through darkness, with Fawkes soaring ahead of me, pulling me with him. Sparks jettisoned off of both of us, leaving a trail as we moved. I was being held within a barrier that connected me with Fawkes as he pulled us at lightening speed.

After minutes of spinning and moving, everything stopped. I looked towards Fawkes, who stayed nearby, but did not receive a reason as to why we stopped so abruptly. I floated through nothingness when sparks started to dance around, offering their light. A grey mist surrounded me, a pool of sorts. Unformed figures, with the characteristics of ink spots on parchment moved within the pool until they solidified into human beings and buildings. A scene was displayed to me.

"Dumbledore..." At least I thought it was Dumbledore. He seemed to be much younger though, than the professor I knew. The younger version of my professor walked to a tall, grey building with an umbrella. It seemed to be an orphanage from the way it looked on the outside. Dumbledore rapped on the door, and a strict looking woman opened the door and allowed him inside. The mist I was looking through followed Dumbledore into the orphanage and up the stairs.