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A Teaser From Chapter Two - Bob Schroeck - 06-29-2012 (Posted because Pyeknu coincidentally posted a bit of stagger with a phoenix in it...) "Come in, Douglas," Dumbledore's voice echoed through the door just as I lifted a hand to knock. I turned the motion into a grab for the handle, and opened the door instead. Still carrying the pannier rack from my bike on my shoulder, I stepped into the office. Little had changed in a week -- fireplace, paintings, little whirring and puffing gadgets, messy desk, big throne-like chair, all pretty much the same. The only additions were Dumbledore himself, in that chair, and the large scarlet and gold bird perched on the stand near him. "Good morning, Douglas," Dumbledore said, closing the book in his hands and laying it on the desk to his left. "Good morning, Headmaster," I said, lowering the rack to the floor so I can stand up more or less straight. "Reporting for duty, as ordered," I added with a grin. I suppressed the urge to give him a Benny Hill-style salute; not until I knew the man better and could judge his reactions. Then I went ahead and spoiled that resolution almost immediately by nodding at his pet and saying, "Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Red. Beautiful plumage!" The Headmaster gaped at me for a moment, then burst out in gales of laughter. The bird in question seemed amused as well, emitting an arpeggio of trills that I found pleasant, and even encouraging. It took a little while, but eventually the Headmaster's laughter trailed off to mere chuckles as he wiped his eyes. "Oh, my. Oh, my, I haven't laughed like that in quite a while." He took off his glasses and wiped them with a cloth he retrieved from his desk. "I must say I wasn't expecting a Monty Python quotation from you, Colonel. I had assumed from your military background that you would be somewhat more... reserved." I inclined my head slightly. "For my part, I have to say that I'm surprised you're familiar enough -- or at all! -- with the Pythons to have even gotten the joke." "Ah," he said, putting his glasses back on his crooked nose. "Unlike many of my fellow wizards, I am not *entirely* ignorant of the Muggle world." "Then shall we say we are each more complex than the other expected?" I asked with a smile. "Indeed, Douglas, indeed." He stood and crossed to the stand. "My bright-feathered friend here is my familiar, Fox. Lovely as his plumage is, he is not, in fact, the fabled Norwegian Red Parrot -- distant cousin to the Norwegian Blue, I have been told," he added with a twinkle in his eye, "but that most rare of creatures, a phoenix." "A phoenix?" I exclaimed. "Whoa. No wonder you cracked up over the Dead Parrot Sketch." I reached out to stroke Fox's feathers, and the phoenix trilled again as it leaned into my touch. "I take it this beauty is why you named the order as you did?" The old wizard nodded. "Precisely. Phoenixes are creatures of light, and their cycle of death and resurrection symbolizes the eternal triumph of light over darkness." He smiled as he watched Fox eagerly receive my attention. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Phoenixes, plural? Huh. In my home universe, the Phoenix is a single, unique creature of Celestial origin. They're a corporeal species here?" "There are more than one phoenix in the world, but 'species' is perhaps the wrong word for them," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "It might be better to describe them as free-willed elemental spirits of Light -- despite their obvious associations with Fire." His gnarled hand joined mine in stroking the now blissed- out bird. "Although I call him my familiar, Fox is in no way bound to me. He stays with me of his own free will, in a kind of... partnership, you might say." "Nice work if you can get it," I murmured. Then it hit me. The phoenix wasn't named "Fox", but "Fawkes". As in "Guy Fawkes". Argh. I gave Dumbledore a flat look. "Oh, geeze. A phoenix named Fawkes. I just got that." The Headmaster was chuckling at me, his eyes twinkling again. "You know, if I'd heard that first, I wouldn't have worried about cracking a joke in front of you." I looked at the bird, which I was pretty sure was now smiling as much as you could with a beaked avian face. "Was that name his idea or yours?" Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh, his alone. He has quite the sense of humor, which I have had the benefit of enjoying for many years." "I'll bet," I said, eyeing the phoenix for a moment. He eyed me back, with a palpable good humor. I smiled and nodded to him, and got a nod in return. -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak. - Bob Schroeck - 06-29-2012 I suppose that I should add, first, that this is an unedited first draft. Any errors in it will be corrected before release, and it's not even guaranteed that it will see release in the form that appears here. And second, Peggy, upon hearing this passage, leaned on me to have Fawkes deliberately trigger a burning simply so someone in the room, she didn't say who, could then exclaim "This.... is an ex-phoenix!" Naturally, I refused. -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak. - ECSNorway - 06-29-2012 Nice scene. And apparently not going with evil-manipulative-Dumbles, good. -- Sucrose Octanitrate. Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode. - Bob Schroeck - 06-29-2012 ECSNorway Wrote:Nice scene. And apparently not going with evil-manipulative-Dumbles, good.As the concordance will say near the top: Quote:I suppose I should note at the outset that, except when and where Doug influences things, I am hewing closely as possible to canon -- which means Dumbledore is neither malevolent nor senile, no alternative couples will be 'shipped, and regardless of how much of an asshole he is, Snape is ultimately a hero motivated by love and guilt (not that it will ever matter much in this story).-- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak. - Pyeknu - 06-29-2012 *loudly applauds* Well, the phoenixes in Hiromi's home dimension are both as Albus just described to Doug in that scene and living expressions of the power of the Te'a ("That Which Is Above mortal understanding"), which is the Divine Spirit in all corporeal things, living and non-living. So once Doug gets a chance to understand the Te'a concept in Loon and Ladies from Avalon, his problems with Hiromi -- and by extension, people such as Kumomi, Mioko and all the others with haoryû or ch'uokyek power in them -- will probably vanish. |