Champions

New dig

It didn't take long for Harry to realize just how badly Dumbledore had miscalculated with his threat, and to say that he was pleased would be an understatement. All he had to do now was say the word and he would be out from under the old man's thumb, the Tournament notwithstanding. Everything else was merely timing.

Barring active magic, Dumbledore could no longer legally hurt him.

By the time he made his way to Fleur's suite, he was smiling widely. He knocked on the door, and to his surprise, was greeted by Hermione when it opened. The girl stared in shock at Fawkes, having never seen a phoenix before. Harry, for his part, was feeling bold enough that he actually reached out and gave her a brief hug, which shocked her even more thoroughly.

Fleur rose gracefully to her feet when she saw him, and her eyes bulged when they landed on Fawkes. "Is zat–" she breathed. "Is zat a phoenix?"

"Yup," grinned Harry, enjoying her reaction. "Fleur, meet Fawkes. Fawkes, allow me to introduce my beautiful wife, Fleur. And this is my best friend, Hermione Granger."

Fawkes trilled happily at Hermione, making her smile, and then made the brief flight to Fleur's shoulder. He craned his neck to stare into her eyes for a very long moment – she stared back wide-eyed – before finally letting out another cheerful trill and nuzzling her the same way he liked to do to Harry. A smile slowly spread on her features, and she reached up to gently scratch him.

"Magnifique! Je suis tellement heureux de vous rencontrer, Fawkes!"

Hermione smiled at her reaction and moved to give Fawkes a scratch as well, just as awed by him. How could one not be? The bird exuded warmth, comfort, and a sense of utter rightness, and between that and his happy disposition, it was impossible not to like him.

"I take it the meeting went better than you thought?" asked Hermione hopefully.

Harry shook himself out of his vain attempt to translate Fleur's French, and his expression dimmed. "Worse, actually," he corrected. "I just forgot I had Fawkes with me when I stormed out. I reckon he can stay if he wants, I think he was bored up there."

Fawkes suddenly flapped his wings and trilled a victorious trill at the statement, almost as though he was thrilled that someone had finally noticed. Harry's smile rapidly reappeared; it was hard to be angry or sad in Fawkes' presence for too terribly long.

"Well, you're always welcome, Fawkes," he grinned. "And if we're not around, there's always our friends, like Hermione here. I doubt they'll refuse you, and they're pretty fun."

Fawkes trilled another cheerful trill, gracefully lifted off from Fleur's shoulder with a great flap of his wings, and in a flash of fire, he was gone.

Harry blinked.

"Did I misinterpret him?" he wondered.

"Zen I did as well," frowned Fleur with a shake of her head.

"Maybe the Headmaster called him back," suggested Hermione.

But then there was another, much larger flash, and Harry's eyes bugged out at what he saw: Fawkes was back, carrying his perch. He stared as the bird flew to a conveniently empty corner and carefully deposited it before settling down and sending a questioning trill to Harry. He was stunned by this behavior, and had no idea what to think.

"Er, it's fine, Fawkes," he said faintly. "I'm just surprised is all."

Fawkes trilled happily and adopted what Harry could swear was a smug expression. Harry's smile returned, and it was growing by the second: not only was he genuinely thrilled to have Fawkes around, but Dumbledore would go spare. This would drive him up the proverbial wall!