Duel Enrollment

Flown the Coop

That comment set Cornelius on edge, "I see ... I'll call you back in a few minutes." He said and he left the floo.

With two Aurors going with him he went to Azkaban. The chill from the dementors floating around the foreboding castle would make anyone turn back, but they readied their wands and went in. Their footsteps echoed through the halls as they walked past numerous prison cells. Finally they stopped at the one farthest back.

"Dumbledore." Cornelius said, but the lump on the cell floor didn't move. There was, however, an odd flicker of light on the walls. "Dumbledore?" The minister frowned as something gurgled. "You, come with me. You cover us and keep him from trying anything." Cornelius ordered the two Aurors.

When the cell door was swung open Cornelius slowly walked in with one Auror following behind. With their wands at the ready they slowly stepped closer. It was only when a dementor flew by the cell the lump moved. It was a shiver that seemed very weak and was followed by a pained whine. Thankfully, Cornelius shook off the chilly and depressing side effects of the dementors just in time to notice that the pained whine didn't sound human.

"Cover me." The minister whispered to the Auror behind him before kneeling down on the stone floor and leaned over Dumbledore's now shivering form. With a gentle tug on the robes the body rolled over revealing Dumbledore's face. "Shit! Help me carry it out of here!" He exclaimed as he cast a reversal spell at the form. The Auror closest to the minister hesitated until he saw what the other Auror couldn't.

The Auror guarding the cell door looked baffled, "What? Why? Isn't he-Oh!" Finally he saw the barely breathing reason being gently lifted by the two wizards. It wasn't Dumbles or even human, but a very weak Phoenix. "I'll run ahead to get the door!"

Moments later the trio ran into the ministry and chose the first desk to gently place the poor magical bird. The person who worked at the desk was annoyed, but only for a moment. After seeing that the creature was in agony she offered her robes as a cushion.

"Minister, the Phoenix isn't turning to ash. What should we do?" One worried Auror asked.

Cornelius sighed and pulled out a cellphone, "I wanted to ease everyone into this technology, but this is an emergency." He muttered as he dialed the number for the sanctuary that the basilisk was sent to. While ignoring the baffled looks at the odd device he spoke to the person who answered. "I have an injured Phoenix-"

"Is the Phoenix not changing over normally? How was it injured?" The person asked.

"She was found after dementors have been feeding off her for ... a few hours at least. The feathers are falling off and turning black instead of burning." Cornelius said as he watched a rotting feather hit the ground.

"I'm tracing your location now! A team will appear in a moment so please put your phone next to the Phoenix and have everyone step back!" The clearly concerned operator said.

Everyone in the room was, of course, baffled, but they listened to their minister. Imagine their shock when Cornelius put the thing down, backed away and four people in blue jackets appeared. There really shouldn't be a way to simply portkey into the ministry so that alone was a shock.

The curvy dark skinned woman of the team immediately spotted the mythical bird, "Get the nest out fast!" She ordered before looking out at the ministry workers just standing there. "In this condition he might not survive the transport. If this darling is going to make it I need everyone to clear your minds and think of anything positive thoughts-"

"Why should we listen to you?" One Auror asked, not liking that this person was trying to order them around.

Cornelius groaned, "These people are from the Mythical Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia. They work with the same sanctuary that handled the basilisk. Now listen." He said and he noticed that the other rescuers had released charmed blades of grass, the grass was weaving itself under the injured Phoenix and soon it formed a nest. They then cast a dome-like spell on the bird. The entire thing looked like a giant nest with an egg nestled in the center.