"How are you settling into things now that you are out of the hospital wing?" Dumbledore asked as we walked through the halls towards the stairs to the tallest tower.
"It's been fairly normal all things considered. You'd think magic would make people different somehow but everyone is the same as if it made no difference beyond a few actions and topics of conversation." I said honestly.
"I always believed that actions make the man or woman's worth, not their ability." he said wisely.
"Perhaps that's mostly true but ability must also play a part, that's simply the way we are as humans." I said not fully agreeing with him.
"I suppose theres truth to that as well though I wish it weren't so." he said with a melancholic look.
"Do you say that because you once knew someone blinded by their own ability and took a dark path?" I asked and he gave me a deep look.
"Once, I was such a person. Myself and another, kindred souls you might say. I mended my ways after a tragedy and he followed through with that path until it cost him everything. Don't make the same mistakes Young Alex, ability is not everything." he said lightly.
We walked in silence after that though I knew who he was talking about thanks to my past life. Gellert Grindelwald, the dark lord before Voldemort. Dumbledores past with him was touched upon and it was a tragic one. They were best friends and even lovers once in their youth. They shared a belief that wizards should rule the world and even made plans how to accomplish it. It all changed when they had a falling out that resulted in Dumbledores sister dying.-
From then Dumbledore became a man of unity and cooperation between muggles and wizards and Grindelwald one of dominance for wizarding kind. In the end their ideals clashed and they fought to decide the fate of the world. Dumbledore won and Grindelwald till this day remained imprisoned in Nurmengard. I could also understand why he'd share this with me. It was manipulation, plain and simple. He made things personal to make me empathize with him before internalizing what he wanted. I wouldn't be surprised if he had been paying close attention to me this whole time and thus saw me as a potential next Voldemort or even Grindelwald.-
Rather than just leave me to my own devices he would try to "guide" me to a path he felt would be best. He wasn't trying to wrong me exactly but nobody likes being manipulated. Besides I didn't need him to try and teach me this lesson. I can't even begin to count the amount of times I saw that "ability above all" mindset lead people to the villainous side of things in video games or anime. At the same time I didn't agree with those "hero of justice" types either. -
People weren't black and white but shades of gray. Some lighter and others darker but I liked to believe myself a neutral gray, maybe on the slightly darker side at most. Whatever the case this manipulation attempt was noted and left alone as we arrived at the large stone gargoyle that guarded the way to the headmasters office. It was shaped like a griffin with it's wings raised up high.
"Pepper imp." Dumbledore said casually and the gargoyle bowed and moved to the side revealing a small spiral staircase leading to the office.
He didn't say anything else but walked up the stairs and I followed behind. When we reached the doorway he pushed it open and I had to admit the place was a real sight. It was a fairly large round room with two stories and a balcony to the left. there were shelves of old or unusual items on the walls and even a curling bookshelf lined with ancient looking books, a few I recognized from Gervain's collection. In the center of the room towards the back was a large wooden desk with papers and an inkwell with a quill. Just behind that was a large golden bird perch that had a magnificent creature sitting on it watching us enter, Fawkes the phoenix.-
The bird had vibrant red and golden feathers with a slight royal purple tinge on a few. It's build was like an eagles and if it weren't for the raised crest feathers on it's head and long tail feathers it might be mistaken for one from afar. Dumbledore seemed to notice the way I was looking at the bird and smiled.
"That is Fawkes, a phoenix." he said as he took a seat behind the desk.
"He's beautiful." I said honestly.
"Oh? how'd you know he is male?" he asked surprised.
"Fantastic beasts and where to find them. Mr. Scamander mentions that male phoenix's have brighter plumages than females in the book." I say calmly.
"Does he? Let me check." he said and waved his hand at the bookshelf causing a single book to float off it and into his hand.
I rolled my eyes at this blatant showing off but waited quietly for him to find the entry on the phoenix. It didn't take long as he quickly found the page and read it's contents quickly before nodding.
"He really does mention it briefly. I must admit I'm rather envious of your memory. Why I sometimes forget where the latrines are and it causes no end of trouble." he said with a chuckle.
I shrugged "Knowledge is power." I say calmly.
"A very Ravenclaw way of thinking." he said amused. "The previous headmasters are there above you by the way in case you wish to introduce yourself." he added.