Inside the wooden door was a spacious circular room, with the walls covered with portraits.
These portraits also move, but it's late at night, and they're all asleep, their bodies rising and falling slightly as they doze off.
As they entered, Flitwick lowered his voice considerably, saying, "These are all portraits of the former headmasters."
Vizette nodded, looking around the room with curiosity.
Several desks were placed here, and the desks against the wall were filled with silver instruments of various shapes. These silver instruments rotated or jumped, emitting puffs of smoke.
Two rows of curved cabinets were placed against the wall, and in one of the compartments was a tattered wizard's hat, the Sorting Hat used for the Sorting Ceremony.
Just as Vizette was overwhelmed by the sights, a pleasant trill came from above.
He looked up and saw a large, fiery red bird appear before him.
The large bird resembled a swan in shape, with beautiful, shimmering golden tail feathers. Its beak and claws were long, giving it a deadly elegance.
"This is Headmaster Dumbledore's companion, Fawkes the phoenix," Flitwick whispered, "a rare and magical creature."
"I've seen it in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Vizette nodded in agreement. "But it's even prettier than the illustration."
Seemingly having heard Vizette's praise, Fawkes let out a soft trill and hovered beside Vizette.
"Try reaching out your arm; it seems to like you," Flitwick said happily. "Don't worry about catching it; phoenixes are very intelligent."
Vizette did as he was told, raising his arm as if beckoning an eagle, and Fawkes immediately leaped up and stood on it.
As Flitwick said, the phoenix brought him no burden, but rather warmth.
This warmth felt familiar, reminding him of when he first came into this world.
"I remember you…" Vizette said softly, very gently, "Thank you for catching me."
Fawkes let out another soft trill and nuzzled his cheek.
"It seems you know Fawkes, that's great," Flitwick said with a smile. "I'll have someone prepare some food for you, and it will be delivered here shortly."
A little embarrassed, Vizette quickly said, "That would be too much trouble."
Flitwick blinked. "It's late, and I'd like to have a bedtime snack, just something to go with it."
...
Vizette had no idea what Flitwick's bedtime snack was.
However, he was certain that what suddenly appeared on his desk was not his bedtime snack.
Anyone eating a large lamb chop and steak, plus three baked potatoes, before bed would probably dream of being stuffed.
However, he couldn't resist the tempting smell of meat and began to enjoy his "bedtime snack."
He chewed his steak in small bites and fed Fawkes some jelly slugs.
He learned this from "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them": phoenixes like to drink dew and taste herbs and berries.
The jelly slugs seemed to suit Fawkes's taste; it raised its beautiful head, indicating that Vizette could touch its neck.
Vizette placed his hand on Fawkes's neck, where the feathers were smoother and softer, and the warmth emanating from them was even more intense.
After stroking him for a while, he felt that he and Fawkes got along quite well.
He also felt more relaxed and was able to think more clearly about what had happened that night.
After thinking it over, he recalled many things that had happened before and suddenly felt a little depressed.
...
After an unknown amount of time, Dumbledore's voice sounded, "It seems you and Fawkes got along well."
He turned his head and saw Dumbledore standing at the door of the headmaster's office with a gentle smile on his face.
Time seemed to have turned Dumbledore's hair white, but it had not diminished his vigor. He remained vigorous, and his bright blue eyes were full of spirit.
Fawkes flapped its wings and landed on Dumbledore's arm, rubbing its cheek with its beautifully curved beak.
Dumbledore patted Fawkes on the back, and Fawkes flew up again, landing on the bird perch by the door.
He approached the desk and asked gently, "Was your first Halloween Eve at Hogwarts wonderful?"
Vizette nodded. "I plan to submit an article to Mr. Lovegood about what happened tonight."
"I'm a big fan of The Quibbler now," Dumbledore replied with a smile.
He noticed the gloom on Vizette's face, so he rummaged through his pockets and magically produced a variety of candies. "I'm really looking forward to your submission."
Seeing the sherbet lemons that Dumbledore offered, Vizette spoke first: "Headmaster, may I know what happened tonight?"
"After I appeared, the giant abandoned its original target... its only target became me, which was really abnormal."
"And the Runespoor attack last time was also suspicious. According to Hagrid, the snake eggs came from that Runespoor."
"But Luna told me that the Runespoor that attacked us was actually quite old and probably couldn't lay eggs, right?"
"Those snake eggs earned me five hundred Galleons, which is no small sum… so I want to know what I shouldn't know."
After saying so much in one breath, he felt a sense of relief, and his previous frustration dissipated considerably.
Dumbledore maintained his smile. "It must feel much better to have said what's on your mind, right?"
"Um..."
"That's good." Dumbledore nodded. "Your past experiences have probably changed you a lot, which is why you've gone through so many bad things at such a young age."
"I also had a period like that, lacking someone to confide in, keeping my troubles and worries bottled up inside... until I made a terrible mistake."
Vizette asked, puzzled, "A colossal error?"
"Yes." Dumbledore nodded slightly, but did not delve deeper into the topic. "Vizette, you should talk more, like you are now."
Vizette coughed lightly, and said apologetically, "Life here is wonderful! There are only two things I don't understand."
"It is precisely because this place is so beautiful that I do not want any accidents to happen and ruin this beauty."
"The most basic and pure thirst for knowledge about all things—that's the quality Ravenclaw admires most," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Ravenclaw is indeed very suitable for you."
"Let's talk about the Runespoor incident first! It was done by a pure-blood family, and I also intervened to negotiate. The result of the negotiations was those snake eggs."
He spread his hands, showing absolute determination and confidence, "The pure-blood family dares not take any more action, you can use that money with peace of mind."
"A pure-blood family targeting me?" Vizette thought of Slytherin's attitude towards him. "Is it because of my Obscurial status?"
...
Enjoyed the chapter?
Drop a @Powerstone 💎 and leave a @Review!