Chapter Eight: Rebirth of the Phoenix
Sirius sat alone in the Room of Requirement, the room completely empty except for the large comfortable armchair he sat in. He had his eyes closed and was concentrating once again, seeking for that hidden power that lay somewhere within him. He had been at it for hours, though it was unlikely that anyone would notice he was gone; it was a Saturday and Quidditch practice was over. He didn’t have any other obligations that day, and since he had gotten to the Room of Requirement first, no one else would be able to get in without knowing what he needed, and he felt that the chances of that were slim indeed. The Room of Requirement had become fairly well-known since Sirius’ dad had been at the school. Enough of the members of the DA had had kids and told them about the room that there seemed to students waiting to use it all the time, either for specific study-related purposes, or purposes relating to mischief and rule-breaking such as the quadruplets and Sirius were accustomed to using it for.
At various points in his current meditation, Sirius had felt the flames start to immerge, but he had yet to fully connect with them. He knew that if he just tried hard enough, and kept anything from distracting him, that he would be able to tap that power and let it run its course, leading him to its purpose and nature. Unfortunately, his thoughts were tending towards distraction.
Earlier that day, while making his way toward the Room of Requirement in fact, he had run into several Slytherin girls taunting and harassing Samantha as she tried to make her way through the hall. While he was watching, but before they noticed him, two of the girls blocked Samantha’s way while another cast a stinging hex that caught Samantha in the back. The Gryffindor girl gasped in pain, but instead of bursting into tears, as Sirius had expected, she drew her wand and watched them calmly, though her eyes were blazing and the Slytherin girls stepped back despite themselves. Still, no bullies ever like feeling intimidated, as Sirius well knew, and it would have been only moments before more hexes were flying. Sirius made his presence known by casting several disarming spells in quick succession. The speechless Slytherins stared at him in fear as he held a handful of their wands in one hand, and his own wand in the other.
“This is hardly the kind of lady-like behavior I’ve come to expect from the pure-blood nobility of Slytherin house,” Sirius said, his voice laden with sarcasm at all the right spots, making his comment as shaming as possible.
“I’m sure their mothers are very proud,” Samantha added with a grin, toying with her own wand as if deciding whether or not to use it. “After all, this is exactly the kind of behavior that would have attracted their Death Eater husbands.”
A couple of the Slytherin girls, the ones that Sirius had been fairly sure had crushes on him, looked as though they wanted to protest, but they remained silent, no doubt intimidated by the young Gryffindor they had decided was a murderer. It was also certain they had heard the new rumors about the Dark Potters who talked with snakes.
“Well, let’s leave these aspiring bullies to their business,” Sirius said, holding out his hand. “I’m sure they’ll find a couple of first years somewhere that will be intimidated by them so that they can feel good about themselves again.”
Samantha looked momentarily surprised, but she took his hand and followed him back down the hallway, pausing only for Sirius to throw the handful of wands contemptuously to the floor.
After they had gone a short way, Samantha turned and watched him for a short while before speaking.
“I could have handled them myself, I think, but… thanks,” she said, noticing with pleasure that he had still not let go of her hand. As if that were a cue, however, Sirius suddenly seemed to realize the same thing and dropped her hand quickly, his face turning red. She barely managed to keep herself from laughing at his embarrassment, though she was slightly disappointed.
“It was nothing,” he said, only stammering slightly. “I mean, I saw that you seemed to have things in control, but there were a lot of them, and I didn’t want you to get hit by any more stinging hexes.”
Samantha ruefully rubbed her back and nodded. Sirius noticed what she was doing and waved his wand, causing the stinging sensation to cease. She looked at him in surprise.
“I learned that one from watching Madame Pomfrey when I was a second-year,” he said with a smug grin on his face. “Can I walk you to wherever you’re going?”
Samantha smiled. “Sure, I was just heading back to the common room.”
She grabbed his hand again, and together they began walking, while Sirius told her the very amusing tale about how he had learned to counter stinging hexes. He enjoyed telling stories; perhaps that was why he got in so much trouble. His exploits always gave him great stories to tell.
When they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, Sirius stopped and, as if suddenly realizing that he still held her hand, blushed. Samantha noticed his discomfort and laughed.
“You know, you aren’t nearly as tough as you think you are, Sirius,” she said, though the way she said it had it coming out as more of a compliment than an insult, and Sirius couldn’t understand why.
Before he could figure out what she was talking about, she kissed his cheek and ran into the Gryffindor common room, laughing as she went. Sirius stared after her for a few moments and then shook his head before turning around and heading back towards the Room of Requirement.
And Sirius had been there ever since, trying to concentrate while thoughts of Samantha kept him from his meditation. What does she know about how tough I am? he asked himself for the fifth time. What did she mean by that? He also couldn’t get the memory of her kissing him on the cheek out of her mind; although lots of girls had been interested in him since the year before, he had always mostly ignored them. He would smile roguishly and watch them sigh, and laugh about it later with his friends. He had certainly never kissed any of them, and none had ever kissed him, even on the cheek. Did that mean something, or was it just friendly? He decided he really wanted to find out, but he also knew that he really needed to find out what was going on with his powers.
With that last thought, he was finally able to clear his mind. He took a deep breath as he felt the reservoir of power that he had glimpsed and touched before. Reaching within himself, he pulled at the power, and felt it spring to life. As though it had a mind of its own, the power began to work in him, changing him. Music like none he had ever heard began to fill his head, but it was familiar in its way, as though a friend long departed had returned. The song swept aside the last of his resistance, and he felt a fierce burst of flame engulf his whole body. The fire was hot, yet not painful; it seemed to be comforting more than anything else. As the flame died down, Sirius suddenly realized that he was no longer himself.
He felt different in almost every way; his senses were sharper and his limbs felt more powerful, but he felt smaller as well. This room needs a mirror, he thought, knowing what would happen. A large mirror appeared on one of the walls, and Sirius turned toward it. What he saw filled him with shock and caused him to cry out in alarm.
Of course, instead of a shout or a scream, what came out was a song of alarm, beautiful yet imbued with the feeling of fear. He was staring at a phoenix, and he realized that somehow, the phoenix was him.
Sirius now recognized the course the change had taken; he had accomplished the Animagus transformation, but in a way that shouldn’t have been possible. First, he had not chosen or decided what best suited him and what he most wanted to be, and without that conviction the change shouldn’t have been possible. Second, it was supposed to be impossible to turn into a magical creature such as a phoenix as part of the Animagus transformation. Sirius had read practically every volume the Hogwarts Library had on the subject, and all of them agreed on this count.
Sirius’ initial shock and disbelief quickly faded, however, as he looked at himself in the mirror. He raised his wings and stretched, watching himself the whole time, making sure his reflection matched exactly what he was doing. He suddenly had an incredible urge to fly, so he took off. He had wanted the room to be large, and there was enough space that he was able to flap his way around, ungainly at first, but then with more finesse as he got the hang of it. Remembering what he had heard about phoenixes from his father, he swooped down and picked up the large chair up in his talons, and found that lifting it was easy. Landing in front of the mirror, he tried something else his father had told him about; sure enough, if he concentrated hard enough, his reflection disappeared, making himself completely invisible. This is too good, he thought with awe, as he imagined how easy it would be to terrorize the Slytherins now. If I can figure out how to teleport like dad says Fawkes was always able to, I can sneak up to Nott, grab him, and teleport him to thirty feet above the lake before letting him go.
That thought was too rich to let the mystery of teleportation wait any longer for being unraveled. Sirius decided that teleporting to outside the castle, preferably a good distance from the building, would be the best way to avoid reappearing inside of a wall.
He filled his head with the picture of being outside the castle, a hundred feet in the air, and willed himself to be there. He couldn’t explain what he did, but it wasn’t like Apparating; he’d been able to do that since the year before, and this felt different. There was no pressure, just a flash of heat, and then a falling sensation. He quickly opened his eyes and spread his wings letting himself soar over the wide expanse of the lake, discovering that it was very late and that he had been concentrating for hours before he made the transformation. He sang out in elation, and began practicing what he had learned. He discovered that he could make himself invisible and keep the flames from transporting himself invisible too. And he discovered that moving through the castle was easy, since he could feel where the walls were and where he wanted to go. He couldn’t explain how he could do all of what he was doing, but decided he didn’t care. Transporting himself back to his dormitory, he changed back into himself with a flash of flame, and called out to his cousins.
“I did it! Wake up! I made the Animagus transformation!” He couldn’t keep the elation out of his voice, and couldn’t wait for their astonishment and praise.
Instead however, as the quadruplets groggily opened their eyes and looked at him, all four of them started laughing. Hysterically.
“What’s so funny?” Sirius demanded, irritated by this unexpected response.
None of them could stop laughing, but Lee was able to wave his wand and transfigure a trunk into a stand mirror; since Hermione was the only person who could control the quadruplets, transfiguration had become their best subject. This thought was lost on Sirius, however, as he stared at himself in the mirror and discovered that there was a new mystery to solve; had his clothes been consumed in the fire of transforming, or had them been left behind when he transformed? Judging by the complete lack of hair on his entire body, eyebrows included, Sirius was inclined to believe it was the fire.
***
As he wandered through the halls that night, the servant of the new Dark Lord reveled in the chaos he had caused. By destroying one pretentious Slytherin, who might have been a rival anyway, if he’d been able to grow up and join the Death Eaters, he had been able to set in motion the events that would condemn the Potters to oblivion. His master would destroy them all, and then he would be awarded with power beyond his imagination. Such was what had been promised, and such was what he was determined to receive.
A slight noise interrupted his thoughts, and he turned quickly, catching sight of a Ravenclaw fifth year trying to duck out of sight.
“Hold it there,” he shouted. “What are you doing out of bed?”
The Ravenclaw looked a little belligerent at being caught, and huffed.
“That’s none of your business, is it?”
“As a school Prefect, it is my business, and your head of house will be hearing about this. Now, back to your dormitory.”
He watched as the Ravenclaw sullenly left down the hallway. He had new orders now; another strike, not necessarily aimed at the Gryffindors or the Slytherins, just something to stir up terror, and Sirius Potter would be the first suspect anyway. The decision of whether or not to kill his victim had been left up to him, as well, and he reveled in the creative leeway that left him. Perhaps another beating, like the one he had given to James Potter? Or maybe something a little more terrifying… Deciding on a plan would be almost as fun as carrying it out.
***
Sirius quickly conjured himself a robe while the Weasleys kept laughing, and set about trying to make his hair grow back. It seemed to be a Potter legacy to be able to grow back the hair on his head, and with a little concentration that was all taken care of. His eyebrows were another matter; finally Brian cast a hair growing spell and took care of that as well.
By that time the quadruplets were all done laughing, though an occasional chuckle still rolled through the group.
“So, you finally got the transformation?” Jack asked.
Sirius brightened immediately. “Yeah! It’s a little different, but I did it!”
“That’s great, Sirius!” Chris said honestly. “Now we can finally tell you that we’ve been able to do it for a couple of months.”
“What?” Sirius asked, confused.
“Well, we didn’t want you to feel bad,” Lee began.
“So we’ve been waiting for you to be able to do it before we have any big Animagus-related adventures,” Brian continued.
“I mean, we have been out and around a few times,” Chris admitted.
“But we haven’t done anything spectacular… yet,” Jack finished. “So what do you transform into, and how did that lead you appear in the dormitory completely naked?”
“You guys did it first, you show me first,” Sirius said, slightly disgruntled that they had beaten him to it, but not willing to admit it.
The Weasleys looked at each other briefly before all four of them transformed into identical small creatures with reddish-brown fur. They lined up and sketched a very amusing bow in unison, before they transformed back to themselves.
“We are the pinnacle in family pride,” Brian intoned.
“The triumph of a life devoted to living up to our father’s legacy of mischief,” Jack continued.
“We are, in fact…”Chris said.
“The Weasley weasels,” Lee finished with a smile.
“You guys are weasels?” Sirius asked, incredulously, “What on earth could you have wanted more than anything else that made all four of you turn into Weasels?”
“Hey, the weasel is a very misunderstood creature,” Lee said in a hurt tone.
“They’re vicious predators, particularly good at killing chickens,” Chris said thoughtfully.
“And we love chicken,” Jack added with a grin. “The term “weaseling out of things” came from how hard they are to catch, and we hardly ever get caught… except by Aunt Hermione.”
“Besides, we’re small enough to go almost anywhere without being seen, and we can cause all kinds of mayhem, thus perpetuating the brilliance that made Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes a household name,” Brian said grandly.
“Besides, what could be more appropriate than a Weasley weasel?” Lee asked.
Their logic was undeniable, and Sirius found himself appreciating the amount of mischief they would be able to perpetrate, especially combining their abilities with his.
“So what do you transform into, then?” Brian asked.
Sirius responded by changing back into the phoenix in a flash of fire, concentrating very hard on not harming his clothes or hair, and greatly enjoyed the looks of complete astonishment on their faces as he transported himself across the room, turned invisible and reappeared, and started singing challengingly. He turned back into himself, concentrating once again on preserving his modesty, and was delighted to find that he still had his hair and the robe, although the latter was still a little singed.
“Isn’t that supposed to be impossible?” Lee asked, still somewhat shocked.
“That does explain the fire that’s been shooting out of you from time to time,” Jack said.
“I thought it was impossible too, and I wasn’t even trying to make the Animagus transformation when I did it. I can do everything a real phoenix can do, though, which means I could carry all four of you, while making all of us invisible, and transport to anywhere in the castle, or the world for that matter, though I would want to practice before I did anything too far,” Sirius explained quickly.
“This is going to be fantastic,” Chris said with a growing smile.
***
For the next few days, Sirius practiced his abilities as a phoenix and made several more interesting discoveries. First, the amount of power he could pour into his magic had increased dramatically, meaning he had to cut back on almost everything he did. He also found that he could transform, transport, and transform again so quickly that it appeared that he had merely transported as a human wreathed in fire.
He made several forays carrying the Weasleys, keeping all of them invisible and transporting them to various places in the castle. When they transformed into weasels, it worked very well to carry one in each foot, and have the other two riding on his back. In this way they were able to explore further into the Dark Forest than they had ever gone before; they still hadn’t gone all that far, but they had found where the centaur herd slept and had seen the edge of the lair of the huge spiders that Ron had told all of them about on numerous occasions, and they thought that those were fairly grand adventures.
Finally, though, Sirius decided that he wanted to tell someone else about his transformation, to see if he could find out how he could possibly have become what he was. For information of that kind, he really only had two choices, and talking to his father about it didn’t appeal as much, since he would likely be asked to register legally.
Sirius transported himself to the Headmaster’s Office at a very late hour, after checking the Marauder’s Map carefully to be sure that Kingsley Shacklebolt was in bed. He made himself visible and turned to see the very astonished face of Dumbledore’s portrait.
“Fawkes?” he asked, blinking behind his glasses in bewilderment.
Sirius transformed back into himself and sat facing the painting, causing Dumbledore’s eyes to widen further.
“No, it’s me,” he said simply.
“That shouldn’t be possible, but I suppose you are a Potter, so I shouldn’t be surprised. How have you done this? You looked just like Fawkes.”
“I don’t know how I did it,” Sirius said honestly. “I’d been trying to do the Animagus transformation for quite some time, but I wasn’t trying to do it when I turned into the phoenix. And why shouldn’t I look just like Fawkes? Don’t all phoenixes look pretty much the same?”
“All phoenixes look similar, Sirius, but no two of them are exactly alike. Yet you manage to look exactly like Fawkes when you transform into something you shouldn’t be able to transform into,” Dumbledore explained, and then paused comprehension dawned on him.
“You’ve figured something out, sir?” Sirius asked, watching the old Headmaster’s face carefully.
“Perhaps, Sirius… this would only be a theory, mind you, but maybe it makes sense to you as well. When Fawkes sacrificed himself to save your father, it was something that had never been done before; to do it, I believe Fawkes had to give the essence of his being to your father, and this power may have been transferred to you.”
“Does that mean I’m turning into Fawkes himself?” Sirius asked, confused. “And why wouldn’t James and Lillian be phoenixes as well?”
“Not all magical abilities are passed down in a family, Sirius,” the Headmaster said calmly. “And your father has never manifested the abilities you’re showing now either. I believe that you, solely, have inherited this gift, but I don’t believe it will change you into Fawkes himself. Fawkes gave up his life, yet there is something within the phoenixes that makes them immortal. It cannot die, so it is reborn again in you. I imagine that someday you will have a child that has the power reborn in him as well, and thus that immortality would continue.”
“What if I never have kids?” Sirius asked curiously, intrigued by the whole idea. “Would that make me immortal?”
“I don’t believe you will live forever, I’m afraid,” Dumbledore said with a chuckle, “and I don’t believe giving up the opportunity of having a family would be worth it, anyway. Remember, this is only a theory; this truly has never happened before.”
“It makes some sense, though, which is more than what I’ve had until now,” Sirius said with a smile.
“So what do you plan on doing with your new abilities?” Dumbledore asked wisely, a shrewd look in his eyes.
“Er…” Sirius began, not sure he wanted to tell the portrait about his ideas so far.
“I know you well enough, Sirius, from the many chats we’ve had over the years during the vast amount of time you have spent in this office, to know that you are going to use this gift for a good deal of mischief. I wouldn’t even attempt to discourage you; I’ve been accounted as a very wise wizard, so I know that it wouldn’t work. I would encourage you, however, to consider how you are going to use this power. This is the legacy of Fawkes’ sacrifice, and I think that should mean something more than just a few paltry pranks. You now have the power to make a difference, and you know very well that something needs to be done about the current situation in the school. Even when your father was here, the houses were not this divided. The Headmaster is doing his best, but the students will have to make an effort as well, and others will follow your lead.”
Sirius grew more and more uncomfortable as the portrait went on. Responsibility had never been his strong suit, and though he had been trying not to get in any fights, he certainly hadn’t made any efforts of reconciliation. Could I do that? Reconcile with the Slytherins? The very idea seemed ludicrous. Unless I find the real murderer, it would never work. Maybe that’s what I need to do, then.
Sirius met the eyes of Dumbledore’s portrait and saw the wise old wizard’s slight smile. He smiled back, knowing that even without saying anything, his commitment to the school was known. He would do his part.
Later that night, Sirius was getting ready to go to sleep and was viewing the Marauder’s Map to make sure nothing out of the ordinary was going on. To his surprise, he saw three Hufflepuff students in a line in one of the hallways, standing completely still. He had never actually spoken to the students, but he knew their names, and had no idea why they would be sitting in the hallway this late at night. Curious, he transformed and transported himself to the hallway, keeping himself invisible. What he saw made him want to retch. Panicking, he transported himself to Ron and Hermione’s apartment in the teacher’s quarters. He couldn’t be the one who found the students, but he couldn’t do nothing. He found his aunt and uncle asleep in their bed, and made himself visible, singing out in urgency and alarm. Ron was awake instantly, his wand aimed at the phoenix so quickly that Sirius stopped singing in his shock; apparently Auror training imparted good reflexes. Hermione was awake the instant later, and looking at him in surprise.
“Fawkes?” she asked in disbelief.
Sirius began singing again, turning so that his tail feathers were readily accessible.
“I think he wants us to grab on,” Hermione said, doubt evident in her voice.
“How do we know where he’s going to take us?” Ron asked suspiciously.
“We don’t, that’s the point of him taking us there,” Hermione said in exasperation.
“He could be leading us into a trap,” Ron insisted.
“He looks like Fawkes, and even if he isn’t, have you ever known of a bad phoenix?” she said, crossing her arms and looking at Ron angrily.
“Fawkes is dead, and this could be something else disguised as a phoenix,” Ron retorted, lowering his wand.
Sirius couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He’d heard his parents talk about Ron and Hermione’s arguing, but he’d never seen it. He cried out loudly in impatience, reminding them that he was there.
“I’m going with him,” Hermione said, worry plain in her voice now. “It sounds important.”
“You’re not going without me,” Ron said, giving in as he recognized, finally, the futility of his argument.
Both of them grabbed onto Sirius’ tail feathers, and he wasted no time in transporting them to the hallway. The Hufflepuff students still lay where they had been, each of them covered in lacerations that oozed blood, bruises standing out vividly on their pale faces. On the wall above each of the heads were mounted flags, one each for Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw.
“Merlin’s beard!” Ron exclaimed, as he dropped to his knees besides one of the students, casting the basic healing charms he knew from Auror training in an effort to keep the child alive while his wife worked on the worst wounded of the three.
Sirius watched in desperation as his relatives worked, somehow feeling the life forces of the students sputter and diminish, leaking away with the blood flowing from their wounds. Inspiration struck suddenly; swooping down to the floor, Sirius stood beside the body of the student who hadn’t yet received any attention, bending his head towards the worst of the child’s wounds and tried to summon tears. Given the extent of the damage he saw in front of him, it wasn’t hard. Large pearly drops fell into the wound, and it immediately began closing. Sirius didn’t pause as he moved from wound to wound, closing the worst of them, and leaving the ones that weren’t life threatening. He moved on to the student Ron was treating, next, and then finally made it to the last one. When he finished, he felt drained and exhausted, but he knew all three of the students would live.
Singing out a farewell, Sirius let himself vanish in a burst of flames, reappearing in his bed back in human form. He smiled at the good he had been able to accomplish before dropping off into a deep sleep.
A/N: I'm sorry I took so long to update; this was a more difficult, albeit more fun, chapter to write. I hope you all enjoy it, and I hope you'll let me know if you do.