(Posted because Pyeknu coincidentally posted a bit of stagger with a phoenix in it...)
"Come in, Douglas," Dumbledore's voice echoed through the door
just as I lifted a hand to knock. I turned the motion into a
grab for the handle, and opened the door instead. Still carrying
the pannier rack from my bike on my shoulder, I stepped into the
office.
Little had changed in a week -- fireplace, paintings, little
whirring and puffing gadgets, messy desk, big throne-like chair,
all pretty much the same. The only additions were Dumbledore
himself, in that chair, and the large scarlet and gold bird
perched on the stand near him. "Good morning, Douglas,"
Dumbledore said, closing the book in his hands and laying it on
the desk to his left.
"Good morning, Headmaster," I said, lowering the rack to the
floor so I can stand up more or less straight. "Reporting for
duty, as ordered," I added with a grin. I suppressed the urge to
give him a Benny Hill-style salute; not until I knew the man
better and could judge his reactions.
Then I went ahead and spoiled that resolution almost immediately
by nodding at his pet and saying, "Remarkable bird, the Norwegian
Red. Beautiful plumage!"
The Headmaster gaped at me for a moment, then burst out in gales
of laughter. The bird in question seemed amused as well,
emitting an arpeggio of trills that I found pleasant, and even
encouraging.
It took a little while, but eventually the Headmaster's laughter
trailed off to mere chuckles as he wiped his eyes. "Oh, my. Oh,
my, I haven't laughed like that in quite a while." He took off
his glasses and wiped them with a cloth he retrieved from his
desk. "I must say I wasn't expecting a Monty Python quotation
from you, Colonel. I had assumed from your military background
that you would be somewhat more... reserved."
I inclined my head slightly. "For my part, I have to say that
I'm surprised you're familiar enough -- or at all! -- with the
Pythons to have even gotten the joke."
"Ah," he said, putting his glasses back on his crooked nose.
"Unlike many of my fellow wizards, I am not *entirely* ignorant
of the Muggle world."
"Then shall we say we are each more complex than the other
expected?" I asked with a smile.
"Indeed, Douglas, indeed." He stood and crossed to the stand.
"My bright-feathered friend here is my familiar, Fox. Lovely as
his plumage is, he is not, in fact, the fabled Norwegian Red
Parrot -- distant cousin to the Norwegian Blue, I have been
told," he added with a twinkle in his eye, "but that most rare of
creatures, a phoenix."
"A phoenix?" I exclaimed. "Whoa. No wonder you cracked up over
the Dead Parrot Sketch." I reached out to stroke Fox's feathers,
and the phoenix trilled again as it leaned into my touch. "I
take it this beauty is why you named the order as you did?"
The old wizard nodded. "Precisely. Phoenixes are creatures of
light, and their cycle of death and resurrection symbolizes the
eternal triumph of light over darkness." He smiled as he watched
Fox eagerly receive my attention.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Phoenixes, plural? Huh. In my
home universe, the Phoenix is a single, unique creature of
Celestial origin. They're a corporeal species here?"
"There are more than one phoenix in the world, but 'species' is
perhaps the wrong word for them," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
"It might be better to describe them as free-willed elemental
spirits of Light -- despite their obvious associations with
Fire." His gnarled hand joined mine in stroking the now blissed-
out bird. "Although I call him my familiar, Fox is in no way
bound to me. He stays with me of his own free will, in a kind
of... partnership, you might say."
"Nice work if you can get it," I murmured. Then it hit me. The
phoenix wasn't named "Fox", but "Fawkes". As in "Guy Fawkes".
Argh. I gave Dumbledore a flat look. "Oh, geeze. A phoenix
named Fawkes. I just got that." The Headmaster was chuckling at
me, his eyes twinkling again. "You know, if I'd heard that
first, I wouldn't have worried about cracking a joke in front of
you." I looked at the bird, which I was pretty sure was now
smiling as much as you could with a beaked avian face. "Was that
name his idea or yours?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh, his alone. He has quite the sense of
humor, which I have had the benefit of enjoying for many years."
"I'll bet," I said, eyeing the phoenix for a moment. He eyed me
back, with a palpable good humor. I smiled and nodded to him,
and got a nod in return.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
"Come in, Douglas," Dumbledore's voice echoed through the door
just as I lifted a hand to knock. I turned the motion into a
grab for the handle, and opened the door instead. Still carrying
the pannier rack from my bike on my shoulder, I stepped into the
office.
Little had changed in a week -- fireplace, paintings, little
whirring and puffing gadgets, messy desk, big throne-like chair,
all pretty much the same. The only additions were Dumbledore
himself, in that chair, and the large scarlet and gold bird
perched on the stand near him. "Good morning, Douglas,"
Dumbledore said, closing the book in his hands and laying it on
the desk to his left.
"Good morning, Headmaster," I said, lowering the rack to the
floor so I can stand up more or less straight. "Reporting for
duty, as ordered," I added with a grin. I suppressed the urge to
give him a Benny Hill-style salute; not until I knew the man
better and could judge his reactions.
Then I went ahead and spoiled that resolution almost immediately
by nodding at his pet and saying, "Remarkable bird, the Norwegian
Red. Beautiful plumage!"
The Headmaster gaped at me for a moment, then burst out in gales
of laughter. The bird in question seemed amused as well,
emitting an arpeggio of trills that I found pleasant, and even
encouraging.
It took a little while, but eventually the Headmaster's laughter
trailed off to mere chuckles as he wiped his eyes. "Oh, my. Oh,
my, I haven't laughed like that in quite a while." He took off
his glasses and wiped them with a cloth he retrieved from his
desk. "I must say I wasn't expecting a Monty Python quotation
from you, Colonel. I had assumed from your military background
that you would be somewhat more... reserved."
I inclined my head slightly. "For my part, I have to say that
I'm surprised you're familiar enough -- or at all! -- with the
Pythons to have even gotten the joke."
"Ah," he said, putting his glasses back on his crooked nose.
"Unlike many of my fellow wizards, I am not *entirely* ignorant
of the Muggle world."
"Then shall we say we are each more complex than the other
expected?" I asked with a smile.
"Indeed, Douglas, indeed." He stood and crossed to the stand.
"My bright-feathered friend here is my familiar, Fox. Lovely as
his plumage is, he is not, in fact, the fabled Norwegian Red
Parrot -- distant cousin to the Norwegian Blue, I have been
told," he added with a twinkle in his eye, "but that most rare of
creatures, a phoenix."
"A phoenix?" I exclaimed. "Whoa. No wonder you cracked up over
the Dead Parrot Sketch." I reached out to stroke Fox's feathers,
and the phoenix trilled again as it leaned into my touch. "I
take it this beauty is why you named the order as you did?"
The old wizard nodded. "Precisely. Phoenixes are creatures of
light, and their cycle of death and resurrection symbolizes the
eternal triumph of light over darkness." He smiled as he watched
Fox eagerly receive my attention.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Phoenixes, plural? Huh. In my
home universe, the Phoenix is a single, unique creature of
Celestial origin. They're a corporeal species here?"
"There are more than one phoenix in the world, but 'species' is
perhaps the wrong word for them," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
"It might be better to describe them as free-willed elemental
spirits of Light -- despite their obvious associations with
Fire." His gnarled hand joined mine in stroking the now blissed-
out bird. "Although I call him my familiar, Fox is in no way
bound to me. He stays with me of his own free will, in a kind
of... partnership, you might say."
"Nice work if you can get it," I murmured. Then it hit me. The
phoenix wasn't named "Fox", but "Fawkes". As in "Guy Fawkes".
Argh. I gave Dumbledore a flat look. "Oh, geeze. A phoenix
named Fawkes. I just got that." The Headmaster was chuckling at
me, his eyes twinkling again. "You know, if I'd heard that
first, I wouldn't have worried about cracking a joke in front of
you." I looked at the bird, which I was pretty sure was now
smiling as much as you could with a beaked avian face. "Was that
name his idea or yours?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh, his alone. He has quite the sense of
humor, which I have had the benefit of enjoying for many years."
"I'll bet," I said, eyeing the phoenix for a moment. He eyed me
back, with a palpable good humor. I smiled and nodded to him,
and got a nod in return.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
