Hallie jumped in surprise when the gargoyle moved to life before her very eyes. She always thought the entrance to Dumbledore's office was rather excessive.
She watched in dissatisfaction as the stone Gargoyle moved to reveal a spiralling set of spindling stairs, curving in concurrence up the bricked wall.
Hallie looked up distastefully, before sighing in annoyance, moving to drag her feet up each precipitous step of the stairs.
Once she reached the top, she quickly composed herself outside of the door - raising her hand timidly to finally grab the wooden knocker.
Yet her hand stayed awkwardly raised in the air, as the door swung open on its own accord. She looked forward in surprise, seeing Dumbledore sat comfortably behind his desk. His eyes followed the girl as she slowly inched forwards.
"Are you a seer?" she asked in perplexion, turning around to watch the door slam shut behind her.
"Not quite a seer Miss Brennan," Dumbledore replied calmly, gesturing to the chair opposite his desk. "Please sit. We have much to talk about."
Hallie looked towards the chair he was offering her, not wasting a single second before flinging her body into it. "Am I in trouble?" Hallie questioned, leaning forward daringly in her seat. "Cause I guarantee you it was James, not me."
Dumbledore chuckled humorously, causing the girl to furrow her eyebrows in confusion. She had never seen the man so...normal.
He was wearing thin robes, so unlike his usual thick, lavish robes he wore - the ones that looked like they had been gifted by royalty. His posture was slackened back slightly in the chair and his usual long locks of white hair had been tied back into a loose ponytail.
Dumbledore ignored the girl's first comment, moving his hand to push a bowl towards her. "Sugar quill? He questioned, gesturing to the sweets. "I hear they are your favourites."
Hallie raised a concerned eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not about to groom me?"
"And why on earth would you think that?" the man spoke monotonously, a humoured twinkle in his eye.
"Well you've offered me sweets and pretty much told me you've stalked me," Hallie spoke, leaning back in the chair to look at the man, slightly scared. "Things aren't looking too great for you from here Sir."
Dumbledore chuckled at the girl's dry sense of humour, making Hallie only scowl more. "I'm observant Miss Brennan. Merely observant, " the man reassured.
Hallie watched as Dumbledore moved around the table to stroke the feathers of a phoenix that just so happened to be perching beside the table. The magical bird was decorated with red and gold plumage to cover its scrawny body. Its gold beak matched the resonating colour of its sharpened talons and its long tail drifted down the edge of the desk.
Hallie stood up intriguingly, forgetting about the previous awkwardness as she moved to stand beside Dumbledore. She carefully lifted her hand, moving it slowly towards the crest of its beak. He squawked alarmingly, before calming as Hallie's fingers grazed the tip of his beak.
"Fascinating creatures, phoenixes," Dumbledore mused, watching as the bird slowly snuggled its head into the palm of Hallie's hand. "Phoenixes can carry immensely heavy loads. Their tears have healing powers...and they make highly faithful pets."
The phoenix's feathers glowed faintly in the dim-lit room, as Hallie slowly traced her thumb across the phoenix's nape on the back of its neck.
"He's beautiful," Hallie muttered, watching as the creature majestically tipped its head back with a euphonious squawk. Hallie turned her attention to the man, who was stood watching his phoenix intently. "I assume that's not the only reason you brought me here...to meet..."
YOU ARE READING
Troubled Love║Sirius Black
Fanfiction.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·. Sirius Black did not do feelings. He did not do love. And he certainly didn't understand why love was happening to him. Sirius had experienced a fair share of women throughout his life, yet somehow there was something about the ve...
