Marmoris | Rabastan Lestrange [1] ✔︎

15 | ACCUSED

Next to the headmaster's desk stood Crystal, pointing accusingly at Phoenix, who had frozen by the sound of her words. Her heart immediately started to beat faster as she looked back and forth between Professor Dumbledore, a wizard with long, white beard and hair, and the blonde Gryffindor. She ducked a curl behind her ear stepping a little closer. If she had learned something while being Sirius Black's sister it was not to panic when confronted, because that was when people made mistakes and gave everything away. But it was harder said than done, as she was so nervous her hands started to shake, which she covered by clutching them tightly together.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" She asked politely, pretending she hadn't heard what Crystal had just said.

Her mind was completely blank, and she had no idea on how to get out of this situation.

"Yes, yes." The old wizard began. "I've been told you were casting spells on other students."

If it was possible her heartbeat even speeded up as she desperately tried to find the right words.

"I don't think I've casted any spells on people except if it were for a task in class, like when we had to change the colour of our partner's hair." Phoenix told him, which was technically the truth since she hadn't used any spell at the incident Crystal was talking about. In fact, she didn't even know what she had done.

"Liar!" Crystal cried out. "You stretched out your hands towards me and then there was this terrible pain."

"So there was no wand involved?" Professor McGonagall chimed in, who had been standing silently next to a huge bookshelf. The blonde girl nodded, not mentioning her own wand being pointed at the Slytherin girl. Of course she wouldn't give away why Phoenix had even stretched out her hands. It would make her the cause of it all and nobody would ever doubt it was the Slytherin who started it, if she told them so, because they were always portrayed as the devil in a story.

"I left mine in my jacket back at the table." Phoenix told them.

"Can you do wandless magic, Miss Black?" The headmaster asked resting his blue eyes patiently on the brunette girl in the centre of the room.

"No, Sir. I have never tried to do wandless magic in my life, although I would really like to master it someday."

"She must be lying. That's what those Slytherins do all day. They hurt people and then they lie about it." Phoenix could hardly push her anger away, while she felt something completely different from the headmaster's side; sympathy. Immediately she looked at him but he wasn't looking at her accusingly. He looked more like he was thinking.

"For them it's all about worthy or not worthy with blood-statuses and that kind of stuff. They are on you-know-who's side, I'm sure of it." Crystal added trying to get Phoenix to look guilty, but it actually accomplished the complete opposite.

"Now calm yourself. You can't just accuse people of something without having a proof." Professor McGonagall told her houses' pupil.

"I'm sure not all of them believe in these kind of things, Miss Morgan." The headmaster told her still wearing a kind expression on his face. "Do you believe in the purity of blood, Miss Black?"

It was a question, which could only be answered on one way to be right. With her parents she would have had to say no, but in the headmaster's office she had to do the opposite. But her answer would have told him the same even if they hadn't expected her to give a particular answer. Somehow she felt he wouldn't harm her if she said what she really thought. "No, I don't and many Slytherins do not share this opinion either."

The headmaster smiled warmly at her, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon shaped spectacles. "Would you mind taking Miss Morgan back to her house, Minerva? I will handle this from this point."

"Of course." Professor McGonagall told him and left the room with an angrily mumbling Crystal following her.

Phoenix didn't know if it was a sign to be relieved or worried. Sure the girl accusing her of attacking her had just left, but the headmaster seemed to know exactly what was going on. Would he expel her for what had happened prior that day?

"A lemon candy?" The old man offered her, but she declined by shaking her head slowly.

He placed the bowl back down on his desk. "You don't know what happened at Three Broomsticks, do you?"

Again Phoenix shook her head. "No, Sir."

"You know, I have seen people with similar abilities as yours, but I've never heard of somebody doing what Miss Morgan has described."

"I don't understand. What kind of abilities are you talking about?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to tell you. Either you'll find out by yourself or you'll never know, I guess. When did it start?" Dumbledore was wearing a thoughtful expression on his face as he got up and went to one of the book shelves.

"At the beginning of the year, if my memory isn't tricking me."

"Very interesting." Phoenix watched him as he wandered next to the books as if he was looking for a particular one. "You shouldn't be afraid of it, Phoenix. It's a special gift and a blessing. It might take some time until you fully understand it, but some day you definitely will, but you need to be careful. Not everybody might handle the information about your abilities very well."

"But what exactly are my abilities, Sir? After what happened at Three Broomsticks I'm afraid I can't handle them myself." The girl told him what had bothered her all day.

The old man nodded with a comforting smile. "These kind of things take time. You can't learn it from one day to another, but you will learn how to use your powers." For a slight moment he looked at her as he was weighing whether she was worth giving more information or not before he spoke again. "You should ask Mr. Lestrange to have a look at the library at his home. It holds documents which go way back and I'm certain he will find something useful."