Noyade | Rabastan Lestrange [2] ✔︎

37 | DISAPPOINTMENT

"You don't understand, sir. I have to see Professor Dumbledore. This is an emergency," Phoenix urged, pushing Maureen's hand from her shoulder.

Professor Slughorn stood in the Slytherin Common Room in his nightgown, scratching his greying head at the request of the young student.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I've told her several times that it was nothing but a bad dream, but she insisted on calling for you," Maureen explained, shrugging her shoulder.

If the vision hadn't exhausted Phoenix as much as it had, she most likely would have been annoyed at her best friend's words, considering that she had vowed to believe her whenever it came to her mysterious powers – her Nephilim powers.

The youngest Black sibling shook her head violently. "Please, I urge you to believe me. I know how those powers of mine feel and somehow I have managed to conjure up a spell to find Jack Avery. His life is in danger. Don't you see how serious this is?"

"I guess I can't deny your request, if there is a life at stake." The elderly professor sighed and slowly nodded. Then he raised his finger in a warning manner, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, "But if I should find out that you are taking after your older brother, Miss Black, and pranking teachers as well as students, you will find yourself in great trouble. Understood?"

"I understand perfectly. Thank you, sir," Phoenix agreed while Maureen simply groaned.

Nonetheless, she accompanied them to the headmaster's office, where they were ordered to wait for him to be woken up. As it turned out, there was no waking up needed, since the door to his office swung open upon their knock and Professor Dumbledore sat behind his desk, a cup of tea in his hand.

Professor McGonagall, who had been the one to open the door, tilted her head in surprise and asked her colleague, "Horace, what are your students doing up at this late hour?"

As if to underline her words, the grandfather clock next to the headmaster's desk informed them in that very moment that it was two o'clock in the morning. The teachers as well as the students were all dressed in their nightgowns except for the headmaster, who looked like he had just returned from outside, his cloak placed on the desk in front of him.

Slughorn shrugged, "They asked to speak to Albus because of some dream Miss Black had."

"Excuse me, Professor, but it was actually a vision, not a dream," Phoenix clarified and she could almost see Maureen roll her eyes next to her.

Her best friend's behaviour was inexplicable to her. Usually she was always the first to believe her when it came to her powers, but this time she seemed unusually stubborn to find other explanations for what Phoenix had seen. But she knew it had been real and there was no time for discussions.

Therefore she was beyond thankful when Professor Dumbledore suggested, "Well, then please take a seat Miss Black and Miss Zabini."

Phoenix exhaled in relief. A small part of her had believed that Dumbledore would suggest talking about it the following day because he, just like Maureen, thought it shouldn't be taken too seriously. Contrary to Maureen, whose behaviour struck her as thoroughly weird, he hadn't been the one to find her lying on the bathroom floor, covered in sweat and shaking violently or to hit her because she couldn't escape the pain of the vision. In fact, she found it quite hard to point her finger at what had actually happened, since she had never been able to feel other people's pain in her visions before, although she had been haunted by visions of cuts on somebody's lower arms, just beneath washed-out, grey shirtsleeves, for some time up to that point in time.

However, the headmaster seemed to be genuinely interested in what she had seen. As the girls sat down he ran his hand over his beard and leaned forward, "So what is it that you have witnessed, Miss Black."

As quick as possible, since there was no time to loose, she told him what she had seen in her vision. She shuddered as she described how ill Jack had looked, but Dumbledore's facial expression didn't change throughout her whole story and when she finally told him how she woke up because Maureen hit her cheek, he simply leaned back in his chair, eyeing both of them curiously. There was something in his facial expression Phoenix couldn't quite place. It almost seemed like pity or sadness, which was reasonable because Jack's situation truly was horrible.

"You're right. What you have seen sounds quite alarming," he agreed, thoughtfully, but still not moving to take any action. "Do you know where the cellar you have told us about is located?"

Phoenix shook her head and answered, "No, but today when I was talking to Professor Avery he received a letter, which informed him of his brother's whereabouts. He will know where he is being held captive."

The elderly man with a long grey beard got to his feet and walked around the desk. Phoenix was already about close her eyes in relief that he would handle the situation, but the professor didn't actually take any measures but rather walked in silence, his long blue robe nearly touching the floor as he did. Both of the girls simply watched him, curious as to what he would do next.

Finally he stopped behind them, giving them a sorry look. Before he even said anything a cold feeling shot through Phoenix' entire body. He wouldn't do anything to help Jack. She slowly began to shake her head, getting to her feet, "Please, sir, you have to help him."

"I fear there's nothing I can do, Miss Black," Dumbledore admitted, stepping towards one of the portraits which lined the walls of the complete office and examining it. "All of the ministry's resources are currently on the task of reducing the deaths and disappearances of Muggle-borns and Half-bloods. Jack is a Pure-blood. He shouldn't be affected by Lord Voldemort's doing."

"Just supposing what Phoenix has told us about her vision actually happened somewhere out there, doesn't this prove that he's actually affected too?" Maureen intersected, turning her full body towards where the man stood. "We were taught that the Cruciatus Curse is one of the Unforgivable Curses. Shouldn't this make finding the person who uses it a priority? He might be using the other two curses as well."

"Of course there are units of the ministry looking for those people, but right now safety in other sectors is more important, Miss Zabini," the headmaster explained.

Phoenix gasped, narrowing her eyes at him. "So saving your people is worth all the resources the ministry has, but saving a Pure-blood when his live is evidently in danger isn't? How could I have been so stupid as to believe you were a wise man?"

"You misunderstand me..."

"No, I think I quite understand what you want to tell us, sir," Phoenix exclaimed, rage evident in her voice. Apparently her parents had been right all along. The filthy-blooded wizards and witches would be the doom of the Pure-bloods. It had also been a Half-blood who had corrupted Jack and now he was being tortured for sharing his late wife's beliefs. Pure-bloods were better off without them. Maybe – but just maybe – Bella wasn't so wrong in her strong beliefs either. "Apparently there are people who are worth more and there are people who are worth less. I guess you'd rather help the Muggles kill every Pure-blood than save one of your employees, so I'll have to go look for him myself."

With that she got up and walked towards the door, but then she heard the headmaster say, "The school grounds have been locked down. You can save yourself the trouble, Miss Black."

That was the last bit needed to make her anger let her powers run lose. With an incredible crash the pictures on the wall fell to the cold floor.