Chapter 143: Phoenix Feather (4)

Catherine collapsed onto the floor of Dumbledore's office, her body trembling uncontrollably. It had been less than half an hour since her lesson began, and she had already vomited once and fainted twice in her desperate attempt to summon true fire. Each time she tried, the sheer amount of energy overwhelmed her, filling her with fear. Despite her determination, she couldn't even touch the source of that power within her.

She couldn't help but suspect that her anxiety over the upcoming plan to acquire a feather from Fawkes was contributing to her struggle. It wasn't the danger of approaching a fully grown phoenix that unnerved her, but the fact that she was about to lie and deceive the Headmaster—a man who had always appeared to be honest with her.

'At least he doesn't treat me like a helpless child, no matter how unpleasant or harsh the truth may be.' – she thought, struggling to her feet – 'Why am I even doing this? Is it worth the risk of getting expelled, or messing up the transfiguration or the potion?'

Remus' face flashed in her mind, and her heart clenched with a pang of guilt. She imagined how lonely and terrified he must be every full moon, and she remembered his brave smile, his selflessness—how hard he had tried to convince them to abandon their dangerous plan to become Animagi.

'I can't! It's better if we just pretend it didn't happen and move on.' – Moony's words echoed in her mind, but to her surprise, the pain they once caused had begun to fade. The sting of rejection was slowly giving way to a dull ache of shame and the deep sadness of losing her friend.

'I might have screwed things up between us, but I'll make sure at least the boys are there for him!' – Catherine thought with renewed determination – 'We're going to become Animagi. I'll make sure of it!'

"You seem a bit distracted tonight, my dear." – Dumbledore's voice broke through her thoughts – "Perhaps we should call it a night?"

"No, Sir!" – the girl replied immediately – "I promise I'll concentrate harder!"

"You must be kinder to yourself, Catherine." – the Headmaster said with a sad smile – "It's no use if you create a mental barrier which prevents you from using true fire. It's essential that…"

A loud bang from outside suddenly interrupted him, followed by a series of explosions so intense that dust began to shake loose from above.

"Professor Dumbledore, Sir!" – Filch's urgent voice called out before the Caretaker burst into the office, casting a suspicious glance at the Gryffindor – "Someone's ignited a whole crate of magical fireworks just below your office! It looks like there's a student hanging from the ceiling, but I can't… I mean, it's safer if a teacher gets him down! Those bloody punks have no shame or restraint anymore! If only the Headmaster would let me…"

"Is the student alright?" – the older wizard cut in impatiently, already moving towards the door.

"I don't know, Headmaster, there's a lot of smoke!" – the other man admitted as he hurried after his employer.

"Catherine, I'll let you know when we can continue our work. For now, return to the Gryffindor Tower." – Dumbledore instructed her quickly before rushing downstairs.

The young witch knew there was no time to waste. She quickly approached the phoenix, who, as usual, was perched serenely on the golden stand behind the door. He was awake, his shining black eyes watching the fourth-year student with quiet curiosity.

'How am I supposed to do this?' – Catherine wondered, her thoughts racing – 'Should I ask him if it's alright to take a feather?' 

As she pondered the delicate task, the girl reached beneath her robes and pulled out a golden pendant shaped like a teardrop, with a crimson gemstone at its centre. The pendant, called The Eternal Flame, had belonged to her grandmother and was a priceless family heirloom imbued with undisputed magical properties. Catherine had been astonished when her mother entrusted her with it, cherishing it as one of the few tangible connections to her McMahon heritage.

'It's funny how I've started wearing it less and less as time went on.' – the Gryffindor mused, her gaze shifting to the silver ring on her right hand. The oval jade stone glimmered softly in the flickering candlelight. It was a gift from her brother, and it had proven to be surprisingly useful, redirecting hexes away from the wearer.

'These are the only two items with magical stones I own.' – Catherine reflected, holding the pendant and the ring in her hands – 'Dumbledore said it's best if they carry traces of someone's feelings, so I don't have much choice… but which one is most suitable? The pendant is certainly more valuable, but I can't bring myself to give up the ring. So…'

"Please, Fawkes, take it! I need one of your feathers!" - the young witch pleaded, extending her hand with the pendant in it towards the phoenix. Fawkes tilted his red and gold head, observing her intently. After what felt like an eternity, the bird finally opened his beak and took the Eternal Flame. The red stone began to glow, then the whole piece of jewellery vanished as Fawkes' feathers emitted a faint light.

'I hope this was enough.' – Catherine thought, carefully stroking Dumbledore's familiar before taking a deep breath and plucking on of the tail feathers.

The harrowing shriek that followed made the girl jump back in horror, her fingers clutching the feather tightly. Fawkes was visibly agitated, his wings spreading wide as he fixed a fiery glare on the human who had dared to touch him. His feathers crackled like an impending firestorm, flames licking the ground beneath him and striking toward the witch.

For Catherine, the scene unfolded in slow motion. Terror froze her body as she watched the phoenix's fiery rage unleashed upon her. She didn't need to be open to her element to feel the surge of true fire—she knew she might not survive it.

Acting purely on instinct, she reached deep within herself, driven by a desperate will to survive. She felt that same overwhelming, terrifying presence, but this time, she didn't recoil.

'I have to use true fire! There's no other way, no other chance! This is my power! I need it now!' – she screamed internally.

A wall of golden flame erupted before the Gryffindor's stunned eyes, absorbing the full force of the phoenix's wrath. Silence fell in Dumbledore's office as the true fire slowly faded away. Catherine realised she had sunk to her knees, unsure if she could stand. A gentle cooing reached her ears, followed by a wave of comforting warmth and softness. She looked down to find Fawkes nestled in her lap, his previous agitation forgotten.

"You're quite the menace, aren't you?"- the girl whispered, summoning the strength to rise – "I suppose you didn't like my gift. Maybe you would have preferred the ring… I guess I'm much more attached to it than I thought."

Gathering her belongings in a hurry, Catherine left the Headmaster's office. Muffled voices echoed from somewhere nearby, punctuated by occasional explosions.

'Playing with true fire might prove to be much more dangerous than I ever imagined.' – the forth-year thought, tucking the phoenix feather securely under her robes. It radiated intense heat, but she didn't mind. Despite her exhaustion, a sense of happiness and fulfilment washed over her—she had finally managed to wield true fire, and quite a substantial amount of it.

Entering the Room of Requirement, the girl practically collapsed onto the stone tiles, allowing herself to take a deep breath and calm her frantic heartbeat.

"Didn't you hear us calling you?" – Sirius asked as he and James entered the room – "We couldn't catch up with you—you were moving so fast."

"No. I didn't hear you. I just wanted to get here as soon as possible." – Catherine replied, slowly standing up – "You two caused quite a commotion. Filch was so angry, there was practically foam coming out of his mouth."

"Well, it had to be something big to make Dumbledore step in personally." – James said with a shrug, completely unapologetic – "By the way, I used that spell you showed me the other day. You should have seen Ronan hanging from the ceiling completely naked. Quite a sight!"

"I have enough nightmares as it is." – the girl responded flatly, as she carefully took the phoenix feather from beneath her robes and placed it beside the silver chest containing the Ashwinder egg – "And that spell is probably one of Snape's creations, so maybe don't go using it on just anyone."

"Why not?" – James chuckled – "This way, they might think it was the greasy git who hexed Ronan. He didn't see us before we stunned him."

"Was it hard to get the feather?" – Sirius interrupted, steering the conversation towards the subject he was mostly interested in.

"No. It went according to plan." – Catherine answered, avoiding her friend's gaze. She didn't want to worry them with the details of just how dangerous the ordeal had been – "I think we can start brewing the potion once we're back after Christmas."

"We still lack the Mandragora leaves." – James reminded them – "Shall we try getting them before we leave for the holidays?"

"It's probably our best shot." – the young witch nodded – "I can preserve them until it's time to use them. We just need to sneak into the Greenhouse. We're so close - I'm starting to feel nervous."

"Don't worry, Flame!" – Sirius grinned – "We can't mess up something as simple as this."