In the blink of an eye, it was Monday again.
Early in the morning, the young wizards arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry looked rather tired — ever since joining the Quidditch team, he hadn't had a proper break all weekend.
During the day, he was dragged off by Wood for training, and at night, he still had to serve detention.
At this moment, the person Harry hated the most was definitely Snape, followed closely by Malfoy.
Even Dudley ranked behind those two now.
Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall burst open, and a flurry of chaotic noises erupted — it sounded as if hundreds of birds were flapping their wings at once.
The young wizards were already used to this by now and hurried to fill their bowls to the brim, pulling their plates closer to protect their food.
Soon, flocks of owls flew in, dropping letters and packages into their recipients' arms — or sometimes into their soup — leaving behind a mess.
The Weasley twins sneakily hid their own packages. They had bought dungbombs and nosebleed nougat from Zonko's Joke Shop, and under no circumstances could Professor McGonagall see them.
Harry also picked up his copy of today's Daily Prophet and began reading.
"Caw!"
Just then, a birdcall rang out from nowhere.
The owls began to tremble, and two that were flying mid-air even dropped straight into the soup.
Everyone looked up, trying to find the source of the sound.
Suddenly, a blaze of fire appeared in midair, and from within the flames soared a phoenix, wings spread wide, carrying two packages in its talons.
Under everyone's stunned gaze, the phoenix landed beside Wayne, gently setting down the two parcels.
"Th-this…"
Cedric, who had just been enthusiastically talking to Wayne about the glorious history of the Chudley Cannons, was now too shocked to speak properly.
"Huh? These are just the parcels I ordered. What's the big deal?"
Wayne casually placed the packages at his feet.
"No! That's not the point!" Cedric finally found his voice.
"The point isn't the parcels — it's that phoenix!"
Looking at the majestic phoenix now perched on Wayne's shoulder, calmly preening its feathers, Cedric couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Why is a phoenix delivering your mail?!"
He voiced the question that every new young wizard in the room desperately wanted answered.
Even Professor Sprout and Professor Kettleburn, who taught Care of Magical Creatures, rushed over from the staff table.
Especially Professor Kettleburn — having only half a leg remaining, he floated over using a magically propelled chair, gazing at the phoenix with infatuation.
"Look at her! How beautiful she is!"
"Beautiful?" Wayne raised an eyebrow and reached out to stroke the phoenix's head.
Compared to when she had just hatched, the phoenix — Ho-Oh — had changed dramatically.
Now she had grown vivid orange-red feathers, with hints of green at the tail.
She certainly looked a lot better than before.
But as for being beautiful… to be honest, Wayne felt his bird was merely decent-looking — maybe better than some Pokémon, but far from stunning.
Sensing her master's lack of appreciation, Ho-Oh let out a disgruntled chirp and pecked Wayne gently on the cheek — almost like she was sulking or acting spoiled.
She had it so tough!
When she was born, her master had mistaken her for a Spearow. Now that she had finally grown a little and started to resemble the legendary Pokémon she was meant to be, her master still wasn't satisfied.
What more did he want?!
Did he need her to take human form and repay him like in some old fairytale before he'd be happy?
"Mr. Lawrence, this phoenix…?"
Professor Sprout asked after observing it for a while.
"Ho-Oh came to me a few days after I received my acceptance letter. We hit it off, so she decided to stay with me," Wayne said nonchalantly, not worried whether they believed him.
After all, the wizarding world was full of miracles and legends — he was just using this opportunity to make Ho-Oh's presence known.
"'Hit it off'?"
Cedric's eyes turned red with envy at that offhanded explanation, and the other young wizards weren't doing much better.
At the Gryffindor table, Hermione looked ready to burst — if not for the professors being nearby, she would've already run over to examine the phoenix up close.
It was a phoenix, after all!
In this entire century, only two phoenixes were known to exist.
One of them was Dumbledore's companion — Fawkes.
The second phoenix belonged to the Quidditch team Moutohora Macaws—it was their mascot, Spark.
Wayne's phoenix was the third one.
A brand-new first-year student… and his pet was actually a phoenix?
Malfoy was so envious he nearly ground his teeth to dust.
His favorite magical creature was the fire dragon, but that didn't mean he didn't like phoenixes. Such rare and noble magical beings were perfect for the Malfoy family.
For a moment, Malfoy even had the urge to buy the phoenix from Wayne.
Unfortunately, unless someone was a complete idiot, there was no way they'd ever sell it to him.
Professor Sprout opened her mouth after hearing Wayne's explanation. She had a question stuck in her throat but ended up not asking it.
She wanted to ask Wayne: "Is your real last name Dumbledore?"
Those well-versed in magical lore knew that phoenixes would appear when the Dumbledore family was in need.
Wayne's description fit that theory quite well.
As the Great Hall fell into an eerie silence, a clear cry rang out again.
But this time, it wasn't the Phoenix. It came from another phoenix.
Sensing the presence of a fellow kin, Fawkes had tracked it down.
He didn't come alone—he had dragged Dumbledore with him.
Old Dumbledore clearly hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. He was still in his pajamas, wearing a ridiculous sleeping cap on his head.
Several young wizards couldn't help but laugh—because Dumbledore's pajamas were adorable, decorated with puffskeins and little fairies.
"Fawkes, what's going on? Why the rush?"
Dumbledore obviously hadn't figured out the situation and was still a bit groggy.
Fawkes ignored him and flew straight to Wayne, circling above his head. The Phoenix rose as well, flames igniting around its body.
Fawkes chirped joyfully and lowered his head on his own.
He could feel it—this phoenix's bloodline was even more noble than his. Even though it was still in its juvenile stage, it deserved his respect.
"Incredible…" Dumbledore had sobered up, watching the display between the two phoenixes with eyes full of astonishment.
"Mr. Lawrence, is she your pet?"
"Of course," Wayne nodded.
"Although first-year students are only allowed to bring toads, rats, or owls as pets,"
"But the Phoenix serves a similar role to an owl—mainly for delivering messages. That shouldn't be a violation of the rules, right?"
The entire hall fell silent.
Cedric was stunned. His fists clenched tightly.
You're flexing so casually… you're really just asking to be punched!