“Now, that I have agreed to your terms-” the Headmaster finished the last bit of his tea and stood up. He paced around his office and looked at the various trinkets and crests before continuing, “-I wonder about your future plans.”

Sol nodded and said, “Of course, I’ll be preparing to head to the next vault. I just need a-”

“I meant what you plan to do after school, Mr. Balor.”

“Ah?” Sol was caught by surprise. He wasn’t expecting a change of subject.

“I trust you fully to know that your preparations will be adequate,” the Headmaster walked over to the desk and stroked Fawkes’ feathers. “What I’m worried is about you haven’t had the chance to think about your dreams with all that’s been going on. Every year except your first has been a constant source of thrill and adventure for you. While there is a reason for that, I believe it is inconsequential for you to know. At least, right now.”

“Oh, uh…,” Sol thought for a while and said, “Maybe open a potions store. I feel like a government job or a desk job isn’t for me. Living a calm life selling potions sounds about right.”

“You seek peace, Mr. Balor?” the Headmaster looked over with an eyebrow raised.

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“That they do,” the Headmaster turned away to look at the phoenix’s eyes. “Mr. Balor, can you tell me what the phoenix is famous for?”

“That would be for its rebirth and healing tears, headmaster.”

“Right you are,” the Headmaster’s gaze towards Fawkes became affectionate as though looking at a long-time friend, “Fawkes has been with me since…a long time ago. And throughout it, I’ve witnessed him age, die in a burst of flame, and be reborn from his ashes multiple times. And not once has it failed to enthrall me. The concept of immortality and rebirth is a much-desired concept to all wizards and witches alike yet it has eluded everyone no matter how talented they were.

Yet, I believe that immortality, while achievable, is never to come without any consequence, without a sacrifice. For that’s the way of nature and creation. For we are-”

“Humans, headmaster,” Sol finished his words, “Mortals.”

“Precisely, Mr. Balor. We were born to be mortal and to pursue immortality, which many consider a higher state of being, we must lose something. Something precious. I have and so did Voldemort. Difference being, I was unsuccessful while he was only partly so. I believe that R will lose something too. It is for certain.”

“Headmaster, why tell me this?”

“So that you, Mr. Balor, understand that it is not ideal to pursue immortality of any kind whether you age slower like Nicholas Flamel or be reborn again and again like Fawkes. Rather, we should try to pursue these concepts in the metaphorical sense. Learn new things and be reborn a new person each time, suffer a bit more so that others can heal, and never hesitate to pull your own weight regardless of your size. Just like the phoenix, we can also become immortal. Not in the physical sense but rather through our actions. Leave a mark on the world, Mr. Balor. That is immortality for us mortals.”

“I…,” Sol stopped following the Headmaster with his eyes and thought for a while. He knew and had heard such words before. This was not his first time hearing them. But it was his first time hearing them in this world. The Headmaster’s words were thought-provoking, that much was true. But not enough for him to disregard his ideals.

His desire to lead a slow life will never cease. But if nothing else, at least, he’ll try to be more like a phoenix. Biggest of all was the reason why the headmaster suddenly spoke of all this. There is a reason. There must be. He decided to think about it later.

“Understood, sir.” Sol finished his thoughts and responded.

The Headmaster looked at Sol quietly, the latter’s unwavering figure reflected in his eyes. After a moment, he smiled slightly and nodded, “That will do for now, Mr. Balor. You are dismissed. Oh another thing, the password to the Gryffindor Common Room is Hippogriff.”

“Thank you, Headmaster. Then I’ll take my leave.” Sol got up from his desk and left the office, leaving the Headmaster alone with Fawkes.

Seeing the door close, the Headmaster stroked the phoenix’s feathers once again. “It’s already his 3rd year, Fawkes. Only four more years. I’ll let nature take its course.”

Outside the Gryffindor Common Room

After chatting a bit with the Fat Lady, Sol quietly opened the door to the common room. The door swung without any creaking and Sol stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Once he had stepped foot inside, everyone present there went dead silent as they stared at him. The silence felt awkward and unnerving.

He raised an arm and waved awkwardly, “Uh, hi, guys…?” Before he could expect anything, the entire common room erupted in a loud and raucous cheer. The students of all years ran up and crowded Sol. Caught off-guard by the sudden attention, Sol had a delayed reaction. He suddenly found his feet leave the ground as Fred and George picked him up and placed him on their shoulders.

“A round of cheers for our little mate here!” he heard a seventh-year senior say and the Gryffindor students erupted in cheers once again.

Struggling to find his balance, Sol reasoned, “B-Bloody hell, guys, there’s no need for this! The seventh and sixth years seniors did m-more than me!”

“Well, that’s what the bloke says, but we know different!” a sixth-year student laughed out loud.

Sol looked down to see Fred and George grinning at him. Fred poked his sides and said, “Well, mate, I’m sure you were planning to keep quiet but-”

“-with the help of the lovely, Romilda Vane, we managed to get the details!” George finished. Sol looked around to see the girl hide her blushing face.

“Not the suspension bridge effect….” He sighed inwardly and hoped nothing would come out of this.

As Fred and George paraded Sol on their shoulders, the other students quickly got their snacks and other trinkets and began to party hard. Sol also began to laugh and chat after a while, trying to stay modest. Harry and the other third-years came around to ask what had happened. Sol played it off like nothing happened but with Romilda recounting the events fervently (which made Sol wonder how the hell she had seen it take place without anyone noticing) like a star-struck fan, that became really hard to do.

The cheery and loud atmosphere ended with dinner as everyone went to the Great Hall with happy smiles and giggles. Sol stayed in the common room saying he needed to unpack everything as he hadn’t gotten the time before. Entering the sleeping quarters, Sol sat down on a sofa and sunk his body into its softness. Covering his eyes with his arm, he began to think. “I’ve already gone through the Vault of Ice and the Vault of Fear, next must be…-” Sol tried to remember, “-the vault in the Forbidden Forest. Ugh, that’ll be troublesome. Out of everything, I don’t want to run into the centaurs. But knowing my luck, that’s probably going to be the case.”

Sol exhaled loudly. The place was empty and quiet, allowing him to be alone with his thoughts. His conversation with the Headmaster replayed in his head. “It started with a report and ended with a lesson. On what, exactly? There must be something between the lines or rather, maybe the line is all there is to it. Impossible! The Headmaster isn’t one to say unnecessary things. Haah~ I don’t want to think anymore. There’s no need for me to be reactive. Let’s get going then.”

Sol got up from the sofa and began to unpack. He put his stuff in bedside drawers and got dressed in school robes. After which, he left the common room for the Great Hall to get dinner. Since all the students were dining, the halls of the castle were empty and hollow, save for some of the ghosts that had nothing better to do.

Sol looked at the misanthropic ghosts and wondered if Peeves would pop up to play another prank. While he hadn’t fallen for any of his tricks yet, having to keep your guard up all the time was very exhausting. Opening the large doors, he entered the Great Hall, which bustled with the chatting and giggling of the students.

While the Gryffindor students talked amongst themselves (probably out of consideration for Sol), the other houses had gotten noticeably quieter. Their hushed murmurs probably asking and evaluating Sol. Unconcerned, he made his way toward Katie and Cormac and took a seat next to them.

As soon as he was about to eat, the Headmaster stood up and tapped the side of his metal goblet with a spoon. As if he cast a magic spell, the entire hall went silent. The headmaster looked at everyone again before saying loudly, “Everyone, I have an announcement to make.”