The Syndicate

Ginny Weasley didn't have very many friends in the world. Some of them, such as the bookworm Hermione Granger, she wondered how she had ever become friends with in the first place. This was probably due to her family's association with Harry Potter, otherwise known as the boy who lived. He was a celebrity, and thus good friends were hard to find when there was a psycho on the loose who would do anything that he could to catch the boy.

Speaking of Harry Potter, she regretted not getting to know him better. For four years she goggled over him, not really getting to get to know him personally and only caring that he was a celebrity. She didn't love him; she had already found herself a boyfriend. Neville Longbottom, even though he is a bit of a klutz, was a really nice person when you see past all of the accidents that he caused because he was so nervous of failing.

Today was the day that she and her family traveled to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies for the next term. They didn't have too much money, as her family was not the kind that would sell their soul to the Devil for wealth, and she had to get almost everything that she owned second handed. That was why she had had an infatuation with Harry up until he vanished, she wandered what it would be like for her to actually be able to get things that weren't hand me downs or second rate. But, alas, she had found true love in someone that she could share her feelings with and confide in. Neville had always been there for her, and he would continue to be there for her. Actually, it was after her third year and before the disappearance of someone who had gotten so close to her family that he could be considered one of them, only missing the red hair, that her and Longbottom started dating. At first, the twins and Ron were against it, but after a severe berating by Mrs. Weasley which ended up with them scrubbing the house from top to bottom with toothbrushes and no magic, they finally decided to give in as long as the boy didn't hurt her feelings. After they got away from the bookstore and went to the ice cream parlor, that's when things got interesting.

"You can set here if you want. I promise I don't bite."

The girls turned around and saw someone that they knew that they had never seen before yet had the feeling they had known for a long time. He wore black jeans, t-shirt, and he was wearing a black Muggle trench coat. With silver hair and shades, he looked like he would stick out like a sore thumb and yet nobody seemed to even notice that he was there.

Both of them sat down at the table and Hermione Granger, being the nosy person as she is (no offense but she can be at times), began to ask the stranger questions.

"Are you going to Hogwarts this year?" She began, knowing full well that some of the schools of magic were planning on sending students this year.

"Yes, I am."

"Oh, what school did you go to? You don't sound like you have that much of a British accent."

"I went to one in America." He had lied to the school there and told them that he was home schooled, went and took the O.W.L.S and N.E.W.T.S when he was with Spike, and passed them with flying colors. It didn't really help that at the time he cheated, but he knew the information now and that was all that mattered, wasn't it?

" What was it like there? I've always wanted to go to the States but I never got the chance."

"Well, I guess that it was nice. I don't really know for sure, as I have never actually been to another school." Vicious was starting to get good at lying. He had thought up a cover story for a while now.

"Well..." Hermione sounded a little dejected.

"How rude of us!" Ginny exclaimed a minute later. "You don't even know our names. My name is Ginny Weasley and my inquisitive friend here is Hermione Granger."

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Vicious Bromista."

"Your name is Vicious? That's a wicked name." Hermione said. She couldn't help but feel attracted to this man and yet she really didn't know that much about him.

"There's nothing wrong with my name. I have a foul temper for those that I don't consider friends and, as my name implies, I'm a bit Vicious..."

"Well, what do we have here? It's a Weasel and a Mudblood." Came a sneering voice behind them. "Who's your new friend? Trying to make up for loosing Potter. Well, that traitors going to get his soon enough when the Dark Lord gets a hold of him. He"

"Voldemort" Vicious said, interrupting the blond boy's ranting.

Malfoy and his cronies stood there with gaping mouths for several seconds, as were Hermione and Ginny. "I see you have no fear of saying his name, but you will pay for"

"I will pay for nothing. One day, he will die and when he does I will be one of the ones that spits on his carcass and says good riddance to a peace of trash."

"Insolence! He will kill you!"

"Go ahead." That silenced anything that anyone was going to say. "Let him kill me. If I die, I die. So why not speak my mind while I'm alive. Now, you and your goons leave before I loose my patience with you pieces of wizard trash."

Malfoy signaled his two goons to attack him. During Vicious' speech, he never once looked up or around to see Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle moved forward as fast as they could go, getting ready to pound the man into the ground. Vicious tilted his head a little to the side and had a bemused smile on his face. All hell was about to break loose.

"Hello." Said a friendly and jovial voice behind Malfoy and his thugs. Malfoy turned around and began another scathing remark at whoever dared to interrupt his torture of the friends of Harry Potter, the wanted criminal.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" He said before he realized that the man was none other than Dumbledore himself.

"Language, Mr. Malfoy, language. Is everything going all right here?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye, keeping his face impassive but his eyes deceived him. Instead of the normal twinkle they were a bit cold and hard.

"Everything is fine. We were just having a nice little chat with Granger, Weasley, and the transfer student. Come on Crabbe, Goyle, we have more impotent business to attend to." And with that, Malfoy stalked off; a little mad because he didn't have the pleasure of seeing the silver-haired fellow's face pounded in. It would have to wait for another time, when there weren't any professors around.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" The headmaster asked them.

"No, no, we don't mind professor." Hermione said as her face lit up with respect and awe at the venerable wizard.

"Why did you have to interrupt? I was that close to pounding those good for nothing death eaters into the ground." Vicious said and made the gesture with his hand that he had been very close to doing just that.

"I couldn't let you do that. You know that you would get in trouble and I'm positive that is not something that you wanted to happen. Of course, they are related to Death Eaters, but give them a break; they might turn out different." The wise old wizard said as he relaxed a bit in his chair, enjoying the relative shade the umbrella above them created. It was a hot day, and he was getting old.

"That is very unlikely and you know it. Malfoy was raised by one of the worst of the Death Eaters, having been given the hatred that goes along with the job by his father. Crabbe and Goyle, though I don't see how they ever got to be fifth years in the first place, haven't a brain between them and the only thing that they would ever be good at is using their strength, which Voldemort will make use of." Vicious said this, sounding as though he was talking about the weather. The others (with the exception of Albus Dumbledore) hadn't even thought of these two possibilities, and here he was, handing it to them on a silver platter and acting as if he had said nothing.

"You are very perceptive, and yes, that is exactly what I believe will happen." After Dumbledore said this, a silence broke out over the group. The girls hadn't even touched their ice cream before then and just noticed it before it turned into milk. Finally, having finished eating the cold concoction, Hermione asked a question that she had been wondering about for a little while. "Professor, why are you here, if you don't mind my asking?"

"No, I don't mind at all Ms. Granger. The Magical Menagerie contacted me a little while ago and told me fabulous news. They have had a phoenix there for ages. Only, the difference between this one and the other one is that this is an ice phoenix. Where most phoenixes are red and gold, this one is a clear sky blue and looks like it is made of many crystals. The way that the sun shines off of it and through it makes it a really beautiful creature to behold. This phoenix, instead of being born surrounded by flame, saw ice first and thus took that appearance, much like a chameleon though once it chooses, it can never change again. I seem to have gotten off track. Anyway, the pet store has had it for years on end since a phoenix has to choose its master. They were just about to give up hope when the phoenix began to sing the bonding song. It is a rare song to be heard, and those that do feel better than they can ever remember for a while after. The man bought the phoenix, paying nearly ten thousand galleons, and left. Right after he walked out, they contacted me and here I am."

"Wow." Ginny muttered to herself. "I would love to see such a creature."

"What did the guy look like? Maybe we could get him to show us his phoenix before he leaves if he hasn't left already." Hermione asked, intrigued about such an odd creature.

"The shopkeeper actually gave me a very good description. She said that the man was dressed weird. He wore a long coat, sunglasses, and had silver hair. He was also dressed completely in black, even though it was such a hot day out."

Almost as soon as he had said this, he and the two witches turned to look at the other occupant sitting at their table. He hadn't interrupted them while they were talking and looked as though he hadn't even heard a word that had been said. Looking up slightly, he noticed that the two girls' jaws were open, as they were obviously flabbergasted, and the old man had a twinkle of merriment in his eye.

"What are you looking at me for?" He asked, keeping his face behind an indifferent mask with practiced ease. Professor Snape had nothing on him.

"Well, that description fits you perfectly, Vicious." Albus said as he looked at the man before him.

"It does fit, doesn't it, Albus?" He said, allowing a fraction of a smile to appear on his face.

"Where is that beautiful phoenix of yours?" Headmaster Dumbledore asked returning the smile.

"Hogwarts." He answered. Dumbledore nodded in assent.

"That's where I thought. It's in your office, I presume?"

"Yes, it is."

"Um, professor Dumbledore sir, um, did you just ask Vicious if the phoenix was in /his/ office?" Ginny mumbled as Hermione nodded mutely, having the same question in mind.

"Oh, I thought since you were sitting at the same table, that you had been introduced properly. This, my dear students, is the new professor of Defense against the Dark Arts." And with that said, Hermione Granger properly fainted.