Mist drifted through the beechwood.
She walked among the trees, looking around. They resembled the pillars of a cathedral, forming a long corridor, while the "ceiling," like the ceiling of Hogwarts's Great Hall, displayed the scene outside.
"You have never been to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters," Albus, his hair and beard entirely white, said as he watched her from a distance.
She looked somewhat bewildered.
"Walk with me for a while," Albus said, bending his arm as he had once done by the Black Lake.
"You're making me feel as though you intend to escort me to a wedding altar," she said with a smile, yet she still took Albus's arm and walked forward along the corridor.
"You know, it is not always a Phoenix that rises again from the flames," Albus said.
"I know. There are demons too," she said playfully. "And Garudas. After they die, they turn into a pearl that the Nagas steal, so Garudas eat Nagas in hopes of taking back that pearl."
"Then which would you choose?" Albus asked.
"Neither," she said with a smile.
"May I ask why?"
Queen of the Night, the fire of your revenge burns so fiercely that not even your own daughter escapes it.
"I choose to grow up," she said quietly. "Perhaps it is time for me to give up being a little girl for the rest of my life."
"Is it because of me?" Albus asked.
"Partly," she said frankly. "If both my parents suddenly ceased to be around, I realized I would have to grow up."
"Harry Potter has no parents either. Do you think he has grown up?" Albus asked.
"He is different."
"How is he different?" Albus asked.
Because he is a boy. Boys can go their entire lives without growing up.
"If Lily applied