Dumbledore kept the professors behind.
He clearly had no intention of letting Su Er take part in what came next.
Repeated Apparition had left Fawkes somewhat tired. After taking Su Er back to his dormitory, he glanced sideways at the few egg tarts left on Su Er's desk, then looked toward the door.
"Got it, got it."
Having the Kitchen and the common room on the same corridor made things easy. Unlike Harry and the others, who had to sneak down from the top of the tower and take care not to run into Filch on patrol or professors out for a stroll.
"Good evening, sir." The house-elf in the Kitchen bowed deeply and respectfully to Su Er as he pushed the door open and entered.
After he explained what he wanted, the house-elf quickly prepared a huge pile of food for him.
"These are big sis Fawkes's favorites," it said.
Wait!
Big sis Fawkes?
Dumbledore's Fawkes was a girl?
Judging by how practiced the house-elf was, this clearly wasn't Fawkes's first visit to the Kitchen to satisfy his appetite. Who would have thought?
"Would you like me to deliver this to your dormitory, sir?" the house-elf asked eagerly. "Sir?"
Recovering from his shock, Su Er looked at the food piled on the table and considered it. He really would have trouble carrying it all back in one trip.
He hadn't expected Fawkes to be able to eat this much, either.
Wait, phoenixes could eat meat?
"If it's not too much trouble... it would be best if you could deliver it to my dormitory."
The house-elf trembled and gave another deep bow. "It is our honor to put our abilities at a wizard's service, sir."
With the house-elf's help, things naturally became much easier for Su Er. He didn't forget