"As it happens I was just going to go searching for you too. Just received the bird from my supplier after all. Though something spooked them so the hand over was quite fast. I barely even managed to store it in my case!" I said casually.
"Oh? May I see that case? It looks rather similar to the sort Newt has." he asked eyeing the case.
I held it out "By all means perhaps you could tell me about it, I found it by chance in the castle you see. Stroke of luck in my opinion." I said and he nodded as he took the case and looked it over.
"The magic is indeed quite similar to what Newt uses. But it's different in small ways. Perhaps made by someone following in his footsteps but discarded the idea midway through. A good find that will serve you well I think." he said as he handed the case back.
"Now then we should probably be seeing Hagrid since he'll be the one taking care of the creature. I'll be much too busy with my school work to do so properly after all." I said and he nodded.
We were already at the edge of the forbidden forest so reaching Hagrid's hut where the half giant was in the process of butchering a rabbit for his lunch took little time. He looked between me and Dumbledore in confusion for a moment when we approached but quickly remembered the previous days conversation.
"Already? I haven't even had time to find a spot for it yet." he said awkwardly.
I shrugged "Nothing for it i'm afraid, my supplier moved quickly this time." I said helplessly.
He sighed "Alright then. Where is the beauty anyways?" he asked as he carefully scanned the sky overhead.
I tapped the suitcase "In here. A moment please. Oh and do step back a bit, it's fairly large." I warned as I set the case on the ground and topped the latches.
The false insides appeared as the case flipped open but a flick of my wand caused them to vanish revealing a ladder leading down. I held up my hand and curled my fingers to the corners of my mouth before whistling the "follow" command into the case.
"TZEEERRRR!" A resplendent birds cry was the response to the call and soon the brilliant figure of the flaming bird shot out of the case.
Hagrid gasped in awe while Dumbledore just stared at the bird hovering mid air with intensely twinkling eyes. I whistled for the bird to land and it obeyed without issue as it gracefully landed next to me and nudged me with it's head.
"Needy thing." I said with a laugh as a ruffled it's feathers.
"It seems it truly isn't one of Fawkes kind. The similarities are striking but it couldn't be more obviously different." Dumbledore finally said as he approached again.
"It's a right magnificent creature is what it is." Hagrid said as he tried to offer the rabbit he was butchering to the bird.
The bird sniffed the still a bit bloody rabbit carcass before snorting in disdain and turning it's beak up at it. Hagrid awkwardly took the thing back but seemed to remember something and his face lit up as he moved over to the side of his hut and lifted up the familiar barrel of sulfur under his arm and came back. Dumbledore just watched this curiously from the side. When Hagrid popped the top on the barrel the birds gaze immediately zeroed in on it's contents.-
"Reckon it'll let me touch it now?" the half giant asked hopefully as the bird feasted on the crunchy yellow substance in the barrel.
"You are free to try but those flames aren't fake, it really is on fire so you might burn yourself." I said with a shrug.
"You didn't get burned though?" he said confused.
"I'm pretty much immune to heat, you aren't." I said honestly.
"I believe your gifts are lightning related though?" Dumbledore said with a curious look.
"Indeed but which is hotter, lightning or fire?" I asked and he looked enlightened.
"Ah I see! Truly the gifts your ordeal left you with are rather envious indeed." he said with a smile.
"It was a trade off." I said internally snickering at the little joke.
Finally the bird had filled it's stomach with sulfur and was satisfied. Hagrid resealed the barrel and put it away again.
"Er, lad I don't mean to be a bother but I'm not sure how i'm supposed to move it if I can't touch it." Hagrid said reluctantly.
"Oh that's easy, you just have to whistle to correct command. Pay attention." I said as I began to go over the various command whistles there were.
He struggled with it at first but after some practice he got it more or less.
"I'm surprised it's so well trained. Usually magical beasts aren't nearly so obedient." Dumbledore said once Hagrid was done figuring out the commands.
"This one's species are apparently quite docile even when fully wild. Once tamed nothing changes except it now listens to someone else. Make no mistake however, it's still more than capable of killing if threatened." I said honestly.
I ruffled the birds feathers one last time before I left it in Hagrid's care and headed up the grassy cobbled path to the castle with Dumbledore leisurely strolling next to me. Neither of us said anything as we walked but I was fairly certain that was more because no more needed to be said. The score was quite clear as this time I won and now it was his move.