The comeback bird

Among the many dreams I had last night:

Dumbledore helped Harry escape from a bad part of town.

Afterward, Harry sauntered over to where Hermione had made a chocolate cake. He began to redo the frosting.

“What’s gotten into you?” Hermione asked.

Harry continued jabbing at the frosting. “I’m making a picture of a comeback bird.”

“Harry,” Hermione said scornfully, “that ‘comeback bird’ is called a phoenix.”

Harry said nothing.

“And you can’t put buttercream on when I’ve already covered it in boiled icing!”

Sure enough, the table now held a smeary cocoa-colored mess which revealed a pale purple cake underneath.