Sirius Black crouched lower against Buckbeak's back to try to shield himself from the icy slipstreams of air battering his face. His threadbare robes, stolen long ago from a careless drunken wizard during his first few weeks of escape, were hardly enough protection from the chill so high above the earth on this late spring evening. Yet he dared not stop his journey until he had put more distance between him and Hogwarts. He might not have a destination but anywhere away from the Dementor's kiss was good enough for him at the moment.
His heart was still racing, not from the cold or the thrill of the ride but from the fact that tonight, for the first time in twelve long years, someone besides himself knew the truth about what happened the night James and Lily Potter were murdered. Sirius was not responsible for the death of two of his best friends and although the number of people who knew this to be a fact was small, included were Remus Lupin and Harry Potter, the only two people Sirius had ever truly cared about believing him. The mere thought of these two holding this knowledge had kept him sane through many a long night in Azkaban and now that is was real, Sirius could finally accept that he was in fact free of the walls that had held him for so many years.
Harry. James' son. He had been braver than what could have possibly been expected from a thirteen-year-old boy. Earlier that night in the Shreiking Shack, he had been ready to fight Sirius to the death to protect his friends and his parents' memory. Exactly what his father would have done. For one brief shining hour this evening, when it seemed possible that Sirius' name could actually be cleared Harry had agreed to come live with him and for a moment Sirius wondered if all that time in Azakban had been worth it. Then Peter Pettigrew had escaped again and all chances of clearing his name had been lost. Sirius was on the run once again, yet this time with the knowledge that somewhere out there in the night there were people on his side.
Sirius had no idea where he was headed. Judging by the moon's location Buckbeak was flying south, and Sirius didn't think to tell him to change his path. The truth was that there was no place left on the entire isle of Britain that was safe for him now. The news of his escape had burned like wildfire through papers, both Wizard and Muggle, and there was no doubt to him that all manner of law enforcement agents would be looking for him. The best he could hope was that when Buckbeak landed he would be able to find some sort of suitable shelter for the night and he would be struck with inspiration come sunrise as to a plan for both of them.
Suddenly Sirius was jolted from his thoughts and almost jolted from his seat. Buckbeak had stopped flying and hovered in the air flapping his great wings.
"What is it, boy?" Sirius inquired searching the skies for whatever might have spooked the beast. He noticed a shimmer in the east, and for a moment he thought it was the moonlight dancing off a cloud and almost laughed out loud and the hippogriff's skittishness till he noticed that the shimmer seemed to moving towards them both at a rapid speed. As it grew closer and larger, Sirius started to panic. His wand had been taken from him long ago and still resided somewhere in the bowels of Azkaban along with whatever belongings he had entered the prison. Whatever this thing was he had no way to defend himself from it and he considered having Buckbeak land regardless of their present location. He would much rather have a shot at facing it with two feet planted firmly on the ground. He certainly hadn't endured a dozen years in Azkaban and the greatest escape in Wizarding History to have it all end falling to his death of the back of a renegade hippogriff. The words were just about to leave his lips when a trilling sound rang through the air that filled his heart with warmth. A phoenix song. He allowed the object to grow closer and was soon able to distinguish flapping wing and its long feathered tail. To his surprise Buckbeak no longer seemed frightened but curious of their new visitor. It was not the vibrant red and golds of a true phoenix but a glowing silver white, solid but translucent enough to see the moon's light through its wings.
The patronus flew within a few feet of them when it stopped and opened its mouth. This time, instead of the bird's song, a familiar but welcome voice came out. "Sirius, go Godric's Hollow. I will meet you there as soon as I can. Be careful." And with that the phoenix dissolved and vanished. Buckbeak squawked as if he understood the bird and tilted head so that one of his yellow eyes lay on Sirius as if waiting for directions.
"Southeast," Sirius said and tucked himself low into its feathers again as they headed towards their destination.
Albus Dumbledore stared out the window of his office. Somewhere out there Sirius Black was tearing through the night and he wondered if his Patronus had found him yet. The old manner of communication of the Order of the Phoenix was still as safe as it had been. No wizard could mimic the form of another's Patronus and he knew that it would not stop until it found Sirius. The only safer method he could think of was sitting on his perch behind him.
The phoenix was truly an amazing creature. It was impossible to assume the life span of a phoenix, if in fact ever died at all due to its powers of regeneration. It was immeasurably strong, its tears could cure any illness or injury short of death, and it had the ability to appear and disappear to any location. Loyal to the point of its own death, yet it was an extremely rare companion for a wizard. In fact Dumbledore knew of only one other person who could make the claim of having a phoenix for a companion, and it was that person who he felt might be the only person who would be able to help Sirius Black right now. He sat down at his desk and wrote a short letter.
"Fawkes, I need you to take this to your friend Gráinne, if I am right and I usually am, this might the only way to protect Sirius." Fawkes tilted his head while listening and nodded. He took the note in one of his claws and disappeared in a burst of fire.
It was a cold night in the mountains of Poland, but Lucy Ollivander had a job to do and she wasn't going to get to warm anytime soon if it didn't get done. She had been tracking the graphorn for three miles already over rocky terrain in her silenced boots just waiting for the perfect shot. The beast, a large male with excellent horns, had finally stopped to take a drink from the stream and rest for a bit. She took off her pack, withdrew her bow and climbed a nearby pine tree to ensure a perfect shot, back of
the neck, the animal would never know what hit him. She took her wand from her thigh holster and placed a silent engorgio on the bow and arrow, or else it would never pierce the graphorn's thick skin. She had just cocked back the bow when a loud pop and the trill of a phoenix song almost made her fall out of the tree. It also succeeded in scaring the graphorn, who took off into the woods at top speed.
"Gráinne," Lucy sighed in frustration. "You made me miss my shot. You know better than that. Do that again and next time you stay home." Lucy jumped down from the tree, reduced her weapons again and put them away. She picked up her pack and looked around for her phoenix, who was sitting in the branches of a tree not far away, and she wasn't alone. She gave Lucy a look of disdain as if to say, 'Clearly I know better when you're hunting but you better have a chat with him.' The phoenix beside her was bobbing his head up of down and spreading his tail feathers in show in an attempt to catch the female phoenix's attention. She was thoroughly unimpressed.
"Stop flirting, Fawkes." Lucy said the phoenix. "You're wasting your time, my girl's playing hard to get." Fawkes strutted himself a few more times before flying to a lower branch closer to Lucy and extending his leg and its contents. "What have you got there?" She took the letter. "Godric's Hollow huh? Tell Dumbledore I'll meet him there." Fawkes trilled once more in acknowledgement and disappeared into a burst of flame.