A/N: Ok so I originally had every intention of making this story a Oneshot, but I forgot to click "Complete" while uploading it, and then a few people reviewed, saying they wanted to see what happened next, and of course that got me wondering as well... So I guess you can call it a happy mistake, (or a sad mistake if this completely screws it up) but yes I am continuing this story (if that wasn't obvious from the below continuation...)

This probably won't be a very long story, as I am sort of making it up as I go along. I do have a plan for where it's going eventually. It'll probably be 3 or 4 chapters in total, and it may be a while between updates. I'll try to be as fast as possible, though.

So THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH for those people who reviewed, alerted and or favourited this story, it means so much to me, especially since this is my first fic. I could go on for ages, but I'm assuming now you just want me to end this author's note so you can read, so I will be as brief as possible. YOU ARE AMAZING!

Oh! I forgot a disclaimer for the first chapter, so for both: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER!

To Keep the Flame Burning part 2

They were flying again. Fawkes wasn't quite sure how he had come to do so; it appeared as though the silvery mist he had been inhabiting had clouded his usually sharp mind. Thinking back on it, he could barely remember what had happened in what he now mentally called the "in-between place". When he actually looked back, the silver cloud was nowhere to be seen. They were flying through pure white air now, which, unlike the in-between place, wasn't foggy and Fawkes could see in perfect clarity for miles around him. Upon leaving the place, all his senses had sharpened; really, it was like he had never been there. Of course, there was one significant and quite welcome change from his last flight: this time he was not alone.

Hedwig seemed to be in a particularly good mood, joyously soaring beside him and occasionally letting out a hooting laugh. Fawkes guessed she was reveling in the newfound freedom of flight without tiring. In the silence of wherever it is they were flying through now, the noise sounded a bit strange, but a part of Fawkes thought it was just what the solemn air needed. In fact, her laugh was so contagious, he caught himself letting out his own melodious chuckle, and in laughing harmony they flew on.

After a short while however, it could have been minutes or even an hour, Fawkes became slightly unsure of himself. He realized that they may have been a bit too quick in their decision to just fly until they arrived somewhere. In truth, Fawkes had been at the time too filled with excitement at the prospect of a new destination, and perhaps a tiny bit of desperation to get away from the place that clouded his senses, to think rationally. Hedwig seemed to be thinking along the same lines as she called out conversationally,

"Fawkes, where are we going?"

"I'm not sure… but don't worry, it's not as though anything bad can happen to us now." He tried to inject a bit of irony into his voice to hide his uncertainty.

"Still, as much as I'm enjoying flying around aimlessly, I would like to think we're actually accomplishing something here. I mean, I hope we're not destined to fly around for all eternity. Even if my body won't tire, I'm not sure my mind won't go… I don't know, comatose or something"

She's right, of course, Fawkes reflected. Then he thought of something.

"What do you think would happen if we just stopped flying? I know it sounds unnatural, but-"

"-What's the worst that could happen, right?" The owl finished his sentence for him, looking over with a slight grin. "I'm game. You know, I feel up to just about anything now. On three, then?"

Fawkes laughed at her professional approach, but was also strangely grateful for it. It sounded so simple, and yet so out of the ordinary, to stop flying in mid-air- or whatever it was. This life was so strangely complicated; it was hard to wrap his head around just about anything. "Alright then, one…"

"two…"

"three!"

The two birds shut their eyes, folded their wings in and braced themselves for a certain endless drop into oblivion. When this didn't seem to be the case, Fawkes opened an eye cautiously, before remembering that caution wasn't really necessary anymore. It didn't feel like they were falling, in fact, there wasn't even a breeze ruffling his feathers like there was when they were flying. They seemed simply to be suspended, unsupported, in nothingness. He opened his other eye, and stretched out his head, wings and feet, testing out this new sensation. He noticed Hedwig doing the same beside him. The owl, always the first to vocalize her thoughts, said

"Well this is different. But I'm glad I'm not about to die a second time, like I thought I might." Her voice was light, but she sounded half-serious. Fawkes chuckled at that, to which she said "Hey, it's alright for you, you've died so often before…"

"Remember this is the first time I've really died, please don't make me explain that again. I'm still just as new at, well… let's call it this life, as you are."

She rolled her eyes slightly. "I know. But this is just so unnatural, it'll take me a while to get used to, you know?"

Fawkes murmured in assent. It really would. But they did have an eternity to figure that out…

At the same time, or so it appeared, the two decided that their state of suspension was a good opportunity to figure out where to go from there, wherever there was, of course. However neither of them seemed to know quite what to say, or how to point out what Fawkes, and likely Hedwig as well, was thinking: that they could quite possibly be lost in nothingness forever if they didn't do something. Fawkes was the first to break the silence, and a question he had been wondering about for a long time came to the surface.

"What do the owls say happens after death? I've told you the phoenixes' theory, but it could be different for others." As he said this, an unpleasant thought crossed his mind. What if neither he nor Hedwig could go to their 'final resting place' as long as they were together? He quickly pushed the thought away; he already had enough to think about at the moment.

"I was always under the impression that we were just guided…somewhere by something. To be honest, I never really thought about it. And during my life, I never really had any other owls to talk to. I was orphaned, just as Harry was, and I was never influenced by other owls. I just made my own opinions on everything, and when I was living, that was easy." She looked half-frustrated, half-amused. "How is it that being dead makes your life so much harder?"

Curious, Fawkes thought. Phoenixes, being mostly solitary creatures, never had any legends saying that they were guided, or even accompanied, into the next life. Fawkes, while thinking about this, realized that since he had been joined by Hedwig, the idea of going off by himself was nearly unthinkable. Then, noticing he had been quiet for a few moments, he quickly brought his mind around to the rest of what Hedwig had said, and asked

"So what's your opinion on this… situation now?" He looked over at her, and caught a flash of decisive intuition in her eye as she spoke, saying

"My opinion… no, my certainty, is that where we are now can't be all there is to the afterlife. I've worked too hard during my life for that." Her voice was a mixture of emotions, a little bitterness, a little humour, but mostly determination. Her amber eyes looked straight into Fawkes's golden ones, and, had he not known better, he'd have thought that in death she had acquired the power of mind-reading as she said "And I know we're supposed to do this together. We're supposed to go through life with companions, why should we go through death alone? You had Dumbledore and I had Harry, but more than that, the world is full of people. I will fully admit that we're lost," She grinned wryly and gestured around at the nothingness surrounding them, "But we'll get out of it."

And I always thought Phoenixes were supposed to be leaders, Fawkes thought, looking at the owl with pride, though he wasn't sure why he should be proud.

"You're right, of course. I know there's got to be some way out of this… purgatory. I feel as though the solution is right there, just beyond my grasp. But," a thought occurring to him, "in the meantime…" He twitched his tail, and willed a feather to fall, praying that this small bit of magic was still inside him. As soon as the dislodged feather stopped touching him, it burst into flame. Hedwig screeched and somehow moved through the air away from the now gently burning feather.

"Sorry!" the phoenix said, apologetic but laughing, "I always find a little fire always lifts my spirits and helps me think"

"And I always find a little fire burns me to a crisp"

"Sorry," he said again.

"It's okay," her breathing slowly returning to normal "Just, a little warning next time?"

He laughed. "You know, you can't get burned here. At least, probably not." He eyed the reddish glow. "And to be honest, I was just desperate to see some colour in this bleak world. No offense" he added quickly, glancing at Hedwig.

"None taken" she said lightly, observing her own feathers, only a shade darker than their surroundings. "I guess I was the lucky one in that respect…" She looked up at the larger bird, her eyes lingering a bit longer on his golden plumage than was usual.

Fawkes smiled slightly, but then sighed and looked longingly at the little flame. It reminded him of Dumbledore's office, with its gently whirring contraptions, and smiling portraits, and how the old wizard never failed to light a candle next to the phoenix's perch at night…

The phoenix's eyes snapped wide open. The flame, which was intrinsically connected to the bird from which it came, flashed brightly at his sudden change in emotion, causing Hedwig to jump slightly and then look up at Fawkes.

"What is it?"

"Dumbledore!"

A/N: So I'm not sure if it's possible for birds to stop flying in the middle of a flight or anything, but if it isn't, let's just say they can now because they're dead and in a magical world... yeah.

Review plz? :D