A/N- I can be so mean to Hermione, but seeing as she is Harry's strength in my story Voldemort and Dumbledore will go through great lengths to keep her away from Harry. Please review! –Phoenix
Harry ran through the halls of Hogwarts with Kex struggling to hang on and Neville and Luna along with their familiars right behind him. He ran as fast as his legs would take him towards Dumbledore's office which was the last place he had sensed his fiancé's fear.
"Harry slow down," Luna said for the third time. "We need to discuss this."
"Discuss what?" Harry snapped at her. "Dumbledore did something to Hermione! She was so scared!"
Neville grabbed Harry's shoulder and used his superior weight and muscle to force Harry to stop. "Don't take this out on Luna," he said gravely. "We can't go rushing into this, if you burst into Dumbledore's office to save Hermione he'll want to know how you knew she was in trouble."
"What should I do then?" Harry demanded. "Just sit back and wait?"
"Yes," Neville said firmly. "Wait and plan. If you plunge right into this then everything could be put in jeopardy and Hermione wouldn't want that. I doubt that Dumbledore would cause Hermione any physical pain."
Hot tears filled Harry's eyes and threatened to fall. "I need to know if she's okay."
Luna looked at Harry sadly. "We all do Harry. But this is Hermione we're talking about, she's a survivor."
That night at dinner Hermione still hadn't shown up. Harry kept his eyes glued to the entrance to the Great Hall hoping that the next person to walk through the door would be Hermione.
After waiting for fifteen minutes Harry couldn't take the waiting anymore. He got up from the table with Neville and Luna right behind him. They stomped up to Dumbledore who was looking at them with an amused expression on his face.
"Sir," Neville said with cool politeness, knowing that Harry would only shout. "We were wondering if you knew where Hermione was."
The amused look on Dumbledore's face was replaced by false sadness. "I'm afraid that I cannot talk about this here. Let's go to my office and discuss it."
"No," Luna said firmly. "Let's talk here."
"Miss Lovegood," McGonagall said angrily. "That is no way to talk to your headmaster."
"It is quite alright Minerva," Dumbledore assured her. Turning back to the young students in front of him he sighed. "I am afraid that Miss Granger's parents were killed some time during the summer. As her magical guardian it became my responsibility to take care of her lodgings. Until everything is taken care of so that she can return to Hogwarts I have placed her in one of my houses."
Harry went pale and would have cursed Dumbledore right there if Kex hadn't dug his claws into his shoulder.
"How could you take her away from Hogwarts without letting her say goodbye?" Luna demanded. Her storm-cloud eyes were bright with tears but she refused to let them fall in front of Dumbledore.
Even McGonagall looked surprised at Dumbledore's actions. "Albus, was it really necessary to remove Miss Granger from all of her friends? A girl who has recently been orphaned needs to be surrounded by loved ones."
Dumbledore shot McGonagall a look of annoyance. "As her magical guardian it was my call Minerva. Harry, I must ask you to refrain from owling Miss Granger. You wouldn't want to lead anyone right to her. Rest assured she is perfectly safe."
Harry's emerald eyes narrowed dangerously and had to be pulled back from the table by Neville and Luna. He wasn't even aware that he wasn't in Dumbledore's presence anymore until he was pushed down into a chair in the dining room at Potter Manor. He looked around and saw that they had been joined by Goldengaze, Dobby and Winky, all of whom looked just as worried as Harry felt.
"Can you sense her?" Luna asked Dobby and Winky.
The two elves closed their eyes and focused for a moment before they shook their heads despairingly. "Miss Grangey is being blocked," Winky said brokenly while tears slowly fell from her large eyes. "I know that she is unharmed, but I can't tell where she is."
"But she's alright?" Harry asked desperately. "Dumbledore didn't hurt her?"
Winky smiled sadly. "She is not hurt physically Master Harry, but I'm afraid that Dobby and I don't know anything else."
That night they all sat around the table in silence while they prayed that Hermione would find some way to get back to them.
Hermione paced in the tiny shack irritably while she cursed repeatedly. "I can't bloody believe this, even my portkey isn't working. And here I thought that nothing could stop an Ancient House's portkey."
Ivy was still curled up on the bed and had her injured leg sprawled out in front of her. "Dumbledore is incredibly powerful, but I can't help but think that he must be paranoid if he even deactivated our portkeys. My guess is that they can only be reactivated by Harry now."
Hermione sighed and sat down next to Ivy. "I hope that Harry isn't doing anything reckless."
Ivy laughed hoarsely. "He probably will."
They sat on the bed huddled under the blankets for warmth. Hermione dozed off until she heard a loud 'pop', forcing her to wake up. She looked around the little shack and glared at the cowering figure in front of her.
"Who are you?" Hermione demanded.
The house elf bowed shakily and when she rose Hermione noticed that she was crying. "My name is being Brook, Miss. I was the one ordered to stun you and bring you here."
Never before had Hermione been so angry with an elf even though she knew that the elf had no choice. "Where exactly is 'here'?"
Brook continued to cry and hastily wiped her eyes on her apron. "Master Dumbledore had me take you to his secure cabin on a mountain in Greenland."
"Greenland?" Hermione gasped. "I'm in bloody Greenland?!"
Brook shook her head and started sobbing. "I is so sorry Miss! We elves know that you are the elves' champion and I imprisoned you! I is so sorry Miss!" Brook fell to her knees and cried even harder, softening the cold look on Hermione's face.
Hermione knelt down in front of Brook and gently took the sobbing elf's hands in her own. "Please stop crying Brook; it's not your fault. Dumbledore ordered you to take us here and you had to obey."
"Miss is too kind!" Brook sobbed. "I is wanting nothing more than to help you get away, but I is forbidden! Master Dumbledore is forcing me to imprison the elves' champion!"
"What do you mean by 'elves' champion'?" Hermione asked curiously.
Brook took in a couple deep breaths to calm herself. "Even us lowly house elves know of the Spiritual Heirs. For as long as house elves can remember, we have known that one day house elves would be treated better. House elves love serving families Miss, but we is still wanting to be treated with little more dignity. Brook knows how Dobby was being abused, and this happens to many good elves. You is our champion because you will make sure that house elves will be safe and no longer invisible."
Hermione gaped at Brook in shock. She had become more open about house elves and their joy in serving families, but she still hadn't realized that they felt invisible, like they could die and nobody would even notice or care. "How did you know about me?"
"You is able to use elf magic," Brook explained. "We house elves didn't tell Master Dumbledore, but Master Dumbledore blocked house elf magic so that Mister Harry Potter couldn't send Dobby to get you."
Hermione ran her fingers around the power suppressor around her neck. "Can you take it off Brook?"
Brook shook her head despairingly. "Brook is forbidden. Brook can only tend to you as needed."
Hermione sighed. "Well don't go against your orders, I don't want you to have to punish yourself. Can you heal Ivy's leg?"
The house elf looked at Ivy with a doubtful look on her face. "I is not a very good healer, but I can heal some."
She walked up to Ivy and gently took the fox's leg in her hand. Ivy barked in pain and Hermione flinched when she heard something snap, but relief soon replaced the look of pain on Ivy's face. Brook worked on Ivy's leg for a few more minutes and when she was done Ivy was sleeping soundly and her leg was bandaged up.
Brook looked at Hermione with a wary look on her face. "Brook put the bones back in place and healed most of it. But Miss Ivy's leg is still broken, but not as bad. Leg should heal in a couple weeks if it's not disturbed."
Hermione smiled gratefully and smoothed Ivy's ruffled fur. "Thank you Brook, and don't worry about keeping us here. I'll get out of here and I'll still fight for your rights."
More tears leaked out of Brook's eyes before determination shined through the tears. "Brook is forbidden to help you escape, but Brook is not breaking orders by explaining something."
"What's that?" Hermione asked.
Brook pointed at the power suppressor around Hermione's neck. "Master Dumbledore's power suppressor blocks Miss' connection to elf magic, familiar bond as well as her magic. But, power suppressor does not block one thing that Brook can sense you can do."
Hermione's eyes widened. "And what's that?"
Brook smiled slyly and pointed outside towards the mountains. "Do not tell Brook anything because then I is having to report to Master Dumbledore since there are no eavesdropping spells on this shack. But, if only Miss could fly. Wards prevent apparition and portkeys are disabled immediately upon entry, but no wards prevent flying."
Hermione paled. "S-so the only way to get out of here is to fly."
"Or climb down," Brook said with a shrug. "If only Miss could fly back to England, but I is knowing that even Miss is incapable of growing wings."
Hermione smiled shakily. "If only though. Thank you for everything Brook."
Brook smiled brightly and bowed. "For what Miss?" she said and apparated away.
Hermione groaned and sat down heavily next to Ivy who was still fast asleep. "I bloody hate flying."
Harry sat on his and Hermione's bed in Potter Manor with his head in his hands. It had been hours since Hermione had been taken and there hadn't been any word from her and they hadn't found anything in the library that could help them. Kex was curled up in a ball next to Harry as he found himself almost paralyzed by the grief and anguish that Harry was feeling.
They sat in silence until there was a light knock on the door. Before Harry could yell at whoever it was to go away the door opened and Luna stuck her head in.
"Are you done sulking yet?" she asked him. "Because Neville and I could really use your help looking up answers in the library."
"Why hasn't she just used her portkey?" Harry asked desperately.
Luna sighed heavily. "Dumbledore is extremely powerful Harry, so powerful that he could deactivate a portkey if he wanted to without even breaking a sweat. We need to trust that Hermione will find a way out of wherever she is, but that doesn't mean that we can't help her."
Harry looked at Luna brokenly. "He took her away to keep her from me. It's my…"
"Shut it with the self-pity party Harry," Luna snapped impatiently. "She's my best friend and I'm worried too, but I'm not wallowing, I'm trying to find a solution. Maybe you should do the same."
Harry stared at Luna in shock for a second before he smiled sadly. "You're right as always Luna. Do you think the goblins could help?"
Luna frowned thoughtfully for a moment. "I don't know. But Harry, if you involve the goblins then you'll have to go public, but then again maybe that isn't terrible either. If you go public when we get Hermione back and openly declare her your ward and fiancé then Dumbledore won't be able to touch her again."
"Why didn't I just do that sooner?" Harry sighed.
"Because we wanted to keep a low profile," Luna answered firmly. "Plus we never dreamed that Dumbledore would go and pull this."
Harry nodded heavily and stood up. "I'm going to go see Griphook and Ragnok to let them know that I'll be going public soon. You and Neville keep looking to see if there's something to help us find Hermione, but like you said, Hermione is a survivor and won't let Dumbledore lock her up if she can do anything to stop it." He picked up Kex who was starting to become more alert and apparated away, leaving a more hopeful Luna.
Hermione's hands trembled as she ripped the sheets on her bed into multiple strips. She had been doing this since Brook had left, but she wanted to get the job done.
She kept ripping until Ivy groaned and woke up. Ivy looked at Hermione in confusion before testing her leg gently.
"How's your leg?" Hermione asked.
Ivy winced and sat down heavily. "Better," she admitted. "But I don't think I'll be able to walk for a bit."
Hermione smiled sadly and began tying some of the torn strips together. Her familiar looked at her in confusion and suddenly noticed all of the strips that were scattered on the bed.
"What did I miss?" Ivy asked.
"Brook told me that the only way to get out of here is to fly," Hermione groaned.
"Damn," Ivy sighed. "But that doesn't explain why you're tying sheets together."
Hermione held up her project. It was a large sling. A large part of the sheet had been tied to numerous strips and was secured with some rope.
"This is for you," Hermione explained. "You're in no condition to maintain a body merge, plus it's going to take a while to get back to England."
Ivy nodded in agreement. "Great, so I'm going to be hanging around your neck all the way to England," she said sarcastically.
"It's not going to be enjoyable for either of us," Hermione responded. "I don't even know how long it will take to get to England seeing as we have no idea where we are besides that we're in Greenland somewhere."
"Most of the trip will be over the ocean," Ivy said worriedly. "Will you be able to make it?"
"I'll have to," Hermione said determinedly while she finished making the sling. "We might not even need to make it all the way to England. If we can find someone magical to take off this power suppressor then I can apparate us to Diagon Alley."
Hermione searched the shack for some supplies while Ivy scanned the room from her spot on the bed. Hermione took some food from the fridge and put it in the sling along with some small blankets. She was scanning the cupboards when something caught her eye.
Sitting on the counter next to the fridge was a bottle of butterbeer with a cork sticking halfway out. Hermione glanced from the cork to the magnets on the refrigerator and felt an idea click in her head.
Without explaining her idea to Ivy, she ran into the bathroom and searched through the cabinets until she found what she was looking for.
"Perfect!" she shouted excitedly.
"What's perfect?" Ivy asked.
Hermione ran back into the 'kitchen' and grabbed the cork, a magnet and filled a glass with water from the fridge. She then sat down in front of the bed and began rubbing the magnet against what she had taken from the bathroom.
"Would you please explain what you are doing?" Ivy asked.
Triumph was evident on Hermione's face. "When I was in primary school my teacher taught us a simple experiment. When I was getting food I saw this cork and it instantly reminded me of it."
"And?" Ivy asked impatiently.
A wide smile was on Hermione's face as she showed what she had made. Stuck right through the cork was a sewing needle. Clearly excited, Hermione put the cork in the glass of water.
"It's a handmade compass," Hermione said happily. "Because Greenland is in the north, this compass will point towards north."
"And by knowing where north is you'll know where east is," Ivy finished excitedly. "You'll know which direction to fly!"
Hermione nodded and continued to watch the compass. When the cork and needle finally stopped spinning Hermione pointed to where east would be. "That's where we start," Hermione said determinedly.
Right away, Hermione finished arranging stuff in the sling and tested it to make sure that it wouldn't break. She put the cork and needle along with the magnet in the sling before she put Ivy in it. Being careful, Hermione arranged the supplies to make sure that Ivy would be covered by the small blankets without damaging the other supplies. Once Hermione felt that the sling was as secure as it was going to get, she put it around her neck and stepped outside.
Immediately Hermione and Ivy were met with a gust so strong that it nearly knocked Hermione off her feet. "Are you alright Ivy?!" she shouted over the wind.
Ivy looked up at Hermione with a stern expression. "I'll be fine, but you need to transform right away! You'll freeze in your human form!"
Hermione nodded and took in shaky breaths to fight off the fear that was so strong that it threatened to make her pass out.
"I can do this, I can do this," she repeated.
She pictured Harry's green eyes and thought about being in his loving embrace. Using her love for Harry, Hermione forced back the dizziness and shifted.
She felt her body grow larger and felt the familiar pain as her new body part sprouted from her back. The sling became lighter and fit around her neck snugly without strangling her. Hermione took a few unsteady steps to get used to her form.
"You've got this!" Ivy shouted encouragingly.
"We've got this," Hermione responded.
Hermione stepped up to the location that was roughly east and leapt off of the edge of the cliff. Fear and exhilaration flooded through her veins as she took her rescue into her own hands.
Standing on the ledge where Hermione had just jumped was a small house elf who was smiling happily.
"Good luck Miss Granger," Brook whispered.
Flying towards England, back to her friends, back to her beloved was a beautiful, light brown Pegasus.
A/N- I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as I could seeing as I have finals coming up. I had always pictured Hermione as graceful and beautiful and a Pegasus just screamed out to me. Hermione has always been independent and I also wanted her to take her safety into her own hands. Oh and in case people hadn't realized it yet, when I italicize conversation like with the familiars, it means that it's animals talking. You'll see this with the Heirs' animagus forms as well. Please review! -Phoenix