A/N- Just thought I'd say that I've recently made my own C2. This C2 is dedicated to fics where Harry becomes stronger and is mostly meant for H+ Hr fics. I only add fics that I think are well-written and that are, in my opinion, worth reading. Please review! - Phoenix

Despite the freezing cold, Hermione's body was covered with sweat as she continued to fly over the ocean in her animagus form with Ivy dangling around her neck in the sling. It had been over an hour since Hermione had leapt off of the mountain and she was already exhausted. All she had was a general direction and the hope that she would be able to make it the long distance back to England. They had concluded that the mountain they were on was somewhere near the coast, and they both hoped that Iceland wasn't too far off.

Ivy looked up at Hermione with wide, concerned eyes. "Hermione, are you okay?! You've never flown this long before!"

Hermione shook her long face and swished her dark-brown tail in the wind. "I've never been so tired," she admitted. "This trip is going to take us more than one day."

The small fox sighed and nodded in agreement. "You should land on the first piece of land that you see."

The graceful Pegasus nodded and continued to breathe heavily. It was so cold and every part of her hurt. When Hermione had discovered that her animagus form was a Pegasus she had been both excited and afraid. She was excited because she loved horses and knew that Pegasus horses had the ability to fly quickly and could disillusion themselves while flying, it was the flying part that terrified her. She had gotten used to her four legs and her larger form by running in the trunk, but due to the limited space she couldn't practice flying very well and she was now realizing her mistake for not flying more often now that she wasn't staying in the trunk any longer.

After another hour of flying, Hermione's tired eyes saw a shape in the distance. She found her second wind and pushed her wings to the point where they felt like they would fall off. Ivy barked encouragement and Hermione was soon gliding/falling to the very edge of the lass of land that was in front of them.

Hermione's front hooves landed clumsily and she nearly fell, but she beat her already aching wings to regain her balance. Her breath was visible in front of her, but she could already feel the difference in temperature and felt warmer. She scanned the land, but nothing registered in her exhausted mind.

"I need to rest," Hermione whinnied softly. "I can barely stand."

Hermione walked for ten minutes with her wings dragging in the dirt until she found a secluded area among rocks that provided enough room for Hermione. She changed back to her human form and pressed herself against the rocks while she took Ivy out of the sling.

Ivy's black eyes were bright with worry. "Hermione, you'll freeze as a human."

"I didn't think I could hold my Pegasus form any longer," Hermione said tiredly while she took out a roll that she had taken from the shack. She broke off half of it and gave it to Ivy who immediately began gnawing on it.

After they are their pitiful meal, Hermione took one of the blankets that she had brought and wrapped it around herself and Ivy. The rocks offered some protection from the wind and cold, but they were both still shivering. Ivy tried to take the power suppressor off of Hermione again so that they could reach Winky, but Ivy wasn't strong enough to break through Dumbledore's magic.

They fought to stay awake, knowing that it was too cold outside for them to sleep. It was soon dark and Hermione was still exhausted, but she knew that she had to keep moving or they would freeze. Ivy and the blanket went back in the sling and Hermione transformed again.

Because Hermione's wings were completely spent, Hermione trotted further into the land while keeping up her Pegasus disillusion magic. She hoped that they could find a village or something where they could sleep in warmth. Relief flowed through Hermione and Ivy when they found a small town. It was only a small number of buildings, but one of them had a barn where they could hide and rest.

Hermione entered the barn and quickly scanned for signs of other humans. When none were revealed, she shifted back and climbed into the barn's loft. She arranged a makeshift bed of hay behind some boxes and practically collapsed on it. Ivy crawled out of the sling and Hermione pulled the blanket over them. It was hardly home, but for the night it would work.

Griphook and Ragnok had been livid when Harry had told them of Dumbledore's latest actions. Not only had Dumbledore kidnapped a Lord's fiancé, he had kidnapped a friend of the goblins fiancé. The penalty of such an action was incredibly painful, but unfortunately goblin law was not respected in the magical community and killing Albus Dumbledore would more than likely lead to another war.

The three of them talked for an hour, going over details for when Harry went public. Ragnok sent goblins to search all of Dumbledore's properties, saying that since Dumbledore kidnapped someone of great importance to the goblins then they were fully within their right to search.

"Anything?" Harry asked worriedly when a goblin appeared and whispered in Ragnok's ear.

The head of Gringotts bank looked at Harry sadly and shook his head. "I'm afraid Harry that every Dumbledore property that we have in our records has been checked and there are no signs of your fiancé. There are most likely other properties that Dumbledore owns, but because they aren't in the Gringotts files then we would be overstepping by digging up the information."

Harry sighed deeply and clenched his fists. "There's nothing that the goblins can do?"

Ragnok's eyes were incredibly sorrowful. "I can only tell you that she is above the equator based off of her goblin chain that holds her engagement ring. I will go check again to see if her location has changed, but the goblin magic is being fouled up by Dumbledore's magic, making it almost impossible to find."

"Please try," Harry begged. "I can't go searching half the world. If you can narrow it down to a country then I could go search for her."

The goblin nodded and excused himself to go check again. While Ragnok was gone, Harry talked with Griphook.

"So it is alright with your king that I openly declare myself friend to the goblins when I go public?" Harry asked.

Griphook nodded. "King Zesd is eager actually. After you go public he wishes to have an audience with you."

Harry smiled grimly. "I look forward to meeting King Zesd."

The door opened and Ragnok entered, looking pleased. "We have narrowed down her location Harry, she's somewhere around Iceland, but I cannot tell you where on Iceland she is."

Harry was immediately on his feet. "Thank you Ragnok! I am going to search for her; I'll send word to you when Hermione is safe. Thank you so much."

Ragnok waved away the thanks. "I was pleased to be of assistance Harry. Now go to her."

Harry nodded and headed back to Potter Manor with Kex right behind him. When they got there, Harry grabbed Kex and sprinted to the library. They found Neville and Luna talking amongst each other over a large book.

"She's near Iceland!" Harry said loudly, startling his two friends.

Luna's dull eyes brightened immediately. "Are you going to search for her?"

Harry nodded and turned to Neville. "I was hoping that you would help me search. In your animagus form you could track her easily."

A shadow fell across Neville's face. Even though it had been a long time since Neville's disastrous transformation he was still afraid and rarely changed.

Seeing the doubt on his best friend's face, Harry's eyes grew sympathetic. "Mate, you know that I would never ask this of you but…please. What if it was Luna who was missing?"

The doubt lingered on Neville's face for a second longer before he nodded determinedly. "I'll help you Harry."

Pride glowed on Luna's face. "You'll be alright Neville," she said softly. "Just remember what we worked on, just remember your anchor."

"How could I forget it?" Neville asked her, his eyes shining in adoration.

They held their gaze for a moment longer until Luna turned to Harry. "Dumbledore must have had her portkey deactivated and he must have cut off her connection to her elf magic which is why she hasn't apparated. That's also why Dobby or Winky can't find her. She could be calling for them, but they can't hear her."

"It's a good thing that I didn't order Dobby and Winky to find her," Harry mused. "If I had then they would have had to punish themselves since they wouldn't be able to find her."

Luna nodded. "I'll stay here and continue researching. I have an idea of what caused Hermione to basically 'drop off the grid' as muggles say. Hopefully when you get back I'll have a way to reverse what Dumbledore did."

Harry nodded and put Kex down on the table. "Kex do what you can to help Luna."

"You too Sage," Neville said to his familiar.

The familiars scowled but agreed nonetheless.

Harry grabbed Neville's shoulder and apparated out of Potter Manor. They landed on Iceland, he had no idea where, and immediately began to shiver.

"Bloody hell it's cold," Neville gasped while he tucked his arms close to his body. "How do you want to do this Harry?"

Harry coughed on the cold air. "I haven't thought that far. How about we just head in opposite directions and we portkey back to Potter Manor every hour to reconnect."

Neville nodded and put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "We'll find her Harry."

Harry smiled thankfully. Neville grinned back and stepped back before he began to shift. His body grew and his body became covered with thick, dark fur. When Neville was done shifting he stood over five feet tall with huge paws and dark eyes.

"Mate?" Harry asked hesitantly.

The dire wolf turned his massive muzzle towards Harry and Harry felt his breath catch in his throat. The wolf stepped up to Harry and it took all of Harry's willpower to remain where he was. Panic welled in his chest until the wolf thrust his head into Harry's chest, nearly knocking him over.

Relief made Harry laugh giddily. "You're in control!"

Neville nodded and clumsily pushed himself on his hind legs. On his hind legs he stood well over seven feet tall.

"Go for it, Titan," Harry said with a huge smile.

Neville, or Titan, gave Harry a wolf grin and turned to run across the land. Harry watched until he couldn't see his best friend any longer.

"Now it's my turn," Harry said determinedly.

Hermione woke up early the next day and snuck out of the barn before anyone saw her. She paused at the closest stream once they were out of the village's sights so that she and Ivy could drink their fill and clean up a little. Every bone in Hermione's body hurt and it was exhausting just to stand. But standing still was not something that Hermione could risk, especially once Dumbledore found out that she was gone.

When they were ready, Hermione transformed again and began trotting in the general direction that England was. Hermione was surprised to find out that her sense of direction was incredibly accurate in her animagus form and that she didn't need her makeshift compass to tell her where she was. The weather was warmer which made it easier for Hermione to maintain her natural Pegasus disillusion, but she wanted to save her wings for when it was essential.

After traveling in silence for half an hour, Ivy decided to break the silence. "What do you think will happen when we get back?"

Hermione shook her head and kept trotting. "I wish I knew. But, I do know that this will not happen again."

Ivy shrugged and snuggled in the blankets. "Dumbledore may not be able to kidnap us again, but that doesn't mean that he won't stop trying to get to Harry through you."

"He won't get the opportunity again," Hermione said while she curled her lip in anger. "I let my guard down back in the office and because of that Dumbledore got me in a semi-body bind. From now on, I will not underestimate him."

The fennec fox looked surprised at the ferocity in Hermione's voice. "Save your anger Hermione, Dumbledore will get what's coming to him."

Hermione nodded and continued on. She eventually had to slow down to a walk and began stopping more and more frequently to rest. Whenever she stopped she shifted back and let Ivy out so that she could exercise her leg gently. Ivy would grimace in pain, but she refused to complain about it. She wouldn't complain about her leg hurting when Hermione was pushing her body past its limits in order to get them to safety.

By noon Hermione couldn't take just walking towards England without seeing any change in scenery. Suppressing a groan, she flapped her wings a few times and took to the air. She was surprised to find that she actually felt better when she was flying compared to walking. As much as she didn't like it, her animagus body was made to fly.

"The view is beautiful during the day," Hermione commented to Ivy over the wind.

Ivy laughed, but refused to open her eyes. "At least one of us is getting over their fear of heights."

Hermione laughed and was suddenly tempted to do a dive, but she wasn't willing to push it just yet. I wonder if Harry feels this…well light while flying, Hermione thought.

Hermione was enjoying the feeling of the wind in her hair…well mane…that she didn't notice an elated trill. It wasn't until Ivy excitedly butted her head against her chest that she surveyed her surroundings. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw something flying straight at her. Her instincts were telling her to flee, but something deeper was telling her to stay where she was. The figure flying right at her got closer and Hermione felt all of her exhaustion fade away when she recognized the red feathers and the emerald eyes…

"Harry!" she cried out happily.

She nearly barreled right into Harry. The phoenix flew circles around Hermione and would preen her mane with his beak anxiously as if personally making sure that she wasn't harmed.

"Are you alright?" Harry demanded anxiously while he continued his inspection.

Hermione nodded and glided down to the ground with Harry hovering right behind her. She shifted back and would have fallen if Harry hadn't put his feet on her shoulders and beat his wings to keep her upright until she was steady. Once she had her balance he landed and shifted back. He was still sporting a few red feathers when he pulled her into a tight hug.

All of the exhaustion and fear that she had felt crashed upon her and she cried in Harry's arms. He held her while he cried while being careful to not crush Ivy. When Hermione finished crying she pushed her lips against Harry's and kissed him with more passion than she ever had before.

When they came up for air Harry helped her sit down and took the sling off from around her neck. His eyes narrowed when he saw how pale Hermione was and how exhausted she looked.

"How long have you been flying?" he asked.

Hermione chuckled tiredly and pushed her sweat-soaked hair behind her ear. "I took off yesterday but we stopped last night."

Harry nodded and gently caressed her face. "I'm so sorry Mione'," he whispered softly. "I'm so…"

Hermione clicked her tongue impatiently. "Harry, I'm not hurt, just exhausted. I was scared, but I didn't let my fear stop me from doing what I had to do. Harry…I flew." Her eyes sparkled at her accomplishment. "I flew longer than I ever thought possible. If Dumbledore hadn't kidnapped me then I never would've done it. Please Harry, don't blame yourself because in a strong way, Dumbledore did me a huge favor."

Harry smiled proudly. "What happened?"

Fatigue shadowed her face and Harry instantly put an arm around her waist to steady her. "Let's go home," she yawned. "I'd rather tell this story only once."

Harry nodded and held onto Hermione firmly while she held onto Ivy. He apparated them to their bedroom in Potter Manor and immediately helped Hermione sit down.

"You need to eat and drink something," Harry said firmly while he went to their closet to grab Hermione a change of clothes.

"Ivy's leg is broken," Hermione said while she took a pair of sweats and a sleeveless from Harry.

While she changed Harry ran to get the others. She wasn't even settled on the bed when the door burst open and Luna tackled her into a hug.

"I was so worried," she cried. "I didn't know if we'd ever see you again!"

Hermione smiled and hugged Luna back. "I'm alright."

Luna nodded and pulled back. Her eyes grew stormy when she saw the necklace around Hermione's neck. "I was right. He did put a power suppressor on you. My guess is that it's only cutting off enough magic just so you can't cast spells and completely cutting off elf magic."

"That's right," Hermione said with a tired smile. "It didn't block all of my magic though, I was able to transform and fly away."

Luna's eyes widened in surprise. "You flew? Blimey Hermione, you must have been terrified!"

A tired giggle escaped Hermione's lips. "Completely, but my form is made to fly."

They decided to wait for Neville to return before Hermione told her story. Winky brought Hermione and Ivy a huge meal and wouldn't leave until she was satisfied that they had eaten enough. She finished the healing on Ivy's leg and everyone left so that Hermione could sleep for a little while.

While they waited for Neville to check in, Luna was reading a book with Fay while Harry, with Kex on his shoulder and Sage right beside him, paced impatiently.

"Please stop pacing," Luna asked irritably after fifteen minutes. "I'm trying to find a way to take that power suppressor off of Hermione and you're not helping."

Harry stopped pacing and looked at Luna sheepishly. "Sorry. Do you have any ideas?"

Luna nodded and showed Harry the text she was reading. "We need to overpower Dumbledore's magic," she said simply. "That's why Ivy couldn't take it off. We're all pretty powerful, but honestly none of us has more magic than Dumbledore. If we all pour our magic into the power suppressor then we should be able to take it off."

"Will that hurt Hermione?"

Uncertainty filled Luna's gaze. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "It might burn her a little, but it shouldn't do anything terrible."

Harry didn't seem thrilled at the idea but he nodded nonetheless.

Thirty minutes later Neville reappeared in the library, covered with sweat. "No sign mate," he croaked.

Harry smiled and pulled Neville in a hug. "I found her, she's sleeping right now."

The fatigue immediately disappeared from Neville's face. "Is she alright?" he asked.

"Exhausted," Harry sighed. "And she has a power suppressor on that we have to get off. She's been flying for hours."

"Wow," Neville whistled. "She must have been determined to get away if she flew."

Pride filled Harry's face. "She's not a Gryffindor for nothing."

"Or a Slytherin," Luna added.

By the time Winky came to get them to let them know that Hermione was awake, they had a very general idea of what they needed to do to get the power suppressor off. They went to Harry's and Hermione's room and they made quick work of the nuisance. By pushing their magic into the necklace and merging their magic together so to speak, Dumbledore's magic was quickly evaporated. Without Dumbledore's magic present, the necklace easily slipped over Hermione's head when they lifted it together. Around Hermione's neck was a slight burn, but she quickly took care of it herself.

"That's so much better," Hermione sighed in content while she leaned against the pillows.

Harry glared at the necklace in his hand. "Dumbledore will never touch you again," he promised. To prove his point, he tossed the necklace to the corner of the room and shot a quick 'reducto' at it, utterly destroying it.

Hermione smiled at her friends. "Thank you. It all started…"

Anger was quickly becoming a well-known emotion to Albus Dumbledore. He had been told by some random house elf that the Granger girl wasn't in the shack and that there was no sign of her anywhere. He furiously dismissed the elf from his office and began pacing in his office.

Damn that girl, he thought fiercely. He quickly checked his pocket watch and swore again. She even managed to disarm the power suppressor. I will subdue her, even if I have to break her wand to do so.

As if to answer his thoughts, a house elf that he didn't recognize quickly apparated in his office and tossed a piece of parchment at him before apparating away before he could get a good look.

With hands shaking out of anger, Albus Dumbledore opened the piece of parchment and read the short note.

Dear 'Headmaster',

You have now gone too far. No longer will you be able to play with peoples' lives as if they were chess pieces. We will stop you. Voldemort may be the evil Lord of Darkness, but you are the evil Lord of Light. Your days at Hogwarts are numbered. The Heirs have returned.

Sincerely,

Beauty, Titan, Storm and Ashes

Albus Dumbledore went white at the letter and he let out a rage filled cry along with a strong pulse of raw magical power, effectively destroying many of his possessions in his office. Having the Heirs back would complicate things. He read the letter again and frowned.

"Who the bloody hell would name their kid 'Ashes'?"

A/N- Aha! Another chapter! Of course I made Harry a phoenix; I had to include my namesake somewhere in my story! For those of you who haven't figured it out, Hermione is Beauty (a tribute to Black Beauty), Neville is Titan (word normally used for great power), Luna is Storm (in tribute to her stormy eyes) and Harry is Ashes (the reason is obvious). Please review! -Phoenix