A/N: SOOOO this took a lot longer to write than was originally intended... I can only say that this is my very favourite chapter so far, and I wanted to get it perfect, so I spent hours working on it- not to complain, or sound self-indulgent, because I did really enjoy writing it. And as promised, something does happen. Sort of. Well, it starts to happen, anyways... does that count? ANDDD it's extra long, exactly 3000 words on my document (though apparently disagrees...) making this the longest thing I have ever written. yay *tiny firework* So, without further ado, please enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own, well anything really. The title, maybe?

To Keep the Flame Burning part 4

"So what's your plan? How do we get to Dumbledore?"

Fawkes had to admit he was a bit unsure of how to put his idea into action. But as a phoenix, he knew there was always one thing he could fall back on to help in any situation.

"Fire. It's the one thing phoenixes can rely on no matter what. In my life, I could always travel through fire, sort of like a witch or wizard does with floo powder, if you've heard of that. Except of course I don't need any magical aid."

"Umm, Fawkes, were you planning on, um, bringing me with you? Because last time I checked, I'm just an owl. If I'd tried to travel through fire I would have been burned to ashes. And don't say it wouldn't hurt me because I'm dead. I think I understand that by now. But I'm not sure it would actually bring me anywhere…"

"Of course not, so I'll use a different kind of fire transportation. I did it all the time with Dumbledore. Do you remember when we 'mysteriously escaped' when the minister had Albus cornered in his office?" He flashed her an almost mischievous grin as he recalled that day. The smile felt odd on his face, he was usually so serene and serious. He realized this… playfulness was an aspect of his personality only Hedwig had ever brought out in him. Strange. "I'll need a big fire, though. This little one won't be as effective." He gestured to the tiny flame that was still burning faithfully. "I don't even think I can will it big enough."

Hedwig laughed suddenly. He gave her a questioning look, and she said,

"A little vain, aren't we? Afraid you'll lose your lovely plumage too soon?"

The phoenix looked at her, half guilty, half apologetic.

"Well, if you hadn't noticed, your feather grew back as soon as the other one fell out. Apparently death is on your side in that respect. Determined to preserve your -ahem- perfect self." Her eyes were sparkling, her voice challenging. And a phoenix never backed out of a challenge.

"And if anything ever happened to your divine form, I'm sure you'd return lovelier than ever," he said in mock seriousness.

The owl looked taken aback, as though she wasn't expecting this kind of rebuttal at all, but also the tiniest bit pleased. After a moment she said

"Alright, just get on with your magical moulting." The humour was evident in her voice but she took several steps back from him. Apparently the instinctive fear of flame was still difficult to overcome. For some reason, he hoped she would eventually get used it. He took a great breath and spread his wings. Before he had moved another muscle, however, his feathers were already cascading off of him and bursting into flame around him, as though they had read his thoughts. It seemed that this was another power he had acquired since being dead. As they did so, he saw, but didn't quite feel, new feathers reappearing almost instantly. He was glad of this; whenever he was 'reborn' featherless (when he was alive, of course) he always felt so naked and vulnerable.

He soon deemed the fire big enough, and as soon as the thought crossed his mind, his feathers stopped falling. He lowered his wings slowly, basking for a moment in the warm comfort of the flames, before fluttering over to his companion. Once beside the owl, who was still relatively far away from the blaze, he turned to admire his handiwork, but caught Hedwig's eye. A mixture of emotions played across her expressive face: Shock, amazement, and for some reason, a little sadness.

"That was… definitely a sight to behold". The owl sounded almost wistful. After a moment, Fawkes noticed something was seriously troubling the smaller bird. She gave a deep sigh and stared into the fire rather than looking at the phoenix who had created it.

"Hedwig, what's wrong?" Are you worried about going through the fire? I promise there's nothing to it, I'll be there the whole way-"

"No, it's not that- well not only that…" She finally looked at Fawkes, and he was shocked to see pain in her eyes. "What am I doing here, Fawkes? Out of the two of us, I haven't been helping at all. I'm just this stupid little owl that follows you around. And you. You're so magical and wise and…" She took a deep breath. "When you were alive, you could do all these things, you were practically immortal and strong, and even your bloody tears were magic. And now, you can make fire spontaneously appear, you can travel wherever you like, you have contact with your old master, you're prophetic…And I'm so useless, I'm not magical in the slightest, I barely know anything, and I—I'm slowing you down, I think."

She was angry, that was obvious, but what was really overwhelming was the absolute despair with which she talked. Her breath was coming in shuddering gasps, and her eyes were quite wet. Fawkes was almost sure the anger and sadness wasn't directed at him, but he knew he was, though not entirely through his own fault, the cause of much of it. He felt terrible for her, and wished for nothing more than to comfort her. But phoenixes were solitary creatures, and he really had no idea how to help her feel better. His voice itched to start singing a song for the poor creature, but he feared this might make her even angrier, by further proving her point of his many magical qualities.

She was right about that. Every word she said about his ability was entirely true, though at the moment he wasn't very happy about it. But not a single thing she'd said about herself was. She had helped him in so many ways, providing him companionship, comfort, an amazing friend… She inspired him, supported him and even changed him. She made him truly happy. She'd said she was stupid. Didn't she see how brilliant and intelligent she was? Did she not notice the way her intuition flashed unexpectedly, the way she always had a witty remark ready, how her wisdom was nearly boundless? He wished he could tell her this, but he knew that Hedwig was very practical, that she did doubt herself, and that she probably wouldn't believe him. There must be some way to show her, though…

"I mean," the ivory bird seemed determined to get everything out, or perhaps the phoenix's fire trick had opened the floodgate for an apparently large rush of repressed emotions. "I know it's not your fault, that you can do everything, and I love being able to… see all of this, but I hate it too, Fawkes. I've been gifted, and cursed. I want to stay with you, I really do, but I don't want to- to hold you back- I thought it was supposed to be us together but-" her voice broke at this, he could barely hear the miserable bird's next whispered words, "maybe I was wro-"

"No."

"Wha-?" her voice caught, her huge eyes, from which tears were now freely flowing, drifted upwards to finally meet his.

"No. You're not leaving me, Hedwig. I couldn't deal with that. It's been… I don't even know how long since I met you in the silvery place, but to see you go now… I couldn't take it. You're not slowing me down at all, you're helping me more than I could tell you-"

"But-"

"Look, Hedwig, do you trust me?

"I-I…" she sniffed, "of course I-"

"I'm going to ask you to do something, and I know you won't be exactly comfortable with it, but if you trust me, I think it will do you some good. Are you- are you willing to try it?"

Hedwig looked scared, but the phoenix could see curiosity and a tiny bit of hope shining through. She nodded slowly.

"Will you walk through the fire?"

The owl's eyes widened; she looked utterly confused now.

"Are you mad?"

"No, please," He looked at her carefully, entreating, "I'm completely serious, I swear, I-"

"Okay." She sniffed, but the resolve in her voice was unmistakable. "I don't know what you're up to, Fawkes, but I trust you."

The phoenix's face relaxed and he tried to smile.

"That means a lot, Hedwig."

He watched as the owl took a deep, steadying breath and fluttered over to the sparking, crackling blaze. It looked like home to him, but he knew it was terrifying for her. He fully intended to make this as easy for her as possible, so he went over to the fire, opposite Hedwig, to wait for her to fly into his wings…wait, what? Well, he'd be there anyways.

From where he was standing, Fawkes could feel the heat of the flames. He hoped that wouldn't be too unnerving for the smaller bird, but she didn't actually look as terrified as she was before of the fire. Right now, she looked completely focused and determined. She was staring straight ahead, straight at him, he realized, but it was likely that her mind was somewhere else, preparing for her. She took a step, then another, her feet somehow finding purchase on the insubstantial 'floor'. Her talon was an inch from the closest tongue of flame when she broke into a sort of hopping run, her wings slightly outstretched, through the fire. It was surprisingly graceful. He was barely even caught up in that fact, though, when he felt a startling impact on his chest. A white ball of feathers had collided with him; Hedwig had done it.

She backed up dizzily, and then made a little movement, as though if she weren't indefinitely suspended in the air her legs would have given out.

"How do you feel?" Fawkes asked her carefully.

"It was… not that bad. Actually, it was kind of… pleasant. It's weird, you can feel the heat coming off the fire, but when you're in it, it's not. Hot, I mean. Warm, yes, but comforting, like a bath would be… What is it?" She stopped talking and turned, looking half annoyed, half amused at the phoenix, who was now almost full-out laughing.

"I'm sorry," Fawkes tried to calm his laughter, so that Hedwig wouldn't think he was making fun of her. He was really laughing because he was relieved, and amazed. "It's just, that's exactly how I feel whenever I'm immersed in the fire. As though I'm standing in a stream of warm but refreshing water, and the steam is wafting about me, heating every feather…" He stopped himself as he realized he was waxing poetic about his… home. That's what fire was, really. The one true place where he found solace, just as the Potter boy had found solace at Hogwarts, and Albus had found solace with his family. He wondered if Hedwig had ever found any place or person or thing like that.

"So are you going to explain to me what that was all about?"

"Well, there were a few reasons," The phoenix wanted to convey his complex train of thought as clearly as possible. "Firstly, I wanted to show you that we're on even footing here. So to speak, of course." He fluttered his feet through the air a little as he said this. Apparently Hedwig had caught on to the irony as she glanced down at them and smiled, then looked back at his face for him to continue. "I may have been born a magical creature, but I don't want you to be intimidated by that. And I certainly don't want you to think I'm even the slightest bit better than you, because that couldn't be further from the truth." He took a deep breath, knowing his next words could be pivotal, "The second and third reasons are sort of connected. I want you to feel comfortable around- around me". The owl's eyes betrayed her immediately, though it was barely a glimpse before she settled into a questioning and carefully nonchalant expression. By the time he had identified it, it was gone, but it was there: a tiny flash of hope. Steadfastly refusing to let that distract him, he ploughed on. It was important she understand. "Fire is my life, or a lot of it anyways, and you… you're one of the closest friends I've ever had, even in the short time I've known you… though of course time is relative here. And I hope we'll keep travelling together, and I hope once we get to our Sanctuary, even if they're not…in the same place, we'll still be able to see each other. And I don't want you to live in fear of such a big part of me. And that's the third reason, really. You showed so much bravery, especially since your every instinct was probably telling you to fly away as far as you could. You are not just some owl, you're extremely clever and brave, and one of the most selfless creatures I've ever met. I'm honoured to travel with you. Truly I am. Which… brings me to another point…"

Hedwig had been watching and listening with a slightly teary smile, and he could tell she really did understand what he was trying to say. She had even drifted closer to the fire, as though longing to feel its warmth again, seeming quite comfortable. But at his abrupt change in tone as his last sentence trailed away, she gave him a confused look, edging slightly closer to the phoenix in inquiry.

"See, there's a bit of a problem with the way I travel," Fawkes began. "I can go to whatever place I wish, but… I have to know where it is I'm going. Which I don't. So… I have a… problem," he finished, somewhat redundantly.

"But you know you're trying to get to Dumbledore, right?"

"Yes…"

"So, then what's the problem?"

"Well, see, I don't know where he is, so…"

"Oh…" the look of dawning comprehension barely showed on her face before it was replaced with a look of amazed disbelief. "You mean you- you can't find people?" She tried (and failed) to conceal a snort of laughter, quickly shooting him an apologetic glance as she tried to control what appeared to be a near full-on laughing fit. "You can do all these things, but you can't even… -no offense, of course, but-…I'd have felt a lot better if I had known…"

Fawkes's mind was spinning as he took in this abrupt change of attitude. Mood swings were sort of becoming their thing, he guessed. He'd expected (hoped for, even) a very different outcome from his speech; maybe a bit of a 'moment' between the two of them as they realized they both appreciated, admired, even needed the other (in terms of helping each other, of course, he mentally corrected himself. Not… well, never mind). He did sort of wreck it with his admittance that they were, for the moment, still stuck. But even then, he never expected this reaction from the other bird. At least she was cheering up, he supposed.

"I told you I wasn't perfect… why, can you go to people?" he asked rhetorically.

"Well, of course I can, how do you think I deliver letters when all I have to go on is a name? How do you think I found Harry when he left his aunt and uncle's and ended up at the Leaky Cauldron, when he was thirteen? –Well, I guess you didn't know about that, but still-"

Fawkes was stunned by this revelation. "You kept that quiet?" he accused, though not angrily.

"Sorry! I assumed you could to, so it wasn't a big deal. I thought at least all owls could. Though that might explain some of Errol's mishaps, I suppose."

"Wait, Hedwig. Do you think it would be possible- I mean could you maybe…

"Could I take us to Dumbledore?"

"Well, yes."

"I'm not sure. I mean under normal circumstances, of course. And if he's in the same… world as us, I suppose I could fly there, but who knows if that's the case, or how long it would take?"

"You're right, of course. But… how would it be if I provided the transportation, and you the direction? That is to say-"

"We travel through the fire, but I decide where?"

Fawkes nearly sighed in relief that his plan wasn't so far-fetched that the owl could cotton on so quickly. "Yes, well, if you wouldn't mind… giving it a try at least."

"You know what? Let's just do it." Her conviction faltered slightly as she added "Umm, so how do you… do it?"

"Well, let's first both step back into the fire to start. I hope you don't mind doing so..?"

"Not anymore, and I'm extremely glad of it."

"I'm glad of it as well." He flashed her a smile, and the two of them fluttered their wings and floated over to the fire, coming to a halt amidst the dancing flames.

"As an inherently magic creature, I don't use spells" Fawkes figured he may as well explain his magic to the owl as he prepared it. "I control the fire, and it transports me. Now for what we're doing, I'm going to create and maintain the- well I suppose you could call it portal, if you wished- but you'll be steering. So, if I may be the tiniest bit presumptuous to assume you have some method by which you track down a person, you do so, with Albus Dumbledore in mind, and then you direct the portal to take you there."

"And how might I direct the portal?"

"It's very intuitive, easy as flying. Don't worry; I'm sure you can do it."

"Alright, let's just go for it then."

With a flourish of Fawkes's majestic wing, the flames whirled around them, and they vanished.

A/N: So Dumbledore's going to be in the next chapter, and I'm quite excited. (I adore Dumbledore, if you hadn't gathered) I just hope I can attempt to do him justice...

If you have a few seconds, I'd love to hear what you think!