It was an unusual night.
A night so unusual it couldn't be credited solely to the full moon.
The Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry was no stranger to the unusual, certainly it was no stranger to the unusual phenomenon of full moon nights. This past year itself Hogwarts had witnessed a monthly transformation from man to beast and back again.
This full moon night was more than slightly stranger than the rest. This wasn't because of the Animagi, Dementors or the sole Werewolf that roamed the grounds. The strangeness was provided by four teenagers, or rather two teenagers because the two sets, consisting of a boy and a girl, were identical, down to the last DNA strand and magical core.
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had travelled back in time.
It was, Harry reflected, the strangest thing he had done till date.
And that included the giant spiders.
Never had he experienced a night like this, running at the edges of the Forbidden Forest towards Hagrid's hut, leading a Hippogriff with an improvised leash.
But suddenly the Hippogriff couldn't be seen.
"Buckbeak" Harry whisper yelled , looking around him frantically. "Buckbeak!"
Hermione doubled back. Her face was pale and it made the angry red scratches on her skin even more prominent.
"Harry. What on earth are you doing? Where's Buckbeak?"
''Dunno Hermione, He was right here a second ago. Then I just lost him"
It didn't seem possible but her face paled even more. "Oh but Harry it isn't safe for him yet. Mcnair's still in the castle. Buckbeak's still in danger""
"I know! I know!" said harry. Her panic was now seeping into him. "Buckbeak!" He whisper yelled again. Hermione joined him this time. The two of them moved deeper into the forest away from the tree line. Harry was acutely aware of the danger they were in. the forest was not a friendly place to be even in the daylight hours, at this time of the night it was suicidal to wander about. Even meeting Mcnair or Fudge seemed like a safer option at this point.
Suddenly Hermione gripped his elbow so hard that he was sure that she was going to add to the bruises he'd already acquired over the course of the night. With a sinking feeling harry followed her petrified gaze to a spot about fifteen feet away from them.
Their death was in the form of a hulking dark shadow that followed their movements with feral, hungry eyes.
Harry eased Hermione's grip from his elbow and slid his hand into hers. Slowly the took a step back in unison and the beast stepped forward in time.
And Harry finally understood why his world was terrified of werewolves.
The creature stalking them was not kindly, sober, shabby professor Lupin. There was nothing even remotely human about the creature, even the intelligence in it's eyes did not reassure him. It was a sharp, hungry kind of intelligence, so alien that no one could mistake it for human. The kind of intelligence that maintained the food chain. The creature was the predator, they were the prey.
"Come on!" murmured Harry, he started running and he pulled Hermione along. They tripped over roots as they tried to get away from the beast. Running had changed nothing, he knew that the werewolf was going to attack none the less. All this had done was buy them a few seconds. He could hear it running behind them crashing in the undergrowth. There was no need to be subtle, they were certain prey.
And then it was on them and all Harry could do was pull Hermione to him and cover her the best he could. He failed in that too, she was a bit taller them him. The creature pounced and Hermione screamed and for one disorienting moment Harry thought that their fates had been sealed. Then Buckbeak, glorious Buckbeak came out of nowhere. He crashed against the beast and then reared up, slashing at it with the same talons that had hurt Malfoy. The beast howled and attacked. Hermione pulled at him in an effort to get both of them away from the battle. He almost fell on top of her as they scrambled away. Buckbeak attacked again and the werewolf retreated obviously not interested in competing with the hippogriff for the humans.
"Good Beaky" said a breathless Hermione , scrambling to get up from the ground and running to their savior.
"Do you think Lupin is alright?" asked Harry worried as he rubbed the hippogriff's beak.
"He'll be fine and there's nothing we can do. Come on Harry, we have to get out of here" She stopped stroking Buckbeak and he could see that the feathers there were wet with blood.
"Is he hurt?" asked Harry
"Huh?" that seemed to surprise Hermione and she looked down to where here fingers were still on his feathers. Harry saw that they too wre wet with blood. "It's nothing. It's me. Just a scratch"
And before Harry could express concern she started leading Buckbeak towards Hagrid's hut.
Just outside the door Harry hesitated.
"What is it?" Hermione asked warily.
"I just need to check something" He was sure it had been his dad who had cast the Patronus. He just needed to see it with his own eyes. Any minute now his dad would cast the patronus and save his, Hermione's and Sirius's life.
"Oh Harry, please don't be seen" she said, her tone was exasperated but he could hear how scared she was, but he had already started to walk away.
Any second now. Thought Harry as he stood by the lake. He could see the feeble glimmer of the Patronus his past self was trying to conjure. His fist curled tightly around his wand as his past self collapsed. His father had to be her, he thought. It was any moment now. His father would save him just like he had that Halloween night.
There was an odd tightening in his chest. His father wasn't there. There was no one there except him.
That's when he understood.
He flung himself out of his hiding place.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM" he yelled and something brilliant and pure burst out of his wand and galloped across the lake to scatter the gathering of dementors. It was a horse? A deer? His last guess had been close.
As it galloped back to him Harry realized what it was, what his father had left him.
"Prongs" Harry whispered.
It was a stag.
"That was a very reckless thing to do" Hermione told him as he helped her mount Buckbeak. "It could have had serious consequences!"
"Come off it Hermione, I had to do it because I'd already done it"
Hermione had seemed really nervous and scared when he got back and his news hadn't helped matters. It was very dark and he could see almost nothing besides Hermione's face that was paler than usual. Thank God the castle had almost every window lit up, he flew Buckbeak towards the shining beacon.
Hermione's grip was very loose and she seemed to be losing focus, otherwise Harry was sure she would have berated him more.
"Help me find the right window!" He yelled, flying the two of them safely required way more concentration than on a broom. The wing movements were equally unsettling, like the first time.
"That one" She aid. He had to strain to hear her.
They veered towards the right window and inside they saw a desolate Sirius whose expression turned to gratitude and awe when he saw them.
Considering all the effort they had put in up until this point, getting Sirius out of the improvised cell was a peace of cake.
"You're truly your father's son" said Sirius. Harry suspected that his voice was hoarse from more than his time in Azkaban. Harry had to blink back tears and his chest felt heavy. When would they see each other again?
"Ms. Granger, I owe you and Harry a debt that I might not be able to pay"
"It was nothing Mr. Black, you should leave now before someone notices something." Hermione said.
'It was nothing' was very generous of he considering how tense she had been throughout and how worried she was about breaking the law. Harry would have smiled but the faintness in her voice worried him. Sirius looked worried too but Harry agreed with Hermione, Sirius had to leave. And soon.
Harry shot Hermione a worried glance and then said "You two take care now. I'm very sorry about how we met Harry. I wish we'd had more time."
"We will. Someday." Harry had to believe it. For him and Sirius.
As Sirius was swallowed up into the night sky Harry turned to Hermione, prepared to find out what was wrong but she had other plans.
"We need to get back! Now!" She said and they started making their way back to the hospital wing. Hermione's hand was slick and wet and he was about to stop and demand that she tell him what was wrong when the clock started tolling. Their time was up.
Hermione was falling behind now, she couldn't keep up with the pace. Harry was leading the way and they avoided Peeves right at the last minute.
"What will happen if we don't reach before Dumbledore locks the door?" he asked, panting.
"I don't want to know, Oh! Hurry Harry!"
They ran, hearts in their throats and they reached just as Dumbledore locked their past inside the hospital wing,
"It's done professor" Harry crouched using his hands on his knees to support himself, trying to catch his breath. "They're safe".
"I have no idea what you're talking about, my dear boy" he said, unlocking the door and letting them in. But he didn't even look at them as he locked the door behind them.
Harry felt elation course through him, they had done it! Sirius was safe.
But it all changed the next instant,
"Hermione!" Ron gasped as he struggled out from under his bed clothes. With the excitement of the night Harry had forgotten about Ron and how he must have felt witnessing them leaving a second before and entering through the door the next.
He was about to reassure Ron when his expression and exclamation finally registered and he turned around.
Hermione was swaying on her feet as white as sheet, her arm bloody.
"Hermione!" Harry yelled before putting her good arm around his shoulders and helping her to a bed. "We have to call Madame Pomfrey, Ron"
"No!" Hermione protested weakly, "It's nothing really. Professor Lupin just scratched me a little, is all"
Harry looked down at the still freely bleeding wound. Fro Ron's sharp intake of breathe Harry knew that Ron had come to the same realization he had.
The bleeding wound wasn't a scratch.
It was unmistakably a bite mark.