AN: This chapter is gonna be a lot AU. HOLD ON TIGHT...
Disclaimer: NOT mine...
I would like it if you could suggest animagus forms for Harry, Luna, and Tracy.
Chapter 4: PAST: Part 3
Harry had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race. Next came Hermione and then Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Sirius. Harry and unknown to all Lyra brought up the rear. Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Harry could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Harry went right after Black, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Harry had the impression Black was making no effort to prevent this.
"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"
"You're free," said Harry.
"Yes... " said Black. "But I'm also - I don't know if anyone ever told you - I'm your godfather. "
"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry.
"Well... your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly. "If anything happened to them..."
Harry waited. Did Black mean what he thought he meant?
"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," said Black. "But. . . well. . . think about it. Once my name's cleared. . . if you wanted a. . . a different home. . . "
Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.
"What - live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Black quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd -"
"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Black's. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
Black turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Black didn't seem to care.
"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"
"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.
Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.
They came out on the grounds. The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. Harry's mind was buzzing. He was going to leave the Dursleys. He was going to live with Sirius Black, his parents' best friend. . . . He felt dazed. . . . What would happen when he told the Dursleys he was going to live with the convict they'd seen on television. . . !
Harry asked the question which had been plaguing both Lyra and him, "Why did Voldemort attack your wife?"
Sirius sighed, pain clear in his eyes, "My wife was a muggle-born witch. We married in secret. The only ones to know about it were the Marauders and Dumbledore. My family was blood purist, they would have killed my wife. We had a daughter, we told no one except your parents and Dumbledore," Lyra's breath caught in her throat, "But the Traitor sold my wife out to Voldemort. My wife and my daughter were visiting her parents and I was on duty when they were attacked. Three days before tha-that Halloween. Their house was on fire when I arrived, nothing could be saved." By its end, Sirius, as well as Lyra, were crying.
And then -
A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.
Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly. Black froze. He flung out one arm to make Harry and Hermione stopped.
Harry could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.
"Oh, my -" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"
"Run," Black whispered. "Run. Now. "
But Harry couldn't run. Ron was chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. He leaped forward but Black caught him around the chest and threw him back.
"Leave it to me - RUN!"
There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away -
As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.
Harry stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. Lyra was too scared for her dad to even notice her surroundings. It was Hermione's scream that alerted them -
Pettigrew had dived for Lupin's dropped wand. Ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light - and Ron lay motionless on the ground. Another bang - Crookshanks flew into the air and back to the earth in a heap.
"Expelliarmus," Harry yelled, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew; Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight. "Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, running forward. Lyra tried to body bind him.
Too late. Pettigrew had transformed. Harry saw his bald tail whip through the manacle on Ron's outstretched arm and heard a scurrying through the grass.
There were a howl and a rumbling growl; Harry turned to see the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest -
"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled.
Black was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but at Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds. Lyra wanted to follow him but didn't want to live Harry. So after a moment's hesitation, she stayed.
Harry and Hermione dashed over to Ron.
"What did he do to him?" Hermione whispered. Ron's eyes were only half-closed, his mouth hung open; he was definitely alive, they could hear him breathing, but he didn't seem to recognize them.
"I don't know. . . . "
Harry looked desperately around. Black and Lupin both gone. . . they had no one but Snape for the company, still hanging, unconscious, in midair.
"We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone," said Harry, pushing his hair out of his eyes, trying to think straight. "Come -"
But then, from beyond the range of their vision, they heard a yelping, a whining: a dog in pain. . . .
"Sirius," Harry muttered, staring into the darkness.
He had a moment's indecision, but there was nothing they could do for Ron at the moment, and by the sound of it, Black was in trouble -
Harry set off at a run, Lyra right behind him. They left Hermione to keep an eye on Ron. The yelling seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. They pelted toward it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without realizing what it must mean -
The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why - Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.
"Nooo," he moaned. "Nooo. . . please. . . . "
And then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them. . . .
Harry raised his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it -
I'm going to live with my godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys.
He forced himself to think of Black, and only Black, and began to chant: "Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!"
Black gave a shudder, rolled over, and lay motionless on the ground, pale as death.
He'll be all right. I'm going to go and live with him.
"Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!"
"Expecto -" Lyra thought that her dad was innocent, they were going to live together, "Expecto patronum!" It formed a thin shield around them.
But she couldn't hold it. The Dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. They formed a solid wall around Harry and Lyra and were getting closer...
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry yelled, trying to blot the screaming from his ears. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
A thin wisp of silver escaped Harry's wand and hovered like mist before him.
But all of Lyra's past memories overwhelmed her and she collapsed on the ground. She tried to stop the dementors.
"Expecto - expecto patronum -"
Harry felt his knees hit the cold grass. The fog was clouding his eyes. With a huge effort, he fought to remember - Sirius was innocent - innocent - We'll be okay - I'm going to live with him -
"Expecto patronum!" he gasped.
By the feeble light of his formless Patronus, he saw a Dementor halt, very close to him. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver mist Harry had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak. It made a gesture as though to sweep the Patronus aside.
"No - no -" Harry gasped. "He's innocent. . . expecto expecto patronum -"
He could feet them watching him, hear their rattling breath like an evil wind around him. The nearest Dementor seemed to be considering him. Then it raised both its rotting hands - and lowered its hood.
Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, gray scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth. . . a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle.
A paralyzing terror filled Harry so that he couldn't move or speak. His Patronus flickered and died.
The white fog was blinding him. He had to fight. . . expecto patronum. . . he couldn't see. . . and in the distance, he heard the familiar screaming. . . expecto patronum. . . he groped in the mist for Sirius, and found his arm. . . they weren't going to take him. . . .
But a pair of strong, clammy hands suddenly attached themselves around Harry's neck. They were forcing his face upward. . . He could feel its breath. . . It was going to get rid of him first. . . He could feel its putrid breath. . . His mother was screaming in his ears. . . She was going to be the last thing he ever heard -
Lyra tried once again "Expecto patronum!" the thought of protecting Harry giving her strength, but nothing happened and then two dementors swooped at her. The memories of almost being raped flooded her mind and she whimpered. And then darkness claimed her.
And then, through the fog that was drowning them, Harry thought he saw a silvery light growing brighter and brighter. . . Harry felt himself fall forward onto the grass. . . . Facedown, too weak to move, sick and shaking, Harry opened his eyes. The Dementor must have released him. The blinding light was illuminating the grass around him. . . The screaming had stopped, the cold was ebbing away. . .
Something was driving the Dementors back. . . It was circling around him and Black. . . . They were leaving. . . .
The air was warm again. . . .
With every ounce of strength he could muster, Harry raised his head a few inches and saw two animals amid the light, galloping away across the lake. . . Eyes blurred with sweat, Harry tried to make out what they were. . . They were as bright as a unicorn. . . Fighting to stay conscious, Harry watched them canter to a halt as it reached the opposite shore. For a moment, Harry saw, by its brightness, somebody welcoming one back. . . raising his hand to pat it. . . someone who looked strangely familiar. . . but it couldn't be. . .
Harry didn't understand. He couldn't think anymore. He felt the last of his strength leave him, and his head hit the ground as he fainted.
Xxxx...
Lyra woke up in their room to find a worried Dobby holding out some hot chocolate for her. She took it gratefully and finished it in a few gulps.
"Dobby, what happened? How did I get here? Is everyone alright? Where's Harry and da-Sirius Black?" she fired the questions at Dobby.
Dobby's ears drooped, "Missy and Master Harry be attacked by dementors. Missy fainted, Dobby bes bringing her here. Master Harry bes in the hospital wing. And Blacky bes being kept on the seventh floor. They bes giving him the kiss soon."
"WHAT?!!" Lyra yelled, "Dobby take me to where Harry is. Again hide me as you did but make sure that I can will it away."
With two snaps of his finger, Dobby deposited Lyra in the hospital wing. Lyra heard Hermione say, "Professor, Black's telling the truth - we saw Pettigrew - he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf -"
"- he's a rat -"
"- Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off -"
"- Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius -"
But Dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations.
"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me because there is very little time," he said quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word - and the word of two thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper. "
"Professor Lupin can tell you -" Harry said, unable to stop himself
"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than death. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends -"
"But -"
"Listen to me, Harry. It is too late, you understand me? You must see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours. "
"He hates Sirius," Hermione said desperately. "All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him -"
"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man. The attack on the Fat Lady - entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife - without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence. "
"But you believe us. "
"Yes, I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic. . . . "
Harry stared up into the grave face and felt as though the ground beneath him were falling sharply away. Neither he nor Lyra could believe that. Dumbledore was the Cheif Warlock of wizengamot, surely he could demand a trial.
"What we need," said Dumbledore slowly, and his light blue eyes moved from Harry to Hermione, "is more time. "
"But -" Hermione began. And then her eyes became very round. "OH!"
"Now, pay attention," said Dumbledore, speaking very low, and very clearly. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law - you know what is at stake. . . You - must - not - be -seen. "
Harry didn't have a clue what was going on. Dumbledore had turned on his heel and looked back as he reached the door. But Lyra understood, she had figured it out some time ago.
"I am going to lock you in. It is -" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck. "
"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed behind Dumbledore. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"
But suddenly Hermione fell as though stunned. Lyra willed herself visible. She fumbled with the neck of Hermione's robes, pulling from beneath them a very long, very fine gold chain.
"Harry, come here," she said urgently. "Quick!"
"Wha-" Harry was surprised to see her there but obeyed. He moved towards her, completely bewildered. She was holding the chain out. He saw a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it.
"Here -"
She had thrown the chain around his neck too.
"Ready?" she said breathlessly.
"What are we doing? And what are you doing?" Harry said, completely lost.
Lyra turned the hourglass over three times.
The dark ward dissolved. Harry had the sensation that he was flying very fast, backward. A blur of colors and shapes rushed past him, his ears were pounding, he tried to yell but couldn't hear his own voice -
And then he felt solid ground beneath his feet, and everything came into focus again -
He was standing next to Lyra in the deserted entrance hall and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved floor from the open front doors. He looked wildly around at Lyra, the chain of the hourglass cutting into his neck.
"Lyra, what -?"
"In here!" Lyra seized Harry's arm and dragged him across the hall to the door of a broom closet; she opened it, pushed him inside among the buckets and mops, then slammed the door behind them.
"What - how - Lyra, what happened?"
"We've gone back in time," Lyra whispered, lifting the chain off Harry's neck in the darkness. "Three hours back. . . "
Harry found his own leg and gave it a very hard pinch. It hurt a lot, which seemed to rule out the possibility that he was having a very bizarre dream.
"But -"
"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming!" Lyra had her ear pressed against the cupboard door.
"Footsteps across the hall. . . um, I think it's you lot going down to Hagrid's!"
"Are you telling me," Harry whispered, "that I am here in this cupboard and I am out there too?"
"Yes," said Lyra, her ear still glued to the cupboard door. "I'm sure it's you lot. It doesn't sound like more than three people. . . and you're walking slowly because you're under the Invisibility Cloak - "
She broke off, still listening intently.
"We've gone down the front steps. . . . "
Lyra sat down on an upturned bucket, looking desperately anxious, but Harry wanted a few questions answered.
"What is that hourglass thing?"
"It's called a Time-Turner," Lyra whispered, "Hermione had been using it all year to get to all her lessons. I figured it out a while ago and did my research. Professor McGonagall must have given it to her. She had been turning it back so she could do hours over again, that's how she has been doing several lessons at once, see? But... Harry, I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why did he tell us to go back for three hours? How's that going to help Dad?"
Harry stared at her shadowy face.
"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," he said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago. . . . "
"This is three hours ago, and you are walking down to Hagrid's," said Lyra. "We just heard you leaving. . . . "
Harry frowned; he felt as though he were screwing up his whole brain in concentration.
"Dumbledore just said - just said we could save more than one innocent life. . . " And then it hit him. "Lyra, we're going to save Buckbeak!"
"But - how will that help Dad?"
"Dumbledore said - he just told us where the window is - the window of Flitwick's office! Where they've got Sirius locked up! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak - they can escape together!"
"But didn't you see Buckbeak die?"
"Not with our own eyes, no!"
"Doesn't sound like anyone's there. . . Come on, let's go." Harry stood up but Lyra caught his hand, "We mustn't be seen Harry or it could be a disaster." Harry nodded.
Harry pushed open the closet door. The entrance hall was deserted. As quietly and quickly as they could, they darted out of the closet and down the stone steps. The shadows were already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest gilded once more with gold.
"If anyone's looking out of the window -" Lyra squeaked, looking up at the castle behind them.
"We'll run for it," said Harry determinedly. "Straight into the forest, all right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and keep a lookout -"
"Okay, but we'll go around by the greenhouses!' said Lyra breathlessly. "We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or you'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!"
Still working out what she meant, Harry set off at a sprint, Lyra behind him. They tore across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses, paused for a moment behind them, then set off again, fast as they could, skirting around the Whomping Willow, tearing toward the shelter of the forest. . . .
Safe in the shadows of the trees, Harry turned around; seconds later, Lyra arrived beside him.
"Right," she gasped. "We need to sneak over to Hagrid's. . . . Keep out of sight, Harry. . . . "
They made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the forest. Then, as they glimpsed the front of Hagrid's house, they heard a knock upon his door. They moved quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from either side. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked. And Harry heard his own voice.
"It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off. "
"Yeh should've come!" Hagrid whispered. He stood back, then shut the door quickly.
"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry said fervently.
"Let's move along a bit," Lyra whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"
They crept through the trees until they saw the nervous Hippogriff, tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch.
"Now?" Lyra whispered.
"No!" said Harry. "If we steal him now, those Committee people will think Hagrid set him free! We've got to wait until they've seen he's tied outside!"
This was starting to seem impossible. At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.
"That's Hagrid breaking the milk jug," Harry whispered. "Hermione's going to find Scabbers in a moment -"
Sure enough, a few minutes later, they heard Hermione's shriek of surprise.
"Lyra," said Harry suddenly, "What if we-we just run in there and grab Pettigrew -"
"No!" said Lyra in a terrified whisper. "Don't you understand? We're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody's supposed to change time, nobody!"
"We'd only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid!"
"Harry, what do you think you'd do if you saw yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?" said Lyra.
"I'd - I'd think I'd gone mad," said Harry, "or I'd think there was some Dark Magic going on -"
"Exactly! You wouldn't understand, you might even attack yourself! Don't you see? I read that awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time. . . Loads of them ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake!"
"Okay!" said Harry. "It was just an idea, I just thought -"
But Lyra nudged him and pointed toward the castle. Harry moved his head a few inches to get a clear view of the distant front doors. Dumbledore, Fudge, the old Committee member, and Macnair the executioner were coming down the steps.
"We're about to come out!" Harry breathed.
And sure enough, moments later, Hagrid's back door opened, and Harry saw himself, Ron, and Hermione walking out of it with Hagrid. It was, without a doubt, the strangest sensation of his life, standing behind the tree, and watching himself in the pumpkin patch.
"It's Okay, Beaky, it's okay. . . " Hagrid said to Buckbeak. Then he turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Go on. Get goin'."
"Hagrid, we can't -"
"We'll tell them what really happened -"
"They can't kill him -"
"Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"
Harry watched Hermione throw the Invisibility Cloak over him and Ron.
"Go quick. Don' listen. . . . "
There was a knock on Hagrid's front door. The execution party had arrived. Hagrid turned, around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. Harry watched the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin and heard three pairs of feet retreating. He, Ron, and Hermione had gone. . . but Harry and Lyra hidden in the trees could now hear what was happening inside the cabin through the back door.
"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.
"Out - outside," Hagrid croaked.
Harry pulled his head out of sight as Macnair's face appeared at Hagrid's window, staring out at Buckbeak. Then they heard Fudge.
"We - er - have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it. Macnair, You're supposed to listen too, that's procedure -"
Macnair's face vanished from the window. It was now or never.
"Wait here," Harry whispered to Lyra. "I'll do it."
As Fudge's voice started again, Harry darted out from behind his tree, vaulted the fence into the pumpkin patch, and approached Buckbeak.
"It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that the Hippogriff Buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned, shall be executed on the sixth of June at sundown -"
Careful not to blink, Harry stared up into Buckbeak's fierce orange eyes once more and bowed. Buckbeak sank to his scaly knees and then stood up again. Harry began to fumble with the knot of rope tying Buckbeak to the fence.
". . . sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnair. . . "
"Come on, Buckbeak," Harry murmured, "come on, we're going to help you. Quietly. . . quietly. . . "
". . . as witnessed below. Hagrid, you sign here. . . "
Harry threw all his weight onto the rope, but Buckbeak had dug in his front feet.
"Well, let's get this over with," said the reedy voice of the Committee member from inside Hagrid's cabin. "Hagrid, perhaps it will be better if you stay inside -"
"No, I - I wan' to be with him. . . . I don' wan' him to be alone -"
Footsteps echoed from within the cabin.
"Buckbeak, move!" Harry hissed.
Harry tugged harder on the rope around Buckbeak's neck. The Hippogriff began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. They were still ten feet away from the forest, in plain view of Hagrid's back door. "One moment, please, Macnair," came Dumbledore's voice. "You need to sign too. " The footsteps stopped. Harry heaved on the rope. Buckbeak snapped his beak and walked a little faster.
Lyra's white face was sticking out from behind a tree.
"Harry, hurry!" she mouthed.
Harry could still hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin. He gave the rope another wrench. Buckbeak broke into a grudging trot. They had reached the trees. . . .
"Quick! Quick!" Lyra moaned, darting out from behind her tree, seizing the rope too and adding her weight to make Buckbeak move faster. Harry looked over his shoulder; they were now blocked from sight; they couldn't see Hagrid's garden at all.
"Stop!" he whispered to Lyra. "They might hear us. "
Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Harry, Lyra, and Buckbeak stood quite still; even the Hippogriff seemed to be listening intently. Silence. . . then -
"Where is it?" said the reedy voice of the Committee member. "Where is the beast?"
"It was tied here!" said the executioner furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"
"How extraordinary," said Dumbledore. There was a note of amusement in his voice.
"Beaky!" said Hagrid huskily.
There were a swishing noise and the thud of an ax. The executioner seemed to have swung it into the fence in anger. And then came the howling, and this time they could hear Hagrid's words through his sobs.
"Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's gone! Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!"
Buckbeak started to strain against the rope, trying to get back to Hagrid. Harry and Lyra tightened their grip and dug their heels into the forest floor to stop him.
"Someone untied him!" the executioner was snarling. "We should search the grounds, the forest. "
"Macnair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really think the thief will have led him away on foot?" said Dumbledore, still sounding amused. "Search the skies, if you will. . . . Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy. "
"O' - o' course, Professor," said Hagrid, who sounded weak with happiness. "Come in, come in. . . . "
Harry and Lyra listened closely. They heard footsteps, the soft cursing of the executioner, the snap of the door, and then silence once more.
"Now what?" whispered Harry, looking around.
"We'll have to hide in here," said Lyra, who looked very shaken. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Dad's window. He won't be there for another couple of hours... Oh, this is going to be difficult..."
She looked nervously over her shoulder into the depths of the forest. The sun was setting now.
"We're going to have to move," said Harry, thinking hard. "We've got to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on. "
"Okay," said Lyra, getting a firmer grip on Buckbeak's rope. "But we've got to keep out of sight, Harry, remember... "
They moved around the edge of the forest, darkness falling thickly around them until they were hidden behind a clump of trees through which they could make out the Willow.
"There's Ron!" said Harry suddenly.
A dark figure was sprinting across the lawn and its shout echoed through the still night air.
"Get away from him - get away - Scabbers, come here -"
And then they saw two more figures materialize out of nowhere. Harry watched himself and Hermione chasing after Ron. Then he saw Ron dive.
"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat -"
"There's Sirius!" said Harry. The great shape of the dog had bounded out from the roots of the Willow. They saw him bowl Harry over, then seize on. . . .
"Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" said Harry, watching the dog pulling Ron into the roots. "Ouch - look, I just got walloped by the tree, this is weird"
The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with its lower branches; they could see themselves darting here and there, trying to reach the trunk. And then the tree froze.
"That was Crookshanks pressing the knot. And there we go. . . " Harry muttered. "We're in. "
The moment they disappeared, the tree began to move again. Seconds later, they heard footsteps quite close by. Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.
They watched the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from view. For a few minutes, the scene was deserted. Then -
"Here comes Lupin!" said Harry as they saw another figure sprinting down the stone steps and halting toward the Willow. Harry looked up at the sky. Clouds were obscuring the moon completely.
They watched Lupin seize a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot on the trunk. The tree stopped fighting, and Lupin, too, disappeared into the gap in its roots.
"If he'd only grabbed the cloak," said Harry. "It's just lying there. . . . "
He turned to Lyra.
"If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and -"
"Harry, we mustn't be seen!"
"How can you stand this?" he asked Lyra fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen?" He hesitated at her furious expression. "Don't forget Harry James Potter that we're here to save MY DAD!"
"I'm going to grab the cloak!" Harry said guiltily.
"Harry, no!"
Lyra seized the back of Harry's robes not a moment too soon. Just then, they heard a burst of song. It was Hagrid, making his way up to the castle, singing at the top of his voice, and weaving slightly as he walked. A large bottle was swinging from his hands.
"See?" Lyra whispered. "See what would have happened? We've got to keep out of sight! No, Buckbeak!"
The Hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid again; Harry seized his rope too, straining to hold Buckbeak back. They watched Hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. He was gone. Buckbeak stopped fighting to get away. His head drooped sadly.
Barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow.
Harry's fists clenched as they watched Snape skid to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the cloak and held it up.
"Get your filthy hands off it," Harry snarled under his breath.
"Shh!"
Snape seized the branch Lupin had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the cloak.
"So that's it," said Lyra quietly. "We're all down there... and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again..."
"What do you mean? You weren't there."
"I was," She took the end of Buckbeak's rope and tied it securely around the nearest tree, then sat down on the dry ground, arms around her knees and proceeded to tell Harry what had happened. In return, Harry told her all she had missed.
"Harry, there's something I don't understand... Why didn't the Dementors get Dad? I remember them coming, and then I passed out... two of them swooped at me... it brought back all those memories."
Harry put an arm around her. He explained what he'd seen; how, as the nearest Dementor had lowered its mouth to Harry's, a large silver something had come galloping across the lake and forced the Dementors to retreat.
Lyra's mouth was slightly open by the time Harry had finished.
"But what was it?"
"There's only one thing it could have been, to make the Dementors go," said Harry. "A real Patronus. A powerful one. "
"But who conjured it?"
Harry didn't say anything. He was thinking back to the person he'd seen on the other bank of the lake. He knew who he thought it had been. . . but how could it have been?
"Didn't you see what they looked like?" said Lyra eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"
"No," said Harry. "He wasn't a teacher. "
"But it must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all those Dementors away. . . If the Patronus was shining so brightly, didn't it light him up? And he conjured two of them. Couldn't you see -?"
"Yeah, I saw him," said Harry slowly. "But. . . maybe I imagined it. . . I wasn't thinking straight. . . I passed out right afterward. . . . "
"Who did you think it was?"
"I think -" Harry swallowed, knowing how strange this was going to sound. "I think it was my dad. "
Harry glanced up at Lyra and saw that her mouth was fully open now. She was gazing at him with a mixture of alarm and sympathy.
"Harry, your dad's - well - dead," she said quietly.
"I know that," said Harry quickly.
"You think you saw his ghost?"
"I don't know. . . no. . . he looked solid. . . . "
"But then -"
"Maybe I was seeing things," said Harry. "But. . . from what I could see. . . it looked like him. . . . I've got photos of him. . . . "
Lyra was still looking at him through her expression was of grave thinking. "I know it sounds crazy," said Harry flatly.
"I would never think your crazy Harry!"
He turned to took at Buckbeak, who was digging his beak into the ground, apparently searching for worms. But he wasn't really watching Buckbeak.
He was thinking about his father and about his father's three oldest friends. . . Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs... Had all four of them been out on the grounds tonight? Wormtail had reappeared this evening when everyone had thought he was dead. . . Was it so impossible his father had done the same? Had he been seeing things across the take? The figure had been too far away to see distinctly. . . yet he had felt sure, for a moment, before he'd lost consciousness. . . .
The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. The moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. Lyra sat with her face turned toward the Willow, waiting.
And then, at last, after over an hour. . .
"Here we come!" Lyra whispered.
She and Harry got to their feet. Buckbeak raised his head. They saw Lupin, Ron, and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Then came Hermione. . . then the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upward. Next came Harry and Black. They all began to walk toward the castle.
Harry's heart was starting to beat very fast. He glanced up at the sky. Any moment now, that cloud was going to move aside and show the moon. . .
"Harry," Lyra muttered as though she knew exactly what he was thinking, "we've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do. . . . "
"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again. . . " said Harry quietly.
"How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" snapped Lyra. "There's nothing we can do! Don't you think I would have caught the Traitor by now if it was possible? We came here to save dad and that's what we're gonna do."
"All right!"
The moon slid out from behind its cloud. They saw the tiny figures across the grounds stop. Then they saw movement -
"There goes Lupin," Lyra whispered. "He's transforming. "
"Lyra!" said Harry suddenly. "We've got to move! Lupin's going to run into the forest, right at us!"
"Quick!" Lyra stood up, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The Dementors will be coming any moment -"
"Back to Hagrid's!" Harry said. "It's empty now - come on!"
They ran as fast as they could, Buckbeak cantering along behind them. They could hear the werewolf howling behind them. . . .
The cabin was in sight; Harry skidded to the door, wrenched it open, and Lyra and Buckbeak flashed past him; Harry threw himself in after them and bolted the door. Fang the boarhound barked loudly.
"Shh, Fang, it's us!" said Harry, hurrying over and scratching his ears to quieten him. "That was really close!" he said to Lyra.
"Yeah. . . "
Harry was looking out of the window. It was much harder to see what was going on from here. Buckbeak seemed very happy to find himself back inside Hagrid's house. He lay down in front of the fire, folded his wings contentedly, and seemed ready for a good nap.
"I think I'd better go outside again, you know," said Harry slowly. "I can't see what's going on - we won't know when it's time -"
Lyra looked up. Her expression was suspicious.
"I'm not going to try and interfere," said Harry quickly. "But if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"
"Well... okay, then... I'll come with you... we'll lock Buckbeak in "
They stepped outside again and edged around the cabin. Harry could hear yelling in the distance. That meant the Dementors were closing in on Sirius... He and Lyra would be running to him at any moment...
Harry stared out toward the lake, his heart doing a kind of drumroll in his chest. . . . Whoever had sent that Patronus would be appearing at any moment. . . .
For a fraction of a second, he stood, irresolute, in front of Hagrid's door. You must not be seen. But he didn't want to be seen. He wanted to do the seeing. . . . He had to know. . .
And there were the Dementors. They were emerging out of the darkness from every direction, gliding around the edges of the lake. . . . They were moving away from where Harry stood, to the opposite bank. . . . He wouldn't have to get near them. . . .
Harry began to run. He had no thought in his head except his father. . . If it was him. . . if it really was him. . . he had to know, had to find out. . . . Lyra followed terrified at what he was doing.
The lake was coming nearer and nearer, but there was no sign of anybody. On the opposite bank, he could see tiny glimmers of silver - his own attempts at a Patronus -
There was a bush at the very edge of the water. Harry threw himself behind it, peering desperately through the leaves. On the opposite bank, the glimmers of silver were suddenly extinguished. A terrified excitement shot through him - any moment now -
"Come on!" he muttered, staring about. "Where are you? Dad, come on -"
"What?" Harry swiveled to see Lyra glaring at him.
"Dad's coming! I must see him Lyra, please I must!" he pleaded and Lyra hesitated. But no one came. Suddenly Lyra grabbed him and turned him to face her.
"No one's coming to Harry! James Potter is dead. He died thirteen years ago. The one who saved us there was someone living to breathe. Someone I li-trust completely." Lyra looked at his eyes.
And then it hit him - he understood. He hadn't seen his father he had seen himself! "Thank you, Ly!" He pressed his lips on her. He broke off and then Harry raised his head to look at the circle of Dementors across the lake. One of them was lowering its hood. It was time for the rescuer to appear - but no one was coming to help this time -
Harry flung himself out from behind the bush and pulled out his wand.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM! " he yelled.
And out of the end of his wand burst, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. He screwed up his eyes, trying to see what it was. It looked like a horse. It was galloping silently away from him, across the black surface of the lake.
Lyra stood there transfixed. But she shook herself awake and a smile graced her lips. She jumped to stand beside Harry, hidden by shadows. She leveled her wand, the memory of Harry's lips pressed against her feeling her with a warm sensation, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A silver mist shot out of her wand before taking the shape of a canine. It joined Harry's Patronus.
Harry saw them charge at the swarming Dementors. . . . Now they were galloping around and around the black shapes on the ground, and the Dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness. . . . They were gone.
Harry's Patronus turned. It was cantering back toward Harry across the still surface of the water. It wasn't a horse. It wasn't a unicorn, either. It was a stag. It was shining brightly as the moon above . . . it was coming back to him. . . .
It stopped on the bank. Its hooves made no mark on the soft ground as it stared at Harry with its large, silver eyes. Slowly, it bowed its antlered head. And Harry realized. . . "Prongs," he whispered.
But as his trembling fingertips stretched toward the creature, it vanished.
Lyra's Patronus, a dog that looked just like Padfoot, ran towards her. Lyra smiled at it as it faded away.
Harry stood there, hand still outstretched.
Then his brain caught up with what he had done before casting the charm and he cursed. Damn Potter, you just ruined your friendship, couldn't you've kept your feelings to yourselves.
He turned towards Lyra, "Lyra, I am so sorry for what happened earlier you know," he stammered as Lyra frowned. "I overstepped my boundaries. I hope you'll forget it and we can still be friends,"
"No!" Harry felt someone had just stabbed him in the heart. "I won't forget it Harry Potter and I'll like to know why you did it."
"I...I-"
"I'm waiting,"
"I like you a lot, as in more than a friend," He stuttered.
Lyra closed the distance between them and grabbed Harry by his collar. Harry waited for the punch but it never came. Instead, Lyra pressed her lips on him. Harry's brain short-circuited.
"I hoped you would say that," Lyra smiled at him.
"What?" Harry asked, coming out of his daze.
"I like you too Harry. I really do." Lyra whispered.
Harry grinned, "Will you be my girlfriend?"
"Hmm...Let me think," Lyra grinned mischievously, "Yes!"
"YES!!" Harry pumped his fist in the air. They grinned at each other. Lyra then took off to get Buckbeak while Harry hid in the bushes.
Lyra was back within a few minutes with Buckbeak and she crouched down beside Harry. "Look, Snape!" Harry whispered.
Together they peered around the bush at the other bank. Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry and Black onto them. A third stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away toward the castle.
"Right, it's nearly time, Dobby will get me back to the castle," said Lyra tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Dad and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing..."
They waited, watching the moving clouds reflected in the lake, while the bush next to them whispered in the breeze. Buckbeak, bored, was ferreting for worms again.
"Do you reckon he's up there yet?" said Harry, checking his watch. He looked up at the castle and began counting the windows to the right of the West Tower.
"Look!" Lyra whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"
Harry stared through the darkness. The man was hurrying across the grounds, toward one of the entrances. Something shiny glinted in his belt.
"Macnair!" said Harry. "The executioner! He's gone to get the Dementors! This is it, Ly -"
Lyra put her hands on Buckbeak's back and Harry gave her a leg up. Then he placed his foot on one of the lower branches of the bush and climbed up in front of her. He pulled Buckbeak's rope back over his neck and tied it to the other side of his collar like reins.
"Ready?" he whispered to Lyra. "You'd better hold on to me -"
He nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels.
Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. Harry gripped his flanks with his knees, feeling the great wings rising powerfully beneath them.
Harry urged Buckbeak forward. They were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle... Harry pulled hard on the left-hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned. Harry was trying to count the windows flashing past -
"Whoa!" he said, pulling back as hard as he could.
Buckbeak slowed down and they found themselves at a stop unless you counted the fact that they kept rising up and down several feet as the Hippogriff beat his wings to remain airborne.
"He's there!" Harry said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside the window. He reached out, and as Buckbeak's wings fell, was able to tap sharply on the glass.
Black looked up. Harry saw his jaw drop. He leaped from his chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked.
"Stand back!" Lyra called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of Harry's robes with her left hand.
"Alohomora!"
The window sprang open.
"How - how -?" said Black weakly, staring at the Hippogriff.
"Get on - there's not much time," said Harry, gripping Buckbeak firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here -the Dementors are coming - Macnair's gone to get them. "
Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the Hippogriff behind Lyra.
"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower - come on. "
The Hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Lyra slid off him at once.
"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone. "
Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.
"Who are you?" croaked Sirius staring at Lyra.
"I-I am Ly-Lyra Luna Andromeda Black... Mum was able to save me," Lyra breathed looking nervously at her father. What if he didn't like her, what if he didn't believe her?
Sirius looked at her in shock and with an inscrutable expression. Then he put Lyra's fears to rest by grasping her in a hug. Lyra stiffened before relaxing. She hugged him back. "Lyra my...my daughter."
Lyra broke the hug and said with an anxious expression, "You must go now! We will talk later, go!"
"Yes Sirius get a move on," said Harry
But Black was still staring down at Harry.
"How can I ever thank -"
"GO!" Harry and Lyra shouted together.
Black wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.
"We'll see each other again, Lyra," he said. "You are - truly your father's son, Harry..."
He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry and Lyra jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more. . . The Hippogriff took off into the air. . . He and his rider became smaller and smaller as Harry gazed after them. . . then a cloud drifted across the moon. . . . They were gone.
Harry!"
Lyra was tugging at his sleeve, staring at her watch. "We've got exactly three minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us - before Dumbledore locks the door -"
"Okay," said Harry, wrenching his gaze from the sky, "let's go..."
"No you twit," Lyra concentrated and made herself resemble Hermione. "Dobby! Can you pop us just around the corridor of Hospital Wing?" Dobby appeared and snapped his fingers.
They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entrance. "Okay - I can hear Dumbledore," said Lyra, looking and sounding like Hermione, tensely. "Come on, Harry!"
They crept along the corridor. The door opened. Dumbledore's back appeared.
"I am going to lock you in," they heard him saying. "it is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck. "
Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door, and took out his wand to magically lock it. Panicking, Harry and Lyra ran forward. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver mustache. "Well?" he said quietly.
"We did it!" said Harry breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak. . . . "
Dumbledore beamed at them.
"Well done. I think -" He listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone too - get inside - I'll lock you in -"
Harry and Lyra slipped back inside the infirmary. It was empty except for Ron, who was still lying motionless in the end bed. As the lock clicked behind them, Harry crept back to his own bed, Lyra tucked the Time-Turner back under Hermione's robes. Then she used legilimency on Hermione and put some false memories of Harry and Hermione saving Sirius and Buckbeak. Lyra enervated her and Dobby then popped her back out. A moment later, Madam Pomfrey came striding back out of her office.
Xxxx...
Later Harry told Lyra about Snape blaming him for Sirius' escape and how he lost his order of Merlin. Lupin returned Harry the Marauders Map and the invisibility cloak before he left.
Lyra and Harry were very happy to be finally together. Sirius and Lyra exchanged letters and he gave her a photo album of her childhood and she wrote back informing him of where she lived, and he promised to get her out of there.
The only sour note was Dumbledore informing Lyra she would have to go back. But with Sirius' note to get her out of there and Harry's promise to keep in touch, things were looking up for her that summer.
AN: There will be a chapter on the Summer next, under 'Past'.Please review...