Green and Silver
(Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters.)
Hey all, if anyone is still reading, major apologies for almost abandoning this story. If you are reading, please R&R and enjoy.
~*~*~X~*~*~
Lives Saved
~*~*~X~*~*~
Hermione Granger, age 13
Lupin was a werewolf. Hermione was sure of it.
After the professor had been absent from class the day of the full moon, Snape had assigned them to write on werewolves, which was the topic nine chapters ahead of where they were now. They were supposed to be learning about red caps and hinkypunks. That was earlier in the semester. Every other full moon since then, up until tonight's full moon, Lupin had been absent from class.
Hermione hadn't been sure at first. She was sure Dumbledore wouldn't have endangered the students at Hogwarts by letting a werewolf onto the grounds. But then a memory pulled at her mind, from the beginning of the school year when she first met the professor. He was showing the class how to defend against a boggart, which turns into one's greatest fear.
When Lupin faced the boggart, it transformed into a full moon.
It was then that Hermione decided she knew for sure. Lupin was a werewolf. If it weren't for Hermione's parents' family friend, Greyback, who was the only other werewolf Hermione had ever met, she wouldn't have even known werewolves actually existed.
Hermione was deep in her thoughts when Draco burst into the Slytherin Common Room. He turned when he saw Hermione and veered towards the little alcove surrounded by the Black Lake their group often occupied.
"Hermione."
"Draco."
"You'll never guess what I just heard," Draco sat down, lowering his voice. "Sirius Black is here, in the castle. He's just been sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss."
"What?" Hermione sat up. "Are you joking? Do your parents know? Does my brother-"
"No idea, I haven't written to anyone."
"Well, how do you know this, then?" she insisted.
"I've just overheard Dumbledore. It's true."
Hermione sighed. "I wonder if Alexei knows." She knew her brother, for some odd reason, believed Sirius Black was an innocent man. She wasn't sure if that was just because he was related to Narcissa Malfoy, or for some other reason entirely that Hermione wasn't aware of.
Hermione wanted to talk to her brother, but there was no way she could mention anything Sirius Black-related through owl. She had no way of knowing if any letters she wrote would be intercepted before they got to Alexei. She knew Sirius Black was a mass murderer, but something about that was...off; but Hermione couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Why did Alexei think he was innocent? Do the Malfoys know? Would they care if Sirius Black was condemned to receive the Kiss? Draco didn't seem to care other than gossipping about it. Alexei was one of the smartest people Hermione knew, so if he believed Black was not a murderer, there had to be a good reason why. But what could that reason possibly be? She had so many questions, but no one to ask.
After a long moment deep in thought, Hermione jumped up from her seat.
"What's with you?" Draco asked suddenly, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"I can't contact my brother by owl," she started, "but I've got that Floo powder from Christmas. I can call him through the Floo Network!" She darted toward the entrance to the girl's dormitories, leaving Draco bewildered behind her in the alcove.
She dug through her trunk, looking for that little satin bag her brother gave her the last time he visited Granger Mansion. Finally, near the bottom of her trunk, she pulled it out. She practically flew back down the stairs, almost colliding with Theodore Nott on the way.
"Sorry!" She called over her shoulder.
"Hang on-" Theo started, grabbing Hermione by the shoulder. "Where're you off to in such a rush?"
"I-" Hermione stopped herself. Hermione had forgotten all about Theo, really, as he never really hung out with her and Draco. He disliked Crabbe and Goyle, and so made a point to stay away from her and Draco whenever they were around. Which was, regrettably, pretty often. But all things aside, Hermione got on quite well with Theo, actually. Enough to trust him with what she was about to talk to her brother about. Especially because Theo's parents were close friends with her own parents.
"Come with me," she concluded. He followed her down the stairs, back to the alcove where Draco was still sitting.
"Ah, Theo, I was actually looking for you earlier-"
"No time, Draco," Hermione interrupted. She motioned for Theo to sit. He did. "Look," Hermione said in a low voice, sitting back down in the same chair she occupied earlier, "Draco's just found out Sirius Black's in the castle set to receive the Dementor's Kiss. Tonight. And-"
"Hang on," Theo said. "Black's in the castle? Say, Draco, aren't you technically related to him?"
"I guess, yeah, he's my mum's cousin. But I don't reckon I've never met him." Draco's brow furrowed, as if trying to recall a distant memory.
"Yeah, look," Hermione continued, "My brother's said before time and time again that he thinks Black is innocent. If you knew my brother, you'd know he's always got a reason for everything he says. So I'm going to find out whether Black's really innocent or not."
"Okay," Theo agreed, "But how?"
"We're going to ask my brother," she said. "I've got some Floo powder, we've just got to wait until the Common Room's empty."
The trio turned around to look about the room. "Looks pretty empty to me," Theo said. "It's nearly midnight."
"Alright, then," Hermione said. She'd done this a dozen times before, talked to someone else through a fireplace. She could only hope wherever her brother was, that he had a fireplace too. He had to, if he said she could contact him through the Floo Network.
She emptied the black sack into her hands. She held all the black powder her brother gave her. She stood and walked to the smaller fireplace in the secondary room of the Common Room, which was partially hidden behind a thick marble pillar. If anyone was in the main section of the Common Room, they wouldn't be able to see Hermione dipping her head into the fire.
And so Hermione threw the powder into the yellow flames, which suddenly burned a bright green.
"Go on, then," Theo prodded.
Hermione stuck her head into the fire.
~*~*~X~*~*~
Harry Potter
"I saw my dad." Harry felt groggy, his eyes glued shut from sleep. He opened them slowly as he regained consciousness. He looked toward Ron, whose leg was completely wrapped in bandages a couple beds down from him. "He sent the dementors away. I saw him across the lake."
"Harry," Ron said, his voice cracking, "They've captured Sirius. Any minute now they're going to give him the Kiss."
Harry jumped up, searching for his glasses. "You mean they're going to kill him?"
"Worse...they're going to suck out his soul." Ron's brows furrowed.
Harry's and Ron's eyes met just as the huge double doors to the hospital wing opened.
Dumbledore strode into the room. Harry ran to him, speaking so fast his words were almost jumbled. "Professor, you've got to stop them, they've got the wrong man. Sirius is innocent!"
"It's Scabbers who did it," Ron's voice sounded from behind them. Dumbledore and Harry both turned to look at Ron.
"Scabbers?" Dumbledore questioned.
"He's my rat, sir. Well, he's not really a rat. Uh, well, he was a rat, he was my brother Percy's rat, but then they gave him an owl, and-"
Harry turned back to Dumbledore, interrupting. "Point is, we know the truth. Please believe us." Harry stared straight at Dumbledore, begging him with his eyes.
"I do, Harry, but I'm sorry to say the word of two thirteen-year-old wizards will convince few others." He strode over to Ron's bed. "A child's voice, however honest and true, is meaningless to those who have forgotten how to listen," he said, resting his hand on Ron's mangled leg, earning a broken whimper from Ron.
A distant chime sounded. It was midnight. Dumbledore suddenly looked up, towards the doors. He walked towards them. Harry's body sunk, deflated. Just when he thought Dumbledore would once again come up with an impossible solution, he was disappointed.
"Mysterious thing, time," Dumbledore mused. "Powerful. And when meddled with," he turned again to face Harry, "dangerous. Sirius Black is in the topmost cell of the Dark Tower. While you may not be able to help him, Harry, someone else in this castle can."
"Who, Professor? Who is it?" Harry questioned anxiously.
"If you can manage to find Hermione Granger, you might just have a chance." With those words, he turned on his heel to leave the room.
Harry was aghast. "Hermione Granger? Professor, how could she help us at all, why would she even want to, or care, she's a Slytherin-"
Dumbledore whirled around instantly. "Condemning others by their House or any other means, Harry, will never get you far. Just as there is more to you others don't see, there may be more to others than you think," he advised. "If everything goes right, then more than one innocent life may be saved. Three turns should do the trick," he finished. Then he turned back on his heel and strode out of the room.
"Hermione Granger? Hermione Granger?" Ron whimpered from his bed. "The old bloke's gone mad!"
"I don't know, but there's no time," Harry muttered. "They're giving Sirius the Kiss now. I don't even know where Granger is." Frustrated, he kicked the side of his bed.
"Probably in Slytherin's dormitories, it's midnight," Ron said weakly. "Say, what exactly did he mean, more than one innocent life can be saved?"
Harry didn't know. He could not see how he could find Granger; she was apparently in Slytherin's dormitories, and he could not get into the Slytherin Common Room. There was no time for searching, or for Polyjuice Potion. But he could not give up on Sirius. He was the only family Harry had left. He at least had to try.
With that, Harry practically flew out the hospital wing, leaving Ron behind. He knew exactly where the Slytherin Common Room was, since he'd attempted to find Malfoy there last year. He had to go to the opposite side of the castle, to the dungeons.
After grabbing his Invisibility Cloak, what seemed like years later, he came upon the corridor leading to the Common Room's entrance.
It was darker down here than anywhere else in the castle. Tall windows on the left side of the corridor let in a faint greenish glow from the Black Lake. He ran down the hall, and stopped right in front of the entrance.
But now what?
~*~*~X~*~*~
Hermione Granger
She saw nothing in front of her, but felt a faint burning sensation. She couldn't feel or see the rest of her body. Suddenly, a faint light shone ahead of her. She somehow moved toward it, and it got closer and closer. When she was close enough to touch it, everything around her went black. Then she saw an unfamiliar room before her. It looked like a Mudblood's dwelling.
Then a door on the far side of the room burst open. There stood Alexei.
"Alexei!" Hermione said. "Quick, we don't have much time-"
"What is it, Hermione?" Alexei strode quickly over to her and kneeled down. Hermione could see the fire's reflection in his eyes as he looked at her.
"It's Sirius Black, he's been found, here in the castle, and he's getting the Dementor's Kiss now, as we speak," She spoke quickly. "Why-"
"No, that can't be right, he's innocent," Alexei insisted.
"No, Lex, you can't know for sure-"
"Yes, I can," he interrupted. "Listen, Hermione, long story short, he was framed, by a man who's been missing, thought to be dead ever since, but no one who knows the real story knows where that man is. There's no way to save Black."
"Save him? I wasn't-"
"Then why are you calling, Hermione?" he sighed. As Alexei looked at her, she could see the lines of fatigue in his face, illuminated by the green fire before him. Every time she saw Alexei, he looked more tired out than the time before. "I know you. I know you would never want an innocent person to be put in harm's way. That's why this is bothering you so. But there's no way to save him. I dunno what you want me to say."
"So you know for a fact Black is innocent, then?" Hermione questioned.
"Yes, sister, I know it for certain." Alexei rolled his shoulders and moved to sit with his legs crossed.
"Leave the rest to me," Hermione said after a moment. Despite her words, she really had no idea how to save an assumed mass murderer from Dementors. She knew there was a spell to protect oneself from Dementors, but the spell was too advanced; it wasn't even a spell that was taught at Hogwarts.
"What?" Alexei interjected, suddenly upset. "Hermione, don't do anything stupid, you'll get in loads of trouble-"
"Ouch!" Hermione yelped. While Alexei was talking, she felt a strong pull somewhere, but she couldn't pinpoint where. Just that something was pulling at her. She couldn't feel her body, but she knew it was probably Draco or Theo back in the Common Room. "Sorry, Lex, I've got to go, but-"
"Hermione, whatever it is you're doing, you'll-"
"Got to go, thanks, sorry!" Hermione said, and suddenly, somehow, she moved her head backward and she fell backwards onto her back. The ceiling above her was dark and high; she was back in the Common Room.
"Get up, you-" Draco pulled her up with one arm. She quickly looked around, and sure enough, across the room by the entrance to the dormitories, she saw Astoria Greengrass. She had a worried look on her face, which quickly turned to suspicion.
"What're you lot doing?" she questioned, wary.
"Never you mind," Draco spat. "We could ask the same about you. It's nearly one in the morning."
The look of worry once again appeared on Astoria's face. "It's my sister, she's out somewhere on the grounds, but with that murderer running around-"
"Daphne?" Hermione said, surprised. She didn't see much of Daphne anymore, not since Hermione's first year at Hogwarts. Hermione had almost forgotten about the girl.
"What d'you mean, somewhere on the grounds?" Theo asked. "Why would she be out at this hour?"
Astoria stiffened slightly, but Hermione noticed the slight movement. From the corner of her eye, she could tell Theo did too.
Astoria recovered her expression of worry quickly. "She likes to take walks at night," she muttered. "I'm going to go wait for her," she said. As she brushed past Hermione, Hermione and her friends turned to look after her.
"Suspicious, if you ask me," Draco muttered in a low voice. He started after her, but Hermione quickly grabbed his sleeve.
"Draco, you prat, don't be stupid," Hermione said. "It's past midnight, there's Dementors on the prowl, and we'd probably get expelled if we were caught out of bed," she said quickly. "It's not worth it."
After a few seconds, Draco started to see sense. "Right, well, I'm off to bed then tell me about your brother tomorrow," he said mid-yawn. He turned and went up the stairs to the dormitories.
Hermione went back to the alcove and sat down, looking out at the dark lake before her. She could barely see anything; the water was pitch black, almost frightening, but the faint swishing sounds of the water relaxed her.
Hermione saw Theo's reflection sitting beside her. "Hermione," Theo said, "What did your brother say?" Hermione could almost feel Theo's burning curiosity.
"Well, he claims he knows for a fact that Sirius Black is innocent," Hermione said in a low voice, almost a whisper. For some reason she couldn't shake the feeling she and her friend were being watched, even though the room was now empty. Draco had gone to bed, and Astoria had left the Dungeon altogether.
Theo snorted. "He murdered thirteen people, twelve of them Muggles, everyone knows the story-"
"No, no, he was framed, Theo," Hermione corrected. She wasn't even sure if she believed her own words, but she trusted her brother. And her brother claims the murderer's innocence. "The wizard that he apparently killed was the one who killed those people."
"Who was he? The wizard?"
"No idea," Hermione shrugged. She hadn't thought to ask Alexei during their conversation.
"It was Peter Pettigrew."
Hermione and Theo whirled around in a split second, and Hermione couldn't possibly believe her eyes at what she saw.
It was Harry Potter, taking off some sort of bewitched traveling cloak.
"Wh-" Hermione couldn't speak for a moment. "You!" She got out. "What in Merlin's-"
"Dumbledore told me to find you," Potter interrupted. He looked almost distraught. "You asked-" he looked at Theo- "Who the wizard who framed Sirius was. His name was Peter Pettigrew. Look-"
"I don't know who on Earth that is," Hermione said, "but you can't be in here!" She took out her wand to cast a spell, but Potter dived to the left and scrambled up. Hermione glanced to her right to see Theo's wand out as well.
"Granger, look, we haven't got much time, Dumbledore's said we can save Sirius, but we've got to hurry-"
"Save Sirius Black? That's what you're here for?" Hermione said incredulously.
"Hermione, lower your voice," Theo warned. Hermione looked to see him standing guard by the dormitory staircase, but he looked anxious.
Harry Potter spoke again, his voice getting frantic. "I don't know why Dumbledore told me to come to you, but he said, something, like, 'three turns should do it', and that more than one innocent life could be saved, and-"
Hermione stopped in her tracks. "Three turns?" She said quietly. She then narrowed her eyes with suspicion. "How did you know?"
Now the Potter boy looked confused. "Know what?"
She scoffed in exasperation at the boy's stupidity. She reached under her shirt and pulled out what was sitting around her neck and held it outward. "How did you know I had a Time Turner?"
Before the confused looking Potter started to speak, Hermione gasped.
"That's it," she said, ecstatic. Then she remember to keep her voice down. That's it," she repeated, quieter. She glared at Potter. "Three turns?"
Potter, looking more confused than ever, nodded.
Hermione quickly stored her wand away, and Potter looked like he'd been Confunded. "Oh, you idiot," she said, and grabbed his arm, causing him to flinch, and pulled him toward her.
She turned to Theo. "Come here," she demanded. Theo obeyed.
Hermione took out her Time Turner, and wrapped the long chain around both Potter's and Theo's necks. "Listen carefully," she said, looking at both of them. Her hatred for Harry Potter would have to be put aside for now. Merlin knows why he of all people wanted to rescue Sirius Black, but she had no time to question it. "We must not be seen," she stressed, "Terrible things happen to wizards who meddle with time." She glared at Potter again. "You, put on that cloak of yours. You cannot be seen in the Slytherin Dungeon." As Potter obeyed, she looked down at the Time Turner and twisted the tiny knob on its side three times counter-clockwise. Then, suddenly, there was movement all around the trio. Dozens of Slytherin students were moving, lightning fast, all around them, shadows of what was going on in the Common Room hours before. Hermione noticed the lake outside the Dungeon windows starting to get brighter. It was daylight again. Suddenly, all movement stopped, and the trio was looking at an empty Common Room again.
"Where is everyone?" Theo asked.
Hermione glanced out the window. "Almost sundown," she said. "Dinner time. Everyone's in the Great Hall. Let's go." She darted towards the door, and the huge slab of stone moved to the side. She ran down the dungeon hall, and a confused Theo followed her. She heard another set of footsteps as well, so she assumed Potter was following her as well.
As they ran down the hall, and up the stairs towards the main floor, she glanced at a grandfather clock on the way, by the entrance to the stairs to Professor Snape's office. She read the time to be 7:30. Where was she at 7:30?
Hermione stopped, catching her breath. She didn't go to dinner that day, because Draco had wanted to see the oaf's hippogriff die. That's it. They were up the hill from the oaf Hagrid's hut.
Hermione turned and ran towards the back of the corridor, towards the rear of the castle. She pushed open the double doors in front of her and jumped down the steps, looking left and right to confirm no one was around.
By the time they got to the end of the last corridor, she could hear voices. "Quick, Theo, get down!" They jumped off the side of the elevated corridor onto the grass to the right. They ducked down to avoid being seen and crawled to the edge of the wall. She turned to see a third figure behind her. Potter. He had taken off his strange cloak.
"Remember," she whispered, "We must not be seen. Dumbledore wanted to return to this moment. Clearly something happened he wants us to change."
She turned back around to look towards the hill. There, she saw Potter and the Weasley boy he liked so much, standing in front of her, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. They were in mid-argument.
Then she saw Potter taking out his wand in anger, Draco whimpering, and Weasley stopping Potter before he could cast a spell. Crabbe and Goyle ran, towards where the real Hermione was crouching, and Draco and Hermione followed. The four of them ran up the stairs of the corridor Hermione, Theo, and Potter were just in and were soon gone.
Hermione looked back toward where they were all standing a minute before. Potter and Weasley had disappeared down the hill, so Hermione emerged from her hiding place and ran to the spot her old self was just inhabiting not minutes before. Theo and Potter were right behind her.
"Buckbeak," Potter muttered as the three stared down towards the gamekeeper's hut.
"What?" Theo said sharply.
"Hagrid's hippogriff," Potter replied. "He's still alive."
"Of course," Hermione said in awe. "Dumbledore said, more than one innocent life can be saved."
Potter looked at her, alarmed. "Why d'you want to help Buckbeak?"
"I may be Draco's friend, but I know when he's full of it," Hermione snapped at him. "He approached the creature, not the other way around. Now shut it and let's go."
Hermione started down the hill, but she felt a strong arm yank her back.
"Hermione," Theo said, brows furrowed, "Who cares about some bloody animal? I thought you wanted to help Black."
"Like I said before, Dumbledore told Potter three turns for a reason. He clearly wanted us to return to this exact moment, but Black doesn't get caught by the Dementors until around eleven-thirty to midnight. It's seven forty-five now. We must have returned four hours earlier for a reason."
Taking advantage of Theo's hesitation, Hermione started down the hill, with a now excited Potter at her heels, toward the gamekeeper's hut and toward the innocent hippogriff sitting nearby.
