It was definitely weird, to watch themselves run around to save Ron from Sirius. Rohini grimaced as she saw herself being hit by the Whomping Willow in the face before she sprinted towards the hole.
"Nice running skills." Hermione commented.
"Thanks." Rohini answered.
"Shh…" Harry said.
The next few minutes were quite dull for nothing interesting was happening anymore until Lupin came into view and hurried towards the huge tree. A few more minutes and, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow.
"Are you sure we can't jinx him?" Rohini asked and Hermione sighed.
They watched Snape skid to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the invisibility cloak and held it up.
"Get your filthy hands off it." Harry snarled under his breath.
"So that's how he got inside!"
"Shh! We're all down there… and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again…"
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.
"There's something I don't understand… Why didn't the Dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming, and then I think I passed out… there were so many of them…"
The twins sat down too.
"I reached you guys," Rohini said, trying to remember what had happened. "Our Patronus, they were… they were weak. I don't remember what happened next, except that one of the Dementor tried to… to kiss me." She finished, shivering at the memory.
"Someone else casted a Patronus." Harry said and the girls looked at him in confusion. "A large silver something that forced the Dementors to retreat."
Hermione's mouth was slightly open now. "But who conjured it?"
"Harry?" Rohini said carefully.
"Didn't you see what they looked like?" said Hermione eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"
"No," said Harry. "He wasn't a teacher."
"So it was a man?"
"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 our dad."
Rohini raised her head to look at her brother who avoided her gaze.
"Harry, your dad's—well—dead," Hermione 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…"
"That's weird…" Rohini said.
"I know it sounds crazy," said Harry flatly. He turned to look at Buckbeak, who was digging his beak into the ground, apparently searching for worms.
"Maybe it was someone who looks like him…" Rohini mumbled, looking at the creature, too. "But except for us, nobody does…"
Since she had fainted right before the intervention, Rohini had no idea what the man truly looked like and it was a bit frustrating.
The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. The moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. Hermione sat with her face turned toward the Willow, waiting.
And then, at last, after over an hour…
"Here we come!" Hermione whispered.
They got to their feet. Buckbeak raised his head. They saw Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots and Rohini felt a new rush of anger at the sign of the pitiful traitor. They were followed by the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upward. Next came Harry, Hermione, Black and Rohini. They all began to walk toward the castle.
"We've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do…" Hermione reminded the twins.
"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again…" said Harry quietly.
"That's unfair." Rohini grumbled.
"How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" snapped Hermione. "There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sirius; we're not supposed to be doing anything else!"
"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," Hermione whispered. "He's transforming—"
"Hermione!" said Harry suddenly. "We've got to move!"
"We mustn't, I keep telling you—"
"Not to interfere! Lupin's going to run into the forest, right at us!"
"Oh." Rohini said, realising Harry was right. "Run!" She told them, pulling them back on their feet.
Hermione gasped.
"Quick!" she moaned, 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. "We can hide behind his pumpkins if he's still inside!"
They ran as fast as they could, Buckbeak cantering along behind them. They could hear the werewolf howling behind them and Rohini tried not to imagine how it would feel to be eaten alive.
The cabin was in sight and through the windows they saw it was empty; Harry skidded to the door, wrenched it open, and Hermione and Buckbeak flashed past him; Rohini threw herself in after them and bolted the door. Fang barked loudly.
"Shh, Fang, it's us!" said Hermione, hurrying over and scratching his ears to quieten him. "That was really close!" she said to Harry.
"Yeah…" Rohini sighed.
Harry was looking out of the window. Rohini dropped on Hagrid's bed with a grunt. 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—"
Hermione looked up. Her expression was suspicious. Rohini jumped on her feet again.
"I'm coming. It would be safer if Professor Lupin is still around. Harder to catch two people rather than one."
"If we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?" Harry pointed out.
"Well… okay, then… I'll wait here with Buckbeak… but you two, be careful—there's a werewolf out there—and the Dementors—"
"Don't fret, Hermione." Rohini said, following Harry outside. "Let's go, little brother."
"Yeah." Harry said and they broke into a run, heading towards the lake, Rohini glancing around every second to make sure no werewolf or Dementors were around.
"Shit, the Dementors are already here!" Rohini said, pointing at the opposite bank, where they could see tiny glimmers of silver. "We're too weak to cast a proper Patronus, with all those Dementors around…"
"Here." Harry said, pointing at a bush at the very edge of the water. Harry threw himself behind it, peering desperately through the leaves and Rohini did the same. On the opposite bank, the glimmers of silver were suddenly extinguished.
"Come on!" Harry muttered, staring about. "Where are you? Dad, come on—"
But nobody came.
"Harry, are you sure you saw dad?" Rohini asked, shivering as she recognised the Dementor who had attacked her lowering his hood. "Harry, I have a bad feeling about it. Dad is dead, he couldn't have-"
"Wait." Harry said, looking at her. "You were right. We are the only ones who look like Dad at Hogwarts. The man I saw; it was me! We did interfere, then!"
"Oh." Rohini said, before glancing back at herself; the Dementor was ready to kiss her now. "Let's do it, then. Let's disturb the Universe." She said and the twins flung out from behind the bush and pulled out their wands.
"Together?" Rohini asked and Harry nodded. They both recalled their happier memories before pointing at the Dementors.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" They yelled.
Rohini had always wondered what her Patronus would look like. She had talked about it with Padma once. Professor Lupin had told her sometimes the Patronus looked just like one's Animagus form, but that it wasn't necessary the case.
As she watched the silver Blackbuck jumping out of the end of her wand, she hoped her Animagus form will be just as breath taking. She admired the long horns, the animal speed. It was now galloping fast next to Harry's Patronus that was a gracious stag.
The two animals charged at the swarming Dementors, Harry's Patronus protecting Sirius, the twins and Hermione while Rohini's one charged the Dementors further away. The Dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness… and finally they were gone.
The two Patronus were now trotting back toward the twins across the still surface of the water, shining brightly as the moon above.
"They are beautiful." Rohini whispered in admiration, walking away from Harry to stand up in front of the Blackbuck. "Thank you." She said to the silver creature that bowed to her before vanishing.
They suddenly heard hooves behind them and as they turned, they saw Hermione dashing toward them, dragging Buckbeak behind her.
"What did you do?" she said fiercely. "You said you were only going to keep a lookout!"
"We just saved all our lives…," said Harry. "Get behind here—behind this bush—I'll explain."
Hermione listened to what had just happened with her mouth open yet again.
"Did anyone see you?"
"Yes, haven't you been listening? I saw me but I thought I was our dad! It's okay!"
"I can't believe it… You conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those Dementors! That's very, very advanced magic…"
"What can I say? We're the coolest siblings." Rohini said, looking at Harry proudly.
"Yeah, we are." Harry said and this time, he was the one messing up with Rohini's hair and made her groan.
"You're embarrassing."
"Look at Snape!" Hermione said, pointing at their teacher.
Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, Rohini and Black onto them. A fourth 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," said Hermione 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 Sirius 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.
"D' you reckon he's up there yet?" said Harry, checking his watch while Rohini tried to recognise Flitwick's window.
"Look!" Hermione whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"
They 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, Hermione—"
"But how are we going to ride Buckbeak? We're three!" Rohini said.
"You two are quite skinny, it should be fine." Hermione said, though she didn't sound so sure.
Needless to say, it was an awkward ride; Harry mounted Buckbeak first, then Rohini and finally Hermione who was holding Rohini so tightly she was worried she would snap in two.
Harry urged Buckbeak forward. They were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle and Rohini felt oddly peaceful for a few seconds. Harry pulled hard on the left-hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned.
"Here, that's that window!" Rohini said, pointing at Flitwick's Office.
"Whoa!" Harry said, pulling backward 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 leapt from his chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked.
"Alohomora!" Rohini window sprang open.
"How—how—?" said Black weakly, staring at the hippogriff."
"No time to explain, can you change into a dog?" Rohini asked and Sirius did. They awkwardly pulled him in front of Harry, his huge paws resting on Buckbeak's head.
"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 the twins and Hermione slid off him at once. Sirius changed back into his human form and Rohini gave him a quick hug before petting Buckbeak.
"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.
"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" croaked Sirius.
"He's going to be okay. He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick—go—"
But Black was still staring down at Harry.
"How can I ever thank you?"
"Tell us who was born first." Rohini asked and Harry groaned, reminding her there was no time.
"Really, you don't know?" Sirius asked, looking amused.
"Hurry, go!" Harry and Hermione shouted together.
"Fine, let's talk about it later." Rohini mumbled, crossing her arms.
Black wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.
"We'll meet again." He said to the twins, looking fondly at them. And as he squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels and he took off into the air, he turned one last time towards the twins and said: "You're the little sister, by the way!" And off he was.
"Damn." Rohini said, pouting childishly. "I was certain I was the oldest…"
"Well, even you can be wrong." Harry said with a smile.
"Let's go." Hermione said, checking her watch. "We've got exactly ten 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…"
They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly spiralling stone staircase. As they reached the bottom of it, they heard voices. They flattened themselves against the wall and listened. It sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase.
"…only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties," Snape was saying. "The Kiss will be performed immediately?"
"As soon as Macnair returns with the Dementors. This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last… I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape… and once young Harry and Rohini are back in their right mind, I expect they'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved them…"
"Go sit on a stick." Rohini said between her teeth and Hermione elbowed her.
Their footsteps died away. The twins and Hermione waited a few moments to make sure they'd really gone, then started to run in the opposite direction. Down one staircase, then another, along a new corridor—then they heard a cackling ahead.
"Peeves!" Harry muttered, grabbing the girls' wrists. "In here!"
They tore into a deserted classroom to their left just in time. Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in boisterous good spirits, laughing his head off.
"Oh, he's horrible," whispered Hermione, her ear to the door. "I bet he's all excited because the Dementors are going to finish off Sirius…" She checked her watch. "Three minutes!"
They waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded into the distance, then slid back out of the room and broke into a run again.
"Hermione—what'll happen—if we don't get back inside—before Dumbledore locks the door?" Harry panted.
"I don't want to think about it!" Hermione moaned, checking her watch again. "One minute!"
They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entrance. "Okay—I can hear Dumbledore," said Hermione tensely. "Come on!"
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, the twins and Hermione ran forward. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver moustache. "Well?" he said quietly.
"We did it!" said Harry breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak…"
"I can't believe you planed all of this." Rohini said. "Actually… yeah, I can."
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—"
They slipped back inside the dormitory. It was empty except for Ron, who was still lying motionless in the end bed. As the lock clicked behind them, The twins and Hermione crept back to their own beds, Hermione tucking the Time-Turner back under her robes. A moment later, Madam Pomfrey came striding back out of her office.
"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?"
She was in a very bad mood. The trio thought it best to accept their chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they ate it. But they could hardly swallow, waiting, listening, their nerves jangling… And then, as they both took a fourth piece of chocolate from Madam Pomfrey, they heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above them…
"What was that?" said Madam Pomfrey in alarm.
Now they could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madam Pomfrey was staring at the door. Rohini tried to hide her smile behind her sleeve.
"Really—they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?"
"He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out—"
"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS—HAS—SOMETHING—TO—DO—WITH—POTTERS!"
"Severus—be reasonable—they has been locked up—"
BAM! The door of the hospital wing burst open and Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Once again, Rohini thought he would have been in his element as a Slytherin. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself.
"OUT WITH IT, POTTERS!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"Professor Snape!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey. "Control yourself!"
"See here, Snape, be reasonable," said Fudge. "This door's been locked, we just saw—"
"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at the twins and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth.
"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"
"YOU DON'T KNOW THEM!" shrieked Snape. "THEY DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT—"
"I think you should keep Professor Snape for the night." Rohini said with a confused expression at Madam Pomfrey. "He seems slightly hysterical."
"That will do, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"
"Of course not!" said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. "I would have heard them!"
"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry, Rohini and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."
Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behaviour, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.
"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."
"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore quietly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."
"He's not the only one!" puffed Fudge. "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well… I'd better go and notify the Ministry…"
"And the Dementors?" said Dumbledore. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"
"Oh yes, they'll have to go," said Fudge, running his fingers distractedly through his hair. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on innocent students…"
"Yes, so surprising…" Rohini said sarcastically and Fudge glanced at her before looking back at Dumbledore.
"-Completely out of control… no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight… Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance…"
"Hagrid would like that," said Dumbledore, smiling at them. As he and Fudge left the dormitory, Madam Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed back to her office.
There was a low moan from the other end of the ward. Ron had woken up. They could see him sitting up, rubbing his head, looking around.
"What—what happened?" he groaned. "Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"
The twins and Hermione looked at each other.
"You explain," said Harry, helping himself to some more chocolate as Rohini dropped her head into the soft pillow of her bed and fell fast asleep, exhausted by the past few hours.
She dreamt of werewolf, dog and hippogriff that night.