HP: Freedom's Path

by marcwill90

Going into his third year will prove to be unusual, even for Marcus Williams. Tensions will rise, obstacles will take place, and secrets will run rampant. But, for the white-haired wizard, it all boils down to one decision: Will he do what is right or will he do what is easy? And will he stand by it, even if it could mean destroying himself and his future...

21. (21) Freedom's Path

Welcome, everyone, to the next chapter of HP: Freedom's Path! This is unbelievable, it truly is. After this, there is only one more chapter remaining until the completion of the third book! It seemed like yesterday that I thought this fanfic series up and now it's already closing in on the third book. Granted, I have a ways to go before the series is actually completed, but it's still quite the accomplishment, especially considering how easily I can get sidetracked. But, enough about that!

Disclaimer: No surprises here, no ownership of HP save for OC's.

Now, here is...

Chapter 21: Freedom's Path

Enjoy, one and all!

"Shocking business...shocking...miracle none of them died...never heard the like...by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape..."

"Thank you, Minister."

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!"

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister."

"Nasty cut you've got there...Black's work, I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Williams, Weasley, and Granger, Minister..."

"No!"

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape...They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now...I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves...and of course, Potter and Willams has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster -"

"Ah, well, Snape...Harry Potter and Marcus Williams, you know...we've all got a bit of a blind spot where they're concerned."

"And yet - is it good for them to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat them like any other student. And any other student would be suspended - at the very least - for leading their friends into such danger. Consider, Minister - against all school rules - after all the precautions put in place for their protection - out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer - and I have reason to believe they have been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too -"

"Well, well...we shall see, Snape, we shall see...The boys have undoubtedly been foolish..."

Marcus had his back facing away from them, listening to every word they were saying. He had regained consciousness shortly before he heard the two of them conversing with each other. He felt mad, more so than his usual anger, but he knew he couldn't act, not without Pettigrew.

"What amazes me most is the behavior of the dementors...you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister...by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances..."

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, and Marcus, and the girl -"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle."

Marcus had enough. He sat up in his bed in the Hospital Wing and looked around.

He could see Ron being worked on by Madam Pomfrey and, in the bed to the right, lay Hermione. Moonlight was falling across her bed. Her eyes were open, as well. She looked petrified, and when she saw that Harry and Marcus were awake, pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the Hospital wing door, which was ajar, the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape seeping through it.

Madam Pomfrey then came walking briskly up the dark ward to Harry and Marcus's beds, which were right next to each other. Marcus looked at her and saw her carrying what Marcus believed to be the largest slab of chocolate he'd ever seen. It more resembled a boulder than anything else.

"Ah, both of you are awake!" she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on their bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.

"How's Ron?" said Marcus, Harry, and Hermione at the same time.

"He'll live," said Madam Pomfrey grimly. "As for you three...you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're - Potter, Williams, what do you think you're doing?"

Marcus sat, not wanting to lay down on the bed anymore.

"I need to see the headmaster," Marcus heard Harry say.

"Potter,"said Madam Pomfrey soothingly, "it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the Kiss any moment now -"

"WHAT?!"

Marcus hurried out of bed, terrified for his godfather, but still keeping the same composure as before. Harry and Hermione, obviously expressing theirs, had done the same. But Harry's shouts had been heard in the corridor outside; next second, Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward.

"Harry, Marcus, what's this?" said Fudge, looking agitated. "You should be in bed - have they received any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey anxiously.

"Minister, listen!" Harry said. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's -"

Just as Marcus thought, Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

"Harry, Harry, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control..."

"YOU HAVEN'T!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said; she had hurried to Harry and Marcus's sides and was gazing imploringly into Fudge's face. "I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and -"

"You see, Minister?" said Snape. "Confunded, both of them...Black's done a very good job on them..."

"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry roared.

"Mr. Fudge, why are you here, if you don't mind me asking," asked Marcus in a casual tone, trying to maintain his cover. "I was under the impression that my father was handling the task of Black."

"Your father called me here after informing me of his capture, if you must know," said Fudge irritably. "At the moment, he's waiting in the entrance hall for you mother to arrive, to ensure Black doesn't escape us again."

"Understood," said Marcus.

"Minister, Professor," said Madam Pomfrey irritably. "I must insist that you leave. Potter and Williams are my patients, and they should not be distressed!"

"We're not distressed, I'm trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said furiously. "If they'd just listen -"

But Madam Pomfrey suddenly stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into Harry's mouth. She tried to do the same with Marcus, but he intercepted his chunk of chocolate and irritably said, "I'll have it later."

"Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave -"

The door opened again. It was Dumbledore. Marcus quickly set aside his slab of chocolate and gave Dumbledore his undivided attention.

"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black -" Harry began to say.

"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist -"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter, Mr. Williams, and Ms. Granger," said Dumbledore calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black -"

I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" spat Snape. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive -"

"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbledore, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

"That was because you were knocked out, Professor!" said Hermione earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear -"

"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"

"Now, Snape," said Fudge, startled. "the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances -"

"The only one that's disturbed in their mind is the greaseball of a tryant," thought Marcus.

Suddenly, Snape looked at him, the look in his eyes were those of a murderer.

"I would like to speak to Harry, Marcus, and Hermione alone," said Dumbledore abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy - please leave us."

"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need rest -"

"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

"Mrs. Williams should've arrived by now, as should have the dementors," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs."

He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape hadn't moved.

"You surely dont believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.

"I wish to speak with Harry, Marcus, and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.

Snape took a step towards Dumbledore.

"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly.

"Yeah, boo hoo," thought Marcus. "Cry me a river, big baby."

Snape then shot him another murderous look before turning on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Marcus, Harry, and Hermione. Both Harry and Hermione burst into speech at the same time."

"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 three 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 began.

"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 dead. 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..."

Marcus knew they were up the creek the moment Pettigrew escaped from their grasps. As Dumbledore plainly put it, there was nothing a bunch of thirteen year old magic folk in training could do to stop the horrendous fate on his godfather's life, and the thought ate away at Marcus.

"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!"

Marcus suddenly realized what Dumbledore was talking about and his eyes widened from thinking about it. He had completely forgotten about that...

"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, all three of you: You must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law - you know what is at stake... You - must - not - be - seen."

It was like a fire was lit from within Marcus. He was more than ready to get this started.

"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?"

Marcus, however, turned to Hermione and said, "Hurry with that Time-Turner!"

As Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from them a very long, very fine gold chain, she looked at Marcus with a shocked look on her face and said, "How did you -"

"Later!" Marcus said through gritted teeth. "Harry, come here, quickly!"

Harry moved toward them, completely bewildered.

"Here -"

Hermione had thrown the chain around Harry and Marcus's necks.

"Ready?" she said breathlessly.

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Marcus.

"What are we doing?" asked Harry, sounding completely lost.

Hermione turned the hourglass over three times.

The dark ward dissolved. Marcus felt like he was flying really fast backwards. A blur of colors and shapes rushed past him, his ears were pounding, he was focusing on not letting all these sounds get to him, but -

And then he felt solid ground beneath his feet, and everything came into focus again -

He was standing next to Harry and Hermione in the deserted entrance hall and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved floor from the open front doors. He looked around him, making sure the entrance hall was still deserted.

"Hermione, what - ?"

"In here!" Hermione seized Marcus's and Harry's arms and dragged them 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 - Hermione, what happened?" Harry asked.

"We've gone back in time," Hermione whispered, lifting the chain off Marcus's and Harry's necks in the darkness. "Three hours back..."

"But -"

"Shh! Listen!" Marcus hissed as he pressed his ear against the door. "Someone's coming! I think - I think it might be you two and Ron!"

Hermione pressed her ear against the door with Marcus.

"Footsteps across the hall...yes, I think it's us going down to Hagrid's!"

"Are you telling me," Harry whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?"

"Yes, Harry," said Marcus, his ear still pressed against the door. "I'm sure it's you two and Ron. It doesn't sound like more than three people...and the footsteps are slow, so you three are under the Invisibility Cloak -"

Marcus broke off, still listening intently.

"All right, you guys went down the front steps..."

Hermione then sat down on an upturned bucket, looking desperately anxious.

"Where did you get that hourglass thing?" Harry asked.

"It's called a Time-Turner," Hermione whispered, "and I got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day back. I've been using it all year to get to all my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic so I could have one. She had to tell them that I was a model student, and that I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies...I've been turning it back so I could do hours over again, that's how I've been doing several lessons at once, see? But...

"Guys, I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"

"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," Harry said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago..."

"This is three hours ago, and we are walking down to Hagrid's," said Hermione. "We just heard ourselves leaving..."

"Okay, quiet for a minute before you give me a chronal-headache," said Marcus, who was trying to put the pieces together. It then clicked.

"Wait a minute... 'save more than one life'..." Marcus muttered. "Who else got it...or what else..." he then gasped. "Harry, Hermione, we're going to save Buckbeak!"

"But - how will that help Sirius?" asked Hermione.

"Dumbledore said that Sirius was locked in Professor Flitwicks's office, thirteenth window from the right of the west tower," Marcus explained. "To get there, we would need to fly and Buckbeak can fly! So, we take Buckbeak up to that window -"

"- so that Sirius can escape on Buckbeak!" Harry finished.

"They can escape together!" Marcus and Harry said simultaneously.

They looked at Hermione, who looked absolutely terrified.

"If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!"

"Well, we've got to try, haven't we?" said Harry.

"Besides, I wont' have any problems with this, I'll just use my Disillusionment Charm," said Marcus, who was pressing his ear up against the door once more to check and see if anyone was there. "No signs of people in the entrance hall..."

He then rendered himself invisible and said, "Come on, let's go..."

Marcus 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 -" Hermione 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 -"

"That's fine, but we'll need to go around by the greenhouses," told Marcus. "We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or you'll be seen by both yourselves and my past self! You two and Ron must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!"

Harry then set off at a sprint, Marcus running beside him and Hermione behind them. 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, Marcus turned around; seconds later, Hermione arrived beside them, panting.

"Okay," said Marcus, who rendered himself visible. "We need to sneak over to Hagrid's...follow me and keep out of sight, both of you!"

They made their way silent 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 Marcus heard Harry's voice.

"It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered. He stood back, then shut the door quickly.

"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry said fervently.

"I second that statement," said Marcus, who felt a slight headache creeping in his head.

"Let's move along a bit," Hermione 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?" Harry whispered.

"No!" said Hermione. "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!"

"That's going to give us about sixty seconds," said Harry.

"In that case, I'll do it," said Marcus. "I'm sure I can get him untied in half of that time."

At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.

"That's Hagrid breaking the milk jug," Hermione whispered. "I'm going to find Scabbers in a moment -"

Sure enough, a few minutes later, they heard Hermione's shriek of surprise.

"Hermione," said Harry suddenly, "what if we - we just run in there and grab Pettigrew -"

"No!" said Hermione 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! You heard Dumbledore, if we're seen -"

"We'd only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid!"

"Harry, think about for a second," Marcus said. "What would you do if you happened to see yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?"

"I'd - I'd think I'd gone mad," said Harry, "or I'd think there was some Dark Magic going on -"

"Exactly!", Hermione said. "You wouldn't understand, you might even attack yourself! Don't you see? Professor McGonagall told me what awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time... Loads of them ended up killing their past of future selves by mistake!"

Marcus grimaced at the thought and said, "Yeah, let's not do anything that rash, okay?"

"Okay!" said Harry. "It was just an idea, I just thought -"

But Hermione nudged the both of them and pointed toward the castle. Marcus moved a bit to get a clear view of the distant front doors. Dumbledore, his father, the old Committee member, and Macnair the executioner were coming down the steps.

"We're about to come out!" Hermione breathed.

And sure enough, moments later, Hagrid's back door opened, and Marcus saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione walking out of it with Hagrid. It was, to say the least, the strangest sensation he'd ever felt, knowing Harry and Hermione were right beside him and seeing them 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!"

Marcus watched the Hermione in the pumpkin patch throw the Invisibility Cloak over the three of them, causing Marcus to enhance his vision in order to see them.

"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. Marcus saw the past version of his three best friends moving all around the cabin and retreating back up to the castle. As they left, Marcus turned his attention back to Hagrid's cabin, where he could hear the voices coming from inside the cabin out through the open back door.

"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.

"Out - outside," Hagrid croaked.

Marcus made sure to make himself hidden as Macnair's face appeared at Hagrid's window, staring out at Buckbeak. Then he heard his dad.

"We have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. Don't worry, 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.

"It's showtime," Marcus whispered to Harry and Hermione. "I'll be back."

As his father started talking again, Marcus darted out from behind the 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 -"

Still retaining his enhanced vision, Marcus started into the fierce orange eyes of Buckbeak's and bowed. Buckbeak instantly sank to his scaly knees and then stood up again. Marcus immediately went to work untying the knot tying Buckbeak to the fence.

"...sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnair..."

"Start moving, Buckbeak," Marcus muttered, "Listen to my instructions, and I'll ensure that you live. That's it, quietly now..."

"...as witnessed below. Hagrid, go ahead and sign here..."

Marcus started to take Buckbeak by 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' ter be with him...I don' wan' him ter be alone -"

Marcus heard the footseps echoing from within the cabin.

"Buckbeak, now!" Marcus said.

This time, Buckbeak started to walk, though it was 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, galvanizing Marcus to make Buckbeak move faster.

Hermione's white face was sticking out from behind a tree.

"Marcus, hurry!" she mouthed.

Marcus could still hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin. He gave the rope another mighty tug. Buckbeak broke into a grudging trot. They had reached the trees...

"Quick! Quick!" Hermione moaned, darting out from behind her tree, seizing the rope too and adding her weight to make Buckbeak move faster. Marcus looked over his shoulder; the were finally blocked from sight; they couldn't see Hagrid's garden at all.

"Stop!" Marcus whispered to Hermione. "They might here us -"

Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Marcus, Harry, Hermione, 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 was a swishing noise, and the thud of an axe. 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. Marcus, Harry, and Hermione 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..."

Marcus watched as his father was intently looking around. For one scary second, his father looked in their direction. But, it was glimpse and, without even a word, he ran straight for the castle.

"Now what?" whispered Harry, looking around.

"We'll have to hide in here," said Hermione, 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 Sirius'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've got to move," Marcus told them. "We need to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."

"Okay," said Hermione, getting a firmer grip on Buckbeak's rope. "But we've got to keep out of sight, boys, 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. Marcus watched Harry and Hermione chasing after Ron. Then he saw Ron dive.

"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat -"

"There's Sirius and I!" Marcus said. The giant shape of Leo and and the slightly smaller shape of Padfoot had bounded at Harry, Ron, and Hermione from the base of the Willow. They saw them bowl Harry and Ron over, then seize Ron...

"Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" said Harry, watching the dog pulling Ron into the roots.

"Yeah, I'd say so," said Marcus. "Oh, that must've hurt - you got walloped by the tree - and so did Hermione -" he looked at the two of them, "-wow, this is weird -"

The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with its lower branches; Marcus could see past Harry and past Hermione darting here and there, trying to reach the trunk.. And then the tree froze.

"That was Crookshanks pressing the knot," said Hermione.

"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, and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.

"Right after you guys had gone down the passage!" said Marcus. "Wow, talk about good timing."

"If only Dumbledore had come with us..." said Hermione.

"Macnair would've come too," said Harry bitterly. "I bet you anything Macnair would've wasted no time in trying to kill Sirius..."

They watched the three 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 haring toward the Willow.

"And my dad!" Marcus said after seeing his dad following very close behind Uncle Remus.

They watched Uncle Remus seize a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot on the trunk. The tree stopped fighting, and Uncle Remus and Michael disappeared into the gap in its roots.

"If only they'd grabbed the Cloak," said Harry. "It's just lying there..."

He turned to Hermione.

"If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and -"

"Harry, we musn't be seen!"

"How can you stand this?" he asked Hermione fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen?" He stopped for a couple of seconds before saying, "I'm going to grab the Cloak!"

Marcus only noticed in time and said, "Harry, no!"

Marcus 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?" Hermione 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; The three of them seized his rope, 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 dropped sadly.

Barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow.

Marcus watched 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 Uncle Remus had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the Cloak.

"So, that's it," said Hermione quietly. "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 securly around the nearest tree, then sat down on the dry ground, arms around her knees.

"So, Marcus, what was it like helping Sirius?" asked Hermione.

"Like trying to maintain a time-jumping class schedule," said Marcus, slightly smirking at Hermione. "It was stressful, but I got to really connect with Sirius."

"And why didn't you have him meet me?" asked Harry.

"Actually, Harry, I was planning on taking you to him soon after Christmas. But, then came the whole Three Broomsticks fiasco. So, I couldn't."

"Oh, right," said Harry. "And how did you becoming an Animagus exactly happen?"

"That was the most grueling project I've ever took on, Harry. All that animal research, mimicking movements, and trying to figure out who you are as a person. But, it was very rewarding when we took on the Basilisk last year."

"Wait, what?!"

"Oh, right, I meant to do this in the Shrieking Shack," said Marcus, who summoned his wand. He tapped Harry's head and said, "Finite Incantatum!"

It took a few seconds, then Harry said, "Oh, now I remember! Wait, why did you put a Memory Charm on me?!"

"I wanted you, Ron, and Hermione to know at the same time. Back then, I didn't want to burden you with knowledge of me being an Animagus. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," said Harry, smiling. "What matters is that everything worked out in the end."

Marcus took another look at the Whomping Willow and said, "Let's wait until this is all over to say that."

He then looked at Hermione, who had a troubled look on her face, and said, "Something bothering you, Hermione?"

"Well, it's just -" she sighed, "- 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..."

"Yeah, now that you mention, just how did Sirius escape the dementors?" Marcus asked out loud.

Harry sat down. 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.

Hermione's mouth was slightly open by the time Harry had finished.

"But what was it?"

"Well, there's only one thing I can think of to make the dementors go," said Marcus. "An actual Patronus. A powerful one."

"But who conjured it?"

"Maybe it was my dad," Marcus stated. "He has to check up on the prisoners at Azkaban occasionally. He'd have to know the Patronus Charm to keep the dementors away."

"Wasn't your dad getting reinforcements in the castle at that time?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, yeah, he was..."

"Didn't you see what they looked like, Harry?" asked Hermione eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"

"No," said Harry. "He wasn't a teacher."

"But it must have taken a really powerful wizard, Harry," said Marcus. "All least powerful enough to make the dementors go away...If the Patronus was shining that brightly, didn't it light the caster up? Did you -?"

"Yeah, I saw him," said Harry slowly. "But...maybe I imagined it...I wasn't thinking straight...I passed out right afterward..."

"Who do you think it was?" Hermione asked.

"I think -" Harry swallowed before saying, "I think it was my dad."

Marcus felt confused at this statement. Why would Harry have thought it was his dad that conjured the Patronus?

"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..."

Hermione was still looking at Harry as though worried about his sanity.

"I know it sounds crazy," said Harry flatly.

Marcus, however, thought of another plausible theory, one that, if correct, he didn't dare voice. Instead, he focused on the fact that he had another shot at Pettigrew. He knew that, with his Negative Vision he had in his Animagus form would be able to spot him, even if the little traitor was moving about in the grass. He thought about this while feeling the faint breeze across his cheek, the moon drifting in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds.

Then, finally, after over an hour...

"Here we come!" Hermione whispered.

Marcus looked at the Whomping Willow and saw Uncle Remus, Ron, and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots, followed by the unconscious Snape drifting weirdly upward. Next came Marcus, Harry, Hermione, and Sirius. They all began to walk toward the castle.

Marcus's heart was starting to beat irregularly, his breathing quickened. He looked up at the sky knowing that, at any moment, that cloud was going to move aside and show the moon...

"Harry, Marcus," Hermione muttered as though she knew exactly what they were thinking, "we've got to stay put. We musn'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 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 Marcus suddenly. "We've got to move!"

"We musn't, I keep telling you guys -"

"Not to interfere, Hermione!" exclaimed Marcus. "Uncle Remus's going to run into the forest, right at us!"

Hermione gasped.

"Quick!" she moaned, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! Where are 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!"

Marcus ran two steps, but stopped and looked at the small figures. He could recognize his Uncle, cantering towards him, Harry, and Hermione and realized that, in that moment, the beast that attacked his uncle and saving their hides was...himself.

Marcus then took a few steps towards the group, all the while getting on all fours.

"Marcus, what are you doing?!" Hermione yelped.

"Saving our asses!" Marcus told her. "Go to Hagrid's! I'll join you shortly!"

He then leaped forward, shifting into Leo as he was bounding forward, and took off as fast as he could toward his Uncle Remus. He didn't want to. Every part of him wished he didn't have to. But -

He gave off a loud roar, which caused Uncle Remus to look in his direction. He noticed Leo a little too late as Leo bowled right into him, knocking him off his feet.

Knowing that he would be shown no mercy, Leo attacked mercilessly, clawing at his limbs and his torso before biting deeply into the right side of the torso, tossing him away from past Marcus, past Harry, and past Hermione.

The werewolf took one look at Leo before retreating into the woods. Knowing that he had to get to Hagrid's as soon as possible, Leo bounded towards the hut.

It took a while, but as soon as he got close, he shifted back to his human self and, right as he was around five feet from the door, he saw Harry stepping outside.

Just then, the two of them heard yelping in the distance. That meant the dementors were closing in on Sirius... Marcus, Harry, and Hermione would be running to him any moment.

Marcus looked out toward the lake, his heart rapidly pounding in his chest...Whoever had sent that Patronus would be appearing at any moment...

For a fraction of a second, neither of them moved. Then, they looked at each other and silently nodded to each other.

The two of them began to run. Marcus was interested in seeing who had casted the Patronus, who was responsible for saving their lives.

The lake was getting nearer and nearer, but Marcus couldn't see anyone. On the opposite bank, Marcus could see tiny glimmers of silver - their own attempts at a Patronus -

There was a bush at the very edge of the water. Marcus and Harry threw themselves behind it, peering desperately through the leaves. On the opposite bank, the glimmers of silver were suddenly extinguished. Marcus felt a rush of adrenaline at the prospect of seeing this powerful wizard.

"Come on!" Marcus heard Harry muttering, staring about. "Where are you? Dad, come on -"

A thought suddenly hit Marcus. If Harry's accounts of the Patronus were true, and Marcus were willing to bet that most of it was, Harry only saw one Patronus, and it was nowhere near Marcus. But, then if it wasn't near him, then what was that bright silvery light that went past his eyes and blinded him?

Marcus looked once more at the opposite bank and saw their respective dementors getting ready to Kiss their past selves. It was time for the rescuer to appear - but no one was coming to help this time -

Marcus then realized it: That bright silvery light that blinded him was another Patronus, and that meant -

Marcus and Harry flung themselves out from behind the bush, Marcus summoning his wand, Harry pulling his out.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" they yelled.

And from Marcus's wand end burst forth, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. Marcus squinted his eyes to try and make out what it looked like, but it started streaking down the lake with Harry's Patronus, first attacking past Marcus's dementor. Then, with Harry's Patronus, attacked the rest, causing the dementors to fall back, scatter, retreat into the darkness. Just like that, they were gone.

The Patronuses turned. They were cantering back to their casters along the still surface of the water. Marcus finally saw the shape his Patronus was and gave an ear to ear smile: It was a lion. And not just any lion, but a Barbary Lion. It was shining brightly as the moon above...it was coming back to him...

It stopped just short of Marcus. Its paws made no mark on the soft ground as it started at Marcus with its silvery eyes surrounded by a wild mane. It gave its head a slight bow. And Marcus found himself in awe...

"Leo," Marcus whispered.

But as his hand was about to pet its head, it vanished.

Marcus and Harry stood there for a second before looking at each other and giving great big smiles. Then, startling him, Marcus heard hooves behind them - Marcus whirled around and saw Hermione dashing toward them, dragging Buckbeak behind her.

"What did you two do?" she said fiercly. "Harry, you said you were only going to keep a lookout! And you, Marcus! How come you're out here with him?!"

"Hey, we just save all our lives, okay?" said Marcus.

"Get behind here - behind this bush - We'll explain...," Harry said.

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 my dad!"

"And my Patronus blinded past me, so I didn't see anything!"

"So, it's all good!" Marcus and Harry said simultaneously.

"Harry, Marcus, I can't believe it... You two conjured up Patronuses that drove away all those dementors! That's very, very advanced magic..."

"I knew I could do it this time," said Harry, "because I'd already done it...Does that make sense?"

"I wouldn't say that -" Marcus glanced across the lake and finished, "Guys, look at Snape!"

Together they peered around the bush at the other bank. Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Marcus, Harry, Hermione, and Sirius onto them. A fifth 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..."

"Wow, we're really cutting it close, aren't we?" said Marcus.

And so 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.

"Look!" Hermione whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"

Marcus started into the darkness. He enhanced his vision and saw Macnair, running madly out of the castle.

"It's Macnair!" said Marcus.

"The executioner!" said Harry.

"He has to be going to get the dementors!" Marcus exclaimed.

"Wait, I thought your dad did that," said Harry.

"He's getting Fudge from Dumbledore's fireplace," said Marcus. "I happen to overhear Snape and Fudge talking shortly before you came to.

"Anyway, it's time to go! Everyone on Buckbeak!"

Hermione put her hands on Buckbeak's back and Harry gave her a leg up. Then Harry placed his foot on one of the lower branches of the bush and climbed up in front of her. As Harry pulled Buckbeak's rope back over his neck and tied it to the other side of his collar like reins, Marcus took Hermione's left hand and pulled himself on Buckbeak, sitting behind Hermione.

"Ready?" Harry whispered. "Hermione, you'd better hang on to me -"

Marcus could feel Harry nudging Buckbeak's sides with his heels.

As Marcus grabbed onto Hermione's shoulders and tightened his leg grip, Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. Marcus could feel the great wings rising powerfully in front of him. He could also hear Hermione muttering, "Oh, no - I don't like this - oh, I really don't like this -"

Buckbeak started going towards the castle, gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle. As Buckbeak took a hard left, Marcus was counting the windows flashing past them.

Catching it in time, Marcus said, "Stop Buckbeak, Harry!"

Harry pulled backward as hard as they could, making Buckbeak come to a complete 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. Marcus spotted Sirius as they rose up beside the window. Harry reached out, and as Buckbeak's wings fell, was able to tap sharply on the glass.

Sirius looked up. Marcus saw his jaw drop before he leapt from his chair, hurried to the window, and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of Harry's robes with her left hand.

However, the movement needed to take her wand out resulted in accidently elbowing Marcus in his right temple. He then fell off Buckbeak, falling to the ground.

"Marcus!" Harry yelled after him.

Marcus didn't know what to do. He wasn't close enough to grab the side of the wall, nor did he know any spells to slow down his freefall. As he looked at the ever closer ground, he closed his eyes, hoping that it would be over.

Suddenly, he felt something around his wrists, followed by a sharp rise back into the air. Bamboozled, he opened his eyes, looked up, and his jaw dropped.

It was a phoenix. However, this didn't look like Fawkes. The plummage was much too dark.

Regardless, he was entirely grateful as the phoenix soared back up to where Buckbeak was, where he saw that Sirius was now sitting where he was previously sitting on Buckbeak.

"Marcus!" said Hermione, jaw dropped. "How -"

"Don't know," said Marcus, holding onto the phoenix's claws for dear life. "But let's get moving! We don't have much time left!"

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower - come on!"

The hippogriff and phoenix streaked toward the top of the West Tower. Marcus let go as soon as he was close enough to land while Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off him at once.

"Thank you so much for saving my life, phoenix!" said Marcus, who hugged the phoenix.

The phoenix cooed, nuzzled his right cheek and, upon being released from Marcus's hug, streaked off into the night.

Marcus joined Harry and Hermione as Harry panted, "Sirius, you'd better go, quick. 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," Marcus told him. "He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick - go -"

But Sirius was still staring down at Marcus and Harry.

"How can I ever thank -"

"GO!" Marcus, Harry, and Hermione shouted together.

Sirius wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.

"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are - truly your fathers' sons, Harry, Marcus..."

He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Marcus, Harry, and Hermione 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 Marcus gazed after them...then a cloud drifted across the moon... They were gone.

And this concludes this chapter of HP: Freedom's Path! Please feel free to leave a review, as I'm always looking to improve my skills as a writer. Or, if you want to ask me any questions, feel free to leave me a PM and I promise I will answer them to the best of my abilities. Until then, ladies and gentleman, keep your eyes open for the FINAL chapter of HP: Freedom's Path!