Chapter 21: The Time-Turner
"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, Smith, 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 has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster—"
"Ah, well, Snape…..Harry Potter, you know…we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."
"And yet—is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. And any other student would be suspended—at the very least— for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister—against all school rules—after all the precautions put in place for his protection—out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer— and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too with Smith…."
"Well, well…..we shall see, Snape, we shall see…..The boy has undoubtedly been foolish…."
Harry lay listening with his eyes shut tight. He felt very groggy. The words he was hearing seemed to be traveling very slowly from his ears to his brain, so that it was difficult to understand….His limbs felt like lead; his eyelids too heavy to lift….He wanted to lie here, on this comfortable bed, forever….
"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 Smith, and the girl—"
"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretches, and brought them all straight back to the castle."
There was a pause. Harry's brain seemed to be moving a little faster, and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of his stomach….
He opened his eyes.
Everything was slightly blurred. Somebody had removed his glasses. He was lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, he could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to him, bending over a bed. Harry squinted. Ron's red hair was visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm.
Harry moved his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his right lay Claire. Moonlight was falling across her bed. Her eyes were open too. She looked like she was contemplating what she had just heard, and when she saw that Harry was awake, pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the hospital wing door. It was ajar, and the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape were coming through it from the corridor outside.
Madam Pomfrey now came walking over to them, carrying the largest block of chocolate they had ever seen in their life. It looked like a small boulder.
"Ah, you're awake!" she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on Harry's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.
"How's Ron?" Claire, Hermione (who had also been awake listening to Fudge and Snape), and Harry said together.
"He'll live," Madam Pomfrey said grimly. "As for you three….you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're—Potter, what do you think you're doing?"
Harry was sitting up, putting his glasses back on, and packing up his wand.
"I need to see the headmaster," he said.
"Potter," Madam Pomfrey said 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?"
Harry jumped out of bed; Claire and Hermione had done the same. But his shout had been heard in the corridor outside; next second, Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward.
"Harry, Harry, what's this?" Fudge said, looking agitated. "You should be in bed—has he had 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—"
"Harry, Harry," Fudge said shaking his head, "you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control….."
"UNDER CONTROL?" Claire said. "YOU HAVE THE WRONG MAN! SIRIUS IS INNOCENT!"
"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said; she stepped in between Claire and Harry 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?" Snape said. "Confunded, the three of them…..Black's done a very good job on them….."
"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry and Claire roared.
"If you'd just listen to what we have to say instead of being ignorant as—" Claire was cut off by Madam Pomfrey.
"Minister! Professor! I must insist that you leave. Potter and Smith are my patients, and they should not be distressed!"
"We're not distressed, we're trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said furiously.
The door open again. It was Dumbledore.
"Professor Dumbledore," Harry began, "Sirius Black—"
"For heaven's sake!" Madam Pomfrey said hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist—"
"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter, Miss Smith, and Miss Granger," Dumbledore said 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?" Snape spat. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive—"
"That, indeed, is Black's story," Dumbledore said, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.
"And does my evidence count for nothing?" Snape snarled. "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!" Claire said earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear—"
"Miss Smith, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"
"Now, Snape," Fudge said, startled, "the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances—"
"I would like to speak with Harry, Claire and Hermione alone," Dumbledore said abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy—please leave us."
"Headmaster!" Madam Pomfrey sputtered. "They need treatment, they need rest—"
"This cannot wait," Dumbledore said. "I must insist."
Madam Pomfrey didn't seem to happy as she pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge checked the time with his large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.
"The dementors should have arrived by now," 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 don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.
"I wish to speak to Harry, Claire, and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.
Snape took a step toward 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," Dumbledore said quietly.
Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Harry, Claire, and Hermione. The three of them 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 and they fell quiet hoping the Dumbledore would listen to what they said.
"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because they 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 said, unable to stop himself.
"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than 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," Claire 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—attacking you—without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence."
"But you believe us."
"Yes, I do," Dumbledore said quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic…"
Claire and Harry felt as though the ground beneath them were falling sharply away. They'd grown used to the idea that Dumbledore could solve anything. They'd expect him to know the solution to their problem. But no…..their last hope was gone.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Claire asked hopefully.
"As a matter of fact, Miss Smith, there might be," Dumbledore said, his light blue eyes moving from Claire to Hermione. "what we need is more time."
Hermione seemed to be thinking while Claire had an epiphany. "Of course!"
"Now, pay attention," Dumbledore said, speaking very slowly 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, the three of you: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, Miss Smith, you know the law—you know what is at stake…..You—must—not—be—seen."
Harry seemed to be the only one who had no idea what was happening. Dumbledore had turned on his heel and looked back as he reached the door.
"I am going to lock you in. It is—" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Smith, 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?"
"Which one should we use?" Hermione asked Claire while Harry still had no clue what was going on.
"Well, considering you've used yours more often this year, probably yours." Claire said.
"I don't know, maybe you should do it, Claire," Hermione said. "I mean your father was the one who created it."
"So, you've had more experience. Oh, what are we doing arguing for? We're on limited time." Claire pulled out a very long, very fine gold chain from the neck of her robes.
"Are you two going to tell me what's going on?" Harry said annoyed as Claire slipped the long chain around both her's and Hermione's necks.
"Later, just, come here," Claire said urgently. "Quick!"
Harry moved toward her, completely bewildered. She was holding the chain out. He saw a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it.
"Here—"
She had thrown the chain around his neck too.
"Ready?" Hermione said breathlessly.
"What are we doing?" Harry said, completely loss.
Claire turned the hourglass over three times.
The dark ward dissolved. Harry had the sensation that he was flying very fast, backward. A blur of colors and shapes rushed past him, his ears were pounding, he tried to yell but couldn't hear his own voice—
And then he felt solid ground beneath his feet, and everything came into focus again—
He was standing between Claire 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 wildly around at Claire, the chain of the hourglass cutting into his neck.
"Claire, what—?"
"In here!" Claire seized Harry's arm and dragged him across the hall to the door of a broom closet; she opened it, pushed him inside among the buckets and mops. Hermione had followed and slammed the door behind them.
"What—how—Claire, what happened?"
"Welcome to the past, Harry!" Claire said brightly, pulling the necklace off of his and Hermione's necks. "Or would it be considered the future? I suppose it would if we hadn't just been in the future and we were in the present which is now the past."
Harry had a blank look on his face. "What?"
Claire waved her hand dismissively. "It's complicated. Time-travelling is a bunch of wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey nonsense."
"What Claire's trying to say," Hermione began, "is that we've traveled back in time. Three hours back to be exact…."
Harry found his own leg and gave it a very hard pinch. It hurt a lot, which seemed to rule out the possibility that he was having a very bizarre dream.
"But—"
"Shh!" Claire said suddenly. "Listen! Someone's coming! I think it might be us!"
Claire had her ear pressed against the cupboard door.
"Footsteps across the hall…..yep, 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?"
"Yep," Claire said, her ear still glued to the cupboard door.
Hermione also put her ear up against the cupboard door.
"Yes, it's definitely us. It doesn't sound like more than four people….and we're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility Cloak—"
She broke off, still listening intently.
"We've gone down the front steps….."
Hermione sat down on an upturned bucket, looking desperately anxious while Claire took her ear off the door, but Harry wanted a few questions answered.
"Where did you two get that hourglass thing?"
"It's called a Time-Turner," Claire whispered.
"We got it on our first day back from Professor McGonagall. You see Claire's taking an extra elective while I'm taking multiple. Without it, we wouldn't have gotten to our extra classes. Professor McGonagall made us swear not to tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic so we could have one. She told them that I was a model students and I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies. However, once she told them about Claire they decided they'd give us each one."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"It turns out my father was the one who created the Time-Turner." Claire said.
"What?" Harry said in shock.
"Yep," Claire said. "So, that's how we've been doing it. We'd go back an hour and be able to attend both of our classes."
"What I don't understand is," Hermione began, a hint of frustration in her voice, "why Dumbledore told us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"
Harry stared at her shadowy face.
"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," he said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago…."
"This is three hours ago, and we are walking down at Hagrid's," Hermione said. "We just heard ourselves leaving…."
Harry frowned; he felt as though he were screwing up his whole brain in concentration.
"Well," Claire said, thinking intently, "Dumbledore said we could save more than one innocent life. Right now, depending whether or not your thinking from past or future tense, we're going to Hagrid's to check on him about Buck—"
"That's it!" Harry said suddenly. "We're going to save Buckbeak!"
"But—how will that help Sirius?" Hermione asked.
"Dumbledore said—he just told us where the window is—the window of Flitwick's office! Where they've got Sirius locked up! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak—they can escape together!"
"Of course!" Claire said, looking excited and happy. "It makes perfect sense!"
However, Hermione seemed to look a bit terrified.
"If we manage that without being seen," Hermione said. "it'll be a miracle!"
"We've done some things the past three years that seemed to be miracles. They were about as terrifying and dangerous as this and we were able to accomplish them and now we will do it yet again. I don't know about you two, but I'm not going to stand around let innocent lives be lost because of a schoolboy grudge and a rich man's pocket when there's a chance we can save them." Claire said.
"Claire's right, Hermione," Harry agreed. "We've just got to try."
Harry then pressed his ear against the door again.
"Doesn't sound like anyone's there…..Come on, let's go…."
Harry pushed open the closet door. The entrance hall was deserted. As quietly and quickly as they could, they darted out of the closet and down the stone steps. The shadows were already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest gilded once more with gold.
"If anyone's looking out the window—" Hermione squeaked, looking up at the castle behind them.
"We'll run for it," Claire said determinedly.
Harry nodded. "Straight into the Forbidden Forest, right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and keep a lookout—"
"Okay, but we'll go around by the greenhouses!" Hermione said breathlessly. "We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or we'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!"
Harry was still trying to get used to what that meant as he set off at a sprint, Claire and Hermione behind him. They tore across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses, paused for a moment behind them, then set off again, fast as they could, skirting around the Whomping Willow, tearing toward the shelter of the forest….
Safe in the shadows of the trees, Harry turned around; seconds later, Claire and Hermione arrived beside him, panting.
"You know, I should be used to running with all the danger we get in, but I'm not," Claire panted.
"Right," Hermione gasped, ignoring Claire's statement. "We need to sneak over to Hagrid's…..Keep out of sight, Harry, Claire…."
They made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the forest. Then, as they glimpsed the front of Hagrid's house, they heard a knock upon his door. They moved quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from either side. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked. And Harry heard his own voice.
"It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."
"Yeh 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.
"Definitely," Claire agreed.
"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. Harry moved forward closer to Buckbeak when Claire pulled him back.
"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed. "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," Harry said. This was starting to seem impossible.
At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin. Harry remembered that was when Hermione had found Scabbers.
"Claire, Hermione," Harry said suddenly, "what if we—we just run in there and grab Pettigrew—"
"No!" Hermione said 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," Claire said. "What do you think you'd if you saw yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?"
"I'd—I'd think I'd gone mad," Harry said, "or I'd think there was some Dark Magic going on—"
"Do I really need to continue? You wouldn't understand, you might even attack yourself! Don't you see? Bad things happen to wizards who meddle with time." Claire said.
"Claire's right Harry," Hermione said. "Loads of them ended up killing their past and future selves by mistake!"
"Okay!" Harry said. "It was just an idea, I just thought—"
Claire put a hand on his shoulder. "We know Harry. Trust me, if we could of gotten Pettigrew we would've."
Hermione then nudged them both and pointed toward the castle. They could see Dumbledore, Fudge, 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 Harry saw himself, Ron, Claire, and Hermione walking out of it with Hagrid. It was, without a doubt, the strangest sensation of his life, seeing himself.
The three of them watched as Hagrid told their past selves to leave. Finally, they saw the past Hermione throw the invisibility cloak over their past selves. They heard the knock on Hagrid's front door, alerting them the executioner's party had arrived. Hagrid turned around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. Harry watched the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin and heard four pairs of feet retreating. He, Claire, Ron, and Hermione had gone….but the Harry, Claire, and Hermione hidden in the trees could now hear what was happening inside the cabin through the back door.
"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.
"Out—outside," Hagrid croaked.
Harry pulled his head out of sight as Macnair's face appeared at Hagrid's window, staring out at Buckbeak. Then they heard Fudge.
"We—er—have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it. Macnair, you're supposed to listen too, that's procedure—"
Macnair's face vanished from the window. It was now or never.
"Wait here," Harry whispered to Claire and Hermione. "I'll do it."
"Remember Harry, you can't be seen," Claire reminded him as he left.
"Got it," Harry replied.
Hermione and Claire stood back watching him vault the fence into the pumpkin patch. Harry approached Buckbeak as he had did during their first Care of Magical Creatures class. Buckbeak bowed then stood up again. Harry began to fumble with the knot of rope tying Buckbeak to the fence.
"Come on, Buckbeak," Harry murmured, "come on, we're going to help you. Quickly….quietly…."
Harry threw all his weight onto the rope, but Buckbeak had dug in his front feet.
"Well, let's get this over with," said the reedy voice of the Committee member from inside Hagrid's cabin. "Hagrid, perhaps it will be better if you stay inside—"
"No, I wan' ted be with him….I don' wan' him ter be alone—"
Footsteps echoed from within the cabin.
"Buckbeak, now!" Harry hissed.
Harry tugged harder on the rope around Buckbeak's neck. The hippogriff began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. They were still ten feet away from the forest, in plain view of Hagrid's back door.
"One moment, please, Macnair," came Dumbledore's voice. "You need to sign too." The footsteps stopped. Harry heaved on the rope. Buckbeak snapped his beak and walked a little faster.
Hermione's and Claire's faces were sticking out from behind a tree.
"Harry, hurry!" Hermione mouthed.
Harry could still hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin. He gave the rope another wrench. Buckbeak broke into a grudging trot. They had reached the trees…..
"Quick! Quick!" Claire moaned, darting out from behind the tree, seizing the rope too and adding her weight to make Buckbeak move faster. Hermione also ran over to help them. Harry looked over his shoulder; they were now blocked from sight; they couldn't see Hagrid's garden at all.
"Stop!" he whispered to the two girls. "They might hear us—"
Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Harry, Hermione, Claire, 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," Dumbledore said. There was a note of amusement in his voice.
"Beaky!" Hagrid said 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 strain against the rope, trying to get back to Hagrid, Harry, Claire, 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?" Dumbledore said, 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," Hagrid said, who sounded weak with happiness, "Come in, come in….."
Harry, Claire, and Hermione listened closely. When they were sure they'd gone back in the hut, Harry whispered to the girls, "Now what?"
"We'll have to hide in here," Claire said. "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…." Hermione said, looking very nervous. She glanced over her shoulder into the depths of the forest. The sun was setting now.
"We're going to have to move," Harry said, thinking hard, "We've got to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."
"Good idea," Claire said.
"Okay," Hermione said, getting a firm grip on Buckbeak's rope. "But we've got to keep out of sight, 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!" Harry said 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 three more figures materialize out of nowhere. Harry watched himself, Claire, and Hermione chasing after Ron. Then he saw Ron dive.
"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat—"
"There's Sirius!" Claire said. The great shape of the dog had bounded out from the roots of the Willow. They saw him bowl Harry over, then seize Ron….
"Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" Harry said, watching the dog pulling Ron into the roots. "Ouch—look, I just got walloped by the tree—and so did you two—this is weird—"
"What were you expecting? We did travel back in time," Claire said.
The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with its lower branches; they could see themselves darting here and there, trying to reach the trunk. Claire then saw her herself exclaim, "Immobulus!" And then the tree froze.
"I still can't believe I didn't think of that spell," Hermione said to herself.
"And there we go….," Harry muttered, watching themselves disappear into the tree. "We're in."
The moment they disappeared, the tree began to move again. Seconds later, they heard footsteps quite close by, Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.
"Of course they'd shown up after we'd gone down into the passage!" Hermione said. "If only Dumbledore had come with us…."
"Macnair and Fudge would've come too," Harry said bitterly. "I bet you anything Fudge would've told Macnair to murder Sirius on the spot…."
They watched the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from view. For a few minutes the scene was deserted. Then—
"Here comes Lupin!" Hermione said as they saw another figure sprinting down the stone steps and haring toward the Willow. Harry looked up at the sky. Clouds were obscuring the moon completely.
They watched Lupin seize a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot on the trunk. The tree stopped fighting, and Lupin, too, disappeared into the gap in its roots.
"If he'd only grabbed the cloak," Harry said. "It's just lying there…."
He turned to Hermione and Claire.
"If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and—"
"Harry, we can't be seen!" Hermione said.
"How can you stand this?" he asked them fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen?" He hesitated. "I'm going to grab the cloak!"
"Harry, no!" Claire 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?" Claire whispered. "See what would have happened? We've got to keep out of sight! No, Buckbeak!"
The hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid again; Harry seized his rope too, straining to hold Buckbeak back. They watched Hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. He was gone. Buckbeak stopped fighting to get away. His head dropped sadly.
"Harry," Claire said. "I know it's hard to keep from getting involved, trust me. I want to too, but time-traveling is a very risky thing and if we change certain things then bad things could happen."
"Claire's right, Harry," Hermione agreed. "There's only certain things that we can change and those are saving Buckbeak and Sirius."
Suddenly, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow.
Harry's fists clenched as they watched Snape skid to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the cloak and held it up.
"Get your filthy hands off it," Harry snarled under his breath.
"Shhh!"
Snape seized the branch Lupin had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the cloak.
"So that's it," Hermione said quietly. "We're all down there…and now we've just got to wait until we come back 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.
"Harry, 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…"
"Yea, Harry," Claire said, who had sat down next to Hermione on the ground. "Why didn't they?"
Harry sat down too. 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.
Claire's and Hermione's mouth were slightly open by the time Harry had finished.
"But what was it?" Hermione asked.
"There's only one thing it could have been, to make the dementors go," Harry said. "A real Patronus. A powerful one."
"But who conjured it?" Claire asked.
Harry didn't say anything. He was thinking back to the person he'd seen on the other bank of the lake. He knew who he thought it had been…but how could it have been?
"Didn't you see what they looked like?" Hermione said eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"
"No," Harry said. "He wasn't a teacher."
"But it must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all those dementors away…..If the Patronus was shining so brightly, didn't it light him up? Couldn't you see—?"
"Yeah, I saw him," Harry said slowly. "But….maybe I imagined it…..I wasn't thinking straight…..I passed out right afterward…."
"Who do you think it was?" Claire asked.
"I think—" Harry swallowed, knowing how strange this was going to sound. "I think it was my dad."
Harry glanced up at Claire and Hermione and saw that their mouths were fully open now. Hermione was gazing at him with a mixture of alarm and pity.
"Harry, your dad's—well—dead," Hermione said.
"I know that," Harry said quickly.
"You think you saw his ghost?" Claire asked.
"I don't know….no….he looked solid…."
"But then—"
"Maybe I was seeing things," Harry said. "But…from what I could see…it looked like him….I've got photos of him…."
Hermione was still looking at him as though worried about his sanity while Claire seemed to feel sorry for Harry.
"I know it sounds crazy," Harry said flatly. He turned to look at Buckbeak, who was digging his beak into the ground, apparently searching for worms. But he wasn't really watching Buckbeak.
He was thinking about his father and about his father's three oldest friends….Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs….Had all four of them been out on the grounds tonight? Wormtail had reappeared this evening when everyone had thought he was dead…. Was it so impossible his father had done the same? Had he been seeing things across the lake? The figure had been too far away to see distinctly….yet he had felt sure, for a moment, before he'd lost consciousness….
The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. The moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. They waited for over an hour….
"Here we come!" Hermione whispered.
She, Claire, and Harry got to their feet. Buckbeak raised his head. They saw Lupin, Ron, and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Then came Hermione…then the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upward. Next came Harry, Claire, and Black. They all began to walk toward the castle.
Harry's heart was starting to beat very fast. He glanced up at the sky. Any moment now, that cloud was going to move aside and show the moon….
"Harry," Claire muttered, "I know what you're thinking but we've got to stay put. We can't be seen. There's isn't anything we can do…"
"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again…." Harry said quietly.
"Yes," Claire snapped. "If we try anything we'll be seen and we'll end up creating a paradox or something. Besides, how do you expect to find a rat in the dark? There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sirius; we can't do 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! Claire!" Harry said suddenly. "We've got to move!"
"How many times do we have to tell you we can't—"
"Not to interfere! Lupin's going to run into the forest, right at us!"
Hermione and Claire gasped.
"Quick!" Hermione 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!" Claire said. "It's empty now—come on!"
They ran as fast as they could, Buckbeak cantering along behind them. They could hear the werewolf howling behind them….
The cabin was in sight; Claire skidded to the door, wrenched it open, and Harry, Hermione, and Buckbeak flashed past him; Claire threw herself in after them and bolted the door. Fang the boarhound barked loudly.
"Shh, Fang, it's us!" Hermione said, hurrying over and scratching his ears to quieten him. "That was really close!" she said to Claire and Harry.
"Yeah…"
Harry was looking out the window. It was much harder to see what was going on from here. Buckbeak seemed very happy to find himself back inside Hagrid's house. He lay down in front of the fire, folded his wings contentedly, and seemed ready for a good nap.
"I think I'd better go outside again, you know," Harry said slowly. "I can't see what's going on—we won't know when it's time—"
Claire and Hermione looked up. Their expression was suspicious.
"I'm not going to try and interfere," Harry said quickly. "But if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"
"Fine," Claire said. "We'll stay here with Buckbeak."
"Just be careful, Harry," Hermione said. "There's a werewolf out there—and the dementors—"
"And don't interfere or else," Claire threatened him.
They watched him step outside. Claire and Hermione sat in silence for a few moments.
"I really hope he doesn't interfere," Hermione said.
"Knowing Harry, he probably will. Why did we let him go out there alone by the way?" Claire stated.
Hermione shrugged. "Maybe we should check to make sure he hasn't done anything."
Claire agreed and she stepped outside. She could see in the distance the lake and she spotted Harry who was running toward it.
"Damn it," Claire cursed rushing inside. "Hermione, Harry's interfering. Hurry, we have to stop him."
Hermione pulled Buckbeak, who wasn't too happy about being woken up from his nap, and they ran outside with Claire towards the lake. As they got closer, they heard Harry yell, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" They watched a blinding, dazzling, silver animal shoot out from the end of his wand. It looked like a horse at first, galloping across the black surface of the lake. The dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness as the bright animal got near them….They were gone. The Patronus turned cantering back towards Harry across the still surface of the water. It wasn't a horse. It wasn't a unicorn, either. It was a stag. It stopped on the bank. Its hooves made no mark on the soft ground as it stared at Harry with its large, silver eyes. Slowly, it bowed its antlered head. Claire heard him mutter, "Prongs" as he stretched his fingers toward the creature; the creature vanished.
"What did we tell you about interfering Harry?" Claire said fiercely, making Harry jump and turn around. "You said you were only going to keep a lookout!"
"I just saved all our lives…" Harry said. "Get behind here—behind this bush—I'll explain."
Claire and Hermione listened to what had just happened with their mouths open yet again.
"Did anyone see you?" Claire asked.
"Yes, haven't you been listening?" Harry said. "I saw me but I thought I was my dad! It's okay!"
"Harry, I can't believe it…" Hermione said, still in shock. "You conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those dementors! That's very, very advanced magic…."
"I knew I could do it this time," Harry said, "because I'd already done it….Does that make sense?"
"I don't know—Harry, look at Snape!"
The three of them peered around the bush at the other bank. Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Claire, Hermione, and Black onto them. A fifth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at this side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away toward the castle.
"Right, it's nearly time," Hermione said 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?" Harry said, checking his watch. He looked up at the castle and began counting the windows to the right of the West Tower.
"Look!" Hermione whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"
Harry stared through the darkness. The man was hurrying across the grounds, toward one of the entrances. Something shiny glinted his belt.
"Macnair!" Claire said. "The executioner!"
"He's gone to get the dementors! This is it, Hermione, Claire." Harry said.
Harry climbed onto Buckbeak.
"Claire, go on next." Hermione said, pushing Claire forward to Buckbeak.
Claire couldn't help but notice the discreet knowing smile when Hermione did this but chose to ignore it for the time being. Claire climbed onto Buckbeak.
"What am I suppose to hold on to?" Claire said, while Hermione was climbing on Buckbeak behind Claire.
Harry's cheeks seemed to turn a light pink. "Um, just hold on to me."
Claire swear she felt her own cheeks burn with heat, but she ignored it as she wrapped her arms around waist. Hermione had just gotten on and put her arms around Claire waist.
"Ready?" Harry whispered to them. "Hold on tight—"
He nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels.
Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. Harry gripped his flanks with his knees, feeling the great wings rising powerfully beneath him. Harry felt a weird sensation in the bottom of his stomach as Claire had tighten her arms around his waist. Claire on the other hand, was trying to breathe as Hermione was practically suffocating her.
"Hermione, do you think you could loosen your arms a little? I mean, I don't know about you but I enjoy breathing," Claire said.
"Sorry, Claire. I'm afraid of heights." Hermione said, loosening her arms around Claire's waist. "Oh, I really do not like this at all."
Claire had to disagree with Hermione. As they flew toward the tower, the full moon glowed brightly casting a light on top of the lake. It was a beautiful sight.
"It's beautiful," Claire breathed. "Do you ever wonder what's beyond our planet?"
Hermione wasn't paying attention as she had her eyes shut and was muttering "I hope we get off this thing soon." However, Harry had been listening.
"Yea," Harry said, looking at the sky full of stars and glowing moon. "What do you think's out there?"
Claire shrugged. "I guess planets and more stars and I have no doubt that there's other life forms."
Harry raised an eyebrow at Claire. "You believe in aliens?"
"Why not? The universe is pretty vast. There's bound to be others like us. I mean you can't say it's impossible. The muggles think magic is impossible, yet there is magic. So, there's got to be a possibility that there's life out there." Claire said.
The rest of the ride was silent. Harry urged Buckbeak forward. They were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle….Harry pulled hard on the left-hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned. Harry was trying to count the windows flashing past—
"Whoa!" he said, pulling 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.
"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of Claire's robes with her left hand.
"Alohomora!"
The window sprang open.
"How—how—?" Black said weakly, staring the hippogriff.
"Get on—there's not much time," Claire said. "You've got to get out of here—the dementors are coming—Macnair's gone to get them."
Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the hippogriff behind Hermione.
"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" Harry said, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower—come on!"
The hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry, Claire, Hermione slid off him at once.
"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."
Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.
"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" Sirius croaked.
"He's going to be okay." Claire said quickly. "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 at Claire and Harry.
"How can I ever thank—"
"GO!" Claire, Harry, and Hermione shouted together.
Black wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open day.
"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are—truly your mother's daughter, Claire and you Harry are truly your father's son…."
He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry, Claire, 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 Harry and Claire gazed after them…then a cloud drifted across the moon…..They were gone.
Only two chapters left! The surprise will probably be in the next chapter. I can't wait for you to read the next chapter because well you'll have to wait and see.
Reply to Reviews:
Constellation15: I'm not sure yet. It shouldn't be too much longer, but I have to figure out how to slip them into the story.
NicoleR85: Thank you!
Rainpelt the Doctor: Yea, I never know about my whole writing schedule. When I said that I had literally no time to write and so I wasn't sure when I was going to be able to find the time and post chapters. Now, I'm trying to manage my schedule so hopefully I'll be updating as I usually do. As far as Claire's Patronus goes I'm curious to. I'll have to research some because I think I know what I want it to be but I still have two books until that happens.
Rukia-chappy: Thank you!
auknowntimelord: You'll find out later on.
Timewalker: You never know, there's still two chapters to go. Something might happen that makes Sirius free (hint, hint)
Ghostwriter71: Thank you! That means so much to me!
I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR DOCTOR WHO ONLY CLAIRE SMITH, JASON SAXTON, AND CARINA BLACK!