Now, we shall continue. Thank you for reviewing, Bad-Kitty-Kill and Archdruid89 (it' s a good idea...I just have problems incorporating Arnold because...well, there isn't enough Hufflepuff in the books. I'll try to do that within the next book, except I'm skipping "Goblet of Fire" as already mentioned, so that'll be Harry's fifth year, Arnold's fourth).
Pettigrew, with Lupin and Helga either side, followed Hermione's cat along the passage. Ron limped a lot, but he was still pretty close to them, staring hatefully at Pettigrew. Snape drifted along, Sirius using his own wand to keep him up. Harry was right behind, followed by Hermione and Phoebe.
Things were going pretty well. The thing was, one thing the trio had known about was that Sirius was actually Harry's godfather. Once Pettigrew was turned in, Sirius would be home free. The thing was, he was Harry's parents' first choice for guardian. Harry had lived with his mother's sister for most of his life, and he was in no hurry to go back. So when Sirius, quite awkwardly, brought the subject up, Harry was very enthusiastic. "Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
Then everyone finally got up to the end of the tunnel, and that was when things started to go wrong. The sky had darkened while they were down there, and the stars had come up. A cloud moved, and everyone in the group (except Snape, who was still unconscious), saw the full moon.
It was Sirius who saw the danger first. He flung out an arm, making Harry, Hermione and Phoebe stop. Hermione saw it next. Lupin had frozen, and then started shaking. "He didn't take his potion tonight!" she remembered. "He's not safe!"
Ron backed off a bit, but Helga was still chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. She was stuck.
"Run!"
As Lupin transformed completely and wrenched free of the chains, Sirius went back into his Animagus form to fight.
Helga gave a cry of shock as Pettigrew grabbed Lupin's forgotten wand, nearly making her fall. He pointed the wand at her, and in the next moment, the blonde was unconscious.
"Helga!" Phoebe cried. Next thing, Ron was also on the ground, just before Harry disarmed Pettigrew, and it was too late. The little traitor had transformed, and there was no way anyone could catch him at that moment.
The werewolf Lupin had become was speeding into the forest. Sirius was bleeding, but he disappeared into the distance.
Phoebe, Harry and Hermione looked down at their unconscious friends. "What did he do to them?" Hermione whispered.
"I don't know." Harry replied. Unconscious though they were, Helga and Ron's eyes were both half-open. Phoebe shivered at the blank look in her best friend's usually bright blue eyes. "Shall I go up to the castle for help?" she offered. "You can bring them up while I go and find someone."
At that moment, they heard a yelp and a whine.
"Sirius..." Harry muttered, taking off in the direction they heard the sound. Hermione followed, but not Phoebe. She couldn't very well leave the unconscious two on their own, and by the sounds, Harry and Hermione had everything else covered.
Somewhere in the middle of this, Snape came back to consciousness, and the first person he saw was Phoebe. "Miss Heyerdahl," he said harshly, "Will you please explain-"
"Professor," Phoebe said, "Helga and Ron..." she gestured to them. "And over there...Harry and Hermione, and Sirius...he's innocent!" she added hastily.
Snape didn't seem to hear her last statement, but he conjured up stretchers for Helga and Ron. "Stay here." he ordered. He went to find Harry, Hermione and Sirius, and soon he had returned with them on stretchers. All three were unconscious. Phoebe gathered that they'd run into the Dementors. She had no choice but to follow him up to the castle, where she and the other students were sent to the Hospital Wing. Sirius was locked up in the Charms classroom, in spite of Phoebe trying to assure people of his innocence. Fudge was still at school after Buckbeak's execution, and Snape told him that the students were under a Confundus charm. They were outside, but Phoebe could hear every word. Sadly, she couldn't do much while Madam Pomfrey, the school matron, was checking her over.
"I'm fine!" she tried to insist. "It's – it's not me. Ron and Helga are the ones who got hurt, and Harry and Hermione are the ones who got close to a Dementor attack, but I'm okay." She couldn't do a thing, but stay. However, she did go to the door, and say shyly "Um, excuse me, Minister? Sirius Black is innocent. He explained everything, and it was-"
Snape talked over her. "See, Minister? Completely Confunded."
"Please, Minister, I'm not!" Phoebe implored. "Please, if Black was just given a chance to explain...even under Veritaserum, if it's necessary."
But by that time, Madam Pomfrey was back. "Miss Heyerdahl, please, sit down. You've been through a lot in a short time, I haven't cleared you completely yet." she said sternly.
When Harry and Hermione woke up, they backed Phoebe up, but no one would listen to them. Helga and Ron were still unconscious. It was a relief when Dumbledore arrived, saying he'd talked to Sirius and gotten the same story that the students had.
"Does my evidence count for nothing?" Snape demanded. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him in the grounds."
"May I interrupt?" Phoebe asked timidly. "As far as I can recall, you were knocked out-"
Hermione took over "And you didn't arrive in time to hear-"
"Miss Granger, Miss Heyerdahl, HOLD YOUR TONGUES!"
"Now, Snape," Fudge objected. "The young ladies are disturbed in their minds, we must make allowances-"
Finally, Dumbledore said "I would like to speak to Harry, Hermione, and Phoebe alone." It took some time to convince Madam Pomfrey and Snape to leave, as well as Fudge, but it happened, and the three students immediately tried to tell their story.
But they didn't need to. Dumbledore already believed Sirius' story. However, the only eyewitnesses available within the time needed to stop the Dementors were the three students. Lupin would have been able to, but he wouldn't be human until the next day, and besides, the werewolf prejudice wouldn't help his case. The only other eyewitnesses were Helga and Ron, and their support wouldn't count for much more than the other three, even if they were conscious in time.
"What we need," Dumbledore said, "Is more time."
Only Hermione seemed to understand what to do. They were told exactly where to go and what time it was. Harry and Phoebe were confused as what to do when they were left on their own again.
"What are we supposed to do?" Harry asked.
Hermione was pulling a long gold chain out from underneath her robes. "Harry, Phoebe, come here. Quick!" She positioned the chain so it was around all of their necks, then found the glittering hourglass that hung from it, and turned it around three times.
It was a blur of colour until the three of them found themselves standing in the Entrance Hall. Hermione pulled them into a broom closet, and then took the chain off them. "We've gone back in time." she whispered. "Three hours back." She explained that the hourglass was a Time-Turner, and she'd been given it at the beginning of the year so she could get to all her classes by reliving hours so she was in two or three classes at one time.
Phoebe couldn't remember the rescues properly. It all felt so surreal. First she, Harry and Hermione were able to rescue Buckbeak from that execution (which was another innocent life, spared), then Harry cast an amazing Patronus charm that drove the Dementors away from the past versions of himself, Hermione and Sirius. Finally, after some waiting, it was time for them to fly Buckbeak up to the right window. Phoebe, who they helped up in front of Hermione, hung onto Harry, who was in front himself, and Hermione hung onto Phoebe. Finally, Hermione unlocked the window with her wand.
"How-" began Sirius.
"Get on, there's not much time." Harry told him. "You've got to get out of here, the Dementors are coming!"
After Sirius was on with them, Buckbeak flew the three kids up to the West Tower, where they could get off.
"You'd better go, quick." Harry said.
"What happened to the other two?" Sirius began to ask.
"They're going to be OK...they're still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make them better. Quick – go!"
At the end, the three students watched the two fugitives soar off. Then it was time to run back to the hospital wing. They found Dumbledore outside, and told him that they'd done it. Their past selves had disappeared from the Hospital Wing by then, and they went back inside.
None of the students really wanted to stay, but Harry and Hermione just kept quiet. Phoebe didn't protest when Madam Pomfrey decided to keep her in the Hospital Wing overnight.
After a bit, they heard yelling – from Snape. He'd discovered that Sirius had escaped and was now insisting that it was something to do with Harry. The Dementors had to go from the school after that, for attacking Harry earlier on.
After the students were alone in the room, the unconscious students finally woke up.
"I feel like I got hit by a truck." Helga muttered. "That...rat." She clearly remembered the wand aimed at her.
"What happened?" Ron asked. "Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"
"Yeah, I'd like to know that too." Helga added, surveying the surroundings.
The other three students exchanged glances.
"You explain." Harry said, and Hermione and Phoebe proceeded to tell their story.
Sorry about the probable tedium of this chapter. The next one will be better, I promise. Please review, even if you hated it.