Ursa walked with a scowl on her face as she headed towards Hagrid's Hut. She knew that Buckbeak's execution would be taking place on that day and even though it was her father's fault that it was happening, Ursa still felt some degree of guilt about it. So that was why Ursa was heading towards Hagrid's Hut so she could give Buckbeak one last goodbye. She felt as though she owed the Hippogriff that much after she failed it. Ursa knocked on the door of Hagrid's Hut and there was no ignoring the sad whimpering that she could here from inside before Hagrid opened the door.
"Oh, it's only yeh, Malfoy," Hagrid sighed.
"Hagrid, I'm really sorry about the appeal. I honestly did try my hardest to fight for Buckbeak, but I guess my best wasn't just good enough this time," Ursa apologised.
"It's not yer fault, Malfoy. Yer father was just too good. Now Buckbeak's goin' to die!" Hagrid wailed.
"I'm truly sorry," Ursa insisted. "But I was just wondering if I could say goodbye to Buckbeak."
"Of course yeh can. He could use some company. Me cryin' won't help no one," Hagrid cried.
In the past, Ursa found Hagrid's obsession with animals to be a bit over the top, but she couldn't help but find his love for Buckbeak endearing. Ursa could see that Buckbeak was tied to a pole to keep him down, and Ursa could only think how wrong that was. Buckbeak was a Hippogriff, he should be flying high in the sky, not tied to a rope to keep him down.
"I'm sorry this had to happen to you, Buckbeak," Ursa couldn't help but apologise as she gave his beak a gentle pat. "I really did try to save you, but I just couldn't do it. I wish I could just set you free and let you fly, but that would only get Hagrid in trouble, and he doesn't deserve that."
There had been a brief moment when Ursa came down to Hagrid's hut that she considered freeing Buckbeak, but she realised that doing so would result in the blame falling on Hagrid. So as much as Ursa hated to think it, she knew that Buckbeak's fate was sealed, and she had no doubt that Draco was somewhere cackling to himself as an innocent creature was slaughtered because of him.
"Well, Malfoy, I think yeh should be headin' off now. They'll be comin' shortly," Hagrid said after she had a few moments with Buckbeak.
Ursa sighed, "Okay. And again, I'm truly sorry that this had to happen, Hagrid. It's probably one of the biggest injustices that I've ever seen."
"It sure is," Hagrid sniffed.
After giving Buckbeak one last sombre look, Ursa began to walk away from Hagrid's Hut. It was taking everything in her resolve for Ursa to not just lose her cool about this injustice, but she knew that she'd be doing nobody any favours. Whether she liked it or not, Buckbeak was going to be executed and there was nothing she could do about it. That much was made clear as she saw the executioner, Minister Fudge and Professor Dumbledore heading her way. Not wanting to cross paths with them, Ursa detoured to the side.
As Ursa made her way back to the Hogwarts castle, she turned back to see that the three of them had reached Hagrid's Hut. A sudden wave of determination washed over Ursa and she refused to let Buckbeak's end come like this. The only way to save Buckbeak was to free him, and Ursa knew just how to do that. Since the executioner, Dumbledore and Fudge were heading there now, Ursa figured that they just needed to see Buckbeak in front of the hut so that they wouldn't blame Hagrid if he got free. Then Ursa would sneak there to untie the Hippogriff to spare him from his cruel fate.
So with that in mind, Ursa marched towards Hagrid's Hut once again except this time she was determined to do the right thing. Out of the corner of her eyes, Ursa could've sworn that she saw three figures exiting Hagrid's Hut as the three new arrivals approached it and she instantly spotted Hermione's wild hair amongst them. Ursa figured that it had to be Hermione and her two friends, since she knew that Hermione had reconciled with them after the news about Buckbeak's trial had been released. Once they were out of the way, Ursa headed towards Hagrid's hut and she had every intention of saving Buckbeak.
~*•°•*~
Travelling back in time to save Buckbeak and Sirius Black had been a brilliant idea on Dumbledore's part, and Hermione just wished that she had thought of it herself. Hermione had taken Harry with her, and they were now heading towards Hagrid's Hut where she knew their past selves would be. They watched as their past selves headed towards the Whomping Willow, which was expected but what was not expected was Hermione spotting another figure heading to Hagrid's Hut after the executioner, Fudge and Dumbledore headed that way.
"Who is that?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Hermione replied.
They watched as the unidentified figured seemed to approach Buckbeak, which caused them to quicken their pace as they didn't know what the person was doing. As they got closer, Hermione gasped as she recognised who was there, and it seemed that Harry recognised them as well.
"What's Malfoy's sister doing here?" Harry hissed.
"I don't know," Hermione admitted, which was true. She had no idea that Ursa would be going to Hagrid's on the day of Buckbeak's execution, but then she figured that she shouldn't be surprised that Ursa would be here as well.
"What do we do now, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"We continue with the plan," Hermione answered.
"But it's Malfoy's sister. I know that you were animal rights activists together but you'd really risk doing this with her?" Harry argued.
"Just trust me, Harry. It'll work out. We're wasting time," Hermione insisted, leaving Harry with no time to argue as she grabbed his hand and headed back towards Hagrid's.
Hermione could see that Ursa was trying to free Buckbeak, although the Hippogriff seemed to be resisting her assistance. Hermione knew that they had to act fast before they all got caught, so she quickly made her move with Harry before they caught Ursa's attention. When Ursa turned around and saw them, she had obviously just seen their past selves exiting Hagrid's Hut and was simply baffled by their sudden appearance.
"Hermione?" Ursa gasped as she turned her head back and forth, looking back at their past selves as they retreated towards the Whomping Willow. "What are you doing? How? Why?"
Hermione pointed at the Time Turner around her neck and a look of understanding morphed onto Ursa's face.
"Well, it's about time that you used that thing for something other than classes," Ursa remarked.
"We're here to save Buckbeak," Hermione said.
"Already ahead of you," Ursa grinned, and Hermione gave Harry one look to know that he was baffled by this interaction.
"Hermione?" Harry hissed in alarm.
"I'll explain later. Right now we've got to move before they come back out," Hermione said.
The three of them worked together to help free Buckbeak, and the baffled look from Harry was enough to show how he felt about the situation. They managed to get Buckbeak away safely just as the three stepped outside Hagrid's Hut again. With Buckbeak now free and spared from his awful fate, Ursa couldn't hide the grin on her face as she lead the bird away while Harry and Hermione followed, though Ursa quickly took notice how beat up the two of them looked.
"What happened to you two?" Ursa asked.
"We're just about to get attacked by the Whomping Willow," Hermione replied.
"What are you doing now?" Ursa questioned.
"Now we have to save ourselves from the Dementors," Hermione answered.
"Is there anything else I can do?" Ursa wondered.
"Just keep Buckbeak nearby in case we need him," Hermione said.
"You got it," Ursa nodded before turning to Harry. "Don't look that shocked, Potter. You should know that I'm not all bad."
And with that, Ursa lead Buckbeak away while Harry and Hermione headed back towards the Forbidden Forest. Now came the part that Hermione was nervous about, Harry's reaction to her friendship with Ursa. He stayed quiet until they watched themselves go into the Whomping Willow.
"So, Hermione. I know that I should be more shocked about the fact that we've gone back in time, but I'd have to say that I'm even more shocked about the fact that you seem to be friends with Malfoy!" Harry exclaimed.
"Malfoy's sister. And her name is Ursa," Hermione clarified.
"Why? How? When? Why?" Harry demanded.
"Because she's certainly not as bad as Draco and surely you can admit that Harry. She was the only person who took me seriously about Buckbeak's case and while you and Ron were off giving me the silent treatment, Ursa was being the friend that I needed," Hermione explained.
"Okay, but when? How long have you been lying to us and hanging around Malfoy's sister?" Harry questioned.
"Since first year," Hermione answered, rolling her eyes at the outraged look on Harry's face. "Before you start going off on me, Harry, just know that Ursa was actually the first friend that I made here. She approached me for no reason other than to be my friend. She came to comfort me after I was upset at Ron before the troll incident. And you should know that you wouldn't have been able to defeat the Basilisk. Ursa was the one who figured out that it was a Basilisk and she was the one who planted the note in my hand before you found it."
Harry sighed, "And you really trust her as a friend?"
"She's done so much for me, Harry. She's the closest female friend that I've ever had, and if Ursa as a Malfoy can look past my blood status and befriend me, then you should be able to look past her surname and see her for the person she is on the inside," Hermione said.
"We'll see," Harry muttered.
They continued waiting until they saw themselves exiting the Whomping Willow, and it didn't take long for things to escalate in the way that things had. When Hermione saw Remus going to attack Harry in his werewolf form, Hermione called out as a werewolf, though Remus seemed to think that was a call for him to come. Panic started to set in and they started running into the Forbidden Forest again, with Remus the werewolf right behind them.
"Come on, Hermione!" Harry yelled as they ran through forest.
They hid behind a tree as Remus walked around them, and for a moment Hermione thought that they had managed to avoid the werewolf until she heard a loud cry and turned to her left to see Remus running towards them. Hermione instantly ducked for cover in Harry's arms, but an attack never came. Instead, Hermione heard what sounded like Buckbeak coming to the rescue, and Remus' attention on them was quickly replaced on Buckbeak. Hermione looked around to see Ursa appearing from the trees and had never been more grateful to see her than she was now.
"It sounded like you guys could use some help," Ursa remarked.
"Thanks… Ursa," Harry said, which earned a look of surprise from both her and Hermione before he turned his attention back to Hermione. "Now what do we do?"
"We save Sirius, and you can come with us, Ursa," Hermione replied.
"And how do we save Sirius?" Harry asked.
"No idea," Hermione admitted.
"Okay, I'm a little lost here but I'm just going to go with it," Ursa remarked as she followed after Harry and Hermione.
Along the way, Hermione was able to fill Ursa in on the bits and pieces of what had transpired in 'the past' and that they now knew the truth about Sirius Black's innocence. On one hand, Ursa was smug to be right but then she was disgusted at the fact that an innocent man had been imprisoned for a crime that he didn't commit and was now about to be punished for it.
"We're right here!" Harry yelled as they approached the clearing.
At first, Ursa didn't know what they were 'saving' Sirius from, but when Ursa felt air turn cold around her and started to feel a dreadful loss of happiness, she realised that it was from the Dementors. Despite the Dementors sneaking into the Hogwarts Express at the start of the year, Ursa had never actually encountered one before and despite generally jumping into things head first, she found herself anxiously anticipating what was to happen next.
When Ursa saw what came up, she was borderline speechless. Ursa felt helpless as she watched Harry, Hermione and Sirius' past selves be attacked by the Dementors. She could see that Harry was trying to fend them off with a Patronus, but it was not strong enough to get rid of them all. If Ursa had the ability to produce a Patronus, she would've been whipping out her wand and casting it with no hesitation.
"What happens now?" Hermione asked urgently.
"The only way to truly get rid of a Dementor is a Patronus. But it would have to take an incredibly powerful wizard to get rid of all these dementors," Ursa explained.
"Can't you do one?" Hermione begged.
"No," Ursa shook her head. "I've never even attempted to cast a Patronus before so there is no way that I could do one to get rid of them all."
"My dad will come. He'll save us from the Dementor's," Harry replied.
"What?" Ursa gasped. "How?"
"I don't know! I just - I just know that I saw him cast the Patronus. It was a stag, the same as his Animagus form," Harry answered.
There were no logical thoughts going through Ursa's mind at that point. All she could do was just stand there and helplessly watch as the three of them lost the battle with the Dementors.
"This is horrible," Ursa murmured.
"My dad will come. I know it," Harry insisted.
"Harry, no one is coming," Hermione stated.
"You have to believe me, Hermione. I know what I saw. I saw his Patronus right here," Harry proclaimed.
"But we'll die," Hermione whispered.
"It'll be much, much, much worse than death," Ursa said.
"He'll come. Don't worry," Harry insisted.
It was then that a logical thought entered Ursa's mind. They say that time is a loop, and if Harry truly saw a Patronus here, then the chances were that he saw himself casting the Patronus instead of his father.
"Potter, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your dad is dead. The only person who can save you is you!" Ursa exclaimed.
Harry glared at her, "If you don't have anything good to say Malfoy, then shut your damn mouth."
"No, Potter, don't you understand? Time is a loop. We are standing here and you saw a stag Patronus here!" Ursa clarified.
That finally seemed to get through to Harry, since before Ursa had even finished speaking, Harry was running forward with his wand ready before he belted out a loud and powerful Expecto Patronum. Ursa watched in awe as a beautiful stag came from Harry's wand, and just as she expected it to, it warded off the Dementors. It truly was a beautiful and powerful sight, and Ursa could not deny that she was impressed by what Harry was capable of doing. The Dementors were helpless against the Patronus as they left the area, leaving Harry, Hermione and Sirius by the lake as the three of them passed out.
"I did it," Harry breathed out in shook.
"Harry, that was incredible," Hermione gasped. "You just produced a corporeal Patronus! That's incredibly advanced magic like I've never seen."
"Malfoy was right," Harry said as he turned to face them. "I knew I could do it now because well, I'd already done it… Does that make sense?"
"I don't know – Harry, look it's Snape!" Hermione exclaimed.
"What happens next?" Ursa asked.
"We have to wait until Macnair comes to get the Dementors," Harry replied.
"So we wait," Hermione said as they walked backwards into the Forbidden Forest where Buckbeak was waiting for them. An awkward silence fell over them until Harry broke it.
"Malfoy – Ursa – I'm not really sure I understand how you became involved with all of this, but I have to thank you for your help. I guess you really are better than your brother since for the past three years, I just thought you were one and the same, but you proved tonight that you're not," Harry proclaimed.
"Thanks, Harry. It's nice to know that I have your approval," Ursa chuckled.
"One thing I want to know is why didn't you tell us about your friendship with her, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Well, I knew that you and Ron wouldn't understand because of your pre-conceived ideas about the Malfoy's. And Ursa didn't want to put me in an uncomfortable position, but I guess she doesn't care about that anymore since she was more than willing to protest with me in public," Hermione explained.
"I didn't care what anybody thought and quite frankly, I don't care about anything else for that matter. I was just doing the right thing which Draco doesn't understand,' Ursa said.
Before Harry or Hermione could say anything else, they spotted Macnair heading towards the Dementors, and they knew it was time to head off and save Sirius. Ursa had to admit that she was excited about being able to ride Buckbeak as she jumped in front, though Hermione looked more than terrified. It was an exhilarating feeling flying on Buckbeak. It certainly wasn't something that could be compared to simply riding a broomstick. This was on a whole other level.
They managed to get to Flitwick's office where Sirius was being kept and burst the door open. To say that Sirius was surprised to see them was an understatement. First his jaw dropped and then his eyes just about bulged out of his head when he saw Ursa standing with Harry and Hermione. They then grabbed Sirius and headed back off on Buckbeak to a private area before dismounting and recollecting themselves. Hermione and Ursa gave Harry a few brief moments with Sirius before they knew they had to be moving on.
"I must say, kid, when you first found me in the forest and said you could be trusted, I didn't fully trust you. But standing before you now after you just aided in my rescue, I know that you are better than the rest of those purebloods. You give me hope for your family," Sirius said.
"I appreciate that, but I think you really should be heading off now," Ursa replied.
Sirius nodded, "Right you are. I don't know how I could even begin to thank the three of you."
"Go!" Harry and Hermione yelled, and Sirius nodded before taking flight with Buckbeak.
"Shouldn't you two be heading off to the Hospital Wing now?" Ursa asked.
"We should," Hermione replied and grabbed Harry's hand to run off with before turning back to Ursa. "Say good luck."
"Good luck," Ursa said as the duo ran off into the castle.
Upon realising that darkness had fallen, Ursa decided to head back to Ravenclaw Tower. It was hard to believe that only a few hours ago, she had resigned herself to feeling like a failure after not being able to save Buckbeak. Now, not only had she helped save Buckbeak, but she had aided in Sirius Black's rescue, and Ursa certainly felt proud for helping Harry and Hermione achieve that.
But in the back of her mind, Ursa was thinking about how she had not only just changed the past, but the future as well now that Harry Potter knew about her friendship with Hermione. He seemed to take it well enough, but Ursa didn't know how him knowing about them would change things, but they were certainly about to get interesting.
And so that wraps up the end of Year 3. It didn't take me long to decide to incorporate Ursa into Harry and Hermione's time travelling expedition so I hope that you guys liked that change. Speaking of changes, with the Goblet of Fire about to begin, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with it just yet since I do have two different ideas and I'm not sure which one to go with so I'm going to ask for you guys to leave me your thoughts. The first idea is to leave pretty much everything the same except with the addition of Ursa, but then my second idea leaves room for more changes since it involves Ursa actually being the Triwizard Champion for Hogwarts over Cedric and messing with canon. So I'd be very interested to know what you guys think about those potential ideas so that can help me move along with the story.