The Final Exam — 12

2 Days to execution

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Vicky sat crowded together at the back of the library. They were in the middle of exams, and so the four students meeting was nothing to be suspicious of.

"But how are we going to get passed Professor Dill?" Hermione asked, sounding exasperated. She was pointing at the dot labelled Buckbeak. "You know as well as I do that she'll be at Hagrid's cabin the day of the execution."

"Will she be, though?" Ron asked. "It's a rather emotional situation…"

"Fudge wants her there to make sure she doesn't get in the way," Harry said. "Sirius told me. He's pretty pissed about it-"

"It doesn't matter if Emma sees us," Vicky said. "She's not going to tell anyone."

"It does matter," Hermione said. "If she sees us it makes her an accomplice."

"Why don't we just take him now, again?" Ron asked, looking frustrated.

"Fudge has to see Buckbeak; if he doesn't, he'll think Hagrid set him free."

They had spent the last several weeks going over and over the plan. Thinking of every detail that could go wrong — and there was a lot that could go wrong.

If anyone saw them, they'd be caught and Buckbeak would be killed, and of course, there was the question of how they were going to control a 700 lb hippogriff once they did rescue him. How were they going to get him into the shrieking shack?

"We've been over this enough time," Harry said. "Tonight, at midnight, we need to do a dry run."

1 Day to execution

"Harry, you need to focus."

Harry sighed. He was flat on his back, the breath knocked out of him by a particularly fierce blow dealt by Steve the Manikin. Emma was standing over him, looking annoyed.

"You've been completely out of it. Did you not sleep last night?"

Between his late-night wanderings and preparing for his finals, he was completely spent.

"I've been studying," he said, still on his back.

Emma frowned, and Harry had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly what he and the others were planning.

She stepped back a bit and went over to her desk, where she seemed to be arranging papers. Harry sat up and watched her with a frown.

"When I was in my first year, your father had a habit of getting me put in detention," she said, still playing with her papers. "One of our very first was feeding the hippogriffs with Hagrid… They love dead ferrets. They're hunters in the wild… you can always count on a hippogriff to hunt a ferret."

She turned to face Harry and twirled her wand in a small circle, "Migale!"

Harry jumped as a tiny ferret scurried out of the end of her wand, ran in a circle and dissolved in a wisp of smoke.

Harry grabbed his wand. "Migale!" he commanded, trying to imitate the wand movement.

It was smaller and a bit translucent, but it scurried about 3 feet before vanishing.

"You have a lot of exams tomorrow… Defence and Potions, I believe," Emma said. "You should go study."

Harry watched Emma for a moment in bewilderment as she turned to some marking on her desk. He hesitated for only a second longer before leaving. Yes, he thought to himself, she definitely suspects we might try to free Buckbeak.

It did not surprise him for a second that she would try to help him. After all, Emma was a Marauder before she was a teacher.

0 Days to execution

Harry sat, his knee bouncing with nerves, while he waited for Ron to finish his divination exam. Downstairs, Hermione was finishing Muggle Studies and Vicky was planting a large volume of dung bombs in Myrtle's toilets.

Harry would much rather have been helping Vicky with those dung bombs, at least it would have been doing something, but instead he was stuck waiting for Ron. They had a plan, after all, and Harry had to stick to it.

He stood as the door opened. Ron looked annoyed, and Trelawney was trailing after him, her many bangles and gems glittering. Harry supposed Ron must have been the last student to take his exam.

"It is a shame, dear, that you couldn't see more," she said. "The inner eye is — oh!"

She trailed off, seemingly surprised to see Harry waiting, her already large eyes seeming to bug out of her face.

"Harry Potter…" she whispered, before clasping her hand to her chest. "Your aura is—"

"Dark, desolate, full of death?" Ron breathed under his breath.

"Filled with… destiny," Trelawney paused then, and Harry looked at Ron uncertainly. He knew the divination professor had a flair for the dramatic, but this was all a bit extreme. Ron shrugged, seemingly used to it, when Trelawney's hand suddenly clamped down on Harry's shoulder, making him jump.

"The Dark Lord is waiting. She goes to him, unknowing, bringing him the information he needs, with his servants by his side. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servants' aid, greater and more terrible than ever before…"

Harry watched her eyes, which had rolled back into her head, revealing only white. His stomach filled with dread as those eyes, which had been staring off into the abyss, suddenly seemed to focus on him.

"The White World is red," she rasped. "To save him, she will awaken the dead."

Trelawney took a large breath then and stepped back. Her eyes came back into focus. She frowned, seeming a bit muddled. "You'll have to forgive me… the heat of the day, you know… I seem to have drifted off for a moment."

"What in the bloody hell was that," Ron said, his tone jarring Harry.

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Weasley!"

"That," Ron said, pointing at Trelawney. He seemed to be in so much shock that'd he'd lost any verbal filters he'd had. "You just said the Dark Lord's was going to come back!"

Trelawney turned to Harry, who nodded numbly.

"That is a terrible thing to joke about," she said, seemingly annoyed. "I certainly wouldn't have predicted something as far-fetched as that! I think you both must have drifted off too. Now, off with you both." She shooed them off and turned, shutting the door.

"That was-" Ron seemed at a loss for words.

"We have to tell Emma," Harry said. For the first time, he thought Trelawney might have made a real prediction.

"She's down at Hagrid's hut," Ron said. "Same as the lot of them."

Harry frowned. Of course she was, the appeal was coming to a close now. It also meant that Harry couldn't, under any circumstances, go and tell Emma about this now, not with Fudge at her elbow.

"After dinner then," Harry said.

He and Ron met Hermione at the Gryffindor table for dinner. She was staring blankly into the distance, seemingly entranced by the empty seats up at the head table.

"This came while you were at divination," she said, handing Ron and Harry a letter scribbled in Hagrid's messy hand. As expected, Buckbeak had lost his appeal. Emma, Remus and Sirius were staying with Hagrid for supper.

Harry looked up as Snape and Dumbledore walked into the hall. Presumably Snape had gone to give Remus his potion and Dumbledore had followed him back to the castle. At the Slytherin table, Malfoy was grinning in their direction. Harry looked down, feeling a bit ill.

He'd thought he was nervous for the quidditch final against Slytherin, which they had thankfully won, but this was a whole new level. Buckbeak's life rode on the outcome of tonight.

After dinner, Hermione went to the Ravenclaw table under the pretense of asking Vicky to help her go over her answers for their Ancient Runes exam — Hermione was certain she'd gotten the fourth question wrong and needed Vicky to walk her through the problem.

Harry and Ron waited, under the pretense of walking them to the library before heading up to the common room. Slowly, they made their way up the grand staircase, in full view of the entire school, chatting aimlessly about the recent exams.

On the fourth floor, there was a 'sneaking corner turnaround' as Sirius had said. Harry knew it well. They paused there for a second, debating the latest gossip and who they thought would win the House Cup. When the coast was clear, they slipped into the alcove behind a stoic knight.

They made their way down to the first floor, Harry keeping an eye on the Marauder's Map for signs of students. Once they got to an outside wall, Harry used the orb Emma had given him at Christmas to create a door. They huddled as best they could under the invisibility cloak. Hermione checked the time, making a note on her arm.

They hurried off across the grounds to the shelter of the forbidden forest where they could safely remove the cloak.

Harry knew it wasn't safe to venture far into the forest. They walked cautiously, but with purpose, keeping the castle and the treeline in sight. They followed a trail that was not marked on the Marauder's Map, but that Emma had taken Vicky along when she was young. Perhaps because it was so close to the treeline, the Marauders had never bothered to note it down.

They slowed as Hagrid's hut came into view.

"How do we know if they're in there?" Ron whispered. Harry shrugged, unsure.

"Look," Hermione breathed, pointing to the path leading down from the castle. Harry watched as Dumbledore, Fudge, an old committee member and the executioner came down the path.

Harry's heart jumped into his chest as Hagrid's door opened, revealing Emma. Even from here, Harry could tell she was angry.

They exchanged a few words at the door that Harry couldn't hear. Dumbledore paused, pointing at Buckbeak, who was tied behind the hut.

Fudge nodded, seemingly pleased, and the executioner ran a finger along his axe blade. Emma's eyes seemed glued to the blade. For a moment, Harry thought she was going to do something stupid, but then she looked up at the sky, seeming to mutter an oath, before stepping aside and letting them into the hut.

The door closed.

"Diffindo!" Hermione whispered, slashing her wand at the ropes that bound Buckbeak. It sliced in two and hung limp. Buckbeak looked up at her in indifference.

"Migale!" Harry commanded. As soon as the white ferret appeared Buckbeak was up and after it. Harry frowned, concentrating, trying to hold the ferret. It disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Buckbeak paused, looking around in confusion. Panicked, Harry turned to check the window to Hagrid's hut. By some miracle, no one was watching.

"Migale!" "Migale!" Ron and Vicky took up the incantation, and Buckbeak trailed after a small heard of ferrets.

Hermione stayed back to listen while Harry, Ron, and Vicky shepherded Buckbeak deeper into the forest. Harry knew that if the hippogriff got one look at Hagrid he'd go charging back and all of their effort would have been for nothing.

They paused, puffing for breath, about 200 yards from the edge of the forest. Buckbeak looked around unhappily. With shaking hands, Harry bowed low. Behind him, he could hear Ron and Vicky doing the same.

Buckbeak studied them, seeming undecided. Harry had just begun to think it was time to back away when Buckbeak bent his knee.

Releasing a breath, Harry took the end of Buckbeak's rope and the trio led him along the treeline away from Hagrid's cabin.

.

Hermione jumped slightly as the door to Hagrid's hut burst open, McNair looking around with his axe raised.

"It's gone!" he said. "One minute the beast was here, and then it was gone."

Fudge, Dumbledore, Hargid, the council man, Emma and Sirius followed McNair out of the cabin. Hagrid ran over to where Buckbeak had been tied, only to fall to his knees and begin to cry.

"It's okay, Hagrid," Emma said, patting him on the arm gently.

"He's free!" Hagrid said, finally looking up. His face was split into a wild grin and tear stained. "He must ha' chewed 'is ropes an' run!"

Hermione watched as Emma and Sirius exchanged relieved grins.

"This is your fault!" Fudge said then, poking Emma square in the chest and making her jump. "You did this!"

"She was right beside you, Cornelius," Dumbledore said calmly. "How could she possibly have set Buckbeak free?"

"We'll have a search party," Fudge said. "He has to be nearby—"

"You may as well search the skies as the forest," Dumbledore said. "I imagine he's off somewhere far from here by now… Hagrid, if you don't mind, I think we should have some tea."

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore, Sir," Hagrid said, getting to his feet. He was the happiest Hermione had ever seen him. "I've got some mead."

"Even better," Dumbledore smiled mildly. "Cornelius, won't you join us?"

Fudge was already stalking off down the treeline away from Hermione, his eyes shielded from the setting sun as he searched the skies. McNair and the man from the council followed him. Dumbledore did not look upset, and instead gathered the remaining group inside.

Hermione slipped away then, figuring she had enough information. She donned Harry's cloak and hurried to the Whomping Willow.

As hard as it had been to get Buckbeak, the real problem was what to do with him. Left to his own devises, they all knew that Beaky would make his way back to life with Hagrid.

Hermione pulled off the cloak and bowed low as she got closer to Buckbeak and the others. After a moment's contemplation, Buckbeak bowed back, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"He won't fit," Ron said, frowning deeply. "Harry and I tried. He's too big for the tunnel."

Hermione let out a slow breath. This was one of the many things they had been worried about. The original plan was to stash Buckbeak in the Shrieking Shack, but if he didn't fit down the tunnel, well they couldn't exactly fly him through Hogsmead with the entire Ministry hunting him.

"So what do we do now?" Hermione asked. She looked at both Ron and Vicky for an answer, but they looked just as uncertain as her. Harry was frowning, his eyes on the darkening sky. "Harry?"

"We have as much time as we want. Hiding Beaky in the shack was never the end. We were always going to have to move him," Harry said. "I'll fly with him to Death Row, tonight."

His words were met with silence.

"And how exactly are you going to get back to Hogwarts?" Vicky asked. "I don't suppose Emma's taught you how to apparate?"

Harry turned to face the school. "Accio Firebolt!"

"Harry, that's a fourth-year spell," Hermione said, looking both horrified and impressed.

Within a few moments, his broom was making its way to them, flying low in the grass. Harry caught it when it was close enough. Now he just had to make sure he didn't drop it while he rode Buckbeak.

"Do you even know where Death Row is?" Ron asked. "Will you know the way back?"

"He's going to die if I don't do something," Harry said. "We can't leave him here!"

"Do you know the way?" Hermione asked Harry gently.

"I think so," Harry said. "I've apparated there with Emma a bunch of times… after that you can kind of feel where the place is."

Hermione frowned. "Alright, try," she said. Beside her Ron's jaw dropped. "But I'm going to put a way-warding spell on you. There will be a red light here that only you can see, no matter how far away you are. If you're far enough, it will be like a red line."

"Thanks," Harry said. He stood still while Hermione performed the spell. When she finished he turned to approach Buckbeak.

"Have we thought this through?" Ron asked. Harry found it kind of amusing; usually Hermione was the one trying to talk him out of doing something stupid.

"Not really," Harry admitted. "But it's the best I've got."

He approached Buckbeak slowly, noticing that the rope around his neck would work as a makeshift harness. He paused, unsure how to ask the hippogriff if he could mount, only to have Buckbeak bend the knee.

Relieved, Harry moved forward. He stepped on Beaky's foreleg gently and hoisted himself up onto his back. He yelped as Buckbeak got to his feet before Harry had had a chance to settle properly. The jostling nearly unseated him.

Heart beating wildly, Harry shifted his seat and gripped the rope with renewed strength. He held his Firebolt in both hands as well as the rope. If he dropped the broom, he'd have no way of getting home.

"Wait for me here?" He asked the others. He didn't get a chance to see if they agreed. In the next second Buckbeak had broken into a run.

Harry yelped, nearly dropping his Firebolt and clenched the reigns. Buckbeak squawked and tensed, his wings unfurling. With a mighty leap that made Harry regret everything he'd eaten in the past 24 hours, they were airborne.

The wind whipped Harry in the face, biting him as he clung to Buckbeak and his broomstick with all his strength. Each wingbeat threatened to send him flying back to earth, grabbing his legs and seeming to pull him down the hippogriff's back.

After minutes at an unreasonable angle, they leveled, whispering clouds and the dark night around them.

Harry stayed glued to Buckbeak's back, too terrified to move for several moments. It took every ounce of courage he had to sit upright, the reigns in white knuckles.

"Okay, Buckbeak," Harry said, bracing himself. "We need to veer left a bit."

Buckbeak took the turn surprisingly smoothly. Harry sighed in relief, a different sort of panic filling his heart.

What if he couldn't find it?

And what about after he did? How in the world was he going to explain to Emma that Buckbeak was her newest house guest?

Harry took a steadying breath, trying not to think about the constant motion of Buckbeak as they rode the air currents. He had to trust his gut. He'd apparated to Death Row with Emma a hundred times. He could feel it.

The truth was, he really could feel it. Like a soft call in his heart, leading him forwards. It was a deeply familiar feeling, almost as if the place was part of him somehow. Maybe that was the wards?

As time crept on, Harry began to wish he had a coat. He pulled his robes around his face and ducked down, trying to shield himself from frostbite. His legs were burning too, both from gripping Buckbeak and from where the hippogriff's wings were constantly chaffing against them.

The moon was getting low in the sky and Harry's eyes were drooping by the time Buckbeak started to drift downwards. Harry gripped his neck tightly, fighting the sinking feeling in his gut as Buckbeak made slow spirals towards the ground.

The landing was not smooth.

Buckbeak hit the ground as gently as a hippogriff could, but Harry had to cling to him for dear life with numb fingers. In the end, he was unable to hang on, and tumbled from Buckbeak's back.

He thought Buckbeak may have tried to catch him, his wing slowing his fall. Still, Harry hit the ground with a nasty crack and rolled across the grass.

He couldn't move. Buckbeak jittered above him, his beak moving in and out of focus. Harry shivered, the world spinning.

"Master Harry is too skinny!"

Harry's eyes popped open as Wiggles appeared over him with a crack, her long wrinkled nose threatening to poke his eye out.

"Wiggles?"

The elf snapped her fingers and Harry screamed as his arm snapped back into place. "Did Master Harry really think that Protem wouldn't know when he came into her territory?" Wiggles asked, shaking her head.

Harry jumped slightly as he was thrust into the air, a gurney having appeared under him and beginning to move him towards the house. A warm blanket settled over him, and Harry pulled it closer, shivering. Wiggles shook her head and took Buckbeak's rope, leading the both of them through the towering horses and up the path to the Black House.

"Is Emma here?" Harry asked, dreading the answer.

"Protem is at Hogwarts," Wiggles said. "Everyone is in their place. Wiggles will get Master Harry hot soup and get him back to his place. The sun will be rising soon, and Master Harry needs to be back before then."

Wiggles set Buckbeak free in the woods. She said the trees would keep an eye on him while they were gone, which made Harry's skin crawl. Harry sat on the edge of the gurney, a cup of hot soup in his hands. Wiggles had given him a half-dozen warming charms, and he was feeling much better.

"If Master Harry is feeling better, Wiggles will apparate him to Hogwarts now."

Harry frowned. "You can't apparate inside Hogwarts," he said, feeling very like Hermione.

"Wiggles can," Wiggles said, holding out an arm and motioning for him to join her. "Protem told Wiggles that time is running out."

Reluctantly, Harry put his seemingly endless cup of soup aside and stood.

His muscles protested loudly, making him groan.

"Hurry up!" Wiggles said, looking a bit nervous as red broke across the sky.

Taking agonizing and small steps, Harry joined her. He'd barely touched her when the world was squeezed away.

He fell to his knees when they reappeared, the wind knocked out of him.

"Harry?" Ron helped him to his feet, looking tired and terrified. "How did you?"

"There is no time!" Wiggles said, pointing to the sky. "You must hurry! Hurry!"

Ron paused, but Hermione picked up the slack. "Thank you, Wiggles," she said, before ducking under Harry's other arm and helping Ron drag him forwards. Vicky picked up the Firebolt Harry had dropped and followed.

They didn't talk, instead they hurried along the treeline, running against the rising sun. The invisibility cloak slowed them down, and Harry was sure if anyone looked too closely they would see four pairs of knees running across the lawns, but it was early, and he hoped no one was up yet.

They made it to the outside wall, and Harry threw the orbs against it. The hurried through the door, and Harry pulled the orbs out with a squelching sound.

They took off the cloak, and Harry draped it over the Firebolt, tired and breathing heavy.

Hermione checked the time on her arm and seemed to make a small calculation before motioning for them to all come closer.

Hermione pulled out her time turner with shaking hands. In order to have the necklace fit over everyone, they had to wrap their arms around each other in an awkward huddle. Harry could not wait for this part to be over, as he had his head rammed under Ron's chin.

Hermione turned the hourglass 10 times. Harry braced himself as he had the sensation that he was flying, very fast, backwards. The walls seemed to hum around him. Then, quite suddenly, he felt solid ground beneath his feet.

Hermione lifted the necklace from around them and they all stepped back, Ron rubbing his nose unhappily.

Harry kept an eye on the Marauder's Map as the made their way up to the fourth floor. Once there, they breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed like there were more stairs than usual, and each one took the effort of five. Harry felt like he was dragging himself to the library, forcing a grin on his face. The four of them were exhausted, their guts rumbling from hunger.

Ron and Harry saw Vicky and Hermione to the library before continuing onto Gryffindor tower. The common room was already filling up, Harry made a beeline for the stairs, feigning a need to use the bathroom, his invisible broomstick in hand.

He made it up to the dorms without incident. He was just wondering where he should put his Firebolt so that no one would notice when it flew out on its own, when the broom seemed to be called from his hand and out the window.

He grinned, feeling somewhat at peace, before making his way into the bathroom.

Once they had freshened up, he and Ron made their way back downstairs. Neither one of them had any desire to socialize, but they had to be seen. Hermione joined them a few hours later, looking exhausted. On the bright side, an end-of-exams party was in full swing, and there was food.

They let themselves up to bed before 11. Harry wasn't certain his head even hit the pillow before he fell asleep.

.

.

Emma had a massive migraine the next morning. She stared at the wall blurrily, wondering if she really had to go down for breakfast. She frowned then, realizing something wasn't quite right.

Behind her, Sirius let out a deep breath and pulled her closer against his chest, nuzzling into her neck as he did so.

Hagrid had had them out partying all night. Remus had made his way back to the castle before the execution party arrived, knowing that it was too close to the rising moon for him to stay. Once Buckbeak had escaped, Hagrid had reeled her and Sirius into a night of bar hopping.

"Fuck," Emma murmured. She lifted the covers slowly, at least she was fully dressed. She sighed, remembering that both she and Sirius had been too inebriated to aparate, and so he'd crashed at the castle with her… she should have left him with Hagrid in his hut.

Grinning at the thought of the two wizards spooning and waking up in horror, Emma tapped the arm Sirius had around her. "Sirius," she said.

No answer.

"Sirius!"

Sirius groaned, pulling her even closer.

"Sirius… too tight."

His arm relaxed and she felt him shift behind her. "Swift?"

"Yep… it's me."

"Wh-what happened last night?"

"I believe we were both too drunk to aparate," Emma said. "You helped me get Hagrid home, and then you crashed here…"

"Right… right, I remember that…" he sounded relieved. With a mischievous grin, he pulled her closer again. "I also remember getting a goodnight kiss."

Emma grinned despite herself. "We have to go check on Remus," she said, changing the subject. "He spent the moon alone."

Sirius sighed, letting go. "It's too early to be awake," he complained.

Emma firmly agreed, but that didn't much matter. She sat up and waited for Sirius to do the same, but he didn't move. "Do you mind?"

"Actually, I do."

Emma rolled her eyes and crawled out of the bottom of the bed. Once there, she ripped the covers off in one swift motion, making Sirius yelp.

"Swift!" he complained loudly, scrambling to pull the covers back up while she made her way to the bathroom. "I want a divorce!"

"We're not married, Sirius," Emma said, closing the bathroom door.

"Fine. Marriage first, then I want a divorce!"

Emma rolled her eyes; she had missed him.

Despite Sirius' protests, they were out and up to see Remus in record time. After a quick knock, Remus told them to come in. He was reading the morning paper from an armchair by the fire. He had a rather mischievous grin.

"Well?" Remus asked when he saw them, wagging the newspaper in their direction.

"Well what?" Sirius asked, wondering how Remus could have possibly known he'd stayed at the castle that night.

"Dangerous Hippogriff Escapes Execution," Remus said, putting down his tea and standing. "What did you two do?"

"That wasn't us," Emma said quickly — too quickly.

Remus raised a brow. Sirius frowned, turning to look at her in surprise.

"I thought we agreed?" he said.

"As I said," Emma said. "That was not us, nor me. I was right there in the cabin-"

"Did you have one of your trees lead him away?" Sirius asked.

"No-"

"Did you mind talk him into leaving?"

Emma frowned, confused. "What? I can't do that?"

"Did you-"

"Sirius, stop. It wasn't me."

"But, who?"

Emma looked amused. "There are more than three Marauders at the school."

Remus shook his head, amused. Sirius broke out into a wild grin.

"I don't care what you say, that boy can have anything he wants this summer — anything!" Sirius said, making Emma grin. "Tickets to the World Cup, a pet griffin — anything!"

"Okay, enough," Emma said. "Breakfast is starting, and breakfast is where we should be. Everything needs to be normal, yes?"

Sirius and Remus nodded. Acting normal was something they had crafted into an art form during their Hogwarts years.

As they made their way down to breakfast, Emma and Sirius filled Remus in on the events of the previous day. At the foot of the staircase, Emma broke off, noticing one of her students. At her request, Remus and Sirius continued into the great hall without her.

Severus watched them part ways. Saw as Black pulled her in for a hug before letting her go.

After everything Black had done, his role in leading the Dark Lord to Lily, his transgressions as a student, the hell he had put Severus through every day, after all of it, here he was, the same as ever. Untouched by the cruelty of time, and with everything he'd ever wanted.

It wasn't fair.

Fingering his wand, Severus followed the two Marauders into the hall, his rage growing.

"Sounds like an eventful night," Remus said as he and Sirius made their way up to the head table. "So, where did you sleep?"

"Once we got Hagrid to bed, it just seemed easier to stay at the castle," Sirius began, suddenly seeming a bit embarrassed. "Swift… well… We…"

"He shouldn't be here."

Half way to the table, they turned to see Snape stalking towards them, looking livid.

"I beg your pardon?" Remus said, looking caught off guard.

"He should not be in the castle," Snape said, his mouth turned into a sneer. "He does not belong here."

The students at the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables had gone silent to listen.

"The castle has always been open to the wizarding community," Remus said smoothly. "Sirius was here to support a friend-"

"Couldn't face the full moon alone, Lupin?" Severus seethed. "Needed Black to hold your hand, as usual? I thought werewolves were supposed to be brave — or was that Gryffindors?"

A beat of silence, and then —

"He's a werewolf!" Malfoy shouted from the Slytherin table, his eyes round as saucers. The hall broke into shouts, students clambering to put space between themselves and the threat.

Sirius lunged forward, too blinded by rage to draw his wand. Severus expected it, and jumped back, poised to defend himself.

"Sirius, no!" Remus shouted, grabbing him around the shoulders with all the post-moon strength he could muster.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Dumbledore's voice filled the hall easily, and seemed to freeze the scene.

"Professor Snape made some unfortunate remarks," Remus said, letting Sirius brush him aside.

Sirius was still glaring murderously at Snape.

"Unfortunate remarks?" Dumbledore paused before them, his hands clasped gently behind his back. "Severus?"

Severus smiled slightly, watching Black's deep breathing. He had won.

"I simply remarked that Black had no place at Hogwarts," he said, sneering. "However, it seemed he felt he had to be here to accompany Lupin during his lycanthropic transformation."

Dumbledore frowned, his gaze drifting to the terrified looking students. "I see," he said gravely. "Perhaps you have forgotten, Severus, that Hogwarts is home to all magical beings, not just the current students… There are many creatures in the world," he said, his voice echoing easily through the hall. "We are, all of us, far stronger together than we could ever be apart. It is the things that make us different, not the same, that bring us strength.

"I will not tolerate discrimination at Hogwarts. For myself, I would trust any one of you with my life.

"If you feel strongly, Severus, that friends should not join our table, then perhaps you have forgotten that lesson… Professor Lupin, Mr. Black, I would have you join me for breakfast."

He strode past Severus then, opening his arms to shepherd Remus and Sirius away and towards the table.

The hall erupted into whispers.

Emma entered the hall a moment later with a small group of students, who quickly dispersed to join see what the fuss was about. Looking concerned, Emma made her way to the head table with long strides. "What is going on?" she whispered, even before she'd managed to sit down.

"They know," Remus said, nodding out towards the students. "I will have to resign."

Emma turned to Dumbledore, clearly confused. "What do they know? Why are you resigning?"

"Severus informed them of Remus's condition just now," Dumbledore said, looking sombre. "A condition I was of before I offered him the position. Consider your resignation rejected. This changes nothing."

"It changes everything," Remus looked touched by Dumbledore's words. "Thank you… but the governors won't see it that way. This is not a hill that's worth dying on, not after everything else that's happened recently."

Emma turned to Sirius, "Severus told them?" when he nodded, still looking murderous, she stood.

"No," Remus said, pulling her back into her seat. "Not for this."

Emma gapped wordlessly at him, her emotions swinging from confusion to anger to despair. Overhead, thunder cracked despite the sunny weather. But Remus only shook his head.

Breakfast at the head table was a quiet affair; below, the chatter of students seemed to ring louder than usual.

Sirius left for Death Row as soon as it was over. Both Emma and Remus turned to marking their exams. While the students enjoyed a few days reprieve, the teachers were stuck inside, feverishly marking hundreds of papers.

True to his word, Remus resigned the next day and began making preparations to move his things to Death Row. The Marauders had come to an agreement, and the apartment in London would be put up for sale in the coming weeks.

The last few weeks were relatively calm for Harry, who enjoyed the sunshine with Ron and Hermione. They passed all of their exams, and his lessons with Emma were cancelled for the remaining weeks. He had, finally, mastered the patronus charm with Remus, and was almost as thrilled about it as he was about having set Buckbeak free.

News of Buckbeak's escape had been forgotten in the wave of gossip that surrounded Remus' condition. Hermione had already figured it out, but the Weasley clan were shell shocked by the news.

"He should have told us years ago," Ron said after they found out. They were skipping rocks across the black lake and enjoying the sunshine. "Emma is a wandless, it's not like we were going to make a fuss over a werewolf."

"She really does put things in perspective, doesn't she?" Hermione asked.

Ron shrugged. "I guess I can understand… werewolves aren't thought of fondly, but, come on. We grew up with a 'vicious wandless,' werewolves aren't worse than that."

"He was afraid I'd hate him when I found out over the summer," Harry said. "I don't think it's been easy for him."

"It certainly explains a lot," Ron confessed, skipping a rock across the lake. "I always wondered why Remus, with all his talents, couldn't hold a job."

"He has Emma and Sirius, though," Hermione said. "At least he's not alone."

"I guess," Harry said. "Did you hear they're selling the apartment?"

"Fred told me," Ron said. "Moving everything to that creepy house in the creepy forest," he shivered. "Good luck enjoying your summer vacation there, mate."

"Part of it," Harry said. "Emma convinced Aunt Petunia to take me back for the allotted month… but she'll come and get me on my birthday. She promised."

"The party's at my house though," Ron requested. "I know you said the trees are safe, but I'm not dying to fly over Murder Forest anytime soon."

.

Sirius stood with Emma a week later, watching as the Hogwarts Express rolled into Hogsemead station. The train had barely pulled to a stop when the students appeared, rolling trollies and carrying caged pets.

"Seems weird not to be getting on it," Sirius said, watching the commotion.

Emma hummed in agreement, "You get used to it."

Harry appeared then, having popping off the train to wish them a last goodbye. He'd already found a compartment with Ron and Hermione, his trunk and Hedwig safely tucked away.

Sirius was surprised when Harry went straight for a hug from each of them, ignoring the students who were still milling around them.

"You're getting me on my birthday this year. Remember, you promised!" He said, even as steam blew from the train.

Emma grinned. "And we'll have a hug party," she said.

"Away from her crazy trees," Sirius promised, making Emma roll her eyes. "Something less murder themed."

"Stay safe, Harry," Emma said, pulling him in for a last hug.

"You too!" He called, already running back to the train, which was making time-to-go noises.

Sirius watched it pull out of the station, feeling very much as if his heart was being ripped from his chest. "Do you every get used to that?" he asked, watching as the train carried his godson away from him.

Emma wrapped an arm around him and sighed. "No, never."

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Book three is done and miracles are real :)

I will see you all in the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who read, alerted, favourited and reviewed! Stay safe!