"Ooh, he's gonna be mad..." Muttered the girl as she sat up.
"No. Just sore. And kinda tired. And I think my right leg's been asleep for a few hours." Harry mumbled, his head tilting to one side with a loud POP. "Sleep well, Nymmy?"
"Gah! You're awake?" Tonks said.
"Never went to sleep." Harry admitted, smiling wearily at her. He had bags under his eyes and every time he blinked, she could see just how purple his eyelids had become.
"I didn't actually mean to fall asleep..." Tonks said. "I just kinda... drifted off."
"S'no problem. Long as nothing bad happens today, I'll be alright." Harry said, holding off a yawn until he finished speaking. "Our agenda for next year is to find a better secret tower. One large enough to actually have rooms or something. At least enough space for a bed..."
"Sounds like fun." Tonks agreed, grinning. "Now why don't you lay down and get a couple hours' rest?"
"Nah, I'll be alright. If it gets too bad, I can just ask the twins to spot me some of Hermione's pepper-up potion. Wonder if she's up yet." Harry wondered aloud.
"Dunno. Let's go down for some breakfast and see if they're covered in bruises!" Tonks suggested, getting to her feet and stretching.
"Ah, works for me." Harry said, languidly rising as well. "Mmph... just uh... gimme a minute. I don't wanna be putting weight on my right leg when it goes waking up."
"I'll meetcha down there, then. I'm hungry." Tonks said, patting her stomach.
"You're always hungry." Harry pointed out.
"And yet I still keep my girlishly good figure." Tonks said, striking a goofy pose for a few seconds. "Thanks for letting me sleep, though. Really. It was sweet of you..."
"That's me. Mr. Nice Guy." Harry said, stifling another yawn and abruptly shifting his weight to his left leg. "Augh, damn... there it goes."
"Pins and needles?"
"Yup."
"Ouch. Hope it passes quick. Seeya in the Great Hall!" Tonks said, bounding over and kissing Harry on the cheek before heading out the trap door. As she left, he heard her call out, "IF you make it down in time to eat!"
Harry grinned lazily as she left. He knew he had blushed. He always blushed when she randomly kissed him, it seemed. He had spent most of the night pondering his life, how he had gotten to where he was, and what he was going to be doing in the future. He hadn't yet decided what job path he would take in the future, though... it was still a bit too soon to worry about that. If he made it to his fifth year at Hogwarts, then he would think about it.
The blood magic be damned, Harry was going to find a way out of spending any time with the Dursleys that summer, too. He didn't care how he escaped so long as he was able to. In addition, whatever he came up with, he was hoping he could coax Tonks into joining him. He didn't really want to spend the entire summer holiday on his own, after all. And, if he was being perfectly honest with himself, he wouldn't mind if Tonks just so happened to fall asleep on him again.
He also wondered if Tonks knew her hair color tended to shift between its natural state and that which she fell asleep using. Harry had watch it slowly turn from black to blonde and back again. It was cute, if a little weird.
Shaking his right leg out a few times to make sure it was awake again, he headed for the trap door, limping slightly. "Dammit, leg's not gonna work right all day, I can just tell..."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
As soon as Harry entered the Great Hall, he was clocked on either side of the head. Hard.
"OWW! Who the h-- oh, jeez, what happened to you guys?" Harry said, staring.
Fred and George Weasley stood before him, looking severely irritated. Both had green skin for some reason, antennae sprouting from their heads, and tails.
"Hermione Granger happened to us." They said in unison, turning to glare at the bushy-haired girl who was sitting at the Gryffindor table and eating a proper breakfast for what seemed to be the first time.
"You should have seen it." George said, scowling. "She stormed downstairs in her night clothes, stalked over to us, and poof - here we are. We can't figure out what she did, either!"
"Obviously, she thought of you two as some form of space invaders." Harry said, scanning the two. "Well, look at it this way, guys - it was for a good cause. She looks like she's eating properly, yeah? And she certainly looked healthier than she did the other night."
"Speaking of sleeping, word's goin' around that you were off sleeping somewhere." Fred said, grinning slowly.
"And word's goin' around that you weren't alone." George continued.
"What?" Harry said, glancing over to Tonks, who glared back at him. "Oh, dammit. I told you - I was going to my tower. Tonks just happened to be there. Used my right leg as a blasted pillow, too."
"That why you seem to be limping?" George asked.
"More or less." Harry said, bypassing the twins and heading for the Ravenclaw table. He knew that there was one of two ways he could get around this. One, he could ignore the whispers and stares. Two, he could get smacked by Tonks. So he picked the only obvious choice - the third.
Sitting down, Harry promptly kissed Tonks on the cheek, grinned in a sleepy way, and said, "Looks like I made it after all, huh?"
Tonks lit up like a Christmas tree, the twins cracked up, and Harry casually turned to load food onto his plate. The way he saw it, if people wanted to talk and spread rumors, they should at least spread true ones. He didn't care if anyone spread the rumor that he and Tonks were an item. He was tired of letting the students' talking get to him.
He did care about his left arm not getting broken again, though, which seemed like it might actually happen if Tonks connected with the massively telegraphed punch she was currently winding up. Just like sugar affected Harry's magic flow, sleep deprivation seemed to affect his judgement in that it threw it out the window in favor of on-the-spot decisions. It also seemed to make him more aware of his surroundings than he normally would have been.
When Tonks threw the punch, Harry leaned as far backward as he could without falling off backwards. Tonks faltered and fell forward. Harry pushed himself forward off of whoever was sitting behind him at the next table (with an ignored, indignant cry of "Hey!") and caught Tonks before she could collide with either the bench or the top of the table. She landed in his arms at a weird angle, having thrown the punch with her left hand, and thusly ended up staring up at his crooked smile.
"'Lo, Nymmy." He murmured.
Tonks blushed again. "If you're gonna act like this every time I fall asleep on you, I'm not getting anywhere near you at night! You're weird when you haven't slept."
Feeling rather restless, Fred just happened to choose that moment to pipe up. "Oooh, you hear that, brother o' mine? Not only did they apparently spend the night together,but they didn't seem to get any sleep!"
"Can't imagine why, Fred m'boy. Unless..." George began, dragging the last word out as much as he could.
"Do you two wanna end up in worse shape than you already are?" Tonks spat, tilting her head back to get a look at them.
"Certainly not, my dear Tonks!" Fred said, grinning.
"We do, however, want you to be embarassed as we were!" George added, slapping his brother jovially on the back. "And now that we've given the rumor mill added fuel, we shall go and eat!"
Harry helped Tonks sit back up properly as the redheads left for the Gryffindor table. She glared at him and muttered, "Honestly, what are you thinking today?"
"Not much. I thought myself out overnight." Harry said, being quite truthful. "Runnin' on pure steam now, I think."
"I should see about drugging your goblet with dreamless sleep potion at dinner." Tonks muttered. There was still a faint blush on her cheeks. "Aren't you worried about what people are gonna say now?"
"I don't care what anyone else says." Harry said. "Besides, what's so bad about me kissing you on the cheek in public?"
"Wha... nothing, but... oh, dammit, just eat." Tonks said, scowling again as she faced her own plate of breakfast.
Harry chuckled. He resumed piling food onto his plate. Having not slept, his body had started getting hungrier than normal sometime around 3 in the morning. How fast he wolfed the food down proved that, though he did choke at one point, prompting Tonks to slap him on the back a few times.
"What've we got today, again?" He asked as they left the Great Hall later on.
"Defense and then Charms later this afternoon. You should probably take a nap after Defense Against the Dark Arts, y'know." Tonks said.
"Probably." Harry admitted. "As amusing as it was to see you all red like that, I'm not sure I can get by on no sleep."
"I will figure out a way to get back at you for that, y'know." Tonks said.
"Oh, c'mon, Nymmy. Don't be a spoilsport about it. They were gonna talk about us one way or another. Might as well have some fun with it." Harry said.
"You seem to be doing that a lot lately." Came a voice from behind them. They turned to see a rather irritable-looking Hermione Granger standing there, tapping a foot.
"Good morning, Hermione. Sleep well?" Harry asked, another lazy grin on his face.
"Oh, I should say so. And now I'm four hours behind on my work thanks to that little stunt you and the twins pulled. Give me one good reason I shouldn't make you look like those two do." Hermione said.
"Because you're feeling better than you have in months, have the energy to make it to the end of the year, aren't about to go insane, and because I'm the lovable hero who can do no wrong?" Harry suggested.
Tonks snorted from beside him.
"...Oh, alright. I'll agree to everything but that last one." Hermione said. "...And I guess I should be happy that someone's concerned about me enough to do something like that. But still! It was a very sneaky thing to do!"
"And I'm sorry for doing it." Harry said, inclining his head slightly. "But you were gonna work yourself crazy if you kept at that pace. S'amazing what good a little sleep'll do you. You saw how I was actin' in the Great Hall. You were kinda like that, only you obsessed with schoolwork rather than trying to make a friend all bright red."
Tonks slugged him in the arm.
"So what really happened last night? It'd be nice knowing the truth." Hermione said, raising an eyebrow.
"We have a little tower of our own." Harry said, shrugging. "It's a tiny little thing, though. Managed to fit a small chair and couch there. I was sitting on the couch, and Nymmy here thought it'd be funny to use my right leg as a pillow. She was out like a light all night. Meanwhile, my leg was goin' to sleep and I wasn't."
"Ooh, that doesn't sound good." Hermione said, raising the other eyebrow.
"Yeah. My leg wasn't happy when it woke up. Anyway, we still need to head up to our dorms to grab our homework and stuff, so we'd better get goin'. Glad you're feelin' normal again, Hermione!" Harry said, grinning as he and Tonks took off up the main stairs.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"No, dammit!"
"Come on, Harry. What could it hurt?"
"NO, dammit!"
"She has a point, you know. We might be able to--"
"What part of 'no, dammit' aren't you two getting?"
Harry scowled from his chair over at the other two on the couch. Ever since lunch, they had been trying to convince him to go down and see Hagrid. They were convinced that they might be able to cheer him up if he came along. Harry saw no point in this, however. For one thing, he wasn't a part of the man's class anymore. He didn't like the man, for another. What possible reason could he ever have for going to try cheering him up.
"But Harry, he likes you. I know you don't like him, but..." Tonks began again.
"Absolutely not. I'm having a relatively good day. I'm not botching it by going to have him blubber all over me. That mindless idiot brought me to the Dursleys!" Harry spat.
"Under Dumbledore's orders." Solieyu pointed out.
"Have you seen him around Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "He's like a lost puppy around him. He'd go drown himself in the bloody lake if Dumbledore suggested it to him! I am not going down to see him!"
"Oh yes you will, Harry Potter, or I'll ignore you for the rest of the year." Tonks stated, crossing her arms and sending Harry a LOOK.
Harry glared back. "You wouldn't dare."
"Oh wouldn't I? Would you care to see?"
"And just what, praytell, made you two suddenly so concerned for him, eh?"
"YOU wouldn't notice because YOU left his class. But he's gotten practically impossible to deal with! He'll break down in class, wander off to see Buckbeak, and completely forget to teach!" Tonks cried. "I am not going to get a failing mark because he can't keep it together."
"So you don't care about him, but you do care about your grade. How positively Slytherin of you, Nymmy." Harry commented.
Tonks glared. "Fine then. we'll be going down to see him, then. You can stay in here and pout forever about how Hagrid brought you to the Dursleys. Since you refuse to grow up, you can 'stay in your room,' so to speak."
"Don't you dare call me immature!" Harry hissed. Tonks and Solieyu jumped.
"Don't do that..." Tonks whispered, a shiver running up her spine.
"Don't do what?" Harry asked, scowling.
"Speak in Parseltongue." Solieyu said.
"What? I didn't speak in Parseltongue." Harry said. "Don't be stupid."
"No, you did." Tonks said. "It was... it was really creepy..."
"Well if I did, I wasn't aware of it." Harry muttered. "Not like I can practice or anything."
"You say that like you're disappointed." Solieyu said, noticing the odd tone of Harry's voice.
Harry shrugged. "So what if I am? I don't like being able to do something and not have the ability to actively practice and perfect it.
"We could ask Hagrid if he has any snakes he can give you." Tonks suggested hopefully.
Harry sighed, glancing up at her. "You're not gonna give up, are you?"
"Nope!" Responded Tonks, cheerfully. "We were gonna stun you and float you down to see him if you didn't agree."
"Oi!"
"It's true." Solieyu said, a slight smile on his face.
"Harry Potter, the Boy Who Hovered." Tonks said, looking thoughtful momentarily. "...Nahhh, that's no good."
"I hate you both." Harry scowled.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Are you sure about this?" Harry asked for possibly the tenth time.
"If you don't stop asking that, I'm gonna hex your mouth closed." Tonks said. "Now go on - knock!"
"...Oh, very well." Harry said, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "I wouldn't be down here if I had gotten sleep. I would've figured out some way to get out of it."
"Well aware of that, mate, now KNOCK." Tonks said, giving Harry a pointed look.
Sighing, Harry reached out and rapped on the door to Hagrid's hut. From inside, Fang began barking. Moments later, the large man answered the door. His hair was even more messy than normal, his eyes were red and puffy, and he looked quite a bit as if he had dressed in the dark.
"'Arry?" He said, staring down at the boy.
"Uh... hullo, Hagrid." Harry said, unsure of exactly how to begin. It was bad enough he was bone tired, but to try and keep his tone light and talk all friendly-like? That was going to take some effort.
"What're you three doin' down 'ere?" Asked Hagrid, glancing at the Ravenclaws slowly.
"We just thought you could use some company." Tonks said, smiling. "How're you doing, Hagrid?"
"I'm... I'm alrigh'." Hagrid said. "Come in, come in..."
The trio entered the hut, Hagrid closing the door behind them. Harry shuddered. It felt as if he was being trapped. It was a good thing he had lived in a cupboard for the better part of his life, else claustrophobia might set in. And that wouldn't be good at all.
Feeling Tonks nudge him in the side, Harry cleared his throat and looked over at Hagrid, who had put on a pot of tea. "Uh... so... Tonks and Leon tell me things aren't going so well. Have... have Ron and Hermione...?"
Hagrid let out a large sniffle, bowing his head. "No' yet... though they're still tryin, bless 'em..."
"Why can't you just set Buckbeak free?" Harry asked.
"Obvious, innit?" Hagrid said. "Hippogriffs're rare... wouldn't be hardta find 'im..."
"Oh... I... uh, I wish I could do something to help, Hagrid." Harry said, still feeling uneasy.
"Oh, now don' you worry 'bout it." Hagrid said, waving a large, dismissive hand. "S'bad enough tha' Ron and Hermione're spendin' so much time on it. It's my problem, after all."
"Yeah, but..."
"Hagrid?" Tonks interjected, seeing the conversation wasn't going anywhere. "You wouldn't happen to have any snakes, do you?"
"Eh? Snakes? What'd ya need a snake for?" Hagrid asked, looking at the girl.
"Harry accidentally spoke a bit of Parseltongue earlier. It's bothering him that he can't practice speaking it so it doesn't just randomly come out." Tonks said. "We were by ourselves when it happened, but it probably wouldn't be good for him to just yell in Parseltongue in front of other students."
"Mus' be right nice, bein' able to talk to snakes..." Hagrid said, only hearing part of what Tonks had said.
"Wouldn't know." Harry said. "Haven't had much chance to. The last snake I saw was more interested in trying to eat me than it was in chatting it up."
Hagrid pulled the pot away from the fire and poured the Ravenclaws some tea. "Well," He began, "I'm sure I can find somethin' for ya. All sortsa snakes live in the forest, see."
"Do they?"
"Yep. Come from all over the place. Snakes're drawn to magic. Not sure why, exactly. Anyway, I'll... I'll take a look around for ya if ya want." Hagrid said.
"Uh... sure. But um... if you do, could you make sure the snake is small? I don't think I'd be able to tote around a python with me or anything..." Harry said, taking his cup of tea and eyeballing it wearily.
"Sure thing..." Hagrid said, sitting at the table and staring down at his cup of tea as well.
Silence filled the hut after that. Harry was too busy trying to figure out a way not to have to drink the tea, Hagrid was just staring off into space sullenly, and both Tonks and Solieyu were trying to figure out a way to strike up another conversation. After awhile, Tonks had noticed an odd look on Harry's face. She knew that look all too well - it was the one he got when he was working out a difficult problem.
Harry slowly grinned, causing Tonks to clap excitedly. This, in turn, made Hagrid jump and blink at the trio. "Eh? What's goin' on?" He asked.
"I think I know how we can save Buckbeak." Harry said, looking up at Hagrid. "But it's going to be difficult and, uh... I don't think I can tell you what it is. No offense, but the best thing you can do is act like I'm not doing anything. This is gonna take all the luck I have, anyway..."
"Really?" Hagrid asked, hope shining in his eyes. "You really think you can save Beaky?"
Harry nodded, smirking. "I'm not a Ravenclaw for nothing. Hagrid, what time is Buckbeak's execution set for?"
"A week from now." Hagrid said, shoulders slumping.
"That should be just about all the time I need to get things set up. Don't worry, Hagrid. I won't let Buckbeak die. It tried to kill Malfoy - that deserves a favor, if you ask me." Harry said.
Half an hour later, when the trio bid Hagrid goodbye, Tonks turned to Harry and asked, "Now what kinda plan didja think of?"
"Hermione." Harry said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Hermione? But why... Ohhh. Wait, how's her time turner going to help?" Tonks asked, baffled again.
"That's what I'm gonna need to hammer out in the next week." Harry said. "Don't worry. Everything will turn out fine."
"How do you know?"
Rolling his eyes, Harry explained, "I'm the hero. Everything always works out for the hero."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
The next week passed by rather quickly. Harry, when he had free time, would hole himself up in the Nest and sit outside the room, staring through the railing out at the grounds, lost in thought. He was deeper in thought than Tonks had seen him in in ages, because he seldomly responded if she or Solieyu tried speaking to him. And when he did, he would either just murmur something or nod, not really hearing what was being said.
When he entered the Great Hall the day of Buckbeak's execution, he had a triumphant gleam in his eyes. He had spent the entire night up in the Nest by himself. When he sat down, Tonks asked him what his plan was. But he just smiled and shook his head. "I'll explain later. It's gonna happen this evening. S'all I can say for now. I can't let too much out here."
Tonks just nodded, wondering what Harry could have possibly figured out. The rest of the day was spent in an odd sort of silence. Harry was working over the details of his plan, trying to ensure that he had covered for every possible think that could go wrong. When the sun was low in the sky, Harry, Tonks and Solieyu headed off to find Hermione.
"Alright, wonder boy." Tonks said, swatting Harry lightly. "What's this amazing plot of yours to save Buckbeak?"
"You'll see." Harry said. As they rounded a corner, they just so happened to run into the twins - literally, in fact. "Oomph!"
"Well well!" Said Fred.
"Look who we bumped into!" George said.
"Hey guys. Look, do either of you know where Hermione is? I've worked out how to save Hagrid's hippogriff, but I'm gonna need her help." Harry said.
"Would this 'help' involve however she's sneaking about?" Asked Fred.
"It would." Harry said. "And no, I still can't explain that to you. You'll have to ask her yourselves."
The twins exchanged a sour look before George nodded. "Yeah, she and Ron were heading down to see Hagrid, actually. Don't think they worked out a way to save Buckbeak legally."
"Quite alright. My way not be legal, per se, but it's perfectly crafty and, providing we get Hermione's help, has no chance of failing." Harry said, smirking. "We'll need to run to get to them before they get to him, though. See you guys later! Thanks!"
Fred and George watched the Ravenclaws run off down the hall. Once they had rounded a corner, Fred turned to George and asked, "Nothing ever has zero chance of failure. Think they'll need our help?"
"I think it wouldn't hurt to get some distractions ready in case they're needed." George said.
Nodding, Fred replied, "Then let's go load up. If nothing else, we can turn everyone's attention away from Harry's lot. Wonder where Peeves is..."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Pushing open the front doors of the school, Harry's group rushed outside. However, they didn't need to worry about reaching Hermione and Ron before they got to Hagrid's. They were standing roughly halfway between the school and his hut, apparently having some kind of wild argument.
"Hermione!" Harry called out as they approached. "Oi! Hermione!"
Ron and Hermione were startled out of their row, turning and looking at the Ravenclaws as they approached. "Harry?" Hermione said, frowning. "What are you doing out here?"
"Looking for you." Harry panted. "Look... I know how to save Buckbeak..."
"What? How?" Ron asked. "We must've searched every bloody book in the library. Felt like it, anyway." He muttered, glaring aside.
Rolling her eyes, Hermione asked, "So what do you have planned?"
"It's simple. But... we're going to need some help." Harry said, giving Hermione a pointed look.
"Some help? But... ...oh, Harry, no. I can't!" Hermione replied, looking just shy of horrified. "It would be breaking about a dozen school rules!"
"It would also help save a life." Solieyu pointed out.
"Oi, what're you lot talking about?" Ron asked.
"Absolutely nothing." Harry said, quickly. "Please, Hermione! Just think of how... and I can't believe I'm saying this... happy you'll make Hagrid."
"Please, Hermione?" Tonks asked. "All of us are going to fail in addition to everything else if we don't. You've seen how spaced out he's been lately. He couldn't teach anything to anyone in that state."
"Yes, but..." Hermione began, biting at her lower lip. She turned to look towards Hagrid's hut... and promptly let out a shriek. Everyone else jerked their heads in the direction she was looking. And then they saw it too. A large, black dog was standing, wild-eyed, nearby, staring down at them.
"Th...that's..." Ron because.
"A grim?" Solieyu suggested.
Ron nodded slowly.
"A what?" Harry asked.
"Biiiig doggie." Tonks said. "Um... let's run, shall we?"
But the only one running was the dog, who charged at the group of students. Everyone cried out, each leaping in a different direction. Harry and Solieyu had their wands out as they landed, firing spells at the large dog, who swiftly dodged them. It soon became very clear that the dog was going for Ron, who had put the least amount of distance between himself and the charging mongrel.
"Ron!" Hermione cried. "Look out!"
Ron scrambled to pull his wand. But just when he got it out, he was pounced to the ground, his head bouncing when it hit the earth. This gave the dog enough time to leap off of his body and clamp down on his right leg. He let out a shrill cry of pain. The four remaining students all had their wands trained on the dog now, but it looked up at each of them, snarling around Ron's leg as if to warn them not to strike.
Far swifter than should have been possible, the dog began dragging Ron off in the direction of the Whomping Willow, which Hermione was the first to notice. They all followed after the dog, who dropped Ron just long enough to rush the tree. It seemed to do something in the back before it rushed back out, grabbed hold of Ron again, and dragged him into a hole that had opened up between the tree's roots.
"He's escaping! We've got to do something!" Hermione said, bouncing nervously on her heels.
"We can't do anything! You saw that look it gave us! It'd probably rip his leg off if we tried shooting at it!" Harry said.
"How the hell did it stop the Willow?" Tonks asked.
"What?" Harry said, lifting his head to stare at the tree. Indeed, it had gone completely still. "...Good question. It had to have done something when it let Ron go. I know where the passage goes, I think, so that's nothing to worry about. But we do need to get in there before the tree springs back to life."
Harry led the way as the four remaining students rushed for the hole in the ground. But just as they reached it, one of the Willow's lower branches made a threatening, low swing.
"Damn!" Harry swore, skidding to a halt too late. The branch sliced open the robes on his right arm. "No, don't worry about me! It just scratched me! Come on! We need to swing around back! Gotta figure out what the hell that dog did to stop it!"
The ground made a wide arc around the tree, being sure to keep well out of its reach. "Okay," Solieyu said, scanning the back of the tree's trunk. "The dog struck it...somewhere around here..." He shot a harmless, blue beam of light at the trunk. "Any ideas?"
"Good eyes." Harry commented briefly before sighing. "Not a one. Leon, anything look out of place?"
"I have no idea. I told you - I'm awful with Herbology." Solieyu said, shrugging. "And I don't readily see anything out of the ordinary."
Just then, something small and grey flew past the boys' heads, causing them to jump. Tonks and Hermione, seemingly frustrated, had started hucking rocks at the Willow.
"Oi! That isn't going to--" Harry began. But before he could finish, Hermione had made an impressive throw. The rock struck the tree, stripping some of its bark away. It also caused the Willow to freeze up as it moved to begin blocking shots.
"...help." Harry finished lamely. "Come on, let's get in there before it wakes up again!"
The four rushed back around to the front where, sure enough, the hole in the roots had opened. They quickly scampered down into it, Harry using Lumos to give them some light. The tunnel was just barely dig enough for them and it was so long that they couldn't see the other end.
"You said you knew where this led?" Hermione said as they started walking. "What did you mean?"
"Got a special Map from the twins." Harry said. "Lets me see where everyone is in the castle at any given time. Also shows paths leading away from Hogwarts grounds. This was one of the few left intact, but as it was under the Willow, it wasn't exactly a viable option. Interesting that you can freeze the tree... but it's still too out in the open to be of any use."
"Harry's been escaping to Hogsmeade to satisfy his sweet tooth." Tonks said, grinning aside to Hermione.
"You shouldn't be doing that!" Hermione said, glaring at Harry.
"Shouldn't be, but I am." Harry said. "Get quiet, you lot. The exit's up ahead. Look!"
A faint square of light was in the distance. Harry turned to Tonks and murmured, "Think you can cast some charms to make us all silent? I'd do it myself, but someone has to hold the torch, so to speak."
"Sure thing!" Tonks said, aiming at everyones' feet and casting a pair of quick spells. "There we go. Though I dunno how well it'll work when the thing we don't want hearing us has enhanced hearing."
"Don't worry." Solieyu murmured as they resumed walking. "If I can't hear anything, it won't be able to."
Hermione frowned at him. "What do you mean by that?"
"Leon's got good ears, that's all." Tonks said, quickly.
"Oh..." Hermione said. But she didn't quite look convinced.
"Alright. We're going to have to be careful here." Harry whispered as they got to the end of the tunnel. "Everyone get their wands up and ready to stun. First priority is to find Ron. I still think he's a right arse, but I'm not gonna let him die. If we can get in and out of here without running into the dog, we'll be doing good. After we rescue him, one of you is going to need to levitate him back through the tunnel. Chances are that his leg's good and broken right now. One of you is going to need to light the way. Whoever's left joins me in watching our backs. If worse comes to worse, we'll stay and fight while the rest escape with Ron and go for a teacher. Got it?"
"Lead the way, O Hero." Tonks said, winking at Harry.
Rolling his eyes, Harry ran forward and through the door at the end of the tunnel. Solieyu was right behind him, whispering near Harry's ear, "I can smell Ron's blood. He's got to be somewhere around the far end of the hall."
Harry nodded and the two led the way up the broken-down old hallway. From behind them, Hermione whispered in awe, "We're in the Shrieking Shack..."
When they reached the door at the far end, which was cracked just slightly, Solieyu stepped forward. A moment later and he nodded back at the others. Harry took a deep breath, then launched forward, throwing the door open and quickly scanning the room. No one but Ron was in it. The four quickly hurried over to him, where he sat up against the far wall, looking extremely pained.
"It's broken alright." Solieyu said, kneeling next to the boy. "Where'd the dog go?"
"H...he's no dog..." Ron whimpered, looking as if he wanted to cradle his wounded leg but knowing he couldn't. "It...it's HIM!"
"Him? Him who?" Harry asked.
"S...Sirius Black! He's... he's an Animagus!" Ron croaked.
"What?" Harry cried.
The door creaked shut behind the lot of them, causing them all to jump and whirl, wands aimed. Harry gasped at the haggard-looking man that had closed it. He was tall, lanky almost, with deep, matted black hair that hung past his waist. His clothes were tattered and too big for the half-dead frame they clung to. His eyes, somehow visible through the mess of hair, were sunken and skeleton-like, though Harry could barely make out a shine to them. When he grinned, Harry could see that his teeth were yellow and rotting. He had a maniacal look on his face as he slowly advanced.
"Harry." Sirius said, simply, his voice harsh and scratchy. "Good to see you're as quick as James was."
"Don't you talk about him!" Harry yelled, getting to his feet and positioning himself in front of Tonks, Ron, and Hermione. Solieyu took position next to him. "Don't you talk to him after... after what you did!"
"I did nothing." Sirius said. "...Put those damn things away. I'm unarmed. They snapped my wand when I was thrown into Azkaban."
"After what you did to Ron, I'm not lowering my wand." Harry growled, keeping it trained on Sirius as he moved towards the old bed.
"I've already apologized to the boy... Ron, did you say his name was? ...Already apologized to him for that. Wasn't after him, anyway." Sirius said, a strange look coming over his face.
"What? Then why'd you grab him and drag him off!" Harry asked, feeling slightly baffled.
"Wormtail." Sirius said, his voice filled with hatred.
"Wormtail?" Harry asked. That name was familiar - it was one of the people mentioned on the Marauder's Map.
"Wormtail!" Sirius repeated, sounding irritated. "Peter Pettigrew!"
"Peter Pettigrew is dead!" Tonks said. "You killed him along with that load of Muggles!"
"Don't talk to me about things you know nothing of, girl." Black said, staring at Tonks with a scowl.
"My mum's your cousin, you arse!" Tonks replied in a huff.
Sirius blinked. "Your mum?" He repeated. "...What's her name?"
"Andromeda Tonks!" Said the girl.
Sirius' eyes lit up. "Little Andi had a daughter?" He shook himself out of his surprise and sighed. "Anyway... as I was saying, Pettigrew isn't dead."
"Explain." Harry said.
But before Harry could do that, the door burst open again. All heads turned to see Remus Lupin enter, his wand out, his eyes darting around the room. When they landed on Sirius, his wand arm fell limpy to his side.
"Remus." Sirius said.
"Sirius..." Lupin breathed.
Sirius got to his feet with a grunt as Lupin walked over.
"You look terrible." Sirius said, giving Lupin a once-over.
"Look who's talking." Lupin said. "Care to explain what's going on, Sirius?"
"Was about to when you came in." Sirius said, shrugging. "That lot aren't giving me much choice."
Lupin glanced aside. "Put your wands away. He's unarmed."
"That's what I said." Sirius muttered.
"Don't... don't tell me you're taking his side!" Harry said, disbelief etched in his voice.
"I'm taking no one's side until I hear the full story." Lupin said. "Now then. Sirius... did I hear you mentioning Peter?"
"You did." Sirius said. "Listening at the door, were you? Yes... Pettigrew is here with us now."
"That would mean he faked his death all those years ago." Lupin said, head tilted in thought.
"Yeah. Blew himself up with that street full of Muggles." Sirius growled. "Perfect frame-up job, too."
"...Sirius? Does that mean... Did you switch?" Lupin asked.
Sirius nodded slowly. "I would have told you, but..."
"But you thought I was the traitor..." Lupin finished, sadly.
And then, as Harry watched on in horror, the two men threw their arms around one another in a tight hug. Solieyu sucked in a sharp breath beside him. And both Tonks and Hermione seemed beyond words.
"You are on his side!" Harry roared. "You were probably the one to let him into the castle that time, weren't you?"
"Of course he wasn't." Sirius growled, stepping away from Lupin. "Got in through the passage from Honeydukes. Glad it was still there..."
"You know about that? But... but how?" Harry asked.
"Of course he knew about it, Harry." Lupin said, reaching into his robes and pulling out a piece of parchment. "The two of us, along with your father and Peter, probably knew Hogwarts better than anyone else."
"...You did make the Map." Harry said, narrowing his eyes. "I thought that excuse you gave was pretty feeble."
Chuckling, Lupin shook his head. "A mistake to try and put something past you, I admit. Now then... why don't we all sit down and go over what's going on?"
"There's nothing to go over!" Sirius barked. "Tell that boy to hand Pettigrew over and we'll be done with it!"
Sirius was glaring at Ron, who looked confused through his pain. "Wh...what're you talking about...?"
"Your rat, boy!" Sirius said, advancing towards the redhead. "Give me your rat!"
"Scabbers? Why do you want him?" Ron asked.
"His name isn't Scabbers, it's Wormtail." Sirius growled.
"I'm not givin' Scabbers over to you!" Ron said in a squeaky voice.
"Remus!" Sirius yelled in frustration, turning to face the other man.
"I'm afraid you aren't making much sense to them, Padfoot old friend." Lupin said. "Now. explain it to us, will you? First, how did you get out of Azkaban? And why did you come here? For that matter, how do you know Ron's rat is Peter?"
"His foot!" Sirius growled, reaching into his tattered clothes and procuring a bit of old, wrinkled newspaper. "Look at this." He said, setting the clipping down on the bed.
"That's Ron and his family... they went to visit his brother Charlie over the summer!" Hermione said. "Ginny was telling me all about it!"
"Right. Now look in the boy's pocket, Moony. Look closely." Sirius said.
Lupin walked over and glanced down at the newspaper. After a moment his eyes widened. "I don't believe it..."
"Could someone fill us in?" Harry spat.
"You know the story of how Sirius supposedly killed Peter?" Lupin began, facing the students. When they nodded, he continued, "Well, they say the only bit of him they found was a finger. And, if this photo is to be believed... Ron's rat is missing one."
At this, all heads turned towards Ron, who was looking at them all strangely. "He... he just got into a fight or something!"
"Ron." Lupin said, stepping over. "Let me see him. If he really is just a rat, we'll give him back to you. The spell doesn't hurt him at all."
Ron tried thinking of a response, but failed, reaching into his robes and attempting to pull Scabbers out. When he did, the rat was squealing and frantic. A second later and Ron let out a sharp swear, dropping the rat and exclaiming, "He bit me!"
"GET HIM!" Sirius said, rushing over to the door and slamming it closed as Lupin followed the rat's path with his wand. Eyes narrowing, he picked just the right moment and fired a beam of light at the rat. The rat's body expanded, outward and upward as he tumbled to a halt against the wall the door was on. He was missing hair in various places on his head, as if he had pulled random bits out. He had a sunken look almost as bad as Sirius, though not nearly as defined. He was scrawny and his robes were torn and hung loosely off of him, as if he had lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. His large, round eyes darted back and forth to everyone in the room, finally resting on Lupin, who was having to hold a maniacal Sirius back forcefully. Despite this, he gave the man a smile.
"Hello, Peter."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Author's Notes: Everything will be explained next chapter, so no one gets to gripe about the order I'm doing things in. Though I am kinda unsure of whether Sirius using the term 'Little Andi' in regards to Andromeda would be correct. I'm just naturally assuming Andromeda was younger than him. Doesn't matter by how much. He could've called her that to irritate her.
So Sirius and Pettigrew have finally been introduced properly! I hated the way both of them looked in the movie. Sirius' hair was short and he had tattoos. Who's gonna give him tattoos? The Dementors? And I won't even get started on Wormtail. Stupid giant rat teeth.
So yeah, we've only hit the first part of the fun in the Shrieking Shack. I'm happy I was able to get this chapter out when I originally promised I would. The next one may be equally as long, so give me a week or so to put it together. Gonna hafta get down my copy of PoA and double check some stuff for it, which might delay me a bit.
Um... not got a lot to say, really. Hope everyone enjoyed the extended chapter and I'll see you when I see you!
Post-edit update: This one gave me some weird editing issues. I think I hammered them all out. But I'm doing this at 5:12 AM, and I'm not altogether 'here' at the moment. So apologies if I missed anything. All questions answered next chapter - no one get onto me about possible plotholes just yet please.