"HARRY!"
Harry let out an OOMPH as what he could only assume was Tonks plowed into him. He coughed and patted her on the back, muttering, "G'offa me, Nymmy..."
"We've been worried about you, Harry." Came Hermione's voice from nearby.
Harry sat up, collecting his glasses and only then realizing that he was once more in the hospital wing. Ron was on a bed across from his own and Solieyu was laying in one to his right. "...Damn! Where's Sirius!" He cried.
"Locked up in one of the towers." Tonks said, sighing.
"What?" Harry cried.
"Unfortunately, Professor Snape was with Professor Dumbledore when I found him. So they both came to 'help out,' so to speak. Tonks got to us on the stairway, telling us what was happening." Hermione explained.
"Snape had a fit." Tonks said. "He really doesn't like Sirius. It was... really, really creepy, Harry. Snape had this look on his face. And he said he was going to personally watch as the Dementors sucked out Sirius' soul!"
"I hate Snape." Harry spat. "Dammit all, we need to go bust him out!"
"We can't." Hermione said, frowning. "An official from the Ministry will be here any time... We don't have the time, Harry."
"...Of course we have the time!" Harry said, throwing his arms up in frustration and getting out of bed. "Use your time turner."
"What? Oh, but Harry..."
Harry drew his wand. "I don't care if you use it and help us or if I have to stun you and take it, but I am using that thing!"
"Harry!" Hermione and Tonks both cried.
"I've got a way out. I've got a way out from the Dursleys. Once we catch Wormtail and Sirius gets his name cleared, I can go live with him. I'm not giving that chance up!" Harry said.
"And, I believe, you will not have to." Came a soft voice from behind, causing the three to turn around. Professor Dumbledore stood there, smiling as if horrible things weren't going to be happening soon.
"Professor!" Harry and Hermione both exclaimed at the same time.
Dumbledore raised a hand. "Miss Granger, while I understand your hesitation, I must say that I agree with Harry."
"Then... then you believe Sirius is innocent?" Harry asked.
"I do. Unfortunately, my word means very little to the Ministry." Dumbledore said. "Miss Granger, if I am not mistaken, you and Mr. Weasley were working on a way to get Hagrid's hippogriff exonerated?"
"Yes, sir." Hermione said.
Dumbledore smiled, a twinkle in his eyes. "Excellent. Then, I believe, three turns should just about do it..."
"Then... then you're...?"
"Yes, Miss Granger. I am giving you permission to do this." Said Dumbledore. "Though I must claim ignorance if anyone were to ask me. You understand, of course."
"Yes, sir." Hermione said. "...Alright, I guess we'll be going then. Harry, Tonks...?"
"What do we do?" Harry asked as he and Tonks walked over to Hermione, who pulled a small device on a chain out from her robes.
Hermione responded by looping the chain around her, Harry, and Tonks' necks. She then began turning a dial on the top. Harry reached up to inspect it, but quickly got his hand swatted away by both girls.
"Good luck." Said Dumbledore, turning to exit the hospital wing.
And then he was gone. Or rather, he had reversed himself and went through all the actions he had gone through since entering backwards. And he wasn't the only one. As Tonks and Harry watched on, they saw themselves being toted in, Ron and Solieyu being brought in and treated, and a general amount of hustle from Madam Pomfrey. Harry also was aware of it getting lighter outside. When things had stopped moving in reverse, Hermione sighed.
"Now listen, you two, you do know we can't let our past selves see our current selves, right?" Asked the Gryffindor girl.
"Right." Replied the two.
"Good. I've gotten used to it, and I actually have seen myself, but I know I've got a time turner and... oh, it's very complicated. I'm not mad just quite yet, though. Now let's get going. We need a safe place to sit and wait." Hermione said, removing the time turner's chain from around the Ravenclaws' necks.
"Sit and wait?" Harry repeated. "We aren't going to try and change anything?"
"Of course we are." Said Hermione, leading the other two out of the hospital wing. "But we can't be seen, remember? Let's go find a spot near Hagrid's hut. We should be able to see ourselves meeting Sirius in dog form and Ron getting dragged under the Willow from there."
"How did you do this all year?" Tonks asked.
"It wasn't easy. You saw how I was getting." Hermione said. "I... admit, I tried doing too much and it wasn't healthy. So thank you for helping me get back on track. And before you ask, yes, I've been sleeping properly lately."
The trio carefully made their way down to the Entrance Hall and out onto the grounds, where Hermione warned that they would need to be extra careful. As they made their way to Hagrid's hut, the three heard what sounded like crying.
Frowning, Hermione mouthed, "Buckbeak" and the two Ravenclaws nodded.
Finding a good temporary spot behind a group of trees, the trio watched as Hagrid, weeping heavily, patted Buckbeak and tried sounding encouraging.
"...Hermione?" Harry asked, quietly.
"Yes?"
"...Do you think Dumbledore mentioned Buckbeak for a reason?"
Hermione blinked. So did Tonks. Seemingly at the same time, the girls' eyes lit up and they exclaimed, "He wants us to save him!" at the same time.
"That's what I figure. Look, there goes Hagrid." Harry said. "Come on, let's get Buckbeak out of there."
"We'd better hurry. Look!" Hermione hissed, pointing back up towards the castle. The headmaster, Cornelius Fudge, as well as a large man with an even larger axe were walking out of the school. "We're going to be cutting it close... Come on!"
The three made their way through a thick section of trees, making sure they weren't seen by any of the men leisurely heading for Hagrid's hut, until they were behind Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Once there, Hermione told them that they should wait for a little longer, just in case. It was a good thing she did, as about five minutes later, the back door to the hut opened and Hagrid showed his visitors the hippogriff. The large man's eyes were wide and he looked like he was in shock. Once the door had closed again, Hermione rushed out, Tonks and Harry behind her.
"Buckbeak!" Harry hissed, approaching the hippogriff first. He didn't particularly want to, but he also didn't want the girls to get Malfoy-kabobbed, either. He bowed low to the ground, glancing up through his eyelashes. Finally, the hippogriff bowed back. Harry grinned and stood up straight, walking over. "I never did thank you for trying to bite Malfoy in half. We're here to free you. If we don't, one of those guys in Hagrid's hut plans to lob your head off or something."
"You think he understands?" Tonks asked.
"I think it doesn't hurt to believe so." Harry said. "Never underestimate a creature who can't speak back to you."
"Good advice." Hermione said, coming up and holding a dozen dead ferrets. "I've got some food to help lure him away if we need it.
Tonks aimed her wand at the chain holding Buckbeak to a large, metal post that was driven deep into the ground. A quick (and silent, upon Harry's insistance) burst of magical energy later and the hippogriff was free of his shackles.
"Come on!" Harry said. Hermione lead the way back into the forest, occasionally lobbing Buckbeak a ferret to down. For his part, Buckbeak seemed to enjoy his snacks and the chance to stretch his legs. Once they had lead Buckbeak a ways into the Forest, Hermione dumped the remaining ferrets on the ground. Buckbeak laid down nearby, snacking casually on them. As he did so, Harry approached and murmured, "I've got a favor to ask... and I really do hope you can understand me. My godfather is going to need some help tonight. Do... do you think you could, I dunno, fly off with him? We're going to have to break him out of one of the school's towers, so..."
Buckbeak looked up at Harry, half a ferret hanging out of his beak. Harry stared back for a moment before continuing, "Er... yeah, just... please, it'd be the best way for him to escape and I'm sure he'd feed you well."
The hippogriff swallowed the bit of ferret in his mouth then let out a content sort of chirping noise, which Harry had to assume meant that he was going to cooperate with them.
"Where'd you get the idea?" Tonks asked.
"Well, it just seemed natural." Harry said, rejoining the girls. "Buckbeak can fly, right? So he can fly off to freedom with Sirius. Two lives for the price of one."
"We should get in position. Our other selves should be showing up before too long." Hermione said.
Just then, there was a sudden, loud noise from the direction of Hagrid's hut that caused them all to jump.
"...Bet those guys aren't happy to lose a big ol' flying creature." Tonks commented, grinning.
"And I bet Dumbledore will keep them from investigating." Harry said. "...I wonder if he can tell when there's more than one pair of us running around. Hermione?"
"I have no idea, to be perfectly honest with you." Hermione said. "Anyway, let's make our way back. None of us saw the minister or that man with the axe, so we have to assume they were already gone by the time we were all out there."
"But didn't you and Ron start down there before the set time?" Harry asked.
"We did." Hermione said, frowning. "I wonder if they changed it."
"I bet Malfoy asked his daddy to push the time up. Even a half hour sooner would be good enough for him. And it did look like Hagrid was kind of surprised when he was showing Buckbeak to the group..."
Time passed by slowly, a fact that Harry was irritated with. Whenever something needed to be done, time always did seem to slow down. Eventually, however, their other selves finally put an appearance in.
"This is ten flavors of bizarre." Tonks whispered, watching as her other self approached Ron and Hermione with Harry and Solieyu.
"Remind me why you aren't in Ravenclaw again?" Harry asked, glancing over at Hermione, who didn't look interested in much of anything.
"I didn't want to get called a bookworm." Hermione said, shrugging.
"Yeah, that panned out well for you." Harry said, grinning crookedly.
"Oh, hush up." Hermione muttered. "Oh, look! Sirius is sneaking up on us!"
"How did we not see him get that close?" Harry asked. "You know, for being in Ravenclaw, I really feel stupid sometimes."
"Happens to all of us sooner or later." Hermione said. "Ouch! Poor Ron. You know, if Sirius just wanted Pettigrew, why didn't he just change back, Accio him from Ron's robes, and run off? It would've made more sense than biting down on Ron's leg and dragging him off."
"All that time in Azkaban probably messed with his head." Harry said. "I'm not sure I'd be thinking clearly, even after a good half year away from the place."
"Must be." Hermione said, nodding slowly. "...Annnd there we go, nearly getting killed by that tree."
"You know, looking at it now, that thing does look really suspicious just sitting out there. How'd Madam Pomfrey sneak Professor Lupin down there and get him into the tunnel on a regular basis without anyone noticing?" Harry asked.
"Disillusion charm, maybe." Hermione suggested. "Maybe an invisibility cloak?"
"So... we have to sit here and wait until we come back out, all friendly-like with Sirius?" Tonks asked. "What do we do until then?"
"Keep hidden." Hermione said. "Not much else to do."
"I don't think I have the patience to time travel." Tonks said.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"I wonder if werewolves transform if the moon is out or if they have to actually look at it to trigger the transformation." Harry idly wondered.
"I thought you researched werewolves." Tonks said.
"I did... to the extent the school library would allow. But it always portrayed werewolves in a dark light. Sort of like vampires." Harry explained.
"Well," Hermione began, tapping her chin in thought. "I would guess that looking at the moon causes the transformation... though I would also guess that the moon must have some sort of pull over werewolves that force them to look up. Sort of like how certain wards make people suddenly turn away when they get too close."
"That sounds reasonable. Next time we see Professor Lupin, we'll have to ask." Harry said.
"Look!" Tonks hissed, pointing towards the Willow again. "We're coming out!"
"Pettigrew." Harry hissed, making both girls jump. He blinked. "What?"
"You did it again." Tonks said.
"Did what?" Asked Harry.
"Spoke in Parseltongue." Hermione said. "That's... very eerie-sounding, I hope you know."
"It sounds like English to me. Sorry." Harry said. "Look, can't I just go wait in the forest for Pettigrew and...?"
"No." Hermione said. "As Pettigrew escaped the first time, that means that we - that is, the three of us that have time travelled back - didn't stop him. So even if you did, you wouldn't succeed because he got away the first time."
"...Time travel gives me a headache." Harry said. "Damn it, so we have to wait until Sirius actually gets moved to the tower?"
"More or less. But we'll need to go and get into a position where we can see you, Sirius, and Solieyu getting attacked by the Dementors." Hermione said. "You lot were down by the lake, right?"
"Right." Harry said, then stopped, frowning. "...I still don't know what happened down there. But... but I thought... I know it sounds stupid, but I could have sworn I saw my dad. He was the one that used the Patronus that saved the three of us."
"But that's impossible." Tonks said. "Your parents are... well..."
"I know, I know. But... look, I don't know. A lot of things happen that I can't explain. Let's just get down to a safe spot before our other selves go running all over creation,can we?" Harry asked.
"Sure thing. Come on, we shouldn't get seen if we go this way..." Hermione said, pointing deeper into the woods.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Harry stopped, a shiver running through his body. "Gah!"
"What is it?" Tonks asked, looking back at him.
"We're getting close." Harry murmured. "I can feel them already."
"Really? Hermione, can you sense the Dementors yet?" Tonks asked. When Hermione shook her head, she turned back to Harry. "Early Dementor Warning System. Nice."
"Stifle it, Nymmy." Harry scowled, plodding forward again. "Come on. I...think I've worked something out. But I need to make sure."
"What do you think you've worked out?" Asked Hermione.
"Well, there's no way that was my dad that saved us, right? It had to have been... well, me. The me of right now, I mean." Harry explained.
"Ohhh, I see now. You saw yourself from the future, who had travelled back to the past, to save you so that you could return to the past and save yourself!" Hermione said.
"I hate time travel." Tonks commented.
"Oh, wow..." Hermione said, gasping as the three finally hit a clearing. The Dementors were swarming around the other Harry, Sirius, and Solieyu. Despite their best efforts, none of them were fairing very well.
"So if I saw myself across the lake - here - saving myself... that means I'm able to produce a really powerful Patronus, huh?" Harry muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "I dunno how you did this all year."
"It wasn't easy." Hermione admitted.
"Sirius and Leon are down!" Tonks said, suddenly.
And indeed they were. The other Harry was doing his best to stay on his feet, but it wasn't turning out good. Sirius and Solieyu were both on the ground, starting to curl up into fetal positions.
"Damn it all." Harry swore, rushing out to the edge of the lake. He couldn't process time travel very well when he was experiencing it, so he would have to reflect on the sheer ridiculousness of the situation later. All he knew at that moment was that he had saved himself once already, so he would have to do it again.
Harry drew and aimed his wand. And, fueled by the knowledge that he already had done this once, he roared, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
A massive, long form erupted from the tip of his wand, illuminating the whole area in a silver light. As the Patronus shot forward, it began taking form, which was both larger and more solid than it had ever been in his training with Lupin. It slammed into the Dementor holding Sirius up, sending it flying back into the trees. The Patronus then made a wide sweep of the area, sending Dementors every which way. As its tail end curled around the three humans, the Dementors started to retreat. Once it seemed as if his past self was indeed safe, Harry jerked back on his wand, causing his Patronus to soar back across the lake. He smiled and patted the silver creature's large head before turning to glance at his other self, who had just passed out.
"Thank you." Harry hissed softly, dispersing the Patronus with the flick of his wrist. When he turned, it was to see both girls staring at him, wide-eyed.
"Your... your..." Hermione tried saying.
"Why... is your Patronus...?" Tonks attempted.
"A basilisk?" Harry finished. "I... I don't think I meant for it to be. It wasn't that big in training. It was just... I dunno. Large python-sized, sort of. I'm assuming the Patronus' size is determined by the threat and the magic put into conjuring it. And before you ask why it's a snake, I don't know that either. Though I do wonder if it isn't because of my own frustrations in not having a way to learn to control my Parseltongue..."
"We need to get back to Buckbeak..." Hermione said once she found her voice. "The rescue party should arrive pretty soon."
"I'm glad this is almost over." Harry said. "Bloody tired now. That Patronus took a lot out of me."
"I'm sure it did." Hermione said. "It was very impressive, Harry."
"Yeah. Just don't go using it around Ginny Weasley. You'd have the twins set on you in an instant." Tonks said.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Damn it. Why's Snape here?" Harry asked.
"I already told you." Hermione said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes, yes, I know." Harry grumped. "I mean on a larger scale. WHY is Snape HERE? Couldn't someone have banished him to some kind of limbo or something?"
"Now, Harry..." Hermione began.
"Quiet, you two!" Tonks whispered. "They're bringing you lot up."
"Oh goodie, Snape's levitating Sirius and me. Probably wouldn't mind me getting the Dementor's Kiss, either." Harry muttered darkly.
"Crap! Did Dumbledore just look this way?" Tonks squeaked.
"Probably." Harry said, eyeballing the headmaster wearily. "That man knows a lot of things. And I wanna know how he knows some of them."
"So now what?" Tonks asked. "We wait for Sirius to get locked up, then..."
"Then I go up on Buckbeak and break Sirius out." Harry said.
"Why just you?" Hermione asked.
"Because you are afraid of flying." Harry said. Turning to Tonks, he said, "And I'm not risking more than myself if something goes wrong."
"Hey! I can take care of myself!" Tonks said, crossing her arms.
"I know you can. But if I get caught, I'd rather be the only one getting thrown out of school. Providing that's all that happens." Harry said.
"You won't fail." Tonks said.
"How do you know?" Harry asked.
"Like you always say - you're the hero." Tonks said, smirking.
"Quiet, you."
A few minutes later, Harry asked, "Do you think it's safe?"
"I dunno." Hermione said, gnawing at her lower lip. "You know, you're assuming that Buckbeak is going to let you on..."
"He let me fly on him earlier in the year." Harry said. "I didn't enjoy it, but..."
"Well, get going, then. We'll act as lookouts. And distractions, if needed..." Hermione said.
"We're having a bad impact on you." Tonks said, grinning at Hermione as Harry rushed off.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Buckbeak!" Harry called, heading for the spot they left the hippogriff.
Thankfully, Buckbeak was still there, gnawing on a ferret head. He looked up when he saw Harry enter the clearing. Harry paused long enough to give the creature a deep, formal bow (to which Buckbeak returned) before approaching.
"Sorry to cut mealtime short, but it's time to go rescue my godfather from those idiots at the Ministry." Harry said. "I've ridden you once before - just before you tried eating Malfoy, remember? I'm hoping you'll let me - and Sirius - ride you again. We freed you - now I'm hoping you help free him."
The hippogriff stared at Harry for a long moment before getting to his feet and stretching his wings out. Harry hoped this meant that the creature was going to accept his request, so he moved closer. When he was within biting range and Buckbeak didn't try feasting on his body, Harry smiled. "Thanks."
Harry hopped onto the hippogriff's back carefully. "Let's get into the air, Buckbeak. We need to make a sweep of all the towers. But we're going to need to do it at a distance so no one sees us. We're already taking a pretty big risk just doing this..."
A few minutes later and the two were soaring through the air. Harry's vision had thankfully adjusted to the darkness already, but it was going to be hard keeping a safe distance away from the castle while searching the towers to try and find a sign of Sirius. If Harry had just brought his Firebolt along, things would have been so much easier. But it was up in his dorm in Ravenclaw Tower. And he didn't think that summoning it would be such a hot idea. He wasn't even sure he would be able to summon it. Especially without it being seen.
"In closer! I think I saw something glinting over there!" Harry called out to Buckbeak, pointing towards one of the higher towers.
The hippogriff shifted to the right, cornered sharply, and took off in the direction Harry had pointed in. Buckbeak drew in as close as his wings would allow. The noise they made had caused the tower's lone occupant to come to the (locked) door to see what was going on.
"Sirius!"
"Harry? What in the blazes...?"
"Step back from the door!" Harry called, drawing his wand.
Sirius did as he was instructed. Harry took careful aim and muttered, "Alohamora!"
The lock on the door popped open and Sirius pushed his way out of the tower. "So, do you want to tell me what's been going on? Last thing I remember is being surrounded by Dementors down at the lake."
"It's a long story, Sirius." Harry said. "I'll have to mail you or something, because we need to get out of sight quick. I'm already uncomfortable with how long we've been up here. We can't pull in too much closer - it's too small - do you think you can hop on from there?"
"I dunno... It's a long way down." Sirius said, peering over the edge.
"Buckbeak, fly up and over a bit. Get even with the ledge so Sirius can just step up and on!" Harry said, patting the hippogriff's back. Buckbeak did as he was asked, flapping higher up and just to the side a bit, making it so that the tower's ledge acted as a stair of sorts, which Sirius quickly used to hop onto the hippogriff, sitting behind Harry.
"Back to the ground!" Harry called. "You can finish off that last ferret!"
Buckbeak didn't need any further motivation to return to the ground. Seemingly knowing what Harry might ask, Buckbeak flew out a ways before going into a steep descent back towards the clearing in the woods. Harry and Sirius quickly hopped off of the hippogriff's back, both thankful to be back on solid ground again. Hermione and Tonks were quick to arrive, Tonks throwing herself at Harry in a tight hug.
"You're something else, you know that?" Sirius said, grinning down at Harry.
"I didn't do this on my own. I'll explain better later on, but... we uh... we're kinda in two places at once right now." Harry said, grinning.
"Two places at once?" Sirius repeated. "How...?"
"No time, no time." Harry said. "Ours is running out, I think. Look, Sirius... Wormtail got away. I tried stopping him, but..."
"No worries, Harry." Sirius said. "I've got a few ideas on where the little rat might run off to."
"You're going to chase after him?" Harry asked.
"You're damn right I will." Sirius said. "...Don't worry, I'll be careful. As I never registered with the Ministry, no one but you lot know I'm a dog Animagus."
"With a hippogriff." Tonks added, eyebrow raised.
"Yes... Buckbeak, did you call him? Are you sure he'll let me ride him to safety?" Sirius asked, turning back to look at the hippogriff, who was indeed finishing off the single ferret he had left behind.
"He's alright. Just...bow low and wait for him to do the same. He seems to like me a bit. Plus we saved him from being executed, so he owes me one." Harry said, grinning again. The grin quickly fell, however. "I guess this means I'm going back to Number Four again this summer."
Sirius winced. "Afraid so. Sorry, Harry. If I had thought ahead, I would've put that little idiot into a full body bind or something so he wouldn't be able to transform."
"I thought you had his wand." Hermione said.
"Probably dropped it when I transformed to stop the Willow." Sirius said. "It's been so long since I've had anything on me other than my clothes, I forgot to adjust when I changed. Usually there's a small measure of things you need to remember. Otherwise you'd leave your clothes, wand, and everything else on you behind."
Harry sighed. "Just... just take care, alright?"
"Don't worry, Harry." Sirius said, stepping closer and giving Harry a one-armed hug. "They haven't gotten me yet. They won't get me after I take off, either. You may be seeing me again sooner than you think, anyway."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
Sirius waved a hand dismissively. "You'll see. I'll need to work some things out, though. And I'd better get going before someone realizes I've escaped again."
"Oh, crap, we'd better get going, too." Tonks said. "We're going to be late getting back to the hospital wing if we aren't. That won't be any good."
"Right. You lot get going. Looks like Buckbeak here has finished his food, so I'll be leaving, too." Sirius said, stepping back up to the hippogriff. "You ready to go?"
The hippogriff gave a slow nod and lowered down enough for Sirius to get back on. As Buckbeak rose, Sirius said, "Don't look so glum! James would have a laughing fit if he knew you managed to help me bust out like this! I'll see you all soon!"
And with that, they were gone. Harry was sure Buckbeak rising into the air and taking off had taken longer than it seemed, but it didn't feel like it. He was snapped back to reality by Tonks and Hermione both tugging on his arms. He smiled at them and the three began their run back up to the hospital wing.
Amazingly enough, they met no one on their way. Whether this had something to do with Dumbledore, whether it was the castle itself arranging itself so that they wouldn't see anyone, or whether they were just lucky, they didn't know. They arrived at the doors to the hospital wing just in time to see Dumbledore stepping out.
Panting, Harry said, "We did it."
"Did what?" Dumbledore asked.
"Come on, let's get back inside." Hermione said, pushing open the doors. They were just in time to see themselves vanishing.
"...I hate time travel." Harry said.
The doors closed behind them, a soft 'click' following. The headmaster's voice came through, happily wishing them a good night.
"He locked the doors." Tonks noticed.
"Of course. That way, we have a firm alibi." Harry said. "To be fair, we never technically left the hospital wing."
"I'm just glad it's over." Hermione said, walking over to a bed and flopping down on it.
"You and me both." Harry said, doing the same. Tonks sat down next to him.
"So now what?" Asked Tonks, nudging Harry softly.
"Dunno. We continue on as usual, hope Snape doesn't try poisoning us - I'm sure he'll blame us for Sirius' escape one way or another - and finish the year." Harry said, leaning back on his arms.
"When do you think we'll see him again?" Tonks asked.
"I'm not sure, but I hope he's careful. The last thing we need is for him to be seen in public. At least, not until we get ahold of Pettigrew." Harry said.
"I don't know about you two," Began Hermione, "But I'm dead tired. Since we're stuck in here for now anyway, why don't we get some sleep? I have a feeling we're going to need it."
"Excellent idea." Harry said. "I'm exhausted."
"Same here." Tonks chimed in.
The three made their ways to seperate beds and laid down on them. They talked quietly for awhile longer, going over what they had just been through and what might happen tomorrow. They reckoned that the whole of the school would know about the previous night's events sooner or later, no matter what, and the best thing they could do was to play innocent. They were, after all, locked in the hospital wing by the headmaster himself. Surely no one could think that a trio of third years would be able to get by Dumbledore's magic.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Author's Notes: Aha, I fixed a possible plothole. Stupid time travel. Also, sorry in advance for the mass amount of scene splitters. It's so much easier to avoid 'en route' scenes and just get to bidness. Sorry this one took longer than expected. I wasn't feeling so hot over the weekend.
Oh man, I hate time travel. I'm sure there are other plotholes I opened up, but I'm not worrying about them now. And for those wondering - yes, Sirius DID drop Wormtail's wand in the last chapter. I made a one-liner about something hitting the ground or something to that effect.
Well, the main plot's wrapped up, but I'm still hoping to get two more chapters out of this. If not, the book ends on Chapter 18 and I get to have a little vacation to set up and work out Goblet Relit. I've got NOTHING but a few ideas planned so far. Some of them have been bouncing in my head since I started book 1, some have come to me during the writing of Prisoner here. In any case, check back soon. I'm so close - I want to finish quickly now!