Disclaimer is in chapter 1.
Xander hit the old courtyard at a dead run, having used his map to dodge the Prefect patrols and Filch. Fenrir was at his heels, tongue lolling out as the young puppy happily ran along with his human. The duo headed straight for the Whomping Willow, which was where the names were apparently converging on the map, and arrived just as a scream broke the air.
Xander slid to a stop on the moist grass, eyes wide as he watched Ron just yanked down and under the large tree and Harry dive after him, barely dodging the flailing branches.
"Stupefy!" Xander snapped, extending his wand out at the familiar looking black dog. The crimson bolt barely missed Harry, splashing harmlessly and ineffectively on the trunk of the Willow as Xander lost sight of his targets.
"Damn it." He muttered, edging closer. It only took a few moments to determine that he wasn't getting through easily, and Xander didn't like his odds of getting through at all. He sighed, and backed off.
"Where's Dumbledore..." Xander muttered, drawing out the still active map and starting to slide the image around.
He paused a moment later when he noted that one Remus Lupin was rushing across the grounds, heading for the main gate.
"What the..." Xander scowled, trying to make sense of things.
Everyone seemed to be on the move, Xander tried to puzzle it out but couldn't. Still, the defense professor was the closest teacher so he bolted off in that direction.
Xander arrived at the main gate in time to see Remus pause just outside, then vanish with a loud crack.
"FUCK." Xander cursed, not for the first time in his life perhaps, but certainly the loudest. He pulled out the map again and glared at it. "Where'd they go?"
Unfortunately the Whomping Willow was right up against the castle wards, and whatever passage lay under it apparently led straight out and beyond the map's range. Xander sighed, looking out in the direction it seemed to lay and noted that it wasn't quite in the direction of Hogsmeade, but it was close.
Xander turned to head back but was brought to a stop when Professor Snape rushed through the gate, not looking to the side even slightly, and vanished with a similar crack before Xander could say a word.
"Alright, what the hell is going on?" Xander growled, glaring at the spot the Potions professor had occupied a moment earlier. "Does everyone know something I don't?"
Fenrir yipped once.
"Shut up, you." Xander half smirked at the dog, then sighed and started panning the map again, looking for Dumbledore.
"Did you hear that?" Hermione asked softly.
Wednesday nodded, "Sounded like a gunshot."
"At Hogwarts?"
"I said like, not that it was one." The dark girl replied. "I don't know what it was, but we're a little busy at the moment, no?"
"Right. Sorry."
"We will have to fly Buckbeak out," Wednesday sighed, "The closest reserve is on the Continent, it will take several days to arrive."
"What? But..." Hermione was aghast. Missing several days of school, without permission? "We'll be expelled!"
"Shut up. You'll get us caught." Wednesday hissed, then sighed. "I'll do it."
"But... you can't, you'll be..."
"Salem will take me, if not well my family will home school me." Wednesday shrugged, "They won't question my choice."
Hermione swallowed, stomach rolled into tightly chorded knots. "I'll... I'll come too."
"No, you will not."
"I can't let you take the responsibility for this, it was my idea!" Hermione hissed.
Wednesday smiled slightly, "Only one of us can go, Hermione. Buckbeak can't carry us both that far. And since it can only be one of us, do you know where the Addams Range is?"
Hermione grimaced, but shook her head.
"Precisely. Rest assured, it will be handled."
The duo were skirting the Forbidden Forest as they led the Hippogriff away from Hagrid's hut and it's legally mandated grisly fate. Wednesday wanted to be well clear of the area before flying Buckbeak off, not wanting to be spotted by anyone, especially so early in her flight. They were close to where she intended to leave from when a shadowed figure appeared, heading straight for them.
Hermione and she drew their wands, but were surprised to see the figure hold out his empty hands.
"Whoa, whoa, I come in peace!"
"Xander," Hermione growled, irritated as she slid her wand back into her robes, "You scared the hell out of me."
"Yeah well, that's the least of our worries." Xander muttered.
"What do you mean?" Wednesday asked, eyebrow rising.
"I just watched a big black mutt drag two students into a tunnel under the whomping willow," Xander explained.
"Who?" Hermione blurted.
Xander just stared at her for a minute, "Which two students are not present and are also known for getting into this kind of trouble?"
"Oh God, Harry." Hermione gasped.
"And Ron. What's worse, I'm pretty sure the mutt was Sirius Black." Xander said, his face deadly serious.
Hermione cried out, her knees buckling. Before she could fall, Wednesday had her by the arm, "Get ahold of yourself."
The Addams scion turned back to Xander, "What makes you think it was Black?"
"This," Xander produced the map, already active. The two girls looked at it and saw their names centered on it, "You can change shape, but you can't fool the wards that easy. Here's the weird thing, though... They weren't alone. Peter Pettigrew was with them."
Hermione stared at him for a moment, eyes clearing as she dredged up the memory. They widened a moment later, "That's impossible!"
"That's what I thought, but he was in Hogwarts last night too, I didn't put it together until a little earlier."
"I don't know this Pettigrew person."
"He's the man Sirius Black supposedly killed after betraying Harry's family." Xander explained.
Wednesday nodded, remembering the story then. "Interesting. Well, this is all fascinating, but we should act."
"We need to tell the teachers!"
"Yeah, good luck finding one." Xander muttered, "Dumbles is nowhere in sight, Snape and Lupin both left the school, and the others are on the other side of the grounds... ALL the way on the other side."
"Show me the tunnel." Wednesday ordered.
Xander winced, but nodded. The trio, plus one Hippogriff, rushed off. At the Willow Xander pointed to the tunnel entrance as they stood back at a safe distance. "Right there. It goes off in that direction, if it's straight."
"What's out there? Hogsmeade?" Wednesday asked.
"No," Hermione frowned, "It's the Shrieking Shack."
"You sure?"
"That's the only thing in that direction."
"Very well," Wednesday nodded, handing her the reins they'd put on Buckbeak. "Take these for a moment."
Hermione accepted the reins, then Wednesday walked calmly into the Willow.
"Wait! You can't!" Xander lunged after her, but missed as he realized too late what she was doing.
She ignored him, ducking one swinging branch then stepping into another and petting it softly as she murmured something they couldn't hear. In a few moments the tree drooped and made a sound that seemed suspiciously like a sigh of contentment.
After a moment she looked up, "Xander. Go through the tunnel, be careful. We'll meet you on the other side."
Xander hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Right."
In a few seconds he was gone.
The tunnel was dark, dank, and generally sucked but Xander pushed through as the cobwebs brushed the side of his face. He cast a Lumos, lighting up the length of the tunnel, and increased his pace.
'How does Harry get into these situations?' Xander grumbled to himself as he moved as quickly as he could. 'It's like the dude is cursed or something. You know what? More important, how does Harry get ME into these situations? I barely know the guy!'
He slowed down as he came to the end of the passage and looked up to find a wooden trap door above him.
"Well, end of the line." Xander whispered, then grimaced, "Hopefully not literally."
He took a breath and grabbed the rungs of the old wooden ladder that led up to the door above. He winced as it creaked under his weight, but made his way up to the top where he started to hear voices murmuring beyond. He paused at the top, listening, but couldn't make out the words just that the emotions were running pretty hot beyond.
'Great.' Xander hooked his hand in the ladder and looked at his wand, wondering how he was going to do this. He shoved the wand into his teeth and then reached up for the trap door. As it opened a crack he could hear the words beyond.
"Expelliarmus!"
'Oh Crap.'
Xander started to surge up as a thud sounded above him, then suddenly a second thud struck the trap door and slammed down on Xander's head, knocking him off the ladder. He hit the ground on his back, stars spotting in his eyes as his wand flew from his mouth and clattered down beside him.
"Ohhhh crap..." He gasped for air, rolling over, "That sucked."
He gasped for a few moments, sucking at air that wouldn't come in, then finally managed to fill his lungs with a long, ragged, influx of oxygen that burned as much as it tasted good. He got to his hands and knees, then picked his wand up off the ground and glared at the tooth marks in the wood.
"Just friggin great." He muttered, shaking his head as he climbed to his feet.
He looked up at the door above him again, then determinedly shoved his wand into his robes and started climbing again. This time at the time things were quieter, so Xander tested the door and found it free of obstruction so he slowly pushed it open and climbed up into the room beyond.
Xander drew his wand as he knelt there, and looked around. The room was dark and empty, whoever had been there had left while he was gasping for air down below. He got to his feet and started for the door when a yip from below startled him.
"Fenrir!?" He hissed, looking down. "Shut up!"
The puppy growled up at him, jumping up onto the second rung of the ladder.
"Alright, alright, give me a second." Xander muttered, holstering his wand as he climbed back down and hooked the pup up into his arms. "Pushy little mutt."
The puppy growled at him, but Xander ignored him as he heaved the puppy up over the threshold and into the room beyond. Xander then pulled himself up and rolled onto the floor and up to his knees where he redrew his wand.
"You ready, mutt?" He asked wryly, looking at the pup.
Fenrir yipped once in response.
"Shhhh!"
Xander got to his feet and quickly crossed to the door, looking outside cautiously. Everything seemed clear so he and Fenrir made their way out from the Shack and looked around. Xander could see the lights of Hogsmeade in the distance, and those of the castle glowing off over the crest of the hill.
"Great. Where the hell did they go?"
"Oh my god, we're going to die!" Hermione wailed into the night as she clung to Wednesday, the two flying over the Forbidden Forest to the beat of the big Hippogriff's wings.
Wednesday didn't respond, merely taking the time to guide the direction of the beast beneath them, leaning Buckbeak's back and guiding him into a dive. Hermione screamed as her stomach leapt up into her throat and tried to strangle her.
"There's the shack." Wednesday pointed ahead of them.
"Don't let go! Hold on! Hold on!"
"Calm yourself." Wednesday intoned darkly, looking back over her shoulder.
"Watch where you're going!"
Wednesday glared at her coldly, then turned back to the front. "Look, there are people walking there."
Hermione grimaced, whimpering slightly, and forced herself to look down. After the vertigo started to fade, being forced back by nothing by her determination alone, "I see them. Can you tell who they are?"
Wednesday shook her head, "No. It's too dark. They're levitating two people."
"Do you think Harry or Ron are hurt?"
"One looks like an adult. The other may be small enough to be Ron..." Wednesday shrugged, "I don't know."
"They're going back to Hogwarts." Hermione decided, "That's good right?"
"I don't know. Look at the shack."
Hermione pulled her attention away from the group and looked to the shack. Another person moved out of the shack, pausing to look around.
"Xander."
Wednesday nodded, "Yes, I see Fenrir as well."
"We have to signal him."
"Agreed." Wednesday drew her wand, "Lumos."
Xander hesitated, trying to determine what direction to go, when a light flashed above him and he looked up. A glowing light moved across the sky, and Xander could occasionally make out the silhouette of wings. He smiled slowly, then nodded.
"Right. Back to school then."
Xander turned toward the glow of Hogwarts and started off at a light jog. Above him the light went out as he started to move, so he picked up the pace and set his jaw as he jogged off into the night.
The clouds above them were clearing, Hermione noticed, and she looked up to see the full moon appearing in the sky above them. Below the forest was awash in a pale light, shocking the young witch with its beauty.
"My God." She whispered, awed.
"It looks like Harry and Ron are fine." Wednesday said, nodding to the ground.
Hermione looked down, recognizing her friends and sighed in relief. "Thank God."
Even as she said that, however, Hermione could tell something had changed. The group stopped, shocked and turned towards one figure that seemed to stagger. A howl echoed through the night and her blood froze.
"Did Xander say he saw Professor Lupin run out tonight?" She asked with Dread.
"Indeed." Wednesday replied softly. "This is very bad."
Xander bolted when he heard the howl and screaming, Fenrir running alongside.
"It's always something." He muttered, cresting the hill with wand already tracking. He spotted the group ahead of them, scattering away from a furry form in the middle.
Xander skidded to a stop, staring as his stomach dropped.
"Oh please tell me I'm just having Flashbacks to Snape's Defense lecture." Xander froze, swallowing hard.
The group scattered below them, the large wolf man growling and slavering as it turned about. Xander watched as it gave chase and grimaced as he caught sight of Harry in its path.
"Crap, crap, crap." He muttered, breaking into a run, "I have got to be the stupidest person I've ever heard of. Why the HELL am I chasing a werewolf?"
He led with his wand, snapping it out in the motion for the stunning curse.
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!"
Three red bolts lanced out, the first splattering against the ground, but the remaining two striking the world dead on for what little good it did.
"Oh great, I pissed off Shaggy and now he's looking at me." Xander skidded to a stop again as the wolf man turned in his direction. "Harry! Run!"
The wolf began to lope in his direction, causing Xander to backpedal.
'The STUPIDEST thing I have EVER done.' He thought desperate as he clenched his wand and started casting bone splitters.
"Difindo Ossi!" He snapped out, praying for any kind of edge.
The spell splashed off the wolf, barely fazing it as it sped up.
"Xander!? Xander get out of here!" Harry screamed from where he and another man were scrambling up off the ground. "He'll kill you!"
"I KNOW THAT!" Xander stumbled backwards, still casting bone splitters with desperate speed.
The yipping of a small dog startled Xander for a moment until he remembered that Fenrir had been with him, and he panicked as he recognized the small mutt bolting in from the side on a collision course with the wolf man.
"Fenrir! No! Run!" He screamed, his throat hurting from the effort as the small dog leapt into the air.
Xander tripped back, falling on his ass as the yipping sounds gave way to deep growling snarls, the fifteen pound puppy gone and a four hundred pound wolf slamming into the wolf man's side like a locomotive. Xander gaped, shocked beyond words as he looked at the wolf that had been his puppy and saw an animal over a meter tall at the shoulders snarling and wrestling with the werewolf.
"Fenrir?" He blurted, shocked. "Is that you?"
"Xander!" Harry ran up to him, "What are you doing here? Are you alright?"
Xander snapped to look at him, "What am I doing here? I'm trying to save your idiot Gryffindor ass! What brain cell were you using when you dove after Ron anyway? The one you keep in your backside, I'm assuming!?"
A snicker from one side snapped Xander's head around and he recognized the face from his Grimoire.
"Black!" He blurted above the growls of the two wolves, his wand snapping out in reflex. "Stupefy!"
"No!" Harry knocked his hand to one side, sending the stunner into the ground at Sirius Black's feet. "He's innocent. It was someone else who betrayed by parents."
Xander glared for a moment, then got up, one eye on the wolves. Fenrir seemed to be holding his own, leading the werewolf away from them.
"Ok fine. Pettigrew, I assume?" Xander asked.
Now it was Harry's turn to gape, along with Black. "How did you know that?"
Xander smirked, holding up a piece of parchment. "Coven secret."
"You..." Sirius blinked, "The Coven, but Lily and Alice... Narcissa? She helped you?"
Before Xander could say anything a shout came from above, and he looked up to see Buckbeak winging low enough to recognize the riders.
"Xander! Harry!" Hermione screamed, "Dementors!"
The three on the ground turned to see a dark cloud visible in the night sky, and growing.
"Oh Crap.