Rebekah's eyebrows twitched together before her eyes opened. Ceiling. Walls. Windows. She was warm, under a blanket on a bed. A large bit of chocolate sat on the side table and she reached for it, her muscles almost aching but it went away instantly when she ate it. She sat up, pulling herself up with her elbows.
"What do you think you're doing, Miss Potter?" Madam Pomfrey said as Rebekah swung her legs over the bed and dipped her hand into her bottomless clutch.
"Where's Dumbledore?" She asked as she brought an Invigoration Draught to her lips and drank the potion. She shook off the shivers and a large burst of energy went through her veins, she frowned still. "I need a word with him."
"You need to stay calm," Madam Pomfrey said, putting her hands on Rebekah's shoulder to make her sit down. "They've got Black, locked upstairs."
"What?" Rebekah snarled and shoved her hands away, her chest heaving with fear. "Is he getting the Kiss?"
"Not that I know of, they haven't decided yet,"
"There's nothing to decide, Sirius Black is innocent."
Rebekah stormed out of the Hospital Ward but stopped at the doors, glancing down both ends of the corridor. Cornelius Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore stood to one end, talking in hushed tones. Snape looked angry and Dumbledore was annoyed but both kept their cool.
"Excuse me," Rebekah said as she strutted down the short corridor, stopping before the Wizards. "Where's my GodFather?"
"Who?" Fudge said.
"You know, the man that's been incarcerated for the last twelve years for an act he didn't commit?" Rebekah said calmly, her face contorting to dry anger. "Where is Sirius Black?"
"He's contained at the moment,"
Rebekah turned to Snape, saying with hope in her voice, "Did you tell them the truth, sir?"
"After a bit of convincing from a little lion," Rebekah narrowed her eyes at his words but he gave her a pointed look that told her to listen. She nodded and stored that information.
"What's gonna happen now then?" Rebekah asked, hugging herself as she crossed her arms.
"Since Professor Snape has given his memories of the whole ordeal," Dumbledore said with a slight distasteful glint, "The accounts of him murdering Pettigrew and the twelve Muggles have been dropped. However, there will be a trial for Sirius Black."
"Why?"
"Even if he is innocent, he still escaped Azkaban and trespassed onto Hogwarts grounds. He attacked the Fat Lady and went into the Gryffindor dorms to kill Pettigrew with a knife," Dumbledore said again, his eyes glancing to Fudge to keep quiet as he spoke. "For now, he will not receive the Kiss but his trial has been scheduled for next year. He will, however, be forced to stay in Azkaban for the time being."
Rebekah blinked before she roared angrily, "That's preposterous! For a year, he will be tortured by the Dementors that go past his cell. How is that a way to spend a full three hundred and sixty-five days? That's a full eight thousand, seven hundred and sixty hours!"
"Potter, calm down," Snape said, gesturing to his eyes in a subtle manner.
"Pettigrew, what of him?" Rebekah dug her nails into her arms to keep a clear head.
"Aurors can't go into the forest until tomorrow but I'm afraid that he will get away before then," Fudge said.
Rebekah bit her lip, muttering "Damn," softly.
"Have you had any chocolate, Rebekah?" Fudge asked her, glancing down at her.
"I have, I had some before I got out of the bed a few minutes ago," Rebekah nodded.
"Well, I suggest you go back to the bed and rest," Dumbledore said. The glint in his eye was the knowing one he had. "Come, I'll escort you back but I will have to speak with you."
"Of course, sir," Rebekah said and started to walk back to the Hospital Ward.
"Sirius is being held in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor, a mere thirteen windows away from the West Tower. You know the laws, Rebekah, you've read and memorised them," Dumbledore said calmly. "I will lock you in and it is five to midnight. Three turns might be needed."
Rebekah's future self that came back to the present came rushing into the Hospital Ward. the future Rebekah smiled and held two fingers up, winking slyly.
Rebekah tapped her nose, winking. "I think two will do."
Everything turned dark for a moment before Rebekah could see again. The Hospital Ward was mostly empty as Rebekah hung the cloak over her head so she could leave unseen.
It was two hours back, the sun had barely set and Rebekah knew where this Time's her was. She had less than a hundred and twenty minutes to fix this. She had to think of a way to do it first, she didn't need to change anything too drastically otherwise it wouldn't work in her favour.
A flourish of fur went across her ankle and Rebekah looked down to see Emperor sheepishly waving his tail.
She placed her hands on her hips as she looked down at him. "Is this why you aren't with this Time's me?"
He swished his tail and turned around to sashay down the corridor that went to dungeons. Rebekah rolled her eyes and followed him under the Invisibility cloak. Even if she didn't wear it, people wouldn't question her, Rebekah just wanted to avoid her friends for now.
She ran as fast as her feet would take her down to the dungeons, passing several students and very few teachers. Snape's office hours were over so that meant he was in his private lab. When Rebekah got to the door, Emperor went through it to alert Snape. Rebekah didn't need to startle Snape if he was in the middle of brewing a potion.
"What?"
Rebekah ducked under his arm and uncloaked herself when she was inside. "I'm from two hours from now. You need to get to the Shrieking Shack through the Whomping Willow now."
"What's happened, Potter?"
"It's easier if I just show you," She looked into his eyes and watched the room fade as she forced memories forward: stunned Snape, grovelling Wormtail, relieved Lupin, enraged Sirius, sour Hermione, and injured Ron. It was enough to convince Snape to follow her through the back corridors of the school.
Two Animagi and a Familiar ran to the Whomping Willow as the sun began to set but the moon was yet to have risen. Emperor stopped the Willow from crashing against them, there was barely enough room for Snape to fly in the passage but he made it work.
They had barely reached the first step of the stairs before it creaked, alerting the other people in the shack. They still continued to walk until Rebekah heard Hermione's scream of, "WE'RE HERE WITH SIRIUS BLACK! HELP!" again. That was when Rebekah handed Snape invisibility cloak and said, "No hard feelings, sir, but I will immobilise you straight away. You'll understand, I hope."
Snape wanted to roll his eyes but he just swung the cloak over his shoulders before trotting the rest of the way. Rebekah followed
"…About them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless, carried away with our own cleverness," Lupin's voice said.
Rebekah got the strange feeling of Deja Vu, but she was completely used to it now. Almost a full year of using a Time-Turner made her immune to the strangeness but it still made her cautious.
"Snape hates you both, though Lupin less, he still believes that you were in on the joke," Her voice said from within the room. Rebekah could see her past self's hand reach out and grasp the cloak, pulling it off Snape and then Rebekah knew she had to leave.
"…Gonna listen, professor, and not assume. Sirius Black didn't betray my parents, that rat did…"
Her past's voice slowly became harder to hear as Rebekah swiftly walked through the passage.
After a long half-hour of pacing in her Animagus form, Rebekah's nose twitched as she smelled the stench of the rat as he was hauled out of there. Rebekah sat at the very edge of the forest, just where she remembered her future self, who she was now, sat.
It took a moment but Lupin was transforming into his rabid Werewolf form as the moon hit him fully. Rebekah ordered for Emperor to create a racket to the side of the hill, she watched as Snape shoved the two Gryffindors behind him and her past self darted forward.
This was her cue to start running. Rebekah watched her past self shift and ran as fast as her past self could. Snape flew overhead and Rebekah followed him, she didn't want to leave him alone with Lupin in his Werewolf form. Even as an Animagus, Lupin could still be aggressive.
When they neared the lake, Rebekah forced herself to follow Snape and run around it to reach the other side.
Lupin stood on his hind legs and tried to grasp Snape's feathers as the vulture Animagus tried to avoid his hands. Rebekah leapt onto Lupin's chest and forced the Werewolf down before his paws got too close to Snape. She snarled but stopped as Emperor came rushing in and also leapt onto him, knocking him back several feet. Lupin began to chase Emperor as Snape hovered above.
"Leave us alone!" Her past self's scream stretched across the lake.
Rebekah shifted back and froze. Her past self wasn't strong enough to defeat the Dementors, actually she was but she kept thinking of the wrong memories to try and summon a Patronus. Her past self couldn't bring her happiness to the surface, there simply wasn't enough to find in such a short time span.
The dementors descended again, closer and closer each time to Sirius Black and past-Rebekah.
Rebekah shivered but she didn't allow them to consume her as goosebumps lit across her skin. Thos hollow eyes, cold skin, and robes of shadow made a sudden rush go through Rebekah.
Within her chest, her heart throbbed painfully as tears almost welled in her eyes. Fear went through her but as the tip of her canine bit into the inside of her lip, anger quickly followed the fear and her hands trembled as she summoned her wand. She steadily walked to the edge of the lake before taking a deep breath.
She dug her nails into her palm as she flicked her whole arm out, almost screaming the words out with a roar, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
The Patronus was no longer a formless mist coming out of the tip of her wand, the silvery-white grew, and grew, and grew until the wings held the span of the lake. Spikes lined its head, neck and all the way down its back, matching the sharpness of the talons on its wings and the fangs in its reptilian face. The tail was just as long as its body and swished as it propelled itself closer to the duo across the lake.
Rebekah looked to her hands in shock, both trembled as tears of relief clouded her vision before she allowed one drop down her cheek. When she looked back up, she watched the Dementors fall back into the safety of the shadows. Her lips curled up in pride and relief as the Dragon saved her past self and GodFather.
The Patronus did its job and returned back to Rebekah, who held her hand out as it brought its head to gently caress her hand before dispersing slowly.
"Snape!" Rebekah yelled after she knew her past self was unconscious. "You need to get them to the castle."
"Where are you going?"
"I've got twenty minutes to get Sirius out, and return to the Hospital Ward. I am not allowing him to go back to Azkaban!" Rebekah yelled back as she shifted and began to run as fast as she could back to the castle. She knew she wouldn't be allowed into the same room as Sirius Black, she had no other way to reach him.
Before she could reach the entrance hall, she shifted back with an anguished cry of annoyance. Bringing her hands to her head to clutch her hair painfully, her charm bracelet twinkled in the light of the full moon. Quickly checking each charm, Rebekah found the Firebolt and deemed it fit.
She mounted it without an issue. The wind was harsh across her skin but she ignored it so she would make it to Flitwick's office without delaying. She had barely ten minutes to get back to the Hospital Ward now.
The window to the office was unlocked with a simple spell and Sirius was shocked, "How—How?"
"Are you good to ride a broom?" Rebekah quickly snapped.
He nodded. "Yes, I'm fine to. But you don't have another—"
Rebekah unshrunk the Nimbus Two Thousand and chucked it towards him, he caught it with an impressed look. "Magic. I'm not letting you stay in Azkaban for another year, not in that hellhole until your trial. Get on and get going. I need to get back to the Hospital Ward in seven minutes or I'll be expelled for helping you."
"We'll see each other again. You are truly your father's daughter, Rebekah."
"Someone has to live up to his legacy," Rebekah said. "You're not allowed to go back to Azkaban, you hear me? I want to get to know my GodFather."
Sirius smiled softly and nodded before propelling the broom to glide across Hogwarts grounds and into the distance. He became smaller and smaller before completely disappearing after a full minute.
Rebekah had memorised the ground layer of the castle, so she made it to the entrance hall before jutting into one of the passages that would lead to the Hospital Ward the quickest. She appeared from behind a portrait that wasn't very happy to be woken up but it stayed silent as it saw her. It pointed to the left where Snape and Fudge spoke softly, when Snape saw her, he suggested something that made both of them walk away from the hallway.
It took a full sprint but Rebekah made it in time before Dumbledore could even begin to close the doors.
She smiled at Dumbledore as he stared at her, almost shocked. Rebekah walked into the Hospital ward and her past self was also smiling. Rebekah held up two fingers to signify two hours and winked, conveying the idea to her past self.
"I think two will do."