This was a long one, +/- 7000 words—let me just tell you, this took quite some time hihi. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 19
Playing With Time
"Shocking business… shocking… miracle none of them died… never heard the like… by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape…"
"Thank you, Minister."
"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!"
"Thank you very much indeed, Minister."
"Nasty cut you've got there… Black's work, I suppose?"
"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Weasley, Granger, Haney, and Haney Minister…"
"No!"
"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape… They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now… I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves… and of course Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster—"
"Ah, well, Snape… Harry Potter, you know… we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."
"And yet—is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. And any other student would be suspended—at the very least—for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister—against all school rules—after all the precautions put in place for his protection—out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer—and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too—"
"Well, well… we shall see, Snape, we shall see… The boy has undoubtedly been foolish…"
"What amazes me most is the behavior of the dementors… you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"
"No, Minister… by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances…"
"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, and the boy and the two girls—"
"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle."
Rachel slowly came back to reality. She had a pounding headache and her whole body ached, but her bed was comfortable, very comfortable, and she never wanted to leave again…
"Roo?"
Lukas' whispered voice pulled Rachel from her stupor and she peered through her eyelashes up at the ceiling. It was dark, but moonlight shone through the window and illuminated Lukas' face. He lay on a bed next to her, looking at Rachel, gesturing for her to be quiet.
Rachel took a quick sweep of the room, which she determined to be the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was by Ron's bed, and Harry and Hermione lay in beds to Rachel's left.
Madam Promfey walked away from Ron and returned very quickly with a small boulder of chocolate. She then noticed that Rachel and Lukas were awake, and Harry and Hermione too.
"Ah, you're awake!" she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on Harry's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.
"How's Ron?" said Harry, Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas together, sitting up straight.
"He'll live," said Madam Pomfrey grimly. "As for you four… you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're—Potter, what do you think you're doing?"
Harry had sat up, putting on his glasses and grabbing his wand.
"I need to see the headmaster," he said.
"Potter," said Madam Pomfrey soothingly, "it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now—"
"WHAT?"
Harry, Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas had jumped out of bed. Cornelius Fudge and Snape hurried into the ward.
"Harry, Harry, what's this?" said Fudge, looking agitated. "You should be in bed—has he had any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey anxiously.
"Minister, listen!" Harry said. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's—"
But Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face.
"Harry, Harry, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control…"
"YOU HAVEN'T!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"
"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said; she had hurried to Harry's side and was gazing imploringly into Fudge's face. Rachel and Lukas hurried to Harry's other side and nodded. "I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and—"
"You see, Minister?" said Snape. "Confunded, all four of them… Black's done a very good job on them…"
"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry roared.
"Minister! Professor!" said Madam Pomfrey angrily. "I must insist that you leave. Potter is my patient, and he should not be distressed!"
"I'm not distressed, I'm trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said furiously. "If they'd just listen—"
Madam Pomfrey suddenly shoved chocolate into Harry's mouth and pushed him back onto the bed. Rachel huffed and glared at Snape and Fudge.
"Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave—"
The door opened again. It was Dumbledore.
"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black—"
"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist—"
"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter, Mr. Haney, Miss Haney, and Miss Granger," said Dumbledore calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black—"
"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" spat Snape. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive—"
"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbledore, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.
"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."
"That was because you were knocked out, Professor!" said Rachel angrily. "You didn't arrive in time to hear—"
"Miss Haney, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"
"Don't talk to her like that!" yelled Lukas. "She is telling the truth and you are too thick to hear it!"
"Now, Snape," said Fudge, startled, "the young lady and man are disturbed in their minds, we must make allowances—"
"I would like to speak to Harry, Lukas, Rachel, and Hermione alone," said Dumbledore abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy—please leave us."
"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey "They need treatment, they need rest—"
"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist."
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.
"The dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs."
He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape hadn't moved.
"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.
"I wish to speak to Harry, Lukas, Rachel, and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.
Snape took a step toward Dumbledore.
"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"
"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly.
Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Harry, Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas. All four burst into speech at the same time.
"Professor, Black's telling the truth—we saw Pettigrew—"
"—he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf—"
"—he's a rat—"
"—Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off—"
"—Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius—"
But Dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations.
"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time," he said quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word—and the word of four thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper."
"Professor Lupin can tell you—" Harry said.
"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little—and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends—"
"But—"
"Listen to me, Harry. It is too late, you understand me? You must see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours."
"He hates Sirius," Lukas said desperately. "All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him—"
"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man. The attack on the Fat Lady—entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife—without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence."
"But you believe us."
"Yes, I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic…
"What we need," said Dumbledore slowly, and his light blue eyes moved from Harry to Hermione, "is more time."
"But—" Hermione began. And then her eyes became very round. "OH!"
"Now, pay attention," said Dumbledore, speaking very low, and very clearly. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law—you know what is at stake… You—must—not—be—seen."
Rachel was confused. Dumbledore turned and walked to the door.
"I am going to lock you in. It is—" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."
"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed behind Dumbledore. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"
But Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from beneath them a very long, very fine gold chain.
"Harry, Rachel, Lukas, come here," she said urgently. "Quick!"
Harry and Rachel stepped toward Hermione. She was holding the chain out. Rachel saw a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it.
"Here—"
She had thrown the chain around their necks too.
"Lukas, you coming?" said Hermione.
"I—" Lukas hesitated, and then nodded firmly and walked toward Hermione as well. She threw the chain around his neck.
"Ready?" she said breathlessly.
"What are we doing?" said Harry.
Hermione turned the hourglass over three times.
The dark ward dissolved. Rachel had the sensation that he was flying very fast, backward. A blur of colors and shapes rushed past her, her ears were pounding, she felt like she was going to be sick—
And then she felt solid ground beneath her feet, and everything came into focus again. They were standing in the deserted entrance hall, and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved floor from the open front doors. Rachel looked around, her jaw dropped.
"Hermione, what—?"
"In here!" Hermione seized Harry's and Rachel's arms and dragged them across the hall to the door of a broom closet, while Lukas jerked along thanks to the chain; she opened the door, pushed them inside among the buckets and mops, then slammed the door behind them.
"What—how—Hermione, what happened?" demanded Rachel.
"We've gone back in time," Hermione whispered, lifting the chain off their necks in the darkness. "Three hours back…"
"But—"
"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think—I think it might be us!"
Hermione had her ear pressed against the cupboard door.
"Footsteps across the hall… yes, I think it's us going down to Hagrid's!"
"Are you telling me," Lukas whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?"
"Yes," said Hermione, her ear still glued to the cupboard door. "I'm sure it's us. It doesn't sound like more than five people… and we're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility Cloak—"
She broke off, still listening intently.
"We've gone down the front steps…"
Hermione sat down on an upturned bucket, looking desperately anxious.
"Where did you get that hourglass thing?" asked Harry.
"It's called a Time-Turner," Hermione whispered, "and I got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day back. I've been using it all year to get to all my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic so I could have one. She had to tell them that I was a model student, and that I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies… I've been turning it back so I could do hours over again, that's how I've been doing several lessons at once, see? But…
"Harry, Rachel, Lukas, I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"
Rachel stared at her friends' faces in the dark.
"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," Harry said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago…"
"This is three hours ago, and we are walking down to Hagrid's," said Hermione. "We just heard ourselves leaving…"
"Dumbledore just said—just said we could save more than one innocent life…" said Rachel, thinking deeply. "Guys, we're going to save Buckbeak!"
"But—how will that help Sirius?"
"Dumbledore said—he just told us where the window is—the window of Flitwick's office! Where they've got Sirius locked up! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak—they can escape together!"
Rachel squinted at Hermione's face but couldn't see much in the darkness other than blurs.
"If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!"
"Well, we've got to try, haven't we?" said Harry. He stood up and pressed his ear against the door.
"Doesn't sound like anyone's there… Come on, let's go…"
Harry pushed open the closet door. The entrance hall was deserted. As quietly and quickly as they could, they darted out of the closet and down the stone steps. The shadows were already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest gilded once more with gold.
"If anyone's looking out of the window—" Hermione squeaked, looking up at the castle behind them.
"We'll run for it," said Harry determinedly. "Straight into the forest, all right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and keep a lookout—"
"Okay, but we'll go around by the greenhouses!" said Hermione breathlessly. "We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or we'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!"
They tore across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses, paused for a moment behind them, then set off again, fast as they could, skirting around the Whomping Willow, tearing toward the shelter of the forest…
They came to a stop in the trees.
"Right," Hermione gasped. "We need to sneak over to Hagrid's… Keep out of sight, guys, please…"
They made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the forest. Then, as they glimpsed the front of Hagrid's house, they heard a knock upon his door. They moved quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from either side. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked. Rachel heard Harry's voice, but not from beside her, and it felt terribly strange.
"It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."
"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered. He stood back, then shut the door quickly.
"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry said fervently.
"Definitely," mumbled Rachel.
"Let's move along a bit," Hermione whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"
They crept through the trees until they saw the nervous hippogriff, tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch.
"Now?" Lukas whispered.
"No!" said Hermione. "If we steal him now, those Committee people will think Hagrid set him free! We've got to wait until they've seen he's tied outside!"
"That's going to give us about sixty seconds," said Harry. Rachel shuddered at how impossible this seemed.
At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.
"That's Hagrid breaking the milk jug," Hermione whispered. "I'm going to find Scabbers in a moment—"
Sure enough, a few minutes later, they heard Hermione's shriek of surprise.
"Hermione," said Harry suddenly, "what if we—we just run in there and grab Pettigrew—"
"No!" said Hermione in a terrified whisper. "Don't you understand? We're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody's supposed to change time, nobody! You heard Dumbledore, if we're seen—"
"We'd only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid!"
"Harry, what do you think you'd do if you saw yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?" said Hermione.
"I'd—I'd think I'd gone mad," said Harry, "or I'd think there was some Dark Magic going on—"
"Exactly! You wouldn't understand, you might even attack yourself! Don't you see? Professor McGonagall told me what awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time… Loads of them ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake!"
"Okay!" said Harry. "It was just an idea, I just thought—"
Hermione pointed toward the castle. Rachel peered around at the front door and just barely saw that Dumbledore, Fudge, the old Committee member, and Macnair the executioner were coming down the steps.
"We're about to come out!" Hermione breathed.
And sure enough, moments later, Hagrid's back door opened, and Rachel saw herself, Harry Ron, Hermione, and Lukas walking out of it with Hagrid. Rachel felt very strange.
"It's okay, Beaky, it's okay…," Hagrid said to Buckbeak. Then he turned to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas. "Go on. Get goin'."
"Hagrid, we can't—"
"We'll tell them what really happened—"
"They can't kill him—"
"We were there—"
"This is just so unfair—!"
"Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"
They watched Lukas and Hermione throw the cloak over Harry, Ron, and Rachel.
"Go quick. Don' listen…"
There was a knock on Hagrid's front door. The execution party had arrived. Hagrid turned around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. Rachel watched the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin and heard five pairs of feet retreating. She, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lukas had gone… but the Harry, Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas hidden in the trees could now hear what was happening inside the cabin through the back door.
"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.
"Out—outside," Hagrid croaked.
Macnair's face appeared at the window to stare at Buckbeak. Fudge's voice came from inside the cabin.
"We—er—have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it. Macnair, you're supposed to listen too, that's procedure—"
Macnair's face vanished from the window. It was now or never.
"Wait here," Harry whispered to Hermione and Rachel. "Lukas and I'll do it."
As Fudge's voice started again, Harry and Lukas darted out from behind their tree, vaulted the fence into the pumpkin patch, and approached Buckbeak.
"It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that the hippogriff Buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned, shall be executed on the sixth of June at sundown—"
Harry and Lukas both bowed swiftly to Buckbeak, who bowed back. Rachel watched as they fumbled with the rope.
"…sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnair… as witnessed below. Hagrid, you sign here…"
Harry and Lukas pulled on Buckbeak's rope, but the hippogriff had dug his feet into the earth.
"Well, let's get this over with," said the reedy voice of the Committee member from inside Hagrid's cabin. "Hagrid, perhaps it will be better if you stay inside—"
"No, I—I wan' ter be with him… I don' wan' him ter be alone—"
Footsteps echoed from within the cabin.
"Buckbeak, move!" Rachel heard Harry hiss.
Harry and Lukas tugged harder on the rope around Buckbeak's neck. The hippogriff began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. Rachel gave a nervous squeak. They were still in plain sight.
"One moment, please, Macnair," came Dumbledore's voice. "You need to sign too." The footsteps stopped. Buckbeak snapped his beak and walked a little faster.
Hermione and Rachel peered out from behind their trees.
"Harry, Lukas, hurry!" Hermione mouthed.
Harry gave the rope another wrench. Buckbeak broke into a grudging trot. They had reached the trees…
"Quick! Quick!" Hermione moaned, darting out from behind her tree, seizing the rope too and adding her weight to make Buckbeak move faster. Rachel hurried forward as well. Together, they pulled Buckbeak until they were out of sight.
"Stop!" Harry whispered to Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas. "They might hear us—"
Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Harry, Hermione, Rachel, Lukas, and Buckbeak stood quite still; even the hippogriff seemed to be listening intently.
Silence… then—
"Where is it?" said the reedy voice of the Committee member. "Where is the beast?"
"It was tied here!" said the executioner furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"
"How extraordinary," said Dumbledore. There was a note of amusement in his voice.
"Beaky!" said Hagrid huskily.
There was a swishing noise, and the thud of an axe. The executioner seemed to have swung it into the fence in anger. And then came the howling, and this time they could hear Hagrid's words through his sobs.
"Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's gone! Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!"
Buckbeak started to strain against the rope, trying to get back to Hagrid. Harry, Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas tightened their grip and dug their heels into the forest floor to stop him.
"Someone untied him!" the executioner was snarling. "We should search the grounds, the forest—"
"Macnair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really think the thief will have led him away on foot?" said Dumbledore, still sounding amused. "Search the skies, if you will… Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy."
"O'—o' course, Professor," said Hagrid, who sounded weak with happiness. "Come in, come in…"
Rachel listened closely and held her breath, scared to make any sound. She heard footsteps, the soft cursing of the executioner, the snap of the door, and then silence once more.
"Now what?" whispered Harry, looking around.
"We'll have to hide in here," said Hermione, who looked very shaken. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius's window. He won't be there for another couple of hours… Oh, this is going to be difficult…"
Rachel looked nervously over her shoulder into the depths of the forest. The sun was setting now.
"We're going to have to move," said Harry. "We've got to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."
"Okay," said Hermione, getting a firmer grip on Buckbeak's rope. "But we've got to keep out of sight, guys, remember…"
They moved around the edge of the forest, darkness falling thickly around them, until they were hidden behind a clump of trees through which they could make out the Willow.
"There's Ron!" said Harry suddenly.
A dark figure was sprinting across the lawn and its shout echoed through the still night air.
"Get away from him—get away—Scabbers, come here—"
And then they saw tfour more figures materialize out of nowhere. They watched themselves chasing after Ron, who dove.
"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat—"
"There's Sirius!" said Harry. The great shape of the dog had bounded out from the roots of the Willow. They saw him leap over Rachel, bowl Harry over, knock Lukas aside, then seize Ron…
"Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" said Harry, watching the dog pulling Ron into the roots. "Ouch—look, I just got walloped by the tree—and so did you three—this is weird—"
Rachel felt her bruised stomach ache when she watched herself and Lukas get hit with a particularly large branch.
The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with its lower branches; they could see themselves darting here and there, trying to reach the trunk. And then the tree froze.
"That was Crookshanks pressing the knot," said Hermione.
"And there we go…," Harry muttered. "We're in."
The moment they disappeared, the tree began to move again. Seconds later, they heard footsteps quite close by. Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.
"Right after we'd gone down into the passage!" said Lukas. "If only Dumbledore had come with us…"
"Macnair and Fudge would've come too," said Harry bitterly. "I bet you anything Fudge would've told Macnair to murder Sirius on the spot…"
They watched the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from view. For a few minutes the scene was deserted. Then—
"Here comes Lupin!" said Harry as they saw another figure sprinting down the stone steps and haring toward the Willow. When Rachel looked at the sky, she saw clouds covering the moon completely.
They watched Lupin seize a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot on the trunk. The tree stopped fighting, and Lupin, too, disappeared into the gap in its roots.
"If he'd only grabbed the cloak," said Harry. "It's just lying there…"
He turned to Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas.
"If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and—"
"Harry, we mustn't be seen!"
"How can you stand this?" he asked Rachel fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen?" He hesitated. "I'm going to grab the cloak!"
"Harry, no!"
Hermione seized the back of Harry's robes not a moment too soon. Just then, they heard a burst of song. It was Hagrid, making his way up to the castle, singing at the top of his voice, and weaving slightly as he walked. A large bottle was swinging from his hands.
"See?" Hermione whispered. "See what would have happened? We've got to keep out of sight! No, Buckbeak!"
The hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid again, trying to pull the rope form Lukas' hands; Harry and Rachel seized his rope too, straining to hold Buckbeak back. They watched Hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. He was gone. Buckbeak stopped fighting to get away. His head drooped sadly.
Barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow. He skidded to a halt next to the tree and looked around. Then he grabbed the cloak and held it up.
"Get your filthy hands off it," Harry snarled under his breath.
"Shh!"
Snape seized the branch Lupin had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the cloak.
"So that's it," said Hermione quietly. "We're all down there… and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again…"
She took the end of Buckbeak's rope and tied it securely around the nearest tree, then sat down on the dry ground, arms around her knees.
"Harry, there's something I don't understand… Why didn't the dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming, and then I think I passed out… there were so many of them…"
Harry, Rachel, and Lukas sat down too. He explained what he'd seen; how, as the nearest dementor had lowered its mouth to Harry's, a large silver something had come galloping across the lake and forced the dementors to retreat.
Hermione's, Rachel's, and Lukas' mouth was slightly open by the time Harry had finished.
"But what was it?"
"There's only one thing it could have been, to make the dementors go," said Harry. "A real Patronus. A powerful one."
"But who conjured it?"
Harry didn't say anything.
"Didn't you see what they looked like?" said Rachel eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"
"No," said Harry. "He wasn't a teacher."
"But it must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all those dementors away… If the Patronus was shining so brightly, didn't it light him up? Couldn't you see—?"
"Yeah, I saw him," said Harry slowly. "But… maybe I imagined it… I wasn't thinking straight… I passed out right afterward…"
"Who did you think it was?"
"I think—" Harry swallowed thickly. "I think it was my dad."
Rachel looked at Harry with pity.
"Harry, your dad's—well—dead," Lukas said quietly.
"I know that," said Harry quickly.
"You think you saw his ghost?"
"I don't know… no… he looked solid…"
"But then—"
"Maybe I was seeing things," said Harry. "But… from what I could see… it looked like him… I've got photos of him…"
Rachel twirled a bit of grass around her finger.
"I know it sounds crazy," said Harry flatly. He turned to look at Buckbeak, and remained silent
The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. The moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. Hermione sat with her face turned toward the Willow, waiting, while Rachel turned to braiding together pieces of grass. Lukas tossed stones.
"I think this explains why I'd rather not get involved with your crazy adventures," Lukas said slowly.
Rachel looked up, "Too much for your faint little heart, Luke?"
Hermione gave a giggle.
"No. Just too much risk," smiled Lukas. "But knowing that I'm helping out… Sirius is innocent. So is Buckbeak. I'm helping them escape, that's enough for me to do this right now."
The conversation ended with that.
And then, at last, after over an hour…
"Here we come!" Hermione whispered.
All four got to their feet. Buckbeak raised his head. They saw Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots… followed by the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upward. Next came Harry, Hermione, and Black, and lastly Rachel and Lukas. They all began to walk toward the castle.
"Harry," Hermione muttered, "we've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do…"
"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again…" said Harry quietly.
"How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" snapped Rachel, watching the moon anxiously. "There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sirius; we're not supposed to be doing anything else!"
"All right!"
The moon slid out from behind its cloud. They saw the tiny figures across the grounds stop. Then they saw movement—
"There goes Lupin," Hermione whispered. "He's transforming—"
"Hermione! Rachel—Lukas!" said Harry suddenly. "We've got to move!"
"We mustn't, I keep telling you—"
"Not to interfere! Lupin's going to run into the forest, right at us!"
Hermione gasped.
"Quick!" she moaned, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The dementors will be coming any moment—"
"Back to Hagrid's!" Rachel said. "It's empty now—come on!"
They ran as fast as they could, Buckbeak cantering along behind them. They could hear the werewolf howling behind them…
The cabin was in sight; Harry skidded to the door, wrenched it open, and Hermione and Buckbeak hurried inside, followed by Rachel and Lukas; Harry threw himself in after them and bolted the door. Fang the boarhound barked loudly.
"Shh, Fang, it's us!" said Hermione, hurrying over and scratching his ears to quieten him. "That was really close!" she said to Harry.
"Yeah…"
Harry was looking out of the window while Buckbeak lay down in front of the fire
"I think I'd better go outside again, you know," said Harry slowly. "I can't see what's going on—we won't know when it's time—"
Hermione and Rachel looked up suspiciously.
"I'm not going to try and interfere," said Harry quickly. "But if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"
"Well… okay, then… I'll wait here with Buckbeak… but Harry, be careful—there's a werewolf out there—and the dementors—"
"I'll come with him," Lukas assured Hermione, and he and Harry left the cabin. Hermione peered out the window and then sat down silently and looked at Rachel.
They sat in a somewhat comfortable silence.
"Do you think this is going to work?" said Rachel finally.
"It has to," said Hermione. "I don't know what we would do with Buckbeak if we don't get Sirius out of here…"
Hermione swallowed and looked away, and Rachel didn't blame her. She didn't dare think about what would happen to Sirius if they were going to be too late.
There was a sudden cold seeping into their skins and Rachel shivered.
"That'll be the dementors," whispered Hermione.
"Yeah," said Rachel, and she stood up to look out of the window. She gasped when she saw a sudden, bright light coming from where the lake was.
"What was that?" whispered Hermione.
"Probably Harry," said Rachel. "Quick, get Buckbeak."
Hermione grabbed Buckbeak, who was reluctant to leave Hagrid's hut again, and after a bit of struggling they got him into the forest, where they ran toward the lake, where they saw Lukas standing next to Harry, who had his wand out.
"What did you do?" Hermione said fiercely when Harry and Lukas turned around. "You said you were only going to keep a lookout!"
"I just saved all our lives…," said Harry. "Get behind here—behind this bush—I'll explain."
Harry told them how he had conjured a Patronus.
"Did anyone see you?" said Rachel anxiously.
"Yes, haven't you been listening? I saw me but I thought I was my dad! It's okay!"
"Harry, I can't believe it… You conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those dementors! That's very, very advanced magic…" said Hermione in awe.
"I knew I could do it this time," said Harry, "because I'd already done it… Does that make sense?"
"I don't know—Harry, look at Snape!"
Together they peered around the bush at the other bank. Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, Rachel, Lukas and Black onto them. A sixth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away toward the castle.
"Right, it's nearly time," said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing…"
They waited, watching the moving clouds reflected in the lake, while the bush next to them whispered in the breeze. Buckbeak, bored, was ferreting for worms.
"D' you reckon he's up there yet?" said Harry, checking his watch too. Rachel looked at the castle and wondered where Sirius was.
"Look!" Lukas whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"
Rachel stared through the darkness. The man was hurrying across the grounds, toward one of the entrances. Something shiny glinted in his belt.
"Macnair!" said Harry. "The executioner! He's gone to get the dementors! This is it, Hermione, Rachel—Lukas—"
Hermione put her hands on Buckbeak's back and Harry gave her a leg up. Rachel climbed on next, and Lukas and Harry climbed on in front of Hermione. Rachel sat at the very back, holding tightly onto Hermione.
"Ready?" Harry whispered to the others. "You'd better hold on to me, Lukas, and Hermione, hold onto Lukas—"
Harry nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels.
Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. Rachel gave a squeal and held tightly onto Hermione's waist. Flying a hippogriff felt both amazing and terrifying, and she could hear Hermione mutter, "Oh, no—I don't like this—oh, I really don't like this—"
Harry urged Buckbeak forward. They were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle… Harry pulled hard on the left-hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned. Rachel stuck out her head, her hair whipping behind her in the wind.
"Whoa!" Harry said, pulling on the reins.
Buckbeak slowed down and beat his wings to remain airborne.
"He's there!" Harry said. He reached out and tapped sharply on the window.
Sirius looked up and his jaw dropped. He hurried to the window, but it was locked.
"Stand back!" Hermione called to Sirius, and she took out her wand. "Alohomora!"
The window sprang open.
"How—how—?" said Sirius weakly, staring at the hippogriff.
"Get on—there's not much time," said Harry. "You've got to get out of here—the dementors are coming—Macnair's gone to get them."
Sirius placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin, Rachel thought. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the hippogriff behind Rachel. She felt him holding onto her shoulders.
"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower—come on!"
The hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry, Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas slid off him at once.
"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."
Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.
"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" croaked Sirius.
"He's going to be okay. He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick—go—"
But Sirius was still staring down at Harry.
"How can I ever thank—"
"GO!" Harry, Hermione, Rachel, and Lukas shouted together.
Sirius wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.
"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are—truly your father's son, Harry…"
He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Rachel hopped back as the enormous wings rose once more… The hippogriff took off into the air… He and his rider became smaller and smaller… then a cloud drifted across the moon… They were gone.