I do not own Harry Potter. Charlotte Potter is my OC.

A Trip in Time

Severus Snape slowly sat up, his head pounding as dark eyes surveyed the Hogwarts grounds. After the haze cleared, he recalled exactly what had happened and he sprang to his feet, muttering curses under his breath. A still figure slumped on the ground caught his attention and he felt his heart jump in his chest.

He quickly approached the figure and even in the dark the shock of red hair was unmistakable. He bent down and felt for a pulse, which beat slowly against his fingertips.

"What in Merlin's name did Black do?" Snape snapped, conjuring up a stretcher for the unconscious Weasley. The others were nowhere in sight and Snape felt a cold knot form in his gut—had Black and Lupin succeeded in killing the children?

Before he could dwell too much on the unappealing thought, a great flash illuminated the lake on the far side of the grounds. Snape froze, staring in disbelief at the blinding white light before quickly striding in its direction, levitating the youngest Weasley boy after him.

Snape cautiously made it to the bank of the lake and was once more caught off guard. Potter, Granger and Lupin were sprawled on the ground and Sirius Black was a few feet away, bleeding from his wounds. With a malicious smirk Snape bound Black with a flick of his wand and put the remaining members of the Golden Quartet onto stretchers.

Keeping his eyes and ears alert for werewolf Lupin, Snape hurried to the castle, his heart pumping with anticipation of Black's demise and Lupin's sacking.

...

Ugh...

Charlie slowly opened her eyes and gingerly sat up. Her stomach rolled with the movement and she moaned softly. She peered around, the soft glow from the candles giving her a dimly-lit view of her environment. She was in the hospital wing and she could see the outlines of her three best friends in the cots across from her. Ron was still unconscious and Harry and Hermione were propped against their pillows. They were staring at the ajar door warily and Charlie's ears tuned into the voices coming from the corridor.

"—hate to imagine what might have happened if you weren't there, Severus! Your bravery has certainly earned you an Order of Merlin."

"Thank you very much, Minister."

"I am sorry about the Dementors—I suppose they sensed Black was near and just went completely out of control. You're not sure who drove them away?"

"I'm afraid not. I came upon Potter, Granger and Lupin unconscious and Black as well. Of course, I took care of Black first so he couldn't do any more harm before attending to my injured students. I'm relieved you decided to stick around, Minister, so Black can be dealt with as soon as possible."

"Absolutely. He'll be receiving the Kiss very soon."

Hermione's eyes widened. She looked at Harry, who had quietly filled her in on the events of the evening while Charlie was still out cold, and he gave an uncertain shrug. 'What do we do?' he mouthed at Charlie.

Pomfrey was tending to Ron, spreading a salve over the gash on his leg. Charlie slowly eased from her cot, her body still cold and shaky, and she tiptoed over to the door. She squeezed through the crack and Fudge startled at the sight of her.

"What are you doing out of bed?" demanded Snape.

"Sorry," said Charlie quickly. "I just—I was hoping to see the Headmaster."

"Whatever for?"

"It's been a really long night and I was hoping to talk with him, that's all. Um, is Black…still here?"

"Yes, but you need not worry," said Fudge, clapping her shoulder comfortingly. "We have him completely secured." His brow turned sharp and he said disapprovingly, "Though you should not have put yourself in such a vulnerable position in the first place."

"It's a nasty habit she has," said Snape flatly.

"Er, sorry." She ventured hesitantly, "Um, the Headmaster?"

"He is with Black in Flitwick's office," said Fudge. "Really, Charlotte, are you all right? You seem anxious."

"That's because she hasn't had her chocolate yet!" Charlie jumped as Pomfrey came behind her with a scowl. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I'm fine," insisted Charlie.

"I'll be the judge of that," said Pomfrey crisply.

"Can I just have another minute with the Minister, if he isn't busy?"

"Of course you can," said Fudge, a bit bewildered.

Pomfrey clucked her tongue and gave Charlie a chunk of chocolate. "A minute," she warned, going back into the infirmary. Charlie nibbled on it briefly before facing the Minister. "This…this is going to sound pretty strange," she said slowly, "but Sirius Black told us a story while we were in the Shrieking Shack."

"A false story," said Snape sharply.

"It certainly sounds false," said Charlie quickly. "But then Black proved it was true. See, Peter Pettigrew faked his own death. Black didn't kill him at all—he's been living as Ron's rat Scabbers the whole time, as an illegal Animagus."

"You must have had quite the dream while you were unconscious," said Fudge with a quiet chuckle.

"You have to listen to her!" Harry spoke, squeezing behind Charlie. "We really did see Peter Pettigrew!"

Severus shook his head. "Black must have Confunded them."

"I'm not," said Charlie desperately. She wished Dumbledore was with them—he would listen. But he wasn't and there was no way they would let her near Dumbledore so long as he was with Black. "He couldn't have Confunded us anyway—he only had Ron's wand for a few seconds before I Disarmed him."

"Ah, I'm afraid that's rather impossible, Miss Potter," said Fudge kindly. "I'm sure you're a capable witch, but even you couldn't gain the upper hand against Sirius Black. Yes, he really must have used the Confundus Charm on you poor children. Don't worry, the effects will wear off soon enough."

"But Minister—"

"That is enough, Miss Potter!" said Snape angrily.

"There is no need to raise your voice, Severus."

Dumbledore walked down the corridor towards them and Charlie was flooded with relief. "Professor! I need to talk to you! Sirius Black is innocent!"

"He really is," insisted Harry.

"The children are a bit confused," said Fudge lowly.

"That does not mean they don't deserve to be heard. Is Miss Granger awake?"

"Yeah," said Harry quickly.

"I will need to borrow her, as well as you two, for a moment."

Snape's eyes flashed. "Surely you don't believe anything Black or these children say, do you? They're very confused."

"We're not confused," said Harry in irritation. "If you had actually agreed to listen to Black instead of letting a—"

"Do not," snarled Snape, getting very close to Harry's face, "finish that sentence, you stupid boy."

"Now, really!" Fudge cried, baffled. "There's no need to yell at him! His mind is addled! He can't help his ramblings."

"What about Veritaserum?"

Hermione popped between Charlie and Harry, clinging to their shoulders. Charlie stared at her in confusion. "Veritaserum?"

"It's a powerful truth serum," said Hermione firmly. "It'll force Sirius Black to tell the truth."

"His truth, Miss Granger," said Snape tightly. "And with his degradation of sanity, it could be anything."

"He seemed pretty sane to me when they were escorting Pettigrew out of the Whomping Willow," returned Hermione. "I saw him. But if you think I'm also Confunded, which I most certainly am not, then just give it a try. It's not impossible to retain your sanity while being locked up in Azkaban, especially if you're innocent and have a reason to fight. And Black won't have a resistance to it. He's been in Azkaban for ages."

"Fine!" Fudge exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "If it will make you see that Black is a cold-blooded murderer, then I give permission."

Dumbledore paused and studied them for a moment. "I believe Professor Snape has some in storage. I shall go retrieve it. I will meet you all outside of Professor Flitwick's office."

Snape looked like he would kill them any second. Charlie seized Harry and Hermione's hands and hastily dragged them ahead of the two adults. "That was brilliant, Hermione," whispered Harry.

"I didn't know that was a thing," said Charlie. "But I don't think that's what Professor Dumbledore had in mind."

Hermione frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He asked for you specifically, so we could all talk to him, even though you weren't even in the Shrieking Shack. I think he wanted to use your Time-Turner."

Hermione gaped at her. "How did you—?"

"Ron and I figured it out a bit ago."

"Did I…did I muck things up, then?" asked Hermione nervously.

"I guess we'll find out," muttered Harry.

Charlie closed her eyes for a brief second and thought pleadingly, Let this work. Let Fudge believe him. My godfather is innocent, and I don't want him taken away from me again.

The group came upon the office and Flitwick, who was guarding the door, regarded them all with surprise. "What is going on?"

"Dumbledore is indulging the asinine ideas of these children," said Snape acidly.

Dumbledore arrived minutes later with a vial of clear liquid. "Thank you, Filius. We will take it from here." When Flitwick snapped his gaze towards Charlie, his expression worried, Dumbledore said, "She has the utmost protection, but your fears may be unfounded. I will explain later."

"Yes, Albus."

With one last glance at them Flitwick scurried off. "Get behind us, children," said Fudge, he and Snape unsheathing their wands.

Charlie, Harry and Hermione bustled behind the two as Dumbledore opened the door. Sirius Black was slumped in the middle of the floor, and his face quickly flashed between delight at seeing Charlie and hatred upon seeing Snape.

"Black, these children that you Confunded—"

"I would never," said Sirius, outraged.

"They want to use Veritaserum on you," said Fudge, ignoring Sirius. "I've allowed it so they can see what kind of monster you really are."

Dumbledore approached Black and they exchanged brief, almost knowing, glances. He tipped the vial and three drops fell into Sirius' mouth. After a moment to give the potion time to kick in, Fudge asked in a bored voice, "Did you kill all those Muggles?"

"No. It was Peter Pettigrew," Sirius answered firmly.

"Nonsense. You killed Peter Pettigrew, didn't you?"

"No. He had his wand behind his back. He cut off his own finger, caused the explosion, and disappeared into the sewers in his Animagus form."

"Why don't we have a record of Peter Pettigrew being an Animagus?"

"He accomplished it illegally."

"How do you know this?"

"He did it at school. I watched him transform into a rat many times."

"Why did you keep breaking into the castle?"

"Because I wanted to come after Peter. I knew Peter was here, living as the pet of Ron Weasley."

"How did you know that?" Snape hissed.

"From the paper he gave me." Sirius pointed at Fudge. "The Daily Prophet. Had a picture of the Weasley family, along with a line that said the boy would be returning to Hogwarts. The rat was on his shoulder, and I knew instantly it was Peter."

The Minster flushed as Snape and Dumbledore stared at him. "Yes, well, I gave him a news scroll when I did my inspection. I didn't see the harm in it. Were you planning on killing Charlotte Potter?"

"No. I was out for vengeance against Peter Pettigrew. He betrayed Charlie's parents by revealing their location to You-Know-Who."

The look on the Minister's face was priceless. "But you were their Secret-Keeper, weren't you?"

"I convinced James to change it to Pettigrew at the last minute. I thought it would be less obvious, that Voldemort would never go after him. But Pettigrew was working for Voldemort the whole time."

"He's lying!" Severus snarled. "He's tricking you! Give him the Kiss!"

"Now Severus," Dumbledore said calmly. "You heard Miss Granger. Sirius has not had the chance to build up immunity against Veritaserum. This is one-hundred percent the truth."

"His truth!"

"I don't think the effects of being Confunded last this long," piped up Charlie. "I am of sound mind, and I know what I saw, Minister. I saw Ron's rat transform into Peter Pettigrew. He is not dead. Sirius Black tried getting into Gryffindor Tower twice to find Pettigrew. Not to harm me, not to harm a student, but to find the person truly responsible for the death of his best friend. He's innocent, Minister."

Fudge dabbed at his forehead with his handkerchief, his eyes rather frantic. "My, my...I never expected this."

"That's because you never gave him a trial," said Harry.

"The witnesses made it very clear what they saw! And Black—he was laughing like a loon when we found him!"

"Probably because he thought Pettigrew accidentally blew himself up," said Charlie.

"Well, we can hardly be blamed for assuming…it's not like he ever said anything otherwise. He's still a criminal—he committed crimes all year! Breaking out of Azkaban, breaking into Hogwarts, attacking the Weasley boy—you attacked him, didn't you?"

"It was an accident," said Sirius regretfully. "I wanted to get Peter, but he woke up and startled me. I dropped the knife and it had an unfortunate landing."

"I'll have to discuss all of this with the Wizengamot," said Fudge stiffly. "You'll have to be sent back to Azkaban until we can arrange the trial—"

"That won't be necessary," Dumbledore said firmly. "I still have some items to discuss with Sirius. I will be his keeper until the trial date is set."

"But Albus—!"

"Sirius has already spent twelve unjust years in that place. He is due this small amount of freedom."

Fudge faltered for a moment before giving a curt nod. The fallout of this grievous mistake was going to be horrendous, and he would need Dumbledore's help and advice to soften the blow. "Very well. What an odd day this turned out to be. An execution, the innocence of—"

Hermione suddenly realized something and pressed her hand to her eyes. Charlie stared as Hermione raced out of the room. Sirius watched her in concern. "Is she all right?"

"Uh...I don't know. We'll check on her," said Charlie.

She grabbed Harry's hand and shuffled out of the room, keenly aware of the ferocious glare Snape aimed at the back of their heads. They found Hermione pacing up and down the corridor, muttering to herself. "What's wrong?" asked Harry.

"Professor Dumbledore wanted to use my Time-Turner to free Sirius. But he's on the high floors —how were we meant to get him when Professor Flitwick was guarding the door?"

"I—I don't know," said Charlie with a blink.

"Buckbeak! Buckbeak could've been freed, and Sirius would have flown away on him. But now Hagrid won't ever get Buckbeak back! I am such an idiot!"

"I will not have that kind of talk in my school."

The three jumped when Dumbledore came around the corner, his silver beard reflecting the light from the candles and his blue eyes stern. "Professor," squeaked Hermione.

"You are not allowed to call yourself anything related to a degradation of your character, Miss Granger. I myself never thought the Minister would actually agree to the use of Veritaserum. But Sirius now has a chance at freedom, thanks to you."

"But what about Buckbeak?" Hermione insisted.

"Buckbeak is just as innocent as Sirius is," said Charlie determinedly. "He deserves to be free, too."

The twinkle shone brightly in Dumbledore's blue eyes. "Well now, if you can manage to be back in this room before ten to twelve, then I think everything will be fine. Three turns should be enough. I would suggest getting in contact with Ronald's brother Bill. Using absolute discretion, of course. Now, into this room."

He ushered them into an empty classroom, winked and stepped back out, closing the door behind him. Hermione beamed and Charlie and Harry watched in awe as she removed a golden chain with an hourglass at the end of it from the neck of her robes. "Come in close!" she ordered.

Harry and Charlie huddled near her and Hermione slung the chain around their necks. She twirled the hourglass three times and the world became a blur of colours and sounds. It felt like they were floating in midair before they stuck solid ground again. Hermione peeked at her watch.

"We should be on our way to Hagrid's right about now."

"Are we seriously back in time?" asked Charlie in awe.

"Yes. We have to be very careful. We absolutely cannot be seen."

They crept out of the room and went down the hall. There was a broom cupboard in the hall next to the Entrance Hall and Hermione ushered them inside. "We'll wait here. I don't think we've come through yet."

"It must have been such a pain getting to all your classes this way," said Harry with a shake of his head.

"You have no idea how many times I've had to duck into an empty classroom or into a broom cupboard," Hermione muttered.

After a few minutes they heard footsteps coming their way. Hermione pressed her ear against the door and said quietly, "I'm pretty sure it's us. They're moving slowly…yes, it's us." She listened very carefully and, when she heard the castle doors creak open, said, "We've left."

"This is so weird," muttered Harry.

They left the cupboard and hurried through the Entrance Hall. They stepped out the doors and into the late evening air. It was baffling to see the sun starting to set for the second time in the same day. "Where do we go?" hissed Charlie.

"The Forbidden Forest. We can hide there," decided Hermione.

Harry gestured to the expanse of grass between the Forbidden Forest and the castle. "Not a lot of cover."

"We'll have to run for it," said Charlie.

Hermione nodded. "We'll need to go around the greenhouses to avoid being seen from Hagrid's hut."

They broke into a jog, winding their way around the gardens and slipping behind the greenhouses. They stopped running when they were in the cover of the trees and they came to a halt, panting for breath. When they collected themselves, they trudged closer to Hagrid's hut, and by the time the home came into sight they saw Hagrid opening the door.

Harry gaped at the sound of Hermione's voice, even though the girl beside him didn't say a thing. "Okay, this is one of the weirdest things we have ever done."

Hermione rolled her eyes and peered around. "Let's move a little closer to Buckbeak. We'll have to wait until the Committee gets here and sees Buckbeak tied up or else they'll think Hagrid set him free."

"Do you know what the timeframe is between the Committee going into Hagrid's hut and then coming back out?" asked Charlie with a raised brow.

"It's real short," said Harry flatly.

A surprised shriek sounded from the hut. "I just found Scabbers—er, Peter Pettigrew." Hermione shuddered. "I can't believe a man has been disguising as the Weasleys' rat for so long."

"I can't believe Fred and George never once noticed a man was sleeping in the same bed as their brothers," said Harry with a pinched brow. "I mean, Percy handed him down to Ron."

"I highly doubt Fred and George used the map to stare at the sleeping forms of their siblings," said Charlie with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, I don't think Percy carried Scabbers around as much as Ron did, and the twins wouldn't be worried about Ron catching them doing something they shouldn't be doing, so they wouldn't seek out his name on the Marauder's Map."

"Shh!" hissed Hermione. "Here comes the Committee."

"And there we go," whispered Charlie, watching as the door opened once more so their past selves could leave.

The door was only shut for a few more minutes before Dumbledore, Fudge, the executioner and another member of the Ministry entered Hagrid's hut. The four kids waited tensely. "Well, where is the creature?" came a very unpleasant voice.

"No need to be pushy, Macnair," said Fudge loftily.

"Buckbeak is tied teh the post outside," Hagrid said miserably.

Macnair's face appeared in the window, eyes zeroing in on the Hippogriff. Fudge mentioned papers needing to be signed and the face disappeared back into the hut. "Quick!" said Hermione.

They sprinted over to Buckbeak and ducked into bows. Buckbeak responded instantly and Charlie stroked his head in relief. "Thanks, Buckbeak. We're getting you out of here."

Harry untied the knot and gripped the rope tightly. He started to tug but Buckbeak didn't move an inch. "Come on, we're trying to save you!"

"I don't have time for this!" Charlie hissed.

The three of them grabbed hold and forced Buckbeak across the grounds. "I believe that is all—" started Fudge.

Hermione gave a terrified yip.

"Not quite, Cornelius. Macnair still needs to add his signature."

"Ah, quite right."

"We have to go!" said Harry in panic.

It was close, but they led Buckbeak fully into the Forbidden Forest just as the group left Hagrid's hut. When it was clear Buckbeak was gone, Hagrid let out a delighted cry and the Hippogriff's head snapped in the direction of his master's voice.

"No no," whispered Charlie. "Stay here, please."

"Where is it?" the executioner bellowed. "What have you done?"

"Hagrid couldn't have done anything, Macnair. He was with us the whole time. He must have pulled himself loose," Dumbledore said in amusement.

"Beaky!" Hagrid said joyfully. "Yeh cut the rope yerself! Good fer yeh!"

There was the swish of an axe and then a thud. In his fury the executioner slammed the axe into the fence, but this time there was no agonized wailing following it. "We need to search the grounds!"

"I highly doubt the Hippogriff would have left on foot," Dumbledore said reasonably. "I'm afraid it's gone. Hagrid, how about a cup of tea? Or perhaps a brandy for Macnair and the Minister?"

There was the sound of soft cursing and retreating footsteps, and then the slam of the front door. The three kids let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, now what?" Charlie asked.

"Professor Dumbledore said that we need to contact Ron's brother Bill, but I don't understand how we're meant to do that," said Hermione anxiously.

"I don't think we're making it to Egypt in the next couple of hours," deadpanned Harry.

Ron's muffled shouts sounded from the direction of the Whomping Willow as he tried to keep Scabbers—Peter—under control. Hermione shook her head. "It's a wonder no one heard that."

Charlie's eyes glimmered as an idea stuck her. "Well, we can't, but maybe Dob—"

"That's breaking the law!" interrupted Hermione.

"What do you think we're doing right now?" demanded Harry.

"Look, all I have to do is tell him he never saw us," insisted Charlie. "That he can't ever mention what happened."

Hermione pursed her lips. "Fine, but if we dismantle the entire time/space continuum, I'm blaming you."

"Wonderful," said Charlie dryly.

"You've been in trouble for worse," snickered Harry.

"Shush. Hey, Dobby!"

There was a pop and Dobby appeared before her. "Hello, Miss, Hermy, and Loopy!" He processed their surroundings and asked resignedly, "Is Miss in trouble again?"

Harry snorted. "I'm not!" said Charlie quickly. "I was wondering if you'd be able to locate Bill Weasley in Egypt. Ask him if he wants a Hippogriff. We can't tell him where we got him, but he is very nice and is in desperate need of a home."

"Dobby will try, Miss!"

Hermione groaned as Dobby disappeared. "Do you know how many things could go wrong?"

"I think you should be telling me. You're the time traveller."

Screams and shouts started to come from the Whomping Willow and Harry flinched. "It's just as bad hearing it all happen."

"Come on, let's get a little closer," muttered Charlie.

They moved and watched as the Whomping Willow soundly kicked their butts. Soon the past versions of Charlie and Harry went after Ron and Hermione sprinted back for the castle. "How did you miss Uncle Remus?" said Harry in bafflement. "He must have gone right by you!"

"It's dark!" defended Hermione, and sure enough the last rays of the sun were gone from the sky. "I couldn't see much of anything." It wasn't long before Dumbledore and the others came up the slope and Hermione scowled. "Honestly! I could have saved all that time!"

Dumbledore and the Committee went out of sight and the area surrounding the Whomping Willow was once again quiet. Dobby returned and said brightly, "Bill Wheezy has said he would love to have a Hippogriff! Although he wonders where Miss and friends have gotten one."

"Er...tell him it's a long story we just can't share. Make sure to tell him that he can't tell anyone he got the Hippogriff from us, and he shouldn't mention his acquisition of a Hippogriff…to anyone, really. This whole thing has to stay a secret, and you can't tell anyone either, okay?"

"Dobby understands," he said seriously. "Dobby will take the Hippogriff to Bill Wheezy now."

"Thanks, Dobby," said Charlie in relief.

In the next second Dobby and Buckbeak were gone and Harry let out a great breath. "Phew. We did it."

"We are in so much trouble," Hermione moaned.

"We did what Dumbledore told us to do! Really, how else were we supposed to get in touch with Bill?" Charlie plopped down on the cold dirt and glanced at the Whomping Willow. "There's Remus."

The man was sprinting across the grass. He deftly avoided the swinging branches of the tree and touched the knot. "Why couldn't you do that?" Harry asked Hermione.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have years of experience dealing with the Whomping Willow," said Hermione crossly.

Charlie glanced at Harry. "You told her everything?"

"When Pomfrey wasn't hovering over us, yeah."

"I just don't understand one thing," said Hermione, perplexed. "I saw someone on the other side of the lake cast a Patronus that chased away all the Dementors. Who was it?"

"I don't know," said Charlie with a frown.

They sat still for a long moment. Finally, their past selves came trooping out of the Whomping Willow passageway, Peter Pettigrew chained up. Charlie longed to run out, to try and warn them what was about to happen, but knew she couldn't. She could only watch helplessly as Pettigrew got away and Remus changed into a werewolf.

Was there really nothing that could have been done? Does a prediction mean it was all set in stone?

"Wait a minute," said Harry, turning white with terror. "Doesn't Uncle Remus come through the Forbidden Forest?"

"Back to Hagrid's hut," said Charlie frantically.

They charged through the trees, whacking branches out of their way and leaping over roots. Remus' howl echoed through the night and Hermione hissed, "Faster!"

They stumbled next to Hagrid's hut and Charlie looked desperately through the window. "No one's home but Fang and he can't talk. Get in!"

The pounding off paws against the earth, sounding dangerously close, caused Hermione to wrench the door open and shove Charlie and Harry inside. Fang bounded up to them with happy barks and tackled Charlie in a dog version of a hug.

"Shh!" said Charlie, rubbing his ears. "Quiet, Fang!"

He calmed down and they waited in a tense silence. After a while, Harry peeked out the window. "I can't see anything," he whispered.

"I think Remus went deeper into the forest," said Charlie softly. "I don't hear him anymore. I'm going to take a look, see what's going on."

"You shouldn't," said Hermione.

"I'll be quick. I won't be seen. You guys stay here."

She slipped out of the hut before Hermione could protest further. She headed straight for the lake, knowing the Dementors would attack at any moment, and she wanted to know who had cast the Patronus. She reached the spot and lingered in the shadows, staring intently across the lake.

The Dementors were swarming. Sirius was out cold. Harry and Hermione fainted. Her past self was struggling to remain conscious.

It was almost time—where was their rescuer? There was no one around but her.

Oh. No way.

Slightly awed, Charlie strode to the bank and removed her wand from the sleeve of her robe. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A dazzling silver animal burst from the tip of her wand. It was the unicorn, and it galloped across the black water and charged through the circle of Dementors. The hooded beasts scattered with high-pitched shrieks.

Charlie stared as the animal came back towards her. "Hey," she whispered. She set a hand against its muzzle, where it rested until the Patronus vanished.

"Charlie!"

The raven-haired girl glanced behind her. Hermione stormed towards her with a look of fury with Harry scrambling behind her. "She was too worried to stay behind," he informed.

"Apparently I was right! I told you not to mess with anything!"

Charlie rolled her eyes and ushered her friends behind the cover of a bush. "The person that cast the Patronus that saved us was me."

Harry touched his temple. "Time travel is so confusing."

"You…you drove away all those Dementors," said Hermione, surprised. "That's advanced magic, Charlie."

"Well, I'd already done it, so I knew I could do it again," Charlie explained. "So I guess I technically did it…twice?"

"No, you only did it once," said Harry. "We weren't saved twice."

"It doesn't matter," muttered Hermione. She was peering through the leaves of the bush. Snape was stalking towards the castle with the lot of them in tow, floating on stretchers. She checked her watch. "We still have forty minutes before we need to be back in that room."

They crept back to Hagrid's hut, where they passed a bit of time by playing with Fang. When there was just a little bit of time left remaining, they went to the castle, cloaked by the darkness. They crossed through the Entrance Hall, Hermione keeping a sharp gaze on her watch. "We only have a couple more minutes."

There were a few close calls, in which they had to dive back into the broom cupboard to avoid Snape and the Minister and fling themselves behind the tapestry blocking the secret passage to keep Peeves from seeing them. But they made it to the room just as Dumbledore was stepping out.

He beamed at them. "Just on time. Everything went smoothly, I assume?"

"Yes, Professor," Hermione said with a nod. "Buckbeak is safe."

"Good, good! Ronald is waiting for you in the infirmary. You ought to get back there yourself, or Madam Pomfrey may bite my head off," he chuckled. "Sirius has been escorted to my office and I must go there to discuss some things. You children saved some lives tonight. Be proud of yourselves."

He patted Hermione on the shoulder and she grinned at him. Dumbledore winked at Charlie before setting off. The three made it to the infirmary, where one look from Pomfrey sent them racing for their cots.

When Pomfrey finally went into her office Ron hissed, "Where have you lot been?" In hushed voices, Hermione explained to him what happened. Ron was stricken. "Well. I missed a lot. But that's brilliant about Sirius, Charlie!"

"Thanks!" Charlie couldn't begin to explain how happy she was. "I'm just hoping his trial is fairer than Buckbeak's."

"Harry, what about your uncle?" questioned Ron. "Is he going to be all right?"

"Yeah. He'll be back by dawn, if not later," Harry assured them. "When he comes back, he'll probably have to spend some time in here, 'cause of the injuries he got from fighting Sirius."

"Did you see Snape's face on our way back?" asked Charlie with a wince. "He was murderous. I'll have to try and talk to him."

Harry scoffed. "It's your funeral."