Chapter 12: On the Grounds, On the Run
After lunch the Gryffindor trio had one last exam. Kakashi didn't hear anything else about Buckbeak until after they were finished.
"Buckbeak's going to be executed," Hermione told a dazed Harry as he came back from his Divination exam. She held out Hagrid's note and he read it.
"We have to go see him," Harry resolved.
"It's at sunset though Harry," Ron reminded him. "We won't be allowed."
"We can wear the cloak," Harry countered.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him. "Not really concerned for your own safety are you? Or the safety of others?" Kakashi cast his eye on Ron and Hermione.
"We can't just let him sit down there, alone, waiting," Harry argued. "Come with us if you're so worried."
"I will not, and you shouldn't be going down there either."
"How can you say that?" Hermione exclaimed. She looked stricken with dried tears on her cheeks.
"Are you three always this stubborn?" Kakashi asked.
"Yes," they said together.
Oh, okay then.
Kakashi knew the common room and dormitories were empty so he openly said, "you don't need to comfort Hagrid because Buckbeak is not going to die tonight."
"How?" Ron asked. "What are you going to do about it? They've got a witness and he happens to be the Minister of Magic. If anyone tries to rescue Buckbeak, then Hagrid will get in even more trouble."
"Kurenai will take care of it. The witness, the executioner, anyone there for the event will believe they've seen it done. But I can assure you, Buckbeak will be very much alive. This is her specialty, leave it to her."
"But the witness is the Minister of Magic!" Ron protested.
"We've dealt with politicians before," silver-haired youth said, thinking of their own skittish Feudal Lord.
"I still say we should be there for Hagrid. Even if Kurenai reassures him, he's still going to be really worried," Hermione protested.
Kakashi sighed, "fine, if you must go, then I guess I'll have to go with you."
"The cloak barely covers the three of us as it is," Ron whined.
"He won't need the cloak," Harry said, meeting Kakashi's eye.
After dinner, Kakashi and the three Gryffindors didn't head up to the common room like everyone else. The four of them snuck into an empty chamber off of the entrance hall. Harry checked the marauders map and once Kakashi confirmed that nobody was in the corridor, the students donned the cloak and set out. Kakashi followed as if he were going to patrol the grounds.
000000
Kakashi knocked on Hagrid's door. The half-giant answered, confused by Kakashi's arrival. The guard stepped out of the doorway, for no reason that Hagrid could see, as he spoke, "some friends of yours insisted that they see you." Kakashi entered and shut the door behind him. Harry pulled the invisibility cloak off of the three of them.
"You shouldn't have come," Hagrid fretted, "especially you Harry."
"That's why we've got Kakashi with us," Harry said, nodding at the ninja who was now lounging against a wall.
"He didn't tell you?" Hagrid asked. "Kurenai's fixed it. She's going to rescue Buckbeak. She said something about confusing the officials."
The three students turned to look at Kakashi. He looked like he'd fallen asleep. This late in the year, they knew better.
"I'm a little nervous," Hagrid confessed. "I've never had to act a part like this before and in front of the Minister of Magic too."
"Just pretend that Buckbeak really is going to die," Hermione suggested.
Hagrid had begun to prepare tea for them all and his hands shook a bit. "I don't know if I can do it. What if they figure it out and kill Beaky anyway? Then I'll be in trouble besides." Just then, the milk jug slipped out of Hagrid's hand. They didn't even see Kakashi leave the wall before he had caught the jug in one hand and handed it back to Hagrid. Hagrid seemed a little dazed.
Suddenly, a rat with patchy fur came scurrying out of Hagrid's cupboard. The creature made a beeline for Ron's feet.
"Scabbers?" Ron cried in shock. "I don't believe this. Where did you come from? How did you get here?" Ron picked up his rat and examined him carefully, not believing his eyes.
"I don't mean to break up the reunion," Kakashi said tensely. He looked at Scabbers with narrowed eyes, a problem tugging at his brain, "but the officials are on their way here."
"You three get going. I'll be alright," Hagrid said, his face paling. "I wouldn't want you to get into trouble."
Ron shoved Scabbers in his pocket as the wizards and witch pulled the cloak over themselves. "Now Hagrid," Kakashi turned to the professor. "Kurenai is at the edge of the wood. Just leave everything to her and remember what she told you."
Hagrid nodded at Kakashi, eyes wide.
The three students slipped out the back door. Kakashi teleported to the woods while Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried across the grass.
"Everything okay here?" Kakashi asked Kurenai. He bowed to Buckbeak, who was tied to a tree.
"Nothing I couldn't handle," Kurenai replied. "I figured it was best to remove Buckbeak as soon as possible and have a replacement there before they even arrived."
"Won't that drain your chakra even more?" Kakashi asked.
"It will," Kurenai said, her brow set stubbornly, "but I could use the practice."
"Stay here and finish, no matter what," Kakashi advised. His body had tensed up.
"What's wrong?" Kurenai asked, scanning the grounds but seeing nothing out of place.
"I don't know, I just have a bad feeling," Kakashi replied. "Be careful." Kakashi lifted his headband and opened his left eye. He then took off at a sprint toward the students. Something in his gut told him that he needed to catch up with them as soon as possible.
Kakashi heard, "ow, he bit me." He raced toward the sounds of their footsteps and Ron's complaints. The young Weasley's pleas to his rat were growing progressively louder. In the distance, a pair of yellow eyes appeared and Kakashi's eyes snapped to them, but they only distracted him for a moment.
Then Kakashi saw Ron, with both of his eyes, sprinting toward a tree. The wizard had discarded his share of the invisibility cloak. What are they doing?! Soon Kakashi saw Harry and Hermione as well. The other two ran after Ron. Kakashi sped up, concern quickening his steps. The students were heading straight for the Whomping Willow.
A moment later, Kakashi was relieved to see Ron stop and drop to his knees. Harry and Hermione skidded to a halt next to him. Unfortunately, they were still within range of the Whomping Willow. Kakashi saw the tree start to rotate its long slender branches and wished that Guy hadn't been exercising it every day.
As Kakashi got closer, he saw Ron trying to put Scabbers back in his pocket. But Crookshanks was also there, jumping on Ron. A runaway rat and a hungry cat did not concern Kakashi and he almost allowed himself to feel relief. That's when he saw it, a large black dog was bounding toward the trio. Kakashi pushed more chakra into his feet.
In his mind, Kakashi sorted through the dangerous creatures that Ebisu said lived in the forest. His mind grasped at straws. He would have remembered anything wolf or dog related, since they were a specialty of his. Whatever this was, it didn't seem like it was looking for a belly rub.
With a sudden stab of helplessness, Kakashi realized he wasn't going to make it in time. The mutt jumped and its front paws landed on Harry's chest, knocking his wand out of his hand. Then Kakashi was there and with a kick, he sent the dog flying away from Harry. Harry was not its goal however. The black dog ran up to Ron, latched onto his leg, and began dragging him closer to the tree, toward the secret passage. Kakashi threw a kunai and it grazed one black ear. The dog whined and dropped Ron's leg. The jonin felt a twinge of remorse in his chest.
There was no time for feelings however as Kakashi heard Harry cry out in pain and fall to his knees. Hermione followed suit. Kakashi's head snapped back and forth, looking at the two of them in confusion. Then he sensed something hurtling toward him. Quick as a flash, Kakashi reached up and snatched the tip of a branch just before it hit his face. He grasped it and savagely pulled. He felt the thin branch break off of the tree and threw it aside.
"Lumos."
"Chidori," Kakashi swept the lightning style in front of him, destroying the mass of whip-like leaves heading toward his face.
"Kakashi!" Ron's piercing scream rang through the air. The dog had grasped his leg in its jaws once more and was dragging Ron down into the tunnel.
Kakashi sprinted and then dodged as a thicker branch swept low to reach him. Another large branch followed. Kakashi leapt up, put his hand on the branch, and vaulted over it. Just when Kakashi thought he had a clear path to the base of the tree, Crookshanks appeared and sank his teeth into the ninja's leg. Kakashi reached down to pry the cat free but Crookshanks had already jumped clear. Then Kakashi was flying, the right side of his chest was on fire.
The guard captain landed a dozen paces away from the tree. Kakashi opened his blurry eyes. He could see Harry and Hermione in the dimming twilight, cowering just out of the willow's reach. Then they all heard a sharp crack. Ron's foot, the last part of him that they could see, disappeared down the tunnel. Kakashi got to his hands and knees, fell, and shook his head. He reached around and loosened the straps on his armor a bit. The chest and back pieces of his armor had been pinched together on one side and made it hard for him to breathe. He tried getting up again and began running toward Harry and Hermione.
"We have to go for help," Hermione was saying, tears running down her face.
"We don't have time," Harry argued but he was also unable to approach the tree.
Kakashi was about to tell them to go get help while he went after Ron when Crookshanks weaved forward through the whipping branches and pressed a knot on the side of the tree. The branches of the willow instantly froze in place. This didn't change Kakashi's opinion of the situation.
"Harry, Hermione, you two should-"
"Ron!" Harry shouted and took off toward the tunnel. Hermione was right behind him.
Kakashi looked after them for half a second. He looked at Crookshanks and Crookshanks looked back. Okay…
Crookshanks disappeared into the tunnel with Kakashi close on his tail. Kakashi caught up with the Gryffindors quickly.
"Where does this tunnel go?" Hermione asked.
"To the Shrieking Shack," Kakashi answered. They were all almost bent double but running just the same. Something's wrong here. The cat wants me to follow, but not hurt the dog. We thought the rat was dead but it was alive and on the school grounds the whole time. What is going on?
At last they reached the end of the tunnel, it ended in a twist. Kakashi stepped in front of them, holding his hand out in the interdimensional signal of 'stay behind me'. Kakashi jumped up through the hole in the floor onto the main floor of the Shrieking Shack. He landed in a crouch with a kunai out. The room was full of broken furniture and the wallpaper was peeling. Above him, Kakashi heard a floorboard creak. He began to silently ascend the staircase to the second floor.
Annoyed at being left behind when his best friend was in danger, Harry pulled himself up and out of the hole. He then turned and gave Hermione a hand up.
When the pair began to climb the staircase, Kakashi was beside them once more. "I don't know what we're going to find up there. But you two need to stay behind me. The dog could be rabid, Ron could be…" he trailed off. "Just stay behind me."
Harry and Hermione nodded. Following the trail of disturbed dust that the dog dragging Ron had left behind, they crept up the stairs and into the room with the ajar door. Ron was laid out on a four poster bed looking pale. His leg was bent at an odd angle and his eyes got huge upon seeing Harry and Hermione.
"Harry it's a trap," Ron warned through clenched teeth. "He's not a dog."
Hermione and Harry ran to Ron but Kakashi scanned the room. What he saw was a man that looked more like a corpse than a living being. His skin was waxy and pale, his hair long and matted, and his clothes faded and dirty. Worst of all, the man was holding Ron's wand.
Kakashi put himself between the students and the convict. Black inhaled, Kakashi assumed, to cast a spell. Too slow. Kakashi pulled out a kunai and threw it at Black's sleeve, pinning that piece of his robe to the wall behind him. When Black's hand flew back from the impact on his sleeve he dropped Ron's wand. Another kunai followed up the first and embedded itself into the center of Black's hand, fastening the limb to the wall. The wizard cried out in pain and reached up with his other hand to free it.
Kakashi was in front of him almost instantly with a third kunai at his throat. "Don't," Kakashi warned.
Harry and Hermione turned around and noticed Black for the first time.
"Sirius Black I presume," Kakashi said. "I believe I know some people who are looking for you."
"Not now," Black muttered, "not when I'm so close."
"Don't even think about it. You're not going to lay a finger on Harry," Kakashi snarled.
Black looked genuinely confused, "Harry? Why would I…?" He was interrupted by Crookshanks biting into Kakashi's leg again. Kakashi dislodged the feline with a jerk of the appendage.
Black tried to use that moment to get Kakashi off balance but Kakashi brought his leg back up, quicker than thought, and kicked Black's kneecap. The man cried out again and sank to the floor, his hand still pinned to the wall above him.
The cat struck out again, this time attacking the hand that held a kunai to Black's throat. Kakashi withdrew his hand and what he now saw gave him pause. Black was slumped against the wall, chest heaving, blood trickling down the arm that was still pinned above his head. What made Kakashi stare though, was Crookshanks, who had sat himself on top of Black's chest. The cat gazed at the ninja defiantly, pleadingly.
Black looked down at the feline. "Get off," he said.
The cat sank its claws into Black's robes in answer. He was looking at Kakashi again.
What am I missing? Kakashi thought. Just then, footsteps could be heard downstairs.
Hermione practically shrieked, "help. It's Sirius Black. Quick!"
The footsteps came closer and Professor Lupin stepped into the room. He took in the scene. "There will be no need for that Kakashi."
Kakashi did not lower his kunai. His eyes narrowed in suspicion at the Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher.
Lupin turned to Black, "where is he Sirius?"
"Wait, what?" Harry exclaimed, anger rising.
"Harry," Lupin said quickly, turning to him, "you told me during patronus practice that you saw Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map?"
Harry didn't answer right away; he was so taken aback by the change of topic. Kakashi, wheels in his head already turning, said, "answer the question Harry."
Harry looked at Kakashi and then back at Lupin. "Yeah, that's what it said, but Pettigrew's dead so the map must be wrong."
"The map is never wrong," Lupin responded. "Peter Pettigrew is alive. He's Ron's rat, isn't he Sirius?"
Sirius nodded.
"You're both mental," Ron exclaimed. "You're trying to tell us that my rat is a dead hero?"
"He is thought to be dead but he's no hero," Sirius snarled, pulling Kakashi's kunai out of his hand and dropping it.
"You betrayed my parents and killed Peter Pettigrew because he confronted you," Harry yelled. "How dare you slander his name?"
"If we want to start talking about slander," Lupin began but Hermione cut him off.
"We trusted you," she said to Lupin. "I didn't tell anyone you were a werewolf because I was afraid you'd be fired. And y-you've been helping Black this whole time!"
"He's a werewolf?!" Ron and Harry said together.
"Enough," Kakashi said, the coldness in his voice frosting the air. "Yes, he's a werewolf, but that's not important right now." The room went silent. He pointed at Lupin and Black with the kunai still in his hand, "explain."
"There's nothing to explain!" Harry yelled. "He killed my parents by betraying them to Voldemort!" He pointed at Black accusingly.
Black opened his mouth but Kakashi silenced him with a glare. "Harry," Kakashi said, "think. Aren't there a few things that haven't been adding up in this whole situation?"
Harry thought about the dog walking with Crookshanks across the grounds, about Crookshanks attacking Scabbers every chance he got, about Black attacking Ron's bed with a knife and not his own, about Scabbers's blood being all over Ron's sheets but then the rat turning up unharmed, if a bit thinner, at Hagrid's hut, about a dozen other things that had happened that year that didn't make sense. Harry's head cooled a few degrees.
"Ron," Lupin said, "could I see your rat please?"
"What are you going to do to him?" Ron asked, paler than ever.
"Give him the rat Ron," there was iron in Kakashi's voice. He'd had about enough of this nonsense.
Ron pulled a shivering Scabbers out of his pocket and placed him in Lupin's outstretched hand.
"Thank you," Lupin said. "If he's really a rat this won't hurt him at all."
A flash of blue-white light erupted out of Lupin's wand. Scabbers floated in the air for a moment, and then he began to grow. His head enlarged, arms and legs shot out, and in a moment there was a man standing where Scabbers had been. He was a very short, mousy looking man, with a pointed nose and beady eyes.
"Well hello Peter," Lupin said in a syrupy sweet voice.
"Stun him," Kakashi ordered.
"What?" Sirius snarled through yellow teeth.
Kakashi turned to him, "as I understand it, Peter here has just returned from the dead and is a key piece of evidence in proving your innocence; if innocent you turn out to be. You two still need to explain yourselves. Meanwhile, we wouldn't want him to run off now would we?" Kakashi turned to Lupin, "Stun. Him. I'm told you have a spell for that."
Lupin met Kakashi's eyes and then turned to Peter, who looked like he was trying to shrink away into nothing. "Stupefy." Peter Pettigrew slumped to the ground, unconscious.
"Now," Kakashi said, crossing his arms. "Explain."
What followed was a story Kakashi thought was just crazy enough to be true. Lupin explained how he was a werewolf and his closest friends had become animagi or, wizards who could transform themselves into an animal at will.
Sirius explained how Peter Pettigrew had framed him for the murder of all those muggles and made him out to be a supporter of Voldemort who had betrayed his closest friends, Lily and James Potter. Sirius had been the Potter's Secret Keeper and thus, kept them hidden from Voldemort. Sirius, however, had thought that Pettigrew would be a less obvious choice for the job and convinced James to change the Secret Keeper to Pettigrew. Pettigrew betrayed them to Voldemort but when the Dark Lord met his downfall, Peter went into hiding as a rat. He set himself up with a wizarding family, the Weasley's, so as to hear if his master ever came to power once more. After the explanation took place, extra questions were asked and answered to everyone's satisfaction.
Ron said, "I can't believe I let Scabbers sleep in my bed."
Harry and Hermione grimaced sympathetically.
"So now we can kill him?" Sirius asked Lupin.
"No," Harry said. Sirius looked at him in surprise. "My Dad wouldn't want you to become a murderer. And it's like Kakashi said," Harry turned and looked at the fugitive, "you'll need Pettigrew to clear your name."
"I've been meaning to ask," Sirius said turning to Lupin. "Who is he?" He pointed at Kakashi with his good hand.
"No one of consequence," Kakashi replied. He then put his hands together and made four shadow clones. They took off immediately. Sirius's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Sorry about your hand," Kakashi paused, "and your knee and your ear."
"Dumbledore hired some guards this year on account of you coming after Harry." Lupin wanted to laugh, thinking about how absurd that sounded now. "He's been pretty tight-lipped about where they come from."
Kakashi eye-smiled and then looked at Lupin. He'd been listening to the questions and explanations and hadn't said a word, now he had a question for the professor. "How did you even know we were here?"
"Oh, well I figured Harry and his friends would go down to see Hagrid before Buckbeak's execution so I was keeping an eye out for odd things happening on the grounds. The sort of things that tend to happen when there's an invisibility cloak in play at Hogwarts."
"Harry has James's cloak?" Sirius asked. At Lupin's nod he laughed and got a faraway look in his eye. He seemed to be remembering better times.
"Anyway, when I saw the Whomping Willow frozen I knew something had to be wrong."
Kakashi nodded and then surveyed the group. Harry and Hermione had various cuts courtesy of the Whomping Willow. Lupin was unharmed and splinting Ron's leg. Sirius was watching Lupin work on Ron with an anxious look on his face. He was absentmindedly cradling his hand with his other arm.
"Let me see your hand Sirius," Kakashi said, walking forward and reaching to pull out a very familiar medical kit.
Sirius turned at the sound of his name and then jumped as he saw Kakashi putting his hand into the pouch on his belt. Kakashi froze and held up his hand. "Just grabbing my kit, calm down." He reached into the pouch once more, pulled it out, and held it up innocently. He expertly dressed Sirius's hand; kunai wounds were nothing new to him.
While Kakashi worked, Sirius examined his face. "How old are you?"
Kakashi heard Harry face palm somewhere behind him. The ninja didn't look away from the hand he was working on, "not as old as you wizards would like me to be."
"What happened to your eye?" Kakashi had closed his Sharingan eye awhile ago but had not covered it.
"Sirius, uh," Harry realized just how weird it was to be addressing this man civilly. This man who, a few hours ago, Harry had thought wanted to kill him. "He doesn't like questions," Harry finished lamely.
Sirius opened his mouth to say something else when a shout of, "Kakashi," issued from below, interrupting him.
"We're all up here Guy," Kakashi called back.
Instantly three more ninja teleported into the room. Sirius's eyes, if possible, reached new stages of wideness. He took in Kurenai, red eyes and matching dress, kunai in hand, expression serious. Then he saw Ebisu, dressed all in blue and wearing sunglasses, of all things, in an unlit house at night. Last of all his eyes fell on Guy, his shiny bowl haircut and green spandex leaving an interesting first impression.
"Everything go according to plan Kurenai?" Kakashi asked.
She nodded, "Buckbeak is safe. I just finished when I heard from you." She sounded a little tired but alert. "What have you been up to?"
Kakashi quickly explained the situation. Ebisu's eyes widened behind his shades.
Guy said, "what a most unyouthful trick." He glared at the still form of Pettigrew in disgust.
"I've sent word ahead. Dumbledore is hopefully keeping the Minister in the castle until we arrive. This can hopefully all be sorted out tonight."
Sirius perked up and stood. "You mean," his voice scratched even more with emotion.
Kakashi nodded. "If everything goes according to plan, you'll be a free man by morning."
"Well what are we waiting for?" Harry said. "Let's get back to the castle!"
The procession was awkward at best. Kurenai and Crookshanks led the way, followed closely by Hermione who held her lit wand as high as she could in the cramped tunnel. Behind them came Guy who was supporting Ron awkwardly since they were both hunched over. Then came Ebisu and Lupin with the unconscious Peter Pettigrew floating between them. Harry and Sirius were behind them with Kakashi bringing up the rear.
As they walked along, Kakashi overheard the conversation between Harry and Sirius. Apparently Sirius was Harry's guardian and Harry now had the option to remain with his aunt and uncle or move in with Sirius. Harry didn't mention his aunt and uncle often but from what Kakashi had heard of them, he knew what Harry's choice would be.
At last they had made it to the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks pressed the knot and Kurenai leapt clear of the hole. She then turned around and gave Hermione a hand up. Kurenai then helped Guy with Ron. Lupin maneuvered the floating Peter up and out and then climbed out himself.
"I believe this is yours," Kurenai said, handing Harry his invisibility cloak that was sitting at the base of the tree.
Once they were all out of the tunnel, they began trooping toward the lights of the castle. The grounds were cloaked in darkness but Hermione's and then Harry's wand lit the immediate area around them. Then the clouds shifted above them and the entire grounds were lit by the glow of the full moon.
Sirius froze, as did the ninja. Ron was momentarily glad for the extra light until he spied Kurenai's tense face. The unconscious Peter stopped moving forward, floated in place for a moment, and then fell to the ground.
"What?" the lame wizard said.
"He didn't get his potion," Hermione cried, "he isn't safe."
"Run," Sirius hissed. "Run now."
There was a horrible snarling noise. Lupin's head and face elongated. His back stretched out under his robes and his arms and legs lengthened, ending in sharp claws. Kurenai grabbed Hermione and pushed her behind her, toward the castle. Ron, in his fear, forgot about his injury and put his full weight on his broken leg as he tried to back away from Lupin. He cried out in pain and fell to the grass clutching his leg. Ebisu ducked under Lupin's flailing arms, grasped Ron, and threw him out of the way. An unavoidable backhand from Lupin's full werewolf form spun Ebisu in mid-air. He landed a few paces away, face-down in the grass.
By now, Guy had withdrawn a long chain from a scroll and whipped it around the werewolf. Harry noticed that Sirius was no longer standing beside him, at least not as a human. The large black dog bounded forward and clamped his jaws on the werewolf's neck. The werewolf broke through Guy's chain and began clawing at the dog's back. Fierce growls filled the air.
Kurenai, who was concentrating behind Kakashi, suddenly warned, "werewolves are unaffected by genjutsu."
Upon hearing this, Guy leapt forward in a whirl, kicking the black dog and werewolf apart. Working together, Guy and Sirius began herding the werewolf away from the castle and the main group.
Kakashi had figured genjutsu wouldn't work but it didn't hurt to try. "Kurenai," Kakashi said, "get Ebisu and the others away from here."
"I'm fine," Ebisu ground out, pushing himself to his feet. The entire left side of his shirt was slashed open, revealing the mail underneath.
"Great, help Kurenai get Pettigrew and the students out of here," Kakashi ordered. Kakashi heard a whimper behind him.
"Sirius!" Harry cried and began running toward the fight. Kakashi grabbed him and threw him back.
The jonin captain straightened his headband and turned to Kurenai and Ebisu. "Keep them back." Without looking back, he ran toward Guy, Sirius, and the werewolf.