I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANYTHING AFFILIATED WITH IT. I ONLY OWN DEVYN AND HER PARENTS.

Chapter 33

The three of them ran as fast as they could, and Devyn, even in her injured state, was faster than both Hermione and Harry. She only ran fast enough that she was slightly ahead of them; after all, she didn't want to leave them behind.

Harry and Hermione hid behind what was probably one of the thickest trees in the entire Forbidden Forest and Devyn hid behind the one directly next to it, just as the werewolf caught up to them. They froze where they stood and Devyn saw Harry and Hermione edge around the tree, moving to the left as the werewolf started coming up on their right.

Devyn started shifting quietly around so that she could continue to hide from the werewolf and she noticed that Hermione and Harry were backing out (literally) from behind the tree. Unfortunately, there was one tiny little problem - the werewolf was intelligent.

He must have known that Harry and Hermione were going to go around the tree to avoid him, so he simply waited for them to come out into the open. Devyn's eyes, now glowing green in the gloom that surrounded them, went as wide as they could possibly go as she saw the werewolf raise himself up on his hind legs, getting ready to strike his prey down. Harry turned his back on the werewolf and covered Hermione with his body, trying to protect her.

Devyn went to dive in front of her friends and take the hit for them – but she didn't have to. Out of nowhere came Buckbeak. He galloped in, protecting Harry and Hermione and brought one his taloned feet down on the werewolf's head.

As soon as the werewolf noticed that he would not win against a Hippogriff, he turned and ran off into the forest. Devyn released a breath she hadn't known she was holding as Buckbeak squawked victoriously and slowly walked over to her friends.

"That was so scary," Hermione muttered.

"Poor Professor Lupin's having a really tough night," Harry commented. Devyn smiled; he really did care about her godfather, no matter what form he was in, and that made her very happy. Moony seemed to think that his condition prevented people from caring about him or loving him, but it was utter rubbish.

Within seconds, reality hit Devyn like a ton of bricks – they still had to save Sirius! The Dementors were probably attacking Past Harry and Sirius right now.

"Harry," Devyn said urgently. "Sirius! Come on!"

Harry nodded as he realized what they had to do still and they all set off at a run, Buckbeak following closely behind. They ran and ran and didn't stop until they reached the shore of the Black Lake. On the opposite side, Harry and Sirius were being attacked by the Dementors, all of their happy memories being sucked out of them, a foggy funnel coming out of their mouths.

There had to be at least a hundred Dementors swarming above them. The sight of seeing one of her best friends and his godfather being attacked like this was a truly awful sight.

"This is horrible…" Hermione said quietly.

"Don't worry," Harry said, a slight smile on his face. "My Dad will come. He'll conjure the Patronus…any minute now…right there," he pointed to a spot about ten feet in front of them. "You'll see."

Hermione and Devyn looked at each other worriedly. James Potter was dead – he wasn't coming.

"Harry, listen to me," Hermione pleaded. "No one's coming…"

"Don't worry, he will. He will come!"

Devyn knew Harry was stubborn but this was ridiculous. She understood why Harry was so determined to believe that James had saved them, but it was impossible. James Potter had died twelve years ago and that was a matter of fact.

"You're dying," Devyn remarked, immensely concerned and scared, seeing Harry and Sirius' forms still ever so slightly. "Both of you."

It was that statement that wiped the smile off Harry's face and spurred him into action. He ran out from their place in the bushes to the shoreline.

He raised his wand and shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Devyn raised a hand to protect her eyes as a brilliant light erupted from Harry's wand and a massive force field forced the Dementors away. From this force field, a bright white form of a stag appeared and charged around, knocking the Dementors far away from Past Harry and Sirius.

Devyn didn't think she had ever seen a more powerful Patronus. The stag stayed around, warding off Dementors for at least twenty five seconds, if not more, and Devyn distinctly saw a small ball of light re-enter Sirius' body and he resumed breathing. Seconds after the Patronus started fading, Past Harry passed out cold.

They were safe. They had almost completed their task. Now they just had to wait for Snape to show up and take Harry and Sirius away.

It just so happened that, a few minutes after Past Harry had passed out, Snape walked out of the woods and crept towards the two of them, checking for signs of life. Once he felt their pulses, he conjured up two stretchers and raised Harry and Sirius onto them and started levitating them back up to the castle. She saw Past Hermione standing off to the side, beside two other stretchers.

One of them was practically dyed red with blood, which Devyn supposed belonged to her. She couldn't see her unconscious and very close to dying form, but she knew that she was there. Snape must have bandaged her up as well as he could, because if he didn't, she wouldn't have lasted as long as she did.

She would have to thank him for saving her life the next time she saw him.

As soon as Snape took off with the four stretchers and Past Hermione, the three of them jumped on Buckbeak's back and started the flight to the Dark Tower, where Sirius would be contained. It took a few minutes for them to get situated, because although Buckbeak was a massive creature, fitting three people on his back took a little bit of work.

They decided that Harry would sit up front and steer Buckbeak, while Hermione would be in the middle and Devyn on the end. Finally, once they got seated and they took hold of one another (and Harry took hold off the chain around Buckbeak's neck.

They took off into the starry sky and Devyn relished the feeling of the cold wind blowing past her face. It invigorated her and relaxed her at the same time.

"You were right, Hermione," Harry shouted back at her as they flew over the entrance courtyard and soared towards the Dark Tower. "It wasn't my Dad I saw earlier. It was me! I saw myself conjuring the Patronus before. I knew I could do it this time, because…well, I'd already done it! Does that make sense?"

"No!" Hermione shouted back, burying her face in Harry's back. "But I don't like flying!"

She shrieked in terror as Harry led Buckbeak into a nosedive but he and Devyn whooped with glee. They both loved this. Soon enough, they landed in front of the locked cell at the very top of the Dark Tower and Sirius looked up in shock.

His dark eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw the three of them. Hermione raised her wand and said, "Bombarda!"

The cell gate burst open and they rushed Sirius out. He looked around at them, practically unable to speak.

"H-How…? How did…?"

"No time to explain, Sirius. We have to go," Devyn urged. He looked at her and stared at her as though he had been bidden to memorize her appearance.

"Look, Sirius, I know I'm the spitting image of my mother, but we don't have time to have a staring contest, okay?"

"No, it's not that…you were…I thought for sure you were dead. I thought Remus might have…"

Devyn shook her head and said, "No, he came close though." She lifted her shirt slightly and showed Sirius the large pink scar that now adorned her stomach. He winced when he saw it and said, "You're lucky that you didn't die, judging from the size of it."

"Yes, I know, but Sirius," Devyn said, growing impatient. "We. Have. To. Go. Right now. Let's go!"

"Right," Sirius said, nodding his head. He moved towards Buckbeak and climbed in front, taking the reins. Harry climbed on after him and then Hermione. Devyn frowned when she noticed that there was really no room left.

"I don't see how we're going to – OH MY GOD!" Devyn shrieked when Buckbeak bit down on the back of her sweatshirt and she found herself staring at the ground. Before she could even protest at her new position, Buckbeak took off and she found herself feeling like she was flying like Superman.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…" Devyn muttered. "Please don't let go, please don't let go."

They were thousands of feet up in the air, and if Buckbeak dropped her, she would die. She would become a bloody mess on the cobblestone of the courtyard below them.

Thankfully, Buckbeak didn't let go until they reached the ground. He landed and then opened his beak, letting Devyn fall to the ground on her hands and knees.

"Ouch," she muttered, feeling the scrapes on her palms. They were bleeding a little but they stopped almost instantaneously. She got up and turned to the Hippogriff. "Thanks, Buckbeak."

The other three disembarked Buckbeak and Sirius led Devyn by the hand over to a bench in the partially open corridor right near the entrance courtyard.

"I'll be forever grateful for this…" Sirius said to her. "To all of you."

Devyn smiled and nodded. She wrapped her arms around Sirius' thin waist and hugged him. "We couldn't just leave you there. You're innocent."

Sirius didn't say a word but he did hug her back tightly before releasing her. He smiled at her and she returned the expression. He turned to Harry and sat him down on the bench, and knelt down in front of him, smiling up at him.

"I want to go with you," Harry said immediately.

"Maybe someday. For some time my life will be too unpredictable. And besides, you're meant to be here," Sirius replied.

"But you're innocent," Harry protested.

"And you know it. And for now that'll do," he told Harry. Devyn smiled at the two of them. She really couldn't express her happiness that Harry had someone else besides the Dursely's, as far as family went. And Sirius was a great godfather – the man broke out of prison to protect Harry, after all. That was impressive.

"Down, Buckbeak," Hermione murmured. Devyn hadn't even noticed that she had walked back over to the Hippogriff. She supposed someone had to keep an eye on him.

"I expect you're tired of hearing this…" Sirius said to Harry, his eyes searching Harry's face. "But you look so like your father." He raised a hand and placed it on the side of Harry's face. "Except your eyes…you have -"

"My mother's eyes," Harry interjected with a smile.

"It's cruel," Sirius said, "that I got to spend so much time with James and Lily and you so little. But know this – the ones who love us never really leave us. And you can always find them..." He placed a hand over Harry's heart, "in here."

Harry nodded and Sirius stood up, bringing Harry with him. They walked over to Hermione and Devyn followed. Sirius took the reins from Hermione and climbed onto Buckbeak's back. He looked down at Hermione and said, "You really are the brightest witch of your age."

Hermione smiled and blushed a little. Sirius turned his gaze back on Devyn. "And you, Devyn…take good care of Remus for me, alright?"

"I will," Devyn promised.

Sirius nodded and said, "He's lucky to have you. He's very lucky."

Devyn smiled and chuckled softly as Sirius turned and got Buckbeak into gear. The Hippogriff and the innocent prisoner took off into the night and the three of them watched their figures grow smaller and smaller in the distance until they could no longer see them.

The clock tower suddenly started bonging loudly and brought the three students back to reality.

"We have to go," Hermione said worriedly. Devyn nodded and they started running again. At this rate, it'll be a miracle if my legs ever heal properly, she thought dryly. Of course, she knew that her legs were already healed, but the scars were still sensitive and all this running was not helping matters.

They sprinted back to the Hospital Wing and made it back to the doors just as Dumbledore was backing out of them. He turned and stared at them expectantly.

"Well?" he asked.

"He's free. We did it," Harry confirmed.

"Did what?" Dumbledore questioned innocently. "Good night."

And he walked off and down the stairs, whistling at he went. Devyn raised an eyebrow at their Headmaster's behavior but then shrugged her shoulders – this was Dumbledore they were dealing with here. Half the time, the things he did never made sense.

Maybe he was trying to maintain plausible deniability or something.

Regardless of what the Headmaster was trying or not trying to do, Devyn and her friends waltzed back through the Hospital Wing doors just as their other selves were disappearing, having just used the Time Turner.

And it starts all over again, Devyn thought, chuckling internally. The second that he saw her, Neville rushed over and wrapped Devyn up in a bear hug. She smiled and buried her face in her boyfriend's shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist. It felt so good to be back in his arms.

"How did you get there?" Ron questioned, sounding frantic. "I was just talking to you there…and now you're there!"

Devyn chose not to answer but Hermione looked at Harry and asked, "What's he talking about, Harry?"

Ah, Devyn thought. That's how they're going to play it.

"I don't know. Honestly, Ron," Harry said, smiling amusedly, "how can somebody be in two places at once?"

Hermione laughed but Ron continued to look completely and utterly bamboozled. Devyn and Neville went over to her hospital bed and just curled up there together. She was so tired…she just wanted to fall asleep in Neville's arms and never move.

Within minutes, she dropped off to sleep but before she did, she heard Neville whisper in her ear. "I'm glad you came back to me, Devyn."

She smiled and whispered back, "I'll always come back to you, Neville. Always."

And with that, she fell into a deep and restful sleep, warm and safe in her best friend and boyfriend's arms.