Every inch of my body hurt. My muscles burned, my bones threatened to break and my brain seemed to be refusing to think clearly. I kept my eyes closed, unable to tell where I was or why I was here. All I knew was that I hurt, and I couldn't have fought anyone or anything off even if I had wanted to. So instead, I focused my energy on breathing. The basics first, Arty, I told myself with a wince.

In the distance, I could hear footsteps. How far away were they? Were they headed for me? Would whoever they belonged to kill me and put me out of my misery? Quit with the self-pity, Artemis and get a grip! I scolded myself. The rational part of my brain didn't seem to agree with the idea of me being killed, but it was sounding pretty nice around about now. All I had to do was lie here.

A sudden bang made me flinch. The tiny movement abruptly sent shockwaves rushing through my system and my body instantly burned in protest. I gasped and tried to shout out, but my voice box wasn't working properly. Vaguely, I heard a chair scrap and voices mutter urgently, before more footsteps rushed toward me.

"Williams? Williams, can you hear me?"

Madam Pomfrey. If I could have sighed in relief, I would have done. I must have been lay in the hospital wing. But why . . .? Straining my memory, a gold light flashed in front of my eyes and I felt my body flinch. This time, a loud yelp slipped from my lips and I felt someone pressing on my shoulders to keep me still. Though their restraint was quite gentle, it felt like they'd just driven two knives through me.

"Williams? Williams, if you can hear me, I want you to nod, or wiggle you fingers, something to tell me you can hear me." I felt my head nod groggily on command, and she sighed heavily. "Good, that's a start I suppose. Can you sit up? Open your eyes?"

Gritting my teeth together loudly, I forced my eyes open. For a split second, the light made me panic. It was too bright, too harsh to be natural. But the light faded from my eyes before I could draw breath, and the hospital wing swam into focus. It was still dark out, and the only light in the room were the numerous oil lamps that had been lit around the far end of the room where I was currently lay. Narrowing my eyes a little, I tried to move my arms. The pain was still there, but I found that if I concentrated hard enough and fought through it, it began to dull considerably. Still, I moved slowly as I sat up and took the goblet of water Madam Pomfrey handed me. My hands shook as I clamped them around it, and from the look on Madam Pomfrey's face, my own expression was tight with pain.

"You should take it easy," she told me softly, helping me keep the goblet steady enough to drink from it. "Granger told me you've been doing magic without your wand." I blinked as she shuffled uncomfortably beside me, but her expression remained stern. "I don't want to know what you were doing out there, Williams, but you have to take it slow. Doing magic like that, and then facing all of those Dementors? I don't know what you saw, but it took it out of you. Let alone . . ."

"What?" I managed to croak nervously, and she pursed her lips, turning to look at the bed beside mine. I gulped hard and followed her example, my stomach twisting when I noticed Harry was still unconscious. Opposite him, Ron lay unmoving, and beside him, Hermione was curled into a ball, her eyes open and frightened.

"Apparently, the Dementors were very close to taking Potter's soul," Madam Pomfrey admitted reluctantly. It felt like she'd just dropped an ice cube down my spine. Shaking herself, she tipped the goblet in my hands again and I drained the last bit of water, taking a large block of chocolate she held out to me. "Eat it," she told me. "You'll feel better."

"I doubt that," I admitted, but I did as I was told and took a bite. I wasn't entirely sure how this connection with Harry worked, but I knew if I felt better, his chances dramatically improved. Still, the chocolate tasted strangely in my mouth and my stomach twisted nauseatingly. Forcing myself to eat the lot, I watched Madam Pomfrey give more to Hermione and check on Harry and Ron again.

Suddenly, the doors to the hospital wing opened and the Minister of Magic, Dumbledore and Snape strode in, the latter looking rather smug. I could tell by the wary look on Fudge's face as he met my gaze that I must have looked as bad as I felt, but I didn't care. Ignoring Snape as much as possible, I cleared my throat and straightened out on the spot. "What's going on? Where's my Dad?"

Fudge flinched, stopping between my bed and Harry's. With a small squeak, Hermione staggered off her bed and shuffled toward me, sitting as close as she dared. "There's no need to panic, Miss Williams," he told me. "I assure you that everything is being taken care of."

"That isn't really answering the question," I scowled, squirming on the spot. Dumbledore shot me a warning look, but Harry was coming too, stirring slightly in the next bed. Groaning quietly, he lifted a hand to his forehead and Fudge and Snape exchanged a strange look, Fudge worried and Snape still looking remarkably smug. We waited for him to come around properly, and eventually, he opened his eyes. Releasing a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding back, I watched as he fumbled for his glasses and awkwardly pushed himself upright.

For a moment, he simply sat and glanced between all of us groggily. "What's going on?" he finally asked, clearing his throat. "Where's Sirius?"

I scoffed darkly. "They won't tell me."

"Black is being held in a secure room awaiting the Dementors," Fudge said in a measured tone, and I went rigid on the spot. "I must say, it's a relief to have finally caught him, we were beginning to run out of excuses for the Prophet."

"Oh well then!" I started furiously, and Fudge faltered. "As long as the Prophet is happy!"

"Artemis," Dumbledore frowned.

"Professor, they can't let the Dementors take Sirius," Hermione rushed, standing to move next to me. "He's innocent, Professor. Peter Pettigrew is alive, he set him up!"

Dumbledore lifted an eyebrow, but Snape snorted. "That is preposterous, Granger, Pettigrew cannot be alive. Black murdered him."

"No, Professor, we saw him," Harry insisted, sitting up straighter. "He admitted it, sir, I swear!"

"Now enough," Fudge frowned. "Mr Potter, you and your friends have had a terrible night, I'm afraid you're all incredibly confused."

"Black probably has them Confunded, Minister," Snape said simply. "I didn't see Pettigrew in that building."

"Confunded?" I fumed, shaking in anger. "You-"

"Artemis!" Dumbledore frowned.

"I am not Confunded!" I insisted with a clenched jaw and tightened fists. "Black wasn't lying! Pettigrew's been hiding as a rat for the past twelve years, he's the guilty one!"

"Miss Williams, now really!" Fudge breathed in surprise. "Perhaps I should have brought Luke with me after all. He might have been able to talk some sense into her." I blinked, breathing heavily.

Dumbledore's lips pursed. "Minister, Severus, I would like to speak with the children alone please."

Snape's face instantly fell and he seemed to grow more and more uncomfortable. "You can't seriously believe their story, Headmaster?" he asked, dangerously close to losing it. "The chance that Black could be innocent-"

"I am well aware of Sirius Black's predicament, Severus," Dumbledore interrupted. "But I wish to speak with them alone." His expression quite clearly told Snape he had no choice, but it didn't look like he was taking it well. Locking his jaw, he spun around furiously, leaving the hospital wing with the Minister trailing behind him in confusion.

The moment they'd gone, I pushed myself off the edge of my bed and landed beside Harry, still shaking in anger. For one whole minute, I'd let myself believe that I might have a chance to be with my real family, that I could prove my father innocent. Now, he was going to be subjected to the Dementor's Kiss while my Uncle tore the Forbidden Forest apart. My mind wandered to my mother, and I couldn't help thinking what she might've said if she was here. Trying to put myself in her position hurt, but it didn't take a genius to figure out she'd loved Sirius dearly. I couldn't let them take his soul. I couldn't bear to think about it, or what Selena would've thought if she knew her daughter had sat back and let them do it.

"Professor, I can't let them take his soul," I choked quietly, my anger fading rapidly and being replaced with a terrifying fear.

Dumbledore sighed heavily, his eyes shining sadly. "I understand that, Artemis, but there isn't really anything we can do."

"But sir-"

He held up a hand to cut Harry short, and I shuffled to rest my back against his arm. "You have to see it from the Ministry's point of view," Dumbledore continued. "As far as they are concerned, Sirius has been guilty for the past twelve years, and he has not acted like an innocent man. Mere months ago, you yourself Artemis were stood in my office telling the Minister and I that he'd tried to break into the Gryffindor common room and held a knife to your throat."

"That was before Christmas!" I breathed, hating the way I suddenly felt responsible. "And he didn't hurt me, I told you back then that he was just trying to keep me quiet!"

"All the same, you caused quite a stir, and Peter Pettigrew was confirmed dead twelve years ago. Not only that, but he escaped and is no longer here to support your story. And, however wrong it may seem to you, the word of four thirteen year olds – particularly when one is the accused's daughter and another his godson – matters very little."

"What about Professor Lupin?" Hermione gulped. "If they just waited until the morning-"

"But they won't wait until morning, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said gently. "Fudge is incredibly anxious to get this over and done with, and the entire Ministry is behind him. Remus is currently in no state to talk with anybody, and even if he was, the word of a werewolf would be little more important than yours."

"This is stupid!" I suddenly exploded. "There has to be something, Professor, there just has to be! I refuse point blank to stand here and lose any more of my family. If I have to go up there and-"

"That won't be necessary, Miss Williams," he assured me with a soft smile. "What we need is more time."

"But-" Hermione broke off, her eyes suddenly widening and her hand flying to her throat. "Oh!"

Dumbledore chuckled, straightening himself out. "Three turns should do it, Miss Granger. Sirius is being kept in Professor Flitwick's office, thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you may be able to save more than one life tonight."

"More than one . . ." I trailed, my stomach twisting.

"Come on!" Hermione squeaked, grabbing my hand and hauling me to my feet. My body still stiff, I stumbled slightly, wincing and forcing my muscles to move. Harry pushed himself up behind us, coming to a halt beside me and watching Hermione dig something out on a chain around her neck.

"In a few seconds, it will be midnight and I'll lock the door," Dumbledore told us as he started for the door. "You must return before then, Miss Granger. You know the rules; you must not be seen."

Hermione nodded seriously at him, and he smiled tightly turning out of the door and locking it behind him. "What's going on?" Harry frowned, pulling a face when she pulled the three of us closer together and threw the chain around our necks. "Am I the only one confused?"

Without pausing to answer, Hermione took up the pendant on the end – a strange, golden sand timer – and spun it three times. The moment it stopped turning, I felt my body being jerked backward, as though someone had wrapped a rope around my stomach and was dragging me along The hospital wing blurred past me, making my eyesight obscured and darker than usual. Closing my eyes tightly, I waited until my body had come to an abrupt halt before risking a look again.

"Never again," I grumbled as I opened my eyes, scanning the room around me. The three of us where stood in exactly the same spot as a minute ago, only now, the curtains were open and light flooded through the room. All of the beds were empty, Ron was nowhere in sight, and Madam Pomfrey seemed to be busy in her office, with no sick or injured children to be worried about.

"Come on," Hermione rushed under her breath, taking the chain from our necks and tucking the pendant down her shirt again. "We can't be seen."

Harry and I exchanged a confused look as she snatched our wrists and pulled us toward the door, opening it a fraction and peering outside cautiously. "Hermione," I started, but she waved me away and hurried outside with me and Harry hot on her heels. "Hermione, what was that?"

"A Time-Turner," she rushed, still leading the way through the corridors and peering down each one anxiously before she turned the corner. "It allows the user to turn back time for however long you need so that you can go back and change things. It's how I've been attending all my classes when they were scheduled at the same time. Professor McGonagall spent ages this summer convincing the Ministry to let me have one."

"And this is supposed to help us save Sirius?" I questioned slowly, but she just nodded at me without turning around. "How exactly? If we really have gone back in time, and you say we can't be seen, how are we going to pull this off? We can't get Sirius before he attacks Ron, because then we'll never find out he was innocent. We can't go into the Shrieking Shack and take him there because technically, we'll already be there, and after that there's a murderous werewolf and a hundred Dementors to factor in!"

"There has to be a way," Hermione insisted urgently. "Dumbledore had to have suggested it for a reason."

"So why have we come back here, exactly? Why three turns?" Harry frowned. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine," Hermione replied quickly. "Obviously there's something else happening that Dumbledore wants us to change. So where were we back then . . .?"

I frowned, thinking back. After everything that had happened tonight, it was difficult to pick out what happened when. "Going down to see Hagrid, weren't we?" I said hesitantly. "Before Buckbeak was executed."

Gasping, Hermione went rigid on the spot in front of us and spun around, her eyes shining as she beamed at us. "Buckbeak!" she breathed. "That's it, Arty! Buckbeak!"

I flicked my gaze toward Harry. "I think she's lost it."

Ignoring his scoff, Hermione shook her head furiously. "Dumbledore said we could save more than one life tonight. We're going to save Buckbeak!"

My eyes bulged. "How? We don't even know how to save Sirius yet!"

"Don't you see? We have to save Buckbeak and fly him up to the window of Professor Flitwick's office!" Hermione urged, suddenly breaking into a run and rounding the corner to the Grand Staircase. Harry and I tore after her, keeping an eye over our shoulder warily. "That's why Dumbledore told us which window it was!"

I thought about it as we crept across the Entrance Hall and toward the large doors. "Okay," I nodded slowly. "So how do we do that exactly if we can't be seen?"

She grimaced and glanced back apologetically. "Haven't figured that part out yet." Pursing my lips, the three of us skipped down the front steps quickly and rushed toward the Herbology gardens under the shadows of the castle, and even if we didn't have everything figured out, it felt good to be moving.

Harry bolted ahead of us, racing toward the edge of the Forest to keep himself out of sight. Hermione and I raced after him, and automatically, I pulled my wand out of my back pocket before I knew what I was doing. A strange tingling was beginning to radiate across my spine gently, and I faltered for a moment, frowning. But the moment I came to a halt, the sensation disappeared. Shaking myself, I hurried to catch up with Harry and Hermione before I lost sight of them.

When we reached the other side of the Forest, we could see Hagrid's hut and the pumpkin patch through the trees. Just as he was when we last saw him, Buckbeak was chained to a post in the middle of the patch. Without thinking, I made to step out of the Forest, but Hermione grabbed my arm and pulled me back with a frown.

"What are you doing?" she breathed. "We can't take him yet!"

"What? Why not?" I blinked.

"If we take him now, they'll think Hagrid set him free," she told me patiently. "We went over this hours ago in Hagrid's cabin!"

"Actually," Harry grimaced, clearing his throat and pointing at the cabin ahead of us. "I think we're just going over it." I followed his gaze through Hagrid's window and shuddered when I caught sight of myself, Harry and Ron arguing with Hagrid.

"Oh, this is just too weird," I mumbled, shaking my head with a gulp. "Sirius better be grateful for this." Harry glanced sideways at me, but said nothing.

"We have to let Fudge see Buckbeak first," Hermione told us sternly. "Then while he's inside, we take Buckbeak."

"But when he goes inside, we're coming out," Harry frowned. "This is impossible, Hermione!"

"No it isn't," she retorted with a roll of her eyes. "It's just . . . difficult, that's all." I lifted an eyebrow, refraining from commenting. Difficult or impossible, whatever they called it, it didn't make a difference. The likelihood we'd pull this off was slim to none, and I couldn't bear to think of what would happen to Sirius as a result.