Chapter 8 – Secrets and Homeward Bound

Some time after the lake, Andrew was in Hospital, Harry and Jax were nearby, still unconscious, his abdomen had been mended, nothing vital was severed, and Hermione and Ron were nearby. Ron was on a bed with his foot in a caste and Hermione was in tears.

"What's happened?" Andrew groaned, holding his side in pain and catching Madam Pomfrey's attention.

"Not to worry, here, eat this," she said, handing him chocolate. "They've caught Black, he's upstairs, the Dementors will be performing the Kiss any moment."

"WHAT!" Harry exploded, sitting bolt upright.

Andrew heaved himself from the bed, his guts feeling about ready to rip themselves open. He called his lightsaber to his hand and started moving to the door. Just before he got there, Madam Pomfrey's shouting caught the attention of Fudge and Snape, who were standing outside.

"What's going on in here, you boys should be in bed," Fudge said.

"Minister, listen!" Harry said loudly. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! Ask Snape, he saw the man too! You can't let the Dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's..."

"Harry, Harry, you're very confused..." Fudge began, but he was cut off by the activation of a lightsaber.

"Minister, do we look confused?" Andrew asked, wincing. "I believe you found a few Dementors dead by the lake, so believe me when I say, if you value your life, step aside."

His voice was so calm that the colour drained from Fudge's face, Snape frowned and Andrew glared at him. "(You lying bastard, you know what you saw, and you've lied to get some medal!)"

"(You would rather I be sent to Azkaban for being some lunatic? You honestly think I would be believed without evidence? I said what I had to, in order to keep you from being imprisoned, after all, nobody has ever killed a Dementor before.)" Snape answered, causing Andrew to relax.

At that point, Dumbledore walked in, after a brief complaint from the matron, Dumbledore asked her, Fudge and Snape to leave.

As soon as they were alone, the three of them launched into explanations. "Snape's lied to the Minister.." Hermione said, wringing her hands.

"Please listen to me," Dumbledore ordered calmly. "Severus has only lied, in order to keep the three of you from getting into trouble. There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word and Professor Snape's, sadly, the words of such a wild tale, will not convince anybody."

"Except you, Professor," Andrew said, deactivating his lightsaber as Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, regardless of all the evidence saying otherwise, I believe you," Dumbledore said quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister for Magic ..."

Dumbledore paused to let the news sink in. "What we need, is more time."

"But.." Hermione started, but her eyes suddenly became very round. "OH!"

"Now, pay attention," Dumbledore continued, speaking very low and 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, the three of you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, all of you. You must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law – you know what is at stake … you – must – not – be – seen."

The boys looked at each other, clueless. Dumbledore turned on his heel and strode back to the door, he looked over his shoulder at he got there.

"I am going to lock you in. It is..." he looked at his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

Hermione then explained how she had been getting to all her classes during the year, she had been using something called a Time-Turner, as she pulled the device from inside the collar of her robes.

"It's not going to be big enough to fit all three of us," she said.

"Easily fixed," Andrew said, pulling his wand from his lightsaber. "Duplicus." he said, making a perfect copy of the Time-Turner, a plan formulating in his mind. "Okay, Hermione, how do I work this thing."

"Just hold the hourglass and turn it over three times." she said as she placed the chain over Harry's head, doing just that and vanishing. Andrew put the chain around his neck, copied her and after a moment, he was standing next to his friends.

Hermione was about to lead, a very confused, Harry out of the empty ward, when Andrew grabbed them both by the back of their collars and dragged them behind the door, just as a three-hours younger Andrew ran by so quickly that he was almost invisible.

"What exactly is going on?" Harry asked, pinching his leg.

"We've gone back in time," Andrew explained, thinking it obvious as the gears in his mind kept spinning.

"Three hours back, to be precise." Hermione added.

"But..." Harry started.

"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming!" Hermione whispered. "I think it might be us!"

"(The coast is clear, move it!)" they all heard Andrew tell them. Andrew placed two fingers to his temple and, silently, told his friends not to answer.

"Are you telling me, we're inside the hospital ward, and we're walking down to Hagrid's too?" Harry asked.

"That's what we were doing three hours ago!" Hermione exclaimed quietly.

"What I'm not sure about, is what Dumbledore expects us to be doing now." Andrew mused. "Being here and now isn't going to save Sirius."

"Well three hours ago … now..." Harry was getting a headache, trying to get his mind around the past, present and future tense. "We were heading down to see Hagrid before..."

"Buckbeak!" Andrew and Hermione said together.

"Of course, we rescue Buckbeak, then fly up to Flitwick's office and rescue Sirius!" Harry said, snapping his fingers together.

"When what're we waiting for?" Andrew demanded. "Let's move!"

"If we manage all this without being seen, it'll be a miracle!" Hermione said, terrified at the thought of flying.

"Well, we've got to try or we're doomed to fail," Harry answered, checking to see if the coast was clear.

They made their way down to the Entrance Hall and looked out onto the grounds. "If anyone's looking out a window..." Hermione started.

"We run for it, straight line to the forest, fast as we can." Andrew said, closing his eyes and focusing on the Force.

"We should go by the greenhouses," Hermione said. "If we see us, there's no telling what might happen."

Andrew nodded. "Go, now!" he ordered, sensing nobody at any windows.

They set off at a sprint, tearing across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses. They stopped behind them, catching their breath, then set off again and making for the Forbidden Forest at breakneck speed.

Once in the shade of the trees, Harry and Hermione needed to take another break, Andrew was using the Force to fuel his movements to keep from tiring out.

They moved stealthily towards Hagrid's hut, just as they caught sight of the place, they heard Harry knocking from under the cloak. They watched their earlier conversation while hiding behind a tree.

"I guess this must be how movie stars feel," Andrew mused.

"I know what you mean, this is by far the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry agreed.

"Let's move along a bit," Hermione whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"

They crept closer to the nervous Hippogriff, who watched them with caution. "Now?" Harry asked.

"No, too soon. The Committee saw Buckbeak as they went inside Hagrid's hut." Andrew answered.

"So we have to wait until then before we try anything," Hermione added.

"That's not going to give us long," Harry said, thinking hard.

"What's worse, I remember sensing us," Andrew told them, shocking Hermione. "Don't worry, I remember it clearly, I know what to do."

They heard something break inside the hut. "That'll be Hagrid breaking his milk jug, I'll find Scabbers in a moment." Hermione stated.

"What if we just burst in there and grab him?" Harry thought out loud.

"Think about that Harry, you've just seen yourself burst into the room..." Andrew started.

"I … I guess I'd probably think I'd gone mad or something." Harry finished.

"Exactly, Harry. Professor McGonagall warned me about wizards that have tried to change the past, some have ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake." Hermione explained.

"Alright, it was just an idea." Harry sighed.

"And I understand where it came from, but we've got a hard enough job on our hands without changing the plan," Andrew said firmly.

Hermione gave the boys a quick nudge and pointed up to the castle, where Fudge, Dumbledore, Macnair and the Committee member were making their way down to Hagrid's hut.

"We're about to come out any second now." Andrew hissed, the others nodded and hid behind trees again, just in time for their earlier selves to step out Hagrid's back door.

The three of them listened in amusement as Andrew started to argue with the Minister, taking the opportunity to sneak closer to Buckbeak, using Hagrid's pumpkins for cover.

"It was so tempting to stab that Macnair bastard!" Andrew hissed as they watched. That was when they saw the other Andrew tense up and look straight at them, Andrew raised to fingers to his temple, intent on sending a message to just himself. "(I know this looks weird, but we're here to save Buckbeak, don't say anything, please.)"

They watched Andrew sigh and walk away. "And please go straight to your common room," they heard Dumbledore call, before watching the four men step inside the house.

"Okay, Harry, go!" Andrew hissed quietly, Hermione quietly moving over to where Buckbeak was tethered. "Wait, HIDE!" they all took cover again.

"Where is the beast?" they heard Macnair ask coldly.

"Out … outside," Hagrid said, opening the window for the executioner to see, after Macnair walked away from the window, they set to work again, Hermione untied the Hippogriff while Harry bowed to him.

"Quickly you two, Hagrid's already signed!" Andrew hissed, listening to what was going on inside, Buckbeak had already bowed to Harry, they were both pulling on Buckbeak's rope, trying to get him to move. Andrew was about to throw caution to the winds and push at the Hippogriff's hindquarters, when Dumbledore saved them.

"One moment, please, Macnair," his voice said from the window. "You need to sign, too." The footsteps that were heading towards the back door stopped.

"Hurry, hurry!" Andrew whispered, backing up, and scraping his foot over their tracks, as Harry, Hermione and Buckbeak made it to the trees, he darted after them and they all took cover in the shadows.

After a few seconds of moving deeper into the trees, Hermione stopped them, for fear of Buckbeak's trotting being heard.

They listened as the five men stepped outside to find the Hippogriff gone. Macnair furiously swung his axe into Hagrid's fence and Hagrid himself cried with joy, thinking Buckbeak had pulled himself free and flown off.

Buckbeak started to pull on the rope, but Andrew sent calming waves to the Hippogriff through the Force, causing him to relax.

"Someone untied him!" they heard Macnair 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?" Dumbledore asked, his voice clearly sounding amused. "Search the skies, if you will … Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy."

They listened as all the voices disappeared and the slamming of a door. "So, now what?" Harry asked.

"We'll have to hide in here," Hermione answered, looking a little shaken, it was one thing to break school rules, it was another to be breaking the law. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle."

"Then we wait until a little after Sirius has been taken, so we can fly Buckbeak up there to rescue him." Andrew added, distractedly. In his mind, he was still forming a plan to clear Sirius' name.

"We're going to have to move then," said Harry, pulling on Buckbeak's rope. "We'll need to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."

"Alright," said Hermione, taking a firmer grip on the rope. "But we've got to keep out of sight, remember."

"We keep to the shadows and stay quiet," Andrew said, ducking low and leading the way.

They moved closer, until the tree was in view, seeing Andrew walking by himself. They saw Ron appear from out of nowhere and start running, followed by Harry and Hermione chasing him. Andrew picked up the dropped cloak and followed. Then Sirius turned up in his dog form and started to drag Ron away, Crookshanks froze the tree and then everyone was gone.

"And there we go, we're in." Harry muttered.

Shortly afterwards, they heard voices and ducked down more, Dumbledore, Fudge, Macnair and the Committee member were heading back to the castle. "Oh if only they had seen us, they could have been witnesses." Hermione moaned sadly.

"I doubt it, Fudge would have panicked and ordered Macnair to kill Sirius on the spot." Harry answered, quietly, as they watched the four men head into the castle.

Next they saw Lupin arrive, pick up a long stick and press the freezing knot, then he too was gone.

"Something I don't get, when did Jax show up?" Harry asked.

"I think we're about to find out," Hermione answered, pointing.

Jax was walking down the lawn, heading towards the lake, he was in running gear with his lightsaber on his belt. It seemed as though he did this regularly, he started jogging around the lake at a steady pace.

As the three of them turned to each other and shrugged, they heard a burst of song and saw Hagrid, drunkenly heading up to the castle, Buckbeak made another attempt to go to him. Just after Hagrid disappeared into the castle, Snape came out and mimicked Lupin, disappearing from sight.

"So, that's all of us down there, now we wait." Andrew said, sitting down and meditating.

"There's something I don't understand," Hermione started. "Why didn't the Dementors get Sirius?"

"I remember you killing some of them, Andrew," Harry answered, remembering how his Patronus was useless. "But most of it is a blur."

"I vaguely remember seeing two Patronus animals, though I can't tell you what they were, my vision was beginning to blur. They came out from the lake and drove the Dementors away." Andrew told him, his eyes closed.

"But who conjured them?" Hermione asked.

"Perhaps we can find out, soon." Harry offered.

They waited in silence, only the sound of leaves, rustling in the light breeze, could be heard. Hour after hour passed, until eleven o'clock.

"Here we come!" Hermione whispered, they watched as Snape, Pettigrew and Ron came out first, all chained together, followed by Lupin and Andrew, then Harry, Hermione and Sirius. They watched sadly as the moon came out and the whole situation went to hell. Lupin transformed and Harry remembered that he was going to be thrown right at them.

They didn't have time to untie Buckbeak, so Andrew sliced his lightsaber through the rope, and retreated back to Hagrid's hut. After the Hippogriff got himself settled happily in front of the fireplace, Harry pointed out that they would have to head out again, otherwise they would miss their opportunity to rescue Sirius.

"I'll go with you," Andrew said. "In case Lupin comes back.

"Alright, I'll stay here with Buckbeak." Hermione answered, sitting down at the table and looking a little worn out. "Just be careful, there's a werewolf out there, not to mention the Dementors."

The boys stepped outside, they could hear yelping in the distance. "Jax has found Sirius, let's head to the other side of the lake from them, mainly so they won't see us and partly so we can see who saved us." Andrew suggested, Harry nodded and they took off at a run.

When they got into position, Andrew and Jax had just finished their short duel. The Dementors were closing in, they watched as Andrew started to hack at the incoming Dementors, Harry fell to his knees, the Dementors lowered their hoods, but nobody was coming.

Andrew and Harry looked at each other as realisation hit them. "It's us!" Harry exclaimed, Andrew nodded and they both ran to the edge of the lake, both held up their wands.

"(My plan can work, it will work!)" Andrew thought to himself.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" They both yelled. From their wands, a bright, shining, silver animal burst out. The Patronus' glided/galloped/ran across the lake and smashed into the Dementors, mowing some of them down and causing the others to flee back to their posts. As they came back, the two boys realised what their Patronus' were.

Harry's was a stag, possibly identical to James in his Animagus form. Andrew's was a dog, a Siberian Husky to be exact. "Prongs!" Harry whispered. The two boys reached out to touch their Patronus, but they both vanished.

They stood there, stunned, until Hermione came up behind them with Buckbeak. "What did you do?" she demanded. "I thought you were just going to watch for when we can move!"

"We just … saved our lives?" Andrew said, scratching the back of his head.

"Come on, back behind this bush, we'll explain." Harry said.

They explained to Hermione what had happened, Hermione was impressed that the two of them could conjure such powerful Patronus', they watched as Snape came down to the lake, he looked uncertain for a moment, then he bound Sirius in ropes and conjured stretchers for him, Harry and Jax, then helped Andrew drag himself to the castle.

"It's nearly time," Hermione said, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing."

"Give it fifteen and then we move," Andrew said. "That'll give us five minutes to find Sirius, ten to say goodbye and fifteen to get our asses back before Dumbledore locks us out!"

They only waited for ten minutes, as they saw Macnair coming out of the castle. "He's gone to get the Dementors, no more time to wait, mount up." Harry ordered, the others nodded. Harry got on Buckbeak, behind his head, Hermione was behind Harry, clutching to him for dear life, and Andrew got on behind her.

"Wish I had my 'spider' gear right now!" Andrew complained.

Harry then urged Buckbeak to take to the sky, they soared over the lake and made their way to the West Tower, they hovered their way past the windows, counting them until they saw Sirius. Buckbeak hovered outside the window, beating his wings to keep airborne.

Harry reached out and knocked on the window, Sirius looked up, his jaw dropping when he saw who was there, he leapt up and tried to open the window, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called, pulling out her wand, Andrew tightened his grip on her to keep her steady. "Alohomora!" she hissed, tapping the window and causing it to spring open.

"How … how?" Sirius asked.

"No time, get on!" Andrew whispered, slipping off Buckbeak's rump and clinging onto his hooves.

Harry urged the Hippogriff up to the tower and Andrew slipped onto the battlements, opening the door to make sure nobody was there, Buckbeak circled around and landed gracefully, letting everyone else slip off his back.

"There's no time, you'd better go quick, Sirius," Harry panted. "They'll find out you're gone any minute now!"

"What happened to the other boy, Ron?" Sirius asked urgently.

"He's going to be alright, he's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick – go!" Hermione told him.

"I can't thank..." Sirius started.

"GO!" The three of them hissed at him. Black wheeled around, facing the open sky.

"Head to the Jedi temple, I'll contact Master Cooper and clear it with him." Andrew told him.

"I promise, we'll see each other again, Harry," Black said. "You are – truly, your father's son..." He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels and the Hippogriff opened his massive wings and took off.

The three of them watched as the two fugitives grew smaller and smaller with distance. "(I promise, you won't need to run for long.)" Andrew thought to himself.

They quickly made their way down the staircase to the tower, flattening themselves against the wall when they got to the bottom, as they heard the voices of Snape and Fudge. They walked passed them, talking about how it was going to look in 'The Daily Prophet' that Black had finally been caught.

"(I prefer to imagine how it'll look when you grant him a full pardon.)" Andrew thought a little viciously.

The three of them waited for a moment after the adults passed them by, then they ran flat out in the opposite direction, down another flight of stairs, they ran into Peeves and Andrew 'convinced' the poltergeist to say nothing and let them pass.

They managed to get back to the hospital wing, just as Dumbledore said he was going to lock them in. "Well?" he asked, turning to them with a broad smile.

"We did it!" Harry answered, leaning on his knees to catch his breath.

"Sirius is gone, on Buckbeak." Andrew reported.

"Well done. I think … yes I think you've gone, too. Get inside, and I'll lock you in." Dumbledore said.

"I might need your assistance in the morning Professor." Andrew said. "I told Sirius to head to the Jedi Temple, I'll need to inform Master Cooper that he's coming … it'll be a great help if you vouched for my story."

"Of course, I'll meet you in Professor Lupin's office." the Headmaster answered.

Dumbledore locked the door and the three of them moved back to their beds, Hermione tucking her Time-Turner back into her robes, while Andrew took the copy off his neck and pocketed it, he was going to need it for what he had planned.

As Andrew checked the burns on Jax's chest, Madam Pomfrey came out of her office, looking thoroughly annoyed and started forcing chocolate upon them, Ron continued to sleep peacefully.

"He'll be fine, Payne, now get to bed." she had ordered.

"I feel bad for causing that," Andrew answered, doing as he was told, no matter how pointless. "But in my defence, he kind of stabbed me first," he winced again, "twice and with his blade on full power."

As the matron was pressing a fourth piece of chocolate onto them, and a pain relief potion onto Andrew, they heard a distant roar of fury that sounded strangely like the Minister.

"(Didn't know he was capable of rage,)" Harry thought to the other two.

There was shouting in the corridor outside, then the door banged open and Fudge stormed in, alongside Snape who was attempting to look just as angry, followed closely by Dumbledore.

"Did any of these children leave their beds, Matron!" Fudge demanded.

"Certainly not!" Pomfrey barked.

"I highly doubt that they didn't have something to do with Black's escape, Minister," Snape said coldly. "However, Potter has a tendency to leave no evidence to his rule-breaking."

Fudge sighed. "'The Daily Prophet' is going to have a field day with this! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again!"

"That's tabloids for you, Minister. The juicier the story, the more they'll want to print it." Andrew quipped. "Now if you don't mind," he yawned dramatically, "I'm exhausted, goodnight."

"Well," Fudge sighed, "I'd better go and notify the Ministry..."

"And the Dementors?" Dumbledore asked. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh yes, definitely, they'll have to go," Fudge said quickly, running his fingers through his hair, pulling slightly. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on a pair of innocent boys. Even if one of them has found a way to kill them."

"In self defence!" Andrew mumbled indignantly. "They came at me and Harry first.

"They should never have been allowed near children in the first place!" Madam Pomfrey barked.

"I agree, Matron, they're out of control." Fudge responded. "I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight. Perhaps we should consider trained dragons at the school entrance..."

"Oh, Hagrid would love that," Harry laughed, causing Madam Pomfrey to stuff another piece of chocolate in his open mouth.

The three men left and Madam Pomfrey locked the door again, muttering to herself. Just then, Ron and Jax woke up.

"What happened?" Ron groaned. "Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin?"

"We'll tell you in the morning," Harry answered, laying down and going to sleep.

"Jax? Thanks." Andrew said.

"What for?" Jax asked, rubbing his chest and feigning ignorance. "I've no idea what you're talking about, Payne, but you can guarantee that my Master will have something to say about you attacking me!"

As the Sith turned his back and pretended to be asleep, Andrew couldn't tell if he should frown or smile.

"Hang on," Hermione said. "I thought it was that time of the year again."

"It is, I just wanted them to bugger off," Andrew answered, sitting up and wide awake still.

The first thing they did, the next morning, when they left the hospital was find Mel and Ginny. They were outside, much like the rest of the school, lounging by the lake.

They told the two girls everything, from the point of leaving the common room, to the point where Harry, Hermione and Andrew got back to the hospital wing.

There were a couple of interruptions. "Oh so that's why Jax seems so pissed today," Mel had said when Andrew told him about the fight they had had. It turned out that Jax was close to tearing someone apart and had even punched a first year for blowing a daffodil in his general direction.

"Oh so that's how you've been getting to all your classes!" Ron blurted when Hermione told them about the Time-Turner.

"That reminds me, Andrew," Hermione had said. "You'll have to hand that in, I've already dropped Divination and I'm dropping Muggle Studies too, so since I don't need it any more, I've turned mine in."

"Sorry, Hermione, but I need it for something. Besides, I noticed it has a serial number, probably identical to yours, so as far as the Ministry is concerned … my Time-Turner doesn't exist." Andrew answered.

"Did you and Professor Dumbledore inform Master Cooper about Sirius?" Mel asked, interrupting Hermione before she could tell Andrew off.

"Yep, sorted that out before these three even woke up." Andrew answered.

The sad news, was that Snape had told his house that morning about Lupin being a werewolf. It turned out that he was due to receive an Order of Merlin for his capture of Black, but it was revoked when Black escaped. So, in a tantrum, Snape let slip about Lupin's condition and the news had spread like wildfire. It was expected that Lupin would be forced to resign when frightened parents wrote to Dumbledore demanding such.

Once they had heard the story of Lupin being a werewolf, from Hagrid, the six Gryffindors ran up to Lupin's office. When they got there, they found him packing.

"You're leaving?" Harry asked.

"Sadly, I am," Lupin sighed.

"This sucks!" Ron groaned.

"So you're a werewolf, so what?" Ginny demanded.

"After what happened last night, Ginny, I realise I am dangerous." Lupin told her sadly.

"But you're the best damned teacher we've ever had!" Andrew growled.

"I'm sure Dumbledore will find a suitable replacement for me," Lupin tried to smile, but instead he handed something to Harry. "I retrieved this from the Shrieking Shack."

It was Harry's Invisibility Cloak, Lupin also handed him the Marauder's Map. "I'm no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty in giving this back to you. Besides, I won't have any use for it outside of Hogwarts, I daresay you lot will."

He grinned at this and continued to pack while talking to Harry and Andrew about their Patronus'. "Yes, James always used to transform into a stag, that's why we called him 'Prongs'," Lupin told Harry, smiling in a reminiscent way.

There was a knock at the door and Dumbledore came in. "Your carriage is ready, Remus," he said.

"Thank you, Headmaster, there's no need to see me to the gates, I can manage." Lupin said, shaking hands with Dumbledore, he turned to his former students. "I would like to say, it has been a pleasure to teach each and every one of you. I'm sure we'll meet again, someday."

"Goodbye, Professor," Ginny said, tears in her eyes.

After Lupin left, the children sat down. "Why so miserable?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh I dunno," Andrew answered sarcastically. "We only failed to make a single difference!"

"What do you mean? You made all the difference in the world!" Dumbledore cried.

"Pettigrew still got away," Harry said glumly, kicking a leg on Lupin's desk.

"Yes, true. However you saved Buckbeak, discovered the truth and saved a man from a terrible fate!" Dumbledore cried.

"Given that list, I'd still call it a win for the good guys," Mel said cheerfully.

Harry then remembered Trelawney's prediction and told Dumbledore about it. "Really? Most impressive, that brings her total real predictions up to two … I should offer her a pay rise."

"But I stopped Sirius and Lupin from killing Pettigrew." Harry said, looking almost scared. "That makes it my fault if Voldemort comes back."

"Hardly, Harry." Andrew said. "What's the point in keeping Voldemort from coming back, if we end up just like him in the process?"

"Very well said, Andrew," Dumbledore said proudly. "You did a very noble thing in sparing Pettigrew's life, Harry. He will be forever in your debt. When a wizard saves the life of another wizard, it creates a bond between them, that cannot be unbroken, even in death."

"I don't want a bond with Pettigrew!" Harry snapped.

"I presume that Professor Snape did not want a bond with your father, he only broke it when he attempted to save your life during your first Quidditch match." Dumbledore answered. "But you may find, Harry, that there may be a time when you are glad that you saved Pettigrew's life."

"Like when he returns the favour." Mel said seriously.

Dumbledore walked over to Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I knew your father while he was at school, and for a long time after," he said gently. "He would have saved Pettigrew too, I am sure of it."

"Professor?" Andrew started. "Why exactly did mine and Harry's Patronus' take the forms that they did?"

"That is rather difficult to explain," Dumbledore said, taking a seat on Lupin's desk. "In Harry's case, it is because of the connection he has to his father. I'm sure you tire of hearing it, Harry, but you do look very much like your father, except for your eyes, they're your mother's eyes."

"As for you, Andrew, I am unsure, do you have a pet dog in the family?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, my younger brother has a glass eye, so because he has no depth perception, he needs a guide dog. But he's only ever had a chocolate Labrador." Andrew answered.

"Then, perhaps, you have a particular fondness for the Siberian Husky?"

"Yep!" Ginny said with a grin. "You should have seen him back in Diagon Alley, Professor."

"Oh definitely!" Andrew almost gushed. "You'll never convince me that there's a more beautiful dog in the entire world!"

The girls giggled at this and Dumbledore smiled. "Then that must be it, although, I might also ponder … if you happened to become an Animagus, might you also take on that same form? It is very common for ones Patronus to be identical to their Animagus form, should they take one."

"I might just consider looking into that, let's face it, when I go for a month every year without sleep, I've got a perfect opportunity to sort out that potion." Andrew suggested with a shrug.

"I agree, you should have an easier time than most in starting the journey, I shall speak to Professors McGonagall and Snape during the holidays," Dumbledore said, smiling. "They may be able to assist you."

The only people who weren't sad to see Lupin go, were Slytherins. Some of the other students were concerned about him being a werewolf, but at the same time felt he was the best teacher they had had.

McCarthy, of course, was furious about Buckbeak getting away, telling anyone who would listen to him that Hagrid must have deliberately let him go. Sadly for him, nobody listened except Crabbe and Goyle.

As the end of term got nearer, Harry got quieter, constantly thinking about the repercussions of letting Pettigrew go. Andrew had been getting quiet too, constantly planning what he was going to be doing during the start of the holidays.

On a bright note, Percy had gotten top marks in his NEWTs and Harry and his friends had passed every subject, on top of that, Gryffindor had won the House Cup for the third year running. The end of term feast was decorated in the Gryffindor colours and Harry managed to forget his troubles for the night.

"What's on your mind?" Mel asked Andrew quietly. "Don't try and tell me 'nothing', I know you."

"I'm planning something, something big. Don't tell anyone about it, I'm not sure yet if I can pull it off." Andrew answered, keenly interested in a doughnut.

"Need help?" she asked.

"Probably, but not yet. Just need to visit a Pharmacy as soon as we get back to London." Andrew muttered.

"What the hell for?"

"Placebos."

Mel gave Andrew a highly confused look and shrugged.

The next morning, they were all sharing an enlarged compartment on the Hogwarts Express. "So, what's everyone got planned for the summer?" Fred asked, sitting down and putting his feet up after he enlarged the compartment.

"Not much, just the usual training," Mel answered.

"That, and I'm hoping to get my car finished, I was never too brilliant with software." Andrew added.

"Software?" Ron asked.

"Well the car herself is the hardware, the software is her programming." Andrew explained, then he pulled out some parchment he'd been drawing on all year, asking Fred for the incantation to the spell he had just used.

"You should come over, Harry, it's the Quidditch World Cup this year, Dad can normally get tickets from work." Ron told Harry, which managed to cheer him up.

"Think you could get a few extra ones?" Mel asked, thinking of bringing her Master along.

"Sure, how many?" George asked.

"Me, Andrew, Master Cooper..." Mel began.

"Seven," Andrew said, not looking up from his parchment.

When the others asked why so many, Andrew refused to answer.

"One of them for Sirius?" Ron blurted out, the others then had to explain everything to Fred, George and Lee, who believed every word, thankfully.

"He'll have to come as a dog, Dad can get a pets ticket," George said.

"If I have my way," Andrew said, finally looking up, "Sirius' name will be cleared, before the World Cup starts."

There was a fierce determination in his eyes. "Alright, what're you planning." Mel demanded, crossing her arms.

"Not saying, don't want to get anyone's hopes up, in case I fail."

They were prevented from asking any more questions, by a tiny owl crashing into the window. It was carrying a letter from Sirius, saying he was somewhere safe, that Andrew knew where, and that he was the one who had sent Harry the Firebolt for Christmas.

"See, Ron, I was right." Andrew said.

"Yeah, but he didn't jinx it, did he?" Ron shot back. "Ouch!" the owl had just nipped his hand.

The letter went on to explain how he had managed it, by sending Crookshanks with the order, detailing which Gringotts vault to take the money from. The letter enclosed a slip of paper, giving Harry permission to visit Hogsmeade on the weekends and a 'PS', saying the owl was Ron's to keep, seeing as Sirius blamed himself for Ron no longer having a rat.

"Keep him?" Ron said, uncertainly. He looked closely at the owl, and then he held it out to Hermione's cat. "What d'you reckon? Definitely an owl?"

Crookshanks purred. "That's good enough for me. He's mine!" Ron shouted happily.

"The letter says you know where he is," Fred said, curious.

"He and Buckbeak are hiding out at the Temple in London, it's the last place the Ministry will look for him." Andrew explained.

When they eventually got off the train, Andrew promised that he'd bring Sirius along to the World Cup and asked Ron to keep him posted on where it would be, then he met with his Master and requested that they head to the nearest Boots.