Sirius and Lupin tied Peter up. The deal was if he transformed on the way back to the school, Lupin or Sirius would kill him. I agreed. They strapped up Ron's leg, and we arranged a way to bring Snape back to the castle weightlessly. Lupin and Ron were chained to Peter, just to make sure.
Ron was annoyed that he had spent the last twelve years with a mass murderer and betrayer instead of a regular old rat.
On the way back, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest. Sirius walked alongside me. "So…you know what this means?" he asked, grinning.
"You're going to be free," I told him, grinning back.
"Well…I'm also your godfather," he told me.
"I know," I said.
"Well…that gives me…your parents would have wanted you…if you ever wanted a different home, well certainly, you'd be welcome…"
"You're asking me to live with you?" I asked, gaping. "And leave the Dursleys?"
"Only if you want," he said quickly.
"That'd be a dream come true!" I exclaimed.
Sirius smiled at me again.
When we were finally back outside, it happened. Ron, Lupin, and Peter stopped short, and Hermione squealed.
"Professor Lupin didn't take his potion tonight!" Hermione exclaimed. I looked up. Full moon.
"Run," Sirius told me. "I'll take care of it—RUN!"
"And leave you!?" I shouted at him. "RON!"
Sirius gave me a push. "Go, Ron will be safe, just GO!"
Hermione and I ran at full speed, and looking back constantly. What was going to happen to Ron? This was a rough night for him…
Suddenly, we heard terrible snarls, and we couldn't help but turn around. "We've got to go back," Hermione said, and I couldn't agree more.
By the time we ran back, Sirius was bleeding—Lupin had run away as a transformed werewolf—and Peter was gone. Ron was slightly unconscious.
Suddenly, a heard a high-pitched howl of a dog. "Sirius!" I cried, running towards the noise. Alone, I ran and ran until I reached Sirius. He was a man again, and he collapsed.
"NO!" I screamed, frantically, pulling out my wand. "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
It wasn't working. The dementors were closing in. I kept trying, but it was getting weaker and weaker…
I could feel the life being sucked out of me. "No…Sirius…he's innocent…" I murmured.
The dementors were too close now. They were right next to us. I couldn't feel anymore.
And then…they were retreating. They were retreating fast. And the feeling was gone.
I looked up, still feeling extremely weak, and saw a person standing across the clearing, wand raised. They had saved us. A Patronus was cantering back to it.
And then I fainted.
When I opened my eyes, I was in the hospital wing. Snape was there, with the Minister of Magic. Madam Pomfrey was tending to Ron, and Hermione lay next to me.
I sat up. "You're up!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed.
"Where's the headmaster?" I demanded. "I need to see him!"
"Haile, dear, it's okay," Madam Pomfrey said.
Fudge cleared his throat. "Dear, we've got Black. He's locked upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any minute."
Hermione and I jumped out of bed. "NO!" we screamed.
"You've got the wrong man!" I yelled. "He's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death!"
"You're just tired," Fudge argued. "Go back to sleep. It's okay now."
"No!" I argued, grabbing my hair. "You don't get it! Let him go!"
Dumbledore entered at that moment. "Hello," he said pleasantly. "Poppy, Severus, Cornelius…I apologize, but I must speak to Miss Granger and Miss Potter alone."
Madam Pomfrey nodded briskly, and followed Fudge and Snape out.
Hermione and I both began to spit out the truth, but Dumbledore silenced us with a hand. "Listen, please. There isn't much time. There is no proof to your story, and the odds are against you. I, however, believe you."
"You do!" Hermione said happily.
"Yes. However…that doesn't mean the rest of the world does. So, what we need…is more time."
Hermione smacked her forehead. "Of course!"
"Black is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. You might be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. You must not be seen—Miss Granger, you know. I'll lock you in…three turns should do it. Good luck."
"What's going on?" I asked Hermione.
"I'll explain soon. Just come here," Hermione said, hurriedly. She was holding out a chain, with a tiny hourglasses hanging from it. She turned the hourglass three times.
My feet seemed to leave the ground. I felt a strange feeling as if I was going backwards. The room blurred, and I felt as if I was in a tornado.
Then, I regained focus and my feet hit the ground. Hermione quickly pulled me into a broom closet. I realized we had been standing in the entrance hall.
"What is going on here?" I hissed.
Hermione explained that we had gone back in time. We saw ourselves, and I was completely bewildered. She then proceeded to explain about the Time Turner she had used all year.
"Whoa," I commented.
"But what should we do?" Hermione said desperately. "Save more than one innocent life…"
"Buckbeak!" I exclaimed. "We have to save him, too."
"What about Sirius?" Hermione said, helplessly.
"We can fly Buckbeak to see Sirius!" I exclaimed.
Hermione looked frightened beyond reason. "I guess we have no choice. Let's go."
We ran as quick as we could into the forest, to avoid being seen. We waited until it was almost sundown, and then crept over to Hagrid's.
We heard Fudge and the executioner talking to Hagrid minutes later. They went inside to go over some last minute details. Hagrid really was a mess.
We waited until it was clear, and then I crept out behind the trees. Hiding behind gigantic pumpkins, I approached the hippogriff. I bowed deeply, and Buckbeak returned it.
I began to untie him. It was rather easy. "Come on, boy, come on. Now." Buckbeak wouldn't budge once he was untied though.
"Come on!" I hissed, tugging harder. He finally obliged, and followed me into the forest before they came out again.
We were clear by a good ten seconds.
They filed out, Hagrid sobbing, and Dumbledore looking grave.
"Would you look at that?" Dumbledore said, shaking his head.
"I just saw it!" the executioner said irritably. "It was tied up!"
"He escaped!" Hagrid said, sobbing. "Bless his little beak!"
Hermione and I grinned, and led Buckbeak further into the forest. "Now we wait. We should get by the Whomping Willow."
Once we made it to the Willow, we had to wait for a very long time. Finally, darkness fell completely, and we began making out shapes. First, we saw Ron being dragged into the Willow.
"Look!" I hissed, as we followed him. "This is too weird…that's me!"
"Yes," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.
After a while, Lupin came. We watched apprehensively as Snape followed not that much longer after.
"I can't stand just watching this happen again!" I moaned, as Snape, too, disappeared.
"It's got to…it's already happened…don't you get it?"
"Oh, I get it all right," I huffed, sitting down. Buckbeak put his head on my mine.
"While we wait," Hermione said, suddenly, "did you ever see what it was that saved you and Sirius from the dementors? I mean…the dementors can't have just disappeared, and Ron sworn he had saw a silvery thing…"
"It was a Patronus," I answered, remembering. "I don't know who did it, though."
"Wow," Hermione said.
We waited for another hour or so, until finally we exited from the hole in the roots.
"I can't believe we're going to just let him escape again," I groaned.
"There's nothing we can do," Hermione reminded me quickly. "Don't do anything insane."
As if going back in time to save a hippogriff and an innocent-but-thought-of-guilty convict wasn't insane.
"Oh, dear," Hermione said, suddenly, staring at the odd group of us moving towards the castle.
"What?" I asked her.
"Lupin's going to transform any second," she said, backing away, grabbing my arm. "And run straight at us."
Buckbeak began retreating, as if he could sense danger. "Let's go!" I hissed, and all three of us pelted away as fast as we could.
We ran in the direction of Hagrid's house. Hagrid was nowhere to be found, so we hid in the pumpkin patch, concealed from the forest.
"Will we be safe here?" Hermione asked, having a hard time getting Buckbeak to lie down.
"I hope," I gulped.
We waited a long time.
I looked up suddenly, and got to my feet.
"What is it?" Hermione asked me, alert.
"Hermione, it was me," I said. "I saved Sirius…and myself. I have to go…I have to go before it's too late!"
I sprinted full speed ahead into the forest. I didn't care about Peter Pettigrew being free. I didn't care that a loose werewolf was running around.
I needed to save another innocent life.
I reached the lake. I looked ahead, pulling out my wand. I hadn't realized at the time when I was having the life sucked out of me that I was by a lake. Somehow, though, I knew to come here.
I saw my own weak attempts at a Patronus happen before I fell beside Sirius.
I wasn't too late. Hermione and Buckbeak were right behind me.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" I screamed, jumping into clear view.
A silver horse-resembling figure burst out of my wand and ran towards the dementors. They retreated at once, and my Patronus returned to me.
I observed it carefully and I realized it was a stag. Lupin's words rang in my head. "Your father was a stag, Haile."
My heart swelled and my eyes filled with tears. My own Patronus took the shape of my dad's Animagus.
Hermione was at my side. "Haile…what did you do?" she asked, bewildered.
"I saved our lives," I said, simply. "I did a Patronus."
"Did you?" she exclaimed. "That's…that's amazing…"
"Look, it's Snape!" I said, crouching behind a tree. Snape was magicking us onto stretchers. Floating, we followed him up to the castle.
"Okay, now, we have about forty-five minutes until we have to save Sirius," Hermione said, as we walked towards the way Snape was moving.
I was very proud of myself for producing a full-formed Patronus, but I didn't dwell on it. It wasn't over. I had to save Sirius next, undetected.
We waited close to the castle, waiting for signs of anything. We located Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Hermione knew where all the teachers' offices were.
Finally, Macnair, the executioner, came bounding out of the castle entrance. "Where are those damn dementors now…" he grumbled.
We hurried out of his sight, and Hermione whispered, "He's gone to get the dementors…we've got to go now."
"Yep." I climbed on Buckbeak, and Buckbeak kicked up his front legs. I motioned for Hermione to get on.
"No way," Hermione said, shaking her head vigorously. "I didn't think of this part."
"It's now or never," I told her pointedly.
Hermione unsteadily climbed on, holding on to me tighter than a koala holds on to a tree. "EEEE!" she squealed, as Buckbeak jumped into the air and took flight.
Hermione squealed the whole way and I really hoped no one heard her. I personally loved the feeling of it—the wind through my hair, the sensation of doing something dangerous and good and important all at the same time.
When we reached the office, Hermione did a quick spell to open the window. Sirius looked up in alarm.
"How did you—what did you—"
"No time," I said, "The dementors are coming. You're going to escape on Buckbeak here."
"Haile…how can I ever thank you?" he said, as we climbed in the window, helping Buckbeak through.
"You don't," I replied, motioning to Buckbeak. "Now, go, hurry!"
He embraced me quickly, and then climbed on Buckbeak. "Both of you…all my thanks," Sirius Black said, smiling, and then…they were gone, flying into the black night, dark silhouettes in front of a bright moon.
After that, we made it back to the hospital wing in time, luckily. More than luckily, really.
But at least it all worked out.
I mean, you should have heard Snape when he found out Sirius escaped. He, of course, blamed it on me. But how would I, succumbed to my hospital bed, and why would I help Black escape? No one had an answer, of course.
And telling Ron what had happened later was the best part.
Or maybe the best part was Hagrid telling us that Buckbeak got free. Hermione, Ron, and I started laughing when Hagrid informed us, and Hagrid mistook our laughter for pure joy, and hugged all of us, crying.
One more bad thing occurred from that night. In addition to Peter escaping, Lupin was forced to resign. Once people found out about his condition, he wouldn't be very popular at Hogwarts.
"Don't leave!" I begged, as he packed up his things in his office.
"Haile, I told you, I must," he said. "I'm very proud of you. The Patronus you say you performed. Incredible. Oh, and you can have this map back now." He handed me the Marauder's Map. "I daresay I'll see you soon enough again, my dear." He grasped my arm, smiled, and left.
As he exited the room, Dumbledore walked in, not making a sound.
"Hi, Professor," I said.
He motioned for us to sit down, and I obeyed.
"I, like Lupin, am very proud of you, Haile," he said, the twinkle in his bright blue eyes never failing.
"He got away," I said, sighing.
"Yes," Dumbledore said, solemnly. "But you saved an innocent man from a terrible fate."
"Professor…before all this, Professor Trelawney made some sort of a prediction. I don't think she realized she did it, but she said that the Dark Lord will rise again or something."
"Ah," Dumbledore said, nodding. "That makes two."
"But…Professor! I almost knew…in a way. I should have let them kill him! But…I just couldn't. And now, Voldemort will come back and it will be my fault!"
"It most certainly will not be," Dumbledore argued, lightly. "Peter Pettigrew owes you his life. The connection between you two won't please Lord Voldemort."
"Great," I muttered.
"Haile…your father would have saved Peter," Dumbledore told me. I met his eye.
"Really?"
"Yes. And I find it extraordinary that your Patronus would take the form of your father's Animagus," Dumbledore said, smiling.
"Yeah, it's really cool—wait! How did you know they were Animagi?" I asked, gaping.
"Sirius confessed to me last night," Dumbledore said, thoughtfully. "Brilliant kids. You see, Haile, now your father will never leave you. And your mother… well, you already know she won't either. Her love flows in your veins."
I nodded, as Dumbledore stood, and left.
On the last day, we received our exam results. I did well, not amazing like Hermione but not terrible like poor Neville. Hermione declared she was dropping a subject or two to make next year easier.
"Guess what, H?" Ron asked, as we boarded the Hogwarts Express. "Quidditch World Cup this summer! You can stay at our house again, and we'll get tickets."
"Excellent!" I exclaimed. "I don't know what I'll do until then. Another whole summer with the Dursleys…"
"Look," Hermione said, pointing to the window. An owl was floating outside.
I opened it up, and the owl flew in, fluttering all over the place. It was very spastic and tiny.
It dropped a letter in my lap.
"It's from Sirius! 'Buckbeak and I are in hiding… won't tell you where… I'm going to allow a Muggle to see me soon, so the dementors will leave Hogwarts…' I gasped, reading further on. "Hey! It was Siriuswho sent me the Firebolt!"
"I knew it!" Hermione shrieked.
"Yeah, but it wasn't dangerous," Ron argued, rolling his eyes.
"He also says that it was him that I saw that night I left the Dursleys, not a Grim! I was so stupid to have worried! And Ron, he also says," I said, scanning the letter. "that you can keep this owl. OH!"
I held up a separate piece of paper underneath the first. "He's given me permission to visit Hogsmeade!" I said, happily.
"Yay!" Hermione and Ron said, gleefully.
"I'll miss you two!" I wailed when we finally arrived at King's Cross.
They gave me suffocating hugs, and I said goodbye to all my friends. I hugged Parvati and Lavender…hugged Dean and Seamus…handed Neville his escaping frog…hugged the entire Quidditch team…Fred and George giving me huge hugs that lifted me off the ground…
Malfoy tripped me on the way off the Express the sent me flying. I hit the ground hard, and there was Cedric Diggory, helping me up at once.
"Ugh, this has to stop," I moaned while he laughed.
"You're awfully clumsy," he agreed.
"When it comes to Malfoy," I laughed. "Have a good summer!"
"Are you going to the Quidditch World Cup?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so. With Ron," I told him.
"I'll see you there!" he said, smiling his beautiful smile and waving.
I grinned back, and then caught sight of the Dursleys. Hermione and Ron looked taken aback by their grumpy, scrunched faces.
"Can't wait until they find out my godfather is the escaped convict on the loose," I giggled.
Ron and Hermione laughed, as I ran up to Vernon Dursleys, waving a letter from Sirius Black in my hands.
Their faces would be priceless. Here's to a better summer, mayhaps.